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Guyana-Exxon PSA NEWS definitely in bottom pile of worse contracts - Consultants AIETEUR

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Tuesday Edition July 23, 2019 - Vol. 12 No. 31

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House-to-House intended to de-register thousands “We will not accept any voters' lists

generated from this illegal exercise”- PPP

Neighbours save 72-year-old Ram petitions …as fire destroys High Court to stop granny just in time Middle Road home

house-to-house registration

Govt. commits to publishing all contracts, licences and permits

Woman dies after setting home on fire - tried burning it twice before

Assault charge for woman who disrupts protest with muddy water

CFATF compliance... FIU lays foundation

for critical information sharing; several agencies sign agreements

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday July 23, 2019

Kaieteur News

Tuesday July 23, 2019

PAGE 03

Guyana-Exxon PSA definitely in bottom pile of world's worst contracts - Consultants

By Kiana Wilburg

I

n light of all the feedback received from numerous oil and gas experts, international organisations such as the I n t e r- A m e r i c a n Development Bank (IDB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and from his own knowledge, Petroleum Consultant, Dr. Jan Mangal is of the firm view that Guyana's oil deal with ExxonMobil for the Stabroek Block is definitely in the bottom pile of some of the world's worst contracts.

During an exclusive interview with this newspaper recently, the former Presidential Advisor noted that Guyana's contracts are from the colonial era. But what is of significance, he said, is the fact that Guyana is being “re-colonized.” The

transparency advocate asserted that the nation's leaders in politics and some businesses are being used as the local army for the colonizers.

Dr. Mangal said that this is a common strategy of colonizers and exploiters, which is, to create local agents to subdue and control the local population.

In other words, Dr. Mangal said that the concept can be surmised as, “Make a few local business people and politicians rich from oil so they will work for the exploiters and so they will not work for their country folk....”

Also sharing similar sentiments that Guyana's PSA with Exxon does stand out among some of the worst was University of Houston Instructor, Tom Mitro.

In his over 30 years

experience in the industry, Mitro said he has never come across a PSA with more troubling provisions than those contained in the Guyana-ExxonMobil deal.

The Oil Consultant who is versed in contract renegotiation posited that one may see isolated cases where one or two of the odd clauses are present in other contracts.

“But so many, (that is to say, 13 unusual provisions) all in the same agreement is unheard for me,” the University of Houston Instructor stated.

Mitro added, “Normally, the only time you see a PSA with highly favourable terms for the companies is in a province where there has been no exploration done or where they have only had dry holes in the past. And even then, the PSA is usually not

GECOM registers over 20,000 in two days

J

ust two days after commencing its House-to-House Registration, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has reported that over 20,000 persons have participated in the process.

The exercise, which commenced on July 20, covered communities across the 10 administrative regions of G uyana. GECO M' s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Yolanda Ward said the high figure represents citizen's receptiveness and understanding of the seriousness of the process.

“Registration is a legal requirement. It is facilitated under the Registration Act and therefore, it is mandated that once you have attained the age of 14, you should register to be part of the National Register of Registrants,” she told the Department of Public Information in an interview yesterday.

The Elections Commission has received information that some persons have been reluctant to participate in the registration exercise. These reports have emanated from

communities in Regions 6 and 3, and some parts of Georgetown. The PRO is hopeful that with time, persons will come to understand the importance of the process.

“House-to-House Registration is a completely new registration exercise and even though you were previously registered and currently have an Identification (ID) Card, you are mandated to register again.” The information therein will help the commission create a new National Register of Registrants Database.

The PRO placed on record that to be registered, persons must be at home.

“The focus is on the permanent place of residence, such as homes, homes for the elderly, homes for the youth and hospices among others.” She explained that registration cannot be done at any shop, or supermarket, even if persons have their source documents in hand.

GECOM currently has 29 registration offices throughout the country.

According to Ward, all the

GECOM's PRO, Yolanda Ward offices are in operationmode for the exercise. To supplement the main offices, the elections body has also established 262 cluster offices across the country, that are being manned by Assistant Registration Officers (ARO).

According to Ward, GECOM was able to train over a three month period, some 8,000 persons across the country. Over 1,200 teams have already been deployed countrywide.

More teams are expected to join the process shortly.

Field staff will be continuing the registration process from 8:00hrs to 17:00hrs on weekends and holidays and 15:00hrs to 19:00hrs on weekdays.

The registration process continues until October.

University of Houston Instructor, Tom Mitro as favourable as the one for Exxon and its partners operating in Guyana.”

Based on the dozens of contracts he has reviewed, Mitro said that undoubtedly, the Guyana-Exxon PSA stands out as the worst.

EXTENSIVE REVIEW On Sunday last, this newspaper published one of its investigative pieces which examined Guyana's PSA with ExxonMobil against that of

Oil and Gas Consultant, Dr. Jan Mangal others.

It turns out that out of over 120 PSAs this newspaper examined; Guyana's is in a class of its own. It is the only one, which has more than a dozen odd provisions all in one place.

For example, the PSA sees the government paying the contractor's income tax out of the country's share of the profits.

However, none of the 130 PSAs examined show this

a r r a n g e m e n t . F u r t h e r, Guyana's PSA is the only one out of 130 which has very moderate work obligations for contractors who are vested with offshore licences.

Additionally, the GuyanaExxonMobil PSA is the only one out of 130 contracts which has no ring-fencing provisions to prevent costs of unsuccessful wells being carried over to that of successful wells.

There is also no sliding scale for royalty to increase as production improves.

And that is not all.

Guyana's PSA is the only one out of 130 that allows insurance premiums to be fully recovered as well as interest on loans and financing costs that are incurred by the contractors.

The 130 PSAs examined are part of a register on www.resourcecontracts.org. (https://resourcecontracts.org /search?q=Production+Shari ng+Agreement+) That website offers over 620 PSAs from around the world for perusal.

PAGE 4

Tuesday July 23, 2019

Kaieteur News

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

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

EDITORIAL

The “bad ones” in the GPF – How few is few?

Is there no end to the diseases in the blood of the Guyana Police Force? Is there no pause to the sickening stench that comes from this national organisation on which so much depends? Is there to be no comfort for this society that cringes from the almost daily disclosures of serious wrongdoing?

Repeatedly, it has been said that there are only a few bad police officers, who give the institution a bad name, who make it scorned for all that is wrong in this country.

Therefore, for purposes of discussion, let that (few bad bananas) be the starting point. To be relied upon as what truly prevails in the Guyana Police Force. There is one problem: any dispassionate agreement that there are only a handful of the errant falls apart and takes down believers and supporters with it.

First, some understanding is sought. What really is meant by “few” in terms of the bad ones? And what does “bad” mean? Second, though difficult to swallow, let it be advanced that it is not 10%, but more; because if it is 10%, then the argued-for 90% of righteous cops are a sorry bunch indeed. Third, if the rogues in the GPF are 25% that still leaves a mighty army of 3 out of 4 incorruptible cops. Emphatically, if there is only this small (questionable) number of rogue cops, that means there is in the Guyana Police Force an overwhelming number of clean, honest, professional, principled men and women, who wear uniform and rank and call to duty honourably.

Fourth, it means that that overwhelming number of good cops would stand as a respected, and feared presence against the mere thought of wrongdoing, against the appearance of wrongdoing, and against (God forbid the temptation) any actual involvement in wrongdoing. But where is this overwhelming, angry deterrent, of seniors and juniors, of men and women, of the upright and the untouchable who stand for what is fair and just?

If they are there, that would be most encouraging.

But where are they? Where is this 75% (or even 60) of the admirable and inspiring? Where are they in their silence and by their absence and distance? Help is needed here. Because the first truth is to be truthful to self. And because these continuing arguments and postures of a few rogues are not only part of the corruption, but also signify that a small mob of dangerous men and women are running the GPF; that they overpower a helpless and useless majority. Who is protecting whom in this country?

Because if there is this powerful presence of a great majority of ethical and dedicated officers, how is it after all these years of seasoning and knowing, they know nothing? See nothing? Find nothing? Report nothing?

Stand for nothing? When murders, rapes, gunrunning, and trafficking are exploited and covered up?

Moreover, it could be understood if the so-called few dirty ones get involved in occasional petty, hard-to-detect sporadic under-the-radar solicitations. It stands to reason that the crafty could get by if matters stay far apart and small-time, that the uniformed perpetrators could get by suspicions, stings, even surveillance.

But officers have to partner with others (supposedly clean); report to desk commanders (similarly clean); and form part of the oversight of the more senior (given every benefit) near and far up the line. No one is operating in a vacuum. Seniors have travelled the law enforcement trenches, are familiar with the rewards from this society, and know who are players, givers, concealers in this country.

The seniors and juniors know each other: who is prospering inexplicably; who is consuming lavishly; who is standing in the GPF as undeniable examples of things done wrong. Yet there is this farce and folly: a few only.

A whole lot does not add up. If only a few, how much better Guyana would be. Only it isn’t.

Is there no hope for our country to come out of criminals’ control?

DEAR EDITOR, On Friday, 19th July, after the Friday Prayers (Jumma), my son faced a minor accident with a motorbike rider in George Street, Georgetown.

Consequently, he called me and I hastened to his assistance immediately, only to see a few adults (supposedly in their early twenties) surrounding him and his younger brother, demanding money. Seeing the tense situation, I proposed the youngsters to visit the Brickdam Police Station, which, by the way, was the closest to the vicinity, to settle the matter with proper supervision. They refused to come, and, demanded ‘on the spot settlement’. Call to police was unsuccessful, and, despite the fault being theirs and the

damage being ours – at the foremost left of the car – I settled with them, paying GYD$4000.

Accordingly, some of their gang members, who came with motorbikes, began bullying.

One of them aggressively advanced towards me from the rear, forced his hands in the pocket of my religious gown (Arabian Dress, commonly known as ‘Jubb’), and stole my mobile phone (Samsung S6). Notwithstanding, this horrendous attack, my son rushed towards defending me.

On his way, he was strangled around his neck and hammered severely on the right side of his face, all in a blink of an eye. My younger son was also injured from the rear upon attempting to aid

his brother. The youngsters then cowardly fled southwards.

Considering the area of this happening, I might have given it a leave. However, the more interesting fact is that this happened in daylight, with close to 50 witnesses innocently overlooking at the situation. It was after all this that the public started to mumble about the insecurities of the area and the dirty works of such youths. Not a single one of the observers was interested in interfering this barbaric robbery.

Subsequently, the matter was reported to the police and the scene was revisited.

Neighbouring business owners were requested a copy of the CCTV footages. One of the two did not assist due to

inconvincible reasons.

Is there truly no hope for our country to come out of criminals’ control after so many years of struggle?

People of a nation choose how they want their country to be.

Is this how we want Guyana to continue? If we feel that it is out of our responsibility to stop crimes we observe daily, whether it be petty or serious, then everyone will taste the same at one point. The choice is ours.

Yours Truly, Sayyid Muhammad Tasdeeq Aabidi President – Al-Mustafa Islamic Trust Vice-Chairman – Interreligious Organization of Guyana (IRO)

Mr. Ramjattan’s fulminations were provocative to say the least DEAR EDITOR, As if the ongoing saga over the selection of a new Chairman for GECOM and the attendant concerns as regards the holding of free and fair elections are not sufficient enough for the nation to bear, National Security Minister, Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan recently made certain belligerent remarks that should not go unchallenged.

The background to this sad episode is as follows: Mr. Ramjattan took off on a jaunt to Berbice where upon arrival at New Amsterdam, he ensconced himself at a local TV station and, while facing the cameras, he wittingly or unwittingly, framed what could very well turn out to be his government’s public security narrative for the impending general and regional elections.

Mr. Ramjattan was at the time speaking in his capacity as Minister of Public Security on an AFC TV programme.

Brushing aside the CCJ assigned name tag, ‘caretaker government,’ the Public Security Minister went off on a frolic of his own seeking to convince Berbicians that the Coalition Government’s legal authority is unfettered and unrestrained.

Waxing warm in a rather unpolished and bullyish manner, the Public Security Minister, boasted; “We have all the powers… we will utilise all those powers to maintain that we have credible elections.”

And as if his implicit threat was not ominous enough, Ramjattan went on to warn listeners; “And of course if they the Opposition feel they want to create civil strife and all that

in the streets of Georgetown, or Port Mourant or in Anna Regina or wherever, we have what it takes to ensure that we have stability and security in this country.”

Mr. Ramjattan’s fulminations were unpropitious, as they were provocative to say the least, especially when situated in the context of an already combustive political environment and more so, when placed in the context of what portends for future elections in Guyana.

From his statements, the Minister of Public Security seems inclined to take Guyana back to what the GCCI described as, ‘the dark days of ‘Trouble’ during election periods…’

Questions are being asked; what did Mr. Ramjattan mean when he said, “we have what it takes?”

Was he referring to thuggery or the use of force through the misuse of law enforcement, or a combination of both to quell peaceful protests?

The Minister must offer a public explanation as regards who is the “We” and what is it that the lame duck government, intends to use against peaceful protestors who is it he anticipates creating the “civil strife” he talks about.

Beginning with the elections in 1973, when the army took possession of the ballot boxes resulting in the death of two militants of the PPP, on the Corentyne, elections in Guyana has been marred by fear, threats, bullyism and violence.

The popular perception is this objectionable social behaviour centrally directed from deep within the inner sanctums of the PNC As recent as the last elec-

tions in May 2015, there were episodes of violence, arson and beatings on elections day at Sophia and Lodge, Georgetown.

The victims were known, or suspected to be, sympathetic to the PPP. These occurrences were reported to the police but, as is common with reports from PPP activists to police stations at elections time, such reports go no further than the four corners of the station sergeant’s desk. Some reports are not even entered into the occurrence book.

The “civil strife” Mr. Ramjattan may be referring to is perhaps a reflection of the mindset of the Coalition’s fear that the dirty tricks they intend to deploy are likely to backfire exposing the underbelly of their rigging machine.

In these modern times where information communication technology (ICT) is now playing a major role in electoral processes, from a cyber security standpoint, attention must be paid to GECOM’s information technology (IT) and cyber security infrastructure.

In this respect, the voter

registration/National Register of Registrants (NRR) data base, the voter’s list, voting procedures, storage of ballot boxes and elections materials, identification of polling places and all the associated IT infrastructure systems used to manage elections have become critical areas that require high level security coverage.

Moreover, the tabulating, counting, auditing, displaying publicly elections results, as well as post election validation and certification of the results are critical areas of the electoral process that, for security and other reasons, require oversight by qualified, professional and possibly overseas information technology experts.

The Coalition’s can of dirty tricks facilitated by GECOM, if allowed to prevail will aim at reducing voter registration and turn out on elections day, primarily of opposition voters. The strategic objective is to ensure a greater majority of the APNU+AFC in parliament.

Mr. Ramjattan must know that suspicions and tensions tend to run high during an (Continued on page 6)

Tyranny and dictatorship often come stealthily and cunningly DEAR EDITOR, Tyranny and dictatorship often come “slowly, like fog creeping in on little cat feet” and do so stealthily and cunningly. At other times, they are more “bare-faced” and unwittingly expose their evil intent.

The Guyanese people should not be indifferent to this brazen stealthiness (eye-pass); it must be resisted aggressively, vociferously, rigorously, and cooperatively. To do otherwise would risk decades of tyranny and dictatorship.

Lest we forget!

Dr. Devanand Bhagwan

Tuesday July 23, 2019

PAGE 5

Kaieteur News

Explaining how a gridlock was caused in the selection of GECOM’s Chair DEAR EDITOR, As a follow-up to my earlier letter on the charade surrounding the appointment of a GECOM Chairman, I would like to add the following observations.

The main cause of the gridlock in the appointment of a GECOM Commissioner may well lie in the use of the phrase ‘not unacceptable’ to the President. That phrase, ‘not unacceptable’, is an example of what linguists would call a double negative and is a phrase that ‘lacks a referential index’. In other words, the phrase ‘not unacceptable’ does not refer to anything specific and concrete in nature and therefore cannot be indexed.

In simple terms, the phrase ‘lacks a referential index’ means that you cannot point your finger to a concrete example of it in the real world.

The phrase, ‘not unacceptable’ is more an example of a convenient and perhaps useful legal construct that is

vague and amorphous and so subject to misinterpretations like the other phrase ‘judgelike qualities,’ both archaic constructs of the dismal past.

And here is where the President and his team of negotiators, enjoying the First Mover’s Advantage, granted by the constitutional provision that it is the President who determines what is acceptable to him, could have used the ‘Gallipoli Ploy’ at the start of the ‘hammering out’ phase by opening the discussions on a New Front: gaining agreement on the qualifications for the post of Chairman instead of assuming that it is a ‘given’ that everybody understands.

The Granger Administration suffered a bit of self-sabotage. They could have opened the discussions by clearly stating upfront what is acceptable to the President and what is not. And it is at this point of the negotiation that the President and his team had the greatest ‘lever-

age’: they get to make the First Cut by setting the evaluation criteria. Since they failed to exert their leverage here at this stage of the negotiations, they showed the nation how inadequately prepared they were for the negotiations.

The Granger Negotiation Team also failed in the early stages of the negotiations by failing to use a standard but powerful negotiation tactic: The Limited-Menu Option.

Moreover, it is here where the Granger Team could have limited the ‘range of options’ of the Opposition Leader. They could have among other things, for example, specified that persons with known political connections and or affiliations and vested interests in any political party would not be considered.

And, the Leader of the Opposition, in his turn, could also make use of the LimitedMenu Option: by limiting the selection of the number of names to six, as provided by the constitution. The opposi-

House-to-House registration concerns of a student studying overseas DEAR EDITOR, I remember there was one house-to-house registration period in my lifetime (before this one that is), during that period, my older siblings were registered, neither of whom were at the age of majority, but when they became eligible to vote, they were automatically placed on the Voters List.

Their story is similar to how I ended up on the Voters list when I attained the age of majority, I was perhaps 15, I went to the GECOM office in my area, during a continuous registration period, and I got myself registered. NO, I was not on the Voters list from 15.

I took it upon myself to check the newspapers and see when I can get my ID card.

Prior to the 2015 election, this was the first election I was eligible to vote, I lost my ID card when my wallet was stolen, I went back to the GECOM office and got a replacement card, as a first-time voter, I ensured I was on the list, I wanted my voice to be heard, I did not want to be disenfranchised.

House-to-House registration commenced last Satur-

day. There have been multiple elections without there being house-to-house registration, including the one where the present Caretaker government won. Using the current rhetoric being pushed by, did the Coalition regime win with a bloated list?

I am a 22-year-old woman.

I do not want to be disenfranchised. The Women’s Suffrage Movement across the globe has ensured I have the right to vote despite class, education, finances or owning land. I am presently residing out of Guyana. We live in a globalised world, where people temporarily move to grow (whether it is to continue their education, attain valuable international work experience, or soul searching). I am against house-toHouse registration, simply because I will be removed from the Voters List just because I am not home, as I am a student studying away. I was born and raised in Guyana, I am a citizen of one country, that is, Guyana. The process of House-to-House registration will remove me along with so many others in

my situation, which is a direct violation of our constitutional right under Article 59.

What about the persons on vacation? The articles surfacing say this will take 90 days, what if someone decided to take an extended holiday? The last house-tohouse, took place well over a year.

I see this as another delay tactic by a regime desperate to continue to wield power and have time to start initiatives to create the illusion that they care. This also further shows the hypocrisy of this regime, when Parliament was prorogued by then-President Ramotar, they (the present regime) talked about not upholding or abiding by the constitution. This combined with all the broken promises may be the real reasons behind House-to-House registration.

The CCJ ruling made it clear we should have had elections within 90 days of the passing of the motion of no confidence, thus elections should have occurred since March.

Regards, Nutana Singh

tion leader was right however to reject the list of nominees submitted by the President since the constitution specifies that that is the responsibility of the Leader of the Opposition. Discarding those decoys that distract from the prime factors was the ‘fit and proper’ thing to do.

By now, the Granger Administration would have learned that presenting the Leader of the Opposition with a fait accompli – the unilateral appointment of a GECOM Chairman – does not work, nor does the submission of a wish-list of 11 persons chosen by him. The Granger Administration can’t ‘Cut and Choose’. It is either one or the other.

Expert negotiators tell us that there are 3 Keys to Successful Negotiations: Prepa-

ration. Preparation. Preparation.

The Granger Team obviously failed to prepare. As was in the case of the long since telegraphed threat of a no-confidence motion, they yet again failed to prepare and to respond adequately.

Expert negotiators will also tell us that not only must negotiators listen keenly to what is being said, but must also listen for what is not being said. As far as I am aware, not much has been said about the qualifications for the post apart from the archaic expression that the candidate must have ‘judge-like qualities’.

And it is here where the Opposition has failed: they failed to request that the Granger Team provide specific details on the qualifications for the post of the Chair-

man of GECOM. And therein lies the Achilles Heel of the Granger Administration: like their predecessors, they falsely believe that because they have the authority and power they believe they have the knowledge, skills and competence to achieve their objectives.

It is the lack of information, the lack of ‘specificity’ that engenders confusion, which leads to gridlock. Any well-trained negotiator will tell you that ‘Information’ is a very critical component of any negotiation. In this particular case, there is an ‘asymmetry of information’; only one side knows what it wants.

Without the necessary information about the requirements for a candidate acceptable to the president, as in the (Continued on page 6)

Granger retains support in PNC base DEAR EDITOR, President David Granger’s political opponents are underestimating or discounting his popular support in the base of the PNC, the leading party in the ruling APNU +AFC Coalition. The leader has retained his support in the base from 2015. If an election were to be called now, the incumbent President could very well win a plurality, if not an outright majority, and either way remain in office for another term. The opposition PPP is struggling to win back its traditional base that it lost in 2011 and 2015 while the minor parties face difficulties in gaining traction to make deep inroads into the base of the two major parties.

The minor parties, like the PPP, are handicapped with limited resources while the Coalition enjoys the effects of incumbency.

A CADRES poll con-

ducted last February showed the President with an approval rating of 94% in the PNC base. A NACTA poll I conducted in February also found the incumbent President with near unanimous favourability ratings in the Coalition base.

The February CADRES poll also found that 92% of the PNC base would like to see President Granger manage the coming oil economy.

The February NACTA poll revealed that a majority of all voters was not pleased with the coalition’s handling of the economy. Finance Minister Winston Jordan had very poor ratings. But PNC supporters expressed overwhelming preference for the coalition and Granger’s leadership, over the PPP, to manage the economy. However, the nation overwhelmingly favoured Bharrat Jagdeo, over all others (including Minister Win-

ston Jordan) to manage the economy saying the former President and Finance Minister knows how to create wealth, grow the economy, and increase prosperity.

In the latest survey I conducted earlier this month, the country is seriously polarized by ethnicity and political affiliation. The findings show President Granger has retained his support among the PNC base.

There has been virtually nil cross over support for the PPP if an election were held now. Without cross over support, the PPP can’t win an election and with its base divided, the party could find itself in trouble in an early election.

The poll found that Jagdeo is very popular in the PPP base and among all other political figures as well. Aside from Jagdeo, Granger is the (Continued on page 6)

PAGE 6

Tuesday July 23, 2019

Kaieteur News

Is this photo image after 1827 or after 1855?

DEAR EDITOR, Over the last weekend, there was a press report that the St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Leguan is celebrating its 192nd anniversary and it was rededicated on June 29, 2019. The data attached to the article is indeed very informative. It is my belief that such a historical building and its location on the Leguan Island should at all times be maintained and preserved.Here is a photo image of a church building, which I can’t say for certainty if it is the said building which was featured in the press report and I was wondering if someone

from the Anglican Diocese or perhaps a historian can come forward with any help if possible. It’s one of my little treasured pieces and some persons are saying it is the said building in question and others are saying it could be but not with any certainty.

If it is indeed the said building, could this photo image be of the original church building just after it was opened in 1827 or is it after 1855 when it was replaced with its current building structure?

Yours faithfully T.Pemberton

Mr. Ramjattan’s fulminations...

From page 4 elections campaign, on elections day itself and in the post elections period depending on the elections results.

There is nothing hypothetical about this.

So for Mr. Ramjattan to come along suddenly and brusquely hurl threats at the PPP about how he intends to deal with civil strife, is to feign ignorance of the impact his statement would have on the behaviour of voters from both opposition and government.Past experiences showing how the security forces under the PNC have dealt with opposition political parties during an elections period do not leave much ground for optimism.

While the comment by the Commissioner of Police that “the Guyana Police Force is fully prepared for the hosting of general elections whenever the announcement is made” appears apolitical, the question is, should the Commissioner’s “fully prepared” be read to mean “We have what it takes to ensure stability and security” in the words of his Minister?

The fundamental question therefore is, knowing that any instruction by Mr.

Explaining how a gridlock was caused in the...

From page 5 present case, it leads to a cascade of dysfunctional consequences.

Now let’s turn our attention to the phrase ‘judge-like qualities.’ This is an example of what linguists call a semantic obfuscation.

The phrase gives the impression of saying something when in fact it says nothing and is hardly practically useful. What, in plain, common everyday language, it really means is having the ‘knowledge, experience, abilities, aptitudes and skill-set similar to that possessed by a judge’.

We Guyanese can unpack that phrase by asking ourselves the following question: What knowledge, experience, abilities and skills does a judge have? Knowledge of the Constitution, the Law, society, constitutional bodies, etc. Ability to weigh evidence and evaluate Legal Arguments and take decisions, Skills to analyse situations and communicate decisions, etc.

And here is where it may be useful to point out that the occupation of being a judge is not the only occupation

that requires that set of knowledge, abilities and skills.

CEO’s of local, regional and international companies, organisations and institutions, all possess that type of knowledge, abilities, aptitudes and skills set, etc. So, the selection of a suitable candidate is not limited to a set of judges but anyone with a similar knowledge and skills-set.

What the phrase ‘not unacceptable’ to the President really means in plain and simple common language is ‘does not meet or satisfy the requirements of the President.’

So, now that I have ‘unpacked’ the ‘legal jargon’ Guyanese can better understand what ‘not unacceptable’ really means. The question then is, has the President informed the Leader of the Opposition what are the specific requirements potential candidates must have?

As far as I know, up to the date of writing this letter, the President has not stated publicly what those requirements are. And therein lies the crux of the problem.

Unfortunately, as a result

of the non-communication of that critical information, the Leader of the Opposition finds himself in a Double Bind: he does not know what the President wants yet he is expected to give the President what he wants. Anyone in a similar situation would easily end up as a schizophrenic! Until the President publicly states his requirements and not use vague nominalizations, there will continue to be gridlock. I have suggested in my earlier letter a possible set of objective criteria that the President may wish to consider.

While the Leader of the Opposition may be disadvantaged by the lack of information, he, however, enjoys the Power of Legitimacy (the government is a caretaker government with diminished legal authority) and the backing of the CCJ Rulings. He also enjoys the Power of the Leverage of TIME: time is on his side. The more the Granger Administration drags its feet on the matter, the more his administration is seen as not having any respect for the constitution. The Opposition Leader also enjoys the Power

of Moral Authority and the Power of Precedent. He can leverage all these factors to the fullest.

What the Leader of the Opposition has to do now is invoke International Standards to overcome this gridlock by insisting that the President picks one out of the 4 nominees he finds ‘not unacceptable’ to him.

So, the way forward if both parties want to see movement in the process instead of blaming each other for not ‘acting in a consensual manner’ whatever that means would be to do following: First, both parties should sit down and identify and agree on the requirements, ‘the criteria’ that would satisfy the president.

Secondly, assign a ‘weight’ to each criterion. (if they need help call in a Human Resource Expert) Finally, each party to the negotiation would summarize the results and submit the end result to the President. The President will then have a rated list of the candidates from which to choose.

Yours sincerely Concerned Citizen

Ramjattan to the Commissioner of Police in the midst of elections season is a political instruction, would the Commissioner and his commanders on the ground, act in accordance with those instructions or in a professional unbiased, and nonpartisan manner towards the broad array of non-governmental and political forces in the run-up to the elections, on elections day and in the aftermath of the elections?

That aside, if the puffs of ominous smoke emanating from government especially the Ministry of the Presidency with respect to the consequential orders of the CCJ are indications of the path the Coalition intends to take then clearly, we can expect increased violations of the Constitution, continued undermining of the rule of law, backsliding on our democratic gains and the eventual establishment of authoritarian rule in Guyana. Under these conditions, the role and place of the Joint Services will be of great interest nationally and internationally.But the unwelcome signals aside, It is essential that the forces opposed to any movement in the direction earlier mentioned, recognize that voter confidence in the electoral process and public safety and security are integral to, and essential features of free and fair elections.Any security blanket established for the holding of elections is unique to the local conditions obtaining in every country and Guyana is no exception, however, whatever the security coverage, it should not, or rather, it must not be perceived as partisan nor biased in favour of the ruling Coalition.Moreover, since GECOM’s independence ap-

pears compromised as the signs are clearly indicating, that it is working hand in glove with government, it would not be speculative to conclude that this collaboration has one objective, to thwart the will of the electorate. Under such conditions, the people will have no alternative but to fight back.

It is generally accepted that Guyanese value their vote as sacred and if that is to be threatened in anyway those affected will have to protect their highly valued franchise.

If it this fight back by the disenfranchised to protect or regain their franchise that Mr. Ramjattan has deemed “civil strife,” then perhaps the “War Break” command issued by Minister Jordan from Bartica must be taken seriously.

The Public Security Minister must recognize that the days have long past when governments can willy-nilly suppress and oppress the political opposition, elections or no elections. The days of strongman rule as an alternative to democratic rule has been tried, tested by many but it has been proven obsolete in today’s world.

Mr. Ramjattan has brought matters pertaining to security into the discussion on elections and he is free to do so, but when he seeks to mask government’s sinister intentions as well meaning and refuses to recognize that suppression of the right to peaceful demonstrations for free and fair elections is unacceptable in these times it simply means that the caretaker administration would end up holding a petard in its hand.

Yours faithfully Clement J. Rohee

Granger retains support ...

From page 5 most popular political figure in the country.Voters say they admire Jagdeo and prefer him as their President over others including Granger. But the constitution bars Jagdeo from running for President again. And he has not been able to transfer his voter popularity to other figures in his party. The PPP could very well run second in an election as happened in May 2015 unless there is a change in political strategy and support. There are many in the PPP traditional base who indicated they will not vote with some even saying they do not mind if Granger wins a free and fair election and oversee the energy economy. The PPP has not been very effective in winning over those voters sitting on the fence; the party had to undergo a lot of reforms if it is to re-attract the flock that left the base.The fence sitters could redound to the benefit of Granger making him the most favoured political figure among potential Presidential aspirants. Those who underestimate or discount Granger’s support do so at their own peril. The coalition’s base is still behind President Granger.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram (PhD)

Tuesday July 23, 2019

PAGE 7

Kaieteur News

CFATF compliance…

FIU lays foundation for critical information sharing; several agencies sign agreements As part of meeting the requirements of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) - Director of Guyana’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) Mathew Langevine yesterday signed agreements with several key agencies which will allow the Unit to access critical information from its stakeholders.

Officials of reporting agencies - the Bank of Guyana, Guyana Gold Board, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, Guyana Securities Council, Guyana Revenue Authority, Land Registry, Guyana Gaming Authority and Chief Cooperatives and Development Officers signed Memoranda of Understanding with the FIU. The signing took place at the boardroom of the Attorney General’s Chambers on Carmichael Street, Georgetown.

According to Langevine, the memoranda have been in process for quite some time.

He explained that this was because getting the necessary terms and conditions for each

Attorney General Basil Williams flanked by representatives of the reporting agencies and the FIU yesterday entity was critical.

“We had to negotiate with each entity, individually to find mutual and safe grounds under which the information could be shared in a manner that it does not breach or

compromise any obligations they have to their clients.

We had to find the correct and legal balance to make sure that the information exchanged is above board and will not hinder/disallow effec-

tive investigations from being conducted.

The FIU Director noted that the memoranda lay the foundation for the next phase of the work to commence.

“What these MOUs

should do is allow the FIU to do its work in a more hasslefree environment as Guyana moves closer to the next round of assessment of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF).”

Meanwhile, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams noted that the government is taking all the necessary steps to ensure full compliance with (Continued on page 8)

PAGE 8

Tuesday July 23, 2019

Kaieteur News

Police Complaints Authority probing death of Essequibo taxi driver The Police Complaints Authority has launched an investigation into the death of Lallbachan Bachan, a taxi driver who died in the lock ups of the Suddie Police Station.

Earlier this month, Bachan, of Lot 21 Maria’s Lodge, Essequibo Coast, died while in custody of the police He was detained after two arrest warrants were served on him for driving under the influence of alcohol.

The sudden death of the 39-year-old had raised a number of questions among the residents of the Maria’s Lodge community. According to police, the body bore no

marks of violence. Family members of the man had however claimed otherwise.

Attorney -at- law, Anil Nandlall has been representing the family in the matter.

Nandlall told the media that the family had expressed willingness to accept a $28 million settlement from the Guyana Police Force, (GPF) as compensation for their loss, without going to court.

The lawyer had written to Commissioner of Police, Leslie James, suggesting an amicable course of settlement.

The lawyer has since filed legal proceedings against the State.

In his letter to the Top

Cop, Nandlall noted, “I am of the considered view and persuaded that the death of the deceased resulted from the actions or omission of the Guyana Police Force. I have so advised my client who has firmly instructed me to institute civil legal proceedings seeking compensation for the wrongful death of the deceased.”

Nandlall noted further that given the recent settlement of $28M being granted to the relatives of a deceased who was wrongfully killed by members of the Guyana Police Force, the Bachan clan is not opposed to collecting that sum as compensation.

“Should the Force be so inclined, my client is not opposed to exploring a similar amicable course,” the lawyer concluded in his letter.

In addition to the Police Commissioner, letters were also sent to the Police Complaints Authority for a full investigation to be launched into the matter, and to the Director of Public Prosecutions for an inquest. Giving an update on the matter, Nandlall issued a statement to the media yesterday. He noted that Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority made contact with him by telephone

and requested to meet with the wife, the mother, and a few relatives of the deceased.

According to Nandlall, the meeting took place on Tuesday, July 16, at the Office of the Police Complaints Authority, Brickdam, where they were all interviewed and statements taken. The investigation has commenced.

“I also received a response from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.”

The lawyer said that he has received no response from the Commissioner of Police.

Lallbachan Bachan

FIU lays foundation for critical...

From page 7 the CFATF’s recommendations.

Williams reminded that Guyana is in the fourth round of mutual evaluation by the CFATF which comes up for assessment in 2022. He stressed that it is critical that the supervisory bodies and reporting agencies are operating with a high level of efficiency.

Williams noted too that the effectiveness of the FIU, Director of Public Prosecutions and the Judiciary, is essential to ensuring suspicious transactions are investigated and prosecuted.

The Attorney General pointed to the need for convictions, as part of the CFATF requirements. He said thus far many other jurisdictions have failed in this regard. He noted that convictions are dependent on the Courts of Law.

According to Williams, the fourth round is even harsher than the third; it is more resource intensive.

“So a lot has to be done and we have to start doing it now, one might think that 2022 is a long time, but it is not necessarily so.”

In addition to strengthening Guyana’s anti-money laundering fight, Williams has also proposed to amend the AML/CFT Act and related legislation.

Clause three of the Bill amends section 7A of the Principal Act to satisfy recommendation 2 of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which states that countries should designate an authority to have a mechanism that is responsible for national AML/CFT/PF policies. This will see the establishment of the AML/CFT/PF National Coordination Committee.

Tuesday July 23, 2019

PAGE 9

Kaieteur News

National Conference of Local Democratic Organs starts Thursday The Ministry of the Presidency in collaboration with the Ministry of Communities will on Thursday and Friday (25th26thJuly) host the annual National Conference of Local Democratic Organs (NCLDO) under the theme, “Advancing National Development through Empowered and Innovative Local Democratic Organs in a Green Economy”.

The NCLDO is a forum which brings together all three (3) layers of government under the strategic programme to empower and equip local

democratic organs (LDOs) for improved service delivery to the residents of their communities, towns and regions.

In a statement from the Ministry of Communities, it was highlighted that “Government has embraced effective local government as an important partner in national development.

This represents a distinct break from the centralist approach of the previous administration and entails citizens having access to essential public services within their respective regions.

Integral to this approach to national development, are LDOs to be better resourced, organised and structured to be effective to achieve a consistent level of performance.”

T h i s y e a r ’s c o n f e r ence will consolidate and build on the achievements made in restoring functionality to the system of local governance and has the following objectives: 1. To provide an update on the implementation progress since the inaugural NCLDO held in July 2018;

Dem boys seh ...

Guyana getting just like Uncle Sam If something happen in de States, put you pot pon de fire, it gon happen in Guyana. A man sing dat Guyana looking just like China. Dat was when everywhere you turn, you use to see Chinee writing pon buildings.

Chinee restaurants was more popular than rum shops. Everybody use to send to buy Chinee food rather than cook.

Dat phase pass. Now everything is American. All of a sudden Guyana got Summer School. Dem have summer classes and summer picnics. Dem also have midsummer parties.

Dem boys know dat summer was de time when de sun deh out in all its glory and when people don’t have to worry bout snow. Dat is de time when school close.

If summer is a weather condition then Guyana got summer whole year. Old Year’s party can be summer party. De temperature is de same whole year unless you go and sit on de seawalls. It mean dat de people who get li’l cold breeze pon de seawall got a right to talk ‘bout winter lime and winter parties whenever dem have parties pon de seawall.

Guyanese, of course, don’t play. When dem pick up something, dem don’t lef nutten. Dem boys see people in Guyana wearing winter boots. Some of dem does even wear winter coat in dis hot, hot sun.

Last year, people actually had Thanksgiving parties.

Turkey is a thing people don’t really eat in Guyana. All of a sudden, shops start to sell turkey. Whether dem thief de

turkey, nobody don’t know.

Wha dem know is dat nobody was stupid enough to carry turkey fuh Soulja Bai pardon.

Guyana even got Halloween party. Halloween is something dem boys only read about and how people and li’l children does play together. Children does dress up like horror story and dem does go to people house and collect sweets.

Guyana copy de American football to de point dat everybody talking bout Superbowl. Dem know de football players more than dem know West Indies cricketers or even Guyanese cricketers. Suh, it only lef now fuh Guyanese people to form a baseball league.

Talk half and watch how Guyana getting just like America.

2 . To r e v i e w a n d prioritise the recommendations from the inaugural NCLDO 2018; 3. To develop a plan of action to guide the implementation of the recommendations; and, 4. To stimulate innovation through improved awareness on the role of local government in achieving local and national development.

The Ministry has put together a two-day programme, with the first day being used to meet objectives 1 and 4 and will include panel discussions on local governance and national development and local government leadership.

The second day will review and prioritise the recommendations emanating from the inaugural conference and develop guiding principles for the implementation of that plan to meet objectives 2 and 3.

The leadership of all ten (10) regional administrations - Regional Chairpersons and Vice-Chairpersons, Regional Executive Officers (REOs), and Councillors from the minority side, have been invited to participate in this capacitybuilding exercise.

Delegates are also drawn from the 80 local organs (10 municipalities Mayors and Deputies, Town Clerks) and the 70 Neighbourhood Demo-

cratic Councils (NDCs). “ U n f o r t u n a t e l y, t h e Ministry is aware of the plans of the oppositioncontrolled local Councils to not only boycott but to prevent public officers (Overseers) from attending this important conference.

This is counterproductive and signals that the opposition has no interest in local government renewal despite being a major stakeholder in this process.

The Ministry condemns this regressive behaviour and urges all local leaders to participate and represent the interest of the residents who elected them to serve,” the statement concluded.

PAGE 10

Tuesday July 23, 2019

Kaieteur News

=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===

Nagamootoo, libel and a shithole country Here are the words of perhaps the most lacklustre, powerless Prime Minister any country ever had, Moses Nagamootoo; “… and launched a nasty, vicious, and defamatory media campaign against me. Several full-page ads were published, with the libel repeated and republished that I had “personally benefitted” from his largesse. It was clear that the landlord was accusing me of taking bribes or kick-backs from his businesses, which I vehemently deny as untrue. It is evident that both of the proprietors

of the Sussex Street Bond and New GPC Inc. have made false and damaging statements against me.

They now have an opportunity of doing the right thing. Further I say not.”

So the powerless politician who collected less ballots in his home town of Whim in the 2015 general election and the 2018 local government poll is threatening libel.

Nagamootoo denies he took bribes from the businessman.

But Charrandass Persaud denied he took a bribe to vote yes for the Opposition-spon-

sored no-confidence motion (NCM) in December last year.

Nagamootoo has been the leading accuser of Charran taking a bribe. He repeatedly published the claim in his Chronicle columns (I don’t know if he cares to tell us what Chronicle’s circulation is like).

Of course, the Kaieteur News and the Stabroek News never carried such an accusation.

They wouldn’t, because the most common libel to win, and one in which a judge would be harsh on the defendant, is to accuse a plaintiff of taking a bribe and no proof could be

supplied to the court.

Nagamootoo and Barrington Braithwaite chose the Chronicle to make their charge of money-taking against Charran, and to date, no libel has been filed against the Chronicle.

It reminds one of what a shithole country Guyana has become. The Prime Minister is overtaken with anger over what a businessman said about him – but the very Prime Minister told the nation that a parliamentarian chose money over principle when he voted for the NCM. Here are the words of Nagamootoo on Charrandass; “Though the police would not give details, all indications are that the man was bought, which made him cast what Guyanese widely believe to be an unlawful vote.” Well it is seven months and days since the NCM, and the police are still to give details about money Charrandass took. Where are the indications that Charran was bought?

How can a Prime Minister mouth off such scandalous assertions without even backing up his trenchant indictment with at least one sentence that would tell the very limited readership of the Chronicle of the bribe-taking character of Charran?

Here are more stupidities from Nagamootoo and I repeat the quote; “…what Guyanese

widely believe to be an unlawful vote.” Which poll did Nagamootoo take to determine how the Guyanese people saw the no-confidence vote (NCV)? Let’s confront this man’s propaganda. In stage one, the Chief Justice ruled the NCV was legal. In stage two, there was a split vote in the Court of Appeal.

In stage three, the CCJ was unanimous that the NCV was legal.

Here is more propaganda from Nagamootoo of how widespread was the condemnation of the NCV; “At the 2015 elections, the APNU+AFC coalition received in excess of 206,000 votes, and it was allotted 33 seats in the National Assembly. Those voters would not accept that a single rogue MP, coming from a regional slate, could conspire to bring down their government.”

What this man chose to hide are two brutal aspects of electoral democracy in Guyana. Those votes he cited were a mere 4,500 ballots more than what the opposition got, and those 33 seats he mentioned became 33 because one parliamentary seat went to the APNU+AFC because of a difference of one vote in Region 8. Finally, the 33 seats are just more than the opposition.

Surely, those figures cannot support the contention of Nagamootoo that the

Frederick Kissoon Guyanese nation widely viewed the NCV as an unlawful vote.

So is Nagamootoo going to sue for libel? The answer is yes, because this is a shithole country, where one man calls his critic a fool and the critic sues for libel and the next day the very critic refers to other people as fools.

What we don’t know is when Nagamootoo sues, if Charran is going to use the opportunity to file a writ against Nagamootoo. But there is a big but. But suppose Nagamootoo does have proof that Charran took a bribe?

Then Charran would have to pay costs. That should not be a problem, because according to Nagamootoo, Charran has money. Nagamootoo wrote; “He (Charran) was also loaded with U.S. currency.” I heard Moses has U.S. currency too.

Tuesday July 23, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

PAGE 12

Tuesday July 23, 2019

Kaieteur News

Newtown man charged for possession of unlicensed firearm

A man who was charged for possession of an unlicensed firearm was yesterday brought before a city magistrate to answer to the said charge.

Thirty-one-year-old Royston Rowe, of Newtown, Georgetown, appeared before Principal Magistrate Sherdel IsaacsMarcus in the Georgetown Magistrates Courts where

the charge was read to him.

It is alleged that on July 16, last, at Campbell Avenue, Campbellville, he had in his possession a .38 revolver without being the holder of a firearm licence.

Rowe pleaded guilty to the charge.

Police Prosecutor Adunni Inniss stated that on the day in question the police, acting on the infor-

mation received, went to Campbell Avenue, where they made contact with an individual.

The individual, a female, then told them that the Rowe had threatened to kill her and she then handed over a gun to the police which was said to be the property Rowe.

When Rowe arrived at the same location he was

arrested and admitted that the firearm was his.

An investigation was then launched by the police and Rowe was charged.

The Prosecutor objected to bail being granted to the defendant based on the serious nature of the offence and the penalty it attracts.

The court then heard that Rowe was previously

charged and sentenced to two years imprisonment for a robbery under arms and was recently released from prison, in May. The Magistrate then asked the defendant if the prosecutors facts were correct.

Rowe told the court that “the police aint find me with no gun, I dont want to waste the court time. Do

what you have to do‌All I had in my hand was two Guinness and a pack of cigarettes.�

Based on the explanation given by the defendant, Magistrate Marcus entered a not guilty plea on his behalf and remanded him to prison until July 29, when he is expected to make his next court appearance.

Trauma team training course being conducted for GPHC staffers In Guyana, and around the world, hospitals are met with a plethora of issues.

One of the biggest issues is often how the relevant staffers deal with trauma victims.

In light of this, and to improve the current medical situation in Guyana, the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) has rolled out for its 15th year, a trauma team training course for instructors and providers.

General, orthopedic, thoracic surgeons, nurses and emergency medicine specialists are just some of the medical operatives - all of whom were selected by the medical institution who would be benefitting from this training course.

General surgeon, Director and Founder of the (Continued on page 23)

Kaieteur News

Tuesday July 23, 2019

PAGE 13

Govt. commits to publishing all contracts, licences, permits I

n light of Guyana's obligation to improve public access to information since becoming a member of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), the government has committed to having all contracts, licences and permits published along with their geo-located data.

This was noted in the administration's Green State Development Strategy - Policy Recommendations, Financial Mechanism, and Implementation. According to the document, Guyana is expected to have such information published and updated at regular intervals to improve the transparency of Guyana's natural resources management.

Tasked with handling this job is the National Data Management Agency (NDMA) via its e-governance unit. This newspaper understands that the NDMA would be required to work with statutory bodies such as the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, Guyana Forestry Commission, and Department of Energy, to

establish online digital portals for the publication of all contracts, licences and permits for exploration and production in the extractive sectors. The NDMA will also be required to work with the Deeds Registry to digitise company registration data so that it is easily accessible to the public.

2019 EITI STANDARD The move by the government to ensure all contracts, licences and permits are published would be in keeping with the recently improved standards of the EITI. The 2019 Standard states that Guyana, along with 51 other countries, must also have a publicly available register of the beneficial owners of the corporate entities that apply for or hold a participating interest in an exploration or production oil, gas or mining license or contract.

Guyana must also include the identity (ies) of the

beneficial owner(s), the level of ownership and details about how ownership or control is exerted. Where possible, the international watchdog expects that beneficial ownership information should be incorporated in existing filings by companies to corporate regulators, stock exchanges or agencies regulating extractive industry licensing.

Where this information is already publicly available, the country's EITI Report is expected to include guidance on how to access this information. Further to this, implementing countries of the EITI Standard are required to document the government's policy and multi-stakeholder group's discussion on disclosure of beneficial ownership. EITI said that this should include details of the relevant legal provisions, actual disclosure practices and any reforms that are planned or underway related

Assault charge for woman who disrupts protest with muddy water

A

27-year-old cosmetologist was yesterday slapped with an assault charge for allegedly disrupting a People's Progressive Party (PPP) protest four days ago, when she threw a bucket of muddy water on the participants.

Cassandra Amsterdam appeared before Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus in the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts where she admitted to the charge when it was read to her.

It was alleged that on July 19, last at High and Barrack Streets Georgetown, Amsterdam assaulted Yonalla Dalrymple.

Police prosecutor Adunni Innis had no objections for bail to be granted to Amsterdam.

She then related the facts of the charge which indicated that on the day in question, Dalrymple was a participant in a peaceful protest by the PPP. Amsterdam then allegedly came out of her home and shouted, “Yall don't make noise in

front here.” As the protest continued, Amsterdam reportedly armed herself with a bucket of muddy water and threw it at the protesters, with some of it landing on Dalrymple and others. In her defence, the pregnant woman stated that in addition to being an expecting mother she also has another small child. “Your worship on that day when they [protesters] were passing, my child was asleep.”

“I did go out to them and try to stop the noise.

I had a cup of water in my hands and is that I threw on them, it wasn't no muddy water. The water didn't touch anybody, but I apologise to the court for my actions.”

Based on Amsterdam's explanation, the magistrate entered a not guilty plea on her behalf.

Amsterdam was also granted bail in the sum of $5,000. The matter was then transferred for trial before Magistrate Rondel Weaver on September 9.

to beneficial ownership disclosure.

As of 1 January 2020, EITI also said it is required that implementing countries request, and companies publicly disclose, beneficial ownership information. Any significant gaps or weaknesses

in reporting on beneficial ownership information must be disclosed, EITI said, including naming any entities that failed to submit all or parts of the beneficial ownership information.

Where a country is facing constitutional or significant

practical barriers to the implementation of this requirement by 1 January 2020, EITI said that the country may seek adapted implementation in accordance with Article 1 of the EITI Board's procedures for oversight.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Tuesday July 23, 2019

Second batch of young mothers graduate from Reintegration Programme

A

second batch of young mothers yesterday graduated from the “Reintegration of Adolescent Mothers Programme” yesterday, at a simple ceremony at the Training Restaurant of the Carnegie School of Home Economics.

The reintegration programme is an initiative of the Ministry of Education, and was created to aid young mothers in making something of themselves.

In 2018, the programme saw 30 young mothers graduating from the Elementary Cakes and Pastry Course. This year, however, the second batch to undergo the programme saw a number almost tripling that of the first, with some 80 mothers graduating from the Elementary Cakes and Pastry Course as well as the

Scenes from the graduation ceremony General Cosmetology Course.

Deputy Chief Education Officer Ingrid Trotman in her remarks said that the Ministry of Education was proud of its collaboration with the various stakeholders to make the project possible.

“The Ministry of Health has been able to provide the clientele as well as the second batch of teenage mothers. The first batch then consisted of 30 mothers and today we can see an increase to 80 mothers.”

She went on to say that the Ministry of Education

has provided the paid courses to the Carnegie School of Home Economics (CSHE), the transportation and even the day care services that were offered for their children.

The courses that are currently offered will continue to be provided along with additional courses, those additions being, Garment Construction and Fabric Design. She expressed the joy and pride she felt towards the mothers who would have endured and successfully completed the programme.

Principal of CSHE Myrna Lee in her remarks told the graduands “I dare you to dream and to live out your dream with patience and passion. As I interacted with this batch of teen mothers through this term, it was difficult for me not to reflect on a story.”

She then went on to tell those in attendance about her journey as a young girl from

Bartica and the struggles she faced before becoming principal of the said institution. At one time, she said, she even begged her father to talk to a friend of his to get her a good job, but he blatantly refused and told her that she needed to make it on her own so that she would be appreciative.

She congratulated the young ladies on their achievement and told them that dreams are often an actual destination, but the process of reaching the goal is often filled with unexpected glitches, and that they must fight emotionally to overcome, no matter how long it takes.

Graduating student Bibi Shaneeza Baptiste, gave her reflections on the programme saying that “First of all I would like to thank the minister and the staff of Carnegie School of Home Economics for affording me the opportunity to be a part of Carnegie.” She went on to say that she has

gained knowledge in manicuring, pedicuring and tip application, as she was a part of the General Cosmetology Course.

She said she wished there was more time so that they could have gained more knowledge, and so she could have more practice time, but that wasn't possible, as “all good things must come to an end”. However she was going to take away all that she had learnt and share it with her sisters at home.

UNICEF Education Specialist, Ms Audrey Rodrigues said that the accomplishment of the young mothers will ensure that opportunities can be accessed easily. She said that the knowledge that they now have will in a significant way “put you on the road to soaring into a successful life” They were encouraged to continue to learn and push themselves. “Even though there may have some (continued on page 18)

Kaieteur News

Tuesday July 23, 2019

PAGE 15

Guyana Watch attends to 433 patients at Leonora outreach

G

uyana Watch Incorporated yesterday hosted their third medical outreach, this time at the Leonora Primary School on the West Coast of Demerara.

The inclement weather did not stop the team of four dentists, four medical doctors, three local doctors and one pharmacist, along with a number of support staff, from treating 433 patients.

Today the team will be heading to Sheet Anchor Primary School, No. 2 Village, while on Thursday [July 25] the St. Mary's Primary School at Soesdyke will be the outreach venue.

On Friday [July 26] the medical team will be at Belle West Primary School, and on Saturday [July 27] at Patentia Secondary School.

The dentists attended to152 patients

One of the dentists performing an extraction

A young patient getting a check-up

Patients at yesterday's outreach

PAGE 16

Kaieteur News

Tuesday July 23, 2019

Neighbours save 72-year-old granny just in time ‌as fire destroys Middle Road home Shawn Clarke (left) and a colleague removing one of the speaker boxes from the storeroom adjoining the building

Flames quickly engulfed the two storey building

A

lert neighbours yesterday managed to save a 72-year-old grandmother from a fiery death when her two-storey, four-bedroom family home went up in flames.

Neighbours told this newspaper that at around 13:35 hrs they observed black smoke coming from the top floor of the building Lot 202, Middle Road, La Penitence, Georgetown which was soon replaced by scorching flames.

Hearing the screams of the elderly occupant Norma Clarke, neighbours reportedly broke into the home and saved her in the nick of time, since several sections of the entire top flat became totally engulfed in flames the moment they removed her. Sources said the badly shaken and

traumatised woman was taken away to stay with relatives.

A c c o r d i n g t o eyewitnesses, two tenders from the Guyana Fire Service arrived shortly after and battled to save the structure, but some said the wooden house was somewhat old, thus it was quickly consumed. In a matter of minutes the second floor was ablaze, even as residents came running with buckets of water to assist.

The woman's son, Shawn Clarke, an electrical contractor who was away on a job in the city, resides at the home with six other relatives.

He said that he was summoned around 14:05 hrs by a friend who by the way of a cellular phone conversation, informed him that their home was ablaze.

When he arrived he stood speechless for several minutes and stared as the flames raged.

He said that they had lost millions of dollars in furniture, household and electrical appliances, and a very expensive stereo console, amplifiers and many other items.

He braved the searing heat and managed to mobilise a few male residents who managed to help him save a few speaker boxes that were in a storage facility that was built in the same yard, but was attached to the ground floor of the building.

Meanwhile, fire officials said that they will have to do routine investigations to ascertain the origin of the fire, but one rank did surmise that it might be of an electrical nature.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday July 23, 2019

Woman dies after setting home on fire - tried burning it twice before

A

mother of four from Number 64 Village is now dead, after she set her home on fire yesterday around 16:30 hrs, leaving residents in the village in utter shock and dismay.

The charred remains of Sabita 'Tina' Sooknanan of 158 Number 64 Village were found among the rubble by investigating ranks and firefighters. According to a neighbour, Mya Ragnauth, the woman was in the upper flat of the two-storey wooden building while her daughter was in the bottom

flat when the fire started.

"She was upstairs in she house, and then she call out for us to tell she daughter to call she husband and tell him that she going and burn down the house.

So we try calling for the daughter who was downstairs to check on she mother, but not long after we see smoke coming out from the building," Ragnauth said.

Sooknanan had already set the house alight and in a matter of minutes the inferno consumed the building.

Ragnauth said they

The remnants of the Sooknanan’s home at Number 64 Village

immediately contacted the fire service who responded shortly after, and they also made contact with the woman's husband, Jairam Sooknanan, a mason, who was at work when the incident took place.

An eyewitness who was at the scene disclosed that neighbours gathered and operated a bucket brigade until the fire service arrived, and by that time the woman's husband came home. He attempted to save his wife,

but the fire was too intense.

She was burnt alive on the verandah of their home.

Kaieteur News understands that the woman was intoxicated when she set the home on fire. It was also revealed that the woman had tried twice before to burn her home. The building nearby was also scorched. Sabita Sooknanan leaves to mourn her four children and husband.

Investigations are ongoing.

PAGE 17

Sabita Sooknanan

Kaieteur News

PAGE 18

Tuesday July 23, 2019

House-to-House intended to de-register thousands - “We will not accept any voters' lists generated from this illegal exercise”- PPP

I

n a statement issued to the press yesterday afternoon from its F r e e d o m H o u s e headquarters, the Opposition People's Progressive Party indicated that its leadership had met earlier in the day and had decided that to participate in the Guyana Elections Commission's “illegal National House to House Registration” will make it (the party) complicit in aiding and abetting the violation of the Caribbean

Court of Justice (CCJ) June 18th 2019 rulings and July 12th 2019 consequential orders, which upheld the Guyana Constitution.

In the missive, the party reiterated its position that, “The Caribbean Court of Justice ruling and consequential orders stated that the No Confidence Motion was valid, the No Confidence Motion was passed with 33 of 65member National Assembly, and, as a result the President

The PPP is convinced that the current House to House exercise is intended to deliberately de-register thousands of voters and Cabinet must resign, and, elections must be held within three months as required by article 106 (6) and (7).”

“Further the CCJ ordered that, 'The Guyana Elections Commission has a responsibility to conduct that Election and GECOM too must abide by the provisions of the Constitution.'”

“The PPP, therefore, shall not participate in this illegal unilateral activity by the Chief Elections Officer which threatens peace and stability in the country and undermines constitutional rule.

The Chief Elections Officer has embarked on a House to House Registration in defiance of the Caribbean Court of Justice, the apex court of Guyana, and, even

in defiance of the advice of GECOM's internal legal officer, at a time when there is no functioning Commission in place.

He must be stopped.”

“The approach to the court to bring an injunction to stop the National House to House Registration is one stage of the struggle to ensure that constitutional rule is preserved.

The PPP is convinced that this House to House exercise is intended to deliberately de-register thousands of Guyanese voters.

The objective is to delay elections to facilitate the APNU/AFC government remaining in office illegally after September 18th 2019.”

The PPP gives notice that it will, therefore, not accept

any voters' lists generated by this illegal exercise.

We remain resolute in our position that the illegal House to House registration must be stopped and that the claims and objection period must commence.

G E C O M m u s t immediately start preparations for general and regional elections in compliance with Article 106 (7) of the Constitution and the CCJ's rulings and consequential orders.

T h e P e o p l e s ' Progressive Party urges Guyanese not to support this illegal exercise and calls on all political parties, civil society and other stakeholders, including the international community, to c o n d e m n t h i s unconstitutional act.”

Second batch of young mothers graduate from...

From page 14 setbacks in life and at times disappointment, it is hoped that you learn that negative experiences teach us the truth about ourselves,” the Specialist emphasised.

They were also warned to n e v e r c o m p l a in or compare themselves to others.

Minister of Education Nicolette Henry i n her remarks said that the graduation signified the young mothers' determination to become strong independent parents, and, by extension, responsible adults that will contribute meaningfully to the upbringing of their children and the development of society.

Minister Henry said that “Pregnancy among

adolescent girls is a significant issue globally, with approximately eight million girls becoming pregnant annually, and is often considered a major impediment in the elimination of gender disparities in education and for a very long time we as a country did not provide appropriate educational opportunities for our adolescent mothers”.

“This is changing, as this programme will continue to see that pregnancy and giving birth isn't where their experience stops.”

There was the presentation of certificates and the graduates were each presented with a starter kit that was relevant to the course that they took part in.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday July 23, 2019

PAGE 19

Diamond Insurance commissions branch office on E'bo Coast

D

iamond Fire and G e n e r a l Insurance is now the newest of its kind on the Essequibo Coast, following its commissioning last Saturday.

The Essequibo branch is the fifth location of this indigenous insurance company. The office is strategically established in the Barakat Mall in Anna Regina, which makes it quite easy to provide its service and support to business activities within the Cinderella County.

Regional Chairman Devanand Ramdatt and Mayor of Anna Regina, Rabindranath Prabhulall, both welcomed the establishment of the Insurance Company.

Diamond Fire and General Insurance is a locally incorporated general insurance company, which began operations in the year 2000. The insurance company, an associate company of Demerara

The ribbon cutting at the Company's new Anna Regina Office Distillers Limited, boasts solid financial foundations and has been operating from inception within all the solvency and other regulatory requirements of the industry. The head office

of the company is located at 11 Lamaha Street, Queenstown, Georgetown, with branch offices throughout Berbice.

Diamond Insurance prides itself with providing

appropriate and relevant protection for personal and business assets, as well as superb customer service and a sterling track record for claims settlement. The company assured that the

Caribbean Airlines shipping for Oil and Gas Industry

C

aribbean Airlines Cargo effectively supports the Oil and Gas industry and is experienced in shipping time sensitive machinery and parts.

To prove this, the airline recently worked along with RAMPS Logistics to ship a Remotely Operated Vehicle [ROV] using its All Cargo Freighter.

ROV's are underwater vehicles that are used in the Oil and Gas Industry for deep water exploration and development projects and relay data and visual information to rig personnel to provide support for drilling and subsea construction.

The Oil and Gas industry requires, safe, reliable and cost effective delivery at all times and Caribbean Airlines Cargo has proven that it is able to successfully provide this service.

RAMPS Logistics is a leading provider of logistics solutions across Latin America and the Caribbean.

The company has over 30year experience in the industry and currently manages some of the most advanced supply chains in the world.

RAMPS has offices in

The recently shipped Remotely Operated Vehicle Tr i n i d a d a n d To b a g o , Guyana, Suriname, Miami and Houston, that are capable of providing fullservice logistics solutions across the globe.

According to RAMPS Operations Director, Mr. Rudy Rampersad, “This shipment was extremely time sensitive, and Caribbean Airlines Cargo provided us with the solution to get it to its destination and ultimately enabled us to fulfil our client's needs efficiently with cost savings.�

Caribbean Airlines Cargo is said to be able to offer swift, reliable delivery to destinations worldwide, through its All Cargo Freighter and expansive interline agreements which facilitate priority shipping around the globe.

insurance experience provided to Essequibo will be unparalleled, along with savings in motor, fire and other insurances such as bonds, marine and liability products.

The company functions under all licences permissible under the Insurance Act 2016 - namely fire, motor insurance, marine and aviation and accident and liability.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 20

Tuesday July 23, 2019

A Protection Order: By no means a useless document PROTECTION R E D R O R

By Feona Morrison

ecently a young woman was s a v a g e l y attacked and shot by her estranged partner who had sneaked into her home.

The man then shot himself dead. It turns out that t h e y o u n g l a d y, w h o thankfully survived the ordeal, was granted a restraining order against this very man who had beaten her in the past.

But what really is a domestic violence restraining order also called a protection order?

Well, simply put, it is a document which the Court issues to prevents an abuser from harming the victim. It is meant to restrain the abuser.

If the abuser harms the victim in spite of the order, the abuser can be arrested without a warrant. The protection order is meant to guarantee the victim's safety, w e l l b e i n g a n d health—physical or emotional.

WHO QUALIFIES FOR PROTECTION ORDER? Firstly, a domestic violence offence is defined under the Domestic Violence Act of 1996 as a prescribed offence committed by a person against another person with whom he/she is associated or a relevant child.

A Prescribed Offence, according to the Act, means murder or attempted murder, manslaughter, the use or threatened use of any other violence or physical or emotional injury, a rape offence within the meaning of the Sexual Offences Act. The Act specifies that a person is associated with another person if they are or have been married to each other, they are cohabitants or former cohabitants, they are or have engaged in a relationship of a sexual nature, they lived or have lived together in the same household, otherwise than merely by reason of one of them being the other's employee, tenant, lodger or

boarder, they are relatives, they have agreed to marry one another (whether or not the agreement has been terminated). Or in relation to any child these are persons falling within Section 3 (2) of the Act which notes, “A person falls within this subsection in relation to a child if; (a) he is a parent of the child; or (b) he has or has had parental responsibility for the child.”

However, in order to qualify for a Protection Order, the person must have suffered abuse or harassment.

The Domestic Violence Act notes that harassment includes the intimidation of a person by: persistent verbal abuse, threats of physical violence; the malicious damage to the property of a person; inducing fear of physical or psychological violence or any other means.

Further, a person may qualify for such order if they are among other things being persistently followed from one place to another, if a

person is consistently making unwelcomed communications to them, among other reasons.

APPLYING At a recent seminar for the media on reporting on domestic violence and sexual offences, Principal Magistrate Sherdel IsaacsMarcus said that persons seeking a way out of domestic violence can first approach the Court, instead of the police, for help.

According to the Principal Magistrate, persons can approach the Clerk of Court of the Magistrate's Courts in their district to apply for a protection order, which includes an interim order.

She informed, "Persons can apply for protection orders by going to any Magistrate's Court. The applicant provides the Clerk of Court with the information as it relates to the conduct or words of the abuser.

In the alternative, persons can approach the Legal Aid Clinic or an attorney-at-law who can file for a Protection Order with the court's registry with an Affidavit in Support."

This simply means that domestic violence victims can approach the court directly to file for a protection order. Also, a qualified social worker or police officer can do so on behalf of the victim. In the event, the victim is a child under 16, or mentally disabled, the parents or guardian, or the person, with whom the victim lives, or a qualified social worker or a police officer must go to the court and make the application on their behalf.

Nonetheless, the Principal Magistrate said that matters of this nature are treated with utmost urgency and are placed for hearing before a Magistrate the same day or soon after.

As it relates to the procedure for hearing an application for a protection order, Section 18 (1) of the Act stipulates that it is to be held in camera, or without an audience, which includes members of the public and the media, unless the court otherwise directs.

This means that no person shall publish any report or proceedings under this Act, except with leave of the court, and anyone who contravenes commits an offence and is liable on

summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000.

Moreover, once the matter is heard, IsaacsMarcus said, "Once the Magistrate is satisfied having listened to the applicant or the Affidavit used, the Magistrate can grant an interim order in the absence of the abuser. The abuser must be served personally with the document. The applicant usually accompanied the policeman to serve the document on the respondent (abuser)."

At the second hearing, Isaacs-Marcus said that a Magistrate is empowered to go ahead and hear the matter in the absence of the respondent, or can issue a warrant for his or her arrest.

The Principal Magistrate explained that once the matter is heard for the second time, the court has a number of factors to consider like the need to secure the health and well being of the applicant, health and well being of any children, or relevant child, accommodation needs of the applicant, any hardship that may be caused to the abuser, income assets and financial obligations of the abuser, among other things.

In this regard, the Magistrate, she said, can request that a probation report be prepared by a probation officer. As it relates to orders the court can make, Isaacs-Marcus said that the court can restrain the abuser from verbally, and/or physically abusing and/or threatening the applicant or from malicious damage to property.

BREACH Moreover, the Principal Magistrate said that once the protection order is granted, it prevents the abuser from entering the home or workplace of the applicant or from going anywhere the applicant goes; it can make the abuser provide the victim with money for the upkeep of any children involved; it prevents the abuser from moving the applicant's property; it also restrains the respondent from contacting, calling or sending any messages to the applicant; it can also make the abuser go into a counseling programme.

According to the Domestic Violence Act of 1996, where the Court proposes to make an order or orders under this Act and the respondent (abuser) is before the court, the court shall before making the order or orders, explain to the respondent (a) the purpose, terms and effect of the proposed order or orders (b) the consequences that may follow if the respondent fails to comply with the terms of the proposed order or orders and (c) the means by which the proposed order or orders may be varied and revoked.

According to the Principal Magistrate, “Once the order is granted by the Magistrate and it is breached, the applicant can go to the nearest police station and make a complaint and the police will charge the abuser in breach of the Domestic Violence order which attracts a fine or imprisonment.”

When it comes to the penalties for breaching a protection order, Section 32 of the Domestic Violence Act specifies that the respondent on summary conviction is liable to a fine not exceeding $10,000 and to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 12 months.

ROLE OF THE POLICE Under the Domestic Violence Act, the police have an important role to play in ensuring that domestic violence victims are protected. Section 42 of the Act states, “Whenever a police officer intervenes in a case of domestic violence the police officer shall as soon as possible take all the reasonable measures within his power to prevent the victim from being abused again.”

The Act states that where a victim indicates that he/she has suffered injuries which require medical assistance, the police officer shall assist the victim to obtain medical treatment as soon as possible. It also states that if so requested, the police officer shall accompany the victim where he/she takes his personal belonging from a place where the respondent may reside and advise the victim on the importance of preserving the evidence.

Further, the Act says that police officers must inform victims as to his/her rights and services which may be available to assist them whether government or private organisations.

Tuesday July 23, 2019

PAGE 21

Kaieteur News

Ram petitions High Court to stop house-to-house registration

By Feona Morrison Insisting that general and regional elections must be held on or before September 18, Attorney-at-Law Christopher Ram is now asking the High Court to order the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to stop the house-to-house registration process which commenced last Saturday, since it is not in keeping with the recent rulings of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), and more so the Constitution of Guyana, the supreme law.

Apart from seeking a Conservatory Order prohibiting the Guyana Elections Commission, Chief Election Officer, and/or Commissioner of National Registration from conducting or continuing to conduct the current houseto-house registration process, Ram is also seeking an order compelling them to immediately take all steps and actions necessary and requisite to hold General and Regional Elections on or before the 18th day of September 2019, in compliance with Articles 106(6) and 106(7) of the Constitution of Guyana and the decisions of the CCJ. In a Fixed Date Application (FDA) filed yesterday, Ram said that he has a deep and abiding interest in the rule of law being upheld and the Constitution of Guyana, the supreme law of the land, being obeyed and complied with, by those upon whom it casts duties and responsibilities. Through his lawyer, Ram is also seeking a declaration that the house-to-house registration process is in violation with the aforesaid Articles of the Constitution and the letter and spirit of the judgment and Consequential Orders by the CCJ. Against this backdrop, he is asking the court to declare that the house-to-house registration process is illegal, unlawful, ultra vires, unconstitutional, null, void and of no effect. Listed as the Respondents in Rams application are Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, the Commissioner of National Registration, GECOM and Attorney General Basil Williams.

The Respondents, Ram said, have been advised by GECOMs Legal Adviser (Excellence Dazzell) on several occasions that the house-tohouse registration exercise is unconstitutional and unlawful. The Respondents have however ignored the advice, Ram notes in his application before the court. According to Ram, the CCJ has affirmed the passage of the No-Confidence Motion against government which initiated the provisions of Articles 106(6) and 106(7) of the Constitution.

To support his requests, Ram is using the rulings of the

CCJ in the consolidated NoConfidence Motion and GECOM chairman appeals.

Rams application comes up for hearing this morning at 10:00hrs before Chief Justice Roxane George.

OBJECTED PPP Executive Secretary, Zulfikar Mustapha, in an Affidavit in support of Rams petition, said he had raised objections to the conduct of house-to-house registration.

Mustapha said he is also Chief Scrutineer of the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) assigned to GECOM, and was invited to a meeting to discuss the issue of houseto-house registration by Lowenfield - the Chief Elections Officer - and the Commissioner of National Registration. According to him, “At the said meeting, I raised objections to the conduct of house-to-house registration which included but was not limited to the pending matters before the Caribbean Court of Justice and the urgent need to refresh the Official List of Electors by way of a Claims and Objections exercise in accordance with the relevant statutory provisions so as to have a list ready for elections to be held within the three months period as contemplated by Articles 106(6) and 106(7) of the Constitution of Guyana.” Mustapha said that after the meeting he received no communication from the Chief Election Officer and Commissioner of National Registration. He pointed out that PPP is the largest Opposition party and is legally entitled to field Scrutineers to scrutinise any registration process conducted under the National Registration Act and the Amendments thereto.

The PPP Executive Secretary stated, “On 19th July, 2019, I received a letter under the hand of Keith Lowenfield, Chief Election Officer and Commissioner of National Registration, informing of the commencement of House to House Registration Exercise on 20 July 2019. That this letter merely gave me less than one days notice, to train and make ready thousands of Scrutineers of the Peoples Progressive Party who are expected to participate in the said exercise, rendering it impossible for me to be able to do so.” Nevertheless, he stated that the registration process has commenced without participation of the largest political party in the National Assembly and indeed in Guyana.

VIOLATION Moreover, Ram in a similar affidavit deemed the decision by the Respondents to commence house-to-house registration as a “willful and flagrant violation of Articles 106(6) and 106(7) of the Constitution of Guyana, and, in

PPP Executive Secretary Zulfikar Mustapha

Attorney-at-Law Christopher Ram

Chief Justice Roxane George

deliberate defiance of the Caribbean Court of Justice decisions and Orders.” Counsel Stanley Marcus, appearing for GECOM at the CCJ, had told the court that the houseto-house registration exercise will not be completed before December 25.

Ram pointed out, “(CCJ) Justices Witt, Anderson and President Saunders, emphatically stated, that such exercise concluding on the 25th December, 2019, will clearly violate and contravene that which mandates an election to be held within three (3) months of a passage of No Confidence Motion. When Mr. Marcus persisted with the same line of argument, President Saunders reminded him that the No Confidence Motion was passed since the 21st of December, 2018, and therefore elections should have been held in March, 2019.”

Ram recalled that President

Saunders held up the Constitution in his hand and said that the Court has a clear duty to uphold this document and enquired rhetorically, whether Mr. Marcus wants the Court to ignore it, to reject it or to rewrite it. Ram believes that if house-to-house registration is permitted to continue, it will constitute a flagrant violation, not only of the Constitution but on the rule of law and will be an assault on constitutional democracy. Ram reminded that the CCJ in its ruling said, “The National Assembly properly passed a motion of no confidence in the Government on 21 December 2018; and upon the passage of this motion of no confidence in the Government, the clear provisions ofArticle 106 immediately became engaged; “A clear reading of the decisions of the (CCJ) and the Consequential Orders rendered thereof, lends to no other conclusion but that the relevant con-

stitutional actors, being the President and Guyana Elections Commission, must immediately comply with the letter and spirit of Articles 106(6)and 106(7)of the Constitution of Guyana,” Ram stated.

Ram held that the Cabinet including the President must resign and Government shall remain in office and shall hold elections within three months, or such longer period as the National Assembly shall by resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of the vote of all elected members of the National Assembly determine; resign after the President takes the oath of office following an election.

LOSE RIGHT TO VOTE Both Ram and Mustapha fear that in order to complete house-to-house registration within an impossible time frame it will result in thousands of Guyanese being un-

lawfully deregistered and will omit to register thousands of qualified registrants, thereby resulting in their loss in their right to vote at the next elections.

“The damage and destruction that will flow, therefore, from this process, not being restrained by this Honourable Court will be immeasurable and irreparable. There is every likelihood that if notice is given to the Respondents they will accelerate this illegal exercise,” Ram argues.

Mustapha also fears that this exercise is not being conducted in a fair, transparent and impartial manner as contemplated by the Constitution and the relevant statutory enactments. Ram submitted that his application is of high constitutional importance as the house-to-house exercise has already commenced and is continuing “They (the Respondents) have already defied the judgments and orders of the Caribbean Court of Justice and the Constitution and therefore have manifested a clear intention that they are not prepared to be bound by an Order of Court unless it is specific and cast upon them a clear duty to act or refrain from acting,” noted Ram in concluding.

The lawyers involved in this case are Hari Narayan Ramkarran S.C, Anil Nandlall, Marcia Nadir-Sharma, Kamal Ramkarran, Devindra Kissoon, Euclin Gomes, Manoj Narayan, Sasha Mahadeo-Narayan, Rajendra Jaigobin, Mark Conway and George Thomas.

PAGE 22

Tuesday July 23, 2019

Kaieteur News

Execution-style killing of taxi driver…

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Accused man’s lawyer calls for PI Attorney-at-law James Bond, who is representing one of the accused in the execution-style killing of a taxi driver at McDoom, East Bank Demerara, in late January, yesterday called for a Preliminary Inquiry (PI) to be held for his client.

Bond is representing 28year-old Roderick Thomas, of 68 William Street, Kitty.

Thomass co-accused, 31year-old Devon Allen, of 148 Middle Road, La Penitence, is being represented by attorney-at-law George Thomas.

Waitress to work in Bar #6614863

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The two men are currently on remand.

They were not required to plead to the joint charge which alleged that on January 22, 2019 at Eccles Public Road, East Bank Demerara, they murdered Kelvin Walters.

They appeared yesterday before Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus in the Georgetown Magistrates Courts.

Police prosecutor Shellon Daniels is asking that a paper committal be done for the men for them to stand trial at the High Court for the offence as there is sufficient evidence against them.

However, attorney Bond is contending that none of the prosecutions witnesses were able to positively identify his client or place him at the scene of the crime. Therefore, he requested that a PI be done to confirm his contention.

Prosecutor Daniels after making objections indicated that she will once again seek the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and report on whether a PI is to be held or if they are to go ahead with the paper committal.

The Magistrate then adjourned the matter until July 29.

Tuesday July 23, 2019

PAGE 23

Kaieteur News

Green state economy for Guyana being vigorously promoted The importance of a green state economy for Guyana was recently amplified by Dr. Simpson Da Silva, the Assistant Technical Coordinator of the Community Development Council [CDC]. He was at the time speaking at a recent Green Regional Conference held under the theme: “Sustainability in Economic, Social, Political Environment and Cultural Development in 2019 and Beyond”.

The conference, held in Region 10, was sponsored by the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited [NICIL].

In delivering his remarks, Dr. Da Silva said that in pursuing the greening way of life, it is hoped that persons would recognise that Guyana can become a model for the Caribbean towards the pursuit of sustainability for all its people.

He disclosed during the conference, too, that a number of CDC groups in Upper Demerara-Berbice [Region 10] were able to showcase the linkages between Region 10’s natural resources management and sustainable development of Guyana and the rest of the Caribbean. This, he said, was done through the hosting of CariExpo.

“The three days showcased the creative and production initiatives of all aspects of the Region‘s policies, programmes, projects and activities, from the smallest household economic activities to the mid-sized enterprises up to the large scale strategic

From left: Chairman of the Friendship CDC, Howard Runcie; Dr. Simpson Da Silva and CDC Technical Coordinator, Eugene Gilbert initiatives and action plans,” Dr. Da Silva explained.

He added, “These are meant to indicate how we can sustainably develop the Regions, with Linden as the sustainable mod e l , a n d which could be replicated in the other nine regions of Guyana.

Upper DemeraraBerbice Region’s natural resources, particularly a g r i c u l t ure and mineral resources, primary and valueadded production, will be the forward base for sustainable production and consumption.

This will provide opportunities for producers and distributors to showcase their goods and services.”

Confessing to being passionate about addressing issues that seek to deal with green state development, Dr. Da Silva said that the Region had showcased systemic

sustainable development initiatives which represent a green model for Region 10.

He however stressed that while his role at the recent conference had been specifically in relation to the green state economy, he firmly feels that partners like NICIL are important in helping to get the message out.

“I do see NICIL playing a very important role in the various green conferences, green conversations that will be held throughout Guyana.

NICIL’s role with the green state strategy vision 2040 is very specific as NICIL is prepared to participate fully in the green development agenda and is prepared to make use of the 213 polices that are in the green state policy to create projects and programmes...” he said.

According to Dr. Da Silva,

too, there is need for linkages to be established with some 90 CDCs, Neighbourhood Democratic Councils, Regional Democratic Councils and municipalities which will form part of the Green State Development Strategy Vision 2040.

He further pointed out that the private sector is expected to play a crucial role as it can help to determine integration and collaboration of stakeholders in the development of Guyana.

Similar conferences to promote the green state concept are planned for Regions Two and Six and other regions are expected to eventually benefit too since, according to Dr. Da Silva, the green state economy agenda is one that must be taken throughout Guyana with participation and involvement of various stakeholders.

Trauma team training course being conducted...

From page 12 Canadian Network for International Surgery (CNIS) Ronald Lett, during an interview related that the trauma team training instructors course commenced yesterday, and will run until tomorrow. After Wednesday up until Friday of this week, the hospital will be conducting their trauma team training for providers, who would be then able to disseminate what they would have learnt in their sessions.

The specific objectives of the training course would include exposing trauma teams to simulated areas of serious trauma, and to provide them with an opportunity to rehearse early management of these cases, focusing on their response and interaction as a team, not as individuals.

And secondly, to instruct teams in the specific behavioral skills and attitudes relevant to effective trauma teamwork including team leadership and fellowship;

principles of crisis management; team communication; negotiation and conflict resolution with the inclusion of safety cultures.

Lett further added that this training programme will not just benefit those in the capital city, but also those in underserved medical departments across the country.

Though the initial training session will be concluded on Friday, the overall training programme will be conducted during a three year period.

Dr. Tracy Bovell of the emergency room at GPHC expressed that, “This is a great opportunity for Guyana; it is a great opportunity to practice a team approach for trauma patients. GPHC wants to ensure every trauma victim is treated using the correct and safe methods and measures.” She expressed hope that after this training programme the hospital as a primary medical institution of the country can decrease the number of trauma fatalities.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday July 23, 2019

Tuesday July 23, 2019

Khan rejects US claim TT helping Cuba get LPG NEWSDAY - Energy Minister Franklin Khan Sunday rejected claims by US Senator Marco Rubio that the ministry is helping Cuba circumvent US sanctions against Venezuela by shipping liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) through a third party.

Rubio, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for president in 2016 and was the former speaker of Florida’s house of representatives, made these claims on Twitter on July 17.

Rubio said, “The US has an excellent and growing relationship with # Tr i n i d a d a n d To b a g o @mfagovtt.”

But he alleged, “@TTMEEI helping #Cuba circumvent sanctions related to #Venezuela through shipment of LPG via a 3rd party would be an unnecessary irritant in our bilateral relationship.”

Khan told Newsday the only truth in that tweet was

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Kaieteur News

about the continuing good relations between TT and the US. “We cherish our relations with the US. We will not attempt to undermine any sanctions which the US has with another country.”

The National Gas Company subsidiary Phoenix Park Gas Processors Ltd (PPGPL) used to sell LPG to a company called Cubametales, which provided it to the Cuban market. Cubametales is Cuba’s state-owned oil import and export company.

On July 3, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control ( O FA C ) blacklisted Cubametales for its continued importation of oil from Venezuela. The Treasury indicated that in exchange for Venezuelan oil, Cuba continued to support Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government with defence, intelligence and se-

curity assistance. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said, “Treasury’s sanctions on Cubametales will disrupt Maduro’s attempts to use Venezuela’s oil as a bargaining tool to help his supporters purchase protection from Cuba and other malign foreign actors.”

Khan said once Cubametales was blacklisted, PPGPL stopped making LPG shipments to Cuba.

PPGPL, he continued, sells LPG to the Swiss company Geogas Trading SA. Founded in 1979, Geogas has over 40 years’ experience in LPG trading and shipping around the world. The company has business on five continents and has developed strong distribution networks in the Americas and Caribbean, West Africa, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Far East, Australia and Pacific Islands.

Govt. rolls out new initiative to deal with murders PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - CMC – The Trinidad and Tobago government says it will be providing funds for a new initiative aimed at curbing the criminal activities here with the number of murders here so far reaching almost 300.

National Security Minister Stuart Young, speaking to reporters on Sunday, said that the new initiative had been discussed with Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley and Crime Stoppers after 24 people were gunned down here over the past few days.

But Young acknowledged that the law enforcement authorities would require the assistance of citizens in putting a dent to the crime situation.

“We require the assistance of citizens to have breakthroughs,” he said, adding “I’m happy today to say one of the initiatives we will be rolling out is with respect to illegal firearms.

“We will be offering rewards through the Crime Stoppers programme where persons can call in anonymously and provide law enforcement through Crime Stoppers with information and intelligence to help us locate cachets and stashes from one upwards of illegal firearms and ammunition in Trinidad and Tobago,” said young.

“If we successfully search and recover, as a result of information provided by you the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, cachets of illegal firearms, we are prepared to offer rewards for that,’ young said, noting that it would all be worked out in the next few days with Crime Stoppers.

“You, the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, very frequently witness and see crimes taking place or the criminality taking place in your communities. We are today re-energising, reinvigo-

rating and also requesting that you utilise Crime Stoppers, as an anonymous initiative to provide us with the information that we need to get some further breakthroughs with crime taking place across Trinidad and Tobago.”

Young said that it was also impossible for citizens not to witness those crimes.

“We are not asking you at this stage to come forward and give evidence (but) let us utilise these anonymous tip-off points like Crime Stoppers to provide us with the information “Tell us where the illegal firearms are stored. We’ll get them, and you will remain safe. Tell us the criminal activities in your communities for us to stomp on. We’ll make inroads into fighting crime in Trinidad and Tobago,” Young said, noting “there is no one fix to crime in Trinidad and Tobago.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday July 23, 2019

Tuesday July 23, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Winfer Garden win thriller in Windball Cricket title match Winfer Garden are the A. Munroe organised, AL Sport & Tour Promotions National Sports Commission 22nd Annual End of School Year, Edward Cobenna Memorial Windball Cricket Champions Trophy winners after the final played Sunday night.

In a night of lots of drama with the parents and supporters from both sides of the Gymnasium getting involved in the game, at one stage there was even a pitch invasion.

The head teacher from West Ruimveldt’s St Pius, Shawn Lewis, along with Neville Duncan were the special invitees present to watch the matches.

Winfer Garden won a thriller (Their first title) with seven runs needed in the final over, West Ruimveldt’s bowler bowled 7 wides.

Winfer Garden won the toss and invited West Ruimveldt to take first strike; they made 81-2, with Jonathan Andries 32, Vikash Asram 22 and Omarian Cummings 12.

Winfer Garden replied with 82-4, Player of the Finals Shane Prince bowled for 38 and Rherah Henry 14.

In the 3rdplace match, St Pius turned back the challenge of Enterprise to capture that spot.

St Pius batted first and scored 144-1, Danesh

The winners with parents and head teacher as Neville Duncan presents the trophy to Kai Prince.

Ramjawan made 82 (6s-13) and Josh Sharples 48 (6s-8).

Last year’s 3rdplace win-

Tuesday July 23, 2018 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Jump back on stage and say what you have to say, Aries. Your participation in the conversation is critical to maintaining a healthy energy flow.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Pay attention to the news today, Libra, and not just the mainstream news but the offbeat, smaller publications, too. Question what you hear and read.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Your solid grounding may become a bit unstable today, Taurus, but don't worry about it.

Be a little more flexible and release your tight grip on the situation. Infuse laughter and playfulness into the picture.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Today is a great day to jump out of bed and get things done, Scorpio. You may feel indecisive, but don't sweat it. You don't have to make any great commitments.

You will do fine jumping around from task to task.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) There's no excuse for laziness today, Gemini. Get out of bed before noon. The more active you are, the happier you will be. Come out of your cave and express your thoughts to others.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) The name of the game today is action, Sagittarius. The air has cleared, and it feels like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. You might experience a sudden burst of physical energy, pushing you to get out and walk or go for a long bike ride.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Don't let things stagnate, Cancer. It's time to take action. See how far rather than deep you can go in everything you do today.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) You may feel like you've come into the light today, Leo. A weight has been lifted, but there is still a great deal of emotional drama that needs to work itself out VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Take a break from your steady climb today, Virgo.

Look at things around you.

Enjoy a night out with friends and take an active role in the conversation. See a movie or play.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Take some of that knowledge you've gathered and processed over the past few weeks and begin to spread it around, Capricorn.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Your physical stamina is apt to be strong today, Aquarius.

You should consider going to the gym to release some of that pent-up energy.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Take a break from the seriousness that has prevailed over the past couple days, Pisces. Upbeat conversations are the way to navigate through today's waters.

ner, Enterprise scored 126-1, with Khy Atkinson 58 (6s-7) and Moses Cordis 48 (6s-6) in

reply.

Meanwhile, Sports Officer A. Munroe expressed thanks

to the AL Sport & Tour Promotions, National Spots Commission, Kia Enterprise, the parents and all the students who came out during their vacation for once again making yet another one of his programmes very successfully.

Munroe also said, “It would be not professional of me not to mention the PR this programme received from, I must single out Kaieteur News Sports Department. Thank You Very Much.

I would say the finals lived up to expectation.”

Windies names squad for ...

From page 32 MyTeam11 Twenty20 International – Broward County Stadium (10:30 am) Tue, Aug 6: 3rd MyTeam11 International – Providence (10:30 am) Thu, Aug 8: 1st MyTeam11 One-day International – Providence (9:30 am) Sun, Aug 11: 2nd MyTeam11 One-day International – Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad (9:30 am) Wed, Aug 14: 3rd MyTeam11 One-day International – Queen’s Park Oval (9:30 am) Sat, Aug 17 to Mon, Aug 19: Tour Match – Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua (9:30 am daily) Thu, Aug 22 to Mon, Aug 26: 1st MyTeam11 Test – Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua (9:30 am daily) Fri, Aug 30 to Tue, Sep 3: 2nd MyTeam11 Test – Sabina Park, Jamaica (9:30 am daily)

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Tuesday July 23, 2019

Kaieteur News

Joseph pleased with ‘Lady Jags’ performance in Concacaf Women’s Under-20 C’ship

By Franklin Wilson Head Coach of Guyana’s Under-20 Women’s team, Ivan Joseph said he is pleased with the collective performance of his charges in the just concluded Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship where Guyana played undefeated in Group ‘A’, putting together four wins from as many matches.

The high riding ‘Lady Jags’ swept to respective 2-0 victories over Bermuda, Antigua & Barbuda and Saint Lucia before wrapping up this leg of the journey and qualifying for the Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Final Championship round of sixteen with a 3-1 win over Suriname on Sunday afternoon last at the Leonora Track and Field Center, West Coast Demerara.

That match brought the curtains down on a very demanding nine days for the ‘Lady Jags’ and the other nations which participated, playing a total of four matches each.

Saint Lucia was the other nation which qualified for the round of sixteen.

Joseph and his Technical staff pulled out all the stops to rally their charges to a historic performance, scoring a total of nine (9) goals whilst conceding just one. Guyana was the

only team not to receive a single caution in 360 plus minutes of play.

Joseph said that the team was right where they wanted to be: “We gave some players some significant minutes so that we could asses them and you know what, we played pretty good teams and we really got a good handle of our ability so I’m pleased.”

He noted that after Guyana made an early change against Suriname, Horica Adams coming on for center midfielder Kiana Khedoo around the 22nd minute, there was some panic amongst the players as the entire game plan had to change noting that the quality of decision making was not there. ”When you don’t have a number ten your entire game has to change and then we started to panic a little bit and so that changed that game a lot. We put in two local based

players who had great hustle, excellent effort.”

Joseph indicated that for the next round of the competition, they’ll be searching for two center backs and a natural goal scorer. ”We’ve probably missed four or five legitimate opportunities that would have taken the life out of that team and we kept them in the game and gave them hope which allowed the momentum to switch.

So we’ve got to think about where can we find, recruit those levels of players and then I think the last thing we’ve got to think about is just making sure that our players that are based here, they have some rhythm and some repetitions that they don’t get left behind because all these guys are going to go home and play thirty games between now and the next time.

We’ve got to find an op-

Guyana’s Kiana Khedoo (#10) battles Suriname’s Odaily Zandvliet on Sunday. (Franklin Wilson photo) portunity for them to do the s a m e . ” Looking ahead to preparations for the next round, Jo-

seph revealed that there would be fitness as well as strength and conditioning plans to get the players ready.

He is also hoping that there would be a few warm up matches to get the right rhythm as a unit ahead of what would certainly be stiffer opponents.Meanwhile, the two nations which have qualified from Group ‘B’ are St. Kitts & Nevis (4 wins 0 loses) and Grenada (3 wins 1 loss).

The top two finishers of Group A and B advances to the

knockout stage of the final competition. They will then be joined by the top three finishers of the following groups to advance to the knockout stage of the competition: Group C: United States, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Cuba Group D: Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico Group E: Canada, Jamaica, Guatemala, El Salvador Group F: Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Panama, Cayman Island

Influential Pogba must stay Peaty completes world treble in men’s 100m breaststroke at Man United, says Mata

Manchester United’s Paul Pogba gestures. (Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith) (Reuters) - Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba is a positive influence in the dressing room and must extend his stay at the club to help bring trophies back to Old Trafford, team mate Juan Mata said.

Pogba said last month that he could seek a new challenge after three years at United, while his agent recently told The Times that the 26-yearold intends to leave the club amid reports linking him to

Juventus and Real Madrid.

However, Mata wants Pogba’s future to include United winning “big trophies” in 2019-20 campaign, having failed to lift a major trophy since their Europa League triumph in May 2017.

“We all know Paul and he is a fantastic midfielder, and a very good guy, very positive, and a good influence for everyone,” Spanish midfielder Mata told Sky Sports.

“As a team mate and a

friend I would like him to stay and be happy because he is a very good player for us.

“We know we have to do better than last season. This club has won more trophies than any other club in England. We want to win big trophies again.”

In Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first full season as United manager, the club will be aiming to improve on last term’s sixthplaced finish in the Premier League, when they ended up 32 points behind champions and local rivals Manchester City.Mata agreed a contract extension at United last month, and fellow Spaniard, goalkeeper David de Gea, is also closing in on a new longterm deal, according to reports in the British media.

“David is the best or one of the best goalkeepers in the world, for sure,” Mata said.

“He is one of my best friends, so I want him to stay.

On a professional level, it will be great for us if he stays because he will give us many points over the next seasons.”

United open their 2019-20 league campaign against Chelsea on Aug. 11.

Briton Adam Peaty on his way to gold in the men’s 100m breaststroke final at the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea. (AFP / Oli Scarff) AFP - Britain’s Adam Peaty became the first male swimmer to capture three 100 metres breaststroke world titles yesterday, completing his golden treble in dominant fashion.

The 24-year-old, unbeaten in five years over the distance in major competitions, clocked 57.14 seconds in Gwangju, a day after smashing his own world record by ducking under 57 seconds — also a first.

Peaty previously shared the record of two 100m breaststroke world titles with American Brendan Hansen and Hungary’s Norbert Rozsa.

He also became the first man to bag five world championship medals in breaststroke events.

Peaty burst from the blocks once again,

turning just inside world record pace and leaving his rivals scrapping for the silver and bronze.

Fellow Englishman James Wilby emerged with the silver with a time of 58.46 with China’s Yan Zibei taking bronze in an Asian record of 58.63.Peaty, who set a new world best of 56.88 at the weekend, puffed out his cheeks and gave a wry smile after looking up at the giant screen to see he had just missed out.

The tattooed pin-up is also looking to complete a 50m world treble this week when he could take down another of his world records.

Peaty has dominated both distances in recent years, setting the 15 best times in the 100m breaststroke.

Tuesday July 23, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Persaud, Sukhram happy with victory

By Zaheer Mohamed Avinash Persaud and Christine Sukhram turned in commendable performances to win their respective categories when the Department of Tourism two-day Lusignan Open Golf tournament was contested last weekend.

Persaud, the current Guyana open male champion, won the Men’s A flight with 154 gross while Sukhram won the female segment with 171 gross.

Persaud said while he is happy with the win, he was extremely confident heading into the tournament and his win didn’t come as a surprise.

“Clearly there is nobody in Guyana who can beat me, it’s easy for me, I just have to go

out there and play my game,” he stated emphatically.

Despite the weather Persaud performance was up to par. “I know once I play my natural game, there is no one in Guyana who can compete with me. I played in similar conditions in the Caribbean, so I can adjust to any condition that’s not a problem for me.”

Persaud noted that the young players need to work harder at their game, adding that success come after hard work.

He said that the wants to become one of the best players in the Caribbean. “I want to progress at least in the Caribbean championship, I am confident of doing well on that stage. I played in

Trinidad and did well there, I placed second and fourth in the previous Trinidad Open tournaments and I won a club championship there we well.”

“Golf in Guyana is not that big, but we need sponsors, it is a very expensive sport and without sponsorship it’s not possible to go very far. I am looking forward to the Guyana open and wants to be one of the best players in the Caribbean,” he posited.

Sukram, the current Guyana open female champion, stated that she was elated with her performance.

“I didn’t expect to play in this tournament, in fact I was out of the country, so I came into the tournament without any practice, but I trusted my ability and was confident of do-

ing well,” she added.

“It’s my first Lusignan Open victory, I wanted to do well, a lot of people expected me to win and I was just trying to do my best. It was challenging on the first day so I had to push myself and things went well for me.”

Sukhram explained that this win boosted her confidence a lot going into other tournaments.

“Recently I played in games overseas so I had to acclimatize to course here. I play according to the course, so that’s a motivation for me; I always give it my best shot, I enjoyed playing in these conditions and it’s like an advantage for me.”

In an invited comment, President of the Club, Aleem

Divine Entertainment Summer Super Cup Football

Coomacka upset Topp XX 2-1, H & L Winners Connection blast Hi Stars 7-0

Cassie Campbell of Coomacka The Coomacka Mines unit scored an unlikely win when they defeated Topp XX 2-1 but Haynes and Lewis Winners Connection dispatched the challenge of Hi Stars with a rampant 7-0 victory as play in the Divine Entertainment Summer Super Cup invitational football championship continued Sunday night at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground.

By virtue of their upset of Topp XX, Coomacka have set up a deciding clash against Eagles United for tomorrow night to decide the lone qualifier that will emerge from

Shaquille Frank H & L Winners Connection

Errol Davis of H & L Winners Connection

Lionel Peters of Coomacka

Group A for semifinal action.

Both Eagles United and Coomacka gained wins against Topp XX in their group play of this twelve team championship which has four groups.

The shock result’s writing was on the wall early since Coomacka scored the opening goal of the game in the first run-down in the opening minute through Lionel Peters but Topp XX did respond in kind, and by the 6th minute they were able to even things out with Shawn Daniel netting to make it 1-1. The scores remained unchanged and even when the half time

whistle was blown.

The second half tussle remained an up and down encounter until that deadlock was broken five minutes before the end, as Coomacka’s Cassie Campbell gained the winner, tilting the scales in favour of his Mines side in the 85th minute to make it 2-1.

In Group C the clash between Haynes and Lewis Winner Connection was a mismatch as Winners Connection sensed that they needed to score a big win to up their chances of reaching the final four when they faced Hi Stars, who will now meet Capital FC in the last decid-

ing game in their group play tomorrow.

It is against the backdrop that Winners Connection were held to a 1-1 draw, when they met Capital FC and were leading up to the 86th minute when they conceded a late goal to the Capital FC. The Winners Connection rampage was spearheaded by doubles from Errol Davis in the 14th and 22nd minutes and Shaquille Frank in the 40th and 62nd minutes and single strikes by Akeem Caesar in the 42nd, Ravon Haynes in the 62nd and finally Malachi Todd in the 86th minute of play.

Hussain said this is probably one of their greatest achievements due to the fact that the tournament was successful despite the rain. He commended the ground staff for doing an amazing job. “They even surprise me; I wanted to pull off this tournament at this time, so I must commend the ground staff. We had some excellent performances, the scores reflected the nature of the competition, the winners had to earn that right and I would like to commend the players as well, especially those who won prizes,” he added.

The President said they have approximately 24 tournaments schedule between now (July) and November which is an amazing agenda. In our first year on the executive we did 44 tournaments and this year we will be doing over 50 tournaments. That by itself will be a record.”

“There are some new numbers and new programmes happening, yesterday (Saturday) we had the American Ambassador and her family here and today (Sunday) we

have the Chinese Ambassador brining out his team. So again it has started to show, all the major foreign companies are becoming members of the club which is what our vision was.”

“We were talking to Minister of Communities, Mr. Bulkan and some of the visitors here today are saying that there has to be an 18-hole golf course in Guyana. If we had the land we would have already had such a course, however we are hoping to acquire the land to build same, soonest.”

Hussain said Guyana has some of the best talent in the Caribbean. “These players can go up against any player in the Caribbean. Avinash did well, he is literally unbeatable, but he didn’t have a walkover, the other players came to beat him, the Women’s championship flight was keenly contested and Christine came out and played well, while Shenella and Joaan were also outstanding.

Hussain expressed gratitude to the sponsors and the media.

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Tuesday July 23, 2019

Kaieteur News

Vintage Tour de France heading for thrilling finale NIMES, France (Reuters) - With only five days of actual racing left, there is still no clear front runner in this year’s Tour de France, making it the most open and exciting competition in 30 years.

In 1989, Laurent Fignon was left distraught as he missed out on the title by eight seconds, with American Greg Lemond pulling off the narrowest margin of victory in the Tour’s history.

Julian Alaphilippe holds a 1:35 minute lead going into the final week but with the Frenchman fading, the yellow jersey appears to be slipping off his back as the finishing line gets closer.

With the riders placed between second and sixth separated by just 39 seconds, Alaphilippe knows that the chasing pack led by defending champion Geraint Thomas will be a constant threat to his hopes of ending France’s 34year wait for a home-grown champion.

It has been a frustrating race for Team Ineos as they have not been able to take control in the absence of Chris Froome, the four-time champion who is missing the race following a horror crash last month.

Apart from Thomas, the main challengers are his Ineos team mate Egan Bernal, Dutchman Steven Kruijswijk, German Emanuel Buchmann and Thibaut Pinot, who is also carrying the hopes of the home nation.

EYE OF THE TIGER While Alaphilippe outclassed his rivals during the first two weeks on short, punchy climbs, hanging on in the Pyrenees and by upsetting Thomas in the time trial,

Deceuninck-Quick Step rider Julian Alaphilippe of France, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, finishes the 15th Stage. (Reuters/Gonzalo Fuentes) Pinot is closing in on the lead fast.

It took the 29-year-old two stages to write off the 1:40 minutes he lost due to a positioning error in the crosswinds on a flat stage last week. Following that, he emerged as the best climber as he won stage 14 and also gained time over all his rivals on Sunday.

With three gruelling stages in the Alps likely to decide the race, Pinot is the bookmakers’ favourite as he trails Thomas by 15 seconds.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen a tiger on his bike. The look in his eyes says he wants to eat everyone,” Cyrille Guimard, who was the sports director of Bernard Hinault’s La Vie Claire team when he was the last French winner of the Tour in 1985, said.

“I’m in the game but I’m clear-headed and I keep my feet on the ground. The momentum can switch at every stage,” Pinot, who has stage wins on all three grand tours and won the ‘Monument’ classic Giro di Lombardia last October, said.

In Sunday’s final climb up to the Prat d’Albis, Pinot first dropped Kruijswijk and Thomas, then Buchmann and Bernal, showing his superiority for the second day in a row.

TACTICAL ADVANTAGE Without Froome, Ineos have not been able to suffocate the competition as they did to win six of the last seven editions when they were known as Team Sky. The British outfit, however, may have a tactical ad-

FIFA bans former Botswana official in match fixing probe (Reuters) - World soccer body FIFA has handed a life ban to former Botswana Football Association general secretary Mooketsi Kgotlele for accepting bribes in relation to the manipulation of international matches.

FIFA said in a statement on Monday that the adjudicatory chamber of the Independent Ethics Committee had also fined the former official 50,000 Swiss francs (£40,876.71).

“The formal ethics proceedings against Mr Kgotlele... stem from an extensive investigation into various attempts to manipulate international matches for betting purposes by Mr Wilson Raj Perumal, a known matchfixer,” said FIFA

The proceedings were initiated in September 2018, the statement added.

The ban on Kgotlele covers all football-related activities (administrative, sports or any other) at national and international level and came into force yesterday.

The long-running investigation into convicted Singapore-based match fixer Perumal’s activities has already produced life bans for players and former officials.

Togolese Football Association official Kokou Hougnimon Fagla, who was also a referee, was banned from soccer-related activities last March for accepting bribes to manipulate an international friendly.

Seven current and former

players were banned for life in April.FIFA named them at the time as Karlon Murray and Keyeno Thomas from Trinidad, Ibrahim Kargbo (Sierra Leone), Hellings Mwakasungula (Malawi), Seidath Tchomogo (Benin), Leonel Duarte (Cuba) and Mohammad Salim Israfeel Kohistani (Afghanistan).

Kenyan player George Owino Audi was given a 10year ban and Zimbabwean players’ agent Kudzanai Shaba was banned for life.

FIFA did not give any details on which matches they had attempted to influence.

Perumal was given a twoyear jail sentence by a Finnish court in 2011 for bribing players and referees to fix matches.

Team INEOS riders Geraint Thomas of Britain and Egan Bernal of Colombia, and team manager Dave Brailsford attend a news conference during the second rest day. (REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier) vantage as they have two riders in position to win the race, although it could also play against them as they have not yet named a clear leader.

They are confident the race will go their way, with Thomas banking on his consistency.

“Alaphilippe still has a nice lead and he has a few days now to recover and ob-

viously Pinot is climbing very well but the main thing about grand tours is being consistent and strong all the way through it and how you deal with any sort of bad day you get,” the Welshman said.

Asked what he thought about potentially facing two Frenchmen on their home soil for the overall win, he replied: “I’d love it. I’d relish it. Bring

it on.”

With a new heatwave expected to sweep across France this week, riders can expect extremely challenging conditions before they enter Friday’s 19th stage. During their 2,770 metres climb to Col de l’Iseran, thunderstorms are forecast, which just happens to be Pinot’s favourite weather.

Chase puts ‘difficult’ series behind, confident ahead of “Tests” ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – West Indies A captain Roston Chase has described the just concluded one-day series against India A as “difficult” but said the hosts fancied their chances in the three four-day “Tests” bowling off here tomorrow.

The hosts suffered a 4-1 thumping in the five-match one-day series, their only win coming in the fourth match when they scraped home by five runs in a tense finish at Coolidge Cricket Ground.

Chase pointed to his side’s struggles with the bat, especially in the middle overs, as the source of their poor form.

“It was a difficult series, seeing the result 4-1 but I just thought that we fell down mainly in the middle overs [when] batting,” Chase explained. “I thought we got some good starts in the latter games but in the middle overs we lost too many wickets at important times in the game and that brought them back into the game too often. That’s where we really fell down in the series.”

His point was no more evident than in Sunday’s final match at Coolidge which West Indies A lost by eight wickets.

They were coasting at 71 without loss in the 14th over but once the opening partnership between Sunil Ambris (61) and Kjorn Ottley (21) was broken, Windies A lost their way as seven wickets tumbled for 47 runs.

Sherfane Rutherford’s 65 helped them recover to reach 236 all out but India A got the required runs in a canter, with Ruturaj Gaikwad (99), Shubman Gill (69) and Shreyas Iyer (61 not out) all gathering half-centuries.

Chose said as the series had progressed, India A’s batsmen had become more familiar with the home side’s bowling.

West Indies A skipper, Roston Chase.

“In the bowling department I thought early on in the series we really hit our marks, [we bowled] good lines and lengths and we fielded well,” he pointed out.

“But coming on to the end of the series, I think the [India A] batsmen worked out our plans and they got the better of us.”

Chase will be a part of the “Test” squad which will clash with India A in the opener at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.He will be joined by experienced opener Kraigg Brathwaite, who played no part in the oneday series, as one of 10 players with Test experience in the line-up.And Chase believes West Indies A will be more at home in the longer format. “I’m looking forward to being more competitive in that series,” he noted.

“I think we’ll do a better job where the pace of the game is a little slower and we have more time to think and strategize what we’re looking to do. I’m looking forward to that and hopefully we can come out in a better position in that series.

Tuesday July 23, 2019

PAGE 31

Kaieteur News

BCB and Trophy Stall launch Under-13 Tournament for 2019

T

he rainy season has gone on longer than expected and has affecting the plans of the Berbice Cricket Board to host several tournaments in 2019.

The pro-active and extremely hard working Board is however forging ahead with its plans with the expectation that there would be an improvement in the weather condition. On Thursday last, the Hilbert Foster led Berbice Cricket Board joined hands with the popular Trophy Stall to launch an Under-13 Tournament for the Ancient County.

BCB President, Hilbert Foster, at the launching stated that, the Under-13 Tournament is a very important one for Berbice Cricket as it serves as a nursery to the county’s Under-15 level and would encourage players to start playing at a young age. Last year, the Berbice Cricket Board hosted the Da Silva Motor Spares Under-13 Tournament,

which was won by the Rampersaud Ramnauth led Port Mourant Cricket Club.

The Berbice Cricket Board is expecting at least sixteen Clubs to register to play in the Tournament and they would be divided into four Zones.

The Date of Birth cut off point would be on or after the 1st September, 20016.

A proud Foster stated the BCB/Trophy Stall Under-13 would be the 44th Tournament to be hosted by the Board since his new administration took over in February, 2018. The Berbice Cricket Board has over the last eighteen months organised tournaments at the Under13, Under-15, Under-17, Under-19, Under-21, Female, Internal Zone, Intermediate, Double Wickets, Primary School, Secondary School, Second and First Division levels. The Berbice Cricket Board in 2019 would also be hosting an Under-23 Tournament as it strives to

BCB President Hilbert Foster and Ramesh Sunich at the launch of the BCB/Trophy Stall Under-13 Tournament at the Port Mourant Branch. uphold the high standard it has set itself.

Foster has spearheaded a massive marketing drive for

the Berbice Cricket Board which has netted over $18M in finance and kind. He expressed gratitude to the Managing Director of the Trophy Stall, Ramesh Sunich for his continued confidence in Berbice Cricket.

The store is already a sponsor of an Under-19 Tournament in the Upper Corentyne area and recently donated trophies for the top two awards at the 3nd Annual Brian Ramphal Awards Ceremony.

Foster assured Sunich that the Tournament would be properly organised and the Berbice Cricket Board would make sure that his business, especially its Port Mourant branch, is properly promoted.

Sunich, in remarks stated that he was delighted to be associated with Berbice Cricket, which he described as the best organised in Guyana.

The popular businessman stated that he readily agreed to sponsor the Tournament via

the Port Mourant branch as he was pleased with the development taking place in Berbice Cricket.

Meanwhile, as part of its ongoing campaign to develop new talent in Berbice, the Berbice Cricket Board would be hosting its second annual Dr. Tulsi Dyal Singh Cricket Academy in early August, while the countywide coaching programme is ongoing.

The Berbice Cricket Board is also on the verge of completing its first ever Young Cricketer Information Booklet in conjunction with the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, MS. The booklet would be distributed free of cost to clubs across Berbice with each Berbice cricketer in the county getting a copy as the Berbice Cricket Board strives to make sure that every young cricketer fully understand their roles as Sports Ambassadors of the county.

RHTYSC and BCB invest into Cricket Academies for Upper Corentyne and West Berbice “As long as I remain President of the Berbice Cricket Board, special emphasis would be placed on the development of new talents as the present generation of cricket leaders has the responsibility of making sure that the future of our cricket is secured. Any cricket leader that does not plan for the future is not worth his position. The Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club and the Berbice Cricket Board would invest as much as humanly possible into the development of new talents for Berbice, so that the legacy of Trim, Kanhai, Butcher and Solomon continue.” Those were the sentiments of RHTYSC, MS Secretary/CEO and BCB President Hilbert Foster at a simple presentation ceremony, hosted by the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club to hand over donations to the Upper Corentyne Cricket Association and the D’Edward Cricket Club for the hosting of a Cricket Academy in the Upper Corentyne and West Berbice respectively.

The donation included a bicycle each for the Player of the Academy, trophies, a large quantity of packed water, school bags and certificate frames. The Berbice Cricket

Board would also provide coaches for the academy in each area along with some other items such as educational materials, medals and Youth Information Booklets.

The RHTYSC, MS is providing the majority of the donations under its Patron Fund Project. Foster stated that since his election as BCB President, the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, MS has used over $3M of its own funds to assist him in fulfilling his duties of the vibrant cricket board.

The Cricket Academy in the Upper Corentyne would be the first of its kind in the area and would be hosted by the Upper Corentyne Cricket Association at the Scottsburg Ground for 50 young cricketers between the ages of 8 to 18 years. The Academy would be a follow up to coaching sessions organised by the Berbice Cricket Board under the Dr. Tulsi Dyal Singh Coaching Programme and forms part of an intense effort to get more youths involved in the game in the Sub-association.

The Academy at the D’Edward Club would be for 50 youths from the club and others from the West Berbice area. Foster has also commit-

RHTYSC Organising Secretary Robby Kissoonlall hands over donation to a representative of D’Edward Cricket Club. ted to assisting clubs like Port Mourant, Whim, and Rose Hall Canje in organising coaching sessions for their young players. The Berbice Cricket Board over the last month assisted the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club and the Albion Cricket Clubs with the hosting of their Cricket Academies. The Board provided the Coaches

for the training of over one hundred youths at the Rose Hall Town and Albion benefitted from a donation of a bicycle, trophies, medals, scorebooks, cricket balls, a pair of batting gloves and educational materials.

Foster was loud in his praise for the hard work of Club Officials across Berbice and stated that there was no place

RHTYSC Ravindranauth Kissoonlall hands over the donation to UCCA Vice President Sydney Jackman. for persons whose only interest is in securing positions at the national level as Managers, Coaches and Selectors.

The work of the Berbice Cricket Board and Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club are unmatched across Guyana and he urged Club Officials in Berbice to work along with his administration to achieve even more.

Meanwhile the two organisations joined hands in donating items to the Port Mourant Public Hospital for an Award Ceremony scheduled for Saturday 27th July, 2019 at the University of Guyana, Tain Campus. The donation included ten trophies, certificate frames, medals and a collection of special prizes.

PAGE 32

Tuesday July 23, 2019

Kaieteur News

Brighton John sprints away with Grenville Felix Memorial cycle road race

Brighton John is all alone as he easily wins the Grenville Felix memorial cycle road race.

Brighton John receives the Grenville Felix lien trophy from Daughter Joan Perry as Mayor Winifred Haywood at left and other prize winners, organisers and members of the Felix family share the moment.

B

righton John was in ripping form on Sunday last as he sprinted away from his opponents to easily win the sixth edition of the Grenville Felix Memorial Cycle Race held in East Berbice.

The event, which was sponsored by the Felix Family, was organised by the Flying Ace Cycle Club (FACC) and Coordinated by Randolph Roberts, saw 25 riders taking part.

John was all alone as he

crossed the finishing line in a time of 2 hours, 40 minutes, 37:11 seconds.

The battle for second place from a bunch of about eight saw defending champion Jamal John, getting the better of Michael Anthony with Paul De Nobrega fourth, Ajay Gopilall fifth Kemol Moses sixth with Romello Crawford riding in seventh and Andrew Hicks, who suffered a puncture about two miles from the finish line, eight.

The race pedaled off at 13:15hrs with a rolling start from Felix birth place Betsy Ground East Canje, Berbice.

The cyclists were given the starters flag by Deputy Mayor of New Amsterdam Wainwright McIntosh as they passed his former residence at Canefield Village. The riders then proceeded to No 51 village before turning back to finish at Canefield, a distance of 62 miles.

As the riders were sent on their way a bunch that include

Jamal John, Anthony, De Nobrega, Gopilall, Brighton John, Andre Green, Moses, Crawford and Hicks went on the attack. There were many mini breaks and counterattacks throughout the journey, but the front riders were quickly roped in as the riders battled for supremacy.

As the cyclists continued to battle and near the Canje turn for home that was when Brighton John seized the advantage and became separated from the rest as he made the dash and sprinted away for home.

Horace Burrowes won the veteran category ahead of Paul Choo-Wee-Nam with Alexis Mendes riding in third.

Mario Washington of the

FACC outduel his opponents to win the juvenile category from Steve Bhimsen and Jeremiah Joseph.

Lindener Mark Lewis made sure that his trip all the way to Berbice was worthwhile as he won the 1214 Category from Aaron Rajnarine and Shazim Yakub.

Maria Carrington won the female section.

The sprint prizes went to Anthony, De Nobrega and John with two each, while Hicks and Greene took one.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony held immediately after at the Felix Residence, daughter of the late Grenville Felix, Joan Perry said she and the family were very happy.

She was high in praise for

the cyclists, the organisers and the spectators who came out to view the event.

She had special words of commendation for the winners and thanked the FACC and Roberts for a job well done. New Amsterdam Mayor Winfred Haywood was in attendance and also spoke at the event.

This is the eight year that the event is being held, the first two was held in observance of Felix birthday and after he died it became a memorial event.

Felix, who was 96 when he died, was one of Guyana’s first and oldest engineers, he worked with Bookers and Guyana Sugar Corporation in Guyana and various parts of the world. (Samuel Whyte)

Windies names squad for first two t20s against India Guyana’s Wicket-Keeper/ Batsman Anthony Bramble along with the Trinidadian pair Sunil Narine and Kieron Pollard have been selected by the West Indies for the first two MyTeam11 Twenty20 International Series, co-sponsored by Skoda against India which will be played at Broward County Stadium in Lauderhill, Florida, USA on August 3&4.

The 28-year-old Bramble, who hails from Corriverton, Berbice but plays for Albion, is the only newcomer in the 14-member squad.

Bramble was recently picked for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the CPL for the first time in three years after he captained a West Indies ‘B’ team to the GT20 in Canada and has played 12 T20 matches.

The Selection Panel has the opportunity to make changes to the squad before the third T20I on August 6 at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.

Bramble, who has 10 fifties and three centuries in 58

First-Class matches with 225 dismissals, has also 46 List A games but will not be the first choice Keeper since Trinidadian Nicolas Pooran has been picked as the number Keeper.

Bramble has given firm proof of his batting and keeping ability in the West Indies Championship for reigning five-time champions Guyana Jaguars, who also reached the Final of last year’s West Indies Super50 Cup. “We have been following his performances in regional competitions over the years and it cannot be forgotten that he led the West Indies ‘B’ Team to the GT20 in Canada, and that team did well to reach the Final,” said Interim Chairman of Selectors Robert Haynes.

“We figured that though Nicholas Pooran will be the first-choice wicketkeeper, but we needed to have someone to deputize in case something unexpected happens and Bramble is the perfect choice.

“He is young and has a lot of ambition, and we saw

Narine, Pollard recalled, Bramble set for squad debut his character come out in the way he batted whenever Guyana Jaguars were in problems in the West Indies Championship and Super50 Cup, so we know he is capable of getting the job done.”

In addition to Pollard and Narine, the squad also includes Andre Russell, subject to him passing a fitness assessment prior to the series.

He is set to return to the playing field following his early exit from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 England & Wales to undergo an operation on his troublesome left knee.

Off-Spinner Narine last played in a T20I for West Indies against England almost two years ago at Chester-leStreet and batting all-rounder Pollard appeared last November on the Tour of India.

Veteran opener Chris Gayle, who wants his last International game to be in the second and final Test in his

home Island Jamaica, stated that he was unavailable for the series, due to playing commitments at the GT20 in Canada, and left-handed Jamaican John Campbell will fill the slot.

Left-handed opener Campbell and left-arm spinner Khary Pierre have also been included alongside a number of regulars led by Carlos Brathwaite, as the interim CWI Selection Panel seeks to explore options with the ICC World T20 looming next year in Australia.

“This squad is an excellent balance of experience and youth,” said Haynes.

“It’s not just about the present – the India Tour of the West Indies – but we are also looking at the T20 World Cup coming up next year and it is important that we find the right combination of players and the right formula for defending our title.

“We have to make sure

that we put certain things in place now, so that when it comes to picking the squad for the T20 World Cup, it becomes easier, so we are giving more players the opportunity to play and get the exposure.”

“We felt that players like Narine and Pollard, who have played well in T20 leagues around the World, once they are fit and mentally ready to play, we must give them the opportunity to represent the West Indies again,” said Haynes.

As one of the most feared and fierce hitters in the shortest version of the game, Russell will add further depth to the batting, and Haynes expects him and the other senior members of the squad to play a big role in the series.

“We expect that this will be a keenly contested series against India,” said Haynes.

“Most of the players that we have selected have played in

the IPL and they know all of the Indian players well.

“We will have the edge for sure because we are playing at home. At the end of the day however, it is important that the players go out there and play to win, not just to compete, and I think we have the right balance to do so,” Haynes said.

Squad for 1st two T20s: Carlos Brathwaite (Captain), Anthony Bramble, John Campbell, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Sunil Narine, Keemo Paul, Khary Pierre, Kieron Pollard, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Andre Russell, Oshane Thomas India to West Indies 2019 fixtures: Sat, Aug 3: 1st MyTeam11 Twenty20 International – Broward County Stadium, Lauderhill, Florida (10:30 am start) Sun, Aug 4: 2nd (Continued on page 27 )

Kaieteur News

Tuesday July 23, 2019

PAGE 33

Guyana Cup 2019 Superbet among

first sponsors to support event The 13th annual Guyana Cup 2019 is scheduled for August 18th at the Rising Sun Turf Club, Rising Sun Village in West Coast, Berbice (45mins from Georgetown) and according to the organisers, Jumbo Jet Thoroughbred Racing Committee (JJTRC), this edition will be the biggest ever with increased prize money and a mega concert planned.

Superbet Guyana has seized the opportunity to align itself with this event which will no doubt be a massive affair especially with the increase of prize money from $15 to $20million this year.

Chairman of the JJTRC, Nasrudeen Mohamed Jr., in a release to the media, noted that in addition to feature race which will see the winner pocketing $2million, the three-year-old Guyana bred race will see the winner running away with $1million.

A total of eight races are on the cards and after the racemeet, fans will enjoy a concert that will feature six

international artistes. Already confirmed for the concert are Gage, Munga, Kristo and K.I. The prize money for the races are as follows: C Class and lower feature race over a distance of one mile for – $2million, Three-year-old Guyana Bred - $1million G3 and lower $400,000 L3 and lower (open to non-winners from Trinidad & Tobago) - $350,000 Tw o - y e a r- o l d Guyana bred over - $300,000.

J3 and lower over seven furlongs – $300,000.

L Class for Colts – $250,000 L Class Philly and Mare – $250,000 Some of the top animals expected to be on show come race day will include Just Call Me Bass, Crown the King (Jamaica), Doublin Fashion (USA), Chameli (Jamaica), Safara (Jamaica), Southern Express (T&T), Silver & Things (T&T), Sitarr (T&T), Kentucky Woman (T&T),

ACDA SC day of sports set for August 1 The African Cultural and Development Association Sporting Committee will be hosting a day of sport on August 1 at the National Park starting at 11:00hrs.

Teams from Georgetown, East Bank and East Coast Demerara, along with West Berbice will be vying for supremacy in circle tennis, softball cricket, 5-a-side football and penalty shootout competitions along with dominoes, boxing, 40 and 60m races, cricket for the blind, 5-mile walk and ice cream competition.

The business community is urged to come on board and can make contact with the ACDA on 226-7050 or 225-8420.

A dominoes tournament will be held on August 26 at Guyana Legion and National Park. Entrance fee is $10,000 and double six time is 18:30hrs.

Another domino competition is also billed for August 4 at Mahaicony, while the committee will be hosting a Billiards competition from July 24 - July 30 at Guyana Veterans Legion Hall at Carifesta Avenue. At stake are trophies.

Super Easy (T&T) and She’s a P r i n c e s s .

Apart from the foreign contingent of horses to be on show, several leading jockeys from overseas are also expected to participate, which will add that international flavour to the day’s event.

Fans will be able to enjoy both the horserace meet and concert for the price of $2,000.

Shrikant Kisoensingh (right); General Manager of Superbet Guyana hands over the sponsorship to a representative of the organisers.

Joseph pleased with t r o ‘Lady Jags’ performance Sp in Concacaf Women’s Under-20 C’ship

Club President Aleem Husain (c) with Avinash Persaud (L) and Christine Sukram.

Persaud, Sukhram happy with victory

Head Coach Ivan Joseph and Technical Staff interacting with the ‘Lady Jags’ during the Suriname match on Sunday last at Leonora. (Franklin Wilson photo)

Sunil Narine (flickr.com) Keemo Paul

Shimron Hetmyer

Anthony Bramble

Windies names squad for first two t20s against India

Narine, Pollard recalled, Bramble set for squad debut

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