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AIETEUR NEWS

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

Taxi driver runs down wife with

Sunday Edition March 31, 2019 Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

car, then butchers her

Price $140

Online readership yesterday 111,376

Guyana Goldfields received US$50M in tax exemptions in - Duty free concessions for Peruvian last three years company being questioned Medical staff at Eugene F. Corriea Airport (EFCA) awaiting the arrival of the patients

National oil spill plan still incomplete but offshore drilling accelerates

Chinese national dead, Chinese restaurant 7 quarantined defies Housing Authority's after mystery order to close GRA clamps down breakout at on unlicensed manganese mine liquor shops Guyana entering oil industry without legislative, regulatory framework - Nigel Hughes

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Kaieteur News

Sunday March 31, 2019

Kaieteur News

Sunday March 31, 2019

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Entering oil industry without legislative, regulatory framework puts us at a disadvantage - Nigel Hughes

By Kiana Wilburg

I

t is highly unlikely that Guyana would be able to get the necessary legislative and regulatory framework in place before first oil comes on stream says seasoned Attorney-at-law, Nigel Hughes.

He told Kaieteur News that the country has failed to optimize the three-plus years it had to properly prepare the needed framework. In the absence of the framework, the country is now placed at a disadvantage, Hughes said.

The lawyer said, “Getting the requisite framework in time would require intensive legislative action ... There has to be a process of discussions with t h e i n d u s t r y stakeholders...We just can't rush and pass legislation like that ...

“And given that we can't even agree on if we will be having full participation in the National Assembly and we have three or four quarters left (before first oil) then it would be highly unlikely that we would have the requisite framework in place for the sector.”

The Attorney-at-law said that he is, of course, concerned about how this is going to affect the realization

of the full potential of the sector. “If we are going into oil unprepared from a legislative and regulatory stance, then it clearly is going to be to our disadvantage.”

FRAMEWORK'S IMPORTANCE Hughes noted that there could be worrying implications if a regulatory or legislative framework does not exist to allow for the proper analysis of data that will be collected by agencies from the Stabroek Block operators—Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, Hess and CNOOC. Expounding on this point, Hughes said, “Imagine going into first oil next year and you don't have a Petroleum Commission in place. Therefore, who is beginning to manage and monitor the whole plethora of services and declarations that (the Stabroek Block operators) are going to make?

“When the operator begins providing you with all the data requested, who is processing it and in what context? In what policy framework are we then processing all this information that will be supplied to us in a language

that we haven't even begun to understand?”

“And this is not just the f i n a n c i a l information.

Therefore, they start supplying all the technical data about what they are finding and producing. Who is monitoring all of that? Who is monitoring the rate of extraction? And what policy framework are they using to do so.”

He added, “I mean, if you go into this without a commission and the necessary regulations then it is going to be whatever is provided. And the problem with that is if six to eight months pass, then

A REASON, SEASON or LIFETIME

P

Guyana has already lost the first quarter of 2019 and is perhaps going to lose more time in the second quarter because of political inaction, which has delayed preparation for commercial production.

“I don't want to say we wasted time, but, I think we failed considerably to optimize the time that was available to us to properly prepare for first oil,” said the lawyer.

CAN THIS BE SALVAGED? Hughes is of the view that with an increased level

Attorney-at-Law, Nigel Hughes of political maturity and more collaboration that is driven by the national requirements rather than party interests, then the nation can go a far way in its preparation for building the kind of framework that is required for commercial production.

Chinese national dead, seven quarantined after mystery breakout at manganese mine

Food for thought eople always come into your life for a reason, a season and a lifetime.

When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do.

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly.

They have come to assist you through a difficulty, or to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or even spiritually. They may seem like a god-send to you, and they are.

They are there for a reason, you need them to be.

Then, without any wrong doing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die, Sometimes they just walk away.

Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer

and we have established a 'particular methodology' and then that becomes the dominant methodology without locating it within a particular framework.”

Given his comments, Kaieteur News asked Hughes if he holds the view that the country has essentially set itself up to fail. Hughes said that while he is not pessimistic, he does believe that the nation is woefully unprepared and has been delayed from doing what is needed as a result of political inaction.

The lawyer commented that it is very unfortunate that

you sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on.

When people come into your life for a SEASON, it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done.

They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season. And like Spring turns to Summer and Summer to Fall, the season eventually ends.

LIFETIME, relationships teach you a lifetime of lessons; those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person/people (anyway), and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas in your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant. Thank you for being part of my life… [Author Unknown]

The seven workers had initially been taken to Pakera Hospital, Matthews Ridge, for treatment.

O

ne of several a f f l i c t e d manganese workers is now dead, after exhibiting symptoms of a viral influenza, yesterday.

The other seven, who are also Chinese nationals, are currently being treated at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

A team of medical personnel was deployed to Matthews Ridge yesterday, from the Mabaruma Hospital after the members received these reports.

The seven men were airlifted to Eugene F. Correia International Airport, Ogle, and transported to GPHC for treatment.

A medical practitioner on the team informed this publication that the team has been extremely cautious, both, in its transport of the

patients and with the level of care they're currently receiving.

This publication was informed that two floors of the Male Medical Ward of GPHC were cleared and restricted yesterday, to quarantine the victims of the undetermined illness.

The medical personnel at the hospital have been running a battery of tests.

Further testing is expected to be done to ascertain the exact nature of the illness. One doctor involved has dismissed speculation that swine flu is the cause of the symptoms.

The workers were reportedly stationed at a manganese mine owned by Guyana Manganese Inc. (GMI), a subsidiary of Chinese company, Bosai Minerals Group Guyana

Company Limited, when they began showing signs of respiratory discomfort, rash and high fever-like temperatures.

Just Friday, Ministers of Natural Resources and Public Affairs, Raphael Trotman, and Dawn Hastings-Williams, visited the mine to inspect it, since operations there are expected to restart soon.

To date, 113 Guyanese and 23 expatriates have already been employed with GMI. According to health officials, they are up on the alert for measles and immunisable diseases.

Picture saved as medical staff at ogle Caption: Medical staff at Eugene F. Corriea Airport (EFCA) awaiting the arrival of the patients.

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Sunday March 31, 2019

Kaieteur News

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

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

EDITORIAL

That issue of dual citizenship It is time for a decision. It cannot be the beginning of one, or part of one, but a final one. It must be written in the immovable stone of hard principle.

It starts with individuals on this matter of dual citizenship. Forget about what this or that party calculates and desires for numerical presence and advantage; and what have been the histories of recognizing and rewarding stalwarts.

This about country: what kind of society and patriots is wished for? It cannot be cheap, shabby ones, cannot be of the part-time, here today, gone tomorrow variety; of the flowers and fruits of favour and then flight.

Those considering, debating, and making laws for the peoples of Guyana, must be of the soil and embedded in the soil. The full disclosure of this is who I am and where I stand. Guyana is stood for; Guyanese are whom I identify with. Take a holiday to wherever; take many of them but feet and heart and mind must be anchored here. Soul too.

Let the hedging and vacillating and finger pointing and game playing all be done with, nonsense all.

Discontinue consultations with advisers and comrades.

Continue with serving fully with appreciation and gratitude for the call of country to lend a hand, to give an ear, to deliver a presence. Continue doing that or continue to a plane for that which means more, is loved more, prioritized more.

There can be no partisanship on this, no failure for meeting of the minds. If there is such failure, then the overwhelming likelihood is that there is precious little on which minds here can harmonize.

The hard, unalterable creed of politicians all over, and distinctly so in Guyana, is this: who is not for me is against me. Going beyond politicians and cheap slogans, the land is saying this at this time about dual citizenship: who is not with me is not about me.

The emotions, sentiments, and expressions flare and coalesce. Those who have assumed the mantle of leadership must step forward, raise hand, and swear unending devotion to this nation. In the deep heart, unending means undivided; undivided to focus exclusively on the tempests and traumas of this tortured territory, to identify with the plights and pains of the peoples; to commit energy and intellect to making this Guyana a truly Magnificent Province.

This cannot happen with recruited mercenaries or visiting expatriates. In terms of the former, this is neither job nor project, and when it is over, then it is out. As to the latter, it cannot be the long overnight stand of men (and women) seeking the sweetness of lush embrace. This is a marriage; it is one that comes with all the teeth and tongue, ups and downs, and pluses and minuses of a monogamous relationship.

For the stated commitment of true servanthood to be more than the easy, comforting platitude that it has become, this has to be till death do us part.

Guyanese privileged (and it is) to carry dual citizenship must be of a singular mindset: bury my heart by the Demerara; scatter my ashes in the mighty Essequibo; and let me, when the time has come, find rest in Berbice; or in the shades of Roraima or Pakaraima.

Surely, this cannot be asking too much of those who say that they love this country. And just as surely, no one from any party should have any speck of difficulty in making a decision that proves all of this and more.

Kaieteur M@ilbox Send your letters to Kaieteur News 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown or email us kaieteurnews@yahoo.com

Why was Hughes, Fields & Stoby law firm, the producer of this maritime conference?

DEAR EDITOR, A rather unusual event took place on Wednesday, March 27, 2019 – one that raised several questions.

I am referring to the ‘Guyana’s New Maritime Landscape, preparing for the future’ conference, which was hosted by the Hughes, Fields and Stoby Law Firm and Cerulean Master Card under the rubric of the Guyana Maritime Administration at the Marriott Hotel.

The invitation, which was dispatched to many people by Nigel Hughes on behalf of Hughes Fields & Stoby advised that: “Guyana’s national

efforts to prepare for the advent of the commercial production of oil have necessitated a revisit of our existing legal and regulatory framework for several industries and particularly for the maritime industry.

“The current legal and regulatory maritime framework is inadequate for the development of the oil and gas industry which is upon us.

“In order to meet this challenge, the Maritime Authority of Guyana (MARAD) has determined that it will host a conference on the 27th March 2019 at the Marriot where it hopes to

benefit from the contributions of the stakeholders in the maritime industry as it sets about the task of crafting draft laws and regulations for the new maritime regime….

“The conference will address four themes namely Legal and Institutional Considerations to Enhance Governance of Guyana’s Maritime Industry, Industry Best Practices among the Oil Majors for Self-regulation, Lessons Learnt and New Rules and Regulations for Enforcement.”

One should remember that in September 2018, the same Firm at the launching of its office in Houston,

Texas said: “Long before a potential investor even arrives in Guyana, the law offices of Hughes, Fields and Stoby will now be on hand in Houston, Texas to guide clients through what could be a complex process of establishing business relationships in Guyana…From legal representation right through to assistance with the appropriate business protocols and linkage to a network of officials in the public and private sector, a client’s every need is attended to in ensuring the doors to doing business in Continued on page 6

Sunday March 31, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Are our human resource our greatest An appeal to President Granger assets or is the saying balderdash? to get IPL 2019 on NCN DEAR EDITOR, Since the unfortunate deaths of the two daughters of Mr. Desmond Hoyte on the Soesdyke/ Linden Highway over four decades ago, there have been several multi casualty accidents on various stretches of that highway as a result of vehicles running into broken down trucks, which are not visible to oncoming drivers. I am not aware of anything constructive being done by the authorities to stem the flow of this carnage.

On January 13, 2019 while reading INEWS Guyana on the deliberations emanating from the last statutory meeting of the Region 10 Democratic Council (RDC), I saw the following quote: “Heavy-duty trucks still operating haphazardly on Linden Highway Councillors.

Mackenzie-Wismar Bridge scale trucks severely overweight.”

Regional Chairman, Renis Morian promised to raise the issue at the region’s security meeting. He also reminded the council that several highlevel meetings were held regarding the same issue, last June. Officials met and discussed recommendations and measures of enforcement for heavy-duty trucks in an effort to curb road fatalities and the destruction of roads within the region and along the Linden Soesdyke Highway.

A picture included in the report showed a long vehicle with cab stretched entirely across a road with cab just turning off the right hand side of the bush road and piles extending over the left hand side of the road.

The report coming out of the statutory meeting, got my interest since prior to my departure overseas in March 2018, I had visited my school friend Steve Bovell’ s farm at Moblissa, where he was successfully growing Irish

potatoes and I had then presented the Linden Technical Institute, specifically Ms. Brotherson, Principal, with a telescope to galvanise the students’ interest in space exploration.

My affinity with Linden goes over back to Prince Phillip’s visit to the Demerara Bauxite Company in 1966 when I was taken by DCA Alec Phillips to Mackenzie to provide a limited Air Traffic Control Service to aircraft landing at the nearby airport associated with his Majesty’s visit, including lunch at Watooka House in the company of Mr. Proctor Snr. I had in July 2012 initiated a fund for the relatives of Lindeners shot and killed in a protest.

Editor, being taken aback that solutions to reduce the continued carnage on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway which continues for years involving heavy, long vehicles cannot be found, I decided to do some research online.

From my meagre resources as a pensioner, I purchased (a) 1-3 TRAFFIC TRIANGLE REFLECTORS SAFETY WARNING KIT and (b) 28" ORANGE battery lighting TRAFFIC CONES, which could be used together or separately to highlight the presence of any obstruction to the smooth and unimpeded flow of traffic on any highway.

Samples are being given to this newspaper.

Editor, I will now take the bull by the horns and I insist that the authorities from the level of His Excellency, the President issue a dictum through the Ministry of Public Security and/or Social Protection that all long vehicles or vehicles and trailer with a GVN of more than 12 tonnes must carry three portable warning triangles at all times and if the vehicle breaks down,

orange cones would be of added help.

If a vehicle required to carry a warning triangle stops, or the load being carried by the vehicle falls onto the road and is not visible 200 meters in all directions, the driver must put the first triangle 50150m from the front of the vehicle or fallen load.

The second triangle should be placed 50-150m from the rear of the vehicle or fallen load.

The third triangle should be placed at the side of the vehicle or fallen load in a position that gives sufficient warning to other road users of the position of the vehicle or fallen load.

This dictum will specify that all vehicles described be required to be equipped with hazard warning lights by a deadline of 30th April 2019.

Based on the value of the load carried by these heavy and long vehicles, they should be no monetary problem to having them airfreighted into Guyana to meet the April deadline. Daily inspection to ensure compliance must be carried out. Any shaking down of vehicle drivers and operators by the police will be dealt with condignly.

It must be noted that from the picture of the long vehicle in this article, I would need additional man power in the form of one or two marshals with wands to alert approaching traffic of a turning traffic hazard.

Accept, Editor, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Aubrey Alexander Deputy Director Civil Aviation (Retired)

DEAR EDITOR, At the advent of the Coalition Government, a Ministry of Social Cohesion was created.

Public expectation was high, given the degree of polarization that has plagued this nation even before independence.

No one expected magic from this new ministry because this area is considered uncharted waters with the potential to be more chaotic than the Bermuda triangle.

People saw the Ministry of Social Cohesion as all encompassing and necessary to the slogan, “the good life’, Prophesied by the coalition in its election campaign. In Its fourth year in government, “the good life,” seems more elusive and retrograded beyond the status quo of 2015.

On the economic front, there is nothing to inspire hope. Thousands of workers lost their jobs. Those who have a job found themselves faced with a more austere tax regime by the spreading of vat on hitherto vat free items.

While all the ministries, with the exception of the Ministry of Social Cohesion, did something, albeit in most cases, that help to push “the good life” dream further into the abyss, they do deserve a mark for effort.

I do assume they all had the best intentions. The Ministry of Social Cohesion remained pristine and unheralded for its lack of effort to attempt to do something of value or just anything that offers the people some semblance of togetherness.

Unity is the essence of social cohesion. It has long been recognized that the most unifying force to have graced our shores was the game of glorious uncertainty- Cricket.

With the formation of a Ministry of Social Cohesion, with a mandate to foster unity amongst our people some fifty plus years after independence, one would have expected this Ministry to adopt, promote and sponsor this most unifying force (Cricket) as a vehicle to achieve its objectives.

Even the most unlearned can attest that performance of our heroes, local and of Caribbean origin, in the IPL has never failed to bring us joy and foster togethernessthe essence of social cohesion.

Continued on page 6

I question the use of subvention by the Ordinance Fortlands NDC DEAR SIR, It is with concern that I write you with regards to the above subject matter.

There was a remaining balance of $ 395,000.00 (Approximate) after upgrading the council’s office interior and exterior parts.

The Chairman and Vice Chairman took it upon themselves to construct a Chairman’s office within the N.D.C office, leaving inadequate space for councillor’s to sit during meeting.

It is very congested and does not allow for public observation of council meetings. Also, they have constructed a wall so that tax payers cannot see or hear

what is taking place at the meetings and if the tax payers need to meet them to discuss problems that are affecting them they cannot do so because of the wall. No Chairman of an N.D.C in Guyana has an office.

Honourable Minister, it was never a decision of the council to construct such an enclosure within the office.

Imagine the Chairman’s office has three (3) doors, what for?

All of this was done with subvention funds, which is illegal.

Kindly investigate and take the appropriate actions to have the Chairman’s office and the wall removed urgently.

There is also an urgent need for an overseer at the

office, but nothing is being done.

Sincerely Yours.

Godfrey A. Evans- Retired Overseer- A.P.N.U/A.F.C Councillor C.C Permanent Secretary-Ministry of Communities ChairmanLocal Government Commission Office of the President R.E.O- Region Number Six Regional ChairmanRegion Number Six

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Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Kaieteur M@ilbox

GUYANA: LOVE AT FIRST VISIT DEAR EDITOR, Like most Americans, the only thing I knew about Guyana is that a very tragic event transpired some 40 years ago in the jungle that featured a megalomaniac preacher. There is a saying that we in the US can’t locate a country on a map until our military bombs it.

Among all the things I learned over the past few years was that Guyana had a sizable Hindu population.

Thankfully, attending the annual Hindu Mandir Executive Conference in Trinidad some four years ago resulted in a serious offer to visit. The trip would be sponsored by a few Guyanese along with my advocacy organization, The Hindu American Foundation (HAF), where I sit on its National Leadership Council.

(HAFSITE.ORG) Though the A in HAF specifically indicates “America,” as in “United States of…” the board and staff agreed that we must not dismiss such sizable populations in close proximity.

The scenery in Guyana is awesome, but it is the people that really make the lasting impressions.

I was immediately overwhelmed with great kindness and hospitality.

The first few of my nine days were spent at The Social Services Center of Excellence in Woodley Park, WCB. This was founded by pandit and educator, Ram Rattan who currently spends most of his time in Florida, but continues to maintain a presence in

Guyana. This is truly a jewel of a place, offering classes for social and individual improvement. Sri Ramji was kind enough to provide me with a room and all meals when he learnt the purpose of my trip. He even joined me for several of the lectures I gave in that general area.

Since so many Indians who became indentured in Guyana were from Utter Pradesh my experience allowed me to sample new tastes—seven curry on lotus leaves which is worth mentioning.

One breathtaking trip was the ferry from Parika to Essequibo. Everything about it—the water, passing the beautiful islands, and the wonderful breeze all contributed to feeling of great content.

Guyana has absolutely stunning homes. What impresses most is the originality of the designs and architecture. All the houses are unique unlike our dull subdivisions. I know that Guyana is not a “rich” country but everyone in US with whom I shared my photos would like to visit. I saw many inspiring temples; outstanding among which was the one at Gay Park, overseen by female Pandita Srimati Maraj. Our guide for the day, generous and always willing to help, Rudy (back shop) Rampersaud made sure that we visited the site where indentured servants first landed in 1838.

I would encourage Hindus from the US and India alike to take a lesson from the way

pujas and yagnas are conducted in Guyana. We spend too much time in rituals that few can understand, but in the land of endless summer, the rituals are briefer. There is always an accomplished harmoniunist and percussionist. The power of bhajans create an atmosphere of true bhakti. The kathas delivered by the pundits are the centre of attention.

Drawing from the stories of the Ramayana (mostly), they engage the devotees in a way that I don’t often see in standard American Hindu temples. There are exceptions here, but they are rare.

At US temples, people overindulge in socializing.

No matter if it a church, synagogue or mosque, members have to be constantly told to stop talking.

However, at a yagna with over 500 in attendance at Hampton Court on the Essequibo Coast, all eyes and ears were on presiding pandit Lalaram from the Bath Settlement, Berbice. They were also very kind to me when I was asked speak.

Visiting and staying with Swami Aksharananda allowed me to speak for an entire day to the students at Saraswati Vidya Niketan, a private Hindu School at Cornelia Ida. The behaviour of the children, their rigorous schedule and the quality of the teachers all contributed to its status of one of the best in the country. If we could import that level of academic professionalism to the US, we would have a greater nation.

Fixed in memory is a trip to the Stabroek Market, where I was able to purchase a beautiful gold necklace from the most venerable jewellery merchants in Guyana. I was warned that this was not the safest place for a white foreigner; but I was fortunate to have Swami with me.

The purpose of my trip was to investigate the challenge that the Hindu community is dealing with what we call predatory conversion.

While acknowledging the sanctity of a person’s decision to move from one religion to another, we know that some religious groups use methods on individuals and communities to persuade them to adopt a

religion they wouldn’t normally join if not for pressure. This coercion can come in the form of bribery, medical aid, professional gains, etc. It was thought that a white American who did in fact leave his birth religion of his own accord to embrace Dharma might have a positive impact on the devotees who have to deal with ideas of superiority that the European explorers took with them to their colonies. In my conversations with retired lawyer and GuyaneseCanadian writer, Ram Sahadeo, we discussed a lecture tour I completed back in 2005 when I crisscrossed much of India’s northeast states, speaking at local

temples, schools and public venues in an attempt to resist the rampant predatory conversion practices there.

There seemed to be much interest in our mission in Guyana. Several good connections were made and many ideas were discussed but much more coordination is needed to combat this problem using the Gandhian principle of Ahimsa.

Anyone interested in a more detailed report can contact me at Fred@hafsite.org Fred Stella Member, National Leadership Council Hindu American Foundation I www.HAFsite.org

An appeal to President Granger to...

From page 5 The IPL is the most sought after version of the T twenty game of cricket on the planet, revered by people of all walks of life in Guyana.

The IPL fosters a unifying spirit among our Guyanese Brothers and sisters. For the government to sit idly year after year, while the IPL games can only be seen by those who can afford cable TV is seen as a cardinal sin orchestrated by the government on the poor.

The continuous yearly failure of the Government to acquire the rights to have the IPL games shown on NCN so that poor people of all ethnic background can enjoy the games in the comfort of their homes is seen as a lack of vision or a deliberate attempt to lock the poor out, from enjoying any semblance of the

promised, “good life”.

The former govt, without a Ministry of Social Cohesion, never failed to assist to purchase the rights for broadcasting the IPL on NCN, since the inception of the IPL to 2015.

No amount of publicity stunt like the recent” reach the people” show, could deliver more support to the coalition than getting the IPL on NCN. Getting the IPL on NCN will prove that the government has an interest in uniting the people, a worthy investment.

It is still early day in IPL 2019. I would like to appeal to the president to do whatever it takes to get the remainder of IPL 2019 on NCN and if possible, for good measure, cull the Ministry of Social Cohesion.

Rudolph Singh

Why was Hughes, Fields & Stoby law...

From page 4 Guyana are easily and readily open.”

So the first set of questions relate to the organization and funding of the Conference.

Why was the Guyana Maritime Administration not taking the lead in inviting people, even on their website, there is no information about the conference nor its agenda just the announcement?

Why was Hughes, Fields & Stoby the “producer of the event” as stated on the flyer?

Who was paying for the conference, and the presenters -Mr. Colin Young, Regional Advisor, Caribbean, International Maritime Organisation, Ms. Vivian RambarathParasram, Program Leader, Maritime Studies of University of Trinidad and Tobago, Professor Eric Smith, Professor of Practice at the AB Freeman School of Business at Tulane University, Mr. Eric Smith, Thomas Steigerwald, Maritime consultant and Retired Rear Admiral United States Coast Guard James Olson? Did the other companies name in the conference document-

Guyana Shore Base Inc., Global Maritime Consultants Group, and GAICO contribute to the funding?

Who paid Hughes Fields & Stoby to produce this Maritime conference?

Certainly, l do not think MARAD could have had the money to do so.

The second set of questions relate to policy making.

“The Vision” in the conference brochure is written by C.A. Nigel Hughes as Managing Partner of Hughes Fields & Stoby. The fact that the vision had no vision is not surprising, but here is the vision being propagated by a gentleman who is representing the interests of the oil investors, and whose wife is a Minister.

A conflict of interest situation which was exposed over 6 months ago but which the government has ignored.

One wonders whether the government has relinquished or parceled out policy making of our national concerns and interests to Nigel Hughes, Managing Partner of a company that is facilitating and benefiting financially from the oil interests?

Who is representing

Guyana’s interests or will we be seeing a repetition of the 2016 secret agreement with the Exxon et al that sold our national patrimony down the line?

Why was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs not present as there are Maritime issues with regards to our international treaty obligations as well as specific concerns with regards to our maritime boundaries and the oil sector?

Furthermore, why was the selection of the local panelists restricted to their affiliation to only two law firms and one political party?

Why were local companies, which are involved in the maritime industry and other stakeholders in this sector not included in the panelists? One wonders after examining this line up at the conference if the draft local content policy touted by the government is just another window dressing.

Finally, has the discussion on the future of oil and the maritime industries now being hijacked to personal interests and not national interests?

Sincerely, Darion Comacho

Sunday March 31, 2019

Kaieteur News

Trump: Pulitzers awarded to NYT, Washington Post should be revoked for ‘fake’ Russia coverage (USA Today) WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump called for the Pulitzer Board to revoke the prizes awarded to The New York Times and The Washington Post for coverage of Russian interference in the 2016 election and the links between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign.

“So funny that The New York Times & The Washington Post got a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage (100% NEGATIVE and FAKE!) of Collusion with Russia - And there was No Collusion! So, they were either duped or corrupt?” the president wrote on Twitter on Friday. “In any event, their prizes should be taken away by the Committee!”

The sentiment has been a talking point for Republicans since Attorney General William Barr said special counsel Robert Mueller did not find a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, but it was the first time the president suggested that the media outlets have their Pulitzers – one of journalism’s highest honors – stripped away.

The awards were given in 2018 for what the Pulitzer Board described as “deeply sourced, relentlessly reported coverage in the public interest that dramatically furthered the nation’s understanding of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its connections to the Trump campaign, the President-elect’s transition team and his eventual administration.”

Pulitzer Prize Administrator Dana Canedy said in a statement to USA TODAY that Trump’s tweet was “fake marketing.”

“This criticism is fake marketing. We stand behind the Pulitzer selection process, which has endured for 103 years.

And the winning work speaks for itself,” she said. “Beyond that, this simply doesn’t deserve comment. I’m focusing on our exciting upcoming 103rd awards announcement and invite everyone to tune in to the livestream on Monday April 15th at 3 p.m. on Pulitzer.org.”

In a statement, The New York Times said the outlet’s coverage stands and Barr’s fourpage letter summarizing the investigation only confirmed the work of its reporters.

“No report in our package of Pulitzer-prize winning work has been challenged,” said Eileen Murphy, a spokeswoman for the

company. “In fact, what we know of the Mueller report from the Attorney General’s summary confirms our coverage. Russia actively worked to upend the American elections in 2016 and there were multiple instances of Trump Transition and Administration officials having contact with Russia.”

The Washington Post, through a spokeswoman, said it did not plan on commenting on the president’s tweet.

Throughout Mueller’s investigation, dozens of individuals were charged, including members of Trump’s inner circle, his campaign and his administration.

But no charges were filed specifically alleging a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia to help him win the 2016 election, though Mueller and U.S. intelligence officials has concluded that the Kremlin was behind a massive campaign to interfere and influence the outcome of the election.

Mueller found, according to Barr’s letter to members of Congress, that the Trump campaign did not conspire or coordinate with Russia “despite multiple offers from Russianaffiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign.”

Barr said Mueller declined to reach a conclusion on whether the president sought to obstruct the investigation, though Barr said his own judgment was that Trump had not.

Barr’s letter included very little from Mueller’s nearly 400-page report. The full report is expected to be released publicly in mid-April, Barr told Congress on Friday.

The award-winning work by the Times and Post chronicles issues and warnings about former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn before he was charged as part of Mueller ’s investigation and Jared Kushner’s Russian links.

Other stories revealed a meeting between top Trump campaign officials, including the president’s eldest son, with a Russian lawyer in Trump Tower before the election and conduct by the president that led to questions over whether he may have attempted to obstruct the investigation, including asking former FBI Director James Comey to let go of an investigation into Flynn

PAGE 7

Scientists claim discovery of a fossilized killing field from the day the dinosaurs died Scientists say a meteor impact 66 million years ago generated a tsunami-like wave in an inland sea that killed and buried fish, mammals, insects and a dinosaur.

First, there was a violent shock. Then, there was the roar of a 30-foot-high wave of water, throwing fish onto a sandbar in what is now North Dakota. Then there was a hail of molten rock, pelting dying fish and soon-tobe-dying land creatures. Then the fires began.

That’s how the doom of the dinosaurs began, nearly 66 million years ago, according to a study to be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences next week.

For decades, scientists have surmised that the doom came about when a giant asteroid or comet struck Earth just off the coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. The new study lays out a scenario for how that cosmic impact killed off species thousands of miles away, closing off what’s known as the Cretaceous Period.

An ancient layer of rock, uncovered at a site dubbed “Tanis” in North Dakota’s Hell Creek Formation, revealed the fossilized remains of fish, snail-like sea creatures called ammonites and a marine reptile known as a mosasaur, plus land animals including mammals and a Triceratops, Mixed in with the fossils were bits of burned tree trunks, sediment and tiny glass beads known as tektites.

The research team behind the find was led

by Robert DePalma, curator of paleontology at the Palm Beach Museum of Natural History in Florida and a doctoral student at the University of Kansas. DePalma has been studying the Tanis site since 2013, and he says it sheds new light on the chain of events that created the famous geological and biological dividing line known as the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary or simply the K-Pg or K-T boundary.

“This is the first mass death assemblage of large organisms anyone has found associated with the K-T boundary,” DePalma said in a news release. “At no other K-T boundary section on Earth can you find such a collection consisting of a large number of species representing different ages of organisms and different stages of life, all of which died at the same time, on the same day.”

DePalma and his colleagues reconstructed the sequence of events on that fatal day by looking closely at the section of rock.

“It’s like a museum of the end of the Cretaceous in a layer a meter and a half thick,” said study co-author Mark Richards, provost and professor of earth and space sciences at the University of Washington.

The detective work drew upon an analysis from Richards and Walter Alvarez, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley who helped lay out the original giant-asteroid hypothesis nearly 40 years ago. They sized up the evidence for the tsunami-like wave and the hail of glass beads, and laid out a scenario that started with the asteroid impact setting off a magnitude 10 or 11 earthquake.

That seismic shock could have created a series of standing waves, also known as a seiche, in a body of water known as the Western Interior Seaway that scientists say stretched through the middle of North America during the Cretaceous Period.

Meanwhile, the asteroid impact would have thrown up a massive plume of molten rock that turned into sphere-shaped tektites, raining down from space across a wide swath of Earth’s surface. Richards and Alvarez concluded that the standing waves must have washed up fish at the Tanis site before the deadly hail was through.

“The seismic waves start arising within nine to 10 minutes of the impact, so they had a chance to get the water sloshing before all the spherules had fallen out of the sky,” Richards explained. “These spherules coming in cratered the surface, making funnels — you can see the deformed layers in what used to be soft mud — and then rubble covered the spherules.”

The layer of sediment that covered the rubble was rich in iridium, confirming the connection to Alvarez’s giant-asteroid hypothesis.

“When we proposed the impact hypothesis to explain the great extinction, it was based just on finding an anomalous concentration of iridium — the fingerprint of an asteroid or comet,” Alvarez said. “Since then, the evidence has gradually built up. But it never crossed my mind that we would find a deathbed like this.”

PAGE 8

Sunday March 31, 2019

Kaieteur News

National oil spill contingency plan is still incomplete but offshore drilling accelerates Since 2016, calls have been unending for Guyana to have in place, a National Oil Spill Contingency Plan. To date, this document is still to be completed. In the meantime, offshore drilling activities are poised to accelerate this year.

According to a report that was produced by Financial Analyst, Jenny Xenos, of Canaccord Genuity Corporation which is based in Canada, offshore Guyana is expected to see about 14 wells being drilled.

In an Industry Update report, the author stated that up to nine wells will be drilled on the prolific Stabroek block, two of which are currently being drilled. The Stabroek Block is operated by ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), Hess and CNOOC. Furthermore, two wells are slated for drilling on the Orinduik Block which is under the licensed control of Tullow Oil, Total and Eco Atlantic.

One well is planned for the Kanuku Block by Repsol and Tullow Oil. The Corentyne Block also has one well planned for drilling by its operators, CGX and Frontera Energy. The Canje Block will also see one well being drilled by ExxonMobil, Total JHI and Mid-Atlantic.

IDB URGES The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is of the firm view that Guyana should have a national oil spill contingency plan in place before oil production

commences in 2020.

In its special report, the IDB noted that Guyana’s CARICOM sister, Trinidad and Tobago, which has been in the petroleum industry for more than a century, has taken the wise move to safeguard its sector with a national oil spill plan.

That plan was updated and passed by TT’s Cabinet in January 2013. The IDB said that with TT’s new plan, “Deep-water drilling operators will now be required to demonstrate accessibility to a containment lap system to arrest a subsea blow out event.”

The IDB believes that Guyana can take a page from Trinidad’s book and get its own plan in place soon.

It has been over 10 months since the first round of consultations was held on the draft national oil spill plan.

The document was submitted to Cabinet but it is still to be made public and finalized.

Leading the work on the oil spill plan is the Civil Defence Commission (CDC).

Several bills slated for Parliament % Supplementary for GECOM among legislation prioritised As the Coalition Government prepares to return to the National A s s e m b l y, s e v e r a l k e y pieces of legislation are slated to be tabled; this is according to Finance Minister Winston Jordan.

Speaking to the Department of Public Information, the Minister explained that the legislative menu includes the Telecommunications Bill, an amended Procurement Act with debarment procedures, the Customs and Single Window Bill, a Customs Amendment HS 2017 to legalise tariff changes, along with others piloted by ministers.

Priority, he added, will be given to the Supplementary Bill, which caters to funding the Guyana Elections Commission’s elections’ preparations, “we need to speak to GECOM on the procedure to get the supplementary.”

Minister Jordan reminded that, “the noConfidence Motion didn’t bring an end to Parliament so at any time we could have gone back to parliament. We still have 33

seats.”

Asked about the O p p o s i t i o n ’s t h r e a t t o boycott Parliament until the conclusion of the appeal against the findings of the Appeal Court currently before the Caribbean Court of Justice, the Minister recalled that when the life of the current Parliament began, the Opposition stayed away.

“They subsequently stopped their marching up and down and went to Parliament. So, they not going to Parliament is nothing new.”

The O p p o s i t i o n ’s actions, Minister Jordan opined, indicate a “clear lack of respect” for the National Assembly.

He further recalled that the opposing side of the House would always walk out whenever he presented the National Budgets, “They would get up and go so they don’t treat parliament with the respect that it deserves.”

April 11, 2019, is the tentative date proposed for the 113th sitting of the National Assembly of the 11th Parliament according to Minister Jordan.

Sunday March 31, 2019

PAGE 9

Kaieteur News

Guyana Goldfields received US$50M in tax exemptions in last three years ...Duty free concessions for Peruvian company being questioned allowed to collect those equipment.

The Guyana Revenue Authority, according to government sources, would have lost over $10B (US$50M).

Between 2016 and to recently, the company said it produced almost 500,000

There are questions over $1.1B in tax exemptions granted to Stracon, a Peruvian company that has been contracted to the Guyana Goldfields Inc. In the early 90s, there were little investments coming.

Guyana was seen as not so attractive.

Guyana managed then to bring two major investments, including Malaysians for Barama Company Limited and a US company for the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company Limited.

Over the years, to attract investments, Guyana offered tax incentives, including duty free concessions and holidays as a means to woo overseas businesses, which had the resources and skills capacity.

After evidence emerged pointing to widespread abuse in those tax incentives, there were attempts made locally to streamline it.

A few of the abuses include the import and sale to the local market of materials, including steel and paint, and equipment including trucks, SUVs and even heavy machinery.

While in the beginning there was a focus more on creating local jobs, in recent years, the attention has been on getting a good deal on investments for Guyana.

According to Government, and tax officials, there should be a formula that allows Guyana to get a fair share.

However, in last few years, several of the agreements that consecutive governments signed with investors that have been coming to light, have pointed to an alarming situation.

In many cases, Guyana has foregone billions of dollars in taxes to receive a pittance in royalties and income tax from employees of those investors.

In other words, valuable resources like gold and bauxite were being mined with Guyana not getting its fair share.

One company that came under the spotlight was

Canadian-owned Guyana Goldfields Inc. That company had been exploring for years in its Cuyuni concessions and finally raised money to invest in the largest gold mine in Guyana.

There was lots of excitement.

The previous government granted significant concessions, including duty free concessions on heavyduty equipment, vehicles and other supplies.

Between 2016, when commercial operations started, to now, Guyana granted over $10B (US$50M) in tax exemptions to the company.

According to government officials, the company between 2016 to present, brought in equipment and other items with Cost/ Insurance/Freight charges amounting to $37B (U$185M).

After paying just $600M (US$3M), the company was

Dem boys seh ...

Lawlessness mek Statia tackle rum shops People don’t like paying taxes. All over de world people does try to dodge.

Some of dem does hide dem accounts and if dem is to declare $100, dem does only declare $50. It don’t matter dat dem want good schools, good roads and if you lef dem, de same people who don’t pay taxes expect free medical attention.

Dem boys seh something had to happen to Statia because he now wake up to find out who cheating wid de taxes and who ducking under de radar. Is de lawlessness he hear from de rum shop dat open he eye.

Nuff people use to duck under de radar and sell rum and beer and things like dat.

Some of dem so smart dat dem use to open a li’l place to sell fry fish and channa.

Dem is things people does buy to take away. But dis

place got chairs and table.

When dem boys pass and see people drinking out of coke bottle and things like dat dem know is likker because four big man wouldn’t sit down and drink from one bottle of coke.

Dem boys seh is de lawless noise dat wake him up.

Some men decide to talk real hard and cuss, and some pee pon he fence. Dat is when Statia decide to clamp down.

All of dem who use to get away now got to get likker and beer licence. De Customs officers use to tun dem eye but if dem only try now, dat is jail.

At one time when people come to Guyana, dem use to believe dat all de people use to do was drink rum. People get so bold dat dem even set up drinking spot at de road corner. Licence was no big thing.

Now dem boys notice dat couple of dem break down. Dem ain’t tekking chance wid Statia. But as de people seh, stricter de government, wiser de population. People got de beer garden in dem house. De house even got a restaurant.

People does walk in, get a table and get drinks and food. If Statia pass through he would believe dat de homeowner inviting friends fuh a drink and an eat. And when it happen every day, he can’t seh nutten. He got to wait to see money pass.

But even then, de people who paying might seh dem mekking a contribution to de next sport. De only thing is dat people don’t like pay fuh nutten, not even taxes.

Talk half and watch dem beer parlour and rum shop slide underground.

ounces of gold.

Guyana was supposed to collect eight percent in royalty. That amounts to about 40,000 ounces, just around US$48M ($9.6B) for the government coffers.

A significant portion of those concessions reportedly Continued on page 72

PAGE 10

Sunday March 31, 2019

Kaieteur News

Region Three businesses resist CCAC INSPECTION The Competition and Consumers Affairs Commission has just began its promised countrywide business inspection, and findings are that an extremely high percentage of business are actually ignorant of the legislative consumer laws.

This is according to CCAC’s Field Inspector, David Caladin, in an interview yesterday. The inspector who is at present with a team

conducting a massive exercise in Kwakwani, Berbice, indicated that that inspections completed in different locations has brought to light the fact that businesses in Guyana are very ignorant of consumer laws and policies.

While the inspection has revealed that businesses countrywide are ignorant of consumer laws and CCAC legislation, Caladin seemed

infuriated that the organisation has met with much resistance from businesses in the West Demerara District, as it attempted to enforce consumer laws and policies.

He further stated that such businesses will be dealt with severely, if they continue to go against efforts by the CCAC to straighten out things as the policies would dictate. The Kwakwani,

Students interact with businesses representatives at a recently held CCAC business exhibition on Main Street, Georgetown.

Berbice, inspections began on Wednesday last and Caladin has informed that to date, the Commission has completed inspections on 25 of the 60 businesses, and none so far has been adhering to consumers laws.

Businesses are mandated by law under the Consumer Act # 13/2011, and the CCAC is presently staging inspection campaigns to ensure entities are in compliance with laws stipulated in the Consumer Affairs Act. Those found in direct violation of such laws will be issued with a ‘NonConformity Certificate’, and given, and given two months to rectify their operations.

Failure to do so can result in the CCAC taking legal action against offenders.

Businesses are given a second change to get their act together after the two months period and will face sanctions

if they are still in defiance of consumer laws, when a second inspection is staged.

The Competition and Consumer Affairs Commission (CCAC) is also urging consumers to report service providers and businesses that provide inferior products and poor quality services to their website.

The CCAC had made this address at the official launch of their website (www.ccac.gov.gy) held at Herdmanston Lodge, Queenstown not so long ago.

The website is accessible to members of the public to get relevant information from the Consumers Affair Unit and the Competition Policy Unit.

Officers of the Commission will be conducting these exercises and will be attired with proper identification of the Commission. Businesses in

compliance will be issued with a conformity document and those not in compliance will be issued with a nonconformity document detailing areas breached and to be corrected.

Procedures will be followed to ensure conformity of non-compliant businesses.

BUSINESS COMPLIANCE INSPECTION EXERCISES The objective of the Competition and Consumer Affairs Commission (CCAC) is to promote and protect consumer interests in relation to the supply of goods and services.

The (CCAC) is mandated to Administer and Enforce the provisions of the Consumer Affairs Act # 13 0f 2011 (CAA) and the Competition and Fair Trading Act #11 of 2006.

In the exercise of its functions the CCAC is conducting Random Business Continued on page 12

Sunday March 31, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

PAGE 12

Sunday March 31, 2019

Kaieteur News

GRA clamps down on unlicensed liquor stores, rum shops The Guyana Revenue Authority has put unlicensed liquor stores and rum shops on notice “to take necessary action to regularize their operations.”

In a release, the

organization noted that the practice of selling alcohol without being licensed is illegal in accordance with Section of the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Act 82:21.

That act states,

“Everyone found selling, or offering or exposing for sale any spirituous liquor or any wine or malt liquor at any place other than in a place or premises duly licensed under this Act, who does not

produce a licence authorizing the sale or the offering or exposing for sale, of wine, malt liquor, or spirituous liquor at the time when and at the place where he is so found selling it, or

offering it for sale, may be arrested by the Commissioner and anyone authorized by him and detained until he can be brought before a Magistrate and dealt with according to law, and the wine, malt liquor or spirituous liquor, so sold, or offered or exposed for sale, with the packages containing it, shall be seized and forfeited.”

The penalties for breach of this law are fines ranging

from $6000 to $100,000, and confiscation of the spirits.

The warning follows the Authority’s notice that there has been a steep increase in the number of bars/liquor shops selling alcohol, unlicensed, and a recent interception, by the Authority, of a shipping container of smuggled liquor said to be valued at more than $15M, which a local shipping agent declared as other items.

Region Three businesses...

From page 10 Compliance- Inspection exercises countrywide. For the purpose of the exercise businesses are therefore urged to be in Compliance with the provisions of the CAA, Part IV –DUTIES OF THE SUPPLIER. Provisions to be examined include: SECTION #15 (INFORMATION TO CONSUMER) This dictates that a consumer should be furnished with all the relevant information about a product or service before the purchase is made.

SECTION # 16 (MEASUREMENT OF GOODS) This section talks about Quantity of goods purported to be sold should correspond to the weights and prices charged and the correct measuring devices should be used.

SECTION #17 (PRICES & FEES) Displayed prices or fees shall be current and shall state the amount of taxes and related charges separately from the cost of the goods or services SECTION #18 (RECEIPT) This demands that when a supplier sells goods or services to a consumer, the supplier shall give to the consumer a receipt setting out(a) the purchase price and value added tax separately as paid by the consumer; (b) the date on which the purchase is made; (c) a description of the goods sold or services provided; and (d) any other information as may be prescribed.

- The receipt should be legible for up to one year SECTION #19 (WARRANTIES) According to this section of the consumer legislation a

supplier shall issue a standard and explicit warranty in relation to goods sold or services provided to a consumer.

- Subject to subsection (6), where a manufacturer’s warranty is attached to goods sold or goods provided in the course of a service, the supplier of the goods or service(a) shall be deemed to have issued that manufacturer’s warranty as an explicit warranty by the supplier to the consumer SECTION #21 (RETURN OF GOODS) - All businesses must ensure Return policies should be in accordance with CAA. Consumers have up to 7 days to make the return (subject to CAA conditions) and suppliers can charge up to 10% as a restocking fee. The information printed on the warranty and receipt documents should reflect this also.

SECTION #22 (RETURN OF DEFECTIVE GOODS) - The Policies of return of defective products or unsatisfactory services should be in accordance with the CAA and should be correctly reflected on any warranty document.

SECTION #24 (NOTICES ON RETURN OF GOODS) A supplier shall not post notices stating – (a) that goods are not returnable; (b) that no refunds will be given for goods returned; or (c) Any notices to the effect of paragraphs (a) and (b).

SECTION #28 (LAY AWAY PURCHASE SALE) - Layaway purchase cancellations by the consumer entitle the supplier to retain 25% of the down payment. This would not apply if the supplier cancels the agreement.

Sunday March 31, 2019

PAGE 13

Kaieteur News

Mash 2019 Competition rocked!!

- Dark Horse costume/fashion designer cops coveted accolades at Mash 2019 festivities Jada Harry and popular Keziah Henry.

It was an ‘energy inferno’ in the Junior Soca category, but none could match the finesse of Jovinski Thorne, who heightened his

Young and talented fashion/costume designer who carted off six of the coveted costume band titles.

This year around the Mashramani festivities have certainly hit their mark as was seen from the whirlpool of colour as businesses and individuals brilliantly showcased Guyana’s diverse cultures.

Be it in the form of exciting dance and folklore presentations, breath-taking costumes, mobile floats, or ‘big trucks with booming music boxes’, the consensus was that this year around Guyana certainly pulled out all the stops to make the celebrations a resounding success.

Late last evening, the Ministry of Culture Youths and Sports released the much anticipated results for the 2019 Competitions. It was no surprise that local costume/ fashion designer, Neilson Nurse, carted off many of the top spots in the costume and band category.

Nurse copped the top spots in the Full Costume Kross Kolor Records’ Melissa “Vanilla” Roberts who took home the 2019 Road March title with her hit song ‘One Voice’.

Band, Small Bands, Semi Costume, Full Costume Large Bands, Small Bands and Semi Costume Large Bands categories.

Competition Results In the chutney presentation segment it was Steven Ramphal taking top honours , with Cahit Singh Mohanlall (Bunty Singh), Pooran Seeraj, and Arijit Singh, taking the second, third and fourth places respectively.

Taking home the People’s choice Award in this segment was Hamesh Rhyna (Entertainer V Star) The competition was fiery in the Junior Calypso Contest.

While Kross Kolors Studio’s Jovinski Thorne seemed to ‘have it lock’ according to the public, he was no match for the energetic Jamal Stuart who eventually placed first in the competition.

Stuart also raked in the People’s Choice Award. He was followed by Thorne,

presentation to take the top spot. Faith Corrica, Dexter Copeland and Jada Harry followed.

Corrica also carted off the People’s Choice Award.

The much sought after

Banks DIH Calypso segment was hectic and steamy as usual. Many had Young Bill Rogers as the winner, but he suffered a major upset by Kenroy Fraser (Mighty Believer) who took first place,

leaving him to trail in at second.

In third place was the talented songstress Diana Chapman, with Berbician Onika Joseph copping the Continued on page 72

PAGE 14

Kaieteur News

Sunday March 31, 2019

Sex offences complainants still reluctant to testify Almost all of the cases for sexual offences disposed at the Essequibo Criminal Assizes were discontinued after the complainants refused to give evidence against the alleged perpetrators, causing the trial Judge to inform the jury to return formal verdicts of not guilty.

This is according to information released last week by the chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

The DPP disclosed that of the 14 cases completed, seven were for the offence of rape of a child under 16 years.

The DPP said, “In six of the seven sexual offence matters, the complainants testified that they did not wish to proceed with their evidence against the accused persons and caused the trial judge to direct the juries to return formal verdicts of not guilty.

“While in the other matter, the wife of the accused informed the court that the accused had died while the matter was in progress.”

The Essequibo Criminal Assizes commenced on Tuesday, February 19 with Justice Sandil Kissoon who first sat from January and closed the October 2018 criminal session and then opened the February assizes.

Meanwhile, at the Demerara Criminal Assizes, which commenced on Tuesday, January 8, thirteen sexual offences cases, were completed. Justice Jo-Ann Barlow presided over 12.

“In three of these sexual offences cases, the trial judge directed the jury to return formal verdicts of not guilty because the complainants did not attend court or they testified that they did not wish to proceed with the evidence against the accused,” the statement added.

The Berbice Criminal Assizes had continued with Justice Brassington Reynolds who first sat from January and closed the October 2018 assizes and then opened the February assizes on Tuesday, February 5. Four matters were completed.

Of these matters, one was for offence of rape of a child under 16.

According to the DPP, “The accused in the one matter for the offence of rape of a child under 16 years was acquitted after the complainant and her mother informed the Court that they did not wish to proceed with the matter. The trial Judge then directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty.”

Sunday March 31, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 15

First Regional Radio conference opens

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock, Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes, Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder, and Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Valerie Garrido-Lowe and Minister within the Ministry of Finance, Jaipaul Sharma, Chairman of National Communications Network (NCN) Enrico Woolford, Coordinator of Government’s Regional Radio Project Dr. Rovin Deodat, Technical Manager for Regional Radio, Devon Roberts and Regional Radio Manager Michelle Abraham-Ali along with the regional broadcasters.

More than 40 regional radio broadcasters, drawn from Indigenous Communities in Regions One, Six, Seven, Eight and Nine and the Voice of Guyana in Region Four, are participating in the first ever Regional Radio Workshop being held at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre (ACCC) in Georgetown.

The broadcasters, over the weekend, would be exposed to guidelines on how to use their respective stations, and how to provide quality programmes.

They will also be exposed to sessions on the Guyana Constitution, the Amerindian Act and defamation laws. During yesterday’s meeting, the radio announcers had the opportunity to introduce themselves and provide overviews of their programmes and identify their challenges.

Opening the conference was Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo who noted the historic nature of the event. Describing it as a “revolution of radio broadcasting in Guyana” he pointed to the fact that for the first time in the history of national broadcasting, radio has been carried to the wider hinterland.

“We have now brought to the attention of the world that we have nine peoples residing in the far-flung hinterland and that they can communicate with the rest of the world

in their own languages; that’s a revolution.”

According to the Prime Minister, while the idea was of community radio stations has been around for some time now, it was not undertaken until the Coalition Government took office in 2015.

“I found strong support from President David Granger. He’s not afraid to expand the horizon of communication and information…The President had said that we need public community radio stations in every region. We now have in five and I’m sure in due course, we will have in every region. We should have radio stations in every capital city in every region in Guyana so that we can all be linked.”

Additionally, the Prime Minister announced that talks have started with the National Communications Network (NCN) and the Department of Public Information and NCERD to add public information content to through the Guyana Learning Channel television stations in 16 locations in the hinterland.

To d a y, many communities are now connected through community radio stations in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Region Nine, through the establishment of Radio Lethem, in May 2016; in Barima-Waini, Region One with the setting up of Radio

Maburama, in June 2016; Radio Mahdia, PotaroSiparuni, Region Eight in O c t o b e r, 2 0 1 7 ; R a d i o Bartica in CuyuniMazaruni, Region Seven in November, 2017, Radio Aishalton in Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Region Nine in February, 2018 and Radio Orealla, East Berbice-Corentyne District, Region 6 in March, 2018. The Office of the Prime Minister also recently upgraded Radio Paiwomak.

Recognising the importance of communication to improve the lives of the Indigenous peoples of Guyana, the APNU+AFC Government upon assuming office in 2015 set out to link the hinterland with the coastland through the establishment of community radio stations and ICT hubs in villages in all the hinterland regions.

Also present at the conference were several government ministers including Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge, Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock, Minister of Public Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , Catherine Hughes along with Chairman of National Communications Network (NCN) Enrico Woolford, Coordinator of Government’s Regional Radio Project Dr. Rovin Deodat, Technical Manager for Regional Radio, Devon Roberts and Regional Radio Manager Michelle Abraham-Ali.

PAGE 16

Sunday March 31, 2019

Kaieteur News

Guyana Diabetes Association to strengthen drive against disease In yet another drive to fight diabetes in Guyana, the Guyana Diabetes Association have already chartered out a course with the main objective being to unleash a forcible battle against the disease, with the hope of attaining a significant reduction in cases.

This is coming from Guyana’s Glynis Beaton, who happens to hold a prestigious position on the board of the International Diabetes Federation.

To date, Guyana has certainly been chalking up notable points in this respect, as depicted in their JuneDecember 2018 official report which showcases a comprehensive look at the activities executed by the local diabetic arm in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health and other stakeholders.

Among the

Guyanese International Diabetes Federation’s Board Member, Glynis Beaton accomplishments of the association is the two-day training in Diabetes prevention held at the Wind Jammer Hotel in Georgetown, for which certificates of participation was issued.

A Continuous Medical Examination (CME) course was held last year at the Pegasus Hotel, which was attended by over 131 medical practitioners, who were able to attain credits at four

different levels.

That aside, several outreach sessions were held in the areas of Berbice, and La Parfaite Hamonie, West Bank Demerara, while other ventures included educative and informative health exhibitions in many areas across Guyana.

According to Beaton, the local diabetes association is poised to commence distribution of blood sugar machines to members, even as they make ready for the distribution of over the counter medication (of course with a doctor’s prescription).

The association has reportedly received over US$5000 in influential drugs for this purpose from overseas based diabetic patient Timothy Alonzo who resides in Michigan, USA. Other forthcoming initiatives include improving insulin supply and its delivery. This will be made possible with assistance from the Insulin for Life, USA Organisation.

This organisation will send the insulin to the

Ministry of Public Health, and after it is made available, it will be distributed to pharmacies.

This is a venture to be spearheaded by the Guyana Diabetes Association in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health’s Chronic Disease Department.

Guyana will be also well represented when the local

diabetes arm is represented by a young member at the IDF General Meeting in South Korea in December of this year. They will also be well represented at the American Diabetes Association Scientific Session in June 2019 as they attempt to combat and educate on the disease at an international level.

CH&PA audited financial statements to be laid in National Assembly Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, announced at a recent post-cabinet press briefing that audited financial statements for the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) for the year 2017 will be laid in the National Assembly at its next sitting.

This is after Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, presented the financial document to the Cabinet which gave its approval to the statement.

As required by law, financial statements of government agencies are presented to the Cabinet for approval before being laid in the National Assembly.

Submission of audited financial statements is part of a continuing process to provide, a transparent and accountable government administration to the people of Guyana. In addition to submitting to the National Assembly, the findings of the audits are also being made accessible to the public through the Ministry of Finance’s website.

Kaieteur News

Sunday March 31, 2019

DDL records $4.3B profit for 2018

D

e m e r a r a Distillers Limited (DDL) recorded a Group Profit before Tax of $4.362B for 2018. This was announced by the company's President and Chairman of the Board, Komal Samaroo during its 67th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Shareholders on Friday last, at its Diamond Complex, on the East Bank of Demerara.

The Group Profit DDL amassed resulted in an increase of $811M over the previous year.

S a m a r o o t o l d shareholders that DDL recorded its highest revenue ever in 2018, at $21.862B--a $2.293B (12 percent) increase on the total revenue of $19.569B recorded in the previous year. The earnings per share increased from the previous $3.38 to $4.26.

He also revealed that the year's total capital expenditure of $2.187 was incurred entirely by selfgenerated funds.

A d d i t i o n a l l y, b a n k borrowing (loans and overdraft) was reduced by $1.437B from funds the Group generated in the year.

The Chairman said that in 2018, attention was drawn to archaic regulations governing the spirits industry in the region, as opposed to what the company considers more appropriate regulations in the modern world.

As a result, DDL has sent representatives to advocate for the company's interests at policymaking levels, with the hope of modernizing Guyana's regulatory framework. Without this, Samaroo said that the company would not be able to compete fairly with local and international competitors.

Despite the profits earned by the company last year, it was noted that the downsizing of the sugar industry by the government negatively impacted the company's operations.

Therefore, it imported 14,000 tons of molasses with an attendant high logistics cost.

A new central distribution warehouse was commissioned earlier this month for DDL's subsidiary, Distribution Services Limited (DSL), at Plantation Great Diamond for its wholesale business. The project reportedly cost DDL

DDL Chairman of the Board, Komal Samaroo over $1B. DDL's other subsidiary, Demerara Shipping Company Limited (DSCL), has embarked on a programme to rehabilitate and modernize its office and port facilities. It expended $40M in 2018 for this endeavour. Some $940M is projected for capital upgrades this year.

T h e s u b s i d i a r y, Demerara Rum Company, will be liquidated this year, due to “significant consolidation of the customer base for its bulk products,” according to the Chairman.

To diversify, Samaroo said that the company will focus on expanding the operations of Tropical Orchard Products Company Limited (TOPCO).

“The first phase of the project is to expand and automate the extraction of pulp from local fruits,” he said, “[and] the second phase of the project entails the e x p a n s i o n a n d modernization of the packaging facility for the TOPCO range of juices.”

DDL expects to complete a $465M blending plant in June. The plant is meant to use modern technology to save costs and improve operational efficiency.

Samaroo assured that the company's operations would be much more diversified in 2019, due to the commissioning of the new warehouse and the expansion of TOPCO's production capacity.

He said that although there are other areas of diversification being considered, those will be made known after the feasibility is completed.

PAGE 17

Kaieteur News

PAGE 18

Sunday March 31, 2019

Surinamese remanded for ecstasy pills

A

Surinamese, D o n o v a n Simon, was on Friday arraigned before the Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts, accused of being in possession of 103 ecstasy pills for the purpose of trafficking.

The 32-year-old man pleaded not guilty to the

charge, which alleged that on March 18, 2019, at Moleson Creek Ferry crossing, he had in his possession 32 grams of amphetamine for the purpose of trafficking. This drug is traded as Ecstacy.

The Customs Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU) Prosecutor, Konyo Sandiford, presented the facts of the charge, which stated that on the day in

question, CANU ranks, acting on information received, stopped the vehicle in which the defendant was the lone occupant.

A search was conducted on the said vehicle.

It allegedly led to the discovery of the suspected narcotics concealed in the glove compartment, wrapped in a cloth.

Simon was shown the

suspected narcotic and told of the allegation. Under caution by the CANU ranks, the accused reportedly admitted ownership of the pills contending that they are for his personal use.

Prosecutor Sandiford objected to bail being granted to Simon based on the prevalence of the offence and the penalties that it attracts. She further

highlighted that he is a flight risk and if granted bail he would not return to court for his trail.

Chief Magistrate McLennan upheld the submission and remanded Simon to prison.

He was instructed to make his next court appearance on April 8, 2019 at the Springland Magistrate's Court.

Remanded: Donovan Simon

Sunday March 31, 2019

PAGE 19

Kaieteur News

MV Serenissima makes second visit to Port Georgetown

Y

esterday, the M V Serenissima docked in port Georgetown for the second time since 2016. On board were 77 passengers and 57 crew members. The cruise ship will be here for three days giving visitors the opportunity to visit tourist hot spots like Kaieteur Falls, Baganara Island Resort and the capital city, Georgetown.

The visitors were welcomed with the sounds of steel pan music, local art and craft and the beverages from Banks DIH. The Department of

and it was the fact that this ship was coming to Guyana that was part of the appeal,” he added.

Sir De Vic Carey another shipmate also expressed his delight to be here.

“There are great expectations of coming to Guyana, it's supposed to be the highlight of our cruise and it's so wonderful to come somewhere where you do not have many cruise ships and I feel for you.

“I come from a small island in the English Channel and we have lots of cruise ships and we are very pleased to see visitors cruising.

The tourists from the vessel

The MV Serenissima

Public Information spoke with some of the visitors and heard of their excitement to be here.

First up was Richard Chambers: “We've travelled down the Lesser Antilles from north to south starting in Antigua then we stopped at Tobago and Trinidad then we've had probably about 48 hours on the sea which we were not ready for to get down to Guyana, and this is the highlight as far as I'm concerned…to see Kaieteur Falls.”

Chambers said his fascination with the Caribbean and Guyana began 58 years ago when he participated in a Scout Jamboree in Trinidad; there he met scouts from across the Caribbean, including Guyana. Today he remarked he is finally living the dream of visiting Guyana.

Another tourist, Steven Lockwood, when asked what he expects from his visit to Guyana, replied: “To meet nice people, enjoy wonderful weather, and observe interesting scenery.”

“First time to Guyana

I hope that many more ships will come to Guyana. We look forward to going to the falls onto the river and also seeing the town of Georgetown,” he said. The MS Serenissima previously docked in Guyana in April 2016 and discussions began about having another, longer visit since it was only here for one day.

Cruise Director, Neil Horrocks remarked, “We're very, very pleased to be back and have such a wonderful welcome; some ports you go to and its almost a bit like we're an inconvenience, but here it's the opposite way around, and it's very exciting, the passengers came up this morning and said you can feel the vibe coming from the shore side already.”

Director General of the Department of Tourism, Donald Sinclair was part of t h e w e l c o m i n g p a r t y.

Sinclair explained that a special task force was established to ensure that the tourists' visit here was well organized and executed.

This task force comprises officials from

several agencies including the Guyana Revenue Authority, Port Health, Tour Operators, the Police Force

and the Civil Defence Commission.

Sinclair also noted that a Standing Operating

Procedure (SOP) will be developed to ensure that all necessary criteria are met especially with the new prospects in local tourism.

“The operators are in touch with the perspective cruise operators to ensure that there is a steady flow and now that Guyana has

won the award for the best eco-tourism destination in the world there will be more curiosity about Guyana,” the Director General said.

The tourists, mainly from the United Kingdom, will dock in Suriname after visiting Guyana, before departing by air for home.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 20

Sunday March 31, 2019

Taxi driver runs down wife with car, then butchers her

I

n broad daylight, as she was making her way to work on foot through a street in Williamsburg, Corentyne, 2 1 - y e a r- o l d O m w a t t i e "Anjalie" Gill never expected what was heading her way when her own husband drove into her with his rented car before he hacked her death in front nearby villagers.

Gavin Gill, 31, a taxi driver of Port Mourant, was arrested by the police with a bloodied cutlass in hand while he stood near his wife's lifeless body lying on the parapet of the street. He said nothing to authorities and did not attempt to escape.

Subhnauth Dickram, called 'Jerry', who witnessed the disturbing events yesterday morning, disclosed that he was sitting in his swing under his house,

located at Dr. Tulsi Street, Williamsburg (two doors from the public road) when he heard a loud noise.

"When I got up, I saw a person roll off the bonnet of a white IST vehicle and she fall in front my house gap. I run out to go and assist but then I see the driver (Gavin Gill) exit the vehicle and he was armed with a knife. This girl was lying face down and this guy come out and start jook up the girl in she back and side and so," Dickram recounted.

At that point, as he attempted to save her, the woman's husband ran back to his car and this time around had armed himself with a machete and charged towards Dickram but he ran into his yard while Gill in a rage dealt several chops to his already injured wife.

"He come back with the

cutlass and start wuk chop pon the girl neck and then he raise she head up and like he was going to cut out the girl head but then the police come and tek he over."

Gill was arrested at the scene and the woman was transported to the Port Mourant Hospital by Dickram where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

The car used to run her over was lodged at the Rose Hall Outpost and her killer husband was transported away to the police station.

Meanwhile, back at the home of dead woman's mother, Tejwattie Jinkoo, called 'Sharda' in the very street, she was killed, relatives had gathered to mourn the loss of the young woman they described as pleasant and kind.

Her mother told reporters (continued on page 64)

Gavin Gill is accused of killing his wife, Omwattie

Kaieteur News

Nitifah Thompson

Sunday March 31, 2019

Meet the charming Nitifah Thompson. This 23-year-old belle aspires to be a Marine Biologist. Her favorite quote is, “Before you become a leader, success is all about yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.

PAGE 21

Kaieteur News

PAGE 22

Sunday March 31, 2019

Artist, lecturer and conservator,

Philbert Gajadhar,

By Rehanna Ramsay

I

t is said that art in its purest form is an expression of one's self.

And for Philbert G a j a d h a r, t h e i d i o m certainly proves true.

Among his most revered pieces is the recently unveiled Indian Arrival Day statue installed at Palmyra, Corentyne.

At a glance, the cast figure monument bears witness to the optimism of indentured labourers arriving on these shores for the first time.

An ode to the past and a culture of which he is familiar, the masterpiece was conceptualized by Gajadhar and fellow sculptor, Winslow Craig.

However, for Gajadhar, the monument is more than just a tribute to people of Indian descent.

The artist believes Guyanese of all ethnic backgrounds can identify with the piece of artwork which speaks to hope, struggle, and striving for betterment.

“I believe all and any group of people can identify with striving for betterment and the pursuit of happiness, which is the essence of the journey which brought indentured labourers to these parts.”

In fact, throughout his career, he has held that art is a catalyst for social cohesion.

is a 'Special Person'

“I see art as a catalyst for reuniting our people … bringing the people of Guyana together; as a catalyst of social cohesion, and I certainly believe that we can achieve it.”

'PLANTATION LIFE'

would visit the [sugar] plantation at Versailles [also on the West Bank] and observe the people at work harvesting and gathering the cane for the factory.”

According to him, the plantation scenery created

I see art as a catalyst for reuniting “our people … bringing the people of Guyana together; as a catalyst of social cohesion, and I certainly believe that we can achieve it.

But before his intricate paintings, sculptures, ceramics, textiles and tapestry pieces attracted scores of viewers in Guyana, the Caribbean Region and beyond; Gajadhar says his earliest life experiences set the perfect conditions to morph him into the craftsman that he is today.

“I grew up in the postindentureship era. My parents Gajadhar John (alias) Albert Knights and Balasia Gajie, were second generation Guyanese of Indian descent. My ten siblings and I grew up at Goed Fortuin, West Bank Demerara.”

Growing up in the quiet countryside locale, the young Gajadhar was exposed to life on the plantation.

The artist said that, “As a small boy and teenager, I

Mr. Gajadhar and his partner, Winslow Craig, stand next to their creation of the Indian Arrival Monument at Palmyra, Corentyne

”

the perfect canvas for his creative impulses.

“I didn't know this then, but life on the plantation would play an important role in my life as an artist.”

Yet, the young artist dreamt of life beyond the plantation. He loved art, but wanted to do something more with his life. He would spend many of his days chipping away at pieces of wood, and using old cigarette crates as well as boxes to create little works of art.

He noted that a creative mind would always look at the ordinary and imagine the extraordinary---what it can become. Gajadhar believes that in an artist's mind, there is always a paradigm shift.

“In those days, toys were hard to come by. So for instance, at Christmas time, I would make hand-crafted

wooden guns, slingshots, and other things to play with.”

Even with art on his mind, the young man found himself drawn to the plantation fields.

“After school, my mother sent me to take meals for my father in the backdam at Plantation Versailles, but instead of returning home abruptly, I would wonder about the estate and watch my elders.”

The men and women of mostly Indian descent, chopping and carrying bundles of cane on their heads to be transported to the factory, was hard work, indeed.

Yet, it somehow charmed the lad. Gajadhar said that he was somewhat in a bit of conflict with himself-wanting to be an artist or a teacher, but still he had a magnetic connection to the life on the sugar estates.

The day would soon come when he had to make a choice.

After completing, his studies at Goed Fortuin Primary School and West Demerara Secondary, he was faced with a decision.

“My father had secured a job at the estate for me. In those days, work was always available on the estate.”

The elder Gajadhar had worked on the plantation transporting the harvested sugar canes in tractors to punts. His son had a different path in mind---he had to choose, and naturally his

Guyanese Artist, Philbert Gajadhar

A painting of an Indian Girl at a Hindu Wedding pursuit of art won.

“I joined the teaching profession and went to teach in the Rupununi for two years before returning home.

When I came back, I enrolled at the Burrowes School of Art. At the art school, the Guyanese talent sharpened his painting and moulding skills. He also learnt a few new tricks to improve his work. Gajadhar wanted to further his studies and went on to enroll in an Art programme at the University of Guyana. A few years later, he graduated at the top of his class.

Given his teaching experience, the best graduating student, at the same time was offered an opportunity to lecture to art students at the University.

Gajadhar said he took hold of the opportunity, which led to what he calls his “big break.”

BIG BREAK As a lecturer of the University, Gajadhar was given the opportunity to mentor hundreds of students.

He was also mentored. It was while working at the University of Guyana that

Gajadhar said that he met Professor Doris Rogers.

Professor Rogers would change the way he viewed art and inspire a new line of creation for the artist and lecturer.

“She [Professor Rogers] had spent a lot of time in Africa and did work which was highly Afro centric. Her pieces were amazing and I wanted to know how she was able to do it. She said to me one day that she can do it because this is who she is; she feels it; she knows it, because it is all within her subconscious; she is an African. She said only you understand and can express what you feel.”

It was in this moment that the artist found a new perspective.

It dawned on Gajadhar that he is from the plantation; it is what he knows and ironically although he tried to move away from that life it is still embedded in him; it is struck in his psyche; it is who he is.

The plantation life and Indian upbringing ignited a new type of expression for the artist. He began to (continued on page 59)

Kaieteur News

Sunday March 31, 2019

PAGE 23

House to House registration T

housands of Guyanese live and work, legally and illegally, in other countries. Many of them are economic migrants seeking employment.

Many see themselves as temporary migrants. Their intention is to work, earn money, and send back to maintain their families in Guyana.

Then there are Guyanese who have migrated permanently, gone on a 'holistay' or spending long holidays with their overseasbased children. Most of them would have been registered to vote in elections in Guyana.

They now face the imminent danger of being removed from the official list of electors because of house to house registration.

It is oxymoronic that a country which has opted for continuous registration, should have a policy – not a law – where every seven or more years there is to be house to house registration.

This house to house registration will create a new list of electors, which excludes those who were previously registered but who could not been found at their local addresses during house to house registration because they are overseas.

Insofar as elections are concerned, the purpose of continuous registration is to ensure that persons are registered as they become eligible to be so registered.

In terms of elections, continuous registration enfranchises persons by allowing the names of those eligible to vote to be extracted from the list of new registrants and placed on the List of Electors.

The present List of Electors expires on April 30th 2019. The parties in the government coalition are supporting house to house registration because they see it as a means of delaying elections. The opposition are opposing it because they want as early compliance as possible with the no confidence motion.

The decision for house to house registration should not be left to GECOM, which is polarized politically. House to house registration should

be authorized by law and such a law must be consistent with the Constitution.

But, as has been pointed out in a recent commentary

by Anil Nandlall, the former Attorney General of Guyana, house to house registration can end up violating the constitutional right of persons who are resident overseas but who have been registered and are thus entitled to vote. In this regard, house to house registration can end up doing the opposite of its primary intention – to enfranchise the potential electorate.

Just as there is confusion over what constitutes an absolute majority, so too there is confusion over the primary intent of house to house registration. Half plus one is not the definition of a majority. Half plus one is one of the formulae which is used to calculate a majority and it is used for even numbers of the voting population. The definition of a majority is at least one more than its rivals.

Just as how the definition of a majority should not be confused with the formulae used to calculate it, so too the primary purpose of house to house registration should not be confused with one of its unintended consequences.

The primary purpose of house to house registration should be enfranchisement, not sanitizing the electors' list. Its function should not be about reducing bloating of the list. There are other means of sterilizing the list.

One of the arguments being used by those who are supporting house to house registration is that there are many dead persons and persons who have migrated who are still on the list.

House to house registration, they contend, will allow for the names of these persons to be removed.

But should someone who has met the requirements to be an elector be removed from the list simply because that person may be working or living overseas or simply gone for an extended holiday? Should a person entitled to vote be removed from the list of electors simply because the enumerators did not find that person when they turned up to conduct house to house

registration?

House to house registration will end up disenfranchising thousands of eligible electors if it proceeds on the premise that a person who is not registered during house to house registration is no longer eligible to vote. It will end up violating the constitutional right to vote.

The Constitution provides that a Guyanese citizen can vote so long as that person is registered. In order to be registered you have to give a local address,

but this does not constitute a residency requirement. It merely facilitates identification of the electoral district or area in which a person is placed for voting purposes. You can always change that address during the claims and objections period if you move to another part of Guyana.

The Constitution also does not state that if you decide to migrate permanently or go and live overseas temporarily, that you lose your right to vote. It would be travesty that a

Commonwealth citizen living in Guyana for one year is allowed to vote, but a Guyanese citizen making a hustle in neighbouring Suriname and registered to vote in Guyana is disenfranchised because of house to house registration.

House to house registration, therefore, should not violate the constitutional right of citizens to vote. It cannot create a residential requirement for voting where none exists under the Constitution.

We are therefore heading for another court challenge.

Given the litigious nature of our society, someone may already be preparing papers to challenge the right of GECOM to remove the names of persons from the List of Electors who were not present at their given addresses during house to house registration.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 24

Sunday March 31, 2019

“As we forgive” Part IV: Mattias: from insane genocidaire to humane luminaire

W

ords and p u b l i c postures too often come too effortlessly, too quickly.

Guyanese, having had a long history of that, still identify unwisely with the empty and the cheap, in reality, that comes so reflexively as to actually mean nothing.

Guyana serves as a hard, sick example of much political and social talking, much eager listening and ready believing; and with identical disbelieving and distrusting on the other side of the divide.

In this society, words and postures are like balloons: bloated, attractive, transparent, too; but all air and easily collapsible; yet they are blown and re-blown again and again with

success.

That is, until secrets trickle out; then bubbles burst and truth overwhelms. The problem in tribal Guyana is that it does not matter; life goes on unchanged.

Unlike unmoving Guyana, Rwanda had no such luxury.

After the million monstrosities that were lived in the Rwandan genocide of 1994, there was neither stomach nor spirit for any of such hypocrisies: would only add to the barbarities inflicted.It took a genocidaire named Mattias to creep on hands and knees out of his hell of hatred, crawl one slippery rung at a time up the sheer cliffside of reconciliation, and to lean f o r w a r d - t e n t a t i v e l y, nervously, hopefully-to extend some healing to his victims and to be healed himself.

This is a high-level look at another moving, awe-

filling story synopsized from Christine Larsen grand literary canvas, “as we forgive.”

Mattias' story, this genocidaire, proceeds beyond the sweet comfort of words. It limps, then strides towards the credible proof of actions: actions that speak loud, powerful, and concrete. They stand as testimony and evidence of authenticity that can neither be overturned nor denied.

Praised only. Guyana needs many like him (and the others mentioned earlier).

For this is the essence, thrust and call of this series.

Too often, many members of both impacted races in Guyana have loudly and adamantly proclaimed: 'I cannot. We cannot. We will not! Not with what happened!'

That is, to forgive. To heal. To start over fresh. Mattias leads us and shows the way.

Mattias had no problems with killing. By any definition, he is a genocidaire: a stone killer, a serial killer, one cog in a manual mass murder machine. Reflection and repentance are not words or internal processes that come to such a man. Not easily, not early; no such decoding and delivering ability existed.

But for Mattias, it was reflection first: the revolting nature of his violence and crimes came: slowly; painfully. So, too, did the evil in the arm's length, faceto-face murders committed so mechanically in the white heat of ethnic hatred, and in the coldest of cold bloods. A sweeping chill touches: vast, profound, inexplicable.

Repentance followed at a turtle's crawl; perhaps, that of a sloth, whichever is slower.

“These hands…” As

Mattias' conscience came to a late awakening and the accompanying self-hatred over his loathsome handiwork, he fell into the habit of turning them over and over, and staring at them.

“These hands killed … your brother's wife, her sister, and her children.”

“Put it right,” said Gahigi.

There followed pleading for mercy and forgiveness from Gahigi. “I forgive you.”

It is absolutely necessary, individually and nationally vital, that in troubled and divided nations, leaders, citizens, tribes, involved and uninvolved, the hesitant and the guilty (there are no innocents) - take these first steps. Despite all the talking and what amounts to cruel and calculated pretending, matters have never gone beyond. It is why nothing moves toward the future in such a society; it is always

the inflexible attachment to the ugly, dirty, guilty past: who did what to whom and when.

Who did more… Who did first… And who did so repeatedly. The imperatives of self-examination, reflection, self-criticism, repentance, and seeking forgiveness are neither contemplated nor tried. It is simply asking and expecting too much of one and all.

But in the death villages and camps of Rwanda, there were those who those did shudder at what they became.

They stumble and recoil from the monsters into which they had transformed, and before the record of how they went along blindly and frenziedly to kill, and kill. And then kill yet again. For some fragile penitent souls, one killing was one too much. There is this irremovable stain. And stench, too. They struggle to cleanse themselves; to make things right. To start over.

Somehow and somewhere, if allowed, if received.

Various systems call for penance - works of humility (continued on page 48)

Sunday March 31, 2019

PAGE 25

Kaieteur News

---Hinds’ Sight by Dr. David Hinds---

Discussion of the Ethnic Security Dilemma would yield nothing positive In one of his recent columns, Freddie Kissoon observed the failure of African Guyanese activists to respond to interventions by three Indian Guyanese scholars on the so-called Ethnic Security Dilemma.

He concluded that this silence has to do with a fear of being branded racists. His conclusion may be partly true, since any public utterance on race is often dismissed as racism—a tag that follows one forever.

As someone who has said a lot on the issue, I have had more than my fair share of that poison. I have come to accept that such name-calling is partly the result of a combination of hypocrisy and fear that runs deep in our society.

Guyana is one of the most racialized societies—the suspicions among the ethnic groups, especially between African and Indian Guyanese, are deep and permanent. Yet whenever Guyanese speak publicly on the issue, we swear that our country does not have a race-problem.

This myth is articulated by the politicians and repeated by the followers. We have one narrative for intra-group discourse and another for inter group discourse.

We don’t need researchers to tell us what African Guyanese and Indian Guyanese of all stations in life say about the opposite group when they converse within their respective groups.

Of course, this deep suspicion which often borders on race-hate, manifests itself most glaringly in the political arena. But I argue that what we experience in politics is not the root cause of the problem. Rather the ethnoracial politics and political culture are the consequences of the problem.

After 180 years of living together in the same space and engaging in common struggles from time to time,

African and Indian Guyanese relate to one another as historical enemies. It started during colonialism and deepened in the post-colonial era.

The root of the problem to my mind lies in the hostile competition for common resources and the concomitant inability of the society to throw up leaders with the courage to rise above the fray.

In effect, what we have done all these decades is reproduce ethno-racial mistrust, suspicion and fear while pretending that we are doing otherwise.

In the modern era we can point to two moments of common ethnic movement— the 1953 moment and the Walter Rodney-WPA moment. But we have not reproduced those moments, largely because they represented breaks in the cycle of suspicion rather than a qualitative breakdown of the building blocks of the problem.

The leaderships of 1953 and Rodney-WPA emphasized a social-class praxis, but while this proved to be an effective mobilizing tool against colonial domination and authoritarian governance, it did not permanently alter ethnicidentity politics.

I say all the above to get to Freddie’s question—why have the African Guyanese activists and scholars not responded to the Indian Guyanese writers on the Ethnic Security Dilemma?

I cannot speak for the others, but I have deliberately steered clear of any engagement. I have done so because I feel that such an exchange at this time will yield nothing positive.

A few weeks ago, I appeared on a Ney Yorkbased televised Town Hall Meeting with Dr. Baytoram Ramharack, in which I thought we had a very civil and productive discourse on

race relations in Guyana.

However, a few days later Dr. Ramharack wrote the following in a letter to the Stabroek News, “During the town hall meeting I cautioned Dr. Hinds that it was dangerous for Africans to spread the myth that rich Indians control the Guyanese economy and that many Indians were engaged in the narco-trafficking economy. Dr. Ramesh Gampat, citing UN figures, had previously debunked the myth about the wealthy Indian controlling the economy of Guyana.”

This was followed by a reply by Sasenarine Singh to my comments on whether we were experiencing a constitutional or political crisis. Those comments had nothing to do with the Ethnic Security Dilemma. Yet Mr. Singh wrote the following: “These PNC policies continue to get buttressed by people like Dr. Hinds as we can see in this letter of his where he can only assign evil to the PPP in the fourth paragraph. He sees nothing wrong with the PNC led coalition employing 85% of the newly hired heads of department from one group and 16 of the 17 permanent secretaries from the same group.

Such racist actions by a government are not evil in Dr. Hinds books. It is people like Dr. Hinds who continue to do the most harm to Guyana by continuing to provide academic cover for the misguided policy of this ethnically supremacist PNC led Government who has done very little to economically empower all since May 2015. No one will dispute the fact that the majority of the top 200 richest families in Guyana are Indo-Guyanese families.

But they are not an accurate representation of the demographic framework of the nation.”

Those two responses said

The Baccoo Speaks When people fail to pay attention to whatever they are doing there is bound to be disaster. Such would be the case when a child would suffer burns because its mother in the kitchen would not be paying attention.

The police would be called in because the explanation would not gel with what is reported. But then again, the authorities are generally sympathetic to parents. **

Another school would be in the limelight when news surfaces about inappropriate behaviour between a teacher

and pupils. In some countries female teachers are usually the ones at fault but in this case it would be a male teacher. ** There will be some interesting comments in the political circuit. The Caribbean Court of Justice will not decide until May when the voters’ list would be outdated.

The issue will be the nature of the registration.

Guyana is at the crossroads.

two things to me. First, any discussion of the Ethnic Security Dilemma would yield nothing positive.

The above writers and others have already concluded that African Guyanese writers believe that there are no poor Indian Guyanese—a formulation that I have not seen by any writer. So, it’s a case of creating an issue, attributing the cause to others, and then drawing them into a discourse to defend something they did not formulate.

Second, it says to me that there seems to be a wellorchestrated campaign to raise these issues around the pending elections campaign in order to taint the discourse.

And that is something I have no interest in.

NOTES ON THE AFTERMATH OFTHE APPEAL COURT RULING I think the Appeal Court’s ruling was a fair one. It came down to a matter of what the constitution implied rather that what it said explicitly. I think the judicial reasoning behind the decision was persuasive.

Many persons are hung up on the mathematics of the ruling rather than focusing on the judicial reasoning. For me, the latter is more important— the math is the outcome of a judicial interpretation of a clause in the constitution that left room for interpretation.

I expected the PPP to hold on to some form of protest.

This is politics. I would have hoped that they didn’t go down that road. But the government just won a big victory, so the PPP must do something to show some

fight. I have no problems with that—protest is part of democracy. I don’t think it would affect matters much, as the government does have a majority in the National Assembly, and it takes a simple majority for ordinary business. I do hope that the government does not overreach, for this would play into the hands of the PPP. As regards the dualcitizenship issue, all MP’s with dual citizenship should either renounce their foreign citizenship or resign from the Assembly.

Both sides must do this to show the country that they are serious. Further, I think that whatever the CCJ rules, elections should be held within the timeline given to the president by GECOM. The symbolism of such a decision would help to restore some sense of civility to the process. In effect, the Coalition would be giving up five or six months of its term.

But I think it would demonstrate a higher political culture by saying to the nation that its move to the courts was not the result of greed for power but out of principle The No Confidence Vote was wake-up call for the Coalition, I think going forward, they should continue to level with their supporters and potential supporters about its missteps and other acts of omission. This restoration of the bond between the governors and the governed is vital to winning a second term.

The strength of the Coalition is its partnership, but there was too much intracoalition alienation which, to my mind, facilitated Charrandass Persaud’s move.

Dr David Hinds This area of the Coalition must be repaired. There must be a balance between party independence and selfinterest on the one hand and Coalition cohesiveness on the other. Yes, the Coalition is an election outfit, but in the minds of at least half of the electorate, it represents more than that—it offers a path towards a genuine national governance.

Finally, I think the Coalition, while making right with its supporters, must express in word and deed, very clearly, how it intends to manage the coming oil wealth.

This is the defining question for the election as far as I am concerned.

The distribution of the coming resources must speak to ethnicity, gender and social class. So, I would urge the Coalition to go beyond giving out election-time goodies and tell the people how they will benefit from tomorrow’s wealth. The Coalition must reach out to alienated constituencies and activists. It should use the campaign to show that it can correct errors and expand beyond its comfort zone.

More of Dr. Hinds’ writings and commentaries can be found on his YouTube Channel Hinds’ Sight: Dr. David Hinds’ GuyanaCaribbean Politics and on his w e b s i t e www. g u y a n a c a r i b b e a n politics.news.

Send comments to dhinds6106@aol.com

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Sunday March 31, 2019

Kaieteur News

Terrifying feelings at twilight …when a nondescript-looking labourer terrorized the nation

By Michael Jordan “Headless corpse of boy found…sixth missing boy murdered…round-the-clock hunt for child killers….”

He’d been dead for more than four decades, yet those headlines, in dusty, bound, old newspapers, made goosebumps break out on my skin. I was mildly surprised that those headlines had the power to evoke this childish dread in me; had the power to pull me back to the time when I was an 11-year-old schoolboy preparing for Common Entrance exams; when this local ‘bogey man’ stalked the three counties.

Though I had lived through that era; though I remember the fear we felt, part of me still finds it hard to believe that it really happened. But it did. I have spoken to one man who met this monster face-to-face. I have spoken with another man who finally put an end to the terror.

We didn’t know it then, but that time of fear for us started in April 1969, when the body of a young female, with limbs bound behind her back, was found in a canal in Bushy Park, East Bank Essequibo. The victim was eventually identified as Basmattie, an eight-year-old schoolgirl from Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara.

The child was reported missing from her home on March 20, 1969, and reports at the time had suggested that she was last seen in the company of a “tall, bearded

man,” while on her way to school.

Five days later, the trussed-up corpse of an Amerindian child, known only as ‘Achikoo’ was found in a canefield at Turkeyen. At the time, no one saw a possible link between the two deaths.

But then on August 30, David Bacchus, 15, of

Retired Detective James Brown: the man who apprehended the child-killer.

Tucville, was reported missing after leaving home around 6:45 a.m. to purchase bicycle parts. His body was found in a trench in the Liliendaal canefields on September 13.

In scanning through the Guyana Graphic, one sees no reports of those early murders.

Nevertheless, the public sensed something, and rumours of a child-kidnapper on the loose began to fly thick and fast.

“NO KIDNAPPER” But the police insisted that there were no kidnappings. In fact, a 19year-old man was arrested after he turned up at a city school and informed parents that children were being abducted. He was eventually jailed for six months after reportedly admitting that

someone had paid him to spread the rumour.

The then Police Commissioner, Carl Austin, reassured the media that while the police had received several reports of kidnappings, all were investigated and found to be untrue. Commissioner Austin went as far as to reassure

parents that they “should harbour no fear, as their children were well protected.”

Nevertheless, the hysteria persisted. A man was arrested after he allegedly told a schoolboy that he could get the lad a job on a ship and assist him with his GCE exams.

Another man was arrested for allegedly trying to drag a schoolgirl to his car and telling her that he wanted the hairs from 12 “straight-haired” children. The man appeared in court and denied the claim, while alleging that the girl and her friends had teased him.

And the press was also not buying into the ‘rumours’.

The editor of the Guyana Graphic, veteran journalist Carl Blackman, lampooned the “child kidnapping” reports.

In an editorial, headlined “The big, bad, bungling kidnapper”, Mr. Blackman wrote: “I can assure you that the kidnapping ‘bogey man’ is not waiting to pounce on your straight-haired child. “I am at a loss to understand how the rumours have been paid any heed when the whole monstrous tale is too stupid to be believed.”

Carrying his satire further, Mr. Blackman suggested that the ‘kidnapper’ appeared to be a cross between Dracula and slapstick comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello.

“Instead of waiting until dark and pouncing on a child on some lonely road, he attempts snatches at high noon…when thousands of screaming children are on hand to snatch back the victim from the jaws of an indescribable death…”

That editorial would return to haunt him.

HEADLESS BODY On October 20, 1969, the headless and partly decomposed body of a 12year-old boy, Mohamed Faizal, was fished out of a shallow drain in Crabwood Creek, Corentyne. The skull was found eight days later in

a drain not far from where the other remains were located.

Faizal had vanished on October 3, 1969, after leaving his parents’ home and heading to the Number 79 Village market on a bicycle.

The police were forced to concede that the ‘child kidnapper’ rumours were indeed true and that an individual, or a gang, was murdering children.

And the reports about the child murders, with all the lurid details, began to appear in the newspapers.

One news report suggested that the latest killing was an ‘obeah murder’.

The Guyana Graphic reported that police had seized a ‘black magic book’ from a Crabwood Creek home.

On October 27—a mere seven days after Mohamed Faizal’s body was found—the body of 14-year-old Jagdeo Jagroop, with hands tied behind his back, and feet bound, was found in a trench in Mahaica.

On November 3, 1969, a group of students preparing for school sports at Thomas Lands spotted something unusual in a shallow trench located near the Sprostons Sports Club Ground. They soon realized that they were gazing at the half-nude body of a boy—the child-killer’s sixth victim.

He was eventually identified as Mohamed Nizam Ali, who had disappeared after leaving home to view the posters at a Middle Street cinema. Like Jagdeo Jagroop, his hands were bound behind his back and his legs were also tied. The body had been forced downward in the shallow drain.

Police Commissioner Austin assembled a special team of detectives to handle the case. He appealed to parents to immediately report missing children, since the killer(s) seemed to be targeting loitering and ‘straying’ boys.

But Guyana Graphic editor Carl Blackman was right about one thing. The killer(s) seemed to be invisible. They were striking in broad daylight throughout the three counties and getting away with it. But an even more disturbing feature of the case threatened to shatter the peace between the two major ethnic groups, some of whom still harboured bitter memories of the political violence of the early sixties.

Because all of the victims, except one, were of East Indian origin, there was speculation that the killings were being committed by someone with a grudge against the Indian

community. Top members of the Maha Sabha met with then Prime Minister Forbes Burnham to seek assurance that everything was being done to catch the killer.

Under mounting public pressure, the police, under Crime Chief Paul Britton, tried to make sense of the few flimsy clues that they possessed.

What they already knew was this: Except for the first victim, Basmattie, all the dead were boys. Except for one child of Amerindian descent, all of the victims were of Indian origin.

was Anant, had visited his home around July, and had enquired about a job. He returned on October 16, and received permission to sleep in a launch with Jagroop’s two sons. The stranger had left on October 27, the same day that the lad’s body was found.

Police announced that they were looking for ‘Anant’, who had last resided in the vicinity of the junction of East and Middle Streets, Georgetown, and had also resided at Sheet Anchor and Canje, Corentyne. They also revealed that they were looking for another man,

From the autopsies, they knew that they were dealing with a psychopath, who was sexually assaulting his victims, before tying, torturing, and then dumping them in shallow trenches. The children had all been bound at the hands and feet and tossed alive in trenches in remote areas around the country.

POSSIBLE SUSPECTS After the sixth body was found, police began to get their first clues about a possible suspect.

Scouring the Thomas Lands murder scene, detectives unearthed a brown ‘yachting’ boot, minus its laces and tongue. Further searches unearthed another boot and a pair of underwear.

Acting on a tip-off, detectives questioned a Kitty Railway Line resident, who identified the boot as belonging to one Harry Rambarran.

Other breaks followed.

The father of Jagdeo Jagroop, the sixth victim, recalled that a man who said that his name

known as Anand Ramlall, who was said to be a ‘preacher’. They stated that Ramlall had recently escaped from prison.

But neither man could be located and while detectives were pursuing these leads, the killer struck two more times.

On December 31, 1969, ten-year-old Harrinarine, also called Paulton, was found in a canal at Mahaica. The boy lived at Hog Island, Essequibo, but had disappeared while staying at an aunt at La Bagatelle, Leguan. He was reported missing shortly after a man informed the aunt that he was instructed by the boy’s father to take Harrinarine back to Leguan.

Six months later, sevenyear-old Orlando Guthrie, of Grove Village, East Bank Demerara, disappeared.

But by then, police had a better profile of ‘Anant.’ He was Harrynauth Beharry, 30, a weeder and fisherman, alias Harry Rambarran, alias Continued on page 47

Sunday March 31, 2019

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Kaieteur News

==THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN==

Guyana’s historiography: An iconoclastic input I am writing this column here in complete oblivion that I am a social activist. The analysis that will follow is the work of an academic. I am writing these notes as if I was requested to lecture to a class of university students studying Guyanese sociology or to contribute to an academic forum.

When one writes history one should know that unintended dimensions can occur and one therefore can introduce into polemical forums, interpretations that differ from what one has published.

Mr. Miles Fitzpatrick, a formidable intellect and a nationally recognized human rights personality passed away recently. There have been some vivid panegyrics published in the newspapers and at the night of tributes at the DCC. I believe all of those qualities attributed to Fitzpatrick he did possess.

This column is not on Fitzpatrick (I have my analysis of his contextual activism which I will dwell on in the future using class and Marxist analysis, but it is not germane to this analysis here) but about discussing Guyana’s historiography in the context of those panegyrics and looking for answers about that historiography.

There are four great periods of the dialectical interplay between power and

struggle in Guyanese history.

I will leave out discussion of the first – the great Berbice slave rebellion – and the second - the anti-colonial struggle. Emphasis is on the immediate post-colonial fight against the Forbes Burnhamled PNC government which I will date from 1968 to Burnham’s death in 1985. I will not devote any words to the PPP’s anti-government activism, 1964 -1968.

The second historical struggle is against the Jagdeo presidency 2002-2015. I have subsumed the Ramotar presidency under the hegemony of Jagdeo, because I think Jagdeo was the driving force behind Ramotar’s reign.

Which of the two periods constitutes the most vital struggle to preserve human rights, human dignity, freedoms, justice, moral values, ethnic respect, workers’ rights, nationalist instincts? Which of the two periods was the most dangerous, life –threatening, and deadly to want to enter into struggle against a volatile, reckless regime bent on preserving authoritarian power?

This is where the eulogies on Fitzpatrick come in, and the unintended dimensions I alluded to above, when one sets out to write history. Those who participated against the autocracy of Burnham, and who are still alive and writing and episodically speaking about that period, genuinely believe it was

the most oppressive moment in post-colonial Guyana, and they want to preserve its richness and the legacies of those who fought Burnham.

I do not agree - and I do so with a mountain of facts to support my theory - that the fight against Jagdeo was a more terrible period for struggle than the Burnham epoch. In another column I will elongate. I find the praise heaped on Fitzpatrick by his admiring colleagues from that era of the seventies (I emphasis again; I don’t disagree with those sentiments) has thrown up some confusion which have implications for understanding Guyana’s historiography.

Writer after writer, speaker after speaker, painted an immense canvas of Fitzpatrick’s positive and superb contributions to the struggle against the Burnham autocracy. But what is missing is the supply of evidence of his victimization, targeting, oppression or repression by the maximum leader Forbes Burnham. The lack of this evidence brings in a situation of confusion.

The following juxtaposition should engender polemical responses. On the one hand, you have a maximum leader, Burnham, who is intoxicated with power and tolerates no challenge to his authority.

Then you have this learned human rights lawyer, also a political activist, Miles

Fitzpatrick. One rules, the other opposes his rule.

Where is the confusion that poses a threat to Guyana’s historiography?

Why is there no evidence cited of Burnham’s relentless targeting of a ubiquitous activist that is pivotal to the opposition against him? They say in life you cannot eat your cake and have it too. Burnham was either a tyrannical leader that hounded and hunted you down when you sought to challenge and undermine his rule (as the admirers of Fitzpatrick adumbrated about Fitzpatrick’s activism) or he

was a benign and tolerant autocrat that wasn’t relentless against many of his detractors, including Fitzpatrick.

I will end with one note on my theory why the Jagdeo totalitarian period was worse than the Burnham epoch, and a clue as to why Burnham didn’t touch Fitzpatrick at all.

Fitzpatrick’s counterpart in the 2002-2015 period of struggle would be Nigel Hughes. Jagdeo sent the taxman on Hughes suing him for millions and openly said he would not be awarded silk.

Finally, a reading of the

Frederick Kissoon released files on British Guiana by Britain’s MI-5 will reveal a lot about the players from the fifties and sixties, and why Burnham didn’t touch Fitzpatrick.

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Sunday March 31, 2019

Kaieteur News

There is no chaos, no confusion, no crisis in Guyana President David Granger said the perception of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) that the current political situation is causing a decline in business is a misperception.

Last Wednesday, GCCI made its contribution to the political Opposition’s attempt to prevent the nation, to prevent YOU from continuing with your lives after the fiasco

of the no-confidence motion.

The GCCI joined its lead organization, the Private Sector Commission, and said in a media statement that the “political uncertainty” is affecting the country’s economic activities.

The same opinion was expressed by its sister business support organization, the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce (CCCC). They all

hope that the Caribbean Court of Justice would swiftly hand down its decision on the appeal to throw out the March 22 decision of the Guyana Court of Appeal.

They are doing their best to keep the failed noconfidence issue alive, and they are trying to appeal to the national conscience to make their case. It is confusing, because the economic uncertainty that

they are trumpeting about is hurting the business community now. Their attempt to scare investors away is like shooting themselves in the foot.

We believe that the Opposition’s no-confidence motion in December was intended in part to sour Guyana’s vastly improved standing in the world, our improved investment climate, our people’s new attitude to learning new things in order to contribute to a bright future. So it is not strange that they now claim that the economy is suffering since December.

What did the Business Organisations expect? This is like distributing medicine to people claiming that it will cure all their ills, and then disclaiming responsibility when people get sick from it.

The Business Organisations (BSOs) started out by supporting the appeal court decision on the Mathematical invalidity of the no confidence vote.

They said earlier this month that it will restore investor confidence in this country which is about to become a big producer of oil and gas by OPEC’s standards.

Soon thereafter, Jagdeo raised the volume of his ranting and raving. The BSOs, supposedly speaking on behalf of their members in the private sector, did an about face and began to express ‘concern’ for the ‘business climate’ in the face of ‘political uncertainty’ and the ‘reservations’ of investors. They even talked about the reduction in Government and private sector contracts from December to February, which was the result of that illadvised no-confidence motion laid in Parliament by Jagdeo. What did they expect would have happened?

The Court of Appeal’s decision restored order to the

nation, the same nation that the PPP was threatening to make ‘ungovernable’ if they did not “get the country back” through bullyism.

Jagdeo’s credibility has taken a hit, so he is counting on his cohorts to keep the pressure up, and to make the international community believe that Guyana is politically and economically unstable.

He hopes that investors would shelve their plans to invest then come back later when his ‘new’ government with their ‘Director in the wings’ is in ‘power’, so he could take all the credit for the Foreign Direct Investments.

But President Granger has put things into clear perspective, and the international community is listening. He said, “There is no chaos, or confusion, or crisis in the political situation.

Everything that has happened since the 21st of December has been logical, and on the part of the Government, it has been (done) within the framework of the law”.

The President also offered an olive branch to the local business community: “I will meet the Private Sector Commission, I’ll meet any group and assure them that everything we’ve done has been open, transparent and in accordance with the law”. No one wants to see Guyana struggle again as the result of international mistrust. We’ve had more than enough of that!

President Granger has given the nation this assurance: “We will continue to do our best to give the people of Guyana a good Government and a good life”.

Despite the uncertainties and the gloom that the Opposition is still selling, hoping that the people would believe it, the Coalition Government continues to watch over

the affairs of state even while the Opposition anticipates that the CCJ will overturn the Guyana Court of Appeal’s decision.

Jagdeo is not running (he CANNOT run) for a third term as President, but that does not stop him from declaring that HE is going to re-negotiate the Signing Bonus from ExxonMobil, and HE will overturn many of the deals that this Government already has in the pipeline, e.g. the loan agreement signed recently with the IDB for US$6 Million to purchase that long-awaited Electronic Single Window for Trade.

The same BSO’s riding on Jagdeo’s wagon train, have spent the last 10+ years begging for the Government (his Government in 2010) to implement this Single Window software at the GRA which is designed to computerize import/export transactions.

The benefits include drastic reduction in the number of transactions, the length of time and the amount of fees required to process the numerous documents, i.e. before the business owners could get to the wharves to either receive imports or send their locally manufactured goods off to foreign markets.

Well, the single window is almost a done deal. It is an expensive product, but the main concern is for locally manufactured products to be able to compete equally with other products in the same international markets.

The Single Window software is mainly for the business owners’ benefit.

According to Jagdeo, from whichever position he assigns himself, he plans to erase all of these advantages “when” he gets back into ‘power’. Why, we ask, and for whose benefit?

Sunday March 31, 2019

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Kaieteur News

My column

Guyana’s record-keeping leaves much to be desired It would amaze me how the foreign media houses could easily go way back in time to resurrect information about anyone or any event. A leading person dies and there would be clippings of things that involved that individual decades ago.

Such easy access to records is testimony to how much attention countries pay records. And it is not only the media. One can go into libraries and find just about anything. Documents that were once recorded on paper have been transferred to electronic storage.

Guyana has never set much store in archiving material. I remember walking into the archives when it was located on Main Street and seeing important documents on the floor. One of the documents was a letter written by the famous Berbician, Coffi or Kofi, to the governor of Berbice.

That is a priceless document, especially as it was a testimony to the intelligence of the slaves in Berbice. That document must have been relegated to the trash by now.

The registry is somewhat different. There are records dating back to the 1800s. Just for

fun I asked to see a record of my marriage back on July 3, 1971.

They found it quite easily. There I saw my nervous signature and other things that made me remember the day.

However, there are no records of my early working life. I started working on November 1, 1966, at St John the Baptist Anglican School.

There is no record either at the school or at the Ministry of Education. It is as though I never existed.

When I graduated from the Government Teachers’Training College I went to Bartica Government Secondary School.

There is no record of my stint at the school where I attained the position of Senior Master by 1973. In jest I told one of the clerks that had I stolen money from those institutions there would have been no record today. She smiled.

When Guyana went to the courts with Suriname over the maritime boundary, this country had to reach out to Holland for records. We simply have nothing about our history. I would suppose that for this country what is past is past and is of no consequence.

I can remember my great grandfather, but I doubt that I

can go much further back. In other countries people have been able to trace their ancestry to Abraham Lincoln and that is going back to the 1700s.

In some countries people can trace their ancestry to the days of the Tudors.

To its credit, the Guyana Chronicle has a very good library. I have gone there from time to time and I have found reports on issues going back to the 1800s. Some of the bound volumes may be in need of repairs; the pages are coming loose and must be handled with care.

At one time USAID offered to help Guyana put its record on microfilm. For some unknown reason, we never took up the offer to the extent that we have lost so much.

Perhaps the worst destruction of national records occurred at what was then the Film Centre. There was a change in Government in 1992 and a lot of material, especially, video material, was stored in the archives.

In addition, there was material from the then Ministry of Information that was meticulously stored by Norma McGowan and some other efficient women. People came from all around for

information. When a Government Ministry wanted something, the go-to person was Norma McGowan.

Those records were moved to Homestretch Avenue where they ended up on the floor. The floods of 2006 destroyed everything. It was the same with the films created by Brian StuartYoung and Jean Harding. Jean was the editor.

There were so many documentaries, many featuring Forbes Burnham, but recording a stage of Guyana’s life. You cannot find anything, because these records were intentionally improperly stored. No one cared to remember Guyana’s past.

If Guyana’s political past is of no importance then the country is in a sad state. I have seen television stations putting together obituaries in a flash. Some of the video footage captured a person way back in school.

President Donald Trump was at pains to order schools not to release his school records. I do not have to take

that course of action. In fact, if I invite them to release my records, they would gaze at me as if to query my sanity.

At the National Insurance Scheme there are many who have problems with the record of their contributions. I know this because many have come to me for help. I remember Dr. Roger Luncheon talking about putting the records on computers.

That process took some time, but there was a gap of some ten years for many people. I am not certain if those missing records were ever captured. Instead, people are being asked to get testimonials from people who knew them and could testify that they worked at a particular place at a certain time.

I remember getting a letter from my first headmaster, the late Edgar Jordan. I submitted that letter to the Ministry of Finance. Last week when I visited the Ministry, the authorities could find no record of that letter.

Adam Harris I am required to go after people who would have remembered me from those days in 1966, and they must be reputable. I can’t got to some old labourer who would have been young when I was there. These days, recordkeeping should be easier with the advent of computers. I know that the prisons have computerised most of their records, so criminals cannot have the benefit of lost records.

I understand that the Georgetown Public Hospital has records of patients— their blood type and their medical history. That is good.

I wish there were records of my early employment.

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Sunday March 31, 2019

Kaieteur News

The Youth Corps…hope for the future Young people are this country’s future. It is the older generation’s obligation to ensure that the young population receives the best possible preparation to inherit this nation.

Guyana is a blessed nation indeed. It is the biggest and, potentially, most bountiful country in the Caribbean. It possesses extensive land, rivers, sea space, biodiversity, agriculture, fisheries, forests, mineral resources and, most valuable of all, a diverse population of descendants of people from the continents of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe.

We have a youthful population – our richest resource. Half of our people are below the age of 24. One in every in every five Guyanese is between the ages of 15 and 24.

POPULATION AND POTENTIAL Guyana, if it is to fulfill its destiny as a land of opportunity and prosperity, must harness the potential of its majority – its young people. This country will

Address by His Excellency Brigadier David Granger, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana at the launch of the Guyana Youth Corps, March 28, 2019 falter if its youth flounders; it will remain poor and undeveloped as long as its youth remain undeveloped.

The launch of the Guyana Youth Corps is a signal to our young people that their efforts at self-advancement will be supported by the state.

The energy of young people is evident everywhere.

Their enthusiasm and exuberance cannot be restrained or repressed. The Corps will amplify their talents and expand the opportunities for self-actualisation.

Young people today face a future of hope and happiness. The challenges before them may be difficult but should not be discouraging or daunting.

It is acknowledged that the dropout rates from primary and secondary schools; the migration rate of university graduates; the rate of teenage pregnancies and the rate of youth incarceration – with more than 500 young people within our prison and

President David Granger correctional institutions – must be reduced.

It is against this background that the Government promulgated a draft National Youth Policy aimed at restoring hope to young people by facilitating their meaningful mobilisation and organisation.

The ‘Policy’ explains Government’s vision as:

… a nation in which young people are united, educated, trained, safe, happy, healthy and integrally involved in the decision-making processes, while enjoying equality of opportunity and equal access to the resources of our country and are politically, economically and socially empowered.

This vision emphasises the four cornerstones of our national youth policy – education, equality, empowerment and employment. The good life will be unattainable unless young people enjoy greater equality, have access to better education, are provided with expanded employment opportunities and are empowered to make decisions which determine their future.

EDUCATION Education is the first pillar on which the Youth Corps will be built. Education is the foundation of achievement and the bedrock of a good life.

Prospects for selfdevelopment will be precluded until and unless young people are provided with the knowledge, skills and values which are necessary for them to become productive citizens and which enable them to provide adequately for themselves and their families. There have been many challenges in the public education system: - nine out of ten primaryschool children, in some administrative regions, fail English and Mathematics at the National Grade Six Assessment – the entry level examination into secondary school; - one in every three of the more than 12,000 students who sit the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations each year, fail English and more than five out of ten fail Mathematics; and - only 2,380 or 28.3 per cent of the 8,430 public school students who wrote the CSEC examinations in 2015 earned passes in five or more subjects, including Mathematics and English; the secondary school matriculation rate is low.

Young people will succeed only if the performance of the public education system is improved, the matriculation rate is increased and the primary and secondary school dropout rate is reduced. Young people who

drop out of school will find it difficult to find gainful and lawful employment.

Your Government is making interventions to reduce absenteeism and attrition and improve educational attainment. The Public Education Transport Service (PETS - known popularly as the 3 Bs Initiative) – which provides free transportation by bus, boats and with bicycles – is making it easier for children to attend school. Teacher training is being improved through investments in better laboratories at the Cyril Potter College of Education and through the One Laptop per Teacher Initiative. Students are enjoying increased access to the internet and to ICT laboratories.

Young people will benefit from an efficient public education system as a result of these and other interventions.

These improvements are necessary but not sufficient.

The Youth Corps is needed to help those students who fail or who leave the formal education system but are unprepared or underequipped for the world of work.

EQUALITY Equality is the second pillar on which the Youth Corps will be built. Education and the promotion of equality go hand-in hand. Education is the great equalizer. The opportunities that it unlocks reduce poverty and inequality.

Everyone desires and deserves a good life. Why should young people in the Cuyuni and Rupununi not expect similar educational opportunities to those in the Corentyne and Demerara?

The Youth Corps will contribute to eradicating the worst forms of inequality, including geographic, gender and racial inequality. The disparities in opportunity between the coastland and the hinterland and between urban and rural areas must be reduced and, eventually, eliminated.

The gender gap must be closed by ensuring that girls and boys are given equal access to education and training.

Economic development and social equity cannot be nurtured in an environment of inequality.

Everyone must have access to education.

Universal primary education is a well-established entitlement.

Schooling becomes a powerful equalizer when opportunities for quality education and training are accessible by the entire population. Educational opportunities open prospects for upward mobility to disadvantaged and vulnerable groups.

Schooling and training should be organised to increase the participation of children from poor, remote, vulnerable and disadvantaged groups thereby making education more inclusive.

This campus at Kuru-Kuru will foster greater inclusiveness among students from all regions of the country.

The development of teaching and training techniques and curricula will inculcate respect for the law, respect for others and correct conduct within the system and society.

Efforts to close the gender gap in education are particularly important. The need to ensure equal access to education for boys and girls, additionally, can help to break the intergenerational transmission of poverty in which poor parents produce children who, themselves, are poor.

Your Government, already, is creating a fairer, friendlier framework for ensuring greater equality. It is doing so by providing improved access to public services – business registration, immigration, legal services, public education, public health, public information, public infrastructure, public security, public telecommunications, electricity and water.

Youth Corps graduates, eventually, will contribute to the extension and improvement of public services to communities on the coastland and hinterland.

They could help to eliminate poverty and reduce income inequalities in the country at large.

The country needs youth more than ever. Our economy is about to experience high levels of economic growth with the advent of petroleum production next year. The development of a diversified economy will expand opportunities and generate increased employment. It will demand, however, more skilled individuals.

The Youth Corps could contribute to national development by augmenting the repertoire and repository of skills in every sector. There will be need, always, for persons imbued with Continued on page 56

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TIPS ON HOW YOU CAN GET THE BEST OUT OF YOUR DOCTOR’S VISIT

By Dr Zulfikar Bux Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine The average doctor’s appointment lasts 10 minutes.

Lots of people are aware of this fact; but have you ever actually stopped to think how long that actually is? The answer is not long. If a doctor sees 20 patients during his/ her shift, spending just two extra minutes with each person will cause an additional half an hour by the time the last person is ready to be seen. So please try to remember this whilst you are gnashing your teeth in the waiting room.

Clearly, time is tight. In order that you get as much as possible out of this small time slot, there are a few things you can do to help things go as smoothly as possible.

Today we will discuss how you can get the best out of your doctor’s visit.

Remember, I don’t mean sound rude, but its best you know the facts so that you can get the best out of your visit.

DON’T TAKE TOO LONG TO GET DOWN TO BUSINESS

Don’t take too long to put your bags down and settle into your seat before you start speaking with your doctor.

You are wasting valuable time that could be better spent discussing your problems.

The same applies to lovingly and caringly removing layers from your beautiful baby or changing their nappy. Not in the doctor’s room unless you want every single patient the doctor sees after you to have to wait an extra five minutes unnecessarily!

IF POSSIBLE, LEAVE THE KIDSAT HOME Inevitably, parents get distracted trying to keep baby in order. This results in a tendency to not only waste time, but also stops you from being fully focused and engaged in the consultation.

Children tend to run around and play with items in the office. This distracts you and your doctor from focusing on your condition.

DON’T BRING A LIST Please don’t come in brandishing a list of umpteen complaints that all need sorting today. It is unrealistic to expect to deal with so many issues at one time. It’s not in

your interest, apart from anything else - faced with a list of five problems (that’s under two minutes each) the doctor will be forced to address each one superficially, rather than giving it the time it deserves.

Pick the most pressing problem and try working through that, rather than leaping between troubles and not addressing any of them properly. It’s also not fair on your fellow patients, who will inevitably end up waiting longer.

If you do have lots of problems to discuss, speak with your doctor for a repeat visit.

SPEAK ABOUT YOUR PROBLEM IN A SEQUENTIAL MANNER If possible, try to tell your story from the beginning; for example: ‘It all began three months ago when I first had a pain in my side.’ You want to try to paint a picture for your doctor of your symptoms and the story that goes with it.

WHEN GIVING TIMINGS, TRY TO BE ACCURATE When asked when your symptoms started, it’s best to try to be as specific as possible.

Saying ‘a long time’, ‘it seems like forever’ or ‘not long at all’ are

all really unhelpful because the meaning varies so much between patients. If possible, try to talk about durations in terms of hours, days, months or years; broad-bush timescales which everyone can understand. Again it just saves time if your story is as clear as possible from the outset.

DON’T BE EMBARRASSED Your doctor will most likely not be shocked by what you tell them. They have been sworn to keep your matter confidential and they should.

The more you open up about your problem the better the chance of your doctor figuring out your condition.

BE AWARE OF HOW CONSULTATIONS USUALLY WORK Generally speaking, your consultation will follow this pattern: 1. You tell your story.

2. The doctor asks you specific questions based on

your story.

3. Your doctor may examine you.

4. Your doctor will discuss what they think might be going on and suggest treatment options or plans.

5. You ask questions/ discuss ‘the plan’.

This is how doctors are taught to do things, right from the start of our training at medical school.

GET THE IMPORTANT ISSUES OUT FIRST If there is something you are really worried about - for example a breast lump or crushing chest pain - please, please mention it first. Loads of people talk about something relatively minor to start with as a kind of ‘warm-up’.

If your doctor doesn’t know that the real problem is coming up, they will spend your 10-minute appointment discussing things that are not relevant to help with your condition.

SHOULD YOU QUOTE

Dr Zulfikar Bux GOOGLE? This is a bit of a tricky one and I suspect all doctors feel differently about the internet.

You may take your doctor down the wrong path because of your reading. Its best to follow the steps above and then speak about what you read in the end. Give your doctor to do his/her thing before you change their direction with your reading.

BE KIND Yes! There are doctors out there who are unkind/ unethical, but despite what you might read in the press, the vast majority of doctors really are trying their best to help you. If you can muster up a smile or a thank you, it will make their day.

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SUNDAY How US$150M was spent to renovate airport…

US$35M spent on sand alone -One million truckloads of sand at $7,000 each – Min. Patterson As Guyana gets ready to take possession of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) from the Chinese contractor, there are more revelations about how the US$150M was spent.

It has long been established that many of the costs placed in the contract documents signed between the Government of Guyana and China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) were astronomically inflated.

For example, according to the 2011 contract, Guyana agreed that CHEC would install 36 of the 46-inch screen monitors for the Flight Information Display System.

Each was worth a whopping US$6,548.90 each ($1,310,000). In total US$235,760.40 ($47,152,080) would have set aside for those 36 of the 46-inch TVs. On the local market, each at 2011, when the contract was signed, would have cost about $300,000.

That is only one of the many examples of the inflated prices.

Well, there is one other major cost that the Chinese company reportedly got Guyana to agree to.

Under the agreement, CHEC would have received access to sandpits. There were no costs to the pits. The pits are located in the vicinity of the runway which was being extended.

The Chinese reportedly placed a cost of $7,000 per truckload for moving sand from the pit to the runway area.

In fact, says Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, CHEC claimed it ferried one million truckloads of sand to the runway and other areas of the airport.

This works out at a massive US$35M in sand alone that CHEC would reportedly charge Guyana for the project.

CHEC had wasted thousands of truckloads on the northern end of the runway but abandoned a large part of that area because of poor soil conditions.

Guyana agreed to absorb part of that cost, Government has admitted.

Patterson, when asked, would not speak about the new designs for the entire airport.

Government had said that it was forced to reduce the scope of works for the project

Some of the representatives of licensed health facilities at the National Blood Transfusion Centre which really started in 2013 and was supposed to be completed in 2015.

The minister was a few weeks ago responding to questions from Kaieteur News about the costs, during a visit to the Saffon Street office.

Oil and gas industry…

Guyana stands to lose big time if outdated laws not changed -EITI Analyst Most, if not all of Guyana’s laws pertaining to the extractive sector need to be updated. This is necessary if Guyana is to succeed, especially as it relates to its acceptance in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) fold.

This was revealed by Rached Maalej who has been hired as the Independent Administrator to prepare Guyana’s first EITI report.

The EITI represents a body of standards and informs the way the natural resources sector is governed.

Overall, the standards dictate that the nation’s resources, such as oil, gas and minerals, should benefit all citizens.

During an exclusive interview with Kaieteur News, Maalej, who works with UK accounting and business advisory firm, BDO LLP, said that the laws are too old.

He said, “Whenever you have a law more than five years, you need to amend it.

It is obvious. Don’t even bother with opening that law much less if it is more than 10 years. We are in 2019; everything is developing and so many things exist now which influence the way in which the extractive sector is right now.

“Even the economy has changed; Guyana itself has

changed. The structure of the stakeholders today has also changed. The production has changed. Therefore, how can you have a law that is more than 10 years old?”

In updating the laws, Maalej said that Guyana’s success in the respective sectors and even with the EITI process would be improved. But the failure to get this done could hinder progress, the analyst noted.

In 2016, the Government of Guyana received a report from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which spoke to the need for a legislative review to ensure the success of the emerging oil sector in particular.

To date, not a single piece of petroleum-related legislation has been updated.

In the report that was written

by Anthony Paul, Principal Consultant of the Association of Caribbean Energy Specialists Ltd, it was noted that several laws and regulations, which need updating include: the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission Act; the Mining Act; the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act, No. 3 of 1986; the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act Regulations, 1986; the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act, 1998, Chapter 65:10; the Environmental Protection Act; and the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Chapter 99:01.

MONDAY While PPP moves to CCJ…GECOM will push ahead with house-to-house registration for elections – Commissioner As

the

People

Progressive Party (PPP) moves swiftly to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) for a review of the Appellate Court’s ruling that its No-Confidence Motion was invalidly passed, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) will continue preparations for elections.

This was noted by GECOM Commissioner, Vincent Alexander during a brief interview with Kaieteur News.

The official said that house-to-house registration, which is part of its 2019 work programme will also continue.

Alexander said, “As it is right now, we are doing what we planned to do which is preparing for house-to-house registration and it fits into two schemes. It is a part of what we planned to do in any circumstance and it is part of what we propose to do for elections as well…Preparations for elections will continue.”

The GECOM Commissioner concluded that if things change, meaning, if the CCJ upholds the Appellate Court’s ruling, then GECOM may not continue all the preparations for elections this year.

“But certainly, we will continue house-to-house,” expressed Alexander.

Speaking to Kaieteur News on Saturday about the status of the government was Attorney-at-Law, Anil Nandlall.

He said if the Caribbean Court of Justice rules against the Appeal Court, the APNU+AFC Government returns to its unconstitutional status. Nandlall, who is also the Opposition’s lead counsel, said it also means that the CCJ would have restored the validity of the

No-Confidence Motion, the passage upon which requires the holding of General and Regional Elections. Because that three-month period would have expired however, Nandlall contended that it would result in the government’s illegal status resuming.

He added, “The effect of such a decision would mean that the motion was validly passed on December 21 and the government was supposed to have held the elections within three months from that date.” Nandlall also reminded that the period to hold the elections expired on March 21, last. “…The framers of the Constitution say that three months is sufficient notice for GECOM to always be ready for an elections,” concluded Nandlall on this matter.

Ministry lacks capacity to ensure that all health care providers are licensed – Chief Medical Officer The Ministry of Public Health lacks the capacity to ensure that all healthcare providers countrywide are licensed, Chief Medical Officer at the Ministry of Public Health Dr. Shamdeo Persaud revealed last Friday.

The CMO made this disclosure during a brief meeting at the National Blood Transfusion Centre, where he handed out 22 health facilities licences to various public and private healthcare institutions.

While Persaud lauded the early handing out of licences as a commendable improvement over the previous year, the achievement pales when it is compared to the number of health facilities that are in operation nationwide. This

amounts to 372 health facilities.

Health facility licences, according to the Health Facilities Licensing Act, are only valid for one year. Hence, each facility must apply to have its licence renewed annually.

Dr. Persaud urged more health facilities to apply for licensing since, so far; only 94 healthcare providers have done so for the year. Last year, he said, the Ministry issued licensing to 54 health facilities.

Some of the licences that were handed out are provisional, meaning that the facilities must still meet certain other recommendations to achieve complete certification for the year. Persaud said that the Ministry will continue to work with those facilities to rectify their non-compliance.

There are different types of licences that the act provides for, which have specific requirements, depending on the type of service it provides. Some of the basic requirements include adequate washing facilities, proper recording systems, spaces for confidential consultations, proper cleaning and waste disposal mechanisms, enough water and proper toilet facilities. These are necessary, said Persaud, “so when someone comes to a licensed facility, they [can] expect to receive a full package of service”.

Even with the licences, some providers have, the Ministry has had to relax some requirements to license them. This was revealed when a representative of Balwant Singh Hospital spoke about the importance of ensuring facilities are (Continued on page 33)

Sunday March 31, 2019

From page 32 licensed. She said that there were times when she wasn’t sure which facility to refer her patients to for dialysis services. She iterated that the law requires a provider of dialysis services to have a full-time nephrologist on staff, but Dr. Persaud said that, if a medical practitioner is not a specialist, the organisation is still allowed to practice, if the practitioner has some certification in the field.

Former murder acccused nabbed after breaking into woman’s car – allegedly threatens victim while at station A former murder accused has given police a strange excuse for breaking into a woman’s car at Herstelling, East Bank Demerara (EBD) around 01:00 hrs last Thursday.

The suspect, who is from Herstelling, East Bank Demerara, has reportedly told police ranks that he was under the influence of alcohol and had no idea what he was doing that morning.

“Leh me tell you the truth.

I was drunk and I don’t know what meh went doing. My mother does tell me I shouldn’t go out on full moon nights because bad things does happen to me.”

Kaieteur News was told that the ex-convict was arrested minutes after he used a rock to smash the window of a Toyota IST. The suspect did not say why he broke into the vehicle, but two cars were stolen from the area less than a month ago.

As such, he is being questioned for those incidents.

The victim told the police that she was awakened at around 01.00 hrs on Thursday by the sound of her

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car alarm.

“She said she peeped through her window, but didn’t see anything, so she went back to bed. Within a couple of minutes, she heard what sounded like shattered glasses and her alarm went off again.

“She said she ran to the window and saw a black Toyota Raum speeding away.

She stayed at her window and noticed the same car turn around,” a police source said.

This newspaper was told that the car then drove past the woman’s vehicle and the driver stopped opposite the woman’s vehicle.

“He was wearing a white, round neck jersey, blue pants, low hair cut and he was dark in complexion. He went to her car and pushed his hand inside and the alarm went off again and he yanked at the alarm wire and pulled it out.”

At this point, the woman said that she yelled at the thief and told him that he was being recorded on a surveillance camera and that the police would find him.

The suspect then jumped in his car and sped off.

TUESDAY US$150M airport renovation…US$35M charge for sand is fraudulent Guyana spent a staggering US$35M, according to one report, on sand for the Timehri airport expansion but like everything else associated with the project, it could have been done way, way cheaper.

According to Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, one million truckloads of sand had been used on the airport at $7,000 per truckload.

While those one million truckloads would raise eyebrows in many quarters;

it is angering quite a few truckers who fetch sand.

“This is ridiculous…With the kind of arrangements that the contractor got, we could do it for $3,000 or $4,000 a truckload,” one truck driver said.

He has a single axle truck which holds up to 15 cubic yards of sand. He charges between $13,000 and $15,000 to bring it to the city.

But China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), the contractor of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CHEC) doesn’t have that distance to cover.

In fact, the sand pits are located right in the vicinity of the runway that was extended, and the airport terminal itself.

Government made the pit available free of cost to CHEC. It did not stop there, too.

CHEC was granted duty free concessions on equipment, including trucks and excavators.

It is unclear whether there were fuel concessions, also, which would have been an added incentive.

What is known is that for normal truckers, there is a charge for loading sand onto their trays from the sand pits that are controlled by third parties.

Those charges range from $2,000 to $3,000 each.

In the case of CHEC, it is not saddled with those charges.

“There is another thing, too. If you ask me to bring one million truckloads of sand from Timehri to Georgetown, I would give you a big discount. If I charging you $12,000 for a truckload then it gone come down to about $6,000 to bring it to GT. It cannot be $7,000 to drop one truckload. That is fraud, plain and simple,” another truck driver who operates from the Ruimveldt

The damaged car area said Monday.

Use of taxi, market purchases will not be regarded as local content – EITI Analyst Companies operating in Guyana’s extractive sector are required to give first preference to the country’s local goods and services before trying to acquire same overseas. They are also expected to make contributions which will transform the lives of citizens.

This is usually referred to as local content and it will be well documented in Guyana’s first report which has to be submitted to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) next month.

The EITI represents a body of standards which informs the way the natural resources sector is governed.

Overall, the standards dictate that the nation’s resources, such as oil, gas and minerals, should benefit all citizens.

Rached Maalej, who has been hired as the Independent Administrator to prepare Guyana’s first EITI report, said that a company putting advertisements in a newspaper, using taxi services or making purchases at the local markets would not be regarded as local content and therefore, would not be documented in Guyana’s first report.

Maalej, who also works with UK accounting and business advisory firm, BDO LLP, said, “The final objective of the report is for one to see how the people are benefitting from the extractive industries, for people to see how the money the government is earning from the sector is transforming their lives. In fact, the entire report is about that…”

The Tunisian continued, “So let me give you some examples of what I am talking about. When we have a tax regime; it allows for a barter arrangement. You give the company an exemption but you tell them that in exchange for this, you need to build us a bridge or you need to build us a school or something like that, that is local content. That goes into the report.”

The Independent Administrator added, “When we say that the companies need to publish their social expenditure to us, this means that they have to say what they did for the locals to transform their lives. Then they would say they gave x, y and z.

Telecoms Agency to take over NFMU from May 10

Sand truck operators are angry over cost of material that CHEC has charged the people of Guyana.

Government’s overhaul of the telecoms sector is continuing. On May 10, the National Frequency Management Unity (NFMU) will cease to exist under its

current construct. It will be taken over by the Telecommunications Agency.

According to a notice in the Official Gazette of Guyana, on March 18th, Minister of Public Telecommunications, Cathy Hughes, signed a commencement order, appointing May 10 as the date when the unit, which licences broadcasters and manages the spectrum waves for the state, will be placed under the agency.

In 2016, new telecoms laws were passed, as part of a wider push to modernize the sector.

Part of the modernization includes allowing new telephone and cable companies to operate.

According to the Telecommunication Act, with effect from the appointed day – which in this case is May 10th- the No. 79 of 1990 (a) the Guyana Frequency Management Unit Order 1990 shall stand revoked.

As a result, the NFMU, which was established by that order, shall stand dissolved. All the assets, including rights and interests of the Unit will be transferred to and vested in the Telecoms Agency.

These assets include furniture and other furnishings, voice and communications equipment, motor vehicles and other means of transportation owned by the NFMU. It will also include all money and records.

According to the 2016 Telecoms Act: “Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or any other written law or contract to the contrary, the appointment of all the officers and employees employed by the Unit immediately before (Continued on page 34)

PAGE 34

the appointed day shall stand terminated with effect from the appointed day: Provided that any person whose appointment stands terminated under this subsection may apply for employment by the Agency in any position on or after the appointed day, and the Agency, after consultation with the Minister, shall determine in its discretion which, if any, of such persons shall be employed by the Agency, on such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon between any such persons and the Agency.”

With regards to the Telecoms Agency, its functions shall be discharged by a board of nine members appointed by the minister and comprising three persons named by the said Minister, one of whom shall be designated as chair of the board.

On the board, also, should be two persons named by the Leader of the Opposition after consultation with the Opposition Parties in the National Assembly.

WEDNESDAY US$150M airport renovation… Consultants red-flagged contractor for numerous breaches …but complaints were tucked away The US$150M Timehri airport project has dragged on now four years past its deadline, and it is pellucid that Guyana is getting way less than what it contracted China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) for.

The project is currently the country’s largest on-land infrastructural project and it is about to be handed over.

Overlooking the project for Guyana were two companies – MMM Group from Canada and CEMCO, a local engineering consultancy.

Since the start of construction in 2013, the consultants have issued numerous notices, redflagging environmental and other breaches by CHEC. According to insiders, however, it appears that the Chinese contractor has “very good friends”, starting with the previous administration under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic and continuing into this Coalition Government.

Despite a significant number of worrying environmental breaches, CHEC was allowed to continue on its merry way.

“What I can tell you is that numerous reports were prepared. They were given to the people that matter, including the project manager. CHEC did not really

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care. They seemed to be protected,” said an official close to the project.

Officials have been tightlipped, noting that the project is not being handled by the management of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Corporation, but rather, by a team at the Ministry of Public Infrastructure.

In fact, there were cases when recommendations were made for money to be withheld pending corrective actions by CHEC. “Then you hear that the go-ahead has been given for payments to be made.”

The attitude to CHEC coupled with details that are now emerging about the actual contract that the Government of Guyana signed with CHEC, have been raising eyebrows across the country.

Not only were the costs in the 2011 contract significantly inflated, but CHEC was allowed to simultaneously conduct construction of the MovieTowne project at Liliendaal.

“The lines became blurred when it comes to duty free concession for the airport and what was going elsewhere.

There are so many things that are wrong with this project and how we as a people of Guyana handled it…that it is shocking,” the official said.

No-confidence motion…Opposition files appeal at CCJ A notice of appeal has been filed on behalf of Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, through his lawyers, in relation to the decision of the Court of Appeal in Guyana on the NoConfidence Motion cases.

In the application filed by lead attorney Anil Nandlall, a request was made for Special Leave to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) to consider the application.

The application is seeking an order treating the hearing of this application as urgent and a further order for an expedited hearing of the application.

Additionally, Nandlall is asking for an order directing that the hearing of the application for special leave to appeal be treated as the hearing of the appeal against the majority judgment of the Court of Appeal given on the 22nd March, 2019, in relation to the cases as well as an order setting aside and/or reversing the majority judgment of the Court of Appeal of Guyana given on the 22nd March, 2019 and a restoration of the decision of the acting Chief Justice made on the 31st January, 2019.

The US$35M price tag for just sand at the Timehri airport is tantamount to fraud, truckers said.

Further, the lawyer is asking for a declaration that Resolution of the National Assembly No. 101 is valid and effectual; and declaration that the no confidence motion moved by the Leader of the Opposition was validly passed on the 21st December, 2018 by a majority of all the elected members of the National Assembly; a declaration that thirty-three (33) votes/members constitutes a majority of all the elected members of the National Assembly within the meaning of Article 106 (6) of the Constitution of Guyana.

According to the application, the lawyer is anticipating that there will be costs in the Caribbean Court of Justice and such further or other order/s as may be just and appropriate.

Kaieteur news understands that there will be a Case Management Conference (CMC) conducted by the CCJ, on Friday morning (29th March 2019), with respect to this matter.

Last Friday, the Court of Appeal by a decision of 2-1 disagreed with the argument that 33 Members of Parliament (MPs) can effectively pass a No-Confidence Motion against the Government.

Appellate Judges, Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Dawn Gregory upheld the argument that an absolute majority is required for the passage of no-confidence motion against the Government.

The two Judges agreed an absolute majority in the context, calls for 34; not 33 votes of all elected members

of the National Assembly.

Justice Rishi Persaud, on the other hand, disagreed. He ruled the no-confidence motion was validly passed by 33 to 32 votes. That decision was previously handed down

by Chief Justice Roxane George at the High Court.

Cabinet resumes meetings…days after Appeal Court ruling Government has resumed meetings of the Cabinet of Ministers, days after a majority ruling in the Court of Appeal over a no-confidence vote.

For the government, it would signal their insistence that it will be business as usual.

The state media was on hand at the Ministry of the Presidency.

According to Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally, the Cabinet meeting was set to take a number of important decisions. She said that her colleagues were looking forward to the first meeting of the Cabinet.

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo noted that his government has always maintained that the judiciary has an important role to play.

He said that the fact that the Court of Appeal by majority decision has found that the no-confidence motion has fallen, the government is continuing to do the business for which it has been elected.

He said that based on the Court of Appeal’s decisions last Friday, it is clear that there is a need for a review of the decisions of the Lower Court.

On December 21st,

Government parliamentarian, Charrandass Persaud, joined with Opposition in voting ‘yes’ to a no confidence motion tabled by Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo.

The shock vote triggered a collapse of the one-seat majority Coalition Government and months of uncertainty as the courts were dragged in.

Persaud left Guyana within hours, under the protection of the Canadian government…he has dual citizenship with that country.

The no-confidence vote activated clauses in the Constitution of Guyana, which call for elections in 90 days.

However, the government challenged the legality of Persaud’s vote.

THURSDAY Govt. to make elections funds available ahead of CCJ rulings President David Granger has assured that funding to ensure the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is ready for elections will be made available. With the recent Court of Appeal decisions, the Cabinet meetings have now restarted and it is the intention to request funds through a Bill which will be laid in the National Assembly for authorisation.

Speaking to reporters at the Ministry of the Presidency Wednesday, Granger was answering questions on the state of preparedness when it comes to the Guyana Elections Commission.

A shock December 21 no confidence vote against the Coalition Government in the National Assembly that was deemed carried had brought on the prospects of early elections.

However, the Government challenged the legality of the vote and after the High Court upheld it, the Court of Appeal last week in a majority decision overturned the High Court ruling.

The Opposition has approached the Caribbean Court of Justice for a final review.

In the meantime, the political situation has been raising alarms with the business and diplomatic communities.

GECOM, with representatives from both sides of the house, has been split on early elections with the Government side insisting on house-to-house registration to correct a bloated list.

The Opposition, however, insisted that house-to-house is not needed and that GECOM has to always be in a state of preparedness.

According to President David Granger, he has never disengaged from GECOM. “I have written a couple of letters to the Chairman (Justice (Ret’d) James Patterson. The chairman has written a very detailed letter of the preparations so regardless of what happens at the Supreme Court; regardless what happens at the Court of Appeal; regardless what happens at the Caribbean Court of Justice, we are going to make (Continued on page 35)

Sunday March 31, 2019

From page 34 sure we satisfy GECOM’s request.”

Among other things, Patterson recently asked for over $3B in funding for elections. According to Granger, the government and the executive branch cannot interfere in the internal decision-making process at GECOM. Granger said that he is happy at the level of cooperation from the Chairman with the requests from GECOM to be satisfied as far as possible.

Legislation. She revealed this consultant to be the former Judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Professor Duke Pollard.

The MARAD Director General said that Justice Pollard has since completed the legislative review and has submitted the requisite recommendations which would pave the way for the realization of a more robust system of maritime administration in Guyana.

New laws imminent for maritime sector-Former CCJ Judge completes review, hands over recommendations

The Guyana Police Force is now spearheading its own investigation into the tampering of bid documents at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) by one of its senior officials. This publication was informed of this development Wednesday by Finance Secretary, Michael Joseph.

The attempt to tamper with a bid document has raised alarming questions for NPTAB, a processing entity for state contracts. The incident had been marred by secrecy, since the board failed to notify the Public Procurement Commission (PPC), the body responsible for investigating wrongdoings in the handling of state contracts.

Last week, Minister within the Ministry of Finance, Jaipaul Sharma, said that the Procurement Commission wrote asking for a report.

“I can tell you that matter is being looked at by the Procurement Commission.

They have asked for a report into the alleged incident,” Minister Sharma had said.

Kaieteur News was told that the Procurement Commission was upset that it had to learn of a problem at NPTAB through the media.

For that, NPTAB has been written to, by the PPC, requesting an explanation for its failure to notify the Commission.

Officials from the PPC were present at last week’s tender openings, as well as last Tuesday’s, but the official at the last tender opening told this publication that his investigation was routine, and that it was not related to the recent incident.

It was reported that a Senior Procurement Officer of NPTAB, who has been there for years, was sent on administrative leave almost three weeks ago.

This was after he was reportedly caught on camera taking bid documents from a secured room at NPTAB. It was reported that NPTAB, which oversees the opening of bid documents from contractors and

Guyana’s maritime sector will be armed with a new set of laws and regulations that will enable it to have better oversight of the oil and gas sector. This was noted Wednesday by Director General of the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), Claudette Rogers.

She made this known during the opening ceremony of a conference that was organized by MARAD and local law firm, Hughes Fields and Stoby. The event which was held at the Marriott Hotel sought to give stakeholders a better understanding of what would be required of Guyana’s maritime administrators in the petroleum industry.

Present at the event were MARAD officials; Members of the Diplomatic Community; Minister of Public Infrastructure, David P a t t e r s o n ; Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s Minister, Cathy Hughes and several Maritime stakeholders from the Caribbean region.

Guest speakers at the event included Professor Eric Smith from the AB Freeman School of business at Tulane University; Rear Admiral James Olsen, Retired Admiral of the US Coast Guard with responsibility for Alsaka; Colin Young, Regional Advisor of the Caribbean International Maritime Organization; and Thomas Steigwald, Petroleum Consultant.

During her remarks, the Director General said that while MARAD has made significant strides in fulfilling its mandate over the last two decades, quite a lot still needs to be done to position the department to respond to the demands and challenges that would arise from the fledging oil and gas sector.

With this understanding in mind, the Director General said a consultant was retained to update the Maritime

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Kaieteur News

Police take over probe into Tender Board breach

MARAD’s Director General, Claudette Rogers during her presentation suppliers, processed number of them.

a

FRIDAY Body in car trunk…Taxi driver charged with 2009 murder of fuel dealer-cops preparing wanted bulletin for woman who allegedly plotted killing Almost ten years after fuel dealer Ramzan Alli was suffocated and stuffed in a car trunk, police have charged a taxi driver with his murder.

In the meantime, Crime Chief Linden Alves disclosed Thursday that police are to issue a wanted bulletin shortly for a woman who allegedly plotted the killing.

Sadeek Mohamed Mitchell, of Foulis, East Coast Demerara, was remanded Thursday for the July 2009 killing, after appearing in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court before Chief Magistrate Ann Mc Lennan.

The case is scheduled to be heard again on April 15 in the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court.

During Thursday’s hearing, the prosecution told the court that Mitchell, who was arrested last Tuesday, had provided police with a caution statement in which he admitted to killing Alli. He is said to have acted on the behest of a woman, who allegedly had a dispute with the fuel dealer.

The woman is in the United States, but investigators will be making a request to have her extradited. However, Crime Chief Linden Alves told Kaieteur News that police will first issue a wanted bulletin here for the woman’s arrest.

Police sources said that Alli was slain at his Good Hope, East Coast Demerara home. The body was then placed in a rented car and transported to the Coldingen Railway Embankment Road.

The woman who

allegedly plotted the murder is said to have ordered her accomplices to kill Alli the same day that the victim and his relatives were having a religious service for Alli’s brother, Akbar Alli, who was gunned down on July 24, 2008.

Ramzan Alli, 45, was discovered dead around 08.00 hrs on Sunday, July 12, 2009, in the trunk of his rental car, which was on the Coldingen Railway Embankment Road.

While his limbs were not bound, a plastic bag was duct-taped over his head.

A post mortem revealed that he died from suffocation compounded by blunt trauma to the head.

Relatives had launched a search after several calls to Alli’s cell phone went unanswered.

The father of two had reportedly left his home to buy meat for the aforementioned religious function.

A relative eventually spotted the rental car on the Railway Embankment. The relative reportedly saw blood dripping from the trunk. He then forced the trunk open and found the body.

Detectives had suspected that Alli was killed somewhere else and brought in his car to the embankment.

Relatives had ruled out robbery since they said he never wore jewellery and did not have any money on his person.

TT firm stands ready to provide expert training to prepare Guyana’s maritime industry for oil sector National Energy Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago is more than ready to help local authorities with the expert training that is needed to prepare the maritime industry for the challenges that will come with the development of the oil and gas sector.

Making this declaration

on Monday was National Energy’s Vice President, Wendy Seow. She was at the time making an input at a conference that was held at the Marriott Hotel by Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) with the assistance of reputable law firm, Hughes, Fields, and Stoby. The conference was themed: Guyana’s New Maritime Landscape – Preparing for the Future.

Expounding further on the offer during an interview with Kaieteur News, the Trinidadian said that National Energy stands ready to share its knowledge and expertise in the maritime industry for the benefit of the Caribbean neighbours. She said, too, that Guyanese companies are welcomed to visit National Energy’s facilities, as they seek to advance the maritime industry in Guyana and leverage its resources for the benefit of their citizens.

Speaking to the background of her company, Seow shared that National Energy Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago was incorporated in 1979 to formalize the CARICOM member state’s efforts to monetize the country’s natural gas resources. In fulfilling this role for the last 40 years, the Vice President said that the Company has developed expertise in the areas of Energy and Infrastructure Project Development, constructing and managing industrial estates with industrial petrochemical plants. She said, too that National Energy built marine terminals and ports and acquired a fleet of marine vessels to support the energy industry.

Further to this, Seow said that National Energy’s port and marine business have grown three-fold over the last 20 years by leveraging its human resource capability and capability in conceptualization and

development of port infrastructure, maritime standards and regulations compliance monitoring, vessel management and operations, and port management.

The Vice President said, “A member of the NGC Group of Companies, National Energy is responsible for the conceptualization, promotion, development, and facilitation of new energybased and downstream industries in Trinidad and Tobago.

SATURDAY CCJ sets May 10 for hearing of No-Confidence motion cases All three cases relating to the No-Confidence Motion will be regarded and treated as urgent, President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) Mr. Justice Adrian Saunders, has said. He has fixed Friday, May 10, at 9:00hrs to commence hearing in all the matters.

During a case management conference (CMC) on Friday at the court’s Trinidad and Tobago headquarters, Justice Saunders, and two other judges fixed strict timelines for legal documents to be filed with the court.

They also fixed timelines for those which have to be served respective parties. The Case Management Conference was viewed via live broadcast from the court’s website.

The Conference was attended by representatives of the State, Attorney General Basil Williams, Solicitor General Nigel Hawke, and Senator and Attorney-at-Law Eamon Courtenay of Belize, who tuned in via video call.

Attorneys-at-Law Kamal Ramkarran and Sanjeev Datadin appeared on behalf of Christopher Ram and (Continued on page 36)

PAGE 36

From page 35 Charrandass Persaud respectively.

Attorneys-at-Law Anil Nandlall and Roysdale Forde appeared for Leader of the Opposition Bharrat Jagdeo and Joseph Harmon in his capacity as a representative of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) in that order.

Senior Counsel Neil Boston appeared for private citizen Compton Reid, while Attorney-at-Law Rafiq Khan is representing Barton Scotland, Speaker of the National Assembly.

Sunday March 31, 2019

Kaieteur News

After much deliberation, the panel of Judges invited the respective lawyers to file Notices of Appeal by next week Monday, April 1.

Also, the President ordered that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) be added as a party in the cases and that Notices of Appeal be served forthwith on the electoral body by Friday, April 5.

According to Saunders, “Now the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is a necessary party in these matters and therefore if no application had been made to

join them by any of the parties, the court of its own motion is ordering that GECOM be joined as a defendant.

“And (the court orders) further that personal service of the Notices of Appeal and documents that will constitute the records of appeal and the orders that we are making today be effected on the commission on or before the end of next week (April 5).”

Williams and lawyers were instructed to file cross appeals, if any, by Monday, April 8. The court ordered that

written submissions be filed and exchanged on or before Wednesday, April 17. Any replies to these submissions are to be filed by Tuesday, April 23.

All documents in relation to these matters will be filed electronically. The matter comes up for pre-trial review the following day, Wednesday April 24.

Khan, during his address to the court, said that the Speaker will not take part in the contested aspects and will not file submissions, but will abide by any orders made by the court.

“When we have the pretrial review we will address issues which have to do with the order and length of oral submissions. But I must warn that we are trying to discourage duplication and parties should co-operate with each other, so that you don’t have two parties addressing us on the same points and making the same arguments.” Justice Saunders urged.

Justice Saunders continued, “We have set down one day (May 10) for this matter and we are going to try to hear it that day. We will start at nine out of an abundance of caution. It would be appropriate that all counsel appear in person.

“This is a matter of extreme importance and we can’t afford hitches with the telecommunications and the slight disadvantage a party appearing by video might have relative to a party appearing in person.”

“We are setting aside May 10. We start at nine and we work till the end even if we are here until 4 or 5’o clock,” Justice Saunders told the lawyers who all agreed to

the date and timings.

National Assembly to sit on April 11…All Govt. MPs with dual citizenships to attend The National Assembly will have a sitting on April 11 with all Government parliamentarians, including those who have dual citizenships, to attend, says Minister of State, Joseph Harmon.

According to the minister, while there will be a sitting, it will be unlikely that the Members of Parliament (MPs) will be immediately dealing with matters of funding for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

GECOM has asked for $3.5B to carry out preparations for early elections, heralded by a December 21 no-confidence vote tabled by the Opposition that was deemed carried but challenged in the courts at the moment.

Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George had ruled that the vote of 33-32 was properly carried.

It was found after the December 21 vote that quite a number of parliamentarians, on both sides of the House, had dual citizenship.

Justice George in her rulings also said that the G o v e r n m e n t parliamentarian, Charrandass Persaud, should not have been sitting as a parliamentarian, as having dual citizenship conflicts with the Constitution of Guyana.

The Court of Appeal last week, in a majority decision, deemed the vote not carried.

The dual citizenship issue was not challenged. This and other cases involving the

legality of the vote is being handled by the Caribbean Court of Justice at the moment.

The court is expected to hear the matter on May 10.

Om Friday, questioned about whether the Government has taken a collective decision on the dual citizenship, Minister Harmon confirmed that the next date for the sitting of the National Assembly will be on April 11, 2019.

“The question of dual citizenship is a matter which is hot in the media right now and therefore, I believe it is important that we clarify this matter. I must say to you, that this matter has engaged the attention of the High Court of Guyana; it has engaged the attention of the Court of Appeal and it is also a matter which has been appealed to the Caribbean Court of Justice as one of the grounds for appeal.”

Harmon; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge; Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin and Minister Rupert Roopnaraine are among the government officials said to have dual citizenship.

According to Harmon, yesterday, the attorneys representing the state will advise the Government with respect to the situation with members of the Government who are dual citizens. “…So in that regard, I will say that this matter is still engaging the attention and Cabinet has not made a ruling on it. It is contemplated that on April 11, 2019 when the National Assembly sits, that all the members of the Government side will be there.”

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Sunday March 31, 2019

COUNTRYMAN

- Stories about life in m and out of Guyana, fro ve a Guyanese perspecti

Is the world really one?

A

By Dennis Nichols

t times like this, (post-December 21, 2018) our country's fanciful motto – One people; One nation; One destiny, seems hopelessly unachievable. Nevertheless it's a very desirable slogan for politicians, and on a different level, for most

Guyanese. Unity is such a right-sounding principle for progress and getting things done that one wonders why it remains so elusive for so many for so long.

In the 1960s, I think it was, legendary Indian playback singer, Mohamed Rafi, vocalized the theme of global unity with his hit 'The world is one'. It was very

popular in Guyana. Later John Lennon gave us 'Imagine'. And a host of other artistes have ensured that this symphonizing message gets around. In almost every culture, humans have striven to pay lip service at least, to the idea of the oneness of humanity despite wrenching evidence to the contrary.

This notion of a

collective human identity linked inextricably with the universe has gained popularity with the research and experimentation of quantum physics/quantum mechanics, which in turn appears to be moving closer and closer to a kind of shared spirituality, particularly as it relates to the message of God's love for 'the world'.

Quantum physics, simply put, deals with, and describes, how the smallest particles of matter in the universe, atoms and subatomic particles, behave.

It's what everyone and everything is made of – from humans to stars. American astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson states: “We are all connected; to each other, biologically; to the earth, chemically; to the rest of the universe, atomically. We are not figuratively, but literally, stardust.”

The way these particles behave, scientists say, proves or strongly suggests, that what we think of as reality is, in reality, not reality. How's that again?

The mind-bending concept is that what we perceive with our senses as being 'out there' and separate from us, is actually an illusion. Matter is energy, and the universe appears to be more like a giant thought than anything else – consciousness itself. A very debatable idea.

They say our human brains trick us into believing in the idea of separation when in fact nothing is truly separated from anything else, including human beings. At the minutest level of existence, a human, a rock, a gorilla, and a galaxy, are molecularly, physically, consciously, infinitely connected.

My interest in these theories is however not much concerned with rocks, apes, or stars, as it is with human beings and our 'network' with each other and with this universal c o n s c i o u s n e s s .

Coincidences, hunches, and gut feelings, like the Guyanese expression 'me spirit tek she/he', are manifestations of the psychic energy rooted in this reality, researchers say.

More than 100 years ago the French sociologist, Emile Durkheim, introduced the term 'collective consciousness/conscience' to the world. He said, “The totality of beliefs and sentiments common to the average members of a society forms a determinate system with a life of its own.”

(My emphasis) This was maybe to some degree quite different from the universe's elemental energy, but it probably helped nurture the notion.

Dennis Nichols Now if we are all so psychically joined at the hip as it were, (and everywhere else for that matter) how can we be so disunited in our beliefs and actions as individuals, groups, and nations, and cause such mayhem and misery to each other? A sobering aspect of this idea is that our DNA; our consciousness, is so interwoven that whatever we do to others we somehow do to ourselves.

Furthermore, if the theory is sound, then wars, oppression, hatred, and discrimination should be waning globally as we embrace this new knowledge of oneness and the glorious future being held up like a mirror before us. Right now the mirror appears to be splintered into a billion disconnected pieces.

One theory why this is so has to do with what Dr. Paul Leon Masters calls 'the battle between the personal ego and one's true universal identity'. (He is the founder of the International Metaphysical Ministry) This idea, or something very close to it, is being explored by a number of physicists and experimenters in the field of quantum mechanics in which the perception of self is both subsumed by, and expanded into, in the vast cosmic consciousness some call the Universal Mind, Intelligent Energy, or simply God. It is said that this connection can be experienced when we attain altered states of consciousness, for example those induced by certain drugs, meditation, religious euphoria, or near-death experience. But generally, we are so caught up with our egos and with earthly materialism that the whole idea seems exotic, farfetched, and simply unbelievable.

Guyana is a paradox. The (continued on page 48)

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A house divided against itself cannot stand

T

he General and R e g i o n a l Elections which are to date scheduled to be held in 2020, require young blood and new thinking to play a more leading role in taking this nation into what will inevitably be new economic frontiers and development.

Young people account for approximately twothirds of the population, and it does not bode well to exclude them from the political decision-making table.

Today, the majority of news that make reference to the political leadership centres around who is seeking power or wants to retain it, at a critical time when there is an invasion by external groups to exploit our natural resources, primarily gold, oil and gas.

Years ago, the late Clarence Ellis related a story to me which I'll never forget.

He recounted a visit with Forbes Burnham to the

Essequibo Coast on a meetthe-people exercise.

A rally was scheduled during this exercise and though the rain poured the crowd came. Clarence said he told Burnham, “Chief, these people really love you,” only to be told by Burnham, “Clarence, it is not about them loving me. They recognised the value of state power and how this can work for their advantage.”

The Burnham/Ellis' incident tells of people's expectation and the premium they place on deliveries.

Burnham was an astute politician, hence it wasn't lost on him that his relationship with the people was transactional foremost.

For their votes, the office he held, and being paid by them came with expectations. The moral of this story is of no lesser importance to the one hereunder.

Where it could be said or seen leaders are engaging in active outreach to woo the

support of others yet at the same time ignoring or putting systems in place to sideline those within, such acts cannot work to the party's benefit.

When one chooses to associate, it is not without expectation for respect, inclusion and needs being met. Most importantly, a house divided against itself cannot stand.

The growth of any organisation not only relies on attracting new cadre, but also retaining the current flock, or some would say the diehards.

It is this group that can be relied upon at the most difficult of times, to do the spade work, to stand up and defend the integrity/history of the institution at all cost. It is a group whose sustainability needs the input of the young.

In this period, as a strategic demographic, they come with an inherent advantage. Often optimistic about life and more inclined

to take risks, they seek new frontiers.

The older generation may take issue with some aspect of youthful conduct or feel they should wait their turn, but optimism and dare could be seen as assets to unleash about new thinking, new ways of doing things and new outlook on life.

Change is inevitable.

As we of the older generation could recall, in younger days our seniors harboured some reservations, but still took a chance on us. They allowed us to lead, to explore, make mistakes, carve new pathways and actively participate in shaping the future.

For instance, in 1905 Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow was 21 years old when he organised dockworkers to take industrial action for better wages and improved working conditions.

In 1953, Burnham was 30 years old and the Minister of Education in our first

government. Eusi Kwayana as a minister was in his 20s and Cheddi Jagan as Premier was 35. None of the stated leaders waited for leadership to be given to them. They noted the events of their time and took the proverbial bull by the horns.

Undoubtedly mistakes were made, but hadn't they ventured out, we could have been passive participants of history and not moulders of our destiny.

Our history has shown successes were realised each time we took a chance on ourselves and fellowman.

Our diversity was always a pivotal force, uniting against systems that oppressed us or those who exhibited objectives dissimilar to ours.

With the singleness of

purpose, we repelled the economic-political systems of slavery, indentureship and colonial domination.

Though these were toppled, other forms are rising. If we are not careful, the nitpicking, infighting and exclusion could cause Guyana to lose corn and husk For this country to move forward requires leaders not merely on the premise of age, but also based on thinking and ability, and youth is not without the latter two. Conversations about inclusivity must respect the value of youth having a meaningful role in political and other organisations. All are needed to build Guyana, and all must be included in the process.

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Sunday March 31, 2019

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Sunday March 31, 2019

g .. n i t s. s re ure e t t In rea C

T

The Thrush

hrushes make up the Turdidae, a f a m i l y o f passerine birds that occurs worldwide. These are plump, soft-plumaged, small to medium-sized birds, inhabiting wooded areas, and often feed on the ground.

The smallest thrush may be the forest rock thrush, at 21 g (0.74 oz) and 14.5 cm (5.7 in). However, the short wings, which have ambiguous alliances with both thrushes and Old World flycatchers, can be even smaller. The lesser short wing averages 12 cm (4.7 in).

The largest thrush is the blue whistling thrush at 178 g (6.3 oz) and 33 cm (13 in).

The great thrush is similar in length, but less heavily built.

Most species are grey or brown in colour, often with speckled underparts.

They are insectivorous, but most species also eat worms, land snails, and fruit.

Many species are permanently resident in warm climates, while others migrate to higher latitudes during summer, often over considerable distances.

Thrushes build cupshaped nests, sometimes lining them with mud. They lay two to five speckled eggs, sometimes laying two or more clutches per year.

Both parents help in raising the young.

The songs of some species, including members of the genera Catharus, Myadestes, Sialia and Turdus, are considered to be among the most beautiful in the avian world.

Turdidae species spread the seeds of plants, contributing to the dispersal of many species and the recovery of ecosystems.

Plants have limited seed dispersal mobility away from the parent plant and consequently rely upon a

variety of dispersal vectors to transport their propagules, including both abiotic and biotic vectors. Seeds can be dispersed away from the parent plant individually or collectively, as well as dispersed in both space and time.

Many bats and birds rely heavily on fruits for their diet, including birds in the families: Contingindae, Columbidae, Trogonidae, T u r d i d a e , a n d Rhamphastidae.

While eating fruit, these animals swallow seeds and then later regurgitate them or pass them in their faeces.

Such ornithochory has been a major mechanism of seed dispersal across ocean barriers.

Other seeds may stick to the feet or feathers of birds, and in this way may travel long distances. Seeds of grasses, spores of algae, and the eggs of molluscs and other invertebrates commonly establish in remote areas after long journeys of this sort.

The Turdidae have a great ecological importance because some populations migrate long distances and disperse the seeds of endangered plant species at new sites, helping to eliminate inbreeding and increasing the genetic diversity of local flora.

The taxonomic treatment of this large family has varied significantly in recent years. Traditionally, the Turdidae included the small Old World species, like the nightingale and European robin in the subfamily Saxicolinae, but most authorities now place this group in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae.

This article follows the Handbook of the Birds of the World with edits from Clement and Hathaway,

Thrushes (2000), and retains t h e l a rg e t h r u s h e s i n Turdidae.

Recent biochemical studies place certain traditional thrush genera ( M o n t i c o l a , Pseudocossyphus, Myiophonous, Brachyptery and Alethe) in the Muscapidae. Conversely, the Asian saxicoline genera Grandala and Cochoa belong here among the thrushes.

(Source: Wikipedia)

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K O

BO

FEAR - Our

Biggest Enemy

“I'm so afraid of being in the dark by myself, mom,” Irie tells his Book: Irie the Caterpillar mother. He is crippled, Author Latoya Wakefield Illustrator: Kavion Robinson obsessed by fear as the clock Critic: Glenville Ashby, PhD ticks, a countdown to freedom or certain death.

His dissolution seems atoya Wakefield inevitable if he fails to m a k e s a reverse course, build d e f i n i t i v e confidence, trust his parents s tatemen t o n th e o n e and take action. His parents emotion that prevents us are unrelieved. from authentic living. With “He seems afraid of his vivid colour and masterful p a t h , ” h i s g r a n d m a illustrations, she uses the tale b e m o a n s ; h i s m o t h e r of Irie, a caterpillar that is s h u d d e r s a t t h e fearful of the cocoon that he consequences: “I'm worried. must enter, if he, like those If he doesn't go into the before him, must emerge a cocoon soon he could…” butterfly with all the She cannot bear the thought freedom and adventure of losing Irie, at one time, so imaginable. promisingly joyous.

Irie's trepidation, his His grandmother once dance with self-destruction recalled the momentous is worrisome. He is frozen, occasion of his birth, “Your his thoughts stricken with mother gave you that name the dark silence that the because you did not cry cocoon represents.

L

Sunday March 31, 2019

when you emerged from the egg, you laughed. Irie means everything is all right. When you laughed, we knew you were all right.”

Now, Irie must face his first challenge. The world on the other hand has little time to wait for Irie's response.

His cousin and friends have already evolved; they are butterflies exploring the terrain from an enviable vantage point.

They have blossomed, mastering their newly acquired abilities; their potential boundless. “I feel great. Hurry up and join us.”

Cousin Shuggie exclaims from above. “You should have been in the cocoon by now!” Irie, the doleful caterpillar ponders.

His parents are unwavering in their support, “ We ' r e a l l h e r e f o r you…Yes, Irie, we'll be here day and night while you're in thy cocoon.”

His mother reiterates, to reassure him, “I know you are afraid of being by yourself in the cocoon, my sunshine, but it's only for a

little while. When you come out, you'll get to fly with us.

And his grandma bolsters his growing resolve, “We are here for you, Irie.”

But only Irie can take that initial decisive step.

No doubt, Wakefield intends to reach a particular audience. Her use of vivid colour and illustrations, large font and simple and direct wording will appeal to children.

But surely, we miss the mark if we fail to reflect on the profoundly mature message inscribed in just about every page.

In the article, “Operating from Fear: Don't let fear hold you back; explore these e ff e c t i v e t e c h n i q u e s , ” psychologist Matt James, PhD, examined the destructiveness of fear.

“Fear,” he writes “is one of those basic emotions that has become so pervasive it's almost like the air many people breathe.

This pervasive fear is not functional fear. It's based on emotional baggage from the past that hasn't been released.

It is focused on threats and dangers that aren't real—or if “real,” not as serious as the fear would have us believe. It can be

avoiding anything that has the possibility of failure, embarrassment, or rejection.

It can be worrying about the future and anticipating the worst. It can be a sense of having to defend yourself constantly from seen and unseen “enemies.”

The bottom line of this pervasive, non-functional fear is that it keeps you from being, doing and having what you want out of life.” ( P s y c h o l o g y To d a y.

September 14, 2017).

These words more than encapsulate the inner turmoil that Irie is experiencing. He is psychically and emotionally torn. His life is in the balance as he

vacillates. He well knows what is at stake, but he tarries. Will he succumb to his fear?

Wakefield's Irie the Caterpillar will not appear in Psychology Today or any like magazine for that matter.

Still, with far more pedestrian language, she conveys the same instructive message.

Ire the Caterpillar by Latoya Wakefield ISBN: 9781495299551 Available at Amazon Ratings: Recommended F e e d b a c k : glenvilleashby@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter@glenvilleashby

Sunday March 31, 2019

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Sunday March 31, 2019

THE

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STORY 25 years for Kaieteur WITHIN THE

News; 16 days in jail for me

By Leonard Gildarie

W

hat I am about to say is d e e p l y personal. I have not spoken to my family or my colleagues at work about bringing this out. If fact, very few of my colleagues even knew about this side of me.

I was not even sure Friday night while tapping away at the keyboard at home where this would lead.

There were, however, a few things clear in my mind.

I wanted to talk about it. I want to scream about it to the world. I had nothing to be ashamed of.

The decision was spurred by an announcement two weeks ago by Publisher of Kaieteur News, Glenn Lall.

Kaieteur News is celebrating 25 years in existence on Thursday, April 4th, and he wanted to do something. There will be no politicians. Just staffers and a few friends.

The newspaper, which has become the largest in circulation across the c o u n t r y, b u i l d i n g a reputation for fearless reporting, has a sister company now, charged with bringing radio to the people along the coastlands.

Knowing Glenn, it will have a unique brand that will be synonymous with the style of the newspaper. I had helped with the application‌no idea what I was doing, but it was approved.

I could not but help marvel at Kaieteur News and thought about my life and the journey that brought me here.

I had to tell my story about the personal sacrifices that come with the Fourth Estate.

I joined Kaieteur News over 12 years ago, and it has been a life-changing experience in every way. We will come back to my experiences.

In 1999, I joined Stabroek News. I wanted a job and there was a position for a reporter. I quickly learnt to how to be competitive, despite the small salary.

In the world of newspapers, getting your stories on the front page is an

exhilarating, satisfying feeling. It is a drug you want to relive every day. I love exclusives.

However, just a short year at Stabroek News, I was offered a chance to work in Sint Maarten, a Dutchoverseas territory in the Caribbean that is a mere 37 square miles - two countries in one. A bored young man took the opportunity.

Within four years, I was partnering with a local on a weekly newspaper that was free. It was simple - get ads, cover your costs, keep them low and you are good. We were doing well. In fact, our hard-hitting stories were making the politicians sit up and take notice.

I was writing, selling ad space, editing, harassing my graphic artists, collecting money, distributing the newspaper‌doing almost everything. We were making money too. People were loving it.

ARRESTED One of the big stories I did was on a department store owned by an Indian businessman who was accused of locking up his workers in his building, working them long hours and paying them little. One worker whispered to me while I visited the store that he was being held prisoner.

The labour breaches were too many.

I was warned laughingly by a few politicians to be careful. I thought they were good fellows. Little did I know.

It all came crashing down in 2005. I had arranged an interview with the Commissioner of Police, a routine thing. I went to the central police station in Philipsburg, the capital on the Dutch side. While waiting to be buzzed in, an Immigration Officer I knew by sight approached me and asked me for my documents.

I thought he was joking.

He was dead serious. I told him that the documents were being processed like everybody else and that I was awaiting for them to be processed, like the thousands of Guyanese and others who were working and living on the island.

Leonard Gildarie He asked me to follow him.

I was told I was illegal.

They asked me to empty my pockets. I looked around and saw many of the police officers gawking at the situation. I knew them. We worked crime scenes together. Quite a few of them lowered their eyes in shame.

I was thrust into a little cell that had the air conditioner jacked all the way up.

I stood there lost. What did I do?

My family and newspaper partner arrived shortly after. The police said that I was illegal and there was an option. I could stay in jail and fight it or buy a ticket and leave.

The cell was cold and mad thoughts swirled through my mind. I told them buy my ticket.

I left the same day back to Guyana. I was ripped from my family and business and friends. I was told that the government of the day was extremely angry because of our reports on work permits and labour infringements.

There was a big racket ongoing, involving thousands of dollars for immigrants who wanted to work in Sint Maarten. You pay the immigration folks and labour department and things are good.

In Guyana, I was impatient. I wanted to see my family and get back into business. I got myself a French visa and went back.

I kept quiet, and we applied for the permits. It was turned down.

After conferring with my lawyers, they said that I could apply as a manager for a company.

One of my dear friends invited me to work for him.

He gave me one of his houses and said he would apply.

It was normal in 2006 for the Government to issue a work permit for managers. It was almost like an automatic thing. We applied and within months got back a reply. It was turned down. The lawyer, who took my case pro bono, advised that we write the Governor of the (continued on page 58)

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Sunday March 31, 2019

Terrifying feelings at twilight

From page 26 Charles Bissoon, alias Charles Pereira, alias Anant Persaud and Maka Anant.

Beharry had several convictions, mainly for simple larceny. His last conviction was for “an act of gross indecency”, for which he served a twelve-month sentence. His release on March 10, 1969, coincided with the murder of Basmattie, the first child, and the only female victim.

Police now had an idea of how Beharry selected his victims. The perverted individual would roam villages, pretending to be looking for work. The houses he targeted were those with children.

“He was five feet seven inches tall,” veteran Guyanese journalist Steve Narine recalled. “He had a squint in one eye, liked to keep his hat pulled down, and never looked anyone in the face. He walked with a slight limp, and his yachting boots were always worn down at the heels.”

But somehow the suspect managed to elude the dragnet, until a suspicious villager and an alert detective constable became his nemeses…

CAPTURE It was June 1970, and a resident of Grove, East Bank Demerara was at home when a diminutive man with a cutlass visited his premises looking for work. The villager agreed to hire the labourer to weed his yard. But the man saw something that made him suspicious. This man who apparently earned his livelihood by weeding had apparently not sharpened his cutlass in ages.

The stranger later sharpened the cutlass, weeded a portion of the yard, and left.

And the resident might have gotten over his suspicions if something else hadn’t happened. That very

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night, the resident learned that a child from the village was missing. The missing child was seven-year-old Orlando Guthrie.

A few days later, the villager was heading to Georgetown when he spotted a familiar figure. The ‘weeder’ was coming out of a dam at Houston, East Bank Demerara. As the resident watched, the ‘labourer’ caught a taxi. The villager decided to follow. He caught another vehicle and trailed the ‘labourer’ until the man disembarked near the Charlestown Post Office.

Spotting a police sergeant whom he knew, the villager immediately told the sergeant of his suspicions. The sergeant ignored him.

Shortly after, the resident spotted James Brown, a young detective constable, driving a police jeep near Broad Street, Charlestown.

The man flagged the young detective down and again related his suspicions.

Detective Brown took the man into his jeep. Their perseverance paid off a few minutes later, when they spotted the ‘labourer’ walking in Charlestown.

Brown exited the vehicle and began to trail the suspect. But then the man spotted Detective Brown. He ran. But Brown was a champion athlete in the Police Force. Sprinting after his quarry, he quickly cornered the fleeing man in a Charlestown yard. After a brief struggle, Brown overpowered the ‘weeder’ and took his cutlass.

As he carried the man to his vehicle, the young detective became even more certain that the ‘labourer’ might indeed be the killer who had eluded them for 14 months. The ‘labourer’ literally began to tremble when he spotted the Grove resident, whose premises he had weeded. His agitation increased when Detective

Brown suggested that he was the child-killer.

At the police station, the suspect soon broke down under intense questioning.

“About six of us were grilling him. We were firing questions at him. Suddenly, he began to make requests.

First he asked for a smoke, and I bought him a pack of cigarettes. Then he asked for a fried chicken, and we bought that and a soft drink.

“After he had eaten, he was questioned again, and this time he confessed that he

had killed the children.

“He told us that he would take us to the area where the last victim (Orlando Guthrie), who was still missing, was slain.”

All speculation that Beharry was indeed the killer ended when he took Brown and other detectives to a trench at the back of Diamond Estate, East Bank Demerara.

“Suddenly he said: ‘look he deh’, and we found the body in the trench,” recalled Brown, who would later be promoted on the spot for his

role in the dramatic capture.

“He was further cautioned, and he took us to the areas where the other children had been killed.”

Beharry would later insist that he was under the influence of a mysterious figure called ‘David’ who had made him commit the murders.

But no ‘David’ has ever surfaced, and Beharry was charged. But the incensed public was to be cheated of a sensational trial.

Several months later, Beharry was found hanging from a bar in a cell in the Georgetown Prison.

The nondescript-looking labourer who had terrorized

the nation had chosen to die by his own hand, keeping forever to himself the mystery as to what demons pushed him to go on such a terrifying killing spree.

If you have any information on any unusual case, please contact us at our Lot 24 Saffon Street Charlestown office or by telephone. We can be reached on telephone numbers 22-58458, 2258465, 22-58473, or 2258491. You need not disclose your identity. You can also contact Michael Jordan at his email address mjdragon@ hotmail.com.

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Is the world really one...

From page 38 world is a paradox. Can reality – including our very existence, also be a paradox, based on an illusion? And if we are energy, which science proves cannot be destroyed, what happens to us after death, and is that final 'transition' also illusory, or the beginning of another version of reality?

Science, notably quantum mechanics, is trying to answer those questions.

In the meantime life goes.

The reality most Guyanese understand and face each day doesn't appear to be an illusion. Our country is wracked by turmoil – political, social,

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Kaieteur News

and economic. To most of us the problems are very real.

When someone is murdered, for example, our senses tell us that real blood is spilt, real pain is felt, real grief ensues, and a real funeral is held. And there are scores of other such tragedies in our country, daily and demoralizingly.

But if we are aware of a shared consciousness, and that what we do to others actually comes back to bless or harm us, then maybe we can do something about it. I think we should at least consider the possibility that the world,

and by connection we humans, are indeed one; not just in an airy-fairy, newage, feel-good sort of way, but in the purest and most transcendent sense of the phrase.

Science has been a boon for mankind, and although it has helped unleash some of the direst threats to our survival, it has also piqued our curiosity to truly know ourselves, and our raison d'être.

Maybe quantum mechanics, flowering under the unifying wave of the Universal Mind, can induce our salvation.

“As we forgive” From page 24 and charity through sincere sustained efforts. The mending of Rosaria, Saveri, and Gahigi (and others unmentioned) are incomplete with the determined selfhealing of Mattias, and the victims' acceptance of him, too. Those who fail at this are unable to face the evil image staring back in the mirror (whether of glass or soul or conscience); and so are powered by some impulse towards atoning.

Remember: the suffering of the sufferer(s), which includes both perpetrators and survivor-victims. This, too, is mysterious, and can be uninterpretable at the human level. Many occasions after inhuman confrontations, hard hearts become even harder: irreversibly, insolubly so; and not open to any discussing or confessing or accepting or rec-

onciling. There is only the steel of resistance, the perpetuation of denial.

The progression from rampaging genocidaire to Rilima Penitentiary to the Kinyinya solidarity camp; and finally to repentance and forgiveness and reconciling and healing is a torturous one. Mattias traveled that minefield of a road. Now words needed to be buttressed with heartfelt actions. They came in tangible terms. Mattias and Saveri built a house for Rosaria, and others including Hutu perpetrators, the fortunate survivors seizing a second chance. More was called for; more action followed.

Widow Rosaria needed urgent help with her meagre, lifesaving crop. Gahigi, the tireless mediator, made this known.

There were embedded problems, some practical, some traditional.

Problems, not objections. To help Rosaria would conflict first

with their daily work and small earnings. Second, it was a miles-long trek (one way) to get to Rosaria's place.

Last, and worst of all, the help that Gahigi was asking for was considered women's work in African culture. But they came: Mattias was in the lead, in the middle of the hard labour, in the hot sun. They got it done: first the house, now the crop.

Actions speaking louder than words; actions pointing to a new beginning.

So far, all the parts have been on adults. It is time to look at this horror through the eyes of children (Part V); followed by: the way of the church (Part VI); and last, what made all of this possible. Part VII: Gacaca and the Umuvumu Tree Project Next: Part V: Children of dark shadows and eternal sorrows graced with divine light

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A Tasting Review of The Exquisite BAREFOOT MERLOT WINE While it’s sometimes fun to thoughtfully ponder wine selections and show off your knowledge of grapes and vintages, other times you want to just grab a bottle of wine you know and love, like the Barefoot Merlot Wine which is distributed by Ansa McAl Limited. One of the least pretentious labels available, this wine is consistent in taste and price.

THE BAREFOOT WINE STORY If you’re hoping for a story of generations of grape growers perfecting a variety of vintages over many decades, toiling over acres of vines year after year, Barefoot Cellars is not the tale for you.

The original Barefoot wine had humble beginnings in the 60s as a “garage wine,” an

affectionate term for wines made in the basements, kitchens and actual garages of homes. Friends and family mostly enjoyed it until 1986 when Bonnie Harvey and Michael Houlihan joined Randy Arnold, the original Barefoot winemaker, and commercially produced a tasty and inexpensive wine that could give pleasure to both novice and experienced wine drinkers.

To promote their wine and build good will, the trio affiliated themselves with various charities and nonprofits over the next 20 years, pouring their selections at fundraisers and benefits. In 2006, Barefoot Cellars, located in Napa, California, became a sponsor of the Association of Volleyball

Professions (AVP) Beach Volleyball, a perfect tie-in with their name. Shortly thereafter, they partnered with the Surfrider foundation to establish the Barefoot Beach Rescue Project, an undertaking dedicated to rid beaches of trash and debris to make them “Barefoot friendly” for all. (See link for more info: https:// w i n e . l o v e t o k n o w. c o m / barefoot-merlot-wine.)

BAREFOOT MERLOT WINE One reason Barefoot Merlot Wine, along with the winery’s other selections, is so affordable is that it is nonvintage, which means it contains juice from grapes harvested over a period of years instead of just one.

Non-vintage wine does not

have a year on its labels. Some wine aficionados shun nonvintage wines as inferior, while more open-minded and frugal drinkers hail the nonvintage process as innovative and cost-effective, and like that they can count on these types of wine for consistency.

Despite this dubious distinction, Barefoot’s Merlots are generally well received and appreciated.

They have won numerous awards, including the Best Buy award from the Beverage Testing Institute in Chicago, an honor based on unbiased online consumer reviews.

Barefoot Merlots also garnered a Double Gold Medal at the 2007 International Eastern Wine Competition in Watkins Glen, New York.

THE POUR When the Merlot is poured into a wine glass, there are no visible bubbles on the top or sides of the liquid. The wine has a deep, rich ruby color and quickly forms legs when swirled.

TASTE AND NOSE Although the label

promises flavors of chocolate, boysenberry, anise, licorice and a hint of tannins, many tasters found the Merlot to have a predominance of berry tastes, with shades of floral or oak and minimal tannins. The nose, however, was generally reviewed as having subtle hints of chocolate and pepper mixed with blackberry aromas.

FEELAND FINISH While an occasional review found the Merlot to be a little bitter, most Barefoot Merlot drinkers praised its silky feel in the mouth and were pleased with the clean, crisp fruity finish of the wine.

PRICINGAND AVAILABILITY Barefoot Cellar wines are inevitably included on the “best cheap wine” lists, since they rarely cost more than $10 a bottle and are regularly on sale for around $5 a bottle.

They are widely available at large and small grocery stores and retail beverage distributors.

GOING BAREFOOT Since Barefoot wines are so affordable, pick up one of their Merlots to go with your

next pizza, or pair it with a plate of meatballs and pasta.

Whether or not you become a diehard fan and decide to go Barefoot more often, your investment will be minimal and oh so worth every cent.

Grey’s Anatomy Reveals Jo’s Family History In Heartbreaking and Beautiful Episode

We had guessed what was coming tonight, but that didn’t make it any easier to watch.

As Jo treated a patient who had been raped and was absolutely terrified of speaking up about it or even admitting it to Jo and Teddy, we saw what she went through when she went in search of her birth mother.

After she confronted the woman over leaving her at a firestation and being so casual about the fact that Jo’s father had died in a motorcycle accident, the woman told the story of going on a date with a TA her freshman year of college. He raped her during the date, and she didn’t tell a single person she was pregnant. After she had the baby and fell in love with that baby, she knew she couldn’t give that baby the life she deserved or look at the baby without thinking of the man who raped her.

She knew she wasn’t in her “right mind” when she left baby Jo at the firestation, but she also knew her “right mind” had been taken the night she had been raped, and she would never be the same again.

Jo calmly convinced her ER patient, named Abby, to allow them to do a rape kit ahead of the surgery she needed, mostly by sharing the story of how her ex-husband abused her and how terrified she was of saying anything.

As Abby almost refused to leave her exam room to get to the OR because of her fear of the faces of the men in the hospital, Jo had all the men banned from hallway and had all of the women stand together as she was wheeled into surgery.

Despite how goddamn strong Jo was able to be for Abby, and how she convinced her to report the rape and call her husband, she refused to talk to Alex or clue him into what was going on at all. She told him to go drink with Meredith because all she wanted to do was go home alone and sleep and not talk about it, and the promo for the next episode shows her opening up to Link instead.

In happier news, next week is also the return of Abigail Spencer as Megan, who’s thrilled to discover her brother’s having a baby with Teddy, no matter how much of an awkward mess that whole situation is.

Grey’s Anatomy airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC. Stay tuned tomorrow to hear from Camilla Luddington, who will also appear on E!’s Daily Pop at Noon E.T. (https://www.eonline.com/ news/1027874/grey-s-anatomy-reveals-jo-sfamily-history-in-heartbreaking-andbeautiful-episode)

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Mosquitoes Sniff Out Human Sweat To Find Us Mosquitoes searching for a meal of blood use a variety of clues to track down humans, including our body heat and the carbon dioxide in our breath. Now, research shows that a certain olfactory receptor in their antennae also serves as a detector of humans, responding to smelly chemicals in our sweat.

Targeting this receptor might offer a new way to foil blood-seeking mosquitoes and prevent the transmission of diseases including malaria, Zika virus and dengue, according to the study published Thursday in the journal Current Biology.

“We found a receptor for human sweat, and we found that acidic volatiles that come off of us are really key for mosquitoes to find us,” says Matthew DeGennaro, a neurogeneticist at Florida International University in Miami.

“I think what’s exciting about it is that finally we have evidence that there is some sort of pathway, in the sense of smell, that is required for mosquitoes to like us,”

says Lindy McBride, a scientist at Princeton University who studies mosquito behavior and was not part of the research team.

It’s long been known that mosquitoes rely on multiple clues to target humans. First, a mosquito will sense exhaled carbon dioxide from a distance that can be more than 30 feet. “After the carbon dioxide,” DeGennaro explains, “then it begins to sense human odor.”

The mosquito follows this odor and, when it gets very close, starts to detect body heat. Once mosquitoes land on you, “they actually can taste your skin with their legs and then they look for a place to bite,” DeGennaro says.

He and his colleagues genetically altered mosquitoes to block the activity of a specific olfactory receptor called Ir8a. The result was that female mosquitoes — which are the ones that suck blood — were no longer attracted to lactic acid, an important component of human sweat.

What’s more, the team did a variety of lab tests to see if

disrupting this receptor would make mosquitoes less responsive to humans. T he scientists asked people to put their hands into a device called an “olfactometer” that let mosquitoes smell them from a distance.

Captive mosquitoes could fly through the device to get close, but not close enough to bite. Tests showed that genetically altering mosquitoes to disable this olfactory receptor made the pests significantly less likely to fly toward the humans’ skin.

And to show that it was a response to smell that was being affected, the researchers also had people in the study wear nylon sleeves for about 12 hours to collect sweat. Then they put these sleeves into the olfactometer. Again, mutant mosquitoes were much less attracted to the scent than normal mosquitoes were.

Now, it might seem obvious that crippling mosquitoes’ olfactory system would make it difficult for them to smell people. “But the

Keto diet: New study unearths sex differences

In recent years, the ketogenic diet has become increasingly popular with people who want to lose weight quickly. A new study asks whether this dietary pattern works as well in females as it does in males.

Experts originally designed the ketogenic diet, which people often refer to as the keto diet, as a treatment for epilepsy. Today, people more commonly use it to increase weight loss or to help control their type 2 diabetes.

The keto diet allows a liberal consumption of fats and an adequate amount of protein but heavily reduces the intake of carbohydrates, such as starch, sugar, and fiber. Usually, the body burns carbohydrates as its primary source of energy. However, if there are none available, it switches to burning stored fats.

As part of this process, which is called ketosis, the liver turns fatty acids into molecules called ketone bodies.

KETO SEX DIFFERENCES Although there is evidence that the keto diet might offer some benefits for certain people, there is much debate surrounding this diet and its long-term effects.

A recent study brings into question whether the keto diet provides the same benefits for females as it does for males. A new study using mouse models focused on sex differences in relation to the keto diet.

The researchers, who are from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, presented their findings at the ENDO 2019 conference in New Orleans, LA. Senior investigator Dr. E. Dale Abel, Ph.D., chair of the University of Iowa Department of Internal Medicine explains the issue: “Most studies of the ketogenic diet for weight loss have taken place in small numbers of patients or in only male mice, so sex-based differences in response to this diet are unclear.”

To investigate, Dr. Abel and research

assistant Jesse Cochran fed male and female mice either a ketogenic diet or a standard diet.

The keto diet comprised 75 percent fat, 3 percent carbohydrates, and 8 percent protein by mass, while the control diet consisted of 7 percent fat, 47 percent carbohydrates, and 19 percent protein.

After 15 weeks, the researchers found that the male mice on the keto diet maintained blood glucose control and lost body weight.

The female mice, however, gained weight.

These female mice also had poorer blood sugar control compared with the female mice that ate a standard diet. According to the authors, “[they] developed impaired glucose tolerance.”

The researchers believe that this stark difference might be due, at least in part, to the primary female sex hormone — estrogen. To investigate, they removed the ovaries of some of the female mice and ran a similar experiment.

Doing this changed the results substantially.

Compared with mice that received a control diet, female mice without ovaries that consumed a keto diet showed a decrease in body fat, and they also maintained blood glucose control. In other words, without estrogen, the keto diet worked.

Cochran explains, “This finding suggests that postmenopausal women could potentially experience better weight loss outcomes with the ketogenic diet compared to younger women.”

However, the researchers make it clear that it is important to speak with a doctor before embarking on the keto diet.

This study is one of very few to investigate potential sex differences in the effectiveness of the keto diet. However, the study used an animal model, so scientists will still need to carry out investigations in humans before we can reach any solid conclusions. (https:// www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/ 324792.php)

thing is, mosquitoes smell in a couple of different ways,” McBride says. Previous work showed that disabling a different part of the olfactory system “had no effect, and it was a big surprise,” she notes. “So it’s really exciting to see that this other type of smelling is actually essential.”

“I thought this was a fantastic study,” says Jeff Riffell, a biologist at the University of Washington who studies chemical communication. “It’s an open question about how mosquitoes, No. 1, can locate people to bite. And then, how do they choose which people to bite — what are the mechanisms?”

Riffell says this study shows conclusively that the behavior is mediated by a receptor that allows the mosquitoes to “smell our, you know, kind of funk or body odor. And so they’re able to really demonstrate the importance of this receptor.”

It might be possible, he says, to create “a perfume or a chemical that prevents that receptor from operating. So you can imagine it being like a perfume or something you sprayed on, and mosquitoes can no longer kind of detect our sweat.”

Laura Duvall of The Rockefeller University in New York, who studies hostseeking behavior in mosquitoes, says this research might also help explain how mosquitoes distinguish between humans and other animals.

“Mosquitoes are so good

at finding us because they’re paying attention to many different components of human odor — including the acidic volatiles that we produce,” she notes.

Disrupting any one single pathway isn’t likely to prevent mosquitoes from biting us, Duvall says. But understanding all the signals that the insects use could help “make better human mimics, which could be used to lure mosquitoes into a trap — and away from humans.”

Larry Zwiebel, a biologist who studies insect olfaction and behavior at Vanderbilt University, says evolution has created a sensory system for mosquitoes that has lots of parts that overlap and interact to produce the most efficient human-seeking machine.

He says some of the lab tests in this study, for example, made it clear that carbon dioxide was necessary for sensitizing mosquitoes to lactic acid in human sweat.

“So it shows that in order for this process to really work effectively, and at its highest level, the mosquito wants to sense carbon dioxide, and that information makes the

lactic acid information more valuable to the mosquito — more usable,” Zwiebel says.

“The mosquito is looking for what is often called a coincidence detector,” he says. “It’s not just one signal, but many signals — all of which, when they coincide, provide the strongest degree of impulse to drive this behavior.”

Finding ways to overstimulate parts of the mosquito’s human-detection system, Zwiebel says, might help scientists create a particularly powerful repellent. For the mosquito, he says, the effect would be “like getting on an elevator with someone who has put on way too much cologne.” (https:// w w w. n p r. o r g / s e c t i o n s / health-shots/2019/03/28/ 706838786/how-mosquitoessniff-out-human-sweat-tofind-us)

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The Youth Corps…hope for the future From page 30 self-confidence, selfdiscipline and self-esteem.

Communities need youth more than ever. Local democracy is revitalizing our villages. The development of these communities requires resourceful young people to propel agriculture, businesses, services and industries.

Equal opportunities must be provided for our young people by giving them the opportunity to be educated, especially in scientific and technological fields in addition to the traditional arts.

The country needs youths to be educated as agriculturalists, biologists, botanists and zoologists to help expand food production; as engineers to build aerodromes, bridges and highways and to help to develop bio-mass, hydro-, solar and wind sources of energy; as geologists to develop our bauxite, gold, manganese and quarrying resources and as entrepreneurs to be engaged in business, manufacturing, shipbuilding and other industrial pursuits.

The Youth Corps training courses will emphasise technical proficiency and practical skills most useful both to the students and their communities.

EMPOWERMENT Empowerment is the third pillar on which the Corps will be built. The Corps will encourage its students to play a greater role in decisionmaking. The reintroduction of local government elections evinced a surge in youth involvement in local democracy.

Young candidates contested and campaigned in local

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Kaieteur News

government elections in 2016 and 2018.

The United Nations World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 stated: …the capacity for progress of our societies is based, among other elements, on the capacity to incorporate the contribution and responsibility of youth in the building and designing of the future. In addition to their intellectual contribution and their ability to mobilise support, they bring unique perspectives that need to be taken into account.

Young professionals and entrepreneurs are being consulted in the fashioning of our annual Budgets. Young people’s opinions and interests are taken into consideration in the development of Government policies.

The Corps will expose students to programmes already started and supported by your Government. These are aimed to providing young people with the skills, mentorship and entrepreneurial training and seed capital for income generation, including selfemployment. These projects complement the technical vocational instruction training initiatives taking place across the country and include: - Sustainable Livelihoods and Entrepreneurial Development (SLED); - Hinterland Employment and Youth Service (HEYS); and the - Youth Innovation Project of Guyana (YIPoG).

The Corps will help to augment recreational and sports facilities and playgrounds across the country and support the arts,

cultural and sporting activities which are catalysing the creativity and rich talents of our young people.

EMPLOYMENT Employment is the Corps’ cornerstone. Young people, despite governmental initiatives, still face challenges, the greatest of which is unemployment.

Unemployment erodes the potential of our young people.

Youth unemployment averaged more than 20 per cent between 2007 and 2017, according to the International Labour Organization. Youth unemployment, as at December 2017, stood at 22.9 per cent. One in every three young persons, between the ages of 15 and 24, is not in education, employment or in training (NEET). This is an unacceptable situation.

School-leavers with poor literacy and numeracy skills are at a disadvantage. They will be ill-equipped to be integrated into an increasingly knowledgebased workforce.

The National Employment Report Guyana, published by the International Labour Organization, observed that young people suffer most owing to the fact that schoolleavers are inexperienced and have a long wait before they find their first job.

The Corps will provide the re-training needed to improve the ‘marketability’ of those school graduates who do not leave school with satisfactory qualifications and to make easier the transition between school and the workforce.

Employment, so essential to human development: - increases incomes which

generate sustainable livelihoods and helps people to escape from the clutches of poverty; - improves everyone’s standard of living and quality of life thereby enhancing their well-being.

Youth unemployment has led to a haemorrhaging of precious human resources.

Young people, unable to find employment, are inclined to migrate in search of more satisfying economic opportunities.

Youth unemployment incurs social and personal costs and, also, is associated with anti-social behaviour, crime, gender inequality, poverty and social exclusion.

It affects personal health and nutrition and self-esteem and contributes to domestic instability.

The Corps will help to reverse the adverse economic, human and social effects of youth unemployment.

Patchwork responses to youth unemployment cannot provide satisfactory employment for the more than 12,500 secondary school students who leave school each year.

An initiative to strengthen the pillars of youth education, equality, empowerment and employment is urgent and imperative.

YOUTH CORPS The principal motivating factors for the establishment of the Guyana Youth Corps are the promotion of education, the reduction of inequality and unemployment and the expansion of employment opportunities for our young people.

The Youth Corps is an initiative and institution aimed at ensuring that our young people are equipped with the knowledge, skills and

attitudes to become productive citizens and at providing for themselves and their families while enhancing national and community development.

The Guyana Youth Corps was inaugurated on the 1st January 1968 by the Government of the day. It was based on the report of Robert.

F Landor, a United Nations consultant who was commissioned to examine the problem of poverty and vocational education in the mid-1960s in the aftermath of communal violence of the immediate pre-Independence period.

Landor’s report – entitled “Problems of unemployed youth: youth corps” – proposed the establishment of a youth corps to help reverse the high rate of youth unemployment which prevailed at that time.

The idea of a youth corps to promote education for employment, therefore, is more than fifty years old. It has been tried and tested.

During the first seven years of the original Guyana Youth Corps’ existence from 1968 to 1975, 1,200 young persons were trained mainly in agricultural and industrial skills.

The new Corps that is being established now because of its value to youth development will: - equip young people with the skills – including the agricultural and industrial skills – necessary for economic modernization and diversification and for them to become productive citizens; - ensure a smooth transition from school to the workplace and develop a cadre of skilled young persons who can contribute to the development of their communities; enable higher

educational attainment for school-leavers by placing greater emphasis on academic and practical knowledge and on-the- job training.

The Corps is designed for young people who are no longer in the formal public education system. It is a voluntary not compulsory, centralized institution open to school graduates and other youth interested in enhancing their knowledge, skills and attitudes.

Kuru-Kuru will become a residential campus in which young people could receive training. It is not a branch of military service.

The Corps reflects Government’s emphasis on consolidating its youth initiatives in order to have a stronger focus on employment and job creation.

The Corps, in this regard, is expected to standardise instruction in other disparate programmes such as the Youth Entrepreneurial Skills Training (YEST) scheme and the Hinterland Entrepreneurship Youth Service (HEYS) to enable graduates to achieve a uniform and universally accepted standard of training.

The Corps demonstrates Government’s commitment to young people’s livelihood.

We recognize their worth and we are ensuring that young people will be provided with the opportunities to be the best that they can be.

Young people are the nation’s future. It cannot be otherwise. Young people, through the Guyana Youth Corps can now emerge from the shadows of despondency. Determination will replace desperation. They can look forward to a bright future and aim at enjoying a good life in the land of their birth.

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25 years for Kaieteur...

From page 44 island.

ARRESTED AGAIN We did not get reply.

What I got instead was a visit from the same immigration officer who arrested me the first time at the workplace.

My employer, a former policeman, cried and hugged me. I was handcuffed, taken to the police station, and placed in the lockups.

This time I was prepared to chuck it all in.

The government, however, had other plans.

The police were ordered to charge me for breaching immigration laws.

In Sint Maarten, you are rarely allowed to be on bail.

You stay in jail until your case is determined. The cell had about 20 persons, with one concrete bed. There were Guyanese, Jamaicans and others sleeping on the floor.

A number of them were there for months without a trial.

The toilet was a hole in the floor and shower in the same area. For 16 days, I was in there. My wife was pregnant at the time. The newspapers were reporting the case. I was growing a beard.

The case was heard by two judges. There were questions about my arrest, and the prosecutor said it was the law…I had to be offisland while the documents were being processed.

It was all slow motion for me. The days were blurred.

The judges agreed and then asked me a strange question.

“Were you testing the system Mr. Gildarie? This is indeed a strange and disturbing case.”

The case was dismissed and I was told to buy my ticket and leave Sint Maarten and apply from Guyana.

Having a pregnant wife meant nothing to the police or the court. I was delighted.

I wanted out of that hell-hole.

I hugged my pregnant wife and mom and was placed in the back of a police SUV with a bag.

In the vehicle, the same

immigration officer, whom I now figure to be a bouncer for the politicians, turned to me and asked whether I believed I could have “f&@ked” with system and gotten away with it. I stayed silent. We were alone in the vehicle.

At the airport, my little son, 6, was waiting. He cried.

He knew I was leaving.

I came back to Guyana expecting the worst.

However, there was no immigration waiting for me.

I was called by Stabroek News. I gave an interview and said that my lawyers are looking at the case.

A few months later, I received a call from Sint Maarten. It was an opposition leader. He wanted to know if I would return. He said that it was all a conspiracy to shut the newspaper up.

The government changed and I was again offered. I refused. Within weeks, it became news.

The Dutch government had launched an investigation into what they said was a huge work permit racket involving top law officials. They had been watching my case. A quiet investigation was launched.

The Commissioner of Police, Chief Immigration Officer, the Commissioner of Labour and others were arrested in a sweep. There were jail sentences and seizure of assets. I refused the politician's offer to go back and live and to testify. I had lost faith.

My second son was born in Sint Maarten a few months after I was sent back. My wife and him came back.

In 2007, Glenn Lall wanted to know what the hell I was doing at home. I was running an internet café from home. He insisted I come in.

SACRIFICES I went to a quiet newsroom at Kaieteur News.

A year earlier, five pressmen had been executed while doing their job at the Eccles

location. Glenn Lall insisted that the newspaper do its job.

My competitive spirit was awoken. Glenn Lall is not a man who took no for an answer and I was bored.

My troubles with Kaieteur News have been many. I did not care about the salary. I was doing what I loved. I was there when two Lexus that the Lalls were using were seized.

I was arrested at my home in Diamond when a carload of police came for me to question me about an infamous phone call with an attorney general.

We were investigating BaiShanLin, and Glenn Lall hired a helicopter for several days flying to Berbice and Region One. He would call and say 'get to Ogle Airport in 30 minutes'.

Many, many times I stood and stories were raised about his friends and family.

He would bow his head and sigh and say carry it.

This is probably the longest I have written for a Sunday piece for a while. It is 01:57hrs now on Saturday.

What can I say about Kaieteur News? We have been accused by both sides the Government and the Opposition - of backing the other. I am being asked constantly too. The answer is simple. I am really not sure.

Today, it is the PPP, tomorrow it is the Coalition Government. Today, it is ExxonMobil, tomorrow it is Guyana Goldfields.

We have been handed a task - a mandate where choices are hard and true friends are few. It all comes with the territory. We watched when columnist Freddie Kissoon had stuff thrown on him as a warning.

We were accused even of being anti-investment.

As Kaieteur News celebrates 25 years, it has not been an easy time. Our country is at the crossroads.

We are about to produce oil.

Glenn was a man who slept in Stabroek Market, bathing, eating there, battling his way in the streets, to rise to own the biggest newspaper. Is that what the Guyana dream is all about?

I really don't know how long more I may be in the business. I do know that one little weekly newspaper that reported on some sweet stories has risen to become part of the history of this country. It would be hard to argue that it has not helped to shape this nation.

There is a lesson for us here. We each have a little role to play, however, little it is.

Sunday March 31, 2019

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Artist, lecturer and conservator,

Philbert Gajadhar...

Anthony. Gajadhar was later Indians to Guyana.

From page 22 The Indian Arrival p r o d u c e e t h n i c a l l y - appointed chairperson of the influenced pieces, inspired Visual Arts Committee at the Monument project was by life on the estate in the Ministry of Culture, where s p o n s o r e d b y t h e he continued to spearhead Government of Guyana with post-indentureship period. support from the H i s p i e c e s g a i n e d projects.

Dr. Anthony encouraged Government of India. recognition and earned “So, we put our heads places at international the artist to continue to do exhibitions. His work more art projects. He together and entered the touched art lovers in e n g a g e d i n s e v e r a l competition. We created a neighbouring Suriname and community projects, which maquette (a miniature figure Venezuela, and even the saw groups of young people of what the monument will m e d d l i n g i n a r t w o r k , look like) and our design was United States of America.

Together with Professor p a i n t i n g m u r a l s a n d selected as the best from Rogers, Gajadhar showcased his paintings, murals and other pieces at events for the Organisation of American States, twice.

His pieces also captivated spectators at exhibitions at the InterGuiana festival.

“The exhibition included work from artists from Guyana; Dutch Guiana, (Suriname) and French Guiana. That was around the 1990s.”

Gajadhar would venture into more exhibitions through collaborations with his fellow artists.

He later teamed up Paintings depicting traditional dance styles of Kathak with premier Guyanese artist and ethnic painter, Bernadette Persaud. Persaud One of the paintings to hang also paints ethnicallyon the wall of the Cheddi inspired pieces.

Jagan International Airport As he continued to produce ethnically-inspired work, Gajadhar travelled abroad for work. He took a teaching job in Botswana where he was able to experience the conditions of the African people.

“I had always wanted to visit Africa, so I jumped at the opportunity to travel to Botswana.”

In 2006, Gajadhar put on another major exhibition inspired by his Botswana experience.

He fell in love with Africa and returned a few years later. This time, his journey took him to Zambia, b e a u t i f y i n g t h e i r amongst the entries.”

(Southern Africa).

He delved into art, which recreational spaces.

THE MONUMENT “ We w o r k e d w i t h showed the correlation The design of the between African and Indian children from orphanages and others. They painted a monument to commemorate cultures.

According to him, “In number of public spaces the arrival of the first East 2012, I did some research in including the seawalls in Indian immigrants installed at Palmyra, Corentyne Zambia. While in Zambia, I Georgetown,” he added.

His efforts earned him shows six figures in a was able to observe the Bemba tribe and see the the Medal of Service---a forward thrust.

According to Gajadhar, it similarities between the National Award from the describes the lives of African tribe and practices of Government of Guyana.

Gajadhar continued to ordinary Indian people in Indian Hindu culture.”

Still, the Guyanese artist, join forces with local artists their routine of everyday life lecturer and conservator to put on shows at Castellani w i t h e a c h c a r r y i n g stayed connected with his House and the National something of importance their “jahajibhandal” (ship country and did voluntary Museum.

In 2015, the artist bundle) loaded with food, work for the Ministry of partnered with sculptor, spices, herbs, clothing, Culture.

His work soon caught the Winslow Craig, to develop a jewellery, their gods etc., attention of the then Minister design to commemorate the religious texts, drum, of Culture, Dr. Frank anniversary of the arrival of karaahi, tawa, grass knife

Philbert Gajadhar and his immediate family

(scythe), cutlass and rice plants.

He said, “The figures are p r e s e n t e d i n a straightforward realism with the human factor ever present. They are being led

by Ram and Khan, the first two Indian Indentures to set foot in Guyana.”

He continued, “The rhythms of the figures are parallel and give a sense of quickening motion which conveys strong emotion.

One is keenly aware of life going on behind the facades of garments, jewellery, and gestures – life in all its loneliness, ugliness, affection and nobility.

Within the form, there is a

feeling of quiet intensity and psychological constraint.”

He explained that the subject is brought into close intimacy with the surface plane and consequently with the viewer.

“The melancholy heads, isolated in almost anonymous surroundings, reflect the introspection of the figures and celebrate a sympathetic bond of deep feeling among them,” Gajadhar added.

He said the visual record touches upon our national and ancestral interests.

“The sculpture contains some of the visual symbols associated with conditions that often beset man and

presents to us a segment of reality, which ties our own lives to history that is reflected in the immediate drama of contemporary living.”

CURRENT PROJECT At present, the artist resides in Palm Bay, Florida, USA, with his family. He has been working on a project to beautify to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.

Gajadhar, who prides himself in his work, is pleased to be associated with the venture. He revels in the fact that his work is admired by visitors from around the world, who touch these shores.

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Sunday March 31, 2019

End to Self-Scheduled InfoPass Appointment Scheduling Only with Pre-Authorization

By Attorney Gail S. Seeram

T

h e n e w Information S e r v i c e s Modernization Program is replacing the current selfscheduled InfoPass appointment system that allows anyone to make an appointment on-line or at their local USCIS office to speak to an immigration officer regarding their pending case, get

immigration resources or get answers to immigration questions.

The new program is supposed to improves the timeliness of information and emergency services.

Additionally, the new program should improve information efficiency for all classes of immigration applicants.

Effective March 4, 2019, the new Information Services Modernization Program was rolled out to

the Tampa and Orlando Field Offices.

This means that in order to get information in-person, you first have to call 1-800375-5283 and after speaking to an agent then you may or may not meet the guidelines to get “pre-authorized” for an appointment at your local immigration office to speak to an officer in-person.

Based on internal surveys, USCIS found that many users of the InfoPass self-scheduled appointment

program could have saved time by calling the USCIS Contact Center or checking the USCIS website. In the long term, the new modernization efforts will help applicants save time by limiting the hassle of scheduling an in-person appointment.

USCIS additionally hopes that by limiting inperson appointments, the service can better allocate resources and staff towards processing and adjudicating

applications.

For those who require inperson assistance, USCIS states that applicants will still maintain the right to schedule an appointment, and can receive assistance to do so through the new modernized information service program.

The new Information Services Modernization Program is basically replacing in-person customer support with over the phone assistance that involves long hold times on the phone and generic scripted answers to applicants.

Instead of customer support modernization, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is going back to an antiquated system of navigating telephone prompts before speaking to a live person who has no background on immigration

Gail S. Seeram law and reads from a computer screen telling you your “case is pending” or “go to our website for more information”.

Attorney Gail Seeram, LL.M., J.D., BBA call | text | whatsApp 407-292-7730 e m a i l : Gail@GailLaw.com l i v e c h a t : www.GailLaw.com Download FREE App: Gail Law Copyright © Law Offices of Gail S. Seeram, 2019. All Rights Reserved.

Sunday March 31, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Sunday March 31, 2019

New Nigel's Supermarket opens doors The New Nigel's Supermarket opened its doors on Friday evening

T

he New Nigel's Supermarket opened its doors on Friday evening, promising to satisfy the shopping needs of the Guyanese public at affordable prices.

The supermarket, which has been around for more than 15 years is reopening under new management and ownership of businessman, Otillo Perierra.

During the launch of venture, Perreira said that his vision for the New Nigel's Supermarket is to enhance the shopping experience for locals.

He noted that newly refurbished edifice is complete with spacious aisles and a variety of perfect priced merchandise.

Perreira told members of the press that he had always a vision for this type of business.

To that end, Perreira believes that the New Nigel's Supermarket will be sustained despite the competition.

“I am not here for just about the competition because if you give the people what they want, the people will find you wherever you are. My vision in keeping the market is to keep the people.”

“We will supply good customer service (and) we will find out what the people want…if it's with good price, if it's with good quality, if it's based on

relationship,” he posited.

The businessman noted that there will be a special cashier to attend to customers who hold VIP cards; loyalty cards are also obtainable which gains points for the customer every time they shop in the store.

He assured that the supermarket had done a survey to check on their competitors' prices. This guarantees that the New Nigel's Supermarket is the best place to shop all year round.

Perriera noted, too, that previous owner, Nigel Johnson, had expressed the same faith in him when he entrusted him to continue the legacy of the supermarket.

In fact, Perreira said that Johnson told him he believes that he has what it takes to expand the business.

The supermarket was forced to close its doors after it encountered some challenges, a few years ago.

The edifice located at the corner of Light and Robb Streets, Lacytown has been undergoing rehabilitation works since January.

U n d e r n e w management, New Nigel's Supermarket will have some 60 employees and offer a comfortable shopping experience.

Perreira said there are a number of cashiers are available at once to ensure the lines are kept short.

Sunday March 31, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Sunday March 31, 2019

Taxi driver runs down wife with car, then butchers her From page 20 that her daughter married the suspect in January 2018 and lived with him in Port Mourant. However, they shared a turbulent and toxic relationship although they shared a seven-month-old child together.

According to the grieving mother, she was informed on many occasions by persons living nearby the couple that her daughter was being abused. Her daughter left her matrimonial home two weeks ago and had vowed to not return.

"She use to tell me lies but people always call me and tell me that he does abuse her. She catch he with a sweet woman when she bin pregnant last year and he bin put her out but she never admit to it.

Only two Sundays ago, she come way and she seh how she na go back with Gavin but last week he come and he carry she probation officer and he beg she fuh go back.

She tell he she na go back," Jinkoo said.

She added that when they left the probation officer, he threatened her with a metal bar in the car after she refused to return home with him.

The woman said that they immediately filed a report at the Whim Police Station. A restraining order was granted and ordered that the suspect stay more than 100 feet of the victim. He was scheduled to make a court appearance tomorrow.

The victim's mother

Eyewitness: Subhnauth Dickram disclosed that while her daughter lived with the suspect over the year, he sold all her jewellery, did not provide meals for her daughter and grandchild, cheated, abused her physically and mentally and as such, her daughter could not take it anymore.

She was left with the only option to leave and return to her mother's house.

Kaieteur News understands that suspect was previously married and was described as a quiet man by many who knew him but had recently threatened to burn down the house of his mother-in-law with everyone inside. This was confirmed by Jinkoo.

She noted that if her daughter had spoken about her problems from early on in the relationship, "she woulda still been alive today.

Me woulda send she way or something so she go be safe".

The area where the woman was killed.

Sunday March 31, 2019

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Lichfield Village - An almost serene location, where residents exist in humble contentment

Villagers are pleased that the RDC has finally begun repair works on the Lichfield Access Dam. It was such a luxury to lay back in the seat of the minibus as it churned its way around twists and bends in the road, the fresh crisp country breeze hitting my cheeks, and drawing tears from my eyes with its intensity.

With eyes half closed and with a contented smile, I mused in my fancy as lush, green fields glided by on both sides. As I gulped in the unpolluted air, for some strange reason, I remained glued to the sight of healthy-looking cattle munching heartily on mouthfuls of grass and shrubs, some even wading shoulder deep in roadside trenches, ensuring they had their fill of juicy water weeds, shrubs and tender plant species.

I was on my way to Lichfield Village located in Mahaica-Berbice, in Guyana, about 41 miles (or 66 km) south-east of the capital city of Georgetown. Lichfield is sandwiched between the slightly larger villages of Cottage to the south, and Belle Vue to the north.

As the journey continued, I was jerked out of my musing by the sight of bare back young men, their bodies glistening in the sun as they stood by the roadside trenches, just waiting for a fish to somersault, indicating its location; a perfect chance for them to swing cass-nets, most times hauling in patwah, hurri, or sunfish, their scales glinting as they struggled for their freedom.

Fattened dogs yelped in seeming delight at each catch, and if not watched carefully will pounce on any fish trying to escape back to water, running off in the bushes to enjoy the meal.

History Shedding some light on the history of this quiet little village was centenarian, and oldest resident there, Layne Lewis, who incidentally was celebrating his 103rd birth on the day I visited.

He told me that 12 former slaves purchased the land in 1840. The land was said to be initially used for the cultivation of many crops including coffee, cotton and tobacco. With returns from the crops, villagers built schools, railway stations, churches, etc.

He explained that villagers are independent and contented.

“Persons visiting can never understand how we live so simple. But we are independent people, and we exist in peace and comfort.

We are contented to plant our rice, vegetables and grow our own stuff in our kitchen garden.

We rear poultry and cattle to co-exist and we are quite okay with what we are doing.

“Outsiders can never seem to understand how we are such a peaceful people. But our parents all came from humble beginnings, and they taught us to make the best of life and to be always contented.”

Lewis explained that it was the custom for villagers to open small groceries and snackettes. Others are employed in the city and outlying locations as teachers, nurses, dentists and clerks.

With not much scope for various forms of

employment, the younger males would normally take up positions in the gold mines, while some are into the construction business.

Lewis who claimed that he was a vibrant cricketer, noted that though he was popular, he was not as celebrated as sports enthusiasts, Ian Archibald and Grewon Grant.

He spoke briefly also of what he called ‘important people’ Wolsey Semple who was a renowned engineer in Washington, DC in the USA. Semple was the founder of the very popular Semple Family Reunion, which is held in the village every two years.

This village is also known for producing quite a few talented doctors, among them Dr. Edward Belle, a/ka Nedd, who was a professor of medicine at Mc Masters University in Canada.

The origin of the village The history books and other sources report that immediately after Emancipation, the European planters and the colonial government took a decision not to sell land to the freed Africans.

The general aim was to ensure Africans continued to be a source of labour on the plantations.

But economic circumstances forced the planters to soon change their position. Many cotton plantations, in particular, became unprofitable by 1838, because Britain began to purchase cheaper cotton from the United States, where there were very large cotton plantations, which used African slave labour.

The smaller cotton plantations in Guyana could not survive in such a situation, and some of them were abandoned. The owner of Plantation Northbrook, a cotton plantation on the East Coast Demerara, decided to sell it to a group of 83 Africans for 30,000 guilders, equivalent to 2,000 British pounds or $10,000.

Those Africans, like many others, had saved money that they had earned over time from work done during the years of apprenticeship, between the abolition of slavery in 1834 and the time when indentureship began in 1838.

They were mainly headmen and mechanics from Grove, Paradise, Hope and Enmore; and since much of the money they had saved was in the form of coins, they had to transport the payment in wheelbarrows to the seller.

Shortly after, Queen Victoria agreed to a request from the new owners to rename the plantation Victoria, in her honour.

By 1839, Africans had purchased Plantations Lichfield, Golden Grove, St. John and Providence in West Berbice. Lichfield was bought by one person, Cudjoe Mc Pherson, for $3,000; and he later divided the plantation into 12 sections, which he sold to other Africans for a profit.

By this time, the planters had realised that many Africans had accumulated much savings, so they immediately raised land prices.

The moving away of Africans from the

estates placed added pressure on sugar production, and the planters used devious means to force them to return to work there.

One of these means was to let loose water from the estate canals to flood the nearby African villages.

The planters, no doubt, felt that if the Africans’ farms were damaged; they would return to the estates to work.

The Lichfield Primary School was once controlled by the Anglicans before it became Government own and controlled. There are a few other churches in the village, as well as a health centre and a library, which was established in April 2004.

These facts are documented and were quoted extensively.

Real tasty countryside snacks I was hungry by the time I arrived, and my stomach was grumbling like a volcano readying for eruption. It was then that I caught sight of Annette Hemerding’s roadside snackette and was quite taken back by its bright, almost neon blue colour.

“De sight ah dem mouth watering fried rice, cook-up rice, chowmein and baked chicken, really set my stomach on fire. There was food in galore; you name it and she had it to give to you.

I looked longingly at the boiled and fried channa, egg balls, pholourie, the black and white pudding.

Finally, I settled for a box of chowmein and pot roasted chicken, and I washed it down with some ice-cold country brewed mauby.

Annette’s daughter was very polite and smiling, but almost sprinted a mile when I attempted to take her picture. I asked her why she was so camera shy and her response had me doubling over with laughter.

“Mista, nat me; me nah able mek paper.

Me nah pretty and me nah want dem city people fuh seh, but ah wha she ah do in paper?

She nah even ready. Not me mista. Yuh can tek out de snackette, but left me out ah it entirely.”

The little snackette has been the centre of attraction in the village for over 15 years now according to villagers.

Chatting with the residents As I was trudging down a dusty dam to take some photos, villager Tyron Nicholson, suddenly appeared out of nowhere with a set of fierce looking dogs in tow. My childhood fright of dogs bubbled over, and I just froze there with my heart in my hands.

He was laughing and greeting me in merriment, but all I could think about was the moment when one of these animals will sink its teeth into a leg or ankle.

They sniffed me up and down and I must have died for a moment until Nicholson rescued my by shushing the dogs, with peals Continued on page 66

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Kaieteur News

Sunday March 31, 2019

Lichfield Village - An almost serene location...

The almost abandoned Young Women Christian Association building.

From page 65 of laughter at my terror.

“Oh gosh budday,” he bellowed between first of laughter, you look like you about to die man. Dem dogs friendly; dem sniffing yuh because dem making friends. Relax maan, Yuh good. Relax budday.”

Nicholson directed me to my resource persons around the village, and Jaylon Benjamin, a rice and vegetable farmer was equally helpful. He informed of the way of living of villagers and how they would rise to the occasion in case of prolonged dry spells.

“Boss (our) way of living here is basically by planting rice, ground provision, and vegetables in the back dam. But just like it happening now, we does get some serious dry

season, which does really mess up things.

“When this happens, it does become really hard on the crops, and we would have to go to the extremes to get water to our crops.

Those who can afford it can pump water from the canal, but if yuh ain’t get it like that, you got to fetch it in buckets from sometimes far distances.

Nevertheless, we accustomed to this so it become like nothing these days. We just mek do and improvise…”

Benjamin cultivates rice, and vegetables, which he sells around the village. Sometimes, he takes it to the Mahaicony Market Square, over 15 miles. Marliyn Lindo spoke of the lack of entertainment in the village. She made comparisons with the Lichfield of old.

“Lichfield is a quiet and nice village, but what is lacking these days is the entertainment for which the village was once famous. We used to promote the biggest Maypole Fairs and concerns, and things like that. But many persons have migrated taking with them their skills and talents, and no one has really bothered to take up the mantle.

“Yes we do the May Fair still, but there are really no village concerts like we used to have before. Old time stories are not told much in the homes now, and we can’t tell when last villagers lit any big bonfire and sit around it like we used to many years ago, especially at Emancipation.

“Persons have grown more modernized, and because many have relocated, our culture has dwindled somewhat. We need a reviving of our cultural roots in this village.

“Even our famous Young Women’s Association Building is not open like before and this was the centre that brought out most of the hidden talents of our young women.”

The Young Christian Women Association building was the centre where young girls learnt the trade of dressmaking, bottled seasonings and peppers, art and craft and much more.

Their handiwork was once a topic of discussion in many villages. No one seemed to be able to shed light on the cause of such turn of events. The resource person was said to be out of the village at the time of my visit.

YWCA’s programmes are actually an IDCE/ Ministry of Agriculture initiative geared at providing opportunities in the areas of catering, tailoring, floral decoration practices, making of pepper sauce and kitchen seasonings, achar and other items.

This institution was formed in 2003, according to residents, to mold young Christian women, create employment for them, and to inculcate in them better values and morals.

What began as a simple bottom house venture for group members became a more established venture through efforts of the European Union (EU) in 2005, and a stately concrete building was built to accommodate the members, increased over time.

Their products were marketed at entities all around Guyana. They are assisted in their efforts by the REID’S Organisation, which is being financed by the Ministry of Agriculture, according villagers.

Lichfield also has a well-established library, and this is used widely by youths in the village for leisure time reading and for assignment research.

Social Issues Most locations around Guyana are today heating up with the topic of the ‘No Confidence Motion’ and of course, villagers countrywide all have their opinions on the subject.

Surprisingly, this was not the hot topic in Lichfield Village. Villagers seemed more concerned with tending to their kitchen garden, and attending to their small food stalls to rake in much needed dollars.

Stephanie Clarke, with a carefree toss of her shoulder length braids said, “I don’t why these people making such a big fuss about this No Confidence issue. I ain’t get the time to be tearing up myself about that at all, because I got to live, I have to eat and survive.

“Despite whichever Government is ruling,

I still have to work and my husband still has to work feed our family. I am in support of any Government that has the interest of the Guyanese people at heart, and I am more than ready for a proper Government despite of race or creed.”

Alisha Drennon was a bit more fired up in her take on the No Confidence Issue.

“My opinion is that Government should not spend so much time deliberating on the No Confidence situation as they are doing. If the same time and energy is spent on focusing on issues actually affecting the nation, Guyana will be a better country.

“If the legislation decides that the No Confidence motion is valid, then so let it be, and let the consequences follow.

“I don’t know much about politics, but I am a Guyanese, so I have the right to an opinion, and my views that both political parties should let the decision on the No Confidence Motion be guided by the laws that have been made to determine its outcome, and there should be no undermining of the laws for whatever reasons.”

Richard Sharpe said that a Government should adhere to the laws of the constitution.

“People need to stop getting all worked up over this situation. In our village, the No Confidence Motion is not a big topic of discussion, but from watching the news and reading the newspapers, I can see all Guyana has taken up the mantle and is making this thing much bigger than it is.

“Government is faced with issues every day that requires constructive direction. I am not too sure that the two parties are entirely constructive with their approach. All they may end up doing is putting more wood to the fire to ignite circumstance, which we do not want.

“They need to stop these threats and comments that may infuriate people, or fuel disagreements. Instead, they should work as one body to resolve their disagreement’s in a manner that foster peace and security for the Guyanese people.”

Drainage seems to be okay in Lichfield Village, and villagers are particularly happy that the RDC has begun works on a mud dam used by farmers to access their farms in the backlands.

This dam in the rainy season would become almost impossible to tread on, and as such, villagers were elated that repair works were being carried out.

The sight of men on horses chasing cows down the Lichfield Dam brought a vivid reminder that this was a location where poultry farming and cattle rearing brought in vibrant incomes for many residents.

The main road is in perfect shape, and the canals are well maintained. Lichfield residents enjoy continuous electricity, a constant supply of potable water and they ensure their village is kept clean through self-help initiatives and burning of garbage and refuse.

Many youths have migrated and are working in foreign states, and are sending back large dividends for their relatives. This accounts for the many attractive buildings and a few businesses which are presently still in the making.

With its great hospitality, and arresting atmosphere, Lichfield can be best described as the perfect location for the nature hearted who loves the beauties of life and who also crave tranquility.

Sunday March 31, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 67

Three years’ jail for anyone tied to corruption at GRA “Say no to corruption and bribery and collusion!” Those were the words of the header of a full page advertisement in the daily newspapers by the Guyana Revenue Authority.

Over the years, the tax collection body has been taking a firm stance to wipe out these criminal doings.

According to the ad, anyone found colluding with GRA officials could face up to three years’ imprisonment when prosecuted and found guilty. The ad states, “Thinking of

STANDARDS IN FOCUS

More companies are becoming internationally certified with technical support and training from the GNBS As Guyana prepares for the economic boom from oil and gas, more companies are requesting technical assistance and training from the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS). More of these local companies, across the various sectors are becoming certified to international standards.

So far for 2019, three companies, namely Mines Services Limited, Nand Persaud and Company Limited, and Power Producers and Distribution Incorporated have attained international certification.

GNBS technical support to Mines Services Limited began in mid-2017, and this month, the company attained ISO 9001:2015 certification.

The journey by Mines Services to ISO 9001 certification was initiated by a request from the company to the GNBS for technical assistance.

After an initial meeting in July 2017 between the two parties, the implementation of the quality management system commenced. Included in the process was an awareness session, a gap analysis, training on the requirements of the standard and other activities identified to fulfill the requirements of the standard.

A similar approach was taken by the GNBS to offer support to Nand Persaud and Company Limited and Power Producers and Distribution Incorporated, which were

both certified in the first quarter of this year.

Through technical support from the GNBS, these companies were certified to the ISO 22000:2005 Food Safety Management System Standard and the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System Standard, respectively.

Since 2017, other public and private companies utilised the services of the GNBS towards certification or accreditation to international Standards. These include Caricom Rice Mills Limited (ISO 9001 and ISO 22000), Assuria General (GY) Inc. & Assuria Life (ISO 9001), Guyana Rice Development Board Central Laboratory (ISO/IEC 17025), Government Analyst Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD)(ISO / IEC 17025), Eureka Medical Laboratories Inc. (ISO 15189) and the Dr. Balwant Singh Hospital Medical Laboratory (ISO 15189).

These achievements confirm the ability of local businesses to implement international standards using local expertise. This not only facilitates market access but also improves their operations and ability to satisfy their customers.

Through the GNBS C o n s u l t a n c y / Te c h n i c a l programme, companies in Guyana can enhance their competitiveness through the ISO 9001 (Quality Management System), ISO 22000 (Food Safety Management System), ISO

15189 (Medical Laboratories –Requirements for Quality and Competence Standards), and certification as well as accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025 (Competence of testing and Calibration Laboratories).

GNBS continued efforts to support local business to meet international standards commenced over fifteen years ago with 10 companies.

From those companies, the following received ISO 9001 certification: Art Williams & Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School (AWHWAES), Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO) and Edward Beharry and Company Ltd. (EBBL).

Guyana National Shipping Corporation (GNSC) later received certification to ISO 9001:2008 Standard.

Finally, as a business service provider, the GNBS assures its clients that quality and competency are amalgamated in its operations. Our training and consultancy services are certified under the Guyana National Bureau of Standard ISO 9001:2015 scope of certification, which guarantees commitment to continual improvement of its services. This commitment to quality services is backed by a cadre of trained and competent staff.

For further information, contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 2190065 or 219-0064 or visit the G N B S website:www.gnbsgy.org

bribing or colluding with Guyana Revenue Authority Officers? Think again!”

It was pointed out that in accordance with Sections 221/222 of the Customs Act Chapter 82:01, the Guyana Revenue Authority will institute legal proceedings against all parties and will seek the maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment.

“If you have been asked for a bribe or if you know of someone who has colluded with officers, it is your responsibility to inform Continued on page 68

PAGE 68

SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Graphics design, advertisement, Wedding arch rentals. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535.

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

REPAIRS AT LOW COST: FRIDGES, AIR CONDITIONERS, WASHING MACHINE, FREEZER, SALE OF AC'S. TEL#6294946,225-4822 I N S TA L L AT I O N S , REPAIRS AND PARTS FOR AC, FRIDGE, WASHING MACHINE, STOVE ETC. CALL NICK 627-3206, 630-1600 Eagle’s re-gas AC, Fridge, Washing machine & computer repairs, Gas stove, Plasma flatscreen, Electrical installation & more. Call: 697-2969/646-0966 Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezerCall: 610-5846 or 661-8158 HOUSE PLAN TO DRAW UP OR ESTIMATES? GIVE US A CALL 216-0671, 6928464, 622-0267

FOR SALE German shepherd for sale.

Tel# 655-2342, 629-3372, 2182383 1 250 KVA Onan generator powered by Cummins #2690603/644-1190 1 CAT 215 Excavator, 1 Honda 450 Atv, 2 8-cu yds Mack Mixer Truck, 1 Pneumatic 9 wheeled tryre roller #2750367/683-7225 1 Double Steel Wheel Roller, 1 CAT 428 Back-hoe, CAT 215 Excavator spare parts, 2 Bitumen spray kettle. #2750367/683-7225

EDUCATION Private custom brokerage.

Training course/ AW lecturer with 30 year experience. April 29. Call 694-8322,690-4225.

Reg now & save

VACANCY

WANTED

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

Vacancy for truck/hauler driver to drive both trucks & hauler. Apply Alabama Trading. 65 Robb Street

Experienced - shop worker/ handyman & couple for interior & G/Town. Age 18-40 yrs. Tel: 231-0363 Call between 8:00am - 4:30pm Monday Friday

One business place in Durban St W/Ville available from June 1st. Tel 616-2445 Newly renovated apartment for rent at Peters Hall. #2239677/ 698-5800/ 648-1391 Spacious comfortable flat @ Houston McDoom. Open floor plan. Ideal for office, single/double occupancy.

Call 664-8150/233-0547

1 Cleaner/ domestic. 5 Days per week. $25,000. Contact: 617-5700 Receptionist. 25-50 yrs. 233 South Road Lacytown or call 225-0198 Vacancy for 1 male janitor.

Apply Alabama Trading. 65 Robb Street Industrial Sales Representative, 5 Subject CXC Age 25+ Experience in Sales, must own vehicle, email r e s u m e : vacancy@josarltd.com Vacancy for porter. Apply at Alabama Trading. 65 Robb Street Bourda

One 4 wheel drive canter truck.

Series GPP. Contact 663-0742

One apartment for rent. Lot 10 Mon Repos E.C.D. First street market. Tel: 220-7330, 602-4105

German shepherd pups. 10 weeks old. Fully vaccinated and dewormed. Contact number 619-9203

1 bedroom apartment $25,000 monthly #222-0618/644-2634

DemBake @ Land of Canaan is seeking distributors & experienced drivers & sales agents.

Email CV: admin@demerarabakery.com / 266-5848

One 14" dragger. Scania 6 cylinder engine. 663-0742

475 acres of transported water front land @ Hogg Island, Essequibo River. Suitable for farming, cattle rearing etc.

Contact: 617-4004

Fully furnished self contained bedroom in adult family home.

C/Ville area. Information call 226-8901 7:00am-7:00pm

Boat for sale- 1 Steel hull cargo boat 50’x13’x6' with GM671 marine engine165 HP.Contact#603-1445 1 Bicycle, 10 speed $7000. 1 Lg fridge $45,000. #222-0618/ 644-2634 FOR SALE/RENT Vacant land for rent 58ft x 122ft, Georgetown #661-2828

VEHICLE FOR SALE Foreign used 6x4 sinotruck Howo dump truck & excavators for sale. Tel: 5023408/677-8104 Honda SUV PTT series.

Contact 225-1005, 225-9230, 623-0368 Toyota caldina wagon (PLL) Price - $875,000 negotiable.

Any good offer accepted.

Tel:658-4021

CAR RENTAL DOLLY’S CAR RENTALCALL:225-7126/ 2263 6 9 3 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL @YAHOO.COM/ WWW.D OLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS FROM $4000 & UP, SUV’S PER DAY- CALL:643-5122/6560087, ,EMAIL:PRO_AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM Fabs Rental, Beterverwagting ECD Cars from $4000 #604-0883

Driver for office in Eccles. Age 25 to 45. Call 642-9823 Vacancy for general manager at Dollar Stretch Store. Lot 16 Robb Street. Tel# 654-0141 Vegetarian Gardens: Accountant Clerk. info@vgiworld.com 227-7714/ 223-3448

Mixed blue pit for sale. 9 Weeks old. 698-6796

House and land available at Parfaite, Tuschen, Diamond etc. Contact Pacific Development Inc. 223-6035/ 604-4909

Barrack St Kingston. Call 6018895, 681-8926

FOR RENT

1 Fully furnished 3bedroom.

2 fully furnished 2 bedroom Diamond & Providence. Tel: 216-2299, 672-1906, 682-6238

PROPERTY FOR SALE

House for sale, Eccles Housing Scheme. 7 bedrooms, 3 toilets and bathrooms enclosed. $28.5M. Call 6420391/ 001447587233657. yashardabhola4@gmail.com

Sunday March 31, 2019

Kaieteur News

Allion, primo, spacio, allex, noah, RZ pitbull bus, mazda axela, bluebird, 192 fielder wagon. 650-7501

Hick’s Ville Hotel Receptionist, hotel attendant, washer/ pressure. info@vgiworld.com 231-0951/ 3

Waitress to work in Bar #6614863 One ice machine operator needed. Call 223-7165 Porters. Apply with written application @ Best Buy Food Supplies, Lot 1E Dennis & Middleton Street, Campbellville Skilled carpenters to work in Linden. 602-9469, 660-6385 Land to buy. Parfaite Harmonie, Herstelling, Farm, Eccles, Province, Tuschen, Diamond. Best price and cash. Call 666-2326 Handyman. Tel# 628-9268 Attractive waitress wanted.

Speaking spanish would be an asset. Call# 615-0915 Attractive live in waitressCall: 327-0252/674-4665/6493750 Mechanic and trainee mechanic needed in Kitty. Call 623-0318 One experienced cook needed. Call 223-7165

Vacancy for general manager at Yugs Variety Store. Lot 4 Robb Street. Tel# 654-0141

TO LET

LEARN TO DRIVE N. Outar Driving School, Learn to Drive the right way @ Cuffy Square. Affordable package. Call: 644-5166/6912561 LAND FOR SALE Transported land 11.6 acres.

Lot 15 public road. #2 Village W.C.B. Price $18M. Contact 686-4818, 648-7109

Toyota axio, bed frames, vanity, generator, portable AC, fridge. Owners migrating. Call 611-7106

House lots for sale. 40x80 transported $3,000,000 cash.

200k downpayment. 20k monthly. 233-6997/622-1957 www.jobfairworldwide.com

Parfaite Harmonie $1.4M Schoonard $3M Dairy with foundation & Fence $2M Farm $3M Tel# 656-0701/651-1969

(1)Diesel Mechanic to work in the interior. Interested persons can call cell#6255136 Monday-Friday 8am4pm

Hardworking, physically fit, team player. Perform with minimum supervision, willing to learn. Plant Shop# 648-1821 (8am-5pm)

Nighthawk Black Pearl Honda Accord 2400cc American Automatic for sale $3M Contact #346-818-0822

LAND FOR SALE

Cashier/waitress, night supervisor, assistant cook.

Apply within 172 Sheriff Street or call 225-7933

Parfaite Harmonie transferrable 2.5M, Parfaite Harmonie 1.6M, Farm 3.5M, Herstelling 5.5M, Diamond 11M. 666-2326

Live in waitress to work in a bar. Must have ID. Age 1823yrs old. 221-2785

Business space to rent. No restaurant. Serious enquiries only. 233 South Road 2250198/615-0317 Camp St ground floor for commercial purpose. Enmore mall. Commercial space available. Richard 608-7675, 674-1705, 233-2614 Lodge Apartments (Vlissengen/Durban): Unfurnished studio $40,000, Two bedroom $60,000, Furnished studio (For visitors) US$600 p/m #6779638/668-7687 Three bedroom concrete bottom flat in South Ruimveldt Gardens. $80,000 per month. Call 624-6673 1 Room apartment suitable for singles. 5 Minutes drive from Harbour Bridge. Parking, light and water. 676-6312

Guyana Goldfields received US$50M in tax...

From page 9 went for tax exemptions for Stracon, a Peruvian company that was hired to assist Guyana Goldfields to move into underground mining.

However, according to officials, there may be a breach of the arrangements that Guyana has with Guyana Goldfields. “ We h a v e s i g n e d agreements with Guyana Goldfields, not Stracon, therefore it cannot follow that you would extend concessions also to a contractor that is coming to Guyana. Something is wrong here!

Could Guyanese companies have received those same concessions?”

Stracon has come when Guyana Goldfields says it is preparing to begin underground mining at its Aurora mines, Cuyuni, Region Seven.

It was given over $1.1B in concessions over the past year.

The mining company is facing a major challenge involving a number of shareholders who are unhappy with the way things are being managed.

The company’s share value has dropped significantly, they say.

A special shareholders’ meeting is scheduled in a few weeks.

On the other hand, the Government of Guyana has been worried as the company’s contribution has been significant.

On Thursday, a ministerial delegation is expected to visit the Region Seven mine to talk with workers and tour the facilities.

Three years’ jail for anyone...

From page 67 GRA. All information supplied, will be kept confidential and informants identity protected,” GRA has promised.

Persons desirous of joining in the fight are being asked to call 2278222 or 227-6060, extensions 3201 or 3208.

Over the years, GRA has been ramping up its stance on anti-corruption, which has seen several staffers being fired.

Sunday March 31, 2019

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Kaieteur News

CONSUMER CONCERNS

PHAGWAH AND ITS MEANING

By PAT DIAL It is customary to write about festivals before they arrive. Today, we shall depart from the custom of this column and write about Phagwah, which was celebrated as a national holiday a few days ago. We do so because Phagwah and its message have a perennial attraction. The festival did not simply disappear on 21st March.

In fact, many people remained in the celebratory mood until today, much as Christmas celebrations seep over to Twelfth Night.

Phagwah, like Diwali, is a festival, which was brought here nearly two centuries ago

by Indian indentured immigrants. Since these immigrants were the main labour force in the Sugar Industry, which was the largest employer in the colony, the sugar estates gave Phagwah as a holiday to their employees.

Many shops also closed their doors and much business activity ceased on that day. The Banks and most Government offices remained

open but there was little activity so they usually closed early. After National Independence, Phagwah was formally declared a public holiday.

Hindu festivals are always both moral and religious. They are also celebratory. These festivals are very ancient, and over the millennia of their existence, many traditions become attached to them. In Guyana, the two main traditions, which are attached to Phagwah are that of its being a Spring Festival and that of the elimination of the tyrant ruler Hiranya Kasipu.

Spring Festivals in the Northern Hemisphere occur between March and April. In all Civilizations and cultures, these Spring Festivals tend to fall in close proximity to each other because they use the lunar calendar.

For example, Nov Roz, which usually falls close to Phagwah is celebrated in the Middle East and in countries touched by Persian contact.

Easter itself, though it is the most important day in the Christian calendar also has ancient associations of being a Spring Festival as witnessed

by its name after Easter, the ancient Teutonic goddess who was associated with Spring.

These Spring Festivals are usually times of feasting, singing, dancing, good fellowship, enemies reconciling, and filling the minds with hope that the coming year would be one of prosperity and happiness.

They epitomize rebirth and renewal. And Phagwah fits completely into this mold.

Everyone entertains and shows good fellowship to everyone else. And of course, there is the sprinkling of red abeer and red abrack powder so every one’s clothing is red, the celebratory colour.

The other strong Phagwah tradition in Guyana is the downfall and death of the tyrant Hiranya Kasipu.

Hiranya Kasipu was a king in ancient India who performed extreme penances and austerities (tapasya) until he was transformed into a good man in the eyes of the gods.

The Divine as a reward, offered him three wishes. His first wish was that he could not be killed or die anywhere on the earth; his second wish

Police discover over 1,000 grams of cannabis in minibus The trafficking of cannabis continues to be a prevalent issue Police ranks on Friday unearthed an excess of 1,000 grams of cannabis in a minibus travelling along the East Coast Demerara Public Road.

According to information received, ranks from the Vigilance Police Station intercepted a minibus and a search was conducted. It was observed that a passenger was acting in a suspicious manner.

A search conducted on the bag, which he was carrying revealed four parcels, well taped t o g e t h e r.

Further inspection led to the discovery of a quantity of stems, leaves and seeds suspected to be cannabis.

The suspected cannabis was weighed and amounted to 1,945.5 grams. The 24-yearold suspect who hails from New Amsterdam, Berbice was taken into custody and is being processed for court.

Just recently on Monday last, three women were caught with 14.5 pounds which is 167 grams of cannabis. As a result, they squealed on their supplier which led to his arrest.

The man, Timothy La Fleur, 34, of 288 Errol’s Ville, New Amsterdam, Berbice, has since denied that he gave

the women the drugs to transport. He has since been charged with two counts of being in possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking.

One of the women was arrested and charged, while

the other two were not. Nandi Barker, 36, a market vendor of Lot 70 Kaneville, East Bank Demerara, who was the driver of the vehicle, was charged with being in possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking.

Lethem Customs Officer shot while colleague cleared gun

Irvine Dey

A Customs Officer stationed at Lethem, Region Nine, was shot in the foot yesterday.

According to reports, Irvine Dey, was shot by a colleague while the man was clearing his gun. Dey was rushed to the Lethem Hospital where he is being treated for injuries received. (Photo courtesy of Guyanese Critic)

was that neither by night or day could he die; his third wish was that he could not be killed by either Man or Animal. All three wishes were granted.

The King now grasped he was immortal and he was suddenly transformed into a corrupt egotist. In this fall, arrogance, greed and love for power completely consumed him. He declared he was God and compelled his subjects to attend their temples and worship him on pain of death if they did not. He trampled over every right the citizens had and fear and terror took over the country.

Without warning, Hiranya Kasipu’s very young son, Prahalad, refused to worship his father as God and declared that he would continue to worship God. The king immediately decided that Prahalad must die a painful death by being burnt alive.

He therefore built a huge pyre and arranged with his

sister Holika who could not be harmed by fire, to sit in the burning pyre and hold Prahalad in her lap until he was completely burnt to ashes. As soon as Holika and her nephew got on the pyre, it was set alight.

Next morning when the citizens went to the pyre, they found that Holika was burnt to ashes and Prahalad, the playful child, quite unharmed since her power of being safe from fire was transferred to Prahalad while he was sitting in her lap.

Hiranya Kasipu was furious with anger and went to the largest temple shouting that all must bow to him as God and as he strutted about the temple, in his rage, he slashed one of the columns with his sword and as he did so, a man-lion, Narasingha, jumped out of the column and attacked him.

They began to fight and struggle until they reached the door and fell upon the

steps. At that point, Narasingha seized the king by the neck, lifted him up and strangled him. Hiranya Kasipu was killed by a being who was neither Man nor Animal; he was killed at dusk which is neither day nor night; and he was strangled in midair and not on land. God had incarnated Himself as Narasingha to save humanity.

On the news of the death of the tyrant, the people burst out into wild rejoicing and festivities and every one literally embraced everyone else in good fellowship and Phagwah, each year enacts the celebration of the demise of the tyrant.

In Guyana, Phagwah is celebrated with great verve and joy and people of every race, culture, class and religion happily join in its celebrations. It thus stands out as one of the great forces of integration and unity in Guyanese Society.

PAGE 70

Kaieteur News

Sunday March 31, 2019

Sunday March 31, 2019

PAGE 71

Kaieteur News

Chinese restaurant defies Housing Authority’s order to close Restaurant and Malt and Wine Inclusive for the same address, had not been approved.

The application was refused by CH&PA’s board on January 19, 2018, the letter disclosed.

However, the restaurant continued its operations, without any permits.

It was in August last year, seven months after that the

DEFIANT: The reopened restaurant.

Two months after closing, a Chinese restaurant on the Diamond access road, East Bank Demerara has reopened and angry neighbours are raising questions.

In January, the owners of ‘Georgie’ were issued a contravention order. This was after they were refused a building permit a year ago.

The order had given them four weeks to shut up shop.

They closed after it became clear that there was no way out.

The restaurant was in a zoned area and the owners had no authorization.

The operations, along the Diamond Access Road, have been angering residents of the nearby upscale residential area who said they are affected by the smell of oil, and the fact that the zoning regulations do not allow it.

The Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) had said it had refused the application and there was not likely to be a permit issued.

In January 2018, Georgie’s application for a building

permit was turned down by the CH&PA’s Board of Directors.

Under the regulations, CH&PA has to approve plans before the necessary licences from the Guyana Revenue Authority are issued.

Last week, neighbours of the upscale section said they saw the Chinese cleaning up and then suddenly, the business was open again.

“I really don’t understand how you were refused a permit because you are in a no zone area and then you are forced to close because one can’t be issued, to now opening back? Which law was passed by CH&PA that allow this area, a residential one to have a restaurant?

Somebody has to answer,” one of the neighbours told Kaieteur News.

This newspaper was shown several documents of how CH&PA had refused the Chinese owners of the property a permit.

An official of the local Neighbourhood Democratic Council of the Grove/

Diamond area said last week that they are not aware of the reopening.

“This is the only country in the world where we as Guyanese are so disrespected. There is no way in the world where we can go and have no permits and still refuse to comply and nobody doing anything. We have become second class citizens in our own country,” said one of the neighbours’ wives.

The situation of ‘Georgie’ has raised several questions about the country’s capacity to enforce, as well as the growing problem over zoning, or the lack thereof.

In the case of the Chinese restaurant, which appeared to have flagrantly violated the regulations by defiantly continuing its operations with permission, the owner, Jingxin Dai, received a Letter of Refusal dated January 29, 2018, from CH&PA. It informed the Chinese owner of Lot 1113 Section ‘A’ Block ‘X’, Great Diamond, that his application for the establishment of a Food

National child Labour Policy for April launch The Ministry of Social Protection is working to implement measures to curb child labour. It is urging the public to report any cases of children being employed.

Deputy Chief Labour Officer, Karen VansluytmanCorbin, said that the Labour Department will be launching a National Child Labour Policy in April and will enforce drastic measures for those persons who employ children.

“We are also developing a National Action Plan to help in our fight against child labour. We started last year to develop our policy and we hope for the draft action plan to be launched at the same

time as the policy,” Vansluytman-Corbin said.

According to the Chief Labour Officer several organizations, including the Trade Union Movement, the Employers Organisation, the Ministry of Education, several businesses, religious and youth organisations and NGOs collaborated with the labour department to implement the policy .

“There have been three reported cases for 2019. We are following up with those cases but we are concerned and continue to work towards eradicating child labour in the mining areas within the hinterland communities.

“However, because of our intense sensitisation exercises, we are receiving good support to put an end to child labour,” VansluytmanCorbin said She further stated that the Department of Labour has reached out to several communities to ensure that word gets out that child labour is illegal and persons caught employing children will be prosecuted.

The policy was crafted after an extended period of consultations and workshops with the relevant stakeholders from Regions Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight and Ten.

Golden Grove/Diamond Neighbourhood Democratic Council wrote Jingxin Dai indicating that the application was refused.

The restaurant was ordered to cease operations within three days of receiving the notice.

How the NDC did not see that the Chinese restaurant was continuing its operations on a busy public road where

hundreds of vehicles traverse daily was what is puzzling angry neighbours.

According to CH&PA officials yesterday, the Contravention Notice will give the restaurant 28 days.

Neighbours said that CH&PA officials told them last week that there is little that they could do now except to proceed with legal actions.

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Kaieteur News

GDA hosts ‘Eating with Music’ event for diabetics

A section of the gathering at ‘Eating with music’.

The Guyana Diabetes Association (GDA), during the week, hosted a successful event themed, “Eating with Music.” Persons living with diabetes were treated to hearty meals filled with low-carb foods.

According to the president of the association, Glynis Beaton, this event among many other activities planned for the year, is in aid of bringing awareness to the nation.

“In bringing more awareness to Guyana so that there can be better management of diabetes, we are providing a whole host of events for this year,” Ms. Beaton stated.

‘Eating with music’ was the first event for the year. It allowed persons to eat and exercise at the same time through dancing. “Although we did not get the music this time around, we are looking to see what effect exercise has on diabetics.” Beaton mentioned.

She added that going forward, they will stick to the theme of the event. “We really want to see the effects of exercising; therefore,

the next time around more low-carb foods will be provided and lots of music for dancing.”

At the event, persons were shown how they can count the amount of carbs in their food by a display of the portion of a meal and the aid of spoons to count the quantity of carbohydrates when dishing out a meal.

While persons were treated to their meals, Dr. Yacklin Gonzalez was present to distribute over the counter drugs to them. Painkillers, nasal sprays, medication for allergy, cold and flu were some of the prescriptions handed out.

The success of the event means that Guyana can look forward to more of its kind, Beaton said. “The event was a great success despite the absence of the music, as planned.

Therefore, we will be hosting another such event to better test the effects of exercise on diabetes while at the same time meeting and supporting our loved ones dealing with this condition.”

Sunday March 31, 2019

Mash 2019 Competition rocked!!

From page 13 People’s Choice Award.

The Carib Soca Monarch is always the centre of attraction on the calendar of Mash activities, since it showcases the ‘best of the best’ Guyana has to offer in the soca area.

This year around, former GT&T Jingles Competition Winner, Brandon Harding, unleashed a fire storm, securing the coveted crown, and forcing Steven Ramphal to settle for second place.

Ramphal also copped the title of Best Newcomer, with Oxbert Cain (Vintage) taking the third position. Shaima Muna (Sexy Berry) took home the People’s Choice Award The Chutney Group Dance segment was a sensual sizzle, with a particularly pulsating performance by the Berbice Delights Group that saw them taking top honours. Following close behind was the JKN Group, Masti Dance Group taking the final spot.

In the Individual arena, the saucy Vanita Harnauth (Kimberly) with much body shaking, swishing hips, and fluid movements was a unanimous winner, with Adrian Lochan, and Razia Rafeek taking second and third respectively.

The (RBL Mashramani Panorama ) Junior Solo Competition was quite a teaser, with Daniel Daly placing first. Following close behind was Vijay Sharma at second and Luana Barkoye at third. The Senior Solo segment was won by Hanani Ben Lewi, while Darius Austin, Michael Smith (Jnr) and Reon Miller took the remaining spots respectively.

The clashes in the duet competition were resounding, with Clayton Daniels and Tareque Mentore putting on quite a show to rake in the top spot. Settling for second place was duo Darius Austin and Hanani Ben Lewi, while Bryan Jordan and Michael Smith (Jnr) took the next available spot.

It was Kunjaz Steel Ensemble securing accolades in the Jazz Showdown, while CAL Parkside Steel Ochestra, and Pan Jammers Steel Orchestra too the other two available opening spots The Small School Band catergory was won

by Dolphin Secondary School, followed by President’s College and Berbice High School.

The Youth Band competition saw the popular and talented GBTI Buxton Pride Ochestra taking the anticipated top spot followed by West Demerara Secondary at second, and Bishops’ High School in third place.

In the Large Bands area, it was Guyana Police Force Steel Orchestra at first place, CAL Parkside Steel Orchestra second, and National School of Music Steel Orchestra securing the

final spot.

National Costume & Float Parade In this segment the Full Costume Large Bands competition was won by Ministry of the Presidency - Dept. of Social Cohesion, Culture, Youth & Sport, followed by Ministry of Communities, and Regional Administration # 3.

Winning in the Medium Band Segments was Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs, Ministry of Business, and Ministry of Natural Resources (A) respectively with the Best Designer Award going to Trevor Alfred. Taking first place in the Small Bands Competition was Ministry of Education, followed by Linden Technical Institute, and Maxi Williams Designs.

The Semi-Costume Large Bands arena was dominated by Guyana Youth & Student Movement Ministry of Agriculture won in the Medium Bands segment with Ministry of Public Health taking the other available opening. The Best Designer in this segment was Jermaine Broomes. Ministry of Natural Resources (B) took top spot in the Small Bands segment with Viking Sound coming in at second.

Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs secured high credits in the Individual Costume arena, also taking top honours in the Queen and King Costume Displays, with Ministry of Business winning in the Female Costume Display The Non-Commercial Floats Competition was dominated by Ministry of Natural Resources (A), with Ministry of the Presidency, DSCCYS at second, and Ministry of Public Infrastructure in third place.

The Regional Democratic Council Region Six showcase was dominated by the Guyana Police Force in first place, Ministry of Social Cohesion, Culture, Youth & Sport, and Regional Democratic Council Region Six. The Regional Costume & Float Parade, Full Costume Large Band was won by Region Three.

In the Medium Costume and Float Parade segment, it was Region Four Democratic Council in first place, Regional Democratic Council #10 at second, and East Berbice Corentyne Region Six in the third position. In the Individual Costume segment in East Berbice Corentyne, Region 6 in the spot for Queen was taken by Regional Administration #3, the Male segment was also won by the said region, while the female spot was taken by the said region as well.

The Road March title for this year was won

by Kross Kolor Records’s, Melissa “Vanilla” Roberts, with her hit soca single ‘One Voice’.

Sunday March 31, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Frequent crossers of U.S.-Mexico UK’s May risks ‘total collapse’ of government in border fret over threatened shutdown Brexit impasse: Sunday Times LONDON (Reuters) British Prime Minister Theresa May risks the “total collapse” of her government if she fails to get her battered Brexit deal through parliament, the Sunday Times newspaper said, amid growing speculation that she might call an early election.

Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May is seen in a car outside the Houses of Parliament as she faces a vote on alternative Brexit options in London, Britain, March 27, 2019.

In a sign of how little room for maneuver May has to break the Brexit impasse, the Sunday Times said at least six pro-European Union members of May’s cabinet of senior ministers will resign if she decides to head for a nodeal Brexit.

But at the same time, Brexit-supporting ministers were threatening to quit if May backed the option of staying close to the EU with a customs union or if she sought a long delay to Brexit, the newspaper said.

May’s Brexit strategy is in tatters after the exit deal she agreed with other EU leaders

PM Theresa May was rejected for a third time by the House of Commons on Friday, the day that Britain was supposed to leave the bloc.

Nearly three years after the Britons voted by 52-48 percent to end the country’s EU membership, what Brexit will look like or whether it will even happen remains up in the air.

May has said she will step down if she manages to get her Brexit deal through parliament, paving the way for another leader to take charge of the next round of negotiations with Brussels about Britain’s future ties to the bloc.

But that last-gasp offer

has failed to break the impasse, leading to talk of an election to break the deadlock.

The Mail said May’s advisors were divided over whether she should call an early election if she fails to win support for her Brexit deal from parliament in the coming week.

The newspaper said a possible “run-off” vote could take place on Tuesday in parliament between May’s deal and whatever alternative emerges as the most popular from voting by lawmakers on Monday.

That meant an election could be called as early as Wednesday, the newspaper said, without citing sources.

EL PASO, Texas (Reuters) - Workers and students who frequently cross the U.S. border with Mexico worried over the weekend about the impact on their lives if President Donald Trump follows through on a threat to shut entry points used by hundreds of thousands of people every day.

Faced with a surge of asylum seekers from Central American countries who travel through Mexico, Trump said on Friday there was a “good likelihood” he would close the border this coming week if Mexico does not stop unauthorized immigrants from reaching the United States.

Shutting the southern frontier completely would disrupt billions of dollars in trade and millions of legal border crossings, including those made by U.S. citizen Andrea Torres.

The 22-year-old student spends weekdays with her aunt in El Paso, where she attends the local campus of the University of Texas, and weekends with her mother in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

On the border bridge linking the two cities, so many students cross every day that authorities have assigned them their own pedestrian

Cholera cases increase to 271 in Mozambique’s cyclone-hit Beira

MAPUTO (Reuters) - The number of confirmed cases of cholera in Mozambique’s cyclone-hit port city of Beira has nearly doubled to 271 in the last 48 hours, the southern African nation’s government said.

Government and aid workers are seeking to contain the spread of the disease after cyclone Idai smashed into Beira on March 14, unleashing catastrophic flooding and killing more than 700 people in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

At the opening of a temporary treatment center in Beira, Environment Minister Celso Correia said there had been 271 cases of cholera reported. He said 138 of those had arrived at medical centers in the last 48 hours.

“We don’t have any deaths registered within our hospitals,” Correia said.

On Friday, he said at least two people had died outside hospitals with symptoms including dehydration and diarrhea.

Many areas in Mozambique and Zimbabwe

lane.

“Right now, it’s better for me to stay in El Paso because I need to finish school,” Torres, who is studying art history, said on Friday as she headed to Juarez for the weekend.

That would mean missing her mom. “It would be really hard,” Torres said. “I’m really close to her.”

Gerardo Pozas, a 38-yearold mechanic, moved to El Paso from Juarez in 1997 to attend high school and later became a U.S. citizen. He has always retained strong ties with his birthplace. He worried what he would do if Trump closed the border.

“My family, my church and my girlfriend are (in Juarez). I wouldn’t be able to go,” Pozas said. “But if I stay there, in Ciudad Juarez, I wouldn’t be able to come to my house.”

LONG LINES AT BORDER Department of Homeland Security officials had already warned traffic with Mexico could slow as the agency shifts personnel from ports of entry to help process asylum seekers.

Delays were already being felt on Friday, with waiting times longer than usual on the Mexican side of the crossing between Juarez and El Paso, and hours-long lines for trucks carrying goods from Mexican factories into the United States.

Trade between the United States and its third-largest trading partner totaled $612 billion last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The border fence between Mexico and the United States is pictured from Tijuana, Mexico March 29, 2019.

REUTERS/Jorge Duenes Brandon Carlan, a 21-yearold waiter from Boston, Massachusetts, works in San Diego but lives in Tijuana, Mexico, because he cannot afford San Diego’s high rents.

He said he crosses the border every day. “(Closing it) would affect me economically because I wouldn’t be able to pay for my bills,” Carlan said. “There are people going back and forth every day and they are not going to be able to see their families or go to their houses.”

Construction worker Alejandro Villegas, 43, is from Tijuana, Mexico, but lives in San Diego. He said many of his colleagues live in Mexico and cross the border daily.

“People have kids who study on this side and on the Mexican side and they have to cross to take them to school, to go shopping and to work so this is a big problem for us,” he said.

Trump, who launched his presidential campaign in 2015 with a promise to crack down on illegal immigration, has repeatedly threatened to close the border during his two years in office but has not followed through.

Mexico has played down the possibility of a border shutdown. On Friday its foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, said the country does not act on the basis of threats.

U.S. ending aid to El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras over migrants

Medical staff wait to treat patients at a cholera centre set up in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai in Beira, Mozambique. that were heavily hit by the storm still cannot be accessed by road.

Cholera is endemic to Mozambique, which has had regular outbreaks over the

past five years. About 2,000 people were infected in the last outbreak, which ended in February 2018, according to the WHO. Mozambican authorities

said on Saturday the number of deaths from the cyclone stood at 501, bringing the total of fatalities across Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi to 746.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is cutting off aid to the Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, known collectively as the “Northern Triangle”, the State Department said yesterday, the day after President Donald Trump blasted the countries for sending migrants to the United States.

“We are carrying out the President’s direction and ending FY (fiscal year) 2017 and FY 2018 foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement. The State Department declined to provide further details or clarify the time periods involved.

The State Department said that it would “engage Congress in the process,” an apparent acknowledgement that it will need lawmakers’ approval to end the funding.

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called Trump’s order a “reckless announcement” and urged Democrats and Republicans alike to reject it.

“U.S. foreign assistance is not charity; it advances our strategic interests and funds initiatives that protect American citizens,” Menendez said in a statement.

Trump claimed during a trip to Florida that the countries had “set up” caravans of migrants in order to export them into the United States. A surge of asylum seekers from the three countries have sought to enter the United States across its southern border in recent days.

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Sunday March 31, 2019

Kaieteur News

Plane pain - Legal action on the cards as flight school tragedy leaves students’ families with million-dollar debts (The Gleaner) The mothers of the two student pilots killed in the November 2016 flight school plane crash are reliving nights of anguish, anxiety, and anger following the publication of a 60-page report detailing a litany of regulatory and operations shortfalls that led to the tragedy.

To compound the pain, they say they have been left with millions of dollars of debt just over two years after their sons, Danshuvar Gilmore, 19, and Ramone Forbes, 17, were killed when the Caribbean Aviation Training Centreowned Cessna aircraft went down in Greenwich Town, seconds after take-off from

the Tinson Pen Aerodrome in Kingston.

Flight instructor Jonathan Worton also died.

“I am going full speed ahead,” Dawn Singh-Gilmore told The Gleaner yesterday by telephone from her St Ann home when asked whether she was contemplating legal action.

According to the results of an investigation undertaken by the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA), the engine of the Cessna aircraft, which lost power shortly after take-off was fitted with wrong and malfunctioning parts.

It also details aviation rule breaches, poor oversight,

inefficient accountability systems, and a weak emergency-response protocol.

Singh-Gilmore, an education officer, says her pain has been worsened by the arrogance of some stakeholders.

Somebody needs to answer to the families how it is that we are going to be redressed,” she demanded.

The educator said that outside of funeral expenses, pain, and suffering, she has also been incurring medical bills since the tragedy.

“I have had to pay medical bills based on my emotional condition. I have had to take leave from my work to deal

Double murder rocks Trelawny after alleged gangster killed (The Gleaner) The Trelawny police are now investigating the double murder of a taxi operator and his common-law wife in Kinloss district on Thursday night, following the shooting death of a man who has been described as one of the parish’s top gangsters.

Fifty-two-year-old Robert Gardner and 50-year-old Marcia Thomas were killed in what the police say was reprisal for the murder of Owen ‘Beenie Man’ Green, who was killed in Kinloss earlier that day.

Reports are that a group of armed men kicked open the door of the board house in which Gardner and Thomas lived. The couple was reportedly questioned about the whereabouts of another family member before being shot and killed.

June Gardner, sister of the slain taxi operator, told The Gleaner yesterday that her brother and his girlfriend were good people.

“Robert was a good brother, father, and guardian to all of us. Him do him little painting, and him taxi work, and him don’t trouble nobody,” Gardner lamented.

“Him and Marcia never deserve to die like this because them never mixed up in anything.”

REPRISAL KILLING In the meantime, Superintendent Winston Milton, commanding officer in charge of Trelawny, said that Green had been under investigation for some time prior to his death.

“Investigations have revealed that the murder of Robert Gardner and his common-law wife was an act

of reprisal for Owen Green’s killing. Green was under the police radar for his involvement in several crimes, and he was also out on bail for illegal possession of firearm and ammunition,” said Milton.

“We want to assure the residents of Kinloss district that the police are now on the ground in the area, and we are covering every section of the community to ensure that any further reprisal does not take place,” Milton continued.

Reports are that at approximately 10 a.m. on Thursday, Green was sitting in a parked vehicle along the Kinloss main road when he was ambushed and shot dead by armed men.

Since the start of the year, seven persons have been murdered in Trelawny.

with this situation because I could not remain in my home environment knowing that my child died the way he did.

Now, who is going to pay for that?” she asked.

Ramone’s mother, Jacqueline Forbes, who is a teacher, fought back emotions to detail her financial rut.

“It is heart-rending,” Forbes said. “I tell you, it’s hard on me because I have to be paying back loans that I borrowed to send Ramone to school.”

Forbes, too, demanded that someone be held accountable for the apparent negligence on the part of the JCAA and the flight-training school.

The Gleaner was unable to make contact with the authority’s director-general, Nari Williams-Singh, or flight

school operator Captain Errol Stewart as their cell phones rang without answer yesterday.

In the meantime, the parents said they are hoping that Transport Minister Robert Montague will reach out to them.

The families of the victims last had audience with Montague last August in a heated meeting to review the findings of the crash report.

However, Singh-Gilmore said that it did not end well as tempers flared and tears flowed.

In the interim, the mothers are expecting that persons who failed to administer their duties will be brought to book.

Speaking yesterday on ‘Beyond the Headlines’ on RJR 94 FM, Jason Worton, the brother of Captain

Jonathan Worton, also demanded accountability.

“I feel as though someone has been sleeping on the job,” Jason said.

A day after the November 10, 2016, tragedy, a former student at the Caribbean Aviation Training Centre, now living overseas, said he left the institution because of a number of safety issues that were being neglected by the school’s management.

He asked not to be named but said that planes were not being adequately serviced and that there were issues with insurance coverage.

According to the student, there had been previous complaints about the same Cessna aircraft that crashed.

He also said that there were management and administrative issues at the flight school.

Trade unionist in support of increased retirement age Without providing his preferred number, André Lewis, President General of the Grenada Technical and Allied Workers Union (GTAWU) said that he is in support of increasing the retirement age. Grenada’s current age of retirement is 60.

“To be very blunt with you, to be very frank with you, I am in support for the extension of the age. We have to make tough decisions, we are capable to making tough decisions, we have a history of surviving,” Lewis said, delivering remarks at the first in a series of consultations undertaken by the National Insurance Scheme (NIS).

The consultations which will be held with various stakeholders across the island, are part of an educational informationsharing process aimed at providing the public with knowledge on the current financial situation and the need for changes to the NIS law.

“Change is never easy, but as a people, an intelligent people, we have to make risk assessment.

We have to determine if we continue along the same path we will not be getting a different result, we will be getting the worse result.

We are confident that there must be changes within the NIS and this is where we are guided by the actuary but you must be involved in these discussions, so as to ensure that you

understand why we are doing this,” he told the more than 100 persons at the Hospitality Room of the National Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Urging the participants to take the discussion seriously, because the outcome will result in changes to the NIS legislation, Lewis who represents the labour movement in the Upper House of Parliament said the proposed changes will affect both employers and employees.

“Some may require a change in the age of retirement. Some may require a higher contribution but see this as an investment… As night will turn into day you will reach retirement age,” he said while pointing out that state pension will be the only option for non-unionised workers upon their retirement.

“Therefore, the state pension, the NIS pension is absolutely necessary, and we must do everything that is necessary to ensure that it is sustainable, that it will be around for you. What you are benefitting today those who are 60 or 65 are from those who contributed before and therefore we have a solidarity responsibility for our children and our grandchildren to leave that framework to ensure that they can get their retirement benefit from NIS,” Lewis said.

Recently, Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell disclosed that there is a need to change the NIS legislation to increase

the age of retirement and raise the contribution from 9% to 11%.

However, as part of the educational process before a final decision is made, the government has instructed the NIS to consult with the people. The report from the consultation will determine the type of changes that will be made to the law.

The main changes that are being lobbied for are: - increasing the age of retirement, increasing the mandatory contribution for the monthly pension payment, and increasing the contribution from both employer and employees by 1% each.

The changes were recommended since the 2006 actuary and though the country has changed administration through the years, this is the first time that a ruling administration has given the board instruction to consult with people about such proposed changes.

The 2009 actuary predicted that the NIS would in 2017 begin paying out more than it would collect, and based on the data presented during the consultation on Thursday, that prediction has become a reality.

The educational sessions are scheduled to conclude in June. The next sessions will take the form of townhall meetings in Petite Martinique and Carriacou on 11 April and 12 April 2019 respectively.

Sunday March 31, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Man City go top again with 2-0 win over misfiring Fulham

Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero scores their second goal against Fulham at Craven Cottage. (REUTERS/David Klein)

Sunday March 17, 2019 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Friends or a group with which you're affiliated could propose a trip. This might seem like a great adventure, Aries, so you're likely to go for it. You will probably have a wonderful time.

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) An opportunity to do some extra work outside the scope of your regular job could present itself to you. Take it, Taurus. Not only could you earn some extra money but you might also open new doors that expand your professional horizons.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) You might be extremely busy now. Invitations to large parties, small gatherings with close friends, and intimate evenings with romantic partners might come up today.

CANCER(June21–July22) Unexpected visitors could wake you up to the possibility of new work opportunities. This could advance your current job or be work you can do on your own - maybe on a volunteer basis.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) If you aren't romantically involved, an errand, walk, or other foray into your neighborhood might bring an exciting new person into your life.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Money that you may have been hoping to use to better your living or working condition could suddenly come your way today. Ideas for how to put it to work in the most efficient, satisfying way could pop into your mind quickly.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) When you run errands today, check the bulletin boards in local businesses. You may have been longing for adventure and dreaming about getting away from it all SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Information received today excites your imagination and encourages you to start a new artistic or creative project.

Stories, pictures, abstract concepts - all could come together in your mind and form an inspired idea that could change your life.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Adventure is the word for today. A lot of physical and mental energy, as well as enthusiasm, might lead you to aim for goals that others consider too risky or unrealistic.

CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) New career goals may come your way with the current aspect, Capricorn, opening up possibilities you may not have considered. This could be very exciting.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Fascinating new information could arrive today from TV or the Internet, opening up new educational opportunities.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) A sudden burst of physical energy and determination could lead to additional income for you. This is probably due to an unexpected opportunity to do some extra work outside the scope of your usual employment.

It could also be a long overdue payment for past work.

LONDON, (Reuters) - Topclass goals from Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero took Manchester City back to the top of the Premier League in a 2-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage yesterday.

City’s seventh successive league victory keeps alive their hopes an unprecedented quadruple of League Cup, Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League trophies this season.

“We need to take each game as it comes and pick up victories in all of them hopefully,” City defender Kyle Walker told Sky Sports.

A wayward ball from Fulham’s Timothy FosuMensah gifted the visitors the lead in the fifth minute.

Sergio Aguero intercepted the Dutchman’s pass just outside the area and passed to Silva, who cut across past two defenders and drove his left-footed shot into the corner past the diving Sergio Rico in goal.

Fulham, playing without top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic after the international break, kept five men in the back line in a bid to keep City’s attack at bay, leading to one-way traffic. In the end, the Cottagers were unable to register a single shot on target all game.

Heavyweight boxer given...

From page 74 news conference, Allred took part in a question and answer session, where she said: “Even if she were a friend he would still have to ask and he clearly did not. I think this can be considered sexual harassment.”

Vegas Sports Daily released a statement on Monday describing Ravalo as the “victim of an unwanted, unexpected and unsolicited forceful kiss”.

“We are working around the clock with Jenny SuShe, and Pulev’s management team to further investigate the matter and determine appropriate steps/actions following this unfortunate event,” it added.

“We want to make it clear that women should feel safe and comfortable to exercise the duties of their job, free of abuse, advances, harassment, etc, in the workplace.”

Pulev pulled out of a world title fight with Britain’s Anthony Joshua in 2017 with a shoulder injury.

His 28-fight professional career has featured wins over Dereck Chisora and Hughie Fury and his only professional loss was against Wladimir Klitschko in 2014.

The home side’s captain Tom Cairney won a freekick on the corner of the box in a rare break forward in the first half that had the home fans clapping and stamping their feet to rattle the century-old Johnny Haynes Stand.

However, Joe Bryan’s cross was a whisker too high for Ryan Babel to head cleanly, and the ball went wide.

Silva turned provider in the 27th minute, pouncing onto a loose ball and passing to Aguero, who sprang forward past three defenders and shot from a tight angle up into the opposite corner for his league-leading 19th goal of the season.

Caretaker manager Scott Parker’s Fulham have now

failed to record a win in 14 games against City in all competitions and have lost the last eight in a row.

The result takes City back to the top of the Premier League on 77 points, one ahead of Liverpool who host Tottenham Hotspur tomorrow. Fulham remain in 19th place on 17 points, and will now most likely need to win every one of their remaining six matches to have a chance of avoiding relegation.

“We didn’t test their keeper. We have another game on Tuesday and we have to do better. We have six games left and mathematically we’re still in it,” Fulham’s Cyrus Christie told Sky Sports.

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Sunday March 31, 2019

Kaieteur News

Linden Town Week inaugural Ferrari’s Leclerc storms to Mayor’s Cup Football on tonight first F1 pole in Bahrain - Mayor Waneka Arrendell excited about its prospects

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc celebrates on the podium after qualifying in pole position alongside second placed Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and third placed Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. (REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed) MANAMA (Reuters) Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took his first Formula One pole position with a stunning display under the floodlights in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix yesterday.

Calm and composed ahead of only his second race for the Italian team, the 21-year-old Monegasque was 0.294 seconds clear of last year’s pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel who secured Ferrari’s front row lockout.

Five-times world champion Lewis Hamilton was Ferrari’s closest challenger in third for Mercedes, but the Briton was still 0.324 seconds off the pace with team mate Valtteri Bottas alongside in fourth.

“Thanks guys! The car was amazing,” Leclerc said over the team radio after his track record time of one minute 27.866 seconds.

“Today is a good beginning, I’ll try and finish the job tomorrow,” added the youngster, who was fastest in two of the three practice sessions before qualifying and can take his first F1 win today.

Leclerc, a rookie with Sauber (now Alfa Romeo) last season after winning the Formula Two title, is the second youngest pole sitter of all time. Vettel did it at 21

years and 73 days with Toro Rosso at Monza in 2008.

He will also be the first driver from Monaco to start at the front since the world championship started in 1950.

Ferrari, mysteriously off the pace at the seasonopening race in Australia won

by Bottas, were in a league of their own and restored to their position as race favourites.

The pole was the team’s first since September’s Italian Grand Prix, when they also swept the front row but lost to Hamilton in the race.

“We have been focused on ourselves, we worked hard to understand the issues and I think the result of today somehow gives us confidence,” team boss Mattia Binotto told Sky Sports television.

“This is great for the team, great for him. It will not be his last one.”

INCREDIBLE PACE Vettel, who has more poles in Bahrain than any other driver, could put in only one run in the final poleposition shootout as the four times champion had to run twice in qualifying’s second phase after being held up by traffic.

That forced the German to leave a bit of a margin in the fight for pole.

“Maybe I was a bit shy in

the second sector,” said the 31-year-old. “But in the end I think Charles did a very good job today, and he deserves to be on pole.”

Hamilton said there was still plenty to fight for.

“They’ve shown incredible pace,” said the Briton. “But it doesn’t mean they can’t be beaten. We’re going to work at it. We’ll just keep our heads down and try and see what happens.”

Behind the top four, Max Verstappen qualified fifth for Red Bull ahead of Kevin Magnussen in the Haas, McLaren’s Carlos Sainz and Romain Grosjean for Haas.

Kimi Raikkonen was ninth for Alfa Romeo while McLaren’s British rookie Lando Norris completed the top 10.

Nico Hulkenberg, having been impressive all weekend, was a surprise early casualty.

The German will line up 17th in his Renault after failing to make it beyond the first phase.

New Australian team mate Daniel Ricciardo qualified 11th, with Thailand’s Alexander Albon 12th for Toro Rosso.

Fallen champions Williams unsurprisingly propped up the timesheets with rookie George Russell edging out experienced Pole Robert Kubica.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc during qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix. (REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed)

Her Worship the Mayor of Linden Mrs. Waneka Arrendell has expressed her appreciation as the first ever Linden Mayor’s Cup football championship will get started tonight at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground in the mining town.

The opening games tonight will see from 19.00hrs Amelia’s Ward Panthers face Capital FC and the second from 21.00hrs featuring Blueberry Hill United and Hi Stars.

Looking forward to the tournament, which is being played to get the 2019 Linden Town Week sports programme off, Mayor Arrendell said, “I am honoured that you are willing to be a part of this tournament. I am not fully a football person, so I am

hoping this is a learning experience for me and that I get a chance to interact with the players.

The Deputy Mayor Mr. Wainwright Bethune of course will be doing most of the ground work as this is his area of expertise but I am going to make sure that I am available for any concerns you may have and that I am in the know of what’s happening, so that I can give you my full support, as we move forward.”

Mayor Arrendell also noted that she was excited about the championship especially since football in Linden has a passionate following.

Doing most of the ground work for this tournament, which is sanctioned by the Upper Demerara Football

Association, is the Deputy Mayor of Linden Wainwright Bethune who himself played the game.

The Mayor will meet the teams along with a representative from the main sponsor Banks DIH and the UDFA before the official kick off of the games at 19.00hrs.

The other clubs in the tournament are senior club champions Eagles United, Net Rockers, Winners Connection, Botafago, Milerock’s B Side, Silver Shattas, Coomacka and Topp XX. While that will be the tournament games there will be a supporting East versus West Veterans game from 16.00hrs and a March Past of the contesting clubs from 18.00hrs before the official opening ceremony.

Heavyweight boxer given California suspension after kissing female reporter BBC Sport - Boxing chiefs in California have suspended Bulgarian heavyweight Kubrat Pulev’s licence after he “forcefully” kissed a female reporter on the lips during an interview.

Footage emerged of Pulev embracing Vegas Sports Daily’s Jennifer Ravalo when asked about fighting Tyson Fury.

Pulev, 37, claimed the pair were friends, but Ravalo said she had only met the boxer a day earlier.

Ravalo’s lawyer Gloria Allred said his actions were “unwelcome and unlawful”.

The heavyweight has been ordered to appear in front of the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC), who said they “take this incident seriously”.

Csac added: “Before he will be licensed to fight in California again, boxer Kubrat Pulev must appear in front of the commission and demonstrate that he will conform to this principle of respect.”

The incident happened after Pulev defeated Romania’s Bogdan Dinu in Costa Mesa, California on Saturday.

In a statement read out at a news conference, Ravalo said that what Pulev did was “disgusting” and left her “humiliated”.

Ravalo, who works under the name Jenny SuShe, said:

“Mid-interview he grabbed my face and kissed me. I was immediately shocked and embarrassed, and didn’t know how to respond.

“Next, I walked to the table to put my items in my backpack. He grabbed both of my buttocks and squeezed with both of his hands. Then he walked away without saying anything to me and laughed.

“It made me feel uncomfortable and frustrated that Kubrat Pulev would treat me in such an unprofessional manner. I did not encourage or consent to Mr Pulev grabbing my face, kissing me, or grabbing my backside.

“I was there at the event covering the boxing match as a professional member of the press. Kissing a woman on her lips without her consent and grabbing her is not acceptable.”

She added: “No woman should be treated this way.”

In a statement posted on Twitter on Monday, Pulev had said: “Jenny is actually a friend of mine, and after the interview, I was so elated, I gave her a kiss.

“Later that night, she joined me and my other friends at my post-fight celebration.

“On the video, after our kiss, we both laughed about it and thanked each other.

There really is nothing more to this.”

Ravalo said she was invited to a party after the fight where “there was an opportunity to interview more fighters”. She said Pulev “did not join until the very end of the night”.

While there, she claims Pulev “acted like nothing happened”. She said he later asked her “to remove the kiss from the interview” - a request she denied.

“I did not remove it and instead posted it because I wanted people to see what he had done to me. I wanted him to be accountable,” she added.

Ravalo’s representative Allred is a leading women’s rights lawyer and has represented clients who have filed lawsuits against the likes of Donald Trump and Tiger Woods. She is also the star of a Netflix series in the US, Seeing Allred.

Allred had written to Andy Foster, the California State Athletic Commission executive officer, and said: “Mr Pulev’s reprehensible conduct and battery violates California law as well as the rules of the athletic commission.

“We hereby request that the commission conducts an immediate investigation into the serious allegations.

“We request Mr Pulev’s boxing licence be suspended.” During the (Continued on page 73)

Sunday March 31, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Region Six makes light work of Region Ten in Sports exchange

The Victorious RDC Region Six teams joined with their RDC Region Ten counterparts for a group picture after the presentation.

The Regional DemocraticCouncils of Region Ten and Six recently met in what is being described as the inaugural Inter RDC Sports Games.

The meet which was held in Linden saw RDC employees from both regions competing in a 10/10 softball cricket, football, Circle Tennis and dominoes and saw players representing the education, administration, sub treasury and engineer departments among others.

The lively and eagerly contested one day sports meet was well received by a number of persons in Region Ten with its Regional Executive Officer (REO), Orrin

Gordon urging his colleagues to buy into the initiative. He stressed that it’s a perfect platform for employees to better know their colleagues in the various regions . “This is an excellent initiative right off and we at RDC Region Ten will seek to invest in this inter RDC Games, as we firmly believe that it’s an opportunity for the various RDC employees to know each other.

This initiative can only get stronger once the other regions come on board and recognise that such initiatives are critically important if we are going to collectively boost the regions’ capacity,” Gordon

said.

The Region Ten REO said that, while he was expecting to see his Region Six counterpart, Ms. Kim Stephens, but said that despite her absence he is very satisfied with her employees’performance. He stressed that the day’s activities went well with Region Six capturing three of the four titles on offer.

REO Gordon singled out the Region Six’s Sports Officer, Godwyn Allicock, who he said played apivotal role in the successful execution of the Sports Day and Exchange programme. “This was a superb initiative by Mr

Woman of the Cricket Match, Education Officer Youlonda Mentis who scored a well-played 51 collects her medal from Leola Narine of RDC 10.

Allicock and I must say that he has done exceptionally well.

Let me be the first to congratulate him as he literally did all of this on his own with some support and assistance from or AREO, Ms. Leola Narine,” REO Gordon said.

In the 10/10 Softball Cricket Match, Region Six took first strike and with the help of Brandon Roopchand scoring a quick-fire 59, posted a total of 116 runs.

H o w e v e r, i n r e p l y Region Ten, while losing wickets quickly saw a masterful and well played unbeaten 51 from

Education Officer Youlanda Mentis, who was ably supported by Elford Griffith . However, when the overs ran out they were short by nine runs. In the Circle Tennis match, it was a much easier victory for the Region Six team who demonstrated why sport is considered very important to them.

In the football match despite scoring the first goal Region Six found the going very tough as Region Ten avenged their region’s two losses in the cricket and circle tennis matches with a 3-1 triumph.

The final sport to be

contested saw Region Six with 69 games coming out on top in the dominoes with Region Ten RDC on 49 and Region Ten Education on 42 occupying the two other positions. Delon Roopchannd and Abas Nerupan of Region Six both had the maximum 18 games each. Trophies and medals were presented to several players for stellar performances, while Region Six held unto the three major trophies that they won.

They have accepted a return exchange from Region ten which is expected to be later this year in the ancient county.

Regional Executive Officer (REO), Orrin Gordon presenting the winning trophy to captain of the RDC Region Six Circle Tennis team.

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Sunday March 31, 2019

Kaieteur News

GFF Elite League Season 4

Ten-man Fruta Conquerors edge Police; Santos beat Ann’s Grove for first win

By Franklin Wilson Defending champions Fruta Conquerors, despite competing with 10-men from the 39th minute when Rishaun Sandiford received a straight red card for serious foul play, rallied to defeat Police Football Club 4-2 on account of Nicholas Mc Arthur’s double when play in the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Elite League continued on Friday night at the Police Sports Club Ground, Eve Leary.

It was the debut for Police Sports Club Ground as the host of Elite League matches and many expressed delight at the venue being chosen by the GFF, noting the atmosphere was very good as well as surface.

However, the night was not that good for the home team which, in their first season at this level suffered their second loss in as many matches after going down to the GDF in their first match by a 2-0 margin. One

consolation however, was the fact that they were able to get on the score sheets and that they did twice.

But by the time they had scored their first in the second half, goals by Nicholas McArthur in the 10th minute and Vurlon Mills in the 33rd had already given Conquerors a bit of a cushion and some room to maneuver.

The advantage of having their full complement of players as opposed to Conquerors having one less eventually paid encouraging dividends for the home team as they halved the deficit in the 53rd minute when Travis Jones found the back of the nets.

As the exchanges continued, the nippy Police players continued to take the attack to the champions and it brought the equalizing goal in the 83rd minute when Stefon Ramsey rocked the nets.

It was a goal that emboldened the Police team

Nicholas McArthur – Fruta Conquerors FC (2) and their supporters but little did they know that the defending champions had other ideas and were not in a mood to entertain a loss on the night.

Conquerors’ most prolific scorer Eon Alleyne came into the fray when the put his side back in the lead with two minutes to game time and on the stroke of full time, young McArthur put the icing on the cake by putting the game beyond Police when he scored his second of the

match and Conquerors’ fourth to seal full points and their second win; their first was against Santos.

The evening’s first match saw Santos reversing their defeat to Conquerors on Wednesday last with a 2-0 triumph over Ann’s Grove FC of the East Coast, their second loss of the league, having already lost to Den Amstel, 05.

Santos, like Police, in their debut season was eager to get off the mark in terms of winning as they scored the fastest goal of the league so far when Orin Yarde surprised Ann’s Grove’s custodian Justin Herod in the opening minute of the match.

The previous fastest goal was scored by Buxton United’s Shermar Fraser in the 3rd minute against Victoria Kings. Just before the half way mark, David George doubled the advantage with his goal in the 44th minute.

The second half saw a consorted effort from the Ann’s Grove team which totally dominated proceedings but failed

Orin Yarde (right) and David George – Santos FC (2) miserably to convert the chances that came their way.

When the final whistle was sounded, Santos was a happy bunch coming away with full points.

Last evening, one match was set for the Mackenzie Sports Club ground when home team Milerock

welcomed GDF. Today at the Den Amstel ground, West Coast Demerara, a double header is carded from 14:00hrs when Victoria Kings come up against Western Tigers. The main attraction will see home team Den Amstel matching skills with Buxton United.

Gayle helps Punjab to victory, Russell fires in loss DELHI, India, CMC – Chris Gayle smashed a swashbuckling 40 from 24 balls to help his Kings XI Punjab to a comfortable eight-wicket victory over the Mumbai Indians when action in the Indian Premier League continued yesterday.

Gayle’s knock allowed his team to easily overtake Mumbai’s total of 176 for seven from their 20 overs.

He lashed four sixes and three boundaries, as he dominated an opening partnership of 53 between himself and Kannaur Rahul, who scored an unbeaten 71, as Punjab finished on 177 for two in 18.4 overs.

However, the news wasn’t as good for Andre Russell, who despite slamming his second straight half-century, was not enough to prevent his Kolkata Knight Riders from coming up just short against the Delhi Capitals.

In a thrilling contest, KKR lost in the one over eliminator after they could only score 71 in pursuit of the Capitals’ 10-1. The eliminator was needed after KKR made 185 for eight off their 20 overs, with Russell topscoring with 62 runs from 28 balls.

He clobbered six sixes and four fours in his knock.

The Capitals ended on

Chris Gayle scored 40 to help Kings XI Punjab to victory.

185 for six from their 20 overs, thanks mainly to a superb 99 from Prithvi Shaw.

With a Super Over needed to decide the winner, Pant returned to score an unbeaten six as the Capitals mustered 10 for one.

This time around Russell made just four as Kagiso Rbada bowled a spectacular over in which he conceded just seven runs, while also claiming Russell’s prized wicket.

Scores: Kings XI Punjab 177 for 2 (Rahul 71*,

Mayank 43, Gayle 40) beat Mumbai Indians 176 for 7 (de Kock 60, M Ashwin 2-25) by eight wickets Scores: Delhi Capitals 185 for 6 (Shaw 99, Iyer 43) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 185 for 8 (Russell 62, Karthik 50) via the Super Over Super Over Delhi Capitals 10 for 1 (Pant 6*, Iyer 4, Prasidh 1-10) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 7 for 1 (Russell 4, Uthappa 2*, Karthik 1*, Rabada 1-7)

Sunday March 31, 2019

Milo School’s football tournament

Annandale and PC clinch semifinal spots Omari Glasgow bagged a brace to guide his team, Annandale Secondary, to an emphatic 4-0 victory over Charlestown Secondary in the first quarterfinal of the ongoing seventh Milo School’s football tournament at the Ministry of Education (MOE) ground on Carifesta Avenue.

Also on target for Annandale that won the inaugural Guyoil/Tradewind tankers schools football league which is also organised by Petra Organisation; the promoters of this tournament, were Colin Hendricks (32nd) and skipper Jemar Harrigon (90th).

It was a good day for the East Coast Demerara school teams as President’s College got the better of The Bishops’ High School

Federer to face Isner in Miami final

in a 2-1 victory that saw scrappy performances by both sides. Jesse Thomas (41st) and Edron Stephens (56th) were on target for the Golden Grove based school, while Malachi Richards (41st) scored the only goal for the lads based on Carmichael Street.

The tournament which is also being sponsored by the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) is placing major emphasis on the emotive issue of gender based violence and before each match, messages are shared to sensitise not only the players but everyone in attendance so the instances of gender based violence can be reduced.

Today, tournament favourites Christianburg/Wismar Secondary School (CWSS) will play Vergenoegen Secondary in the first match at 13:00hrs before Lodge Secondary plays St. John’s College at 15:00hrs.

Abuse allegations leave Afghanistan women’s soccer team in tatters KABUL (Reuters) Allegations of sexual abuse of members of Afghanistan’s national women’s soccer team by sport officials have resulted in missed paychecks after sponsors pulled out, taunts and entreaties from parents to their daughters to quit playing.

FIFA, global soccer’s governing body, suspended the head of the Afghan Football Federation and several other officials in December. The Afghan federation has called the allegations against its president, Keramuddin Keram, “groundless”.Afghan President Ashraf Ghani ordered an investigation after Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported in November that senior figures linked to the women’s team alleged that some players had been molested by federation officials.

The treatment of the female players, even those who have not alleged sexual abuse, illustrate the Afghan culture’s complicated approach to handling matters involving both women’s sexuality and participation in sports.The national women’s team was only formed in 2010.

Some conservative-minded Afghans oppose women playing sports.

Since the investigation was launched, so many players have stopped training that friendly matches scheduled for outside Afghanistan have been canceled, said the federation’s Arzu Rahimi, who is responsible for women’s soccer.

PUBLIC SHAME, FAMILY PRESSURE

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Kaieteur News

At least seven players have made allegations, although they have not been identified publicly. Five of the players who have made allegations did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters.

Parents, alarmed by public treatment of female players since the allegations, have urged their daughters to give up soccer.

“My mother told me not to go to federation, university or even outside the house anymore,” said Samea Hamasi, 25, a member of the team for seven years.

Players who were in Uzbekistan for a series of matches in November faced taunts from Afghans living there.

Players sobbed in the dressing room in Tashkent’s stadium and had to be coaxed to take the field, many with tears in their eyes.

“After what people have put us through, I say to myself that I wish I were not an Afghan at all,” Samea said.

Fereshta Shaikh Miri, 23, has played for the team for five years.

“Before I was proud to be a member of the team, but now it is a stigma to be part of the team and I feel ashamed to mention that I am part of the national soccer team,” she said.

The men’s soccer team, receiving government support, has begun spring training, but training has been canceled for the women.

Dubai-based Alokozay Group, a company with a ubiquitous presence in Kabul selling soft drinks, tissues and tea, pulled its $850,000 annual contribution to the

federation in February, following Danish sports brand Hummel, which canceled its sponsorship in late November.

Afghanistan’s soccer federation is now solely funded by FIFA, the Asian Football Confederation and the government.

“All the achievements of the national soccer team would be impossible without (Alokozay’s) support,” said Yusuf Kargar, supervisor of Afghanistan’s soccer federation.

“After all the rumors about the abuses of female players, they are looked at negatively by the public.”

Alokozay canceled its sponsorship because of an administrative vacuum resulting from the allegations, the company said in a February statement.

In a statement in November, Hummel cut ties with the Afghan Football Federation citing its “unacceptable behavior”.

The investigation of the players’ allegations is at an early stage, said Mohammad Sadeq Farahi, head of the crime investigation department for the Office of the Attorney General.

It now wants to send investigators to France, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany and Greece to interview players living abroad, and is seeking visas, he said.

S e p a r a t e l y, F I FA i s conducting its own investigation.

The organization said in March K e r a m would remain suspended for three months.

Roger Federer of Switzerland returns a shot back to Denis Shapovalov of Canada (not pictured) during the menÕs semifinal at the Miami Open at Miami Open Tennis Complex. (Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports) (Reuters) - Roger Federer cruised into his fifth Miami Open final with an impressive 6-2 6-4 victory against Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov on Friday.

Federer was dominant in service and broke the 19year-old three times to set up a final with American John Isner, who beat 18year-old Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(3) 76(4).

“I enjoyed it. I think I played very well. I had to,” Federer told reporters.

“Because I think when you let Denis play, he’s got some serious power, and he gets rhythm going. He can really put you in uncomfortable situations.

“So I think I did well, and I’m very happy how I played.”

Federer took control of h i s s e m i - f i n a l e a r l y, breaking Shapovalov in the third game as his young opponent shanked a backhand.

The Swiss, who won his 100th title earlier this month in Dubai, broke again in the third game of the second set and served his way into

the final against defending champion Isner, who is yet to drop a set in the tournament this year.

Isner, however, had to battle back in both sets against the 18-year-old Canadian, who led 5-3 in each set but was unable to seal the win.

“For sure (it was) n e r v e s , ” s a i d A u g e rAliassime, the youngest men’s semi-finalist in the t o u r n a m e n t ’s 3 5 - y e a r history. “It’s like I caught a virus or something. I don’t know. I couldn’t put a second serve anymore.

“Even the first serve, if you put it in, you don’t have to hit the second s e r v e . T h a t ’s j u s t v e r y tough to swallow.”

Auger-Aliassime had appeared unbothered by being on the big stage against the crowd favorite playing attacking, aggressive tennis that rewarded him with the early break in each set.

Yet serving for the set, the C a n a d i a n ’s inexperience and nerves were exposed when he produced three of his seven double faults and

opened the door for the 33year-old American who went on to take the first tiebreak 7-3.

Auger-Aliassime regrouped and was on the attack again in the second, grabbing the early break to nose in front 4-2.

Again serving for the set at 5-3, he let Isner back in the contest as the American got back on serve with the help of yet another Auger-Aliassime double fault.

While Auger-Aliassime was misfiring, Isner’s serve was booming, as he blasted 21 aces past his opponent.

“I think it (experience) may have helped a little bit,” said Isner.

“But you see a lot of times where someone can have all the experience in the world or some teams can have all the experience in the world and they don’t come through against an inexperienced opponent.

“Maybe he was a little bit fatigued because he came through qualifying. So could have been a little bit of inexperience and maybe a little bit of fatigue, also.”

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Sunday March 31, 2019

Kaieteur News

Guyana wins, when Football wins

GFF boss Wayne Forde raps media on historic Concacaf Gold Cup qualification

Wayne Forde - GFF President On March 23rd last, Guyana inked its name in the annals of history at the Concacaf level when for the first time, the national team qualified for the Concacaf Gold Cup. It’s the 15th edition of the highest level in this confederation and would be the first time that 16 nations would be battling for top honours from June 15th to July 7th, next.

As the man who presided over this wonderful achievement, Guyana Football Federation (GFF) President Wayne Forde raps the media on this champagne moment.

Q: President Forde, the Guyana Golden Jaguars have qualified for the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup for the first time in the GFF 117 years of existence, what does this mean for (a) You as President, (b) Football Development and (c) the Nation?

A: First and foremost, this is an achievement that belongs to the entire nation, and specifically to our football fraternity. Guyana has been waiting a long time for this moment. We all shared in that incredible emotion last week. It was magical and an experience

that anyone who has played a part in football in Guyana will never forget.

I want to dedicate that moment to everyone in Guyana who loves football: anyone who has ever coached a team, anyone who has ever played the game, anyone who has ever managed a club, any organisation, company or person that has sponsored or supported football, and anyone who has ever contributed at administrative level.

You know who you are.

This is our collective victory.

It could not have been achieved without you. So many great football servants have gone before us and we stand on the shoulders of those giants. Of course, it is truly a very humbling experience for me to be able to be at the helm of the sport at this time and to share this e x t r a o r d i n a r y accomplishment with the other dedicated members of the GFF Executive Committee, who contribute in equal measure to the intense work and many sacrifices this qualification campaign demanded of us all.

I feel a deep sense of pride for the sport, in particular,

Sweet victory! Some of the Golden Jaguars and Forde caught celebrating after Guyana defeated Belize 2-1 on March 23rd at the Leonora Track and Field Facility. which has had its challenges both on and off the field for many decades and, for me, a sense of personal accomplishment. In terms of how this will benefit football development –this success is the result of a carefully crafted strategy that, if we are being honest, did not quite go as planned in the early stages of the Nations League qualifying but, by the grace of God and the hard work of our staff and players, we achieved the intended result.

I don’t think it is possible to underestimate the benefits for football. The national team will now earn income through an aggressive commercialisation of the programme which will include television rights, sponsorship and kit deals, etc.

The GFF will now redirect the funds that were going toward the team to our local development programmes.

These funds will now go towards male and female junior and senior football throughout our Regional

Member Associations (RMA).

Scouts and colleges will now shift their attention to Guyana, which will result in greater opportunities for our players. The GFF Secretariat will continue to improve its capacity to manage at the level required for the Gold Cup – this is not going to be easy but we are making progress and, in the end, we will become a professional organisation.

Local clubs are excited and inspired and will have to get serious about how they develop their players alongside, and in tandem with, our national programmes. The GFF stands ready to support that process at all levels. We will see more young players inspired to play football, more companies in Guyana supporting our sport… In terms of benefits, I can keep going on and on…!

As it relates to how Guyana will benefit – I will say this unequivocally, the sum of all tourism promotion and

advertising cannot surpass the global visibility that the Concacaf Gold Cup will bring to Guyana. When our boys walk out on to the pitch for their first game, the millions of people that will be watching either live or on television around the world will Google “Guyana”!

What an incredible opportunity I would like to call on all our stakeholders from politics to business to appreciate the magnitude of this opportunity and to work with us to embrace its potential. What action those fans around the world take after that Google search will be vastly influenced by what pops up, so let’s give them good content and a good impression of our nation – it’s beautiful landscape and wildlife, its investment opportunities, its people, its sporting talent, and its culture.

Let’s show our country in the best possible light.

Beyond that, each international game we play in Guyana injects almost three hundred thousand US dollars into the local economy. Now that we are a Gold Cup team, we will be playing at home as often as possible.

Q: You have given Guyana its first Astro Pitch, Acquired land for a football complex at Durban Park, The Country’s first National youth development

Academy Training Centre programme, its first Regional Boys U15 Championship, the highest number of qualified Coaches and now its first Gold Cup, all in three years – Do you think about the legacy you wish to leave?

One must remain conscious at all times of work done while, at the same time, harnessing the resolve and remaining focused on the work that lay ahead. It is true that we have achieved success in many key areas but there is still a tremendous amount of work required in order to lay a robust and lasting foundation for the sustainable development of the sport.

We are finally moving in the right direction, but we need everyone on board as one team to achieve lasting success.

There remains many fundamental challenges to the implementation of our reform agenda which requires time, consistency and the belief of our members and an acknowledgement of the critical role they must play to grow and professionalise the sport. The GFF cannot overhaul football without the help of corporate Guyana, the Government of Guyana and other key stakeholders. A well-run sport will produce well rounded men and women – Guyana wins when football wins.

Kaieteur News

Sunday March 31, 2019

PAGE 81

Hamilton Green 9-a-side Inter Ward Cup starts next Sunday

T

he Hamilton Green Cup Inter Ward/Village 9a-side Knockout football tournament starts next Sunday April 7 and will conclude on April 28 with the semi final and final at the Den Amstel ground, venue for all the matches.

Action starts at 3:00pm and Coordinator Lennox Arthur, the former National Football player and Coach, is asking all teams to be at the venue by 3:00pm to ensure all games start on time and the proceeding are completed in a timely fashion.

The opening salvo of games, sixteen of them, will see Vergenoegen vs Timehri, Soesdyke vs Jetty, De Kinderen vs Lilliendaal, Kuru Kururu vs Stewartville, Charlestown vs Zeelugt, North East La Penitence vs Agricola, Sara Lodge vs Mocha, Goed Fortuin vs Back Street Kings, Bagotville vs Sophia, Wales vs Mahaica, Plaisance vs Belle West Stars, Kitty vs Sparta Family, Mahaicony vs Crane, Pouderoyen vs

Jamal Harvey Vreed-en-Hoop, Uitvlugt vs Lima Dam and Den Amstel vs West Side Masters.

The teams will be battling for a chance to claim the John Fernandes $300,000 first prize and Prime Minister trophy. The second placed team will take away the Courtney Benn sponsored $100,000, third $60,000 put up by Techno mills and fourth $40,000 donated by Ready Mix along with the respective trophies.

All the trophies have been sponsored by Prime Minister

Moses Nagamootoo.

Also at stake are the individual rewards for the Most Goals/MVP who will take home a Dinette Chair from China Trading and a Lazy Boy chair from AH&L Kissoon, along with the Best Goalkeeper who will claim the Minister of Natural Resources trophy.

Among the sponsors so far are Techno mills, Ready mix, Sataur Gafoor, EC Veira, BEV Enterprises, BK International, IPA, Top Brandz, New Thriving, ENetworks, Star Computers, NAMILCO, Cummings Electrical, National Sports Commission, Star Entertainment, Alfro Alphonso, the Guyana Police Force, Ministry of State, Prime Minister and Ministry of Legal Affairs.

Arthur has expressed gratitude to these businesses and entities and also thanked those who have promised and are expected to come forward officially in the coming week.

He has been staging tournaments in recognition of former Mayor of

Kevyn Murray

Anthony Harding

Georgetown and Prime Minister of Guyana, Hamilton Green for a number of years now.

The defending champion of this tournament is Charlestown who beat Uitvlugt to claim the $400,000 prize and Ministry of Citizenship Trophy last time around.

Uitvlugt took the John Fernandes Trophy and $200,000 for their efforts back then.

With the involvement of

the lead players emerging from the various areas and villages/wards, the event is playing its part in aiding Social Cohesion among the citizenry.

Among some of the players on show next Sunday include Kevyn Murray, Jamal Harvey, Anthony Harding and Ashley Harding.

Teams are reminded to be at the venue for 3:00pm n e x t S u n d a y.

Four substitutions are permitted in

Ashley Harding this format which will see the games being run for 30 minutes broken into two halves of 15 minutes. The tournament will be played in the knockout format, with winners advancing to the next round. Sudden death penalties will be used to separate the sides in the event of a draw at the end of full time.

The no offside rule is also in effect. All other rules will come under the dictates of FIFA.

t r o Sp Milo School’s football tournament

Annandale and PC clinch semifinal spots

Annandale’s Jemar Harrigon is cool on the ball during his side’s 4-0 win over Charlestown in the first quarterfinal yesterday at the MOE ground.

Bishops’ High’s Malachi Richards (on the ball) scored one goal for his side but it couldn’t stop the charge from President’s College that won 2-1.

GFF Elite League Season 4

Santos (white) in control against Ann’s Grove on Friday night at the Police Sports Club Ground, Eve Leary.

Ten-man Fruta Conquerors edge Police; Santos beat Ann’s Grove for first win

Nicholas McArthur being kept in check by this Police FC player on Friday night at Police ground.

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