Kaieteur News

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Tuesday July 24, 2018

Kaieteur News

Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

EDITORIAL

REMEMBERING NELSON MANDELA On July 18, 2018, several countries around the world, including the United States, Canada and Britain, marked the 100th birthday of Nelson Mandela. It was an occasion to reflect on Nelson Mandela’s life, honour his legacy and his leadership and devotion to fight poverty, promote social justice for all and to follow his call to make the world a better place. While it was most appropriate for these countries to observe the birthday of this world icon, only few in Guyana revered the Nobel Laureate whose resolve to stand up against apartheid, injustice and racial prejudice in South Africa continues to inspire people across the world. In November 2009, the United Nations declared the Nelson Mandela International Day in recognition of the former South African President’s contribution to global peace and freedom. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in the tiny village of Mvezo, British South Africa on July 18, 1918. He was born in a country where a network of laws were codified to implement racial segregation and subjugation of blacks known as apartheid. At the time, most of Africa was under colonial rule. The dominant European powers viewed the continent and its people primarily as spoils in a contest for territory, natural resources, cheap labour and inferiority of the black race. This view of the world saw white Europeans and predominantly white countries as inherently superior. Violence and coercion were the primary basis for governance; the strong exploited the weak, and wealth was determined primarily by conquest. In such a white dominated world, there was no reason to believe that a young black boy from South Africa could in any way, alter history. After all, South Africa was then less than a decade removed from full British control. Mandela fought against a government established apartheid and racial segregation and served 27 years in prison from 1964 until his release in 1990 by President de Klerk amid growing domestic and international pressure and with fears of a racial civil war in South Africa. In 1994, Mandela was elected South Africa’s first black President under a broad Coalition Government in a fully representative democratic election. While in office, he could have exacted vengeance on white South Africans for the decades of wrong that they committed against the majority black population. But he turned firmly against it, and instead, tackled institutionalized racism, dismantled apartheid and created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate past human rights abuse. Many recall with great pain his, passing at the age of 95 on December 5, 2013, but through his exemplary contribution to the development of his beloved country, and indeed the world, Nelson Mandela repeatedly gave us reason to reflect on our purpose of life on earth. At his trial and conviction of unjustified charges of treason in April 1964, when the abominable South African apartheid regime of Peter Botha sought to put him to death, the South African anti-apartheid revolutionary leader said, “I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal, which I hope to live for and to achieve. But, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” As we honour the memory of this great man on his 100th birthday, it is incumbent on us to examine our actions towards our fellow human beings and how we can contribute to making the world a better place, not only for us but also for future generations.

I sincerely hope that Mr. Krauss will apologize to the people of my country DEAR EDITOR, “Guyana is a vast, watery wilderness with only three paved highways. There are a few dirt roads between villages that sit on stilts along rivers snaking through the rain forest. Children in remote areas go to school in dugout canoes, and play naked in the muggy heat.” Let me start by addressing the first paragraph of Mr. Clifford Krauss’ article in the New York Times. Wilderness as described by the Oxford Dictionary states, “An uncultivated, uninhabited, and inhospitable region.” My question is, in the eyes of society, is Guyana so underdeveloped that we would be classified as a “wilderness” or has the world gotten so accustomed to calling us such names from the turmoil of an event that was the Jonestown Massacre? And if so, why do we put up with such defamatory notions? No we do not only have three paved highways; yes we have three major paved highways and so much more. Yes we have “Children in remote areas going to school in dugout canoes, and (who)

play naked in the muggy heat.” But that is part of our heritage, something we are proud of. With the exploration of oil from the Exxon deal, I’m sure that our nation will progress, but if we have critics such as Mr. Krauss putting in their opinions - not on the economy alone, but our way of life and culture, do we stand back and listen to them? How much will we listen before we start to change integral parts of our culture? I remember as a child jumping in creeks and playing for hours on a hot sunny day or running through the rain, playing in the mud at my scout camps. Living life; having fun as a child should. But who am I to say all this, I’m just another youth from a “watery wilderness”. The world probably views me as uncultured and uncouth. I grew up in Georgetown, which according to Mr. Krauss is a “musty clapboard town, which seems forgotten by time.” I’ve seen my beautiful city renovated, updated, progressing. We may not have skyscrapers and superstructures but we’ve been progressing with time. The sandman didn’t sud-

denly stop by and say, “I have forsaken you.” No we are blessed by time. We are blessed to have kept our past and have our future integrated within our society so beautifully to create our present. So saying that we have been forgotten by time, I pity Mr. Krauss for not seeing the beauty that is Georgetown. “A vast majority of college-educated youths emigrate to the United States or Canada, while those who stay behind experience high rates of H.I.V. infection, crime and suicide.” This statement may have some truth to it, but saying that those who stay behind experience such detrimental factors is an unforgivable insult to those of us who are still here and still working our hardest. Those who migrated made a choice that we respect, just like those who stay should be respected for their choice. There is a vast majority of educated youth in Guyana’s society, those of us who are striving our hardest to be recognized for our efforts, and not by statistics that do us no justice. Yes, according to the WHO, our suicide rate is among the highest in the

world. But this has always been misinterpreted. For a country’s whose population is 750,000 and change, our suicide rate is high compared to other countries. It’s not that we are the worst in the world, but it’s pretty high for our population. And to have a statistic such as this be placed on those like me who’re trying to find our way in the world, is preposterous. Words have power; and maybe if I wasn’t such a strong-willed individual, maybe that statement might have had a more detrimental effect on me, other than being a mere annoyance. Yes I agree that money runs this world. Yes this oil exploration will bring loads to our economy and with such exuberance comes the temptation to be corrupt; but that’s the thing about life, it’s never certain. One day you can be the emperor of Rome and the next you have several dozen knives in your back. There is no reason to compare us to Venezuela and Trinidad because we are our own people. Yes, those who forget the past are bound to repeat it, but those who are (Continued on page 6)

Concerns about infant mortality DEAR EDITOR, The editorial in the KN issue of July 18 does not really allow us to make comparisons in order to decide whether or not we have a serious problem at the hospital. Readers can decide if a total of 119 neonatal deaths at the GPH is a problem only if we know: a) how many births there were in the same period at the GPH, and b) how many of those neonatal deaths were of babies born at the hospital, and how many were born elsewhere and were transferred to the GPH. (KN says that the GPH is the only institution where neonatal care with invasive breathing support is available which suggests that a baby with serious problems born elsewhere will likely be transferred to the GPH. In which case, in order to make meaningful comparisons, we really need to look at ALL neonatal deaths in Guyana in relation to ALL births in Guyana within a given time frame, or neonatal deaths of infants born at the GPH in relation to all infants born at the GPH within the given time frame). Then there appears to be confusion between neonatal deaths and infant deaths/ mortality. Neonatal death is usually defined as a death

within the first 28 days after birth. Infant mortality usually means death within the first year after birth. But you skip from one term to the other. The infant mortality rate could be falling, although the neonatal mortality rate remains the same or is increasing, and vice versa. And there can be different causes of neonatal mortality (prematurity or birth defects, for example) and infant mortality (e.g. diarrhea caused by drinking some impure liquid - not impossible for a neonatal infant, but I think we do tend to be more particular about what we give a baby in that first month). In order to compare the incidence of any phenomenon in different places, one usually needs to convert the raw figures to a ratio of so many per 1,000 in the population. For example, later in the editorial we read that the Ministry aims to reduce the incidence of neonatal mortality of 29 deaths per 1,000 live births. I assume that the Ministry is here referring to all neonatal deaths in Guyana, not only deaths at the GPH; because if there is a total of 6409 live births and the 119 neonatal deaths at the GPH are of babies born throughout the country, that is a 20 per thou-

sand neonatal death rate (it is actually a fraction less than 20, but the figure has to be rounded up, since there is no such thing as a part of a child). If Guyana currently has 29 neonatal deaths per 1,000 live births, then either our government gave inaccurate figures to UNICEF in 2016 or the neonatal death rate has increased instead of decreasing between 2016 and 2018. UNICEF statistics state that Guyana’s neonatal death rate was 20 per 1000 live births in 2016. Then Freddie Kissoon in a subsequent column says that “Guyana per capita must have one of the highest, if not the highest rate of neonatal deaths among countries”. Well yes, we are among the higher rates, but we are not the highest. (Mr Kissoon, thank you for explaining cogently the meaning of a rate per 1,000 so that I don’t have to go into that). Most of the countries with rates of 20 per 1,000 and higher are in Africa or Asia according to the UNICEF statistics for example (not an exhaustive list) Ethiopia 20, Senegal & Uganda 21, Zimbabwe & Zambia 23, Myanmar & India 25, Mozambique, Ghana & Yemen 27 (although I expect that Yemen’s rate may have increased recently with the war in that country), Gambia 28,

Sudan 29, Sierra Leone 33, Nigeria 34, Guinea-Bissau 38, Somalia & Lesotho 39, Afghanistan 40, and Pakistan (the highest) 46. What I find more troubling in Guyana’s situation is that a number of other countries, which in 1960 had much higher rates than 20 per thousand, have managed to bring their rates down to Guyana’s 2016 rate or lower (granted that was a 56-year interval), while Guyana is now talking about reducing our rate by only a further 3%. Again, as examples, Senegal reduced their rate from 62 per 1,000 live births in 1960 to 17 in 2016, Rwanda reduced from 63 to 17, Jamaica went from 35 to 11, Panama 39 down to 10, Peru 55 down to 8. Even Bangladesh which had 103 deaths per 1,000 in 1960 had reduced their rate to 20 in 2016. Several other Latin American and Caribbean states have rates in 2016 that are much lower than Guyana’s Trinidad & Tobago 13, Suriname and Jamaica 11, Belize and St Vincent 10, Colombia 9, Barbados and Brazil 8, St Lucia, St Kitts and the Bahamas and Costa Rica 6, Antigua 4, and Cuba with a highly developed country (Continued on page 6)

Tuesday July 24, 2018

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Kaieteur News

Don’t tell me that we don’t have money! DEAR EDITOR, Please permit me to add my professional opinion on the recently released figures on the alarmingly high infant mortality. Editor, you may be aware that a letter written by myself, which you were kind enough to publish, characterised the health services in Guyana, both public and private as ‘National Death Chambers’. You may not be aware of this, but I got lots of abuse for my characterisation. To begin with, I should define what constitutes a death chamber. The Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition defines a death chamber as a room in which condemned prisoners are executed. Simply put, it is a place where prisoners enter alive, but their biggest fear is that they will leave in a body bag. And their fear is not unfounded or unreasonable. Speak to anyone going to the public or private health care services in Guyana and ask them what their biggest fear is. Most of them will tell you that they are afraid that they will leave those hospitals in body bags. Not because they have a terminal illness, but mainly because health care professionals commit negligent acts with impunity and on many occasions resulting in patients’ untimely deaths without any investigation. Now you understand why I view the health facilities as National death chambers. Patients are unnecessarily dying in large numbers every month. So now we have this infant mortality figure and there is this big outcry. Fact be told, 2017-2018 is not an outlier year. This has been happening for decades with no action by past or present Government. Reason? If the President, his ministers, Opposition leader or MPs sneeze they will be medivaced out for overseas treatment. It is the Guyanese plebs who have to endure the terror at these death facilities. Infant mortality is now topical, but there are others. I am sure maternal mortality would be ridiculously high. I

am sure unexpected deaths would be ridiculously high. I am sure that many of these deaths can be classed as ‘preventable deaths’. I am sure that infectious and coronary artery diseases are the leading causes of deaths in Guyana. This is a national disgrace. For those who abused me for calling the local health facilities national death chambers I have a little homework for you. What is the life expectancy of Guyanese? How does this compare with the rest of the Caribbean and the wider world? So what can be done? I will humbly make the following recommendations: 1. The Government should set up an apolitical, independent and nonpartisan regulatory body to set minimal standards for hospitals in Guyana. This body should have powers to inspect hospitals, both announced and unannounced, using statistical matrices to grade hospitals as excellent, good, satisfactory or poor. This body should also be empowered to close down poorly functioning hospitals. All information on hospitals should be made public. 2. Patients should have a say with regards to the service they received. It should be made by law that all hospitals provide feedback on a minimal number of patients, family and staff. This feedback will help inform the regulatory body’s accreditation of the hospitals. This feedback should also be made available to the public and conspicuously displayed in the hospital. 3. The Government should start focusing on disease prevention. For example, controlling patients’ blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, body weight, patient education etc. Just forget about those ridiculous sophisticated treatments like coronary artery bypass surgeries, kidney transplants, electro-

physiological studies etc. Get the basics right. The fancy stuff can follow. Simple things save lives. Medicine is very easy. Stop making it difficult. 4. All unexpected hospital deaths should be reported and investigated by the local hospital. This investigation should be undertaken by independent consultants who were not associated with the case. The regulatory body should be informed of unexpected deaths and steps taken and lessons learned to minimise reoccurrence. The purpose of the intervention is not to apportion blame, but to learn lessons. This is important if we expect doctors and other health professionals to have a duty of candour. 5. All doctors and nurses should be trained in adult and paediatric advance life support with regular updating. All hospitals should have a cardiac arrest team to tend to patients with reversible cardiac arrest. In-hospital cardiac arrests have better outcomes than out of hospital. 5. All Government hospital boards should be apolitical. Stop this ridiculous charade of hospital CEOs, managers and medical directors etc. being political appointees. If they are political appointees no one should be surprised when they feel they are only accountable to their political masters and not to patients, relatives and staffs. 6. The medical council should be apolitical and independent of doctors. They should have an independent investigatory body responsible for investigating complaints against doctors. Definitely no political appointees. 7. There should be a national register of medical doctors and medical specialists. Unless a doctor is on the specialist register, he/she cannot work independently as a consultant. A doctor who has done a one year masters is not a specialist. He/she lacks the required skills, knowledge and experience to function as

a consultant. There should be an independent body that reviews doctors’ postgraduate specialist training to ensure that they are qualified to be added to the specialist register. It is because of these masquerading consultants that we are having such high mortality figures among our patients. Quite frankly, they do not know what they are about and playing with patients’ lives. 8. The Government should just abort those postgraduate masters training for doctors. They are a complete waste of time and resources. Guyana does not have the facilities to train specialists. These doctors should be sent overseas for proper training. Forget what the Canadians are saying that the masters training is good. Ask the Canadians to have those very doctors tend to their Canadian patients and you will get their true opinion of these doctors’ postgraduate training. Knowing that the doctors will only be unleashed to the unsuspecting Guyanese plebs will

make them say all good things. 9. We have a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) without a neonatal intensivist and we are surprised that the neonates are dying. How ridiculous. What is happening on that NICU is the blind leading the blind. We also need specialist neonatal intensivist nurses to work on the NICU. Frankly, whatever investigation that is being undertaken by the Government to investigate these 119 deaths, part of the solution would be to have the right staff in the right place. We need skilled staff to man the NICU, not doctors and nurses who are just guessing. 10. This is the most controversial recommendation of them all, but I’ll state it because I am who I am. Fearless. The Government should shut down the NICU. It is not fit for purpose. Babies and infants are dying. It is not safe, because of many reasons with the major reason being inadequately skilled staff. In the short term our neonates

and infants should be stabilised and then medivaced to the closest available NICU. Government should stand the expenses. If Granger, Jagdeo et al can go overseas for treatment paid for by the state, so should our babies. In the long term the Government should focus on providing overseas training for neonatal intensivists, neonatal nurses, and heavily invest in our neonatal service with a view to providing a safe neonatal service. Don’t tell me that we do not have money. They had monies to give themselves a 50% increase, to pay rent at the sum of $500,000 for their ministers and provide exorbitant Presidential and Prime Minister pensions. In my opinion, if some of the elites have to give up their privileges to keep our children alive, so be it. Dr Mark Devonish MBBS MSc MRCP(UK) Consultant Acute Medicine Nottingham University Hospital UK

It’s amazing how we in a suave manner try to mislead people DEAR EDITOR, It is amazing how we in a suave manner try to mislead people. This is as the Opposition Leader in one of his usual “throw down” attempts to confuse the populace - in a Kaieteur News article, “How come SARA can’t charge someone for $1M?” – Jagdeo. The opposition leader must be familiar with the contents of the State Assets Recovery Act 2017. This was hotly debated in Parliament last year. Editor, just to bring to the attention of the general public, the act specifically says that SARA is not allowed with any case under $10 Million. So the mouthings of the opposition leader are so outlandish.

Further, SARA’s mandate is about the recovery of stolen assets and to regain same through civil recovery. All this is known to the Leader of the Opposition, but he still insists on his path of misinformation. It is public knowledge that the State Asset Recovery Agency doesn’t charge people; the Special Organised Crime Unit is the agency that would institute charges, so its erroneous to subscribe that role to SARA. I am sure that the govern-

ment agency is leaving no stone unturned to recover all that the state lost over the years. As is known, the recovery of state assets is a painstakingly long process, it requires due diligence and careful meticulous handling of all cases. This has been proven in many of the successful cases, and that is why those engaged in the preparation of those cases do not fall for the call for charges, it’s the bait (Continued on page 6)

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Tuesday July 24, 2018

Kaieteur News

‘Winner takes it all’ must give way to Some things happen in Guyana that shared and inclusive governance are simply beyond comprehension DEAR EDITOR, Former President Jimmy Carter must be commended for his role in promoting democracy and good governance not only in Guyana but the world at large. It is an acknowledged fact that President Carter was highly instrumental in influencing a number of electoral reforms which resulted in the first free and fair elections in Guyana on October 5, 1992, after nearly three decades of undemocratic rule. Among the electoral reforms were a reconstituted Elections Commission, counting of votes at the place of poll, and a new Voters’ List. Regrettably, the CarterPrice Formula which was introduced to select a Chairman for the Guyana Elections Commission has now been jettisoned and a new Chairman has been unilaterally appointed by President Granger.

This move is a reversal of the ‘checks and balances’ mechanism advocated by President Carter to create a climate of trust and confidence in the electoral processes, which was eroded in the past by a series of consecutive rigged elections. It would appear that the way is now cleared, thanks to the intervention of President Carter, for dialogue between the Government and the political opposition on a number of important national issues, including the emerging oil and gas sector, environmental issues and crime. However, the issue of constitutional reform, which President Carter has strongly advocated for Guyana, is not listed among the issues for discussion. I wish to urge that constitutional reforms become a front burner issue and not allowed to languish at the

whims and fancies of those who walk the corridors of power. I have always maintained the view that the way forward for Guyana is for a new governance paradigm where the current system of ‘winner takes it all’ gives way to shared and inclusive governance. The Carter Centre has made some interesting proposals in this regard, and I think these and other governance proposals should be put on the table for national discourse as a matter of urgency. The current administration must bear responsibility for the sloth in advancing the process. It has failed to honour its commitment to fast track the process, and the issue for all practical purposes now seems to have been put in cold storage. Hydar Ally

I sincerely hope that Mr. Krauss... From page 4 haunted by the past are bound to fall prey to misery. We cannot move forward if all we do is doubt, we cannot progress if we have an unfathomable fear of the negatives. Yes, Mr. Krauss made valid points as it pertains to the Oil endeavours in itself, but I wonder if he has ever truly lived. Has he ever truly enjoyed life the way we do in our country? If not, then that in itself is a sad existence. I am a Guyanese born and raised, and though my country may not be a first world

country, it may not be as technologically and socially advanced as others, it is still MY country, and our culture is not something to scoff at and ridicule. I am proud of my culture, from our six peoples to our vast waterways and exotic animals. Yes, I believe we have an abundance of potential to progress and improve, but I refuse to have someone insult my country and my culture. Mr. Krauss’ article was noted and not appreciated. And I thank him for bringing

forth the thoughts of someone who is critical, educated and well versed as a national energy business correspondent. Someone who knows business, but not the way of the people. MY people. And for that I sincerely hope that Mr. Krauss will apologize to the people of my country, for we are a prideful people, and we sincerely hope he will understand that this beauty we call home is our pride and joy. We are Guyanese, born and raised; proud to be One People, One Nation. Carina Westford

DEAR EDITOR, Some things happen in Guyana that are simply beyond comprehension. Simple things or procedures, when not properly organized or implemented, often become major inconveniences or burdensome issues to those of us who live here. On Saturday afternoon, July 21, at around 6pm, I decided to visit one of Georgetown’s famous malls. One of the routes to get there is north along the University of Guyana (UG) access road, if one is approaching from the southern section of the city. So, I drove east along Dennis Street, Sophia, and turned north onto the UG road. As I approached the entrance to UG from its eastern side I noticed, a short distance ahead, an improvised barricade of three painted oil drums along with traffic cones lined across the roadway from one end to the next. An excavator, which was at work, had dug a huge trenching across the roadway. PVC drainage culverts were being installed.

I was completely dumbfounded. A sudden impediment to my journey out of the blue. A small crowd had gathered to look at the ongoing work. I pulled into the corner of the road just in front the UG entrance and parked my vehicle. I had a big question on my mind and was hoping that one of the workmen there could have answered it. While I made my way towards the workmen, several other equally uninformed motorists caught by the abrupt road closure were forced to turn around the best way they could. I asked one of the workmen if the person in-charge of the works was there. His hurried response was in the negative, but I believe he wasn’t truthful. It is ridiculous that after 50 years of independence, a main roadway could be closed to vehicular traffic in Guyana and adequate notification not provided to road-users. No “approaching road closure” or detour signs were

placed a mile away for road users’ awareness. International standards set out what temporary traffic control entails: details of specific work activities, inconvenience time/days, as well as detouring traffic options should be publicized. That is elementary stuff! That dug-up section of road connects traffic from the East Coast and surrounding areas to UG, Cummings Lodge, Sophia, South Georgetown, the East Bank, and vice versa. It is one of the main alternative routes other than Sheriff Street linking the East Coast to Georgetown. Yet, whoever was responsible for carrying out that construction did not see it fit to place signs at the Dennis Street/ UG access road or the Dennis Street/ Eastern Highway Junctions. The person/ persons obviously didn’t consider the mobility or security implications, although there are several which I will not detail here. Dumbfounded Guyanese

Known wildlife abuser DEAR EDITOR, Once again, I am bringing to the attention of Government authorities the unforgiveable abuse to Guyana’s wildlife; as related to me by a Facebook friend. This friend was riding in a car with his uncle, returning to Georgetown from Soesdyke. Upon reaching Land of Canaan they saw two cars (one white, one red), parked at the side of the road with their trunks open. My friend (a devoted animal lover) saw animals in a cage and decided to stop. They passed the two cars, pulling over in front of the second.

My friend got out with his cellphone camera on video. He sensed something was wrong when the men appeared very nervous. He videoed the scene and has pictures showing three men and one child. One trunk had several small cages with frightened capuchin and squirrel monkeys. On the ground alongside the road was a flour bag with dead monkeys. One of the men is a known wildlife trader who traps/buys birds, parrots and monkeys for profit.Were these men guilty of committing a crime in Guyana? Maybe not, if they had the required licenses and were receiv-

ing/delivering to a legal wildlife dealer. Were these men guilty of committing a moral crime against Guyana’s wildlife? Most definitely! They were transporting these animals inhumanely in cramped space without water, and it appears that several monkeys died in transport. At the minimum, perhaps a review of our wildlife laws for handling and transporting wildlife in Guyana is in order! The mentioned video has been forwarded to the Wildlife Division. Faithfully, Syeada Manbodh

Concerns about infant mortality... From page 4 rate of 2 per 1,000 live births.The USA has 4 per 1,000, which is high for such a wealthy country - the same as Antigua, a far, far poorer country. Japan, Slovenia, Singapore all have 1 per 1,000 live births. Israel, South Korea, Latvia, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Norway, Austria, Belgium and Australia have 2 per 1,000. New Zealand, Poland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the Slovak Republic, Canada and the U.K. are 3 per 1,000 live births. The average rate for the world is 19 per 1,000 live births. While Guyana’s rate is relatively high, it is by no means the highest in the world, nor is it exceptionally high for a state with

one of the lowest GDPs in the region. However that is not a matter for complacency. We should perhaps be learning from our near neighbours how to reduce our rate further. It will be interesting to see if and how we improve as the oil money starts

to flow. //Source: UN Interagency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, UN Dept of Economic & Social Affairs Population Division) Pat Robinson Commissiong

It’s amazing how we in... From page 5 to know who the ones on SARA’s radar are. Many people want to know who will have to repay the state, but at the appropriate time I suppose all shall be revealed. Again Mr. Jagdeo is infusing that “the formal economy is tanking, because of the policies of the government,” but this is not true. The

economy is now beginning to grow as a result of the new economic and financial policies, and the administration should be applauded for it. I believe in a n other 2-3 years the economy will be on a stronger footing, giving it the kind of resilience needed. Regards S. Chand

Tuesday July 24, 2018

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First oil around the corner but we see minimal economic benefit for Guyanese - Ramson tells local content forum A strong foundation is important to everything. If one is to examine the foundation needed for Guyanese to benefit fairly from local content then the conversation needs to move beyond just a policy. A policy alone represents a weak foundation; strong foundation would be reflective of legislation. That was the focus of a presentation made yesterday by Attorney-at-law and Oil and Gas academic, Charles Ramson. Ramson was a panelist at the Local Content forum held by the University of Guyana

at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. There, he said that the government’s posture does not suggest that it is serious about securing strong local content, the kind that resuscitate the local business community and change the lives of many Guyanese. In fact, Ramson said that the way things seem, if the government does pursue local content legislation, it would not be before 2020. “They have no intention to pass it before Guyana’s first oil production planned for March 2020.” Ramson opined that the

two most important pieces of legislation directly connected to our oil and gas production are the Sovereign Wealth Fund legislation and the Local Content legislation. Ramson said that by now, the government should have noticed that Guyanese have not been benefitting the way they should have from the Liza phase one project and should have therefore made moves to secure a better reality. Ram said, “The Liza Phase one project is worth US$4.4B and the bulk of the budget is spent in the development stage which is

Reject erroneous New York Times article- Finance Minister Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, has said the government is well aware of the challenges posed by the dangers surrounding resourcerich countries. The Minister said extensive research has been conducted on issues of the “presource curse where unrealistic expectations ahead of oil production result in demands for higher wages and government spending, and the other two pitfalls — the resource curse and Dutch Disease.” Minister Jordan was responding to an erroneous article published on July 20, by the New York Times’ Clifford Krauss, which described Guyana as a backward nation. He advised Krauss “to take a closer look at our country, its proud and resourceful people and our resilience in the face of the odds.” The Minister also urged Guyanese to “reject the article and to look towards the future with hope in our heritage, in the legacies of our ancestors and in the path that is being crafted for us now.”

New York Times reporter, Clifford Krauss The Finance Minister explained that in crafting the National Resource Fund (NRF) Act, the government has sought advice from several international institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Commonwealth Secretariat. Crucially, he explained, the Act directly addresses the transparent handling of and accounting for oil-related funds - from the de-

Finance Minister, Winston Jordan positing in the NRF to the spending of these funds, which can only be done via the Annual Budget approved by the National Assembly. In the last three years, ExxonMobil has drilled eight gushing discovery wells offshore Guyana, estimated to generate nearly $20 Billion in oil revenue annually by the end of the next decade.

now. We are just about a year and a half away from our first oil production, which is a US$4.4B phase one project. “Nevertheless, there is minimal noticeable economic activity for ordinary Guyanese. Guyana discovered oil in March 2015 so it has been more than three years since our world-class discoveries. Yet, we do not have a public position on these two critical areas. “More than enough time has passed, and ordinary Guyanese could have been seeing far more benefits from this project if there were a local content legislation.” Ramson said that oil companies do not want local content legislation “and we should not be surprised about that part. What is surprising is Government’s position to avoid legislation and just adopt a policy.” Ramson said that the government is making a big mistake “because policies are not enforceable without the teeth of the law.” The Attorney said that local content legislation, if t a i l o r e d a p p r o p r i a t e l y, w o u l d s e e t h e greatest benefit to ordinary Guyanese through greater spending in the economy, more jobs, and the transfer of knowledge, skills, and technology. He said, “A simple look at the Math will tell you that just 10% of guaranteed spending in the economy from the Liza phase 1 project will see US$440M spent in Guyana’s domestic economy. That would be a huge and much needed injection… “This would have a net positive impact on both monetary position and fiscal position.” Ramson said that in order to justify the nonadoption of local content requirement legislation, it is

Attorney at Law, Charles Ramson

often argued that local content legislation creates market inefficiencies and therefore add costs. But this, he says, is a circular argument. According to Ramson, Guyana stands a great chance losing revenue through corruption anyway. “So either way, money is lost. It is better to have the inefficiency created so that ordinary Guyanese will benefit through jobs, partnerships, and the transfer of skills and knowledge rather than the loss of money to the enrichment of government

officials or inefficient bureaucracy and project spending misallocation.” He said that it is often argued as well that local content requirement legislation will discourage investment. “That is also false. It only occurs when those requirements are set too high. Those local content requirements can and need to be phased and it also needs to be for a set time frame as we nurture the development of this new oil and gas industry in Guyana and we nurture the involvement of Guyanese in the industry.”

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Tuesday July 24, 2018

Kaieteur News

Study to determine mortality rate of dialysis patients – Transplant Surgeon Once free of complications that could cause their life to hang in the balance, kidney failure patients dependent on dialysis are encouraged to take advantage of the kidney transplant programme offered at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation [GPHC]. The hospital’s Kidney Transplant Surgeon, Dr. Kishore Persaud, made this disclosure recently even as he revealed that the hospital is currently awaiting the findings of an ongoing study in order to accurately determine the morbidity and mortality rate of patients on dialysis. Kidney failure is the loss of kidney function, which includes filtering wastes and excess fluids from the blood. Each human being is

born is with two kidneys. However, since an individual can survive with one kidney each can donate to a person suffering from renal failure once that person is found to be a suitable match. However, there are currently more than 100 patients accessing dialysis since they have been unable to find a suitable match or because of complications that inhibit surgery.According to Dr. Persaud, the GPHC is expected to gain a better understanding of the kidney failure situation once the study is completed. The study, which is being conducted by recent medical graduates will also help to ascertain the life expectancy rate of patients, once they commence dialysis. Dr. Persaud said that

based on continuous observation of patients accessing the services of the hospital’s dialysis department, a number of patients have died by the third year of dialysis. But the situation is even more daunting since, according to him, some patients pass in the first year too. However, patients are only afforded free dialysis at the GPHC after diagnosis for a limited period. This therefore means that these kidney failure patients must seek dialysis at private institutions, a very costly venture. At the private institutions, Dr. Persaud revealed that a single session of dialysis could cost at least $15,000. “If you calculate that, two sessions a week is $30,000...When you calculate their overall expense

$36.5 M Anna Catherina Early Childhood Development Centre commissioned.

it is approximately $1.5 million a year.” He added, “To keep one patient alive for 10 years alone would cost the patient [about] $15 million.” The Transplant Surgeon moreover noted, “It is either one of two things you live in the hospital or you live on your family’s money. [But] once the family money runs out, they too come and live in the hospital and that is what contributes to a significant high morbidity and mortality of our dialysis patients.” However, the life expectancy usual improves once the patient undergoes a successful kidney transplant surgery. The two main causes of kidney failure are diabetes and hypertension. The Kidney Failure Department at the GPHC has been working arduously to educate both patients and their family members about the importance of safeguarding their wellbeing through diet and exercise. In addition to the nurses and doctors, the Department also benefits from the services of a pharmacist, a social worker and a dietician. “It is the only team in the hospital with all these personnel attached to it,”

Dr. Kishore Persaud Dr. Persaud told this publication. “Our dietician teaches the patients about what and how much they should eat; our pharmacist teaches them how to take their drugs and the social worker counsels them,” shared Dr. Persaud as he spoke of the potential of patients becoming depressed because of their condition. Counselling is an important part of a dialysis patient’s life since research suggests that the individual is more likely to experience depression than the normal population.

It has been speculated that the impact of depression on the progression of chronic kidney disease is continuous and evident at any stage of the disease. “The reason for this connection may be because depression increases inflammation in the body and inflammation promotes progression of kidney disease. Additionally, kidney failure patients with depression may not be compliant with medical treatment and may engage in unhealthy behaviours that cause poor medical outcomes,” one researcher has concluded.

Guyana’s proven oil reserves exceed 4B barrels- ExxonMobil The Anna Catherina Early Childhood Development Centre.” There is a popular concept, which says that whatever a child learns from age zero to eight, is often the lessons that will play an immense role in molding him/her into a better adult. Hence the need for quality early childhood development is important, if we are to see a future generation of intelligent adults. The recently commissioned Early Childhood Development Centre at Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara, is now the newest facility which will aid in positively moulding the minds of young children in Region Three [Essequibo Islands/ West Demerara]. The new $36.5 million building was commissioned by the Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, on Saturday. Also present at the commissioning were Regional Executive Officer of Region Three, Dennis Jaikaran; representatives of the Childcare and Protection Agency, Zalaika Williams; and the Regional Education Officer of Region Three. The daycare institution

caters for children from the age of three years old to five years old. The services provided are up to standard with the requirements of the Childcare protection agency. The facility includes multiple washrooms, a bathroom, a laundry room, a kitchen, an activity room and even a waiting area. The centre, according to Minster Jordan, is the fifth commissioned for the year. Kaieteur News understands the Childhood Development Centre projects are funded by the Basic Needs Trust Fund through the Caribbean Development Bank, and the Government of Guyana. The project includes not only the construction of the buildings, but also the training of some 65 youths, eight of whom will be employed at the Anna Catherina Centre. Speaking at the commissioning, Minister Jordan revealed that the project has two objectives. The first objective, he said, is to create comprehensive learning spaces for children of the community, from infancy to

the age of five. “We want them to grow up in such a way that they can have proper knowledge seeded in their mind so that they can grow up to be better men and women… We are creating a structural and stable approach for the development of our children; one that will guide them through teenage and adulthood.” The second objective, the Minister pointed out, was that the Centre will train and generate job opportunity for youths. REO Jaikaran said that his regional administration, also has a duty to maintain and sustain the Centre for years to come. Jaikaran added, “Within a week from now we are going to conclude, and form an unofficial board to manage the affairs of the centre. The board will comprise representatives of the regional administration, the Department of Education, the trainees, the Ministry of Health and the programme from Childcare Protection Agency.” (Romario Blair.)

ExxonMobil has increased its estimate of discovered recoverable resources for the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana to more than 4 billion oil-equivalent barrels and has advanced its evaluation to support a third phase of development and consideration of two additional phases. The company released a statement yesterday saying that the increase follows completion of testing at the Liza-5 appraisal well, a discovery at Ranger, incorporation of the eighth discovery, Longtail, into the Turbot area evaluation and completion of the Pacora discovery evaluation. The previous recoverable resource estimate was 3.2 billion oil-equivalent barrels. “Outstanding resource quality across these opportunities combined with industry-leading project execution capabilities will provide great value to resource owners, partners and our shareholders,” said Neil Chapman, senior vice president, ExxonMobil Corporation.

“Continued success in Guyana and progress in other upstream growth projects in the U.S. Permian Basin, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea and Brazil are giving us additional confidence in achieving our long-term earnings growth plans that we outlined in March.” Guyana’s first development, Liza Phase 1, will use a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel to produce 120,000 barrels of oil per day, starting by early 2020. Liza Phase 2, which is targeted for sanctioning by the end of this year, will use an FPSO vessel designed to produce up to 220,000 barrels of oil per day by mid-2022. ExxonMobil noted, “The Liza-5 well successfully tested the northern portion of the Liza field and, along with the giant Payara field, will support a third phase of development in Guyana. The Payara development will target sanctioning in 2019 and will use an FPSO vessel designed to produce approximately 180,000 barrels of oil per day, as early as 2023.”

The Longtail well, ExxonMobil said, established the Turbot-Longtail area as a potential development hub for recovery of more than 500 million oil-equivalent barrels. Additional prospects to be drilled in this area could increase this estimate. ExxonMobil said that the collective discoveries on the Stabroek Block to date have established the potential for up to five FPSOs producing over 750,000 barrels per day by 2025. “There is potential for additional production from significant undrilled targets and plans for rapid exploration and appraisal drilling, including at the Ranger discovery.” The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometers). ExxonMobil affiliate, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, is the operator and holds 45 percent interest in the Stabroek Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30 percent interest and CNOOC Nexen Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25 percent interest.

Tuesday July 24, 2018

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Kaieteur News

As we approach first oil… The first quarter report on the economy by the Bank of Guyana, paints a worrying picture that Guyana may enter 2020 in difficult economic circumstances. Thousands of Guyanese are looking forward to becoming rich by the end of 2020- compliments of first oil. But given the state of the country’s economy, the revenues from first oil may have to go to rebalancing the country’s financing which are not as healthy as most people feel. Guyanese therefore have to be careful as to how they manage their finances. They have to be careful about wasteful spending because the indications are that the foreign exchange market is contracting due to the deficit on the country’s merchandise trading account. If this situation continues, it can lead to run on foreign exchange. Already, yet another devaluation has crept up on the nation. The US dollar has been buying and selling at G$210 and $G213 respectively. This will increase further the cost of imported items and drive up further the cost of living. The official inflation rate

does not however reflect the increases in prices in the market, and more so at the petrol pump. The problems within the foreign exchange market are not due to activities of the underground economy. There is no evidence available to massive underground transactions. In fact, the difficulties in the foreign exchange market can be traced to the deficit between imports and exports. Exports are falling far short of imports resulting in a higher deficit than usual. For the first quarter of 2018, Guyana earned almost US$85M in export earnings. This is just over a 5% decline. It is more than possible therefore, if these trends continue, for there to be a further contraction of exports, which could lead to a worsening of the merchandise trading balance and additional but smaller devaluations. The only corrective surgery to this problem is to increase exports and reducing imports. But to what extent can this happen? The good news is that the economy grew in the first quarter of 2018. Rice, forestry and

poultry also enjoyed growth but, as anticipated, sugar contracted. Rice is major foreign exchange earner. Output increased by more than 67% due to increased production, driven in part by higher yields, a positive sign for the future. The bad news is that even though rice production increased for the first quarter, there are signals that the second crop may not be as promising hoped. Already some exporters are preparing to import rice in order to meet their export commitments. The decline in sugar means that sugar workers have reacted to the downsizing of the industry by abandoning the industry, making it now even more impossible for the sugar industry to even produce 125,000 tons per annum. More bad news is that gold production, the country’s largest foreign exchange earner contracted. It means that gold exports are likely to be less, unless there is a reversal for the remainder of this year, a strong possi-

Dem boys seh ...

People like collect wha is not dem own Criminals don’t have no rhyme or reason. Nuff of dem who thiefing don’t have to; dem could go and look fuh wuk but dem boys know dat all of dem gon tell everybody how de money can’t pay. De stupid thing is a man prefer to risk he life fuh a dollar than just go and get a honest dollar. Sometimes, although dem get, dem don’t be satisfied. A group of dem go pon a hustle at some place in de Polder. Dem tek de people money, dem cell phone and anything dem could put dem hands on. Dem tek likker, dem even tek a bag fuh put in some of de things dem carry away. But things get sweet. One of dem suh smart, dat he give he woman one a de cell phone he and he gang tek.

He didn’t have de sense fuh change de SIM card. De woman eye light up and she start fuh call all she friends. In fact, dem boys she, she call all who she know. De people who get rob spend dem time calling all de phone number. Then dem tell de police. Good luck fuh dem, dis same gyal wid de new phone answer she own when de police call. Now-a-days dem got people who does announce dat somebody win a lottery and if dem pay some money dem can collect de prize. Dem got people who ain’t play no lottery or buy a lottery ticket but dem want to claim winnings. De same stupid people could tell de people who paying out de lotto to tek out de money

but nah. We stupid people does send money. Dis lady ain’t got nobody living in foreign; she ain’t shop online but she hear bout some package come fuh she. De police ain’t even ask she her name or wheh she live but she hear package come fuh she and she provide name and address. She suh smart dat she walk right up to de police vehicle fuh collect she package. Dat’s how she get hold. Dem boys seh dat right away, she carry de police to wheh she man live. She live pon West Bank and she man live in Town. De odda people now biting and squeezing. Talk half and don’t hold yuh phone too tight.

Immigrants entering through legal ports will not be criminalised – Min. Greenidge At a press conference yesterday, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge, noted Guyana will not criminalise immigrants entering the country through legal ports. He noted that any nonGuyanese entering the country are required to come into the country by its lawful entry points, verify where they are coming from and do not fall into a category that is considered problematic. These guidelines were established following concerns about the need to avoid criminalising these persons for immigration infractions Minister Greenidge noted. Questioned specifically

about Venezuelans entering Guyana, Minister Greenidge said, “The region as a whole is encouraging countries to try and not deport these people or jail them for immigration infractions at least in the current era where there are special problems in Venezuela giving rise to the movement of people.” The economic crisis in Venezuela has triggered massive migration to Latin American and Caribbean countries. There have been reports in the local media of Venezuelans flooding into indigenous communities in the hinterland. The government has since set up a multi-agency

committee headed by Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix. Minister Greenidge noted that Guyanese returning from the neighbouring country will have to prove their citizenship. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been active in leading national consideration of policy on the migration and ensuring that it is consistent with international norms and regional concerns. At the international level, the migration crisis has triggered international conferences aimed at agreeing on broad principles and rules to govern the various types of movements of people.

bility given the presence of large-scale producers in the sector. If gold production continues to decline, even marginally, it can place further pressures on the Guyana dollar, triggering mini-devaluations. While all of this is happening, private sector credit to the construction and engineering sectors is down, a sign of a sluggish economy. The construction sector has a feed through to the rest of the economy and helps to create more jobs. If this decline continues, there is likely to be a negative impact on disposable income in the economy.

Central government spending presented some difficulties. The Bank of Guyana reported that government spending on capital projects declined by 27.8% for the first quarter due mainly to lower disbursements to construction by 37.4 percent, power generation by 95.2 percent, social welfare by 12.2 percent, education by 6.9 percent and health by 19.3 percent. The Bank of Guyana is supposed to play a stabilizing role in the availability of foreign exchange. Most interesting is that, according to its first quarter report for 2018, the bank actually bought more foreign currency than it put back into the market.

The prognosis does not look good for 2018. The economy will grow but unless exports can be increased, this growth will not translate to higher spending power to workers and with taxes continuing to increase the Guyanese consumer can anticipate greater difficulties over the next five months.

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Tuesday July 24, 2018

Kaieteur News

=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===

Priya Manichchand, Simona Broomes and what else? In 2014, Education Minister, Priya Manickchand, created a national scandal when she acted in what was perceived by the nation as an egregious violation of diplomatic protocol. The place was the home of the American Ambassador and the occasion was America’s Independence anniversary. Ms. Manickchand’s words were directly addressed to the US envoy and her action was deemed abusive. Reports of her behaviour not only reached the Caribbean but also the wider world. An exacerbation of the scandal took place when the Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Roger Luncheon,

justified Manickchand’s behaviour by referring to her emanation as a feral blast. For many political observers, that had sealed the fate of the PPP Government because the world’s most powerful government would not tolerate to be treated like that. Many have also said to me that with that outrageous scene, Manickchand would never make leader of the PPP. I think they are right. This month Manickchand was the featured speaker at the 2018 g r a d u a t i o n o f M a e ’s School. She also addressed the Grade Six Assessment graduates at the

Westfield Prep School that produced the top scorer. Manickchand told the young students that they must reject prejudice that has become part of Guyana’s culture. The former education minister seems to skip from one unpleasant situation to another. Earlier this year, in tears, she accused a policeman of assaulting her in Parliament. The circumstances were shaped by the refusal of Juan Edghill (will he address a school graduation too?) to leave the House after the Speaker deemed his conduct as unacceptable. When the police ranks came, Edghill’s parliamentary colleagues from his party canopied him so the police could not get to him. It was in that confusion that Manickchand made claims that she was forcefully struck by a policeman. She spoke in tears to the media. Let me digress briefly. During the World Cup tournament, one of the announcers said he cannot understand why footballers in this day and age would subtly try to

hurt other players on the field with so many cameras capturing every action of play. Manickchand was unable to produce any footage despite dozens of smart phones that captured everything that happened in that fracas and scores of television cameras. I come now to my right to express my opinions. Manickchand should not have been the person invited to those two schools to address very young children at an impressionable age. My question to the schools is that of all the great women talent that we have here, why Manickchand, given the two incidents I mentioned, incidents that I view as very serious misconduct. So why did the two schools choose her? Because this is Guyana. This is a country that has lost its moral compass decades ago. President Desmond Hoyte tried in his own little way to resuscitate the moral fibre of this nation but he failed. From Priya to Simona. Parliament seems to be a favourite hunting ground

for both Priya and Simona. Remember it was inside the respected and venerated Chambers of the House that Priya accused a policeman of cuffing her. Simona once filmed a video earlier this year in Parliament (the House was not in session at the time but still it was done in the parliamentary chambers) titled “Boom out Jagdeo.” It was distasteful deportment of a Minister. And to think that she filmed it in Parliament. Simona went to New Thriving to eat some Chinese food, which in my opinion should be done once in a blue moon because such food is unhealthy because of its heavy oil base. After what she did, Simona joined Priya in ignoring what the World Cup announcer warned footballers about. In Priya’s situation, the cameras were rolling when Priya and her friends in the PPP tried to stop the officers from ejecting Edghill (does he still carry the title, ‘Bishop’?). The cameras did not pick up anyone cuffing Priya. Simona threw down the no parking sign and ac-

Frederick Kissoon cused the private security ranks of pointing guns at her. The cameras did not capture such action from the two guards. Someone has to tell Simona and Priya that as parliamentarian, they cannot claim physical movement of a certain kind if no such movement occurred when surveillance cameras and television cameras are filming the environment. Priya remains a parliamentarian and was recognized by two schools as being fit and proper to lecture to their students. If Simona should officially speak to young students, what would she tell them? I can’t wait to hear her words but I know it would not be, “Boom out baby.”

Tuesday July 24, 2018

More effort being plugged into ‘suicide first aid’ Through recent strategic workshops spearheaded by The Caribbean Voice [TCV], a number of key persons are now able to employ a more informed approach when dealing with persons with suicide ideation. The workshops were designed, among other things, to raise awareness on suicide first aid. Suicide first aid refers to the tactics employed to help dissuade an individual from opting to commit suicide. But according to TCV National Coordinating Director, Mr. Nazim S. Hussain, “one of my concerns is that many people do not understand suicide first aid.” Hussain noted that the response of many untrained persons to an individual contemplating suicide is that they shouldn’t worry about the problems that they have since things are likely to get better. “If it is a money problem, they might say, ‘man don’t fight up, you’re going to get money soon’. But these are things that they have already thought of; they want solutions. They don’t want to hear what will work soon. A person in this state needs to see evidence of what you are presenting to them that things will work out,” Hussain explained. He underscored that a primary element of suicide first aid is emphatic communication. “Don’t tell people that things are going to work out if you don’t have evidence of that. What we need to do is embrace and inculcate emphatic communication,” insisted Hussain. Employing emphatic communication, he asserted, suggests that an individual lending support avoids making empty suggestions and is willing to listen to the troubled person’s problems without being judgmental, and if possible find a solution to their problem. But if that person lending support is unable to derive a plausible solution, Hussain shared that he or she should be able retain the attention of that person until the service of a professional is sought. Doing something as simple as “lending a listen-

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Kaieteur News

TCV National Coordinating Director, Mr. Nazim S. Hussain. ing ear” is of paramount importance to a person with suicide ideations, since, according to Hussain, “that person does not really want to die...” “The mere fact that that person sought you out means that they need help... You don’t need to establish guilt, you want to build trust, you want to build confidence, you want to have them talking as long as possible to you until you can contact someone to help them further. “That is not betraying their trust but finding a way to help them when you can’t.” He continued, “All Guyanese should be able to have the simplest knowledge of how to apply suicide first aid...” Getting additional help for a person contemplating suicide could be as simple as calling one of the Suicide Prevention Helpline numbers. In addition to a toll free number offered by Digicel, [600-4444], persons can also call the other helpline numbers: 223-0001, 223-0009 and 623-4444. Both mobile numbers [6004444 [Digicel] and 623-4444 [GTT]] are also Whatsapp enabled for assistance, Hussain said. The participants of the recent workshops were exposed to forgoing information and are now in a better position to help with the ongoing fight to help prevent the incidence of suicide in the society. The

Correction: Kaieteur News wishes to modify information published in the July 23, 2018 edition of the newspaper. The headline, which read, “481 new child abuse reports in last six months…,” should have read 481 cases of child sexual abuse reports in last six months. Kaieteur News apologizes for the mistake and any inconvenience caused.

workshops, which took on the form of Addiction/ Mental Health/Anti-Suicide sessions, were held earlier this month. Among the key facilitators was Canada based Guyanese, Mr. Shirvington Hannays, who is a Certified Addiction Counsellor and Behavioural Change Coach. The first in the series of workshops was held in the boardroom of the Childcare and Protection Agency and saw the attendance of some 28 individuals including: Ministry of Social Protection officials, representatives from the Guyana Prison Service, among others. Another workshop on the Essequibo Coast was held in the boardroom of the Suddie Hospital. It saw the attendance of some 40 individuals including seven doctors and other public health workers others. There was yet another workshop in Berbice targeting young cricketers at the Fort Wellington Secondary School.

Stabroek Market jewellery heist....

Trio further remanded, magistrate cites flight risk

Remanded: Trayon Parks

Remanded: Albert De Freitas

Remanded: Clifford Rodney

One week after three burglars were charged and remanded to prison for breaking into the jewellery store of L. Seepersaud Maraj and Sons, and carting off $22M in gold and diamond jewellery, they were yesterday further remanded to prison. Yesterday, when the matter was called in Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan’s courtroom, Police Prosecutor, Neville Jeffers told the court that investigation into the matter is completed. The prosecutor also handed over statements in the matter to the defendants. The defendants’ lawyers then made applications for bail to be granted to their clients but those applications were denied by the Chief Magistrate. The Magistrate said that she is of the opinion that if bail is granted to the defendants, they would not return to court for the trial, hence she further remanded them to prison. The men charged are Clifford Rodney, 66, of 265 One Mile Wismar, Linden;

Albert De Freitas, 55, of 100 Leopold Street, Werk-en-rust and Trayon Parks, 31 of 107 Eccles, East Bank Demerara. It is alleged that between July 2 and July 3, last at Stabroek Market, they broke and entered the jewellery store of L. Seepersaud Maraj and stole a quantity of gold and diamond jewellery valued $22M. The suspects allegedly gained entry to the market via a hole in the grillwork near to the L. Seepersaud Maraj store. On the men’s first court appearance, the lawyers representing the defendants told the court that their clients were beaten repeatedly to confess to the burglary. The lawyers said they were instructed by their clients that officers placed black plastic bags over the heads of their clients and subjected them to electric shocks. The court further heard that the defendants were repeatedly struck on the testicles. However, Police Prosecutor Neville Jeffers had asked that the defendants be remanded, citing the serious

nature of the offence and the value of the stolen articles. The court heard that all three men have matters of similar nature in the courts and if bail is granted that they would not return. The Prosecutor also stated that the defendants admitted in a recorded interview to cutting open the safe and removing the articles. Prosecutor Jeffers went on to tell the court that CCTV footage showed the three men entering the Sleep Inn Hotel. He stated that it was there that they divided the jewellery. According to reports, there were no sign of forced entry or exit of the Stabroek Market, which caused persons to speculate that the defendants hid in their stalls until the market was close. The jewellery stall has been in the Stabroek Market for over six decades The men were instructed to make their next court appearance on August 9 before Senior Magistrate Fabayo Azore who will be conducting the trial.

Appeal Court sends two more murder cases back to High Court The Appeal Court has set aside decisions in two cases, remitting them to the High Court for new trials in the upcoming sessions of the Demerara Criminal assizes. Yesterday, the Appellate Court handed down decisions in the matters of murder accused, Terry Kissoon versus the Director of Public Prosecutions, (DPP) and the appeal filed by the DPP over the acquittal of Tarel Edwards, who was also charged for murder. Kissoon challenged his death sentence. The Appeal Court ruled that the former death row inmate who appealed his sentence should return to the magistrate court to face a new

trial. Kissoon was sentenced to death for the 2010 killing of Troy Smith. The ruling was handed down by Justice Dianne Insanally in the High Court. Kissoon, 39, of Lot 126 Thomas Street, shot and killed Smith over a stolen motorbike on July 30, 2010. According to police reports, Kissoon reportedly accused Smith of stealing his motorcycle. The two ended up in a heated argument. Kissoon took out a handgun and shot Smith in the abdomen before fleeing the scene. Prior to the shooting, Kissoon reportedly went to Smith’s Lot 108 Thomas Street, Kitty residence where the incident took place

around 07:00 hours. He had given Smith a 24-hour ultimatum to find the motorcycle. Smith, 34, was reportedly shot at close range, in the passageway leading to his yard. The suspect is said to have chased Smith out of the yard with a piece of wood before shooting him in the passageway leading to the house. Smith made it to the stairway of his house before he collapsed. Several persons, including the brother of the deceased, who was the prosecution’s main witness in the trial, observed the actual s h o o t i n g . Smith was being taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital but died because of the single gunshot wound he sustained to

his left side abdomen before he could have reached the health facility. Kissoon told the jury however that he was 300 miles away from the scene of the crime. Tarel Edwards who was charged for the murder of Terence Moffat is also to face another trial in the High Court. In 2011, the DPP invoked the 2010 Appeal’s Amendment Act, by appealing the acquittal of Tarel Edwards. The incident took place on April 2, 2006; the deceased was standing on the corner of Leopold and Breda Streets when he was killed. After his trial in the High Court before Justice Dawn Gregory, Edwards was released on bail since his acquittal.

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Tuesday July 24, 2018

Kaieteur News

Five years after launching operations...

CREDITINFO continues to provide financial risk management services to consumers, loan agencies Five years after it started operating here, CREDITINFO, has established itself as a leading service provider for credit information and financial risk management in Guyana. According to the Chief Executive Officer, (CEO) of the company, Judy SempleJoseph, CREDITINFO forms a vital part of a network of key financial institutions, providing them with information on potential borrowers and clients, with the click of a button. Ms. Semple-Joseph explained that over the period of five years, the company was able to build a clientele with major lending agencies in Guyana including commercial banks, utilities, insurance and other companies. Through a database, CREDITINFO is able to access the financial information of hundreds of consumers and potential borrowers. Semple -Joseph noted that many institutions are taking advantage of CREDITINFO’s vast database before approving loans and other forms of credit to borrowers. On the other hand, she noted that any member of the public can have the agency run a credit check on them before they approach any of

these agencies for financing. The CEO said that it was not all smooth sailing for CREDITINFO. “Initially when we started five years ago, there was this caution and negative connotation that CREDITINFO was here to hand out people‘s financial information. However, over the years, with the advancement of our products and services along a more positive line of encouraging credit risk management, lenders are seeing the benefits.” She said that the company is moving to help more individuals understand the role of the credit bureau and how it can be beneficial to them. “Our focus has now shifted a bit from the lenders to the borrowing populace to ensure that they are fully aware of the services available to them.” Ms. Semple-Joseph said that the company has embarked on a sensitisation campaign aimed at educating the public of the benefits of financial risk management. “You may, or may not be aware that a number of companies in Guyana, including every Commercial bank, Microfinance companies, all utilities, insurance, Credit Unions, Courts Guyana, trade

creditors in the commercial sector and many others, are taking advantage of CREDITINFO’s vast database to help drive credit decisions before approving loans and other forms of credit to borrowers.” “It is better to know before trying to access credit. If you are planning to apply for a mortgage or relatively large loan and you have other small outstanding debts, you can pay these off, wipe that slate and then approach the bank with vastly reduced payment obligations and better credit options,” Semple-Joseph said. “Similar to more developed countries, borrowers are now able to request their personal credit report from CREDITINFO, so as to be more aware of their chances of approval before approaching a lender. They are also able to use this access to monitor and control their personal credit situation. In the case of Courts Guyana, for example, existing customers can now get access credit in one hour because of Courts’ ability to tap into our database and quickly assess a customer.” “Commercial banks can issue loans in one day rather than weeks or months as was the case in the recent past.

Before they had to assess you, study your documents, pay slips and make a decision on personal information that you had verbally communicated to them during interviews. We wish to emphasize that members of the public can come to us for their own credit check,” she added. She highlighted further that “by law in Guyana, it is mandatory for all lenders in the financial sector to first acquire a credit report before a loan application can be processed and further; comprehensive data on all borrowers in Guyana are now being routinely and regularly uploaded to our database for use in creating these credit reports. CreditInfo, headquartered in Iceland, employs hundreds of people around the world and is present in the Caribbean Community by way of Guyana and Jamaica. Guyana entered the Group

CREDITINFO CEO, Judy Semple-Joseph in 2012 with the objective of providing services that automate the capture and decision making capabilities of new applications for credit, mak-

ing it easier for credit providers to process new customers and expand their portfolio in line with individual goals and objectives.

GPHC builds staff capacity to manage emergency patients– Director Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, (GPHC) is working to create a team of efficient and effective emergency specialists equipped to save the lives of patients rushed to the Emergency Room (ER). Speaking about the strides that the hospital has made in this regard, GPHC’s Director of Emergency Services, Dr. Zulfikar Bux, said that efforts have been underway to expand the staff complement of emergency specialist, working at the institution. Emergency medicine is a fast-paced, team-oriented specialty where you can have a tremendous impact on your patients. Emergency physicians are experts on diagnosing and managing the acute patients. Dr. Bux noted, however, that emergency medicine is a very new specialty in Guyana. He explained that before 2010, there was nothing such as an emergency specialist in Guyana. There were only General Doctors who did the best they could to save the lives of those rushed to the ER. However, in 2013, Dr. Bux became the first medical practitioner trained in emergency medicine. Since then, GPHC has increased its staff complement of those trained in emergency medicine. Dr. Bux disclosed that at present, the emergency department of the GPHC has eight emergency specialists. “If you converse with pa-

GPHC’s Director of Emergency Services, Dr. Zulfikar Bux tients who have been coming here from 2010, they will tell you that the level of care they accessed here has improved. This is because we have trained specialists.” Dr. Bux noted, however, that the overall goal is to ensure that there are emergency specialists at not only GPHC but each emergency department throughout the country, which will improve the efficiency of patient care over time. He emphasized further that since emergency medicine is not just about training doctors but also about creating a team to manage the patients that flood the department, nurses also undergo specialist training. “What we realized is that when trained, the doctors

doing well but the nurses were having a problem keeping up.” People unfortunately, come when they are dying here, Dr. Bux said. “We do not have the time like regular folks. Patients are dying and every second counts, so you have to be on top of your game. One mistake can cost a life. “So for us to ensure this there must be a continuous training and team environment where while the doctor doing something with the patient, the nurse anticipates the next move and the other nurse knows what she has do all in coherence to revive that patient.” “We therefore embarked on a training programme for specialist emergency nurses. The first group of specialist nurses will graduate later this year,” Bux disclosed. He explained further that the training has reached beyond the scope of just doctors and nurses at the hospital. “What we realize is that while we might have a good team at the hospital, the patients are taking too long to come.” Emergency medicine is not just about hospital care but also about pre-hospital care. As such, the GPHC department head noted that the hospital recently embarked on a national emergency medical service. “This is the EMS office (Continued on page 23)

Tuesday July 24, 2018

Kaieteur News

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FOR RENT

SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK;Guyanapassport application. G r a p h i c s design, advertisement. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. ICONIC MARKETING & PRINTING –TEL: 6004212: We create A/works, logos, busi ness cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included. Installations, Repairs and parts for AC, Fridge, Washing machine, Stove etc. Call Nick 627-3206, 630-1600 Eagle’s: Re-gas –low prices, washing machine repairs, gas stove, plasma flat screen, computer repairs & more. Call: 697-2969/646-0966 Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezerCall: 610-5846 or 661-8158

FOR SALE

Self-contain rooms for working couple/single person $35,000/$32,000 monthly, Light & Water, Lodge. Call: 623-0076

1 CAT 215 Excavator 1 Mack 8 Cu yds mixer truck 1 CAT 428 Backhoe 1 double steel wheel roller. Call: 275-0367/ 683-7225

Room $3000 daily furnished apts $5000 $6000 daily, we also do laundry $700 a load. #223-0994/678-5827

1 Pneumatic 9 wheel roller 2 Bitumin spray kettle 215 excavator spares. Call: 2750367/683-7225

1 flat concrete house, 3 bedroom & 1 master room, PVC ceiling, tile, grill, Parfaite Harmonie, Onderneerming #662-6818

One complete Water dragger Excellent condition, Ready to use, Equipped with satelite TV. Tel# 671-4019

One bedroom apartment for working couple or single person $35,000 monthly. Water included. Call: 6388858

One Excavator, Minor repairs, engine in excellent condition. Tel# 671-4019 Fridges, freezer, 6 seater sofa set, 30 inch gas stove, wardrobes, hanging baskets, 1 Xboom stereo. Contact# 266-5013, 681-8333 Generac Pressure Wash for sale 3100 PSI. Tel#654-5267/ 652-2244/220-4203 1- Honda 450 ATV. Contact # 275-0367/683-7225

TOURS Suirname Tour trip 26 July Ret 2 August, tours, shopping, sightseeing, Dolphins. #639-2663/6655171 ACCOMMODATION

Parfaite Harmonie $1.4M Tuschen house $6M $1.5M Farm $3.5M Diamond $4M Providence $3.5M Herstelling corner lot $4.5M Call: 666-2326

LAND FOR SALE 18,731 acres mining land Gold & Diamond Mazaruni $5,000,000 USD Contact: 6951356, 687-8445 Zeelugt - $2.3M Tushen $1.5M. Tel# 697-6311 Land of Canaan $5.5M an acre, Herstelling front $5.5M, Sophia $5M, Support river front. #618-7483 HEALTH Herbal remedies: Diabetes, Hypertension, Infertility, Menstrual disorders, Enlarged prostate, Kidney & Gall stones, Arthritis etc. Call Sparman #676-5924.

PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY,ETC.-CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 2161043; 677-6620

Organic potting soil $700, Palms from $1000, Lawn grass, Ashoka trees. Tel# 6261044

REPAIRS AT LOW COST: FRIDGES, AIR CONDITIONERS, WASHING MACHINES, FREEZERS,SALE OFAC’S TEL:6294946,225-4822

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

Tuesday July 24, 2018

Kaieteur News

Hanging baskets, Crown of thorns in pots and more. Tel# 662-9832

CAR RENTAL PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS FROM $4000 & UP, SUV’S PER DAY- CALL:643-5122/ 6 5 6 - 0 0 8 7 , ,EMAIL:PRO_AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM DOLLY’S CAR RENTALCALL:225-7126/ 226-3693DOLLYSAUTORENTAL @YAHOO.COM/ WWW.D OLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM

One Juke. Contact #612-3706 PROPERTY FOR SALE Located at Hope second corner from road call# 6933841 3 storey commercial buliding. Location- Lot 1486 Plot B Herstelling (2 Bridge) EBD. Suitable for school/ apartments. Contact #6093777/686-0522 Lot 15 Public road #2 Vill. WCB 3 House Lots, Rice cultivation 49ftx10,314ft length. Price $18M. Contact# 648-7109/686-4818 Property for sale (1) 3 story building at 97 Sugarcane street S/Rvldt Gardens. Price US 1.5M neg. Tel: 695-1356 & 6878445 Business Spot 27 Public road, Bagotstown, next to Bakewell. Contact #662-3837,664-7663

VEHICLE FOR SALE 4 Flatbed DAF Lorry for sale, excellent condition Tel#2285655/649-8449 1 620-240 DAF engine for sale, foreign used. Tel# 6498449/228-5655 2006 Suzuki Escado (White) Excellent condition. Price $3.6M Neg. Contact #6093777/697-4557 TOLET 1 room apartment bathroom and living room @ 294 4th Field Cummings Lodge ECD, Job letter required #222-0401/ 673-2467 Preferably UG students. Furnished studio apartment located at 239 Camp Street & Quamina Streets. Call: Joan 226-0724/Karen 2262971

WANTED 1 Air compressor 5HP 3 Phase 230/220 volts. Call: 628-1486/698-1134.

VACANCY

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One experienced cook to work @ Beer Garden preferably from WBD #679-2612

Two maids. excellent salary. Must be between 18 and 35 years old. Call 226-7766

Wanted experienced hire car drivers and dispatchers at Ramada Hotel. Contact #2657075/616-5419

Experience Cook/ Housekeeper, Parika/Bushy Park #693-0636 for details.

1 Salesgirl preferably from East Bank Demerara. Call# 265-3586

1 Maid/Cleaner, 1 Security Guard for Georgetown. #2271717/659-9967

Experienced pastry maker to work in Georgetown. Contact # 225-9409/618-1212

Porters/Salesmen, apply in person with application to ARK Enterprise/The Container House. 17 Lombard Street, Werk-EnRust.

Models Wanted Urgent. Call: 592-682-0611 Wanted land to buy in Parfaite Harmonie, Uitvlugt or East Bank. Tel# 642-1252 Wanted persons to assemble bicycle, apply at Alabama Trading, 65 Robb Street, Bourda. Driver wanted 5 yrs experience Car/Van/Lorry reference and police clearance, Zoon Inv 288 Middle Street. Urgently need land to buy: Parfaite Harmonie, Eccles, Herstelling, Providence, Farm, Tuchen, Diamond, best price cash. Call: 604-6724 For interior location, Alligator truck driver, Skidder operator and tree feller. Tel#218-3399 Private Car Drivers. Tel#2253234/225-9223

Experienced sales girls with 2 yrs experience. Apply @ Christine’s Variety, Lombard St. Contact: 227-8529 Bartendercomputer knowledge, Blue Martini 169 Lamaha & De Abreau St. Call: 656-5544 5pm- 6pm Room attendant, Female supervisor, Male deskstaff 25-50 yrs. Tel# 225-0198 233 South road, Lacytown Jos-el Educational Institute seeks Grade 1 & 5 teachers, science teachers & abeka trained teachers. Phone: 2267868 Cook/Baker & Kitchen assistant for interior location. Call: 618-2020 for details. Cosmetologist, Maintenance worker, Carpenter/ Mason,Travel agent #2653586 Dharendra Variety Store 188 Barr St Kitty. Tel#670-8862/ 675-3440, Vacancy- Outdoor Salesman

EDUCATION Study in Canada/US 100% acceptance MicroGraphics #264-3057 2019 Processing now. Kids Summer Computers, register now $8,000 2 months MicroGraphics #264-3057 CXC 2018 Computer deal 9 course Diploma $40,000 4 Course Computerized Accounting MicroGraphics Vreed-en-hoop #264-3057 Examination Preparations & Lessons for Primary grades 1:30-5:00 pm Lessons & Examination preparation for primary grades. Call: 6909378/677-0296 Register your child at Hidden Treasures Summer classes for slow learners in Phonics, Reading, Math etc. #675-4379

Looking for a Job or Educational Services. Call: 233-6997/600-8457/622-1957 www.Jobfairworldwide.com Needed workers for in the interior. Boys & Girls, Salary $80,000. Contact Number #674-1767 Technician to repair and service packaging machine. Apply at Alabama Trading 65 Robb Street, Bourda.

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

Tuesday July 24, 2018

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Kaieteur News

“Engage us on issues of good governance” - Minister Harmon to religious leaders Minister of State, Mr. Joseph Harmon, on Sunday, called on the leaders of religious organisations across Guyana to petition the Government on issues that concern their organisations, congregations and communities. The Minister of State made this call at the 14th Anniversary Service of Prophecy One Deliverance Ministry (PODM), located on Hadfield Street, Georgetown. “Pray for our nation; that we may grow from strength to strength and [govern] with truth and justice for all [of] our people. Please also, feel free to engage us, the Government, on issues of good governance, national development and any other matter that you may deem important,” he said. Minister Harmon said that much of the Government’s success is due to the support of Guyana’s religious communities. “It has been a mere three years since the change of Administration brought President David

Granger and our Coalition into Government… The past three years have not been easy for us as a Government. We continue our efforts to re-institute systems and structures, to reestablish a sense of moral-

ity and decency in our society, to heal divisions that exist among us, and to provide a good life for all [of] our people… We have been truly blessed in many ways… The most important [being] the support of

Force says policeman was rude to... From page 19 meeting, where one of the ranks who was in the minibus, related in the presence of Assistant Commissioner 'Operations' Mr. Clifton Hicken and Second-in-Command 'Administration', W/Assistant Commissioner Maxine Graham, DSM, what took place the previous day. “These documents were subsequently produced to the Assistant Commissioner 'Operations', in the presence of the Traffic Chief,

and all were found to be in order; the Inspector clearly did not understand the matter of the vehicle pass on the day in question.” According to the Police Force, Inspector Playter and his ranks listened, “acknowledged and admitted” that he in particular showed “total disregard” for the Commissioner of Police's Office by his utterances and “subsequently apologized”. As it relates to the transfer, the Force said that rota-

tion is a management tool used to assist in the maintenance of efficiency within the Guyana Police Force. “This inspector's behaviour comes as no surprise, as prior to this incident, he was posted to the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions, to relieve a colleague Prosecutor who was proceeding on Annual Vacation Leave but instead he reported sick and obtained one month sick leave.”

GPHC builds staff capacity to manage... From page 12 collaborating with the Guyana Fire Service to deliver a 912 emergency transport service. It is still in the beginning phase and limited to Georgetown but for the most

part once, we can locate you, we can get an ambulance with paramedics to the ailing patient before he/she reaches the hospital.” At present, GPHC has a batch of trained emergency

medical technicians (paramedics) working at the facility. This, Dr. Bux said is part of the network to help to prevent loss of lives for patients in emergency situations.

Nagamootoo was sidelined because... From page 13 out. For me, I remain undaunted. Old people say that the elephant keeps on walking in spite of the yapping of poodles at its heel,” the Prime Minister wrote. Addressing Jagdeo's 'infantile tantrums', Nagamootoo explained that when he saw the Opposition Leader sauntering gleefully into Parliament Chambers last Thursday, he thought that he had some good words to

share after his meeting with President Granger. The Prime Minister wrote, “Instead, he swiped his neck with his right index finger, motioning that someone had cut my throat. Two of his cohorts, basking in radiant smiles, mumbled to me, “We threw you under de bus.” The PPP rejected this as a blatant and absurd lie. The Prime Minister stated that he found out later that the Opposition Leader had

disclosed at the meeting that he would not attend talks if the Prime Minister remained head of the government side. “President Granger volunteered to lead the government's delegation to these talks. Jagdeo walked away with a pyrrhic victory, that he had sidelined me,” Nagamootoo stated. According to the PPP, Nagamootoo is desperately searching for sympathy by peddling his distortions.

the righteous in our society… through prayers and had work,” he said. Condemning the prevalence of domestic violence in Guyana, Minister Harmon called on the congregation of PODM to increase their efforts to combat violent tendencies. “I believe that we have to train our young men and

young women to find ways of dealing with anger, with disaffection and with problems in the society other than resorting to violence. Too many of our womenfolk are cut down and are sent to their graves because of domestic violence. “This affects the church. I urge you to con-

tinue to speak to the persons in your ministry. Let them understand that we have to find other ways or resolving our issues, that anger is something that we have to learn to manage and it is not right to be killing people because you’re angry,” he said. Minister Harmon said that the success of Guyana’s religious people is the success of Guyana as a whole. “Our Government has a vested interest in your continued success, because your success will result in an increase in goodness and righteousness in our society; in moral re-armament and national development and a lessening of the social ills that affect us,” he said. Pastor of PODM, Mr. Allwyn Williams, thanked the Minister for taking the time to address his congregation. “It was a very important message from the Minister of State. It really touched our hearts. [The message] was received in good faith and we stand with him as he goes forward,” he said. The 14th Anniversary service of PODM was held under the theme “No one will be able to stand against you”. (DPI)

One charged in Patentia robbery From page 15 men told her and her husband that they wanted to see the bond. Mrs. Boodramlall led two of the so-called Custom Officers to the bond, while three of them waited at the front of the shop. Her husband, at this time, was getting up his documents, to show the men that he had paid his taxes up to date. The men then asked to see who else was in the house. Mrs. Boodramlall told them that two of her children were upstairs, to which the men requested to go upstairs and see them. This came as no surprise to the Boodramlalls. Whenever Customs came on previous occasions, they asked to see the upstairs and whoever else was home. It wa s t h e n t h e Boodramlalls would realize that they we r e b e i n g robbed. When they reached upstairs, the bandits had them all together. They took out gloves and put them on, and drew their guns. They told the family to l i e o n t h e f l o o r. T h e Boodramlalls who were robbed twice before, were

very calm. This caused one of the bandits to take out the magazine from his gun and show them and tell them, “We ain't joking; we gonna kill you if we don't get some money.” The Boodramlalls handed over $500,000 in cash, after which the bandits took all the cell phones in the house. The bandits also took the DVR system, which stores the video footage from the house and businesses security cameras. They then warned the Boodramlalls not to follow them since that would have dire consequences. After a few minutes, when the family thought that the coast was clear, they got up and called neighbours and told them what had happened. The police were called, and responded promptly. When the Boodramlalls ventured downstairs, only then did they realize that the three bandits who were downstairs, were not just looking out, but were actually packing rum and other items, in bags, which they took with them. Mrs. Boodramlall said the men varied in age from

25 to 35. The family had expressed thanks for still having life, and the fact that their children were not hurt. This publication learnt that the police commenced an investigation that led to the tracking of one of the cell phone numbers that was stolen from the Boodramlalls residence, a sting operation was set up by police. The person who was using the phone was told that a package had come for the individual with the cell phone. First, the woman on the phone was reluctant to collect the package, but called back and agreed to collect the package. The woman had agreed to meet at a specific location, a taxi was sent to the location to deliver the make belief package, while the police kept a close eye to see who would come to collect, after some back and forth via cell phone the woman appeared to collect the package and was arrested by police. She then led police to the suspect. The police held an ID parade, and Mrs. Boodramlall positively identified Gudgea as one of the suspects in the armed robbery.

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Tuesday July 24, 2018

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Iran dismisses angry Trump warning against threatening U.S. WA S H I N G TO N / A N KARA (Reuters) - Iran yesterday dismissed an angry warning from U.S. President Donald Trump that Tehran risked dire consequences “the like of which few throughout history have suffered before” if it made threats against the United States. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif hit back at Trump’s warning, which the U.S. leader delivered written in capital letters in a late-night tweet. “COLOR US UNIMPRESSED: The world heard even harsher bluster a few months ago. And Iranians have heard them —albeit more civilized ones—for 40 yrs. We’ve been around for millennia & seen fall of empires, incl our own, which lasted more than the life of some countries,” Zarif wrote on Twitter. “BE CAUTIOUS!” he wrote in capital letters, echoing exact words from Trump. Iran has been under increasing U.S. pressure and possible sanctions since Trump’s decision in May to withdraw the United States

Donald Trump and Hassan Rouhani from a 2015 agreement between world powers and Iran over its disputed nuclear program. Bitter foes since Iran’s 1979 revolution, Washington and Tehran have cranked up talk of war in recent days. The Trump administration has launched an offensive of speeches and online communications meant to foment unrest and help pressure Iran to end its nuclear program and its support of militant groups.

Despite the heightened rhetoric, both sides have reasons to want to avoid starting a conflict. Trump’s words appeared to be in response to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani saying that hostile policies toward Tehran could lead to “the mother of all wars.” In his tweet directed at Rouhani, Trump wrote: “Never, ever threaten the United States again or you will suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout

history have ever suffered before. We are no longer a country that will stand for your demented words of violence & death. Be cautious!” Rouhani had told a gathering of Iranian diplomats on Sunday: “Mr Trump, don’t play with the lion’s tail, this would only lead to regret.” “America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars,” said Rouhani, quoted by the state news agency

IRNA. “OBVIOUS MISTAKE” Trump is under pressure from U.S. lawmakers for taking too soft a line against Russia in a summit last week with President Vladimir Putin. His Iran tweet resembled ones he issued last year to warn North Korea over its nuclear weapons program. But in June, Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the first U.S.-North Korean summit. After the meeting both sides declared a new friendship and made vague pledges of nuclear disarmament. At the White House, Trump later yesterday said, “none at all,” in response to a shouted question about whether he had any concerns about provoking tensions with Iran. Although Rouhani left open the possibility of peace between Tehran and Washington, Iran’s most powerful authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday ruled out negotiations with the United States as an “obvious mistake.”

There is limited appetite in Washington for a conflict with Iran, not least because of the difficulties the U.S. military faced in Iraq after its 2003 invasion but also because of the impact on the global economy if conflict raised oil prices. Many ordinary Iranians are worried that the war of words might lead to a military confrontation but ins i d e r s i n Te h r a n t o l d Reuters they believed the Trump administration would not drag the United States into another quagmire in the Middle East. With popular discontent over Iran’s faltering economy and sliding currency, and the prospect of tough new U.S. sanctions, Iran’s leaders have called for unity. The Iranian rial plunged to a record low against the U.S. dollar on the unofficial market yesterday amid fears of a military confrontation. The dollar was being offered for as much as 92,000 rials, compared to around 75,000 last week.

Images indicate North Korea dismantling test site facilities: report WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Satellite images indicate North Korea has begun dismantling key facilities at a site used to develop engines for ballistic missiles, in a first step toward fulfilling a pledge made to U.S. President Donald Trump at a June summit, a Washington-based think tank said yesterday. The July 20 images showed work at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station to dismantle a building used to assemble space-launch vehicles and a nearby rocket engine test stand used to develop liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles and spacelaunch vehicles, the 38 North think tank said. “Since these facilities are believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the North’s intercontinental ballistic missile program, these efforts represent a significant confidence-building measure on the part of North Korea,” it said in a report. Trump told a news conference after his unprecedented June 12 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that Kim had promised that a major missile engine testing site would be destroyed very soon. Trump did not identify the site, but a U.S. official subsequently told Reuters that it

was Sohae. The 38 North report comes amid growing questions about North Korea’s willingness to live up to the commitments Kim made at the summit, particularly to work towards denuclearization. U.S. officials have repeatedly said North Korea has committed to giving up a nuclear weapons program that now threatens the United States, but Pyongyang has offered no details as to how it might go about this. Jenny Town, managing editor of 38 North, which is based at Washington’s Stimson Center, said the work at Sohae could be an important move to keep negotiations going. “This could (and that’s a big could) mean that North Korea is also willing to forgo satellite launches for the time being as well as nuclear and missile tests. This distinction has derailed diplomacy in the past,” she said. On Friday, senior U.S. officials called on Kim to act on his promise to give up his nuclear weapons and said the world, including China and Russia, must continued to enforce sanctions on Pyongyang until he does so. Yesterday, the U.S. State Department issued an advisory together with the departments of Treasury and Home-

land Security alerting businesses to North Korea’s sanctions-evasion tactics. It said they should “implement effective due diligence policies, procedures, and internal controls to ensure compliance with applicable legal requirements across their entire supply chains.” In a tweet early yesterday, Trump rejected “Fake News” that he was angry because progress was not happening fast enough with North Korea. “Wrong, very happy!” he said in the Tweet. “A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy,” he said. A report in The Washington Post at the weekend said that in spite of positive assessments Trump has given on progress with North Korea, he has vented anger at aides over a lack of immediate progress. Last week, Trump said there was “no rush” and “no time limit” on denuclearization negotiations. U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said on Thursday it was technically possible for North Korea to eliminate its nuclear weapons program within a year, but added that it was not likely to happen.

Tuesday July 24, 2018

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IMF says Venezuela to see 1 million per cent inflation by year-end WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Amid the financial and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, the country is expected to see hyperinflation reach epic proportions: a million per cent a year by the end of 2018, the International Monetary Fund said yesterday. And the nation’s economic collapse will increasingly spillover into neighbouring countries, the IMF said in its updated regional outlook for Latin America. “We are projecting a surge in inflation to 1,000,000 per cent by end-2018 to signal that the situation in Venezuela is similar to that in Germany in 1923 or Zimbabwe in the late 2000s,” said Alejandro Werner, head of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department. Venezuela’s economy is expected to contract by 18 per cent this year, the third consecutive year of doubledigit declines and three points worse than projected in May, amid falling oil production, he said in a statement. He also pointed to economic “distortions,” including printing money to

finance the government. “We expect the government to continue to run wide fiscal deficits financed entirely by an expansion in base money, which will continue to fuel an acceleration of inflation as money demand continues to collapse.” Tens of thousands of Venezuelans have fled the country to escape the crisis, which is having an impact on the neighboring economies, he said. OPEC data show Venezuelan oil production crashed to a new 30-year low of 1.5 million barrels a day in June even though the country has the world’s largest reserves of crude. The South American nation earns 96 per cent of its revenue through oil sales but under the government of populist President Nicolas Maduro a lack of foreign exchange has sparked economic paralysis that has left the country suffering serious shortages of food and medicine. Venezuela’s collapse is dragging down growth in Latin America and the Caribbean to 1.6 per cent this year, four-tenths lower than

the May forecast. Excluding Venezuela, however, the region “continues to recover” amid a pickup in consumption, with growth of 2.3 per cent this year and 2.8 per cent in 2019. Argentina, which just signed a loan agreement with the IMF, is expected to see its economic growth slow to 0.4 per cent this year, rather than the two percent forecast in May. But the country should see “a gradual recovery in 2019 and 2020 that will be supported by restored confidence under the Fundsupported stabilization program,” Werner said.

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Windies Captain Holder wants bigger partnerships from batsmen By Zaheer Mohamed West Indies Captain Jason Holder said he is looking forward bigger partnerships from his batsmen when the Regional side takes on Bangladesh in the second One Day International which is a day/night encounter tomorrow at Providence. Speaking with the media following their 48-run defeat in the first ODI on Sunday Holder said they need to improve in all departments. “We need to improve in all departments, we missed a few chances in the field and that can hurt anybody in cricket. Our bowling can execute a lot better in the end and bowling to two set batsmen at the end

Shimron Hetmyer is being congratulated by skipper Jason Holder after reaching his fifty. (Zaheer Mohamed photos)

Tuesday July 24, 2018 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Sometimes you’re on your own because you run so far ahead of the pack. However, the Suns shift into your 11th House of Community invites you to improve your social standing by organizing events or volunteering for an important cause. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Adjusting to new responsibilities at work and at home could be tough, especially if you insist on doing everything the old tried-and-true way. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) You may be quite enthusiastic about your future, but it seems to remain just beyond your grasp. Nevertheless, you can improve your chances of success by making sure you have a detailed map, rather than making decisions without the necessary information. CANCER (June 21–July 22) You’re not excited about stepping out on your own today, because working with others increases your sense of emotional security. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Your one-to-one relationships are in the spotlight now as you reposition yourself to respond to changing circumstances. However, the Suns shift into futuristic Aquarius and your 7th House of Significant Others can be stressful as you blend your vision with someone elses. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) A sudden shift in the energy leads you to seek more freedom by adapting your daily routines to your unconventional patterns.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) You’re eager to show up for play today rather than work, and your creativity grows when you try out new ideas and risk looking foolish. However, an unexpected flirtation could catch you by surprise when the Sun moves into quirky Aquarius to join sassy Venus in your 5th House of Spontaneity. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Although its crucial to communicate your feelings clearly, the best way to earn trust now is to match your words and your actions with your purest intentions. SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21) Taking a break from your obligations at home and work could leave you with extra free time on your hands today. Thankfully, you have an opportunity to make new connections and to share your latest ideas with friends. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Financial issues may grow more complicated now, but you’re ready to do whatever it takes in order to put your fiscal life back on track. Your cash flow could be a source of anxiety as you plan your recovery from excessive holiday spending. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) A sudden change of attitude inspires you to take responsibility for your own life and to make longoverdue improvements now. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) The patterns you set into motion now will either deepen a current relationship or raise trust issues. Although you hope to cultivate cooperation, you don’t want to let go of your own agenda.

isn’t easy, but I think we can execute a lot better in terms of our death bowling. Our batsmen need to build bigger partnerships and go deep as possible in the innings,” he added. Holder pointed out that the run out Chris Gayle was a set back for the chase. “He was pretty much in and we were looking for him to go deep, I thought we weren’t up to scratch today in the field, we missed a few chances, and we bowled pretty well but lost our way in the last couple overs.” Despite the loss Holder said there still some positives from the game. “We know the areas we need to tighten up on, but there were still some positives, Hetmyer played really well, generally some bowlers did well but we have to tighten up come Wednesday. Hetmyer is one of the better players of spin in our dressing room and one of the few lefthanders we have in the middle order, he is young and talented, I encouraged him to go deep and he will develop as time goes on.” When quizzed about the pitch, the Windies skipper stated that it was good. It was similar to when we play Pakistan, it took a little spin upfront, had a bit of moisture, but once you spend time on it you can score.” Bangladesh victory came as a huge relief following their loss in the test series. The batting of Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan set the foundation as they added over 250. “If they didn’t bat that way on that turning pitch, we would have ended up on around 220 runs; we wanted to ensure that we reached 250. They felt chasing at least 250 would be a tough task here. They didn’t take up unnecessary time; they batted like the team had wanted them to,” said Bangladesh Captain Mashrafe Mortaza. Tamim went on to score his tenth ODI hundred but it was Bangladesh’s slowest in the format. Teams; West Indies - Jason Holder (c), Devendra Bishoo, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope (wk), Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Ashley Nurse, Keemo Paul, Kieran Powell, Rovman Powell and Andre Russell. Bangladesh - Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Shakib Al Hasan (vc), Liton Das (wk), Abu Hider, Mehedi Hasan, Anamul Haque, Mosaddek Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Tamim Iqbal, Nazmul Islam, Abu Jayed, Mahmudullah, Mustafizur Rahman, Sabbir Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk) and Nazmul Hossain Shanto.

BVA and Trophy Stall beach volleyball set for Sunday at No.63 beach The Beach Volleyball Competition organised by the Berbice Volleyball Association (BVA) and sponsored by the Trophy Stall of Bourda Market through Managing Director Ramesh Sunich is set for Sunday (July 29). The venue is the popular No.63 beach, Corentyne, Berbice. The tournament will see participation from males, females and novices teams. Serve off time is 10:00hrs. The tournament has attracted players from Orealla to Mahaicony. According to President of the BVA, Levi Nedd, the tournament is for Sunday and not last Sunday as was mistakenly mentioned in this newspaper. He noted that all the teams in Berbice are expected to be represented. The tournament will be a handicapped one and is aimed at selecting the top male and female pairs to represent the ancient county

in a beach tournament scheduled for French Guiana later in the year. There will be added attractions and BBQ will be on sale. Prizes and trophies for the top pairs and outstanding individual players will be up for grabs.

Trophy Stall... From page 29 are: Clarks footwear giants Chetsons, Queensway Security Services, E-Networks Inc., KSM Investments, Yhip’s Bakery, Brass Aluminium & Cast Iron Foundry (BACIF), Ray’s Auto Sales, Y.K. Investments, Woodpecker Products, National Sports Commission, Express Shipping, ‘C’ Division of the Guyana Police Force, Julius Variety Store, C & C Prestigious Styles and Attorney-at-Law Roysdale Forde.

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PMTC1 and Port Mourant females victorious at Roy Fredericks inter club Volleyball The Port Mourant Training Center 1(PMTC1) Volleyball Club continued their winning ways when they defeated the Rollers Volleyball Club of New Amsterdam in the final of the Roy Fredericks Cup floodlight Volleyball tournament 2018. The tournament, which was held on Saturday last at the Albion Community Centre Hard Court, saw PMTC1 winning 2-0. The winning scores were 25-14 and 25-23. The tournament which was organised by the Blairmont Community Center (BCC) was part of a series of games held in honour of late Minister and West Indies great Roy Fredericks.

Seven teams took part in the male category with the others being Corriverton Jets, Port Mourant Jaguars, Training Center (formerly Port Mourant Training Center). The Training Center team placed third. Trophies and other incentives were presented to the first, second and third place teams. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) trophy was awarded to Shemroy Ross of PMTC1. In the female category the head to head duel continued between the Port Mourant females and Corriverton Jets Females. The matches were close with neither team prepared to let up, however in the end it

was the Port Mourant females that prevailed by a 2-0 margin. The scores were 26-24, 25-21. Port Mourant females received the winning trophy, while Candacy Mentore received a trophy for being the MVP among the females. The activity was coordinated by President of the BVA Levi Nedd and President of the BCC Shabeer Baksh.Nedd took the opportunity to compliment Baksh and the executives of the BCC for taking the time out to recognise one of Guyana heroes and for doing a splendid job in organising the event.Apart from volleyball there were cricket and a number of indoor games. (Samuel Whyte)

RHTY&SC assists students with cycles under Patron’s 73rd Birthday Programme The Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, MS on Friday last provided bicycles to twenty youths as part of an effort to assist them to stay in school and obtain an educational background. The donation was done under its Patron’s Fund as part of President David Granger 73rd Birthday celebration. The Presentation was sponsored by CEO of VNET Communication Mr. Sharaz Sherrifudeen and the ten Cricket Teams of the RHTY&SC. Club Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster in remarks at the presentation, stated that last year the Club assisted Students and Sports Organisations with millions worth of bicycles, exercise books, cricket balls, sports gears and school bags for the club Patron’s 72nd Birthday, while the highly successful edition of the Green Economy Cricket Tournament was also hosted with $1M in prizes being shared out to the top winners. This year the Berbice Cricket Board would organise the 2nd Edition of the Green Economy Trophy, while the RHTY&SC would assist youths with school bags, cycles and cricket bats as part of its countywide Say Yes to Education and Sports Campaign. President Granger, the long serving Secretary/CEO stated, has been a remarkable and inspirational Honorary Patron to every member of Guyana’s leading youth and sports organisation and as such the Club is delighted to assist youths to fulfill their potential in sports and the classroom. The Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club main objective, Foster

stated, is to make God’s World a better place for youths, the elderly and less fortunate to live in. Assistant Secretary Simon Naidu stated that the donation was made possible by VNET Communication, who contributed most of the funds, while the teams also assisted financially. He urged the students to cherish the donation and to use them for the intended purpose, which is to attend school. The students, drawn mainly from Rose Hall Town, Port Mourant, Hampshire and Williamsburg, expressed gratitude to the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, VNET Communication and all expressed 73rd Birthday greetings to the President. CEO of VNET Communication Sharaf Sherrifudeen stated that his Company was pleased to be associated with the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, its cricket teams and most importantly to assist youths to get to school. Most of the students were selected by the Cricket Coaches of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club after attending the Club’s 28th Annual Cricket Academy, while the others were nominated by schools in the Township. The Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club Cricket Teams would next distribute cricket bats to Under-15 Cricketers based on recommendations from Clubs around Berbice. Persons who want to nominate youth cricketers can email foster_hilbert@yahoo.com or call the office on 337-4562.

Some of the students pose with officials of the RHTYSC, MS and VNET Communication.

The winning PMTC1 team pose for a picture after the competition.

Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira receives RHTY&SC highest Award “ Yo u a r e a h e r o t o several generations of cricket lovers and you brought the world of cricket into our imagination long before Television came into our homes. Your voice inspired thousands of young We s t I n d i a n s t o f o l l o w their dreams to become the next Sobers, Lloyd, Wo r r e l , R i c h a r d s a n d Greenidge. Most importantly, you were a role model to my generation and others and has played a huge role in promoting Guyana and West Indies Cricket. Today, the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club has the greatest privilege to honour you with our highest Award - The Dolphin Award of Excellence.” Those were the words of Secretary/CEO of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, MS, Hilbert Foster, as the Club honoured Legendary International Cricket Commentator Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira. Perreira, who was in the County Ancient as a quest of the Berbice Cricket Board received the Dolphin Award of Excellence during a special ceremony last Friday at the St. Francis Training Centre. He became the 33rd per-

son to receive the Award, which is given to friends of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club who has made outstanding contribution to the development of Guyana and also a positive role model to youths. Among the other Awardees are President David Granger, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, former Test Player Roger Harper and Journalist Franklyn Wilson. Perreira started his Legendary Career in 1961 at the Rose Hall Canje Ground at the First Class Level and Broadcast his first Test Match in 1971 when West Indies played India at the Bourda Ground. Up to his retirement two years ago, Perreira did commentary in 147 Test Matches, 200 One Day International and over 350 First Class Matches. He also served as Sports Coordinator of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) for over a decade and was an Advisor to the late Minister of Sports Shirley Field-Ridley in the 1970’s. The Rose Hall To w n Yo u t h & S p o r t s Club Secretary/CEO, who is also the President of the Berbice Cricket Board, urged Perreira to share his vast experience

with young cricketers and journalists. A humbled Perreira, who was inducted as an Honorary Member of Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club fifteen years ago, stated that it was an honour to receive such a prestigious Award from Guyana’s best. Perreira stated that he had to work hard to achieve success including a severe stammering problem. Success, he stated can be achieved once a person has a dream and is prepared to put in long time. The Legendary Commentator stated that many persons, including Raffeek Khan, opened the door of opportunities for him and he would always be grateful. Speaking of his Career, he disclosed that it was a privilege to work with great Commentators like Tony Cozier, John Arlott and Jim Maxwell. Organising Secretary o f t h e R o s e H a l l To w n Yo u t h & S p o r t s C l u b Keith Hicks handed over the Award to Perreira. Vice President Mark Papannah and Asst Secretary/CEO Simon Naidu head the Selection Committee for the Dolphin Award of Excellence.

Tuesday July 24, 2018

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Bartica FA/Bartica Baptist Church/Victory International Missions U-17 Tourney

Lazio lift champion trophy; Potaro Strikers end third Lazio FC emerged champions of the Bartica Football Association (BFA) Under-17 tournament on Saturday afternoon last which was sponsored by the Bartica Baptist Church and its affiliate, Victory International Missions. Held at the Bartica Secondary School Ground, Lazio got the better of Rising Stars 3-2 in what was an exciting conclusion to the tournament. Battling it out in a heavy downpour of rain, Lazio was the first to get on the score sheet in the 21st minute by way of a Jevon Harris strike but their opponents were not willing to be outdone and quickly answered by way of a perfectly struck penalty kick by Mark Subrattie, following a hand ball in the box. The deadlock was again broken by Lazio when Antonio Perriera got one past the Stars’ goalkeeper, Inzamam ul Hack Bacchus, just before the break. Returning for the second half, both teams pieced together some exciting backand-forth exchanges despite the soggy conditions. But it was Lazio that

rocked the nets once again when Daniel Martin broke free from the opponent’s defence and got his shot off at goal. Proceedings ended 3-2 in favour of Lazio after Rising Stars’ Mark Subrattie converted his second penalty kick seconds before the final whistle. In the third place encounter played earlier between Potaro Strikers and Mil Ballers United, saw a Daniel Gardner double, assisted by one goal from Joshua Jones, ensured that Potaro Strikers took full honours away with a 3-0 victory. Pastor of the Bartica Baptist Church thanked all the clubs for their participation in the month-long tournament, while the representatives of Victory International Missions presented trophies, medals and balls to the winners. Victory International Missions is associated with the Baptist Movement and the organization is currently providing Medical and Evangelistic Outreach to the Bartica Community.

Members of VIM pose with champion team, Lazio FC.

Hand-in-Hand supports GTTA for Caribbean Pre-Cadet Table Tennis Championships

Ms. Shafeena Juman (right), Marketing Coordinator of Hand-in-Hand, presents the sponsorship cheque to Ms. Thuraia Thomas. Once again, The Hand-inHand Mutual Fire Insurance Company Ltd shows why they are the leading insurance company that supports the talent of our young sportsmen and women. On Tuesday last, the company continued their support to the Guyana Table Tennis Association by sponsoring Guyana’s 2018 National Girls 13 and 15 years Champion, Ms. Thuraia Thomas. Ms. Thomas will be participating and representing Guyana at the Caribbean Pre Cadet Table Tennis Championships scheduled for the July 24th - 1st September, 2018 in Santo Domingo, Dominican

Republic. The Caribbean Cadet and Junior Championships engage girls and boys between the ages of 11 and 13 years and under in the Caribbean region and forms as the basis for regional table tennis supremacy. It is the incubator for the development of young emerging table tennis talent and platform from which all regional table tennis stars commence their journey. Ms. Thomas is also the winner of the US Open and Caribbean titles and is trained under the tutelage of Coach Dwain Dick, Colin France and Linden Johnson.

In a simple presentation at the company’s Head Office, Ms. Shafeena Juman, Marketing Coordinator proudly presented the sponsorship cheque to Ms. Thuraia Thomas. Ms. Juman expressed delight in once again being able to support the bright and talented athlete and assures that the company will always continue to support the development of sports, especially in the future generation. She also wished Ms. Thomas success at the event. Ms. Thomas thanked the company for their long standing support and promised to bring home the prize.

Trophy Stall on board second Annual Guinness Cage Trophy Stall of Bourda Market joined the list of growing sponsors in support of the Three Peat Promotions second annual ‘Guinness Cage’ competition which is scheduled to kick off on August 8, at the Haslington Market Tarmac. Dubbed ‘East Coast Best versus the Rest’, five-day tournament is expected to attract twenty-four of the top exponents in the shorter format with a minimum of twelve teams coming from the East Coast, while the remaining twelve will be selected from the Georgetown, Linden and West Demerara environs. Yesterday, during a simple ceremony that was conducted at the entity’s location in Bourda Market, Managing Director of Trophy Stall Ramesh Sunich took the opportunity to personally hand over his sponsorship to coprincipal of the Promotions, Rawle Welch. Speaking at the occasion, Sunich, who is no stranger to the sports fraternity, in brief remarks commended the Group for its continued commitment towards the development of sports, while also recognizing their contribution in helping to foster camaraderie and cohesion amongst the respective communities.

Managing Director of Trophy Stall Ramesh Sunich presents the cheque and first place trophy to Three Peat Promotions Rawle Welch yesterday. “I would like to recognise your contribution in assisting to bring together the various communities that will be participating in the tournament and at the same time helping to further develop the format in the sport,” Sunich said. Welch in his response thanked Sunich for his unwavering support for the tournament which started in its inaugural year, while also noting his sterling contribution towards the development of sports and athletes which ac-

cording to him is unrivalled. Sports is being used as one of the vehicles to eliminate obstacles that has prevented unity among villages and communities and Three Peat Promotions through its efforts is helping to strengthen co-operation and friendship between participating teams and by extension the communities they hail from. Among the other donors to have committed assistance (Continued on page 27)

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Badminton Camp concludes The Guyana Badminton Association & The Unit of Allied of Arts (Physical Education Department) is expressing thanks to National Badminton Player Narayan Ramdhani for running off a Two Weeks Badminton Camp, and giving some of his vacation time and vast knowledge to the young Badminton players from schools around Georgetown which included Queens College, Marian Academy, Winfer Gardens Primary School, School of the Nations and Eccles Primary School.Narayan, who holds the Badminton World Federation Shuttle Time Tutor Certificate, not only shared his knowledge of how to become a better Badminton player, but he also supplied all the Rackets and Shuttlecocks for this two weeks Camp. He is also Studying and training Badminton on a five year scholarship in Canada. This is the second year in

Narayan Ramdhani poses with some of the participants.

a row Narayan is conducting this Camp in Guyana. He is also representing Guyana at the CAC Games in

Barranquilla Colombia July 28th-August 4th along with Jonathan Mangra and Priyanna Ramdhani to com-

pete in the Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles. This Badminton Tournament will have 6-Olympians and 5-Play-

ers Ranked in the top 100 in the world. The Guyanese players have been preparing for these

games training twice daily and the GBA is very sure that they will put in their all to represent their country.

GFF Elite league Season III

KSM Investments Inc., Ganesh Den Amstel squander opportunity Parts & General Store support to go top - Fruta Conquerors, Buxton and KMTC Emancipation meet GDF win on Sunday night The inform Den Amstel Football Club (FC) had an excellent opportunity to go top of the points table and stamp their authority as one of the top clubs in the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Elite League Season III but after being a goal up in the second half on Sunday, they eventually lost to Fruta Conquerors FC 2-1. At the National Track and Field Center (NTFC), Leonora, on Sunday, third placed Den Amstel (26 points) clashed with second place Conquerors (26 points) in the feature game of the night and the match remained scoreless until Delon Lanferman scored for the West Coast Demerara based club in the second half (51st minute). However, Den Amstel were unable to hold on to their lead when they gave away a penalty in the 79th minute which Fruta Conquerors’ center-forward Eon Alleyne calmly converted. It was not finished there either as

Delroy Fraser (GDF) Conqueror’s new acquisition in Domini Garnett from Grove Hi-tech FC; fired home a stoppage time goal to secure the three points for the Tucville

men that are now top of the points table on 29 points, ahead of Western Tigers (27 points) that have a game in hand. Earlier in the evening, Dillon Wright 36th minute goal was enough to allow Buxton United to needle Victoria Kings in the all-East Coast opening match. In the second match of the night, defending champions Guyana Defence Force (GDF) FC had a comfortable 4-0 victory over the struggling Ann’s Grove FC. GDF FC’s goals came off the boots of Delroy Fraser, who netted a double in the 64th and 76th minutes after Shawn Arthur had opened the scoring in the sixth minute, while Sherwyn Caesar closed off the match with a stoppage time goal. The elite league will continue this weekend with a total of five matches. Please see current points standing below:

KSM Investments Inc. of Goed Hope, East Coast, Demerara and Ganesh Parts and General Store of Robb Street, Georgetown have thrown their support behind the Kennard Memorial Turf Club (KMTC) for the staging of their Emancipation Meet which is set for Sunday at Bush Lot, Corentyne in Berbice. Director/Secretary of KSM Investments Inc., Khainwattie Ranchu presented the first place prizes for the L-Non Winner and L Open races. She said that the company is happy to be part of the event and its one way of giving back to the community. She added that that this is not the first time the company has supported the turf

Sales Representative of Ganesh Parts and General Store Kawal Doobay (left) presents the cheque to Justice Cecil Kennard. club and confirmed their continued backing of the sport. Sales Representative of Ganesh Parts and General Store, Kawal Doobay, explained that they shared in a long and fruitful partnership

KMTC chairman Cecil Kennard accepts the prizes from Director/Secretary of KSM Investments Inc., Khainwattie Panchu.

with KMTC and this sponsorship further strengthens their union. Ganesh Parts and General Store handed over the cash prize for the winner of the J3 and Lower event, which will go for nine furlongs. Chairman of the KMTC Cecil Kennard spoke about the significance of sponsorship and expressed gratitude to both entities. “Those of us who are involved in the administration of sport know the importance of sponsorships for the successful staging of events of this nature.” Kennard confirmed that over 60 horses have been entered for the one day meet, and the track is in fine condition despite some rain recently. The main event is for the E1 & Lower animals which covers a distance of seven furs and carries a top prize of $600,000. (Zaheer Mohamed)

Tuesday July 24, 2018

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Kaieteur News

CAC Games 2018

Squash women’s doubles team lose semi-final match In the Women’s squash doubles, the Guyanese pair of Ashley Khalil and Taylor Fernandes defeated Amanda Haywood and Jada Smith-Padmore of Barbados by 2-1 in the quarterfinal round before losing to Colombia yesterday morning in two straight sets. After getting past Barbados’ duo of Haywood and Smith-Padmore who are the regional powerhouses, on Sunday, Khalil and former Caribbean Junior Champion Fernandes couldn’t cope with the skill of Laura and Maria Tovar of Colombia. The Guyanese lost the first match 11-8 before surrendering a berth in the final with a 11-3 defeat in the second game. I n M e n ’s d o u b l e s quarterfinals, Guyana’s Sunil Seth and Jason-Ray Khalil lost to the #2 seeded Arturo and Cesar Salazar of Mexico by 0-2. The scores of 6-11 and 8-11 against such world class opposition is testament to the fine

performance by the Guyanese pair. The Guyanese Mixed doubles pair of Nyron Joseph and Mary Fung-a-fat put up a fierce fight against #2 seeds Ricardo Toscano and Winifer Bonilla of Guatemala. At one game each, the Guyanese led by as many as 7-4 before succumbing to their more experienced counterparts, 11-9 in the deciding game. Meanwhile in hockey, after a great winning start against the Dominican Rep u b l i c , G u y a n a m e n ’s hockey team lost to the highly rated Mexican outfit by a 3-0 score line led by a hat-trick from forward Franciso Aguilar Montoya. Aguilar-Montoya goals came in 24th, 31st and 52nd minutes of the match. On the distaff side, Guyana entered yesterday’s match needing a win against defending gold medallists Cuba. Much like their first match, the Guyanese ladies defended well and handled the Cuban pressure for

most of the match with the score dead even on 0-0 at the half. However, in the 38th minute of play, Cuba would finally get their breakt h r o u g h t h r o u g h Yu n i a Milanes who squeezed a penalty corner rebound past goalkeeper Alysa Xavier who was having another fantastic game for Guyana. The Guyanese fought on bravely, pressing for the equalizer but the dangerous Cuban forwards were making their own raids to extend the lead as well. Ten minutes before full time, Cuba scored their second and final goal of the match through a swift counterattack and finish by Sunaylis Nikle. The 2-0 final score and victory for Cuba has placed Guyana in an unlikely position to challenge for a medal in the next round of play. The Guyanese women face favourites Mexico in their final pool round ga m e t o d a y a t 13:00hrs, Guyana time.

Minister Harmon receives courtesy call from WI Cricketer Chris Gayle

Minister of State, Mr. Joseph Harmon, greets Windies Cricketer Christopher Gayle during a courtesy call at his office at the Ministry of the Presidency. Lennox Cush and Tyrell Tull share the moment. Georgetown, Guyana – Minister of State, Mr. Joseph Harmon, yesterday, received a courtesy call from West Indies Cricketer Christopher Gayle at his office at the Ministry of the Presidency. During the meeting, they discussed West Indies cricket, how the game can be improved and how it can influence the lives of both the

young and the old. Minister Harmon used the opportunity to pledge the Government’s support to the sport as he further noted that the entire nation stands strongly behind the team. “Cricket is not just a game, it is a part of our culture; it’s a lifestyle. This loved game of cricket is such a huge part of not just the Guyanese culture

but it’s a part of our Caribbean culture, it is one of the sports that unify our people. The Government of Guyana fully supports the team and its players,” he said. The West Indies will face Bangladesh in a day/ night match tomorrow starting at 14:30hrs at the Guyana National Stadium.

- Men’s hockey team lose to Mexico

Guyana’s Ladies doubles team of Ashley Khalil and Taylor Fernandes (in red) along with their Barbadian opponents.

Two more powerlifters benefit from Fitness Express largesse Ahead of the 6th Annual IPF/NAPF North American Regional Powerlifting Championships to be held at the Sevilla Palace Hotel, Mexico City, Mexico, from August 14 next, Fitness Express has once again shown its support for local athletes. The leading local supplement and gym equipment supplier has made financial contributions towards the duo of Paul Adams and Erwyn Smith as they seek to excel next week. Adams would be competing in the 83kg Male Open Raw/Classic and while Smith will be seeking glory in the 93kg Equipped Class. In handing over the contributions to both athletes, Manager of Fitness Express, Jamie Mc Donald stated that it’s always a pleasure to be assisting the athletes who have been working hard towards bringing glory to the nation and themselves. ”We at Fitness Express would always assist in whatever way we can, we are supported by these athletes and other persons so it is necessary for us to help empower these local gladiators in their quests to represent the Golden Arrowhead. It is never an easy task in preparing one’s body to compete at this level and we applaud you and

Paul Adams (left) receives Fitness Express’ sponsorship from Jamie Mc Donald. other athletes for their commitment and discipline.” We wish you guys all the best and look forward to good results out of Mexico. Adams and Smith expressed gratitude to Mc Donald and Fit-

ness Express for the unremitting support they have been receiving over the years, not only for overseas engagements but also for local powerlifting shows and other sports disciplines.

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Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket continues to grow in Guyana

Students during the Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket programme on Sunday last at the Providence National Stadium. GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket made a spectacular return to the field of play with a stunning display of talent and skill by the enthusiastic children of Guyana on Sunday. More than 100 boys and girls from across the country participated in the lunchtime Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket interval display accompanied by ‘Chirpy’ – the larger-thanlife, fun-loving mascot, at the Guyana National Stadium as West Indies and Bangladesh competed in the first One-Day International game of the series here. Mr. Anand Sanasie, Secretary of the Guyana Cricket Board and the Direc-

tor of Cricket West Indies commented during the interval display; “The Kiddy Cricket programme is probably the longest sporting partnership between two entities in the region, with the Cricket West Indies partnering with Scotiabank for the last 18 years. The programme engages approximately 135,000 children across the region in 17 countries. In Guyana we engage 210 primary schools, so we are in contact with 27,000 children who are actively engaged in the game of cricket. Through the programme, these children have access to 24 qualified foundation and level one

GCB’s Academy players face the National Under-19 team in a 3-Day practice match As a part of their preparations, Guyana’s National Under-19 team will engage the GCB Academy players in a friendly 3-Day practice match today to Thursday at the Everest Cricket Club ground. This 3-Day game was structured to benefit the team in improving their strengths and correcting their weaknesses as they make their way across to St. Vincent on the 30th July with the aim of retaining the CWI Regional Under-19 double championship. The teams are as follows: National Under19: Bhaskar Yadram Captain, Kevin Sinclair, Alex Algoo, Sachin Singh, Adrian Anthony, Christopher Hinds, Juni o r S i n c l a i r, K e v l o n

Anderson, Javed Karim, Yeudister Persaud, Kelvin Umroa, Joshua Persaud, Ashmead Nedd and Qumar Torrington. This team will be managed by Andy Ramnarine and Coach Julian Moore. The six stand-by players are: Joel Fortune, Sadik Khan, Sherland Anthony, Kurt Lovell, Karan Arjpaul and Silvan Williams. Academy: Akshaya Persaud - Captain, Anthony Adams - Vice Captain, Robin Bacchus, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Raymon Perez, Tevin Imlach , Sherfane Rutherford, Kemol Savory, Clinton Pestano, Ramaal Lewis, Raun Johnson, Richie Looknauth and Ricardo Adams. The team will be managed by Michael Franco, while Clive Grimmond functions as the Coach.

coaches, who teach them the fundamentals of batting, bowling, fielding and wicket keeping”. Between the sponsor, Scotiabank, and Cricket West Indies, cricket gears and equipment are disturbed annually, so that the skills of cricket can be thought across participating schools in Guyana. Mr. Sanasie mentioned that the programme has recently introduced an academic cricket manual for the classroom setting, that will be disturbed to schools across Guyana in partnership with the Ministry of Education, that will introduce Mathemat-

ics, English, Social Studies, Science, HFLE and other core primary subjects in a relatable and fun cricket context. “I can tell you our current captain of the West Indies team, Jason Holder is a product of the programme. Locally, almost every one of the youngsters that have moved up inclusive of Bhaskar Yadram, Keemo Paul, Jacobs, Jonathan Foo, have all passed through the Kiddy Cricket programme, so being a local cricket administrator, we depend on this to identify talent and then to mold that talent and take it to a higher level,” said Mr. Sanasie. Scotiabank, Cindy

Mohammed – Manager, Public and Corporate Affairs, Caribbean South and East, Scotiabank stated; “Scotiabank is committed to helping our young people become better off and we’re proud that the Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket Programme enables us achieve this. The programme teaches the basics of the sport but also life skills such as team work, discipline and integrity that help them become well rounded individuals. It was fantastic seeing the joy on the faces of our top performing boys and girls from this year’s programme take to the field during the interval period, to showcase

their skills, and having the opportunity to meet the players of the West Indies team. This is an experience which I am sure will stay with them for a lifetime, and aspire them as young cricketers.” As Guyana, St. Lucia and Antigua host the first standalone ICC Women’s World Twenty20 in November, Cricket West Indies and Scotiabank will be putting special arrangements in place to give the female cricketers in the Kiddy Cricket programme the opportunity to watch the matches and participate in activities surrounding this grand world event across the three host venue.

Hamilton Green Cup KO football tourney to start September 15 Play in the Hamilton Green Cup Knockout Football tournament is set to commence on September 15 with a double header at the Golden Grove Ground on the East Coast of Demerara from 7:00pm. The opening fixture will pit Plaisance against Golden Warriors and Golden Grove versus Wales to set things off. Other match days will see games on September 16, 23, 29, 30, October 6, 7, 13, 14, 21 and the final set for the 28th October at the Golden Grove Ground. The Georgetown Football Club ground is the other match venue being used during the tournament. The winners of the tournament will carte off a $500,000 first prize, while the runner-up claims $250,000, third place $150,000 and fourth place $100,000 of the $1M prize package up for the

Hamilton Green taking. Some of the other teams involved in the tournament this year apart from the above mentioned four on opening night are: Plaisance, GFC, Kuru Kururu, Santos, Grove Hi Tech, Pele, Soesdyke, Camptown, Eagles, Victoria Kings, Ann’s Grove,

Mahaica, Buxton Bakewell, Police, Pouderoyen, Uitvlugt and Den Amstel. Coordinator Lennox Arthur informed that the teams can uplift the rules of the competition from him, stating that only clubs and players affiliated to their respective associations will be allowed to participate. He noted that the rules of the Guyana Football Federation would be fully enforced and teams and players must take note. Arthur, the former National football player and Coach, informed that they have gotten the green light from the GFF and all systems are a go for preparation for the event. He said they (the organising committee) are in the process of soliciting sponsorship for the tournament and welcomed the support of the business commu-

nity. He expressed heartfelt gratitude for the sponsors who have supported in the past and expressed the desire that they will continue same for this 2018 edition. This tournament has been played for the last 24 years in recognition of former Prime Minister and elder statesman Hamilton Green for his contribution over the years to sports. In actuality, the tournament was held under the Mayor’s Cup banner 30 years ago when Mr. Green served as Mayor of Georgetown. Green is an avid sports enthusiast and sportsman himself. But his help to athletes and organisations over the years has been noteworthy. Arthur encouraged sponsors to lend support as the local football talent come to the fore in this tournament.

Kaieteur News

Tuesday July 24, 2018

PAGE 33

Minister Norton Opens Malteenoes Cricket Academy By Sean Devers Yesterday in a packed Malteenoes pavilion, Minister of Social Cohesion with responsibility for Sports, Dr George Norton reconfirmed that this Administration fully supports any programme that helps to empower Youths. The Honourable Minister was speaking to the close to 100 students, their parents and the Media in the feature address at the opening of the two-week Malteenoes Cricket Academy which began yesterday. “ I w a n t t o wholeheartedly commend the Malteenoes Sports club for its staunch dedication to this initiative and such large numbers in so many females turning out today,” said Dr Norton. “We all know this Academy has contributed to the grooming of some of the country’s best Cricketers ….Men and Women… who have done Guyana proud at home and abroad,” said Minister Norton whose son

is a former National Youth leg-spinner. Among those produced by the Academy which inaugurated in 1993, are Ramnaresh Sarwan, Ryan Ramdass and West Indies w o m e n ’s I n d o m a t t i e Goordial who went on to play Test Cricket. Norton noted that he was impressed by the depth of the programmes which are not only about teaching cricket techniques. “I am happy to know that you will be addressing issues like Child safety and Protection, hygiene, etiquette and social skills. These sessions will lend in no small way to the holistic development of the participants,” Dr Norton pointed out. Minister Norton said he was impressed that the Academy will not only be grooming future cricketing stars but also Umpires, Journalists, Broadcasters and even Scorers. “I want to encourage you to grasp all that is taught to you and make yourselves, your families, the Academy

and the entire Country proud. It is my hope that all of the Academy’s lessons will convey the underlining message of love for humanity and the importance and beauty of diversity…especially in a local context,” the Minister concluded. Also speaking at the opening of the Academy, which began with the saying of the National Pledge, was past President and former First-Class batsman Neil Barry, who provided a brief history of the Academy, Head Coach of the Academy, National U-17 Coach Orin Bailey and Vice-Presidents Debra McNichol and exNational youth cricketer Shawn Holder. The Academy has attracted close to 100 students from age 6-18 and runs from 09:00hrs to 15:00hrs with Lunch being provided from 12:30hrs to 13:30hrs. A special fund has been set up for 28 less fortunate children to attend free by three overseas club members.

- Says this Administration supports such programmes

Sessions are divided into U-13s and 13-18 and registration ($3,000) close tomorrow or when 120 participants are registered, which comes first. The boys and girls began with the Coach conducting outdoor work at the National Park Tarmac and the TSC tarmac since the MSC was soggy due to overnight rain. Today an Anti-drug talk will be done by the Anti-drug depart, the Academy is expected to be visited by

some West Indies players before coaching sessions by Bailey and Former West Indies pacer Reon King. Tomorrow there will be a talk on cricket which will be done by internationally acclaimed cricket commentator Reds Perriera, a talk on a Green Economy by the Ministry of Communities and Coaching by Bailey and Guyana Jaguars Head Coach Esuan Crandon. Thursday there will the

Neil Barry and Debra Mc Nichol with Sports Minister Dr Norton during his address at the opening of the MSC Academy yesterday.

conclusion of the talk on a Green Economy and a session on public speaking by an action Coach and Coaching by Bailey and First-Class cricketer Steven Jacobs. On Friday there will be a lecture on Scoring by International scorer Bharat Mangru and Coaching sessions by Bailey and King. The Academy will break for the weekend before resuming on Monday for the final week.

The participants at yesterday’s Malteenoes cricket Academy.

rt o p S CAC P. 31 Games 2018

Squash women’s doubles team lose - Men’s hockey semi-final match team lose to Mexico

Guyana’s Ashley Degroot (26) watches on before her keeper, Alysa Xavier, makes a brilliant save against Cuba.

Minister Harmon receives Two more powerlifters benefit courtesy call from WI P. 31 from Fitness Express largesse P. 31 Cricketer Chris Gayle

Minister of State, Mr. Joseph Harmon, chats with West Indies Cricketer Christopher Gayle during a courtesy call at his office at the Ministry of the Presidency.

Jamie Mc Donald (left) hands over Fitness Express’ contribution to Erwyn Smith.

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