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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
Breach of trust
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Sunday june 09, 2019
Kaieteur News
hen faith is shattered, disastrous fate follows. Boeing is finding this out the hard way. As often happens in human affairs, this was avoidable and fixable, except that there was this undue haste stoked by leaders in sensitive positions listening only to themselves. The results now go beyond money and market share. There are all those lives lost; and the reputational hardships that now emerge in the worst ways. This is what Boeing is learning too late, to its chagrin and pain. In an original piece by BGR (an online tech savvy entity), and as carried by the Los Angeles Times on June 5, the airplane manufacturer now stares at corporate Mayday. The title of the article said it all: “Nobody wants to fly on the disastrous Max 737, even if Boeing fixes it.” Turbulence intensified by a 30 billion-dollar order with China at risk. Regulators are taking no chances, going slow, and seeking unprecedented consensus before issuing a final decision to approve the Max 737 returning to the skies. Regulators, too, fell short when the twin tragedies and their related contexts became public. Pilots are angry because they feel misled and their concerns were not addressed, either completely, honestly or timely. These are the people who have to live with these machines daily for years in the future and in all kinds of conditions, once they are cleared for takeoff. Their anxieties are understandable. If pilots are apprehensive of their own safety, that is a welcomed first step towards ensuring the safety of the public. Now, according to the online report, a considerable segment of the public is having none of it. Some details illuminate. First, “a new survey conducted by the Atmosphere Research Group suggests that nearly half of all travellers would actually be willing to avoid a 737 Max flight even if meant having to pay more for an alternate trip.” Almost 50% is high; and the willingness to pay more for other arrangements is damning. Fear. No trust. Second, “A full 20% said that they would be completely avoiding the Max 737 if and when the fleet is finally cleared for travel once more.” No good news there either. Trust (again). Third, there was the slimmest sliver of the positive in the survey “of some 2000 recent travellers” where “a mere 14% said that they would be definitely willing to take a trip in one of the troubled planes.” There should be reasonable doubt, as to whether 14% (or only 280 travellers out of 2000) could be considered in any way as positive news for Boeing. For that means that almost 1700 potentially paying passengers would be keen to look for another craft. In the dogfight of commercial aircraft manufacturing, dominated by Boeing and Airbus, this is the equivalent of flying on one wing (possibly engine, too) for the former. Boeing brought this nightmare scenario on its head by repeated failures: failure to own up to its predicament, with all its human horrors; failure to tell the truth; failure to persuade onlookers—the public, the powers, and the press that it was sharing the whole truth. In some quarters, there is the nagging sense that Boeing is still withholding, still skimming, still denying. When leaders in their spheres, be such the corporate world, or the world of politics and church, then there is hell to pay because there is BREACH OF TRUST, sacred, priceless trust that sometimes can never be recovered. Happening to Boeing. Has happened here in Guyana. Coming clean can only follow if one has been living clean. That is by doing right: no rush, no tricks, no games. There is only one story: truth.
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GPSU made greatest strides under Burnham DEAR EDITOR, Saturday, June 8th, 2019 was the 96th year of struggle by public service employees and members of the Guyana Public Service Union to guarantee fair treatment at their places of employment in an enhanced and workerfriendly environment- to be assured of security of tenure, among other entitlements and to be able to enjoy acceptable standards of living and progress while providing quality public service to the citizens of our nation. As can be recognised, the journey has been long from the colonial days having to get the then governor’s permission to form the Civil Service Association as the organisation was initially named through the period of internal self-government, independence and republican status. An analysis of the evidence available shows absolutely clear that the
union made its greatest strides during the period of the People’s National Congress government led by LFS Burnham.All Internal Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions in effect protecting trade union rights and workers’ rights were ratified. The Guyana Constitution was amended to include the feature to make all Collective Agreements legally binding. The National Insurance Scheme was established, pensions were entrenched as a constitutional right, several Collective Labour Agreements were entered into with the employer, the Government of Guyana i.e. the Avoidance and Settlement of Disputes Agreement, the check off of union dues and Agency Fees Agreement, the Secondment to the GPSU Agreement, Trade Union Leave for attending meetings and Leave for Trade Union education etc; land for
housing – Lamaha Gardens and land for the GPSU Sports Complex and there was a commitment to move forward to address other necessary social issues in the employees interest. With the change of government in 1992, there were expectations that labour rights would be further enhanced since the People’s Progressive Party /Civic (PPP/ C) boasted of having working class credentials. This was not the case. The Trade Union Recognition Act of 1997 which we felt would have enhanced Trade Union Rights was used repeatedly abused in collusion with elements of the Trade Union Recognition and Certification Board and other Unions, namely GAWU, NAACIE and eventually GLU to undermine the GPSU. Polls were held at the Guyana Forestry Commission and MMA/ADA for only part of the workforce to remove
the GPSU as the recognised when they were the union for all the employees. Additionally, polls were conducted twice unsuccessful at Anna Regina Town Council to remove the GPSU as the majority union. The Trade Union Recognition and Certification Act was also amended to negatively impact on trade union rights. The process of appeals to the High Court was frustrated and the situation remained, inconclusive. Complaints to the ILO were resisted by the PPP/C regime and were also inconclusive. Employees of the fire service and prison service were arbitrarily removed from the GPSU’s membership and the court case, which was filed has not been heard to date. Also, the professional staffers of Queen’s College, The Bishops’ High School and the multilateral schools across the country were all (Continued on page 6)
Sunday june 09, 2019
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Kaieteur M@ilbox
Kaieteur M@ilbox
THE MEAT OF THE MATTER
Guyana is crying for new governance model
DEAR EDITOR, The secret is out. The news is surprising. A shame – really after so much discipline, sacrifice, and effort by many. I am pained. US News and World Report was the messenger on June 4, 2109 with “White Meat Increases Cholesterol Levels Similar to Red Meat.” For years it was red meat and eggs; now chicken makes crossing the meat street dangerous. As stated in the article, “the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition debunked previous assumptions that only red meat has an impact on cholesterol.” To quote Dr. Ronald Krauss, the study’s author and director of atherosclerosis research at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute, “when we planned this study, we expected red meat to have a more adverse effect on cholesterol levels than white meat but we were surprised that this was not the case -their effects on cholesterol are identical when saturated fats are equivalent.”The report continued, “Researchers concluded that restricting white meat in addition to red meat is recommended for lowering cholesterol.” More studies are needed, and a possible change to dietary guidelines be introduced. For ages, red meat lovers cut back to starvation levels. The clever, like me, literally cut corners: trim edges -marble (fat). Cheating and failing grade. Hence, the force-feeding of quantity and frequency cuts; lots of cutting: beef, pork, mutton; and byproducts: bacon and sausage, down the drain. Shame. Then eggs joined the bad guys. Whites were in; yolks were the folks locked out. So, it was down to bread and water. Butter also came in for its share of licks. At least, for the purists and the people who take these things to heart. Now that is the core of the matter: this latest report soberly points to impacts on the heart. More
expansively, as in heart health, cardiovascular disease, clogged arteries, hardened arteries, and that alphabet swamp of abbreviations, such as the dreaded AMI (not French nor friendly but heart attack or event), HCM (not arithmetic), and MVP (nothing sporty about that one), among a bundle of other hair-raising distresses. There were the recommended safe harbours of fish and fowl. Now the latter is gone. Though not a chicken lover, I detect a medical conspiracy against meat, with this development about white meat. The day had to come. There is only fish left. I guess it is back to the growing monopoly of Neptune, through such gastronomic delights as banga, and the aptly named kurass and hardhead; serves smartasses like me right. Salmon and omega-3 is for the big dogs. Editor, in this near tearful takeoff on the dietary seesaws that come and go, a few serious points are embedded and must be reemphasised. First, eggs were bad; then, it was, well, could we have a quite conversation on the side, since they are not so bad. Really? Next, red meat is demonised, and white meat canonized; today, there are no saintly meaty presences in supermarket or domestic icebox. None! Third, there is nothing new under the dietary sun (shades of Solomon through Ecclesiastes and Santayana). Because if all this bull (sorry, balm) is complied with, then it is back to Genesis and Abel and fruits of the field, and look where that got him. Put differently, in Guyana, that means reduction to grass eaters and rice eaters. Gone to the dogs.The one subdued note I offer is moderation. Forget about 16-oz steaks, a leg of lamb, or a roasted pig (yes, a whole one). Eat with a scale, not a shovel. Last, think organic. No fun in the least; but readies hearts for CCJ. GHK Lall
DEAR EDITOR, British High Commissioner Mr. Gregory Quinn should be given credit for drawing attention to our unrealized potential as a country. And even though the genesis of our underdevelopment ran deep into our colonial past, our current divisive and adversarial politics cannot escape responsibility for our current woes. As a child growing up, I have been indoctrinated into a belief that we are potentially a rich country. I still harbour that belief and optimism. However, after over 150 years of British colonial rule and 53 years of post-colonial rule we are not any closer in terms of realizing that potential. Our riches still remain elusive and underdeveloped. Despite some limited progress, we are still ranked among the poorest country in the western hemisphere. There is no point in trying to cast blame as to who or which political party is responsible for the current state of our underdevelopment. I doubt we will
ever agree. There is that tendency to view reality through the prism of our own political and ethnic lens. I do believe, however, that there is some merit in following the example of South Africa when the abominable system of apartheid came to an end and democratic rule was finally granted a few decades ago. One of the first action taken by the victorious African National Congress (ANC) under the leadership of the iconic Nelson Mandela was the setting up of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission with a view to healing the nation from the wounds of a dreaded past. Guyana is crying out for a new governance model based genuine inclusivity and participatory democracy. The current system of ‘winner takes it all’ has become dysfunctional from the standpoint of realising our full potential. As the British
High Commissioner correctly observed, the country cannot advance in an environment of adversarial politics. Both the Government and the political opposition have to find ways of agreeing on fundamental issues that will positively impact on our development. The solution to our political and economic crisis lies in our own hands. We have to take collective responsibility to change the course of our politics in order to achieve the good life that we all look forward to and deserve. The emergence of oil and gas offers a glimmer of hope that the El Dorado that we are famous for will sooner rather than later become a reality. I sincerely believe that if only we can rise above the narrow confines of race and prejudice, we can change the tide of poverty that has characterized our existence over the decades. Hydar Ally
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Kaieteur M@ilbox
Kaieteur M@ilbox
NAME THE MINISTERS WHO GRANGER SHOULD SACK DEAR EDITOR, So Rickford Burke, the organiser for all things PNC in New York and the founder and President of the Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy, has gone rogue and is calling for President David Granger to fire some of his ministers. Burke, who is also a political strategist and public relations guru, said last week that he is “sincere” in his writing that the Coalition will lose the next general and regional elections, if the President does not immediately shed some of negative baggage that is weighing down the Coalition and the PNC Party. Burke who proclaims that he is a staunch Burnhamite, a loyal PNC and a supporter of “President David Granger, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and the coalition government’s vision”, said that he believes “the President does not have the right team around him to execute and realise the vision.” Writing on his Facebook page, Burke said, “Some on the team have failed the people who elected them.” And that the Coalition frankly cannot “afford to go to the next general elections with the same team, or the coalition may lose.” Now the reason that I find this frank talking and knee jerking from Burke so refreshing is because I have been saying the same things for over a year now. Many times, the very Burke and many other diehard “PNCites” took me to task. I was call a PPP stooge, a fake pastor, a comedian, a hater and other names, all intended to deride me because I sought to hold the Coalition accountable to the people, like me, who voted for them. I was told that I needed
to give the Coalition time before I can hold them to a different standard than the PPP. They castigated and vilified me for pointing out semblances of corruption and PPP-style authoritative, heavy-handed, and disconnected kind of governance. In two or three years (we are now in the 4th year), the Coalition Government had begun to behave in ways that resembled the behaviour of the PPP - behaviour that caused the PPP to lose in 2015. Let me get back to Burke’s sentiments. What I noticed in all that Burke has said, is that he is teasing out that President Granger needs to fire “some on the team” but Burke is not saying who. And he might never say who. Not if he wants to enjoy any facade of political respite going forward. And the reason that Burke will never say who Granger should fire, is because he can only be meaning some very ‘big-up’ ministers. Ministers who helped the President become the President. Burke fully well knows that President Granger was “made” the Leader of the PNC and then the President of Guyana. It is no secret that David Granger was not a politician; he was a military man all his life. However, in 2013, the PNC needed a “clean” image; a spotless leader and no one in the upper echelons of the PNC at the time was adequately qualified. Well, except, Dr. Faith Harding. But she was sidelined for her frankness and disdain for many of the behaviors of some of the folks who were vying for the leadership positions of the party. (Behaviors which Burke is only now addressing). I know of this problem in
the PNC party because in her last days, Dr. Harding and I spent many hours together, traversing Guyana, either providing interventions in the area of counselling, or seeking to monetize lands for mothers and single women. Dr. Harding would spend many hours talking with me. I believed that Dr. Harding died a very politically hurt person. (Someday I must write about that). I am saying all of that to say that Rickford Burke knows that if he calls names, he will end up like Dr. Harding; estranged from the party he grew up in and loves. So he will poke the president, trying to browbeat him into firing “some”
ministers, but Burke will never say who the negative forces are and who should be severed from “the team”. But Burke, I believe, is being disingenuous by leaving the president to make that decision all by himself. Burke is quite aware that the Army Brigadier, David Granger, was “made” the PNC Leader and the President, by some of the very people Burke now wants the President to sack. Some believe that the relationship between the President and the folks Burke thinks should be let go of – is a parasitical one. The host is the President and by extension the party, and the parasites are those
who are killing the President and the Party (that is what is angering Burke). And in a parasitic relationship, both the host and the parasite eventually die but the parasites are benefiting for the host and as such will not let go and the host can do nothing to get the rid of the parasites. What I am happy about if there is anything to be happy about - is that I have long been voicing the concerns of the likes of the Burkes and I am happy that they, too, have finally arrived here. However, if, maybe if, the likes of Burke had listened and followed my lead, we (yes, we, I voted for the Coalition), would not have
come to the evening of an election cycle, now seeking to regroup. I doubt the President will acquiesce to the prodding of Burke. It might be too late in the game. Finally, Rickford Burke can refute all that I have said here by simply naming those whose political-heads he thinks President David Granger needs to cut off. On his FB page, Burke closed by saying, “there must be drastic changes.” Maybe he should begin those “drastic changes” by using his objective and professional wherewithal, and name names. But I doubt it! Pastor W. P. Jeffrey
GPSU made greatest strides under Burnham From page 4 arbitrarily withdrawn from the membership of the GPSU. As predicted by Prof. Harold Lutchman in the book ‘Interest Representation in the Public Service’, documenting the first 50 years of the history of the GPSU, that should the PPP/C return to government the rights and privileges that the GPSU enjoyed under the PNC government would have changed and altered significantly. With the death of Dr. Cheddi Jagan, the existing working class sentiments of the PPP/C, if there was ever any, evaporated. The assault on the GPSU magnified and became more ruthless. Industrial unrest prevailed, premised on their disregard for ILO conventions, breaches of collective labour agreements, abuse of workers’ rights, flouting of High Court Orders, etc. Part of the land of the GPSU Sports Complex ground at Thomas Land was seized, to lease to a friend of Bharrat Jagdeo. He was eventually jailed in the USA for criminal activities. Many members were harassed and shot by police as they exercised their right to protest peacefully and some were put before the courts for no justifiable reason. National and General Elections in 2015 resulted in a change of government. The APNU/AFC Coalition was
elected. For most, it was like a breath of fresh air after a very long period of depression, suppression and executive lawlessness. There were expectations that we would be able to reclaim the Sports Complex land and an agreement has been entered into to restore the facilities to its former glory for members to use. The union has received funding to participate in activities that are of value to members for their awareness, enlightenment and to keep them up to date and in contact with their brothers and sisters nationally, regionally and internationally. This assistance has been appreciated. However, major concerns remain in abeyance and/or inadequately addressed: -The inadequacy of remuneration to public sector workers -The ridiculous allowance being paid to officers has not been reviewed in excess of 20 years -The outstanding debunching exercise and the reintroduction of the payment of in-scale increments. -The alleviation of contract employment in established public service positions -Health insurance for public service workers -Increase in the age of retirement -Sweepers/Cleaners being classified as permanent, full
time employees -Payment of full gratuity for employees on maternity leave -Restoring the Fire Service and Prison Service under the Public Service Commission. -Tabling of Agency Shop Legislation -Fully restoring GPSU nominees on public sector Boards of Directors -Child/day care centres for Public Sector Workers children and several other matters. There is a tendency to impose rather than negotiate conditions of service, the continued practice of denying workers merited benefits, obstruction to workers trade union right and due process.For us it is most disturbing that after all the sacrifices, effort and suffering we have endured in the interest of good governance and for our members to be entitled to fair treatment, this has not materialized. It is also appalling that promises that were repeated to us are not being fulfilled. We have been very patient and restrained but it is now obvious to us what we are up against. Looking ahead, we must move on with confidence and peace, faith in our abilities to demand fair treatment, respect and value for our contributions. Invaluable resources of our country have been uncovered and the benefits are very near materialising. There have
been lots of speculations as to how these influx of wealth would be utilized. From our experience we should take nothing for granted, however, at the same time, we must be open minded and objective and act in the interest of all law-abiding citizens and the future generations. With respect to our union, we must strive for unity in our work places and communities. We must place emphasis on being self-reliant and selfsufficient. We must entrench and enhance the independence of our organization the GPSU. Be involved and keep relevant and responsive; we must have faith. We must be fully prepared to take whatever action is necessary in our interest. We have had to do so before - we are capable of doing so again, regardless. With these thoughts, I extend sincere congratulations to you, our members on this anniversary. You have fought the good fight. You have selflessly protected and defended your Union. Your actions have resulted, repeatedly, in benefits for workers throughout Guyana, and for this you must feel proud. You are the premier workforce. I urge you to continue to maintain this culture in the interest of Guyana and as an exceptionally good example for workers worldwide. Patrick Yarde President of GPSU
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Kaieteur News
Kaieteur M@ilbox
Kaieteur M@ilbox
Don’t stop blowing the whistle
Some questionable officials at GuySuCo
DEAR EDITOR, I was shocked to read that David Hinds of the WPA “recommended that there be a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the public service with the aim of flushing out the PPP moles. This is not the language of a civilised, peaceful person or political party. David Hinds took issue with the fact that members of the Public Service have apparently been providing information on inexplicable financial transactions that contravene the laws of Guyana. Exposing theft and corruption in our nation is a stated goal of all political entities. The Protected Disclosures Act 2017 was passed by unanimous vote in the legislature: AN ACT to combat corruption and other wrongdoings by encouraging and facilitating disclosures of improper conduct in the public and private sectors, to protect persons making those disclosures from detrimental action, to establish the Protected Disclosures Commission to receive, investigate or otherwise deal with disclosures of improper conduct and to provide for other related matters. Further, ‘Whistleblowers’ have been encouraged to
come forward by Attorney General Basil Williams on numerous occasions. Therefore, this change in language to characterisation of such persons as ‘moles’ and a demand to flush them out is a departure from norm and runs contrary to the progress that has been made on one of the rare occasions all of the members of the National Assembly agreed on something. ‘Moles’ are a term used to refer to espionage agents engaged in deep cover spying and undermining of nations. Reporting that Minister David Patterson received a wire transfer to his personal account is not treason. Reporting that children of Minister Simona Broomes have received payments totalling more than $20 million dollars is not treason. These are acts of brave patriots and have been encouraged by the passage of protective legislation. While none has been brave enough to seek protection of the Disclosures Act of 2017, they are certainly acting within its spirit. These persons should be championed not hunted and flushed from the system. David Hinds seems to believe it is more a crime to expose corruption and illegal acts by Ministers than the illegal acts reported.
Editor, David Hinds knows that his deliberate use of the term, ‘moles’ is racist, divisive and unworthy of a member of Rodney’s party. His call for a Commission of Inquiry takes it further from labelling to an active hunt; one can only imagine with horror how such a hunt would evolve. Where would it start? Do we treat everyone in the Public Service with equal suspicion or do we take the Hinds’ position that the PPP is an Indo-party and target Indo-Guyanese? Do we tap into private communications of public servants on the basis of race, colour, creed, party card? What then? Arbitrary dismissals? Public trials? Or concentration camps? What if it is, as I suspect, the ‘moles’ are political operatives seeking to diminish rivals? What would Hinds have us do then? Build ovens? I urge all Guyanese to keep blowing the ‘whistle’ without regard for anything other than the future wellbeing of our nation. I applaud your efforts to date. Robin Singh
DEAR EDITOR, Guyana Government officials continue to encourage our diaspora to return to help to serve the country. In the first place, many in the diaspora are either unable or unwilling to respond to the invitation. However, when the few who decide to return do get here, the whole atmosphere becomes quite unwelcoming. Many times, when a competent and qualified remigrant begins to settle in and to deal with some of the very impediment to development, they would meet a barrage of criticisms and ridicule. Very often, this antagonism comes from persons far less qualified or competent than the remigrant Like the writer of letter to the editor on Wednesday, I have a similar observation of the Linden Project, done by NICIL. For years, the Watooka House was kept in a shabby and run down condition. No government agency seemed to be able to find the will or resource to fix it. Within a matter of months of taking over the office, the
CEO of NICIL, Mr. Colvin Heath-London has renovated the Watooka House, and the old Train Station with such class and finish that even his worse critics would be hard pressed to find fault. The same can-do spirit was what Mr. Heath-London displayed while NICIL had responsibility for GUYSUCO. It is understood that Mr. Heath-London was determine to help to stream-line the sugar industry and put in place systems that would improve the overall efficiency of the corporation. Independent analysis has shown that GUYSUCO’s structure is unacceptable. The top is too heavy and while the industry has become a drain on the nation’s coffers the senior personnel do take home some large pay checks. After relentless efforts and much misinformation, the senior officials got rid of London, but the problems
have only grown worse. It is understood that this is what London attempted to fix, but those with selfinterests, the main beneficiaries, wrote, criticised, complained and lobbied to get rid of him. He is no longer there but the sugar industry is just limping along while its life’s blood is being sucked away by people whose interest in helping this administration to succeed, is highly questionable. A few days ago the Prime Minister and other government officials were again in New York. Again they were encouraging Guyanese to come home. I hope they understand that we need to create a more professional and welcoming atmosphere, that when the people do get here, they are allowed to bring to bear the professional skills for the development of the homeland. George Archer Brooklyn New York
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Councillors allege nepotism as REO approves payment for relative …call for Auditor General’s intervention Councillors of Region Six (East Berbice) have called for a probe by the state auditors into what they say is a clearcut case of nepotism in Berbice. According to councillors, the Regional Executive Officer (REO), Kim WilliamsStephens, as part of her job, has been approving payments for the Director of Health Services in Berbice, Jevaughn Stephens, who just happens to be her husband’s nephew. “There is information coming out that in addition to what seems to be an incestuous relationship and the very visible acquisition of wealth by a number of persons, there are wrongdoings at the regional level when it
comes to payments and awards of contracts,” one RDC councillor familiar with the situation said. The REO sits as the Financial Officer of the Region and the Chairman of the Regional Tender Board. That by itself is not remarkable. However, under the health services budget of the Region, tens of millions of dollars have been set aside for the purchase of drugs and supplies for state-run hospitals and health centres in East Berbice. Under the system, all programme heads within the Region, inclusive of the Health Director, has to report to the REO. The REO has a limit of $250,000, which she can ap-
prove without it having to be referred to the Tender Board. “She controls and authorises everything. The conflict of interest immediately exists there because that is her husband’s nephew.” According to a number of councillors, the issue has been raised on several levels but there are fears. “Nobody wants to take on the REO. However, we have blatant cases of sole sourcing; cases where for one quote, somebody is being given a contract. It is sickening what is happening. Everybody is seeing and very few have the courage to talk about it.”It was alleged that at the health level, suppliers are approached directly and there are collusions.
“You want to hear laugh? Ask the auditors to check what we get at the hospital and what is on stock and you will see some funny things.” With regards to infrastructural contracts, contractors are complaining bitterly about the abuse of variations on projects. “So here is how one way it works. You are doing a road and need sand. You put in for more sand that you need and then deliver and use less. The profits are split. Everybody taking a piece…the contractor, the engineer, everybody!” Kaieteur News was told that several councillors want to come out and talk. “We have contractors who are willing to talk, too. Suppliers of goods will tell
Berbice Health Director, Jevaughn Stephens and his relative, REO, Kim Williams-Stephens you they were not even aware that there are contracts,” a contractor from Corentyne said. “We also know of information coming out from the departments about tenders which contractors are told. They know exactly what to bid. This Region is losing tens of millions of dollars a month because of cock-work and non-delivery or inflated prices. In all of these, the proper procurement system is not being followed in many cases.”The source added that in many instances whereby
supplies are purchased for the Region’s health sector, only a fraction is distributed to hospitals across Berbice and the majority is siphoned off. “People will tell you which pharmacy is getting what.” It was claimed that the key persons are handpicked for positions, including to overlook stores and deliveries.”There is a connection; it’s a network. Everybody colludes with one another. You check it, every person working with …has a connection.”
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Greece: Athens’ first mosque to open this year
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reece’s largest city is the only Euro pean capital without an official mosque. Despite years of opposition from the conservatives and the Orthodox Church, that’s set to change later this year. Athens’ first official mosque is set to open in the coming months after a decade’s long fight for its construction by the country’s minority Muslim population. “We hope the first prayer will be in September,” said Minister of Education and Religion Kostas Gavroglou on Friday. The minister toured the nearly completed site, which is designed to accommodate some 350 people, on the outskirts of the city center with members of the local Muslim community. “Athens finally has a house of prayer for Muslims,” he said, according to radio broadcaster Athens 984. Parliament approved final plans to build the mosque in 2016 in partial response to the spread of illegal sites of worship throughout Athens and
the surrounding area. Athens is the only European capital without an official mosque. Fierce opposition from Greek conservatives and the Orthodox Church has frustrated efforts to build one, despite support for the project dating back to the 1890s. ‘A great gift from the Greek state’ A government-appointed executive board will oversee the mosque and select its imam. Sermons will only be permitted in Greek, the Ministry said, but the prayers are expected to take place in Arabic. “I would like to start by thanking Allah that we finally have a mosque where we can pray, we can gather, we can talk,” said Zaki Mohamed, who will be the mosque’s first imam. Ashir Haidar, a representative of Greece’s Shia Muslim community, said the mosque was “a great gift from the Greek state to the Muslim community of Athens.” Greece repurposed or de-
The mosque is designed to accommodate some 150 people.
stroyed its mosques after it declared independence from the Muslim-majority Ottoman Empire in 1821. Some were later constructed near the country’s border with Turkey, where up to 150,000 Muslims live.
Dem boys seh ... Extra evil gon follow dem politicians and dem pickney Old people got a saying how rain don’t fall at one man door. Dat mean dat bad things don’t happen to one man alone. Dem same old people does talk bout retribution. Dem does quick to tell dem own-way pickney dat wha dem sow dem gon reap. Old people know wha dem saying because dem been around lang lang lang and dem see nuff things. Some people does start to suffer and dem does ask, ‘Why me?’ Dat is because of de evil dem do. De evil dat men do live wid dem but dem boys believe de extra evil men do does live after dem, dem wife and dem pickney. Dat is wha gon happen to some of de politicians who do extra evil wid de oil blocks dat belong to de people of Guyana. Dis is one example of de extra evil dem politicians do to de Guyanese people. Mom and Dad die in an accident and leave 10 children. De biggest brother left to tek over; he get put in charge of all of de properties wha dem old people dead and lef. Suddenly de younger brothers and sisters hear how dem big brother secretly transfer two of de most valuable properties into de names of de big brother wife’s sister and brother. These two didn’t have two cent to
feed demself and dem pickney. Dat is when de odda children realise dat two hand-to-mouth people gone wid dem wealth. When dem check li’l more, dem realize dat dem big brother wife sister and brother sell a part of de properties fuh a bright small piece in Uncle Sam dollars. Dem boys asking wha you think de big brother do to he siblings? And dem wouldn’t even ask in who pocket de money from de sale gone. Dem boys seh if you think de big brother love he wife sissy and buddy so much, you better think again. He collecting de lion’s share of de money dem collect. Dem boys seh dat is exactly wha happened with Guyana oil blocks. Is who get de Canje and de Kaieteur oil blocks? De people didn’t got a cent, just like dem odda people who get de property. And already de people who get dem two blocks already sell out piece fuh at least US$100M. These people got nothing else but dem blocks as assets; nutten more – dem nah got house, car, piece a land - not even a beer money. Talk half and watch what will happen to dem who give away dem oil blocks and dem family.
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Sunday June 09, 2019
Kaieteur News
Early morning fire leaves 4 Russia is Dumping U.S. homeless in South Ruimveldt Dollars to Hoard Gold
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n early morn ing fire of un known origin caused the destruction of a South Ruimveldt home and the displacement of the four persons who occupied the premises. The building, Lot 169 Guidance Place, was once home to Estelle Prince, 89, Alvin Clarke 43, Calricia Clarke, 32 and Dein Kennedy, 29. Around 3:30 AM on Saturday morning, the upper flat of the house went up in flames. The fire service was called but by the time it arrived on the scene and got the equipment set up, it was too late for the building since it had already been engulfed in flames. The Guyana Fire Service has since initiated an investigation to ascertain what would’ve have caused the fire.
Remnants of the house after the fire’
BLOOMBERG – Vladimir Putin’s quest to break Russia’s reliance on the U.S. dollar has set off a literal gold rush. Within the span of a decade, the country quadrupled its bullion reserves, and 2018 marked the most ambitious year yet. And the pace is keeping up so far this year. Data from the Central Bank show that holdings rose by 1 million ounces in February, the most since November. The data shows that Russia is making rapid progress in its effort to diversify away from American assets. Analysts, who have coined the term de-dollarization, speculate about the global economic impacts if more countries adopt a similar philosophy and what it could mean for the dollar’s desirability compared with other assets, such as gold or the Chinese yuan. French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with CNN in November that European corporations and entities are too dependent on the U.S. currency, calling it “an issue of sovereignty.” Last year, Poland and Hungary surprised analysts by making the first substantial gold purchases by a European Union nation in more than a decade. For Russia, experts are starting to question whether
it can afford to keep up its intense pace of buying. Some say the country will import more gold to guard against geopolitical shocks and the threat of tougher U.S. sanctions as relations between the two powers continue to deteriorate. Gold buying last year exceeded mine supply for the first time. Still, others argue that Russia’s bullion demand is set to slow. “Should it reach the limit for domestic purchases, I think the central bank will start to import gold,” said Oleg Kouzmin, chief economist at Renaissance Capital in Moscow and former advisor in the central bank’s Monetary Policy Department. Given the geopolitical risks, it’s likely the central bank will keep increasing gold’s share of reserves, he said. KEYS STATS ABOUT RUSSIA’S GOLD BUYING The Central Bank bought 274 tons of bullion last year, according to the World Gold Council. That’s worth more than $11 billion at average prices. Russia accounts for 40% of central bank gold buying and 6% of global demand. Gold accounts for about 19% of Russia’s foreign-exchange reserves, the highest level since 2000. Dollars represent 22% of
the reserves, down from 46% in mid-2017. A representative for Russia’s Central Bank declined to comment on its gold purchases. One thing that could keep Russia’s dollar reserves at high level is the country’s dependence on exporting commodities, like oil, which are denominated in the greenback. Three-quarters of the nation’s annual $600 billion of trade is in dollars. Central bank buying has helped “strengthen gold from a weak hand to a strong hand” and supported gold prices in recent years, according to Ronald-Peter Stoeferle, managing partner at Liechtenstein-based asset manager Incrementum AG. Bullion has risen more than 20 percent since the start of 2016. It traded up 0.5 percent at $1,297.15 per ounce at 12:40 p.m. in London. “If it wasn’t for Russia’s central bank, last year would have been the worst year for gold buying in a decade, so it helped put a floor on the price,” said Adrian Ash, head of research at gold brokerage BullionVault Ltd. “However, Russian buying is now well known so it would take a significant increase in their purchases to materially impact the gold price.”
Gov’t aims to establish Public Private Partnership Unit – GSDS Vision 2040
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ublic Private Part nerships (PPP) will be instrumental in the execution of major infrastructural projects in the future. But before that happens, it is expected that a PPP unit will be established within the Ministry of Finance, as a platform for public-private dialogue, as well as for legal and logistical support. Government, through the Ministry of Finance, last year solicited and secured the assistance of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to formulate a PPP Policy and legislative framework for Guyana. According to a PPP handbook from the Ministry of Finance, a public-private partnership is a long-term procurement contract between public and private entities, in which the proficiency of each party is focused on the designing, financing, building and operationalising of an infrastructure project or providing a service through the appropriate sharing of resources, risks and rewards. Government could estab-
lish PPPs for individual projects, but the handbook states that “PPPs require strong legal policy, appraisal, approval and monitoring arrangements to guide policy decisions and to enforce the agreements.” The Green State Development Strategy: Vision 2040 notes in its fiscal policy that a clear legal precedent for PPPs removes the need for project by project frameworks and reduces legal costs. It recommends that government implement the legislative framework with institutional designs and guidelines for the establishment of the PPP unit. The framework is part of Government’s intention to have PPPs be the drivers of key national development initiatives. Last year, Finance Minister Winston Jordan listed some major infrastructural projects that are expected to be piloted by PPPs are the Demerara River Crossing, the Linden-Lethem road link, a deepwater harbour and container port, mini and maxi hydro plants and energy farms, plantation agriculture, modernisation and dredging
of port Georgetown, a milk plant for Guyana, an information technology farm, and agro-industrial and small manufacturing arks. There are certain key considerations Government has noted for the development of the PPP framework— affordability; legislative environment (a stable government; an independent judiciary; a robu s t P r o c u r e ment Act and mechanism); institutional arrangements (where the Ministries of Finance, Public Infrastructure and Business will have clearly defined roles within the framework), and capacity building, since such a venture is barely charted ground for government and its stakeholders. The framework and the unit are necessary to correct misgivings that occurred with previous PPPs which concerned the establishment of the Marriott Hotel and the Berbice Bridge. The PPP unit will guide national efforts in establishing PPPs as a vehicle for financing and implementing key national development initiatives.
Sunday June 09, 2019
Kaieteur News
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Sunday June 09, 2019
Kaieteur News
Regional Chairman pushes for Co-op for Region 10 farming communities
Region 10 Agricultural Officer, Derrick Collins, makes a point during his presentation Sharing his conviction that farming is the backbone of Guyana and that there is an urgent need for the establishment of more cooperatives, Region Ten Chairman, Renis Morian, has urged a number of farming groups and communities to form Co-ops. This was his message, recently, when he held a meeting with farmers of Moblissa and Millie’s Hide Out. The meeting, which was held in Moblissa, was attended by a number of persons including the Regional Democratic Council Agriculture Representative, Mr. Derrick Collins; Regional Labour Officer; Elise Benjamin-Hall; Region Ten Co-op Officer, Keoma Gray; and Assistant Regional Executive Officer (AREO), Leona Narine. Regional Chairman Moran, in stressing, the importance of Co-operatives, said that farming is certainly going to provide a significant
economic boost to the region. He said that having Co-op societies being establish in both Millie’s Hide Out and Moblissa will add to the massive economic growth envisioned for Region 10. Pointing to the establishment of the Madena Co-op Society, Morian said, “They got together in 2015. At first, many persons were daunted by what they dubbed a ‘jungle’...In 2016, they started working on it but then in 2017 many persons began doing things on their own.” By 2018, Morian said that he made a decision for the group to return to its original formation. This, he said, saw deliberate efforts being made to establish a Co-operative, noting that the interest was significant and aggressive. “It was a lengthy process but I stuck with them, I stayed with them and I assisted them until the process was completed,” he shared.
Region 10 Co-op Officer, Keoma Gray addressing the audience Morian told the residents that with Co-ops, they will be able to secure increased support and assistance so as to advance their farming activities collectively. He added that as a group, more can be achieved than individually. “If one person were to go and seek assistance, I can tell you that he or she wouldn’t get the kind of attention and or support needed but as a Co-op more can be achieved,” he said. AREO Narine said that agriculture is a passion not only for the Regional Chairman but also the Regional Executive Officer, who she said continues to demonstrate this in several of their meetings and interactions with residents. “Our REO is very passionate about agriculture and while he couldn’t make it today, he is very excited at the initiative of establishing Coops and we would like to reiterate the support and
endorsement of the RDC Region Ten through the Regional Chairman and our Agriculture Officer Mr. Collins,” she said. However, AREO Narine made it clear that the most important step is the willingness of residents and farmers to have guidance through the establishment of the Co-op. He stressed that it can only redound to significant development for the communities. In addressing the residents and farmers, the Region 10 Co-op Officer (Keoma Gray) held a discussion on how a Co-op has to be established with rules and regulations. She urged all in attendance to recognise that they must be prepared to work together, while making collective sacrifices so as to advance and strengthen their Co-op. She said, too, that of importance is the understanding that Co-ops are democratically run and not just by a few persons who want to take ownership but rather by all involved. “There are many untold opportunities available through the establishment of a Co-op and one of those is
Region 10 Regional Chairman, Renis Morian better marketing opportunities for products which will rebound into economic benefits for all involved. “It’s important to understand that as a Co-op, you can garner more if you were to move forward as an individual,” she stressed. Meanwhile, the Regional Agricultural Officer reminded residents that with oil expected in 2020, the demand for food would increase significantly. He told residents that while many persons are seeking other avenues, their focus should be on increasing the food production so that the expected increase of persons can be adequately catered to. “Let me say this that when ExxonMobil decides that they need to buy their food in bulk, they would seek to do this through the Co-ops as they would rather buy their food in bulk rather than buying from retailers. “So I urge you to return to the land as farming is certainly going to boost out lives, your lives and the lives of everyone out there,” Collins said. Meanwhile, even as Gray
enlightened the residents about ways that they can go about establishing Co-ops, she reminded them that her office stands ready to lend technical and other support to the Co-op societies. In fact, she foresees an overall massive change for the people of Region 10 once these get on stream. “In establishing the Coops, there are five stages that you go through. It is important to know that among the process involves due diligence. The entire process takes about six to eight weeks as there are a number of requirements and process each that Co-op must go through before they can be fully registered,” she said. The Co-op Officer reminded that one of the primary rules for the establishment of a Co-op is that it requires seven persons who will act as volunteers of whom one must be named the Chairperson or President. The Co-op Officer assured residents of her readiness and willingness to lend whatever support is needed even as she advised the more the support, the greater the benefits of Co-op Societies.
Sunday June 09, 2019
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Kaieteur News
Construction to start soon on 16mw Hope Wind Farm
Chairman of the project, Lloyd Singh After almost two decades in the making, the first ever wind farm for the coastlands appears to be nearer to becoming a reality. Construction is expected to start soon at the Hope Beach location, East Coast Demerara. According to Chairman of the project, Lloyd Singh, the US$20M-plus project should take nine months. It is expected to produce up to 16 megawatts of wind power which will be connected at Coldingen to the network of the Guyana Power and Light Inc.
Singh, who owns the International Pharmaceutical Agency, has been pushing the project for a number of years now but had been mandated to conduct a number of critical studies, including environmental ones. He said that GPL is being engaged to bring closure to a power purchase agreement, which is key to the project. The project has been dragging on with little word from the parties in recent years. Yesterday, a government statement which signalled the
project is nearer to a reality, said that the GPL’s power grid is set to be boosted by 2020, with the construction of a wind farm at the village of Hope, East Coast Demerara (ECD). At a stakeholder meeting hosted on Friday by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), participants were briefed on the impact of the ground-breaking project. Leading the discussions was Project General Manager for Hope Energy Development (HED), Dr. John Sydow, who stated, “We are looking at four wind turbines at Hope Beach. That will supply about seven per cent of all of GPL’s megawatt hours they are distributing. With 40 machines, you would satisfy about 60 percent of all of GPL’s needs without requiring any energy storage.” After detailed presentations on the impacts of the project on the community, the Project General Manager informed stakeholders that the proposed wind farm project is in compliance with local and international noise level regulations. “The residents, sleeping at nights, will not notice the wind farm noise, because it is already less than the noise that is already there,” Dr. Sydow explained. “The noise that is there; we measured it. It’s crickets, frogs, winds in the palm trees that they have around their houses and the general noise that you always have in a community. It’s not that noisy,” he added. The impact tests were conducted at the Hope Secondary School, located some 420 metres from the proposed project site.
Guyana is expected to have its wind farm at Hope Beach operational by next year, the developers have assured.
- GPL to ink power purchase agreement soon One of the concerns raised by participants during the open discussion session, according to a government statement, was whether the
Hope Wind Farm would result in mangrove degradation along the shoreline. In response, Dr. Sydow firmly noted, “We are only
going to look at the areas covered by grass. We don’t want to chop down any mangroves, and we shouldn’t (Continued on page 18)
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Sunday June 09, 2019
Kaieteur News
Tributes flow as womens activist, Andaiye, A.A. laid to rest
Laid to rest: Andaiye
The gathering at the funeral service at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, for the late Andaiye, A.A Andaiye, A.A., womens activist and former executive member of the Working Peoples Alliance (WPA) was laid to rest, yesterday. The funeral service was held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. Many were in attendance paying their respects, among them several Government ministers. They included Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, Minister of Public Service, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, Minis-
ter of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes and Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, Keith Scott. Tributes were made by several members of the WPA, women activists and members of the opposition. Andaiye was cremated at the Good Hope Cremation Site. Andaiye, died on Friday, May 31, 2019 at the age of 77, after a prolonged battle with cancer.
In 1997, she was awarded the Golden Arrow of Achievement. She was a founding member of Red Thread Guyana in 1986. She was also an executive member of the Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA). She worked with the Women and Development Unit of the University of the West Indies (WAND) from 1987 to 1992, and from 1987 to 1996 with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
Sunday June 09, 2019
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Kaieteur News
Outgoing UG Vice Chancellor no longer interested in having contract renewed Professor Ivelaw Griffith, Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana [UG], is no longer interested in having his contract renewed. This therefore means that the university will have to soon start advertising for a replacement. In an statement issued Friday, the university informed that its Council had met to make a determination on the matter of the renewal or non-renewal of Griffith’s contract. At the centre of the issue was the evaluation of Professor Griffith’s term in office as one basis for the determination of the matter. However, during the course of the meeting, correspondence was received from the Vice Chancellor withdrawing his previous request for a renewal of his contract. It was revealed that the University Council, “accepted his [Griffith’s] withdrawal and hereby notifies the public that as of June 14, 2019, Professor Griffith, who is at present on terminal leave, shall cease to be Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana.” The public is further advised that a Transitional
Management Team has been duly approved by the University Council. The Team will be chaired by Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Engagement, Professor Michael Scott; with Deputy Vice Chancellor for Philanthropy, Alumni and Civic Engagement, Professor Paloma Mohamed serving as the Deputy Chair and Registrar. Dr. Nigel Gravesande will serve as Secretary to the Management Committee. According to Pro Chancellor Major General (retd) Joseph Singh, “The Team has been identified to take control of the Management of the University with effect from June 14, 2019, until such time that a new Vice-Chancellor is appointed.” He further stated, “The a f o r e m e n t i o n e d notwithstanding, the University Council will continue to pursue its agenda, including the conduct of a Management Audit, the identification of a new Chancellor and the soon to commence search for a new Vice-Chancellor.” The University Council, the statement added, “looks forward to a cessation of the
recent exchanges in the media on the University’s internal processes, but in the interest of openness, will keep the University Community and the wider society informed of unfolding developments as the University seeks to continue its work and to provide for a seamless transition of leadership in the interest of its students, faculty and staff members.” Professor Griffith was appointed the 10th Principal and Vice Chancellor of UG in June 2016. Ahead of assuming the UG Vice Chancellor position, Professor Griffith served as Executive-in-Residence at The University at Albany, State University of New York, and the Ninth President of Fort Valley State University in Georgia, where he led the right-sizing of the educational and economic enterprise, focusing on growing enrollment, enhancing the academic profile, controlling spending, launching Honors and Undergraduate Research programs, and initiating a feasibility study to establish a School of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation. A tenured professor of
Battered Alness pensioner dies The Alness Village pensioner who was beaten and robbed in his home a month ago by armed men, has succumbed to his injuries he sustained during the invasion. Dead is Gilford Goodchild, 76, of Lot 53 Alness Village, Corentyne, Berbice. Relatives confirmed that Goodchild died just after midnight on Friday at the New Amsterdam Public Hospital where he has been admitted since the attack. He was hospitalised with internal bleeding and other injuries. Armed men invaded Goodchild’s home on May
8, last. He, his wife and grandson were at home w h e n G o o d c h i l d was beaten. The men after carrying out the attack, robbed them of $5000 and a cellphone. Goodchild was admitted the same day after the men escaped. His wife, Keyneh Goodchild, was gun-butted to the head but was treated and
sent home while he remained hospitalised. Police never made an arrest in that robbery but just recently shot and killed three bandits (Kelvin Seegobin, Ramnarine Jagmohan and Sewchand Seelall) who were reportedly fingered in that robbery along with several others committed in Berbice.
Outgoing UG Vice Chancellor, Professor Ivelaw Griffith political science, he served from 2007 to 2013 provost and senior vice president at York College in New York where notable achievements included growing the full-time faculty by 30 percent, reorganising Academic Affairs into Schools of Business and Information Systems, Arts & Sciences, and Health Sciences and Professional Programmes, and enhancing
research and scholarship by creating the Provost Lectures, the Distinguished Scholars Lectures, and the Undergraduate Research Programme. He also established Discovery to celebrate and incentivise faculty excellence in research and service. Earlier, he was provost at Radford University in Virginia, budget dean of the
College of Arts and Sciences at Florida International University (FIU), and dean of The Honours College at FIU, all while holding his professorship. A UG alumnus, he was the first person to graduate with distinction in political science. He also holds a Master of Arts from Long Island University, New York, and both a Master’s of Philosophy and a Ph.D. in Political Science from The City University of New York Graduate School. As well, he graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s programme in educational leadership. An expert on Caribbean and hemispheric security, drugs and crime, he originated the concept called Geonarcotics in the early 1990s as a way to study the complex relationship involving drugs, geography, power and politics, outlining it first in Canada’s leading international affairs scholarly magazine: “From Cold War Geopolitics to Post-Cold War Geonarcotics,” International Journal Vol. 49 (Winter) 199394, 1-36.
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Sunday June 09, 2019
Kaieteur News
Surprise visit to Albion estate…
GuySuCo will not merely survive, it will thrive- Granger promises President David Granger, on Friday morning, met with the management and staff of the Albion/Port Mourant Sugar Estate, East BerbiceCorentyne (Region Six) where he committed to ensuring that a stronger, smarter, sustainable and more profitable sugar industry is built and workers’ jobs are safeguarded. He was accompanied by Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder, and Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuC0), Dr. Harold Davis Jr. The President also committed to ensure that the $30B syndicated bond that has been secured by the Special Projects Unit (SPU) of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) is transferred to GuySuCo within a short space of time so that urgent needs can be met. Speaking at the Estate’s Training Centre inAlbion, as well as to workers in the Estate’s factory, President Granger explained that his visit at the location was aimed at understanding the challenges facing the Estate so that appropriate decisions could be made at the policy level, according to the Ministry of the Presidency. “Our sugar industry is going to recover from the difficulties it is facing. This sugar industry is not on the point of death…I am not here to bury the sugar industry. I am here to find out what your problems are. I have come to fix things. “We are in the process of restructuring this industry to respond to changes, which have taken place both externally and internally. It is being restructured so that it can be revived; so that
we can make this industry not just sustainable but profitable. “We are not here to merely survive; we are here to thrive! We are here to guarantee employees’ livelihoods. We are here to guarantee sugar’s position in the national economy. We are here to safeguard the rural economy,” he said, to loud applause. The Head of State noted that despite criticism, the Government, since 2015 has been doing everything humanly possible to ensure the industry thrives. Following the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the industry, the President reminded that a Task Force was established to develop recommendations on its restructuring after which a State Paper on the ‘Future of the Sugar Industry’, was presented to the National Assembly.
”A Corporate Restructuring Plan (CRP) was initiated following these processes. Part of that Plan is to produce 147,000 metric tonnes (MT) in the shortest possible time. Part of that Plan is basing production to three mega plantations – East Berbice, comprising the consolidated AlbionRose Hall plantations; West Berbice, comprising Blairmont; and West Demerara, comprising the consolidated Uitvlugt-Wales plantations. “These three plantations will bear the burden of sugar production and Government will give those sugar plantations whatever it can afford and needs to produce that 147,000. That is what we are going to do. “We are in the business of sugar and we will produce
sugar. We will not produce retrenched workers and obsolete factories,” he vowed. The President noted that the consolidation of the Albion and Rose Hall plantations and the Uitvlugt and Wales plantations, resulted, unfortunately, in the separation of several thousand workers from the industry. However, he said while the Government regrets the outcome, this is not the first time in Guyana’s history that hard choices have had to be made to ensure the sustainability of the industry. Not first time ”Nearly 200 years ago, in the 19th century, there were 380 plantations but that declined to 239 three decades later. It declined further, in the ensuring years, to 138 by 1890; 80 by 1990; 39 in 1922; and by 1967 it was down to 18.
“There were only 11 sugar estates – Albion, Blairmont, Diamond, Enmore, La Bonne Intention, Leonora, Ogle, Rose Hall, Skeldon, Uitvlugt and Wales – by the time the Guyana Sugar Corporation was established in 1976. “From 380, we came down to 11. I didn’t do that. It is the nature of the industry to consolidate and restructure to keep abreast with the changing international markets. The consolidation that we are talking about is nothing new. It has been going on for 200 years and it didn’t begin in 2015. “Let us not forget that the East Demerara plantations – Diamond, Enmore and La Bonne Intention – were consolidated in 1998 and the administrative office for the merged estates was central-
ized at La Bonne Intention. “The Enmore administrative office and field workshop were closed in the same year, 1998. I didn’t do that,” he asserted. President Granger noted, too, that the Diamond Estate discontinued cultivation of 4,000 hectares in 2010 and the employees of that estate were transferred to La Bonne Intention while the La Bonne Intention factory was closed in 2011 and the majority of its workers were transferred to the Enmore factory. The Corporation employed over 20,000 workers in 1992 and by 2015, there were 15,000. ”So, you see that not only plantations were being consolidated, but the workforce was shrinking. This meant that 5000 were taken off the payroll, either by natural attrition or severance, between 1992 and 2015. “We are faced with a situation in the industry where the only thing that is constant is change. Similarly, sugar production has not been static. We were producing an average of 264,963 MT annually in the decade 1996-2005, but declined by 14 per cent to an average of 208,718 MT in the following decade. “The production cost has been difficult to bear. It used to be US$ 0.86 per kg in 2014 while the world market price was US$ 0.31 per kg; for every kg it was losing US$0.55. That is the reality of sugar production and we cannot ignore that reality,” he said. The President also visited the Albion Primary School where he interacted with the pupils and teachers.
Sunday June 09, 2019
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Kaieteur News
Goodbyes said to little Ciara Little Ciara Benjamin was laid to rest on Friday, days after a horrific accident at Agricola. That accident caused mob behaviour to spiral out of control. On Friday, at the Lyken’s Funeral Home, relatives and friends gathered to say their
last goodbye. A pink casket and balloons were part of her send-off. Even for the funeral home and for Dawn Stewart, the owner, preparing Ciara was a hard task. Two Saturday’s ago,
The beaten truck driver: Danion Welcome
Ciara, 7, was with an aunt on the Agricola public road, at the median, when a truck heading in the direction of Timehri, suddenly veered toward her. Video footage from security cameras did not explain why. Ciara was crushed on the median, while
Ciara Benjamin, 7
Relatives and others at the funeral home. (Dawn Stewart’s Facebook photo)
Nandlall’s lawyer says he was never informed of new court day Attorney-at-law Glenn Hanoman has expressed shock at media reports about him and his client, former Attorney General Anil Nandlall, being absent for a scheduled hearing of the trial into the theft of Law Reports from the State. Hanoman in a missive to the media said that he was never informed that his client’s trial was fixed for Wednesday, June 6, as promised by the Magistrate’s clerk. Hanoman sought to explain that the absence of
him and his client was neither deliberate nor due to any form of inadvertence. According to him, “It is also important that I make it clear that from the inception, this case was and is being heard in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court V, and the Magistrate (Fabayo Azore) is currently assigned responsibilities in the East Demerara Magisterial District. She only returns to the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court V to deal with incomplete pending cases, including this case.” Hanoman said that it is
unfortunate that the Prosecutor signaled intent to resort to the recourse of seeking an arrest warrant for his client on the next occasion Friday, June 28, when the prosecutor is familiar with the whereabouts of him and his client who are located less than a stone’s throw away from the court. He said that he interacts with the prosecutor on a regular basis. Kaieteur News had previously reported that both Hanoman and Nandlall failed to appear (Continued on page 18)
her aunt escaped death. The situation escalated to lawlessness as the driver was pelted with objects and then reportedly beaten. The truck was later set alight by an angry mob.
The traffic was blocked off for hours and it was not until last Sunday that the remnants of the truck were removed. The accident had sparked a wave of sympathy and
anger. There have been no charges to date. The injured truck driver, Danion Welcome, has reportedly been discharged from the hospital and is on station bail.
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Sunday June 09, 2019
Kaieteur News
Construction to start soon... Man gets three months jail for abusing woman.
From page 13 have to; and if we do, it would only be temporary to lay some equipment down and that’s the very fringe where you have very short trees. They’re almost six-foot in height.” Other concerns raised by the stakeholders were the impact of the wind farm on bird species, erosion of land alongside the canal where the project is set to begin, and the involvement of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) in both the mapping and leasing of the proposed project site. Dr. Sydow committed to working with the GLSC and assured that an environmental impact assessment will be done to ensure the protection of wildlife. The Hope Wind Farm Project initially began in 2001, but was halted due to GPL’s lack of the infrastructure needed at the time. The project is capable of supplying 7,000 homes with clean electricity, leading to fuel savings of 14.5 million litres per year.
Eon Johnson who was brought before the court and made to answer three charges was yesterday sentenced to prison and instructed to pay a fine after he appeared before a city magistrate and pleaded guilty to all. He appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before the Senior Magistrate Leron Daly.
Project General Manager of Hope Energy Development, Dr. John Sydow Additionally, according to the release, 30 to 40 construction jobs are expected to be created, and $1Billion yearly will be saved in fuel imports.
On May 6, last, at Agricola, East Bank Demerara, Johnson threatened and maliciously wounded Leonie Torrington. Senior Magistrate Daly after reading the charges then sentenced the defendant to three months’ imprisonment for the wounding matter and a fine of $20,000 in total for the other two charges.
Teen caught in Berbice house remanded to jail Joshua Butts, 18, who was caught and beaten by residents after he was found hiding in a house not far from where he had taken up residence a few weeks before, has been remanded to jail. Butts, of Lot 45 Stanleytown, New Amsterdam, Berbice appeared before Magistrate Renita Singh at the Reliance Magistrate’s Court on a charge of Burglary. The teen is well-known since he plays football, table tennis, athletics and other sports at a competitive level. Butts is accused of, during the night of June 1, last, breaking into the house of Zenita Higgins at Lot 1 Edinburgh, East Bank Berbice. The house is a two-storey building. The woman would usually lock the house and stay with her relatives in New Amsterdam, since her husband will be away for long
periods. She rents the downstairs. Reports are that the bandit entered the upper flat of the building through a window at the front of the house. The tenant in the lower flat of the house reportedly heard movements in the upper flat and contacted the owner and her husband. The husband who is a taxi driver immediately came home and saw lights in the house, but
the lights went out immediately. Other residents were alerted. In the meanwhile, the owner arrived and opened the door. She and residents began to search the house and Butts was found hiding under a table. The bandit was beaten and taken into custody. The house was ransacked. Butts will have to return to court on June 26 at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court.
Nandlall’s lawyer says he was never informed of new court day... From page 17 in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday before Senior Magistrate Fabayo Azore before whom Nandlall’s trial into the alleged theft of Law Reports was fixed for continuation. The reporter who was at court heard the police rank calling Nandlall’s name thrice; no one entered an appearance. It was at this point that Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) Prosecutor Patrice Henry requested that a notice be sent to Nandlall informing him of his next court date. Prosecutor Henry indicated that if Nandlall does not appear before the court, he will ask that an arrest warrant be issued for him. It is alleged that Nandlall, between May 18 and May 29, 2015, in the then capacity of Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, fraudulently converted 14 Commonwealth Law Reports property of the
Ministry of Legal Affairs, to his own use and benefit. Nandlall has pleaded not guilty to the allegation and is out on self-bail, pending the hearing and determination of the trial. Late last year, Magistrate Azore ruled that Special Organised C r i m e U n i t (SOCU) Prosecutor, Patrice Henry, was able to prove every element of the offence. In the circumstances, Nandlall was called upon to lead a defence. His lawyers approached the High Court for a stay to be granted in the matter, but Chief Justice Roxane George, dismissed the appeal against a no-case submission that was overruled by Magistrate Fabayo Azore in the trial. The no-case submission was presented by Nandlall’s lawyer after the close of the prosecution’s case. The Court of Appeal then granted an interim stay in the trial of the former Attorney General. The Court of Appeal is yet to begin hearing arguments in
the substantive matter. Nandlall was previously reported as saying that when he took up the post of Attorney General, he did so at a loss, and it was for that reason, he agitated for the State to pay for the Law Reports. He had said that the arrangement received the blessings of then Head of State, Donald Ramotar. However, investigators are contending that because the books were bought with State funds, they cannot be the property of Nandlall, and in fact, the State should not have entered into such an arrangement in the first place. The Ministry of Legal Affairs is contending that there is no evidence of an agreement between Nandlall and Ramotar, and even assuming that there was such an agreement, the use of public funds in this manner is a flagrant violation of the Financial Management and Accountability Act. Nandlall was charged after SOCU, an arm of the Guyana Police Force, completed investigations.
Sunday June 09, 2019
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Kaieteur News
---Hinds’ Sight by Dr. David Hinds---
The Guyana Chronicle Scandal: A study in the Personalisation and Party Politicisation of Power
T
he news emanating from the Guyana Chronicle regarding the reinstatement by decree of the General Manager is most sickening. There are three things that I must get out of the way. First, party leaders and activists have a right to work whether their party is in or out of power. Second, it is to be expected that any party coming to power will distribute jobs to the party faithful. Third, all governments make errors of judgement, especially as it relates to the management of power. I say the above in order to make the larger point that the business of governance is a complex phenomenon that must be appreciated by those who govern, those who elect the governors, and those who critique the governors. Politicians are humans first and always, and as such are prone to potential and real human flaws. But there are some flaws that are more easily avoidable than others. The flaw that led to the ugliness that has emanated from the political management of the Guyana Chronicle since this government took office was avoidable. And that flaw is this—those who have held political office in Guyana have governed as if the power that comes with being in government is primarily personal power which should be used in personal ways. Since the party is the means by which the individual assumes power, there has over time been a conflating of the personal with the party and the party with the government. In other words, there are no walls of separation between them. While the constitution and other forms of rules are meant to construct walls of separation, these easily become victims of the personalization of political power. And in societies like Guyana, the notion of the messianic leader coupled with the highly emotional ethno-racial political identification ensures that the maximum leaders are given
cover by “the people.” There is, therefore, little constraint on the personalization of power. This state of affairs has over time become normative and ultimately part of the elite political culture. The problem with entrenched political cultures is that they drive political thought and action— they become political truth. Our leaders, then, accept the personalization of political power as the right and proper approach. They go beyond the authority of their positions in government and act simply because they have the political and personal scope to do so. It is against this backdrop that I view the happenings at the State-owned newspaper. It is clear that the political actors make no distinction between State, Government, Party and the Person. They intentionally and unintentionally conflate the State and Government. So, they believe that the newspaper is owned by the government and if that is so, then the party that forms the government owns it too, and the party leader that heads the ministry under which it falls is the ultimate owner. I know the Prime Minister knows the difference between party and State. I also know that at one point in his political life, he frowned on the paramountcy of the party over the State. Since his actions on the Duncan matter have all the markings and makings of paramountcy of the party, then one must ask whether his political outlook has changed. And if it has, what is responsible for this change? Has the Prime Minister acted as party leader or government leader with responsibility for a State entity? Others have made the linkage between the PM’s action and the internal politics of the AFC. Even without intimate knowledge of the AFC’s internal politics, I find the linkage persuasive. Let’s ask a few more questions. When the Chronicle board of directors by majority vote took a decision to
uphold the Editor’s decision to discontinue the columns by Lincoln Lewis and me, why didn’t the PM order an investigation? Why didn’t he use his power to rescind the board’s decision? Why to this day has the PM not uttered a public word on the removal of the columns? Why hasn’t the PM not contacted me to express a private view on the matter? What is so different in principle between the Hinds/Lewis case and the Duncan case to make the PM act so drastically different? These are, of course, rhetorical questions—I think I know the answers. In any case. I would be more than surprised if the PM makes any public utterances on matters arising from this column. Everyone knows that Lincoln and I are not AFC members, and as such the PM would not have felt compelled to intervene on our behalf—he intervenes only on behalf of the party faithful. Most of the State Media has become AFC’s territory— shamelessly so. I say shamelessly, because although I think parties will always find jobs in government for their members and are justified to some extent in doing so, it is my studied view that there is too much AFC domination of the State Media. This has rendered those media mouthpieces of the government and the Coalition parties, in ways that are often very painful to digest, even for some government supporters like myself. As a columnist, I never thought my column should have been used as a propaganda or public relations medium for the government or Coalition. In other words, I do not think the party member should use his or her position in the State Media to serve the needs of the government and party. This partisan population of the State Media have hurt those entities—people don’t take them seriously, as can be gleaned by their circulation and viewership relative to other media houses. One feels for non-party workers at those entities, whose profes-
The Baccoo Speaks Once more criminals have made the Stabroek Market area their haunt and once again the police are targeting the area. The result is that a gun-toting young man would attempt a robbery and would be apprehended. Surprisingly he would attempt to use his weapon against the police. Sadly, the vendors in the market area seem to be supporting the criminals.
** The authorities would be attracted to yet another drug
running in the schools. One city school would attract attention when a teacher would notice a lethargic student who is normally bright and alert. Investigations would reveal a case of drugging. ** Yet another missing person would turn up dead. Relatives would suspect foul play and would push the police in that direction.
sional growth is hampered by the ceaseless censorship and self-censorship and political policing by party members. Now with the Duncan affair, we see the Chronicle becoming a political pawn in the AFC’s internal politics. This is very unhealthy and embarrassing for a government which has the historical responsibility to turn its face and Guyana away from such primitive forms of governance. The PM should not have over-ruled the Board’s decision to save the job of a party member whose presence at the Chronicle is not pivotal to the positive transformation of that newspaper. In other words, Duncan’s reinstatement does not benefit the government in any positive way. From all indications, it seems as if it benefits a faction within the AFC. The Board members who resigned around the Lewis/ Hinds controversy and the more recent Duncan scandal should be congratulated. At least some people are still capable of taking courageous stands against the naked, brutal exercise of power. That said, I still want to
remember the Nagamootoo who was singular among PPP leaders of the 1970s in mounting WPA platforms which were then targets of the might of the State Military and Police and other para-state organs of violence. I still prefer to remember the Nagamootoo who walked out on Jagdeo’s bullyism than the Nagamootoo who unashamedly used political power in personal and partisan ways.I am in favour of the continuation of a State Media. I feel such media can play a mediating and liberating role in a media landscape populated by private agendas and political propagandizing. The role of the State Media is not witness for the PNC, PPP, AFC, WPA, ANUG or APNU—it is to give the nation a perspective that transcends the narrow agendas of those parties and the private media. Sadly, the Prime Minister has not used his power in this regard. He has not led the revolutionizing of the State Media and turned them into modern entities that ask questions of power and help cultivate a nation that is ready to free itself from the chains of its past.In the final
Dr David Hinds analysis, I weep for my Guyana. Are we doomed forever to be locked in the backward political cultures we inherited from our tormentors? When will we throw up leaders who have the courage to choose principle, virtue and country over frivolous personal and partisan interests? Have we no shame in justifying the “Third World” label by our actions when given the power of the people? What benefit is the return of the Coalition to power if the price is the continued underdevelopment of our political culture and forms of governance? More of Dr. Hinds’ writings and commentaries can be found on his YouTube Channel Hinds’ Sight: Dr. David Hinds’ Guyana-Caribbean Politics and on his w e b s i t e www.guyanacaribbeanpolitics.news. Send comments to dhinds6106@aol.com
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Sunday June 09, 2019
Kaieteur News
The mystery of the strangled footballer By Michael Jordan
Michelle Jules
H
e was walking down Regent Street in mid-February of 1996 when he spotted his old ‘squaddie’- his friend from his stint in the military; the guy that the cops believed had helped to kill Michelle Jules. Who was Michelle Jules? She was the 17-year-old girl that they found tied-up in a bag at the bottom of Victory Valley Hill. Some cynical Linden folk feel that they should have left Victory Valley with its old name—the Valley of Tears, as it was called back then in the really bad days; when the marauding ‘Nacet gang’, with guys like ‘Poison’ and the Beckles brothers, went around raping and slashing couples with razor blades. They’re all dead now, but what happened that day 23 years ago isn’t something that those of that era will soon forget. On January 2, 1996, Michelle Jules, a member of Guyana’s female football
team, left her home at One Mile, Wismar, after informing her relatives that she was going for a walk. She failed to return. Six days later, residents of Victory Valley became aware of a stench emanating from a bushy area at the bottom of the hill. On investigating, they
discovered that the stench was coming from a black jute bag, which was covered with a haversack. Beneath that haversack was the decomposing body of Michelle Jules. The teen’s hands were tied behind her back, her legs were also bound and there were signs of sexual assault.
Her forehead had also been bashed in, but an autopsy revealed that she had been strangled. The day after the body was found, detectives picked up three suspects. They were an elder from a spiritualist church in Victory Valley, another male accomplice, and a woman. The detectives had received information that Jules had visited the elder’s church just before she disappeared. Some suggested that the teen was a victim of a spiritualist ritual. They also received information which suggested that a third man who attended the church, and lived at Linden, had participated in the killing. The man was also an ex-soldier and former member of the Guyana National Service. One of the people that the detectives spoke to happened to be a ‘squaddie’ of the suspect. From what he recollected of the ex-soldier, the suspect was indeed capable of such an act. The friend made a mental note of this information. As fate would have it, the man
was walking down Regent Street about a month later when he spotted the ex-soldier heading towards him. The men passed each other and the friend immediately rushed into a store to contact the police. However, by the time the ranks arrived, the suspect was nowhere to be seen. About a week later, the man again spotted the suspect entering a minibus near the Stabroek Car Park near Demico. He again contacted the police, and this time around they arrived in time to arrest the suspect. However, under interrogation, the ex-soldier denied that he had murdered Jules. Police were unable to find enough evidence to prosecute the man or any of the other suspects and eventually released them. The man encountered the
suspect on several occasions following the previous two. Of course, they were no longer friends, and the suspect repeatedly made threats against his life. Close friends and even relatives of the victim declined to provide any information that could explain how Michelle Jules ended up dead in a jute bag in the Valley of Tears. If you have any information about an unusual case, please contact us at our Lot 24 Saffon Street office or by telephone. We can be reached on telephone numbers 592-2258458, 592-225-8465, 592225-8473 or 592-225-8491. You need not disclose your identity. You can also contact Michael Jordan at his email address: kamarangnight@gmail.com.
Sunday June 09, 2019
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Kaieteur News
==THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN==
I was never in a position to victimize or favour any human If you examine the acidic or innocuous criticisms of me, going back decades, they read like this; he is crazy; he lies; he is a poor writer; he is a poor academic; he writes nonsense; people shouldn’t read him; he is always criticizing others; he likes to attack people; he is full of himself. It followed those lines over the decades that I have attracted controversies and it continues like this. Missing from the repertoire of my critics, however deep is their dislike for me, is that not one soul in this world has ever accused me of using my authority to favour them over others; denying them their rightful place; using my authority to deny them promotion, scholarship, financial rewards, their human rights, their industrial rights, their employment prospects, their opportunity to travel etc. One fundamental reason explains this – I have never in my life possessed authority in any organization, be it a governmental, private or civic or political organization. I can cite several of my detractors over my long years of social activism, academia and media practice that have faced accusations of wrongful use of authority in both private organizations and state institutions. As soon as I am engaged in a heated debate with someone, I get emails saying; “Freddie you know what this man did to me.” In my entire life, I had three types of jurisdictions which I
will list in order of importance. I was a UG lecturer for 26 years. I had authority over my students. In those 26 years, I opposed the governments of Desmond Hoyte, Cheddi Jagan, Janet Jagan, Bharrat Jagdeo and Donald Ramotar. None of those governments could have used a student’s complaint against me, because there was none. I was engaged in a volcanic struggle against the Jagdeo hegemony and the Ramotar cabals, in which there were attacks on my life, but neither of those two presidents could have nationally embarrassed me for unbecoming conduct at UG. Eventually in January 2012, my contract was terminated, and the letter from UG did not offer a reason. My students included powerful, prominent people. The list includes Donald Ramotar, Robert Corbin, Priya Manickchand, Anil Nandlall, Read Admiral Gary Best, dozens of top lawyers, dozens of top soldiers, dozens of top police officers, dozens of top public servants, and a few current High Court judges. The list also includes AFC big wigs like its General Secretary Marlon Williams, its former MP, Trevor Williams, Leonard Craig etc. Never was there a complaint, and today none of these graduates can cite a problem they had with me as a lecturer. Robert Corbin’s encounter with me I will always remember. He got a B grade for phi-
losophy and approached me on the issue. I always remember Corbin’s words to me. He said, “If I cannot get an A grade in politics for all the experience I have, then why should I remain in politics?” I re-read his paper, the difference between an A and a B was marginal. In the final course grade and examination grade, he got an overall A grade. Each year, lecturers were evaluated by students and my assessments were all excellent. Those records are there at UG for researchers to peruse.My second possession of authority was part of a two-man
panel to approve applications to teach law in the Department of Political Science and Law. It was me and Professor JOF Haynes. I never made an input. JOF, as we fondly called him, did all the selections by himself. I was terribly fond of him, and I didn’t get in his way. My one approval was given the nod by JOF, but was rejected by the Faculty of Social Sciences. He was Khemraj Ramjattan. At the time, Khemraj was chairman of the youth arm of the PPP, and I think that status may have been the factor for his rejection. I will not name the person who was adamant in his
rejection of Ramjattan. Finally, I was de facto head of the University of Guyana Workers’ Union (UGWU). When the academics said they wanted their own union to represent all academics and they formed their own union, Clive Thomas and I remained in the UGWU. I was in that leadership position when my contract was terminated. I never dished out any favours while I was in the union. There was none to dish out. I never used my position in the union to victimize any employee; there was no scope for that.
Frederick Kissoon I am no angel; far from it. But in my life I never had authority, the use of which has resulted in accusations. I don’t think many of my detractors can say the same for themselves.
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Sunday June 09, 2019
Kaieteur News
There is ample justification for House-to-House registration After all of the local court rulings on the validity of the December 2018 no confidence vote (the CCJ is still to pass judgment), after the Government has laid out every reason why preparations for the national polls cannot be hurried, the PPP is still trying to get the nation to believe that national elections could be held sooner than the Elections Commission says it is able to.
The Opposition tried to create social, political and even economic upheaval last February when they kept insisting that the elections had to be held by the third week of March, 90 days after the passage of the infamous no confidence vote in the National Assembly. They travelled through the Regions spouting nonsense, misleading the people into believing that the elections
could be held when they wanted it, even insisting that the 5-year old Voters List of Electors should be used. Can you imagine the ruckus that would be created if Guyana went to the polls with an old list bloated with people who are deceased or have migrated, and a list missing the names of thousands of young people who turned 18 years old since 2014? They will be first time
voters, and this is a big deal, no doubt about that. Would you forgive a Government for taking away your civic right to choose who you want to lead your country? There is one more thing to consider. The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is the only institution that is constitutionally authorized to make any decision regarding the staging of national elections, and GECOM has already made several things very clear: · The Commission needs at least 148 days to ready itself to conduct credible, free and fair elections according to dictates of the Guyana Constitution · Since the List of Electors (LE) expired on 30 April, 2019, the Commission needs millions of state dollars to create a new list · The only mechanism to create a credible LE that could be approved by every party is house-to-house registration If GECOM does not ensure that ALL eligible voters are registered and given their ID cards, Government will be sued, and the elections will be declared invalid. That would be a waste of time and billions of dollars would have been squandered. It will hold back progress. GECOM needs a lot of money, which was not budgeted for 2019, to purchase and print ballot sheets, train polling day staff, purchase the correct ink, purchase/repair communication equipment so that the staff working on Polling Day in the regions could stay in contact with
head office, the police force and other essential services providers. GECOM needs time to train Polling Day staff. GECOM has to plan all activities for Nomination Day including letting the public know about the lists of Candidates each party presents. One of our members reminded us that in 2014 when the former Government had assured the nation that it was going to hold Local Government Elections for the first time in 14 years, GECOM had set a timetable of 180 days, and those elections never materialised. Early this year, faced with loud demands for immediate elections from the PPP, GECOM asked for 148 days to prepare, less than they needed in 2014. That 2014 work plan had included demarcation of boundaries, acquisition of non-sensitive election materials, advertising, hiring and training Election Day workers, public education, and time for claims and objections after the lists were posted before Election Day. In addition, due to the “dynamic expansion of housing”, they had to recheck community boundaries. GECOM Commissioner Vincent Alexander who has earned himself a reputation for his eagle eye, has insisted that the pre-April 2019 list of electors was heavily bloated. He is sure that it is numerically impossible for Guyana to have over 500,000 eligible voters for these reasons:1. Guyana’s population at last census was approximately 780,000
people 2. The national schools population under the age of 18 is more than 250,000 3. Permanent migration statistics hovers around 7.2 percent per year 4.Therefore, the estimated number of votingage Guyanese adults has to be less than 500,000. This is more than ample justification for the House-toHouse Registration exercise! It showed the PPP’s position to be unreasonable, so they changed tack and began to accuse GECOM of receiving instructions from the Government. The Opposition needs to be reminded that ‘Dis time nah lang time”. When they were in office, they strenuously denied this same accusation, even tossing aside some international suggestions of political control over the elections machinery. So it is no surprise that with the tables turned, the PPP expects this government to do exactly the same things they used to do. The leader also accused some GECOM Commissioners of having partisan political reasons for their vote for house-tohouse-registration. The PPP has to learn that things don’t work that way anymore. Guyana is in a position where the opinions of the international community have to matter, and for economic reasons in particular, Government has to walk the straight and narrow, work with international norms, choose wisely the models we adopt to conduct business, maintain sociopolitical balance, and best of all, look after the welfare of all our citizens.
Sunday June 09, 2019
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Kaieteur News
My column
The oil blocks distribution: What stems from an illegality is illegal
A
lot of attention is focused on the oil sector, as has been the case ever since President David Granger released the oil contract. For starters, the nation was made aware of the earlier contract signed by the PPP administration. At the time, the nation was in the dark, because the trend was not to release contracts. The public would ask till they got blue in the face, but the government would talk about confidentiality clauses. The public did not accept the excuse, but there was nothing that the people could do. I remember the numerous press conferences at which the media would seek answers to the contract, but none would be forthcoming. I remember the smirk on the face of Winston Brassington whenever the question arose about the contracts. Granger was not secretive; he always spoke of transparency and he kept his word. Suddenly the critics came out. And not surprisingly, the new government became a target. It had been able to get modifications to the existing contract, even though ExxonMobil would say that it could have ignored the request because the contract was in force. The critics said that the government should have sought the cancellation of the contract - something that everyone, including the international community, said was a no-no. They all insist that contracts are sacrosanct; that people should respect the sanctity of contracts. But things are heading in another direction. Transparency International Guyana Inc. (TIGI) said in its report the agreement with Exxon Mobil is illegal at its very root, irretrievably flawed, i.e. incapable of being salvaged. The flaws in the contract seem to be the award of a large number of oil blocks to ExxonMobil. The laws suggest that an oil exploration company should be awarded
no more than sixty oil blocks. However, President Janet Jagan awarded ExxonMobil 600 oil blocks. I spoke with many people in the PPP administration and found out that in the first instance there was not much hope of anyone finding oil in Guyana. There have been explorations for decades. I remember in 1973, at least I believe it was in 1973, that Home Oil made a discovery inland Guyana. Guyana became excited, but within days the well dried. The oil companies surmised that with oil in Venezuela, Brazil, and in Suriname, there must be oil in Guyana. So the search continued. There were many companies, including Shell. CGX was exploring all the time as was Shell’s partner, ExxonMobil. Things must have seemed hopeless, because Shell sold out its share in the Exxon block for one dollar. That company must be kicking itself. That is why the people who signed the original contract contended that the contract was just a case of going through the motions. No one in Guyana expected to find oil. Notwithstanding that TIGI is insisting that the contract is illegal. It is arguing that regardless of the situation, there should not have been the excessive award of the oil blocks. “There can be no sanctity of an illegal contract,” says TIGI. What is of interest is that no one paid any attention to what was going on in the past. The illegality occurred way back in 1999. We said nothing because we knew nothing. We were oblivious to what was going on. Today there is a lot of hindsight. We all talk about what should be done. There is another aspect of the drive for Guyana to capitalize on the opportunities created by the discovery for oil. Trinidadians are coming to Guyana and not only setting up enterprises to capitalize on the opportunities, they
are also buying up property. Guyanese businessmen should have been doing this. In the first instance, when Exxon announced its oil discovery, the local business community should have been approaching people in the know to ascertain the areas in which they could invest. For example, one local businessman with foresight set up a waterfront establishment, because he knew that the foreign oil company would need onshore facilities. He is only one. Others simply sold out their waterfront property to whomever would pay. Perhaps the time has come for the government to institute legislation that would prevent foreigners from buying property in Guyana. In China, no foreigner can
own property, regardless how long the foreigner lives in that country. But in Guyana where the aim is to attract foreign investment, I suppose the intention is to create favourable conditions for the foreign investor. The Trinidadians are coming in droves. They have knowledge of the needs of an oil industry that country having been involved in that sector for more than one hundred years. And as an aside, Trinidad’s oil contract remains a secret, at least undisclosed to the public. It is true that these companies create employment for Guyanese, but it is much better when such companies are in Guyanese hands. Not only would they employ Guyanese, but all their earnings would
remain in this country. Of interest is the position being adopted by former President Bharrat Jagdeo, who was in the thick of things when the oil blocks were being handed out. He now wants a private investigation of what he and his party did. It is as though he was a passive bystander, a stranger to all that went on before. But at the same time he talks about honouring the sanctity of contracts. So he wants to look at what went on before, but insists that nothing should be changed. The one saving grace is that all contracts could be renegotiated. Trinidad’s Keith Rowley recently successfully renegotiated the Liquid Natural Gas contracts. This was a gas that was actually given away.
Adam Harris Trinidad got little or nothing, because the focus was on oil. It took a long time for the renegotiation but this has been done. Guyana is still new to all this, but it has been made aware of what if should get. The contract with Exxon does talk about renegotiation. This should be done sooner rather than later.
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(Selected excerpts from H.E. David Granger’s address on the occasion of World Environment Day 2019 and the World Water Forum 2018) Air, earth and water have been held to be some of the physical elements which sustain life from time immemorial. The protection of these elements is vital to ensuring human existence in a hygienic environment. Everyone has a responsi-
Sunday June 09, 2019
Kaieteur News
bility to protect planet earth and the people who inhabit it by safeguarding the sources which sustain life. Damage and degradation of any or all of these sources threaten human existence and the only place where man can live – on planet earth. Ban Ki-moon’s aphorism – “...We have only one planet. There is no Plan B because there is no planet B” – has become a commonplace catch-phrase. The impact of
climate change and its apocalyptic implications of environmental damage and degradation seem to have been ignored in many places as evident by persistent patterns of human behaviour. Guyana faces environmental threats to fresh air, clean water and the bountiful earth. Our rivers are being polluted by reckless rivermining. The proliferation of plastic waste, especially single-use plastics, has com-
promised our drainage systems and precipitated floods. Careless solid waste management and irresponsible human habits have led to widespread littering and threats to public health. I said, in my address at the Third United Nations Environment Assembly (HighLevel Side Event V) in Nairobi, Kenya, in December 2017 that “…Pollution in the extractive industries threatens environmental security. It increases human vulnerability to human-induced environmental degradation and, therefore, impacts on human security… The ‘green state’ will become a model of environmental stewardship. It will demonstrate the signal role which a small state can play in protecting the world’s air, water and land from the threat of pollution.” I said, further, that “…Pollution of the air, water and land is approaching and, in some cases, has reached dangerous levels. Emissions from industries are polluting the air we breathe. Chemical-laced waste and effluent are poisoning the world’s waterways which are still used for bathing, drinking, fishing, swimming and washing in some remote communities.” The protection of the environment is an obligation not an option. The Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana[at Article 149 J (2)] provides that “…The State shall protect the environment, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures designed to prevent pollution and ecological degradation; promote conservation; and secure sustainable development and the use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development. The Constitution man-
dates, further, [at Article 149 J] that “…Everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to his or her well-being.” The Government, in compliance with the Constitution, has taken steps to protect human life by safeguarding the environment. It is committed to preventing pollution and ecological degradation by preventing the contamination of our waterways, phasing-out the importation of single-use plastics and improving solid waste management. We are Guyana. We are part of the ‘Guiana Shield’ – the ‘lungs of the earth’ – one of the world’s last remaining blocks of pristine rainforest covering an area larger than Greenland. The Shield – the source of 15 per cent of the world’s freshwater reserves – is a global resource. It provides environmental services such as the regulation of the water cycle, water quality and pollination. Its forests contribute to air quality by capturing and storing carbon, thereby mitigating the greenhouse effect. Its biodiversity provides ecosystem services such as food, freshwater and medicinal products. The Shield is essential to life on planet earth. The environmental services provided by our forests, including the forests of the Guiana Shield, help to provide clean air for the citizens of the world. The protection of our forests and the Shield’s biodiversity help to protect planet earth. RIVERS AND WATER SECURITY Water is life. Without water there can be no life. The world’s freshwater supplies, unfortunately, are under threat. Water stress is increasing in many parts of the world. Aquifers are depleted faster than they are replenished. The growth of the world’s
population will increase demand for water by 55% by the year 2050, placing even further strain on freshwater reserves. Rivers are the arteries of the earth. Seen from above, the earth’s creeks, lakes, rivers and wetlands form natural networks which sustain nature. Rivers and lakes account for 90% of the world’s freshwater stocks. Rivers have been the cradles of human civilization from time immemorial. The earliest civilizations were nurtured along the banks of rivers – including the Euphrates, the Indus, the Nile and Yellow Rivers. Rivers remain vital today. Rivers will be essential for all eternity. Rivers are indispensable to human well--being. The waters of rivers are used for cooking, drinking, fishing, recreation, transportation and washing. Rivers also provide water for irrigation for farming, mining, manufacturing and other economic activities. Rivers are important for the security of states. Half of the world’s peoples live in countries, like Guyana and Brazil, which share river boundaries. The management of transboundary watercourses must promote cooperation and collaboration rather than confrontation and conflict. Rivers must be protected from pollution, including that caused by environmental degradation and the discharge of effluent from industry, mining and agriculture. River pollution impacts adversely on water quality, on health and the economic and social well-being of citizens. The protection of the sources of the world’s freshwater sources is essential to ensuring: - citizens’ entitlement to water; - communities’ access to safe and sanitary water; and - countries’ and the continent’s water security; The adverse effects of climate change – droughts, flooding, rising sea levels and extreme weather events – are exacerbating water quality and environmental security. The Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has forecast that climate change will result in reduced surface and ground water in most sub-tropical regions. The protection of the world’s freshwater sources, therefore, is essential to global water security….. At stake is nothing less than humanity itself.
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Atrial Septal Defect: The hole in the heart that can be missed By Dr Zulfikar Bux Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine An atrial septal defect (ASD) is a hole in the septum between the heart’s two upper, or collecting, chambers (atria). The septum is a wall that separates the heart’s left and right sides. Everyone is born with a natural hole between the collecting chambers of the heart. This hole is known as the foramen ovale. It is very important while the baby is in the womb as it directs oxygen-rich blood from the mother’s placenta towards the baby’s brain and heart. After birth, this opening is no longer needed and closes itself in most individuals. However, in up to one in five healthy adults, a small opening may remain. This is known as a patent foramen ovale. The ASD is larger than a patent foramen ovale and may or may not be in the same place as the natural hole. ASDs are the third most common heart defect that babies can be born with and account
for 10% of heart defects. While there are other holes that occur in the heart, ASDs are often subtle and go unnoticed until later in life. Today we will discuss this subtle but worrisome condition. WHATARE SYMPTOMS OFAN ATRIAL SEPTALDEFECT? Many babies born with atrial septal defects don’t have associated signs or symptoms. In adults, signs or symptoms may begin around age 30, but in some cases signs and symptoms may not occur until decades later. Atrial septal defect signs and symptoms may include: · Shortness of breath, especially when exercising · Fatigue · Swelling of legs, feet or abdomen · Heart palpitations or skipped beats · Stroke ·Heart murmur, a whooshing sound that can be heard through a stethoscope WHATARE THE PROBLEMS WITH AN ATRIALSEPTALDEFECT? ASDs usually do not
cause any problems in childhood. Many defects which are small will close as the child grows. However, the child needs to be under regular follow-up of a heart specialist. If the hole does not close itself then it needs to be closed. This is usually done at around 4-5 years of age.Large ASDs allow a significant amount of blood to leak from the left collecting chamber of the heart to the right collecting chamber and then into the right pumping chamber. This gradually stretches and damages the right side of the heart. That is why these defects are closed in a planned manner at about 5 years of age.However, ASDs are not always diagnosed in childhood. Therefore, adults with undiagnosed ASD can present with shortness of breath, especially with exercise. They can also experience a feeling of having a ‘thumping’ heart (palpitations) because of heart rhythm problems. HOW IS AN ATRIAL SEPTALDEFECT DIAGNOSED?
Diagnosis of an ASD can occur when someone presents with the above symptoms recurrently or upon a doctors’ examination. The doctor will hear an abnormal sound called a “murmur” when he listens to the heart. The doctor will follow up with an ultrasound of the heart called an echocardiogram. The echocardiogram will give more details on the size of the ASD and help determine the type of surgery that will be needed. WHAT CAN BE DONE TO HELP? Babies and children with small holes just need regular check-ups by a children’s heart specialist. Many of the small holes close on their own. If the hole has not closed by 5 years of age, it can be surgically closed. Most holes can be closed by a keyhole procedure, us-
ing a small blocking device. The device is inserted through a blood vessel so there is no need for open heart surgery. Some holes, because of their large size or their location, cannot be closed by keyhole procedure. These holes require open heart surgery. All these procedures are done in specialist units dealing with children’s heart surgery. WHAT IS THE OUTLOOK LIKE WITH AN ASD? Most children in whom the hole is found during childhood do very well. In many, the hole closes on its own. If the hole closes on its own or is closed during childhood, then the function of the heart usually remains normal. If the hole is not closed, then regular follow-up is needed. However, there are usually no problems and the person can lead a normal life with no restriction of activity.
Dr Zulfikar Bux When the hole is diagnosed late in life, there may have been some damage to the heart’s pumping ability. Then there may be some symptoms such as shortness of breath and the feeling of having a ‘thumping’ heart (palpitations). Closing the hole usually produces some improvement but some symptoms may persist. This article is dedicated to a little champ that is close to me and has an ASD. She has more heart than any kid I know. You got this little champ!
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SUNDAY SARA FINDS STATE PROPERTIES LEFT IN WILLS FOR OFFICIALS’ CHILDREN One key function of the State Asset Recovery Agency (SARA) is the prevention of corruption. In keeping with this mandate, the agency visited the offices of the administrative regions in the past few months to ensure that the assets of the State are being properly monitored and in ventoried. But the subsequent findings were just “startling”, says SARA Special Assistant, Eric Phillips. During an interview with Kaieteur News, Phillips said that properties belonging to the State were willed to the children of officials. While he declined to provide names, Phillips said that this was found in several instances in almost all the regions. Phillips said, “So this is what took place under the previous regime…We found that a lot of the appointees were appointed for particular reasons. But we have been able to correct this through inventories and working with the regions to say what is your asset base? “Who is managing these properties and what is the status of it? By bringing order to this, we were able to find properties which the State didn’t even know belonged to it because there are instances where people renovated them and were living in them like it is their own.” Philips said that SARA found cases where an agency would buy equipment which ended up in the hands of another entity and then it was being leased to the original purchaser. He said that this occurred with the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo). The official said that the State’s assets were essentially in “total disarray.” Phillips said, “It was confusion and so we spent a long time in the regions correcting this and it saved us millions of dollars. We lost a lot of vehicles and equipment in the past because they were bought and not being inventoried. Vehicles and equipment were all over the place with different owners.” The SARA official said that proper systems for transparency and accountability are now in place. ANGRYAGRICOLA RESIDENTS’ BURN TRUCK, BATTER DRIVER …AFTER ACCIDENT RESULTS IN CHILD’S DEATH A sand-laden truck struck a little girl Saturday on the
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SARA Special Assistant, Eric Phillips Agricola Public Road, East Bank Demerara pinning her down and killing herinstantly. Dead is seven-year-old Ciara Benjamin. She was reportedly waiting to cross the road with her aunt, Samantha Barry, at about 16:00 hours Saturday afternoon when the horrific accident happened. They were reportedly standing close to the median when the truck, with registration GWW962 slammed into the structure. The accident resulted in the child’s legs being severed. The child’s aunt reacted in terror, as residents came searching for the driver of the truck. When they found him, he was accosted and beaten, with some even pelting bottles and other objects at him. He was later arrested by the police in a battered and bloodied state. Though it is unclear what caused the truck to swerve off course, angry residents, incensed by the death of the child, set the truck on fire.The aftermath of the accident and the action by the residents caused a traffic build-up on the East Bank road for several hours. Benjamin’s body was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). SARA EXPLORES POSSIBILITIES OF RESCINDING CANJE, KAIETEUR BLOCKS The State Asset Recovery Agency (SARA) intends to leave no stone unturned when it comes to its probe of the oil blocks awarded to two inexperienced firms by former President, Donald Ramotar just days before the 2015 General and Regional Elections. In fact, the transparency body said it will be looking into all viable ways to rescind the Canje and Kaieteur blocks following the determination of corruption. This was noted by SARA’s Special Assistant, Eric Phillips. The official said, “We
have to look at everything. We want to ensure we understand what happened, meet with the stakeholders involved, and if there were unlawful things at play, we have to figure out how we get them (the Canje and Kaieteur blocks) back.” Phillips added, “We know one of them had an IPO (an Initial Public Offering where shares of a company are sold to investors). A year later that rose to US$40M. So we have been quietly gathering information, speaking with Oil Consultant, Dr. Jan Mangal, and doing our own scanning…” Just recently, Dr. Mangal took to his Facebook page to comment on the topical issue. The official reminded that he has been pursuing this matter since 2017. He said, “I recall telling ExxonMobil in one of my meetings with them that I believed they used Mid-Atlantic, Ratio, etc, as their proxies, to do their dirty work for them.” The Oil Consultant believes that that there is already sufficient evidence in the public domain for President David Granger to rescind the Kaieteur and Canje awards. He said, however, that going after officials is not the objective. The former Advisor to President Granger said that the objective is purely to earn Guyana the hundreds of millions and potentially billions of US dollars that were lost by these two awards. Dr. Mangal said that the blocks need to be taken back, split up into smaller blocks, and auctioned off properly. He added, “And all those
who have had interests in these blocks must be banned from participating in any way in these blocks for the next 10 years (including ExxonMobil, Hess, etc).” PPP KNEW Former President, Donald Ramotar, is on record saying he had no knowledge that ExxonMobil found oil when he signed away the Canje and Kaieteur blocks to inexperienced firms just days before the May 11, 2015 General and Regional Elections. MONDAY CANJE, KAIETEUR BLOCKS AWARDED TO FOUR COMPANIES WITH NO FINANCIAL WHEREWITHAL FOR EXPLORATION –AUDITED FINANCE STATEMENTS AND RECORDS OF BENEFICIAL OWNERS NOT SUBMITTED FOR EITI REPORT When a businessman is looking for proper safekeeping for his wealth, he turns to a reliable security firm. When a person is sick, he seeks the services of a reliable hospital or a private doctor who is known in the field. And when a government wants oil companies to explore the potential of a country’s resources, they court firms that have a track record of finding oil and gas. But that has not been the case here. Days before the 2015 General and Regional Elections, former President, Donald Ramotar acted in a manner that
was contrary to this international best practice. Ramotar signed away the Canje and Kaieteur Blocks, which total over 4.8 million acres, to four companies which have no track record of exploring for oil prior to 2015. They still lack the experience to independently do so up to this date. In fact, the four companies which were able to acquire these licences did not, and still do not have the financial wherewithal to independently search for anything in such deep waters. The two companies, which Ramotar signed away the Canje Block to are MidAtlantic Oil and Gas and JHI Associates Inc. The block was awarded to the companies on March 4, 2015. This was roughly two months before the May 11, 2015 elections were held. According to documents held by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Secretariat, JHI was only incorporated on June 17, 2015 in the British Virgin Islands. This nation is under no obligation to provide countries like Guyana with tax information of companies registered there. And even though MidAtlantic Oil and Gas was incorporated here on April 8, 2013, both companies were in one-on-one negotiations with the PPP government for the oil block one month before, that is, March 2013. This means that the individuals behind the companies were asking for oil blocks without having a company being formed as yet. Furthermore, in a press release on Saturday, JHI and
Mid-Atlantic sought to respond to the State Asset Recovery Agency’s (SARA) probe of the oil blocks. It was noted that JHI’s CEO is John Cullen and Mid-Atlantic’s is Dr. Edris Dookie who was named in the damning Panama Papers. Both are ex employees of CGX Energy, which is also operating offshore Guyana. The Canje Block operators claim that they brought in a “technical team with years of experience in the sector and significant financial capabilities based on prior successes.” However, industry experts who spoke with Kaieteur News are urging the Guyanese public not to be fooled by these statements. The analysts who will be providing help to SARA on the case in due course stress that JHI and Mid-Atlantic would have to bring way more than the years of experience of a technical team for such a fairly new company to be granted a licence for the Canje Block that is in very deep waters. TUESDAY GUYANALIKELY FORFEITED HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS AND POTENTIALLYABILLION IN SIGNING BONUSES FOR THE KAIETEUR, CANJE BLOCKS – DR. MANGAL A government can obtain revenue from its country’s oil sector using several elements. One of these is a signature bonus. As the name implies, operators provide the State with a one-time payment for the privilege of being granted (Continued on page 33)
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(From page 32) a licence to explore its territory for oil. Many countries across the world employ this mechanism. In Brazil, the government was able to get US$2.4B from companies that wanted to explore its waters for oil. The same goes for CARICOM member, Trinidad and Tobago, which was able to get a US$100M signing bonus from interested operators. But when former President, Donald Ramotar, signed away Guyana’s Canje and Kaieteur Blocks to three inexperienced oil companies days before the 2015 General and Regional Elections, no signing bonus was secured. Reflecting on the issue, Oil Consultant and former adviser to President Granger, Dr. Jan Mangal said that Guyana likely forfeited US$100’s millions or even a billion dollars in signing bonuses for the blocks. He noted that these blocks are adjacent to the Stabroek Block which is operated by ExxonMobil and is now known to hold over 5.5B of oil equivalent resources. During an exclusive interview with Kaieteur News last night, the transparency advocate said he has observed the statements made by Ramotar and Canje Block operators Mid-Atlantic and JHI Associates Inc. to the effect that the negotiations for the block were in the pipeline since 2013 and that the process was above board. But Mangal stressed that the dates in 2015, be it March, April or May, as well those of any prior negotiations or application processes, are not critical to the issue. He said, “The way these companies work is that they know years in advance. Exxon did not appear in Guyana overnight… They were planning to drill the wildcat well in Guyana for years before 2015. “Ratio, Mid-Atlantic, JHI Associates Inc . and others which were either informed indirectly by Exxon or otherwise, would have known about Exxon’s plans.” Dr. Mangal said that officials in the Government at the time would have known years in advance and they themselves could have prompted or encouraged the creation of these non-entities who were given the Kaieteur and Canje blocks. This is how it works around the world he said. The Consultant asserted that when people find out that a large legitimate company like Exxon is planning to drill a well somewhere, these little unknown and irrelevant companies rush to see if they can get in on the act by securing adjacent blocks ahead of any discovery.
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GUYSUCO COLLECTED $7B IN BOND PAYMENTS BUT PRODUCES LITTLE EVIDENCEWHERE MONEY WENT -$800M IN INTEREST PAID BACK BY NICIL SO FAR NICIL’s acting head, Colvin Heath-London, and PwC’s partner, Wilfred Baghaloo, at the press conference Monday. Since last year, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has been drawing down on the first tranche of a $30B (US$150M) bond that was supposed to make the operations of the three-estate, smaller sized industry more efficient. However, almost a year later since that bond was approved, the disbursement process is troubled with no clear ideas what GuySuCo used the money for. It has collected more than $7B since August and has a request for another $1B pending. But according to the state-owned National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) which had helped put together the bond, GuySuCo has not been holding up its end of the bargain in submitting details how the money it collected were spent. In fact, while it is known that a significant portion was used to pay salaries and wages of estimated 10,000 workers, the bond holders and trustees have been asking how the money were used by GuySuCo. The situation may very well put NICIL on the back foot with the financiers of the bond which include a number of banks and insurance companies. A number of them have written NICIL to express worry about what the cash-strapped GuySuCo is doing with the money. Monday, NICIL’s acting chief, Colvin Heath-London, during a press conference at his Camp Street office, was under pressure to explain the bond. NICIL had been criticized by the Ministry of Agriculture, which has responsibilities for GuySuCo, for the seeming sloth in the disbursements of the funds. The three estates remaining under GuySuCo are Albion, Blairmont and Uitvlugt. According to the official, NICIL and its Special Purpose Unit (SPU) arm, approached the financial market for financing of a bond last year. In the first of its kind, and the largest, NICIL/SPU managed to raise $30B. Since last year, over $7B was paid over to GuySuCo to finance long term capital projects, including the acqui-
NICIL’s acting head, Colvin Heath-London and PwC’s partner, Wilfred Baghaloo at the press conference last Monday. sition of two co-generation plants; upgrading of existing factories; the production of Plantation White Sugar; the construction of storage and packaging facilities and the contribution of two years of general operation costs. According to Heath-London, if there is any default on the bond payments, it is not GuySuCo’s assets that can be seized. Rather, it is NICIL’s assets that will suffer. In fact, several stateowned companies which are managed by NICIL have their assets pledged. These include the Guyana Oil Company, the Guyana National Shipping Corporation, the Guyana National Printers Limited and even facilities of the Guyana National Industrial Company. NICIL has about a dozen other state companies under its remit, including Atlantic Hotel Inc., which owns Marriott. GUYANASADDLED WITH $100M IN PRECONTRACT COSTS DUE TO PSA RAMOTAR SIGNED WITH MID-ATLANTIC The Production Sharing
Agreement (PSA) former President, Donald Ramotar signed with Mid-Atlantic Oil and Gas during the 2015 election campaign period for the Canjie Block leaves Guyana saddled with US$500,000 ($100M) in pre-contract costs. The PSA which was perused by this publication does not detail what these costs are for. It only states that the sum is in respect of all costs incurred by the contractor prior to the effective date. Thirteen days before the 2015 General and Regional Elections were held, Ramotar also granted a Petroleum Licence to two inexperienced firms, Ratio Guyana and Ratio Energy Limited, to operate on the Kaieteur Block offshore Guyana. That PSA has embedded in it, $31.4M in pre-contract costs which the contractors have the privilege of recovering. Unlike the PSA with ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, EEPGL and others, there is no explanation on how the Ratio duo accumulated this cost. In the meantime, the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA) is pressing ahead with a probe of how the oil blocks were awarded to the
firms in the first place when they have no wherewithal to independently engage in deep exploration and no track record in the sector. The Canje block remains the only asset for Mid-Atlantic Oil and Gas and its partner JHI Associates Inc. Further information on Mid-Atlantic could not be found since its webpage is under construction. Additionally, JHI and MidAtlantic, which participated in Guyana’s EITI reporting process, failed to submit their audited financial statements for review. JHI also failed to submit information on its beneficial owners. The EITI report lists Komal Dookie as the beneficial owner of Mid-Atlantic. As for Ratio Guyana and Ratio Energy, both are registered at the same offices in Prashad Nagar and Gibraltar, Israel. Ratio Guyana does not have a website but on the Kaieteur Block’s Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), a Ryan Pereira is signed on as the Company Secretary, Director and General Partner of the company. This company’s only asset remains the Kaieteur Block. Not a trace of
evidence can be found to prove that it has years of experience in the exploration of oil and gas. Ratio Energy, which also calls itself Ratio Petroleum, is chaired by Ligad Rotlevy. With the Kaieteur Block in hand in 2015, this Israeli company was able to capture three other blocks. In 2017, it was able to acquire rights in Suriname’s basin, specifically for Block 47. In June 2016, Ratio Petroleum was granted a licence to operate in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Ireland. In October 2018, the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and Ratio entered into a Production Sharing Agreement, for oil exploration in an offshore section of Philippines continental shelf, known as SC 76. WEDNESDAY GUYSUCO WANTS TO USE $30M BOND MONEY TO BUY SUVS – REPORT Cash-strapped Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has reportedly made requests to buy sport utility vehicles (SUVs) for its three estates, but it is unlikely that permission to use proceeds of a $30B bond will be granted. The bond was negotiated and being controlled by the state-owned National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL). It was supposed to be used to finance long term projects for the three-estate, smaller-sized GuySuCo, including acquisition of two cogeneration plants; upgrade of existing factories; the production of Plantation White Sugar; the construction of more storage and packaging facilities and the financing of two years of general operational costs. NICIL has been at odds with GuySuCo over the use of the bond in operations with the bond holders and trustees complaining and writing for (Continued on page 41)
Uitvlugt, on the West Coast of Demerara, is one of three estates remaining under GuySuCo.
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(From page 33) details of the spending. On Monday, NICIL during a press conference was asked to confirm reports of vehicles being purchased. Expressing surprise, NICIL’s acting head, Colvin Heath-London, said that it was only recently that one of the bond holders and trustees asked whether there was an application for money by GuySuCo to buy vehicles. According to Heath-London, it was “rumored” that GuySuCo has requested duty-free concessions to purchase vehicles. “We were asked questions directly…we could not answer. We have asked that the request be made to the Ministry of Finance. I cannot speak.” Asked if such a request for funding from the bond comes from GuySuCo would be approved, the NICIL official said it was unlikely, as it would not be in keeping with the arrangement of how the bond is to be used. On Monday, it was disclosed that GuySuCo drew down more than $7B since last year, but that NICIL had not evidence how the money was spent. The situation may very well put NICIL on the back foot with the financiers of the bond, which include a number of banks and insurance companies. NICIL had been criticised by the Ministry of Agriculture, which has responsibilities for GuySuCo, for the seeming sloth in the disbursements of the funds. The three estates remaining under GuySuCo are Albion, Blairmont and Uitvlugt. According to Heath-London, if there is any default on the bond payments, it is not GuySuCo’s assets that can be seized. Rather, it is NICIL’s assets that will suffer. In fact, several stateowned companies, which are managed by NICIL have their assets pledged. These include the Guyana Oil Company, Guyana National Shipping Corporation, Guyana National Printers Limited and even facilities of the Guyana National Industrial Company. CHRONICLE’S CHAIRPERSON, SEVERAL MEMBERS RESIGN -AFTER PM INSTRUCTS BOARD TO REHIRE GM WHO WAS SACKED The state-owned Guyana Chronicle was Tuesday rocked by several resignations from Board members, including its Chairperson, Geeta Chandan-Edmond, after they had received instructions that former General Manager, Sherod Duncan, who was sacked in April, must be re-
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hired. The exchanges of the correspondence between the Board Chair and Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, who the instructions came from, have become a public spat, with reports that a number of staff members are also threatening to resign. The matter is also spilling over to the political arena, as the three Board members who remained are said to be closely affiliated to Nagamootoo’s party, the Alliance For Change (AFC), while the other three and Chandan-Edmond are not. In a letter dated May 31 from Nagamootoo to Chandan-Edmond, the Chairperson was accused of deliberately misleading the PM’s office that the decision to sack Duncan came from a vote of the Board. However, in insisting that the proper procedures were followed in terminating the services of Duncan, ChandanEdmond, a lawyer and former magistrate, in her stronglyworded response, made it clear in noting that her professionalism and that of her Board were being questioned. “In light of this, I hereby submit my resignation as Chairman of the Board of Directors, with immediate effect, since I believe I cannot continue to act at the level of ethics that you clearly require of the position.” Chandan-Edmond, whose husband Joel Edmond is an executive member of Nagamootoo’s party, the AFC, happens to also be a legal advisor in the Ministry of the Presidency. Her office is a stone’s throw from the PM’s. Reportedly resigning with the Chairperson were Board members, Mervyn Williams, a government parliamentarian, Hilbert Foster and Aaron Fraser. The three Directors who reportedly did not resign are Juaretha Fernandes, Karamchand and Beverley Alert. Duncan, an AFC official, had his services terminated on April 2 by the Board after what they said was a vote. There was a tie – three per-
Murdered Retired Professor Pairadeau Mars sons voted in favour while three others were against. The deciding vote to send him home was cast by Chandan-Edmond. TEEN PLEADS GUILTY TO KILLING PROFESSOR PERRY MARS – TO BE SENTENCED ON JUNE 24 Eighteen-year-old Naomi Adams is now awaiting sentencing after she admitted to killing 75-year-old retired professor Pairadeau ‘Perry’ Mars who was found dead at his Lot 395 Bissessar Street, Prashad Nagar, Georgetown home, on May 12, 2016. Adams was one of five teenagers accused of the crime. Though initially indicted for murder, Adams opted to plead guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter. She admitted that on May 12, 2016, in the county of Demerara, she, in the company of others, unlawfully killed Mars during the course of a robbery. According to facts presented by State Prosecutor Tuanna Hardy, Adams and others went into Mars’s home, and he was subsequently choked to death. Prosecutor Hardy added that Mars’s home was also robbed and Adams was found in possession of his cell phone at the time of her arrest and also confessed to the crime. Considering that she was only 15 at the time of the offence, Justice Navindra Singh ordered that a probation report be prepared on Adams before he
18-year-old Naomi Adams being escorted to the courtroom by Prison Officers imposes a sentence. Adams, who was represented by Attorney-at-Law Mark Conway, returns to court on Monday, June 24, for sentencing. According to reports, Mars, a remigrant from the United States of America, was found slumped in a chair in the study room of his home. His hands and feet were bound together with duct-tape, while duct-tape was also wrapped around his mouth. Professor Mars studied History at the University of Guyana. He had specialized in African Studies at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, USA. THURSDAY GOVT. MUST DEMAND MORE FOR CONCESSIONS GRANTED TO OIL COMPANIES -UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON INSTRUCTOR 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 “flyin” 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 Prime Minister, or Energy Minister. With this in mind, the technical teams should prepare the President or the Prime Minister to ensure that undue con-
GPL officials during the press conference last Wednesday.
cessions 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 analysts—all who work in professional silos without any broader perspectives or mandates. 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 but via the submarine, fibre-optic 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 (Continued on page 42)
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(From page 41) 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 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. Wednes day, 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. AUDITOR GENERAL BEMOANS GOVT’S FAILURE TO SUPPLY DETAILS ON D’URBAN PARK STADIUM SPENDING From 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 solesourced 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. However, Payment 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.
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Kaieteur News
The D’Urban Park Stadium
Auditor General, Deodat Sharma 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. 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. FRIDAY CORRECTINGAWARD OF OIL BLOCKS TO UNKNOWNS WILL SCARE OFF “EXPLOITATIVE” INVESTORS – DR. JAN MANGAL Oil and Gas Consultant, Dr. Jan Mangal, does not agree with the private sector’s view that the State Asset Recovery Agency (SARA)’s probe of how the Canje and Kaieteur oil blocks were awarded to four inexperienced firms will scare away investors. In fact, Dr. Mangal told Kaieteur News that the probe would set the tone for Guyana’s oil industry, and indicate to the international
community that Guyana is transitioning to a rules-based country where corruption will be not be tolerated. Dr. Mangal said, “The issue before us is an obvious one. Everyone in the industry knows Guyana has been defrauded with the Canje and Kaieteur Blocks. Whenever you see illegitimate companies and individuals being awarded blocks around the world, you know something is wrong. However, those who benefit from this type of fraud will say Guyana should not rescind the blocks and that Guyana will scare away investors (and there are many of these beneficiaries of fraud, outside and inside of Guyana).” The Oil Consultant said that those who want to see things done properly and want to see Guyana prosper will be against these types of awards which defraud countries around the world. Also, when there has been fraud like the one that occurred in Guyana, Dr. Mangal stressed that it attracts even more bad investors. He told Kaieteur
News that it attracts the nasty exploitative investors, which Guyana does not need. The former Presidential Advisor said that these frauds are like blood in the sea for sharks. Expounding further on this matter, Dr. Mangal said, “The good investors are scared away because they cannot compete with the bad investors. We need to stop attracting sharks and start attracting the good investors. We have to show to the world that we can rescind these blocks and exclude those who were involved, from any future participation.” He added, “So contrary to what the private sector has said, it is quite the opposite. We will not scare off the investors, but will actually attract many more investors who are genuine. If Guyana’s probe of these awards -which I am sure robbed Guyana of hundreds of millions and possibly billions of U.S. dollars – is successful, and these awards are rescinded, it will send a positive sign to the international community that Guyana is a rules-based coun-
try and that there is a level playing field for investors.” “But if SARA’s investigation becomes a political witchhunt against the PPP, and the awards are not rescinded, then this will be viewed as a complete failure,” Dr. Mangal concluded. MORE WOES FOR GPL CONSUMERSAS BARGE SEVERS SUBMARINE CABLE AT CRAIG The troubles of stateowned Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) are continuing unabated. Thursday morning, days after a high-powered submarine cable linking the Vreeden-Hoop and Kingston Power Plants was damaged, another one at Craig has been severed. According to the power company, this was another maritime accident. It will pile more woes on the under-pressure GPL. “Our 13.8kV submarine cable that rests along upper Demerara River within proximity of Craig, East Bank Demerara was dislodged by a barge sailing along the
Demerara River. This incident occurred around 04:23 hrs.” GPL said that as a result, its customers from Vriesland to La Retraite, West Bank Demerara, were without electricity until 07:46 hrs. Efforts, GPL said, are underway to alternatively power the customers from the Vreeden-Hoop sub-station. The dislodged cable was located Thursday afternoon by deep water divers and efforts are being made to hoist and examine it for damage. According to GPL, repairs were effected to the onshore transmission and distribution infrastructure that connects to the cable as this was also damaged during the incident. Meanwhile, with regards to the 69 kV submarine cable, GPL said that it concluded its examination of the cable that had been laid on the river bed along the channel of the Demerara River connecting the Vreed-en-Hoop and Kingston Power Stations. “This examination revealed no further damage on the cable. As previously (Continued on page 43)
The compromised section of the 69 kV submarine cable at Kingston
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(From page 43) reported, investigations conducted on Wednesday June 5, revealed a compromised section of the cable approximately 0.7 km offshore from our Kingston operations.” Officials from the China Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC), which had laid the cable, were part of the efforts to retrieve and examine the submarine cable and are at present preparing a curative plan of action. CUSTOMS OFFICER SUSPENDED AFTER COLLECTINGFUELTAX IN HOTEL ROOM A senior Customs Officer has been sent on leave and police called in after he was accused of collecting millions of dollars in fuel tax from an Essequibo dealer. According to a complaint filed by the dealer, the Customs officer was accused of collecting, on separate occasions at a city hotel, a total of US$40,000 for outstanding fuel tax. Another sum was also paid on a street corner. The unusual matter only came to light late last month after the fuel dealer wrote Commissioner-General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Godfrey Statia and copied it to President David Granger and Ministry of Finance, Winston Jordan, among others. The letter detailed the allegations which immediately saw the GRA springing into action. Kaieteur News was told that Customs officer was summoned from Morawhanna, a Region One outpost where boats would pass from Venezuela and where GRA has placed personnel. According to the Essequibo fuel dealer in his letter to GRA, also released to
Chartered Accountant, Chris Ram Kaieteur News, he has been purchasing fueling from Venezuelan boat at Morawhanna, paying the necessary taxes and transporting the fuel to Port Kaituma, a Region One area, for sale to miners. The dealer said that the Customs officer was fully aware of his transactions, as he has to be notified. It was explained that GRA started a system where dealers can pay their taxes right at Morawhanna from July 2018. Before that, dealers had to come all the way to Georgetown to pay at the GRA office. The dealer said that at Morawhanna, no valuation of the fuel is done or Customs entries prepared. Rather, all the taxes collected are per barrel, with receipts issued. According to the dealer, he made payments until September 2018. However, it all changed from October. The dealer said from October to December, he purchased 800 drums, 800 drums and 920 drums respectively. He claimed that when he went to pay the taxes, the Customs officer, who is in charge of the area, told him that there will be no collection at
Morawhanna, and that the two must meet up in Georgetown for the payments to be made. The Customs officer also wanted the payments in US dollars. SATURDAY INT’L HELP KICKS IN FOR SARA’S PROBE OF CANJE, KAIETEUR BLOCKS The State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA)’s probe of how former President, Donald Ramotar, signed away two key oil blocks to four inexperienced firms will benefit from international help. This was recently noted by SARA’s Special Assistant, Eric Phillips. The official noted that SARA has connections with the Stolen Assets Recovery Initiative which is a partnership between the World Bank Group and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) that supports international efforts to end safe
havens for corrupt funds. He reminded, too, that Guyana is under the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) umbrella, the only legally binding international anti-corruption multilateral treaty. Phillips said that connections with these bodies would be activated for the investigation. The SARA official added that the agency has several mutual agreements with partners around the world which will also aid its work. The official also sought to stress that in all its investiga-
tions, SARA is always receiving international help. EXXONMOBIL’S STABROEK BLOCK CONTRACT NOT BEING INVESTIGATED PHILLIPS Even though Transparency International Guyana Inc. (TIGI) recently raised concerns about the deal ExxonMobil struck with the Granger administration, deeming it to be fraught with illegalities, the State Asset Recovery Agency (SARA) will not be investigating the
ExxonMobil arrangement. Kaieteur News confirmed this with SARA’s Special Assistant, Eric Phillips. Phillips is currently the lead person on SARA’s probe into the suspicious award of the Kaieteur and Canje blocks by former President, Donald Ramotar to firms which have no experience in deep water exploration. Phillips noted that SARA’s focus on probing oil blocks at this point in time is narrow. It is fixed on the Kaieteur and Canje blocks he said.
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Rihanna named world’s richest female musician by Forbes magazine LONDON – Rihanna has been named the world’s richest female musician by Forbes magazine.The singer’s worth is estimated at US$600 million, including revenues made from her fashion and beauty lines in addition to those from her music career. In May 2019, French luxury brand LVMH confirmed it would launchRihanna’s fashion company, Fenty, making her the first woman of colour to lead an LVMH fashion house. “I want to be as disruptive as possible,” she told the New York Times of the venture. “The brand is not traditional.” LVMH also backs Rihanna’s lucrative cosmetics company, Fenty Beauty, which launched in 2017 and is worth more than US$3.8 billion, from which Rihanna has earned US$570m,Forbes reports. She also designs an inclusive lingerie line, Savage x Fenty, in
partnership with TechStyle Fashion Group.In May, Rihanna told the New York Times that she wasn’t driven by money but by her work. “The money means that I can take care of my family. The money means that I can facilitate the businesses that I want to. I can create jobs for other people.“My money is not for me; it’s always the thought that I can help someone else or, in the future, for if I have kids.”In 2012, Rihanna founded the Clara Lionel Foundation, which supports health and education efforts in impoverished communities around the world. In February 2017, she was named Humanitarian Of The Year by Harvard University. Forbes’s list of the top five richest female musicians has Streisand tying in fourth ($400m) and Taylor Swift in sixth ($360m). (Guardian)
CLARIFICATION Kaieteur News wishes to inform that the article carried on July 07, 2019, dubbed, ‘The Battle is on f o r t h e N e x t E a r t h Wa r r i o r ’ w a s p r o v i d e d b y Dave Laltoo (National Franchise Holder) who provided the link to our reporter to collect the article. Our reporter was under the impression that the information Mr Laltoo provided belonged to Mr Laltoo. We apologize for the inadvertent error and the failure to provide credit where it was due.
Jada Pinkett Smith Says There Have Been “Betrayals of the Heart” in Relationship With Will Smith Jada Pinkett Smith is getting real about her relationship with Will Smith. In a teaser for an upcoming episode of Red Table Talk, the 47-year-old actress can be seen talking to couples therapist Esther Perel about the various forms of relational betrayal. “I’m asked a lot about, ‘Is there infidelity in your relationship with Will?’” the Girls Tripstar says. “And it’s like, ‘No, but there have been other betrayals of the heart that have been far bigger than I could even think in regards to an infidelity situation.’” To be clear, Pinkett Smith doesn’t specify what these situations entailed in the sneak peek. But as Perel notes, there can be several
kinds of relational betrayal— including contempt, neglect, violence and indifference. However, Pinkett Smith does say she’s both cheated and been cheated on in relationships prior to Smith. “I have to tell you: Me cheating on someone was more devastating than me being cheated on,” she tells her mother and co-host Adrienne Banfield-Norris. “Yes, it actually taught me to forgive when I got cheated on because I understood. And what I understood most was it didn’t have anything to do with me.” From raising kids to squashing divorce rumors, Pinkett Smith and her hubby have experienced several highs and lows over the
course of their relationship. In fact, the Oscar-nominated actor recalled one particularly rough patch that took place after his wife’s 40th birthday during an October 2018 episode of Red Table Talk. While he said “divorce was never even an option” for the couple, he said the two “broke up” within their marriage and “got back together again.”“[We] had to rebuild with new rules and something way, completely different,” he said.But after 21 years of marriage, it looks like this dynamic duo is still going strong. (https:// www.eonline.com/news/ 1047865/jada-pinkett-smithsays-there-have-been-betrayals-of-the-heart-in-relationship-with-will-smith0
Stag Beer’s Ride Out Promotion continues next month
Ansa McAL’s unique ‘Ride Out’ Promotion which kicked off in Georgetown and its environs earlier this month and will be held in Berbice, Bartica, Linden and the Essequibo Coast, continues into June. Every area will see a fortnightly draw with a Honda 125CC motorcycle to be won at every drawing in Georgetown. The bike is also up for grabs at the last fortnightly drawing in Berbice, Linden, Bartica and the Essequibo Coast. Other prizes which are up for grabs at every drawing include: two coolers filled with
stag beers, US$200, and one 50 inch television set. To enter, drink the stag beers, save the crowns, enter six of them in an envelope with your name, contact number and address, and place it in the entry box. For Georgetown, the boxes will be at several locations which include: Sweet Point, the Garage, Wings and Things, White Castle Fish shop and Green Paradise. There is no limit to how many times you can enter or win. The drawing dates are June 7 and 21.
Wine Review The Folonari Moscato is sweet heaven for your taste buds The fruit for this wine which is distributed by Ansa McAL Trading was grown on hillside vineyards in Oltrpo Pavese, Italy. The vineyards are part of an estate of more than 800 hectares (about 1,976 acres). The fruit is left to ripen a bit beyond maturity to bring out every ounce of sweetness. After gentle pressing, temperature-controlled fermentation takes place in stainless steel. This wine is 100 percent Moscato and has a potpourri of aromas which leap from the glass which sees apricot and white peach leading the way, with a bit of thyme, nutmeg and vanilla bean joining in as well. The white fruit characteristics continue through the appealing palate. Anjou pear, nectarine and honeydew kick in as well. Bits of white pepper emerge on the finish, which has some lingering sweetness but sufficient acidity to keep things in check and beckon you back to the glass for more. COMPANY HISTORY Folonari was founded in 1825 by Francesco Folonari. The company and vineyards first grew in Valmonica in the Veneto region of Italy. In the later half of the 19th Century, Francesco and his sons moved to Brescia in the verdant alpine foothills between Lake Iseo and Lake Garda, establishing one of Italy’s finest wine-making facilities. From the very beginning, the founders wanted to create wines accessible to everyday tables. They pioneered the production
and distribution of wine in bottles, which made it easier for people to enjoy consistently high-quality wine whenever the mood struck. A bottle from the Folonari winery made on one day was certain to be just as excellent as a bottle produced the next, or in a few weeks, or in a few months. This philosophy of bringing exceptional wines to everyday occasions continues to guide Folonari today. Folonari is the passion of Italy in every glass, Folonari is Amore Italia. (http://exploreguyana.org/ grw/folonari-wines.html, http://www.bullzeye.com/wine/reviews/2012/moscato.htm)
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25 Interesting Benefits Of Raw Garlic Garlic is a close relative of the onion, and is native to Central Asia. It has been used as a food-flavoring agent for many years, as well as in traditional and alternative medicines. Mankind recognized the curative qualities of this herb over 3,000 years ago. Sir Louis Pasteur, the scientist who discovered pasteurization, effectively utilized the anti-bacterial qualities of this herb as long as in 1858. [1] A report in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Research suggested that one clove per day may bring a vast improvement in your overall health, while two to three cloves daily could help prevent the common cold. Below are some other benefits of garlic. Reduces Hypertension Garlic is an herbal ingredient often used for lowering high blood pressure. When exposed to high levels of pressure, a substance in the body known as nitric oxide relaxes the blood vessels and causes them to dilate. It also fights against thrombosis by reducing platelet aggregation. Lowers Cholesterol Levels Raw garlic again, rich in the allicin compound effectively prevents LDL (bad) cholesterol from oxidizing. Some research shows a reduction in cholesterol and triglycerides in rats consuming raw garlic. However, at this point there is not enough research to say definitively. Boosts Heart Health Garlic is thought to have significant cardioprotective properties, which help prevent diseases like atherosclerosis, hyperlipidemia, thrombosis, hypertension, and more. While most reviewed research supports the correlation between garlic intake and cardioprotection, per the Nutrition Journal study, further research is needed to determine proper form and dosage. One should keep a close tab on the proper use of garlic i.e. useof different preparations available, dose, duration and its interaction with generic drugs. [6] Neuroprotective Properties The antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties of raw garlic may help prevent future neurodegenerative diseases. [7] Prevents Heavy Metal Poisoning High doses of garlic may prevent organ damage caused by heavy metals. The sulfur compounds in this herb drastically reduce lead levels in the blood. Additionally, it also prevents the signs of toxicity, such as headaches and blood pressure. Sulfur also aids in better absorption of iron and
zinc in the blood. A 2012 report published in Basic and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology reveals that garlic is effective in reducing blood and tissue lead concentrations among human beings and animals alike. [8] Of course, if you are ever concerned about heavy metal poisoning, it is best to consult a medical professional for a course of action. Heals Wounds It acts as an effective herbal remedy for the infected wound. Place 2 crushed cloves on the infected area to get instant relief. Bone Health Herbs like garlic and onion are thought to impact estrogen levels in menopausal women, reducing the risk of osteoarthritis. [9] They may also minimize bone loss and improve overall bone health. Boosts Digestion Daily inclusion of raw garlic cloves in your diet aids digestive problems. Even inflammation or irritation of the gastric canal may be reduced using this herb. It is thought to garlic helps clear up most intestinal problems like dysentery, diarrhea, and colitis. Its role in dispelling worms is phenomenal. It does not affect the good bacteria in the intestine, but destroys the harmful ones. It not only enhances digestion but also helps relieve stomach gas. Regulates Blood Sugar Eating raw garlic cloves significantly reduced blood sugar levels in one animal study. Thus, it may prove to be a boon to those suffering from diabetes or at a higher risk of developing diabetes. [10] Boosts Immunity Garlic has phytonutrients that help reduce oxidative stress, thereby, strengthening your immunity. Furthermore, the herb reduces fatigue, as well as increases energy and longevity. A 2012 report in the African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and A l t e r n a t i v e Medicinesrevealed a study that was conducted on rats to
ascertain if garlic plays a contributory role in enhancing immune function. [11] After garlic (Allium sativum) extracts were administered to rats at different concentrations it was discovered that the extracts, especially at higher concentration, significantly increased white blood cell counts and, showed more immune-stimulating effects. Eye Care It is rich in nutrients like selenium, quercetin, and vitamin C, all of which contribute to eye health and help with eye infections and inflammation. [12] Prevents Acne Garlic, along with other ingredients like honey, cream, and turmeric, can be used as a home remedy for treating acne scars and even preventing the onset of acne. [13] This herb is an effective skin cleanser and an antibiotic substance that helps resolve a number of skin conditions, including skin rashes, psoriasis, cold sores, and blisters. Additionally, it also helps in cell synthesis, protecting against UV rays, and in delaying aging. Other Benefits Other benefits of this herb include reducing the symptoms of asthma, increasing libido, and hair loss, among others. Controls Asthma Homeopathic remedies consider that boiled garlic cloves are effective in reducing the symptoms of asthma. It is thought that each night before going to sleep, drinking a glass of milk with three boiled cloves of this herb can bring subsequent relief for patients with asthma. Asthma attacks may be brought under control by having crushed cloves with malt vinegar as well. Increases Libido The herb has certain aphrodisiac and libido-inducing properties, so it can be utilized as an effective rejuvenator for sex. People who tend to overindulge in sexual activities should consume garlic to protect themselves from fatigue. Anticancer Potential
The fragility of life and taking ... From page 35 by a programme. Obesity is also becoming a problem, bringing with it attendant chronic diseases. We have to move away from the mundane reactionary approach to healthcare, and of accepting that it is okay for others, because of their status and wealth, to access better care, and not all of us. Healthcare is intrinsic to production, productivity, human and national development. People are a nation’s most vital and valued resource. The other factors of production are meaningless without the input of the most vital. Healthcare is not a privilege, it is a right, and all measures must be put in place to ensure everyone, from the womb to the tomb, enjoy this right. Age ought not to be the determinant of access, denial or acceptance when with better systems the chances of positive outcomes can be the hope of all.
A 2013 report published in the Journal of Neuro-Oncology revealed that garlic contains a compound called diallyl trisulfide (DATS) that is an effective therapeutic agent in preventing tumor progression. [14] More research is needed given the animal subject population of this study; however, it points up that regular intake of garlic may reduce the risk of a variety of cancer. It aids in reducing the production of carcinogeniccompounds, and also reduces the occurrence of tumors associated with breast cancer. [15] [16] Weight Loss For years, garlic has been thought to aid in weight loss and reducing obesity. In animal models, it reduced the expression of genes that are involved in adipogenesis, which leads to the formation of fat cells. [17] The herb increased thermogenesis, which helps burn fat and reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. [18] This research has positive implications for reducing obesity in humans. Prevents Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Garlic, rich in S-allymercapto cysteine (SAMC) and antioxidants, can help prevent fatty liver, according to an animal study. [19] These compounds may also reduce the risk of hepatic injury. [20]
Further research is needed to confirm these hepatic benefits. Reduces UTI and Kidney Infections Garlic prevents the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a pathogen responsible for recurring urinary tract infections (UTI) and kidney infections. [21] [22] Fresh garlic extract is also used to prevent the growth of candida vaginitis and E. coli infection. So, consuming garlic regularly may reduce the occurrence of these infections. Prevents Hair Loss It is thought that the herb helps in preventing hair loss and promoting hair growth. Regular application of garlic gel or garlic-infused coconut oil is considered by many aids with conditions like alopecia. However, limited information and research on this connection exist, therefore more studies are needed to confirm the scientific association. Antibacterial and
Antiparasitic Effects Garlic extracts help with Heliobacter pylori infection, tick bites, jock itch, and athlete’s foot. [23] due to its antibacterial effects. Prevents Peptic Ulcer The antibacterial compounds present in garlic can eliminate stomach parasites that cause peptic ulcers. (See above antibacterial and antiparasitic effects.) Relieves Ear Aches Due to its antiviral, antifungal, and antibiotic properties, this herb is commonly used for giving relief from earaches and ear infections. Splinters Traditionally, garlic has been used as a home remedy for treating with stubborn splinters. Place a cut piece of its clove over the splinter cut, bandage it, and see the splinter and pain disappear! ( h t t p s : / / www.organicfacts.net/healthbenefits/herbs-and-spices/ health-benefits-of-garlic.html)
True Friends Love You Anyway
By Sagari Gongala Lord Krishna and Sudama were childhood friends. While Krishna thrived and prospered, Sudama didn’t. He lead the life of a poor Brahmin man, living in a small hut with his wife and kids. Most days, the kids wouldn’t even get enough to eat from what Sudama got as alms. One day, his wife suggested that he go and ask his friend Krishna for help. Sudama was reluctant to seek favors, but he also didn’t want his kids to suffer. So, his wife borrows some rice from the neighbors to make some rice snacks that Krishna liked, and gave it to Sudama to take it to his friend. Sudama took it and set out to Dwaraka. He was amazed at the gold that was used to build the city. He reached the palace gates and was obstructed by the guards, who judged him by his torn dhoti and poor appearance. Sudama requested the guards to at least inform Krishna that his friend Sudama has
come to meet him. The guard, although reluctant, goes and informs the lord. On hearing that Sudama was here, Krishna stops doing whatever he was doing and runs barefoot to meet his childhood friend.Krishna hugs Sudama welcomes him to his abode and treats him with utmost love and respect. Sudama, ashamed of the poor man’s rice snacks he got for Krishna, tries to hide it. But the all-knowing Krishna asks Sudama for his gift and eats his favorite rice snacks that his friend brought for him. Krishna and his friend spend time laughing and talking about their childhood but Sudama, overwhelmed by the kindness and compassion showed by his friend, is unable to ask Krishna for help. When he returns home, Sudama finds that his hut has been replaced by a huge mansion and his wife and kids are dressed in fine clothes. Sudama realized how lucky he was to have a true friend like Krishna. He didn’t even ask, but Krishna knew what Sudama wanted and gave it to him. Moral True friends do not distinguish between rich and poor. They are always there for you when you need them.
Died on the Way... From last week edition rest. They had seen, day after day, newlymade graves by the way- side. “Lily, dear, perhaps that is a grave you are sitting upon; there is a board at one end.” Lily rose and bent over to read the name, then cried out, “ Mother! “ It was the grave of the young man who had left them in England so little while before. This was Lily’s first trial in coming to Zion, and the journey from that day must have been a sorrowful one. There was an old man so poor that he was obliged to go into an institution for the poor. The officers granted him the privilege of coming out on Sunday to attend his house of worship, and knew he was a Latter-day Saint too. This was perhaps his only solace, but he kept praying that God would bring him out of that prison life and to Zion. The matter was spoken of in meeting, and word reached Salt Lake City, where an old friend of his had lately come. Very soon it was written to a friend there that the money was forwarded to pay his passage here. On Sunday he was asked after meeting if he could make ready in three days to go to Utah. He was overjoyed, and the release from the house was obtained next day.
Find your way from the Dino's nose and escape from its tail. It's tricky, goodluck.
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With his possessions all tied up in one red cotton handkerchief, he left the prison-like walls and went among old acquaintances, bidding them a glad good-by. It so happened that some of these found themselves able to add a few gifts and comforts for the journey, which you may be sure he appreciated. Friends related how he enjoyed the ocean trip and the cities of America, then the cars for the long, swift ride. But, alas ! his feeble frame could not endure the constant excitement and change, and it was thought best to stop over a few days to give him rest. A good elder stayed with him and did all that could be done. One night the old man said, ‘’Brother, you can go on in the morning with my body. I want it buried in Zion ; but I shall be there in spirit, before you.” He died happy, because he was free and on his way here. Children who were born in Zion have no idea of the intense, prayerful longing in the hearts of those who desire to gather to God’s appointed place. I know all about it, for I once lived out in the world. Can you realize the blessing of emigrating those who cannot otherwise get here ? How different all would have seemed if that poor man had died away back beyond the ocean!
DINO Maze
Junior page HOW TO MAKE A SUPER DAD FATHER'S DAY GIFT SUPPLIES NEEDED TO MAKE FATHER’S DAY GIFT: ·Super Dad Father’s Day gift template ·Hershey’s chocolate bar ·colored cardstock paper ·yarn for hair (optional) ·markers or crayons ·scissors ·tape ·glue stick INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE SUPER DAD GIFT IDEA: Step 1: Begin by downloading and printing out the Super Dad Father’s Day gift template using this link: You can either print this all out on white paper and have children color in all of the pieces on their own. Or you can print out the Super Dad capes on colored cardstock and the face template on a skin tone colored cardstock. Step 2: Cut out all of the pieces of the template. Use your markers (or crayons) to color in the the Super Dad badge and the Super Dad face. On some of our examples we used yarn
I love to pray
for hair. This is optional. Step 3: Personalize the Father’s Day gift label by completing the sentence with something “super” your Dad does using markers. Step 4: Lay the Hershey’s chocolate bar on top of the superhero cape, aligning the chocolate bar with the bottom of the cape. Fold down the top corners and make creases along the cape to form the cape around the chocolate bar. Add tape to the superhero cape and lay your chocolate bar down onto it. Step 5: Add a piece of tape at the bottom of the chocolate bar and at the top of the chocolate bar and attach the Super Dad badge and the face to the tape. Step 6: Use a glue stick (or tape) to attach the Super Dad Father’s Day gift tag to the back of the superhero cape.
FUN WITH POETRY
I love to pray to the Lord God, Who is the Father of us all, Who is ever so kind and good, And will always answer my call. I pray when I rise in the morning, I pray when I go to bed at night, I pray whenever I need something, Prayer at any time is right. We know that people go to different churches, To the mosque and to the temple, But we all pray to the same God, Who makes it so nice and simple. So try to pray as often as I do, To get whatever you need; God will always help in the right way, If you follow wherever He leads. (BY UNCLE ROY)
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Sunday June 09, 2019
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Do the Best in your Written Examinations
W
hen doing a written test, you can improve your chances of doing well by following these steps;1. Taking a couple of deep breaths at the start will help to build up your confidence and concentration. 2. Read all the instructions carefully and try to follow then precisely. Next, read over each question twice so as to ensure that you understand exactly what is required. 3. Determine which are the easy and difficult questions, with the intention of working on the easier ones first. This will work towards giving you the confidence needed in solving the harder problems. 4. Write down on a separate piece of paper any information you are likely to
need in the course of answering, so as to avoid the worry of trying to get these while you are actually working on the problem, e.g. equations, dates, rules, etc. 5. Take care to write legibly so that there will be no doubt as to what you have written. 6. Work at a steady by unhurried rate, and try to finish with enough time to review your answers at the end. 7. Check all your answers in a critical manner so that you do not overlook any mistakes you might have made. During a test you may find that you get stuck on a question. But this does not mean that you cannot do well in it and in the rest of the test. Instead of telling yourself negative things, say to yourself: “I’ve done harder than this before”; “I will
You have what it takes You have what it takes to succeed, You have within you everything you need to become anything you want to be, and the zeal to approach your tasks enthusiastically. You have power within you to apply yourself energetically; You have wisdom within you to wisely take the necessary steps to your good; You have all within you to answer the call to be whatever you want to be; You have imagination within you to see in your mind what you want manifested; remember how to do this if I relax and try to recall what I have learnt”; “This is only one problem, and I will strive to do my best in the others”. A good idea would be to leave it until you have done the others when you would
have tasted success in these. If you follow these tips, and if you have previously put your study time to good use, you should feel fairly confident when you go into the examination room.
Mathdoku Complete the puzzle by entering the numbers 1 through 9 in each empty white cell. Each number will be used exactly once, and there is only one unique solution that will satisfy all six equations. Good luck!
You have love within you to be loving in all your methods and ways; You have life within you to pursue the happiness that is your birthright; You have strength within you to hold and pursue true ideas; You have intelligence within you to renounce every bad thought and action; You have faith within you to fulfil your destiny and make the most of yourself.
When you have tried to do your best in any period, you will feel confident that you have the ability to succeed THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK at the end of it
Solutions to last week’s
Reverse Word Search Puzzles
Bowl a Score Challenge STRIKES: GLOBALIZED TEMPERANCE PROPENSITY SPHEROIDAL SPARES: Other combinations are correct, score for them once they’re correct.
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The best first: 1. When I see lovers’ names carved in a tree, I don’t think it’s sweet. I just think it’s surprising how many people bring a knife on a date. 2.Doctor: “I’m sorry but you suffer from a terminal illness and have only 10 to live.” Patient: “What do you mean, 10? 10 what? Months? Weeks?!” Doctor: “Nine.” 3. My old aunts would come and tease me at weddings, “Well Sarah? Do you think you’ll be next?” We’ve settled this quickly once I’ve started doing the same to them at funerals. 4. A doctor accidentally prescribes his patient a laxative instead of a coughing syrup. Three days later the patient comes for a check-up and the doctor asks: “Well? Are you still coughing?” The patient replies: “No. I’m afraid to.” 5. Job interviewer: “And where would you see yourself in five years’ time Mr. Jeffries?” Mr. Jeffries: “Personally I believe my biggest weakness is in listening.” 6. An old grandma brings a bus driver a bag of peanuts every day. First the bus driver enjoyed the peanuts but after a week of eating them he asked: “Please granny, don’t bring me peanuts anymore. Have them yourself.”. The granny answers: “You know, I don’t have teeth anymore. I just prefer to suck the chocolate around them.” 7. Dentist: “This will hurt a little.” Patient: “OK.” Dentist: “I’ve been having an affair with your wife for a while now. 8. I got another letter from this lawyer today. It said “Final Notice”. Good that he will not bother me anymore. 9.I dreamed I was forced to eat a giant marshmallow. When I woke up, my pillow was gone. 10. An eskimo brings his friend to his home for a visit. When they arrive, his friend asks, puzzled – “So where’s your igloo?” The friend replies “Oh no, I must’ve left the iron on…” 11. “Can you please hold my hand?”A mother asks her son: “Anton, do you think I’m a bad mom?” -Son: “My name is Paul.” 12. Doctor: You’re obese. Patient: For that I definitely want a second opinion. Doctor: You’re quite ugly, too. 13.Two donkeys are standing at a roadside, one asks the other: So, shall we cross? -The other shakes his head: “No way, look at what happened to the zebra.” 14.Guest to the waiter: “Can you bring me what the lady at the next table is having?” Waiter: “Sorry, sir, but I’m pretty sure she wants to eat it herself.” 15.“Mom, where do tampons go?” “Where the babies come from, darling.” “In the stork?” 16. A husband and a wife sit at the table, having dinner. The woman drops a bit of tomato sauce on her white top. “Oh no, I look like a pig!” The man nods, “And you dropped tomato sauce on your top!” 17.Husband: Wow, honey, you look really different today. Did you do something to your hair? Wife: Michael, I’m over here! 18. Boy complains to his father: You told me to put a potato in my swimming trunks! You said it would impress the girls at the pool! But you forgot to mention one thing! Father: Really, what? Boy: That the potato should go in the front. 19. One of the most wonderful things in life is to wake up and enjoy a cuddle with somebody; unless you are in prison. 20. One company owner asks another: “Tell me, Bill, how come your employees are always on time in the mornings?” Bill replies: “Easy. 30 employees and 20 parking spaces.” 21. Recently I introduced two of my lisping friends to each other. -After a short but rough fist fight they realized that neither was mocking the other.22.
Kaieteur News
Sunday June 09, 2019
Sunday June 09, 2019
How to Apply False Eyelashes Step by Step 1. Prep Lashes After completing your eyeshadow and eyeliner application of choice, curl your lashes and apply a coat of mascara. Try the Kevyn Aucoin Beauty Eyelash Curler and the Laura Mercier Faux Lash Mascara. After completing your eyeshadow and eyeliner application of choice, curl your lashes and apply a coat of mascara. Try the Kevyn Aucoin Beauty Eyelash Curler and the Laura Mercier Faux Lash Mascara. 2. Apply Glue to the Eyelash Using a tweezer, hold the lashes and dab on a thin line of glue to the lash band with a Q-Tip. A dark glue will blend into your eyeliner better, but worry not: The standard-issue white stuff will dry clear. Duo Eyelash Adhesive comes in black and clear. Using a tweezer, hold the lashes and dab on a thin line of glue to the lash band with a Q-Tip. A dark glue will blend into your eyeliner better, but worry not: The standard-issue white stuff will dry clear. Duo Eyelash Adhesive comes in black and clear. 3. Wait for the Glue to Dry Slightly This is a game changer: Let the glue dry for about 30 seconds. It’ll make the lashes less likely to slide around when you apply. This is a game changer: Let the glue dry for about 30 seconds. It’ll make the lashes less likely to slide around when you apply. 4. Adhere the Strip to Your Lash Line Using the tweezers again, put the lashes in place right where your eyeliner is and press them into the lash line. Sephora False Eye Lashes in Showstopper are full and long. Using the tweezers again, put the lashes in place right where your eyeliner is and press them into the lash line. Sephora False Eye Lashes in Showstopper are full and long. 5. Hide Seams Extra eyeliner and another coat of mascara with tie it all together, filling in any little gaps. Voilà: That’s the last step in how to put on false eyelashes! Extra eyeliner and another coat of mascara with tie it all together, filling in any little gaps. Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes liner would work well for this. Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes liner would work well for this. False Eyelash DOs and DON’Ts Now that you’ve got the basics down, here are 13 extra makeup artist-approved dos and don’ts! Do Experiment with Different Pairs of False Lashes When it comes to false lashes, one size doesn’t fit all. It would be AMAZING if every single pair of lashes was perfectly customized for you. But unfortunately, that’s usually not the case, and you’re gonna have to bust out the scissors. “Start by measuring the lash,” says celeb makeup artist Ricky Wilson. Lay it down above your real lashes (without glue!) and then open your eye. This will give you an idea of how the lash will sit and how much to snip away. Trimming makes them more comfortable to wear and prevents them from popping up.
SOLUTION TO LAST WEEK’S WORD SEARCH
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Kaieteur News
Local companies must meet intl standards for oil business says business architecture expert Local businesses have been doing just fine for the level at which they are operating and for the clientele theyve been serving. But if they are to capitalise on and benefit from the rush that first oil will bring to this neck of the woods in 2020, there needs to be a concerted and large-scale effort to meet international standards and be certified in their trade. That is the insistence of Allen Keene, who is, among other things, a recognised subject matter expert, consultant, and business systems architect for ISO 31000 enterprise risk management programmes. He explained that global standards of business management are important to tender as proof of a companys credibility, and to instill confidence in its potential clients. He said that small businesses must now consider adjusting their mindsets to operate on a global scale. Keene recently concluded a two-day seminar with some local companies at the Pegasus Hotel on Certified ISO 31000 Enterprise Risk Management Policy, Strategy, Design, and Risk Assessment.
Business Architect, Allen Keene He said that there seems to be a pervasive attitude, since local businesses have never needed to meet global standards to operate, that they shouldnt have to now. But its time to appreciate that “other nations laws become your issues too. This means that other nations and other companies from other nations, their expectations
now become your expectations.” Guyana has seen, since discovery of oil in 2015, a multitude of globally recognised businesses from all sectors coming to its shores. These businesses are well-funded, established and governed, according to Keene. Keene, who is assisting
Swami Pumandan Primary pupil triumphs at Region Four Spelling Bee finale
L-R: Education Officer Shaharazade Atkinson, Ansa McAl’s Fharis Mohamed; Nicholoi Morris (third place); Leikshaya Lakhaj (second place) and winner Josh Jailall with REO Pauline Lucas and Literacy Coordinator Barbra Richards. A grand spelling bee finale spearheaded by the Region Four Department of Education saw the winners of the nine clusters, which made up the competition, battling for supremacy. The nine competitors who faced off Friday had all won their respective clusters’ competition which allowed them to be named finalists. Those competing for the regional title were Renuka Somwaru of Virgina Primary; Jasmine Jairam of Annandale
Primary; Anneisa Rampersaud of Dora Primary; Amar Gordon of St. Paul’s Primary; Nicholoi Morris of Kuru Kuru Primary; Jamaul John of Eccles Primary; Olicia Joseph of Kuru Kururu Primary; Leikshya Lakhraj of New Diamond Grove Primary and Josh Jailall of Swami Pumandan Primary. At the end of the thrilling competition, it was Josh Jailall who walked away with the winning title. The competition, which
was organised by the Literacy Division at the Department of Education, was witnessed by several pupils and their teachers. Head of the Literacy Division, Barbara Richards, ahead of the competition, told those in attendance that while in previous years pupils were given the words so that they can adequately prepare, this year’s competition was executed differently. She said that they were (Continued on page 62)
Caribbean governments, Central Banks, energy, and other entities to establish governance of risk related activities, has a wealth of experience that has taught him how important it is to give competency assurance to third parties such as World Bank and the International Development Bank. He said that banks, for instance, have recognised that they can t operate in the financial sector and not work with the international best practice. “How do you be a central bank and not operate in a risk management system that the rest of the financial sector throughout the entire world is using?” He recalled that last year July, the Central Bank of Bahamas had its website hacked. That could have been avoided if it had an information security management programme. Local businesses have available to them a series of frameworks that they can put in place for risk management, quality management (which Keene says is very important to the oil and gas sector), environmental management, business continuity, disaster recovery, and information security. Asked what the consequences would be to the local business environment of refusal to acquire international certification, Keen said quite frankly that local businesses “wont qualify to do business with international companies that require it”. “So, for example, if my organisation is certified to
ISO 9001, I did it because the customers who I service require it to even be on their vendor list. If I lose my 9001 certification, I can no longer work with them. “Guyana has a tremendous opportunity in front of it.” Keene noted. A startling amount of income will attract companies from all over the world. Keene said that acquiring global certifications will allow Guyana to do business with some of the worlds biggest customers. If you want to know who to blame for businesses lacking qualification, Keene has already figured that out. “The hold-up is in senior management not wanting to go ahead and take part.” “These are governance programmes that cant be initiated from the bottom level of the organisation. There is a management structure. If the board mandates it, and your executive management listens to the board and says theyre going to establish a new governance framework, then yes, you can do it.” He said that there is a need to have stronger willingness in government and with the principals of the private sector. “These governance frameworks actually have specific clauses requiring that kind of involvement.” Recently appointed Minister of Business, Hemraj Rajkumar, was keen to note the importance of lifting the standards of business practices when asked, last month. Questions about Local Content in the oil sector are rife in public discussion,
given that oil is slated to start pumping next year. Guyanese want to know just how much they can get involved in the running of the oil and gas sector. But Guyanese have a culture of being more interested in foreign products than those of local manufacturers, Rajkumar said. He said that he envisages a climate of business where locals appreciate indigenous products. “I have a belief that if there is something you produce, and you dont want to consume it yourself, then who else would?” There is a concerted effort by the Business Ministry to increase the standards of local businesses, so that Guyanas goods, services and skills can compete in a global market. “At the Guyana National Bureau of Standards, we have already started to encourage them to up their quality and get the certifications.” Rajkumar said. With such improvements, he said that Guyanese will have more leverage to participate in the sector. GNBS is governed by the National Standards Council and it falls under the portfolio of the Ministry of Trade, Tourism, Industry and Commerce. Technical Committees established by the Council are responsible for the development of standards. Apart from standards development, the Bureau promotes and implements standards in key sectors of the local economy through the many services it provides.
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Mason charged for feeding GRA sets up hotline to one year old ganja in tea fight corruption from within Twenty-seven-year-old Keon Granville was yesterday fined and sentenced to community service after he admitted that he would normally boil marijuana and make tea for his one-year-old nephew to drink. It was alleged that on June 7, 2019 at Phase 1 East Ruimveldt, Granville had in his possession two grams of the drug. He was brought before the Acting Chief Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus in the Georgetown Magistrates Courts. Granville when given a chance to address the court said that he would normally boil the marijuana and make tea for his nephew to drink as the childs first meal for the day. He added that his nephew suffers from a severe respiratory problem and since he started giving the child the ganja tea, his breathing has improved. Police prosecutor Adduni Inniss stated that on the day in question, police ranks went to the home of the accused and identified themselves. They then conducted a search of the home in Granvilles presence and the suspected narcotic was found. The accused was shown the cannabis and under caution, he admitted ownership of same. He was then arrested and taken into police custody where he was charged for the offence. In handing down her sen-
Keon Granville tence, the magistrate told the accused that he should not play a pediatrician and make diagnosis if he is not certified. “It is not healthy to give a child narcotic. Rather you need to take him to see a doctor for his ailment.” Granville was fined $10,000 and sentenced to eight weeks of community service. He was also instructed to attend three counselling sessions. Meanwhile, Dennis Nunes, a 50-year-old labourer of Lot 34 DUrban Street, Georgetown, was remanded
to prison after he was found with three kilos of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking. He denied the charge, which alleged that on Friday at his home, he was found with 605 grams for the purpose of trafficking. Prosecutor Inniss objected to bail based on the seriousness and prevalence of the offence. She stated that the cannabis was allegedly found in the defendants room in a barrel. The prosecutors objection was upheld and the matter was adjourned to June 19, 2019.
The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has indicated to the public by means of an advertisement in the daily newspapers, that it has launched a hotline service for their Special Investigation Unit (SIU) in an effort to combat corruption from within the entity. The ad stated, “In an effort to promote integrity from its internal and external stakeholder, the Guyana Revenue Authority has launched a hotline service to deal specifically with reports of staff involved in activities affecting the integrity of all its stakeholders, including that of the Revenue Agency.” In an interview with this publication earlier this year, GRAs Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia stated that the SIU is part of the entitys plan to fight internal acts of corruption or collusion tha t m a y l e a d t o b i l lions of dollars in revenue leakages. T he Commissioner General asserted that among the duties of the Unit will be the vetting of short-listed applic a n t s p r i o r to their employment with th e r e v enue authority. He said that this will not only bring about ac-
GRAs Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia countability and transparency but it will also be seeking to catch those taxpayers trying to cheat the system as well as the officials within GRA who may be working along with them. In a prior advertisement, GRA had pointed out that in accordance with Sections 221/222 of the Customs Act Chapter 82:01, the Guyana Revenue Authority will institute legal proceedings against all
parties and will seek the maximum penalty of three years imprisonment for person(s) involved in bribery or corruption. The GRA encouraged persons to join them in their fight in stomping out irregularities. By securing public confidence in the integrity of its staff, GRA advised individuals to make contact with SIU via telephone number 225-5051 as the hotline number.
Sunday June 09, 2019
Kaieteur News
STANDARDS IN FOCUS TODAY IS WORLD ACCREDITATION DAY Today, June 9 marks World Accreditation Day as a global initiative, jointly established by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), to raise awareness of the importance of accreditation. The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) as the National Accreditation Focal Point has over the years offered its services to support organisations and businesses to implement International Standards towards certification and accreditation. This year’s theme focuses on how accreditation provides added value to supply chains. Supply chains provide a vital role in delivering products and services for consumers, business and the public sector in a timely, cost-efficient and quality manner. According to IAF and ILAC, although businesses have been producing items with goods sourced from around the world for many years, supply chains are now significantly more complex in terms of the speed, scale, depth, and breadth of global interactions. Further, the global nature
of supply chains and retail markets means that businesses have to operate in multiple and often differing regulatory environments. Determining the quality, authenticity and traceability of raw materials or components requires credible and trustworthy information. Accreditation and other quality infrastructure tools such as standards, metrology and conformity assessment, provide widely accepted tools that help deliver value to the supply chain. These tools help with trust and assurance, enabling confidence in both final products and services and the manner in which they are placed on the market and used. As in previous years, the day will be celebrated across the world with the hosting of major national events, seminars, and press and media coverage, to provide the opportunity to explore how accreditation can help deliver a safer world and to support businesses, government and regulators to find standards, conformity assessment and accreditation tools to support them in this goal. Locally, business organisations are becoming accredited to international
standards. The list includes the Guyana Rice Development Board Central Laboratory and the Government Analyst Food and Drug Department. These are accredited to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard: General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories. In addition, medical institutions are also ensuring that they too are getting ahead of game and are today reaping the benefits of being accredited. These institutions are the Eureka Medical Laboratory Inc. and the Dr. Balwant Singh’s Hospital Inc. They are accredited to the ISO 15189 standard: Medical Laboratories -- Requirements for quality and competence. For further information on how standards and accreditation can help improve your business operations, contact the Business Support Services Department, Guyana National Bureau of Standards on telephone 592-219-00640066 or email info@gnbsgy.org. This department can work with any business desirous of becoming certified and accredited according to international standards.
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SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; 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. Jacob’s Jewellery and Pawnshop. Tel#227-8748/ 622-4970 16 Pike St, Kitty G/ town Desmond Repair Services. Fridge, AC, Gas Stove, Microwave, Washer, Plumbing, home wiring etc on the spot repairs. Call: 678-8683 Seegobin construction from rough to finish. Specialize in house construction, swimming pools, fences and concrete textures. Tel# 6939327 Need your own personal driver? For all your services. Call #668-9020. Ask for Chubby (Car/Van automatic)
FOR SALE 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 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 Outdoor umbrella for $6.700 at Alabama Trading 65 Robb St, Bourda Outdoor 10x10ft tent for $17,000 at Alabama Trading 65 Robb St, Bourda 2 - 6 Ton Ice Plant with holding room turnkey operation with spares, Lot V1,V2 Houston Estate EBD. Entire Boutique closing down sale.All ladies clothing JL brand, over 2000 pieces.Tel:225-0571 1 Toyota Tundra 4WD. Excellent condition. $2.8M. 10 Acres of land @ Linden/ Soesdyke. $15M Neg. Chicken farm. Call 657-7221 20 KVA Diesel Generator, Silent, in good working order $800,000 #672-5500 Oil Paintings by Guyana's #1 Artist Oriental General Store, Water Street. #651-1969
Transported land 11.6 acres. Lot 15 public road. #2 Village W.C.B. Price $18M. Contact 686-4818, 648-7109
Foundation, Column & Curb wall already bulit 57ft x 30ft for 2 storey house Lot 1402 Westminister, WBD. Call: 682-5813 Parfaite Harmonie $1.4M Dairy $1.8M Schnoord (100x50) with 20 ft Reserve $3.6M #656-0701/648-1635 2 acre- V/Hoop WCD #6216918/697-7731 35 Acres of land located on Main road Eight Miles, Port Kaituma. Price $15M Neg. Call 657-7221 Eccles (Single & Double lots) , Providence EBD, Enterprise & Paradise ECD Contact Ray’s Realty #627-9685
FOR RENT
VEHICLE FOR SALE
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
Axio PXX series, reverse camera, fog lamps, owner leaving country. 2010 model $2.2M neg Tel#611-7106
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 Top flat 3 bedroom, LBI Housing Scheme. Tel#2267585 (2) bedroom apartment @ 3 miles Bartica, water included $40,000. Contact #682-8290 Apartment to rent 2 & 1 Bedrooms, UG Turkeyen area. Call: 684-4178 One Four bedroom concrete cottage, unfurnished for rent, located at 26 Continential Park, Peter’s Hall, East Bank Demerara. Tel#233-5808 PROPERTY FOR SALE House for sale, Eccles Housing Scheme. 7 bedrooms, 3 toilets and bathrooms enclosed. $28.5M. Call 642-0391/ 001447587233657/ yasharabhola4@gmail.com 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 Festival City, Two storey $18M, Aubrey Barker 100 x 100, Bel Air Park $58M Atlantic Gardens $45M #231-2199/6187483
LAND FOR SALE
Parfaite Harmonie $1.5M $1.8M $3.5M Eccles $6.5M Farm $5M Herstelling $4M, $4.5M Tuschen $1.5M Call: 666-2326
Sunday June 09, 2019
Kaieteur News
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
New model 2009 premio $2.3M,Toyota Vitz 2010(unregistered) $1.8M Tel#223-5615/627-9600 1 Honda CRV. includes TV, music system, alarm, reverse camera, sproiler, crash bar, Low mileage. PTT Series (First Owner) Contact #6490956 One mini cooper. #626-1372 Fiat van, include new parts, white. Tel#627-0347/603-6860 1 NZE Toyota Fielder Wagon PSS series $1.5M neg & 1 AE 91 Toyota Sprinter PGG series $300,000 neg. Both cars stick gear. Tel#616-6620/641-5470
1 Gardener/handyman to work at Friendship East Bank Demerara. Tel#266-2217 1 - Male Ablebodied clerk. Call: 231-2029/616-5954 Needed one plot of land to buy in Herstelling New Scheme #611-7223 Vegetarian Gardens- Driver, Salesman and Porter #2277 7 1 4 / 2 2 3 - 3 4 4 8 info@vgiworld.com
Toyota Car/Corola-Left hand drive $380,000 neg #680-3863
Hick’s Ville Hotel Receptionist, Hotel attendants, Washer/Presser #231-0951/227-7714/223-3448 info@vgiworld.com
Misubishi, Dingo, have a small hit in front, car sold as is without papers, for parts $275,000 #672-5500
Experienced cook & Waiter/ Waitress, Apply @ Parika 2nd Flat Boodhoo’s General Store. Contact#650-0402/664-4663
Toyota Mark Two GX-100 working, have small hit on side, car sold as, no papers $350,000 #672-5500
Experienced cook 25-50 yrs Salary starts at $25,000 weekly preferably live in, must be from ECD. #610-3974
Honda CRV, New PRR series, fully powered, Automatic, AC works, very good condition $2.2M Neg #672-5500
Live-in Waitress to work in a bar. Age: must be 18-23 yrs old, must have ID in possession. Contact#2212785
Honda CRV- Old Model, Crash bar, side bars, AC works, Roof rack, Automatic $1.7M Neg #672-5500 Toyota Runx-Automatic, Fully powered PVV series in good condition $1.3M Neg #672-5500
Plantain, Pine, Dry Coconut & Passion Fruit to supply with. Tel#687-3538 / 666-7503 whatsapp One Car/Van driver with mechanical experience 45 yrs. Tel#227-1830
Newly constructed 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, house overlooking the sea for sale #675-1510/613-7954
Mercedes Benz C200, Automatic, fully powered, immaculate condition $2.2M Neg. #672-5500
Experienced General Domestic cook & clean 5 days per week, recommendation required, EBD. Call: 662-7701
2 storey building, Broad St (Business area) Georgetown. Contact Ray’s Realty #6279685
Nissan Titan, Automatic, Fully powered, reasonable condition $1.5M neg. #6725500/677-2600
(1) 2002/2006 Toyota Allion or Premio. Contact #685-8980
Audi TT, 2000cc, 6 speed in immaculate condition, fully powered $2.2M neg #6725500/677-2600
DOLLYSAUTO RENTAL CALL: 225-7126 & 2263693 -DOLLYS AUTO RENTAL@ YAHOO.COM/ W W W . D O L L Y SAUTORENTAL.COM
2 storey concrete property 11 (classey) self contained rooms, Broad St, Georgetown. Contact Ray’s Realty #6279685
AIDAN’S CAR RENTAL:PICKUP,9-11 SEAT MINI BUS, GOOD FOR AIRPORT & FAMILY OUTINGS, CHEAPEST RATE . Call: 698-7807
Modern 3 bedroom house, business area below & bond behind, Ketley Street, Georgetown. Ray’s Realty #627-9685
Office space to let.74 Brickdam opposite GT&T, 2 Floors fully Air conditioned, Generator, parking available.Call:226-6771/2264537.
One concrete 2 storey 3 bedroom Modern home, Melanie (public road) ECD Contact Ray’s Realty #6279685
Tolet : One semi furnished / unfurnished two storey three (3) bedroom house 18th Street Diamond, East Bank Demerara. Call: 655-0370 / 6382482
WING’S CAR & PICKUP RENTAL: LOW DOWN PAYMENT, CHEAP RATES,SPECIALOFFERS! . CALL: 690-6494
Buying Wamara, Darina, Crabwood, Purpleheart, Tonkabean Logs. Contact #664-5150/691-5349
TO LET
1 cleaner for fish processing plant, 1 fish processing plant supervisor, 1 truck driver, Experienced Fish processing plant workers #227-5672/5002661 1 shop assistant to work in ther interior experience would be an asset. #669-3162 Experienced driver for private car, must live in or around Georgetown area. Phone #225-4818 or 623-7609 One live-in maid, to do house hold work and some cooking between, age 18-30 years Whats app # +1-718-427-1456 Cell#672-5500
Accounts Clerk. Requirements: CAT/ACCA Level 2, Quickbooks POS & Accounts proficient, salary negotiable. (2) Driver/ Salesman. Tel#623-8780 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 Vacancy for Salesgirl. Apply in person at Alabama Trading 65 Robb Street, Bourda Female cleaner office & home. Call: 642-9823 Persons needed for Interior. Age 21-40. Phone #674-1767/ 661-7265 Vacancies exist for (1) Hotdog Cart operator. Food handlers certificate required. Call: 603-4981 Deskstaff, Receptionist 25-45 yrs 233 South Road Lacytown/ 225-0198 Experienced Male Porters & Salesgirls with 2 yrs experience. CXC maths & english. Apply @ Christine’s Variety, Lombard St. Contact: 227-8529 Supervisor for Xenon Hotel in Essequibo. Contact#2235273/74 General domestic. 3 Days work. Must know to cook. Apply with 2 references. KeyFood McDoom village (1) Cook #624-0033, (1) Customer Service Assistant #624-0033 (1) Cashier #6240033 Driver & Porter for water delivery truck #680-3863 Handyman/Partime #6803863 WANTED 3-day domestic to work in BelAir park. Good salary. Call: 226-2322 (Continued on page 61)
Sunday June 09, 2019
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Kaieteur News
Region Three environmental health unit on board with going green drive
Upcycled items being displayed. The Environmental Health Unit of Region Three is on board with the ‘going green’. On Friday, it displayed a model of a typical environmentally friendly home and a few upcycled materials. ‘Up-cycling’ is basically
reusing a discarded object or material to create something else that has a higher quality of value than it was before. The booth attendant explained that in keeping with the ‘going green’ drive, the region is encouraging per-
sons to practise up-cycling and also switch to renewable sources of energy. The up-cycled items displayed included spray painted glass bottles that were reused as flower vases, glass bottles fully wrapped in the string
The model home. from the brown rice bags reused as centrepieces and flowers made out of discarded materials. The model of a typical ‘going green’ home on display was certainly a sight to see. It entailed a solar panel attached
to the roof and depicted animals in the yard to which organic scraps would be given hence reducing solid waste. Lush green lawn and trees were also a part of the litter-free yard. The unit is
Police find missing Berbice woman with husband at Enmore The woman who was reported missing after she was dragged by her husband from a friend’s home on Tuesday was found in the company of the same man on Friday at Enmore, East Coast Demerara. They were found at the home of Anil Chapman of Lot 179 Enmore North, East Coast Demerara. Dhanmattie Sumara, called “Jenny”, 29, of No. 19 Village, East Coast Berbice and Martin Baker, 50, have been together for the past two years. They have two children. She
has three other children from a previous relationship. The man was recently released from custody after he was arrested on a report of sexual assault of a child under the age of 16. The two have been having domestic problems for some time so the woman decided to move out of the home, which she shared with him. The man reportedly assaulted the woman on Sunday and she sought refuge on Monday at the family friend’s home at the neighbouring vil-
lage of Warren on Monday. On Tuesday, Baker came to where Sumara was staying, forced his way into the house and reportedly dragged her out of the friend’s yard by her hair. At the time, he was reportedly armed with a cutlass and was ‘broad-siding’ her, whilst threatening to kill her. After he disappeared with the woman, family members became worried about her safety and reported to matter to the police. Checks were made at the couple’s home but
there was no sign of the couple. The police ventured to the backlands of Black Bush after reports were made that they were heading there. On Friday, the cops in Berbice received words that they were spotted in Enmore and contact was made with their colleagues in ‘C’ Division who staked out the area and arrested the two. They were brought back to Berbice and are being questioned as investigation continues.
back to the less fortunate. While it came naturally for him to lend support in his adopted country, Subraj also wanted to give back meaningfully to the land of his birth. This saw him opting to do humanitarian work through a US-based charity foundation [founded by another Guyanese/American businessman – Tony Yassin] called Guyana Watch. In 2008, Subraj was able to pioneer Guyana’s first kidney transplants and after 25 missions, has been able to complete more than 25 such procedures. There have been cornea transplants and free distribution of spectacles through its collaboration with the country’s premier public health institution – the Georgetown Public Hospital. Subraj was also passionate about education. He also made some very tangible do-
nations to educational institutions here. But according to Mahase, “He was also a man who felt that the society was never complete without the structure of the art...the art form is reflective of a society’s growth and how well we present ourselves.” Inspired by Subraj’s life, Mahase said that he was given his blessing to create a screenplay for the movie to reflect his business and the struggles of people from all over the world who seek to make a life for themselves in New York and therefore have the need to rent an apartment. It was in recognition of related challenges faced by many, himself included, when he first migrated to the United States, that Subraj decided to purchase buildings which he could in turn rent to the many people in need of accommo-
dation. But according to Mahase, while renting an apartment can be deemed a simplistic process, Subraj had come to the realisation that “qualifying to become a landlord in New York is a massive structure of conditions and requirements and paperwork.” Mr. Subraj, according to Mahase, “Studied all of this; he self-taught himself how to handle this industry and today we can consider his business one of the iconic businesses as it pertains to apartment renting.” The bottom-line, Mahase said, is that Subraj wanted to have a movie made where people could, in Guyana and around the world too, known exactly what he did as a business man. The PG rated movie starring Nick Radu, Kyoko, Allan McCormic, R. J. Kholi and Brent White, is one that
VACANCY Looking for a job & educational services? Contact The Job Centre 43 Croal & Alexander Street or call 5024002/600-8457 Driver/Expediter. Contact# 223-5273/74 1 clerk to assist in Accounts Dept & Cashier duties. Experience an asset. Apply Mike’s Pharmacy, Bel Air.
Dhanmattie-Sumara, Martin-Baker
Guyanese-created movie, ‘The Tenants: Rent’s due’, hits Caribbean.... From page 20 doing such a project.” The film, which is set in New York, tells the tale of the business of renting apartments, which Mahase described as “an extremely challenging procedure that has many layers of difficulties and also layers of help.” Subraj, Mahase explained, became one of the dynamic figures in Queens, New York in the early 1980s after he purchased his first apartment building. By 1992, Subraj was the owner of more than 20 buildings. The apartment building featured in the movie is in fact the property of Subraj. At the press conference, Mahase reflected a bit on the life of Subraj. He recalled that after making a name for himself through a thriving housing venture – Zara Realty— , Subraj was inclined to give
hoping that the citizens would follow this initiative to undertake a clean and green way of living hence reducing pollution. Burning fossil fuels and using plastics contribute to pollution.
highlights the life of Matt, played by Nick Radu, who is just one of a multitude of people from many walks of life, living in a run-down apartment building in New York. Down on his luck, Matt finds himself behind on rent and locked out of this apartment. Sleazy super, Marcel [R. J. Kholi], rents Matt’s apartment to two college girls, Reeda and Windee, looking to make it on their own. After coming up with the money, Matt reluctantly takes the keys from Marcel to another tenant’s apartment. Mistaken identities, a bag of missing money and multiple kidnappings bring these strangers together to fight for their property, their home and their lives. The 111-minute long movie, once opened next month, will have four shows daily.
Vacancy exist for Administrative Assistant. Send email to: Georgetown@gmcg.global, closing June 30th 2019 One legal computer clerk, 1 maid/cook, must reside in Mahaica/Mahaicony area. Phone 624-7087. Email: husainsaphier@yahoo.com Office Clerk 25-45 yrs old. Please call #616-6988 Watchman to work in Georgetown, must be 60 years of age or older, free place to live. Salary $25,000. Call: 265-7550 Driver/Salesman, Experience is an asset. Call: 663-5800 10 year’s experience cook @ Stall (A) Bourda Market. Tel#227-3407 MASSAGE & HEALTH HERBAL REMEDIES: DIABETES, INFERTILITY, M E N S T R U A L DISORDERS, ENLARGED PROSTATE, KIDNEY, GALL STONES & SKIN DISORDERS ETC. CALL SPARMAN #676-5924
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Onderneeming woman shot, family robbed of $3,000 in home invasion
The injured woman, Menawattie Fernandez
The womans husband, Arthur Fernandez
Menawattie Fernandez is currently nursing a gunshot wound at the Suddie Public Hospital, after her family was robbed and held at gunpoint on last Friday night; all for $3,000. Based on reports, Fernandez and her family were ambushed outside their Onderneeming home, sometime around 17:30 hrs. Kaieteur News understands that the 34-year-old woman lives with her three children and husband. It is believed that the family had just returned from church, when two men pounced on
them from a nearby yard. The womans husband, Arthur Fernandez, told Kaieteur News yesterday, “When we going in the back door, we get stick up. I see one man armed with a gun. He stick me up and say bring the million dollar. I say I aint got no money. “By then, he take we in the house and he call around the other bandit by the gate. I keep saying I aint got no money, that I aint working. So they tell me wife, I gon shoot this man. And then the bandit shoot up in the air.” Fernandez said after
The home where the Fernandez family lives shooting up in the air, his wife charged towards the gunman. The 54-year-old man said that he seized this opportunity to escape, and fled through an open window. He said that when he ran to alert the neighbours, he heard three other shots fired. Arthur said that when he returned home, the men had al-
ready fled, and his wife was shot to the foot. One neighbour told this publication, “We hear the gun fire about four times then we heard screaming. The lady come out bleeding and crying. When we go to the house, the house ransack and it had plenty blood where she got shot. The police take
about 90 minutes to reach the scene.” The 34-year-old woman was rushed to the Suddie Public Hospital, where the bullet was eventually removed. Reports indicate that three .9mm spent shells were later recovered at the scene. The woman remains at the Suddie Public Hospital,
where her condition is regarded as stable. The home was ransacked and $3,000 has since been reported missing. Kaieteur News understands that the mans neighbour had returned home from the interior on the said day of the robbery, and may have been the intended victim.
Swami Pumandan Primary pupil triumphs at Region Four Spelling... From page 55 only told about the topics that the words would be coming from, thus leaving an element of surprise for all competing. She, however, noted that the pupils were prepped to broaden their scope of words, adding that the competition was being used to test their ability to understand sounds, while breaking the words into syllables so as to effectively spell them. “Today’s competition is different as you the competitors were only given the topics and I am glad to recognise that we are blessed in Region Four with a number of highly intelligent children who can properly represent us,” she said. She nevertheless encouraged them to continue spelling even as she reminded them that it forms part of their holistic development into rounded students. She also congratulated the teachers from the various schools, stressing that the issue of literacy is being pushed significantly within the Region as part of moves to enhance literacy development. “I urge both the pupils and teachers to continue working on spelling...spell, spell, and spell because it will certainly improve your overall ability in doing better at school... For the teachers, it will enhance the standards within your classroom,” Richards said.
The nine finalists along with education officials and REO Pauline Lucas
Acting Regional Education Officer, Tiffany Harvey, admitted that she was elated to grace the event, even as she renewed her department’s commitment to continue supporting and organising activities of a similar nature. This move, she said, is designed to improve the educational standards within the Region. “ We a r e t h e b e s t Region; we have the best pupils and we will continue to lead the way in terms of ensuring that activities like these continue. I am very proud of my
babies (pupils) who have reached the finals, and let me congratulate you all because you are all winners; you are all champions and for that congratulations,” she said. She went on to urge that regardless of the results, they should not give up but rather persevere while seriously continuing the pursuit of spelling. She added too that the winners w i l l have the esteemed opportunity at representing the Region nationally. She, however, noted, “While you are all champions, only one of you will go onto
the national finals but the good thing is that whoever wins, we as a Region will come together and work with you to ensure that you can bring the (national) title to this Region. “We are very happy with the standard and level of spelling within our Region and that is why I firmly believe that you are all deserving of praises and best wishes.” The competition was divided into three rounds. Those who failed to spell correctly words posed to them were eliminated at the end of the respective rounds. However, in determining the
third place winner, there was a tie and another round was added to end the tie breaker. In rounds one and two, two pupils were eliminated, while after the tie breaker, Nicholoi Morris of Kuru Kuru copped third place and Leikshaya Lakhaj of New Diamond Grove Primary placed second. Claiming the winning title was Josh Jailall of Swami Pumandan Primary. However, the lad, who wasn’t a favourite at the start, convincingly won the competition. He and the second place winner were each the recipient of a tablet,
compliments of Ansa McAl, while Morris, the third place winner, won a quantity of books valued at $10,000. Meanwhile, Ansa Mc Al Brand Coordinator, Fharis Mohamed, said that his company was pleased to be supporting yet another venture spearheaded by Region Four’s Department of Education. He stressed that his company remains committed to the development of education, noting that the youths are certainly the future leaders and Ansa Mc Al will continue to play its part in their development.
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No party that refuses to correct illegalities of Exxon contract deserves to hold office –Chartered Accountant By Kiana Wilburg From beginning to end, the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) between Guyana and ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), contains numerous provisions which are not only unlawful, but rob future and current generations of what they deserve, says Chartered Accountant and Attorney-at-law, Christopher Ram. It is on this background that the auditor said on Saturday that any party, which refuses to correct the illegalities of the PSA does not deserve to hold office. The Chartered Accountant said, “I keep making the point that this is a post discovery contract and the provisions therein represent recklessness to the highest degree. So the failure to renegotiate this deal would be a dereliction of duty to the State and its people by our leaders.” The transparency advocate who has written on oil issues extensively reminded that both the Government and Opposition Leader, Bharat Jagdeo, have been vocal about maintaining the “sanctity of contracts.”
But Ram told Kaieteur News that there can be no sanctity for illegal provisions in any contract. Ram asserted that at some stage, some Government will have to say that the people cannot be bound by such provisions. The Chartered Accountant said, “The petroleum resources belong to the people of this country. No Minister or Government has the right or the power to knowingly or recklessly deprive future generations and indeed, even current generations, of their legitimate interest in these resources.” Ram reminded Kaieteur News of several provisions within the contract, which he finds to be unlawful with one of the most upsetting for him being the Stability Clause. The lawyer said that Article 32 of the GuyanaExxonMobil oil deal speaks to the Stability Clause. The Chartered Accountant said that when one compares the Janet Jagan Agreement to the 2016 Trotman Agreement, one notices several worrying additions in the latter. The anticorruption advocate said that additions to the 2016 Agreement only serve the interest of ExxonMobil as
Chartered Accountant, Chris Ram it limits the role of the government in applying new laws made in the petroleum sector. Ram revealed that if Guyana were to amend any of its laws, which would affect the entity’s operations then the Government would have to restore the benefits so lost. Ram noted that the Stability Clause provides, inter alia, “that any delay by the government to respond to any notification from the contractor that they may have suffered any adverse effects can result in the contractor taking the matter to arbitration.” “In such a case, the arbitral tribunal is authorised to
modify the agreement to reestablish the economic benefits under the Agreement to the Contractor. Where such restoration is not possible, the tribunal has the power to award damages to the Contractor that fully compensate for the loss of economic benefits under the Agreement, both for past as well as future losses.” INT’L GROUP OPPOSED For nations on the road to first oil, it would be unwise for the respective governments to sign on to contracts with a stability clause. This is according to the Open Society
Institute (OSI), an international body that aims to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, economic, legal, and social reform. On a local level, OSI implements a range of initiatives to support the rule of law, education, public health, and independent media. At the same time, OSI works to build alliances across borders and continents on issues such as combating corruption and rights abuses. According to the body, stabilisation provisions protect oil companies from governmental or legislative changes affecting any contract term and grant them compensation from the host government for any added costs due to future legislative changes, unless otherwise agreed. It noted that originally, stabilisation clauses addressed specific political risks that could affect the contract. In developed countries, the Institute said that the greatest worry was that the host government would nationalise the investors’ assets or terminate the contract by unilateral decision. It said that in the 1970s,
there were several disputes between foreign investors and Libya following the nationalisation of the oil companies’ interests and properties in that country. It noted that the arbitrating court decided that Libya’s unilateral decision to nationalise the oil companies’ interests was a breach of contract that gave rise to liabilities and required remedy. Be that as it may, the international body said that times have changed. It further stated that “a stabilisation clause is extremely disadvantageous for the government, which ‘agrees’ to it because it freezes the legal and regulatory situation of the country for an extended period of time and requires the government to pay compensation if changes affect an investor.” The body emphasised that the governments of oil producing nations must closely analyse stabilisation clauses from a time perspective. It said that all governments must ask one fundamental question before signing on to contracts with this provision, “What does it mean today and what will it mean tomorrow?”
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Barty party underway as Ashleigh Facing 3-1 deficit... triumphs in Paris PA R I S ( R e u t e r s ) A s h l e i g h B a r t y, t h e Australian who ditched tennis to play professional cricket for a year, smashed Marketa Vondrousova for six yesterday to lift the French Open crown at Roland Garros. Boasting a bewildering array of shots and spins, the eighth seed crushed her Czech teenage opponent 6-1 6-3 to win her first Grand Slam title, and Australia’s first French women’s singles crown in more than four decades. “It’s unbelievable... I played the perfect match
today. I am so proud of myself and my whole team... it has been a crazy two weeks,” said Barty, the ninth different female champion in the last 10 grand slams. “This is a special place for Australian players... it has been a magical two weeks.” Not since Margaret Court’s triumph in Paris in 1973 has an Australian won the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen but this victory was in very little doubt from the moment the final began. In a match-up where guile and artistry always
trumped power, Barty was simply smarter throughout. Producing angles so sharp they might have come with a health warning, the 23-year-old carved apart Vondrousova in the opening set, clinching it in half an hour. While the match was no classic, those fans who had taken a break after the conclusion of the Dominic Thiem-Novak Djokovic men’s semi-final which had caused the women’s final to run more than an hour late, missed some of the more thoughtful tennis played on the Roland Garros clay this past fortnight. Vo n d r o u s o v a , who herself has bamboozled a
Sunday June 09, 2019 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Be the star of your own movie and proud of the role you play. You might find yourself taking on many different characters, depending on your mood of the hour. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Take a break from your daily routine and get off the treadmill today, Taurus. The world will turn without you for one day, so tune out for a while. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Things are flowing your way, Gemini, and you should find a great deal of pleasure in the company of others. There may be an element of fantasy about the day that causes you to lose track of time and space. CANCER(June21–July22) Don't try to nail down any answers today, Cancer, because you will probably end up feeling frustrated. The less you try to force your will on others, the more you will find that things just automatically go your way. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Let your childlike side come out and play today, Leo. Your dreams are in full force, so let them lead the way. Enjoy lighthearted conversations with friends about the latest movies or novels. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Take a break from the routine and get off the beaten path, Virgo. This is a day to forge ahead with ideas and dreams rather than commitments and answers. Question things and debate the facts. Have fun whatever you do.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) It may feel like something has suddenly clicked into place for you today, Libra, because you've found the missing piece of a puzzle you've been working on. The answers may be subtle, but they're there. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Things may seem surreal today, so don't take other people's chatter too seriously. This is a day to reach out and touch someone, so pick up the phone. SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) You may find it hard to take a realistic approach to your emotions today. A sensitive issue may pull on you, leaving you feeling like you're out in left field in the way you relate to others. CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) Question the validity of anything you come in conflict with today. You might find that people act on incomplete information AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Today is a great day for you. You should enjoy a great deal of playful conversation. Fantasy is likely to play a big role in events, and you may daydream as you walk down the street. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) There may be a rather confusing element to the day, Pisces. You feel tempted to act, but some of the pieces seem to be missing. It could be hard to make a decision, since you don't have the whole picture in front of you.
succession of opponents here, repeatedly found herself outfoxed by Barty, whose doubles excellence was always on display with her net-play and cleverly angled serving. Barty, who returned to tennis in 2016 after a successful stint with the Brisbane Heat in Australian c r i c k e t ’s Women’s Big Bash League, took nary a backward step, breaking instantly in the second set to deprive her 19-year-old opponent any foothold. Cracking a stiff-armed, two-handed backhand, in the manner of Jim Courier, Barty was able to counter Vondrousova’s attempts to pull her wide with her loopy left-handed backhand, and the Czech rapidly ran out of ideas. Vondrousova turned to ever riskier strategies —- her drop shots became finer, her drives more firmly struck —and she earned a little breathing space, holding serve three times after that early break. But the irrevocable damage had been done and when Barty slammed a short smash high into the stands it was all over and she raised her arms in triumph. The victory lacked drama but lifts Barty to number two in the world —- a feat last accom p l i s h e d b y a n Australian woman in 1976 by Evonne Goolagong.
After vast... From page 69 that that instead of Cuba, an alternative destination of Ecuador is on the cards, “I have been in constant contact with president of the Cuba Boxing Association Alberto Puig who has confirmed that the Cuba senior national team will be in Ecuador for a training camp comprising Cuba, Chile and the host country. Mr. Puig has extended an invitation to Guyana to have Allicock train with the Senior Cuba side that is preparing for the Pan Am Games. I have also had detailed discussion with the president of the Ecuador Boxing Association Alex Gonzales who has assured that the altitude in Ecuador, and training at his country’s high performance centre will enhance Mr. Allicock’s training and preparation for the Pan Am Games. The recommendation is now being made that Mr. Allicock and coach travel to Ecuador for the training camp.” Allicock and his coach are expected to leave on June 16 and return on July 6.
From page 68 battled back from a 3-1 deficit of their own in the 2016 Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, so they know what it takes to come back from the brink. That Thunder team was led by Kevin Durant, who joined the Warriors the following season and went on to win back-to-back Finals MVP awards with the team in 2017 and 2018. Durant has been sidelined with a calf strain since May 8, however, and it is unclear if he will be able to play in Game Five in Toronto on Monday. The Warriors said they will be prepared to go with or without their sharpshooting forward.
“It’s not over,” a defiant Stephen Curry said. “It’s not a good feeling right now, obviously, but we have been on both sides of it. “And for us it’s an opportunity for us to just flip this whole series on its head.” Coach Steve Kerr said his team’s desire to win is their most important asset going forward. “We’ve got a lot of talent and we got a lot of pride,” he said. “These guys have been to the Finals five straight years for a reason. They’re unbelievably competitive. And they’re together and they’re going to fight. “So we’ll go try to get one win and, if we can do that, come back here and see what happens.”
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Raptors rally to take 3-1 stranglehold on NBA Finals OAKLAND, California (Reuters) - The Toronto Raptors produced a strong third quarter to defeat the Golden State Warriors 105-92 in Oakland on Friday to take a 3-1 lead in the Finals and move one win away from the franchise’s first NBA championship. The first half belonged to the Warriors but the tide turned in the third quarter when the visitors outscored the two-time defending champions 37-21 behind fivefor-seven shooting and two
momentum-swinging three pointers from Kawhi Leonard. “Kawhi’s two big threes to start the half really I thought changed the whole feel for everybody,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said of Leonard, who finished the game with 36 points and 12 rebounds. “I just thought everybody was like, ‘okay, we know we are here, let’s go’. And we just kind of kept going from those two threes.” The Warriors did themselves no favours on
Friday, turning the ball over 19 times, missing seven free throws and making less than 30 percent of their three-point attempts. After a spectacular 47 points in Game Three, Warriors guard Stephen Curry struggled on Friday, shooting just nine of 22 from the field and making two of his nine three-point attempts. The only team to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the Finals was the LeBron Jamesled Cleveland Cavaliers, who beat the Warriors in 2016.
Warner ‘shaken up’ by nets mishap, says Finch LONDON (Reuters) Australia captain Aaron Finch said opener David Warner has been “shaken up” after his drive hit a net bowler in the head ahead of today’s World Cup blockbuster against India. Australia’s practice session at The Oval came to an abrupt halt when the bowler, Jaykishan Plaha, dropped to the ground after being hit on the head as he tried to stop opener Warner’s cracking drive off a half volley. Finch said Plaha was in “pretty good spirits” but the incident had rattled Australia’s batting lynchpin Warner. “Yeah, Dave was obviously pretty shaken up,” Finch told reporters yesterday. “The young guy seems to be in pretty good spirits at the moment. He’s obviously been taken off to hospital and will continue to be assessed just to make sure that everything is okay. But yeah, Dave was pretty shaken up, no doubt. “It was a decent hit to the head. Hopefully everything keeps going well for the youngster and he’s back up and running shortly. It was
tough to watch. “It’s quite rare that somebody gets hit and it’s obviously very unfortunate.” Finch agreed that more safety precautions could be taken to protect net bowlers, in particular the use of helmets. “Yeah, that could be a decent idea... it’s such a personal preference for net bowlers,” he said. In 2014, Warner was playing in the Sheffield Shield match in which his friend Phil Hughes was fatally hit in the neck by a bouncer while batting. Hughes underwent emergency surgery but died two days later, three days before his 26th birthday. Looking ahead to Sunday’s game, Finch said his side drew plenty of confidence from the way they batted against the spinners during their 3-2 ODI series victory in India in March. “They’ve got some alltime great players, no doubt about that. So to be able to beat them in their home conditions three times in a row was really important for the confidence of the side, especially going into a game like this.” Australia will once again need to find a way to negate the threat posed by India’s
pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, whose new ball as well as death-overs mastery have made him a batsman’s nightmare. Finch said Australia had done their homework and there was no need to overhaul technique to face the Indian quick with an unusual whiplash action. “You do your due diligence on every bowler every game. He’s a worldclass bowler. He’s had a lot of success, especially over the last 18, 24 months. “I think all the guys are as well-prepared mentally and technically as they can be... it’s too quick to be tinkering with technique and things like that in my opinion.” As for leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who claimed 4-51 in India’s opener against South Africa on Wednesday, the plan would be to deny him any early success, Finch said. “He bowled very well against South Africa. Obviously he got some wickets early in his spell, which is a leg-spinner’s dream. “We all know that if you can deny leg-spinners wickets early, they start to go searching. I’ve never met a leg-spinner that doesn’t.”
A nets bowler receives treatment after being hit on the head while Australia’s David Warner was batting in the nets. (Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers)
The Warriors did, however, overcome a 3-1 deficit in the 2016 Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, an experience the team hopes to use moving forward. “You just try to win one game,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters about Game Five, which will be played on Monday in Toronto. “That’s what we did a few years ago against OKC. Win one game and then move forward,” said Kerr, who has
been at the helm of the team as it has won three of the last four NBA championships. “So that’s our focus now. We’ll fly to Toronto tomorrow and take a look at the film, see what we can do better and try to win a game. “We have won a lot of games over the years, so we’ll try to win another one.” The Raptors did suffer some misfortune in the fourth quarter when guard Fred VanVleet was inadvertently elbowed in the face by the Warriors’ Shaun Livingston.
A bloodied VanVleet was taken to the locker room and one of his teeth remained on the floor before it was noticed and swept up. The loss means the Warriors may have played their final game at Oracle Arena in Oakland, which has served as the team’s home since the 1971-72 season, although Game Six will be back there on June 13 if they win in Toronto on Monday. The Warriors move to the new Chase Center in San Francisco next season.
Vettel grabs dramatic pole ahead of Hamilton in Canada AFP - Sebastian Vettel ended Mercedes’ run of earlyseason qualifying supremacy yesterday when he claimed a dramatic late pole position for Ferrari in a crash-hit showdown at the Canadian Grand Prix. The four-time champion repeated his 2018 success, when he won from pole, by outpacing championship leader Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes by two-tenths of a second at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. It was Vettel’s first pole position triumph of the season, his first pole in 17 races since last year’s German Grand Prix and a signal that Ferrari’s superior straight-line speed was well-suited to the track. Vettel clocked a best lap of one minute and 10.240 seconds to beat Hamilton’s lap in 1:10.446. “He’s bloody good in qualifying,” said Vettel, pointing to Hamilton. “Hard to crack ... I really enjoyed it.” Mercedes had been fastest in qualifying in all six races since the start of the year and will now face a battle to extend their record run of six season-opening wins in today’s race. It was the 56th pole position of Vettel’s career and came after Kevin Magnussen had crashed into the “wall of champions” in his Haas car at the end of Q2. He was unhurt. “I don’t know why, but for whatever reason, I don’t feel disappointed,” said defending five-time champion Hamilton, who apologised to his team on radio. “This is good. This is how racing should be.” Vettel’s Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc was third fastest ahead of Daniel Ricciardo of Renault, Pierre Gasly of Red Bull and Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes. The Finn spun in Q3 and was unable to recover
Sebastian Vettel earned his first pole since July of last year. (Getty Images North America/AFP / Mark Thompson) and clock an improved lap. Nico Hulkenberg was seventh in the second Renault ahead of the two McLarens of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz. Magnussen qualified 10th. In warm sunshine with a track temperature of 48 degrees Celsius (118.4 Fahrenheit), Mercedes were wary of the challenge from Ferrari. - ‘Fight on our hands’ “We’ve got a fight on our hands,” warned Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff after final practice. “Their straightline speed is enormous!” He suggested their advantage was 8km/h and was costing Mercedes six-tenths of a second per lap. As Q1 ended, with Vettel on top ahead of Leclerc, Bottas and Hamilton, with Verstappen fifth, the top five were separated by only four-tenths. To the dismay of local fans, out went both Racing Points, Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll, 16th and 18th, together with Kimi Raikkonen of Alfa Romeo and the two Williams. “Very unfortunate for us,” said Stroll. Mercedes and Ferrari switched to medium compound tyres for Q2 and, on first runs, it was Vettel ahead of Hamilton by 0.027, while Leclerc ran off and was only 10th before pushing to
go top before his team-mate took over again. Verstappen also struggled with traffic and grip. He was only 11th after his first run and switched to softs to salvage his place in the topten shootout, a decision that upset his race strategy. On new mediums, Hamilton and Bottas were quickest and second ahead of the Ferraris when Magnussen crashed his Haas heavily, halting the session. The Dane lost control and smacked the walls on both sides of the track, wrecking the right side and rear of his car. This meant the luckless Verstappen, on track at the time, was eliminated in 11th along with Daniil Kvyat of Toro Rosso, Antonio Giovinazzi in the second Alfa, Alex Albon in the second Toro Rosso and Romain Grosjean in the second Haas. After a 20-minute delay, the session resumed with Gasly first out for Red Bull. His tepid lap was followed by sizzling speed from Leclerc, Vettel and then Hamilton as Bottas spun at T2, but avoided hitting the barriers. The Englishman’s 1:10.493 put him on provisional pole ahead of the final runs when Vettel found the pace to seize pole from him.
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Ponting concerned by Australia’s short-ball troubles ESPNcricinfo - Ricky Ponting has expressed concern over the mindset of some of Australia’s batsmen despite the 15-run victory over West Indies in their group match. Australia lost five wickets for just 79 runs in the face of fast and aggressive short-pitched bowling before Steven Smith partnered with Alex Carey and Nathan Coulter-Nile to steady the innings. “It’s pretty fair to say some of the boys are a bit disappointed with their batting at the top,” Ponting said. “But listening to Steve Smith talk about it as well, the wicket was a little bit more uneven than what we thought it might have been, you could see a lot of uneven bounce with the shorter ball in particular. “The boys found it difficult to play the ball off the back foot. Yes, they led to a couple of dismissals, but it was more the follow-up balls and the mindset around how we played some of the short pitched bowling today that was the biggest concern.” Of particular concern to Ponting was that Usman Khawaja was struck twice by short balls. On the second occasion, he was attempting to pull Andre Russell and he was out edging a loose drive on the next delivery. Khawaja was also hit on the grille of his helmet facing Russell during Australia’s warm-up match against West Indies in Southampton and underwent scans on his jaw. Ponting said he hoped to find out if
Ricky Ponting is concerned about how the Australians played the short ball against West Indies. (Getty Images) there was an underlying issue. “That’s a big part of my role now - I’m not going to teach him how to play a cover drive or a pull shot, I need to know what’s going through his mind in moments like that. What leads to that thinking about playing a shot like that. If I can help in some way just to get him through a situation like that and give him something else or something different to think about, I think that’s a huge part of coaching. “I thought he’s looked really good. He started his innings really well today, he punched one down the ground for four early on. He got
hit in the head. I’m more concerned to what led to him playing that shot. What was he thinking? Was he expecting another short ball? Was he going to try to help it over backward point? What was he thinking? I’ll get to the bottom of it in the next 48 hours.” India’s bowling attack will present a different challenge to Australia’s batsmen at The Oval on Sunday. After a six-month period in which Australia and India have met in five Tests and five ODIs there will be some familiarity in the contest. But Ponting said that has only increased the Australians’ respect for Jasprit Bumrah, in particular.
“I think everyone has learnt he’s probably one of the best fast bowlers in the world with a white or a red ball,” Ponting said. “They’ve learnt he can surprise you with pace. They’ve learnt his control is outstanding as well, which is why he’s one of the leading fast bowlers in the world. “We’ll need to be well prepared for him and I’m sure the boys will be, having played as much as they have against him during the summer. “They also pose some pretty strong threats with the spinners as well. They were both pretty good the other day - [Yuzvendra] Chahal and Kuldeep [Yadav]. There’s some work for the boys to do. More a mindset thing. I’ve been really happy with the skills I’ve seen from all the boys, it’s just about getting the mindset right and getting the adaptation of that mindset right between what you need at different times in the game and playing accordingly.” Ponting has been closely involved with several players in the India squad, thanks to coaching stints with Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals in the IPL. When asked if that gave him any insights he could pass on to the Australian players, he made a wry reference to Shane Warne’s comments in the Mumbai Mirror that questioned Ponting’s involvement in the 2019 tournament on the grounds of conflict of interest.
“I’m going to say I didn’t learn anything about any of the Indian batsmen while I was at the IPL otherwise I might not get a gig back there again. Warnie will have me out of a job like he tried to before this year’s IPL,” Ponting said. “I coached Rohit Sharma for a couple of years at Mumbai, I had Shikhar Dhawan for a couple of months at Delhi. I didn’t learn anything about those guys by being with them in India that I didn’t already know before. “I think I’m a pretty astute watcher of the game and, with batsmen, I’m pretty good at picking why certain batsmen are good at hitting the ball to particular areas. The way they pick up the bat, the way they hold the bat, the backlift, the foot movement whatever it may be. So I don’t think I’ve learnt anything more about them having been a part of the IPL. It’s a different format as well obviously. “We saw a couple of days ago how good Rohit Sharma is at the top of the order for them, he’s a class player. I’m not the only one. Steve Smith’s shared dressing rooms with a lot of other players as well. As a coach, yes, I can bring some stuff, but a lot of the players in the team have played with them and against them over the years. If I can add a couple of gold nuggets, I’ll try to my best.”
AL Sport & Tour Promotions NSC Schools Windball Cricket
Mahaica and Clonbrook Primaries share honours Mahaica and Clonbrook Primaries share honours as play continued in the Upper East Coast Demerara zone of the AL Sport & Tour Promotions NSC 22nd Annual End of School Year “Edward Cobenna Memorial” Primary Schools Wi n d b a l l Cricket Championships at the National Gymnasium. The event is organised by NSC Sports Officer A. Munroe. Mahaica Girls after being invited to bat, made 75-0, with Juanita Ly n c h h i t t i n g 2 9 a n d Ashana Pellew 19. Their opponents, Clonbrook, in reply were restricted to 67-2. In the Boys department - Mahaica batted first and recorded 85 - 2, Darrell Benjamin made 16, while Rene Lewis took 2 wickets. Cloonbrook replied with 86-2 to claimed victory. Meanwhile, the Region 4 finals will be played on Monday 17th June at the National Gymnasium from 10:00am. Boys teams involved are: Hararuni, Supply, Saint Anne’s, Craig, Clonbrook,
The students assemble for a group photo before the start of play. Mahaica. Girls Teams: Supply, Timehri, Saint Mary’s, New Diamond, Craig, Mahaica, Clonbrook. And the action continues tomorrow June 10th with the Region 3 Schools competing from 10:00am.
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New Diamond Primary School retain title New Diamond Primary School Girls’ team retained their title when play continued recently in the Lower East Bank Demerara zone of the 22nd Annual End of School Year Al Sport and Tour Promotions/National Sports Commission Edward Cobenna Memorial Cricket Champions Trophy. New Diamond Primary overcame Craig Primary by eight wickets in the final at the National Gymnasium. Craig Primary batted first and scored 71-3 with Tenisha Evans and Tenisha McDonald scoring 22 each. New Diamond replied with 762; Angel Alleyne struck 34, while Realima Kanhai made 30.
New Diamond Primary Girls and Saint Anne’s boys teams.
Rising Stars overcome Laluni by 11 runs
The victorious Rising Star team. Despite being dismissed for a meager total, Rising Stars managed to secure an 11-run win over host Laluni when the teams collided in the final of the T20 competition which was organised by the home team. In a match which was reduced to 12 overs, Rising Stars elected to bat and were bowled out for 60 in 12 overs.
George Carrington struck one four and two sixes in a top score of 27 while Darren France made 19 with two sixes. Troy Domingo captured 48 from three overs. What looked like a walk in the park for Laluni, proved otherwise as Rising Stars bowlers maintained a steady line and length to
bowl out the home side for 49. Marvin Cheong led the bowling with 3-5 from three overs including a hat-trick, while Shane Persaud captured 3-13 off three overs and Shaquille Brisport 2-15. Rising Stars defeated La Grange in the lone semi final, while Laluni drew the bye to the final.
Archer stars as England defeat Bangladesh CARDIFF, England, CMC – Barbadian fast bowler Jofra Archer took three wickets to help England return to their winning ways with a comprehensive 106-run win over Bangladesh here yesterday. After England racked up 386 for six in their 50 overs thanks to opener Jason Roy’s 153, Archer starred with the ball to dismiss the visitors for 280 in 48.5 overs. It was a much-needed confidence booster for the 24year-old Archer, who went wicketless against Pakistan in his previous match, with his 10-over spell costing 79 runs. Archer finished with the impressive figures of 3-29 from 8.5 overs and Ben Stokes took 3-23 from six overs. This time around it didn’t take long for him to strike as he produced an absolute beauty to get rid of Bangladesh opener Soumya Sarkar. Sarkar was completely
Jofra Archer claimed three wickets to help England beat Bangladesh. bamboozled by Archer’s 90 miles per hour delivery that nipped off the seam and clipped the top of off stump, before travelling over the 54metre boundary behind the wicketkeeper. During his spell, Archer
Facing 3-1 deficit, Warriors hope to reverse history OAKLAND, California (Reuters) - A defiant Golden State Warriors team are adamant they can overturn a 3-1 deficit to the Toronto Raptors and erase memories of becoming the first team to fail to win the NBA title after holding the same advantage.
The memory of the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers recovering from a 31 deficit to snatch the championship in 2016 is still fresh in their minds and gives them faith that their goal of a third successive title is not dead. “We just got to win one
game and then build on that,” Warriors forward Draymond Green told reporters after Friday’s 105-92 Game Four loss in Oakland. “But I’ve been on the wrong side of 3-1 before, so why not make our own history.” The Warriors (Continued on page 65)
Jason Roy celebrates his century. (IDI via Getty Images)
also bowled the fastest ball of the tournament, a 153 kph scorcher, before fellow pacer Mark Wood produced a 154 kph delivery to surpass him. He then returned at the death to wrap up B a n g l a d e s h ’s i n n i n g s , claiming the last two wickets of Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mustafizur Rahman in the space of four balls. Hasan Miraz could only muster a thin edge behind to wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow as he attempted an ambitious slap through point to be out for 12, to leave the score 280 for nine. Three balls later it was all over, as Rahman flicked his bouncer behind to the wicketkeeper to be out for a duck. Scores: England 386 for 6 (Roy 153, Buttler 64, Bairstow 51) beat Bangladesh 280 (Shakib 121, Stokes 3-23) by 106 runs.
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FROM GLEASONS WITH LOVE!
USA based Boxing stalwarts support local boxers’ dreams with donation of gears Ever since, and maybe even before, Cliff Anderson fought Englishman, Al ‘The Algate’ Tiger, in England, for the British Empire Title, Guyana has been regarded as a country of potential champions with a rich boxing heritage. Indeed, many other succeeding pugilists upheld this tradition that was further solidified after the late Andrew ‘Sixhead’ Lewis’ historic feat over James Paige that netted him the World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title. Ever since then, Guyana has recorded numerous similar accolades including female boxer, Gwendolyn ‘Stealth Bomber’ O’Neil’s defeat of American Kathy Rivers and Vivian Harris’ victory over Diosbelys Hurtado among many others. Ironically, most of the local pugilists attaining prestigious world honours would have had training
tenures at the world famous Gleasons Gym, Front Street, Brooklyn, USA. Despite its ‘international’ standard, this institution regarded as the foundation of most of the world’s renown champions training venues, has earned plaudits as the place where some of the world’s most renowned punchers would have perfected their art. It is also here that many of Guyana’s top boxers the likes of Patrick, Reginald and Darius Forde, Kenny Bristol, Brian Muller and a plethora of local punchers would have honed their skills. Gleasons has also been ‘Sixhead’ Lewis’ haunting ground in preparation for his world title clash. Fresh faces have since taken over the mandate, noted by Lennox Allen’s recent victory that has propelled him to the top of the rankings and an interim world championship belt. He also,
have benefited from a stint at Gleasons. It is with this in mind that former local boxing champion, Darius Ford, has teamed up with Guyanese businessman living in the USA, Ahmad Alli and Senior Master’s Amateur Boxing Champion, Nazar Sulaiman, to offer support to boxers back home in Guyana with an aim of producing many other champions. This group has offered assistance to many local pugilists in the past, especially those of Berbice, at the Rose Hall Jammers Boxing Gym. They have recently responded to a request from former welterweight and Continental of America’s Champion, Michael Benjamin and dispatched boxing gear to realize his dreams of a boxing gym in the Parfait Harmonie community.
Lodges Kyk-over-al and Frenaeus dominoes on today at GCC Lodges Kyk-over-Al and Freneaus Dominoes competition is set to commence at 13:00hrs today at Georgetown Cricket Club, Bourda. Entrance fee is $12,000 and according to organiser Mark Wiltshire, there will also be a family fun day at the venue and all prizes are guaranteed. Wiltshire is urging the teams to be present at the venue at least 30 minutes prior to the start of play. He informed that the winning team will take home a trophy and $200,000, the runner up $100,000 and third place $75,000; the Most Valuable
Today’s action promises to be exciting. Player will take home $10,000. Some of the top teams in Georgetown are expected to vie for supremacy;
among them are TNT, Mix Up, Spartons, All Season’s Racing Service, Thunder, Rage, Transport SC, Gold is Money and Providence.
After vast improvement Ninvalle asks GOA to send Allicock on overseas training In a letter seen by Kaieteur Sport, head of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA); Steve Ninvalle, has requested to the head of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA); K.A. Juman-Yassin, to allow star fighter Keevin Allicock to travel overseas to prepare for the Pan American Games that will be contested in Lima, Peru this JulyAugust.
Ninvalle noted in the letter that, “I am pleased to inform you of the vast improvement in the attendance of boxer Keevin Allicock at training sessions since our recommendation of sanctions against him. Mr. Allicock has had an unblemished attendance record since May 26 and has assumed the role of a focused athlete cognisant of the task at hand. Officials
of the association met with Mr. Allicock and his coach recently and were assured by both of his (Allicock) resolute intention to continue the hard work. Taking all into consideration, the GBA recommends that the hold placed on Mr. Allicock’s overseas training programme and payment of stipend be lifted.” Ninvalle further noted (Continued on page 65)
Nazar Sulaiman (C) flanked byDarius Forde and Ahmad Alli (L & R respectively) at the culmination of training sessions at Gleasons gym. Further, they are currently putting together a package for former ESPN boxing star and world rater, Terrence Ali
in honour of his service to the sport and by extension, Guyana. “It’s our duty as past boxers and most importantly,
patriotic Guyanese,” Forde emphasized. Both Salaiman and Alli nodded in affirmation.
Lloyd tells Windies to play ‘smart’ after World Cup frustration LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Clive Lloyd has warned the We s t I n d i e s t o p l a y “smart cricket” if they want to make an impact at the World Cup. Lloyd, who captained the West Indies to victory at the 1975 and 1979 tournaments, saw the side impress with a rout of Pakistan in their opening match, but then let Australia off the hook as the holders beat them by 15 runs. T h e Wi n d i e s h a d Australia in trouble, but some wayward bowling allowed Nathan CoulterNile to score 92 from 60 balls before Mitchell Starc’s five-wicket haul clinched the win at Trent Bridge. Lloyd believes the We s t I n d i e s h a v e t h e weapons to make a strong run at the tournament, but the 74-year-old called on them to show more cunning at key moments. “ T h e We s t I n d i e s must start to play smart cricket because they have
two real big games coming up against South Africa and England. Therefore they have to be on top of their game as I’m sure they’d want to qualify,” he said. “They should have players who are able to win games, especially when the pitch was quite placid and devoid of bounce and movement during that stage of the (Australia) game.” “I think on another day, with a better analysis of the situation they could have won that game and this would have given them the impetus to realise that they were serious contenders to qualify for the latter stages of this competition.” Lloyd was especially frustrated that the West Indies batting folded when they were apparently on course for victory. Accusing them on p l a y i n g t o o c a r e l e s s l y, Lloyd said: “There is no reason why they should be almost bowled out on a pitch like that at Trent Bridge, but they tried to hit
the aerial shots and started throwing wickets away. “The players have to realise that this is not Twenty20. The batsmen need to turn those scores of 30 and 40 into bigger scores and they must be aware that all these teams have world-class bowlers at their disposal.” Lloyd’s former side can get back on track on Monday when they face South Africa, who are in turmoil after losing all three of their matches. “South Africa are up next and while they haven’t performed to their ability, Windies have to be aware of the job at hand as South Africa is in danger of missing out on the top four if they lose,” Lloyd said. “They now have to regroup, look at the mistakes they made and rectify them so that they can return to their winning ways. I’m still feeling positive about the West Indies overall.”
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Debutantes Liam Gorden and Torell Ondaan relishing - Made debuts against Bermuda the Golden Jaguars experience The way they have blended into the Golden Jaguars’ set up suggests that they have been around before but they have not. The duo of 25year old Torell Ondaan and 20-year old Liam Gorden, the former based in Holland and the latter who plays in England, donned national colours for the first time against Bermuda on Thursday night last. They both joined the Guyana National Senior team at an historic juncture as the nation, for the first time in its 117-plus year history, has qualified for the premier tournament in the Concacaf Confederation, the Gold Cup. Speaking with GFF Media, both young men have said that they are excited and gratified at being given the opportunity to represent Guyana and will strike to represent with pride. Torell Ondaan, who plys his trade at SC Telstar in Holland, described his feelings on making his debut as amazing and something that one cannot really describe: “The feeling is so amazing to be a Guyana player. It is one of the biggest dreams for me because I come from Holland, I’m born there but I always like to go to Guyana to see everybody, to feel everything about Guyana.”
Liam Gorden Golden Jaguars’ Debutante.
Torell Ondaan Golden Jaguars’ debutante
He noted that whenever he travels to Guyana he feels all the love, “That’s why this is the biggest dream of my life.” Born to Guyanese parents in Holland, Yonette and Lionel, and playing at the Second Division
Level, Ondaan describes himself as the easy guy; he sees himself as a team player and has already felt the warmth of his teammates even though he has been with the team just a matter of days. “Everybody is so lovely and
nice to me and I am still grooving into the team. I will see what I can do for the team, not for myself but more for the team. It’s amazing really, everybody is so nice, I didn’t expect that.” Stating that this is home for him, Ondaan said his knowledge of Guyanese is that they are strong in will and is encouraging everyone, players and all, to work together as a family not as individuals. He is calling on fans and supporters to be persistent with the team: “Stay patient, watch the games with all the love and don’t be aggressive if we miss chances or something, we are here now for the team, for the country and it’s amazing already that we have made it this far.” Meanwhile, Liam Gorden, who celebrated his 20th birthday last week and plays as a defender with English club side Dagenham & Redbridge FC, described his debut as a massive opportunity: “It’s the first time for me playing international football and it’s the best thing you can ask for, it’s better than club football, it’s a different experience. It’s a big thing for me and my family as well, just to recognize the Gorden name, it makes me proud that I am
Guyanese. It’s a dream come true for me.” Gorden’s grandparents are from the Ancient County of Berbice, his grandfather hailing from Belladrum. He notes that for the team to push on further there must be a collective effort fueled by a deep sense of togetherness: “The only way we’re going to push on far is for all of us, management and players, to be together and want it, we know what the goal is and we know what to do on the pitch and we’ll do that. I just want the team to do well, doesn’t matter if I play or not, I’m part of the programme and it’s a massive opportunity for me as a young player to be involved in this. So I just want the country to do well and for everyone to recognize how good we can be.” Young Gorden is calling on the fans and supporters to get behind the team and support: “It’s the first time that Guyana has ever been in this competition and it’s a massive competition. As long as everyone is behind us we’ll do whatever we can to prove to you that we can do it and let everyone know what Guyana is about.”
GBTI Open Tennis tournament
Morning session cancelled due to rain, Kelekyezi beats Panday in Men’s open
David Long beat Rudy Grant 6-2, 6-3 in the Over-45 division at the GBTI Court yesterday.
The entire morning session of the tenth annual ‘GBTI Open’ Tennis tournament involving the Juniors was cancelled yesterday morning due to rain which left the Bank’s Lawn Tennis Court in Bel Air in an unplayable condition. Participants were scheduled to engage in seven categories with matches starting from 9:00AM yesterday, but due to inclement weather, day one action did not commence until 2:30 PM when Simone Boucher was beaten by Kevon Simon and Alvin Dorris registered a 6-love win against Nicola Levan in the Novice division which started the day’s proceeding. In a contest which commenced at 4:30PM, Rudy Grant lost 6-2, 6-3 to David-
Long in the Over-45 category in sunny conditions. Played at the time on the second Court and watched by a fair size gathering, veteran Harry Panday was defeated 60, 6-0 by his much younger opponent Joshua Kelekyezi in the Men’s Open division. Some matches involving the senior players were set for last night and players will battle for supremacy in the Men’s and Ladies Singles, Men’s and Ladies’ doubles, Mixed Doubles, Over-35 and O-45 Singles, Novices Medley and Boys and Girls Singles.Tournament action continues today at 9:00AM to 2:00PM with matches among the juniors, while from 2:00 – 4:00PM the Novices battle each other before seniors take to the Court from 4:00 – 10:00PM. (Sean Devers)
Veteran Harry Panday attempts a retrieval against his much younger opponent Joshua Kelekyezi (left) on Saturday’s Men Open.
Simone Bohcher (left) lost to Kevon Simon on Saturday in the Novice division.
Kaieteur News
Sunday June 09, 2019
KFC drives with GMR&SC Drag Championship
GMR&SC’s Cheryl Gonzalves collects a cheque from the KFC representative.
F
AST Food f r a n c h i s e Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has made another major step in motorracing, this time sponsoring the second round of the National Drag Racing Championship. Already showing its interest in the circuit racing and karting aspect by investing heavily in 2018, the company has joined the quarter-mile shootout. In an invited comment, Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club President Rameez Mohamed said, “We are glad to welcome a stellar sponsor such as KFC to drag racing.” “They have been on board with us since last year, sponsoring our Ignite race meet and then they also sponsored the GT motorsports KFC cup so their investment in motorsport is no small feat.” He noted that already, the committee is moving apace with preparation for the event. “Track wise, we’ve instituted some more
barriers to ensure even more spectator safety come race day. We have also been working over the last few events to stop the crowding at the start-line and we have put some stuff in place for that.” “All in all, I think June 23rd will be a fantastic race meet and will be the perfect build up to our international meet set for later this year.” Other sponsors include P l a t i n u m C a r S h o w, Supreme Bets, R. Kissoon Contracting Services, Deryck Jaisingh Trucking Service and Machinery Rentals, Del Ice Co., Mohamed’s Enterprise, B.M. SOAT Auto Sales, P r e m ’s E l e c t r i c a l , E Networks, Motor Trend, Nexus Machine Shop, Power Line, Jumbo Jet Auto Sales, Wind Jammer Hotel, Cyril’s Taxi, A&R Jiwanram Printery, Blue Spring Water, Choke Gas Station, Miracle Optical, Special Auto, First Class Auto Spares and Sales, GT Tuners, West Coast Customs Wash bay and Imran Auto works.
Hugh Ross finishes third in NABBA Masters’ World C/Ship Guyanese body building gem, Hugh Ross, didn’t get to win his fourth World Masters’ Body Building Championship yesterday in Belfast, Northern Island, but he finished with a respectable third place. At the Ulster Hall in Belfast, Guyana’s most accomplished body builder who will celebrate his 60th birthday on the 26th of this month finished behind local boy Brendan Surgeoner, who won the event and second place Andy James of
the United Kingdom. In a whatsapp correspondence to Kaieteur Sport, Hugh noted that, “I’m satisfied with my showing and there isn’t anything that comes to mind that I could have done that wasn’t done. I did my homework as is usual. Given the time frame I had to prepare, I am very satisfied with my performance and the outcome of my appearance. They have just relit the competitive fire in me and there will be more to come.”
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t r o Sp Debutantes Liam Gorden and Torell Ondaan relishing the Golden Jaguars experience
Hugh Ross finishes third in NABBA Masters’ World C/Ship
Made debuts against Bermuda
Torell Ondaan (right) and Liam Gorden.
After vast improvement Ninvalle asks GOA to send Allicock on overseas training
Keevin Allicock attacks the heavy bag during a recent training session. (Seebert Blake Facebook)
From left, Hugh Ross (third place), Brendan Surgeoner of the Northern Ireland (winner) and Andy James of the UK (third) pose for a photo-op after the World Masters’ over 50 Body Building Championship yesterday in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Lloyd tells Windies to play ‘smart’ after World Cup frustration
West Indies’ Sheldon Cottrell, West Indies’ Carlos Brathwaite and West Indies’ captain Jason Holder react at the end of the innings during the 2019 Cricket World Cup group stage match between Australia and West Indies at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, central England, on June 6, 2019.
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