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Auditor General bemoans NEWS govt.'s failure to provide details on D'Urban Park spending

Thursday Edition

AIETEUR

June 06, 2019 - Vol. 12 No. 23 Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

Guyana’s largest selling daily & New York’s most popular weekly

Price $80

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Govt. must demand more for concessions granted - University of to oil companies Houston Instructor Army readies for internal threats The army in training

Govt. aims to eliminate landlordism of small and medium-scale gold mining operations

One year later Suriname lapsed Eccles rice Salt-fish land policy in obligations to mill puts consultation maintain Canawaima spotlight thief sent incomplete ferry - Foreign Ministry on zoning to prison

Country braces for more - as GPL scrambles to repair blackouts Chinese submarine cable How did 4.8M acres offshore Guyana end up in the hands of four companies with no track record in the oil industry?

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Kaieteur News

Thursday June 06, 2019

Kaieteur News

Thursday June 06, 2019

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Eccles rice milling operations puts spotlight on zoning A

n E c c l e s homeowner, who in 2013 believed that he had found a good deal with a new home in Eccles, East Bank Demerara, is now ruing his decision.

From since 2015, he has been battling the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) in a case that has highlighted the stark problems of zoning in the country. CH&PA has since admitted that zoning is a problem it is battling with.

Wahabudeen Imran said that his property has suffered flood damage and his holiday and retirement home has now become a bad investment because of the noise from the mill.

He explained that in 2013, he came back here

from the British Virgin Islands, where he and his family lived and worked. He applied for a property.

He did not want to return to Essequibo from where he hailed because of the distance. He was offered one home by the CH&PA for over $14M at Eccles at what i s k n o w n a s “ Yo u n g P r o f es s io n als H o u s in g Scheme”.

Imran's headaches began then. He not only had to wait months for his home, but it came with defects which have not been fixed despite complaints.

He said when he purchased the property, it had a reserve and trench at the back for drainage.

The new scheme was just behind the Eccles Industrial Site. He said that he came

The houses at the “Young Professionals Homes”, Eccles, with the rice operations facilities behind back and found the reserve taken over and a smaller drain built. The noise of the mill became intolerable also.

There were a number of cracks on his house. The cracks can be blamed on vibrations.

“The filling of the trench and taking over of the reserve has upset the

drainage. My yard is being flooded as soon as the rain falls because the drain they built is too small to take the water.”

Becoming frustrated, in September 2015, Imran wrote the Guyana Lands and Survey Commission to launch a probe.

However, the GLSC

Rum has become the region's largest export - DDL Chairperson

By Mikaila Prince

C

hairperson of D e m e r a r a Distillers Limited, Komal Samaroo, said at the luncheon presentation of 21st Caribbean American Legislative Week that rum has become the region's largest agriculture-based export earner, even in the face of significant reduction in earnings from sugar which has been facing major marketing and production challenges.

In Guyana based on information in the 2018 Central Bank report, while in 2016 export earnings from

the sugar was two times that of rum, in 2018, sugar earned only 56% of what the rum industry earned from exports.

In addition, he stated that there is a need to broaden the base on the regional economy. The agricultural potential must be fully exploited, and the investments made in agroprogressing so as to move higher up the value chain.

Similar strategies must be pursued in the forestry and mineral sectors.

The newly emerging Oil and Gas industry in Guyana, according to Samaroo, would most certainly provide an increased revenue stream, if well managed, can help create

a competitive environment for the other sectors of the economy to develop in a s us tainable manner, becoming globally competitive, and contributing to the growth and improvement in the quality of life of its people.

Institute of Caribbean Studies (ICS) has been doing over a number of years, advancing the cause of the cause of the Caribbean in the Diaspora in the US and to forge the initiatives designed to bring out about a better quality for the life for the people of the Caribbean, a place which is characterized by the USA as its “third border”.

Alleged 'wig thief' walked out of court a free woman

T

he owner of “Pieces and T h i n g s ” yesterday walked out of the City Court a free woman after the charge against her was dismissed.

Businesswoman Ashaka King, 28, from D'Urban Backland appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts before Magistrate Rondell Weever and denied that on March 16, last, at North Road, Lacytown, she stole from Alana Lewis 20 packs of wigs and hair extensions.

King and the victim are said to be known to each other and together they rent a

Ashaka King spot in a building on North Road. King is the owner of a Boutique and the victim is the owner of a salon.

Days before the incident happened the accused and victim got into an argument and the accused allegedly changed the locks on the door.

When Lewis was granted access to her salon she noticed that several packs of Brazilian wigs along with hair extensions were missing from her stock. The matter was then reported to the police and King was arrested and charged.

However, while in court Lewis told the court that she no longer wished to proceed with the matter against King and the matter was dismissed

by Magistrate Weever.

The United States is the primary trading partner for the Caribbean, representing a vibrant economic partnership that in 2016 saw a $4.6 billion surplus for the United States, 14 million U.S tourist visits, and 11,042 Caribbean students studying in the United States.

This lively economic partnership however requires that the Caribbean region is better positioned to take advantage of its potential share of this vibrancy through the removal of existing barriers to market access in the US as well as expanded US investment and technology transfer in the region.

referred the matter to Housing saying that the matter falls within their jurisdiction.

In July 2018, the homeowner wrote CH&PA which admitted that it had granted permission to Techno Mills Guyana to occupy the reserve for storage of grains for a definite period up to 2021.

The CH&PA's Chief Executive Officer, Lelon Saul, noted in his letter in keeping with the principles of good Town and Country Planning, residential zones should not be adjacent to industrial areas, unless there is adequate and appropriate buffer zones. “ L a m e n t a b l y, t h i s principle was not adhered to, perhaps due to the “fog” of political expediency.

Notwithstanding the aforementioned, we are

committed to working with Techno Mills Guyana Inc., and other stakeholders to ease” the discomfort, Saul explained.

However, Imran wrote the CH&PA insisting that the buffer zone was not adequate or appropriate.

“Notwithstanding the aforementioned, I do wish you and your team would exercise consistency in executing your duties and adhere to your principles of good Town and Country Planning and not let a fog of political expediency hamper your abilities to serve the people of your country with pride and honour.”

He said that his next door neighbours have rented their homes and are not around to experience the discomfort.

The case of Imran mirrors a growing problem (continued on page 20)

First Lady's mother dies The Ministry of the Presidency yesterday said it is mourning the death of Edith Cecily Chan-A-Sue, nee Pierre, the mother of First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger.

Mrs. Chan-A-Sue died

yesterday morning at the St. Joseph's Mercy Hospital.

She was 94 years old.

“The Ministry of the Presidency mourns with the First Lady, President David Granger, their relatives and friends,” the statement said.

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Thursday June 06, 2019

Kaieteur News

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

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

EDITORIAL

The poetry of fast bowling

H

and-hurled heat seeking missiles that hunt heart and hurry head; concentrated napalm streaking in a blur at over ninety miles an hour.

It just might be time to reconsider place in life and take up something else; say, either indoor tennis, or beach volleyball.

This is the trouble, and in World Cup 2019, the immortal Bob Marley has it a little off-kilter: it is not war in the East.

It is war breaking out from the West, as in the West Indies; underdogs bringing fire to the fore.

The lasers are like fire in the wyah, a la Calypso Rose.

And again, the gladiators of yore are prowling, stalking, and roaring up to deliver one incendiary device after another in sustained sorties, which should serve as indicators of things to come, of people to put in their places (as in back to the pavilion), and of a resurgence long overdue and reminiscent of longer tradition and more storied times.

The assault and battery men in maroon hunt in the same packs, scintillating quartets of grit and guts searching for glory for the team, for the region, for pride long diluted. They are not the same names: not the whispering glide of Holding (now admiring descendants from commentary box), but the raw power of Thomas; not the ferocity of Roberts, just the stealth hustle of Russell; not high-altitude Garner, merely the callow youth who became a man in fellow Barbadian Holder; and not the immortal Marshall, only a fearsome speed demon masquerading under the unlikely name of Gabriel. That is a trumpet blare of a different pitch.

Pitch and pace; pace like fire. Bumpers and bouncers galore. Not full; not too short; but just right to introduce the sweet science of the ring arts (boxing) to the game of glorious uncertainty (cricket). For beleaguered batsmen, it is a ring of torment, with dancing and ducking, along with bobbing and weaving. One Smokin’ Joe after another is being smoked out of crease, pants and wicket. Flattened and floored.

The other fellows—observant warriors all—are quick to follow. New Zealand has delivered its own barrage of bolts of lightning that make for wishes for the shelter and comfort of sturdy trees. Like a dog in need of relief for the bladder, any trunk on which to lean or spray will do. Won’t be a minute too early, with all the adrenaline rushing; and the flight reflux at full acceleration.

Australia has its own proven arsenal of frightening people eaters, who are never too reserved or too civilized to step up and let go with one thunderbolt after another to create mayhem and furiously agitate gastric and intestinal canals.

They cut their eyeteeth on making mincemeat of opposing batsmen, who dare to stand in defiance.

Chewed out, minced up, and spat out in forlorn silhouettes wending beaten way back to the dressing rooms, the hallmark of staggering sluggers being run right out of town.

In contrast, the run-up is one of the keys that must click, according to Kagiso Rabada, a terrifying spearhead in the South African demolition squad. Run-up is part of a strange, wondrous alchemical blend: Get the steps right, the rhythm synchronized, and the launch trajectory, arm elevation, and skeletal arch all fluently flowing at the same time, and the result it is a thing of outstanding beauty.

Just do not tell that to all those gloved and padded and helmeted waiting (and crouching and wondering) at the receiving end as to what is in store; what leathery messenger comes at supersonic speed to bring cricketing truth.

It can be a power-packed punch of express messages best left undelivered. The West Indians, old and new, have always been exceptional at this craft. The pundits say that the most enchanting, sexiest sight in cricket is a fast bowler in graceful flight at maximum thrust. The West Indies have them. This can be their day and year.

“ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE”: THE PROBLEM OF MATERNAL MORTALITY (A response to the death of Karen Shondell Reid of Sheet Anchor, East Canje, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), and her baby) DEAR EDITOR, Many women in Guyana think about pregnancy and childbirth as a blessing and a curse. A common thread in stories of pregnancy and childbirth told by our mothers, grandmothers and siblings, especially from working-class backgrounds, frame the process of bringing children into the world as “having one foot in the grave.”

Their stories illustrate that pregnancy and childbirth are matters of life and death, a risk women (must) take to bring life into the world. This leads me to ask the question: What is the worth of a woman’s life in Guyana? What value do we place on women’s rights and capacities to guide and control their own reproductive lives in this country? Regardless of location of residence, class, race or religion, women should not have to envision pregnancy as a risk to their lives, and Guyanese should not accept Guyana’s high maternal mortality rate as a reality or unsolvable problem.

Maternal mortality is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) as death during pregnancy or within 42 days following birth due to causes directly or indirectly associated with pregnancy or at the termination of pregnancy.

While maternal mortality ratios are decreasing worldwide, Guyana continues to experience the highest maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in the Latin American and Car-

ibbean region. The MMR measures the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, and the risk of death once a woman has become pregnant.

In the case of Guyana, the country’s MMR has been fluctuating upwards from an average of 171 deaths per 100,000 live births each year in the early 1990s to 229 in 2015 and which remains constant in 2019.

Reports from the MoPH state that both healthcare providers and women are to blame for occurrences of maternal deaths, and result from malpractice, malfunction and/ or refusal to take necessary precautions.

To address the issue of women dying during their pregnancy or childbirth, the current government has launched a Maternal Mortality Review committee in an effort to investigate deaths and injuries related to pregnancies so as to take proactive steps to prevent maternal deaths in the country.

The review committee thus far has claimed that maternal deaths are linked to three problems: performance of medical personnel; system failure of medical institutions, and non-compliance of patients. While medical technologies in obstetrics care do contribute to the problem, this is a myopic description of the influencing factors.

The fact is that the pattern of maternal deaths and injuries in this country is a result of unaddressed issues of gender-inequality and the poverty of women. What we are witnessing with maternal deaths and injuries is a manifestation of the gendered vio-

lence women experience.

The statistics on maternal mortality are a grave reminder of the systemic nature of this issue, and the continued disregard of the injustice that women, pregnant individuals, families and communities experience. Let us not forget that each number within the statistic represents a person with their own dreams and desires that will never be realized, who come from families and communities irrevocably affected.

The approach of the MoPH and the government casts blame on individuals, whether doctor or patient.

This individual-blame approach has been embedded in the health sector for over 25 years, and therefore the sector has not been able to provide sustainable remedies for the problem of maternal mortality.

Further, there is little research that provides a comprehensive description or explanation of why women are still losing their lives every year from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. The MoPH and the government’s response to maternal deaths does not give adequate attention to the many economic, social, cultural and political environmental factors that influence the level and kind of risks associated with pregnancy and childbirth for a woman in Guyana, and the harmful gender biases that are ignored or go unchecked in policy planning by policymakers and public health practitioners.

Like the families of women who have died from pregnancy related-causes, I call for justice that includes a re-

view of the institutionalized sexism that frames maternal deaths as an individual, unfortunate occurrence, and subordinates the interests and lives of women.

There is need for a gender analysis of healthcare policies and programs, and an analysis on how economic, political and social environments in Guyana affect women’s reproductive health and rights. I recommend that the government be prepared to implement more aggressive gender planning into public health policies and programs.

Finally, I recommend comprehensive research to be conducted that aims to describe how the experiences and needs of women are positioned and valued in maternal healthcare planning in Guyana. Such research can contribute to bottom-up strategies articulated to reduce and prevent maternal mortality.

Additionally, such research can contribute to dialogues on the status of women where inequalities stemming from gender norms are addressed in relation to reproductive health, rights, and justice for different groups of women.

There needs to be an approach to health planning for families, and most importantly women whose desires are to have child/children that takes into consideration the existing challenges women experience on a daily basis.

Pere DeRoy, Guyanese PhD Student, Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, & Public Policy & Administration The University of Kansas (KU)

DEAR EDITOR, Just one day before our 53rd independence anniversary, Kaieteur News carried a report that suggested giving up territory to Venezuela is no big deal. Apparently, University of Houston Instructor Tom (not Tim) Mitro felt qualified enough to deem our territorial dispute with Venezuela “not as large as it is being portrayed to be by some.”

Even bolder, Mitro suggested that in an “extreme case” Guyana might yield twenty percent of our discovered oil reserves to Venezuela to quell their complaints.

I’m unsure what strikes me more — the arrogance to minimise over 100 years of history or the gall to suggest that Guyana yielding its sovereign land would be an appropriate solution.

Perhaps I’ll start with the most offensive detail: the tim-

ing of it all.

Mr. Mitro’s remarks came just one day before we celebrated fifty-three years of independence from colonial rule. To witlessly propose such an out of touch idea on the eve of a sacred holiday is a blatant slap in the face to all those who laboured, rallied and lobbied for our self-government.

Since he seems in need of it — allow me to dispense a history lesson and wisdom for Mr. Mitro, free of charge.

In 1899 there was an arbitral tribunal that clarified the borders between Guyana and Venezuela. Guyanese opinion that the award of Essequibo was full and final has remained since then; Venezuelan opinion challenging the award has also remained since then.

With neither side budging — and for Guyana, rightfully

so — the prolonged GuyanaVenezuela border issue has festered. However, amid its festering, the issue has remained between Venezuela and Guyana, with occasional ad hoc intervention from the International Court of Justice.

As the University of Houston professor is neither of those parties, he has no business speaking on this issue.

While Mr. Mitro may be a self-ascribed industry consultant, his presumptions fail to consider the historical context, local sentiment, national sovereignty and, frankly, the appropriateness of inserting himself in this dialogue.

Perhaps he felt emboldened by his close professional relationship with former Petroleum Advisor, Jan Mangal. It may not be well known, but Mr. Mitro spent over three decades of his professional career at Chevron

and that time overlapped with Mr. Mangal’s tenure at Chevron.

To me, this is not a coincidence. Suddenly, a random professor from Texas has an opinion on how we should handle our sovereign land and approach production sharing agreements that are already signed, sealed and delivered?

This smacks of Mr. Mangal and their existing camaraderie makes it all the more obvious.

My advice for Mr. Mitro is to leave the matters of national security and sovereignty to the people of Guyana and mind the business that pays him, because the people of Guyana are not incompetent, and we don’t need him butting in with outof-touch opinions.

Sincerely, Clement Smith

Not a blade of grass or drop of oil

Thursday June 06, 2019

The survival of the National Insurance Scheme is critical DEAR EDITOR, The National Insurance Scheme (N.I.S.) became a financial entity under the Financial Act in September 1969 under the Forbes Burnhamled People’s National Congress (P.N.C.) Government. I can remember that the opposition-led People’s Progressive Party (P.P.P.) under the leadership of Cheddi Jagan, was very critical of this scheme and Party supporters were inclined, based on those criticisms, not to become members.

I had started my working life at A. Mazaharally and Sons Sawmill at Supenaam on the Essequibo Coast, just about two years prior to this scheme being implemented, and as an apprentice in the Mechanical Engineering and Welding Workshop. My pay envelope could have been referred to as a stipend.

Nevertheless, my N.I.S. Contribution was deducted long before I signed for my envelope, and I can tell you that some weeks if the deductions were not made, I may not have paid.

But later in my working life, I worked several places both in the Private and Public Sector - and for many years

contributed as a self-employed person.

Now I can say that the sacrifice was not in vain or the end justified the means.

Of course they are a few people who would say that their record of contribution is not a true reflection of the number of contributions they had made, and as a result did not meet the requirement to become pensionable, but one swallow does not make a summer.

A lot of my friends who could have afforded to contribute as self-employed persons and did not, are licking

themselves now, I am happy that major steps are being taken under this current administration to ensure that delinquent employers now remit employees’ contributions, and at the same time educate employees as to how the system works.

I had the cause to visit several Regional Office, and Branch Office, including the Pension Office, also the Head Office, and it is fitting that I mention how courteous and efficient the staff is.

In this respect, the staff at the Anna Regina Office in Region (Continued on page 6)

Rubbish in the Essequibo River DEAR EDITOR, I am on the Essequibo River almost every weekend on my boat between Parika and Bartica, visiting my Resort near to Bartica. On every journey without fail, within about 8 miles downriver of Bartica, I encounter an increasing amount of rubbish dumped in the river by the Bartica community, including plastic boxes, plastic bottles, and, worst of all, paper wrapping, which, if caught it a

Unwarranted assumptions and foregone conclusions DEAR EDITOR, When I read an article published recently in one of the daily newspapers which contained comments by Dr. Jan Mangal, I was reminded of an apocryphal definition of a category of professionals. The definition is as follows; “Those professionals start with unwarranted assumptions and arrive at foregone conclusions”.

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Kaieteur News

As lawyers are wont to say: “And further I say not”.

Yours faithfully, Rashleigh E. Jackson Former Minister of Foreign Affairs

boat’s propeller, can do extensive damage and even cause an accident. Our President has recently made much of the Green State Development Strategy and we celebrate World Ocean Day 2019, which the GTA will be marking by planned cleanup on the Georgetown Seawall.

When, may I ask, are we going to apply these admirable and high sounding strategies in the simplest and most practical terms by cleaning up our act as a people and in our communities?

Yours sincerely, Kit Nascimento

Govt. should seriously revisit the decision to close down the sugar estates DEAR EDITOR, The continuing spat between the Guyana Sugar Corporation (Guysuco) and the Special Projects Unit (SPU) would have been laughable were it not for the disastrous consequences it could have for the future of the sugar industry and for that matter, the economy as a whole.

Interestingly, both the Guyana Sugar Corporation and the Special Projects Unit are creatures of the State, and the fact that both seem to be at odds with each other is indicative of a serious governance deficiency on the part of central government.

To begin with, it is my firm conviction that the privatization of sugar and the closure of the four sugar estates, namely Skeldon, Rose Hall, Enmore and Wales, was at best shortsighted, and certainly not in the best national interest. It has not in any significant way resulted in any tangible benefit to the industry. Billions of dollars were wasted due to asset depreciation and loss of revenues, not to mention the social costs associated with the loss of employment for the thousands of sugar workers.

The Government’s decision to establish a Special Projects Unit to oversee the privatization process has, from all indications, been met with much resentment by

Guysuco, which seems unprepared to make available to the SPU, critical information to facilitate the privatization process.

It is clear that the SPU is experiencing some serious challenges in finding suitable investors for the sugar estates. Billions of dollars are being spent to put the estates in a saleable condition, but with limited success. The billions of dollars borrowed attract high interest payments which adds to the burden taxpayers have to carry in the privatization process. The longer it takes to find buyers, the greater the accumulated interest payments and asset depreciation costs.

One major stumbling block is the unfavourable investment environment, due in large measure to the existing unpredictable political environment following the noconfidence motion, currently before the Caribbean Court of Justice. Potential investors seem reluctant to invest out of fear that any change in administration could result in fundamental policy shifts which could put their investments at risk.

I continue to hold the view that the Government should seriously revisit the decision to close down the sugar estates.

There is nothing to suggest that the price of sugar on the world market would decline to unsustainable levels in the near future. The issue is fundamentally one of raising the productivity of the industry to make it much more competitive on the world market.

Hydar Ally

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Thursday June 06, 2019

Kaieteur News

Impeachment- The Disintegration of the Democrats and the American nation DEAR EDITOR In the partisan context it has been talked about so much that it is now seen as nothing more than a mere electoral ploy. It is becoming extremely hard to take the issue of impeachment seriously.

Plainly put impeachment has jumped the shark.

Recent behavior of the Democrats has left seriousminded politicians wondering if President Trump, for political advantage, is trying to goad Democrats into impeaching him. Gone is the established assumption that impeachment itself would be a blot on Trump’s reputation.

Frankly speaking, it would be impossible for any sane

member of the Homo Sapiens genre to imagine a more preposterous scenario under the Constitution and in the history of the Presidency.

From the outset the constitution framers intended impeachment to be treated as a highly serious option restricted to the most extraordinary, deplorable violations of the rule of law. They knew that elected politicians would not be free of political motivation. Notwithstanding, they also made successful impeachment and removal very difficult, specifically to discourage Congress from taking the whole process lightly. They chose words with grand implications -

differences, given that I was a staunch member of Burnham’s PNC, and her, an equally staunch member of Rodney’s WPA, nevertheless, we converged ideologically as Pan Africanists, socialists and anti-imperialists. I have a deep respect for her and the life she led.

She was indeed a remarkable woman and truth warrior. Andaiye should be p o s t h u m o u s l y a w a rded Guyana’s highest national award - the Order of Excellence.

Gerald A. Perreira Organization for the Victory of the People

true –accordingly, his recent efforts seem to be daring the Democrats into action, or at least making them appear like wimps if they do not impeach him.On August 9, 1974, Richard Nixon resigned from the presidency to avoid the historic disgrace of impeachment. This is the only time a U.S. president has ever done so. On the other hand, President Bill Clinton was impeached on December 19, 1998, by the House of Representatives on grounds of perjury. While he toughed it out famously, there is no existing doubt that his impeachment, however motivated by partisanship, became an ineradicable stain on his personal and presidential legacy.

Republicans pushing for Clinton’s impeachment were not implying that that they wanted to make it harder for his vice president, Al Gore, to win the next election. Instead they were simply making the argument that Clinton was a genuine criminal who had subverted the justice system by lying under oath.

Whether or not one believes that Clinton was guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors, it matters nevertheless to a great extent that he was just the second president in 200 years to be impeached.

When critics of the Trump presidency started discussing impeachment almost as soon as he took office, they meant to do much more than achieve some political advantage.

House Democrats have made it agonizingly clear since the 2018 midterm election, that discussing impeachment is primarily or even exclusively a tool to weaken Trump’s chances in 2020. You almost never hear a Democrat say, “We have a moral duty to impeach even if it will cost us the election in 2020.”

Instead, the idea of impeachment and the idea of electoral advantage have become indistinguishably interweaved.The Democrats fixation with Donald Trump can be conceptualized as an obsession. The nation and others have seen the initial impeachment efforts, the failed attempts to nail him under the emolument clause, the Russian collusion hoax, the Logan Act and the 25th Amendment; the Mueller investigation; the demand for his tax returns; and the psychodramas involving Michael Avenatti, Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels.

The unrelenting progressives have needed a new Get Trump fix about every two months. More practically, their fixation also substitutes for a collective poverty of ideas. The Democratic Party has no plan to secure the borders other than to be against whatever Trump is for. They would not build a wall, deport illegal entrants, end sanctuary cities, fine employers or do much of anything but allow almost anyone to enter the U.S.

DEAR EDITOR, A question that’s been keeping me company for a long time is: Why does the Government own and control media outlets?

Seems we are behaving much like communist countries where the government controls the media. So why does Guyana, following democratic political principles, have government-owned mass media outlets?

These Chronicle Newspa-

per tiffs - with the recent going and coming of Sherod Duncan, coupled with the older goings of Dr. David Hinds and Mr. Lincoln Lewis - seem to be a couple of plays that smack entirely as political events, and would fit comfortably in all non-democratic countries. So, why does Guyana have to deal with these issues which, on the surface and perhaps, in fact, are political acts?

These occurrences just

serve as reminders to the citizenry that so much of what’s happening is beyond their control and Government seems uncompelled to fully explain. It’s a messy set of events that requires so much political cover that just saps the integrity of our political system. As such, the cumulative impact of these events, serves to further reduce citizens faith and trust in Government.

The Government that seeks to follow full democratic principles should allow private media to fully analyze and critique their acts. Government should subject itself to the scrutiny of media and be in a position to fully explain the issues through press conferences.

Government should seek to get the full citizenry to understand and know that all acts are in furtherance of a better-quality life for all, and not just the well-connected.

Government should get out of the media business and focus on running the country.

Sincerely Phil Edwards

“high crimes” - to underscore that removing the president outside of elections must not be undertaken lightly.

The undermining of the constitutional ideal is neartotal. It is almost ridiculously comical. Current discussion treats impeachment as a trivialized ploy within the ordinary game of electoral politics. The blame for this development goes to both parties, On the Republican side, there has been much jocund speculation that a Democratic effort to impeach Trump would bring out the Republican base in huge numbers, Meanwhile, the President himself is clearly toying with the possibility that this might be

Sister Andaiye was a very principled and courageous person DEAR EDITOR, An outstanding AfricanGuyanese freedom fighter and revolutionary has made the transition. Sister Andaiye was a very principled and courageous person. She was also an example of brilliance combined with humility, a characteristic lacking in many who, having had either the privilege or opportunity of obtaining tertiary education, believe that it entitles them to treat the poor and the powerless as lesser human beings.

Andaiye had no time and place for such arrogant and haughty types. Coming from

a middle-class background, she was an example of one who committed what the great African revolutionary and philosopher, Amílcar Cabral, referred to as “class suicide”.

Also, she was among the few who maintained her antiimperialist credentials, and once asked me whatever happened to the concept and term “anti-imperialism”, musing at how it was conveniently and opportunistically dropped from the political lexicon of our erstwhile anti-imperialist politicians.

Although we had political

Democracy and government-owned and -controlled media isn’t working

The survival of the National...

From page 5 # 2 stands out.From my observation and readings, apart from the General Manager, Ms. Holly Greaves, there are a lot of female Regional or Branch Managers and Heads of Department, including the long-serving and experienced Publicity and Public Relations Officer, Ms. Diane Lewis-Baxter, who I can say is the most recognizable person in the N.I.S. Department. It is good to see that the empowerment of our women or gender equity, is being practiced or observed, but that aside, when all is said and done, the National Insurance Scheme is too important to fail, and taking into consideration the thousands of Pensioners and also those who are receiving Survival Benefits, it is the bounden duty of the Government of the day, to do all that is possible, not only for the survival of the Scheme, but of us who so heavily depend on it to receive adequate benefits.

Archie W. Cordis N.I.S. Pensioner

Democrats have occasionally talked of putting into action reparations for slavery, a wealth tax and free college tuition, and of eliminating college debt, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Electoral College. Yet they have never spelled out exactly how they would enact such radical proposals that likely do not appeal to a majority of the population. As they prepare for 2020, for now, no one has much of an idea what Democratic candidates would actually do, much less how they would do it.

Instead, the fallback position remains perpetually that “Trump stole the 2016 election,” “the Mueller report did not really exonerate Trump of collusion and obstruction,” and “Trump must be impeached or somehow stopped from finishing his first term.”

The progressives suffered a brief identity crisis when the Mueller report found no collusion and no indictable grounds for obstruction of the non-crime of collusion.

The temporary paralysis was elicited by the terror that without a crusade to remove Trump, they might have to offer an alternative vision and agenda that would better appeal to 2020 voters.

The Democratic establishment has morphed into something like novelist Herman Melville’s phobic Captain Ahab, who became fatally absorbed with chasing his arch-enemy the albino whale Moby Dick. This great white whale once ate part of Ahab’s leg, and he is demanding revenge — even if such a never-ending neurosis leads to the destruction of his ship and crew.

Democrats can never pardon Trump for unexpectedly defeating supposed sure winner Hillary Clinton in 2016 and then methodically — and loudly— undoing the eightyear agenda of Obama. Be that as it may, President Trump seems to have escaped all of the Democrats’ efforts to spear and remove him before the 2020 election.

However, like Moby Dick, he is suggestive of a weird force of nature whose wounds from the constant attacks only appear to make him more indestructible and his attackers even more obsessed with their prey.

Even if the quest to destroy Trump eclipses every other consideration and necessitates the destruction of the modern Democratic Party, it seems not to matter to these modern Ahabs. Getting Trump is all they live for — and all they have left. Trying to impeach may be a sad electoral lesson to teach.

Yvonne Sam

Thursday June 06, 2019

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Kaieteur News

New ‘inclusive’ Grade Two curriculum to be piloted in new school year The new Grade Two curriculum for the nation’s primary school learners is currently undergoing a review process. Ministry of Education officers have described it as being ‘inclusive’, a vast improvement from what currently exists.

On Monday and Tuesday, the Subject Specific Committee spent time reviewing the first offering of what will be the new Grade Two curriculum. This was done at the Cyril Potter College of Education.

The Curriculum Review process comes under the Guyana Education Sector Improvement Project (GESIP) which is being coordinated

by Mrs. Quenita WalrondLewis.

According to Mrs. Walrond-Lewis, the grade two curriculum has been written by a team of primary writers.

She said that the primary writers are classroom teachers, officers from the National Centre for Education Resource Development, the University of Guyana and the Cyril Potter College of Education.

“So it’s a Guyanese curriculum written by Guyanese and they are working with the team of consultants. On the consultancy, we have subject specialists that have a wealth of experience and knowledge in curriculum writing as well as classroom practice in the core content areas,” she explained.

She said that the Subject Specific Committee comprises persons from within the Ministry of Education who have particular subject matter expertise in the four core areas to review what the writers have done; considering matters such as cultural rel-

evance and content relevance.

Moreover, it was noted by the Project Coordinator that since it is a revision of a curriculum for a particular grade, the final product will be more holistic and inclusive as against reviewing a specific subject area.

The review process targets the four core subject areas—-science, mathematics, social studies and language arts. However, among the subject matter specialists that participated in the two-day review process were education officers representing Special Education Needs (SEN), Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Literacy and the Allied and Expressive Arts.

Moving forward, Mrs. Walrond-Lewis said that the next step is to collate the feedback and make that submis-

GSEIP Coordinator, Mrs. Quenita Walrond-Lewis sion to the consultants that will make the necessary adjustments. Following this level of tweaking, the curriculum will be released to a Core Technical Committee which is

the final layer of review before the curriculum is used as a pilot starting in the new school year.

Meanwhile Assistant Chief Education Officer (Nursery) Ms. Samantha Williams said that the Ministry of Education is very excited about the curriculum review process because it has been decades since Guyana has reviewed its curriculum.

Being a language arts specialist, Ms. Williams said that one of the very noticeable components in the new Grade Two curriculum is that it is very inclusive. She said that the Ministry has always been working with teachers to bridge the gap from the children’s home language to Standard English.

She said, “We are seeing a lot of emphasis is placed on guiding our children through that process, moving them

from being native speakers and then getting them to be speakers of the standard-English. So I am very excited about that.”

The Ministry of Education’s National SEN Officer, Ms. Savvie Hopkinson, said that the curriculum review process is very important because it allows for special education needs to become inclusive in the entire curriculum process.

She said that the involvement of SEN helps to ensure that the process takes into consideration the right resources, technologies and assistive technologies that are needed and that they are multi-sensory approaches which can help in the various multiple intelligences and learning styles that will cater to the needs of all categories of (Continued on page 21)

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Kaieteur News

Thursday June 06, 2019

Neonatal Nursing to be approved as Degree Programme by June Dr. Emanuel Cummings The University of Guyana (UG) currently has a Neonatal Nursing Programme which is currently being offered as a Diploma programme.

However application has been made for the programme to be upgraded to a Bachelors Degree programme.

Dr. Emanuel Cummings said, “The programme was recently approved as a degree one but it needs to go before the Academic Board at the UG. We are looking to have it rolled out by the end of June.”

The programme is supposed to be delivered

by the Institute of Health Sciences which is the educational arm of the GPHC, in collaboration with the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Guyana. It should run for two years, provided that the applicant has at least one year post graduates experience.

He went on to say that nurses in Neonatal Care will have an advantage, as they will already have the experience as well as reasonable knowledge about the subject matter being taught.

There are three factors that speak volumes

about a country and they are all interlinked. These are Infant Mortality, Maternal Mortality and Life Expectancy.

The health of a mother contributes to the health status of the baby; therefore it also has an impact on the infant mortality rate, maternal mortality and life expectancy. Healthy mothers equal healthy babies, live moms and long life.

“Nurses spend a lot of time with the babies, so neonatal training is critical. We also

have to look at how many die before the age of six. However over the past few years there have been significant improvements.”

Dr. Cummings said that Dr. Narendra Singh was instrumental in setting up the post graduate programme. He said he is excited and cant stop thanking him.

He also wants to see the continued growth in Neonatal Units across Guyana. The government should build capacity to enable opportunities for the Neo Nurses.

Thursday June 06, 2019

PAGE 9

Kaieteur News

Country braces for more blackouts - as GPL scrambles to repair Chinese submarine cable In December 2014, a US$42M transmission line project that included seven sub-stations and submarine cables across the Berbice and Demerara River to create an interconnected system was launched.

It was one of the more expensive projects for GPL s

aging infrastructural. It was supposed to start readying the power company for facilitating electricity from the Amaila Falls hydro project.

GPL also built a 26-megawatt power station at Vreeden-Hoop, the biggest of its kind in the country. It powered not only West Demerara

Dem boys seh ...

Run when you see a man riding Anybody who riding a bicycle or a motorcycle is a scamp. Nuff of dem riding about de place just looking to see wha dem can snatch.

Dem boys see a lady walking down Ogle road; she was going home.

These days almost every house got a camera suh people can see wha happening in dem neighbourhood.

That is how dem boys see when de motorbike rider snatch de woman purse. It look like if he was eyeing she up.

De funny thing is if she had de purse over she left shoulder he couldn’t snatch.

Now he gone wid whatever small change she had and all she important documents like bank card, ID card and things like that.

When these things happen, de police don’t deh round and de people don’t report. That is why de police quick to report how crime down.

Is de same thing de odda day. An old man walking pun de road; three healthy young men ride up. When dem reach de man dem jump off de bike and surround de

man, push dem hand in he pocket. If dem get a Granger dem get nuff. Then dem cuff de old man in he face.

Is that same thing mek de one from Leopold Street get shoot. He ride he bike and he see two trainee nurse walking. He jump off to rob dem. De police come up and when dem done arrest him he think he can jump out de vehicle and run away. He live to tell de tale.

GPL thiefing, too. But nobody not arresting de company. People paying dem light bill. If dem miss de lights getting cut off. Now de people who get cut off laughing at dem who pay and ain’t get cut off. All of dem in de same boat. Dem don’t have no lights. GPL disconnecting who pay and who ain’t pay. De only difference is that one of dem don’t have to pay reconnection fee.

De funny thing is that when month-end come and de light bill got to pay it no different from when you bun lights whole month.

Talk half and watch all who riding.

but via the submarine, fibreoptic cable, the extra power was fed into the system in the city that was linked to Berbice.

Since 2015, that cable has gone down three times, leaving East Demerara and Berbice without almost 14 megawatts of power.

The cost to repair was more than US$1M on the last occasion a couple of years ago, not counting the loss of production hours to affected homes and businesses.

On Sunday evening, the submarine cable linking Vreed-en-Hoop to the Kingston power station went down yet again.

Demerara and Berbice will have to wait as GPL explores a number of options, including running a link across the Demerara River at Craig, East Bank Demerara to bring the extra power. To run that link at Craig will take days.

In the meantime, it will

GPL officials during the press conference yesterday. take over a month to repair the current submarine cable.

The Demerara and Berbice area need those extra megawatts as two generators, that would have produced over 14 megawatts, are down for overhaul and repairs.

GPL has been forced since Sunday to cut power to areas in a phased manner.

Yesterday, divers and technicians bought up the cable.

It was badly damaged, suspected to be from an anchor

of ship that passed or stopped on the Demerara River.

According to Ryan Ross, Director of Projects at GPL, in hindsight, the cable along the Demerara River from Vreeden-Hoop to Kingston, should not have been laid like that.

The expanse he is referring to is one of the busiest maritime areas in the country, more so now with oil activities picking up.

To temporary relieve the

situation, GPL is moving two generators it has in Essequibo at Anna Regina to Demerara with the hope to boost its generation.

Currently, the East Demerara and Berbice area demand more than 100 megawatts of power with only 90 being produced.

Last evening the power company released another schedule of power outages for today that said that (Continued on page 24)

PAGE 10

Thursday June 06, 2019

Kaieteur News

=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===

No tears for Geeta Chandan I have known man and wife attorneys, Geeta Chandan and Joel Edmond, a long time now. They were both my students at UG. After that they became friends with me. They still are my friends. As late as two months ago, I requested Geeta’s help in securing employment for someone with a degree in journalism.

Her assistance was positive.

Geeta was victimized as a magistrate because it is alleged that she jailed the son of then Prime Minister, Sam Hinds. I publicly

40

showed my support for her.

Geeta got into a controversy over the Chronicle’s editor, Nigel Williams, firing David Hinds and Lincoln Lewis as columnists.

The action of Williams could not be justified by the opaque circumstances in which it was done.

I was walking out of the Aquatic Centre with my dog one night and Geeta and her husband Joel, drove up and engaged me.

Geeta wanted me to put her perspective on what Williams did. She thought Williams had no justification

for his action and his reasons were flimsy (see my column, of Friday, March 16, 2018, captioned, “Nocturnal encounter with Geeta Chandan of the Chronicle”) Geeta said as board chairman, she will summon a meeting and request Williams to supply proof for two reasons he cited; one was the lack of readership for the columns, and secondly, the two columnists were getting low hits when internet users go to the Chronicle online edition.

After that night, I never heard back from Geeta. Williams remained on his job.

The two columnists were not retained.

I didn’t think it was my place to get an update from Geeta. She was expected to get back to me. She told me so. I knew what happened.

She was instructed by her political bosses to let the issue fade. She did. That was a crucial mistake. It has now come back to haunt Geeta.

Board members, B e r t Willkinson, Ruel Johnson and Tabitha Sarabo-Halley resigned over Williams’s

directive. Geeta stayed to confront Williams. She lost out. It was time to follow her other board members and do the moral thing – resign.

Now Geeta has walked over the Sherod Duncan imbroglio. I am not going to devote much space to the edict by the Prime Minister to reinstate Duncan. It is no secret that Nagamootoo is fighting with Khemraj Ramjattan for the AFC nomination at the AFC congress on June 15 for the PM position in the next general election.

Sherod Duncan last week clinched the chairmanship of the Georgetown branch of the AFC. No doubt he will take to the congress a number of delegates. My opinion is that his return to the Chronicle was done with the desire by Nagamootoo to get those votes. Every vote counts and Nagamootoo and Ramjattan are in a mad rush to collect delegates’ ballots.

Ugly things are being done by both men. It is going to be an ugly congress two Saturdays from now at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre.

Back to Geeta. She was a former magistrate and is the legal advisor in the Ministry of the Presidency.

With such status, it was a huge mistake to allow yourself to be dictated to for an entity of which you are a volunteer chairman. I could understand succumbing to political directives in relation to your state job but why put up with what you consider nonsense going on in a state corporation for which you do voluntary work? Even if the board chairperson is paid, it is probably a mere stipend.

When the confusion first started at the Chronicle with Williams and she lost out, why didn’t she say to herself that she has lots of work to do in her legal job and finish with the Chronicle?

But she stayed on and now a second scandal has hit the Chronicle and she has suddenly discovered that it is time to protect her professional integrity. The question is; didn’t she know it, if happened once, it will happen again? The answer could be

Frederick Kissoon met with another question – which country is she living in?

Geeta and her husband cannot be that naive not to know what has happened to power since the APNU and AFC came into office in 2015.

When the PPP ruled Guyana, many commentators would question what next. That was in reference to the daily perversities that accompanied the PPP’s style of governance.

It has not been different with the APNU-AFC regime.

The scandals are cascading like a fountain in the lobby of a fancy hotel. So today is it the Chronicle. What will it be tomorrow? We don’t have the specific outline but there will be one tomorrow.

Thursday June 06, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

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Thursday June 06, 2019

Kaieteur News

$414 M sluice at DEdward 60% complete The old sluice.

Ongoing works with the new sluice

Works are moving apace on the $414M four-door sluice at D’Edward Village West Bank of Berbice, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice).

Works on the critical drainage infrastructure are almost 60 per cent completed.

The contractor for the four-door sea sluice for the Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary Agriculture Development Authority (MMA/ADA) is Courtney Benn Contracting

Services Limited (CBCSL), which is being supervised by E&A Consultants Incorporated in the execution of the works.

Manager for Drainage and Irrigation Services at MMA/ ADA, Mahendranath Ramjit, said earlier this week, that the contractor had completed the floor with installation of the concrete slabs and piles and other elements of the base.

CBCSL is currently con-

structing the walls of the sluice bringing it to about 60 per cent complete, according to a government statement.

Ramjit said that casting the walls and the revetments, as well as the construction of the gantry beams, are the major works that are required to complete the project for the November deadline.

The four-door sluice is being constructed not far from (Continued on page 21)

Kaieteur News

Thursday June 06, 2019

PAGE 13

Block making company sues GRA over demand for more taxes, duties

K

S M Investments, a local block making company, has filed legal action against the Guyana Revenue Authority, (GRA), over the imposition of additional taxes and duties on imported goods.

According to action filed this month, KSM Investments is seeking a court order which will effectively bar GRA from assessing and imposing a Customs Revised Value taxes inclusive of freight on

imported cement.

The application stipulates that the order must be directed to GRA, its officers, servants and/or agents quashing a decision made

by Mr. Patrick Hyman, Deputy Commissioner, Customs Excise and Trade Administration, to assess and impose a Customs Revised Value, inclusive of freight, US$111.92 per metric tonnage on five (5) shipments of Portland Grey Cement imported during the period January to March,

2019. Additionally, the applicant, Mahadeo Panchu, Managing Director of KSM Investments Inc., a cement block making company situated at Lot 8 Good Hope Public Road, East Coast Demerara, Guyana, has asked that the court overturns the decision declared on Customs C72 Declaration Forms is u n l a w f u l a n d unconstitutional, in breach of and contrary to the Customs Act and other relevant laws.

The applicant also wants

Army readies for internal threats

T

he army cadets are currently undergoing training on the Standard Officer Course, Number 51. They successfully completed Exercise Rattrap in Watooka, Linden, over the weekend. According to the army, Exercise Rattrap is an internal security training exercise designed to prepare troops for any internal threats. The exercise culminated with a cordon and search drill.

Inspector General-Colonel, Trevor Bowman, was on hand for the exercise. In his address at its conclusion, he told the troops that their training was essential as the force always needs to be ready to respond to any internal threats at short notice.

He urged them to remain professional and congratulated them on successful completion of this final exercise before their promotion to ensigncy.

an or directed to GRA, its officers, servants and/or agents quashing a decision made by the Deputy Commissioner, Customs Excise and Trade Administration, imposing and demanding payment of Short Levied Customs Duty and Taxes to the tune of $16,626,814 for five (5) shipments of Portland Gray Cement imported by the Applicant during the period January to March, 2019.

In his affidavit filed by

Attorney Manoj Narayan and associates, Panchu explained that he owns and operates a fully automated factory that manufactures various concrete products, including hollow and vent concrete blocks, concrete pavers, concrete spindles, concrete tiles, and numerous other concrete products at Lot 8 Good Hope Public Road, East Coast Demerara, Guyana.

During the last quarter of 2015, Panchu commenced importing Domicem

Managing Director of KSM Investments Inc, Mahadeo Panchu Portland Grey Cement from the Dominican Republic --- the first time this brand of (continued on page 19)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Thursday June 06, 2019

Guyana has laudable capacity to eradicate filaria - PAHO Regional Adviser - says PAHO, WHO fully committed to supporting local efforts

T

here is no denying that Guyana has the capacity to eradicate, in the near future, a disease that has caused many to be stigmatised and discriminated against. No, it isn't the Human Immunodeficiency Virus [HIV]. Rather it is called Lymphatic Filariasis or simply filaria in these parts.

Guyana through its Ministry of Public Health has over the years been implementing strategic measures to combat the disease that has impacted the lives of many people over the years. In order to achieve its proposed goal to eradicate the disease, this country has been working in close collaboration with its technical partners: the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health O r g a n i s a t i o n [PAHO/WHO], the United States Agency for International Development [USAID] and the Centres for

Disease Control and Prevention [CDC].

Speaking on the multiagency collaboration, PAHO's Regional Adviser on Neglected Infectious Diseases, Dr. Santiago Nicholls, made it clear, “We are very committed to support Guyana, and also our colleagues at the WHO are very committed to support Guyana to achieve the goal of eliminating lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem here.”

A move in this direction, he said, is especially important in the region of the Americas. Among the countries in the Americas that have been endemic for the disease in addition to Guyana, are Brazil, Dominican Republic and Haiti.

“We want to eliminate this from the Americas, so eliminating it in Guyana would be a big milestone,” said Dr. Nicholls. This achievement will help to prevent people from having the chronic outcomes of the

disease such as elephantiasis, lymphedema and hydrocele.

“Not only does it impact people's ability to live and have a good quality of life, but also to work and in some cases causes stigma and discrimination of the people w h o s u ff e r f r o m t h i s condition, unfortunately,” said the Regional PAHO Adviser as he added, “The stigma and discrimination are totally unjustified.”

Even as he recognised the efforts being made to tackle the scourge of the disease, Dr. Nicholls noted, “Not that it is easy to eliminate this disease but we have the tools to do so.

It is a challenge but we are confident in the capacity of the country to get the work done and we in PAHO, as well as our partners from USAID, CDC, and other colleagues in academic institutions are very willing to support the country to achieve this very important goal.”

Mass Drug Distribution campaigns executed in 2017

and 2018 saw the Ministry realising 85 and 86 percent coverage respectively.

“This was in part due to micro planning and macro planning, a lot of community involvement and multisectoral involvement,” said Deputy Chief Medical Officer [DCMO], Dr. Karen Gordon-Campbell.

She said that in order for Guyana to reach the WHO recommended 2020 target for elimination of the disease, it would require three more years of MDA using two drug types - 100 mg Diethylcarbamazine [DEC] and 400 mg Albendazole.

But according to Dr. Gordon-Campbell, “We don't have those three years.

So if we are to reach eligibility for 2020, we have to slightly adjust our strategy.

The strategy that we have available to us is to implement a triple drug therapy.”

The triple drug therapy referenced by Dr. GordonCampbell includes 200 kg

Ivermectin which will allow the Ministry to reach its target within the WHO stipulated time. “We have this year and we have 2020 [next year], and if we manage to reach over 80 percent coverage we could be eligible for elimination,” said the DCMO as she named Costa Rica, Suriname and Trinidad as countries in this part of the Region that were formerly endemic for filaria but have since achieved elimination.

“We want to join them, we want to be part of those countries that can say we no longer have this as a problem and that is going to require consorted efforts on our part.

It's going to require multisector involvement, private sector involvement,” said Dr. Gordon-Campbell.

According to her, thus far the Ministry has seen its greatest successes in Regions Three, Four, Five a n d Te n , w h i c h a r e predominantly urban.

But according to her, the Ministry is now tasked with

PAHO's Dr. Santiago Nicholls reaching out to hinterland locations which, she noted, have multiple challenges including: culture, language, cost and geography.

“We can't immediately say that because we were successful for the past two years that we will be successful with these [other locations], not at least with this same strategy, so we are going to have to go back to the drawing board.

We are going to have to sit with the same communities that we are trying to target now and work out what will work best,” the DCMO disclosed.

Kaieteur News

Thursday June 06, 2019

PAGE 15

Auditor General bemoans Govt's failure to supply details on D'Urban Park Stadium spending

F

rom 2017 to now, Auditor General, Deodat Sharma is yet to receive critical documentation that would support the transparent spending of millions of dollars for the D'Urban Park Stadium Project.

Speaking with Kaieteur News on the matter, recently, Sharma said that he has never witnessed a case of this magnitude before. He said that there were numerous sole-sourced contracts.

The Auditor General said, “They should not have sole sourced. They knew independence was coming up and they should have planned for it... To date, I don't have information on the spending of millions of dollars... “I even wrote a letter to the private company that was created, Homestretch Development Inc. (HDI), for the implementation of the project and it came back as not accepted...�

Further to this, Sharma reminded that his 2017 report notes in detail, the number of anomalies he came across during his examination of the financial situation involving the controversial D'Urban Park Jubilee Stadium.

Sharma had said that at December 31, 2017, amounts totaling $1.150B were expended on the project.

H o w e v e r, P a y m e n t Vouchers to support the expenditure of $107.119M were not produced for audit examination. Sharma said that the completeness,accuracy, and validity of this amount could not be determined.

In addition, the Auditor General pointed out that the amount of $500M was paid to Homestretch Development Inc. (HDI), the private company that was created to implement the D'Urban Park Project. This was paid over to the company so that it could meet its obligation to its creditors.

HDI; hence, it did not have any information detailing supervisory checks or their

The D'Urban Park Stadium

However, Sharma found that there was no documentation attached to the Payment Vouchers to indicate the works done or that supervisory checks were carried out on the works. He highlighted too that there was no certification to show that the works were satisfactorily completed.

Further to this, Sharma said that the list of HDI creditors and Government's

proposed payment allocation to each creditor was attached to the Payment Vouchers. In the circumstances, the Auditor General said that the correctness, accuracy and validity of the payments made could not be determined.

Sharma in his 2017 report said that his office wrote the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure on July 19,

2018, requesting documentation detailing the works done, supervisory checks of the said works, as well as certification that works were satisfactorily completed.

The Head of the Budget Agency later explained that the Ministry was not involved in the operations of

methodology of determining that works were satisfactorily completed.

PAGE 16

Kaieteur News

Thursday June 06, 2019

Kaieteur News

Thursday June 06, 2019

PAGE 17

Project underway to help tackle teen pregnancy, related issues

A

comprehensive Teen Pregnancy Prevention and Empowerment Programme aimed at helping to prevent sexual abuse and empowering at risk teenagers is in full swing in D'Urban Backlands.

The programme is hosted by the Ministry of Social Protection's Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA) in collaboration with the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA). It began in May and will be concluded in July.

It targets 30 teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 years old in D'Urban Backlands. The sessions are facilitated by the Programme Officer responsible for Comprehensive Sexuality Education at GRPA, Chelsie France. The Teen Pregnancy P r e v e n t i o n a n d

Empowerment Programme was piloted in 2016, officially launched in 2017 and continued in 2018; it is set to be conducted across the Regions. To date it has reached teens in Regions One, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight and Ten. The programme is aimed at disseminating adequate information to teens including adolescents and providing support for them to make informed decisions about getting involved in sexual activity that can result in unwanted pregnancies and STDs. It is implemented in collaboration with key stakeholders and NonGovernmental Organisations partners including the Guyana Police Force, Blossom Incorporated, C h i l d L i n k a n d Yo u t h Challenge Guyana.

During the sessions teens are also engaged in discussions about issues affecting them.

Probation Officer at C C PA , S h a r o n H e n r y, explained that the objectives of the programme are to help teenagers realize their selfworth, make positive choices

and decisions, protect themselves, and delay sexual activities and associated consequences.

“So during the sessions we're helping these children to understand themselves, help them to build selfesteem, teach them about HIV and how to eliminate

Programme Officer responsible for Comprehensive Sexuality Education at GRPA, Chelsie France, facilitating the programme

teenage pregnancy, not only with girls but boys who contribute to it and teach them to wait on the right time to have sex”, Henry related.

The Teen Pregnancy P r e v e n t i o n a n d Empowerment Programme was implemented following a community exercise in the

D'Urban Backlands in conjunction with the Ministries of Public Health and Social Protection held in April, which recognized that the empowerment of teenagers - particularly the female ones who are seen as prey by male adults - is crucial.

Cutter Suction Dredge to boost drainage efficiency in Region Two

I

t is anticipated that the desilting of crucial outfalls along the Essequibo Coast will be much more effective, now that a state of the art Cutter Suction Dredge has been deployed to Region Two [Pomeroon/Supenaam.]

The Suction dredge, which is installed on a pontoon, was first acquired by the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority [NDIA] in 2018. It was commissioned in the East Berbice area. The machine was purchased based on the recommendation of a Dutch Risk Reduction team, which came

to Guyana in late 2015 to provide advice on flood risk management on the northern coastline of Guyana.

Kaieteur News understands that the Suction Dredge was d e p l o y e d t o t h e Pomeroon/Supenaam region, as the agriculture-based region prepares for the rainy season.

NDIA Engineer, Mr. Nanram Narine, said that this dredge is being deployed at the La Union outfall, and will be moved along the coast as needed to clear the outfall channels for better (continued on page 20)

“The Dredge in Operation at La Union, Essequibo Coast.”

Kaieteur News

PAGE 18

Thursday June 06, 2019

Christianburg Cemetery gets major facelift

O

n a mission of development and restoration, the Linden Mayor and Town Council (LM&TC) has begun the rehabilitation of the resting place of the mining town's fallen, the Christianburg Cemetery.

Mayor of Linden, Waneka Arrindell, disclosed that the idea was birthed following observation by the environmental department of incessant growth of vegetation between and around tombs, despite the LM&TC's continuous maintenance efforts.

She related that the decision was then made, and the LM&TC commenced the paving of the areas surrounding the tombs. This will better allow persons to walk around the area while simultaneously reducing the growth of bushes.

Mayor Arrindell said, “It's a very good initiative, and I must congratulate the department for thinking

ahead. This now allows persons to be able to walk through the burial area and it also contributes to the development of the ground's aesthetics.”

The Linden Mayor noted too that this initiative costs significant funds, however, in the end, the cost of maintenance would be reduced, and the investment will prove its worth.

“We are encouraging residents to utilise the Christianburg Cemetery as the final resting place for their loved ones.

I also encourage them to beautify the spaces of which their loved ones now lay at rest as we work towards improving the area,” she urged.

The Mayor further highlighted that she knows that many persons resting would've made significant contributions to the township of linden and it is her goal to ensure that the resting place is one that

Clean lines at the cemetery. reflects their contributions.

The Christianburg Cemetery is the only cemetery present on the West Bank of the Demerara River

in Linden. Though it is council maintained, residents also collaborate with the town council to do maintenance works.

Kaieteur News

Thursday June 06, 2019

PAGE 19

Desilting of Friendship Canal may cost $1 billion - Minister Ferguson

F

or years, the clogged up Friendship canal has been a major challenge to the residents living within the Friendship area, in the Lower Pomeroon.

Being a riverine community, creeks, canals and the Pomeroon River itself have been the main medium of transportation for residents.

One can imagine that a clogged canal or creek, will automatically result in severe difficulties for residents.

Based on reports reaching this publication, the Friendship canal, which was last cleaned some ten years ago, was never desilted despite numerous promises.

During a recent ministerial outreach to

Charity, Essequibo Coast, the issue was raised by residents with the Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Annette Ferguson.

A counselor who is a part of the Regional Democratic Council [RDC] said that the desilting of the canal was once a part of the region's budget, but for some reason was removed.

“When the President was at Friendship he promised that those canals will be desilted.

I made sure that in the 2017 budget the desilting was in. I was told, however, that it was struck off. There is a dying need for the canals to be desilted.”

In response to the councilor's concern, Minister Ferguson said that

“The silted Canal at Friendship.”

the desilting will require an integrated approach in excess of some $1 billion.

She said, “The desilting

we are aware of is the situation in Friendship. It was raised with (Minister Noel) Holder. When the

budget was done to desilt the canal would've caused the government $1 billion. A decision was taken to have it

taken in phases. Minister Holder was trying his best to see how that can be addressed in 2019.”

Block making company sues GRA over demand for...

From page 13 cement was imported into Guyana.

Mr. Panchu became the exclusive agent and sole importer and distributor of the said brand of cement in Guyana; the product was imported both for use in the manufacturing of the products listed above and for resale in Guyana.

The document went on to explain that when Panchu first imported cement into Guyana, the declared value, exclusive of freight, was US$72 per metric tonne.

Inclusive of freight the sum was US$89 per metric tonne.

“A total of 2,175 metric tonnes of cement was imported by the Applicant for the year 2015.

However during the years 2016 to 2018, both Panchu's manufacturing business and resale of cement expanded and grew and as a result, the applicant's importation of cement also increased significantly.

And in 2018, he imported a total of 24,480 metric tonnes of cement. The declared value in respect thereof was US$68.50 per metric tonne, exclusive of freight charges. Inclusive of

freight charges, the sum was US$83.50.”

During this period, as a result of the increase in the quantity of cement purchased and imported, the businessman said that he benefitted from a reduction of the price from the manufacturer, Domicem S.A., of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Panchu contended, “All payments in respect of the cement imported are made to Sonex International Limited of One Welches, Welches, St. Thomas, Barbados, which company handles all financial transactions in

respect of orders, sale, shipping and payments for Domicem Cement.

“All payments by the Applicant to Sonex International Limited are made via wire transfers from Scotiabank in Guyana.”

But sometime in May 2018, Panchu contends that GRA through its officers, servants and/or agents, unilaterally and without any reasonable or justifiable grounds, increased the declared value, exclusive of f r e i g h t c h a rg e s , f r o m US$68.50 to US$96.92.

He disputed and challenged the increase in

the declared value and a letter dated May, 8 2018, confirming the price as declared by the Applicant was sent by Sonex International Limited to Mr. Lancelot Wills, Chairman, Technical Committee on Customs Valuation, Guyana Revenue Authority.

Despite the said letter, GRA, its officers, servants and/or agents proceeded to assess duties and taxes on the unilaterally increased declared value for all shipments of cement imported by the Applicant for the period May, to December, 2018.

As a result of the unilateral increase in the declared value, the businessman said he was forced to lodge, deposit and pay to the Respondent additional taxes in the sum $44,048,902 for cement imported during the period May to December 2018.

“The payment of the aforesaid additional duties and taxes have resulted in the depletion of the Applicant's working capital and has caused and continues to cause tremendous financial hardship on the Applicant's business,” Panchu explained in the document.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 20

Thursday June 06, 2019

Residents of Uncle Eddie's Home receive Salt fish thief sent to prison fire safety training

R

esidents at Uncle Eddie's home are now equipped with fire safety skills to safeguard themselves in the event of an unexpected fire at the nursing home.

This is as a result of the extensive Fire Prevention Training coordinated by the Ministry of Social Protection in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health and other agencies, to sensitise senior citizens to fire safety.

This training, according to a government statement, is one of the many activities under the Elderly Care initiative that is designed to improve the welfare of senior citizens in Guyana.

A comprehensive session on fire safety techniques was conducted at the home on Monday by Officer, Troydell Williamson, of the Guyana Fire Protection Agency.

The seniors and their caretakers benefitted from engaging demonstrations on safe evacuations and how to properly extinguish a fire.

Deputy Director of Social Services at the Ministry of Social Protection, Abike Benjamin-Samuel said the activity is in keeping with the minimum standards for elderly care facilities.

“The Ministry of Social Protection believes that fire safety is very important for

Eccles rice milling operations...

From page 3 of proper planning and lack of zoning across the country.

In the case of Imran, he was sold a property that was right behind the industrial site, his property separated by a small reserve.In the city and elsewhere, there have been complaints of spray paint shops, noise from car wash and bars and other major nuisances.

In recent times, there was a major objection from residents of Queenstown over a planned project for a casino and hotel on South Road. There have been many such instances.

A

Resident learning to extinguish a fire with the help of officer Williamson from The Guyana Fire Protection Agency. our elderly population. So, we intend to equip the staff and the elderly in Guyana with basic firefighting strategies. This training will be extended to all senior citizens' homes across the length and breadth of Guyana,” she assured.

This Fire Safety Training is the first of its kind at Uncle E d d i e ' s H o m e .

A d m i n i s t r a t o r, B o n i t a Moore noted that “this was a training which I was longing for, and I am glad that today we had the experience of having it.

I know they learnt something because I asked

them some questions after and they explained some of the techniques they learned from the training.”

Similar training was conducted at the Millicent Greaves Memorial Citizens Residence.

The Ministry of Social Protection has also implemented Anger Management training in elderly homes.

n unrepresented man was yesterday sentenced to a prison term when after he appeared before a City Magistrate to answer to a simple larceny charge.

Shawn Roberts, 45, appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts before Principal Magistrate Faith Mc Gusty. He pleaded guilty to the charge that was read to him and offered to explain the reason for his actions. Last Tuesday, at the Georgetown Ferry Stelling, Brickdam, Roberts stole a quantity of salt-fish, carrots and ground provision from Janelle Jupiter.

In Roberts's explanation he told the court that he was involved in an accident and after leaving the hospital he decided to steal the items listed in the charge to pay for his medical treatment.

He said that he only received petty cash for the items.

Police prosecutor Seon Blackman stated that on the day in question Jupiter, a market vendor

Shawn Roberts who sells goods and other items at the Ferry Stelling Brickdam, was at her stall tending to a customer. Roberts who was also at her stall took the items and made good his escape.

The matter was then reported and an investigation was launched leading to the arrest of Roberts who was charged for the offence.

Principal Magistrate Mc Gusty after listening to the facts and the defendant's explanation sentenced Roberts to six months' imprisonment.

Three GDF officers are members of first CARICOM military court

Lt Col Roberts is the Officer sitting at far right while Major Dalgety and Attorney Steward are standing at third and fourth from left , respectively. As part of the rules of Court, the officers were required to remove all military medals and adornments.

T

hree members of the Guyana Defence Force are members of the first CARICOM Military Court which convened at the Hodgson Hall, Conference Room, St Ann's Fort, Barbados where an officer is being court martialled.

The matter commenced on Monday May 27, 2019.

Lieutenant Colonel Kenlloyd Roberts and Major Paul Dalgetty are sitting members of the Court Martial Board while the Force's Legal Officer, attorney-at-law Melissa Stewart has been appointed an observer.

The GDF, following a request by the Barbados Defence Force, in keeping with the provisions of

Sections 93 & 95 of the BDF Defence Act, which allows for CARICOM member states to sit on the board for ordinary court martial, dispatched the team to assist in the judicial process.

The accused, Lieutenant (Coast Guard) David Harewood, is charged on two counts of communicating

with the enemy contrary to Section 36 (2) of the Defence Act Cap 159, conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline contrary to Section 75 of the Defence Act, Cap 159 and neglect to the prejudice of good order and military discipline contrary to Section 75 of the Defence Act Cap 159.

Cutter Suction Dredge to boost...

From page 17 drainage. Regional Executive Officer, Mr. Denis Jaikaran, visited the deployment yesterday evening at La Union outfall and is pleased that this equipment will be assisting with the desilting of the massive buildup in front of our koker.

The dredge is the first of its kind in Guyana. It was bought from the Netherlands by the government. The Cutter Suction Head, the Drive Unit and Spud legs were installed on a pontoon constructed by the Guyana National Industrial Company Inc. during the early months of 2018.

Thursday June 06, 2019

PAGE 21

Kaieteur News

Regional Chairman credited with giving Govt. must get fair tradeoffs for meaningful attention to Moblissa concessions granted to oil companies Meaningful projects and programmes are being - University of Houston Instructor implemented in Moblissa and

By Kiana Wilburg When Governments enter negotiations with oil companies, they must ensure that the State gets a fair tradeoff, especially for the concessions granted.

This is according to Co-Director of the Graduate Certificate in Global Energy, Development and Sustainability at the University of Houston, Tom Mitro. He is also a Senior Fellow with the Columbia Centre on Sustainable Investment (CCSI).

During his discussions with CCSI, Mitro was careful to note that oil companies employ several tactics which leave governments granting concessions without a full understanding of what they are getting in return.

Expounding on this front, Mitro noted that some companies, in particular some American companies, will fly people in for negotiations. He said that ExxonMobil, which is much more centralized in its management, does this.

Mitro said that for a “fly-in” headquarters negotiating team, time is of the essence as this type of team typically plans on being in the country for a limited length of time and wants to avoid spending weekends in country.

Mitro explained that they will have pressure to achieve results quickly.

The Senior Fellow said that Governments need to be aware of this phenomenon and not yield to time pressure. He said that quite often, delays in meetings or in reaching agreement, can work to the advantage of the government too.

He said, “Some companies will also fly in the CEO with the objective of shortcutting the technical negotiation process through some political outreach, such as meeting the President, the

University of Houston Instructor, Tom Mitro Prime Minister, or Energy Minister.

With this in mind, the technical teams should prepare the President or the Prime Minister to ensure that undue concessions are not granted or promised without a full understanding of the details.”

He said that there must be a proper or fair tradeoff for any concession being granted.

Mitro said that there are tactics which the government could employ to get better tradeoffs.

In this regard, he said that international firms will bring different types of expertise to the table: geologists, engineers, lawyers, tax experts, and economic analystsall who work in professional silos without any broader perspectives or mandates.

Mitro said that typically, the company would attempt

to isolate each issue and to negotiate and settle them individually on a narrow technical basis.

To counter this approach, he said that Governments should generally avoid agreeing on issues individually and instead, require all of the relevant issues to be considered as one whole package by focusing on tradeoffs between unrelated issues.

For instance, Mitro said that the government could say: “We wont agree to accelerate depreciation on your project capital expenditures unless you implement an ambitious local procurement plan,” even though the two issues are quite unrelated.

Mitro said that this type of conversation and linkage of issues could serve to mitigate the often narrowly focused technical strength of the other side.

Antigua and Barbuda to back Ecuador national for position of OAS Secretary General ST. JOHN’S,Antigua (CMC) – The Antigua and Barbuda government says it will support the Ecuadorean Foreign Minister and President of the United Nations General Assembly (PGA), Maria Fernanda Espinosa, for the position of Secretary General of

the Organisation of American States (OAS).

“Madam President, I know that your tenure as the PGA will come to an end and I hope you will consider the offer of Antigua and Barbuda to nominate you jointly with the government of

Ecuador to serve as the next Secretary-General of the OAS,” Prime Minister Gaston Browne said at the dedication of the United nations Office of Project Services (UNOPS) Science and Innovation Park where Espinosa was one of the speakers.

New ‘inclusive’ Grade Two curriculum...

From page 7 children. The grade two curriculum has also been credited with having a greater practical approach to learning. This was explained by the Coordinator of the Secondary Competency Certificate Programme (SCCP), Ms. Stacey Osborne.

She said, “I am very happy about most of what was included because it is not just theoretical but it allows

for practical learning for children to be participating in activities which will accompany the theoretical aspect.”

She said that the new curriculum will cater to teachers having to expose children to the physical environment outside of the classroom.

“There are students that can tell you something but they cannot identify it because they were never exposed to the identification of

it and that is what I am applauding now,” Ms. Osborne commented.

There has not been a review of the National Curriculum since 1976. The Ministry of Education intends to review the curriculum for nursery, primary and lower secondary levels to improve student performance and to modernise the quality of education that is offered to the nation’s children.

Regional Chairman, Mr. Renis Morian, has been given the credit.

Lauding the efforts of the Regional Chairman, during an interview, was Chairman of the Moblissa Community Development Council, Pastor Arthur Reynolds. He spoke of the tireless work and contributions of the Regional Chairman.

In fact it is Reynolds hope that others at the level of government, and other stakeholders too, would follow suit since Moblissa is in dire need of holistic development to create employment and foster development.

The Chairman of the Community Development Council said too, that while there continues to be talk about development within his community from various persons and agencies, he is very impressed that the Regional Chairman, backed by his council, has not been taking Moblissa for granted.

“At the present moment we have some talk from government that they would be establishing an internet hub in Moblissa. They are trying to get the internet hub moving so that young people can access it because we are in the ICT age.

“We have also been promised repaired roads and these are all projects coming on stream, and will most likely bring the kind of development that we are looking for, but we are just waiting to see them become a reality. But we are hopeful,” said Reynolds.

The CDC chairman said that residents are somewhat reluctant to embrace the promises being made, noting that over the past several years numerous promises were made but were never fulfilled. Reynolds went on to note that while he is cognisant that the country has new leadership, residents are still desirous of seeing certain things put in place irrespective of their political affiliation.

Moblissa Community Development Council Chairman, Pastor Arthur Reynolds “We have the farmers coop which we are seeking to push and the fact that farmers are prepared to come together so as to advance their development, tells me that there is certainly development.

“However, with development comes the roads, water and light, among other things and we are very happy within the community but frankly, we still remain hopeful that more can certainly be done,” he said.

According to the CDC Chairman, the most common challenge facing the residents relates to employment. He pointed out that in years gone by the community was serf sufficient which resulted in a very low rate of unemployment unlike what currently obtains.

“Because of the fact that there are no jobs in Moblissa, the youths are forced to either stay and hang around or seek employment out of the community.

“Years ago you had livestock development from LIDCO and because of this many of the youths, their fathers worked there.

Unfortunately, what we are seeing today is a high level of migration after they complete secondary school,” the CDC Chair noted.

“The reality is that if the youths can see their community being developed with increased job opportunities, while some may still migrate, I firmly believe that a lot of them would stay. As a matter of fact with a lot of talk about development coming to the area, my son who had told me that he will not stay, is seeking to return,” the CDC Chair shared.

It is Reynolds expressed hope that Moblissa, which was once a prominent milk production locale, will return to its productive days. It is his desire too, to see increased interest and investment from various stakeholders so as to provide the required employment to the youths of the community.

However, with the numerous initiatives being introduced by the Regional Chairman, Reynolds said that he and the residents are confident that the community can return to its once glorious days.

$414 M sluice at DEdward 60% ...

From page 12 the three-door sluice, which has been in existence for over fifty years. The new structure will replace that ageing structure.

General Manager of the MMA/ADA, Aubrey Charles, recently explained that the new sluice would

enhance drainage of all residential areas and agricultural lands along the coast between the Abary and Berbice Rivers known as the Abary/Berbice SubRegion of Region Five.

The construction will provide enhanced drainage for more than 10,000 acres of

land in the Abary/Berbice during inclement weather.

“The completion and operations of this sluice will boost farmers’ confidence in the drainage system and encourage them to be more productive; Agri production will greatly benefit in Region 5,” Charles said.

PAGE 22

SERVICES

FOR SALE

PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620

1 Honda 450 Atv bike, 1 Cat 215 excavator, 1 Cat 428 back hoe, 1 Mack mixer truck 8 cuyds Tel#275-0367/683-7225

Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Graphics design, advertisements, Wedding arch rentals. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535.

ICONIC MARKETING & PRINTING –TEL: 6006887: We create A/works, logos, business cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included.

We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer-Call: 231-0655; 683-8734. Omar HOUSE PLAN DRAFTING FOR $15,000, BULIDING ESTIMATE FOR $8000.

CALL: 694-9843/225-1972.

E M A I L : horizongt@gmail.com Professional Repair Service: Computers, Tv’s (LCD & LED), Cellphones & Other Electronics.Ph#629-6470/ 696-2843.Email: akinscott@outlook.com Jacob’s Jewellery and Pawnshop. Tel#227-8748/6224970 16 Pike St, Kitty G/town

EDUCATION Study in Canda/US 100% acceptance, processing for 2020 Jan, Micrographics, Vreed-en-hoop #264-3057 Diploma in Computers 9 Courses, computerized accounting, Micographics, Vreed-en-hoop #264-3057 Register Now Computer Classes for 2019, common entrance students, 9 courses, Micrographics, Vreed-en-hoop #264-3057 MASSAGE & HEALTH HERBAL REMEDIES: DIABETES, INFERTILITY, MENSTRUAL DISORDERS, ENLARGED PROSTATE, KIDNEY, GALL STONES & SKIN DISORDERS ETC. CALL SPARMAN #6765924

Thursday June 06, 2019

Kaieteur News

1 Double steel wheel roller, 1 pnuematic 9 wheel roller, 2- tar kettles, small &large. 215-excavator spares, 1-3304 Cat Di engine Tel#275-0367/683-7225

FOR RENT

WANTED

VACANCY

PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620

1 Security personnel to work shift. 6 Days a week. Tel# 2275536/ 223-0504

Experienced male sales attendant, stocktaking knowledge, computer literate, excellent service attitude, able bodied.Key Food McDoom Village.

One Four bedroom concrete cottage, unfurnished for rent, located at 26 Continential Park, Peter’s Hall, East Bank Demerara. Tel#233-5808 One Top flat 3 bedroom, LBI Housing Scheme. Tel#2267585

(1) House Non-Pariel- 5 beds, 4 full baths. Call: 229-2772 or whatsapp #616-3094

Outdoor 10x10ft tent for $17,000 at Alabama Trading 65 Robb St, Bourda

Lot 89 Robb Street, Lacytown, Georgetown.

Next door to Mike’s Pharmacy.Land size- 3431.25 Sq.ft. Phone: 617-5323, 6668052.

Transported houselots for sale- payment plans available, 200k downpayment, 20k monthly #233-6997/622-1957

Axio PXX series, reverse camera, fog lamps, owner leaving country. 2010 model $2.2M neg Tel#611-7106

Security Personnel. Address: 16 Sublot A, Mudlot Kingston. Tel#676-8453/6305810

Fiat van, include new parts, white. Tel#627-0347/603-6860

Needed one plot of land to buy in Herstelling New Scheme #611-7223

Honda Accord 2011-2000cc PWW series $3.2M Negotiable, owner leaving country. Tel#600-2606 New model 2009 premio $2.3M,Toyota Vitz 2010(unregistered) $1.8M Tel#223-5615/627-9600 2 Nissan: Pathfinder Jeep and Laurel Sedan - Superb condition, must see; must buy. Tel# 225-8427/660-3415 1 Honda CRV. includes TV, music system, alarm, reverse camera, sproiler, crash bar, Low mileage. PTT Series (First Owner) Contact #6490956

Newly constructed 2 bedroom apt in a safe and healthy environment. Call: 698-6496/ 622-6512

Vegetarian Gardens- Driver, Salesman and Porter #2277 7 1 4 / 2 2 3 - 3 4 4 8 info@vgiworld.com

CAR RENTAL PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS FROM $4000 & UP, SUV’sPER DAY- CALL: 656-0087 / 6435122,EMAIL:PRO_ A U T O R E N T A L @YAHOO.COM DOLLYS AUTO RENTAL CALL: 225-7126 & 2263693 -DOLLYS AUTO RENTAL @ YAHOO.COM/ W W W . D O L L Y SAUTORENTAL.COM

Accounts Clerk.

Requirements: CAT/ACCA Level 2, Quickbooks POS & Accounts proficient, salary negotiable. (2) Driver/ Salesman. Tel#623-8780 1 part time kitchen asst/cook & 1 live-in domestic.2035yrs.Contact Mr.Khan.6956550/656-9313.

1 Ice Machine operator to work at Mon Repos. Tel#2203459/616-2222 Office Clerk. Requirements: CXC Math & English.

Experience in DacEasy & Excel an asset. Telles Steel & Hardware. Call: 226-6771/2264537 Experienced Nail tec & Hairdressers, Apply at West Shore Plaza, 15 Public road, Riumzeight. Tel#269-1524/ 1602 or 656-3561 General Domestic to cook & clean for East Bank. Call: 6144358 Vacancy for experienced Lorry driver, Apply at Alabama Trading

Hick’s Ville Hotel Receptionist, Hotel attendants, Washer/Presser #231-0951/227-7714/223-3448 info@vgiworld.com

Vacancy for Salesgirl. Apply in person at Alabama Trading 65 Robb Street, Bourda

Experienced cook & Waiter/ Waitress, Apply @ Parika 2nd Flat Boodhoo’s General Store.

Contact#650-0402/664-4663

Persons needed for Interior.

Age 21-40. Phone #674-1767/ 661-7265

Wanted Primary School Teachers- Atleast 3 years’ experience needed, Valmiki Vidyalaya School. Please Contact #627-4575 Experienced cook 25-50 yrs Salary starts at $25,000 weekly preferably live in, must be from ECD. #610-3974

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Office space to let.74 Brickdam opposite GT&T, 2 Floors fully Air conditioned, Generator, parking available.Call:226-6771/2264537.

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Miner freed in Sand Hill stabbing death A 25-year-old miner walked free of a murder charge yesterday, since there was insufficient evidence to build a case against him.

The 25-year-old accused, who was identified as Jumar Ralph, was arraigned before the Suddie High Court before judge Nareshwar Harnanan, for murder committed on 35year-old Richard Culpepper.

The court heard that the killing occurred on Sunday October 2, 2016, about 10:10 pm at Sand Hill landing, Cuyuni River, Essequibo.

The accused and Culpepper were in a fight, during which Ralph reportedly stabbed Culpepper. He claimed he had earlier received kicks and punches from the deceased.

Culpepper died from perforation of the heart due to a stab wound.

Ralph was represented by attorney at law Lachmi Dindyal who made a nocase submission based on the fact that there was a lack of sufficient evidence against the accused.

This publication understands that the only evidence in the matter was the caution statement. The caution statement, however, only gives rise to the accused acting in self-defense and provocation.

The attorney’s application was carried by justice Harnanan, who directed the 12-member jury to deliver a formal verdict of not guilty.

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Thursday June 06, 2019

PAGE 23

Kaieteur News

Man to go on trial for Body fished out of Pomeroon yet to be claimed murder of Ann’s Grove youth The body of a man who was fished out of the Pomeroon River last Saturday morning, is lying in the Charity morgue and is yet to be claimed by family members.

Based on reports reaching Kaieteur News, the body was fished out of the river sometime between 07:00hrs and 08:00hrs Saturday morning last.

This publication understands that the body was discovered by a house wife, who saw it floating between the bushes on the right bank of Grant Saint

Joseph, Lower Pomeroon River.

Additional reports indicated that the person was wearing a blank boxer shorts, and his face, hands and abdomen appeared to be eaten.

The body may be that of a man called ‘Malandro’ and ‘Buck Man,’ a labourer believed to be in his late thirties, who lived in Charity, Pomeroon.

This publication understands that the man may have returned from Venezuela some two months

ago. One resident told this publication that ‘Buck Man’ appeared homeless, and would usually work at various stalls in the Charity Market.

The resident also noted that he will spend his nights on top of the stall.

Based on reports, the man was last seen on Tuesday on a fishing vessel, headed for the sea.

Reports also indicate that last Tuesday night, the man may have fallen from the fishing vessel into the Pomeroon River, where he reportedly drowned.

Suriname lapsed in obligations to maintain Canawaima ferry...

From page 11 Guyana/Suriname Cooperation Council at its meeting in 2018 underscored the importance of the Canawaima Ferry Service to bilateral trade and cross border tourism between Guyana and Suriname and agreed that the efficient and optimal operation of the service was to the benefit of both countries.

“As indicated elsew h e r e t h e m a t t e r was raised by President (David) Granger over a year ago during his last meeting with his Surinamese counterpart. At that time, President (Desi) Bouterse un-

dertook to look into the matter.”

The ministry made it clear that speculation about the Government of Guyana taking on the obligation of entirely funding a joint enterprise of this type is erroneous.

“It is not in keeping with the bilateral agreement signed between the two countries that govern the obligations of both States regarding the operations of the ferry service. That agreement is still functional.

“There is no onus on Guyana to fund the replacement of the service either temporarily or per-

manently. The joint company has to ensure that the monies collected by or on behalf of the business are properly directed to defraying the expenses incurred.”

Guyana, the ministry said, will request an early meeting of the relevant mechanism in order that the issues affecting the operation of the ferry vessel can be fully ventilated and resolved to the full satisfaction of the parties. “ I t i s hoped that the fact that the service has been of mutual benefit to both countries will inform the treatment of the matter.”

Simeon Pompey pleaded not guilty to a murder indictment when he appeared on Tuesday before Justice Navindra Singh at the High Court in Demerara following the empanelling of a 12-member jury.

According to the indictment against him, on January1, 2015 in the county of Demerara, he murdered Sydney Errol Campbell called Bakey ofAnns Grove, East Coast Demerara.

His trial commences this morning.

The State is being represented by Prosecutors Tuanna Hardy,Abigail Gibbs and Teriq Mohamed. It is the states case that Shondell Jones told police that on the night of December 31, 2014, she and her brother, Sydney, went to a Chinese shop at Clonbrook, Anns Grove, East Coast Demerara to buy food.

The woman said as they were making their way back home, they were approached

by Simeon and another man who were both on a bicycle.

According to her, Simeon jumped off the bicycle and stabbed her brother to his left side chest saying, “Let this thing done from today. Thereafter, the sister said that the other man picked up a brick and pelted her brother. She said that her brother fell onto the ground and Simeon approached him and chucked him again saying, “Let this thing done from today.” Her brother later succumbed.

The murder accused is being represented by Attorneys-atLaw Nigel Hughes, Ashley Henry and Ronald Daniels.

MURDER ACCUSED: Simeon Pompey

PAGE 24

Thursday June 06, 2019

Kaieteur News

One year later land policy consultation incomplete The Green State Development Strategy: Vision 2040 has much to say about the importance of a draft land policy. Yet, even though consultations were meant to start in early 2018, it is mid-2019 and the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) has quite a few more consultations to do before it drafts the policy.

In December 2017, Commissioner Trevor Benn said that a draft land policy would be in place as early as 2018. The process entailed reaching out to a wide circle of stakeholders for consultations.

The creation of the policy is being undertaken under the four-year mainstreaming Sustainable Land Development and Management (SLDM) project which is being funded by the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF) at a

cost of US$14.8M. The completion of the National Land Policy is part of component one of the project which seeks to mainstream SLDM in policy, institutional and governance mechanisms to prevent degradation and restore degraded lands.

Apart from the countrywide consultations with stakeholders, the Policy is meant to take into consideration recommendations from the Land Commission of Inquiry that was commissioned by President David Granger.

The GSDS: Vision 2040 states that, as the premiere resource, “land requires careful and thoughtful use, with planned allocations in accordance with an agreed framework” It noted that demand for land is significant and growing from a range of competing eco-

Govt. aims to eliminate landlordism of small and medium-scale gold mining operations - GSDS Vision 2040 Landlordism of small and medium-scale gold mining operations must be eliminated by 2040. The Green State Development Strategy: Vision 2040 states that Governments remit is to institute changes to phase out this occurrence over the next 20 years.

Landlordism is the practice whereby persons receive concessions from the state then, instead of carrying out their own mining operations, rent the lands to smaller miners in return for a percentage of proceeds from the activities.

Insiders of the regulatory body, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), as well as others from the mining sector, have insisted that the practice of landlordism is widespread.

It appears that a significant portion of the mining lands has fallen into the hands of a few powerful businessmen, and concerns have been raised about this issue over many years.

According to GSDS: Vision 2040, several negatives arise from the landlord-tributor relationships. It reduces the profit margins of the licensees and, in turn, governments access to finance. On top of that, the legal and environmental accountability of the licensees and their “tenants” are to some extent reduced.

Though the strategy didnt call for a ban on the practice, it did recommend some institutional adjustments that could be implemented with hopes of mitigating landlordism.

These implementations are meant also to strengthen the states administration of the sector.

GSDS recommends a substantial increase in annual mining permit fees, predicting that that would stimulate the “devolution of land from unproductive to productive firms”. In this regard, it added that higher production costs

nomic uses: mining, forestry, agriculture and transport infrastructure; as well as housing and settlements, drainage, water production, indigenous claims, among others.

And through all this, there are about a dozen land and/or resource use management agencies that fall under the jurisdictions of various ministries; Natural Resources, Presidency, Agriculture and Communities. They all have a stake in land use and/or resource management. An expanded list includes Amerindian and local government bodies and other agencies.

The issue with there being so many agencies working in this regard, it notes, is that they all have separate mandates that could, either, overlap or conflict with each other. That issue is one that has existed for many years.

Just recently, Benn announced that lands previously earmarked for agricultural purposes had to be appropriated for housing purposed.

There has also been an overlap of mining and indigenous rights issues involving the community of Chinese Landing.

In that regard, it seems as though there is no legal avenue the government could take to solve the issue of the auction of Indigenous land to a miner.

The absence of an overarching policy or framework for land management has left a vacuum for many of these issues to occur.

The GSDS strategy refers to the draft policy, and the need for it to be a guiding policy for those agencies. But since the announcement of consultations in early 2018, nothing was heard about that process.

“This remains urgent.” The strategy

Commissioner of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC), Trevor Benn noted.

The GLSC had announced in late 2017 that it was looking at late 2018 as the end of the timeline for the completion of the National Land Policy.

When Kaieteur News contacted Commissioner Benn yesterday, he said that the commission had only done two consultations after which, the work was stalled by the other aspects of GLSC's work plan.

He said that consultations would continue in the “coming months” but he could not identify a timeline in which the policy could be drafted. Guyana recently received the completed GSDS: Vision 2040 and the Land Policy is only one of the first steps in the development of a modernized land mapping and development system for Guyana.

Trump says ‘not enough’ progress made in high-stakes U.S.-Mexico talks

could be compensated by a progressive reduction in license fees. That reduction would kick in as gold declarations per acre increase.

In the long term, the royalty fees could be lowered. This wouldnt just reduce landlordism. GSDS states that it would help to reduce smuggling.

Further, a limit could be placed on the number of licences per holder. At present, licencees are not limited, in that regard. Rentiers could also be assigned more responsibility, whereby the license holder (not the tributor) becomes legally responsible for the mining activities undertaken on the land.

GGMC, it notes, will need to be strengthened to provide technical and financial support for better compliance among license holders.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mexican and U.S. officials are set to resume talks in Washington today aimed at averting an imposition of tariffs on Mexican goods, with President Donald Trump saying “not enough” progress on ways to curb migration was made when the two sides met yesterday.

Frustrated by the lack of progress on a signature issue from his 2016 election campaign, Trump unexpectedly told Mexico last week to take a harder line on illegal immigration or face 5% tariffs on all its exports to the United States starting on Monday, rising to as much as 25% later in the year.

Vice President Mike Pence chaired the meeting yesterday afternoon with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard to make the case that Mexico needed to do more to stop a

surge in Central American migrants crossing the border.

With Trump in Europe for DDay commemoration ceremonies until tomorrow, a quick resolution had never been anticipated.

“Immigration discussions at the White House with representatives of Mexico have ended for the day. Progress is being made, but not nearly enough!” Trump said in a tweet last evening.

Pence had expected to hear “tangible measures” that the Mexican government was prepared to take “immediately,” a White House official said ahead of yesterday’s meeting. White House officials were not immediately available for comment afterwards. Ebrard told a news conference that yesterday’s discussions had focused on migration rather than tariffs.

The United States wanted

measures that would have a short-term impact but Mexico is aiming for longer-term solutions, he said.

“A number of possibilities were discussed that need to be looked at in more detail to try to find some common ground” on Thursday, Ebrard said. If the tariffs go ahead, the United States would be in a serious trade dispute with both China and Mexico - two of its three top trading partners. That is a situation that U.S. business groups are keen to avoid.

Mexico also wants to stop a trade war that analysts believe might tip its economy into a recession and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said he is optimistic that an agreement will be reached.

But his administration is preparing for a no-deal outcome, too.

outage after another.

Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, has been complaining too. He places the blame on the Opposition which was in government until 2015. ”GPL just can’t catch a break!

For the third time since I have been minister, the submarine cable has been damaged.

While efforts are underway to ensure that repairs are effected within the shortest possible timeframe. GPL has many challenges, foremost of

which are the poor decisions made by the previous administration.

“Despite warning from MARAD and the Shipping Association - the so called brilliant previous government laid a cable across the busiest shipping lane in the country.”

Meanwhile, in a late afternoon statement, GPL said that its officials with assistance from contracted deep water divers, retrieved sections of the submarine cable approxi-

mately 714 metres/0.7 km from the Kingston operation.

“Upon examination, the armor and insulation protection of the submarine cable (were found to show) damage which extend to the conductors within the cable.

“Further examinations along the remaining length of the cable that rests within the channel of the Demerara River extending to Vreed-En-Hoop will be conducted tomorrow.

Thereafter, our company will provide updates.”

Country braces for more blackouts - as GPL...

From page 09 several parts of the city, East Coast and West Demerara and East Bank Demerara would be affected. The outages would last from 8am with some areas to be affected until 10pm.

The company s Chief Executive Officer, Albert Gordon, who was present at a press conference yesterday at his Duke Street office, along with Bharat Harjohn, Director of Operations; and Kempton France, Systems

Engineer; disclosed that the company would need more than US$100M to build another cable across the Demerara River, another one to link the troubled line between Sophia and Kingston power plants, and other distribution and transmission upgrades.

Work will also have to target new generation sets.

GPL is targeting the completion of these projects for 2023 and is sourcing financing and using some of its

own resources.

GPL is the most criticized utility in Guyana with Government exploring options of natural gas, solar farms and wind as alternatives.

Businesses have been complaining bitterly over the years about the high cost of electricity. There have been moves to engage Giftland and even Banks DIH to purchase additional power.

GPLs fragile system has been taking a beating in recent months with one power

Thursday June 06, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Suriname lapsed in obligations to maintain Canawaima ferry - Foreign Ministry The Government of Guyana is not immediately looking to replace the Canawaima ferry with one of its own.

Rather, the country wants to first have talks with Suriname to hold up its end of the bargain.

The ferry service, a joint arrangement, has been a boon for commerce and tourism between the two countries, moving containers and visitors alike.

However, it broke down recently, leaving scores stranded on both sides of the Corentyne River.

Over the weekend, the Government of Guyana placed the MB Sandaka to the Moleson Creek terminal to rescue the stranded passengers.

Last Friday, Director Gen-

eral of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon, did not rule out the government considering placing its own ferry to take up the slack while MV Canawaima remains down for repairs.

Explaining that Canawaima has been suspended to facilitate repairs and servicing by the joint company- the Canawaima Management Company, the Ministry said it would seem that timely action was not taken by the relevant authorities to initiate repairs to the MV Canawaima, when it sustained damage to one engine in September 2017.

“Since the company was unable to secure the funds intended to meet the routine repair costs, the vessel had to be pulled by a tug-boat to facilitate passengers wishing

to travel between Moleson Creek Terminal and the South Drain Terminal.”

The service between Guyana and Suriname was officially launched on November 6, 1998.

“It is a joint venture and the financial and other arrangements for defraying operational expenses are outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Government of the Republic of Suriname on the Formation and Operation of the Joint Ferry Service between the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Republic of Surname (1998).”

According to the agreement, the maintenance of the ferry is to be shared equally.

“This has not occurred.

The MV Canawaima being towed by a tug on the Corentyne River.

In a bid to reduce the hardships to passengers and businesses using the service and in order to give the

neighbouring state time to meet its obligations, the Government of Guyana has been funding most, if not all of the

maintenance works on the ferry over the years.”

The ministry said that the (Continued on page 23)

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Kaieteur News

Thursday June 06, 2019

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CDB predicts economic growth for the Caribbean PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) –The Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) says despite forecast of deceleration in global economic activity, the 2019 economic outlook for its borrowing member countries (BMCs) is positive, predicting economic growth of more than two per cent.

In its 2018 Annual Report released at the start of the bank’s 49th Annual Board of Governors Meeting, the CDB said the world gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to decline to 3.5 per cent this year, from 3.7 per cent in 2018, and blamed various situations like Britain’s continued efforts to leave the European Union and the economic slowdown in China.

The CDB, the region’s premier financial institution, said that the Caribbean’s exposure to these risks is high as is its vulnerability to weather-related events. It said in addition, some institutional weaknesses need to be addressed to improve delivery of critical economic and social projects “Nevertheless, GDP is projected to rise by 2.1 per cent as construction, tourism, and the extractive industries, such as gold and oil, expand.”

The CDB said that Barbados is the only BMC in which economic activity is not expected to increase in 2019 and that ongoing fiscal retrenchment is expected to cancel out strong tourism performance.

“There is upside risk, the realisation of which will depend on the timing of planned private sector projects and increased demand for financial services resulting from strengthening investor confidence.”

It said in the case of Grenada, the island is projected to grow the fastest, with increases in all of its main sectors, especially construction and tourism. These two sectors will also continue to be significant contributors to performance elsewhere.

Hotel capacity in Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands should be closer to the levels before the 2017 hurricanes. Improved project implementation will help the reconstruction effort in Dominica. In these and other BMCs, ongoing public and private reconstruction will be complemented by new developments, including a medical facility in St. Kitts and Nevis, and expansion of the Cayman Enterprise City in the Cayman Islands,” the CDB said.

It said in Jamaica, productivity-enhancing reforms and public investments undertaken as part of the government’s reform programme are expected to contribute to rising domestic demand.At the same time, improve-

ments in agricultural productivity will boost incomes.

In Haiti, additional investment and a more competitive exchange rate will raise the level of activity in the textile industry.

Private consumption should be buoyed by a consistent and high level of workers’ remittances from abroad.

Expansion in construction is projected for Guyana, as the country continues to prepare for 2020. The CDB said commercial oil production will potentially lead to double-digit rates of growth in the medium term, and to significant hikes in government revenue.

“It could also have negative effects, such as marginalising other productive industries.

Careful stewardship of the oil revenues will be necessary to ensure that Guyana’s development priorities can be addressed.

Guyana’s Natural Resources Fund is designed to ensure that such stewardship takes place.”

The CDB is predicting that the elevated activity in Guyana will push up demand for diesel from nearby Suriname, where prospects for further investment in that country’s own oil industry are favourable. However, oil production will temporarily be negatively impacted by maintenance operations.

In Trinidad and Tobago, natural gas production will increase as the new Angelin project comes on stream.

Overall, the CDB said that in 2018, economic performance in the Caribbean was set against a background of slowing global activity. Regional GDP increased by 1.9 per cent compared with 0.5 per cent in 2017.

Fiscal performance varied, and public debt as a percentage of GDP fell in over half of the BMCs. The region is expected to grow by 2.1 per cent

in 2019 as traditional industries expand; but in many BMCs the balance of risks is tilted to the downside. Mitigating these risks will continue to require improved resilience on many levels in order to ensure sustainable and inclusive development, the bank noted.

Last year, many Caribbean countries continued the process of rebuilding infrastructure, following the extreme weather events of 2017.

Hurricanes Irma and Maria had affected 10 BMCs to differing extents. Significant hotel damage in Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands meant fall-offs in tourist arrivals of almost 40 and 50 per cent, respectively.

As a result, the Anguillian economy contracted, while expansion in the Virgin Islands was mainly on account of buoyant business and financial services activity. The other eight BMCs affected by these hurricanes also recorded higher levels of GDP, as reconstruction activity complemented improved tourism performance.

The fastest growing economy in 2018 was Grenada, which also achieved a five-year average annual GDP increase of at least five per cent, due to sustained strong performance in construction, tourism, private education and agriculture. In tourism, overnight visitor arrivals were up by more than 10 per cent compared to 2017.

This was also the case in Belize (14.6 per cent) and Cayman Islands (10.7 per cent). Tourism performance also improved in The Bahamas, where the delayed Baha Mar resort was at full capacity for the first full calendar year,; Jamaica; St. Kitts and Nevis; St. Lucia; St. Vincent and the Grenadines; and Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI).

The CDB said that these BMCs also recorded increased

construction activity, mostly in the form of investment in public infrastructure, but also new tourist developments Anguilla and Barbados were the only two countries to experience a fall in real GDP in 2018.

Anguilla’s performance was linked directly to the adverse effects of the 2017 hurricane.

Despite modest gains in its tourism sector, Barbados also reported a decline in output.

This contraction was attributed to a fall in construction output, and to the implementation of fiscal austerity measures related to the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) Plan, the Government’s fiscal consolidation programme.

Among the commodity exporting countries, rising oil prices drove growth in Suriname and in Trinidad and Tobago. In Suriname there was also increased investment in the oil sector, predominantly in pre-exploration activity.

In Trinidad and Tobago, manufacturing of petroleum and chemical products rose.

Buoyant gold prices also benefitted Suriname, although there was little change in pro-

duction. Economic expansion in Guyana was linked mainly to construction activity, in advance of the start of commercial oil production in 2020.

However, gold extraction fell, due to declining declarations by small and medium-scale miners who faced higher fuel and operational costs. Agricultural output also dropped, reflecting a significant fall in sugar production as restructuring of the industry continued.

Agricultural production expanded in Belize, Haiti and Jamaica. In Belize, fisheries production was lower than the previous year, due to ongoing problems in the disease-affected shrimp industry. Manufacturing contracted in Belize with notable falls in production of juices and soft drinks. A more stable industrial climate helped manufacturing to grow by 1.2 per cent in Haiti.

Fiscal performance varied across the region. Debt as a percentage of GDP decreased in 13 BMCs, but the ratio exceeded the international benchmark of 60 per cent in 11 countries.

Public finances in some BMCs continued to be affected by the fallout from the 2017 hurricanes. Tax revenues fell in Anguilla, while expenditure, much of it related to recovery, rose.

In Antigua and Barbuda, rising public expenditure was accompanied by lower nontax revenues, especially from the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme. Indeed, it was only in St. Kitts and Nevis that CBI revenues rose, following the launch of a new fund in late 2017, the CDB noted.

In Grenada, the fiscal position continued to improve, reflecting strengthened expenditure management and tax compliance. Sustained economic growth contributed to better fiscal performance in Suriname and in Trinidad and Tobago. A tax amnesty in

Guyana raised additional revenues amounting to one per cent of GDP. As part of the first stage of Barbados’ economic recovery programme, debt restructuring and fiscal restraint contributed to a higher primary surplus. Debt interest payments were lower, and there were reductions in transfers and subsidies, particularly to state-owned enterprises. Corporate tax receipts were up; and new taxes were introduced.

Belize also recorded a primary surplus, attributable to revenue enhancement measures taken to meet the targets agreed with creditors as part of its 2017 debt restructuring programme. Most of these measures were amendments to excise duties and to general sales tax to reduce avoidance and improve compliance.

External positions improved in most BMCs, as did the level of foreign reserves.

The current account situation strengthened in Suriname and in Trinidad and Tobago due to higher oil and gas prices.

Suriname’s external position also benefitted from rising gold prices.

The CDB said that these developments helped the external reserves position to rise above the international benchmark of three months of imports. External loan disbursements improved the reserves position in Barbados.

There were current account deficits in Belize, Guyana and Jamaica, on account of increasing imports, particularly fuel. The deficits were partly funded by foreign direct investment. Notwithstanding, there was a drawdown on foreign reserves in these three BMCs. ”While still comfortably above the three months benchmark in Jamaica, foreign reserves were closer to this threshold than in the other two BMCs,” the CDB reported.

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Hamilton and Mercedes set their sights on seven LONDON (Reuters) - The sevens are aligning for Lewis Hamilton in Canada with another of Michael Schumacher’s Formula One records in his sights as Mercedes aim for a seventh win in seven races this season.

Montreal has been a happy hunting ground for the five times world champion and Sunday could see the Briton equal Schumacher’s seven Canadian Grand Prix victories between 1994 and 2004.

Yet Hamilton, who leads Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas by 17 points in the standings after four wins out of six, can take nothing for granted at a power-sensitive track named after Ferrari great Gilles Villeneuve.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel

won from pole position in Canada last year and Mercedes have suggested the high-speed circuit could again favor Italian rivals whose season has yet to get into gear.

“We are beginning to see more clearly the strengths and weaknesses of our car. In the past six races, we were very strong in the corners but lost time on the straights,” said principal Toto Wolff.

“This will make Canada a huge challenge for us as the track characteristics could favor our opponents - there are many long straights, and fewer corners in which to make up lap time.”

Hamilton, who took the first Formula One win of his career at the circuit with McLaren in 2007, indicated after winning the previous

race in Monaco that a Mercedes engine upgrade was expected.

While Mercedes have kept a lid on their plans, the timing would be right since the rules allow each driver three engines per season and Canada comes a third of the way through the 21-race championship.

Ferrari, Renault and Honda have already introduced their upgraded engines.

A main concern for the champions will be tire management, with Hamilton struggling on the wrong choice in Monaco.

“We need to learn from Monaco... because this situation in Montreal, you lose the race,” Wolff told reporters at the time, cautioning also against too much confi-

Thursday June 06, 2019 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) A visitor with a few problems might come to your door in search of advice and sympathy, Aries. He or she might also have some other news that could shock you.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Tasks of any kind are likely to seem like the labors of Hercules today, Taurus. Overwork and strain could have you feeling a little under the weather. It might be a good idea to take some time alone to rest.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Money matters might be weighing on the mind of a close friend or lover, Gemini, and he or she might seek your advice.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) You might have visitors, Cancer, or even a hot date scheduled for tonight. By midafternoon you might feel too tired to go out and wonder if you should cancel. It's best to keep your activities low-key.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Deliveries that you expect could be delayed, Leo. Today you might learn something shocking about a neighbor or relative.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Some good but surprising news could come your way today, Virgo. Perhaps a family member or friend will call or drop by with a surprising development that directly affects you.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Today may start out frustrating, Libra. Be prepared!

Some equipment might go on the blink and it could take a while to get it fixed. A temporary separation from your partner could also be disappointing.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Your level of artistic inspiration is high today, Scorpio.

Dreams or meditation may bring up some spiritual insights and revelations, and you may promptly forget them upon coming out of your dream or meditative state.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Some upsetting news regarding money could throw you into a dither today, Sagittarius. Perhaps a check you've been expecting hasn't arrived on time.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) A setback in your career might have you feeling disoriented, Capricorn. Equipment might be involved.

Don't go crazy. It's only temporary.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) You may feel living your life is like crossing a desert, but fortunately, Aquarius, today brings your oasis. Take advantage of it!

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Today you may feel especially passionate, Pisces, and desire a romantic encounter. You might even have a hot date scheduled.

dence after such an unprecedented start to the campaign.

“We must never be carried away by saying we are just flying at the moment and it’s going to continue like this,” said the Austrian.

Ferrari were out of sorts in Monaco, despite Vettel finishing second for the team’s best result so far this season, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen posing the biggest threat to Hamilton but hit with a time penalty.

“It’s a fun track, at least you can overtake if needed and I always enjoy going there,” said Verstappen, who was third in Canada last year behind second-placed Bottas.

“I expect Ferrari to be more competitive in Canada, so for us it may be a bit more

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton celebrates winning the Monaco Grand Prix after the race.

(REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo) difficult, but as always we will try and maximize the result.”

Bottas, beaten into third in Monaco after a pitlane

clash with Verstappen that cost him second place and Mercedes a sixth successive one-two, will be fired up to claw back points from Hamilton.

While rivals talked up Ferrari’s prospects, team boss Mattia Binotto has sounded less optimistic.

“We know we’re not competitive enough right now,” he said. “And for the time being we haven’t got any more changes coming on the car that will have a significant effect on the problems we have encountered since the start of the season.”

Away from the leaders, the Racing Point team (previously Force India) will be looking for a strong first home race under their Canadian ownership.

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Guyana face Bermuda today in first of two friendly internationals ahead of Gold Cup Guyana and host nation Bermuda will clash today in an international friendly at the National Sports Centre as both countries seek to peak at this summer’s Concacaf Gold Cup where they will also be making their respective debuts.

At a press conference held at the Bermuda Football Federation Office on Tuesday afternoon, Guyana’s Head Coach Michael Johnson and Bermuda’s Coach, Kyle Lightbourne had said that a result is not the ultimate aim of the encounter but that they are using the game to fine tune their sides for the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup. In their first and only session at the match venue yesterday, Johnson told GFF

Media that the session went into a bit more detail in terms of how they want to play tonight, pointing out that in the last couple of days’ training, the Technical Staff just allowed the players to play to allow bonding and team spirit to develop.“Today was a little bit more structured, so we spoke about how we’re going to play, what the expectations are from our midfield and our wide players. So we’re trying to as we go through the days, weeks put a little bit more detail, not too much that it confuses anybody, and it’s not going any way away from what we’ve been doing. It’s just gentle reminders obviously, of what we’ve been doing over the last few months.”

Given the fact that there

The players prepare for the Gold Cup and today’s match with a training session yesterday.

are a few new players in the final 23-man squad, Johnson pointed out that they have to make sure that everyone is absolutely clear about what they are expected to do in and out of possession: “Some would get it quicker but for

Second season of Global T20 to take place in City of Brampton Brampton, Canada: Organisers for Global T20 Canada have agreed to move the championship to a new Venue in the City of Brampton.

After completing its inaugural season in King’s City in 2018, Bombay Sports Company Ltd formally Mercuri Canada, the league organisers evaluated the impact of hosting the event in a more central location and listened to the feedback of the cricket fans.

In collaboration with the City of Brampton and Mayor Patrick Brown the decision was taken to move the 2019 edition to west of Toronto and into the heart of the cricket loving community from July 25- August 11, 2019.

Mayor Patrick Brown, who was present at the conference, delightedly said that, “I’m proud to say that Brampton is hosting the GT20 Cricket Tournament this year!

As a healthy and safe city where cricket is especially popular, Brampton is an ideal location for this renowned event. We invite local, national and international audiences to attend what is sure to be a thrilling tournament

this summer.”

Brampton has a largely immigrant population; individuals who have played the game or casual fans. Weekly thousands of weekend warriors participate for local clubs across the city. The Brampton Etobicoke District League and others facilitate matches for thousands across the multiple venues.

“We thank the Mayor for his vision and interest in having Brampton host GT20, said Karan Kohli, son of GT20 financer Gurmeet Singh Bhamrah. “To deliver this tournament to the city of Brampton and Canada as a whole will not only bring joy to the fans but opportunities for local businesses and vendors.”

According to Mayor Brown, bringing GT20 to Brampton and furthering developing the fields in the City is delivering on a campaign promise.“Brampton has the biggest cricket fans in Canada,” Mayor Brown said.

“Just a few weeks ago we saw the Indian Premier League finals and fans in Brampton stayed up to the early hours

to watch the finals. That’s how passionate our fans are.”

Mayor Brown added, “The City of Brampton has committed to more cricket infrastructure development in the city, currently two existing venues are getting lights and we are in discussions on the feasibility of a multi-purpose complex that includes a cricket stadium.”

While the exact location for the competition is still being finalized, Tournament Director Jason Harper used the opportunity to highlight the benefits the tournament brings to the city and inform the media about the global interest generated by the event.

“To date almost eleven hundred cricketers from across the globe have registered for our player draft, Harper said. This shows that Canada is a preferred location for the world’s best players and is a sought-after destination.” Harper also announced the addition of a sixth unnamed franchise, replacing the Cricket West Indies B team that participated in 2018 and finished runners up.

In 2018, the Vancouver Knights led by West Indian icon Chris Gayle, defeated West Indies B in the final in front of a sold out crowd at the Maple Leaf Cricket Club in King’s City.GT20 also announced the launch of our name our mascot contest. This contest is open to the general public and will be on our social media and website until June 30th. The winner of our contest will receive a flight for 2 to Europe with a 3 night stay at a hotel on us.

some it might take a little bit longer and that’s why tomorrow (today) it’s a really good opportunity for us to see whose taken on board the messages and who might need a little bit more help because they are not quite sure.”

Whilst being tightlipped about who his starters will be, Johnson informed that the new players would have more

information to take on board during the ensuing days and he is expecting a progression in their performances: “As we get closer, they would be fitter, mentally more stronger because they have been in this environment and a lot more understanding would have gone into them based on the time that we’ve been given. So I would expect the next game

to be a lot closer to where we want them to be in terms of going on to the USA game.”

Following the Bermuda match, the Guyana team will travel to Costa Rica where they will continue their camp and will play their second and final friendly against Haiti next week. This encounter, Johnson noted, would be a lot different in terms of approach.

Infantino eyes ‘$50 billion’ windfall for new Club World Cup FIFA president Gianni Infantino believes his new Club World Cup could generate as much as $50 billion in commercial income when it starts in 2021.

Infantino was re-elected unopposed for a second term as FIFA president in Paris on Wednesday and will now press on with plans already approved for the expanded competition.

The Club World Cup in its present format involves only seven teams, but he believes a 24-team competition will bring in huge sums, possibly even more than the $25 billion previously quoted.

“In terms of commercialisation I hope to make 50 billion, not 25. I’m not

sure we’ll get them but I hope so,” Infantino said, although he did not state how many editions that would cover.

A source told AFP that such a figure was “scarcely credible” given that the initial offer of $25 billion covered three editions of the Club World Cup and three editions of a global Nations League, with the latter project subsequently having been abandoned.

The plan for a new 24team Club World Cup starting in 2021 — with the participation of eight teams from Europe — was approved at the FIFA Council meeting in Miami in March despite opposition from UEFA and the powerful European Club Associa-

tion.

An offer of $25 billion to invest in the new Club World Cup is believed to have come from a group of investors in Asia and the Middle East, although their names have never been revealed by FIFA. However, Infantino insisted that FIFA would still own the rights to their new competition.

“We have decided to have a Club World Cup in 2021, we will commercialise it, and we will see what comes in,” he said.

“It was never a question of a financial investor taking over the competition. The rights always remained with FIFA.”

Infantino waved in for second term as FIFA president From page 29 “My philosophy as FIFA president is one of openness and as long as I am president of FIFA I will push as hard as I can to have more global worldwide competitions, possibilities, openness for everyone to be able to play,” he said.

He stated his ambition to generate an enormous $50 billion in revenue from the sale of the commercial rights for the new competition, which has been opposed by European clubs.

“In terms of commercialisation I hope to

make 50 billion, not 25. I’m not sure we’ll get them but I hope so,” Infantino said, although he did not state how many editions that would cover.

Infantino previously worked closely with Michel Platini, but the suspended exhead of UEFA this week attacked the FIFA chief, saying he had “no legitimacy” and accusing him of having mocked women’s football.

However, Infantino pointed to the appointment of Senegal’s Fatma Samoura as Secretary General and to the fact that women now made up 20 percent of all those in-

volved in FIFA committees as he defended his work done in that area.“It is only 20 percent, but before it was four percent.

We need to be better, we will be, but we start, we move, we progress,” he said.

“At the Women’s World Cup in France this year we will have the explosion of women’s football,” he added.

That tournament will begin tomorrow when hosts France play South Korea in Paris, and will run until July 7.

The next FIFA Congress will be held in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in May next year.

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GFF’S Pre-Season New Zealand hold nerve to beat Bangladesh in thriller Transfer Window Opens LONDON (Reuters) - New Zealand held their nerve under the floodlights to beat Bangladesh by two wickets in a dramatic low-scoring Cricket World Cup match at The Oval yesterday.

Chasing a modest target of 245, Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson shared a thirdwicket partnership of 105 to put the Black Caps on course for a comfortable victory, but they lost six more wickets before notching up their second win of the tournament with 17 balls to spare.

Williamson should have been run out for eight but Bangladesh wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim dislodged the bails with his arm to waste the chance and the New Zealand captain went on to make 40.

Tom Latham was out cheaply and when Taylor was caught by Mushfiqur for 82 Bangladesh scented a famous win.Colin de Grandhomme, Jimmy Neesham and Matt Henry also fell as the pressure mounted but Mitchell Santner and Lockie Ferguson stayed calm to edge New Zealand over the line.

Shakib Al Hasan topscored for Bangladesh with 64 and several batsmen made

New Zealand’s Kane Williamson in action against Bangladesh at the Oval. (Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge) starts but they lost wickets at regular intervals and were never able to dominate a disciplined bowling attack.

Scores: Bangladesh 244;

New Zealand 248/8 (47.1/50 ov, target 245).

Result: New Zealand won by 2 wickets (with 17 balls remaining).

T&T defend solidly to frustrate Japan TOKYO, Japan, CMC – Trinidad and Tobago warmed up for their CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign with a spirited defensive display as they frustrated hosts Japan in a nil-all draw here yesterday.

Up against a Japan side ranked 26th in the FIFA world rankings, the 93rd ranked Caribbean side struggled to get into the contest at Toyota Stadium and needed a fabulous showing from goalkeeper Marvin Phillip to come away with a share of the honours.

Afterwards, head coach Dennis Lawrence praised his side’s defensive efforts.

“In terms of the game obviously we had to dig deep because we played an exceptional team in Japan,” he said.

“They moved the ball well.

They tried to get the ball in wide areas, create the width and get a lot of crosses in which we expected and we had to defend. On the other side I was really, really proud of my boys tonight.

“It was a long journey to get here. The boys did us proud and it was really the type of test we needed going into competition like the Gold Cup. I was really pleased for the boys. I couldn’t name one particular player because I

Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper Marvin Phillip. thought they all stood up to be counted.

“Obviously in the end Japan really pushed us back and our ‘keeper had to pull off some incredible saves but that is what he’s there for.”

Phillip made a strong of saves in the first half, including a stinging shot from Yuya Osako in the 24th minute and a thunderbolt from Shoya

Nakajima.

Late on with his side against the ropes, Phillip also saved brilliantly from captain Gaku Shibasaki and Sho Genji.

T&T will now head to the United States where they take on Canada in their final friendly in Los Angeles on Sunday.They face Panama in their opening Gold Cup match in St Paul on June 18.

Georgetown: The Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF) pre-season transfer window is open to accommodate player transfers, both locally and internationally.

The two-month transfer window opened on June 1 and will conclude on July 31, 2019 and players are asked to maximize the opportunity in a timely manner.

A Domestic Transfer, in order to be considered procedurally correct, must involve the Former Club, the Player, the Former Regional Member Association (RMA), the New Club, and the New RMA (in the case of a transfer out of the Former Association).

Unless and until all of these entities are informed and involved, and provided that none of these raises any legitimate concerns with the attempted transfer and refuses to concur or approve the transfer, the transfer is incomplete.

The New Club has the recourse of seeking the intervention of the relevant RMA, or subsequently the GFF, if it is of the view that the transfer is being unjustly hindered by the Former Club or the relevant RMA. In the case of international transfers, the process begins at the new club, which requests and initiates the process via the International Transfer Matching System (ITMS) following discussions with the former clubs.

The process for the Domestic Transfer is as follows: 1. The new club confirms the player has an interest in the transfer and, if so, the new club makes contact with the former club to negotiate the transfer agreement 2. If it’s agreed upon, the new club collects the transfer document from the rel-

evant RMA 3. Each entity involved fills and signs their allocated part of the form; namely, the player, the former club, and the new club.

4. The form is then submitted to the relevant RMA, which confirms the authenticity of the involvement of each party 5. Everything being in order, the RMA approves the transfer and gives a copy to the new club

6. If the player is bei n g transferred across RMA, the new club takes their copy of the form to their new RMA so that the player can be registered within that RMA and cleared for participation as a player of that club.

It is important to note that the GFF is the RMA for Elite Clubs. The GFF is open from 09:00hrs – 17:00hrs, Monday to Friday.

Police clash with England fans in Porto - reports PORTO, Portugal (Reuters) - Police clashed with England fans in the centre of Porto yesterday after beer glasses were thrown in the special ‘fan-zone’ set up for the Nations League finals, British media reported.

England supporters were staying in Porto ahead of Thursday’s match in nearby Guimaraes against the Netherlands and gathered in the fan-zone to watch yesterday’s match between Portugal and Switzerland on outdoor big screens.

The Guardian reported that hundreds of England fans were baton charged by riot police after they threw beer glasses.

England’s Football Association (FA) last week urged supporters of the national team to stamp out “embarrassing” and anti-social behaviour.

The FA released a video called “Don’t be that idiot” to highlight examples of English hooliganism that have come to light in recent months, ending with a message from England manager Gareth Southgate encouraging supporters to make the country proud by being on their best behaviour.

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Ronaldo hat-trick sends Portugal to Nations League final PORTO (Reuters) - Evergreen Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick, including two late goals, to give Portugal a 3-1 win over Switzerland in a Nations League semi-final featuring an extraordinary VAR incident yesterday.

Ronaldo blasted Portugal ahead from a free kick in the 25th minute, his first goal for his country for nearly a year, but the game took an unusual twist shortly after halftime which will raise more questions over the use of the VAR system.

Portugal were awarded a penalty for a foul on Bernardo Silva but the referee then decided to review an incident at the other end which happened immediately beforehand.

He then awarded a spot kick to the Swiss instead which Ricardo Rodriguez converted in the 57th minute to equalise.

With the game heading for extra time, Ronaldo turned in Bernardo Silva’s pass in the 88th minute and completed the win by curling the ball past Yann Sommer two minutes later.

Switzerland created some

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring their third goal to complete his hat-trick in the UEFA Nations League Semi Final vs Switzerland in Portugal. (REUTERS/Susana Vera) early openings but Portugal struck first.Ronaldo, whose last goal for them was against Morocco at the World Cup last June, went down under a challenge from Kevin Mbabu on the edge of the area, got up and sent his free kick fizzing past a wrong-footed Sommer and into the net.

The real drama came after halftime. Swiss midfielder Steven Zuber went down under a challenge from Nelson Semedo and appealed for a penalty but play continued.

Portugal then went straight

down the other end and were awarded a penalty for a foul on Silva.

The referee, after consulting the video assistant, then decided to review the Swiss incident on the pitchside monitor and awarded them the spot kick.

The Swiss took control but were destroyed by three lethal minutes from Ronaldo, who had been lacklustre for most of the second half.

Silva produced a low cross from the right and Ronaldo swept the ball home

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo in action with Switzerland’s Kevin Mbabu during the UEFA Nations League Semi Final in Portugal. (REUTERS/Susana Vera) with his first touch to rescue his side in the 88th minute.

Two minutes later, he col-

lected the ball on the counterattack, twisted past his marker and curled the ball into the far

corner for his 88th international goal in 157 appearances.

Holder backs Russell to be fit for Aussie encounter

Corona Futsal Final Back Circle, Tiger Bay confident in wake of Corona Final With two unlikely teams set to contest the final of the fourth annual Corona Futsal Competition 2019, the showdown is expected to be monumental on Saturday evening.

Yesterday afternoon, the captains of Tiger Bay and Back Circle both declared their respective teams as Saturday’s winners.

Co-Director of the Petra Organization that are the promoters of the event; Troy Mendonca, professed that Saturday’s final will be an event that every football fan will want to witness.

“In the history of small goal or futsal, I don’t think Tiger Bay or Back Circle ever met before and I think Saturday is going to be a real movie.

These two teams that would have reached to the final are deservedly there based on their performance throughout the tournament. It’s going to be a match that culminates five weeks of exhilarating football.”

Both Back Circle and Tiger Bay, although reaching the quarterfinal and semifinal

stage on previous occasions, have never met each other in a final.

In the 2019 edition, both sides have showcased good fighting spirit, which will make for a thrilling final.

Tiger Bay’s Captain Deon Alfred was not one to boast, but instead spoke on the merit of both teams, “Remember both teams have positive players, they can take nothing from anybody. You can’t say you’re coming out and this team is a walkover cause on the night you got to play good football,” Alfred stated.

On the other hand, back Circle’s Captain Selwyn Williams made a bold promise to their fans and supporters whilst touting one of their players for the MVP prize, “I can assure you out there, the fans, our family and friends that we will bring home this final to you. We’re a young bunch, experienced in our own way and we don’t have any big name players.”

In a word from the primary sponsor, Top Brandz Distributors, Representative Colin

Start revealed that the company is very happy with this year’s tournament.

“I’m proud to say that Top Brandz Distributors is happy with the current progress of this year’s Corona futsal tournament.

We’ve seen some really great games and we look forward to a magnificent final this Saturday at the National Gymnasium,” Stuart shared.

Back Circle and Tiger Bay are battling for a chance to cop the half a million dollar grand prize. The loser in that encounter will have to settle for the $250,000 second place prize. The third place showdown will feature Bent Street and Future Stars vying for $125,000. While the fourth place team receives $75,000.

Meanwhile, Alfred, who leads the goal scorers table with 15 goals, is a good contender for the MVP prize which is a Hero Honda 150cc motorcycle that is being sponsored by the official local distributors of the brand; Rose Ramdehol Auto Sales, located on South Road.

All-rounder Andre Russell undergoes training ahead of Thursday’s clash with West Indies at Trent Bridge.

NOTTINGHAM, England, CMC – West Indies were sweating on the fitness of all-rounder Andre Russell but will have talisman Chris Gayle available for today’s key clash with Australia at Trent Bridge here.

Russell appeared to aggravate his troublesome knee and Gayle his back as they played key roles in West Indies’ opening win of the World Cup against Pakistan here last Friday.

Captain Jason Holder told media here Wednesday, while Gayle was fit, Russell would undergo a further assessment before a determination was made about his availability.

“I think the beauty with both of those guys is

they’ve played enough cricket. We just tend to trust them, take their word and then make a final determination then,” Holder said.

“Chris was at practice for the last couple days, so Chris for me is all well and ready to go. Andre will be obviously assessed today, and we’re very, very hopeful that he’ll be fit tomorrow.”

Russell produced a hostile game-changing spell in the opening game, snatching two wickets for four runs from three overs of pace, to help reduce Pakistan to 105 all out in the 22nd over.

The left-handed Gayle then blasted six fours and three sixes in a 34-ball 50 as West Indies sped to their

target to win by seven wickets.

With five days since their last game, both players have been afforded every chance to recover and Holder remained upbeat about their participation.

“We’ve had a few days off … they have been recovering quite nicely,” he said.

“We expect both of them to hopefully be fit and ready to go tomorrow. We’ve still got some more time until the game tomorrow morning, so then we’ll make a final decision in the morning.”

Opener Evin Lewis and fast bowler Shannon Gabriel, both of who missed the opening game with niggles, are expected to be available for selection.

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Infantino waved in for second Roland Garros washout keeps term as FIFA president Djokovic and Halep waiting AFP - Gianni Infantino said yesterday he had turned FIFA into an organisation “synonymous with credibility” as he was re-elected for a second term as president of world football’s governing body.

It was a formality that the 49 year-old would be waved through for a new four-year mandate, until 2023, as he stood unopposed at the FIFA Congress in Paris.

The FIFA Council chose to back his re-election by acclamation, with Infantino now hoping to build on the work he started in February 2016, when he was voted in to succeed the disgraced Sepp Blatter at the head of the organisation.

Eager to “open up” and “globalise” the game, he will now push ahead with already approved plans to expand the Club World Cup to 24 teams, and with his ambition of expanding the World Cup itself to 48 teams.

As he addressed the 211 members of the Congress in the French capital, where the Women’s World Cup begins tomorrow, Infantino claimed credit for the success of the 2018 men’s World Cup in Russia, the “transparent” bidding process for the 2026 tournament in North America, and the introduction of Video Assistant Referees into the game.

He said he was now at the head of “a new FIFA, an organisation that is synony-

Gianni Infantino was waved in unopposed for a second term as FIFA president in Paris on Wednesday. (AFP / FRANCK FIFE) mous with credibility, confidence, integrity.”

“Today nobody talks about crises, nobody talks about rebuilding FIFA from scratch, nobody talks about scandals, nobody talks about corruption. We talk about football,” insisted the SwissItalian lawyer, formerly secretary general of European governing body UEFA. “The very least we can say is that we have turned the situation around.

- No longer ‘toxic’ “In three years and four months, this organisation went from being toxic, almost criminal, to being what it should be, an organisation that develops football, an organisation that cares about football.”

Infantino has overseen a major increase in FIFA’s income, with cash reserves increasing to a record $2.75 bil-

lion over his first term. FIFA announced record revenue for the three years to 2018, of $6.4 billion.

“FIFA has today also the most solid financial situation ever and is coming out of the period of its worst crisis,” he said.

FIFA have had to abandon highly controversial plans to expand the World Cup from 32 teams to 48 in time for the next tournament in Qatar in 2022.

- Club World Cup plans The radical change to the tournament will now have to wait until 2026, but Infantino has already got the green light for a flagship 24-team Club World Cup starting in 2021.

The existing format involves just seven clubs. A venue for the new-look competition has still to be found.

(Continued on page )

LABA organised YBG Linden Regional U-19 Schools Basketball

Action starts tomorrow with double header at MHS court The Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA) has organised the Linden Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) Under 19 Linden Regional Zone Conference for schools in Linden which bounces off tomorrow with two matches at the Mackenzie High School hard court.

The tournament will see six schools in Linden participating for a chance to represent the Mining Town in the YBG National Basketball Festival which will be staged after the conclusion of this tournament from June 28 in Georgetown.

The opening matches tomorrow will start with game one when home team Mackenzie High are to meet

Linden Foundation Secondary from 14.00hrs and the second game brings together Linden Technical Institute and Wisburg Secondary from 16.00hrs.

The tournament continues on Saturday with a triple header this time. Starting at 13.00hrs is the match between Wisburg Secondary and Mackenzie High, followed by New Silvercity Secondary and Linden Technical Institute meeting at 14.30hrs and the third game at 16.00hrs is between Christianburg Wismar Secondary ‘Multi’ and Linden Foundation Secondary.

The tournament has trophies and medals for the top three teams and will be played on a round robin

format initially to determine the semifinals and then the final placing.

The tournament will continue next Monday with a double header and it is anticipated that the action will be very competitive.

Players must be born on January 1, 2000 or after to be eligible for this tournament and any team who plays an over-aged player will not get any points for that game and will automatically forfeit it.

Teams are to receive two points for a win and a lost one point for their efforts.

Any protest must be written and lodged with the organisers the LABA within twenty four hours of the completion of the game in dispute.

Rain pain People hold their umbrellas in the empty stands as rain falls on Court Philippe Chatrier on Wednesday. (AFP / Christophe Archambault) AFP - Torrential rain caused a complete washout of quarter-final action at Roland Garros yesterday with Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep amongst the biggest victims.

It is the second time since 2016 that all French Open play was cancelled and third since 2000.

The decision left world number one Djokovic and defending women’s champion Halep facing having to play their quarter-finals on Thursday and semi-finals on Friday if they get through.

With the women’s final set for Saturday, third seed Halep could end up playing three days in a row.

Djokovic had been due to face German

fifth seed Alexander Zverev on Court Philippe Chatrier on Wednesday as was Halep who was up against American teenager Amanda Anisimova.

On Court Suzanne Lenglen, America’s Madison Keys was due to face Australia’s Ashleigh Barty before 2018 runner-up Dominic Thiem clashed with Russia’s Karen Khachanov.The first quarter-finals had been completed on Tuesday with 11-time champion Rafael Nadal setting up a Friday semi-final against old rival Roger Federer.

Johanna Konta and Marketa Vondrousova also won Tuesday with their semi-final, originally set for Thursday, to be played on Friday.

FIFA and AFD to promote women’s soccer in Africa: Infantino PARIS (Reuters) - FIFA and the French Development Agency (AFD) have pledged ahead of the June 7-July 7 World Cup in France to promote women’s soccer in Africa on a long-term basis, the governing body’s president Gianni Infantino said on Tuesday.

“I am happy that today, another strategic alliance has been forged to help use football as a platform for positive change in society,” Infantino said after signing the cooperation agreement with AFD Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Remy Rioux.

“This landmark agreement between FIFA and the AFD aims to make a lasting difference to communities around the world.

“It is also to ensure that football continues to play an even more important role in sustainable development, educating and empowering the next generation to help build a fairer, more peaceful society.”

Rioux said: “What better way to build a world in common than by leveraging the unifying power of football?

“I am extremely proud that the AFD and FIFA are today launching a unique partner-

FIFA President Gianni Infantino delivers a speech during an awarding ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia May 23, 2019.

(REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina) ship to promote gender equality and foster education in Africa through football.

“As the Women’s World Cup is about to kick off in France, I am confident that the AFD-FIFA alliance will help to showcase women’s sport as a strategic development objective in Africa.”

The ceremony was attended by France president Emmanuel Macron, former international football greats Marcel Desailly, Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o and Bernard Lama as well as former French female player Candice Prévost.

Macron underscored that

equality between women and men was the great national objective of his five-year term in office as president, adding that “school is where we build the society we need and want to see” The 24-nation Women’s World Cup kicks off on Friday with hosts France taking on South Korea in Group A at the Parc Des Princes stadium in Paris.

Holders United States open their Group F campaign against Thailand in Reims on June 11. Africa’s three nations taking part in the event are Nigeria, South Africa and Cameroon.

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West Indies are playing ‘Calypso cricket’ - Justin Langer BBC Sport - West Indies are showing “plenty of signs” of the “Calypso cricket” played by their previous dominant sides, says Australia coach Justin Langer.

Australia face West Indies at Trent Bridge today at 10:30 BST. Both sides won their opening World Cup games - West Indies thrashing Pakistan after bowling them out for just 105 with short-pitched fast bowling, while Australia eased past Afghanistan.

“When I was a kid it was Calypso cricket,” said Langer.

“And we’re seeing plenty of signs of Calypso cricket.”

West Indies won the first two World Cup tournaments, in 1975 and 1979, and also dominated cricket in the 1980s with a squad of superb fast bowlers and destructive batsmen.

“West Indies are running and bowling fast,” said Langer.

West Indies dismantled Pakistan with bouncers in their World Cup opener. (Getty Images)

Justin Langer (left) and Aaron Finch are looking to lead Australia to their sixth World Cup title. (Getty Images) “They’re not necessarily going to be bowling the same spot every ball, but they are going to be exciting to watch.

They all try to hit sixes most balls too.

“It’s always exciting playing West Indies. When I was growing up they were my heroes.”

Australia, who have won five World Cups, came into

this tournament on the back of one-day international series wins in India and against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.

“We’ve probably spent four months thinking and playing against spin bowling,” said Langer.

“We have to adapt to West Indies no doubt, who have got a number of good, fast bowlers.

“They are obviously a very dangerous team the way they bat and aggressive bowl-

ing, but they’ve got weaknesses as well and we’re playing pretty good cricket.”

Australia’s Test side were bowled out for just 60 during the 2015 Ashes at Trent Bridge, while England set a men’s ODI world record by hitting 481-6 against Australia on the same ground last year.

Captain Aaron Finch said he hoped being in the home changing room for this match would bring a change in fortune.

“Just before we turned up to training a few boys talked about their previous experiences here, which obviously haven’t been overly pleasant,” he said.

“But we’re in the home changing room - a first for everyone, which is nice.

“West Indies a very dangerous side, it’s important that you start really well.

“If we’re tentative and wait for things to happen, that’s when they can dominate you from the start.”

Rohit Sharma hits century in Bermuda Championship Cricket World Cup victory

added to PGA Tour

Rohit Sharma hits a six © Getty Images

Bermuda’s Port Royal Golf Course.

BBC Sport - Rohit Sharma scored an unbeaten 122 to guide India to a straightforward six-wicket win against South Africa in their opening World Cup match.

Chasing 228, opener Rohit guided India home with 15 balls to spare.

A fine bowling display had restricted South Africa to 227-9 with leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal taking 4-51. Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar took two wickets apiece as Chris Morris top-scored with 42 for the Proteas, who have now lost their first three games.

Two-time winners India - the last team to get their campaign under way, with the tournament a week old - put together a complete performance with bat and ball in front of a sold-out Southampton crowd after losing the toss.

While captain and star attraction Virat Kohli may have only made 18, brilliantly caught after a full-length dive from wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock, Rohit showed patience and control in his 144-ball stay at the

crease, including 13 fours and two sixes.

On another difficult day for South Africa, they dropped a seemingly regulation catch offered by Rohit on 107 as David Miller put him down at extra cover off Kagiso Rabada.

After a third straight defeat, the Proteas’ quest to reach the semi-finals now appears to be almost a knockout scenario as they cannot afford any more slip-ups with six games to play, starting against West Indies at the same venue on Monday.

This is the first time they have lost three successive matches at a World Cup. Their weakened bowling attack, ravaged by injuries to pace bowlers Dale Steyn and Lungi Ngidi, was unable to make regular inroads as Rohit registered his 23rd ODI century to move one ahead of Sourav Ganguly on India’s all-time batting records.

Scores: South Africa 227-9 (50 overs): Morris 42, Chahal 4-51, Bumrah 2-35; India 230-4 (47.3 overs): Rohit 122*, Dhoni 34, Rabada 2-39.

Result: India won by six wickets.

HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC – The PGA Tour has added the Bermuda Championship to its 2019-20 schedule, officials announced on Tuesday.

The event will be held at the governmentrun Port Royal Golf Course from October 31 to November 3, the same week as the World Golf Championships-HSBC Championship in China.

The Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA), the official destination marketing organisation for the island, and the PGA Tour announced the tournament during a news conference at Port Royal, ranked one of the world’s best public golf courses.

Port Royal played host to the now-defunct PGA Grand Slam of Golf, featuring the year’s four major winners, from 2009-2014.

The BTA has signed a five-year agreement, through 2023, as the title sponsor of the Bermuda Championship. The tournament, with an anticipated field of 120 professionals, will carry a purse of US$3 million and offer 300 FedExCup

points to the champion. It will be broadcast on the Golf Channel.

“We are excited to add the Bermuda Championship to the PGA Tour beginning next season,” said Ty Votaw, executive vice-president and chief global communications officer for the PGA Tour.“Bermuda is an appealing yearround destination, and the players will love visiting in the fall, plus we will be hosted by an outstanding golf course.“It promises to be a wonderful opportunity to showcase Bermuda – a beautiful island destination that embodies genuine hospitality – to the world.”

BTA chief executive Kevin Dallas added: “The Bermuda Tourism Authority is thrilled to have secured this pinnacle event in golf for Bermuda’s tourism industry and community.

“We’ve had our sights set on a PGA Tour partnership because of the significant economic benefit the event itself will generate for Bermuda’s economy as well as the worldwide exposure to their audience that perfectly aligns with Bermuda’s visitor targets.”

Thursday June 06, 2019

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Windjammer joins sponsorship TTBA sanctions top boxer Michael Alexander team for Drag Racing round two

L

T&T’s Michael Alexander (left) has been sanctioned by the TTBA after lackadaisical approach to training. (Newsday photo)

The Trinidad and Tobago Boxing Association (TTBA) has followed in the footsteps of its Guyana counterpart by sanctioning its most prized amateur fighter. In a letter seen by this newspaper, the TTBA has withheld funding of Caribbean light welterweight champion Michael Alexander.

The letter which was written by TTBA head, Cecil Forde, noted that Alexander, a Pan American games bronze medalist, exhibited a ‘lackadaisical approach to training’ which was evident with his average performances at the qualifying event.

With just six weeks remaining for before the Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) contingent wings out to the Pan American games in Lima,

Peru, Forde noted in the letter that regular attendance should be a priority for the twin island’s republic star fighter.

The TTBA’s decision comes days after the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) had cautioned their representative at the Pan Am games, Keevin Allicock, who had similar lackadaisical attitudes to training.

The GBA had requested for the discontinuation of Allicock’s monthly stipend and had put on hold the Commonwealth junior games Silver medalist’s preparatory trip to Cuba to sharpen his skills ahead of the July 22August 12 games. His stipend was however not with held, the the training trip to Cuba was put on hold.

ocal Hotel and Restaurant Wi n d j a m m e r International Cuisine and comfort Inn has joined the sponsorship team for the upcoming Round of the National Drag Racing Championship.

The second round of the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) organised championship is set for June 23rd at the South Dakota circuit.

During a handing over yesterday, Windjammer’s managing director Carey Griffith told the media, “We are really happy to be back on board again with motorsport.” “ We ’ v e s p o n s o r e d circuit racing and endurance racing before and while this isn’t our first drag racing venture, we believe that this event is going to be huge,” Griffith said.

The business, in the past has housed foreign racers that have ventured here for various events under the GMR&SC including the last international drag race.

“Why are we onboard with this? We just love racing especially motorcycles and like I said before,

Windjammer representative; Shannon Stevenson (left) hands over the sponsorship cheque to Cheryl Gonsalves of the GMR&SC at the club’s Thomas Lands and Albert Street office. we feel that it is time we show a little bit more support to racing.”

He spoke of the buildup to the international Drag racing meet billed for later this year, indicating that the company is already putting together packages for those International competitors out of Suriname.

Giving a brief comment, Executive Committee member Motilall Deodass

welcomed back Windjammer into the fold, saying “They are undoubtedly a huge part of racing locally.” “ We h a v e a l w a y s enjoyed a great partnership with them and this time it’s no different.”

Admission to the June 23rd event stands at $500 for kids and $1000 for adults with action beginning at 10:00hrs.

rt o p S

Guyana face Bermuda today in first of two friendly internationals ahead of Gold Cup P.30

Part of Wednesday’s training session.

Back Circle, Tiger Bay confident in wake of Corona Final

Corona Futsal Final P.32

Back Circle’s Skipper Selwyn Williams (left) and Deon Alfred of Tiger Bay pose for a photo-op ahead of their team’s clash in the Corona final on Saturday night.

The MVP Hero 150cc Motorcyle in the picture as well.

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