Kaieteur News

Kaieteur News

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Sunday June 24, 2018

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

CYCLE CHAMPION BEYONCE ROSS GONE TOO SOON

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n Wednesday June 20, the Ancient County of Berbice wept and the nation mourned as the four-time gold medalist and national cycle champion, Beyonce Dunella Ross, was laid to rest at the Rose Hall Town cemetery on the Corentyne. Hundreds of mourners crowded the Area “H” Ground tarmac. Some wept openly as they paid their final respects to their fallen star. As the service commenced, there were chants of “Gone too soon” from her schoolmates and friends. Beyonce Ross was only 15 years old and was in the spring of her life when tragedy struck. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and succumbed to her illness at the Georgetown Public Hospital shortly after. Beyonce was innocent, smart, talented and beautiful. She was blessed with an infectious smile that captivated those who came into contact with her. A bright prospect at such a young age, her potential was boundless. The cycling champion did not have to die so young; she had her full life ahead of her, but as a wise person once said, “Man makes plans, but God decides.” Residents of the ancient county are in pain as they try to rationalize the death of their fallen hero who had so much to live for. Her sickness and her death lit up every newspaper in the country and the social media. It should not have happened. Beyonce Ross was a shining star and her death has left many in the community and the country searching for answers. No one could ever dream of what this brilliant and gifted young woman would have achieved in life. What would have been her profession? What role she would have played in society? Could anything have been done to save this sweet, innocent child’s life? Could more have been done by society or the authorities to help her? Alas! It was not meant to be. Her death is a stark reminder of how fragile life is. Many blurred out: “It is not right for her to be taken away from us.” Her death has restored their faith in the biblical phrase which says they will meet again in heaven, but the real chance of their healing and grief may never end. Whenever someone, especially a young person, like Beyonce with the ability and potential of becoming a super athlete dies, the nation weeps. The after effects are real and extremely painful for relatives and friends because death is seen not only as the loss of a single precious life, but also by its awful and devastating impact on families, friends and society. Amidst the solemn and tearful funeral service, it was announced that a foundation would be established in memory of the champion cyclist. A cycle race will be held in her memory and honor.Ross’s body was laid in a casket flanked by her teammates attired in tracksuits, and with her parents, siblings and relatives seated nearby, tributes poured in from her classmates of the Lower Corentyne Secondary School, her teachers, relatives and friends. Her family was comforted by several members of the current administration, notably the Minister of Social Cohesion Dr. George Norton; Director of Sport, Christopher Jones; Sports Coordinator of Region Six, Godwyn Allicock; Mayor of New Amsterdam, Winifred Haywood; Mayor of Rose Hall, Vijay Ramoo; Member of Parliament, John Adams and the Guyana Teacher’s Union President, Mark Lyte, among others. We at Kaieteur News express our condolences to her family and may she rest in peace.

Editor’s Note; If your sent letter was not published and you felt its contents were valid and devoid of libel or personal attacks, please contact us by phone or email.

Killing voices against corruption DEAR EDITOR, I w a s u t t e r l y flabbergasted when I read that the Finance Minister is now suing Member of Parliament Juan Edghill claiming damages in the sum of $200,000,000; for the “Malicious Prosecution of the Offence of Misconduct in Public Office” and other damages. Jordan, in his application to the court, stated the private criminal charges filed by the Opposition Parliamentarian were intended to ‘embarrass, humiliate, and cause him to suffer public odium and contempt’. If this is the case then we can also argue and reasonably conclude that the charges against Dr. Ashni Singh and Mr. Brassington are also meant to ‘embarrass, humiliate’ and cause them to suffer ’public odium and contempt’. This must be so concluded since the sale of the land and properties were duly authorized by Cabinet in the same manner in which Jordan claimed that the payment of $906 to Homestretch Development Incorporated was approved by the National Assembly. Similarly ‘no reasonable

person can conclude or even draw an inference’ that Dr. Singh and Mr. Brassington are guilty of the offence of ‘misconduct in public office’. Mr. Jordan should however know that it is for the Courts to conclude on guilt, but while the DPP has allowed the justice system to act, in the case of the former, the DPP has, in Jordan’s case, cited that complaints should have been made to the Police. Having said that I

wish to inform Mr. Jordan that he holds a public office and he should expect that he will be subjected to vigorous public scrutiny at all times. In this case, Mr. Edghill, as a Member of Parliament, has the right to demand that transactions which are questionable are brought to the public domain. In the D’Urban Park Project there is a complete lack of data on how the monies were spent and records are not available.

On May 22nd this year it was reported that the Office of the Auditor General is probing deeper into the Project and that ‘several questions still linger’ even though some records were submitted by the MoPI. Moreover, there were no budgetary allocations in either the 2015 or the 2016 Budget and despite complaints by the Opposition to the Public Procurement Commission (Continued on page 6)

Responding to Rev Gideon Cecil DEAR EDITOR, Rev Gideon Cecil wonders if the British High Commissioner (not A m b a s s a d o r, R e v. Commonwealth countries send High Commissioners to each other; that is why the office is called a High Commission, not an Embassy) has any idea about the laws in our country. I imagine he might, Rev., since many of our laws like the law which criminalizes (male) homosexuality came to us from the U.K., where “buggery” was criminalized in the 19th century. (Female

homosexuality was not criminalized. On the contrary, any respectable single female could not live alone - she was expected to have a female residing with her. How many of these companions were lesbian relationships we will never know). I find it somewhat ironic, Rev., that as you invoke our now independent status and our right to make our own laws, you are depending on a colonial era law in support of your case. And why do you, Rev. Cecil, think that the revocation of laws which

criminalize male homosexuality will permit the raping of boys by adult men? Under our present laws, sexual activity between two consenting adults of the opposite sex is perfectly legal; but sexual activity between an adult and a child (statutory rape) is illegal, and so is non-consensual sex with an adult (rape). I am not aware that anybody is suggesting that the laws which prohibit such behaviours should be changed. Pat Robinson Commissiong

Sunday June 24, 2018

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Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Kaieteur M@ilbox

The transgressions of the past are lurking on the horizon

Who is responsible for maintenance of cemeteries?

DEAR EDITOR, The recent decision by the CJ in support of the President’s unilateral decision to appoint Patterson as Gecom Chairman can be classified as a lethal blow to democracy in Guyana. This decision touches on the core values. Anil Nandlall was against constitutional reform last year. He was very vocal on his platform. He wrote several missives against constitutional reform. In one, he wrote, “The need for compliance trumps the need for reform”. Since Granger made the unilateral appointment, Anil has been crying” foul.” After the CJ ruled in favour of the unilateral appointment, Anil wasted no time in appealing the case on behalf of Mustapha Ali, citing 14 discrepancies on the matter. Anil’s main contention is that the CJ’s decision does not honour or support the spirit of the Constitution. In my opinion, a constitution must have clear language, not spirits, these are vague and unseen things. Surely! Nandlall, being the brilliant lawyer that he is, would be aware of that. Political persuasions and conveniences have the power to nullify brilliance. With all that has transpired so far, if you ask Anil now if he feels that the constitution needs to be reformed, he may or may not give an honest answer. Further, Anil contended that the decision distorts and nullifies the intentions of the framers of the constitution on a matter that is sacrosanct to the holding and the conducting of free and fair elections in Guyana. I believe that. But why couldn’t the “intentions of the framers” be constructed into concrete

language? The controversy is centered around the phrase, “a list that is not unacceptable to the president.” What thesis could be applied by law to decide what is acceptable or unacceptable to the president if he so desires not to concur with the established realm of orthodoxy that Anil seems dependent on? We must be cognizant that our constitution has enshrined the powers of a demigod on our presidents, and governing political rulers have never shown any intent to change that. It is my belief that the framers of the “not unacceptable” phrase, being politically affiliated, had deliberately set a loophole to wriggle out, in the event of a suspect list being presented to their favourite president. Now the Guyanese people have become the unsuspecting victims of their trap. Placed in its right perspective, this matter transcends political affiliation and political conveniences. It threatens to compromise the rights of citizens to fairly and freely elect a Government of their choice in accordance with democratic principles. When this fundamental right is threatened in any minute form, it should invoke a code red response from the citizenry. That did not happen. Why? Because the populace realizes that the theory - “Governments should be the servants of the people” - is a lie. They had 52 years since independence to contemplate that it is the other way around in Guyana Guyana’s History, since independence is replete with examples of what the destruction of this basic template on democracy can do to a nation.The Chief Justice’s ruling on the unilat-

eral appointment of Gecom chair, left unchanged, opens the pathways to the probability of history repeating itself. Granger, moving from leader of the opposition to the presidency quickly found his alma mater in law and pounced upon the “not unacceptable to the president” clause. In his UN speech, he asked that body to commit to resolve to uphold democratic principles among member states, then does the contrary by making a unilateral appointment to Gecom chair. Now putting critics of the govt. behind bars is being contemplated in the sedition clause 18 of the Cybercrime bill.Sociologists have opined that criticism is the greatest impetus to make people adopt moral values. Instead of channeling criticism as a motivator, the coalition is seeking to put their critics in prison by instituting sedition charges - this is the hallmark of a dictatorship. The signs are there! Whatever little progress was made towards the attainment of democracy in the early 1990’s through the Carter Center is hanging precariously by a single thread (the appeal on the CJ’s decision). The transgressions of the past are lurking on the horizon. Rudolph Singh

DEAR EDITOR Reading Freddie Kissoon’s column today (23/ 6/18) on the inaccessibility and deplorable condition of the Le Repenter Cemetry, especially during heavy rainfall, one gets the impression that it is the Central Government that is responsible for the maintenance of the cemetery in Georgetown and therefore, by extension, all the cemeteries in municipal and rural Guyana. This raises the question about the role and responsibilities of the Municipal and Local Government authorities for these essential common services. I was always under the impression that such services were properly the responsibility of the local as opposed to the central government (In this context, I am reminded of my days in the sugar industry when the management of the estates assumed the responsibility of allocating the land for and maintaining separate burial grounds for Hindus, Muslims and Christians in every Estate

community). It is no secret that the vast majority of burial grounds all over Guyana are in deplorable conditions; indeed, one is tempted to categorize them as being “dangerous” having regard to the number of reported incidents of mourners being stung by deadly ‘African’ bees. A decent, safe, accessible and respectable place for the disposal of our deceased families and friends is an unavoidable responsibility of any civilized community. I n the same way that such civic responsibilities as the collection of garbage, provision of potable water and electricity etc. have been devolved to the central and local government, it is necessary that they also assume the responsibility for the proper disposal of the deceased. I believe taxes are col-

lected for such services. Having regard to the many factors involved, I also wish to point out the relevance of CREMATORIA as opposed to or in addition to BURIAL GROUNDS per se. I believe that we should also cater for the establishment of a crematorium in every district; they are easier to maintain and guarantee accessibility and convenience. Nowrang Persaud

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Sunday June 24, 2018

Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Kaieteur M@ilbox

DEPRESSION IS A REAL AND HORRIBLE ILLNESS

How can a broke municipality hosting a ‘City Week’ celebration?

Depression is not an imaginary thing; depression is a real and horrible illness that, unfortunately, affects many persons. It is deadly. It can cause loss of life. It is important to understand that this disease is a health crisis that must be addressed by professionals. I note an informative article captioned, “When suicide visited my home,”(KN, June 10), written by Leonard Gildarie. Editor, I do not usually suffer from depression, and have had no prior experience with it. However, on April 3, 2018, I had an accident at work. On that date, I suffered an electric shock from a defective air conditioner (AC). The AC had backed up causing water to drip onto the switch located underneath the AC unit. Trying to turn off the switch, I suffered a shock resulting in injury which caused severe depression and impaired judgment, among other neurological symptoms. It was a terrible and frightening time. It was the most terrifying recent experience of my life.

I was examined and was diagnosed with “a severe depressive episode following interaction with electric current.” In times past, my condition would have been called a nervous breakdown. Of course, there is always the odd person who, because of ignorance or for some other reason, expresses the view that the victim is faking illness as the injury is not visible. But enlightened, informed persons would know that depression is just as real as a broken arm or a fractured skull, except, depression is probably worse because the patient often suffers alone. Depression is not necessarily sadness; it is a horrible feeling of helplessness, and difficulty doing otherwise normal things. Brushing my teeth, showering, or shaving – normal things – were almost impossible; they seemed as difficult as moving mountains. Even getting out of bed, making coffee, using the washroom, or feeding my pets, were too much. That is depression. Fortunately, my mother,

who is 71 years old, and other family members, took care of me during my time of distress. I experienced hallucinations. I contemplated taking my life to get away from those imaginary images, sounds and horrible thoughts. During my illness, for example, I saw a boy running towards a beach. He was wearing tattered jeans. I could see the column of his spine, as he was without a shirt – I could see every detail. On another occasion I saw a black, circular pond. The inner parts were spinning faster than the outer parts. In the pond were silver objects: perhaps pieces of aluminum foil. All of these images I could see in great detail. That is depression. On four occasions during my ordeal, I contemplated suicide, not because I was sad, but because I could not endure the intrusive images, and wanted relief. I realised that my life was in danger and I sought and received help from friends and (Continued on page 7)

DEAR EDITOR. The contempt, mockery and duplicity of the Mayor, To w n C l e r k a n d t h e favoured cabal at the Georgetown City Council has become just unbearable to many citizens. Almost every day one can hear cries coming from the Council of bankruptcy, of revenue shortfalls, of the need for a wider revenue base, of being unable to provide the quality of services that they o u g ht to undertake due to a lack of adequate funding, of being cash strapped whilst at the same time officials of the Council are frequently proceeding on wasteful overseas trips, of paying themselves extra for carrying out duties that they were elected to carry out, of maintaining large retinues of staff including

bodyguards, chauffeurs, personal assistants, immense secretarial and administrative staff etc. Someone needs to explain to the citizenry why the members of the renegotiating committee for the scandalous Parking Meter contracts had to be paid large sums extra, to sit on the committee. Someone needs to explain why the Mayor and selected Councillors and staff who were involved in Mashramani activities had to be paid large sums for doing nothing. Someone needs to advise the citizenry what were the tangible benefits derived for the City for all the countless expensive jaunts overseas. It is simply mind blowing that a supposedly ‘broke municipality’ would even contemplate hosting a ‘City Week’ celebration.

Killing voices ... From page 4 nothing was done. The Minister of Public Infrastructure was simply instructed by the President to take over the Project. So let the ‘reasonable man’ decide whether or not the private criminal charges brought by Mr. Edghill were justified or not. The public needed answers and Mr. Edghill attempted to provide those answers by using the only recourse he has-our legal system! It is a shame that this Coalition Government instead of providing answers to corruption charges would seek to clamp down, stifle and kill those voices which agonizingly cry against the myriads of corrupt practices being perpetrated against this Nation in just three years! Your sincerely, Haseef Yusuf RDC Councilor Region 6

How could they allocate a whopping 20 million dollars to fetes and merriment when the claim that they have had to close day care centres due to lack of funding, when they have stopped stray catching in the city due to a lack of funds, when the municipal abattoir and all of their buildings are in the most ruinous state? Hope they don’t intend to harass the already fragile business community to contribute financially to their fete. How could the Council not be maintaining our city roads, not replacing defective street lights, not repairing bridges, not cleaning choked drains, not fogging for mosquitoes, but instead putting up expensive and fancy billboards about a green city, whilst maintaining a mammoth staff strength of nearly 1000 persons, whilst spending hundreds of millions on contractors that have not tendered for jobs they were given etc. There is no area of service that the Council is responsible for providing, not a single municipal department, that is free of the most brutal sort of corruption. The Georgetown Municipality has bred a worldclass mafia, and it has all begun with their duplicitous Human Resource Department that is well known for putting square pegs in round holes. Sincerely, Jermain Johnson

Sunday June 24, 2018

Kaieteur M@ilbox PLEASE PUBLISH THE FINDINGS OF EDNA’S DEATH DEAR EDITOR, On August 26th, 2015, Kaieteur News reported that Edna, a female patient of the National Psychiatric Hospital, was murdered during a fight with another patient. According to the article, the fight occurred in a secluded room where the deceased, the attacker, and a third patient were placed because they had all been exhibiting a g gressive behaviour. It was alleged that only one nurse was on duty in the ward when this tragedy occurred, and it is unclear whether she was aware of the fight and attempted to intervene. A few days after this incident became public, the then Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton, t o l d Stabroek News that “[a]n investigation has been launched into the incident so that we can tell the nation exactly what happened.” (Probe Underway Into Death of Patient at Psychiatric Hospital, September 2nd, 2015). Almost three years later, the nation still awaits the findings of this investigation promised by the Ministry of Public Health - if it was ever conducted in the first place. It is also unclear whether the Guyana Police Force was appropriately informed of this incident and allowed to conduct a thorough investigation. In fact, Kaieteur News reported on August 27, 2015 that the hospital failed to report the murder to the police, who learned of the incident after reading about it in the newspapers.

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During the intervening period, Stabroek News, in an editorial entitled “Accountability to Patients in the Public Health System,” (September 28, 2015) called for the Minister of Public Health to release the findings into Edna’s death, “[a]s a means of understanding the depths to which mental care in this country has sunk.” That call was ignored. I also personally attempted on multiple occasions to obtain updates from Dr. Norton’s office, and other officials about “the investigation.” All my attempts were futile. I suspected then, and am convinced now, that our silence about the crisis in the mental health system has created an environment where leaders feel totally unaccountable to anyone, and the nation as a whole, for even the most egregious human rights violations of individuals with various forms of mental illnesses. The response of the Ministry of Public Health to

Edna’s death is troubling because it highlights the low value placed on human lives in Guyana. This is not the first murder that occurred at the institution, and it is unclear whether appropriate measures have since been taken to minimize the risk of harm to patients in the care of the state. More than ever, it is critical that our outdated mental health legislation is updated to end the lack of transparency and accountability that exists in our mental health system, and to provide adequate protection to our brothers and sisters accessing services. It is also past time for the findings into Edna’s death to be made public to ensure that others do not suffer a similar fate. As such, I call on the current Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence, to do the right thing and provide a complete update to the nation on this incident. Sincerely, Anthony Autar

Kaieteur M@ilbox What has happened to the grand plans for Kitty Market? DEAR EDITOR, Permit me some space in your letters column, to express my profound disappointment and anxiety at the heartless and cruel manner in which the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown ha v e b e e n t r e a t i n g t h e vendors of the Kitty Market. I n t h e f i r s t p l a ce it should be noted that it is not the vendors, nor the citizens of Georgetown, nor Central Government that had left the Kitty Market to go to rack and ruin, but rather the City Council that did so. The vendors paid their stall rents and the citizens of Kitty and beyond paid their property rates. It was the Council that chose to waste these monies, rather than maintaining the market. So, the attempt by some municipal officials to cast blame on others rather than on themselves is dis-

Depression is a real and horrible ... From page 6 professionals. I called friends and experts. Depression is real. And it is deadly. I urge everyone, if you think that you are depressed, get help. There is no shame in that. Save your life. Editor, I had planned a political career. The fact that I have now made public an episode of depression may have ended those aspirations. However, this subject is too important to be quiet

about. I thank my former colleagues, my friends, and government officials – both senior and junior – who have reached out and supported me during my illness and who may have saved my life by doing so. Fortunately, I am well on the way to complete recovery. And I am grateful for the offers of employment following my accident and illness, and look forward to returning to the world of

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work, and hope to continue to serve the people of Guyana in some capacity(my workcontract was abruptly terminated during my illness, following the accident). Again, if you think that you are depressed, get help. Call a friend or a medical person. Call someone quickly. And get professional assistance. And, importantly, don’t do anything which is irreversible, such as harming yourself or others. Mark DaCosta

honest and absolute poppycock. This repair job which was touted to take three to five months, is still not completed three years on, but strangely civil society, the relevant NGOs and private sector agencies have not come out in support of the small vendors who are being taken advantage of. Is the completely toothless Guyana Market Vendors Union (GMVU) still awaiting recognition by the Council? Quite shockingly, these vendors have been made to pay their stall rents every month since the market has been closed for repairs, and are now being told that they are not guaranteed that they will gain repossession of the same spaces and or stalls. This is preposterous. There needs to be a Commission of Inquiry to determine not only the reasons for the protracted delays, but whether there was transparency and accountability for the monies spent on the project. Clearly no proper plan or quantity survey was done prior to the commencement of the project, as the real cost has far outstripped the estimated costs several times over and continues to climb further. I am disappointed at the central government for injecting large sums into this project on at least two

occasions without demanding that an audit of the expenditure by the Council be done prior. What has happened to the grand plan to have the bottom flat of the reconstructed Kitty Market outfitted with air conditioning units, extractor fa n s , an automatic switchover generator to cater for power outages, and the installation in the meat and fish section of the market with refrigeration facilities? Was this just another trip into La La Land by the administration of the Council? And what of the new wing that was to be added to the western side of the market to accommodate 100 new applications from vendors? Projects like the Kitty Market can best be described as a black h o l e , where materials can be bought in the name of the project but diverted elsewhere, where friends and relatives can be recruited to do the plumbing, electrical work, carpentry and masonry whilst the workers within the Council are not allowed to do these jobs. How could a municipality be taken seriously and expected to manage, maintain and expand a city under their charge, when they lack the administrative, technical and other capabilities to maintain and rehabilitate a single building? Sincerely Shanta Singh

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Sunday June 24, 2018

Kaieteur News

Following damning auditor’s report… Company begins repaying Govt. for supply of wrong bulldozer to Region Six

K

&P Project Man agement Com pany which supplied the wrong bulldozer to officials in Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne), has started to repay Government. Managing Director, Terry Thomas, told Kaieteur News yesterday that the company submitted a cheque of $14M to the region and plans to provide the remainder on Monday. The company had collected the bulldozer from the region as the controversy brewed. Auditors descended on the region following media reports, that regional officials received a D4 bulldozer in the sum of $14.8M from company in December 2017, when in fact the bid documents had stipulated a D3 bulldozer. A report from a special investigation done by the Auditor General’s office unearthed major breaches in the transaction. The report was turned over to Regional Executive Officer (REO), Kim Williams-Stephen on June 12. “We erred. I must admit that,” Thomas said. Thomas, a former General Manager of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), ex-

plained that the company won the bid for a D3 bulldozer which they should have supplied. He stated that as they were not getting a D3 at that time at the price in the bid, they thought that they could have supplied a D4 which is a higher specification than what the region wanted. “What we should have done is write to them to change the specification. We have learnt to stick to whatever the specifications are or seek approval before and not after the fact,” Thomas noted. The Auditor General’s report stated that the purchase of the D3 bulldozer was not explicitly stated in the region’s approval and that the supplier did not meet one of the qualifying criteria which stipulated that the bidder must have supplied equipment of a similar nature. According to auditors, a performance security was not enforced and an advance payment of 53% for the contract sum was paid to the supplier, even though the contract did not make provision for such payment. It was also revealed that the bid document had indi-

The bulldozer at the centre of the controversy.

Terry Thomas, Managing Director of K&P Project Management Company. cated that a 10% performance security in the amount of $1.5M would be required. Auditors found no evidence that the security was provided by the supplier, an indication that the requirements of the bid were not enforced by the region.

Further, the audit revealed that regional officials did not examine the bulldozer upon its receipt for defects. When auditors inspected the bulldozer supplied, they found that the chassis plate appeared to have been tampered with; it had a damaged belt, a unit hanging without a nut, rough welding, fabrication works and damaged rubber mount, wire and cable. The contract was signed

on September 12, 2017. Auditors found that the contract included the lines, ‘stop work and periodically cease construction without reason before completion’ and ‘the employer hereby covenants to pay the supplier as per measured works completed’. This shocked auditors, as it mirrored contracts used by the region for construction works. The region had also published the invitation for the

bid in one newspaper, which is a breach of the Procurement Act, which stipulates that this should be done in newspapers of wide circulation. As a result, only one bid was received. It remains to be seen if any action would be taken against regional officials who signed off and accepted the delivery of the wrong bulldozer, and those who would have contributed to the discrepancies identified by auditors.

Sunday June 24, 2018

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Kaieteur News

Govt. examines reforestation, solar power for mined out bauxite areas - Harmon tells desertification forum in Ecuador

Minister Harmon (3rd l at back) with the other attendees in Ecuador last week. Government is examining a number of options for mined out bauxite areas, including reforestation, as well as the introduction of solar energy to residents living there. One of five high-profile panelists last week during a forum in Quito, Ecuador, for

the Global Observance for the World Day to Combat Desertification, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon made mention of the people of Coomacka, Region Ten, who are affected by constant flooding when water from the rains come down from the

hills. Harmon appealed for solutions that will solve problems like this. He assured the gathering that Guyana is committed to addressing the issue of degradation, land desertification and drought.

DEM BOYS SEH

Tiger don’t lose ee stripe De more dem boys try to be nice is de more people does put things in front of dem to mek dem realize that certain things don’t change like that. Is like if a man is a thief and he go to jail. While he in custody he always promise to be good and to never do de bad thing again. Is de same thing wid children. When you ketch dem doing something wrang and you pick up de whip and dance dem, dem does mek all kind of promise. But as soon as de licks cool down or as soon as de thief come out of jail is back to de same old story. That is why dem boys always seh that when dog accustom to suck egg it can’t done. Dem boys wasn’t happy

wid wha Exxon do and wha it was doing in Guyana. Dem boys talk and dem get cuss. People who see two dollar suddenly get vex wid dem boys. Some of Soulja Bai call dem boys vulture and accuse dem of wanting to block national development. Dem boys wake up yesterday and dem find out that de same Exxon robbing dem Australians. Everybody know Australia is a rich country and de people got more knowledge of oil than we in this country. Besides, dem Australians look like de people who own Exxon. De oil company declare that it mek tremendous profit but dem boys didn’t know that it was robbing dem Australians. It decide to cut de

people pay by thirty per cent; then it tell de workers that dem got to lef dem wife fuh months at a time. Which mean that Exxon was cutting down on transportation cost. Just like Guyana, Exxon get $117 billion in tax concession but it don’t pay that in wages and salaries. Well dem boys hear de Australians strike and is one year now since dem strike. De union and everybody vex. Dem boys was just coming to believe that Exxon not so bad but now this thing happen is back to square one. And dem boys ain’t talking bout de mall in Mississauga. Talk half and remember a leopard don’t lose its stripe.

Minister Harmon (r) making his presentation during the forum in Quito, Ecuador. Minister Harmon was one of five ministers who addressed the gathering and answered questions. The other ministers were from Ecuador, Grenada, Jamaica, Honduras and Poland. Specifically being discussed by the panelists were policies and practices to invest in sustainable land management. One of the questions posed to Guyana was how land degradation neutrality (LDN) targets will be integrated in this country’s Green State Development Strategy. Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) is the state where the amount and quality of land resources, necessary to support ecosystem functions and services and enhance food security, remains stable or increases within specified temporal and spatial scales and ecosystems. To date, over 110 countries have engaged with the LDN target setting programme and considerable progress has been made since

the 2030 agenda was adopted in 2015. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (UNCCD) is a convention to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought through national action programs that incorporate long-term strategies supported by international cooperation and partnership arrangements.According to Minister Harmon, in his response to the gathering, Guyana has completed the reporting process for the land degradation neutrality (LDC) target-setting programme in 2017. The process commenced in 2016 and involved several rounds of consultations. In fact, he disclosed, Guyana has managed to advance its Green State Development Strategy (GSDS) framework which was launched earlier this year as a guiding document. According to Minister Harmon,

Government has recognized the importance of land degradation neutrality and how it would be implemented in the strategy. He explained that this is a role to be supported by the sustainable land management project, funded by the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF), and implemented by the Guyana Lands and Survey Commission (GLSC) as the national focal point. “The outcomes and outputs of the project are crosscutting in nature and are expected over the life of the project to ensure net positive impact of land reclamation and maintaining forest cover whilst enabling continued sustainable development and improved livelihood opportunities for the country’s population,” he disclosed. Harmon, speaking on Guyana’s plan to host a meeting in January, said that Guyana will seek to highlight several areas as it relates to its success story in achieving land degradation neutrality.

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Sunday June 24, 2018

Kaieteur News

Providing millions directly to city counselors is pre-election slush funding – Opposition

A

plan to take millions of dollars from a Government subvention and directly give it to Georgetown City Councillors to spend on projects is being seen as misuse of public funds. The decision by the council to move in this direction comes as preparations are in

full swing for Local Government Elections (LGE) which are to be held before the end of the year. Under the plan, each Councillor will be granted about $5M to complete development projects identified in communities across Georgetown. The monies will come from the

$200M subvention allocated to City Hall in the Government’s 2018 Budget. The coalition Government has majority control of the Council with 25 seats while the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and other groups control five. Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, on Thursday

citicised the Council and Government. “This is taking public money and giving it to the politicians to spend in their constituencies and they will be contesting a competitive election. If this is not the most blatant act of misuse of public funds, nothing else is,” Jagdeo stated. Council officials had confirmed that all of the projects are to be executed under the ‘Restoration Grant’. As part of the funding arrangement, there are provisions that the Councillors must use persons from within their respective constituencies. Town Clerk Royston King said that the policy is expected to cover a number of issues including what makes

a candidate eligible to obtain a contract, in accordance with the laws that govern the operations of City Hall. In his remarks to the council, King specifically highlighted sections of the Municipal District and Council’s Act, which deals with the terms and conditions that a member of the Council, who might be interested in a specific contract, can benefit. King has explained that the law does not prohibit members of the Council from benefiting from projects. “All that this means is that Councillors must disclose whether they may have a financial interest in a specific project or matter,” The Town Clerk disclosed

a draft of the framework will soon be available for dissemination to members of the council. Additionally, he noted that a register will be created for the purpose of disclosures by Councillor who might be interested in special community projects slated to commence shortly. Twelve constituencies have submitted proposals for projects and they were all given the green light by the Ministry of Communities. Constituency 1 – Kingston East & West, Thomas Lands, NonPariel Park, Cummingsburg, Alberttown and Queenstown –and Constituency 15 –Meadow Bank/ Agricola were among the communities left to finalize their projects.

Regardless of third term ruling…

Jagdeo vows formal return to Govt if PPP wins in 2020 Former President Bharrat Jagdeo has signaled his intention to formally return to Government should the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) secure victory at the General Elections in 2020. Jagdeo’s announcement was made yesterday in a media statement ahead of Tuesday’s ruling by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on the all-important presidential term limits case. Jagdeo demitted office as President in 2011 due to presidential term limits and was not formally involved with the party’s governance of the country. “Unlike the 2011-2015 period where I played no formal part in the PPP administration, I intend to be a formal part of the next PPP government as we resume the implementation of plans to build a better country of which all our people can feel proud,” Jagdeo stated. Term limits agreed upon between the PPP Government and the Opposition in the 2000s halted any president from serving more than two terms. Jagdeo has repeatedly told reporters that he is not interested in returning as President. Jagdeo assured that whatever the ruling is, he will remain the General Secretary of the PPP. He stated that in that capacity, he will continue to spearhead the Party’s struggle for a better life for all Guyanese, especially the working people, the poor and the under-privileged, for ra-

…will remain party’s General Secretary

PPP General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo cial and national unity and for victory at the polls at the next Local Government, Regional and National Elections. The case before the CCJ is widely seen in Guyana as a play by former President Bharrat Jagdeo to attempt a run at a third term. The court case, the Attorney General of Guyana vs. Cedric Richardson, questioned the validity of the law which was blessed by the National Assembly and assented to by Jagdeo himself. Jagdeo returned as Opposition Leader when the PPP under the presidency of Donald Ramotar, lost the 2015 General Elections to the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC). The Court of Appeal in Guyana had ruled, by a majority of 2-1 with the present

Acting Chancellor dissenting, that the amendment indirectly breached Articles 1 and 9 of the Constitution which Articles entrench the concept that Guyana is a secular, democratic state in which sovereignty belongs to the people of Guyana. Richardson, though his lawyers, had earlier successfully argued in the Guyanese courts that the amendment breached his right to elect a President of his choice. The Government of Guyana, under the Coalition, took the Court of Appeal decision to the CCJ. In March, a team of lawyers representing the Government of Guyana had presented arguments before the CCJ seeking to overturn the decision.The action was originally filed in 2014 by Richardson, a private citizen.

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UNICEF promote message on positive discipline in schools The United Nations Children’s Fund, (UNICEF) is using the power of film to deliver a message on positive discipline in schools. Over the past year, UNICEF has been collaborating with the Ministry of Education to introduce the use of positive discipline in schools across Guyana. UNICEF recently launched a short film to emphasize the impact of positive disciplinary measures. The video, which is about 10 minutes long, features a song performed by school children, who are calling for an end to whipping and other forms of punishment, cur-

rently accepted in the school system. The video can be viewed on YouTube via the UNICEF Guyana and Suriname channel. Speaking at a recent press event held at UNICEF’s Brickdam, Georgetown headquarters, country representative Sylvie Fouet explained that the campaign is an evidence-based one that stems from conversations the organisation has been having with stakeholders for some time. According to her, the consultation which included input from school children and other concerned groups took place

about a year ago. UNICEF was also able to gather data in 2014. The data gave an indication of the kind of discipline being practised in schools. She noted that the data form an important link which will help the Education Ministry develop improved teaching methods. Earlier this year, the MoE collaborated with UNICEF to launch a ‘cluster approach’ training workshop for monitoring the implementation of positive disciplinary methods across schools in Guyana. During the training, Assistant Chief Education Officer (ACEO) Primary, Mr. Owen

From right: UNICEF country representative Sylvie Fouet and members of her team Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, Michael Gillis and Communications Assistant, Frank Robinson, during a press briefing, at the Brickdam Office, last week. Pollard, charged the participants to reflect on what is happening in their schools and how they can work to improve discipline. The Education Officer noted, “We are living in a modern era and modern approaches should be adopted. He said that there are other approaches that can be embraced to inculcate proper disciple among children and that corporal punishment should be relegated to the annals of history.” Pollard said that it is important that children are fully

occupied when at school so that misdemeanour can be mitigated. Further, Pollard said that teachers should constantly walk the schools and corridors to know what is happening, “make your presence felt, if the children recognize your presence this will help in tackling disciplinary issues”. Meanwhile, UNICEF Education specialist, Ms Audrey Rodrigues, told participants that UNICEF’s vision is to create a happy learning environment which will help children feel more at ease to participate

in whatever is happening in school. She was positive that the workshop will help in this regard. “We want happy children in a safe, inviting warm environment.” She noted that the ChildFriendly Schools Programme of which one of its components is ‘Positive Discipline’ has had some successes over the years. To enhance the programme of ‘Positive Discipline’ several interactive activities were done such as jingles, debates and workshops for teachers and parents. In the pilot stage of this programme, she said many children across Guyana became advocates for the use of positive discipline through their participation in jingles and poster competitions. Rodrigues said, too, that UNICEF is pleased to be associated with the initiative and has pledged to continue to support the MoE in similar and other programmes.

Sunday June 24, 2018

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GuySuCo establishes coordinate committee for laid-off workers The Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc. (GuySuCo) says it is continuing to add more structure to the ‘Sustainable and Resilient Communities Programme’ and ‘Alternative Livelihoods Initiative’. On Friday, a Coordinating Committee was established to lead, coordinate and monitor the implementation of the programme and the transitioning process as a result of the restructuring of the sugar industry. According to GuySuCo, the target groups for the programme are ex-employees of GuySuCo, their families and residents from communities in the vicinity of Wales, Rose Hall, Enmore and Skeldon estates. The Coordinating Committee comprises senior technical experts from relevant Government agencies. They include the: Ministries of Agriculture and Public Health Mental Health and Men’s Health Units; Ministries of Social Protection, Communities and Education; Ministry of Business, Small Business Bureau; Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Public Security Citizens’ Security Strengthening Programme; Ministry of the Presidency - Department of Social Cohesion, Culture, Youth and Sports and National Trust. In addition to the technical experts who attended the meeting, the special guest was Vice-President and Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan. Minister Ramjattan noted in his address that “the Ministry of Public Security is very keen on supporting the programme, since it is an extremely important preventative initiative.” He further noted that “the more economically and socially resilient communities are, the more the impact on crime reduction will be positive, as well as other social and economic issues associated with crime.” The Minister added, “There is a direct link between

the Sustainable and Resilient Communities Programme and Alternative Livelihood Initiative and the Citizen’s Security Programme which is implemented by the Ministry of Public Security. The programme is a support mechanism for the communities around the sugar belt which are impacted by the reorganization of the industry.” Additionally, the Minister indicated that “of interest to the Ministry of Public Security, is the structured way in which the programme is being rolled out.” The programme has three components - Economic Resilience, Social Resilience and Environmental Resilience and Sub-committees were set up at the meeting to implement the programme. The Economic Resilience Sub-committee will be chaired by Dr. Lowell Porter, Chief Executive Officer of the Small Business Bureau; the Social Resilience Sub-committee will be chaired by Dr. Allister Collins, Executive Officer, President’s Youth Award Republic of Guyana (PYARG) and Co-chaired by Mr. Whentworth Tanner, a Director at the Ministry of Social Protection; the chairperson for the Environmental Resilience Sub-committee is still to be named. The terms of reference for the Coordinating Committee and Sub-committees are to lead, coordinate and monitor the transitioning of the targeted sugar-dependent communities towards becoming sustainable and resilient; provide oversight for the Sustainable Communities Fund which is to enable start-ups of businesses, training, technical support and aligning new business ventures under the programme to national and regional development focus areas, such as the Green Economy (the Green State Development Strategy), Ministry of Business – 2016 - 2020 Strategic Plan, Guyana Food Security Strategy, CARICOM Regional Food and Nutritional

Representatives of Government agencies and GuySuCo (Members of the Coordinating Committee). Security Policy and other economic activities. Additionally, the committee will oversee the establishment of partnerships with relevant international, regional and national agencies to support the transitioning of these sugar-dependent communities; and they are expected to meet at least once monthly. The committee will continue the initiatives which were started by GuySuCo and other agencies. Several of these projects are currently being implemented while others are awaiting funding to commence. Current projects include: the European Union funded study to transition ex-employees into farmers; the Ministry of Natural Resources funded project in partnership with the Board of Industrial Training and GuySuCo Training Centre/Port Mourant (GTC/PM) in: Motor Vehicle Services and Minor Repairs, Welding and Fabrication, Refrigeration and Electrical Installation); the Small Business Bureau funded training at the Guyana Industrial Training Centre (GITC) in Plumbing, masonry and carpentry; among others. Projects to be funded include training in forestry management areas and management of Community Forestry Concessions; training in carpentry, masonry, garment construction and food preparation at the Upper Corentyne Technical Institute, among others. Minister Ramjattan accepted the invitation to be the Patron of the GuySuCo Sustainable and Resilient Communities Programme and has committed to supporting the successful implementation of the programme.

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2nd annual robotic exhibition slated for July 7

The second annual robotics exhibition is slated for Saturday, July 7, at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Homestretch Avenue, Georgetown. The event is sponsored by the STEM Guyana initiative and will bring together young talented members of the 2018 National Robotics team. The exhibition is open to students of all ages and will be a fun family event. The exhibition will run from 10:00hrs to 15:00hrs and will include various types of robot exhibition under the themes of Education, Healthcare, Oil and Gas, Agriculture and Games, and will be presented by schools and STEM clubs from across the country. Apart from these, participants will be given the opportunity to meet technology coaches and to see how drones are built. They will also get the chance to build their own projects with Lego and be updated about the latest on the Grade Six Math App. Last year’s exhibition was held on June 24, and saw over 20 booths on display Kuru Kururu, Lusignan, President’s

College, St Rose’s High, the Bishops’ High, Buxton, the Ministry of Education, NT Computec, Gizmos and Gadgets, and many more. At that event, First Lady Sandra Granger spoke of the importance of robotics to everyday life, adding that, robots and drones are being used in the areas of drainage and irrigation, agriculture and medicine. A month later, a team from Guyana participated in the inaugural Robot Olympics which was held in Washington D.C, USA. Overcoming many challenges along the way, the Guyana team finished 10th against 164 other countries. STEM Guyana introduces technology programmes for youths, which will excite them, w h i l e encouraging their creativity, innovation and problem-solving skills. Organizers of the exhibition indicate that the goal of the exhibition is to inspire, motivate and educate Guyanese youth and to encourage them to consider other career options in the field of technology, math, engineering and science.

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Audit and scrap water users associations - PM representative urges In 2017 it was reported by the Black Bush Polder Water User’s Association (WUA) when the Agriculture Minister, Noel Holder, and his team were there, that only 20 percent of the landowners were paying their land/water taxes to the association. It was also pointed out that this reflects the norm of all such associations throughout Guyana. According Gobin Harbhajan, the Prime Minister’s Representative in Region Six (East Berbice), the time is now for audits into the associations. Those audits should go back eight years. It is also time that these associations be scrapped, he urged. The outspoken official explained that throughout the country, approximately 130,000 acres of rice lands are cultivated but only about 35 percent of the landowners

It is situation likes these, where an excavator is stuck on an access dam in Corentyne, East Berbice, that has the PM representative in Berbice, Gobin Harbhajan, up in arm against the Water Users Associations.

PM representative in Berbice, Gobin Harbhajan pay water fees to the WUAs. “However, many of these land owners would have paid their land taxes to the respective NDCs and to the Guyana Lands and Surveys (Continued on page 70)

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Sunday June 24, 2018

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Ministerial team meets with concerned mining sector

The ministerial team Several ministers on Friday met with key players in the mining sector to address some of their concerns, in what is expected to become a twice-yearly consultation. The consultation, facilitated by the Ministry of Natural Resources, included Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman;Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan; Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock; and Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin along with junior Minister of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes, according to a government statement. They met with the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA), the Guyana Women Miners As-

sociation (GWMA), the Small Miners Association (SMA) and mining syndicates, among others at the Marriott Hotel, Kingston. Trotman said the consultation was the highest level of engagement between the government and the sector. “The discussion is on! Let us have frank and open discussions and work with each other. We are not here to shut mining down,” Minister Trotman assured the stakeholders. “You have left me with much to think about. Do we see you just as a business, or do we see you as part of the developmental pillars? Which is certainly what we think you are,” he asked. The issues raised ranged from crime and security, trafficking in persons, the

Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), and concessions among others. Minister Trotman said one of the objectives of the consultation was for the stakeholders to “hear from us as well about what we can expect of them and we can hear from them likewise.” He was confident that the parties were satisfied with the meeting. Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes said miners have been suffering for several decades. While the administration has been in office for just three years, many “baggage is being pelt around.” “Today is not the only time you have seen the government’s efforts and attention. We have said pub-

Officials of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and Guyana Gold Board at the forum

President of the Women’s Miners Association, Urica Primus makes a point at the forum today licly that we acknowledge your contribution and how important a sector it is,” she told the stakeholders. She said the government has been

pushing policies and initiatives to cushion the industry. The ministers candidly addressed many of the issues, explaining the steps being

taken in the respective ministries to tackle them. Minister Trotman said his ministry will be holding a second such consultation in November.

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---Hinds’ Sight by Dr. David Hinds---

The president is busy: Mr. Jagdeo, please challenge me to debate Race Relations in Guyana The campaign for the 2020 election has begun. The PPP has made it very clear that its political strategy would be centered on the potent issue of race. This is an area in which that party has tremendous experience—it knows how to use race as an ethno-political mobilizing tool while casting itself as anti-racial. But as I have argued in the past, the success of the PPP’s praxis regarding race rests largely on the inability of its current opponents to construct a counter-narrative that blows away the PPP’s mask. As I always do when I address this matter, I make a distinction between race and ethnicity, but try to show the relationship between the two constructs. Ethnicity is broadly a cultural construct, while race is political. Ethnicity has to do with differences in heritage and history, while race has to do with meanings of inferiority and superiority attached or imposed on those differences. Race is a construct that was born in the context of plantation slavery where, in their quest to justify slavery, the plantocracy attached meaning to Africans and Europeans—that Africans were by nature inferior to Europeans. In other words, race gives meaning to ethnicity or skin colour. Again, you often hear many Guyanese ask why we can’t be one human race. What they really mean is that we are all one human species. But race has nothing to do with biology—it is purely a political construct. So, there cannot be a single “human race.” In Guyana, our problem is ethnic—we have different ethnic groups in a common space competing for political, economic and cultural resources. This is normal. The challenge for all countries, including Guyana, is to develop institutions and systems to ensure that that competition does not inhibit the common development and

security of the various groups. Because we have failed miserably in that regard, our ethnic competition has over time taken on a racial outlook. We have attached political meaning to ethnic political behaviour. So, African Guyanese have come to believe that Indian Guyanese are by nature economically greedy—that their grand design is to own and control all of Guyana’s resources, and in the process, economically disenfranchise and disempower Africans. It follows that if they hold political power, they will use it to economically dominate other ethnic groups. Indian Guyanese, on the other hand, have come to believe that African Guyanese are by nature economically lazy, and are political bullies and cheats who do not play by the rules. So, if they hold power, they would use it to stifle the Indian Guyanese economy and bully them physically and otherwise. That narrative is at the heart of Guyanese political culture. It is the use of race— giving meaning to ethnic behaviour—to inform our ethnic differences and the competition for resources. It is shared by the elites and their followers within the various ethnic groups. It took root in the colonial divide and rule framework and it has been institutionalized since independence. And what is worse, Guyanese are in denial or are hypocritical about it. How often do we hear the nonsense from both politicians and followers—we don’t have a race problem; it’s the politicians and people like Hinds who talk about race all the time. Let me end with the PPP and its 2020 election campaign. For 2020, the PPP intends to pin the sins of race on the APNU+AFC government, while using the very race to mobilize and protect its political base. From the moment it lost the election in 2015, the party set about to

convince its supporters that ethnic cleansing of Indian Guyanese was a major objective of the new government. It tracked every move the government made regarding the staffing of State institutions and spun them as ethnic cleansing. And because the government was politically inexperienced and careless, it wittingly and unwittingly walked into the PPP’s ethnic trap. The PPP knew that because it had, in its 23-year reign, institutionalized Indian Guyanese domination of the State, the society and the political economy, any corrective measures, if not handled properly, would look and smell like ethnic cleansing. In other words, the ethnic domination institutionalized by the PPP could not be dismantled without ethnic consequences. Admittedly, the government has clumsily handled our ethno-racial problem, largely because the African Guyanese political elite have always adopted a simplistic approach to this complex issue. It has believed that if you put a few Indians and Amerindians in top positions, use some multi-ethnic rhetoric, and avoid the appearance of favoritism towards African Guyanese, the problem would be contained or solved. In the process, it has ignored deep Indian Guyanese sensitivities, their political culture and how the PPP manipulates them. In other words, the government has been politically clumsy on the ethno-racial issue, but it has not engaged in any systematic ethnic cleansing of Indian Guyanese. It just simply has to contend with an enormous Indian Guyanese-dominated State and political economy that it does not know how to creatively address. So, the PPP is using the racist approach—the underlying narrative that African Guyanese are naturally cheats and bullies. This is

The Baccoo Speaks The police did solve the crime as was noted last week. They will solve yet another, one that involved a murder. The killer would be found hiding with relatives who should know better than to uphold a criminal. ** A seriously wounded man would turn up at the Georgetown Public Hospital, forcing the authorities to call in the police. The wound would turn out to be a gunshot injury.

The problem would be to determine how the man came by the injury since he wouldn’t say. However, investigators would ascertain that he was shot by a

colleague, accidentally, during the preparation for a robbery. ** Another home invasion on the west side would leave a family surprised. The homeowners would be away and an opportunistic burglar would seize the opportunity. Neighbours would know the burglar but they would remain silent until an approach by the home owner who would have lost jewellery in the invasion.

what the GECOM controversy is about. Here is the institution that is charged with overseeing the election. It is staffed by mostly African Guyanese. They all belong to the African Guyanese rigging party. That party is unchanging—it will always rig because rigging is in African Guyanese genes. Roxanne Myers is African Guyanese, so she is PNC and she is going to rig the election. Never mind Vishnu Persaud is PPP by virtue of being Indian Guyanese—the PPP’s logic. He will not rig because rigging is not in Indian Guyanese genes. Let me end with this. I am African Guyanese and I am

not PNC. I am not a rigger and would not condone it. Remember, I was among those African Guyanese who challenged rigging back in the old days. I have an interest in race relations—better race relations. Its an area in which I offered my services when this government first came to power, but my independent politics did not cut it with the overlords. I am glad Mr. Jagdeo wants to talk about race relations. He has challenged the president to debate the issue. I don’t know whether His Excellency would accept. But let me push myself up a bit here. Please Mr. Jagdeo, the president is busy right now dealing with the business of the

Dr David Hinds State. I know I am not a big official, but I have been around a bit. I am available— please challenge me to debate race relations. 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 24, 2018

Kaieteur News

The case of the sleeping carpenter By Michael Jordan

I

t was at around 23:00 hrs on Saturday, No vember 22, 2008, that police ranks from the East Coast of Demerara rushed to Lot 642 Seventeenth Street, Foulis, to find themselves confronted by one of the most mysterious cases to come out of the crime wave period. The home belonged to Vikesh Budhram, a 25-year-old carpenter, who lived there with his reputed wife, Basmattie, the couple’s two daughters, aged two and one year respectively, and their grandmother. When the cops arrived, a hysterical Basmattie informed them that Vikesh was dead. According to the woman, she, Vikesh and the one-yearold daughter had retired to bed in the same room. The

two-year-old daughter and Vikesh’s mother had occupied another room. Basmattie said that at around 23:00 hrs, she was awakened by a loud explosion in the bedroom. The woman claimed that she opened her eyes in time to see two masked men in dark clothing fleeing the room. According to Basmattie, her reputed husband was still lying on the bed, she shook him. It was then that she saw the blood gushing from his neck. Basmattie claimed that Vikesh tried to speak, but was unable to. She then called out to neighbours, but no one came. Vikesh succumbed shortly after from a wound to the right side of the neck. Detectives recovered a bullet casing and a warhead similar to those used in AK-47 and

Vikesh Budhram M70 assault rifles. Checking the scene further, they discovered that someone had removed the louvre panes from a window in the

bottom flat.It appeared that the killers entered through the bottom flat via the window, then proceeded to the upper flat, where they shot the sleeping carpenter. But detectives were baffled. For one thing, there appeared to be no clear motive. The killers had apparently fled the home without touching the family’s valuables. The other thing that was puzzling was the fact that the gunmen had apparently known which bedroom Vikesh had occupied. The investigators were also baffled by the fact that, apart from the victim’s wife, no one else in the household had seen the killers. Indeed, no one in the neighbourhood had seen the fleeing men. Dhanmattie Budhram, the murdered man’s mother, recalled being awakened by the gunshot and hearing her daughter-in-law screaming. She also recalled hearing someone running in the

house. At the time, she had assumed that it was her son running to investigate. It was then that her daughter-in-law called out to say that Vikesh had been shot. And there appeared to be no reason for anyone wanting to kill the young carpenter. Relatives and neighbours described him as a peaceful, hard-working individual who appeared to have no problems with anyone. An autopsy would later reveal that the gunman had shot Budhram at very close range, since there were burn marks around the wound. Ballistic tests failed to match the bullet casing and warhead to any known weapon. The detectives were also bothered by what appeared to be conflicting statements

from the victim’s family members, and particularly by the fact that only one occupant of the home had seen the killers. They took Vikesh’s reputed wife into custody. However, the woman stuck to her story and police were unable to find anything to incriminate her in the man’s d e a t h . They also detained two of the victim’s brothers, but they, too, were eventually released. Police officials say they have no new information on the baffling death of Vikesh Budhram. If you have any information about other unusual cases, please contact Kaieteur News at our Lot 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown l o c a t i o n . We can be reached on telephone numbers 22-58465, 22-58491 or 22-58473. You can also contact Michael Jordan at his email a d d r e s s mjdragon@hotmail.com.or kamarangnight@gmail.com

Sunday June 24, 2018

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Kaieteur News

==THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN==

At School of the Nations’ graduation Some humans are remarkable young people. The odds they go through and yet make it through life make them special. Mark Benschop told me that I watched his kid, Ryan grow up, and therefore he would appreciate my presence at his son’s milestone at the 2018 School of the Nations’ graduation. The event was on Thursday afternoon, and I couldn’t bring myself to be elsewhere. When I saw Ryan Benschop on stage, my mind went back to my daughter’s graduation at the very school, many moons ago. My daughter and Ryan Benschop are not your average run-of-themill children. When parents are constantly harassed, victimized, and there are attempts on their lives, the children are bound to suffer. And my daughter and Ryan Benschop did suffer. It was a miracle that my daughter survived mentally to do superb at CXC and to perform exceptionally at university.

It was a miracle that Ryan Benschop mentally survived to top the A’ level class at School of the Nations. As he gave his speech, I thought of all the things we social activists put our families through when the repressive hand of the State visits us. As Ryan delivered his valedictorian speech, Benschop and I exchanged some comical remarks about our time in the trenches. It is always good to laugh at your experience with State violence long after, because it helps to heal the wounds. There were many deliveries at the graduation and as these beautiful teenagers, representative of the multiethnic mosaic of Guyana, spoke, I couldn’t help but wonder that long before 2018, I heard those very sentiments at my daughter’s own School of the Nations graduation. And though I have never been to any high school graduation since my kid’s, I guess those very sentiments

since my daughter’s milestone so long ago are expressed to the parents and invitees each year. But Guyana remains the same, despite the annual exhortation at these high school ceremonies that we must be God’s people, good people, and help other people. My daughter heard those words of wisdom at her graduation, but got a rude awakening when she went to UG. There weren’t God’s people and good people at UG. So many teenagers have been imbued with the spirit to make life better for others as they listened to those talks at the last day of their high school life. But will Guyana prepare them for a life that must be lived in the joy of helping others and sharing the pain of others and standing up for the values that differentiate humans from monsters? It crossed my mind as I watched those really lovely young Guyanese come up

one by one on stage to receive their passport to social elevation, if in their lives there will also be philosophical elevation if they remain in Guyana. Host of CNS Channel 6’s early morning programme, Naim Chan, looked at me and David Hinds straight in our eyes and asked; “Are both of you optimistic about a future for Guyana?” David said he has to be. I expressed what I deeply felt about my country. It was the opposite to David Hinds’ hope. I want to be optimistic. I want a future for my country. But I want to see those young people that were at School of the Nations’ graduation last Thursday evening, join their counterparts elsewhere in Barbados, France, Trinidad, Iran, the US, Canada, Venezuela, Jamaica and other countries too numerous to mention, to stand up for what is right, stand up against the oppression and degradation of their fellow humans.

I now leave the School of the Nations’ 2018 class with words that I would have loved to deliver to them. It is a song from the “The Lion King” titled the “Circle of Life” “From the day we arrive on the planet And blinking step into the sun There’s more to be seen that could ever be seen More to do that could ever be done

Frederick Kissoon life

Some say eat or be eaten Some say live and let live But all are agreed as they join the stampede You should never take more than you give

Some of us fall by the wayside And some of us soar to the stars And some of us sail through our troubles And some have to live with our scars

(Chorus) In the circle of life It’s the wheel of fortune It’s a leap of faith It’s the band of hope ’Til we find our place on the path unwinding In the circle, the circle of

There’s far too much to take in here More to find than could ever be found But the sun rolling high through the sapphire sky Keeps great and small on the endless round”

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Sunday June 24, 2018

Kaieteur News

PPP had nothing to say about the make-up of any agency between 1992 and 2015

I

n recent weeks, the mi nority People’s Pro gressive Party (PPP) has been on an indecent rampage accusing the leadership of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), the governing Coalition and its member parties of practising racism, simply because their Commissioners did not get their ‘candidate’ selected as the Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO). First, Commissioner

Robeson Benn accused GECOM of being completely dominated by Guyanese of African descent (he claimed by 90%). But facts are facts, and the verifiable statistics tell the story. He has accused GECOM of deliberately hiring Afro Guyanese to work at the elections commission, but he is wrong! I n fact, GECOM’s statistics advise that 46% of its staff is of African descent, with 51

percent at its Georgetown Head Office. This month, official figures released by GECOM reveal that 46% of current staff are Afro Guyanese which is equal to 178 of its 383 workforce. Indo Guyanese staff represent 21% or 80 workers, while 20% self-classify as mixed race Guyanese, and the remainder as Indigenous Guyanese. It is safe to conclude that

Mr. Benn and the PPP’s accusations are part of a key chapter in their old electioneering playbook. The purpose, as usual, is to generate fear among their supporters, and put the old dirty-tricks campaign in gear, this time claiming election rigging in the run-up to the 2020 general and regional elections. Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, had made the very same claims on his 2014/ 15 campaign trail, citing some rather off-colour stories of Coalition supporters beating drums in South Georgetown and urging B l a c k Guyanese to vote “these people” out. But despite diligent searches by various non-political and transparency groups, no one could find any evidence to substantiate his claims. The PPP’s intentions to keep the racial divide wide open are very clear, very disturbing and they run tantamount to the nation’s determination to grow, move forward and develop as a nation on a united platform.

Playing the race card to keep any support base uninformed, afraid and willing to circle their proverbial political wagons is old, it is tired, and it does not take into account that new generations of voters are well educated people who are very capable of making their own decisions. Informed people do not like to be jerked around to suit anyone’s purpose. They care about programmes that are executed to enrich their lives and see to their future. The PPP has to know this. It’s not rocket science, so their constant beating of this tattered old drum, using a made-up race issue at GECOM would do very little for them. They should have seen its futility last year when they tried to create a political storm after H.E. David Granger chose Justice (ret’d) James Patterson to head the Elections Commission. They raged and ranted and complained that Justice Patterson was appointed instead of the personages included in the lists they had

submitted. They have made it clear that they would keep on blowing everything out of proportion, making up conspiracy theories as they go along, maybe to justify their title of Opposition Party. We recall that the PPP had had nothing to say about race and conspiracy during the 23 years they ‘presided’ over Guyana. They had no problems with previous Chairmen of GECOM. All this while the ruling administration was playing Monopoly with taxpayer dollars and donor funds allocated to every single project. We still remember that a contractor was paid $56 Million to build a oneflat shed. And in May 2016, an audit report found that $69 Million was paid for the NIS building at Corriverton, Berbice, which was really worth $38 Million. To make matters worse, six years later, workers were replacing roofing sheets and doing internal repairs to the same building.

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My column

Does Government have a plan for the oil wealth?

C

rime is the topical issue at this time. This past week a man slit his spouse’s throat and tried to kill himself. Then another attacked his wife and when she managed to escape, he torched the home. Then there was the case of the missing man. It turned out that people had killed him and burned his body. The prime motive is believed to be a hit ordered by a relative. Gunmen entered a home and robbed a man then proceeded to rape his wife. The shocking thing is that the invaders were people from the community. I know that in life your neighbours are your protectors. There was a time when criminals never operated in their community and they prevented like-minded criminals from committing crimes in the community. But there are other issues that are equally important. One of them has to do with the advent of oil revenue. The nation cannot help but notice that preparations for first oil have been stepped up. The pace to begin pumping oil is almost frenetic. There are implications. Already money is flowing and people are reaping the benefits. They may not be receiving larger pay packets, but suddenly there are people who are admitting that there are new jobs. Many young people have gained employment in industries that have sprung up

around the oil production. Indeed much more money will flow, contrary to what was touted a few short months ago. Back then people were incensed at the contract which seemed to offer Guyana much less than the country deserved for its oil. But the government had other views. It began to work to establish what is called a Sovereign Wealth Fund to hold money that would otherwise flood the treasury and cause all manner of confusion in a country that is only accustomed to spending a certain level of money. Trinidad rolled in oil money for years, to the extent that its nationals ceased to work. Indeed they turned up for work, but did the barest minimum. Existing industries were largely ignored and some even collapsed. Life was one great party. Today with the bottom almost off the oil industry, a cruel situation has developed in the country. People are being killed like flies. It is the belief that gunmen are out for hire, so they accept targets for a fee. Nearly two hundred and fifty people have been killed in the twinisland republic for this year. This rate is threatening the 2008 figure of 550. Guyana must be aware of these things, so the authorities are already planning to further develop the agricultural sector. It would entail establishing canneries after

the government develops its power sector. But there must be a vision. To avoid a rising illiteracy, there must be expenditure on education. Perhaps the time has come when teachers should become among the highest paid people in the country. The best would have to be attracted, even if it means bringing back those who left during the days when other countries were paying so much more. We spent money on a top class hotel which at one stage threatened to be a white elephant, but which seems to be the main attraction around. Its beach front is now the target of party planners at a rental cost of one million dollars a shot. Its ballroom is almost always in use, and people are walking off the streets to eat in the restaurant. Roads need proper surfaces and there is need for other infrastructure development. For example, there is talk in earnest of the new Demerara Harbour Bridge. There are the proposed new roads reaching south. But for Guyana to really move into the upper middle income bracket, there must be major technological development. This past week Minister Cathy Hughes announced that all records would be digitized. It is time wasting to expect people seeking records to have to wait until a clerk

ploughs through some bulky, dusty books with fading writing. People must go back home and wait for a few days until the information is retrieved. Money must be put into computerising all records. The time has come for our police to retrieve information on anything from their cars. Sport is integral to national development. It is not be accident that Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, and Grenada have won Olympic medals, especially on the track. They put money into their sports programmes and they have developed their young people. Even in football many countries are rated higher than Guyana, which pays little attention to sports, because of an absence of funds. The oil wealth should change all this. Then there is housing. Indeed Guyana is spending a lot of money in this area. Trinidad did the same, even

establishing a village in which no one lived. Guyana can do no such thing. When one thinks about the needs of the country, one is left to wonder where to start. The frightening thing is that we may not have the skills to do many of the needed things. There is no room for the so-called cutlass carpenters. Engineers are being produced, but they must perform at a higher level. We have seen engineers pass projects that collapse weeks after completion. This must change. Money must be spent to develop quality people and that would be no easy task, because we must first find the candidates, many of whom treat school shabbily. In any case, I may be ahead of myself, except that we have little more than a year before things really begin to happen. I know we have development plans, but these were crafted when the funds were limited.

Adam Harris Perhaps our technicians are crafting a plan to properly spend the anticipated revenue. But observers expect to see a rise in corruption, because Third World leaders are not immune from making themselves too comfortable with the treasury. There is always the jail, but then again, this country has not made it a habit of jailing corrupt leaders.

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Recycling and the greening of Guyana In order for Guyana to embark on this new chapter and embrace the ‘green’ agenda there will be need for massive education at all levels. The changes that will be required cannot be cosmetic but rather lifestyle changes that are far removed from our old habits and norms. One important feature of this shift will be our relationship with solid waste and more important recycling of waste mate-

rial. Recycling is an important pillar in the greening of Guyana. Recycling diverts waste from landfills and helps protect the environment. Throwing something away means losing the chance to reuse that material. Recycling appropriate materials and composting food waste reduces the impact of landfills and garbage dumps, as well as the demand on the World’s

natural resources to produce more material. To get a clear understanding of the importance of recycling we must first have knowledge of what materials can be reused. It might be helpful for schools, churches, temples and mosques, Neighbourhood Democratic Councils and Municipalities in every region to start having a conversation with citizens about recycling.

This conversation must also be held by the decision makers in the council chambers and the meeting places of these entities where policy will have to be enacted to deal with recycled solid waste and how it will be managed. One of the first steps after education will be implementation of a recycling programme, followed by the establishment of recycling centres and finding markets for the recycled products. In many developed societies, recycling is big business and there is a fortune to be made from your own or someone’s trash. Paper is a product that makes up a large percentage of both commercial and private waste in Guyana. Every year we dump millions of tons of paper and cardboard into our landfills. Paper and cardboard can be separated from regular garbage and recycled. There is also money to be made by recycling paper, paper products and cardboard, from homes, offices, businesses places and other waste sources. In the United States of America (USA), clean white office paper sells for $200 a ton at some recycling centres, and mixed scrap paper is worth about $45 per ton. Aluminum cans are one of

the most widely recycled items in the USA. Juice, soda and beer cans are collected and taken to recycling centres where they are crushed, weighed and sold. According to the Can Manufacturing Institute, a single aluminum can is worth between one and two American cents, a ton of cans sell for US$2, 300. Beer bottles and plastic bottles are also products that should be widely recycled in Guyana. Along with plastic cups, plates and other similar material that wreak havoc on the environment. Another Landfill killer is metal products. A great percentage of metal that is headed for the landfill can be recycled as scrap metal. Scrap metals offer the highest value of any recycled product. The American Institute of Steel Construction estimates that a ton of scrap steel is worth $555 per ton. Scrap steel can be found in the form of cans, appliance-casing and old automotive parts etc. Recycling is an important factor in conserving natural resources and greatly contributes towards improving the environment. Once local authorities settle on a policy of recycling then a programme can be rolled out. Recycle bins in homes and offices that can be used for items like,

paper, cardboard glass, aluminum cans and plastic bottles. Recycling in and around the home can be easy when you know how. Consumers should think carefully about what products they buy at the supermarket and how to recycle them as the first step towards efficient recycling. As a nation we must be educated to think green, so when we shop, we must buy products that can be recycled. When we go to the Supermarket we should select products that can easily be recycled, such as glass jars and tin cans or cardboard packages. Our first choice should be to buy fresh organic produce, but if we just have to buy packaged produce then we should buy products that have been made from recycled material. You can tell if a product is eco-friendly by looking on the label of the package. The time has come for us as a nation to begin the conversation on recycling. Recycling is not only a worthy goal for homeowners, businesses and communities, it can also be big business and it is good for the environment. On this path towards a green agenda we must not only think green but we must begin to enact green policies and programmes; we must act green.

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Gastroparesis: When your stomach can’t take it anymore By Dr Zulfikar Bux Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine

G

astroparesis is a disorder that hap pens when your stomach muscles don’t work properly. It is sometimes called “delayed gastric emptying.” Normally, after you swallow food, your stomach muscles begin squeezing and tightening - these movements are called contractions. This crushes the food and moves it into the small intestine to continue the digestive process. If you have gastroparesis, your stomach muscles don’t contract properly. This can delay or prevent the process of crushing the food and sending it to the small intestine. It is a condition that is showing a slow increase, worldwide, especially in diabetics and older persons. Today we will discuss this condition, because patients are not often sure what is going on and can be easily be misdiagnosed. WHATARE THE SYMPTOMS OF GASTROPARESIS? Symptoms of gastroparesis can be mild or severe, and may include: · Heartburn or stomach pain · Nausea · Vomiting, especially vomiting pieces of undigested food · Feeling full after only a few bites of food · Bloating

· Lack of appetite · Unintended weight loss · Unstable blood sugar levels in people who have diabetes As you can see, these symptoms can suggest many conditions. That’s why gastroparesis can be difficult to diagnose. WHO IS AT RISK OF GASTROPARESIS? People who have diabetes are most at risk for gastroparesis because high blood sugar levels can damage the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve tells your stomach muscles when to contract. Damage to this nerve is one of the most common causes of gastroparesis. Diabetes can also damage the blood vessels that carry oxygen and nutrients to the vagus nerve. Other things that can lead to gastroparesis include: · Some medicines, such as certain pain medicines, antidepressants and others · Surgery on the esophagus (the tube the runs from the mouth to the stomach), the stomach or the upper small intestine · Radiation of the chest or stomach area for cancer treatment · Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia · Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) · Other disorders, including hypothyroidism, scleroderma, Parkinson’s disease and some autoimmune disorders · Rarely, viral infections

such as the flu HOW DO DOCTORS DIAGNOSE GASTROPARESIS? Your doctor will start by examining you and asking you about your medical history. Be sure to tell your doctor about any prescription or over-the-counter medicines you are taking. You may have blood tests to check the quality of your blood and measure some chemical levels. Your doctor might want to do some other imaging testing to make sure you don’t have a blockage or another medical problem. HOW IS GASTROPARESIS TREATED? There is no cure for gastroparesis. Treatment will focus on treating any underlying problem that is causing the gastroparesis and controlling your symptoms. For example, your doctor may ask you to stop taking any drugs that can affect the digestive system. Don’t stop any medicine without first talking to your doctor. Your doctor also may want to treat any eating disorders, infections or other issues that could be causing gastroparesis. He/ She may also recommend one or more of the following: · Eat several smaller meals each day instead of 2 or 3 large ones. · Eat softer foods, such as vegetables or pasta that are cooked thoroughly.

· Limit fat (which can slow digestion) and fiber (which can be hard to digest). · Supplement your diet with nutrition drinks (such as Ensure or Boost) or solid food that you’ve pureed in a blender. Medicine - Anti-nausea medicines called antiemetics can help with nausea and vomiting. Some other medicines, such as metoclopramide and erythromycin, can stimulate stomach muscle contractions. Each of these drugs has some drawbacks, including potentially serious side effects. You and your doctor need to discuss whether the benefits of taking these medicines outweigh the risks. Feeding tube - If your gastroparesis is severe, you may need a feeding tube . This tube will be inserted through your skin into your small intestine. Or, it may be passed into your intestines through your nose or mouth. The tube allows nutrients to be delivered directly to

your bloodstream. A feeding tube can also help when gastroparesis causes unstable blood sugar levels in people who have diabetes. WHATARE THE COMPLICATIONS OF GASTROPARESIS? · Weight loss, malnutrition and dehydration. If you’re not able to eat enough food, or if you vomit up a lot of what you eat, you may not get enough nutrition. Following the suggestions listed above may help with this problem. · Bezoars. A bezoar is a solid mass of food that your stomach is not able to digest. Bezoars can cause nausea and vomiting. In severe cases, they may block other food from entering the small intestine. This situation can be lifethreatening, and the bezoar may have to be removed by surgery. · Bacterial infections. When food stays too long in your stomach, bacteria can grow out of control, which can lead to infection. · Problems controlling

Dr. Zulfikar Bux blood sugar. When you have gastroparesis, your timing for digesting food doesn’t follow normal patterns. For this reason, people who have diabetes and gastroparesis often have a lot of trouble controlling their blood sugar levels. If you are at risk for gastroparesis and suspect that you have symptoms suggestive of it, let your doctor know. It may save you time, complications and unnecessary testing.

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The situation a few days ago in Lethem

SUNDAY Given mistakes made with ExxonMobil Contract…. Guyana should not enter into one-on-one negotiations with other oil companies - Former Pres. Advisor warns Former Presidential Advisor on Petroleum, Dr. Jan Mangal, is of the firm belief that Guyana’s authorities should not award a single oil block via one-on-one negotiations with any other oil company. In a statement to the media Saturday, Dr. Mangal emphasized that “one-on-one negotiations” are prone to corruption and Guyana is a highly corrupt place. The Oil and Gas Consultant said, “Chevron, Petrobras, etc. would love for Guyana to enter into one-onone negotiations because they know they can outwit Guyana at the negotiating table, or even worse, the same way Exxon outwitted Guyana in 2016.” Dr. Mangal said, too, that Guyana should not award any acreage until there is sufficient capacity in the new Department of Energy for creating and managing a transparent, competitive auction process. He added that the new department needs to be staffed with qualified and experienced Oil and Gas professionals who possess decades of experience with major oil companies. He said that they must also have a clean and ethical background. The Oil and Gas Consultant also stated that the “geopolitical” (Venezuela) excuse

that has been used by some to justify one-on-one negotiations is not valid. In this regard, Dr. Mangal said that the same excuse was used by many in Government to justify not releasing the ExxonMobil contract for the Stabroek Block. Dr. Mangal said, “Luckily for the people of Guyana, someone at the highest level of government understood the importance of transparency and released the contract in December 2017. The oil companies and their stooges in government will always prefer secrecy over transparency, but transparency is the most important ingredient to ensure the oil industry benefits the poor people of Guyana. If there is secrecy, then the only ones who will benefit will be the oil companies, the local business elites, and government officials.” “If you think I am being critical of the current administration, it is relative. Guyana would be in a much worse place if the previous administration were in charge. There would be zero transparency; blocks would be awarded in complete secrecy, et cetera. But please remember greed and corruption do not respect elections. “These forces are still strong and tempting under any administration hence the need for heightened scrutiny by the people of Guyana and their watchdogs.” Lethem warned of rising waters The Lethem Town Council last weekend warned especially residents of the Lethem Municipality of the

rising waters in the main creeks and rivers passing through the municipality. “We have been monitoring the situation and visiting the affected areas to assess the water levels and also to determine if households are affected. “Furthermore we are currently in the process of convening a meeting with councillors and also stakeholders in order to have speedy sourcing of resources in case there is a flood or damages that need to be fixed with urgency. We would appreciate if residents can update us also,” the council said in a statement. The council also warned that parents should keep children away from the rising waters to avoid accidents and water-borne diseases as garbage is mixing with the waterways. “If you must go swimming please do so in a clear area and monitor your children closely. However we do not recommend that you do so presently for your own safety.” The country is facing significant rainfall at the moment. Lethem is the town that borders Brazil and is linked to the neighbouring country via the Takutu Bridge. MONDAY Spring tide, shoddy work blamed as... SEA DEFENCE BREACHED, WAKENAAM UNDER WATER- over 100 affected, REO wants contractor to compensate residents Residents of Sans Souci, Wakenaam were sent into a

state of panic early Sunday morning after unusually high tides broke through a section of fragile sea defence, sending the Essequibo River rushing into homes. Many in the island community were left wading in knee-deep, stagnant water and assessing their losses, which is likely to include millions in livestock and household appliances. While spring tides are being blamed for the breach, fingers are also being pointed at a contractor who worked on the sea defence in the area. NDC Chairman Sheikh Ahmad and Regional Executive Officer, Denis Jaikaran have both accused the sea defence contractor of substandard work, and are calling on him to stand the full cost of compensation to the residents. According to reports reaching this publication, the breach occurred at around 05:30 hrs yesterday in an area where sea defence work is ongoing. Following the breach, the small island of about 3,200 residents became vulnerable to the spring tides. According to residents, water from the river flooded this small farming community within minutes, destroying everything from household appliances to livestock. Some residents said the water rose to some three to four feet. Others claimed that they were affected by water as deep as six feet. It is believed that the water remained at a high level for about five hours before receding. Residents told Kaieteur News that the water rose so quickly that they were

unable to save anything. Based on reports, refrigerators, washing machines and cupboards were destroyed. TUESDAY Border case at ICJ… Guyana to ask court to rule in its favour The Government of Guyana, in light of Venezuela refusing to participate in the current court case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), says it intends to ask the court to rule in its favour, even if that neighbouring country is absent from proceedings. This mechanism is part of the statute of the Netherlands-based court, the judicial arm of the United Nations. According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday evening, Guyana observes that under Article 53 of the Statute of the Court, “whenever one of the parties does not appear before the Court, or fails to defend its case, the other party may call upon the Court to decide in favour of its claim”. The Foreign Affairs statement would come hours after Venezuela issued a statement (See story on Page 15) indicating that it will not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICJ, as it did not agree to the case which was filed by Guyana in late March. Venezuela, instead, said it prefers to activate a two-decade old mediation Good Offices Process which centres on talks between the two countries instead of the ICJ. The Full Statement: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Cooperative

Republic of Guyana wishes to advise that Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs Honourable Carl Greenidge and Guyana’s Legal Counsel attended the meeting convened by the Honourable Abdulqawi Abdul Yusuf, President of the International Court of Justice on Monday June 18, 2018 to discuss with Guyana and Venezuela the scheduling of written pleadings in the case – the Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela). Subsequent to this meeting, Guyana noted the issuance of a press release by Venezuela stating that it would not be participating in the case. Guyana observes that under Article 53 of the Statute of the Court, “whenever one of the parties does not appear before the Court, or fails to defend its case, the other Party may call upon the Court to decide in favour of its claim”. Guyana intends to proceed in accordance with the said Article. Guyana is fully committed to the rule of law in international relations, including the peaceful resolution of disputes in conformity with international law. It trusts that the International Court of Justice, the judicial organ of the United Nations, will resolve the controversy with Venezuela in accordance with the law in a manner that is fair and equitable. It hopes that, in due course, Venezuela will reconsider its position and decide to appear in Court and defend its case. The Court’s rules allow for that. At the (Continued on page 33)

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From page 32 same time, if Venezuela persists in its refusal to participate, the rules provide for the Court to proceed, after a full hearing of the case, to a final judgment that is legally binding on both the participating and non-participating parties. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to reiterate that Guyana fully respects the decision of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to choose the International Court of Justice as the means of settlement of the controversy and is confident that the Court is fully empowered to decide the case.

Sealing the breach

Venezuela refuses to participate in border case with Int’l Court Venezuela says it is not recognizing the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the border case filed by Guyana early this year. In a statement Monday by the Government of Venezuela, the country indicated that it has expressed its decision to not participate in the procedure that the government of Guyana introduced before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in relation to the “territorial dispute” over Essequibo area. Essequibo is Guyana’s biggest county, filled with gold, diamonds and significant natural resources. According to the Venezuela Foreign Ministry, “The Venezuelan delegation has informed the President of the court, through a letter signed by the President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro Moros, of its sovereign deci-

sion not to participate in the procedure that Guyana intends to initiate, since the Court manifestly lacks jurisdiction over an action unilaterally proposed by the neighbouring country, which does not have the consent of Venezuela.” Venezuela said that the decision was made after a meeting took place at The Hague between the Venezuelan delegation, led by Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. She was accompanied by Foreign Minister, Jorge Arreaza. They met with President of the ICJ, Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf. Venezuela insisted that it

has claimed a part of its territory for hundreds of years, but an agreement signed in 1966 by the United Kingdom, which was Guyana’s “thencolonizer”, granted authority of the area to Guyana. “Upon receiving independence, Guyana continued to claim the region, sparking a diplomatic conflict over the territory.” Venezuela said that problems with Guyana re-emerged when ExxonMobil, a USowned oil company, found a massive oil basin in the territory. In the statement, Venezuela said that ExxonMobil threw its weight behind

Guyana, and was awarding contracts to begin drilling. Ministry probes $70M rehab of recently completed Baramita airstrip Residents of Region One are raising safety concerns and questioning who supervised a multimillion-dollar project to rehabilitate a key runway in Region One. There are clear signs of deterioration, despite the project only completed a few months ago, to the tune of $70M. The contract was announced last June by Minister of State, Joseph Harmon,

The International Court of Justice, the Netherlands, in session

at a Government post-Cabinet press briefing. It was disclosed that two airstrips were chosen - Baramita and Ekereku Bottom, Region Seven. It was made known that those airstrips were chosen based on several criteria, including the number of flights over the past 10 years, aviation safety for aircraft operation and the number of beneficiaries. For Ekereku, the contract was awarded to BK International for the sum of $59.1M. The Baramita airstrip project was awarded to M. Ramzan Ally Construction. According to Facebook

posts by residents and others over the weekend, which sparked condemnation, the runway and parking area at Baramita were rehabilitated less than six months ago. They said that it is in poor shape now.“Today, it is in a deplorable condition due to substandard work. The bitumen layer is less than a 1/4 inch thick. I don’t blame Hon. David Patterson who is doing amazing work. I must blame the contractor who knew he was shafting the taxpayers by doing this egregious wrong,” one resident claimed.According to the residents, the runway cannot in (Continued on page 34)

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From page 33 its condition stand up to the pressures of a car, much less a 10,000-pound aircraft exerting landing forces. The images of the runway showed thin layers of bitumen, soft spots and laterite. The post attracted the attention of Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, who said he will have the matter checked and a report prepared, once it was done under his ministry. WEDNESDAY Sixty-six countries fail at governing oil – Resource Institute … Calls on Guyana, other nations to implement key transparency measures The majority of governments that are leading oil and gas economies have been inadequately managing their sectors. This is according to the 2017 Resource Governance Index. The Index reveals that 66 countries were found to be weak, poor or failing in their governance of extractive industries. It reveals too that less than 20 percent of the 81 countries assessed, achieved good or satisfactory overall ratings.

The cross-country study, which was conducted by the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) incorporates existing assessments of countries’ “enabling environments.” The Institute said that this is a measure of how well citizens can access and use information, freely work together to voice their concerns and hold their governments to account, and of the quality of institutions in the areas of administration, rule of law and corruption control. Index data show that Norway exhibits the best governance of natural resources, followed closely by Chile, the United Kingdom and Canada in the top-most “good” performance category. Eritrea exhibits the worst resource governance and receives a failing grade in the index, with Turkmenistan, Libya, Sudan and Equatorial Guinea among others also rated as failing. Some middle-income countries— such as Colombia, Indonesia, Ghana, Mongolia, Peru, Mexico and Botswana— achieved good or satisfactory overall ratings. Burkina Faso places highest among the low-income

This is the Baramita airstrip months after $70M repairs countries studied. Driver mows down Regent Street store front …vagrant hospitalized, $$$millions in damage The driver of a silver 212 Toyota Carina motorcar bear-

ing licence plates PKK 7006, has left millions in dollars in damage to two Regent Street Stores. He also caused a vagrant to be hospitalized, after he ran off the road and took to the Regent Street pavements.Witnesses who were in close proximity to where the accident occurred, claimed that there was a loud crash around 03:00 hrs, then screams could be heard. When persons ran to the scene to ascertain what happened, four vagrants were pinned under a shed that had been uprooted by the car that came to a rest some 150ft away.One of the individuals pinned had both of his legs crushed. The scene was one of blood; the emergency services were called and the injured were taken to the hospital.When the driver of the car emerged, witnesses claimed that he said he saw someone in the middle of the road and swerved to avoid hitting the person.He also said he was going at 60kph, which witnesses claim couldn’t be true, since the car came to rest 250ft away from the first point of impact, suggesting that much more speed was involved. The owner of Household Plus has already pegged damage to his store in the millions of dollars, since three shutter doors and a complete shed were destroyed.The police have since taken possession of the motorcar and the driver in custody assisting with investigations. Jagdeo skirts questions on money Guyana collected from oil companies during PPP/C tenure

The statement that Venezuela issued

“You are talking about

small sums of money; relatively small sums. We have a bigger concern about a larger sum that we have all been talking about. Yet this government refuses to address it.” So said, former President Bharrat Jagdeo when questioned how the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) spent money that it collected from oil companies specifically for capacity building. For well over a decade, Guyana received yearly sums from several oil companies, including oil giant, ExxonMobil, for the purpose of capacity building. But from all indications the money was not used for that purpose. As a result, less than two years away from first oil, Guyana finds itself with a deficit of the skills and expertise needed to service the industry and safeguard the country’s interest. Head of ExxonMobil’s Public Affairs Department, Kimberly Brasington, said that from 1999 to 2016, ExxonMobil paid Guyana a lot of money. ExxonMobil would have paid that sum based on the provisions of the old contract. The sum for capacity building has increased under the new contract. Brasington said that for 2017, the Government of Guyana already received a cheque for US$300,000 which is $60M. Therefore, Guyana would have received a total of $213M for capacity building. While this sum is no extraordinary amount, there is still no record of any Guyanese being awarded a scholarship for geology or to be trained in oil and gas ac-

counting during the years 1999 and 2015. This is despite the fact that the 1999 agreement was clear that the sums were to be used for capacity building for the oil and gas sector. Other oil companies had similar obligations. Therefore, over the years, the government would have been collecting similar sum from at least four other oil companies. When Jagdeo was asked how the money was spent, he chose to highlight the fact that the APNU+AFC government collected way more money in the form of a “signing bonus” that is yet to be placed into the Consolidated Fund. He noted that despite the fact that PPP/C brought litigation against the government to force “them to do the lawful thing…the government is still refusing to do so.” Jagdeo noted that the money is nowhere national budgetary estimates or revenue figures for 2016 or 2017. “So that money, for all practical purposes, does not exist based on the financial laws because if it is not there in the financial statements of the government.” He continued, “I have bigger concerns…the understating of our revenue for 2016 by US$18M and the understating of our 2017 estimates by US$18M. That changes everything. It changes the size of the fiscal deficit and several other macro variables.” Jagdeo could not state if the PPP/C ensured that the money went towards capacity building. He said, “When it comes to the fees and stuff I know it was paid to the (Continued on page 35)

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From page 34 Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and you may be able to track that through an audit. I have no doubt that it would be accounted for.” In 2016, the APNU+AFC Government also received an US$18M signing bonus. It said that US$3M from that sum would be put aside for capacity building. The Government has no known clear plans regarding particular areas where they plan to build capacity with this particular sum. THURSDAY GEA inspector dies after flung from vehicle on E’bo coast An inspector attached to the Guyana Energy Agency [GEA] is now dead, after the Toyota Land Cruiser that he was driving, slammed into a utility pole Wednesday morning. The victim has been identified as 23-year-old Shankar Ram, of 14 Mon Repos Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara. The incident occurred sometime around 00:15 hours on the Zorg Public Road on the Essequibo Coast. According to reports, Ram was proceeding north along the thoroughfare at a fast rate, with a female colleague in the front passenger seat of the vehicle, PJJ 1069, when he lost control and slammed into a utility pole. According to police, Ram received serious injuries after he was flung from the vehicle at the point of impact. He was rushed to the Suddie Public Hospital in an unconscious state and was pronounced dead on arrival. The 23-year-old female passenger, who has been identified as Doneeta Ramlakan, was also rushed to the Suddie Public Hospital in an unconscious state. She is reportedly recovering and remains in a stable condition. Meanwhile, GEA in a statement said that Ministers David Patterson and Annette Ferguson of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, the Chairman and members of the Board of Directors and management and staff of the Guyana Energy Agency, are deeply grieved by the passing of the inspector. “Mr. Ram succumbed to injuries following an accident which occurred on the Essequibo Coast shortly after midnight on June 20th, 2018. At the time, Mr. Ram was driving a vehicle owned by the GEA. His fellow colleague Ms. Doneeta Ramlakhan sustained injuries as a result

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of the accident, and is currently a patient at the Suddie Public Hospital. The incident is currently being investigated by the Guyana Police Force,” GEA said. Exxon detests public scrutiny – Int’l Report While USA oil giant says it is open to scrutiny of its contracts, a comprehensive international report states otherwise. The report which speaks to the importance, as well as the benefits of contract disclosure, was produced this year by an entity called OXFAM International. The entity is a confederation of 20 independent charitable organizations which seek to fight some of the factors that lead to poverty, one of them being the poor governance of extractive wealth. According to the report which assessed 40 oil companies, only two entities by their actions, are opposed to contract secrecy and public scrutiny. They are Chevron and ExxonMobil. The international report says, “Notably, ExxonMobil has opposed the concept of public oversight of natural resource contracts and the movement for open contracting. In a 2016 letter to US regulators, they stated that ‘[W]e understand some non-governmental organizations hold as an ultimate policy objective the concept of so-called ‘contract transparency’ or ‘open contracting,’ under which oil and gas contracts would be negotiated in a kind of public-utility framework whereby groups other than the parties themselves would have seats at the table and pass judgment on contract terms. Needless to say, such third party intervention in commercial business negotiations would make it more difficult to achieve equitable agreements that appropriately balance risk vs. reward and to maintain those agreements going forward, resulting in serious harm to investors in oil and gas companies…” In addition to this, OXFAM International was careful to point out, that there are some cases where Exxon contracts have been made public. In this regard, it cited the case of Guyana. OXFAM International also highlighted that ExxonMobil declined to be interviewed for its report. Be that as it may, OXFAM concluded in its survey that like Chevron, ExxonMobil supports only limited forms of revenue transparency that explicitly exclude contract transparency.

The motorcar involved in the accident Region 6 REO buckles under evidence of contract splitting…Regional Health Officer to be investigated A wider probe has been ordered after Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), Kim Williams-Stephen was forced to admit that regional officials engaged in contract splitting when a purchase of $8.3M in surgical gloves was made. Regional tender boards can approve a contract limit up to $8M. Contract splitting, which is illegal, is one way that officials may seek to beat the system by breaking up a contract that exceeds $8M into several smaller contracts. When Williams-Stephen appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday, the REO sought to explain the purchase when questioned. She explained that the purchases which were done on the same day from one supplier were a result of different sizes. She stated that the purchases were for 7.0, 7.5 and 8.5 sizes of gloves. However, PAC Chairman, Irfaan Ali pointed her to a report she had submitted to the Auditor General’s office which indicated that the region had bought 700 size 7 surgical gloves from the same supplier on multiple invoices. The REO then admitted that there was contract splitting, but pointed out that the information about the sizes was received from the regional tender board and the payment vouchers. “You told us here in the PAC that you bought it on different invoices because it was different sizes. I just demonstrated to you that was not the case,” Ali stated.

The REO responded, ‘I do agree with you”. “I don’t want you to agree with me. We cannot tolerate this type of behaviour. Not only is there no difference in size, but you ordered 700 on each occasion. I asked you earlier to be truthful to PAC. I gave you an opportunity because I have the document before me,” Ali stated. The REO shared with the PAC that the situation does not continue in the region, pointing out that the gloves were ordered during 2016 under the tenure of then REO, Dr. Veerasammy Ramayya. She shared that the Regional Health Officer, Jevaughn Stephen, remains on the job. “The PAC is asking the Financial Secretary to pursue this matter in relation to the Regional Health Officer who is still on the job and the necessary action to be taken in relation to this breach which occurred,” Ali requested. FRIDAY Less than 300 taxpayers account for 68 percent of GRA total revenue- Statia What better place to talk about tax evasion than a room filled with influential businessmen and women? Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia, did not miss out on this opportunity Thursday as he delivered a presentation at Private Sector Commission’s (PSC) Annual General Meeting (AGM). Statia’s presentation was vast, but perhaps one of the more startling aspects was the percentage of taxpayers shafting their obligations to the Authority. Statia revealed that “less than 300 large taxpayers ac-

count for 68 percent of total revenues collected by the GRA.” Kaieteur News understands that these 300 taxpayers account for both companies and persons who opted to remove themselves from the corporate person into an individual person. He said that notwithstanding this “fact,” small and medium size businesses provide employment to the vast majority of the Guyanese workforce. Statia went on to note that the composition of the private sector in developing countries is different to developed countries. He said that almost half of private sector activity in developing countries is in the informal sector and is not registered with, or taxed by, government. He said, however, that as countries develop, these informal activities typically transition to formal small and medium enterprises. Statia said that the transition is important because the formal sector generally offers better conditions for workers, greater access to finance higher growth potential, and benefit from easier access to government services such as electricity and water. Further, Statia said that formalization also makes it easier and more cost effective for Governments to register and collect revenues from businesses by bringing them into the tax net thereby widening the tax base. Earlier this year, Statia told Kaieteur News that GRA raked in some $170B for 2017. He said that the collection of new taxes and going after tax defaulters significantly contributed to this success. At a Press Conference, Statia said, “We have been targeting persons who owe

us and have not been paying, so arrears collection has increased. It is a sizeable amount.” Statia said that if the top 10,000 taxpayers pay their correct tax, the base would be broadened to reduce taxes for the rest of the populace. “As long as we get those persons doing what they are supposed to be doing, I am sure taxes will be improved,” he said. PPP open to scrutiny of oil blocks awarded during its time— Jagdeo Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, says that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) would be open to scrutiny of any contracts it had signed as it relates to oil blocks. Jagdeo’s comments come in wake of a call by former Presidential Advisor, Dr. Jan Mangal for an investigation into all oil blocks given out under the PPP. Dr. Mangal, in a statement to the media over the weekend, said he suspects that Guyana lost out on tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars due to highly inappropriate or corrupt practices by the PPP regime. But the Opposition Leader believes that the former Presidential Advisor is only making such comments in hopes of regaining employment with the government after the summer. Jagdeo said, “I think he wants to get his contract renewed. Why didn’t he say that all along? If he did say this, then I find it strange that he wouldn’t give more commentary on the existing contracts…” The Opposition Leader said, too, that Dr. Mangal (Continued on page 36)

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From page 35 should note the fact that the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with ExxonMobil is far worse that 1999 PSA signed by the PPP. Be that as it may, Jagdeo said, “I would suspect that the PPP has no issue with any contract that we signed being examined and if people are not doing what they are supposed to do in accordance with the contract, then take back the properties…” While Dr. Mangal had called for an investigation, he also issued a word of caution to the current administration as it relates to the announcement by the Ministry of Natural Resources to hire a consultant to help negotiate the remaining blocks. Dr. Mangal said that this is not the way to go. He said that all efforts in this regard should be halted. The former Presidential Advisor said, “There is no rush to award the remaining blocks, and there is time to do it properly. The current administration risks repeating the same mistakes if they rush.” The Oil and Gas Consultant insists that before this is to take place, Guyana must

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The spot where the remains believed to be those of Saeed Hamid were found equip itself with the most ethical and professional individuals in the industry. Further to this, Dr. Mangal said he believes this new industry can be tremendously transformative for the poor people of Guyana if handled well. He noted however that the only way this new industry will be successful and sustainable in a way that benefits the poor people of

Guyana, is for local authorities to negotiate hard , be prepared to walk away from a particular negotiating table, and for the authorities to hire the best and the most ethical, etc. “If we do not get a fair deal, and also prove that we can manage the revenues well, it will backfire. Already we are seeing many negative signs. The cost of living is

increasing but the salaries of the majority are unlikely to be, hence the poor may already have started to get poorer. This is unacceptable, especially since there are so many lessons from around the world on how to manage things well, and on how not to manage things.” SATURDAY Missing Crabwood Creek vendor...Suspects lead cops to charred remains behind Temple Exactly two months after Crabwood Creek vendor, Saeed ‘Sayo’ Hamid went missing from his home at lot 41 Crabwood Creek, police in B’ Division have made inroads into the circumstances surrounding his disappearance. Hamid left his home at Crabwood Creek on April 19, and was not seen since. He had reportedly told his youngest son, aged 16, that he was going out and would return to prepare dinner. After the entire night passed, the following day the teenager made contact with his eldest brother who lives in Georgetown and informed him that their father had not returned home. A report was subsequently made by the siblings on April 20 at the Springlands Police Station. Two men have since confessed to the killing of the vendor and have led ranks to the spot where his remains were burnt. The body was reportedly burnt by the suspects aback of the residence of one of the suspects where a Hindu temple is also situated at Bennett Dam, Rosignol, West Coast Berbice. The men who are currently in custody have been identified as an ex-cop and former murder accused, whose matter was discharged in December 2014, and a

former murder accused, who was found not guilty and freed at the Berbice High Court in October 2017. Hamid was last seen entering a car at the Palmyra Bridge entrance. He had told relatives that he was heading to Rosignol to conduct some business, while he told others he was heading to Parika. “They accusing one another of who do the killing, but one seh that the other lash the man in he head and he fall unconscious, then they burn he body at the back”, a senior police source told this publication. At the scene, pieces of burnt tyres along with what appeared to be some digging, approximately one metre in depth was seen, and was close to five metres in distance from the temple. There were no close neighbours in sight. Divisional Commander Lyndon Alves revealed that information that was received led to the arrest of the two suspects on Wednesday and under intense interrogation the men led investigators to the charred remains of what they say is that of Saeed Hamid. Alves said, “during the early part of the investigation when we received the report of the missing person, we would have made some arrests and statements were taken. Other interventions were done, but we were not able to locate the missing man, and we met a dead end”. He went on to state that based on additional information received, they re-arrested two men. The two men, he added, “took the police to a location where they claimed that this man was killed and his body was burnt. Police discovered the burnt remains of what appeared to be bones from the location pinpointed by the two suspects”. Alves explained that due to the condition of the re-

mains, a DNA test will be done to ascertain if it is that of Hamid. He declined to state whether a motive for the alleged murder was given by the suspects during the interrogation or whether a murder weapon was located or involved. He also said that items which Hamid left with on April 19th, last, were not recovered. CCJ to rule on presidential term limits Tuesday The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has announced that it is set to deliver a judgment Tuesday on the all-important presidential term limits case. According to the Trinidad-headquartered court, this, and a number of other matters engaging the CCJ in the coming week, has constitutional implications. “The CCJ will also give its decision on the validity of an amendment to the Guyana Constitution that altered the qualification to be elected as President of that country.” CCJ explained that among other things, there was an amendment which prohibited candidates who had served two presidential terms of office from serving a third term. The case is widely seen in Guyana as a play by former President Bharrat Jagdeo to attempt a run at a third term. Under the current arrangements, there was a deal hammered out between the Government, under the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic and the Opposition, in the 2000s, to halt any president from serving more than two terms.The court case questioned the validity of the law which was blessed by the National Assembly at the time. According to the statement yesterday, the judgment will come up at 2:00 pm. The case had involved The Attorney General of Guyana vs. Cedric Richardson.

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Business charged for selling foreign-labelled candies - Food and Drug Dept. refuses ‘Ovaltine’ shipment from Vietnam The Government Analyst - Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD) said it is again advising the general public and importers about the need for proper labeling for imported food. The department pointed out that under Regulation No. 18 of the Food & Drugs Act (Chapter 34:03) of the Laws of Guyana and the Food & Drugs Regulations No. 10 of 1977 of Guyana, it is a requirement for all foods, drugs, cosmetics and medical devices that are imported for sale or use in Guyana to have labels that are in English and comply with the requirements of Part II Section 18 (1) (2), which states the necessary information that the label should carry. However, GA-FDD said, it has been observed that there are numerous foreign-labelled food items being offered for sale on the local market. “It is essential that regulated products be labelled in English, so persons offering these products for sale or those using them can clearly understand important information, such as their direction for use, expiry date, ingredients, name & address of manufacturer, storage condition and necessary precautions. This enables consumers or users to make informed choices on products.” The department said that it recently seized 63 tins of “Anglo Corn Beef” labelled in a foreign language. During this exercise, the department said that it encountered expired items at the

premises of a proprietor. “Criminal charges have been filed by the Department’s Prosecutor at the Georgetown Magistrate Court on the 21st of June, 2018 against this proprietor for knowingly and deliberately offering for sale expired and foreign labelled items.” In addition, the department said it has had cause to refuse entry to containers of food with foreign-labelled “Ovaltine” from Vietnam on the 10th of May, 2018 and “Confectionery” from China on the 6th of June, 2018 that were labelled in a foreign language, had no address of manufacturer and/or without date marks. “The department is calling on all consumers to carefully examine all food products before making purchases to ensure that these foods are labelled in English and contain all the required labelling information which includes brand name, common name, net contents, list of ingredients, storage instructions, name and address of manufacturer or person preparing the food and its country of origin, expiry and manufacture dates.” GA-FDD said that it is urging wholesalers and retailers to understand that they also have a legal responsibility to ensure that wholesome foods reach the consumers and to ensure that all labels are in English. “The Department is calling on these proprietors to adhere to the Food and Drugs Regulation or face prosecution.”

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Cumberland, Cane Grove go online – as ICT hubs commissioned

Students in the Cumberland ICT hub Residents of Cumberland, East Berbice-Corentyne (Region Six) and Cane Grove, Demerara-Mahaica (Region Four) are the newest beneficiaries of the E-Government Information and Communication Technology (ICT) hubs. Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes on Thursday declared the two facilities open, bringing the total number of hubs to 123. During the opening at Cumberland, Minister Hughes called on teachers, students and parents to take advantage of the learning opportunities available to them through the internet. She disclosed that all the textbooks needed for students in the public schools are now available on the laptops and encouraged that they “spread the word” to other residents. Regardless of age, the Public Telecommunications Minister said every citizen can learn how to use the internet to develop themselves. Director of Community Development and Social Management, National Data Management Authority (NDMA), Phillip Walcott thanked the Rotary Club of New Amsterdam for funding the construction of the hub. He noted that without cooperation, the initiative would not have been successful and

called on the Rotary to continue to invest in ICT hubs in other villages in the region. President of the New Amsterdam Rotary Club, Ramroop Rajnauth commended the Government for the bold and great ICT hubs project while pointing to the numerous advantages for the citizens. The Cumberland ICT hub is housed at the office of the Ordnance/Fortlands Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) and is furnished with 20 laptops. While over at the Cane Grove ICT hub, Minister Hughes said the success of the youths depends on how well they utilise the facility. Her sentiments were endorsed by Deputy Chairman of Region Four, Earl Lambert, who also called on the teachers and students to make maximum use of the hub to improve themselves academically. The Cane Grove ICT hub is housed at the Craft Centre and is furnished with 14 laptops. The provision of ICT hubs is recognised by Government as one of the more important tools for development in a modern world, and the administration has, therefore, embarked on the initiative to enable communities in all ten administrative regions to have access to high-quality ICT infrastructure.

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Early Puberty in Girls May Take Mental Health Toll A girl who gets her first menstrual period early in life — possibly as young as 7 — has a greater risk for developing depression and antisocial behaviors that last at least into her 20s, a new study suggests.“Girls who go through puberty earlier than peers tend to be more psycho-

logically vulnerable during adolescence,” said study lead author Jane Mendle, a clinical psychologist and associate professor of human development at Cornell University. It hadn’t been clear, though, whether that vulnerability extends past the teen years. That’s where the cur-

rent study comes in. Mendle and her colleagues followed a group of almost 8,000 young women into their late 20s. “Girls who went through earlier puberty are still showing higher rates of depressive symptoms and antisocial behavior than their peers well over a decade past adoles-

cence,” Mendle said.An early first period is a sign of early puberty. Mendle said there’s no consensus on what constitutes an early first period, but girls in the study got their first period at age 12, on average. Some girls had their first period as early as 7 years old, though that was rare: Less than 1 percent of the girls had a first period that young. However, nearly 7 percent of the girls had their first period at age 10, and 19 percent at age 11, according to the study, published online Dec. 26 in Pediatrics. The cause of early puberty is generally not known, said Dr. Ellen Selkie, an adolescent medicine specialist with the University of Michigan and author of an editorial accompanying the study. There’s also no proven way to prevent early puberty, she said. Mendle said that other research has suggested that obesity or exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals may play a role. Such chemicals are found in plastics and flame retardants, she said. Whatever the cause of early puberty, the new study found that it appears to have lasting consequences. “Puberty has repercussions for virtually all domains of life,” Mendle said. “Even though it’s a biological transition, it’s accompanied by dramatic changes in social roles and relationships, emotions and how kids think about themselves and others and their place in the world.” That said, she added that

early puberty likely plays only a small role in contributing to depression and antisocial behaviors. And the current study was not designed to prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship.“Even if a girl goes through earlier puberty, it doesn’t mean she will necessarily struggle as an adult in the ways shown in our study,” Mendle said. “It’s an added risk, and one worth paying attention to. But depression and antisocial behavior are complicated and determined by many different factors, aside from when puberty happens.”Dr. Victor Fornari, director of child and adolescent psychiatry at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, N.Y., said that antisocial behaviors are those that “deviate from the social norms — like violating rules, lying, cheating and other not socially appropriate behavior.” He was not involved with the study.So how might early puberty contribute to these types of behaviors and depression?Selkie said the connections are probably biological and psychological. “There’s some thought that early estrogen exposure might increase the risk for depression, but there are also the factors of being different physically from other kids if you experience puberty at an earlier age,” she said. Carole Filangieri, a clinical neuropsychologist at NYU Winthrop Hospital in Mineola, N.Y., who was also not part of the study, warned against thinking that early puberty might actually cause the behaviors it was linked to

in the new research. “The danger is thinking that early puberty itself is predictive of these antisocial behaviors,” she said. “Environments growing up, social pressures growing up as women at a much earlier age and being treated in a more adult-like fashion are all part of the larger picture, and we need to look at what’s going on in a girl’s life.” As an example, Filangieri said, “for a 9-year-old girl, getting wolf-whistled on the street is confusing and upsetting.”As Fornari said: “This study brings attention to the fact that early menarche isn’t just about a girl getting her period. It helps educate parents that they should look for mood and behavior disturbances and get necessary care.” The earlier treatment is started, the better, he said — no matter what the cause of early puberty might be. Selkie agreed. “I think the major take-home message for parents about this study is that kids may start developing puberty as early as age 8 or 9, although this is not all children,” she said. “If your child is developing earlier than their peers, it’s important to pay close attention to how they are feeling — from a mood and behavior standpoint — so that if interventions are needed, such as psychotherapy or medications, we can get those started and hopefully prevent further problems in the future,” Selkie said. https://medlineplus.gov/ news/fullstory_170623.html.

Discrimination Affects More Than Just the Victims Discrimination takes a toll not only on a victim’s health but on the well-being of their romantic partners, too, a new study finds. “We found that when an individual experiences discrimination, they report worse health and depression,” said study leader William Chopik, an assistant professor of psychology at Michigan State University. “However, that’s not the full story — this stress spills over and affects the health of their partner as well.” The study involved nearly 2,000 couples, 50 to 94 years old, who relayed their experiences with discrimination. They also provided details about their health, symptoms of depression and the level of intimacy or strain in their relationship. The researchers found that discrimination of any kind

— racial, gender or age — had a negative effect on people’s health. “What matters is that they felt that they were unfairly treated,” Chopik said in a university news release. “That’s what had the biggest impact on the person’s health.” However, the discrimination also affected the victim’s spouse or romantic partner, the study found. The researchers said that’s because couples involved in a relationship generally share the

burden of these incidents and experiences. “We found that a lot of the harmful effects of discrimination on health occur because it’s so damaging to our relationships,” Chopik said. “When one partner experiences discrimination, they bring that stress home with them, and it strains the relationship. So this stress not only negatively affects their own health, but their partner’s as well.” https:// medlineplus.gov/news/ fullstory_170622.html.

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Kaieteur News

Surprise! Beyoncé Joins Jay Z at Cleveland Get-Out-the-Vote Campaign Concert for Hillary Clinton

She’s with her! All eyes were on the one and only Beyoncé as she surprised the crowd during tonight’s Cleveland Get-Outthe-Vote campaign concert in support of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The Grammy-winner took to the stage shortly after her husband Jay Z performed a medley of his own hits over the years for the jam-packed crowd. Bey opened her mini-concert with “Formation” and shook what her mama gave her next to a team of backup dancers dressed in blue pantsuits (a nod to Mrs. Clinton, much?) wearing I’m With Her Shirts. “There was a time when a woman’s opinion did not matter... less than 100 years ago women did not have the right to vote, look how far we’ve come to having no voice to being on the brink of history

by electing the first woman president. But we have to vote. The world looks to us as a progressive country that needs change,” the singer told the cheering crowd. “I want my daughter to grow up seeing a woman lead our country and know that her possibilities are limitless.” The presidential hopeful has definitely brought some serious star power to her campaign thus far. Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony held a concert in her honor (with Clinton in attendance) just last week in Florida. Miley Cyrus attended a rally in late October for Clinton in Virginia and even went door-to-door at the George Mason University dorms to encourage the college students to cast their votes. And then, of course, there’s Katy Perry, who’s

made it her mission to spread the word about Clinton and this year’s election in general. The “Rise” singer has performed at numerous concerts and rallies, most recently at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. It was there that Perry sang “Teenage Dream” and, appropriately, “Waking Up in Vegas” while wearing a shirt with the words “Nasty Woman” printed on it. “We’re out here campaigning for Hillary Clinton,” Orlando Bloom’s lady love told the crowd. “Because there’s no other alternative. We need our issues heard, we need our bodies taken care of, we need all that choice.” Just days later, Perry and Bloom dressed up for Halloween in matching political outfits that made heads turn at Kate Hudson’s famous annual bash. http:// www.eonline.com.

Fans Are Going Wild Over This Photo of Taylor Swift and Drake Fans are freaking out about a photo Drake shared on his Instagram of him and Taylor Swift . The “One Dance” rapper and T.Swift stand with their backs to the camera, but it’s obvious that it’s them. “Is that velvet?” he captioned the picture. Now fans are totally freaking out. E! News previously confirmed that Drake and the pop star are collaborating on music together, and for those who are a bit skeptical about the duo, the insider revealed, “The music they have been working on is different,” albeit “very catchy.” The insider added, “They’ve both been having a great time in the studio.” Now that the news is out, the Internet is starting to react. “YAAASS!!!!!!” commented one fan. “Love Tay-

lor and love you. Waiting for your song,” wrote another. “Taylor Swift and Drake’s music they’re recording together is about to be lit af,” a fan tweeted.But not everyone on the Internet was as excited. Many turned to social media to react negatively toward the collaboration. “Hell no I don’t want a Drake and Taylor Swift collab,” tweeted one user. “lol wtf drake and Taylor

swift making music together? About to all about their Ex’s,” another shared. “If there is actually a collab between Taylor Swift and Drake I will be the first to throw it in the trash. Or maybe second to Calvin Harris,” another user tweeted. Suffice it to say the Internet has a lot of feelings about the music these two are making together. http:// www.eonline.com.

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1. What did the Buddhist ask the hot dog vendor? “Make me one with everything.” 2. You know why you never see elephants hiding up in trees? Because they're really good at it. 3. What is red and smells like blue paint? Red paint. 4. A dyslexic man walks into a bra. 5. Where does the General keep his armies? In his sleevies! 6. Why aren't koalas actual bears? The don't meet the koalafications. 7. A bear walks into a restaurant and say's “I want a grilllllled………………………………………cheese.” The waiter says “Whats with the pause?” The bear replies “Whaddya mean, I'M A BEAR.” 8. What do you call bears with no ears? B 9. Why dont blind people skydive? Because it scares the crap out of their dogs. 10. I went in to a pet shop. I said, “Can I buy a goldfish?” The guy said, “Do you want an aquarium?” I said, “I don't care what star sign it is.” 11. What do you get when you cross a dyslexic, an insomniac, and an agnostic? Someone who lays awake at night wondering if there is a dog. 12. A pirate walks into a bar with a steering wheel on his pants, a peg leg and a parrot on his shoulder. The bartender says, “Hey, you've got a steering wheel on your pants.” The pirate says, “Arrrr, I know. It's driving me nuts.” 13. I saw a wino eating grapes. I told him, you gotta wait. (Mitch Hedberg) 14. What's brown and sticky? A stick. 15. What does a pepper do when it's angry? It gets jalapeño face! 16. What's a foot long and slippery? A slipper. 17. Two gold fish are in a tank. One looks at the other and says, “You know how to drive this thing?!” 18. Two soldiers are in a tank. One looks at the other and says, “BLUBLUBBLUBLUBBLUB.” 19. As a scarecrow, people say I'm outstanding in my field. But hay, it's in my jeans. 20. A man is walking in the desert with his horse and his dog when the dog says, “I can't do this. I need water.” The man says, “I didn't know dogs could talk.” The horse says, “Me neither!” 21. A guy goes into a lawyer’s office and asks the lawyer: “Excuse me, how much do you charge?” The lawyer responds: “I charge £1,000 to answer three questions.” “Bloody hell – That’s a bit expensive isn’t it?” “Yes. What’s your third question?” 22. What is the resemblance between a green apple and a red apple? They’re both red except for the green one. 23. I have an EpiPen. My friend gave it to me when he was dying, it seemed very important to him that I have it. 24. How did the hipster burn his mouth? He ate the pizza before it was cool. 25. What’s the difference between an oral thermometer and a rectal thermometer? The taste. 26. An atheist, a Crossfitter, and a vegan walk into a bar. I know because they told me. 27. I waited and stayed up all night and tried to figure out where the sun was.Then it dawned on me. 28. I told my friend 10 jokes to get him to laugh. Sadly, no pun in 10 did. 29. What’s red and moves up and down? A tomato in an elevator 30. I bought the world’s worst thesaurus yesterday. Not only is it terrible, it’s terrible.

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 24, 2018

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 24, 2018

From last week 2. Contour Choose a neutral shade for your contour. Use the angled side or the tip of the brush to contour underneath the cheekbones. Then contour the outside of your forehead, the sides of your nose, and your jawline. 3. Blend Starting from the inside corner of your eye – blend the highlight from the center outward, and the contour from the outside inward. 4. Set It! Use a translucent powder to set the product. Starting from the center of your face, use a brush and lightly press and roll the powder on the areas, without disturbing the makeup underneath. And (drumroll) – this is the final outcome! Contouring For Diamond-Shaped Face For a diamond-shaped face, contour in the area below your cheekbones, starting from your ears and ending in the middle of your cheeks. Highlight your undereye area, the middle of your forehead, and the middle of your chin to broaden these naturally narrow areas. Contouring For Rectangle Face Contouring For Rectangle Face Pinit If you have a rectangular face, focus on contouring the sides of your forehead to make your hairline appear more narrow. Also, go along your hairline, under your jawbone and the area below your

cheekbones – starting from your ears and ending in the middle of your cheeks.Highlight your undereye area, and along your brow bone, and the middle of your chin. Tips: Contouring Hacks, Tips, And Tricks Contouring may seem a tad bit intimidating initially, but as you keep doing it, you'll eventually get the hang of it. Here are a bunch of contouring hacks, dos and don'ts, so you aren't left feeling dazed and confused. Firstly, it's important to contour for your face shape to ensure that it looks natural. For your contour product, avoid using anything that's too orangey or shimmery. To contour your nose, you can use a strip of cardboard paper for a straight line. Draw two lines down the sides of your nose, starting from the inner corner of your brow bone, and create a U-shape at the tip of the nose. Use the right brushes and tools! We recommend trying the brushes from Real Techniques. Now that you've got all the basics down, it's time to try the sculpted look out using this as your guide. To the beginners, our only advice is to keep it simple and buy yourselves a contouring kit that has everything you need – try Smashbox's Step By Step Contour Kit or something similar. This palette is appropriate for all levels – from amateurs to professionals and is sold in different shades. What are you waiting for? Go try it out yourself now!

SOLUTION TO LAST WEEK’S WORD SEARCH

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THE WILD WEST

Kaieteur News

PAGE 54

The Figs and Gold Coins

O

nce upon a time, there lived a wise and witty old man. He was so courageous and fond of nature. He celebrated his 100th birthday with his entire family. He had an amazing habit of planting a tree every year on his birthday. He used to plant a variety of flower bearing trees and fruit bearing trees. He was having a massive garden in his home. To celebrate the century, he planted a fig plant, his most favorite fruit. The emperor who passed by his home was surprised to see this old man planting a fig tree. He asked his soldier to bring the old man to his court and enquired him! ' Dear old man, I was pleased and surprised as you were planting a fig tree! I wish you could have planted the fig tree when you were young. I guess you are now in your

T H E

Boon

Continued from last week The next morning, Harman knew what he had to do. He travelled to the landlord's house and offered a cure. As the landlord was trying all means to make his daughter better, he allowed him in. When Harman suggested the leaves of the particular plant be crushed and made into pulp, it was done and fed to the girl. To everyone's utter surprise, within a few hours, the girl could walk like she did before. She claimed to feel more revitalized, and talked and laughed with zest. By evening, she could even be seen running from one room to

FUN WITH POETRY

Make full use of your holidays I know I will have a lot of time, During the coming holiday, To do whatever I want, To either work or play. So I shall make the effort To divide this time fairly, Just as I make the time for games, I should spend some of it usefully. Helping at home makes me feel so good, There are so many things to do, Inside and outside the house, It would make my family happy too. Then I must check my school-work, And now and then read over, So that when it's school again, The things I learnt I will remember.

Sunday June 24, 2018

Junior page

90s and there is no hope that you shall taste the fruits from this tree ' The old man replied, 'My Lord, yes I knew it. I'm 100 years old now. I just planted the fig tree to celebrate by 100th birthday. And this is not the first tree I'm planting. I have planted more than 1000 trees in my whole life! I still have faith and hope that I shall live for a minimum of 10 years to taste the fruits borne by this tree after a decade. If not, I will let my tree to be enjoyed by my family! ' The emperor was happy and hugged the old man. He said, 'You are such an adorable person. Just come back to me if you are alive after years with a basket of figs. I would love to see you again!' The old man thanked the emperor and left the place. After a decade, the fig tree started to ripe fruits. The old man was happy and tasted the first ripen fruit. It was very delicious. The old man recalled the king's words and picked the choicest fruits, filled a basked and carried to the palace. The king was informed that an old man came with a basket of figs. The king recalled the words he uttered to the old man and happily welcomed him. He enjoyed the figs provided by the old man. The king ordered his minister to fill the basket with gold coins and asked his soldiers to drop the old man to his home. The old man was happy!

another. The landlord and his wife were extremely happy. “To think that the cure was right there in our garden and we did not know of it!” exclaimed the landlord. Harman was once again given a handsome reward. Days passed. Harman continued to have dreams every night and act upon them in the morning. Soon, he became a rich man in the village. However, his health deteriorated. Since he dreamt of people's troubles every night, he was deprived of sound sleep. As a result, dark circles appeared underneath his eyes. Each morning, even after his sleep, Harman was tired. He even stopped enjoying the tasty dishes that Shanta cooked for dinner, in apprehension of the dreams that would soon haunt him in his sleep. In fact, despite being wealthy, Harman grew morose and sad as soon as it grew dark. Shanta grew worried at his plight. “Well! This is what you wanted Harman – to get rich within a short span. And it had happened. Why are you brooding about it now?” she asked. Shamefaced, Harman admitted that the boon that he had been granted had now become a burden to him as he could not get rest or sleep. “I am at my wits' end. I should have listened to you and worked hard to become rich, not chosen such an easy way out,” he regretted. Shanta shook her head in commiseration. “The only way you can restore your peace of mind is to ask the sage to take back the boon.” Harman agreed and decided to do the same. He learnt that the sage had moved to the neighboring village. Hurrying there, he sought him and pleaded him to take back the boon, as he did not want wealth at the cost of peace of mind. The sage smiled, “So you no longer want to get rich?” “Yes, I do,” replied Harman, “But not in a hasty manner. From now on, I will earn money working.” “Very well,” said the sage, “You will no longer have dreams from tonight.” Since then, true to his word, Harman worked hard. He helped his wife with the housework and also opened a grocery shop, where through sheer effort, the business soon thrived. Shanta was happy to see her husband reform. She was thankful that the boon had finally made him realize his folly.

DIY ART FRAME CHALBOARD

Materials: Frames Paint Brush

Chalk Chalkboard paint Spray paint (for frames) Steps: 1. Collect old art frames! Try & find frames that have elaborate & interesting details 2.This is optional, but you can take out the glass & art in the frames and paint them (or spray paint). I chose white because I felt it went better with our home decor,but I was really tempted to leave them in their original brass/gold, maybe next time. 3. Chalkboard paint away! I painted about 4 layers of chalkboard paint onto the glass that came with the frames I picked up. It worked wonderfully! I waited 510 minutes in-between each layer and a full half hour after the last layer before I used chalk on my new chalkboard. 4. Lastly, put all the pieces back together, and voila! You've got some gorgeous, original chalkboards to hang up in your home and spice up your walls.

Scramble Across

Unscramble each group of letters in the diagram at the top to form a word and put it into the corresponding group of squares in the diagram below. Do this for Across words ONLY.The completed diagram at the bottom will be a crossword puzzle with words reading across and down.For groups of letters that can make more than one word across, solve across and down together.

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 24, 2018

Utilise your talents to make the most of your holiday time

During the holidays coming up, which are the longest in the school year, students will be having a lot of time on their hands. As we said last week, if you leave how you will be utilising this time to chance, you will not get the full benefit of this opportunity. So it would be wise if you plan ahead for at least some of the activities that you would indulge in to get the most out of this. Each person born of this earth is a unique individual, and has been gifted with some special talent or talents that he/she needs to utilise as much as possible. It is now suggested that you take a serious

Bubbles

look at yourself, make a conscious effort to identify your own special abilities, and involve yourself in these to produce something worthwhile, as well as develop these. We suggested in last week's article activities in the art field, like drawing, painting and sculpture. Along with these, you can try your hand at writing poetry, short stories, or even a longer work of fiction. You are sure to get ideas on these if you look around at your natural surroundings, the events happening around you or that you hear about in the news, or by asking your parents

and others around for their ideas. To guide you in this effort of determining your special talents, involve yourself in as many activities as you can. Then check out any which you feel coming naturally, in which you are happy while doing, and in which you are proud of the result. In this way you will be succeeding in a variety of ways: making full use of your time, developing the talents you possess, and maybe earning some money if you produce works of art that you can sell to your neighbours and friends.

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God made you in His likeness, Unlike the beasts and creatures. He's given you gifts and talents; You are special in your features. So discover all your talents; Work hard, try lots of things. Watch for what you're good at; These are the gifts God brings. It may be in music or in art, Writing stories or poetry, Doing good to help others, Or whatever keeps you busy. God made you very special. Thank Him for how you are. Ask Him to use you to bless others And you will shine just like a star.

CONNECT THE DOTS

In each of the circles is a type of word minus one letter! Find that missing letter to completethe word. Then arrange the missing letters to spell the bonus word.

Color by Numbers

Whatever talents you do not use you will certainly lose.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

Solutions to last week’s SECRET WORD SECRET WORD: 1-Homer; 2- Stale. 1. Brash, Amber, Sober, Emirs, Basil, Amish, Loser, Limes. 2. Shade, Thing, Alien, Grind, Nears, Alden, Neigh, Tried.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday June 24, 2018

Sunday June 24, 2018

Maryann Daby PI to commence next month The Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the attempted murder charge against businesswoman Maryann Daby, who allegedly tried to kill a police officer will commence on July 12, before a City Magistrate. Daby, 25, of 127 D’Aguiar Park, Houston, Georgetown, is currently out on $750,000 High Court bail. The woman is accused of pointing a loaded gun at a police officer’s head and pulling the trigger, in an attempt to kill him. On the day of the matter in the Magistrates’ court, she was not required to plead to the charge which alleged that on May 13, at Albert Street, Thomas Lands, Georgetown, with intent to commit murder, she attempted to discharge a loaded firearm at Police Constable Christopher Kissoon. Last Friday, when the matter was called before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly, in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, the prosecutor told the court that investigations into the matter are complete. Statements are still to be filed. According to the prosecution, the PI will be ready for commencement on the given date. According to reports, on

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Kaieteur News

the day in question Daby and her friends were at the Georgetown Motor Racing and Sports Club. Constable Kissoon, who was off-duty and was at the Club at the time, reportedly heard what appeared to be gunshots. While checking for the source of the gunfire, he reportedly saw Daby firing rounds into the air. He said that he confronted her. Daby allegedly became annoyed and allegedly pointed a firearm to the officer’s head and pulled the trigger. Fortunately, there were no more rounds in the gun. Daby who is also charged for having in her possession an unlicensed pistol along with six live rounds, will also go on trial before the same Magistrate. The attempt murder charge and the unlawful possession of arms and ammunition charges arise from the same circumstances. It is alleged that on May 13, last at Albert Street, Thomas Lands, Georgetown, she had a .32 pistol in her possession when she was not the holder of a firearm licence enforced at the time. It was further alleged that

Charged Maryann Daby on the same day, she had six live rounds of .32 ammunition in her possession, when she was not the holder of a firearm licence enforced at the time. She denied the charges after they were read to her. At Daby’s first court appearance before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, she was remanded to prison after the Chief Magistrate cited public safety. However, her lawyer, Mark Waldron, went to the High Court and made an application before Justice Sandil Kissoon, who granted the woman $250,000 bail on each of the three charges.

Patricia Sanasie’s accused killer for trial this session Richard Stanton, who was charged back in 2015 with the murder of Patricia Sanasie, is scheduled to go on trial for the offence at the Demerara Assizes, according to information released by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The current session of the Demerara Assizes commenced on June 5, at the High Court in Georgetown. Three judges have been rostered to preside over some 223 cases. Among the cases listed for trial are those for murder, manslaughter, abduction, attempt to commit murder, and sexual offen c e s — w h i c h include rape, incest, buggery and carnal knowledge. Stanton is accused of killing the woman on January 12, 2015 at Atlantic Gardens, East Coast Demerara. According to reports, 45year-old Sanasie was riddled with bullets by gunmen clad in black. She was shot to the chest, abdomen, neck and groin. The shooting occurred almost a year after her husband survived a similar

attempt on his life. It was reported that Romona Sanasie, daughter of the deceased, positively identified Stanton as her mother’s killer. At the time of her mother ’s death, the young woman was in the car with her mother. Stanton, who was the subject of a preliminary inquiry before the Sparendaam Magistrates’ Courts, had been committed to stand trial for the killing in May 2016, by Magistrate Zamina Ally-Seepaul. The Magistrate had ruled that there was sufficient evidence against the murder accused for him to be tried by a jury. During her ruling, the Magistrate had said, “She (Romona Sanasie) said that he (Stanton) was wearing a transparent blue rag covering

his lips and chin. She said that two times he looked directly at her and they made eye contact. And then three months later, Romona Sanasie went on an ID parade… and on that ID parade she picked out the accused, Richard Stanton as the person who shot and killed her mother.” The Magistrate had pointed out that issues pertaining to inconsistencies and discrep a n c i e s i n t h e evidence will be for a jury to determine, adding that, Romona Sanasie provided an explanation for every inconsistency put to her. The Magistrate added that it will also be left up to a jury to determine who to believe, where her (Romona’s) evidence contradicts the evidence of other witnesses who testified during the preliminary inquiry.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday June 24, 2018

More engagement urged between CARICOM, Caribbean Diaspora in US Washington, DC– Guyana’s Ambassador to the United States Dr. Riyad Insanally has suggested that there be a more structured process of engagement between the Caribbean Diplomatic Caucus in Washington DC and the Caribbean diaspora to ensure that efforts to advance the cause of the region and its people are well defined and coordinated. In this regard he has recommended that there be quarterly consultations between the caucus and the Institute of Caribbean Studies (ICS) based here and which has been spearheading the work of the diaspora in lobbying the US Congress on issues in US/Caribbean relations. The Ambassador threw out the suggestion in his address to the opening session of the 20th annual Caribbean American Legislative Briefing Thursday on Capitol Hill put on by the Institute of Caribbean Studies(ICS). Ambassador Insanally’s address followed that of US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Caribbean and Canada Kenneth Merten who formally opened the briefing. “I once again wish to thank ICS for inviting me to speak (on Friday). And even as I commend your constant and tireless advocacy in support of Caribbean interests on the Hill, I would like to suggest that there is scope for closer engagement with the CARICOM Caucus of Ambassadors in ensuring that we are always singing from the same hymn sheet. For this, you have my full support and I would suggest that we pursue meetings, at least once a quarter, to develop a coherent,

Ambassador to the US, Dr. Riyad Insanally joint strategy of outreach,” Ambassador Insanally told the audience to resounding applause. The Ambassadors of Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and The Bahamas were among Caribbean diplomats who also addressed specific issues during the day’s deliberations along with key members of the US Congress including Eliot Engel, Brendan Boyle, Darren Soto, Barabara Lee and Maxine Waters.

Sunday June 24, 2018

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Kaieteur News

STANDARDS IN FOCUS

INSPECTION STANDARD BENEFICIAL TO LOCAL INSPECTION BODIES The performance of inspection bodies across Guyana, whether service or regulatory, can be greatly enhanced through the implementation of the requirements of the international standard ISO/IEC 17020:2012 Conformity Assessment – Requirements for the operation of various types of bodies performing inspection. The scope of this standard is specific to addressing the competence of bodies performing inspection and for the impartiality and consistency of their inspection activities. The standard, which was drawn up with the objective of promoting confidence in bodies performing inspection, was originally developed by the European Standardisation Organisation and published in March 1995. It was later adopted and published by the International Organisation for standardisation (ISO). The developers of the standard were pellucid in explaining the intention of the standard. The document is relevant to inspection bodies

that carry out assessments on behalf of private clients, their parent organisations, or authorities, with the objective of providing information about the conformity of inspected items and regulations, standards, specifications, inspection schemes or contracts. Inspection parameters include matters of quantity, quality, safety, fitness of purpose, and continued safety compliance of installations or systems in operation. The general requirements with which these bodies are to comply in order that their services are accepted by clients and be supervisory authorities are harmonised in this international standard. In addition, the standard covers the activities of inspection bodies whose work can include the examination of materials, products, installations, plants, processes, work procedures or services, and the determination of their conformity with requirements and the subsequent reporting of results of these activities to the clients and, when re-

quired, to authorities. The exercise of professional judgement in performing inspection is needed when assessing conformity with general requirements. Hence, the standard stipulates requirements to address impartiality, independence and confidentiality when conducting inspections. In addition, administrative requirements, organisation and management, resource re-

quirements, process requirements, management systems requirements and control of documents and records are also some of the key aspects outlined in the standard. In determining the extent to which inspections bodies are meeting the standard, significant emphasis is placed on the independence of such bodies. With compliance, inspection bodies can

strengthen the confidence of their clients through their ability to carry out inspection work with impartiality. Inspection bodies in Guyana can implement the requirements of this international standard and later become accredited by a recognised accreditation body. With accreditation, the findings from these inspection bodies will be accepted just

about anywhere in the world. In addition, the GNBS has a Consultancy Services Programme where technical assistance and training can be provided to organisations desirous of implementing the standard. For further information, please contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 2190062, 219-0065, and 219-0066 or visit the GNBS website: www.gnbsgy.org

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Sunday June 24, 2018

Kaieteur News

FOR SALE Second hand furniture is on sale, call: 678-3945

SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK;Guyanapassport application. G r a p h i c s design, advertisement. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. ICONIC MARKETING & PRINTING –TEL: 6004212: We create A/works, logos, busi ness cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included. Installations, Repairs and parts for AC, Fridge, Washing machine, Stove etc call Nick 627-3206, 630-1600 Have your house, fence & yard to pressure wash & weed. Call: 666-2326 Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezerCall: 610-5846 or 661-8158 Guyana Companies, Trademarks and Business registrations. Check: Guyanaconnection.com ; (f) guyanaconnection Repairs to refrigerators, gas stoves, A/C units, washing machines. Call Lindon: 6411086/ 694-2202 Trade in your empty printer ink cartridge HP $2000 Canon $2500. Call: 650-7699 TO LET Business spaces, top & bottom flat located @ 177 Charlotte and Alexander, Georgetown: #644-3555/6893462/679-1579 Three bedroom bottom flat in South Riumveldt Gardens. Eighty thousand per month. Call: 618-8436 Furnished two bedroom, air conditioned bottom flat with modern facilities in South Riumveldt Gardens. Call: 618-8436 HEALTH Herbal remedies: Diabetes, Hypertension, Infertility, Menstrual disorders, Enlarged prostate, Kidney & Gall stones etc. Call Sparman #676-5924

FOR SALE 1 Transport property and 1 Hilux Vehicle. Tel# 265-3586

FOR RENT

VACANCY

WANTED

PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY,ETC.-CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 2161043; 677-6620 2 bedrooms furnished Apt Providence, 3 bedroom selfcontain upstairs house Diamond, furnished utility bills included. Tel#690-3639, 682-6238

CJ’s Brokerage ServicesLicensed Customs House Broker, send application to cassandrakj@hotmail.com or call #644-3628

1 Air compressor 5HP 3 Phase 230/220 volts. Call: 628-1486/698-1134. One (1) Manager to work at Hotel/Club on the Essequibo Coast. Contact# 226-9768/ 227-7528

Spare for washing machine, suspension, fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, motors, etc. Call:225-9032;647-2943;6045198 Yamaha Outboard engine 250. No: 662-5524/627-8000/6556522

Air conditioned room $3000 daily Fully furnished apartments $6000 daily. Contact# 223-0994/678-5827

Two 7 1/2 Tons Air Conditioner. Contact# 6621991/641-4952

1 (3) bedroom apt in Enmore. No: 662-5524/627-8000/6556522

1 CAT Skid steer loader 236B $1.5M 1 Canter $3M 1 S2000 Honda Sport car $2.7M House Lots @ Blankenburg. Contact# 650-0402/603-1402

One Two bedroom apartment for rent : Agriculture Road, Mon Repos. #672-7431/6583542

Prime Business spot in Parika 44’x500' $45M. contact# 6500402/603-1402

Self-contained rooms to rent in Prashad Nagar. Tel#2272993

Gold & Diamond urgently Ekeruku Top side & Berbice River No offer refuse, cheap prices. #225-7026/690-5300 Yamaha 200 Crankshaft motor block, lower unit and everything else 9.8, 4HP motor all foreign use. #6725830 1 6" 4 piece Lavador. Tele: 6765155

EDUCATION Computer classes for adults $15,000 for completed course located @ Durban St. Tel#615-3192

LAND FOR SALE Parfaite Harmonie $1.4M $1.5M $2.5M Farm $3.5M Herstelling front $4M Uivlugt front $3M Call: 666-2326 Tuschen house $5.5M Tuschen Corner Lot $1.5M Diamond front $4.2M Eccles $6M Call: 666-2326

Kids Tech Computer class $15,000 for course completed located @ Durban St. Tel#615-3192 Private Customs Brokerage Certificate Training Course starts mid July 2018, register now & save. Call: 694-8322/ 690-4225

2 acres of title land situated @ 1st St Garden of Eden EBD $6.5M Neg. Call Terrence #638-7836. email: Latchmanrich@gmail.com Excellent offer land, suitable for number of purposes situated in New Amsterdam (1000ft x 211ft) Contact Bobby Realty #679-2497 2 storey concrete house and land @ No 44 Village measuring 62ft by 1 mile. Contact Bobby Realty #6792497 Track AB CD situated at Begal Corentyne. Contact Bobby Realty #679-2497 Zeelugt New Scheme, East Bank Essequibo Price $5 Million. Ideal place for business (100x60) #616-5606/ 277-0281

Cook for interior location, applicants must be experienced. Call: 618-2020 Data Entry/ Accounts clerk Tel# 616-5595. Email: rraghubansee@gmail.com Maid for East Bank area to cook and clean #614-4358 Jos-el Educational Institute needs trained & experienced teachers for Nursery, Primary, Secondary departments. Call: 226-7868/226-7794 Experienced salesgirls with CXC qualifications & 2 yrs experience. Apply @ Christine’s Variety, Lombard St. Contact: 227-8529 Experience Bartenders and Cleaners. Call: 225-8572 between 7am - 9am 1 General worker (maid) 1 Receptionist, living in town, Apply with written application to Hilton Crest Hotel. Tel# 225-9211 Laborer, Maintenance workers, Farm workers, Travel agent, Cosmetologist, Security. Tel# 265-3586 1 Domestic maid 1 cook for family. Location Turkeyen Contact #621-8478 Tutor/Nanny to work from 7:30 am- 12:00pm Apply at Alabama Trading 65 Robb Street, Bourda Experienced accounts/ delivery clerk. Preferable applicants 27 years & older. Apply @ Alabama Trading, 65 Robb Street Bourda. Driver, valid license MC/MV/ ML 30-55 Call: 226-1100/6299450 Office clerk East Bank area preferable 30-55 Call: 2261100/629-9450 Crane Operator. Must have valid driver’s license not less than (5) years. Call: 226-1100/ 226-5380

VEHICLE FOR SALE 2 Hino 30 seater bus in excellent condition. Contact Bobby Realty. #679-2497 1- TwinsteerDoubleaxle Leyland DAF 4LeylandDAF Flatbed tray 30ft 10- Guysuco Lorries 1 DAF engine. owner migrating #228-5655, 6498449 One Leyland DAF 65 for sale. Contact #674-6386

Inventory clerk to work in worshop in Georgetown #227-1717 (2) Security officers to work in Georgetown #227-1717 Immediate Vacancy exist for one Ice machine operator to work shift @ Del Ice Co. Call: 231-1408/642-9191 Experienced male sales attendant, stocktaking knowledge, computer literate, excellent service attitude, able bodied. Key Food McDoom Village.

One Sales person. Call: 6807402 Nigel’s Taxi Service is looking for contract cars and drivers. Contact # 699-6152/227-4885 Experience Drivers, Waiters, Cleaner, Handy boys. Apply @ Hack’s Halaal with hand written application. 5 Commerce St. Live in waitress to work in bar. Call: 692-4649 Counter persons, Handyboy. Apply @ Shanta’s 225 Camp St. Minibus driver wanted Route 42 Tel# 685-0569/604-7018 Experienced cook with food handling certificate to work @ bar (Flexible hours) preferably from West Bank. Tel# 679-2612 One General Domestic, must know to cook. Apply @ Keyfood, next door to Post Office, McDoom. One male cook to work in interior $100,000 monthly. Call btw 8:30am-5:00pm Tel#6723359 One Chief Security Officer. Contact 696-9386

CAR RENTAL PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS FROM $4000 & UP, SUV’S PER DAY- CALL:643-5122/ 6 5 6 - 0 0 8 7 , ,EMAIL:PRO_AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM DOLLY’S CAR RENTALCALL:225-7126/ 2263 6 9 3 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL @YAHOO.COM/ WWW.D OLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM AIDAN’S CAR RENTAL:PICKUP,9-11 SEAT MINI BUS, GOOD FOR AIRPORT & FAMILY OUTINGS, CHEAPEST RATE . Call: 698-7807 WING’S CAR & PICKUP RENTAL: LOW DOWN PAYMENT, CHEAP RATES,SPECIAL OFFERS! . CALL: 690-6494

TAXI SERVICE GR TAXI SERVICE. CALL: 219-5000; 227-1982 & 225-7878 (24HRS) PEN PAL 29 years old East Indian male, seeking female friends, message Tel# 691-5905

One maid; and one baby-sitter, Contact: 696-9386

Seeking Female companionship. Mr Other, Hesky Mount 92-96 Lord Street, PR81JR, England.

PROPERTY FOR SALE

VACANCY

Herstelling EBD One Two storey concrete building in residential area. Building is incomplete. Call: 647-1074. Price Negotiable.

Part Time ACCOUNTANT, 2nd or 3rd Level ACCA, familiar with Quickbooks. Email application to spers@msn.com

1 Layton Avenue, Nandy Park Peter’s Hall EBD. Contact Carl # 613-3349

UNICEF lauds Guyana‘s...

No.2 Canal WBD House & Land for sale 6 large chicken pens and fruit trees. Tel#6887291/650-2172

From page 11 reach the court, victims may decline to continue with the matter due to the time it takes and how traumatising the experience can be. However, with the purpose-built facility in operation, jurists have reported that more sexual assault victims are finding the courage to seek justice via the courts. During the proceedings, judges are required to take the evidence manually but there is a built in recording system operating in the court as well.

Lot 15 Public road #2 Vill. WCB 3 House Lots. Coconut & Mango trees 49ftx10,314ft length. Price $18M. Contact# 648-7109/686-4818 One business property for sale, price neg. Contact: 6911035 (407)924-6785 Property for sale at 87 Albert St, Albertown, Price $32.5 Million. Tele#669-8101

Sunday June 24, 2018

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CONSUMER CONCERNS

EMIGRATION AND SOME OF ITS PITFALLS By PAT DIAL Consumer people all over the world are always concerned with emigration trends and in small countries like those in the Caribbean, the concern is more acute. At the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) forum which was recently held in Guyana, Dr. Justin Ram, the Director of the Caribbean Development Bank's Economic Department revealed some rather surprising figures and projections. Dr. Ram pointed out that the Caribbean Region had an emigration rate which was four times that of Latin America and Guyana's rate was one of the two highest. In 2013, an average 9.65 per thousand emigrated. From a previous study it was stated that 40% of the population would emigrate if they had the opportunity. From 1992, on the average, 10,000 per year emigrated with the CSME Treaty contributing to the steady outflow of people from Guyana. But by far the overwhelming majority of Guyanese emigrants however made their way to the USA and Canada. Dr. Ram also pointed out that the Caribbean lost 70%

of its highly trained population, those are people who had had 12 years or more schooling. In Guyana, for instance, 80% of the graduates of the University of Guyana emigrate. This emigration of the highly skilled leads to the socalled "brain drain", a lack of skilled personnel to fill jobs, thus slowing down development. It also leads to the loss of large amounts of money which had been expended on the education of skilled emigrants. The question of whether this massive emigration is a good or bad thing for Guyana and the rest of the Caribbean countries is a moot point. It is only by analysing the push and pull factors which stimulate emigration that some conclusion could be made and in any case, there is always an element of subjectivity in conclusions. In studying push and pull factors, say over a period of 20 or 30 years, it must be realized that some of the factors become of less importance or even of no importance with the passage of time. In the following analysis, we will state the various push-pull factors without qualifying them as to their levels of importance.

Guyanese people settle abroad for a number of reasons. For years they have been conditioned to believe that life in the cities of the West, that is North America and Europe, were much superior to Guyana. This belief was further reinforced by the widespread availability of Television and was a strong overall push for people to try to emigrate. Another factor, and probably the most important, is the widespread unemployment among young people in Guyana and the Caribbean. Young qualified people cannot find jobs after job-hunting for years, leaving them no alternative but to emigrate. And although the jobs they may find in the cities of the developed countries may be stressful, low-paid and below their educational skills and levels, they find it better than being unemployed. Once emigrants settle into better jobs and earn more money, they send remittances in money or kind to help to keep their families at home in a decent standard of living. Such remittances from emigrants make up a noticeable percentage of the foreign exchange earnings of Guyana and other Caribbean coun-

tries. Also when emigrants become more established, they are able to sponsor their relatives who may desire to emigrate, thus having families rejoining each other. With the large numbers of Guyanese and West Indian emigrants in the capital cities of several developed countries, they have been able to establish a cultural presence as other nationalities had long done. In New York, for example, there are impressive Phagwah parades and celebrations, dozens of Guyanese temples and mosques, and parades to celebrate Guyana's Independence. There are a few Guyanese steelband groups. There are also Guyanese and West Indian restaurants and bakeries. One of the most important push factors over the years has been political disgruntlement. This factor has been more important in Guyana and Suriname to a lesser degree than in other Caribbean countries. Once the emigration of skilled persons has started, it keeps growing in a crescendo with growing negative economic effect. In addition to the eco-

nomic loss caused to society by emigration of skilled personnel, there is an even greater socio-cultural loss. The emigration of such large numbers of the Guyanese population has fractured the cultural fabric of the society. For example, many hallowed Guyanese cultural norms and customs are disappearing as in the case of Christmas and Easter celebrations which have lost their vibrancy. The overwhelming majority of Guyanese who emigrate to the big cities like New York have to live in working-class areas since they do not have money enough to live in the middle class or better areas. In the big cities of the developed world, the environment creates the Man. Accordingly, residents of

such poorer areas begin to reflect on the mores of those areas and their children become completely like working class American children. For example, they would have no ambition to be professionals and would often fall into the company with youth who become flaneurs or even in criminal gangs. Parental control almost completely disappears. In Guyana, society is egalitarian and anyone could aspire to be a professional or have the highest positions in society. Indeed, most of the politicians and professionals and leaders of the society have working class backgrounds. Living in the developed cities inhibits upward social mobility. The average Guyanese emigrant has to be conscious of the pitfalls and avoid them.

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Audit and scrap water users associations - PM representative urges From page 15 Commission. This points to a duplication of services offered by the WUAs since the NDCs, the RDCs and the NDIA would have been giving subsidies to these associations. It is a fact they have been doing the same work in the areas where these associations exist.” The works include drainage, irrigation and repairs and maintenance of dams. “The NDCs, the RDCs as well as the NDIA gave subsidies and also engage in doing the works mentioned. In addition, the NDIA maintain the pumps and free diesel is given by the regional administration.”

Harbhajan, a councilor in Region Six, argued that these associations have actually outlived the purpose for which they were created. They were formed in 2005 with the intentions to access the millions of dollars in grants from the European Union, under the tenure of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic. “Since then the WUAs have been acting as independent bodies free from any meaningful external influence from the NDIA, the NDCs or the RDCs. The rationale for the establishment of WUAs is the transfer of irrigation management responsibilities to the users of community-

based, collective small-scale irrigation schemes.” Some of these management responsibilities may include representation of users, operation and maintenance of the system and ownership of the irrigation facilities. The ultimate aim is the sustainability of the smallscale irrigation schemes, which in their turn contribute to rural poverty alleviation. However, these objectives have not been achieved, Harbhajan insists. “What should have been done was to create an appropriate legal framework should be established for WUAs which needs to include an enabling law, by-laws and a

legal framework for transfer of irrigation system ownership to WUAs. But this was not done.” The PM representative went further. He made it clear that the current systems of WUAs are not legal so that they can be properly audited. They also cannot institute legal proceedings to collect arrears taxes. “The so-called ‘audit reports’ are nothing more than quarterly income and expenditure statements which are actually padded financial statements. Proper audits need to be done by certified auditors since the expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars is done by a manage-

ment committee with no invitation for tenders. Cronyism is a rampant feature,” Harbhajan said. He urged that it is time that a proper audit is done which should go back to at least eight years. “…and I am sure the findings will be an eye opener to what actually transpires within these WUAs. It must be borne in mind that some of these WUAs chairmen feel that these are private entities even though they collect taxpayers’ dollars,” he explained to Kaieteur News. As it is currently constructed, Harbhajan believes the WUAs are not sustainable since they cannot generate enough funds to operate in a self-sufficient manner and the subsidies given are squandered on the whims and fancies of a few. “The establishment of WUAs offers scope for empowerment of the users, allowing them to take control of major inputs which affect their livelihoods, such as equity in water distribution, securing access to water by all users, equity and security of access to newly developed land by all users, and in some cases empowerment of the poorer water users, mitigating the impact of local power cliques.” Unfortunately, the WUAs, today, have created an “elite group of local power cliques” who ensure that their works are paramount to that of the other members. “Over the years, my office

has received complaints from numerous farmers who are not benefitting at all. This Government needs to enhance the legal framework of the WUAs and embark on extensive capacity building. Initially when the WUAs were formed many training courses were done and the office bearers in those days were competent. However, when the EU funding stops the entire programme began to rapidly deteriorate and the WUAs were neglected.” The official said that the present crop of office bearers has limited knowledge of the objectives and the policies of the WUAs and have been relegated to do minimal works and have built themselves into an ‘elite power clique’ which removes all semblance of transparency and accountability. “The NDIA or the Minister of Agriculture needs to establish clear boundaries to delineate the functions of the NDCs, the RDCs and if possible NDIA so that the farmers will know who is responsible for what. Moreover, these WUAs should either be placed under the control of the NDCS or the RDCs so that transparency and accountability can be achieved whilst duplication of services is avoided of wasting of tax dollars. This will cut the wastage of scarce resources. Another option is that they should be dissolved and the works undertaken by the RDCs or the NDCs.”

Guyanese man accused of forging cheque, trapped in Barbados Guyanese, Quindon Lelon Bacchus, who is accused of committing two fraud offences, will not get to leave Barbados unless he seeks permission from the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court. Magistrate Kristie CuffySargeant barred the 21-yearold of Golden Grove, East Coast Demerara from travelling, when he appeared in court yesterday charged with forging an RBC Royal Bank (Barbados Limited) cheque to Husayn Daya on March 14, and obtaining three cellular phones, three phone cases and three screen protectors totaling $2,308 from HD Tech+. The Caribbean Commu-

nity national, a labourer by trade, was not required to plead to the indictable charges. There was no objection to bail, which was granted in the sum of $20,000 with strict conditions. Bacchus had to immediately surrender his passport, and ordered to report to the Black Rock Police Station every Monday and Thursday before noon with valid identification, and to remain living with his surety. The accused man, who is represented by attorney-atlaw Angella MitchellGittens, is expected to reappear before Cuffy-Sargeant on June 25. (Barbados Today)

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Business charged for selling foreign -Food and Drugs refuse labeled candies ‘Ovaltine’ shipment from Vietnam

UNICEF lauds Guyana‘s efforts to address cases of sexual offences in the courts

I

A few of the improperly labeled sweets seized.

T

he Government Analyst - Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD) said it is again advising the general public and importers about the need for proper labeling for imported food. The department pointed out that under Regulation No. 18 of the Food & Drugs Act (Chapter 34:03) of the Laws of Guyana and the Food & Drugs Regulations No. 10 of 1977 of Guyana, it is a requirement for all foods, drugs, cosmetic s a n d medical devices that are imported for sale or use in Guyana must have labels that are in English and comply with the requirements of Part II Section 18 (1) (2) which states the necessary information that the label should carry. However, GA-FDD said, it has been observed that there are numerous foreign labeled food items being offered for sale on the local market. “It is essential that regulated products be labeled in English so persons offering these products for sale or those using them can clearly understand important

information, such as their direction for use, expiry date, ingredients, name & address of manufacturer, storage condition and necessary precautions. “This enables consumers or users to make informed choices on products.” The department said that it recently seized 63 tins of “Anglo Corn Beef” labeled in a foreign language. During this exercise, the department said that it encountered expired items at the premise of the proprietor. “Criminal charges have been filed by the Department’s Prosecutor at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on the 21st of June, 2018 against this proprietor for knowingly and deliberately offering for sale expired and foreign labeled items.” In addition, the department said it has had cause to refuse entry to containers of food bringing foreign labeled “Ovaltine” from Vietnam on the 10th of May, 2018 and “Confectionery” from China on the 6th of June, 2018 that were labeled in a foreign language, had no address of

manufacturer and/or without date marks. “The department is calling on all consumers to carefully examine all food products before making purchases to ensure that these foods are labeled in English and contain all the required labeling information which includes brand name, common name, net contents, list of ingredients, storage instructions, name and address of manufacturer or person preparing the food

and its country of origin, expiry and manufacture dates.” GA-FDD said that it is urging wholesalers and retailers to understand that they also have a legal responsibility to ensure that wholesome foods reach the consumers and to ensure that all labels are in English. “The Department is calling on these proprietors to adhere to the Food and Drugs Regulation or face prosecution.”

nternational children‘s rights organization, UNICEF, has lauded Guyana‘s efforts towards addressing cases of sexual offences in the courts. Speaking to the media at a recent event country representative, Sylvie Fouet, lauded the establishment the Sexual Offences Court, describing it as a model for other countries. According to Fouet, “Guyana should be very proud of its way of handling the sexual offences court and the sexual offences Act.” The UNICEF representative said that despite challenges, Guyana‘s justice system has seen significant improvement in this regard. She noted that UNICEF was instrumental in the launching of the Sexual Offences Court last year. The country representative said the court remains a facility that is conducive for minor victims, which will prevent “second victimization” during their testimonies. She noted, too, that UNICEF is in talks with the Chancellor of the Judiciary for the acceleration of cases involving minors and the establishment of a Young Offenders Court. The Sexual Offences court housed in the Supreme Court represents the commitment of the judiciary to be re-

sponsive to the concerns raised in society about the conduct of trials for sexual crimes. The Sexual Offences Court is equipped with audiovisual devices to aid the testimony of witnesses. There are two screens in the courtroom that provide the complainants with a more suitable setting to face their alleged perpetrators. The victim-friendly features of the Court have been aiding with the successful prosecution of a number of rape cases. Since the specialised court came into operation several months ago, Court officials have recorded an increase in the number of persons convicted for sexual offence crimes. Prior to the establishment of the court, a notable number of sexual offences matters were nolle prosequi, often because of complainants’ unwillingness to testify before the High Court. Due to the sensitive nature of such cases, sexual assault victims are often terrified of reporting their experiences to the police. Then, after the matters are investigated, persons are charged. The case usually moves at a slow pace through the court system. And when the matters do (Continued on page 68 )

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GRA working to secure level playing field for local and foreign investors “The GRA (Guyana Revenue Authority) is not only working to enable a level playing field for both local and foreign investors but also at ensuring that concessions granted through Investment agreements are utilized for the purposes given.” So said GRA Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia, on Thursday, as he addressed the Private Sector Commission (PSC) at its Annual General Meeting. Statia’s announcement comes on the heels of several media reports involving Movie Towne and the concessions it was given. It all started when Movie Towne claimed that its project was being stalled by GRA’s reluctance to sign off on cer-

tain concessions. Then Roy Beepat issued a public missive asking for the Movie Towne Concessions to be disclosed. Beepat is the head of the Giftland Mall, located a short distance from the MovieTowne complex. Beepat claimed that his company received very little, and had to borrow heavily. In the end, the project cost almost US$24M. Beepat’s contentions would be that he enjoyed very little concessions. He battled for everything, and paid his taxes. He would now have to compete heavily against MovieTowne, which apparently received the full works. Also, it has been revealed that Movie Towne

misused concessions as well. Based on Statia’s commitment to ensure a level playing field, soon enough, issued like these will be history for Guyana. When addressing the PSC, Statia also stressed the need for all taxpayers to pull their own weight. He said that if this happens, and the tax based would be widened and tax could be reduced. Statia said that he understands the role his agency has to play in all that he mentioned. He then spoke of efforts to strengthen the agency. The Commissioner General said that the GRA is aiming to secure “quality service and client education that meet the needs of our diverse cli-

ent base; Responsible enforcement of the laws based on the application of sound risk management, principles and practices and fair, impartial and timely redress processes.” He continued, “Our sensitivity to the effects of administrative and legal requirements we must impose on clients and our efforts to ease the burden and cost of compliance; skilled, knowledgeable and professional staff, working in an environment that encourages and supports their personal and professional development; and the commitment to have an open, transparent and accountable administration.” Statia said that the Gov-

ernment and the Ministry of Finance have committed GRA to meet the goals he mentioned. He said that the evidence is there to see the numerous changes now enveloping the Agency, and the systems being put in place to streamline processes. Statia said that the ASYCUDA system will be fully implemented in the first quarter of 2019, and the GRA will soon thereafter launch its Single Window system, which will act as a precursor to the full Single Window system envisaged by the Ministry of Business. “This fully automated and virtual paperless system will enhance Customs procedures

GRA Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia and build on a new IT system presently being configured which will replace the flawed TRIPS system, thereby allowing for the seamless processing of business transactions, resulting in business leaders consolidating their efforts where it is required to be, that is, their businesses.

Expansion of breakfast school... From page 3 an extension of the contract by one month (to include June) to complete the school term.” By then, the cost overrun was approximately $112,429,592. According to the report by the ministry’s Deputy PS, “This request (by the NPTAB) was not approved, and the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board advised that the matter be

sent to Cabinet for consideration.” The report disclosed that the expansion of the programme was immediately halted and all schools that were slated to commence the programme in April 2018 were deferred to September 2018. Clarke insisted that the Ministry’s decision to continue with the supplies from Dabi for the schools already benefitting from the programme, was influenced by the reality that in stopping

the programme altogether so abruptly could have engendered serious implications. “Also, immediate action has been taken to guarantee more consistent oversight and intentional monitoring so as to avert such recurrence,” Clarke vowed. The school feeding programmes, under consecutive governments, have come under flak for the management, with fraud accusations rampant.

Sunday June 24, 2018

Kaieteur News

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Rampant Mexico see off South Korea to close on last 16 ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia (Reuters) - Mexico built on the momentum from their stunning victory over world champions Germany by overpowering South Korea 2-1 yesterday to take a giant step towards the World Cup last 16. Carlos Vela put them ahead from the penalty spot in the 26th minute at Rostov Arena, which had been taken over by Mexico’s sea of fanatical supporters. All-time top scorer Javier Hernandez sealed victory in the second half, finishing off an unstoppable move from breakout player Hirving Lozano. It was Hernandez’s 50th goal for his country and his fourth strike at a World Cup, taking him level with Luis Hernandez as Mexico’s leading scorer in soccer’s global

showpiece tournament. Korea’s talismanic forward Son Heung-min struck a scorching consolation goal in stoppage time from outside the area. The hapless Koreans, who have no points after two matches and have only won one of their last 11 World Cup fixtures, will be eliminated if Sweden draw or win against Germany. “We came to Russia with a lot of criticism but we’re working hard and have a lot of talent. We have humility but we beat Germany and South Korea and now we have to play against Sweden and stay cool and calm,” goalscorer Hernandez said. “We cannot afford to get caught up in all this, we have to continue our job and stay humble, of course we should enjoy this but tomorrow we

start working again.” ROUSING CHANTS As the game kicked off Mexico fans sang “We are the home team” and with green shirts dotted all over the stadium and rousing chants of “Ole!” bellowing around the arena every time their side passed the ball, it was hard to disagree. Conditioned by the dry heat that has been a feature of every game at the Rostov Arena, Mexico did not quite have the same thrust and energy as against Germany although they still controlled most of the play and looked far more dangerous. Korea improved on their opening defeat by Sweden although their main tactic consisted of searching for Son with long balls behind the defensive line. The closest they came to

Sunday June 24, 2018 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) This is a great day for you to get up on stage and make your presence known to the crowd, Aries. Let people know that you're the leader of the pack. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) This is a good day to add spark to your life. If things have seemed boring and stagnating lately, you may need to infuse a bit of excitement into the situation. GEMINI(May 21–June 20) You'll notice that your emotions are coming to a monthly climax today, Gemini. Don't be alarmed, but do be cautious about lashing out at people for no reason. CANCER (June 21–July 22) Extremes is the name of the game now, especially for you. Today the emphasis is on action. You're the one to call to get the job done. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Be adventurous and strike out into new territory, Leo. Be a pioneer. Work to make some new discoveries in the world. Today isn't a day to worry about consequences. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Certain situations may be difficult to deal with today as they take an emotional spin, Virgo. You're getting anxious. Things are getting started without the careful planning and consideration you feel is necessary.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) You should find that the general mood of the day is favorable to your personality style. Take this opportunity to present more of your thoughts and ideas to the world. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) The fog has lifted and you're ready to take off. The dreaminess you may have experienced lately has been nice, but now it's time to get moving again. SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) This is a terrific day for you, Sagittarius, and you'll find that there is a great deal of power at your disposal. CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) The fire is raging today, so be careful, Capricorn. Try not to be too impulsive in your actions. Your natural tendency may be to lash out against others without really thinking about the consequences. AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Go for the gold, Aquarius. Today marks the beginning of the rest of your life. Treat it with respect. You may be on a crusade and your combative instincts could be working overtime. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) You may feel as if someone is poking you today, Pisces, urging you to get up and get moving. Don't be surprised if someone seems to be picking on you for no reason.

Mexico’s Javier Hernandez in action with South Korea’s Lee Jae Sung. (Reuters Jason Cairnduff)

scoring in the first half was with a header from a corner which Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa tipped over

Sports Policy... From page 81 ideas in track and field with his thinking where he has begun equipping schools with jumping pits, TURBO JAVELIN, discuss and shot puts, while introducing athletes from a tender age of 3yrs old to masters, bringing online registration to the sport, giving out computers to athletes along with scholarships with a wide variety of new ideas, is calling for a more open and involvement of the different organizations in sports in Guyana.

Crawford, Mangal... From page 80 lost to Malachi Jones (FYF) by unanimous decision. Joshua Hinds (HE) and Shaquancy Wright (VBG) practiced their skills in another exhibition affair. Stephon McDonald (FYF) won against Enoch Munroe (HE); the referee stopped the fight in after one minute five seconds into the third round. Richard Howard (FYF) beat Deron Williams (VBG) by unanimous decision, while Fitz Heywood (FYF) overcame Patrick Harvey (FYF) in similar fashion. The next in the series of preparatory meets will take place on July 7 at the same venue. Several teams from the Caribbean are scheduled to be here for the schoolboys tourney with St Lucia, Grenada, Jamaica signaling their commitment to be here. Barbados, Trinidad and Suriname among others are also expected.

the bar. Mexico’s breakthrough came when captain Andres Guardado’s cross was blocked by a stray arm from Korean defender Jang Hyunsoo, and Vela kept his nerve from the spot, sending goalkeeper Cho Hyeon-woo the wrong way and stroking the ball home. Lozano proved a constant threat to the Koreans when-

ever he came darting down either wing, blasting over in the first half and later having a goalbound shot blocked by opposing captain Ki Sungyueng. His remarkable pace punished Korea, catching them out on the break, allowing Hernandez to finish them off, beating a defender with a flick of his left foot and tucking the ball into the net with his right.

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From page 77 also be organising clinics for left arm spinners, leg spinners, off spinners and batsmen. Additionally, the Berbice Cricket Board would also organise four Two-day Coaching Programmes across Berbice. To date, a total of 102 youths have attended this Programme in the Lower Corentyne and Upper Corentyne Sub-Associations. Foster, stated that the Berbice Cricket Board is taking advantage of the long rainy season to complete all of its developmental programmes. After the completion of the Dr. Tulsi Dyal Singh Coaching Programme, seventy youths between the ages of 12 to 19 years would be selected to attend the Berbice Cricket Board Academy from the 23rd to 27th July, 2018, at the Albion Cricket Ground. A panel of Coaches with personal experiences would conduct the Cricket Academy, with the main objective of getting all Berbice Players properly prepared to represent Berbice and Guyana. Foster also disclosed that preparation for the 2019 Intercounty season at the Under15, Under-17, Under-19 and Female levels, with the aim of winning each one of them has started.

Sunday June 24, 2018

Kaieteur News

The young fast bowlers pose with Coach Winston Smith. Among the fast bowlers attending the historic clinic were Christopher Harry, Isaiah Thorne, Kevlon Anderson, Javed Karim, Nicholas Lawson and Leon Swammy. POLICE ALL STARS ILLUMINATE GRENADA’S ANNUALATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIP Recently

the

Royal

Grenada Police Force held its Annual Athletics Championship in St George’s Grenada. The events which were held during the 31st anniversary celebrations were highly attended with participants from St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda and Guyana. The Guyana Police Force through its long standing re-

lations with the Royal Grenada Police Force was invited to take part in the championship games. Three of our outstanding athletes were selected to represent the Force in various sporting events such as: 100m, 1500m, and Shot Put, to name a few. Constables 21820 Warren Duncan, 22647 Quacy Morian and W. 23949 Alita Moore traveled to Grenada to represent the Force in the Championship games and all emerged medalists. Woman Constable 23949 Alita Moore copped first place in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, and 4x100m as well as Long Jump was awarded the Best Overseas Female Athlete, wining a total of six (6) gold medals. Constable 22647 Quacy Morian also copped first place in the 800m, 1500m, and 4x100m, as well as second place in the 100 and 400m and third in the 200m. He won a total of six (6) medals, three (3) Gold, two (2) Silver and one (1) Bronze for his achievements. Constable 21820 Warren Duncan came in first place in the Shot Put and Discuss competitions and third in the Javelin competition. The Guyanese delegation which consisted of Police Coach, Sergeant 13768 Lyndon Wilson and the three athletes was invited to take part in several youth and community outreach programmes while in Grenada.

CBC WOMEN’S C/SHIP IN SURINAME GUYANAWOMEN LOSE THIRDAND FINAL MATCH 112-24 TO DOMINICA REPUBLIC On Tuesday evening at the Anthony Nesty Sportshal in Paramaribo, Suriname, the Guyanese girls felt the full force of the hammer when Dominican Republic (DR) nailed them by 88 points to register the highest margin of victory in the Caribbean Basketball Confederation’s (CBC) women’s championship so far. The local girls, slotted in Group B, are using this tournament as a developmental tour and they lost all three of their group games played, with the last a 112-24 loss, surpassing the 108-32 thrashing Cuba unloaded on St. Vincent and the Grenadines during Group A action on Monday. In the embarrassing loss to one of the tournament’s favourite team, Mariam McKenzie led the scoring for Guyana once again with 13 points. Meanwhile, DR had five players in double digits with Andreina Paniagua scoring a game high 28 points, supported with 18 points from Esmery Martinez. The semi-finals of the women’s championship saw Cuba against Barbados in the first and Dominican Republic versus Bahamas in the second match at the same Anthony Nesty Sportshal venue last evening with the final set for today.The Guyanese women were pitted in Group B with Suriname, Barbados and Dominican Republic. While Group A included: Bahamas, Cuba and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. TRAYON BOBB SET TO DEBUT FOR PORTUGAL’S SOCIEDADE UNIÕA 1° DE DEZEMÁRO With all systems in place

for Golden Jaguar Trayon Bobb to make his debut next month at club Sociedade Uniõa 1° de Dezemáro, owned by Guyanese football icon, Alex Bunbury (Principal and Director of Football), who recently purchased the Portuguese Third Division Club, a fund raising double header has been fixed for today at the Leonora Track and Field Ground. Four West Demerara teams will be battling including Bobb’s current club, Uitvlugt Warriors in this specially arranged activity put together as a means of assisting the young footballer to garner the needed funds for his airfare and the requisite fees to obtain his Schengen Visa. The talented and skillful Bobb, whose nimbleness in midfield and ability to use both feet up front has caught many an eye, will become the first Guyanese player to play in Portugal, another young Guyanese duo in Jeremy Garrett and Shemika Marcus were afforded tryouts at the world famous Sporting Lisbon of Portugal under two years ago. Bobb, who will spearhead Uitvlugt’s challenge today has been on Bunbury’s radar ever since and is now getting the opportunity to fulfill his lifetime dream of playing on the European circuit. Uitvlugt Warriors will battle old rivals Den Amstel in today’s feature match at 15:00hrs with the opening match up at 13:00hrs bringing together Pouderoyen and Eagles, a Stewartville based club. Persons wishing to make a contribution to Trayon Bobb can also do so on a special Go Fund Me page that has been set up on facebook. Bobb is expected to leave mid next month to commence playing.

Sunday June 24, 2018

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Kaieteur News

We take a look back at the key events that took place and made the news in the local sporting arena over the past week CARIBBEAN PREMIERLEAGUE MATCHES CONFIRMED FOR GUYANA Dubbed the biggest party in sport, the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) will be staging at least five matches in Guyana this year. Local cricket lovers can now breathe a sigh of relief as this disclosure was made at the office of the Ministry of Social Cohesion with responsibility for Culture, Youth and Sport in Main Street. Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Ms. Melissa Tucker and Team Operations Manager of the Guyana Amazon Warriors Omar Khan signed the Host Venue Agreement. Also present at the official signing ceremony were Director of Sport (DoS) Christopher Jones, Minister of Social Cohesion with responsibility for Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. George Norton and Assistant Director of Sport Melissa Dowe-Richardson. The five matches confirmed for Guyana so far pits The local franchise against St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots on August 9, St. Lucia Stars on August 11, Barbados Tridents on August 12, Jamaica Tallawahs on September 8 and Trinbago Knight Riders on September 9. Additionally, it was disclosed that there is a possibility of Guyana hosting two playoff matches on September 11 and 12, however that will be confirmed shortly by the CPL. Speaking at the ceremony, Khan said he is happy that they could get the full sup-

port from the Minister and the Department of Culture, Youth and Sport to sign off the agreement. Khan stated that the agreement is essential to the local franchise, since it provides home advantage. Khan indicated that tickets for the games here could go on sale by the first week in July and the team will be encamped here from August 2-7. This year marks the sixth edition of the CPL and the Guyana Amazon Warriors are yet to win the title having reached the final on several occasions. THIRD EDITION OF ALIANN POMPEY INVITATIONAL LAUNCHED, 25 COUNTRIES SET TO COMPETE Grenada’s 400M Olympics and World Championships Gold Medallist 25-yearold Kirani James and USA born Guyanese 2018 Commonwealth Games Triple Jump Gold Medallist Troy Doris will headline a field of 100 athletes representing 25 Countries when the third Edition of the Aliann Pompey Invitational gets underway next Saturday at the Leonora Stadium. The 40-year-old Pompey was the last Guyanese before Doris to win a Commonwealth Gold which she did in 2002 in England, informed that the 2018 Championships will have 17 Events and will commence at 15:00hrs. According to Pompey who represented Guyana in four Olympics (2000, 2004,

CPL Team Operations Manager Omar Khan (center) and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Ms. Melissa Tucker (2nd right) signs the venue agreement in the presence of from right DoS Christopher Jones (right), Minister Dr. George Norton (2nd left) and Assistant DoS Melissa Dowe-Richardson. 2008 and 2012) and participated five times at the World Championships, James’ participation is very big for a locally held event since is one of the top ranked Athletes in the world. ”We have several new Countries including Cuba, Columbia, Haiti, Martinique, Nigeria and Porto Rico coming for this event and I am very grateful for the Support from the Sponsors,” Pompey said. General Admission is $1,000 while for the VIP section cost $5,000 with the feature event being the 400m race and in addition to those Countries mentioned, athletes from the USA, Canada, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, St Lucia and Jamaica will battle for supremacy in what promises to be a riveting contest on the track with lots of entertainment for what could be capacity crowd of 3,000 fans. The GOA, NSC, Banks DIH, Fly Jamaica, Star Party Rentals, E-Networks and Sleep Inn Hotel and Casino are among the main sponsors. GUYANA CBC MEN’S TEAM SELECTED

Trayon Bobb holding his MVP trophy following the New York tourney.

The Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) has released the team that will be representing the Golden Arrowhead at the 2018 Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Men’s Championship which will be held at the Anthony Nesty Sportshal in Paramaribo, Suriname from Friday to June 30th. This year’s tournament will also serve as the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Americup Caribbean pre-qualifiers with the top three teams of the tournament

advancing to the next round of qualification. Guyana will be led by 18year-old Stanton Rose, who was described by head Coach Junior Hercules as an incredible talent. The final 12 has four teenagers, in the Skipper Rose, 17year-old overseas based Berbician Kevon Wiggins, 19year-old Timothy Thompson and 19-year-old Travis Belgrave. Akeem Crandon, a 17year-old center player, was among the 17 players training for a chance in the final squad but his competitor for a place in the squad was Timothy Thompson, who was given the nod ahead of him. Hercules, who also coaches Crandon at the club level with Plaisance Guardians, noted that the Crandon is talented but the President’s College student needs to challenge himself more. The team includes five overseas based players, comprising: two Professional players - Anthony Moe based in the USA and Felix Hamilton based in Antigua, two former USA College players: Ray Victor and Denzel Devonish; along with Kevon Wiggins, the youngest player in team. In the regional tournament, the Guyanese men are in Group A with Suriname, Saint Lucia, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, while Group B comprises of Barbados, Bermuda, Antigua & Barbuda, Haiti and Montserrat. The full team reads: 1. Stanton Rose (Captain) 2. Harold Adams 3. Orland Glasgow 4. Shaine Webster 5. Ray Victor 6. Anthony Moe 7. Travis Burnett

8. Felix Hamilton 9. Travis Belgrave 10. Denzel Devonish 11. Timothy Thompson 12. Kevon Wiggins Head Coach is Junior Hercules; Dennis Clarke, Assistant Coach and the Manager is Nigel Hinds. ELEVEN CLUBS TO RECEIVE FIRST DIVISION CAPS FROM BCB AND CHIEF BRAND The remarkable success story of Berbice Cricket continues to expand on a daily basis with new programmes and activities being unveiled to develop the game. Since the election of the new Berbice Cricket Board Executives led by Hilbert Foster on the 18th February, 2018, close to twenty cricket tournaments have been launched at all levels. The Berbice Cricket Board has also unveiled dozens of developmental programmes/ activities. President Hilbert Foster unveiled another programme “the provision of First Division Caps” for the eleven confirmed Clubs in Berbice Senior Cricket. The Caps were donated by Ansa Mcal under the Chief Brand and would be used by the Teams for the upcoming SKYY Vodka 20/20 Tournament and the rest of the packed 2018 First Division Season. This is the first time in the history of Berbice Cricket that all the teams would be provided with cricket caps for the First Division level. Foster launched the Caps Programme by handing over twelve Caps each to the Upper Corentyne and Skeldon Teams. The Presentation was done during the historic Upper Corentyne Cricket Asso-

ciation first ever Award Ceremony. A passionate Berbice Cricket Board President urged the Players to wear the caps with pride and to play a major role in the restoration of Berbice Cricket. He also expressed gratitude to Ms. Tami Khan and Kelvin Singh of Ansa Mcal for their cooperation. The other Clubs that would receive caps are West Berbice, Blairmont, Police, Young Warriors, Tucber Park, Albion, Rose Hall Canje, Port Mourant and Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club. BCB INVESTS IN 36 FAST BOWLERS UNDER DR. TULSI DYAL SINGH COACHING PROGRAMME The Berbice Cricket Board hosted the largest ever fast bowling clinic to be organised by a Cricket Board in Guyana. A record thirty six junior fast bowlers attended the Oneday Dr. Tulsi Dyal Singh Coach Clinic at the Albion Cricket Ground. The fast bowlers drawn from across the Ancient County and were from the Under-15, Under-17, Under-19 and Under-21 levels. Berbice Cricket Board President Hilbert Foster hailed the fast bowling clinic as a tremendous success and reflected the passion that has returned to Berbice Cricket over the last four months. Berbice Cricket Board had planned for twenty fast bowlers and was blown away with the large turnout. The fast bowling clinic was the second one hosted by the Berbice Cricket Board after a wicketkeeping clinic which was attended by twenty youths. The Board would (Continued on page 76)

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Mopping up operations during the second stoppage for rain. (Sean Devers photo)

Sunday June 24, 2018

Kaieteur News

Windies in uphill battle in historic day/ night Test as Sri Lanka hold the edge BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Just under an hour’s play was possible as rain wrecked the second session of the opening day of the historic day/night third Test at Kensington Oval here yesterday. When the rains arrived and eventually forced an early tea, West Indies were 88 for five with wicketkeeper-batsman Shane Dowrich unbeaten on 36. He has so far struck five fours in a 60-ball knock and added 35 for the sixth wicket with captain Jason Holder who was unbeaten at the break on 18. Resuming from a lunch time score of 46 for four, West Indies lost Shai Hope in the third over after the resumption when he was snared at second slip by Kusal Mendis off seamer Kasun Rajitha, with seven runs added. Hope, unbeaten at lunch on 11, failed to add to his interval score. Seamer Suranga Lakmal (2-28) and Rajitha (2-32) have taken two wickets apiece. The West Indies had stumbled and stuttered their way through the opening session of the historic day/ night third Test as Sri Lanka got the better of the exchanges at lunch on the opening day at Kensington Oval. At the break, the Windies were tottering on 46 for four, with wicketkeeper-batsman

Shane Dowrich unbeaten on 13 and Shai Hope on 11. Speedster Suranga Lakmal, leading the side in the absence of the suspended Dinesh Chandimal, claimed two for 20. West Indies made a terrible start to the afternoon when veteran left-hander Devon Smith edged the last ball of the day’s first over from Lakmal, to be caught at third slip by Dhananjaya de Silva for two. Lakmal then accounted for the other opener Kraigg Brathwaite (2) a few overs later, the right-handed stabbing at a short one to be caught by Danushka Gunathilaka running in from point. And West Indies were in further trouble when lefthander Kieran Powell was taken at second slip by Kusal Mendis for four, edging a length ball from Lahiru Kumara. Rain arrived with the hosts on 12 for three and kept players off the field for nearly an hour. On resumption, Roston Chase (14) added a further 12 runs to his tally before losing his middle stump on the drive in Kasun Rajitha’s first over. At Press Time Scores were: WEST INDIES 103 for five Jason Holder on 23 and Shane Dowruch 45 at the wicket.

Clinical Federer beats Kudla to set up Coric final in Halle (Reuters) - Defending champion Roger Federer extended his unbeaten run on grass to 20 matches by defeating American qualifier Denis Kudla 7-6(1) 7-5 yesterday, and set up a Halle Open final with young Croatian Borna Coric. The pair exchanged early breaks in overcast conditions before top-seeded Federer stamped his authority by winning the tiebreak 7-1, ending Kudla’s 10-set winning streak this week. Playing his eighth match in less than two weeks, the 36-year-old Federer seemed clearly fatigued but showed great mental strength to save five break points in the second set. A lapse of concentration from Kudla in the 11th game allowed Federer to grab the only break point on offer before the Swiss served out the match in just under an hour and a

half. “Denis has played an excellent tournament and made it difficult for me,” Federer said. “So I am of course very glad to have made it.” Nine-time Halle champion Federer has reached his 12th final on German grass, and will next face 34th ranked Coric, who will make his first final appearance of the season. The 21-year-old Coric, who defeated second seed Alexander Zverev earlier this week, advanced after playing just five games of his semi-final against Robert Bautista Agut.The Spaniard was forced to retire after an unfortunate slip, with Coric serving at 2-3. Federer, who must win a record-extending 10th title in Halle to remain at the top of the world rankings, holds a 2-0 head-to-head advantage over Coric.

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 24, 2018

GCF National Championships 2018 – Individual Time Trials

Jeffrey (Snr.), Fraser-Green -Female repeat winners; Briton John (Jnrs), Sukhai (Masters) By Franklin Wilson Raynauth ‘Obeah Man’ Jeffrey (Foundation) and Claire Fraser-Green (Continental Cycle Club) successfully defended their respective senior and female titles when the 2018 edition of the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) National Championships Time Trials were held on the Linden Soesdyke Highway. The 12-Mile course which started just off the Yarrowkabra Police Station saw the competitors having to maneuver their way though a few hills to complete the distance which was done for the first time, being doubled from last year. Jeffrey, winning for the third consecutive year, was clocked 28 Minutes 36 Seconds with junior winner and defending Road Race champion Briton John (United We Stand Cycle Club) in 29’ 34" ending 3rd behind his club mate, Andrew Hicks who was timed at 29’ 24". John had placed 3rd last year in the junior contest. Rising junior sensation Ajay Gopilall (Torjan Cycle Club) placed 2nd in 34’ 32" with the 3rd place going to Donovan Fraser (Unattached) in 34’ 51". Fraser, who has placed her stamp on the championship for the sixth successive year, again defeated the only other female contestant, Shenika Teixeira of Trojan Cycle Club as the ladies

Raynauth Jeffrey - Senior Champ (2)

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Late Kroos winner against Sweden keeps Germany alive SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - A dramatic stoppage-time goal from Toni Kroos gave holders Germany a 2-1 win over Sweden yesterday to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup last 16. Kroos curled in a superb strike from an indirect free kick to grab the three points for the four-times world champions who are now level with Sweden in Group F on three points and behind Mexico who have six. Sweden took the lead in the 32nd minute when Ola Toivonen finished confidently after Germany’s Toni Kroos gave the ball away in midfield. Marco Reus equalised in the 48th minute, meeting a low cross from Timo Werner, and despite having Jerome Boateng sent off in the 82nd minute, Germany kept going and Kroos earned them a famous win. The Swedes played with fire as the Germans racked up the chances in the opening minutes, but having weathered that storm they gradually began to threaten on the

break, and Marcus Berg was denied a good shout for a penalty when he appeared to be bundled over by Boateng. With Germany getting in behind Sweden’s full backs at will and fizzing passes across the box, it looked like it might be only a matter of time before they scored, but Toivonen’s goal gave Sweden breathing space. Manuel Neuer saved the Germans from being 2-0 down at halftime, diving acrobatically to deflect Berg’s header from Sebastian Larsson’s stoppage-time free kick. Reus got Germany back in the game early in the second half as the Germans launched a massive offensive and when Boateng was sent off for his second yellow card eight minutes from time the Germans continued to push on. Timo Werner missed from point-blank range and the Swedes looked like hanging on for the draw, but Kroos struck five minutes into stoppage time to give Germany victory.

Exxon Mobil U-14 Football sees girls in action Jaikarran Sukhai Masters Winner participation continues to be a huge challenge. Taking the top spot in the Masters race was Carlton Wheelers Cycle Club’s Jaikarran Sukhai in a time of 3 1 ’ 4 2 " w i t h Te a m E v o l u t i o n ’s S t e p h e n Fernandes next in 32’ 57" and Paul Thomas who is riding Unattached, claiming 3rd in 33’ 45". Attention will be turned today to what would be a grueling Road Race, the miles that have to be clocked are the most for any local event. The Road Race route today for the masters, juniors, juveniles and ladies will pedal off at Homestretch

Avenue this morning from 07:30hrs in front of the National Sports Commission, proceed East along Homestretch Avenue, right into Mandela Avenue, left at DSL into the East Bank Carriageway, South along Houston Public Road all the way to Timehri where cyclists will turn around at the end of the double road. Return to the Linden Soesdyke Junction, make a right onto the Linden Soesdyke Highway and turn around at Long Creek before returning to the starting line at Homestretch Avenue for the finish. After turning at Timehri, juveniles and ladies will not make the right turn onto the Linden Soesdyke Highway, they will continue on the downward journey to Homestretch Avenue for the finish. The masters and juniors will cover a distance of 80 miles (128.75km) while the juveniles and ladies will battle over 52 miles (83.69km). The GCF is reminding that that junior and juvenile cyclists would not be allowed to compete at these championships without junior gears. The federation has indicated that this is a UCI rule that would be enforced, noting that clubs would have been encouraged to follow this rule for three years now.

Play in the Exxon Mobil Boys and Girls Under-14 football tournament continued yesterday with the girls getting into action for the first time, while the boys continued their march. Things started with a walkover for Tutorial over Tucville, but when the action proper got underway Charlestown and East Ruimveldt were on victory lane while Campbellville and South Secondary played to a stalemate. See full results for both girls and boys action yesterday: Girls Results dated 2306-2018 Game #1 Tutorial vs Tucville Tucville conceded the win by walk over Game #2 Charlestown 1 vs Vergenogen 0 Goal Scorer Charlestown Donna Lowe 22 Game #3 East Ruimveldt 2 vs Uitvlugt 0 Goal scorers East Ruimveldt Tamara Mendonca 15 Keisha Jones 21 Game #4 New Campbellville 0 vs South Secondary 0 Boys Results dated 23-

06-2018 Game #25 Ann’s Grove 0 vs Uitvlugt 0 Game #26 Vergenoegen 4 vs School of the Nation 0 G o a l s c o r e r s Vergenoegen Nashawn Livan 9 Kwesi Gill 12, 27 Clinton Jones 39 Game #27 Annandale 2 vs South Ruimveldt 1 Goal scorers Annandale Seon Haywood 14 Dashawn McPherson 24 Goal scorer South Ruimveldt Ronaldo Barry 37 Game #28 Marian Academy 1 vs Charlestown 0 Goal scorer Marian Chad Henry 33 Game #29 North Ruimveldt (multi)4 vs Carmel 1 Goal scorers Multi Yonnick Norton 8, 22 Orlando Dicke 30 Shaqwan Favorite 35 Goal scorer Carmel Mathew Layne 40 Game #30 Chase Academy 5 vs Campbellville 2 Goal scorers Chase Edwin Small 5 Kevin Mullin 19,30 Own Goal 29

Manassah Anderson 38 Goal scorer New Campbellville Luxxus Portune 9,11 Game #31 Dolphin 1 vs Tucville 2 Goal scorer Tucville Kayshun Fraser 3 Rayheam Marques 35 Goal scorer Dolphin Judah Younge 9 Game #32 East Ruimveldt (back school) 2 vs Tutorial 0 Goal scorer East Ruimveldt Ome Harris 14 Jayoen King 18 Game #33 Buxton 6 vs St George’s 0 Goal scorers Buxton Olashi Primo 7, 20 Samuel Garnett 9, 25 Tyrice Dennis 16, 21 Game #34 Friendship 4 vs Queenstown 0 Goal scorers Friendship Stephan Harry 3, 30 Prince Forde 13 Paul Roberts 38 Game #35 Brickdam4 vs St John’s 0 Goal scorers Brickdam Carlos Agard 11, 15, 35 Akeem Henry 28 Game #36 Kingston vs Bishops Kingston won by walk over

Kaieteur News

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Sunday June 24, 2018

GABBFF Seniors 2018

Space Gym athletes confident of setting the stage on fire; training progressing smoothly By Franklin Wilson hat time of year when athletes who have been training in earnest for months to ensure that their bodies are in pristine shape (chiseled, tapered, balanced, good symmetry) which would give them the edge against their rivals, will get the chance to shine. Come July 15 next at the Parc Rayne Event Centre, located at Rahamans Turn, Houston, East Bank Demerara, the 2018 edition of the Guyana Amateur Body Building and Fitness Federation (GABBFF) Senior Championships would be contested. Male and female competitors will line up in the Lightweight, B a n t a m w e i g h t , We l t e r w e i g h t , M i d d l e w e i g h t , Heavyweight, Masters, Mr. Physique, Ms Body Fitness and Ms Bikini categories seeking to outdo each other but they must be able to convince the Judges on the night who will have their fate in their hands. As long as you put in the hard work, the results would come and that has been the focus of the athletes who will be contesting under the Space Gym banner, the home of the likes of fourtime Mr. Guyana Kerwyn Clarke, reigning Mr. Guyana Physique Yannick Grimes, Eybo Orford, Tremel King, Julio Allan Sinclair and Ms Angelica Barroncas. These athletes have

T

From left, Space Gym Manager Lucas Matos, Tremel King, Eybo Orford, Yannick Grimes, Ms Angelica Barroncas, Julio Allan Sinclair and GABBFF President, Coel Marks. taken time out to share with Kaieteur Sport some thoughts on how preparations have been going ahead of the big night. Eybo Orford has been in the sport for over eight years which makes him an experienced campaigner, he has been improving with every competition and is looking forward to making the mark this time around. Orford, who has also tested his abilities on the powerlifting platform, would be competing in the Under-154lbs (Lightweight) class. He was the Overall winner of the 2012 Intermediate Championship. ”Having been briefed on reasons why I did not win last year, I have done my home work and am working on those areas that would have worked against me not being victorious in my

category. Fans coming out at Parc Rayne on July 15 would not be disappointed, only if they do not show up.” Julio Allan Sinclair has promised that he would be in the best shape ever and is confident of winning the Heavyweight category. “I have been working with a very experienced coach for a few months now and I can tell you that what I have been doing is tremendous, the results of my hard work would be on display on competition night.” Sinclair competed at senior nationals in 2016 and placed 2nd in the heavyweight class; he made his debut at the 2014 Novices championships where he won the heavyweight category apart from placing 3rd Overall. Tremel King will

compete in the heavyweight class and is aiming to better his 2nd place finish from last year when he was trumped by eventual Mr. Guyana B r u c e W h a t l e y. T h e confident King said he believes that this is his time to shine and is going all out to become the next Mr. Guyana. ”I think my chances are excellent, I am putting in the work and my knowledge of the sport has increased over the years which will serve me well in my aim to be number one.” King has also set his sights on the CAC Championships set for Mexico. Ms Angelica Barroncas would be making her senior debut after competing at Novices earlier this year and placing 2nd in the Ms Bikini contest. Ms. Barroncas has been training hard and

strategic to be in the best possible shape in order to better that second place finish. ”I am happy to be able to compete at this event which is the highest possible level in Guyana. Training is progressing fine and come competition night, we’ll see how it goes. I am encouraging all my fellow Space Gym members to come out and support us on July 15th.” Kerwyn Clarke is focused on reclaiming the title of Mr. Guyana after having it taken away by current Mr. Guyana Bruce Whatley. Aiding in his quest to be the best once again after having won the title for four years is Fitness Express which is powering his dream under the Space Gym banner. Yannick Grimes – The r e i g n i n g M r. G u y a n a Physique champion, who is a multi talented athlete, is intent of retaining the crown that he wrested from fierce rival Emmerson Campbell at the 2017 championships. Grimes, a multi talented athlete, who was crowned the Overall Intermediate Classic winner at the Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation 2017 championship, also represented Guyana in cricket at the Under-19 level in 2003 and 2004. He also represented the University of Guyana at the Inter Collegiate Championships in Barbados in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Now focused on setting a

lasting legacy in the sport of body building, Grimes reveled that apart from working towards retaining the Mr. Guyana Physique crown, he is intent on giving a good showing of what he has worked on and achieved over the year in his off season. ”I’ve worked on building my entire body but focused on my weak points which were my back and shoulders to bring a fuller and V tapered look.” He said that he always welcome good competition and is looking forward to another exciting showdown with the other athletes who would be hitting the stage on July 15, next. Space Gym Manager, Mr. Lucas Matos said that the entity was very proud of its members and their achievements and he is confident that they will continue to excel. ”I am at the gym on a daily basis and am well aware of the high level of commitment and discipline that they guys put into their training in order to achieve the best bodies. It is not easy at all, it’s a continuous investment and we at Space Gym will always support them in the best possible ways. The Space Gym management would like to publicly extend best wishes to all our athletes and we look forward to them excelling once again at the senior body building championships.”

Crawford, Mangal, Adams, Graham shine at Michael Parris Pepsi U16 Boxing tourney

As part of their preparation for the upcoming Caribbean Schoolboys boxing tournament which is slated to be held in Guyana in August, The Guyana Boxing Association held its annual Michael Parris Pepsi U16 schools boys tournament yesterday at the Andrew Lewis gym in Albouystown. Several boxers turned in c o m m e n d a b l e performances, while there were two exhibition bouts which provided added entertainment. Vickacy Graham of Forgotten Youth Foundation (FYF) gained the walk over from Hazel Adams of Vergenoegen Boxing Gym (VBG) before Moses Crawford (FYF) won his

bout against Kellan Pierre of Harpy Eagles boxing gym (HE). Pierre opted not to continue the fight eight seconds into the second round. Michael Mangal of FYF defeated Joel Mamers (HE) by unanimous decision, while Alex Adams (VBG) won in similar fashion against Colin Williams (HE). Seon Graham handed FYF another win when the referee stopped his contest against Dextroy Brimmo (HE) one minute 24 seconds into the third round. Alesha Jackman and Abiola Jackman then entertained the crowd in an all female exhibition bout before Joel Anthony (HE) (Continued on page 75)

Respective winners with their hardware.

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 24, 2018

B/ce Zone Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Competition

Capacity crowd turnout for opening night action -Mayor of NA kicks off tournament Mayor of New Amsterdam Winifred Haywood executes the ceremonial kick off to signal the start of competition on Friday evening.

A capacity crowd that included Mayor of New A m s t e r d a m Wi n i f r e d Haywood, Guinness Brand Manager Lee Baptiste, Berbice Branch Manager Joshua Torrezao, GT Beer Brand Manager Jeoff Clement among others witnessed the opening night of the Berbice Zone which is being played, at the New Amsterdam Stelling. The commencement followed a short break after the conclusion of the East Coast Zone, but the increasingly popular street phenomenon once again enjoyed massive support from fans and the teams that battled for Round of 16 spots did not disappoint as they produced some exciting matches to crown a wonderful restart to competition. Wi t h a c h a n c e t o compete in the national playoffs and prize monies totaling in excess of $700,000 up for grabs, fans were treated to a sizzling exhibition of skill in the shorter version of the game. Among the early winners were Hopetown, Dam Boys,

Trafalgar, Tucber Giants and Street Knights. The Competition was set to resume last evening with more action, at the same venue where another large crowd is anticipated. Below are the night’s full results: Guinness Goal-(GG)-2 Goals Game-1 N o . # 5 - A v s Yo u n g Strikers-A Young Strikers-A won via walkover Game-2 Hopetown-2 vs Young Strikers-1 Hopetown Scorers Cedric Osbourne-4th Darren Douglas-15th Young Strikers Scorer Andrew Chisolm-8th Game-3 Canje-0 vs Dam Boys-0 Dam Boys won 1-0 on penalty kicks Game-4 Goal-Last United vs Soccer Ville Soccer Ville won via walkover Game-5 Trafalgar-2 vs Tucber Stars-1 Trafalgar Scorers

Adrian Price-(GG)-19th Tucber Scorers Colin Bowry-5th Game-6 Rose Hall Town-0 vs Tucber Giants-8 Graham Thomas-7th, 13th and (GG)-19th John Lyte-(GG)-18th Xavier Fraser-5th Rawle Caesar-14th Game-7 Street Knights-3 vs Ol Skool-0 Kevin Dey-(GG)-18th Reshawn Pilgrim-6th Game-8 Yo u n g S q u a d v s Platinum Squad Platinum won via walkover Game-9 City Ville-0 vs Top-7-0 To p - 7 w o n 1 - 0 o n penalty kicks Game-10 Prison-0 vs Twenties-1 Kevon Williams-7th Game-11 Lichfield United-0 vs Big Ballers-0 Lichfield won 2-1 on sudden death penalty kicks Game-12 Orealla Falcons-3 vs NA Constabulary-2

Part of the action on opening night of the 2018 Berbice Zone of the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Competition.

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GOA Olympic Day Open Doubles Badminton Tournament 2018 underway The Guyana Olympic Association Olympic Day OPEN DOUBLES Badminton opened Friday at the National Gymnasium. Olympic Day is celebrated world-wide on June 23rd of each year under the pillars “Move, Learn, Discover”.The Opening Night saw action in the Men Open Doubles, Ladies Open Round Robin Doubles and the Men Open Consolation Doubles Tournament. National Ladies Junior & Senior Champion Priyanna Ramdhani, who just graduated from Marian Academy and after the ceremony went over to the Badminton courts and placed her name as the Ladies Open Doubles Champion when she and her partner Greer Jackson defeated: Christina Kumar & Shivannie Persaud: 21-9, 218 Jayde DaSilva & Stephanie Sagar: 21-14, 215 Ay a n n a W i c k h a m Watson & Emily Ramdhani: 21-8, 21-7 Coming in the second place were Shivannie Persaud & Christina Kumar who defeated: Jayde DaSilva & Stephine Sagar: 21-13, 2115 Ay a n n a W i c k h a m Watson & Emily Ramdhani: 21-16, 22-20 In third place was Ayanna Wickham-Watson & Emily Ramdhani who defeated: Jayde DaSilva & Stephanie Sagar: 21-3, 21-7 In the Open Men Doubles, National Champion Narayan

Priyanna Ramdhani and Greer Jackson Ramdhani, who is on vacation from his Badminton Scholarship Programme in Canada, teamed up with Jonathan Mangra to reach the finals after they defeated Dr. Nicholas Waldron & Gokarn Ramdhani: 21-10, 21-8 in the first round and in the start of the first match in the Semi-Finals against Javid Rahaman and Easa Sanichara, they were awarded a walk-over as Javid Rahaman twisted his ankle with the score at 1-0. Other Matches Played in the Open Men Doubles were: Round 1: Javid Rahaman & Easa Sanichara defeated Sekhar Mallampati & Mahendra Sharma: 21-7, 21-9 Ronald Chang Yuen & Akili Haynes (who also graduated from Marian Academy) defeated Johann Waldron & Isaac Mallampati: 21-10, 2115 Marlon Chung & Darrell Carpenay defeated upcoming junior stars

Matthew Beharry & Vikash Mootoo: 21-6, 21-4 SEMI-FINALS: Marlon Chung & Darrell Carpenay defeated Ronald Chang Yuen & Akili Haynes: 21-16, 21-15 OPEN MEN DOUBLES CONSALATION TOURNAMENT: Gokarn Ramdhani & Dr. Nicholas Wadron defeated Johann Waldron & Isaac Mallampati in the Finals: 219, 21-10 Other matches played in the consolation rounds were: Gokarn Ramdhani & Dr. Nicholas Waldron defeated Sekhar Mallampati & Mahendra Sharma: 21-14, 21-7 Johann Waldron & Isaac Mallampati defeated Matthew Beharry & Vikash Mootoo: 21-14, 21-18 The finals were played yesterday in the Open Men Doubles between Narayan Ramdhani & Jonathan Mangra against Marlon Chung & Darrell Carpenay. The presentation was done after to the respective winners.

Sports Policy Lack substance says athletics coach With the national sports policy draft being made public it lacks substantial framework. Andy MedasKing the founder and organizer of the King-Medas Pansy Adonis Foundation is of the view that the government should have consulted with the different organizations in order to make this decision. How can you draft a policy like that without the input of the various sports bodies; in the view of Mr. Medas-King its 90% short of what it should stand for. While it could be said otherwise this bill is very important for the good of the country and the athletes and

coaches, while none of them have an input in the draft. Medas-King was quick to say that as a game changer in the area of track and field in Guyana with his games, the sports policy team needs to meet with the coaches and heads of the different organizations to move ahead with something that will work for the people. While not going into details about what needs to be done Mr. Medas-King said that he’s open to an invitation so that he can make an input and things can be put into place. “This policy is for the country it’s for the future of the nation’s top athletes so when it come to my country I

will definitely put my best foot forward, I will bring in some of the best experts even if I have to pay for their plane tickets to be in Guyana, I will that’s how serious this situation is. This is not to say that I’m trying to discredit anyone all I’m saying is, there are very few persons in Guyana who really understand what a sports policy needs to be like.” “At the local level we can consult with and deliberate on a number of issues but the bottom line is what is going to work for best of our country,” he noted. Mr. Medas-King who has shown a great amount of new (Continued on page 75)

rt o p S Claire Fraser-Green - Female Winner

Briton John Junior Champ

P. 79 GCF National Championships 2018 – Individual Time Trials

Jeffrey (Snr.), Fraser-Green -Female repeat winners; Briton John (Jnrs), Sukhai (Masters)

Late Kroos winner against Sweden keeps Germany alive

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Germany’s Toni Kroos scores their second goal to keep their hopes alive. (REUTERS/Hannah McKay)

GABBFF Seniors 2018

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Space Gym athletes confident of setting the stage on fire; training progressing smoothly

Four-Time Mr. Guyana Kerwyn Clarke (right) and reigning Mr. Guyana Bruce Whatley during the pose-down at the 2017 championships. (Franklin Wilson photo)

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