Kaieteur News

Kaieteur News

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Wednesday June 27, 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

PULLING WOOL OVER THE PEOPLE’S EYES While many Guyanese understandably remain skeptical about the one-sided oil contract signed between ExxonMobil and the government, the ship continues to sail. The company recently announced success with its eighth well, and has confirmed that the first barrel of oil will be pumped in March 2020 as scheduled. The company has estimated that the oil discovered at the Liza, Payara, Snoek and Turbot region of Essequibo would generate well over three billion barrels, which would eventually lead to a production of approximately 500,000 barrels per day. It is also estimated that oil will generate over US$7 billion in royalty and profit for Guyana over the life of the Liza 1 project. Meanwhile, both the oil giant and the fawning Guyana government continue to fend off criticisms of the oil contract, the US$18 million signing bonus and the recent released list related to Exxon’s definition of local content as highlighted in this publication. The government has proudly displayed Exxon’s list of 227 ‘companies’ that it claimed it has worked with in Guyana. Many are bemoaning the sad state of affairs in Guyana; particularly as it relates to the way the government has allowed the U.S. oil giant to insult the citizens of Guyana with its padded list. The excuse offered by the government for accepting the list is disappointing. The mere fact that the government accepted such a padded list from ExxonMobil shows that it did a very poor assessment, if any, of the list, and should take responsibility for such colossal embarrassment. But the people should not in any way, shape or form tolerate the condescending attitude of Exxon’s representatives. It is blatantly insulting for Exxon to even think that Guyanese would accept whatever they are being told. However, its representatives know that it has the support of the government and therefore, it can say or do anything and would not be rebuked. It is also aware that it is dealing with a very inexperienced administration with little or no expertise in the oil and gas industry. Therefore, the government would accept crumbs offered by the company. To know that the country is being ripped-off by Exxon is one thing, but for the government, which should represent the interest of the people, to not know what local content should entail, is backward, disgusting and outrageous. The list of the companies/contractors which Exxon claimed that it has used in the first quarter of 2018 has the names of media houses - in which it placed advertisements - restaurants, food outlets, a municipal market and several other peripheral entities, along with four dozen individuals. However, several international local content experts have contended that it is important for the government to understand the difference between local content and spending that benefits the local economy. They have stated that advertisements in local newspapers and catering and hotel services should not be considered local content, because Exxon did not have a choice. It cannot advertise for jobs in Guyana in foreign newspapers or purchase cooked food daily from abroad. It had to utilize the local media, restaurants and food outlets, and even though the money spent would benefit the economy, it is not local content. The use of restaurants, hotels, media outlets and other local services which the company had to use should not be characterized as local content in terms of value creation. Local content involves investment in the development of local skills, the transfer and use of technology, the expansion of local manpower and the growth of local manufacturing. ExxonMobil is pulling wool over the people’s eyes.

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.

Third-term presidential bid - CCJ Upholds the Guyana Constitution Dear Editor, It was the right of those who felt the need to challenge the Constitution of Guyana and exercise their will in the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) to seek to have former president Bharrat Jagdeo serve a third term in office outside of the constitutional framework. It is not the right to test that is wrong but the issue that was brought before the Court failed the test of law. This issue of a third term as President of the Cooperative Republic has occupied tremendous time and much energy of the people-- on both sides of the political divide-- given what it was felt to mean or hoping to achieve. And this atmosphere has not been without rancour, boast and trepidation of what it could mean if the ruling goes one way or the other. That being said, the ruling of the CCJ to uphold

the Constitution of Guyana sends a signal to all countries of the Caribbean, all peoples of the Caribbean, that their respective constitution will be upheld by this highest decisionmaking forum of justice in the Region. For Guyanese it brings hope and a sense of validation that the Constitution sets no one above the law, and everyone can be held similarly accountable to this instrument. Even as we mull the CCJ’s ruling we must also pay cognisance to Article 90 Clause 2(a) that a person elected as president after the year 2000 “is eligible for reelection only once” and at Clause (3) that a person who acceded to the presidency after the year 2000 and served therein on a single occasion for not less than such period as may be determined by the National

Assembly “is eligible for election as president only once.” I n s o f a r a s National/General Elections apply to the entire List of Representatives which is considered being elected, it means that anyone not satisfying the aforesaid and other presidential requirements would be ineligible. The CCJ’s decision also brings attention to the importance of giving our Constitution the rightful respect it deserves. What this decision also reinforces is the importance of pursuing public education and awareness that would bring about compliance and enforcement. The two-term limit broadens the spectrum for more Guyanese participating at this level of decisionmaking and said office. It is hoped members of the respective political parties

and people of Guyana will see this as a positive sign for our fledgling democracy, and be encouraged to further activities to deepen and strengthen our various rules and laws to give more meaning to our Constitution. All Guyanese are encouraged to be vigilant in protecting and defending these values. The best test of the Constitution is the court of law. Many of those who have advocated for constitutional change/reform or disregard have not put it to the test, and the few times it has been tested, the Constitution has proven its worth. The Constitution rules without fear or favour. Persons may not like the decision, particularly when it goes against them. No decision of the court has ever pleased a 100 percent of the people but the Rule of Law must prevail. Lincoln Lewis

Reconsidering Amaila Hydroproject Dear Editor, When I was in Parliament I was rotating as chairman of the Economics Services Committee [ESC] with Gail Teixeria of the PPP. We asked GPL to come before the committee to tell us what is going on at GPL and in particular, what were their plans to explore renewable power opportunities for Guyanese. This was some time late in 2008 or early 2009. The minutes of this meeting are there in Parliament for any enterprising young reporter to investigate. I am not sure if the then PM Samuel Hinds was with the delegation. I believe that he was, but Board Chairman Winston Brassington and CEO Bharat Dindyal were there. What I heard at that time was that the Amaila Hydropower project would cost US$180 million to build the dam, and US$200 million to bring the power to the coast— a total of US$380 M. Some time in 2009 I left Guyana to live temporarily in the US and returned in 2011. I say temporarily, since I have never applied for a Green Card to live in the US. When I came back after an absence of less than two

years, the cost of Amaila had risen to US$800 million. Now in a recent article we are told that Minister Trotman is saying that it is now tagged at US$900Mplus and is still on the table as far as he is concerned. This hydro project is set to generate 165 megawatts and was deemed too costly by this same government, as recently as last year 2017. Also why build a plant which can barely service us now? Most of our big manufacturing businesses generate their own power—all the fisheries, all the drinks manufacturers including Banks, DDL, all the sawmills, places like Giftland, etc., Banks alone has a one-megawatt Generator. So if the present Demerara-Berbice interconnected system is currently supplying around 125-130 megawatts, are we estimating that all of the big businesses now selfgenerating, only account for 30 Megawatts? And if that is so, what about expanding new and existing business? Unless this government’s policy has deviated from the Hoyte policy of letting the private sector fuel the growth of the Guyana economy, is no

longer in effect? And for example, what are we planning to do with our Bauxite? Keep selling the raw ore for US$35/Ton forever? Or try to make aluminium which sells at between $2000-2500 US /ton. To have hydro power potential such as ours estimated at 7.5 Megawatts and Bauxite ore in the same country is a gift from the Almighty. I did not say so, this link to Norway says so:https://www.hydro.com/en/ products/energy/Hydropow er-and-aluminium. “Ever since Hydro started producing aluminium in 1963, hydropower has been a critical part of the process. You could almost say that hydropower was the reason why aluminium production could start up at all”. “Hydropower + aluminium = success, the plant in Karmøy is a typical example of how hydropower and aluminium production has been a successful partnership throughout Hydro’s history. “ Wi t h o u t N o r w a y ’s unique hydropower history we [Norway} could not have become one of the world’s top aluminium nations”. President Burnham knew it,

but I believe that the British and Americans did not want him to have the ‘power’ of making Aluminium which is a very strategic metal and getting more important. The Tesla motor car’s entire body is made of aluminium to make it light for Battery operation, so aluminium will get even more important as time goes on. Most engine blocks are now made from Aluminium, the aircraft industry uses a lot of it as well. One ton of Bauxite sells for between US$32-US$38. One ton of Alumina sells for around US$300 per ton but the alumina price has been fluctuating quite a bit, “Metal Bulletin’s ‘benchmark alumina index’ recorded lows of US$198 in December 2015, which rallied to highs of $481 in October 2017, with multiple ups and downs in between.” Two tons of Bauxite is normally required to make one ton of Alumina, but the purity of the ore will make it higher or lower, and four tons of bauxite or two tons of Alumina are required to make one ton of Aluminium. All that is separating us from selling aluminium at US$2000-US$2500per ton, which is made from four tons (Continued on page 5)

Wednesday June 27, 2018

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Jagdeo is fighting for political Montrose residents want protection from a noise nuisance survival and relevance Dear Editor, Kindly permit me to express myself while also assisting other residents in Montrose, East Coast Demerara about a most dreadful noise nuisance that emanates on a daily basis from the “Cheers Bar & Grill”, which is located at Lot 8, Montrose Railway embankment. I would also like to publicly call on Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, and Commissioner of Police (ag) David Ramnarine to address the matter with urgency. Over the past 12 months residents of Montrose has been living at the mercy of this bar. The owners have no consideration for the people who are living around its immediate environment. Most nights we cannot have a good night sleep, because of the loud music. Due to lack of rest at nights, we cannot concentrate and work the next day, as we always have a drowsy feeling, sometimes headaches, and lack of energy as well. Please note, some of us have huge bank loans to repay, hence we have to work. Some of us are on daily “Pressure medication”, and when these tablets are taken and we cannot have our sleep, we feel like we are “running mad”. Students cannot concentrate on their studies at nights. There are elderly and sick persons in the area who are affected as well. Babies keep “jumping” out of their

sleep. Our windows keep vibrating from the bass of the music. They just don’t have any regards for us and the curfew time as set out by the law enforcement, since they would close off sometimes at 4.00 a.m and 5.00 a.m. in the morning. We have been desperately crying out for “help” since March 18th, 2017 and to date, nothing has changed, even though letters were sent to the following Public Officers. After twelve continuous months of misery from this bar, and no help seem forthcoming; our question is, are we promoting a “lawless” society, instead of a decent environment for our children? The vulgar lyrics that come out from that bar are not what we would like for our young children. At an early age, their little minds have started to grow in a negative direction, as against to good values in life. We cannot continue to live with this noise; it is having negative health effects on us. It is driving us to the limit. Yes, it is driving us to the limit. Please Honourable Minister and Commissioner of Police, look into this matter with immediate effect. It is not going down well. People need to sleep when the night comes. If you have to CLOSE the business, then do so. Residents in Atlantic Gardens are terribly affected as well.

GuySuCo management mistreats staff Dear Editor, Employees of the Guyana Sugar Corporation have to go through a very inhumane and inconsiderate fate every month of not being paid their salaries on time. There are bills - rents, mortgages and installments that need to be paid. Yet the management appears to have this “don’t care attitude”, because their salaries are huge and can cover them for the month and over.

What happens to the lower level who live from pay cheque to pay cheque? We all understand that the Corporation doesn’t have money but staff need to be paid for what they worked.When asked (Continued on page 6)

Just for information purposes, our investigation on the opening of this bar on March 18, 2017 revealed, they were NOT in possession of any permission from the L.B.I. / Better hope NDC to erect any building; no approval from the Ministry of Housing; no approval from the GRA to sell liquor; no approval from the E.P.A to play music within the limit of the law, and a cut off time of 11.0 p.m. Yet this building went up, opened its doors and it is business as normal; no one can touch them. What are the regulatory bodies doing? It will appear that the law only applies to those who do not have contacts. Why do the people who are living around that bar have to struggle to get justice, struggle to get a good night rest, so that their bodies can recuperate to go on the next day? Why must they tolerate the lawlessness and vulgarity which goes on there on almost a daily basis, by a handful of people? It is indeed regrettable that we have to move to the Minister’s level to seek help, so that we can continue to live in our homes with peace when the night comes. Many nights after 2.00 a. m there seem to be no sign of lowering the music. The DJ with the “mic”, usually be in full flow. We trust that immediate action will be taken against this bar, and we iterate, this bar should be closed, because it will continue to have our lives in misery. It is NOT easy, having to endure this NOISE continuously and we all do look forward to your personal intervention, as your sub-ordinates seems incapable of dealing with this particular matter. Thanking you for your prompt action. Kind regards, Concerned Citizen

Dear Editor, It should come as no surprise. Today, the Caribbean Court of Justice announced its decision on the so-called third term ruling that once and for all answered the questions of former President Bharrat Jagdeo. There is no amount of white-washing that Jagdeo can do to overcome this disrespect that he has foisted on Guyanese. It is clear that his hands are in the case brought on by Cedric Ric hardson, who burst out to the sunlight from nowhere. Jagdeo and his party were in Government when an important agreement was brokered to ensure that no president should have more than two terms, period. The reason for this is clear. No president, and for that matter, no Government or political party should believe that the offices at Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Bourda belong to them. It is not a birthright. The CCJ rightly struck down Jagdeo’s attempt today. Jagdeo came into power suddenly and there were many who looked upon this

young man with hope, for the status quo to change. His ideas seemed out-of-the-box and welcomed. But something happened in the mid2000s and something of a dictatorship was birthed. Jagdeo and his party seemed on a runaway train to create an elite group of party people, and contractors whose waterholes on Main Street and in Kitty were indicative of the sad state. The crime wave, the seeming protection that a few powerful minions enjoyed, galled Guyana. It provoked the people so much that the 2011 dismal results came as no surprise to Jagdeo’s handpicked man, Donald Ramotar. Everybody knew who the real president was between 2011-2015. The radio licences were but one example of how petty the party leaders descended. Let us not even talk about the Guyana Sugar Corporation. For a party to sit and do little while the corporation crumbled under its feet is unforgivably. The blame has to be laid fully in the lap of the PPP executives who ruled this country for two decades. The writ-

ing was on the wall long before the Coalition Government took office. We will not even talk about the financing structures of the Berbice Bridge and Marriott. Jagdeo (not Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, Doctor as he would prefer) attempted to prepare the way if the CCJ did not rule in the favor of Richardson. CCJ’s decision will have implications for Jagdeo, the Politician. It is simple. He is not as well liked as he wants Guyana to believe. He is popular but not liked. The old heads view him with deep suspicion and there is an uneasiness in the party. The reality is Jagdeo is running scared. It will be all over for him today if the decision does not go his way. He made it clear over the weekend that he will continue to serve in the party come 2020. Jagdeo made it clear that he is unwilling to give up the party’s top position, that of General Secretary. Who do you think will be the real president? And why does Jagdeo insist on remaining General Secretary? Mike Singh Sr.

Reconsidering Amaila Hydroproject... From page 4 of Bauxite Ore [US$35x4] which earns only US$140, is electrical power!! Even if we leave this bauxite in private hands [Chinese] we will still insist that they must make aluminium, or we should buy the ore and make the aluminium ourselves. We must stop putting decision makers in power with a salt goods shop mentality. The PPP Government refused to subsidize the Bauxite Industry which has led to its sorry state today. Mr. Jagdeo himself said words to the effect that the

industry can do what it wants to do, as long as he does not have to supplement it from the consolidated fund. I personally heard him say so at a media brief when I was the publisher of the Evening News. My reaction is that it is too small to do much except make our current power more reliable, but at that high cost of US$900+ million for that small amount of power, it is probably a dicey project in terms of making our power cheap enough to make us competitive. If so, what would be the point of doing it? It’s just

posturing. It’s supposed to be a closed issue! The Government of Norway has released the report on the review of the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP) done by Norconsult, an engineering and design consultancy firm out of Norway.It was commissioned to complete an ‘objective and facts-based’ assessment of the project on the agreement of two Governments”. In 2018, exactly one year later to the day, Minister Trotman is now saying that it is still on the table. Tony Vieira

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Some sugar workers are depressed Dear Editor, The June 24, 2018 Stabroek News reported that a coordinating committee has been established regarding GuySuCo’s ‘Sustainable and Resilient Communities Programme’ and ‘Alternative Livelihoods Initiative’. For the GAWU, the establishment of a committee, now six months after the workers of Skeldon, Rose Hall and East Demerara were made jobless and eighteen months since a similar fate met the Wales workers, in our sincere view, says a mouthful. The belated establishment of a ‘committee’ clearly demonstrates that there was and, from all appearances, still is no plan or even a concerted effort to address the well-being and welfare of the thousands of ordinary Guyanese who have been affected by the wrong decisions to close sugar estates. Certainly, GuySuCo and the authorities had, in our view, significant lead time to properly plan and devise workable solutions to

mitigate the loss of the workers’ livelihoods. The fact that this is now being done nearly at the end of the second half of 2018 confirms the view that there was not even a glancing thought regarding how workers and their families would make out following the closing of the estates doors. We cannot help but wonder, whether the ‘high-powered’ committee is aware of the realities that the jobless sugar workers and their families now face. Do they know that some workers cannot provide sufficient, healthy meals for their families? Do they know that some workers have had to remove their children from school? Do they know that some workers have found themselves in a depressive state? Do they know that families have broken up? It seems to us, that the stage-show committee, sitting, in air conditioned board rooms, far away from the suffering spawned by closure of estates is un-

aware of the present-day realities in the communities linked to the now closed estates. The use of catchy names and having nice pictures of meetings mean very little to the workers and their families who are caught literally between a rock and a hard place. If the committee is really serious it needs to go to the communities to interact with the workers, find out what are their problems and devise appropriate solutions to address the difficulties they face. The seeming satellite approach cannot and, in our sincere view, will not work. The GAWU also saw that the Ministry of Natural Resources, according to the June 25, 2018 Stabroek News, has sponsored a training programme which will train about 100 persons in several fields. Of the 100-person cohort, we recognise, some retrenched sugar workers will benefit. The GAWU welcomes this training programme, which will address a very small amount of the displaced workers. At the same time, we cannot help but wonder whether any careful consideration has been given to trainees securing employment with their new-found skills as it can very well negate the impact of the training. We also wonder whether any assessment has been done regarding the availability of such skills in Region Six and whether the trainees will join a saturated market. These, we believe, among other things, should be fully well thought-out before embarking on programmes of this nature. At this time, while the grass is growing, the horse is starving and the jobless workers are finding it harder day by day. For the now dismissed sugar workers, they need urgent action not cheap talk. Yours faithfully, Seepaul Narine General Secretary GAWU

Wednesday June 27, 2018

PPP Undermining Local Development and the organs Dear Editor, As the country will once again have another round of Local Government Elections later this year under this APNU+AFC Government, much criticism is being levelled by the opposition PPP as to the development taking place under the NDC’s and Township of Guyana. Every day we are hearing the cry of the PPP leaders that nothing is being done to enhance communities in this country. We heard of works hardly being done in certain areas that are governed by PPP. We heard the cry that the monies given to the NDC’s are not enough and more is needed. We heard that the PPP does not want more NDC’s created. But we need to understand and know the facts about the real situation affecting some NDCs and Municipalities to function or carry out their mandate accordingly to develop various communities. As we all know, the PPP does not want to see or take part in any development process that will better the lives of the people in the various communities. So, the facts are quite clear because the PPPcontrolled NDC’s and Municipalities have to listen and act accordingly as to what they must do to hamper the village development. PPP having their controlled NDC’s and municipalities undermining the development will be a positive for the PPP to badmouth the Government when it comes to development. But we must all be aware that it is those very entities officials who are failing the people that elected them to serve. So, the fact is clear. It can be seen that the PPP and its elected officials are failing the people that elected them to serve. Many of those officials and I can speak for Region Five, whereby all of the PPP controlled NDC’s have

their elected officials taking advice from Freedom House at Bath. Those elected officials are failing the people and undermining development. Many times they will send the residents to the RDC to seek help to get the potholes on their streets fix or to get a dead animal away from the roadway or to have better drainage for cash crops, etc. The NDCs have responsibilities; they must execute those responsibilities without fear or favour no matter what. They must start to do work in the community that will enhance the areas. But, No, what they do?. Instead of the NDCs making budget proposals to fix streets and dams or drains, they proposed and spent a large amount of their budget to erect bars across the streets that need fixing. They should have fixed the streets and then erect those bars. Can you imagine that a street bar within Bath\Woodley Park NDC, West Coast Berbice is erected at the middle of the street almost in front of my bridge? This leaves both sides of the street to damage except where the bar is erected. Is that good management? The NDCs must be able to manage their resources and “YES” that is why I supported Hon. Minister Ronald Bulkan MP to have more NDCs created. Why? Too many of the NDCs cannot manage the areas that fall within their boundaries and hardly anything is being done. Because of that, people are crying out for development. When one set of people from one village pay their taxes and expect to see things done within the same village, it does not happen. The NDC divert the monies to other projects in other villages within its boundaries that are hardly paying their taxes. Creating more NDC’s within some of the areas will surely help. So, it is very hard for that NDC to manage on a day to day basis those areas. It’s hard to get work done in all of the areas, notwithstanding less than 30% of developmental works is being done

within that PPP controlled NDC. There are more large NDC’s that need downsizing within Region Five. So, for me, I fully agreed for those large NDC’s to be downsized so that the people can see development. This is the way to go not the way the PPP is thinking, they have no plans for development because for almost two decades they shutdown local democracy. Every time someone goes to the RDCs seeking assistance for work to be done in their community, they always say that some officials of the NDC said that the Government didn’t give them monies to do any work for the year. That’s total lies and deception from most of the PPP controlled local organs. It is being said also that some of the officials of those entities are telling the residents to go ask APNU and AFC to do the work needed. Imagine the awkward thinking of those elected officials. Over the past three years, residents of the Mahaica-Berbice Region can proudly say that the RDC always assists them whenever complaints are made and help is requested. The RDC works with most of the NDCs in ensuring that the people are benefiting when it comes to development. Some of the NDC’s that are PPP controlled are the ones that I think are having the most assistance from the RDC but yet those very NDC’s are crying foul. Residents of MahaicaBerbice Region (Reg.5), as we are gearing up for Local Government Elections later in the year, let us not be fooled by some that come from elsewhere and tell us who to vote for. Let’s not play politics with our local development. Let’s ensure that local development comes first and that we demand from our elected officials better representation at the local level. The PPP must take full responsibilities for the undermining of local development and its organs. Regards Abel Seetaram.

GuySuCo management... From page 5 when are salaries going to be paid they are only told “some time next week”. Mr. Editor what would happen to our family; our children going to school? Banks and auto dealers will step in and re possess. Is this how they intend to go forward to a resilient environment? Stressing employees? I am pleading with the government and Management to look into this matter and let us receive our salaries on time. Concerned staff.

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Wednesday June 27, 2018

There should be no secrets in future Ex-lover to go on trial for attempting Public-Private projects - Goolsarran to murder ‘child mother’

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or the time being, the Government of Guyana has been praised by most for moving ahead with plans to construct a Demerara Bridge-crossing at Houston, Georgetown. But all those praises can go down the drain if it fails to be transparent and accountable with the people. Making this statement recently in his writings was Chartered Accountant and former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran. The columnist noted that the government is using a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model to ensure the success of the project. He noted however, that such arrangements can be very complex, sometimes involving the use of proprietary information, intellectual property and issues of privacy. Goolsarran commented, “Therefore, an appropriate balance needs to be found to satisfy the needs and expectations of the public. It will be unacceptable for confidentiality clauses to be inserted in any proposed agreement that will prevent the public from having a proper understanding of the project, its cost structure and basis under which the toll fees have been arrived at.” In spite of his concerns, Goolsarran said that the proposed construction of the new Demerara Bridge-crossing is a welcome development to ease the severe daily traffic congestion on the East Bank Demerara roadway, especially from Diamond to Georgetown. He remarked, “One hopes that the works will

Chartered Accountant, Anand Goolsarran be completed in the shortest possible period of time and that the fees to be charged for the bridge-crossing will not be exorbitant.” Given the Government’s expressed desire to adopt the PPP approach to certain infrastructure development works and service delivery, Goolsarran cautioned, nonetheless, that extreme care needs to be taken not to repeat the mistakes of the past. One of the most controversial PPP arrangements in the past is the Marriott Hotel. Since talks of its establishment in 2011 to now, the media and other industry stakeholders have been unable to see the full Marriott Hotel contract because of “confidentiality clauses.” The coalition administration had promised to make the contract public if it got into office, but this is still to materialize. In the interest of transpar-

ency and accountability, Chairman of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), Dr. Maurice Odle had also said that the contract for the controversial Marriott Hotel should be made public. Odle had remarked that too often, the citizenry hears of agreements being made between the Government and private parties, and when there is a call for scrutiny to take place, “the infamous confidentiality clause is invoked.” The NICIL Chairman added, “And where there is too much in terms of confidentiality clauses it leads to corruption, as in the case of the Marriott Hotel. For the Marriott, too many confidentiality clauses led it into the avenue of corruption. All those different confidentiality clauses they were invoking led to a set of actions which cannot be substantiated.” Odle emphasized that the more the nature of such agreements are known to the electors and the taxpayers on whose behalf the Government is acting, then the better it will be for the accomplishment of good governance in Guyana. But when asked to say if he will provide a copy of the Marriott Hotel contract to the media, he declined. He had said, “I am Chairman of NICIL and not Atlantic Holdings Inc. (AHI) which is the Board overseeing the operations of Marriott...”

Forty-six-year-old Cleveland Williams was yesterday committed to stand trial at the High Court in Georgetown for attempting to kill his daughter’s mother, whom he said accidentally fell on a knife – twice – that was in his hand. Williams, of 70 D’Urban Street, Lodge, who worked at the popular HJ Water World as a maintenance man, was not required to plead to the charge which alleged that on April 17, at D’Urban Street, Lodge, he unlawfully and maliciously wounded Loshanna Boyce with intent to commit murder. The two previously shared a relationship and have a two-year-old daughter, whom the mother had just dropped to school when the incident took place. At the conclusion of the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) yesterday, Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman ruled that there was sufficient evidence against Williams for him to stand trial before a judge and jury. Williams will go on trial at the next practicable sitting of the Demerara Assizes. Police Prosecutor Shawn Gonsalves yesterday maintained his objection to bail, citing the serious nature of the offence and the penalty the charge attracts. According to court facts, the incident escalated from an argument between Boyce and Williams, after he confronted her about some snacks she was supposed to collect for their daughter. Williams denied that he had stabbed the woman intentionally and claimed that he took out the knife during the altercation and they ended up in the trench while fighting. He further stated that he had just slapped her and then his family came out to part them. Williams throughout the PI maintained that he did not deliberately stab the woman and told the court that she accidentally fell on the knife twice during the scuffle. Boyce had a restraining order against him due to domestic abuse. Williams in pleading with the Magistrate to grant him bail stated “I’m sorry, it was an

Cleveland Williams accident. I accidentally got myself into this problem because my vision blur.” Williams added that he would like to be given the opportunity to work and provide for his children until his matter is called in the High Court. Despite his pleas, bail was denied and he was remanded.

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Wednesday June 27, 2018

No third term for Jagdeo From page 3 CCJ, Attorney General Basil Williams had noted that the origin of the presidential term limit amendment dated back to political unrest in 1997. Williams had highlighted the signing of a peace pact between the People’s Progressive Party /Civic (PPP/ C) and the then-opposition People’s National Congress, (PNC) in 1998 named the Herdmanston Accord. That pact, Williams said, provided the constitutional reform after broad-based national consultations. The CCJ President had asked Attorney General and Richardson’s lawyer to compile and submit documents to the Court to support these arguments. Justice Anderson, in his dissent, agreed with the Court of Appeal of Guyana that the amendment was unconstitutional, because it resulted in the exclusion of probably thousands of otherwise eligible Guyanese citizens from being elected as President, without seeking the approval of the people by referendum. He considered that this was an unacceptable constraint on the sovereignty of the people of Guyana to choose their President as provided for in Articles 1 and 9. DEMOCRACY In the ruling, the CCJ examined Guyana’s history as it relates to being a democratic State. The Court noted that the

best way of extracting the relevant meaning of “democracy” and the sovereign “power of the people” in Guyana is through an analysis of the internal discussion and struggles in Guyana as it relates to these concepts rather than from the importation of concepts from outside.The idea of the democracy and sovereignty of the people has been extended in the public domain for the last three-quarters of a century. These are recent and modern concepts in Guyana, because prior to 1953 they could not be applied to Guyana under the British colonial regime that governed it. In looking at the history of democracy in Guyana, this Court was assisted by the report of the Constitutional Reform Commission presented to the National Assembly of Guyana on 17 July 1999 which was tendered. It and its contents were not challenged, and we have regarded it as an authoritative source of the facts stated in it,” the CCJ added. ARGUMENTS In March, in his representation of Richardson, Trinidadian Senior Counsel, Douglas Mendes, noted the importance of fighting the case on its merits and delay could not be raised as a defence. “The delay cannot affect or cannot constitutionalise an unconstitutional statute.” Mendes said delay cannot

constitutionalise a void act, and it should not be used as a basis to throw out the case, because it would be unfair to use it to protect the unconstitutional law. “That is wrong, it is wrong and unfair, and it is contrary to the rule of law,” he said in reaction to the decision by the Attorney General Basil Williams to raise that as an issue at that time, instead of in Guyana’s High Court and Court of Appeal. The team representing the State of Guyana – Attorney General, Basil Williams SC, Solicitor General, Kim Kyte, Barbadian Queen’s Counsel Hal Gollop and Attorney Ralph Thorne, nonetheless told the panel of judges that among other things, the amendment could have been made by Parliament and not only via referendum. Elaborating on this point, Queens’ Counsel Gollop noted that the Court of Appeal - specifically former Chancellor (ag) Carl Singh adopted a faulty definition of the term sovereignty Referencing Article 9 of the Constitution, Gollop noted that the law clearly states that “sovereignty belongs to the people, who exercise it through their representatives and the democratic organs established by or under this Constitution.”Gollop told the Court, therefore, that the constitution gives the people the right to have their representatives in Parliament

From left: AG Team: Attorneys Ralph Thorne, Utieka John, AG Basil Williams, Kim Kyte and Queens Counsel Hal Gollop exercise that sovereignty on their behalf.He noted that the Appeal failed to show how that power was contravened or taken away from the people. The QC asserted that that sovereignty was never taken away from citizens, but rather transferred those who represent them. In his submissions, Attorney General Williams noted that two essential issues that should be considered in the matter are sovereignty and democracy. He noted that the Act 17 of 2001 was passed following widespread consultation and a unanimous decision in Parliament. In fact, he noted that the Act was assented to by the then-President Bharrat

Jagdeo, who was the subject in the matter. Responding to inquiries from the Judges in relation to the background of the amendment, the AG told the Court that the Act was drafted following post-election trauma.He explained that there was an agreement between the two political groups towards the deescalation of conflict pursuant to deliberations and consultations were undertaken by a CARICOM Mission. Guyana’s Solicitor General, Kim Kyte made presentations on the issue of delays. She noted that while there is no limit in Guyana’s Constitution to bringing constitutional reliefs, other courts in the Caribbean and

the CCJ itself could not wait for even as little as five years and in this case, against the constitutionality of term limits.“This court has an inherent jurisdiction to protect itself from the abuse of process. The consequence is that it can be seen as acquiescence to the validity of the Act,” Kyte said. The Solicitor General had urged the CCJ to consider, too, the negative impact of upholding the Guyana Court of Appeal decision on the establishment of the various independent commissions on ethnic relations, women and gender, indigenous peoples and human rights. “It will whittle away the various constitutional commissions,” she had told the Court.

Wednesday June 27, 2018

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Kaieteur News

The economy is not providing the good life

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he ordinary citizen is far smarter than most governments think. The ordinary citizen does not expect governments to do miracles; they expect them to honour their promises, keep their word and more importantly, be fair. That is all people expect of their government. The APNU+AFC coalition has found itself on the back foot and retreating in the face of criticisms that it has not kept all of its elections promises; that it has failed to improve the lives of citizens, reduce high youth employment, ensure a safer society and f i n d a l l t h e money which it said was being stolen from the public treasury. The government has been unimaginative in its policies and lackadaisical in its work. Development, at best, has limped along, and some would say that growth is slowing. APNU+AFC, which was critical of the former administration over deals which that administration made, now

stands accused of having a more dubious record, including signing away the future of Guyanese in its deal with ExxonMobil. How does the government respond to its questionable track record? Well, it does what all governments are good at. It makes excuses, blames the previous government, and finds a scapegoat for its inability to fulfill its promises. When the APNU+AFC coalition was in the opposition, it could not feign ignorance of the true state of affairs of the country. It knew what it was getting into and it made promises of the good life to people. It rallied the youth vote on the basis that employment was poor, and it promised to turn things around for the young people. They sold the idea to the people that if they removed the PPPC, things would improve overnight, because the PPPC was stealing so much. They are yet to demonstrate where the money

which was stolen has gone, who stole it, and how it can be recovered. The coalition, instead of following the money, is creating disingenuous charges against members of the former administration. The sugar industry has become the scapegoat. It is said that sugar is draining the economy. But APNU+AFC has bailed out the sugar industry in sums which are many times that which the PPPC provided during the 20112015 term. So where did all this money go? The PPPC has called for an audit of the billions which the APNU+AFC administration says it spent on the sugar industry. The government has not committed to this. The government downsized the sugar industry, sending home more than 5,000 employees. It says that it cannot sustain the operations, which is costing the government billions of dollars each year.

DEM BOYS SEH

De CCJ mek Jagdeo buss cry De CCJ knock de wind out of Jagdeo. It mek he buss cry yesterday. He couldn’t breathe fuh couple hours. This was de same man who tell de world that he wasn’t interested in being president again. Then he tell somebody another time that being president was boring, how he didn’t have time to cut ribbons and shake people hand. But he really want power. In fact, dem boys seh he want it so bad that he try he best… everything he know. He use to slam he head to de wall every day because he decide that he gun sign de constitution reform wha call fuh de term limit. But is de things some people does do. Changee

and de Carl sell dem soul. Is yesterday dem boys realize that Jagdeo mek dem amend de constitution pun dem own. De only thing is that de CCJ tun back de amendment. De judges who throw out de third term seh how dem two mek a strange decision fuh personal gain. But before yesterday, Jagdeo was sure he gun win de third term. He pick row wid some of dem older people in de PPP then he tek control of Freedom House. Nobody couldn’t talk anything bout Jagdeo. People in de party use to vex but dem couldn’t even grumble and leh Jagdeo hear. Ramjattan talk bout Jagdeo and dem throw him out de party. Moses later get vex wid Jagdeo and he and all get

throw out. Sunday Jagdeo prepare a statement and he send it round fuh some people read. Donald tell him right away he deh pun stupidness. He get vex. Dem boys seh he get more vex when Donald seh that de CCJ decision was good fuh Guyana. Henry Jeffrey seh de CCJ decision was bad—it was bad fuh Jagdeo. Don’t talk. Jagdeo vex wid him too. But dem boys seh Jagdeo can serve a third term. All he got to do is change he name. Bharrat Jagdeo can’t serve a third term but if he change he name, he can serve. Talk half and watch Jagdeo come up wid a plan to become president— again.

The lands of the company are now up for privatization. Instead it is now looking to borrow billions, backed by an iron-clad government guarantee, to help restart some of the very factories which it closed, and to put the company in a better shape for privatization. So, instead of continuing to support the company for a short period until it can breakeven, the government opts to borrow billions to make the assets of the company attractive for those who will eventually buy it. The economy is not providing the good life. A few

weeks ago, a major bank put up for sale some palatial properties which it has acquired through foreclosure. The owners obviously could not pay. This is an ominous development. People are losing their property because of the slowdown in business activity. At every stage, the government’s excuses are being rebuffed. The maneuver is to try to blame the people for having unrealistic expectations. The chorus line now is that the government needs to manage expectations. These expectations,

howev er, were not magically pulled out of bag by the people. They were created by the government. It is the very APNU+AFC coalition which promised betterment. Instead, the only booming business at this time is dog food.

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday June 27, 2018

=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===

A tyrannical fool, a foolish tyrant is banished

D

enis Chabrol of Demerara Waves called me for a comment on the legal defeat of Bharrat Jagdeo in the presidential term limit case. The first thing that came out of my mouth was a comparison between Burnham and Jagdeo. I told Chabrol that Burnham was concerned with confronting those who posed a direct threat to him like Walter Rodney, but Jagdeo as president was willing to victimize and repress any critic of his government. He was an intolerant leader that was not prepared to rule even with a modicum of restraint. The publisher of this newspaper told me that I am free to quote him, and I am repeating that quote for the third time in these columns.

Mr. Glenn Lall said that President Ramotar indicated to him that Mr. Jagdeo insisted that the GRA charge him over the duty free controversy. Jagdeo was no longer the president, yet had the power to victimize those he didn’t like. Imagine if it wasn’t for term limits in 2011, he would have been president after 2011. Imagine how many persons would have lost their lives in despair. I quoted a few weeks ago what Anil Nandlall told me and I am repeating it here. I told Anil that I admired his legal erudition, and therefore I expected him to tell Jagdeo that presidents don’t sue academics for their intellectual analyses, and that he should have dissuaded Jagdeo from suing me. Nandlall told me he did advise Jagdeo not to sue.

Imagine this tyrannical fool and foolish tyrant keeps accusing the President and the Government of naked racism, and has challenged the president to debate the issue, yet had the temerity to sue me for merely referring to him as an ideological racist. This is the man that wanted to rule Guyana again in 2020 after enjoying 12 years of de jure authority (19992011) and three years of unofficial power during the Medvedev syndrome of 20112015 under Donald Ramotar. This working class boy from Unity village on the East Coast tasted power, compliments of the Stalinist/fascist instincts of Janet Jagan, and became morbidly obsessed with it. This working class boy, by the time he demitted office, became the personal,

intimate friends of some of the richest men in Guyana. He became fascinated with power and money. But in his world, the two were intricately connected. Theoretically, power and money are not necessarily intertwined. US presidents and European Prime Ministers, Chinese, Indian and Brazilian heads of government have formidable global power, but they do not have wealth. In the case of Guyana, Jagdeo used power to acquire wealth. This combination he wanted to have forever. So with the wealth he possessed, he used it to prolong power. This sickening journey ended yesterday in the island of Trinidad where the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) ruled that a Guyanese president can only serve two terms. I am still at a loss at the poor public relations of the present government. President Jagdeo has abused power in the most heinous ways and facilitated a devouring machine of corruption, yet the colossal facts of his dic-

tatorship are yet to be laid in front of the eyes of the Guyanese people. I believe Jagdeo enjoys continuous support from Indian constituencies because of prodigious mistakes the APNU+AFC regime is making, and goes on making, but these very constituencies are yet to see the extent to which Jagdeo presided over a Draculean kleptocracy.The current court case of former Minister Jennifer Westford has revealed some interesting details which have not been adequately covered by the press, but which need to be highlighted, because it provides an understanding of how money was used by the Jagdeo presidency. We keep hearing of presidential immunity, but so far no lawyer has offered an opinion as to if a president, under the Guyana constitution, is shielded from prosecution from all acts that he performed while in office. There is the viewpoint that some acts of a president under that constitution do not

Frederick Kissoon constitute official duties. My own feeling is that Mr. Jagdeo should be investigated for violations and illegalities that fall outside of official duties. I was not in the least worried about the decision of the CCJ. If Jagdeo was victorious, I think he could not have won the 2020 election. He just didn’t have the numbers. Can the PPP win without him? In politics, all possibilities are alive. But if the PPP wants to triumph in 2020, it has to undergo a quintessential metamorphosis. And in that configuration, Jagdeo and his shadow have to follow the fate of Macbeth. If not, the entire PPP will end up like Macbeth.

Wednesday June 27, 2018

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday June 27, 2018

A law was struck down because of personal ambitions - Barbadian Queens Counsel

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a w y e r s representing the Attorney General Chambers have blasted the abuse of the system which allowed a case to end up at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). The so-called ‘Third Term’ case, closely watched in Guyana and around the world, came to a head yesterday, with the CCJ striking down the court decision in Guyana, which essentially would have allowed a president to serve more than the constitutional two terms that a Parliamentary amendment permitted. Shortly after the decision was read at the CCJ headquarters in Trinidad, Ralph Thorne, Queens Counsel from Barbados, made it clear that the decision was the final stop. He was with several other lawyers at the Kingston-based Court of Appeal, in Georgetown, Guyana. Thorne stressed that it is important that a law which was passed by a Parliament that was not divided on that law, should not have been

struck down by the local courts purely for the purpose of individual ambitions. It would be scathing words for not only former President Bharrat Jagdeo, who would had been able to run again after finishing two terms in office in 2011, but also for the local courts. The High Court first agreed that the decision made by the Parliamentarians was not sound. The Court of Appeal upheld it, before the Attorney General Chambers filed a case with CCJ for a final decision. In essence, the rulings of the local courts brought into question the sovereignty of the people and the power of the representatives in the National Assembly. According to Thorne, the CCJ decision will allow Guyana to remain at peace. Meanwhile, Solicitor General, Kim Kyte, who was part of the legal team, lauded the decision, which saw six judges voting that the amendment was above board, against one dissent. She said that AG Chambers felt vindicated as it always believed in its

The legal team that was representing the Attorney General Chambers arguments not only in the High Court and Court of Appeal, but at the CCJ. According to Thorne, the Opposition - the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) should not take any comfort in the lone dissenting vote, and it was Jagdeo’s government who passed it.

Queens Counsel Hal Gollop, who also was part of the team, said that the case may open the possibilities for a wider participation of the electorate. He noted that under the system of governance in Guyana, the rights of the electorate have been

transferred to the representatives. While it originated in the days of old Greece and Athens, it is a fact that Guyana has developed a more sophisticated one, where there are Members of Parliament representing the people.

Justice Gollop noted also that it is important that the margin of the vote was 6-1, which is by no means a minority decision. “The fact that seven judges sat for the case is evidence of how important they considered the matter,” he said.

Wednesday June 27, 2018

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Kaieteur News

Jagdeo insists on role in picking next PPP presidential candidate The ruling yesterday by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) may have put paid to any aspirations that former President, Bharrat Jagdeo had to run again for the position of Head of State. However, for now, the General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), is digging in his heels and vowing to stay on as head of his party to lead it into the 2020 general elections. Speaking during an emergency press conference at his Church Street office shortly after the decision, Jagdeo read a statement issued over the weekend, in which, anticipating a negative ruling from the CCJ, he had made it clear that he was staying on as General Secretary.

In fact, he will be leading the charge in helping to select and groom the next presidential candidate. He refused to be drawn into naming someone, but admitted that the person would have to be hard-working, possess management skills and be courageous. Jagdeo’s stance comes at a time when it is felt in some quarters, including his own party, that he should call it a day with a third term no longer possible. His party’s last leader, former President Donald Ramotar, who had his first term cut short amid early elections, did not mince words yesterday when he said that CCJ decision was a good thing. He stressed that the

decision to limit presidential terms to two was taken after widespread consultations. However, in what may be a sharp retort to Ramotar, a defiant Jagdeo said that PPP is not about Freedom House - its Robb Street headquarters - or a few leaders. Making a case for his popularity, Jagdeo said that lots of people in the base of PPP have been calling him in the past few days asking about his role. He said that unlike 2015, when he played no formal part, he will do so in 2020. “I am the General Secretary… I will remain the General Secretary in spite of the ruling.” He said that his decision to remain has nothing to do

New Bartica power plant online by October

T

he construction of a modern 3.5MW power station on the outskirts of Bartica is moving ahead and should be completed by late October. The estimated $660Million power station is being constructed at Dogg Point, Agatash and will replace the current station in central Bartica. Gordon Bradford, Regional Chairman told the Department of Public Informa-

tion (DPI) that since Bartica was recently named a town, the power station had to be moved due to pollution and noise concerns. The new station will be equipped with three new generator sets. Tremaine Alphonso, an engineer attached to the contractors, Gaico Construction, told DPI that the six-month project is progressing despite the inclement weather and is

“scheduled to finish in mid to late October but the current weather situation here in Bartica [has set us back a little],” Alphonso said. “We’re looking at the possibility of bringing in sand by barge to complete the project and we have commenced steelworks. The land for the new power plant has already been cleared. The site will include (Continued on page 28)

with the CCJ ruling. Asked about the next PPP presidential candidate, he said that he will be playing a lead role as the General Secretary, with the name to be announced at the appropriate time.Jagdeo, whose two terms were riddled with accusations of corruption and cronyism, said that while there was lots of speculation in 2011 about his role, he complied with the law then and left. He said he will respect the CCJ’s interpretation of the law, as it is the law of Guyana. Jagdeo insisted that he wanted to be around for the transformation of the party, bringing in more young people and women. He made it clear that he has no problems with the “older folks” of the party, but persons will have to “shift” down a bit. Jagdeo said that he has significant policy experience which he wants to lend to his party but will not want a fulltime job. Rather, he wants some time for himself. Jagdeo also defended his track record with respect to youths, pointing out that his Cabinet was dominated by persons between 30-40 years of age.

Arson, attempted murder…

Berbice pensioner on the run commits suicide The 62-year-old man who police were on the hunt for after he attempted to murder his ex-wife and subsequently burnt her house down, was yesterday found hanging from a tree in Rose Hall Town. Dead is Lionel Thomas, he was at about 06:30 hrs yesterday discovered hanging from a rope on a “dunks tree” in his farm at Rose Hall Town, Corentyne, by a passer-by. Thomas injured his ex-wife, Omawattie Alvin, 47 and her seven months pregnant 17year-old daughter Leana Thomas of 192 Area R Babu Jaan, Port Mourant, Berbice, last Thursday.Thomas had ventured to Alvin’s home and began arguing with her. He subsequently grabbed her and the two ended up in a scuffle, when Thomas pulled out a knife and attempted to stab her. Alvin’s daughter who was in the upper flat of the two-storey building heard the commotion downstairs and retreated, in an attempt to save her mother she intervened but was hit in the head with a champagne bottle by her father. The two women managed to escape from the Thomas and he subsequently

Dead: Lionel Thomas ran into the nearby bushes. Omawattie Alvin revealed that she made a report on the said day of the attack and was advised by the police to not return home. Alvin disclosed that she moved to a close relative’s house and shortly after she received a call that her house was on fire. When she arrived at the scene Wednesday night, the house was already engulfed in flames and nothing could be saved. The woman is nursing several injuries about her body, as is her pregnant daughter.

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday June 27, 2018

Guyana observes day of mourning for murdered fishermen The flag flown half-mast on Monday at the Ministry of Finance.

Relatives of two of the victims preparing to head to Suriname to observe the National Day of Mourning with a prayer service hosted by the Guyana Embassy in Paramaribo.

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elatives of the G u y a n e s e fishermen who lost their lives in a coordinated attack late April and early May, on Monday observed the day of mourning as announced by the Government of Guyana. A number of them went to Suriname where the Guyanese Embassy in Paramaribo had a prayer service.Several government buildings, in observance of the day of mourning, flew their flags at half-mast. BELOW IS A FACT SHEET OF THE DEADLY

PIRACYATTACKS WHICH TOOK PLACE BETWEEN APRIL 27, 2018 AND MAY 3, 2018 IN SURINAMESE WATERS: The two attacks took place between April 27 and May 3 against four Surinameregistered fishing vessels carrying some 25 crew members, mainly Guyanese. FIRST BOAT: The Romeina captained by 47year-old Deonarine Goberdan, called ‘Patar’ was attacked around 18:30 hours. VICTIMS IDENTIFIED: The bodies of two members of the Romeina washed ashore and

were positively identified as those of Tillacknauth Mohabir called ‘Caiman’, 51, and Mahesh Sarjoo called ‘Vishal’. SECOND BOAT: The Joshua owned by Rosey Jones was found submerged in water allegedly sunk by the pirates. The captain of the vessel “Aki Bai” was the lone survivor. VICTIMS ON THE SECOND BOAT: Lalta Persaud called “Sunil and Pudduck”, 43, “Spanish Man”, “Bandara” and “Mukesh”.

THIRD BOAT: Name unknown, Captained by Dharmendrew Persaud, the lone survivor. VICTIMS ON THE THIRD BOAT: Ramesh Sanchara called “Ravo”, Ramnarine Singh, 49, Looknarine Persaud called “Kleine” and Rajendra Bissessar. FOURTH BOAT: The last boat believed to be attacked is known as Shifanie owned by Hemlall Ramsarran. VICTIMS ON THE FOURTH BOAT: Captain, Danesh Persaud called ‘Vicky’, 27, of Sheet Anchor, East Canje, and crew members Ralph Anthony Couchman called “Burnham” , 22, Glendroy Jones called ‘Alkaline’ and ‘Joshua’, 20, and Gowkaran Outar called “Gavin” and “Longhair”, 33, whose body was found washed up at the Number 63 beach. SURVIVOR ON THE FOURTH BOAT: 35-year-old, Sherwin Lovell MISSING / FEARED DEAD:

Preparations made by the eldest son ofRamesh Sancharra to commence the Hindu rites for the deceased. The twelve fishermen who are still missing are: Vickey Persaud, Ramesh Sanchara, Glenroy Jones, Tikaknauth Mohabir, Bobby Ibrahim, Bharat Heralall, Ralph Anthony Couchman, Rajkumar Bissesar, Sunil called “Pudduck” and

Olenski Maxwell. SURVIVORS’ TALE: Survivors recounted that they were assaulted with machetes, hot oil poured on them and forced to jump into the sea by assailants suspected to be of Guyanese (Continued on page 26)

Wednesday June 27, 2018

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday June 27, 2018

Budget 2019 Workshop…

Minister puts financial officers to the test By Kiana Wilburg Finance Minister Winston Jordan has often found that budget proposals submitted to the Ministry of Finance lead to more questions than answers. At the opening of the Ministry’s first 2019 Budget Sensitization and Training Programme, Jordan insisted that budget proposals should be solutions to resolving challenges faced in various sectors. On this note, the economist laid out several problems which remain without answers. Jordan highlighted that there are increasing allocations to the health sector, but there remains continued drug shortages and less hospital inspections than previous years. In this regard, the Finance Minister said that health accounts for 12.5 percent of the national budget, in 2018. He then questioned, “What intervention within the budget proposal will resolve this conundrum of increasing allocations but declining availability?” The Finance Minister also pointed out that there are increasing allocations to education, but still less than 50 percent of the nation’s children are passing Math and English. He said that education accounts for 17.2 percent of the national budget in 2018, and as such, budget officers must ask themselves what proposal will resolve this. Jordan said, “Why do we have increasing allocations

…calls on them to provide solutions to recurring sectoral problems

Finance Minister, Winston Jordan for maintenance and infrastructure development, yet our Public Sector Infrastructure Programme is filled with requests to rehabilitate existing infrastructure rather than expanding the capital base of the country through new infrastructure, where none previously existed? Infrastructure accounts for 13.1% of the national budget in 2018.” “Are you, as Heads of Budget Agencies, approving performance-based gratuities without measuring performance? Or, worse, are you signing off on poor performance and shying away from your

responsibility to take decisions in the best interest of achieving desired results? Are you putting pen to paper when staff do not deliver or simply sitting lamenting in your offices?” The Finance Minister noted that heads of budget agencies must be able to competently critique systems that are not working or not contributing to delivering the results. And by critique, Jordan said he wants his officers to offer workable solutions. “Are you coming to Budget 2019 hearings to rehash the same problems and hurdles you did for the last several years? Or, are you proposing innovative solutions to drive national development? What is your theory of change for the programmes under your remit? I hope that these are some of the questions that occupy your minds. I can assure you that they will be asked during your participation at the national budget hearing slated to begin on August 16th.” Jordan stressed that where there are hurdles, officers must aim to innovate and find solutions. He also assured that the Ministry of Finance and the teams within the Office of the Budget and the Project Cycle Management Division stand ready to assist.

Wednesday June 27, 2018

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Kaieteur News

BEV workers to be assisted by govt

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orkers recently laid off by BEV Enterprise, the seafood processing plant at Houston are to receive help from the government. Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan in a recent interview with Department of Public Information (DPI), said the government is committed to cushioning the socio-economic impact on the workers, most of whom are single-parent mothers. More than 300 workers of the privately-owned BEV Enterprises will be off the job by mid-next month. At least 17 trawlers owned by individuals and one company are faced with the possibility of docking their vessels until they can secure new employment. “It was sad to hear that he (Bruce Vieira) is closing, and it was also sad for the people who are employed, largely women, and the government is in talks or are about to be in talks with him to see if not him what else can be done to support these women,” Minister Jordan said. In addition, the Minister of Finance said the Ministry of Social Protection will also be approaching the laid-off

workers to offer them guidance and assistance. In keeping with government’s policy of encouraging small business development, they will be encouraged to become self-employed. “We have a SLED programme (Sustainable Livelihood and Entrepreneurial Development) programme that offers outright grants for individuals. Particularly of the kind of these women, to do startups in the various fields that they may wish to follow, and of course we have the funding that we have put under the Small Business [Bureau], Ministry of Business, and a number of other different funds that we have available where we hope that these individuals can access,” Minister Jordan explained. He also condemned as peddlers of doom and gloom, persons who were quick to lay the blame for BEV’s closure at the feet of government. He said Bruce Vieira is an honest and respectable man who quickly dispelled the idea that he was not receiving government’s support. “It is just that general challenges that, at my age, I don’t want to have to

BEV workers will receive help from Govt., Finance Minister Winston Jordan says. continue. Basically, it’s a long time I wanted to sell, but it is just that I decided to quit now, and I have given the people proper notice. The industry has gotten too complicated and too many challenges,” Vieira is reported to have told an online news outlet recently. Vieira had also indicated that it will be an uphill task for his company to be certified in keeping with deadlines of next year. Vieira, in business with BEV Processors over 30 years, had also pointed to lower prices for catch in recent times.

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Wednesday June 27, 2018

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Two 7 1/2 Tons Air Conditioner. Contact# 6621991/641-4952 1 CAT Skid steer loader 236B $2.5M 1 Canter $3M 1 S2000 Honda Sport car $2.7M House Lots @ Blankenburg. Contact# 650-0402/603-1402 Prime Business spot in Parika 44’x500' $45M. contact# 6500402/603-1402 Organic potting soil $700, Palms from $1000, Lawn grass, Ashoka trees. Tel# 6261044 Blyden’s Farm, Whole chicken for sale $280 per lb pre order #699-7415/610-6196 LAND FOR SALE Zeelugt New Scheme, East Bank Essequibo Price $5 Million. Ideal place for business (100x60) #616-5606/ 277-0281 Herstelling (2nd Bridge) 110ftx60ft $3.6M Parfaite Harmonie $1.5M Farm $2.8M Schnoord $2.6M Tel# 6561345/656-0701

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

Lot 19 Wren avenue, South Riumveldt Gardens # 227-1042

No.2 Canal WBD House & Land for sale 6 large chicken pens and fruit trees. Tel#6887291/650-2172 Lot 15 Public road #2 Vill. WCB 3 House Lots. Coconut & Mango trees 49ftx10,314ft length. Price $18M. Contact# 648-7109/686-4818 Property for sale at Agriculture road ECD Call: 639-8076 HEALTH Herbal remedies: Diabetes, Hypertension, Infertility, Menstrual disorders, Enlarged prostate, Kidney & Gall stones etc. Call Sparman #676-5924

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 Experience Drivers, Waiters, Cleaner, Handy boys. Apply @ Hack’s Halaal with hand written application. 5 Commerce St. Counter persons, Handyboy. Apply @ Shanta’s 225 Camp St. Minibus driver wanted Route 42 Tel# 685-0569/604-7018

Lot 1 area “E” Sophia & 15 acres on roadside Kuru Kuru. Contact# 227-1042

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

WANTED

VEHICLE FOR SALE Suzuki Escudo, excellent condition, fully loaded bluetooth, backup camera, Mag rims. Price $3M Contact# 675-7147 2011 Ford Raptor fully loaded, 6.2 litres 4x4 excellent condition blue #610-5370 WANTED One experience cashier must know point of sale. Call: 2262320 One maid; and one babysitter. Contact# 696-9386 Driver/Salesperson must be able to drive van/truck. contact# 608-3839/231-6256

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. Housekeeper wanted in Trinidad to live with an elderly person, call between 10am-3pm Call: 868-705-8073

From page 12 heritage. Some of the survivors said several victims had batteries tied to their legs and thrown overboard. IMMEDIATE RESPONSE: On May 3, President David Granger announced that Government would provide necessary support and resources to bring the perpetrators to justice, and that a Day of Mourning would be observed. MEETINGWITH FAMILIES: On May 6, Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan met with relatives and survivors of the missing fishermen at the Guyana Embassy in Henk Arronstraat, Paramaribo, Suriname, and Surinamese security officials. MEDIA UPDATE: On May 9, Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan held a press conference. The minister explained that during his visit to Suriname, he along with his team also met the Surinamese Minister of Justice, Minister of Defence, Minister of Agriculture, the Police Commissioner and the Chief Detective who is in charge of the investigations. This meeting yielded vital information regarding the

One experience person to manage shop in the interior. Call: 231-0363 Mon-Fri (8:30am-4:30pm) One Chief Security Officer. Contact# 696-9386 VACANCY Data Entry/ Accounts clerk Tel# 616-5595. Email: rraghubansee@gmail.com

VACANCY

Maid for East Bank area to cook and clean #614-4358

Tutor/Nanny to work from 7:30 am- 12:00pm Apply at Alabama Trading 65 Robb Street, Bourda

Experienced salesgirls with CXC qualifications & 2 yrs experience. Apply @ Christine’s Variety, Lombard St. Contact: 227-8529

Experienced accounts/ delivery clerk. Preferable applicants 27 years & older. Apply @ Alabama Trading, 65 Robb Street Bourda.

Immediate Vacancy exist for one Ice machine operator to work shift @ Del Ice Co. Call: 231-1408/642-9191

Inventory clerk to work in worshop in Georgetown #227-1717 (2) Security officers to work in Georgetown #227-1717

Vacancy for 2 males at Dollar Stretch Store, Lot 16 Robb St Georgetown. Contact# 6540141/223-5891 Vacancy for Sales manager at Dollar Stretch Store, Lot 16 Robb st Georgetown. Contact#654-0141/223-5891 Superbet Cashier. Tel# 6917123 Hair stations available for rental. New market street. #638-1106 Hydraulic hose technician, Machinist, Male cleaner, Welder Fabricator, Inventory clerk. Technical Services 1823 Industrial Site #233-2745

Experienced male sales attendant, stocktaking knowledge, computer literate, excellent service attitude, able bodied. Key Food McDoom Village. Part Time ACCOUNTANT, 2nd or 3rd Level ACCA, familiar with Quickbooks. Email application to spers@msn.com Driver & Female cleaner for office in Eccles #233-2745 Office clerk computer literate, Diesel mechanic knowledge CAT, Cummins & Perkins engine. Technical Services 1823 Industrial Site #233-2745

Kawalpatty Mangru, wife of Ramesh Sancharra, tearfully recalls her husband and his love for fishing which stretched over 30 years before his death. incident. SUSPECTS ARRESTED AND CHARGED IN GUYANA: On May 30, alleged individual behind the attacks 39-year-old, Nakool Manohar called “Fyah” appeared at the Springlands Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh and was remanded. On June 6, 19-year-old Alexander Denhart called “Shameface” appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts charged with the murder of fisherman Tilacknauth Mohabir called “Caiman”. MORE CHARGES: On June 13, the alleged mastermind, 43-year-old Primnauth Persaud, called “Sinbad” of Cromarty Village, and his coaccused Nakool Manohar (‘Fyah’), popularly known as “Fyah” of Number 43 Village, were charged with two counts of murder for allegedly killing fishermen Mahesh Sarjoo and Tillacknauth Mohabir during the piracy attack. PROCLAMATION: On Friday, June 23, the President issued a proclamation that Monday, June 25 be observed as a National Day of Mourning for the fishermen who lost their lives in the dreaded attacks. NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING: The National Flag was flown at half-staff to show solidarity with the families of those killed in the gruesome acts and to pay due respect to the memory of the victims. A minute of silence was observed in the National Assembly in solidarity for the victims and their grieving families.

Wednesday June 27, 2018

Bartica woman remanded on drug trafficking charge

A 58-year-old woman who the court heard was on the police radar for quite some time, yesterday made an appearance in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts and was remanded, for allegedly trafficking five pounds of ganja and three pounds of cocaine. Roxanne Carrington, of 63 Old Road, Housing Scheme, Bartica, appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan. She denied the allegation that on June 23 at the aforementioned address, she had in her possession 2,555 grams of marijuana and 1,451 grams of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. The woman’s attorney, Latchmie Rahamat, in an application to secure bail for her client, told the court that Carrington would normally permit persons to rent two rooms in her home since she lives alone. She added that at the time of the search, two persons by the name of Becky Mohan and Royston Smith were renting the rooms. The lawyer argued that the alleged narcotics were not found in her client’s possession, and she has no knowledge of the illegal substance, hence she should be released on reasonable bail. However, facts presented by Police Prosecutor Gordon Mansfield differed from that account. He told the court that police, acting on intelligence, swooped down on Carrington’s home and conducted a search on the three-bedroom property. He added that several taped parcels containing a quantity of leaves, seeds and stems were concealed inside a box and a bucket inside her room, while the substance believed to be cocaine was found in another room. The court heard that the search was

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Kaieteur News

Trial of gold miner allegedly found with illegal gun continues on July 16

T

he trial of gold miner Carl Carter who is accused of being in possession of an illegal .38 pistol and four rounds of matching ammunition is scheduled to continue on July 16, before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly. On October 8, 2016, Carter, of Diamond, East Bank Demerara, was arrested and subsequently charged after he was allegedly found with the weapon and ammunition, while he was not the holder of a firearm licence, at Palm Court, Main Street, Georgetown. According to the prosecution, police ranks, acting on information, entered the premises of the popular night spot where they searched Carter and found

Remanded: Roxanne Carrington carried out in Carrington’s presence and when the allegation was put to her, she told the police that one Royston Smith had given her the drugs to keep. She was then arrested and taken into custody. Magistrate McLennan after listening to the prosecutor’s submission told the court that no special reason was outlined by the defence attorney, hence, Carrington was remanded. She was instructed to make her next court appearance on July 12 at the Bartica Magistrate’s Court.

the illegal gun and ammunition in his possession. Earlier on in the trial the police rank who was called to identify the firearm seized from Carter, had discovered that the weapon he had carried out ballistics test on was replaced with a toy gun. The firearm had been s u b m i t t e d t o the Crime Laboratory at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters and after examination, it was found to be a firearm by the ballistic expert. One of the police ranks who examined the weapon signed when he uplifted it from the Brickdam Police Station sometime in 2017. The rank also signed when he returned the firearm after tests

were carried out. However, when the rank turned up to identify the weapon in court on March 28, 2017, it was revealed that it was not the weapon he had tested. In fact, it was discovered that the original weapon had been replaced with a toy gun. This had caused some uproar in the court, and ranks who had access to the firearm were arrested. The then-Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum had confirmed that an investigation was launched. To this date, the real gun has not been tendered in court. Police Prosecutor Sanj Singh is expected to call two more witnesses before wrapping up his case.

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday June 27, 2018

Brothers die after cycle struck by bus Two brothers were killed at around 11.20 hrs yesterday after being run over by a minibus while cycling on the Den Amstel Public Road, West Coast Demerara. Police identified the victims as Sherman West, 28, a labourer and Shalom Allen, 19, both of Lots 8-9 Fellowship, WCD Police have since detained two minibus drivers who were involved in the accident. According to a police release, the driver of mini bus BVV 8882, who was proceeding east along the northern side of the road, stopped to put off passengers, while West, who was towing Allen on a bicycle, was pro-

ceeding in the same direction behind the bus. West was about to pass the bus when the vehicle suddenly moved off and struck the bicycle’s handlebar. The brothers fell onto the southern carriageway of the road and were struck by mini bus BVV 7042 which was proceeding in the opposite direction. They were rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital in an unconscious state by the police, but were pronounced dead on arrival. The drivers were breathalyzed, but no alcohol was detected.

Coast Guard charged for causing death by ....

From page 19 younger brother of Chutney Singer Mahendra Ramkellawan, was struck down as he was attempting to cross the road. A police report stated that Ramkellawan was crossing from the southern side of the road to the northern side when the vehicle, which was heading in an easterly direction on the De Willem Public Road, came into contact with him. A badly injured Ramkellawan was taken to the Leonora Cottage Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Reports also stated that a .32, unlicensed pistol with four live rounds were found on him.

New Bartica power... from page 13 a rip rap sea defence, a catwalk, a powerhouse, a tank form and a security perimeter fence. Works on an access road have also commenced. Bradford said the old power plant had been an issue for many years. “That old power plant right now is situated in the township itself so then we would’ve been experiencing noise pollution, because of the old generation sets that they have there, there are a lot of spillages of oils and fuels.”

Bartica’s peak demand is around 1.7 to 1.9MW. “This is definitely going to be a plus for our township because it’s definitely going to boost the supply of electricity so definitely we have new housing schemes coming on stream and this would cater to that demand as well. This would speak volumes for us as a green town,” Bradford added. The project comes under GPL’s Development and Expansion (D&E) programme which aims to improve the quality of service provided to customers as well as the working conditions of employees.

Deportee, wife get 40 years... From page 18 his clients, Hughes described the killing as most unfortunate and regrettable. The lawyer asked the court to temper justice with mercy, adding that, his clients’ conviction was “unfortunate.” In responding, Prosecutor Cave stressed that the two participated in a cruel act on a helpless and defenseless man. The lawyer asked of the court to impose a sentence

having considered the extent of injuries sustained by Ramsundar, and the evidence presented throughout the trial.In calculating a sentence for the two killers, Justice Kissoon started at a base of 50 years. A total of 10 years were deducted by the Judge after taking into consideration the time they spent on remand pending trial, plea in mitigation made by their lawyer, and their expressions of remorse.

Burnt Body behind temple… Magistrate Rhondell Weever yesterday blasted police ranks for acting as if she was running a ‘cowboy court,’ after a series of errors by investigators forced her to postpone reading charges against two men accused of murdering wholesale vendor Saeed ‘Sayo’ Hamid. She was also unable to read charges of accessory to murder against the slain man’s son, due to other errors in the case docket. Antonio Singh Balrup and Satrohan ‘Bluey’ Madray were due to be remanded yesterday on charges of murder, while the slain man’s son, Asif Hamid, who is already incarcerated for another murder, was due to be charged for being an accessory in the slaying of his father. Police brought the shackled men to the Blairmont Magistrate’s Court, at which Magistrate Weaver is presiding, and it was then that the confusion began.As the three men were escorted into the courtroom, Satrohan Madray displayed his torso while claiming that he was beaten to “admit to things me nah know about”, while Hamid and Balrup remained silent and entered with their heads bowed. Court commenced shortly after 09:00 hrs, but police did not present the files for the case until two hours later. This forced Magistrate Weever to adjourn until after lunch. Court resumed at 13.00 hrs,

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday June 27, 2018

Bungling cops create confusion in court; furious magistrate delays reading charges

but the confusion only escalated. When the case for the three accused was called, the policeman who had to swear to the information was nowhere in sight. The prosecution then requested a few minutes to locate the rank, but Magistrate Weever, who was clearly annoyed said: “I have been here since nine o’clock and I still have to wait for the officer?” The rank eventually appeared after some ten minutes. But then when Magistrate Weever scanned the documents pertaining to Asif Hamid, the accused accessory to murder, she noticed that the charge read “the New Amsterdam Magisterial District”, a district in which she does not have jurisdiction. She then instructed the detectives present to “go and get it right”. Some 30 minutes later the police returned with the corrected file and subsequently took Madray and Balrup back up to court, with Asif Hamid remaining in the lock-ups. As she was about to read the charges, she again observed that Hamid’s charge of accessory before the act indicated that the offence was committed in the New Amsterdam Magisterial District, to which the Magistrate had previously explained she has no jurisdiction over. In response, Prosecutor Brown stated that the police were still awaiting the DPP for advice on the charge.

By then, Magistrate Weever had apparently had enough. “What? My patience is running low. You all need to get your act together. You all think this is a cowboy court? Where is the other prisoner?” She paused for a few minutes to give the police more time to bring Hamid back up to the courtroom.The magistrate then explained once more that the police have the murder charges and the charge for accessory before the fact for Hamid, on the same docket. She then reiterated that she had no jurisdiction to institute the charge against Hamid, and therefore could not read the charge for the other two accused, unless the corrections were made properly to allow Hamid to be charged separately. After a few minutes of quiet deliberation between the prosecutor and a detective, the charges were withdrawn. The two men, Madray and Balrup are expected to face the murder charge today at the Fort Wellington Magistrate’s Court, while Hamid’s fate is yet to be determined until advice is sought. Satrohan Madray, Antonio Singh Balrup and Asif Hamid are accused of murdering wholesale Crabwood Creek Vendor Saeed Hamid at Bennett Dam, D’Edward Village, West Coast Berbice. Asif Hamid, the slain man’s son, is currently incarcerated for a previous murder.

Satrohan Madray displaying injuries that he allegedly sustained. He is accused of conspiring before the act to murder his father. Mr. Hamid had disappeared after leaving his home on April 19, 2018. Detectives arrested Madray and Balrup after al-

Antonio Balrup (left) and Asif Hamid legedly receiving information that implicated them. While in custody, they reportedly confessed to bludgeoning Hamid to the head and then burning his corpse behind the home and temple of Madray at D’Edward

village.Madray reportedly told cops that he conspired with Asif Hamid, his close friend, to murder the vendor to prevent him from providing evidence against his son in his upcoming High Court trial.

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday June 27, 2018

Wednesday June 27, 2018

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Kaieteur News

Jagdeo cannot be Prime Minister either - prominent attorney explains By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell

Former President Bharrat Jagdeo cannot return to Government as Prime Minister. This became pellucid yesterday after prominent Attorney-at-Law Sanjeev J. Datadin explained that the Constitution bars anyone who is ineligible of being President from being Prime Minister as well. In an invited comment, Datadin said, “Article 101 subparagraph 1 of the Constitution is clear, very clear, that a person who is not eligible to be President is similarly not eligible to be Prime Minister. I think it would be difficult for an alternative interpretation of that article to be successful. In fact, there can be no alternative interpretation by anyone.” Datadin opined that the provisions of Article 101, 1 make good sense. He said, “I find this especially so, because someone who is Prime Minister would be required to act for the President on many occasions—if the President is ill, if he leaves the country, the Prime Minister will automatically be the person to act

as President. More importantly, God forbid something is to happen to the elected President, by operation of law, the Prime Minister would become the President.” Datadin continued, “Now, if that person who is ineligible of being President is Prime Minister, it creates a circus of permutation as to what should and should not happen, a situation that is likely to create a Constitutional crisis and create uncertainty in the country. So, by my reading of Article 101, 1 of the Guyana Constitution, any person who is ineligible of being President cannot be Prime Minister.” Yesterday saw the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) upholding the Constitutional limit on terms for Heads of State in Guyana. After the ruling hit the online press, heated discussions erupted on social media on the domino effect of the ruling. Jagdeo is the only former President who is alive and has served two terms before. Hence, the discussion focused on him. Giving consideration to Jagdeo’s announcement over the weekend and again yesterday, that

he will return to play a formal part of any People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government, many on social media said that Jagdeo could return as Prime Minister. Also, sources within the PPP/C said that this was a “consideration” of Jagdeo’s. Further, Kaieteur News contacted several persons within the PPP/C for comments. Most of those who answered the calls refused to comment on the record. The only PPP/C official brave enough to go on record, speaking about the ruling and likeliness of contesting as Presidential Candidate, was former President Donald Ramotar. Speaking on the ruling, he said, “I always thought the decision could have gone both ways. I am therefore not surprised at the decision. I think the process that we went through for us to change the Constitution was very broad and extensive, and therefore I am not surprised that the decision is what it is.” He said, “It is not a question of if I support it or not. I accept it…I do not think it (the ruling is a bad thing.” Ramotar only served one

Attorney at Law, Sanjeev Datadin

Former President, Donald Ramotar

Former President, Bharrat Jagdeo

term as President. His term was less than the usual five years as he was forced to call elections after he prorogued Parliament to prevent the passing of a No Confidence

Motion against him. This newspaper asked Ramotar if he was willing to serve as President again, he said, “That is not for me to decide, I have always been a

party man, a PPP man.” He said that if the Party decides that it wants him to run again, “I will have to take it into very serious consideration.”

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday June 27, 2018

Wednesday June 27, 2018

PAGE 33

Kaieteur News

Dull Danes and flat French play out mutually beneficial 0-0 draw

France’s Kylian Mbappe in action with Denmark’s Andreas Christensen and Christian Eriksen. (REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov) MOSCOW (Reuters) The goals finally dried up at this thrilling World Cup yesterday when a flat France and

dull Denmark played out a mutually beneficial 0-0 draw at the Luzhniki Stadium which allowed the French to finish

top of Group C and the Danes to qualify in second spot. Thirty-six games in Russia had failed to result in a

Wednesday June 27, 2018 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Worries over money could have you edgier than usual. While you may be doing well, you still could be insecure and think your funds might not stretch far enough. TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) You probably crave solitude. Even though you may have committed to attending a party or two, now you find the idea irritating. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Although you're normally a sociable person who feels most comfortable in the company of othersi, today you might rather be alone. CANCER (June 21–July 22) You tend to enjoy solitude, Cancer, and today you might feel more reclusive than usual. You could be invited to go out with friends but not feel like accepting. You might even feel a little irritated by them. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Today there might be tension in the air with no discernible cause, Leo. Family members could seem preoccupied with problems they can't quite define. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) You could get some mysterious phone calls today, Virgo, like wrong numbers or hang-ups. Other people might seem less communicative than usual, Virgo, and you're likely to be preoccupied with your own thoughts.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Confusion over money matters might come up for you today, Libra. You may need to check your records in order to shed light on some past transactions. Don't panic. All should be well. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Someone close to you might seem more preoccupied than usual, Scorpio, and perhaps a bit difficult to deal with. Don't take this personally. It has little if anything to do with you. SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Today you might be feeling a bit tense, Sagittarius, and you probably won't understand why. The secret? It's the planets. You might tend to jump at unexpected noises or take offense where none is intended. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) You probably aren't going to feel much like socializing today, Capricorn, though friends might want you to go out. AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Uptight is the word for today, Aquarius. At some point you might find yourself the center of attention. While you normally might not mind, now it could make you a bit nervous. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) You're likely to want to be left alone with your own thoughts today. Relaxing with a good book might be at the top of your agenda

goalless stalemate, but neither France nor Denmark ever looked like scoring in a tedious affair. France were already assured qualification but wanted to go through in top spot to avoid a likely last-16 clash with in-form Croatia. Denmark could have only been denied qualification had they lost to France and had Australia beaten Peru in the match being simultaneously played in Sochi. But with the Peruvians leading 2-0 before the hour in that game, the Moscow clash settled down to little more than a canter. While not in the same category as the infamous 1982 “Nichtangriffspakt von Gijon” - the non-aggression pact of Gijon - when West Germany and Austria both settled for a 1-0 German win which put them both through, neither side at the Luzhniki looked to be going all out for victory. “It was our objective to ensure we were first out of the group... The objective was achieved,” French coach Didier Deschamps said.

“It was very difficult. Teams are very well prepared, and it’s not easy against such a packed defence.” Nor too was Denmark coach Age Hareide about to apologize for anything. “We just needed one point, right?,” he said.“We were up against one of the best counter-attacking teams in the world. We would have been stupid if we opened up. We played to get the result and we did it.”The writing had been was on the wall early in the capital, with the play dominated by industry rather than any kind of inspiration. The Danes built a pattern of firing balls deep before quickly tracking back, while the French kept possession well but struggled throughout with the final ball. Antoine Griezmann, surprisingly not among the six players rested by Didier Deschamps for this match, looked listless as he sought to probe the Danish defense for a way through. At times it seemed as though he was on a different wavelength to his team mates, who failed to spot his runs or

find the spaces Griezmann played into.It took more than half an hour before there was any real chance, and then Ousmane Dembele pushed his right foot shot wide of the goal - and of Kasper Schmeichel’s overly elaborate dive.Deschamps brought Benjamin Mendy on for Lucas Hernandez just after halftime, but he might have made a raft of changes as the French continually misfired. Jeers and whistles swirled around the frustrated crowd as both sides failed time after time to create any real opportunities, the Danes continuing to defend deep and the French rarely breaking out of a trot.

Carrillo wonder... From page 35 goalmouth by a scrambling defense in the 36th. Not even an early second half injection of talisman Tim Cahill could spark the Socceroos, their 38-year-old striker denied a goal in his World Cup swansong when he fired a volley straight into a Peru defender on the hour mark. DEFENSIVE ERROR Australia have long yearned for a cutting edge up front but it was a defensive error that sent them on course for a stinging defeat. With a long ball inadequately dealt with, Guerrero was allowed possession at the left of the area, and the captain wheeled a cross into the path of winger Carrillo who hammered the ball into the left corner of the net. It was the Andean nation’s first World Cup goal since Guillermo La Rosa scored in a 5-1 defeat by Poland at the 1982 finals in Spain. Australia tried to rally through midfielder Tom Rogic who barged through a nest of defenders into the box in the 27th minute only to have his shot blocked. Guerrero, whose tournament was in doubt due to a doping suspension, doubled the score in the 50th minute, a deflection off Jedinak dropping the ball in his path obligingly before his shot rebounded off Mark Milligan into the net. From there, Peru rode their luck to the finish as the Socceroos peppered the goal in desperation but to no avail. Peru won plenty of admiration for their battling defeats against France and Denmark, but leave Russia with a more valuable three points and the hope they will not have to wait another 36 years for their next World Cup appearance.

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday June 27, 2018

SARA to host ‘Lash It out’ Cricket match at DCC July 13 The State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA), an autonomous agency, was created through the State Assets Recovery Act of 2017, and passed in Parliament on April 13, 2017. The Act mandated SARA to recover, through civil proceedings, State property unlawfully acquired by a

public official or any other person. SARA has embarked on launching this campaign “Corruption is Everybody’s Business” in collaboration with various Government Agencies in the fight against corrupt practices within our Nation.

They will be hosting a “Lash It Out” Cricket Match” on July 13 from 18:00 hrs to 22:30hrs at the Demerara Cricket Club ground. The aim of this initiative is to create awareness among young people, in relation to their involvement in the fight against corruption.

Details of the event will be disclosed on Friday at a press briefing in the conference room of the State Assets Recovery Agency, 56 Main and New Market Streets, Georgetown (opposite British High Commission). The players will comprise local celebrities and members

of the cricket fraternity such as British High Commissioner James Quinn, National Sports Director Christopher Jones, Attorney- at – Law Charles Ramson Jr, members of the Guyana Cricket Board team Leon Johnson and Paul Wintz, Entertainer Kerwin Bollers, Entertainer Rawle

Ferguson, Former Carib Soca Monarch Jumo Primo, Caribbean Artist of the Year Saiku Andrews, Founder of Morgan’s Learning Center, Orin Morgan, HGP Nightly News Anchor Travis Chase and Sports Journalist Avinash Ramzam and many more players.

Kcaysha Medas-King reclaims 400m title

Kcaysha Medas-King On Sunday last in the most anticipated event of the day, the girls 400m 11-12 age group, with the big names from across the North East United States with names like Adilla Trim and Alissa Graham, all of whom have sub 60sec times, squared off at the Ichan Stadium for the title. The race lived up to the expectations of many and it was a battle right down to the finish line where Kcaysha Medas-King came out victorious. After the race, Kcaysha said it was good to know that she was able to come out on top in a time of 100.5 sec only to return to win the 200m title in a time of 27.04 sec. With the wins coming at the right time, Kcaysha Medas-King

will be off to compete at the prestigious Hershey’s Games from the 27th June to the 1st of July at the Brockport State University track in Upstate New York. It was two years ago in Pennsylvania when Kcaysha got the name the finisher and won the 100m, 200m and 400m something she said she’s hoping to repeat. After this championship Kcaysha would square off for top honors in the regionals on July 12-15 at the Ichan Stadium. Once she qualifies she will be heading to the National Championship in North Carolina where she will square off for top honors in the country at the USATF National Championships.

Wednesday June 27, 2018

Kaieteur News

Businesslike Croatia take top spot and bury Iceland

Croatia’s goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic in action during their clash with Iceland. (Reuters Marko Djurica) ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia (Reuters) - A revamped but businesslike Croatia topped their World Cup Group D as Ivan Perisic’s last-gasp goal helped them maintain their perfect record with a 2-1 win that also ended Iceland’s qualification hopes yesterday. Perisic, with Luka Modric the only player not rested, struck in the last minute to confirm their last-16 clash with Denmark after Milan Badelj’s second-half goal had been cancelled out by Gylfi Sigurdsson’s penalty. Iceland, who had a handful of good chances, finish bottom of the group with one point but high in their thunder-clapping fans’ esteem. Argentina took second place and will face France after beating Nigeria 2-1, a result that sent the third-placed African team packing. With qualification assured, coach Zlatko Dalic fielded the youngest Croatia team at a World Cup, making nine changes from the team who beat Argentina 3-0, and

even if they struggled at times, his players were clinical. As expected, Croatia bossed the midfield and Iceland were perfectly happy with the scenario, looking to hit their opponents on the break. The Iceland fans started the night’s first ‘Thunder Clap’ in support of midfielder Birkir Bjarnason, who briefly left the pitch with a bloodied nose after clashing with Marko Pjaca’s elbow. Croatia’s possession was sterile but, with a draw enough to top the group, they had little incentive, especially as Iceland were pretty toothless until news of Lionel Messi’s opening goal reached them. They started to press higher, putting Croatia on the backfoot.Five minutes before the break, Alfred Finnbogason played a onetwo with Sigurdsson but his first-time shot from just inside the box went wide. On the stroke of halftime, Aron Gunnarsson fired an angled shot that was bound

for the top corner until Lovre Kalinic tipped it away. Croatia had their first clear chance when Milan Badelj’s missile crashed onto the bar six minutes into the second half. The midfielder was more accurate two minutes later as he thundered a volley into the back of the net to open the scoring. Iceland faced a huge task as Nigeria almost simultaneously equalised against Argentina, but they reacted swiftly. Sverrir Ingason forced Kalinic to another spectacular save, seconds before his header shaved the top of the bar. Iceland were rewarded in the 76th minute when secondhalf substitute Dejan Lovren handled the ball and Sigurdsson rifled the resulting penalty into the roof of the net. Iceland’s hopes were up again, but Perisic’s cool finish after he slipped into the left side of the area made sure there would be no fairy tale to tell for the Icelanders.

Carrillo wonder strike sparks late Peru party SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - A stunning Andre Carrillo volley gave Peru their first World Cup goal in 36 years before captain Paolo Guerrero grabbed a second as the Andean nation condemned Australia to a 2-0 defeat in Sochi yesterday and a regretful exit from Russia. Guerrero set up Carrillo’s 18th-minute wonder goal from the edge of the box with a delightful cross, then scored from a deflection five minutes after the interval to send Peru’s red-and-white army of fans into ecstasy at the Fisht

Stadium. Although already eliminated, the South Americans head home on a high note, having grabbed their first World Cup win since their 4-1 defeat of Iran at the 1978 finals in Argentina. Denied a place at the global showpiece for 36 years, Peru finished third in Group C with three points, while the Socceroos head home with just one, but more than a few regrets. France topped the group with seven points, with Denmark runners-up on five after

the teams played out a dull 00 draw in Moscow. Australia had needed to beat Peru and for France to defeat Denmark so the result was academic for the Socceroos. But Bert van Marwijk’s side would have felt it was a case of deja vu, as they surged forward in numbers but lacked the polish to conjure a score. Captain Mile Jedinak blazed over the bar in the fifth minute while winger Mathew Leckie was denied in the (Continued on page 33)

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday June 27, 2018

DCC Youth Camp geared... From page 40 Raymond Perez, Sherfane Rutherford, Ronaldo Ali Mohamed, Tevin Imlach and

Keemo Paul, all of whom have represented the West Indies at the youth level, while Essequibian Paul earned a call-up for the third test against Sri Lanka which ended yesterday. Nedd pointed out that the club has a rich history of producing some of the most exciting cricketers who have graced the world over with their talent among them being Clive Lloyd, Lance Gibbs, Philbert Blair, Roy Fredericks, Mark and Roger Harper, Andrew Lyght and Linden Joseph. President of DCC Roger Harper indicated that the programme is being held annually and serves to improve the level of the game in Guyana and the West Indies. Harper said the programme is open to youths countrywide and is calling on corporate Guyana for support. Sessions will be held from Monday to Friday from 09:00hrs to 15:30hrs daily. Participants are asked to attire in track or short pants, white tee or polo shirts, track boots and socks along with cricket white clothing. Registration forms can be uplifted at DCC. Interested persons can contact Dennis Squires on 665-7400, Mark Harper on 678-9973, Coach Nedd 617-9391, Mr. Neblette on 686-0333 or DCC on 2262006. Students will be required to pay $4,000 to enroll.

GOA Cycling... From page 40 fore.Mohammed said the programme is free. Registration can be done at the National Park or at the National Sports Commission and all the youngsters need is a working bicycle, helmet and any other protective gears. The programme will run Monday to Friday from 09:00hrs to 11:00hrs.

Wednesday June 27, 2018

Windies v Sri Lanka 3rd Test

Sri Lanka level series with 4-day win By Sean Devers in BarbadosIn association with Carib Beer, Noble House Seafoods, Vnet Communication’s & Bounty Farm On the back of an unfinished 63-run seventh wicket partnership between the unrelated Pereras; Dilruwan and Kusal, Sri Lanka became the first Asian team to beat the West Indies in Barbados when they triumphed by four wickets in the first session of the penultimate day of the historic Day/Night at the Kensington Oval yesterday. Scores: Windies: (204 & 93): Sri Lanka (154 & 144/ 6). After a wretched tour due to several off-the-field Issues, Sri Lanka finished off on a high with the series levelling win in the three-series. After losing the first Test in Trinidad, rain and a Sri Lanka protest due to accusations of ball tampering wasted the entire first session of day three in St Lucia, let the Windies off the hook in the drawn game. Sri Lanka, on their fifth tour to the West Indies, began yesterday with the low scoring game in the balance due to uncertainty of Kusal Perera batting. Kusal had crashed into the advertisement board attempting a catch on Monday night and was taken by Ambulance to the Hospital in an unconscious state on Monday Night but demonstrated great courage and commitment to his team by opting to bat yesterday. Sri Lanka resumed in bright sunshine on 81-5, needing another 63 to win and started in horrendous fashion when Kusal Mendis (25) was LBW in the first over without addition to the overnight score. Mendis’ demise was crucial since he was seen as the man between Windies and victory but Dilruwan, who finished the on 23 from 63 balls with three fours and Kusal, whose 28 lasted 43 balls and included two boundaries, saw their team to 144-6 in 40.2 overs despite a brilliant Man-of-the-Match bowling performance from Skipper Jason Holder. Holder, who made 71 in the Windies first innings, followed up his 4-19 in the first innings with 5-41 but although Shannon Gabriel bowled fast and finished the series with 20 scalps

including 13 in St Lucia, he failed to take a wicket yesterday. When Holder sent back Mendis he became only the third West Indies Captain to score a half century and claim a five-wicket haul in the same Test; the others being Sir Garfield Sobers and Denis Atkinson who both converted their fifties into hundreds. Kusal, batting in pain, was hit on his body as he fended a short ball from Gabriel before he hit the lively pacer over cover for four, while Dilruwan was hit a nasty blow on his glove by Gabriel. Dilruwan was not too keen to get behind the ball off Gabriel who was bowling at 148ks, but he stayed with the injured Kusal and saw the 100 posted. The English tourists in the small turn out wanted to see an epic fight, while the handful of die-hard fans urged the Windies pacers on as Holder bowled his heart out and Gabriel tested the batsmen with lively short balls on a track which again produced disconcerting bounce. But the Perera pair, despite taking a few body blows, inched Sri Lanka closer to victory as Miguel Cummins, the weakest of the Windies pace quartet, eased the pressure with wayward bowling when Holder surprisingly handed to ball to him. An edge by Dilruwan off Kemar Roach rushed to the unprotected third man boundary and reduced the victory target to 15. With 10 to get Devendra Bishoo was introduced and conceded four runs before Dilruwan ended the match 15:50hrs with a boundary over extra cover as Holder pitched up. Scores: WEST INDIES 204 (Jason Holder 74, Shane Dowrich 71; Lahiru Kumara 4-58, Kasun Rajitha 3-68, Suranga Lakmal 2-52) and 93 (Kemar Roach 23 not out; Kasun Rajitha 3-20, Suranga Lakmal 3-25, Lahiru Kumara 2-31) SRI LANKA 154 (Niroshan Dickwella 42, Danushka Gunathilaka 29, Kusal Mendis 22; Jason Holder 4-19, Shannon Gabriel 3-52, Kemar Roach 2-30) and 144 for six (Kusal Perera 28 not out, Kusal Mendis 25, Dilruwan Perera 23 not out, Danushka Gunathilaka 21; Jason Holder 5-41).

Kaieteur News

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Wednesday June 27, 2018

Kaieteur News

Guyana play Suriname tonight -Rose on the radar of College scouts; Belgrave injured

Travis Belgrave

Felix Hamilton

By Calvin Chapman in Suriname compliments of Hopkinson Mining, Bounty Farm and Mohamed’s Enterprise

used against Colts in the twomatch warm up series early last month”, Rose noted. Rose, who scored a game high 41 points in Guyana’s win against St. Vincent & the Grenadines on Monday night, posited that once his team continues with the same intensity they should top the group easily. Guyana will be at least a man short in the squad due to a Felix Hamilton decision to leave the team during the period they were down by 11 points to SVG in their 104-102 double overtime victory last night. Speaking to Kaieteur Sport, Hamilton expressed disgruntlement over not having enough playing time. However, his absence may be a blessing in disguise because the Guyanese managed to overturn the deficit and eventually win the game after he left. The 33-year-old Antigua & Barbuda based player was already en route home since yesterday morning. Travis Belgrave, who has been an important facet in Guyana’s defensive structure, is doubtful to be in the Golden Arrowhead’s lineup tonight after limping off in extra-time after suffering a knee injury, the coach and physio will make the final decision on whether he will play or not tomorrow. Some good news shared by coordinator of the CBC championships, Patrick Haynes, with Kaieteur Sport, is that Baylor University of Texas; one of the top 12 College basketball teams in the United States, has expressed interest in acquiring the 18year-old Point Guard, Rose. This is welcomed news for Guyana’s captain since his aim was to make a big impact on the tournament.In addition, the Kwakwani teen has also caught the eye of some 1st division teams in the USA that will be monitoring his performance throughout the tournament.

A long basketball rivalry between neighbours Suriname and Guyana will be revived tonight at the Anthony Nesty Sporthal when the teams play each other in the night’s feature game at 21:00hrs (20:00hrs Guyana time). Guyana’s coach, Junior Hercules, boldly stated that, “He expects Guyana to come out with high energy to match Suriname’s intensity and exceed it. Our players will come out with a sense of history which has seen them eventually lose games after being in strong positions in the third and final quarters; we will not make those mistakes again.” A victory for either team will see the winners’ book a spot in the semi-final of this Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) men’s Championship which also serves as the pre-qualifiers for the FIBA Americas’ Championship. So Far, Guyana won both of their opening games, defeating Grenada 93-64 and St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) 104-102. Meanwhile, Suriname thrashed St. Lucia 80-61 in their opening game before scraping to a 69-67 victory over Grenada that Guyana had soundly beaten on Sunday night. Stanton Rose, Captain of the Guyana unit who had played for his club Bounty Colts against Suriname last month as part of the home team’s preparations for the ongoing tourney, is positive that Guyana will overcome the Dutchmen in tonight’s matchup. “We are confident of winning the next game against Suriname mainly because we know what they will come with. I’ve seen their games played so far and they are running the same tactics they

Wednesday June 27, 2018

Kaieteur News

EBFA visit Hararuni with a view of formalising club - Grassroots session held Yet another village club is set to make its debut as an affiliate of the East Bank Football Association (EBFA), this time, the village of Hararuni on the Linden Soesdyke Highway (LSH) is set to join the association. On Sunday last, EBFA President Franklin Wilson along with Guyana Football Federation/EBFA Technical Development Officer Devnon Winter and Academy Coach Orien Angoy visited the village where they witnessed the junior players involved in a match with about seven young girls also playing. Winter and Angoy are also EBFA Executive Members apart from being the respective Presidents of Herstelling Raiders and Diamond United. Members of the o rg a n i s i n g c o m m i t t e e including the person who started the club, Emmanuel Pulsarran, parents and other officials including the CDC Vice Chairperson, Ms. Dawn Alexander were on hand to cheer on the young players as they seek to gain the coaches nod to make the U-13 team which would include both male and female players. CDC Chairperson, Ms. Debra Wong was unavoidably absent but has promised to lend whatever support is necessary to ensure the club becomes reality and the youths are afforded every opportunity to excel. Wilson, thanked the community for the invitation to visit and to work with them to formalise setting up of their club, he also committed the association to ensuring that they benefit from coaches, referees and

other training as they are held by the association with assistance from the GFF. Coaches Winter and Angoy who are integrally involved in the E B FA / G F F / S c o t i a b a n k Academy Training Center every weekend, took the opportunity to run a grassroots session with the youths and it was an exciting time for the coaches and players, according to Winter. �The session was really wonderful; the level of energy displayed by those players even though they played before was very encouraging. Coach Angoy and myself were also impressed with the amount of young girls we saw there and the competitive nature of their play. We would be working out something to have the girls more involved while at the same time we will be ensuring that we tap into the talent available in Hararuni.� Hararuni is home to the leading marksman of the Timehri Panthers Under-15 team, Ishmael Pulsarran who led them to the inaugural title of the EBFA/GFF/Pele Alumini Frank Watson U15 Intra Association League in April this year. Pulsarran had ended that competition with 17 goals which saw him ending as the second best goal scorer to Shoran James of Herstelling Raiders who ended with two more. Wilson took the opportunity to encourage the parents and organisers to continue supporting the youths. Two footballs as well as a number of tee shirts for the youths were presented by the EBFA to Hararuni.

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Coach Devnon Winter (left) hands over ball to Ms. Ayanna Alexander while Coach Orien Angoy (right does the same to Ms. Penny Patrick while the players display the tee shirts presented with other officials sharing the moment.

Kaieteur News

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Wednesday June 27, 2018

Gainda confident of Tropical Spring-Guyana chances in NYSCL Independence Cup Tropical Spring prior to one of their matches in the Orlando Cup in March.

Captain of the Tropical Spring-Guyana Masters team, Lalta Gainda, expressed confidence of his team doing well in the u p c o m i n g N e w Yo r k Softball Cricket League (NYSCL) twelfth annual Independence Cup which is slated for June 29 - July 1 at Roy Wilkins Park. Tropical Spring-Guyana is the third Guyanese Masters team that will be playing in the tournament with Regal Masters and defending champions Floodlight being the other t w o . The team, which will compete in the Over-45 category, is on their second overseas outing with their first being the Orlando Cup which was held in March of this year. Speaking with Kaieteur sport, Gainda said his team is a well balanced one and he is confident of qualifying for the final four. “We didn’t make it to the semi finals of the Orlando Cup in March, but our players have gained a lot from the competition and will be looking to capitalize this time around,” he added. The skipper stated that his team has a number of experienced players who have played in numerous

tournaments overseas so they know the conditions and will be looking to make an impact. “Apart from playing in the Orlando Cup in March, we have some players who have played in tournaments in USA and Canada so they know what to e x p e c t . ” He expects stiff challenge from Regal Masters and Floodlights but cautioned about taking other teams for granted. “We have to play as a unit, take it step by step and stick to the game plan,” stated Gainda. The tournament will also be played in the Over-40 and All stars divisions. Tropical Spring- Guyana is being sponsored by Cricket Zone USA, Bargain Supermarket, Gain Mart, Rubis Bel Air, Incum Investment Ink and Quality Auto Works. The squad reads- Lalta Gainda (Capt.), Anand Persaud, Dianand Mangroo, Rafeek Ali, Shafeek Ali, Suna Harichand, Raymond Williams, Abdool Shakur, Harry Lakeram, Aditya Ramnarine, Charlie Bisram, Bharat Singh, Deodat Ramdeo, Parmanand Dhaniram and Ameer Ahmad. Ashmul Ally (Manager).

DCC Youth Camp geared at indentifying talent By Zaheer Mohamed With the aim of unearthing new talent, the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) yesterday launched a ten-day youth programme which is set for August at the Queenstown venue dubbed the ‘Home of the Legends’. The camp will cater for male and female cricketers under the age of 18. They will be exposed to fundamentals of the sport and skill development, both on and off the field. Former first class batsman Mark Harper will serve as the Technical Director of the clinic which targets some 120 youths. Harper will be supported by Garvin Nedd, former West Indies test players, Travis Dowlin, Reon King

and Roger Harper along with national fast bowler Paul Wintz. Mark Harper stated that apart from the basics of the game, the programme will include classroom sessions, as well as master classes, where the older participants will learn more about the art of spin and fast bowling, batting and fielding. Former Guyana offspinner Nedd said that the camp is designed to produce well-rounded cricketers and noted that over the years a number of players who participated in the camp went on to represent Guyana and West Indies at various levels. Among those who came out of the camp are Ashmead Nedd, Sachin Singh, (Continued on page 36)

Wednesday June 27, 2018

Argentina strike late to advance to World Cup knockout stages ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) - Argentina and Lionel Messi progressed to the last 16 of the World Cup by the skin of their teeth yesterday after an 86th minute strike from defender Marcos Rojo gave them a 2-1 win over Nigeria, eliminating the African side. Croatia advance as winners of Group D with the maximum nine points after beating Iceland 2-1 and Nigeria were just minutes away from joining them before central defender Rojo superbly volleyed home a Gabriel Mercado cross from the right. Messi had put Argentina ahead in the 14th minute, with a fabulously taken goal but the Africans equalised through a Victor Moses penalty in the 51st minute and the twice World Cup winners struggled to respond to that setback with a ragged second half display. In front of a massive following of passionate and loud Argentine fans, the game began in ideal fashion for Jorge Sampaoli’s side, who had managed just a point from their opening two games.A perfectly weighted diagonal ball over the top by Ever Banega was sublimely brought down on the outside of his thigh by Messi who then drove past Nigeria’s teenage keeper Francis Uzoho to open the scoring. The selection of Banega

proved to be an inspired one by Sampaoli with the Sevilla midfielder providing the quality service that had been lacking in their opening two games. Banega almost inspired a second goal for the Argentines when he put Angel Di Maria clear, the winger being brought down by Leon Balogun and Messi struck the woodwork from the resulting free kick with a curler from the left against the far post. It had been an impressive half from Argentina but the game was to take a twist shortly after the interval. Defending a corner, Argentine defender Javier Mascherano jockeyed Leon Balogun inside the area and when the Nigerian fell to the floor, Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir awarded a penalty. After lengthy and impassioned protests from the Argentine players, Moses managed to keep his cool and slot past Franco Armani to level the scores. Nigeria wasted several chances to add a second and secure their place in the last 16 before the unlikely source of Manchester United central defender Rojo kept Argentina’s tournament alive and left Nigeria in despair. Argentina go on to face France in the next round while Croatia take on Denmark.

GOA Cycling and Teach them young programme on the cards National Cycling Coach Hassan Mohammed in collaboration with the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) will host its annual youth Olympic Day Cycling meet on Saturday for the fifth year at the inner circuit of the National Park from 09:30hrs. Mohammed informed that the categories include BMX Boys 6-9 years (2 laps), Boys 9-12 years (2 laps), Boys 12-14 years (3 laps), Mountain Bike (5 laps) and 12-14 juniors and juveniles (10 laps). The event is hosted in recognition of Olympic Day which was observed on June 23. A m o n g t h o s e

outstanding in last year’s event were: Nigel Duguid in the 10-lap feature event ahead of Curtis Dey and Jason Cameron respectively. Jonathon Ramsuchit (12-14 category), Jeremiah Harrison (9-12 BMX Boys) and Lumesh Singh (6-9 Boys). Meanwhile, the National Cycling Coach disclosed that his 42nd teach them young programme will run from July 9 to September 1 in the National Park. The yearly programme has attracted many of the top crop of young and senior riders over the years. And this year several new talents is expected to come to the (Continued on page 36)

Kaieteur News

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rt o p S

Guyana play Suriname tonight - Rose on the radar of College scouts; Belgrave injured P. 37

The tireless, guard and captain Stanton Rose was on the court most of the match and on the ball most of the time Guyana was in possession.

Windies v Sri Lanka 3rd Test

P. 38

Sri Lanka level series with 4-day win

Batsman Kusal Perera celebrates after leading Sri Lanka to victory on Tuesday’s penultimate day of the historic day/night Test. (Photo courtesy CWI Media)

Argentina strike late to advance to World Cup knockout stages P. 41

Argentina’s Marcos Rojo celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates. (REUTERS Jorge Silva) Printed and published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd., 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown. Tel: 225-8458, 225-8465, 225-8491 or Fax: 225-8473/226-8210.