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Major step in telecoms liberalization as Govt., GTT sign Memorandum of Understanding

AIETEUR NEWS

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

Thursday Edition March 07, 2019 - Vol. 12 No. 10 Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

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Granger, Jagdeo meeting ends without election date ---Jagdeo tells Granger: I am calling for sanctions after March 21 ---President to engage GECOM commissioners IDB report reveals...

Electricity, high tax rates, corruption most serious obstacles to

Multi-billion$ PetroCaribe probe...

Extradited GRDB accountant whisked from airport to SOCU to jail - 39 charges read

local businesses TUC gives 19-point proposal to govt., opposition for sweeping reforms

“Stop playing games with the country” – Concerned citizens picket Ministry of the Presidency

The accused, Peter Ramcharran (photo at left), shortly after landing at the Timehri airport yesterday morning, and later with his lawyer, Sase Gunraj, and law enforcement officials at the Magistrates’ Courts

Demand approval for all subcontracting agreements to avoid exploitation - Oxfam America Learn from Ghana...

Kaieteur News

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Thursday March 07, 2019

Multi-billion$ PetroCaribe probe…

Extradited GRDB accountant whisked from airport to SOCU to jail - 39 charges read

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f o r m e r accountant of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) who was ordered extradited by Canadian courts last December, has been refused bail here.

Peter Ramcharran landed shortly after 7am yesterday on a Caribbean Airlines flight from that North American country. He was escorted by two Canadian border officials, including a female.

At the Timehri airport, he was handed over to officials of the police's Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), placed in a tinted vehicle and escorted to the unit's headquarters on Camp Road. With an hour or so, he was taken to the Georgetown

Magistrates' Courts.

He had been detained by the Canadian authorities, at the behest of the Government of Guyana, since 2017.

Guyana asked for his extradition to face fraudrelated charges pertaining to his duties at GRDB which was the executing agency for a major oil-for-rice deal worth billions with Venezuela.

That deal was ended suddenly in 2015 by a hostile Ve n e z u e l a a f t e r t h i s Coalition Government came to office.

At the court yesterday, after an arrest warrant had been issued for him, Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan read a total of 39 charges to the accused. He was

represented by attorney-atlaw Sase Gunraj.

Ramcharran was dressed in a formal shirt and Khaki long pants.

Representing the State for the matter was attorneyat-law Patrice Henry, one of the special prosecutors retained by Government to work with SOCU on a number of forensic audit files on state agencies.

The hearing began just after 10am. Before the charges were read, Magistrate McLennan asked the defendant to explain why he had been evading the courts.

In his response, Ramcharran stated: “I was not informed by any official of Guyana about these charges.”

His attorney moved to give context, as he stated his client learnt of an arrest warrant being issued for him through the public media.

“My client had to learn of these charges and arrest warrant being issued by public media. After learning of this, Mr. Ramcharran had no other option but to take conditions to prepare himself.”

A heated exchange ensued for about 10 minutes between Gunraj and the magistrate. The magistrate wanted to know if the defence was accusing the investigating rank into the matter of lying under oath.

HE KNEW According to the Special Prosecutor, Ramcharran was very much aware that he was The accused, Peter Ramcharran, shortly after landing at the Timehri airport yesterday morning.

wanted. In fact, a lawyer had visited SOCU's office on his behalf.

In the prisoners' dock, the defendant stood quietly as all 39 charges were read out to him. The charges took the magistrate a period of about 20 minutes to read out.

Ramcharran was charged for fraudulent conversion

and misappropriation that allegedly took place between J a n u a r y 1 , 2 0 11 a n d December 31, 2015, and involving tens of millions of dollars. The total is said to be over $400M. Persons in the courtroom could be heard gasping at the sums of money mentioned in (continued on page )

Thursday March 07, 2019

Kaieteur News

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Granger, Jagdeo meeting ends - President to engage without election date GECOM commissioners A

critical meeting yesterday b e t w e e n Government and the Opposition did not bear fruit, with President David Granger stating that he will be meeting with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to be advised on a date for polls.

The meeting was later described by Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, as a futile affair. (See related story on page 7) With the diplomatic community warning that the current delays in finding a solution are hampering investments, and the business community complaining over what they say is a sharp drop in business, there is not good

news…there appears to be no imminent end.

Shortly after the meeting at the Ministry of the P r e s i d e n c y, P r e s i d e n t Granger and Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, who was also part of the team that met with Jagdeo and his group, issued a statement, describing the meeting as “fruitful”.

It was a sharp contrast to what Jagdeo said later.

“I am happy to say that the engagement between the Government side and the Opposition side was very useful and very fruitful. Both sides are working towards the solution of the issues which now confront us and I think we had a very positive approach. As you know there are four processes

President David Granger and his team meeting yesterday with the Opposition representatives, led by Bharrat Jagdeo.

Learn from Ghana…

Demand approval for all subcontracting agreements - Oxfam to avoid exploitation America

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hen it comes to costs being incurred by oil companies, transparency advocates for the extractive sector are of the view that Governments and their relevant authorities have the right to know every detail.

This “right” however, must be protected with rigid provisions in contracts and laws. Pointing this out was Oxfam America. The entity is a confederation of 20 independent charitable organizations, which seek to fight some of the factors that lead to poverty, one of them being the poor governance of extractive wealth.

To lend credence to its argument, Oxfam showed how the hands of Ghana's Petroleum Commission were tied when it came to verifying, much less reducing costs charged upon the African country, since it had no legal basis for access to subcontracting agreements from oil and gas companies.

Oxfam noted that it is common for drilling rigs to experience mechanical downtime. It said that t y p i c a l l y, t h e d r i l l i n g subcontractor must be compensated by the oil operator for nonproduction time if it exceeds one percent in a given year for example.

Oxfam America Director, Ian Gary

The Federation continued, “…Because Ghana's Petroleum Commission could not access these drilling service agreements, it was unable to confirm the terms and conditions of compensation.

Assuming a rig is down for 10 percent of the year, at US$100,000 to US$200,000 a day, the cost could be as high as US$7 million.”

The transparency advocate added, “However, the Commission had no information on the extent to which the companies had been reimbursed for nonproduction time by the oil operators. To overcome this

challenge, the Commission now requires approval of all subcontracting agreements.”

It is along this vein that Oxfam America urges all first-time oil producers like Guyana to demand the approval of all subcontracting agreements as well as ensure that it introduces and enforces, clear, comprehensive, standardized reporting and documentation requirements in relation to those subcontracting arrangements. It said, too, that the government should also establish systems to catalogue the information so it can be used for risk assessment.

taking place; one is the importance of the National Assembly; second is the judicial process; third is the executive process and fourth is GECOM (Guyana Elections Commission),” the President asserted.

According to Granger, the engagement yesterday morning, focused largely on the role of GECOM, because it is an independent agency, which could determine when elections would be held.

“The President or the Executive or anybody, cannot intervene, cannot intrude, cannot interfere with the work of GECOM, so we have to allow GECOM to do its work. In that regard, the Leader of the Opposition was insistent that a date be set and he is in all fairness, prepared to vary the date based on a vote by the National Assembly.”

Granger pointed out that on February 25th, he had written the Chairman of GECOM, Justice (ret'd) James Patterson, indicating that he is prepared to enter consultations with him.

This, the President disclosed, was to ensure that “credible elections” are held in a short a time as possible. “…and I would like to meet him again…in fact, I would like to meet the entire Commission to determine what their needs are in terms of time and money. So, the door is open, the Leader of the Opposition has agreed to meet again. The people of Guyana could be assured that we are working to ensure that credible elections are held in as short a time as possible.”

The president did not give a date, but insisted that there is no crisis.

“There are issues which have to be resolved and most of those issues will depend on what I hear from GECOM when I consult them and I will ask the Minister of State to speak about those consultations.”

According to Harmon, in the President's letter to the Chairman of GECOM on February 25th, the very last paragraph of that letter indicated that the President would meet with GECOM on consultations with respect to their readiness for the conduct of elections.

More importantly, the minister stressed, the financial resources that are required and the timeline that is required were noted to be the big issues.

“Our understanding from the Whips, who met with GECOM, is that they (continued on page 13)

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Kaieteur News

Thursday March 07, 2019

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

One question remains…

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great majority of Guyanese have stopped asking one question about the opposition’s presidential candidate. On the other hand, just about every citizen is intrigued by another question, which seems more relevant to the grand political schemes let loose on this land.

Nobody cares anymore about anything related to: who is he?

The generously charitable and clearly partisan have settled for: he is a citizen.

As recommendations go, this one is rather pale and lacks any iota of substance; or any ingredient that would keep the conversation going, or the now distinctly unsettled candidate in the public’s mind.

Also, the public has had its fill with the playing of the one record that repeats the chants as to inadequacies. In any elections lottery focused on either quality, or meritocracy, or admirability this one falters; time to get another ticket.

Similarly, it has become noticeable that most could not care less about the authenticity or existence of qualifications, as were tendered.

It just does not matter, as Guyanese have taken their measure of the man, and arrived at a certain place.

In the interests of tact and kindness, let it be said that it is an undesired and unhappy place for anyone to be, including one’s worst enemy.

Party supporters and clannish loyalists ought to have an extremely difficult time in not joining the bandwagon of the skeptical and dissenting, and the dismissive, too; even if they do so only secretly and most carefully.

After all, this is in the best traditions of all for one, and one for all. But the question as to who and what the candidate is about, is now considered moot, and passé; perhaps, altogether indecorous in good company, or as part of any good cocktail hour conversation.

In the next instance, the pertinent question that would not go away is this: where is the man of the season?

It just would not die or fade away, and probing minds want to know, if only for the suspense of it.

There has been some belated defensive posturing by the faithful that he is out there and over there; but those advocacies fall flat and only stoke the embers of skepticism into a more furious frenzy.

Because at this electrifying juncture of swirling contentious debates about calendar, courts, and constitution, and as they figure in an increasingly sharp elections contest, the candidate is conspicuously absent.

It is possible, that he is travelling incognito and is working on a secret mission to drum up a favourable voter surprise come elections time. Regardless of the reasons, and notwithstanding the shaky defences offered, the opposition presidential candidate needs to be out there in the midst of the electorate and making some attempt to market himself and the attributes of his candidacy.

He should be seen mixing it up with political adversaries, and leading the charge in one foray after another on the disputed issues of the day.

His party may be reluctant to take such dangerous risks; but the electorate and the nation are due some inkling as to the mettle of the man; as well as the calibre of his nerves, character, and whatever values he may wish to put on display for public examination and comment.

All voters, including the most insensitive and uncaring, know that this election is going to be mighty close. It would be comforting to know something about the candidate. Anything.

SCHOOLED BY DR. JAGAN DEAR EDITOR, The people of Guyana are currently marking the 22nd death anniversary of Dr. Cheddi Jagan.

This is an event that calls for reflection on Dr. Jagan’s life and work.

But it is not only members of the PPP who are observing this event. There are many others in our midst who write and speak about Dr. Jagan, his role and place in Guyana’s political life.

Nowadays, it is in vogue by some who once wrote and made hate speeches about Dr. Jagan to now sing praises to him knowing full well that he is dead and gone and consequently, dead men tell no tales.

As we mark the 22nd year of Dr. Jagan’s passing, I am taking the opportunity to recall just three of the many instances that I shared with him.

The first was during a visit to Cuba as General Secretary of the PPP to participate in an international conference on la deuda externa or the foreign debt.

After the conference, a bilateral meeting took place late one night between Fidel Castro and Dr. Jagan. The meeting lasted until the wee hours of the following morning.

During that meeting at which I was present, the two

leaders held wide-ranging discussions on agricultural, economic, political and environmental issues.

On our way back to the hotel, I asked Dr. Jagan how come Castro, being a lawyer and he (Dr. Jagan) being a dentist, yet they knew so well, and in great detail the matters they discussed in great detail?

Dr. Jagan turned to me with that famous smile on his face and said, “All you have to do is to apply yourself.”

The second was how pleasantly surprised Dr. Jagan was on the eve of the ‘92 elections, when he learnt about a statement issued by Arthur Schlesinger Jnr. the historian and former adviser to President John F. Kennedy, that US policy towards Guyana was flawed, that ‘a great injustice was done to Dr. Jagan’ by engineering his removal from office and for him being in the political wilderness for 28 years.

Dr. Jagan felt vindicated.

Thirdly, I was fortunate to accompany Dr. Jagan on his lobbying missions to Washington, Ottawa, London and Jamaica for free and fair elections in Guyana.

During those trips, I witnessed at first-hand how Dr. Jagan was able to convince key decision makers and key stakeholders at those capitals,

to support the struggle for free and fair elections in Guyana.

In his own inimitable style, he did it the Cheddi Jagan way.

And it paid off.

And so, if it is for these and other reasons that some are branded Jaganites.

It is a proud name brand not to be ashamed of.

Jagan is dead and gone yes, but he left a legacy, which many continue to hold onto tenaciously, others either play it down, shun it or trample upon it.

After 22 years, we still hear calumnies like ‘Jagan made mistakes,’ ‘Jagan’s time is long past’, ‘or that it was ‘Jagan’s communism that made Guyana fail’.

It is as if those critiquing Jagan wanted to make him the perfect man in their own image or to be someone who never lived in a glasshouse but to whom they wanted to throw stones.

And while ‘amazing’ is not a favourite adjective of mine, I must concede that it is really amazing to read the pontifications of the Monday quarterbacks as they continue unabashedly, to claim superior in both knowledge and analytical skills compared to Jagan’s.

If today, Marx’s life work is not above criticism nor condemnation, it follows that

Jagan’s life work can never be above criticism nor condemnation. What is of interest however is the fact that the Monday quarterbacks were around while Dr. Jagan was alive and well, yet they never considered it appropriate nor wise at that time to utter neither a squeak nor a squawk critical of his views.

Strangely, it was only with his passing, the ‘post Jagan specialists’ and ‘born again democrats’ emerged from the woodwork critiquing and analyzing Jagan to such an extent that some have even hijacked his ‘Straight Talk’ trade mark.

Perhaps the anti-Jagan analysts were too young and wet behind the ears at the time of Dr. Jagan’s political and ideological activism and could not, through no fault of theirs, benefit from his schooling.

And so, now that that defining period of Jagan’s life work has been included as a new chapter in the annals of Guyana’s political history, Jagan’s core values, beliefs, ethics and morals, as well as his humanist approach to developmental economics and politics, will no doubt continue to challenge the dominant neo-liberal ideological flavour of the day.

Jagan is long dead and gone, he cannot therefore be (Continued on page 6)

Farewell to the late Deputy Auditor General, Mr. Eric Butler DEAR EDITOR, In his unforgettable masterpiece, “The Rubaiyat” the illustrious Persian poet, astronomer and mathematician, Omar Khayyam who lived in the twelfth century wrote the following luminous lines:“The Moving Finger writes and having writ, Moves on; Nor all your piety nor wit shall lure it back To cancel half a line, Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.”

As I reflect on this philosophical thought, it sparkles like a precious diamond in my mind for it was only a few days ago that I was informed of the sudden demise of Mr. Eric Butler, former Deputy Auditor General of the Republic of Guyana who passed away recently in New York, USA. My heart is deeply saddened at such a tragic loss.

In that regard, I would like to extend our condolences on behalf of my family and self and all the Officers of the Office of the Auditor General who served with and under Mr. Butler’s watch ,and their families, to his bereaved family, siblings, relatives and friends, Moreover, as I muse on Khayyam’s quatrain, I am re-

minded of the stark fact that our destiny has already been written by the Creator and notwithstanding the depths of our piety nor level of intelligence it cannot be erased as it is irrevocable for we are all destined to depart from this transient world sooner or later.

Our stars crossed in April 1976 when I first met Mr. Butler at the Office of the Auditor General in Parade Street, Georgetown, Guyana, as a new staff member. I was fascinated by his pleasant deportment, humility and amazing charisma.

During my several years of service under his administration, prior to my tours of duty overseas in Guyana’s Diplomatic Service, I was elected Secretary of the Audit Staff Association, Branch Secretary of the Guyana Public Service Union and was designated as the official Master of Ceremonies of the Office of the Auditor General.

I recall several interactions with him when I performed those duties and he was a tower of support in all my activities. He was gifted with a sound rectitude, fond of literary works, enjoyed great speeches, good music and appreciated the strategic role

played by the Union in advancing and defending its members’ interests.

He loved intellectual discussions and was a fantastic listener. Eric had an infectious sense of humour. I remember on one occasion as I was executing my function as Master Of Ceremonies, I quoted from Shakespeare and was greeted by a lone heckler.

Instantaneously, his comment (the heckler) drew a swift riposte from me when I told him that the works of Shakespeare were intended only for those persons who had an appreciation for literature and philosophy.

At that moment, the floor erupted into a resounding applause led by Mr. Butler and the heckler was silenced.

Furthermore, Eric, other colleagues and I had many social encounters at various rendezvous including the PSU Sports Complex in Thomas lands where we had several brainstorming discussions on theology, politics, literature and philosophy, love and marriage and other interesting topics over refreshments.

He was highly respected and loved by all of us and his views on such matters were stellar and seminal.

Perhaps, it is opportune

for me to state that someone once declared that, “When a giant tree falls, the forest trembles.”

In the fragrant evergreen forest of humanity, a giant tree has fallen. We are trembling and will certainly miss him dearly.

However, we can take comfort in the fact that those whom we have loved and lost shall forever be immortalized in the velvet recesses of our hearts for in the timeless words of the poet laureate of Lebanon, Khalil Gibran, “Life and death are one even as the river and the sea are one.”

And now the time has come for us to bid you farewell our Dear Brother.

Goodbye, our Gracious Friend.

Adieu our Valiant Hero.

We shall all miss you dearly.

May the Angels in Heaven watch over and serenade your Sweet Soul as you sleep in the Bosom of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, until we meet again at His feet on that Glorious Morning of the Resurrection when the trials and tribulations of this temporal world will be vanquished forever.

Andrew Zamal Canada

Thursday March 07, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Reject those bent on disrupting ethnic harmony and political order DEAR EDITOR, We wish to respond to a letter dated March 5, 2019 published by Stabroek News, titled “PNC had their chance to fix Guyana constitutionally and they deliberately chose ethnic supremacy as their tool of rule.” Mr. Sasenarine Singh, the author of letter, was responding to a prior letter submitted to Stabroek News by Mr. David Hinds regarding his contention that Guyana has been in a “permanent state of a constitutional crisis since 1953.” Mr. Singh’s attitude to Mr. Hinds’ letter was generally dismissive, a trait commonly noticeable with many of his public commentaries.

Although both authors do possess merits in their respective thesis over Guyana’s political situation, we believe Mr. Singh cunningly evades the context of Mr. Hinds’ letter, only to pull a straw-man argument to serve what he desires Mr. Hinds to say but did not.

Firstly, we wish to contextualize what Mr. Hinds articulated in his letter, followed by addressing the main claims of Mr. Singh’s concerns.

Mr. Hinds is providing Guyanese an understanding common within learned circles what their political situation consists in. Mr. Singh misses an opportunity to build upon this understanding, and instead chose to go on the offense in a skewed attempt to portray the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) as innocent amid what is evidently an ongoing political crisis.

We believe that Mr. Hinds description of the issues in politics today can be deemed a political crisis.

We further believe that no side of the political aisle is worthy of sainthood, as it is a consequence of the actions and inactions of both majoritarian parties. What is

fundamental in understanding the basis of Mr. Hinds’ contention is how he eloquently contextualizes the ongoing entrapment of Guyanese politics, stating “The PPP… love to regale us with the argument that Indian Guyanese support and vote for them not because of race but because they are a working-class party.

Or African Guyanese would tell us that they support the crudest form of governance by the PNC not because of race but because they fear the evil PPP.” Ethnic identity is undoubtedly pivotal to the majoritarian parties.

They claim not to be racist, but they tend to prey on racialized politics because of our history.

They do not really care to transcend it into something contrary to the status-quo, but to sustain it. It has become an order, an order, which sustains their very political relevance. Without the IndoGuyanese supporting the PPP/C, there would be no PPP/ C. Similarly, without AfroGuyanese, there would be no PNCR. The situation presents a conundrum with a potential: either we stagnate in what could be described only as a political deadlock or we seek radical transformation. Responding to the latter suggestion, a paradigm-shift occurred in the 2015 national elections, when the APNU+AFC coalition party made a bold effort to transform this order utilizing the best of two philosophies—one of unity and the other of change—in a resolute effort to garner from the populace broad ethnic or racial support which resulted in their win by majority.

Though commendable, unfortunately their model of coalition politics is under threat, posing new questions while revisiting old ones sur-

rounding loyalty, constitutional law, parliamentary structure, and partisanship.

Therefore, for these reasons, among others, Mr. Hinds is right to say that, “what we are calling a constitutional crisis is really a deep political crisis laden with ethno-political implications,” implications, we dare say, the majoritarian parties are fearful of openly addressing. Of course, one could say that the opposition party, the PPP/C, is at the forefront of doing just that.

Indeed, they are, as they are obligated to. However, their way of addressing concerns, which affects every Guyanese regardless of ethnicity, race, religion or creed, comes with gerrymandering the issues with the allusion that they and only they can bring remedy to the present chaos.

Now, this brings us to Mr. Singh’s caricature of the issues, the second part of our response.

Mr. Singh provides a lengthy commentary justifying why some families of a particular ethnicity seem to be better off than others. But this talk of which ethnic group is better off under which Government is irrelevant in context, and futile to pursue if the interest is genuinely ‘Guyana first.’

Despite Mr. Hinds providing no basis for this response,

Mr. Singh wants us to believe that though the “top 200 richest families in Guyana are Indo-Guyanese”, this is not “an accurate representation of “the demographic framework of the nation.”

He cites figures apparently from thin-air suggesting that Indo-Guyanese are primarily affected by poverty compared to any other ethnic group.

Firstly, I believe Mr. Singh fails to prove his point.

He fails because he is.

Deliberately promulgating mere speculative assertions about ethnic favouritism while excluding and victimizing one group—the IndoGuyanese population. We reject this irresponsible attempt to create false perceptions of Guyanese society on unwarranted grounds. According to the World Bank and Guyana Bureau of Statistics, estimates using the Household Budget Survey conducted in 1992 and 2006, 31.6% of Afro Guyanese are in poverty, 30% for Indo Guyanese and 33% for ‘mixed’ groups.

A number was not cited for Amerindians in the 2011 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), but it was noted that this group has a higher poverty percentage relative to any other group. There is little disparity in the ethnic demographic of people living in poverty.

If Mr. Singh wants to use

poverty statistics to analyze the performance of the government, he must provide the truth and not spin statistics to portray that one group is being marginalized. Additionally, Mr. Singh stated that the PNC is the reason for 3,000 Indo-Guyanese losing their jobs because of the closure of the sugar estates.

On what grounds? None.

This is balderdash at best.

Under the PPP/C administration, the sugar industry became devastated due to mismanagement of funds and failing to adhere to international and local expert advice to diversify the industry.

This is considerably documented. Furthermore, Mr. Singh also stated that, “under the Burnham and now Granger regime, Guyana’s human social development has suffered.” By what measure are we making such a pronouncement? And what about the glorious age of “progress” that spanned 23 years of PPP/C governance?

It seems rather convenient to have left out 23 years of sociopolitical change and development in Guyana— surely, this span of governance offers rich data to infer

the status of “human social development.” Throughout the 23-year term of the prior administration, we have witnessed repeatedly the erosion of the rule of law, allegations of corruption, nepotism and cronyism, and so on, plagued our beloved Guyana. Perhaps one could imagine that if public funds were not used on grand projects like the Marriott Hotel, much more could have been done to alleviate poverty for all Guyanese.

In conclusion, we believe Mr. Singh said it best, that “all of our people are suffering from actions taken by all sides.” It is time for Guyanese to neglect and reject the unwavering onslaught exhibited by those who want to disrupt ethnic harmony and political order.

We must emphasize compassion and solidarity instead of anger and hostility. We must try to listen to each other, not to agree, but to better safeguard ourselves from deceptive tactics of those who would have us trade our patriotism for misguided deeds and promises.

Yours faithfully, Matthew Gaul Ferlin Pedro

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Kaieteur News

Thursday March 07, 2019

Balance for Better as International Women’s Day is Celebrated DEAR EDITOR, International Women’s Day is celebrated 8th March every year.

It is a focal point in the movement for women’s rights the world over!

After the Socialist Party of America organised a Women’s Day on February 28, 1909 in New York, the 1910 International Socialist Woman’s Conference suggested a Women’s Day be held annually.

After women gained suffrage in Soviet Russia in 1917, March 8 became a national holiday there.

The day was then predominantly celebrated by the socialist movement and communist countries until it was adopted in 1975 by the United Nations.

Today, International Women’s Day is a public holiday in some countries and largely ignored elsewhere. In some places, it is a day of protest; in others, it is a day that celebrates womanhood.

The day is not without controversy with some arguing that some women have adopted it for misandric purposes.

The earliest Women’s Day observance, called “National

Woman’s Day,” was held on February 28, 1909 in New York, organized by the Socialist Party of America at the suggestion of Theresa Malkiel.

Though there have been claims that the day was commemorating a protest by women garment workers in New York on March 8, 1857, some researchers have described this as a myth.

In August 1910, an International Socialist Women’s Conference was organized to precede the general meeting of the Socialist Second International in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Inspired in part by the American socialists, German Socialist Luise Zietz proposed the establishment of an annual Women’s Day and was seconded by fellow socialist and later communist leader Clara Zetkin, supported by Käte Duncker, although no date was specified at that conference.

Women delegates from 17 countries agreed with the idea as a strategy to promote equal rights including suffrage for women.

The following year on March 19, 1911, International Women Day was marked for

the first time, by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland.

In the Austro-Hungarian Empire alone, there were 300 demonstrations.

In Vienna, women paraded on the Ringstrasse and carried banners honouring the martyrs of the Paris Commune.

Women demanded that they be given the right to vote and to hold public office.

They also protested against employment sex discrimination.

In 1913, Russian women observed their first International Women’s Day on the last Saturday in February. In 1914, International Women’s Day was held on March 8 in Germany, possibly because that day was a Sunday, and now it is always held on March 8 in all countries.

The 1914 observance of the Day in Germany was dedicated to women’s right to vote, which German women did not win until 1918.

In London, there was a march from Bow to Trafalgar Square in support of women’s suffrage on March 8, 1914.

Sylvia Pankhurst was arrested in front of Charing Cross Station on her way to speak in

Trafalgar Square.

On March 8, 1917, on the Gregorian calendar, in the capital of the Russian Empire, Petrograd, women textile workers began a demonstration, covering the whole city.

This marked the beginning of the February Revolution, which alongside the October Revolution made up the Russian Revolution.

Wo m e n i n S a i n t Petersburg went on strike that day for “Bread and Peace” – demanding the end of World War I, an end to Russian food shortages, and the end of czarism.

Leon Trotsky wrote, “23 February (8th March) was International Woman’s Day and meetings and actions were foreseen. But we did not imagine that this ‘Women’s Day’ would inaugurate the revolution.

Revolutionary actions were foreseen but without date.

But in the morning, despite the orders to the contrary, textile workers left their work in several factories and sent delegates to ask for support of the strike… which led to mass strike... all went out into the streets.” Seven days later, the Emperor of Russia, Nicholas II abdicated and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote.

Following the October Revolution, the Bolshevik

Alexandra Kollontai and Vladimir Lenin made it an official holiday in the Soviet Union, but it was a working day until 1965. On May 8, 1965 by the decree of the USSR Presidium of the Supreme Soviet International Women’s Day was declared a non-working day in the USSR, “in commemoration of the outstanding merits of Soviet women in communistic construction, in the defense of their Fatherland during the Great Patriotic War, in their heroism and selflessness at the front and in the rear, and also marking the great contribution of women to strengthening friendship between peoples, and the struggle for peace.

But still, women’s day must be celebrated as are other holidays.”

From its official adoption in Soviet Russia following the Revolution in 1917, the holiday was predominantly cel-

ebrated in communist countries and by the communist movement worldwide.

It was celebrated by the communists in China from 1922. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949 the State Council proclaimed on December 23 that March 8 would be made an official holiday with women in China given a half-day off.

The United Nations began celebrating International Women’s Day in the International Women’s Year, 1975. In 1977, the United Nations General Assembly invited member states to proclaim March 8 as the UN Day for women’s rights and world peace.

In Guyana, we trust that all men would continue to give and to share due respect to all women here!

The theme for this year is, “Balance For Better.”

Yours Rooplall Dudhnath

SCHOOLED BY DR...

From page 4 held responsible for the distorted values that shape anyone’s view under present day conditions.

To blame him for things done in a less enlightened time using the standards of today is to set the bar too high.

To leave a legacy is to gift something of meaning or value. Cheddi Jagan gifted something of meaning and

value to the Guyanese nation.

That gift must be translated into racial/ethnic and class balance, along with ideological pluralism in a national democratic state.

This must be solidified by regular and meaningful consultations with opposition political parties, private sector organizations, trade unions, and other non-governmental organizations, including relig i o u s / c u l t u r a l b o dies within the context of parliamentary democracy, the rule of law and the supremacy of the constitution.

Yours faithfully, Clement J. Rohee

Thursday March 07, 2019

PAGE 7

Kaieteur News

A futile meeting…

Jagdeo tells Granger: I am calling for sanctions after March 21 Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has described yesterday’s meeting with President David Granger as an exercise in futility.

The Opposition Leader also said he informed the President that he would be calling for sanctions on the Coalition Government, after March 21, 2019.

He said he reminded the President that he would be invoking the same sanctions which Granger, as Leader of the Opposition, had called for in November 2014.

“The President has not given the Guyanese people any assurance that the imminent danger the country faces will be averted. Instead, the Parliamentary Opposition could only conclude that the President and his Government have and will continue to act in bad-faith, and, that the President is willing to subvert and violate the Constitution to suit his Government’s objective of staying in power beyond March 21, 2019,” the Opposition said in a statement after the meeting yesterday.

The meeting at the Ministry of the Presidency was supposed to find a solution on the ongoing situation fol-

lowing the December 21st noconfidence vote which was deemed to be legal by the High Court, but is now being appealed.

One of the government parliamentarians, Charrandass Persaud, joined with the Opposition to vote yes.

Under the Constitution, the carrying of the vote has triggered early elections within 90 days- which is supposed to end on March 21st.

However, while Government insisted that the status quo remains until the court matters have been decided, the Opposition is holding its ground insisting that it will be an illegal government in place after March 21st.

According to the Opposition Leader’s statement, the APNU+AFC (A Partnership For National Unity + Alliance For Change) Coalition Government becomes unconstitutional, illegal and illegitimate, after then.

“One would have expected that President David Granger, having invited the Leader of the Opposition to a meeting, on the eve of a constitutional crisis, after March 21, 2019, would have come to the meeting prepared to avert

the impending constitutional crisis.”

Jagdeo insisted that nothing came out of it - it was futile.

Jagdeo said that he went into the meeting with some misgivings, only accepting the invitation in the national interest. He said he also proposed a reasonable and feasible solution to hold General and Regional Elections before the List of Electors expires on April 30, 2019.

“The Parliamentary Opposition and the entire population have been subjected to a series of “bad-faith” actions by the APNU+AFC Coalition Government, after the passage of the no-confidence motion on December 21, 2018.

Regrettably, this meeting did not offer anything different.

The President repeated the views of the governmentappointed Commissioners and his party leaders, and, reiterated his position that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) had to set the date for elections, and, that he had to await GECOM’s readiness to hold elections.”

Jagdeo said that he told the President and his team that the GECOM, a creature of the Constitution, could not

AN EXERCISE IN FUTILITY: Despite the smiles, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday insisted that the meeting at the Ministry of the Presidency with President David Granger was a waste of time. be above the Constitution, nor could it usurp the powers of the President to dissolve Parliament and summon elections at any time.

Jagdeo said his proposal for elections before April 30th, 2019, an additional 50 days past the March 21, 2019

deadline, was doable.

The Opposition said that he is prepared to support GECOM in three actions - to have enhanced safeguards at the polling stations; to use selective tenders to allow it to fast-track procurement for the elections; and to simulta-

neously train additional elections day staff to meet that timeline.

“Mr. Jagdeo removed any doubt, if there was any, that were the Coalition Government to support a new national house-to-house (Continued on page 10)

PAGE 8

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 07, 2019

Victims’ reluctance to testify against market criminals ends in low prosecution – Chief Constable

Chief Constable Andrew Foo

Law enforcement officials carrying out the recent raid at Stabroek Market The reluctance of victims to offer evidence against market criminals in court has resulted in low prosecution of such cases, Chief Constable Andrew Foo told members of the media yesterday.

According to Foo, several cases have been dropped because victims have a tendency of not showing up for Court. “Sadly, in most of the instances when we apprehend persons for crimes, the victims are fearful and tend not to want to go to Court and testify against these persons because they are intimidated and traumatized by the perpetrators. When the matters go

to court and the persons do not turn up, the cases are eventually dismissed.”

Another factor to consider, the Chief Constable says, is the fact that the thieves tend to target persons, who reside outside of the city and the country.

“What we have found too is that some of these persons who are being targeted are often living overseas - they don’t belong to Guyana - or they live at far reaching places such as Linden or Bartica. So when the matters are called in Court it is unlikely that the victims will show up.

The matter is dismissed and the criminals are back on the streets, the very next day.”

Foo’s comments come in the wake of the recent raid

conducted at the Stabroek Market.

Last week, members of the Constabulary joined the Guyana Police Force to conduct a sting operation at the Stabroek Market. This was done in light of the numerous complaints about illegal activities and constant robberies in and around the market.

Police ranks were stationed at the entrances to the market while the operation was carried out. The police also had sniffer dogs assisting in the search even as the police prison truck was parked a short distance away.

The operation also saw search being done at the Ferry Stelling area and route 31, 32, 40, 41, and 44 minibus parks.

During the search, a quantity of marijuana seeds amounting to 128 grams, and 561 grams of cannabis was found.

The operation resulted in thirteen persons being arrested in relation to several offences.

Thursday March 07, 2019

PAGE 9

Kaieteur News

Now is the time Now is the right time for the Rastafarian community to press for the decriminalization of marijuana.

The government, which has been prevaricating on this issue for more than three years and has bluntly refused in the National Assembly to entertain even a Private Members’ Bill on this issue, is likely to now bend over backwards to place as many constituencies as they can.

If the government does not now give in to the demands for the decriminalization of marijuana, it never will.

The government is now in full campaign mode; there has even been the suggestion that elections will be held this year.

As such, the government is going overboard in trying to win the hearts of the electorate.

Towards this objective, Ministers are fanning out almost daily across the country. One Minister was publicly photographed examining a soursop fruit. It is not clear what he was looking for or whether he was just admiring

the undeveloped fruit. A convoy of Ministers descended recently on Region Nine and dispersed to its various communities to beg the people for their votes. The campaign is in full throttle, despite some supporters believing that the government is going to appeal the No Confidence Motion (NCM) all the way to the CCJ, and that until this happens, there will be no elections.

Just this past week, the government rolled out plans for works to hundreds of roads across Guyana. In addition, major road works are taking place on the Sheriff Street-Mandela Avenue roadway. Work on other main streets is being planned.

All these years, the Stabroek Market Square remained the most dangerous part of the country, and the most trafficked. This past week, we saw a massive police operation which locked down the area and resulted in the arrests of a number of persons.

For years also, there have been protests about the laws which impose mandatory cus-

todial sentences for small amounts of narcotics. Suddenly, we read about a Drug Court which will reduce custodial sentences for minor offences.

This is the time to approach the government if you need any licence or permit or concession.

After three years of dillydallying, a TV licence has been granted to the people of Linden. A training centre for young people was recently destroyed in Linden.

The government has indicated that its reconstruction will begin almost immediately.

Coffee production is being boosted in Santa Rosa, thanks to the government.

Deaf persons recently protested that they are being discriminated against since the police force was refusing to grant them drivers’ licences.

Immediately the police announced that a driving test will be administered to some deaf individuals.

RUSAL is under intense pressure from the government to reinstate the employees whom they dismissed. The

Dem boys seh ...

From Canada, to court to jail is a short trip When people do something in this country and dem want to run away de first place dem does run is Canada. And that is because Canada don’t fight down nobody. Is a big country and it always want people, but not scampish people.

De man who was wukking wid de Rice Board find out that SOCU was looking to arrest him fuh some money that de Rice Board get from Venezuela, so de man jump pun a plane and head straight to Canada.

Anodda man who use to wuk wid GPL do de same thing. He too run to Canada, but he smell de rat and jump cross de bord e r. H e n o w l i v e i n Queens, but he always got

an eye out fuh de immigration.

This one had a Guyanese fuh a lawyer.

Dem boys did know de lawyer, because he too live in Canada. This same lawyer coulda get he head chop off, because he bet dem boys that Guyana would never get back this man.

But he forget that Canada don’t like crooks.

That is de same country that tell a certain man that he got to explain dem charges wha he get before he can travel to Canada.

And that is how de rice board man walk off de plane at de airport and straight into SOCU hand.

Yesterday before he could ketch he breath he was before de magistrate and before he could sit down he

was in de prison van heading to jail. He family didn’t get time to talk to him.

Last night he had to deal wid mosquitoes.

When he been in de detention centre in Canada he had a nice place wid bunks and shower and things like that. Food was almost like home.

All de money he got couldn’t buy a proppa piece of sponge fuh he lie down. He couldn’t get a can of Baygon fuh spray de bugs that keep him busy all night.

Dem boys sure he would willingly give back all de money dem seh he tek just to be li’l comfortable. Talk half and watch out fuh more people coming back from Canada.

river is being blocked – an offence under the law – but a blind eye is being turned to this action as part of rampingup the pressure against the company.

The signs are clear. Elections are in the air this year.

And the lacklustre government has suddenly been energized. Ministers are here, there and everywhere. They come bearing gifts and promises.

The Guyanese people understand the drill. They know they their votes are needed at this time and that the government will bend over backwards to help satisfy their

needs.

The teachers are aware of this, and so they are now pressing for wages in 2019, knowing that the one thing which the government does not want in an election year is a teachers’ strike. If the teachers ask for 50% increase this year, they will get it.

The short window which exists from now to elections should be fully exploited by those who need things from the government.

Now is the time to press for house lots, leases for land, small loans and timber and gold and diamond grants.

Now is the time for the young people to ask for jobs in the public sector. Now is the time to press for water and electricity. Now is the time to ask the government to improve the drains and community grounds where you live.

Now is the time to go in and ask for social assistance.

The government is in a generous mood. It is, after all, election year.

PAGE 10

Thursday March 07, 2019

Kaieteur News

=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===

A brief history of instabilities in Guyana, 1953-2019 The year 2019 has come at an uncertain time. Guyana is facing an egregious constitutional monster that is making every citizen in and out of the land nervous. There are more than a million Guyanese in foreign lands and they have loved ones living right here, so they too will not want to see ugly crises engulf the land.

Guyana drifts from one explosive imbroglio to another. This has been long before Independence. Guyana became independent in 1966.

Yet way back in 1953, problems, troubles, confusion, terrible tensions, instability visited the land, and since then the runaway train is still in

runaway mode.

In 1953 the constitution was suspended, its elected government disbanded and several of its leaders including Dr. and Mrs. Jagan were jailed by the colonial government. Then came the cataclysmic split between Jagan and Burnham, and thus the birth of the PNC. From thereon, the zero sum battle between these giants has exacted a humongous toll on Guyana’s social health.

I grew up seeing the permanency of instability in Guyana.

The beginning of the sixties witnessed horrible ethnic and political violence. This still remains the worst period of mayhem in Guyana. I would rate it as the worst, because the violence in

Buxton between 2002 and 2006 did not engulf Guyana, the way the conflicts from 1960 to 1964 did.

The three saddest incidents of political violence in Guyana’s history outside of the torture and execution of slave rebellion survivors remain in the following order; the bombing of the Son Chapman ferry on its way to MacKenzie in which 38 African Guyanese lost their lives; violent attacks on Indians, also in Mackenzie, in which rapes, murders and displacements took place; the unspeakableAbraham family incident in which Arthur Abraham, former PS in the Office of Premier Cheddi Jagan had his home bombed . He lost his life and six of his children per-

Jagdeo tells Granger: I am calling for...

From page 7 registration process, which would delay the elections for at least another eight months, especially taking into consideration that the November 2018 Voters list, used in the Local Government Elections, was pronounced “clean” by GECOM’s Chief Elections Officer, and all the political parties contesting those elections accepted the list as credible, without any complaint,

the Parliamentary Opposition would not support an extension past March 21, 2019, as required by 106 (7) of the Constitution.”

The Opposition Leader said that the President undertook to meet with GECOM and get back to him.

“However, it is clear that the three government-appointed Commissioners of GECOM, and the Chairman, are taking instructions from

Congress Place. The positions being taken by the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), the Coalition government, and these Commissioners are one and the same.” Jagdeo insisted that no agreement was reached and no other issue was discussed. “In conclusion, the Leader of the Opposition stated that until the date is settled, there was nothing further to discuss.”

ished in the inferno.

We got Independence in 1966, yet soon after, political conflicts dominated the landscape.

That period, one could say, culminated in the death of Walter Rodney. In 1979, Guyana braced for the Rodney Revolution when it was anticipated that there would be a huge showdown between supporters of Walter Rodney and the WPA and the State under Forbes Burnham. It wasn’t to be. The next year, 1980, Walter Rodney was murdered.

President Burnham died in 1985 and a scandalously rigged election followed.

More crises arose. Elections were due in 1990, but weren’t held, precipitating another national moment of unnerving anxiety. The long rule of the PNC ended in 1992, but Guyana saw an exchange not a change. The cries of ethnic discrimination that echoed in the sixties African people when the Indianized PPP ruled and that echoed in the seventies when the Africanized PNC ruled, returned after 1992.

The period 1997 onwards saw tragic moments of discrimination from the ruling side and unruly and violent political ethics from the opposition. Those writing on this period will no

doubt devote some attention to the catch phrase of that time – “mo fyaah, slo fyaah.” Our neighbouring CARICOM counties came in and settled things in a covenant that has gone down in the history books as “The Herdmanston Accord.” And once more, the people of the Caribbean wondered who or what was this country named Guyana.

The period 2002-2006 was traumatic, violent and internecine. The heinousness of this section of the evolution of Guyana has only one parallel as mentioned above – the violence from 1960 -1964.

Guyana was virtually paralyzed by violent gunmen operating with impunity from Buxton. Guyana dug one hole to fill another. To confront and defeat the Buxton conspiracy, ruling politicians gave extra-judicial latitude to a notorious drug lord.

Instability is the permanent friend of this country. We saw a unique situation develop on December 21, when a majority government lost a no-confidence vote (NCV).

We are currently swimming in the consequences of that process in the Guyana Parliament. We are in the middle of a crisis that, any minute now can precipitate more rounds

Frederick Kissoon of instabilities. Yesterday, the nation held its hope high, so high, that as Barry Manilow sang, in one of his songs, “the stallion could touch the sun.”

An anti-climax occurred yesterday. There was no agreement between the Opposition leader and the President on the implication arising from the NCV way back on December 21, 2018. What happens to Guyana if the Court of Appeal rules that the NCV was valid and the Caribbean Court of Justice upholds that ruling? It would mean that the APNU+AFC government cannot remain in office.

So what happens then? Simply – another round of the instabilities generation after generation have grown up with.

Thursday March 07, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

PAGE 12

Thursday March 07, 2019

Kaieteur News

UG Student Society endorses campaign to squash tuition fees With election season likely to occur this year or the next, a campaign has begun to lobby the government to provide free access to public tertiary education, and it has been endorsed by the University of Guyana Students’ Society (UGSS). Leading this movement is advocate, Elson Lowe.

Speaking to this publication, UGSS President, Devta Ramroop, said that education remains a responsibility of the government and is an investment into human resources that will save trouble later in public spending, crime, health and economic growth. She contends, “We can no longer use the excuse of money.”

Lowe said that the provision of free access to tertiary education is not unheard of, as it was initially provided at the lone public university, since Article 27 of the Constitution dictates that “Every citizen has the right to free education from nursery to university as well as at non-formal places where opportunities are provided for education and training”.

This movement is about bringing the university into compliance with the Constitution, he said. The advocate had also raised this contention at the inaugural session of the Policy Desk on January 5, a youth movement initiated to pressure the government to act in the best interests of the

UGSS President, Devta Ramroop youth cohort.

Lowe has already written to President David Granger and has conversed with several ministers, who have expressed that educa-

tion is an important issue.

Lowe said that this should be a priority for the government.

He is also writing to the leaders of all parties, to

Guyanese national among 20 illegal migrants detained in US NEW YORK (CMC) – The United States Immigration and C u s t o m s E n f o r c e ment (ICE) agency says a Guyanese national is a m o n g 2 0 illegal immigrants detained in New York last month.

ICE said that the uni-

dentified, “unlawfully present Guyanese national” was arrested by local authorities for assault, reckless endangerment, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon.

ICE said that, on February 8, the Guyanese na-

tional was arrested in the Bronx, New York.

“He is currently detained in ICE custody pending a removal hearing before an immigration judge,” ICE said, adding that the nationalities of the others arrested were from Dominican Republic, Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala and Italy.

ICE said last year, its N e w Yo r k F i e l d O ff i c e made more than 3,400 arrests and that 87 per cent

of those individuals either had a prior criminal conviction or had crimin a l c h a r g e s p e nding, “pursuant to their arrest by a law enforcement agency.

“In a region with a population of approximately 810 million residents, these statistics clearly illustrate that ERO New York prioritizes its daily targeted enforcement efforts on criminals and public safety threats,” ICE said.

Advocate for free tertiary education, Elson Lowe find out their stance on the issue of tuition fees at public education institutions.

Lowe contends that for someone to have made the decision to introduce tuition fees at the University of Guyana, it means they acted in contradiction of the nation’s supreme law.

Now, he said, if tuition fees are to remain, the Constitution would have to be amended. And if the law is amended to allow tuition fees to be attached to public college, then it should be decided by way of referendum.

In the meantime, Lowe is conducting continuous polls using various media, predominantly with students and other young persons.

He intends to poll 20,000 people, in total, but has already polled 3,000.

The preliminary results are expected to be released next week.

Lowe said that, according to statistics provided by the Bureau of Statistics, only 2.3 percent of Guyana’s population has a bachelor’s degree. For developed countries, that figure stands at about 30 percent. That means, he said, that Guyana is more than 10 times behind where it needs to be, to provide adequate manpower to perform well on the international stage, and to adequately anticipate the economic boom expected from the budding oil and gas industry. He has calculated that the cost to make UG free of tuition, according to his calculations, would be about $4B; an amount that he is sure the government will be able to manage, given Guyana’s economic prospects.

Low studied political science and economics at the Amherst College, in Massachusetts, before going on to work at the world’s premier financial firm, Goldman Sachs. He also interned for a political think tank in Washington D.C., Campaign for Our Future, and co-founded a local non-profit, The Benab Foundation. Further, he has done research on the technology industry at Stanford University, and throughout Silicon Valley.

He now works with the Government of Guyana.

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 07, 2019

PAGE 13

“Stop playing games with the country” - Concerned citizens picket Ministry of the Presidency

F

our concerned citizens stood outside of the Ministry of the Presidency at Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, yesterday, protesting what they have dubbed as “games” being played between the government and the opposition over the current impasse on when elections should be held.

Present among the group were activists Jai Narine Singh and Jonathan Yearwood.

They carried signs which read “Unity Government is the only way”, “Work Together take Guyana out of the mess” and “I love Guyana. Do you? Then work together.”

Yearwood said that he hopes the two sides would

put aside their differences and have dialogue which yields results that would satisfy the people of Guyana.

Yearwood said that they should stop playing games with the country and cooperate for peace and unity. The protest was triggered by months of backand-forth spats between government and opposition leaders on the consequences of the No-Confidence Motion, which was carried by the National Assembly on December 21, last.

The meeting between President David Granger and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, yesterday, ended without an agreement on a date for General and Regional Elections. The President maintains that

Activists and concerned citizens staged a peaceful picket outside the Ministry of the Presidency yesterday there is no crisis, as his government moves to the March 19 deadline with just

Song featuring Caribbean artistes wins Trinidad Road march

P

ORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – Singer Machel Montano secured his 10th Road March title yesterday after a tune featuring Caribbean artistes won the competition here during the Carnival celebrations that ended here on Tuesday.

The Trinbago Unified Calypsonians' Organisation (TUCO) said that the tune “Famalay” featuring Montano, Bunji Garlin, who in 2013, won the Soul Train Aw a r d f o r B e s t International Performance and St. Vincent and the Grenadines singer “Skinny Fabulous” had outplayed Kees Dieffenthaller's “Savannah Grass” during the two-days of revelry.

The song was produced

Machel Montano

by Dominican Krishna “Dada” Lawrence featuring the island's local music called “Bouyon”.

“It's important that my productions have a “Bouyon Sound” because

I'm from the island of Dominica … and it's imperative that my sound reflect my culture.

This bouyon sound is what sets Dada Muzic apart from the rest in this Soca industry,” he said in an interview published prior to the Carnival celebrations here.

Meanwhile, National Security Minister Stuart Young has hailed the Carnival as the safest in years, telling a news conference “I can say now without fear of contradiction that Carnival 2019 from a national security point of view was the safest if you use the statistics as our measurement in many years”.

Granger, Jagdeo meeting ends without...

From page 3 have a timeline when things are to be done and it is that timeline that we'll have to address – their own readiness for an election. The President has instructed that GECOM be advised about an early meeting….”

He said that he will be following up to determine when best, within the next three to four days, GECOM can say about their readiness to deliver credible elections.

“I think this is important, the President spoke about… it is about delivering credible elections and not just any elections that will end up creating more confusion than they solve problems.”

According to Granger, GECOM is an autonomous body. “GECOM is an

independent agency and there is no part of the Constitution which gives the President or the Executive in general, authority to interfere, intervene or intrude in the work of the elections commission. So, this is a very respectful engagement and, as the Minister of State has pointed out, we will arrange this as quickly as possible so that the Guyanese people could be satisfied that we are moving towards elections.”

He said that based on what will take place in the courts, and in the National Assembly, Guyana is moving towards elections. “…but GECOM is in charge of elections not the Executive. I cannot decide when elections will be held; GECOM has to advise.”

12 days to spare.

Though Jagdeo refused to discuss anything besides a

date for elections, the President said that a date for elections would depend on

the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM)'s readiness.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Thursday March 07, 2019

Sand Creek, six other Region Nine villages to get upgraded water systems

O

ne hundred and forty-eight students of the Sand Creek Secondary School dormitory will be relieved of fetching water, following a commitment by t h e G u y a n a Wa t e r Incorporated (GWI) to look at alternatives to provide water to the facility.

One option is to channel water from a nearby creek as an interim measure, after a water quality test is completed, according to GWI. GWI is also working to activate a new well that was drilled through a joint initiative with GWI and the Pan American Health Organization.

These solutions were derived during community meetings with village leaders and residents last weekend.

A permanent solution

will be the addition of four storage tanks along with pipelines, which will be laid some 1300 meters from the tanks to the dorms. The school's distribution network will also be redesigned to allow for an adequate water supply throughout the school compound.

Managing Director, Dr. Richard Van West-Charles, told the gathering that GWI will collaborate with the Regional Executive Officer to address plumbing issues at the sanitary blocks at the health centre and the school.

The Community of Shiriri consists of 104 residents who reside in scattered clusters, with two hand pump wells, one of which has been nonfunctional for approximately four years. Their hand dug wells, however, become contaminated when it rains.

A water sample being taken for analysis

Residents also access water from a creek that gets dry regularly.

According to GWI, it will work to ensure all solar panels and pumps are functional so as to adequately supply the community. The company will also work to reactivate a defective well and correct the plumbing at the school's sanitary block.

In Rupunau, the possibility of drilling a well will be explored, since previous attempts proved futile due to heavy rock formation within the community. GWI is moving to access a rig that will go beyond the rocks to drill the new well, as has been done in Sand Creek.

A camera inspection, resistivity logging, a pump test and installation of solar panels will also be undertaken.

The functionality of the current pump will be looked at as well as other means of

improving water access, in collaboration with the RDC. Shulinab, which has a population of approximately 800 residents, depends on hand pumps and hand dug wells within clusters. These sources, however, go dry during droughts or get contaminated during rainy seasons. GWI has assured residents that it will pump test an existing well to determine its production capacity. Once this is found to be adequate, a distribution network will be installed to ensure there is water security among households in the South Pole area and other parts of Shulinab.

Residents also noted that the health centre, hot meal program, school and 15 households rely on water from one source, which has proven to be inadequate. In this regard, GWI intends to work with the Ministries of Education and Indigenous Peoples Affairs, and the Regional Democratic

Council, to address same.

GWI will upgrade the existing pipe network in Quiko to extend distribution lines to households west of the village, since they are currently not benefitting from the existing water system. The company will also explore the possibility of drilling a new well for water security purposes. To ensure maintenance of these systems, GWI will train two persons from the community who have been identified by the village council as Servicemen.

With approximately 613 persons residing in the village of Potarnau and an inadequate water supply, GWI is making provisions to ensure an improved service.

GWI will add four more storage tanks to the existing four that have proven to be insufficient, as well as test pump the well for production capacity and conduct training for servicemen.

It was revealed that an existing well has previously been contaminated; as such GWI will be disinfecting the well and taking monthly samples for water quality analysis.

Since the latter part of January to date, GWI has visited 33 communities in Region 9 and logged12 wells. Works are also underway for the installation of distribution networks in Deep South in eight communities, water quality testing, mapping of the communities and well development among other things.

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 07, 2019

PAGE 15

Electricity, high tax rates, corruption ranked most serious obstacles to local businesses

IDB Report reveals‌

By Kiana Wilburg

T

he private sector is touted as the engine of growth in Guyana. Yet, it continues to face significant constraints which hinder its potential.

According to a report by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), ' C o n s t r a i n t s A ff e c t i n g Guyana's Private Sector: Survey Results,' electricity, high taxes and corruption are ranked the most serious obstacles to local businesses.

With respect to electricity, the IDB said that this was deemed the most serious obstacle to businesses in Guyana. The institution said that this is not surprising, since it takes approximately 104 days to obtain an electrical connection. The Bank highlighted that this is significantly above the average of 62 days for obtaining a connection in the Caribbean.

The Bank said that the firms surveyed also indicated that they experience an average of eight power

obtain an operating license, electrical connection, telephone connection, import license, water connection, and construction permits.

Based on the survey, the Bank said that approximately 6.7 percent of the firms indicated they were expected to pay a bribe to obtain the contract, while 3.3 percent of the firms claimed they were expected to pay a bribe to tax officers.

Further to this, the financial institution noted that the cost incurred by businesses in Guyana related

outages per month with an average duration of three hours. This, the Bank pointed out, is also the highest when compared to the rest of the Caribbean.

Further to this, the IDB said that the estimated loss from power outages for firms in Guyana exceeds the levels incurred by their counterparts in the Caribbean. In fact, the Bank's data indicates that the estimated loss approximates 1.6 percent of annual sales, compared with a regional average of 0.7 percent of annual sales.

CORRUPTION Corruption, the Bank noted, was the second highest-ranked constraint identified by businesses. The Bank said that 34.45 percent of the firms surveyed view corruption as a major obstacle while 43.7 percent consider it a very severe obstacle.

Notwithstanding the claim that corruption is a major or severe obstacle, the IDB said that a relatively small percentage of firms surveyed indicated they were expected to pay a bribe to

to making informal payments (or bribes) to 'get things done' is higher than the amount paid by their counterparts in the Caribbean. In this regard, the Bank noted that the bribe paid for various government services is approximately four percent, significantly higher than the regional average of 1.8 percent. It also stands out as the highest in the Caribbean. The Bank also noted that the cost of the bribe is relatively higher for businesses in the following sectors: machinery and equipment, fabricated metal products, and wholesale.

HIGH TAX RATES With regard to high tax rates, the IDB noted that local firms ranked this as a significant obstacle to their operations.

It said, “Indeed, tax rates were ranked third as the most serious obstacle‌This may be attributed to the fact that Guyana has one of the highest corporate tax rates in Latin America and the Caribbean. Some studies have found that the high tax rates motivate businesses to operate in the informal (continued on page 20)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 16

Thursday March 07, 2019

Four Guyanese jailed in St. Croix for US$71M high seas drug bust ST. CROIX — United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced yesterday that Neville Jeffrey, 70, Mohamed Hoseain, 66, Richard La Cruz, 51, and Mark Anthony Williams, 32, all of Guyana, were sentenced to 48 months, 36 months, 30 months and 27 months respectively for possession of cocaine on board a vessel,

by District Court Judge Wilma A. Lewis on March 5, 2019.

Judge Lewis also sentenced each defendant to two years of supervised release, but ordered that they be deported upon release from incarceration. She further ordered them to pay a special assessment of $100 each and did not impose a fine.

Jeffrey, Hoseain, La Cruz and Williams pleaded guilty to cocaine possession charges in November and December of 2018.

According to plea agreements filed with the court and statements at the sentencing hearing, the United States Coast Guard Cutter Napier, on February 16, 2017, intercepted a suspicious vessel in a joint operation with the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard

approximately seventy nautical miles north of Paramaribo, Suriname, in international waters.

The vessel, later identified as the LADY MICHELLE, was located in a known drug trafficking route and registered with St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The U.S. Coast Guard boarded the vessel pursuant to a bilateral agreement between the United States and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. They discovered 185 bales containing numerous rectangular shaped packages of cocaine in the vessel's fish hold weighing 3,769 kilograms.

The drugs had a street value in the U.S. Virgin Islands of approximately $71 million.

Jeffrey and Hoseain functioned as captains. La Cruz was identified as the engineer and Williams as the cook.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard, the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alphonso A n d r e w s , J r . (viconsortium.com)

The seized drugs (Virgin Islands Daily News photo)

Extradited GRDB accountant whisked from...

From page 2 the charges. The accused was not required to plead to the charges as they were all indictable.

It was disclosed that Ramcharran, 30, has a local address of Lot 32 Area 'G' Goedverwagting, East Coast Demerara. In his application for “reasonable” bail, the attorney asked that he should be treated like his other coaccused.

Gunraj complained too that he was not given enough time to speak with his client because of the quick transfer from SOCU's office to the court.

Prosecutor Henry objected to bail being granted to the defendant under the grounds that investigations are still ongoing which may see other charges being brought.

He also noted that the prosecution was unable to confirm the home address given to the court by the

defense.

Ramcharran's lawyer insisted that the prosecution does not have evidence, since the allegations were made two years ago, thus there would have been enough time to complete investigations. However, the Chief Magistrate was not convinced. She refused bail, citing the fact that Ramcharran had evaded the court and as such posed a flight risk.

The matter was adjourned until March 25, when all the defendants are expected to make their next court appearance.

He is being jointly charged with former General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) Jagnarine Singh; former Deputy General Manager of GRDB Madanlall Ramraj; General Secretary of the Producers A s s o c i a t i o n ( R PA ) , Dharamkumar Seeraj;

former Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, Nigel Dharamlall; former General Manager of the Guyana Oil Company Badrie Persaud and the Deputy Permanent Secretary Finance Ministry of Agriculture, Prema Roopnarine.

In Canada, Ramcharran had first applied for refugee status. After he was turned down in December, he sought a review of his extradition process but this was recently turned down.

In 2017, the Chief Magistrate had issued an arrest warrant. The Government of Guyana in turn had asked the Canadian authorities to send Ramcharran back.

The GRDB found itself in the spotlight after a forensic audit of that entity revealed among some of the “anomalies” found were loans without proper paperwork or promissory

notes.

A c c o r d i n g t o information, the former accountant is heavily implicated in the probe with regards to the six former GRDB board members who have pleaded not guilty to the allegations.

Ramcharran had reportedly been studying in Canada, when authorities swooped down on him in June 2017 following a request for his extradition.

A forensic audit, one of several ordered by the Coalition Government, had found several alarming things at GRDB. Forensics From about 2009 to 2015, Guyana, under the administrations of the People's Progressive Party/Civic, had entered a multi-billion-dollar oil-forrice arrangement where GRDB was clearing out for farmers. However, millions of dollars of those monies were reportedly siphoned off via third-party arrangements including rental of ships and other sweetheart deals for a few millers.

SOCU is investigating other aspects of the audit report. With regards to extraditions, it is not often that Guyana is successful in its quests from especially North American countries.

The extradition of Ramcharran would be seen as a huge plus for authorities here who have been insisting that it is a tool in the fight against crime, particularly of the white collar variety.

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 07, 2019

PAGE 17

Major step in telecoms liberalization as Govt., GTT sign MoU M

ajor headway appears to have been made with plans to open the telecoms sector by allowing competition in the mobile and internet field.

Wi t h t h e s o - c a l l e d liberalization process dragging on for seven years, yesterday the Coalition Government and the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) announced that they have inked an agreement.

While the Memorandum of Understanding is nonb in d in g , it w ill s p ell significant advancement in the ongoing negotiations.

GTT, a US-controlled company that has been here for 28 years, taking over the crumbling state-owned Guyana Telecommunication Corporation in the early 1990s, has been insisting on a number of concessions, including more spectrum, and reportedly tax breaks, to give up its monopoly on landline and international calls.

Several companies have been applying to operate internet TV, mobile services, and the landing of submarine cables to bring data.

However, the ongoing talks have stalled the processing of the applications.

Ye s t e r d a y, a j o i n t statement was issued by Government and GTT. “The Cooperative Republic of Guyana (GoG) and Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) are pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the GoG's planned liberalization of the telecommunications market.”

The statement noted that the agreement, while “nonbinding”, represents a major step toward fully liberalizing G u y a n a ' s

telecommunications market.

“The parties have further agreed to continue discussions on all outstanding issues with the objective of reaching a binding agreement.”

Minister of Public Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , Catherine Hughes stated: “After many years of delays, this Government has brought the country one step closer to achieving a fully open telecommunications market.

While more work needs to be done, the Government is committed to continuing discussions and completing the process of liberalization for the citizens of Guyana.”

“I am very pleased we have reached this milestone”, said Justin Nedd, GTT's Chief Executive Officer.

“GTT fully supports an open and transparent telecommunications market in Guyana and the opportunities it will provide for Guyana's citizens and our customers.

We look forward to further discussions with the Government to reach an agreement on the issues that remain outstanding.”

GTT has landed a submarine cable and is busy rolling out its services from this fibre link which it says has 1,000 times the possibilities of the old, slower copper wire and satellite-linked connections.

However, consecutive governments have been under pressure to allow new players for the expansion of services to especially outlying areas, which have been struggling for landlines and faster, affordable internet connectivity.

Since coming into Government in 2015, the issue was high on the agenda of the Coalition to end the

GTT's CEO, Justin Nedd

Finally: Govt. is nearer to a final deal with GTT to end the company's monopoly.

28-year landline and international calls monopoly held by GTT. It entailed talks between

the Government and the company about taxes, concessions and other issues.

Currently, only Irishowned Digicel is here, and it is limited to mobile services.

Government had committed

to opening up the sector midlast year, but it was delayed to the end of last year and then onto this year.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 18

Thursday March 07, 2019

APA lobbies New spa facility promises support for revision unique experience for Guyanese of Amerindian Act

A

lluding to the steps taken to make suitable amendments to the Amerindian Act, the Amerindian Peoples Association, (APA) has outlined a need for funding and further sensitization to see the passage of the new legislation in the National Assembly.

According to information released by the APA, the organization is seeking funding to promote further work with the aim of seeing the recommendations through various stages to passage in the National Assembly.

The APA noted, however, that given the current political situation, it is uncertain whether the organization can move forward with its plans.

Calls have been made for the revision of several aspects of the Amerindian Act. For example, in the mining areas, there have been concerted requests that certain provisions relating to mining deals should be reviewed, revised and reformed, to ensure that the full consent from indigenous peoples is obtained before large scale mining can proceed.

The law currently

provides for consent from Indigenous Peoples for small and medium scale mining.

However, the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples Affairs had engaged the National Toshaos Council (NTC) and a consultant -a legal expert to provide advice on how to proceed with some of the amendments being proposed.

Last year, a steering committee for the Amerindian Act 2006 Revision, comprising representatives of the NTC, APA, the Amerindian Action Movement of Guyana, the Guyanese Organization of Indigenous Peoples and the Amerindian Development Foundation, completed training of facilitators to enable a smooth process in making informed recommendations for the Amerindian Act 2006 revision. The village councils and other residents were also privy to the discussions over the current Act. The councils raised concerns as it related to documents and made recommendations for the revision.

The recommendations were expected to be submitted in written form to the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples Affairs, which officially commenced consultations.

V

i v a a n t a Ayurvedic Spa & Hair Salon will be hosting a grand opening ceremony in Guyana on Saturday (March 9).

The India–based firm, which also has locations in Trinidad, is promising clients a unique spa experience along with exceptional customer service at a new location here.

Proprietor of the Spa and Salon, Karan Mehra told Kaieteur News that Vivaanta has created a warm and tranquil environment for spa guests to escape, whether it to be an hour or an entire day.

“Vivaanta combines health, beauty and hair in one for the ultimate experience at one place. This means whether you are treating yourself or preparing for that special occasion, we are your one-stop spa & salon for all your health, beauty and hair needs.

Vivaanta has created a perfect fusion between ageold therapies and modern spa technology. Our concept is a fusion of Asian, Western and Indian Ayurvedic treatments which guarantees longlasting results, and refreshing and relaxing experiences from head to toe. We have state of the art technology.”

Vivaanta Ayurvedic Spa & Hair Salon promises a unique experience Mehra noted the spa offers a wide range of products and treatments to renew the body and mind including hair treatment, threading, skin care and body treatment, massage therapy, facials, nail care and laser treatment.

“We pride ourselves on only using the very best spa & salon herbal products in the market. Our techniques, products, and equipment are designed for a lifetime of skin and hair improvement and maintenance for

everyone.

Vivaanta Ayurvedic Spa & Hair Salon is located at Lot 3 Church Street, Georgetown. From March 9-16 the entity will be offering its Grand Opening Special. To schedule a free consultation along with a

complete menu of the services offered, customers can contact +592-660-0333 or via email at vivaanta.guyana@gmail.co m The business hours are 9:30am to 7:00pm Monday to Sunday.

Thursday March 07, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 19

Kaieteur News

PAGE 20

Thursday March 07, 2019

TUC gives 19-point proposal to govt., opposition for sweeping reforms

T

he Guyana Trades Union Congress has begun to lobby the government and the opposition to make sweeping reforms, including constitutional reform.

The body has delivered a 19-point proposal to President David Granger, through Minister of State Joseph Harmon, and to the Leader of the Opposition Bharrat Jagdeo.

A release from the TUC states that, “on behalf of the workers of Guyana (past, present and potential)”, the congress is advocating for the security of workers' and citizens' rights, regardless of the government of the day.

The body is lobbying all sides to work toward establishing constitutional structures to protect the working class. Though the TUC waxed that there is little hope of promises being

delivered after election victories, it intends to use this time to pressure both sides to meet the reforms.

First on the list is the establishment of an industrial court to “regulate industrial relationships” between employers, workers and unions; essentially for the settlements of all industrial disputes.

The TUC demands that eligible citizens receive unemployment benefit from the National Insurance Scheme, after they have paid the requisite contributions, to be stipulated.

Also pertinent to the country's development, the TUC urges, is a national and regional healthcare policy that would improve regional healthcare, because it said that the current situation renders the poor and working class unable to access opportunities for

complete diagnostic and other interventional services in every administrative region.

The body urges, especially, for government welfare to support persons in need of dialysis, the kidney treatment which is still inaccessible in most regions and said to be expensive at private hospitals. This is to be provided with “government support welfare,” it said. Further, the healthcare proposal includes public access to annual mammogram, pap smears and periodic prostate screening for men aged 50 years and over.

With regards to education, the TUC advocates that the government act according to the dictates of Article 27 of the Constitution, and guarantee free public tertiary education. It suggests that

funding to replace tuition fees come from oil and gas revenue. The TUC expects emphasis to be placed on establishing special science and technology-based high schools, modernising the University of Guyana, science, technology and healthcare faculty to address the country's developing needs.

On the subject of the National budget, the TUC suggested that the Appropriation Bill be passed by at least 60 percent of all elected members of the National Assembly. In that assembly, the body has called for the Representation of the People Act to be amended, so that mandatory quotas would be set for women and youth. The proposed quota for women is one-thirds of the assembly, while the quota for youth is the same, but open to consideration.

The TUC advocates for the confirmation of the present Chancellor Yonette Cummings-Edwards, and the Chief Justice Roxane George. It is recommended that the President and the Opposition Leader retroactively confirm Justices Carl Singh and Ian Chang, so that the attached benefits would be provided to them.

Senior Citizens should expect, according to the statement, a National Policy document for the purpose of expanding social services, especially as it relates to the

GTUC President, Lincoln Lewis condition of the Palms Geriatric Hospital.

As for the composition of state boards, the TUC recommends that at least 50 percent of each one be comprised of political nominees based on their proportional representation in the National Assembly, with the remaining seats being distributed among non-governmental organizations.

It urges that, keeping with the dictates of Articles 212N to 212P of the Constitution, the Human Rights Commission. The establishment and function of all Constitutional commissions, tribunals and boards should be maintained. This is because Constitutional commissions exist with members serving well over the period prescribed in the Constitution.

The TUC urged that an Economic Council be established with constituents from labour, business and civil society, to advise government on economic

development.

Trinidad and Tobago offers a model for land and policy rights, the TUC noted, which it suggests be used as a basis for the development of similar land policy rights for Guyanese, especially relating to the selling of land to multi-national corporations and for the inclusion of basic amenities such as lights, water, drainage and all-weather roads.

The TUC has called for an amendment to Article 106(6) of the Constitution so that two-thirds or 60 percent of the National Assembly is attained for a vote to be successful. In light of the passing of the NoConfidence Motion on December 21, the TUC states that “No nation should be subjected to confidence that is passed by a simple majority”.

It recommends that there be established guidelines for the function of the government and parliament after a successful (continued on page 22)

Electricity, high tax rates, corruption ranked most serious obstacles to local...

From page 15 sector…”

Notwithstanding the relationship between high tax rates and the size of the informal economy, the IDB said that most of the firms surveyed paid their required taxes. In fact, the IDB data revealed that approximately 13.3 percent of the firms paid less tax than required by law, while the remaining 86.7 percent of firms paid their fair share of taxes.

COMPETITION Apart from the aforementioned, the IDB said that competition in the informal sector was noted as an issue of concern.

The IDB said, “The practices of competitors in the informal sector were ranked as the fourth most serious obstacle for businesses operating locally.

The survey revealed that approximately 94.4 percent and 88.9 percent of the firms consider this factor as a serious constraint because their counterparts in the informal sector can circumvent rules and regulations and are not subject to rules of entry, respectively.”

ACCESS TO FINANCE Another issue of concern for local businesses was access to finance.

In this regard, the IDB's survey revealed that 6.7 percent of the firms regard this factor as the most serious obstacle for doing business.

It said that most firms that view access to finance as a major or very severe obstacle are small and medium-scale enterprises. It also stands true for medium-scale firms.

Expounding further, the

Bank said, “Most firms that consider access to finance as a major or severe obstacle are privately owned.

These include: sole proprietorship (24.4 percent major obstacle, 28.9 percent very severe obstacle), partnership including limited liability partnerships (18.8 percent major obstacle, 12.5 percent very severe), limited partnership (9.1 percent major obstacle; 18.2 percent very severe obstacle), and shareholding company with no traded shares (22.5 percent major obstacle).”

The Bank also noted that locally owned firms are most affected by access to finance.

(See link for full report: https://publications.iadb.org /en/publication/12965/const raints-affecting-guyanasprivate-sector-surveyresults)

Thursday March 07, 2019

PAGE 21

Kaieteur News

PAHO issues new report on preventable causes of death WASHINGTON (CMC) – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) says that half of all deaths of young people, aged between 10-24, in the Caribbean are due to homicide, road traffic fatalities and suicide – all of which are preventable.

PAHO in a report titled “The Health of Adolescents and Youth in the Americas: Implementation of the Regional Strategy and Plan of Action on Adolescent and Youth Health 2010-2018,” analyzes the latest available data related to the health of young people from 48 countries and territories in the Americas, including the Caribbean.

The report includes information on what the young people die from, what illnesses they suffer from, their sexual and reproductive health, substance use, nutrition and levels of physical activity.

“While progress has been made across the region towards ensuring greater access to health care, many of the interventions to prevent young people from dying before their time fall outside the health sector”, said Dr Carissa F. Etienne, the Dominican-born director of PAHO. “We must increase efforts across all sectors to ensure that young people not only survive, but thrive,” she added.

PAHO said around 237 million young people aged 1024 years live in the Americas, comprising a quarter of the region’s population and that, despite representing such a huge priority demographic, however, youth mortality rates have only slightly re-

PAHO Director, Dr Carissa F. Etienne duced between 2000 and 2015.

The report outlines six recommendations on how to improve the health of young people in the region.

These include: ensuring that adolescent and youth health programs are wellfunded and involve other sectors besides health; fostering health systems that respond to youth needs; using evidencebased approaches that target vulnerable groups; implementing monitoring and evaluation programs so that continual improvements are made; building capacity for those who work with young people; and empowering and engaging young people as agents of

change in their communities and countries.

The report notes that the three leading caus e s o f death among young people are all preventable. Homicide is the top killer, accounting for 24 per cent of mortality, followed by road traffic fatalities at 20 per cent and suicide at 7 percent.

The report shows that a significant number of young people in the region continue to suffer from poor health, with more vulnerable groups such as indigenous; Afro-descendent; lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ); and migrant young people being particularly impacted.

“Countries must take ac-

tion so that all young people, including the most vulnerable, have access to the health services they need, with no one left behind,” said Dr. Sonja Caffe, regional advisor on adolescent health at PAHO, adding “a healthier youth will ensure healthier adults in the future.”

The report notes that 80 per cent of the 230,000 deaths per year of young people in the region o c c u r a m o n g males, including nine out of 10 deaths due to homicide, four out of five road transit fatalities, and three out of four suicides.

Homicide rates in young men, aged 10-24 years, ranged from 3 per 100,000 in Honduras to 121.3 per 100,000 in the Bahamas in 2013-2014, the report says.

For women, the report says the rates varied – from 0.2 per 100,000 in Honduras to 21.1 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

“It is important that countries acknowledge that the higher mortality rates seen among young men is due, in part, to the pressure they face to adhere to gender norms that may contribute to harmful

behaviours such as aggression and risk-taking,” Dr. Caffe said.

“This is why it is so important that health works with families, schools and communities, in order to tackle the social norms that impact their physical and mental health.”

Suicide rates also continue to increase throughout the region. The report notes that while more young women attempt suicide, more young men die from it. It states suicide rates among women, aged 10-24 years, ranged from 0.7 per 100,000 in Puerto Rico to 19.4 per 100,000 in French Guiana in 2013-2014.

For men, the rates vary from 1.6 per 100,000 in Honduras to 51.6 per 100,000 in

French Guiana.

The report states Latin America and the Caribbean has the second-highest adolescent pregnancy rate in the world, estimated at 66.5 births per 1,000 girls, aged 15-19, for 2010-2015, compared to a worldwide average of 46 births per 1,000 girls.

While the total number of children per adult woman has declined in Latin America and the Caribbean over the past 30 years, the rates of adolescent pregnancy have barely reduced.

PAHO said Latin America and the Caribbean is also the only region to experience a rising trend in adolescent pregnancies among girls younger than 15 years. A few countries, however, are beginning to see faster declines in their adolescent pregnant rates.

The report notes that the percentage of tobacco users among adolescents, aged 13-17 years in the Americas, ranges from 1.9 per cent in Canada to 28.7 per cent in Jamaica.

PAGE 22

Thursday March 07, 2019

Kaieteur News

Teen answers to five counts of robbery

SERVICES

FOR SALE

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

Piles for sale- 40-45ft $1000 50-55ft $1,100 60-65ft $1200 Tel#699-6505

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

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

Property for sale, 32 James St, Albouystown. #682-8236

Jay’s Welding Est specialized in: Grills, Gates, Rails, Fencing, Razor wire, Repairs etc. Tel#698-0501 Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezer-Call: 610-5846 or 661-8158

Original pure breed rotweiler pups for sale. Price $150,000.

Tel: 609-2815, 696-4659

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House for sale, Eccles Housing Scheme. 7 bedrooms, 3 toilets and bathrooms enclosed. $28.5M. Call 642-0391/ 001447587233657 House and land available at Parfaite, Tuschen, Diamond etc. Contact Pacific Development Inc. 223-6035/ 604-4909 Property for sale, located on 18th Street on the 8th Cross St Diamond. Contact# 6805944/656-4211

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

Wanted experienced hire car drivers, bus drivers and dispatchers at Ramada Princess Hotel. Contact on #256-7075/616-5419

1-1 Bedroom apartment, Uitvlugt Housing Scheme, WCD Tel#276-0400/698-2802 Spacious 2-bedroom apartment in Festival City.

Asking $70,000 monthly. Call 619-2141 Bottom flat house to rent.

Parfaite Harmony. Tel# 6193258/614-8104 3 bedroom apt, unfurnished, can be used for storage. Rent Negotiable, Lusignan ECD #695-6550/656-9313 VEHICLE FOR SALE

Electronic Course, Registering now, limited space available, Abdul Electronics Tel#2266551/687-9992

Bedford TL Truck GHH 6776, engine in perfect condition. Tacoma 2005, excellent condtion GTT 1295. Tel#687-3146 Honda Suv, PTT Series.Call: 623-0368/225-9230/225-1005

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Parfaite Harmonie $1.6M Dairy- with Foundation & Fence $2M Schnoord $4M Farm (East Bank) $3.5M Tel#656-0701/651-1969 Parfaite Harmonie (transferable) 2.3M, Parfaite Harmonie 1.8M, 1.6M, 2M, Lust-en-Rust Corner Lot 1.2M Call 666-2326 Tuschen phase II 1.4M, Province (incompleted house) 6M, Farm 3.5M, Herstelling 5.5M Call 6662326

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Lot 15 public road. #2 Village W.C.B. Price $18M. Contact 686-4818, 648-7109 Parfaite Harmonie Dairy 10 yrs $1.500 10 yrs $1.800 Transpot land, Best Village, Vreed-en-hoop $2.600 105x41 #672-0416

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A mini health check is the first step to donating blood

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An 18-year-old man was yesterday hauled before a city magistrate and made to answer five charges in which he is accused of robbery with violence, armed robbery, and larceny from the person.

Chris Pollard also known as ‘Godfather’ denied all the charges after they were read to him by Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

The first two charges alleged that on February 14, 2019 and February 19, 2019 at Croal Street Georgetown, the accused robbed Barrat Danos of US$500 and Natasha Nurse of one Samsung 7 Edge cell phone, respectively, and used personal

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Contact X’s Grill and Cuisine #695-6550/656-9313

violence on his victims.

Also it was alleged that on March 4, 2019 at Savage Street, Georgetown. Pollard stole from Rosomania Deamius one LG cell phone valued US$120, US$1,800 cash and one passport; also using violence.

It was further alleged that on February 14, 2019 at Croal Street, the defendant, armed with a knife, robbed Anneeza Kissoon of one Samsung 7 Edge valued at $120,000.

Finally, it was alleged that the accused on February 27 at Croal Street, stole from the person of Keshana Persaud one Samsung Galaxy Edge valued at $75,000.

Pollard, who was not represented by an attorney, told the court that he hails from Lot 46 D’Urban Street, Georgetown, and is unemployed.

Police prosecutor Annalisa Brummell objected to bail being granted based on the serious nature of the charges. Magistrate McGusty upheld the submission and remanded Pollard to prison until March 27 where he will make his next court appearance.

TUC gives 19-point...

From page 20 no-confidence vote.

With regards to campaigning for elections, the TUC prescribes that legislation and convention set out guidelines for the function of state media, so that stakeholders and opposition have access. Further, it requests legislation for full disclosure of campaign financing and all contributions for election purposes, with percentage limits applied to overall sum of campaign cost.

The TUC, in view of the country's budding oil and gas industry, has called for Local Content Policy to be reviewed by stakeholders, brought to the legislature and passed into law.

It requests for jobs to be created in the industry, prioritizing Guyanese citizens, and with corresponding wages and salaries that are paid to foreigners working in the same capacity.

Business opportunities, it urges, should be made available to Guyanese businesses, to benefit from all economic endeavors in the industry. Lastly, it requests that there be education and training to enhance local skills for operation in the industry.

The Congress calls on Guyanese citizens to rally around this call, so that their standing and interest in the electoral process would be elevated.

It states, “Therefore, there can be no excuse by either side to deny an opportunity to strengthen our systems of government and ensure the workers of Guyana feel safe and secure, regardless of which party/ group wins an election.”

Thursday March 07, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Court hears wife killer’s appeal Rosignol man remanded for murder against conviction, sentence Delon Gordon, who torched his wife causing her death and was sentenced to 83 years in jail for the crime, is challenging the decision of the jury, at the Court of Appeal in Kingston, Georgetown. In October 2014, a jury convicted Johnson of m u r d e r i n g h i s p a r t n e r, Natasha Johnson, by setting her afire in their Better Hope, East Coast Demerara home on July 4, 2011.

Challenging the conviction and 83-year sentence of which a minimum of 50 years has to be served before becoming eligible for parole is Attorney-at-Law Dexter Todd.

According to reports, Gordon, now 27, set the house on fire with Johnson, himself and three children inside.

Johnson wa s b u r n t extensively and had to be taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where she later succumbed to her injuries.

A Post Mortem examination revealed that Johnson had suffered from a dislocated nasogastric tube, brain haemorrhage and congested kidneys with heavy lungs that oozed a bloody liquid.

These injuries led to Johnson suffering from Adult Distress Respiratory Syndrome (ADRS), which was brought on as a result of trauma from the burns, eventually leading to her death.

Hearing the appeal on Tuesday were Chief

Killed: Arshad Ali Delon Gordon

Natasha Johnson

Justice Roxane George and Justices of Appeal Dawn Gregory and Rishi Persaud. Among several grounds, To d d is challenging the evidence of prosecution witness, fire investigator Wi c k h a m . To d d i s a l s o contending that the verdict of the jury was unreasonable, in that, it cannot be supported by the evidence adduced at the trial.

To d d i s q u e s t i o n i n g the testimony of the lone eyewitness with regard to the lighting conditions in the couple’s home and how he could have allegedly seen Gordon pouring out kerosene from a stove, since another witness had testified that the area in which the couple lived did not have electricity.

Furthermore, the lawyer contends that there was no

evidence to support that his client intentionally burnt the woman. This, he said, was one of the weaknesses in the p r o s e c u t i o n ’s c a s e t h a t Gordon’s lawyer, at the time, failed to challenge.

At this stage, Justice George sought to remind Todd that a prosecution witness testified to hearing Johnson shouting, “Delon, how you could do this to me. I love you and I don’t want you to go to jail.” The Judge added that the witness testified to the deceased uttering these words while she ran out of the home with her body on fire.

But Todd maintained that such a statement is not conclusive and can be interpreted in a number of ways. The lawyer said that the statement does not mean that Johnson was saying that Gordon had intentionally burnt her.

Thirty-six year-old Kareem Charles of R o s i g n o l Vi l l a g e , We s t Coast Berbice, appeared at the Fort Wellington Magistrates Court before Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh to answer to the charge of murder.

Charles, who told the court that he was a labourer, was charged with the murder of 25-year-old Arshad Ali, also of Rosignol. He was not required to plead to the indictable charge and is set to return to court on March 25.

According to reports, last Friday (March 1), Ali was riding his bicycle out of Bennett Dam to the Masjid to offer prayers when Charles, armed with an iron bar, dealt him a blow to the head, knocking him off his cycle and rendering him unconscious. He was rushed to the New Amsterdam Hospital by a relative but was pronounced dead on arrival.

Ali, who was a lab at-

Murder accused: Kareem Charles tendant at the Blairmont Estate, had written the name of his baby in the palm of his hands, she was making her way into the world at the very hospital he died, on the same day.

He had planned to visit the Masjid to offer prayers for the safe delivery of his child and then go to the hospital to hold his child

40

for the first time. He never got that opportunity since his life was cut short unexpectedly.

A post mortem examination conducted on the body on Tuesday revealed that he died from shock and hemorrhage due to blunt trauma to the head. He was laid to rest yesterday according to Muslim rights.

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Thursday March 07, 2019

Thursday March 07, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 25

Traffickers used Russia’s World Cup to enslave us, say Nigerian women MOSCOW (Reuters) Blessing Obuson thought Russia’s soccer World Cup would be an opportunity to find a job and flew into Moscow from Nigeria last June on a fan ID. Instead, she found herself forced to work as a prostitute.

Fan IDs allowed visafree entry to World Cup supporters with match tickets, but did not confer the right to work. Despite that, Obuson, 19, said she had hoped to work as a shop assistant to provide for her 2-year-old daughter and younger siblings back in Nigeria’s Edo state.

Instead, she said she was locked in a flat on the outskirts of Moscow and forced into sex work along with 11 other Nigerian women who were supervised by a madam, also from Nigeria.

“I cried really hard. But what choice did I have?”

Obuson told Reuters after being freed by anti-slavery activists.

She said her madam had confiscated her passport and told her she’d only get it back once she’d worked off a fictional debt of $50,000 (£38,053).

Obuson told her story to a rare English-speaking client who got anti-slavery activists involved.

Two Nigerians were later arrested and charged with human trafficking after striking a deal to sell Obuson for 2 million roubles (around $30,000) to a police officer posing as a client, according to her lawyer, statements from prosecutors, and evidence presented at court hearings in the case attended by Reuters journalists. The case is still

under investigation.

VIOLENCE Obuson’s case is not isolated. Reuters met eight Nigerian women aged between 16 and 22 brought into Russia on fan IDs and forced into sex work. All said they had endured violence.

“They don’t give you food for days, they slap you, they beat you, they spit in your face... It’s like a cage,” said one 21-year old woman, who declined to be named.

In September, a Nigerian woman was killed by a man who refused to pay for sex, police said. The Nigerian embassy later identified her as 22-year old Alifat Momoh who had come to Russia from Nigeria with a fan ID. Russian police say 1,863 Nigerians who entered the country with fan IDs had not left by Jan. 1, the date when

Thursday March 07, 2019 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Books or lectures on spiritual or metaphysical matters could inspire you to pursue a subject and perhaps do some writing, Aries TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) A new and previously unacknowledged talent for working in social, humanitarian, or spiritual fields could come to light today, Taurus.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Increased intuition, imagination, and spiritual insight could inspire you to either undertake a course of study or move ahead with related creative projects, Gemini.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Recent new ideas, insights, and visions could motivate you to invite friends with similar interests over today, Cancer. You will want to share your experiences, listen to their stories, and try to make sense of it all.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) An invitation to a social event in your neighborhood could put you in touch with artistic or spiritually inclined people. There could be some fascinating exchanges, Leo. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Spiritual insights you received over the past few days could turn your thoughts to serving others.

You might have a talent for teaching and choose to share what you've learned in this way, Virgo.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Romance should pick up speed today, Libra. You could discover that you and a current or potential romantic partner have many spiritual interests in common.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) You might have intense dreams and visions tonight that could be almost prophetic, Scorpio. These premonitions could be personal, but they're apt to be more worldly, such as political events or something in the life of a celebrity you admire.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) A lecture given by a magnetic speaker could excite your imagination and interest you in a new and intriguing field, Sagittarius. You could also learn about some books on the subject that you want to read.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) A friend or colleague could introduce you to a way to increase your income by doing what you love most, Capricorn.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Enthusiasm for spiritual and metaphysical studies could have you feeling optimistic about the future.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Today you might want to host a meeting of your metaphysically inclined friends, Pisces. Discussions could lead to insights that none of you would have come up with alone.

Blessing Obuson from Nigeria, 19, rescued from human traffickers, attends an interview in the office of Civic Assistance Committee as she seeks help with applying for asylum in Moscow, Russia February 15, 2019. Picture taken February 15, 2019. (REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov) the IDs expired.

Kenny Kehindo, who works with several Moscow NGOs to help sex trafficking victims, estimates that more than 2,000 Nigerian women were brought in on fan IDs. Neither Russian police nor the Nigerian embassy in Moscow replied to requests for a comment. A Nigerian foreign ministry spokesman also did not respond to text messages and phone calls requesting a comment.

“Many are still in slavery,” said Kehindo, who said he had helped around 40 women return to Nigeria.

“Fan ID is a very good thing, but in the hands of the human traffickers it’s just an instrument,” he said, calling for more cooperation between the authorities and anti-trafficking NGOs during major sporting events, including the 2022 Qatar World Cup where a fan ID system is also being considered.

Anti-slavery group Alternativa said its helpline had fielded calls from Nigerian women held in St Petersburg and other World Cup host cities.

While a prosecution has been launched in Obuson’s case, police have been unable to act against suspected traffickers in other cases due to a lack of evidence.

“A lot of girls are still out there,” said Obuson.

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Ireland, Scotland and Netherlands set to launch Euro T20 League BBC Sport - Ireland, Netherlands and Scotland have announced the formation of a new franchise-based T20 League. The inaugural edition of the three-week tournament, jointly hosted by the three boards, is set to run from August 30.

The six teams will be split evenly across the three countries with Belfast, Dublin, Edinburgh and Glasgow the franchises in Ireland and Scotland. The two host venues of the Dutch teams are yet to be announced. However, it is likely that VRA ground in Amstelveen is likely to be one of the venues, while the other could be hosted at Rotterdam or The Hague.

Malcolm Cannon, chief executive of Cricket Scotland, clarified that they weren’t “mimicking” other T20 leagues around the world. “I think playing across three nations makes it unique,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “But I think for Scottish fans, bringing the excitement of domestic T20 franchise league cricket to the home shores is a first. It gives television audiences at home and overseas world-class cricket at their doorstep.”

In addition to nine domestic players, each franchise can sign up to seven overseas

professionals in their 16-member squads. A minimum of six domestic players must also be in the starting XI for each match to ensure local players have the majority of opportunities. The organisers are yet to decide if they will adopt a draft process or an auction.

Cannon also clarified that a player will be classified as “domestic” only if he is signed by a franchise from the country he belongs. For example, Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer would be considered a domestic player if he were picked up by either the Edinburgh or Glasgow franchise, but would be considered an overseas player if he were picked up by an Irish or Dutch franchise.

There was no word on whether higher profile local players such as Coetzer, Calum MacLeod, Kevin O’Brien or Paul Stirling would be assigned icon status in order to link them with one of the respective home franchises ahead of any draft or auction.

Logistics of playing it across several countries is among the challenges the league faces. Each team is set to play 10 matches - five home and five away - across the tournament ahead of the semifinals and final.

Cannon stated that the

looming Brexit deadline and its impact did come up during discussions, but he does not believe it will severely affect plans.

“I mentioned that about eight months ago in the first negotiations we had,” Cannon said. “‘Will the free movement of individuals and travel difficulties make an issue of this?’ For instance, when we had Heath Streak as our expert coach during last year’s Tri-nation [T20 series] in Netherlands, we couldn’t get him a visa to here but we could get him a visa to Netherlands. So there have always been differences in visa requirements between mainland Europe and the UK in any case.

“We don’t believe it is going to have an impact at all but just like everyone else at the moment with regards to Brexit, we really don’t know how it’s going to impact a lot of things. We’re working on the basis that it won’t cause any impact and that any impact it does cause we’ll be able to overcome.”

Cannon also paid tribute to Cricket Ireland and their chief executive Warren Deutrom for being the catalyst of the tri-nation initiative. The league has been licensed for 10 years through a dual part-

G1 race is now F3 and Lower at KMTC Phagwah meet as entries close Sunday The organising committee of the Kennard Memorial Turf Club (KMTC) has made one change to their programme for the upcoming Phagwah meet fixed for Sunday March 17 at their Turf Club at Bush Lot Farm, Corentyne. The G1 race is now for horses classified F3 and Lower and carries a first prize of $340,000, second place will receive $170,000, third place $85,000 and fourth place $42,000. Other races listed are L-Non Earner which fetches a top purse of $130,000, three year-old Guyana Bred for a winning prize of $250,000, J and K in which the champion will pocket $200,000, L-Non winner W/A for a top prize of $150,000 and L Open which will see the winner taking home $180,000.

The races are being run under the rules of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority and entries close on Sunday; no late entries will be

accepted. Contact can be made with Ivan Dipnarine on 331-0316, Justice Cecil Kennard on 623-7609 or 225-4818, Fazil Habibulla on 6577010, Dennis DeRoop on640-6396 and Compton Sancho 691-1174.

Among the sponsors assisting the staging of the event are: Ansa Mc Al Trading Ltd., Demerara Distillers Ltd., Muneshwar’s Ltd., Republic Bank, Hand-in-Hand Insurance, Dalip Trading, Horse Shoe Racing Service, Nand Persaud and Co., Mike’s Pharmacy, Patsan Trading Enterprise, JP Ghamandi, Mattai’s Supermarket, Kanhai’s Guyana Electrical Agency, Silvie’s General Store, Rice MillerKissoon Dyal, Rohan Oditt of M and B Contracting Company, D. Gobin Agri Spares of Essequibo, Goodwood Racing Service, Mohamed’s Enterprise and L. Seepersaud Maraj and Sons.

Mathematically, Jaguars still not...

From page 30 innings, but has reached 40 just once in his last 10 innings and continues to struggle to find the gaps.Chanderpaul Hemraj also has a century and a fifty in his 346 runs from five games but has given away his wicket when well set, while Vishaul Singh (344 from 7 matches with 3 fifties) will also need to get a big score.Sherfane Rutherford has struggled and has just managed 121 runs from six innings including a half-century, while Johnson (404 runs from 18 innings) has only scored three fifties this season with two of them coming in the same game and has struggled for runs against relatively weak bowling attacks.

The 31-year-old Johnson and rest of the top order will have to demonstrate positive batting if the Jaguars hope to reach 400 runs

in 110 overs in their first innings to gain the maximum five batting points.

Romario Shepherd (2 fifties & 29 Wkts), Raymon Reifer (2 fifties and 23 Wkts from 5 games), Chris Barnwell (2 fifties & 6 Wkts) and Rutherford will hope to give Guyana fast bowling points, while Veerasammy Permaul (39 Wkts) should continue to be among the wickets, especially in the second innings.

Red Force will hope Solozano (488 runs with a ton & a fifty) and rookie DaSilva (2 fifties from 6 matches) give them a solid foundation, while support could come from Jason Mohammed, Tion Webster, Yannick Cariah, Imran Khan and Khary Pierre, who made his maiden century in the last round. Skipper Denesh Ramdin was expected to join the team last evening.

Calum MacLeod (left) is second on the list of players who haven’t played a Test who have made the most ODI hundreds. (Peter Della Penna) nership out of India, GS Holdings and Woods Entertainment, with the arrangement expected to help generate significant income for all three member boards.

“As the Full Member, they

have the right to sanction an event and they have been the driving force behind this for well over a year now,” Cannon said. “We’ve been involved in discussions with them for nine months or more

but they’ve been the driving force and they were the link to Woods and GS. “There is no doubt that one of the benefits of the European Cricket League, or whatever it winds up being called, is going to be a financial one but there’s many more to it than that. The intangibles of raised profile, raised noise level, excitement, opportunities to play against and with top quality international players. But there’s no doubt there’s financial benefits as well.”

Cannon also said that the league will not affect the staging of Scotland’s non-franchise domestic T20 tournament known as the Tilney T20 Blitz - which includes Caledonian Highlanders, Eastern Knights and Western Warriors - nor is it expected to replace Ireland’s four-team Interprovincial T20 competition, both held earlier in the summer.

The timing of the European T20 is also expected to be a major source of preparation for players from each of the three host countries ahead of the T20 World Cup Qualifier, starting October 11 in the UAE.

Ex Zimbabwe cricket director banned over West Indies fix attempt

Former Zimbabwe Cricket director Enock Ikope has been banned for 10 years for corruption linked to the 2017 West Indies tour.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — Former Zimbabwe Cricket director Enock Ikope has been banned from the game for 10 years for corruption linked to the 2017 West Indies tour fix attempt.

Ikope was found guilty of breaching three counts of the International Cricket Council’s Anti-Corruption Code.

Ikope’s suspension announced by the ICC yesterday follows the 20 year ban handed out to Rajan Nayer, a former senior Zimbabwe cricket official, in March 2018.

Nayer, the treasurer and marketing director of the Harare Metropolitan Cricket Association, admitted to offering Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer US$30,000 to fix the result of the Test series with the West Indies, which the visitors won.

Cremer informed then coach Heath Streak

of the approach and the matter was referred to the ICC.The ICC in a statement said Ikope had failed and obstructed to cooperate with its investigation, including the “deletion of data from his mobile phone before handing it over to the ICC’s anti-corruption tribunal.

ICC general manager Alex Marshall said: “Non-cooperation and obstruction of our investigations by participants to the Code are simply not acceptable and I hope this and other recent sanctions send out a clear message to anyone involved in the sport.”He added: “Once again we must thank an international captain, Graeme Cremer, for his absolute professionalism in recognising the initial approach by Mr Nayer, rejecting and then reporting it.“We are thankful to him and to Zimbabwe Cricket for all the help during the investigations.”

Thursday March 07, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Long ser ving administrator A R eferee, serving administrator,, FIF FIFA Referee, Lawrence Griffith, awarded Medal of Ser vice Service Lawrence Llewlyn ‘Sparrow’ Griffith, after being dedicated to the development of sports in Guyana, mainly football as a player and administrator for approximately 50 years, was awarded by H.E. President David Granger the Medal of Service for his continued commitment.

Currently, Griffith is the Hinterland Sports Development Officer (HSDO) at the Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs and serves on the National Association for Women’s Football as a committee member.

As HSDO, the former competition coordinator and club licensing manager (1999- 2015) of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), has visited 12 Hinterland Communities in region 8 and has since formed sports clubs in each area.

In 1993, Griffith became an International Football Federation FIFA accredited Assistant Referee and has since traveled far and wide officiating in some of the most prestigious tournaments regionally, including the Gold Cup, Shell Caribbean Cup, CONCACAF Under-20, the International Club Championship and the CAC Games, on

Lawrence ‘Sparrow’ Griffith on duty as Hinterland Sports Development Officer in St. Cuthbert’s Mission. many occasions becoming the first Guyanese official to do so.Relating how it all began, Griffith opined that it was more luck for him and ill-luck for a fellow counterpart, Orin Argyle, who was designated to officiate at the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship in

Honduras in 1994, but due to a bad knee, could not attend, just days before departure, thereby creating the opportunity for him to go.

As a player, ‘Sparrow’ was a football goalkeeper and outfitted for five clubs, namely, Lodge Rovers FC, St.

Sparrow’ Griffith officiating during a futsal competition in Costa Rica.

Barnabas’s FC, Guyana Rice Board, Santos FC and GFC. However, the former (FIFA) certified International Assistant Referee (AR) and FUTSAL Referee has a long list of administrative roles played as well.

With his administrator cap

on as early as 19-years-old, the former manager of the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH), was appointed to administrative roles in over 40 instances, in different sports, including, football, athletics, netball and Futsal.

During an invited com-

ment with Kaieteur Sport, Lawrence Griffith expressed his gratitude to the President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana for recognising his efforts. And, he pledged to continue being committed to sports in Guyana for years to come.

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Thursday March 07, 2019

Kaieteur News

Berbice Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ opens tomorrow The Berbice action promises to be entertaining as was the case in the other zone and usually associated with this tournament.

E

ight exciting matches are carded for tomorrow night when the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Competition kicks off, at the New Amsterdam Stelling Tarmac.

Defending champions Trafalgar will open their title defence against Rose Hall

starting at 19:00 hours.

Sixteen teams from East a n d We s t B e r b i c e w i l l battle for supremacy over three days of competition with the other playing days being Saturday and March 16th to see who will be “Made of More” in the regional sub-meet.

WADA ready to assess Russia doping data (Reuters) - The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said yesterday it has completed a painstaking process of uploading doping data mined from a tainted Moscow laboratory and will start assessing the information to ensure it is complete and authentic.

Obtaining, uploading and authenticating the data has been a massive undertaking requiring WADA to construct a virtual Moscow laboratory.

“This is a huge undertaking involving more than 1.5 million files, but we continue to make good progress,” said Gunter Younger, WADA director of intelligence and investigations in a statement.

“Essentially, what we have done is to re-create the Moscow Laboratory in a virtual sense, allowing us to pair the various data with their respective instruments so that we can ensure what we have is complete, accurate and has not been tampered with.”

The retrieval and authentication of data is the final hurdle to be cleared in the Russian Anti-Doping Agency’s (RUSADA) conditional reinstatement.

In a controversial decision last September, WADA voted to conditionally restore RUSADA’s accreditation as long as it allowed inspectors

access to the Moscow lab and data to which it had long been denied.

RUSADA was suspended in 2015 after a WADA-commissioned report outlined evidence of systematic, statebacked doping in Russian athletics. Another report the following year documented more than 1,000 doping cases across dozens of sports, notably at the Winter Olympics that Russia hosted in Sochi in 2014.The data obtained from the Moscow laboratory is seen a crucial to building strong cases against cheats and exonerate other athletes suspected of having participated in widespread doping on the basis of previous WADA-commissioned investigations led by Richard Pound and Richard McLaren.

The entire uploading and authentication process is estimated to take two-three months to complete.

“Although this is a massive challenge, we are confident we will be able to tell if anything is missing or not as it should be,” said Younger.

“Once we are satisfied that the data are authentic, we will be in a position to proceed to the next phase and support the various sports and other anti-doping organizations to bring cases against those who cheated.”

The teams in Group A are: Trafalgar, Rose Hall, Litchfield, Canje, Hopetown, Black Sharks, Bam Boys and NA Kings ‘B’, while Group ‘B’ will feature: NA Kings, Fast Seven, Outsiders, Goalers, East Bank Gunners, Constab, Twenties and Top Form.

Guinness Brand Executive Lee Baptiste disclosed that all systems are place for the competition which has

become a popular event on the sports calendar in the Ancient County.

“Berbicians and football lovers alike can expect an entertaining three nights of action and we are urging fans to be early to witness some very exciting games,” he added.

Baptiste added that this is

the second sub-Meet for 2019 following the successful hosting of the West Demerara/East Bank zone last month at Pouderoyen tarmac in West Demerara where Brothers United emerged as the champions and will advance to the national playoffs later this year. The win-

ners of the Berbice zone will also book a place in the playoffs.

The tournament’s coordinator is former national goalkeeper Philip Carrington and the sponsors are Banks DIH Limited through its Guinness Brand and Colours Boutique of Robb Street, Georgetown.

2019 Concacaf Nations League Draw to T ak e Place March 27 Tak ake Miami – The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) yesterday announced the date and procedures for the official draw of the 2019 Concacaf Nations League.

The group stage for the competition will be played in September, October and November 2019. The Final Championship will take place March 2020. The draw, which will sub-divide the three Leagues into groups, will be conducted live on Wednesday, March 27 at 10:00 pm ET (7:00 pm local) from The Chelsea Theater, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The presidents from the participating Member Associations, as well as guests from the world of international football will be present at the gala event. Fans will be able to follow all the action through the Confederation’s partner networks, including Univision Deportes (United States), FloSports (United States), Televisa (Mexico) and other local partners.

The event will also be available on Concacaf GO (subject to territory restrictions). Following all 68 matches of the

All 41 MAs set to compete in the inaugural edition of the competition one-off Concacaf Nations League Qualifying Phase, which will culminate on Sun-

United States and Trinidad & Tobago have been preseeded directly into League

day, March 24, teams will be ranked 1-34, based on points earned, goal difference and a series of additional tie breaker criteria.

The final standings, will determine how teams will be divided into Leagues A, B and C of the inaugural Concacaf Nations League. By virtue of having qualified for the Hexagonal Round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Russia 2018, Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Panama,

A .

Additionally, Guatemala, who did not participate in the Qualifying Phase due to a suspension imposed by FIFA, will be placed into League C. Draw Procedures The draws, to be executed

by Concacaf Chief Football Officer Manolo Zubiria, will all use a single-blind system involving three pots for League A, four pots for League B and three Pots for League C.

The 41 participating teams will be allocated in the pots according to the League they have qualified for as well as by their Concacaf Ranking as of November 2018.

League A - Pot 1: 4 highest ranked teams; Pot 2: Next 4 ranked teams; Pot 3: Next 4 ranked teams.

League B - Pot 1: 4 highest ranked teams; Pot 2: Next 4 ranked teams; Pot 3: Next 4 ranked teams; Pot 4: Next 4 ranked teams.

League C - Pot 1: 4 highest ranked teams; Pot 2: Next 4 ranked teams; Pot 3: Next 5 ranked teams.

All three draws will begin by randomly selecting a team from Pot 1 and placing them in Group A of their respective league.

The draws will continue by selecting the remaining teams from Pot 1 and positioning them into Groups B, C and D in sequential order.

The same procedure will be done for the remaining pots.

Thursday March 07, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Odyssey Transportation Service Inc donates over $200,000 in scorebooks to RHTY&SC “When I was elected president of the Berbice Cricket Board, I clearly stated that I would use my office as Secretary/CEO of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club to assist other Clubs in Berbice to fulfill their mandates. While the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club is delighted with our status as Guyana’s best, it is our desire to see other Clubs follow us, so that youths in Berbice can dare to dream to fulfill their dreams.” Those were the words of Hilbert Foster as he accepted a donation of sixty scorebooks valued at over $200,000 from Odyssey Transportation Service Inc of Light Street, Bourda, Georgetown.

The Company which is owned by popular businessman Feroze Barakat has over the last five years donated

scorebooks to the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club as part of the Club’s massive Cricket Developmental Programme. The scorebooks would be donated to Clubs across Berbice in the West Berbice, Upper Corentyne, New Amsterdam/Canje and Lower Corentyne areas. The first donation of twenty scorebooks were made by the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club to the President of the Upper Corentyne Cricket Association, while the West Berbice Cricket Association would receive twelve shortly.

Odyssey Transportation Service Inc General Manager Troy Khan stated that his Company was pleased to be associated with the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club as it is satisfied that the Club was

Troy Khan (2nd right) of Odyssey hands over scorebooks to Hilbert Foster in the presence of two staff members.

Mike’s Pharmacy on board with WCC for U19 tournament Mike’s Pharmacy has thrown their support behind the Wakenaam Cricket Committee (WCC) for the staging of an U19 40-over tournament on the Essequibo River Island.

The entity yesterday presented a quantity of cricket balls and jerseys to the WCC at their Lot 1 Blygezight, Bel Air location.

Speaking with Kaieteur Sport, Chief Executive Officer of Mike’s Pharmacy, Lakeram ‘Mike’ Singh said he is happy to be associated with the development of the sport on the island and is looking forward to a successful tournament.

He stated that this competition will provide the youths with an opportunity to develop their skills and will also keep them meaningfully occupied. Singh said that it is important to give the younger players such opportunity since it is at the age group level where they are spotted and nurtured.

Secretary of the WCC Nazeer Mohamed expressed gratitude to Singh for his input, adding that the players are excited about the venture.

He said that the island has a number of talented cricketers and it is tournaments of this nature that give them an opportunity to hone their skills, singling out Keemo Paul and Ricardo Adams who both started their careers there at the U15 level.

He informed that the competition will include four teams; Good Success/Sans Souci/Jaguars, Zeelandia/ Maria’s Pleasure, G Square

Umpire, Coach and Kaieteur News Sports reporter Zaheer Mohamed (left) accepts the balls and jerseys on behalf of the WCC from Jason Bacchus of Mike’s Pharmacy.

Cavaliers and Noitgedacht Sports Club. The teams will face each other once before the top two battle in the final.

Teams; G square Cavaliers; Romario Stephen, Sachin Dindyal, Marlon Dindiyal, Kumeshwar Persaud, Dequan Clarke, Toshall Surujpaul, Wayne Goocol, Tekeshwar Nankoo, Anesh Singh, Timothy Persaud, Sachin Chulai, Venesh Narine and Deodat Persaud.

Good Success/ Jaguars/ Sans Souci combined; Mahesh Ramnarine, Mohandass Surujpaul, Beesham Moses, Bhumeshwar Ramkissoon, Devindra Hansraj, Gladwin Henry, David Chalitar, Rahul

Dinban, Quasie Whyte, Wendel Osborne, Nkosie Dazzell, Ejaz Mohamed, Shahid Mohamed, Rohan Ramotar and Arshaad Mohamed.

Noitgedacht SC; Lorex Stewart, Cleyon Retimiah, Fitzroy Retimiah, Emanuel Poliah, Terrence Softleigh, Michael Retimiah, Oquel Stephen, Andrew Binda, Chitram Rai and Steffon Madramootoo.

Zeelandia/Maria’s Pleasure; Kevin Hemraj, Direndra Sitaram, Joshua Willams, Romesh Persaud, Kumeshwar Persaud, Ryan Atkinson, Mohendra Jadookool, Anesh Persaud, Ramveer Ramnarine, Ricky Persaud and Munesh Ramdeo.

doing a remarkable job. Khan also hinted that Odyssey can in the near future expand its relationship with Berbice Cricket.

Foster who was elected President of the Berbice Cricket Board on the 18th February, 2018, stated that the Clubs over the last year has received assistance with balls, cricket gears, groundsman coat, stumps, scorebooks, while young promising cricketers received their own bats and batting pads.

Foster disclosed that in 2019, Clubs would receive more cricket balls and white T/Shirts, while several of the County’s leading Junior Cricketers would receive their own personal cricket kits.

Great efforts would also be made to obtain pitch covers for at least three grounds.

Foster is also working overtime to raise funds to construct an outdoor practice facility.

The long serving Secretary/CEO expressed gratitude

RHTYSC Hilbert Foster hands over donation UCCA President Dennis DeAndrade. to the management and Staff of Odyssey for their continued confidence in the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club and reassured them that the scorebooks would be used for the intended purposes. President of the Upper Corentyne Cricket Association, Dennis De Andrade, who

received the first twenty scorebooks, stated that they would be shared out to members of the Association.

Among the Clubs expected to benefit are Crabwood Creek, Skeldon, Dukestown, Scottsburg, No. 72 Cut and Load, No. 73 Young Warriors and No. 72 All Stars.

GMR&SC Drag Championship Kester Bowen looking for dream debut The first leg of the Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club (GMR&SC) Drag Championship 2019 shifts off on Sunday, March 17 at the South Dakota Circuit, Timehri.

This year’s championship is expected to see larger participation with a number of new drivers throwing their hat into the ring.

One of those new competitors is Kester Bowen, a novice, who will be revving in the Bikes’ category next Sunday.

Bowen, who is a Lance

Corporal in the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), had just enough time to share with Kaieteur Sport his expectations for the March 17 showdown before he left for a one week training course.

“I expect to go out and give the fans a race worth their money.

Hopefully good performances will take me up the pecking order since I’m just a novice and hopefully consistency can earn me a sponsor,” the 24-year-old noted.

Bowen further posited

that, “I have been riding noncompetitively for three years now and what I really want to do is make my father proud since he has been supporting and fueling my growth in the motor sport environment from the get go.”

Bowen will be in the superstock category with his Yamaha R6 which he stressed, had undergone a lot of work from his mechanic; Steven Rambarran.

The cost for fans to witness the action will cost $1000 for adults; $500 for children.

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Kaieteur News

Thursday March 07, 2019

Mathematically, Jaguars still not home

By Sean Devers It is said that when night falls the stars come out to shine and today at Providence, four-times defending Champions Guyana Jaguars face-off with Trinidad Red Force under lights in a Day/ Night contest which starts at 14:00hrs and which will be played with a Pink ball.

In January 2010 in Antigua, the inaugural Pink ball Regional First-Class match was first played under lights.

These two teams competed in that historic game and after Lendl Simmons and Denesh Ramdin scored centuries for T&T, Narsingh Deonarine responded with an unbeaten 104 as the match ended in a draw.

The Pink ball and the dew on a pitch which has some grass should provide assistance for the pacers especially during the final session of the day.A team can earn a maximum 22 points from a match and Jaguars (136) lead as they head into their final match of this season’s Regional FirstClass Championships against a team with no chance of winning the title but who could spoil the Jaguars’ party.

When asked what he wanted to take away from this game, Red Force Coach, 44year-old former West Indies pacer Mervin Dillon, replied “My aim is to beat Guyana!”

Only Leewards, on 110.8 points, with two games to play, can deny Jaguars a record equalling fifth consecutive title which will take them level with Jamaica, who achieved the feat from 20082012.

The Leewards face Windwards and Barbados in Antigua and if they win both

games and the Jaguars lose to Red Force and get three points for dismissing Red Force, a point for reaching 200 and two for their pacers taking 10 wickets, they will only reach 142 points.

If the Leewards get 17 points from each of their last two games they will end on 144.8 points and dethrone the Jaguars.

That’s conjecture, but what is a fact is its imperative for the Jaguars to win this game to be assured of the title.

The Jaguars have had their worst season in the fiveyear history of the PCL; losing three matches, including against Red Force in Trinidad.

That match ended in three days with a 93-run win for the Trinis although Guyana’s four prong pace attack (Romario Shepherd, Raymon Reifer, Keemo Paul and Clinton Pestano) accounted for all 10 wickets.

Jaguars responded with 150 with Paul, unbeaten on 66, being the only batsman to reach 25 as Imran Khan took 3-22.Batting a second time, T&T made 317 with Jason Mohammed getting 83 and Jeremy Solozano, Khan and Joshua DaSilva each making 40s. Paul and Reifer had four wickets each.

Jaguars were then bowled out for 182 despite 50 from Shepherd as Khan had three more wickets. Both Paul and Pestano are now unavailable due to injury.

Both teams are coming off victories in their last matches with Jaguars beating Barbados and T&T defeating Windwards.

Red Force Manager David Furlonge said he wants his team to keep improving and play consistent cricket.

Ramalho guides Noitgedacht SC to victory Former Guyana U15 player Neil Ramalho turned in a fine all-round performance to guide Noitgedacht Sports Club to a five-wicket victory over Good Success when play in the Wakenaam Cricket Committee/Farmer Cup T20 tournament continued on Sunday last.

Good Success batted first and made 110 all out in 20 overs at the Wakenaam Community Centre ground.

Mahase Ramnarine made 17, Wazir Khan 16 and Gurnauth Khemraj 16. Ramalho bagged 4-19 and Matthew Cheong 228.

Noitgedacht SC replied with 114-5 in 15 overs.

Ramalho struck 42 and Jamal Hartman 38; Wazir Khan

Neil Ramalho claimed 2-14. The competition continues on Sunday.

But favoured to win today’s Day/Nighter against Red Force

The 20-year-old Joshua DaSilva (facing camera) and Solozano practice yesterday at Providence and could give Red Force a solid opening stand today.

“We will depend on our senior players and the pitch has some grass which should favour our pacer Odean Smith, Anderson Phillip and Daniel St Class. Our spinners, Imran Khan, Bryan Charles and Khary Pierre, have done well in recent matches, while Tion Webster back to full fitness and we are a happy dressing

room,” Furlonge said.

Jaguars have two of top three highest totals (548 v B’dos & 445 v Hurricanes), but those totals were made during their first four wins before their 15-match unbeaten streak ended in the fifth round and coincided with the departure of Head Coach Esuan Crandon for Windies

Red Force’s Jeremey Solozano has 488 runs including a ton and a fifty this season. duties.

In their last 10 innings, the Jaguars have only reached 200 on three occasions and suffered three defeats during this period as their top order badly let them down.

Anthony Bramble (498) is Guyana’s leading scorer and tournament’s leading Keeper with 37 dismissals, while the

Berbician is one of three batsmen, including ‘Regional Bully’ Devon Smith, with two tons.However, the burly Bramble has gone off the boil in his last few games, while Opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul is the other Jaguars batsman with 450 runs (491 with a ton & 50) from 18 (Continued on page 26 )

GCF 2019 Jr. Qualifiers - UG’s Andre Jagnandan pips Ghansham

Allijohn to top spot, Rajiv Lee and Chelsea Juma finish 3rd and 4th

It was a tournament full of emotional drama, tears being shed, heads hurt and tensions when the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) hosted its 2019 Junior Qualifiers. Making his return to chess this year, Andre Jagnandan edged Ghansham Allijohn on ‘Progressive Ratings’ even though both players finished on 6 points from 7 games, to capture his second tournament of the year.

Last Sunday Jagnandan defeated Savir Gookul and Ethan Lee in round five and six; his only loss came against QC ‘Chess Prodigy’ Rajiv Lee in their highly anticipated game. Lee, known for his aggressive style brushed aside Jagnandan and will be a key contender in this year’s Junior National Chess Championships.

Guyana’s Ghansham ‘Lil Anand’Allijohn displayed his solid positional style with convincing wins against Sasha Shariff, Savir Gookul and Ronan Lee in the last three rounds. His only loss was against Jagnandan on time in a slightly better position.

Rajiv Lee secured his place as well with a draw against higher ranked and rated Jaden Taylor and detrimental wins against Nellisha Johnson and tournament winner Jagnandan.

However, all eyes were on rising female Chelsea Juma of Saints.

Needing to win all of her games on the final day to qualify, Juma showed why she is the current #1 ranked Under-14 female Guyanese player in World Chess Federation player rankings. Her first victim was Akili Theophil of Christ Church followed by UG student Aravinda Singh in rounds 5 and 6.

Juma secured her spot beautifully in round 7 with a Bishop

sacrifice to force her opponent Rodriguez into a losing end game where she forced mated him in 6 moves. St. Stanislaus College 6th Form student Jarell Troyer returned on Sunday last with a bang after losing consecutive games on Saturday.

He won all three of his last games to secure his spot as well.

His fellow school mate Jaden Taylor suffered mixed fortunes, but was able to secure his place as well with some solid draws.

Finishing 7th was Ethan Lee of Marian Academy, who seems to be out of form compared to his performance in 2018.

It was tough luck for Savir Gookul, who was in 2nd place going into the final day to qualify, however, he lost his last 3 games that blew his chances away. Last year’s qualifiers, Odit Rodriguez, Ronan Lee, Nellisha Johnson and Sasha Shariff, all failed in their bids to qualify.

Outstanding performances were recorded by new kids on the block, Samirah Gobin of Al Ghazali Islamic School who finished above Chess Olympians Nellisha and Sasha. Taking the what was billed as the ‘Game of tournament’ prize was 8 year-old Arysh Raghunauth of Mae’s who played beautifully against the more experienced, Odit Rodriguez.

The Final seven players who will be playing against the GCF reigning Junior Champion Joshua Gopaul are: Andre Jagnandan, Ghansham Allijohn, Rajiv Lee, Chelsea Juma, Jarrell Troyer, Jaden Taylor and Ethan Lee. Emerging as the Best Under-14 Females were Chelsea Juma and Samirah Gobin.

Best Under-12 Boys: 1st Noah Rahaman, 2nd Jacob McDonald.

Game of Tournament: Arysh Raghunauth.

Thursday March 07, 2019

Kaieteur News

Trophy Stall, Karibee Rice,Jumbo Jet onboard Georgetown Turf Club Gymkhana Trophy Stall, Karibee Rice and Jumbo Jet have come onboard for the Georgetown Turf Club grand one day Gymkhana Horserace Meet fixed for Sunday at Mocha, East Bank, Demerara.

Trophy Stall confirmed their support by handing over several trophies to Compton Sancho representing the organisers yesterday. Proprietor Ramesh Sunich continued his commitment to supporting sports in general and the horseracing fraternity as is customary. The other sponsors, Karibee Rice and Jumbo Jet will be making other tangible contributions.Six races are carded for the day which will see some of the country’s top K Class and Lower horses in action.

Sancho of the organisers indicated that the track at Mocha is dry and they are anticipating some very fast finishes in the races. He informed that owners and trainers have been working out their horses and fans are in for a treat.

Among some of those horses expected to be on show are: Victoria Red Jet, Irish Boy, Dr. Switch, Something Special, Early Bird, Simpson, Amazon Warrior, Poor People Money, School Boy, Rosanna, Up Front and Up Start.

Sancho said there will be side attractions including bouncy castle for the children. When action gets under way at 13:00hrs there will also be a stocked bar and musical entertainment for patrons. Registration of horses can be done through Besham Deolall on 610-6160 or Compton Sancho.

An exciting day of action is expected.

Mc Gill and New Windsor to clash in WDCA Agape Lumbar Yard T20 final Mc Gill Super Stars of Canal and New Windsor will clash in the final of the West Demerara Cricket Association Agape Lumber Yard T20 tournament on Sunday at Wales.

Mc Gill, New Windsor and Independence A registered victories in the latest round of matches played on Sunday last.

At Wales, Mc Gill Super Stars batted first and managed 100-6 versus All Youths. Shafiek Deen scored 26, while Keshram Seyhodan and Azar Deen got 19 each. Narendra Persaud took 2-20. All Youths were limited to 89-9 in reply.

Buddan Baksh made 24 and Jadesh Persaud 23. Seyhodan grabbed 4-10 and Travis Persaud 2-28.

Belle Vue posted 117 all out in 20 overs, taking first strike against New Windsor. Colin Boucher scored 44; Mahendra Jailall claimed 3-9 and Joel Garnet 2-30. New Windsor responded with 118-5 in 19.1 overs. Roger Henry made 40 and Chris Rajpat 14; Safraz Baksh had 2-21.

At Joe Vieira Park, Cornelia Ida scored 128 all out in 19.5 overs against Independence A. Vickash Dhaniram stroked 42 while Dhaniram Azimudeen and Richie Looknauth got 15 and 14 in that order. Ricky Sergeant bagged 4-13 and Ewart Samuels 2-26. Independence A replied with 130-8 in 19.2 overs. Sergeant hammered 65; Vivian Beckles contributed 19 and Samuels 15. Looknauth captured 4-1.

The final will commence at 13:00hrs.

Guyana vs Belize 16 Days to go

Mark Reid (right) of the Trophy Stall handsover trophies to Compton Sancho epresenting the GTC at the sponsors Bourda Market location yesterday.

PAGE 31

rt o p S

Mathematically, Jaguars still not home P. 30

But favoured to win today’s Day/Nighter against Red Force

Skipper Leon Johnson will need to contribute today after just a lack of runs but could become the most successful Regional Captain on Sunday night.

(Sean Devers photos)

Coach Mervin Dillion plays a game of Football during the Red Force’s practice session at Providence.

GCF 2019 Jr. Qualifiers - UG’s Andre Jagnandan pips Ghansham

GMR&SC Drag Championship

Allijohn to top spot, Rajiv Lee and Kester Bowen looking for dream debut P. 29 Chelsea Juma finish 3rd and 4thP. 30

GDF Lance Corporal Kester Bowen and his Yamaha R6 motor cycle.

The leading participants at the Guyana Chess Federation 2019 Jr. Qualifiers display their silverware.

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