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Friday May 10, 2019

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Govt. allowing int’l Charrandass vote at centre community to define where as lawyers face-off at CCJ we go with oil sector - Jagdeo - But the facts do not support his claims As Guyana prepares for first oil, preparing a framework that will ensure the country gets maximum benefit from the exploitation of the resource is key. But Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, holds the opinion that the government is abdicating its responsibility to the sector, and that if it doesn’t take control, Guyana will get crumbs. During a press conference yesterday, he noted, “It’s the government that has the duty to sign agreements and ensure that those agreements have provisions to protect our people, and then enforce those agreements.” He said, however, that it seems as though the government is allowing just “a few people from the local people, and the international community to define where we go in this industry.” While Jagdeo holds this view, the facts tell a completely different story. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the World Bank are just three of the many global institutions which have been lending assistance to Guyana as it prepares for the sector. In any of the reports they prepare to provide guidance to Guyana on the sector, these institutions remind that it is the prerogative of the government to either use its recommendations in part or full. Specifically, the IMF has pointed this out in more than three reports it has done for Guyana. And the government has on several occasions, made use of those suggestions that fit the Guyana context. This was reported extensively by Kaieteur News over the last three years. Furthermore, Jagdeo, at this press conference went on to state that Guyana doesn’t know what the government is thinking. “They keep telling

us they’re working on things,” and that there’s no clear vision for the sector to ensure people benefit substantially from the resources that we have. The technical staff of the Energy Department, Dr. Mark Bynoe, has great expertise in matters of climate change, but in the oil sector, he is “ill informed and without the requisite skills to manage definitively on policy issues,” Jagdeo said. But Dr. Bynoe has acknowledged on several occasions that the department is in need of several professionals. It has even placed numerous advertisements for various positions which he said will be filled by July month end. The Department is on the hunt for a Petroleum Development Advisor, Crude Marketing Advisor, Natural Gas Negotiations Advisor, Oil and Gas Commercial Specialist, Petroleum Commission Needs Assessment Advisor, Accounting Specialist and a Legal Advisory Services, he said. He added that the department has already received numerous applications for these positions. Jagdeo said that Bynoe has been operating politically, going out to tell young people that there are many opportunities in the sector, even though “the government has not defined local content in a manner that benefit Guyanese.” “In spite of all these articles you see emanating from the Department of Energy, we have a consultant from abroad and one person who has no expertise in this sector determining our future in this sector. And our policymakers, the entire government, has disappeared.” He said that Guyana does not have a model contract (Production Sharing Agreement), a petroleum commission, or a local content policy,

and that all that is being discussed at this juncture “is getting some money from abroad to hire consultants to work in the future.” He added that the People’s Progressive Party would have a clear definition on these issues in five to six months of being in government. But right now, he said that they’re not being addressed. Jagdeo claimed that this government has failed Guyana, as well, in the negotiation of the contract with ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL). Guyana is set to share profits 50/50 with Exxon, and benefit from a two percent royalty for every barrel it declares. The profit would only come into play after ExxonMobil and its two other partners take their expenses out; expenses that include pre2015 spending. Critics have said that Guyana doesn’t get enough from that arrangement, but there has been no indication of willingness to renegotiate that contract by either of the major political players. Currently, the discovered reserves contain an estimated five billion barrels of high quality oil. Jagdeo added that for the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Guyana is missing, in a substantive way. He noted the participation of former Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, who was scheduled to make a keynote address on the agenda. He said that the head of GO-Invest, Owen Verwey, was there but that he was not on the agenda to address the conference. So Jagdeo has questioned, “What did our government say to the summit?” He believes that “they are now failing us on a daily basis when they do not give clarity or define the framework within which everyone will operate in this sector.”

Charrandass Persaud’s conscience vote against the government came under the microscope yesterday as lawyers involved in the no-confidence appeal against the government faced off at the Caribbean Court of Justice in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The consolidated hearings for the cases involving Christopher Ram, Attorney General Basil Williams, Leader of the Opposition Bharrat Jagdeo, and Joseph Harmon, Speaker of the National Assembly Dr. Barton Scotland, Charrandass Persaud and Compton Herbert Reid garnered much attention from Guyanese at home and abroad. Many tuned in, as the matter was live streamed via the CCJ website. The matters have been closely watched since it could result in an early general election. In fact, yesterday's hearing saw the attendance of at least five Ministers of Government and supporters from each side of the House. On December 21, last, 33 of the 65 Members of the National Assembly of Guyana voted in favour of a no-confidence motion which meant that the President and Ministers of Government should resign and that elections must be held within three months. However, the Government later claimed that 34 votes were required and that one of the members who voted in favour of the motion, Mr. Charrandass Persaud, was ineligible to vote because he held dual citizenship. When the matter came before the Chief Justice in the High Court, she ruled that only 33 votes were required. However, on appeal to the Court of Appeal, it was held that 34 votes were required. The matter is now before the CCJ for

final determination. Persaud, a former member of the Alliance For Change (AFC); an arm of the ruling Coalition, had voted against his own party on December 21, last. The former Parliamentarian and Attorney-at-law had been accused of selling out his own party for a few pieces of silver. He had however denied the claims declaring instead that he voted in keeping with his conscience. The former MP claimed that he was forced to stand up for what is right in the face of the arm of Government, the AFC, which had become a group of “yes men”. However, as attorneys involved in the case presented their arguments before a panel of five CCJ judges yesterday, the questions surrounding Persaud’s right to vote in accordance with his conscience became a subject of discussion. Placing the issue in the spotlight, former Attorney General of Belize, Eamon Courtaney, who is representing the Government side in the cases, stressed that Persaud’s vote was invalidated on grounds of Guyana’s “very strong antidefection provision.” The attorney argued that the no-confidence motion was invalid because Guyana’s constitution prohibits parliamentarians from being disloyal to the party’s list of candidates. In support of his contention, Courtenay, cited Article 156(3) of the Constitution, which was amended in 2007 to essentially bar Parliamentarians from crossing the floor. According to the attorney, the rule was placed there, as a reminder to Parliamentarians on each side of the House of how they got there, in the first place. Courtenay noted Persaud,

being an Attorney-at-law, was well aware of the Article and its provisions. The lawyer declared that the rules provide for a disgruntled member of the party to declare in writing to the Speaker or to the representative of the list from which his / her name was extracted that he or she will not support the list from which his or her name was extracted. He explained that rules essentially state that each member should make his or her contention known before it reaches the Parliament. He was adamant that the Article prohibits Parliamentarians from voting in accordance with their own convictions; they must remain within party lines. However, Justice Adrian Saunders, President of the CCJ, noted that the anti-defection legislation has serious and far reaching effect in that it hinges on Parliamentarians right to make a choice according to own belief, which is also protected by the Constitution. The CCJ President warned the attorney that his arguments were treading on serious grounds. The Judge quipped that MPs should not be limited to what their Party’s policies and beliefs. If it is so, then what is the use of a debate. “If the Article tampers with the value of MPs right to vote in the House, it reduces the Parliamentary proceedings to a charade.” Continuing the line of argument, the lawyer held that the only way the government can be toppled by a no confidence vote, is in the case where an arm of the Coalition Government votes against the ruling administration. He declared that the government cannot remain in (Continued on page 29)

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KAIETEUR NEWS Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: ADAM HARRIS Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491 Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

EDITORIAL

Executive Pay: The compensation racket flourishes

E

xecutive pay continues to make the rounds for the wrong reasons; reasons that raise the wrath of observers, especially those at the bottom of the pay pyramid. A handful of examples should enlighten as to what is slammed as the massive disparity between the pay at the top and those lost at the median. A recent survey conducted by 24/7 Wall St selfdescribed as “a financial news and opinion company” provided some numbers and names that identified the leading earners among CEOs in the US. With all figures in US dollars, at number 101 came Mr. Michael Kaufman of Cardinal Health, who drew what was a relatively measly $8.6 million at a company that had $130 billion in revenues. It is not an altogether unreasonable nor arresting number. That occurs closer to the other end of the scale, and especially within the very top bracket(s). Comcast Corporation, which is in cable, entertainment, and communications businesses, paid its CEO Brian Roberts $32.5 million on revenues of $84.5 billion, which lands him at the number four spot in the pay sweepstakes. It should be noted that fourth place received over four times (or 400%) the amount paid to Mr. Kaufman, who was at the 101st spot. Things are starting to soar and sprawl at this stage. In third place was Disney’s Robert Iger, who did nicely for himself with a pay figure of $66.6 million on revenues of $55.1 billion. When his numbers came out a few months back, it did not sit too well in some very influential corners. As reported by CNBC’s Squawk Box, no less a person than Abigail Disney, who as can be guessed is a Disney heiress, had this to say on Executive Pay: “CEOs in general are paid way too much.” Amen. CNBC continued by mentioning that the heiress felt that no CEO quite measured up or could justify pay that is several hundred times the pay of median workers. Her exact words are more scorching: “If your salary is 700, 600, 500 times your median workers’ pay, there is nobody on earth, Jesus Christ himself, who is worth 500 times his median workers’ pay.” There should be very few who would find powerful enough reasons to contest Ms. Disney’s positions. One wonders what she would have to say with regard to Messrs. Safra Catz and Mark Hurd of Oracle, who tied at the top with a salary of $108.3 million each on $37.7 billion in revenues. Seems like a gold mine of self-serving, while others languish. In most instances, if not all, CEOs have garnered a reputation for lining their pockets with both pearls and oysters to the tune of many millions. They do so while the rank and file toil to make ends meet, and have to fight tooth and nail for the pittances of percentage increases that is their annual reward. It is a reward that leaves many with a bad taste in the mouth, especially when they learn of how much is the differential between their own compensation and that of the man at the top. Even a passing scrutiny of the 24/7 Wall St. survey on CEO pay would pick up that it is almost all men, and with very few minorities participating in the corporate bonanzas. Many times, these outrages occur because compensation committees are stacked by CEOs with ‘friendlies’ and familiars, who come in for their own share of the giveaways called honoraria. In Guyana, government members awarded themselves and their opposition counterparts a hefty pay rise that rankled. Lesser, struggling citizens received the ‘imposition’ of crumbs. Change does come in self-serving ways: pay, pensions, parachutes, prosperity. In corporate and political life, the powers always look out for themselves and leave juniors to get by somehow. The little are paid to manage eating or clothing or housing, one only, rarely all three simultaneously. Thus, the compensation racket flourishes.

NURSES SHOULD BE PROVIDED WITH SPECIAL INCENTIVES TO REMAIN AND SERVE DEAR EDITOR, This week is designated International Nurses Week. I take this opportunity to congratulate all our hardworking nurses in Guyana and abroad who are working beyond the call of duty to provide medical care and attention to our population. It hardly needs stating, or for that matter restating the obvious. Our nurses, like our teachers are woefully underpaid and to a large extent have been subsidising the health care and delivery costs by accepting low salaries. Yet nurses and teachers are two of the most critical professionals in the fostering

and nurturing of a healthy and educated society. I believe it is time for our nurses to be treated with some more respect by the relevant authorities. I can hear in the background some noises to the effect that our economy is not in a position to offer a better remuneration. This may be true to a point but such arguments flies in the face of reason and logic when consideration is taken of the fact that our politicians in the higher echelons earn in excess of a million dollars per month in salaries and pensions not to mention the other benefits and allowances they also receive. What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

With the anticipated surge in revenues from oil and gas, the readjustments to the public service remuneration structure should be given active consideration especially as it relates to our nurses and our teachers. Moreover, other nonsalary benefits such as dutyfree concessions and subsidised housing should also be considered. The cost of doing nothing to enhance the working and living conditions of our nurses can be substantial. For one thing, it could lead to a further exodus of our nurses to the Caribbean, Britain, Canada and the United States where a significant number of our nurses migrate on an

annual basis. I challenge the Ministry of Public Health to conduct a survey on the attrition rate of nurses including those on contract who opted to repay their contractual obligations. I am sure the findings of such a survey would be alarming. Nurses, especially those who completed their contractual obligations, should be provided with special incentives to remain and serve. Apart from duty-free concessions and housing, scholarships should be offered to pursue higher education in the field of medicine at the University of Guyana or any other approved university. Hydar Ally

GOVT. SHOULD USE SOME OIL REVENUE TO GIVE THE COUNTRY A MASSIVE FACELIFT DEAR EDITOR, For various reasons, one having to do with the diversion caused by the noconfidence motion, the government is yet to fully explain to us how exactly the country and our lives will likely be transformed by oil revenues. In this state of uncertainty, Guyanese have come to adopt a wait-and-see attitude. The relentless criticisms of a few months ago of the oil contracts, especially regarding the real size of government’s take, have not helped. At a time when national optimism should be at its highest, a pall has been cast on the national spirit. With an oil bonanza coming, one would have expected by this hour more flurry, such as the creation of

think tanks, debates on refashioning of national goals and strategies, the conducting of country-wide public consultations, the mounting of billboards and the display of large block models of infrastructure projects, and the rolling out of concrete people-centered promises and plans. We still have some time. Confidence, hope and excitement can be restored quickly. We continue to see articles in the international press suggesting that Guyana can become one of the richest countries in the world. It raises the question: what will be the first signs Guyanese will see and feel to know the country is moving up. In the first one to two

years after 2020, what will we be able to point to in our own lives, our communities and in our country to say we are a very rich nation? Construction of large Infrastructural projects? Deposits in the Sovereign Wealth Fund? Larger than usual salary increases? The answer has several parts and the government must give this matter some more urgent thought and action, as development must also be perceived and felt. In this context, I wish to single out one feel-good and transformational idea. It is this: the country needs a massive physical facelift. Guyana’s built environment (our human-made surroundings) is mostly dirty,

untidy, primitive, and plain ugly. We get touchy when foreigner journalists write to say so, but it is true. I am proposing, as one of the first projects to be a ‘can-see’ transformation, that the government launches a multimillion dollar multi-year action plan to refurbish and clean up the appearance of our towns and villages. Such a plan can be implemented through several centralised and decentralised strategies and mechanisms. A national facelift reaches beyond the cosmetic. It can lift the national mood, spur community economic growth and spirit, and rekindle respect and care for our surroundings. Yours faithfully, Sherwood Lowe

Highlighting that recurring problem at the Enmore their stories. it. was affected today. I am Post Office hearUnfortunately, talking Ramzan’s (TV writing about it and I hope the DEAR EDITOR, My letter relates to a situation, which happens month after month at the Enmore Post Office. Persons, mainly Indians, would go to the Enmore Post Office to uplift their NIS and Old Age benefits and are made to join lines and many are later told “money finish”. While they are in the line, persons from neighbouring villages would be allowed to bypass the line and get their benefits. It seems as if the Ministry of Social protection is broke and sends limited money to the Post Office and racism does not help the situation. Editor, I challenge you to prove me wrong and do an undercover exercise between the 1st to 8th of every month. Talk to Indians and you will

about racism seems to be taboo in Guyana. But it eats away cancerously at our existence. And racism runs deep and people are badly bruised by

personality) father was one Indian victim today. What has Ramzan done to assert his Father’s right? Stay quiet and the situation goes on, month after month. My aunt-in-law

so-called “Fourth Estate” will carry this piece. Wouldn’t surprise me if it doesn’t. After all – this is Guyana; full of ostriches! Charles Selman

The staff at the GFC requests the truth from Minister Trotman DEAR EDITOR, The staff at the Guyana Forestry Commission is now faced with late payment of salaries, no allowances, and even loss of jobs. The staff was informed in an article in Kaieteur News, dated April 13, 2019, that the Commission is now falling short by up to $1B annually to effectively carry out its function and is cash-strapped from the closure of many forestry logging and sawmill

operations. The staff at the Guyana Forestry Commission was informed via media of plans for the restructuring of the Guyana Forestry Commission. This restructuring would be in keeping w i t h t h e G o v e r n m e n t ’s n a t i o n a l objective of the moving towards a ‘green’ economy and alignment with the green state development strategy. But is this true or is this restructuring an avenue to

downscale staff numbers? It does not make sense to us staff that the restructuring is aimed at increasing jobs and salaries when the plans for restructuring only came immediately after it was declared that the Guyana Forestry Commission is bankrupted. So please Minister Trotman, tell us, which one is it really? Who will be fired and who gets to stay? Sincerely, Another Concerned Staff

OAI strictly adheres to the provisions of its Lease Agreement DEAR EDITOR, I have known Annette Arjoon, now Arjoon-Martins, from the time she was a young girl under the tutelage of her father, Yacoob Ally, and have always admired her tenacious commitment to the environment. However, of recent years, I have often wondered by what stretch of her imagination does she really believe that she has a monopoly on the truth and her spin that the truth shall be her shield. What truth is she referring to? In her letter published by the Kaieteur News (4th May, 2019), she prefers to attack me personally on the grounds that I am “a Public Relations Consultant for Ogle Airport Inc. (OAI)” and, therefore, “typically one sided with several deliberate omissions”, but without being able to define or address them. In my long career as a professional Public Communications Consultant, I have never once advised a client to dissimulate or be dishonest, in fact, quite the opposite, because it never pays and, indeed, the truth will always be exposed. By her own admission in

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her letter, she has been feeding the media “stories”, but which were not once investigated by Kaieteur News who chose to publish them, prompted by her family’s company’s neverending anti-competitive behaviour at Ogle. Annette Arjoon-Martins started working for Air Services Ltd. (ASL) in 2009 and during that time succeeded in dividing the aviation industry by withdrawing ASL from the Aircraft Owners Association, notwithstanding the many attempts by several Senior Members to discourage this. Annette Arjoon-Martins then used the National Air Transport Association (NATA), of which she was once President, to pursue her own agenda, but knows full well that her efforts to continue to divide the aviation industry has little or no support today. Air Services Ltd. has a long standing lawsuit before the Courts on the subject of Ogle Airport Inc’s administration of the Eugene F. Correia International Airport (EFCIA), the matters of which are sub judice, yet, Annette Arjoon-

Martins continues to prejudice this lawsuit by surreptitiously feeding its allegations to a willing media house whose appetite for publishing sensational material exceeds its obligation for fair and balanced reporting of the facts. Annette Arjoon-Martins will be exposed in court when nothing but the truth will be revealed, but, in the meantime, her underhand attempts to exploit the media, and influence the administration, have been anything but transparent or honest. Let me repeat that OAI strictly adheres to the provisions of its Lease Agreement with the Government and “is implementing a fully transparent process for land distribution” at EFCIA “which provides access for all aircraft operators regardless of whether deemed to be small or large, on a fair, equitable and equal basis” and continues to do so. Yours sincerely, Kit Nascimento Public Communications Consultant On behalf of Ogle Airport Inc.

Motorists should not have to visit a station for a ticketable offence DEAR EDITOR, I was recently on the phone with a friend in Guyana, while talking with him, he was pulled over by the police, so we hung-up. Two hours later, he called me back and told me he was pulled over for running a red light and had to follow the police officer to Kitty Police Station where he was charged and put on $10k bail, but with a bribery of $5k, he was able to walk out of the station with no further action. I don’t blame my friend for taking this option; the system in place makes no sense. Why not just issue a ticket and let the offender have the option to pay or go to court. I have

never heard of this before, where just for a traffic violation you have to make a trip to the station to be charged like a criminal. This system will always encourage bribery and when an officer leaves his post to accompany a person to the station, he misses many opportunities to issue tickets to other traffic violators. I’m sure that I’m not the first person to bring this up, but the government needs to change this rule. Maybe bringing this up in your newspaper will hopefully make some of the governing body do some thinking. Roy Doobay

Unified governance needed to help reap positives from oil sector DEAR EDITOR, Over the past few days, I have attended the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas with its expansive display by hundreds of companies and countries including Guyana as well as conference sessions and collateral events. Guyana is well represented at this conference and must be a fascinating reality check for many of us, I would think. I have always been aware that our oil and gas industry would be a boost to our economy but must admit that what I have learnt during this conference has really opened my eyes to the enormity of the positive impact this sector can have on quality of life of the Guyanese people if we manage it well and confront some of the challenges, including social ills such as human trafficking, which are likely to intensify as our level of prosperity is heightened. I really hope that all Guyanese, especially our politicians can come to grips with the reality that if they do what is right they could chart a course that would provide for every Guyanese to enjoy a quality of life about which they never dreamt. On Wednesday, there was a session on Guyana, which focused on sustainable development of Guyana’s oil and gas industry. It was a good panel discussion. While much of the information was not new, what made it useful were the perspectives offered

about the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (swot), which the sector must analyse and address. One panelist spoke of the “complex political structure” in Guyana, which I interpreted to be among the challenges which must be addressed if the sector is to realize its full potential to be of benefit to each and every Guyanese. I would hope that in quick time the political structure of Guyana would change via constitutional reform. In the meantime, however, it is my fervent wish that the political culture in Guyana could change even sooner thereby providing for heightened collaboration among the major political parties and drastic reduction in the real and/or perceived animosity which exist among them. Guyana has to have a predictable environment to facilitate investment, private sector and economic development and job creation. This requires consultation and collaboration among the parties, which would provide for continuity of policies when there are changes in government. In short, what I am proposing is that the major political parties refrain from

their “jingoistic” approaches to governance and work toward some form of unified governance which would not negate a reasonable plurality of outlook, but presuppose it. Seeking to eschew corruption in all its forms and at every level must be the pillar of their collaborative efforts along with putting an end to political favoritism/ loyalty in the appointments to key positions. Perhaps it is time that the major political parties seek to attract to its ranks and leadership persons with a greater commitment to Putting Guyana First. Failure to so do could torpedo the good life the cusp of which the country is now positioned. I attended a business meeting sometime ago in Curacao at which Paul Keens Douglas was the keynote speaker at one of the luncheon sessions. In referring to “group think” of regional politicians, he said these guys “feel their countries are at the precipice of great developments and all they have to do is take one great step forward.” Let’s hope this is not the current thinking of our Guyanese politicians. Regards Wesley Kirton

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Is there one Agency that exists where men are even heard? DEAR EDITOR, Some of us are born, we grow and live in this country and have never heard of the Child Care and Protection Agency. That is because our parents gave us stability and safety in our homes and teachers provided support through the school system. I am one such individual and remain eternally grateful to my parents and grandparents for exemplifying what stability in family life looks and feels like. However, I had cause to recently interact with this Agency on behalf of a single parent family (father in care of his children) in need of support and I am in shock to see the level of incapacity at the Agency. Functional literacy is a problem in Guyana, so basic reading, report writing, comprehension, listening and organising skills are in short supply at this Agency. Forget any expectation of common sense and please don’t even think about such maturity as impartiality, objectivity, truth, fairness and wisdom. Visit any police station and we find the

same problem. If a citizen wants to access intelligence in this society, they are forced to go to the Court System where they will find professionals with a higherlevel education and greater capacity for problem solving. The insight that I gained from my recent interaction with the Guyana Police Force and the Child Care and Protection Agency that I wish to share with the general public is the shocking absence and complete disregard and lack of support for the mental health of males in our society. Our Agencies are experts at persecuting males. Morning, noon and night they know how to do this. They breathe and sleep persecution. Is there one Agency that exists where men are even heard? They first need to be heard and understood before they can be supported. This deafness to supporting, rather than persecuting, poor male members of our society is a policy gap that screams across the nation where men are pushed into a corner to

What criteria were used to select the GECOM Chairman? DEAR EDITOR, With regards to President David Granger unilaterally selecting Justice (rtd) James Patterson as GECOM Chairman without furnishing reasons for rejecting three lists submitted by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, questions need to be asked as to what criteria was used in rejecting the three lists. Without furnishing reason/s for rejecting the lists how is anyone going to be able to know whether the President acted rationally or irrationally? The whole point of the Amendment (Article 161) from what existed before was to prevent the President from unilaterally selecting GECOM Chairman, which the President has done anyway. What would be the point of the Amendment other than for decorative purposes? Yours faithfully Sean Ori

find solace in drowning sorrows. How many men and children in our society deal with verbal and psychological abuse from mothers and female spouses on a daily basis? Yet, such women find ready comfort and a sympathetic ear with the gullible authorities. Why is female persecution of, slander, lies and threats against men not an issue of concern to any of our Agencies? Why are females not given the help that they also need to learn to communicate more effectively? For the creation of a just society, we must engage in systems thinking, do deeper analysis and provide the mental health support needed by ALL members of our society. Are our Agencies aware that people in this country are hungry? With a day-to-day struggle to find food for their children? From their regular salaried positions and air-conditioned offices (with visitors often left to wait in the sun and rain), are Government officials

capable of understanding the support needed by poor families? How do we ease the desperation in society? From my experience with the Child Care and Protection Agency, there exists a lack of understanding of the living conditions of the poor and the support being provided to poor families struggling to raise children is way short of inadequate. With a paucity of analytical skills, the right problems will not be solved because they are not being diagnosed. There are many singleparent families in this nation, where men, fathers, are the single-parent struggling to raise their children. Male single-parent families need support as much as families with mothers as the singleparent. The psychological mindset at our Agencies, however, is that fathers must work, mothers must be supported. Mothers can be abusive, drunkards, liars, prostitutes and guilty of child neglect, frequenting bars with their girl children who are often prostituted, raped and

become mere teenage pregnancy statistics; but they are mothers and an Agency incapable of proper investigation and biased against fatherhood cannot act in the interest of fathers and their children. We don’t only celebrate Mother’s Day in this country and around the world. We also observe Father’s Day. As a nation, and part of the Western World, now waking up to mental health issues, I urge our Agencies and policy makers to remember that men are people too and that the hard-working stressed-out fathers are as much in need of support as are the destitute mothers. On a recent visit to the Permanent Secretary’s Office of the Ministry of Social Protection, my attention was drawn to a humble looking notice inviting members of staff to ‘Emotional Intelligence’ training. My heart skipped a beat as I saw the silver lining. If there is a single policy initiative that can have resounding impact on our mental evolution and

our nation’s human development and capacity building efforts, it is the development of our collective emotional awareness. As they say in Trinidad, we can all ‘make nice’ - first with ourselves, and then with others. Men and women in Guyana cannot improve their coping strategies for dealing with life’s frustrations without a deeper understanding of their emotions. The woes of the emotionally hijacked - the torrent of emotional abuses and the impoverished communication skills and the murders and suicides - will only improve with knowledge of how to manage the many frustrations of life. As a Rastafarian recently said to me, we all must learn to bring the I over the E. I wish to encourage our policy makers to roll out a massive Emotional Intelligence Awareness Campaign across the length and breadth of this nation, geared to supporting the needs of ALL in our society. Sincerely, Concerned Citizen

INDIA’S ELECTION TAKES PRESIDENTIAL TONE DEAR EDITOR, Hundreds of millions of Indians voted in five phases of balloting so far. Two phases of voting remain – one this Sunday and one the following Sunday to complete the process. The general election has been billed as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The campaign takes the form of a Presidential election not dissimilar to that in Guyana. Modi’s nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a historic landslide in the last elections in 2014. Modi staked his claim in 2014 to lead India on a tough image against terrorism and a truly secular government without favouring any religious or caste group. He has been tough against those who infiltrated the porous border of India to spread terror. Modi ordered surgical strike against camps in Pakistan in February. His action won overwhelming approval from the nation. In India, people generally vote against the incumbent. Most of the incumbent MPs of the BJP are disliked including the popular Bollywood actress Hema Malini who is seeking reelection from Mathura, the holy city of Lord Krishna. But voters tell this writer they want to give Modi a second term. Thus, they will vote for the incumbents on account of Modi who remains the BJP’s main vote-getter. Modi is campaigning everywhere on behalf of the

candidates of his party, the BJP which is in an alliance with other parties called the NDA. The largest opposition party is the Congress, which is in an alliance with other parties called the UPA. Sworn enemies in the opposition have come together to defeat Modi. But opinion polls put the NDA ahead of the UPA by almost two to one. However, the polls say the NDA will not win a majority of the seats. It takes 272 seats to form the government in a parliament of 543 elected members of the lower house or Lok Sabha. This writer, in his own informal polls, put Modi ahead of the Congress and is likely to come close to a majority of seats giving him a second five-year term in office. Without an opposition alliance, the BJP would have won over 300 seats. As it is now, the party is struggling to capture 250 seats. The BJP won 283 seats in the last election. The seven-phase elections commenced on 19 April and will conclude on the 19 May. Counting of ballots is 23 May. The counting takes mere hours as opposed to days or weeks in Guyana that has only 400K voters. There are some 970 million eligible voters across the country. This is the largest election ever conducted in the world. The tone of the campaign has been acrimonious especially against the opposition leader, Rahul Gandhi and two of his alliance partners Akilesh Yadav of SP

and Mayawati of BSP. The BJP faces strong challenges from other regional parties in the South and in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, has been trying to bring together the parties to form a coalition to unseat Modi. Rahul’s father (Rajiv), grandmother (Indira) and great-grandfather (Jawaharlal Nehru) were all Indian prime ministers. His mother, the Italian born Sonia, declined the PM position in 2004. Rahul, himself, declined the PM position in 2009. His sister, Priyanka Gandhi, formally launched her political career in January. She is not contesting a seat although it was announced she would contest against Modi. Had she done so, she would have been trounced. Modi is contesting in the prestigious Benaras seat. This writer’s poll has him well ahead to win by a landslide. Priyanka is campaigning for her brother, Rahul, and mother, Sonia, who is contesting a seat in Rae Bareli, from Uttar Pradesh, the state where 70 percent of Indo-Caribbeans trace their roots. Rahul is also contesting from UP in Amethi constituency. Fearing he would lose, Rahul fielded himself in a second seat in Kerala state. In India, a candidate can run for more than one seat but can only represent one seat in parliament and resign the others if elected from more

than one. The Lok Sabha, or lower house of parliament, has 543 elected seats and any party or coalition needs a minimum of 272 MPs to form a government. Opinion polls say Rahul will lose Amethi. However, this writer found from his survey that Rahul will win Amethi and also in Kerala. The main issues in the campaign are high unemployment, national security, and India’s role in world affairs. Caste and religion also play a critical role in how people vote. Chamars, called dalits in India, are voting for the BSP led by Mayawati. The Yadav cast is voting for the Yadav party called SP. At Friday namaz before each vote, imams instruct Muslims to vote for the party they feel will defeat the BJP. But Muslims are divided with women supporting BJP because the party has given women equal status to that of males angering the latter. In addition, the BJP has sought to outlaw multiple marriages and triple talaq divorce in which a man simply tells his wife he divorced her. It is hard to predict the exact number of seats each alliance will win. But everywhere this writer traveled, voters tell him the NDA under Modi will return to office for another term unless something major goes wrong. Yours faithfully, Dr. Vishnu Bisram (in India)

Kaieteur News

Friday May 10, 2019

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ExxonMobil moves for approval of third field development offshore Guyana By Kiana Wilburg

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fter receiving the green light for the development of the Liza Phase Two Project , Exxon Mobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), is moving for approval of a third field development on the Stabroek Block called Payara. According to documents in the possession of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), EEPGL’s Payara development will be located in the eastern area of the Stabroek Block which is approximately 190 km (118 miles) from Georgetown. The operator notes that oil production from Payara is expected to last at least 20 years with startup of the facilities expected to occur approximately in mid-2023. EEPGL noted that it will drill approximately 35 to 45 wells offshore to support extraction of the oil from below the sea floor. It said that each well will be drilled using a floating drill ship. Also, each well will be directionally drilled to specific reservoir targets generally 4,000 to 5,500 meters (m) below the sea level. Further to this, EEPGL said it will install some of the oil production facilities on the sea floor at approximately 1,500-1,980 m (4,900-6,500 ft) water depth. It said that these subsea facilities include various types of pipes and hardware. Kaieteur News understands that the subsea facilities allow the oil from the wells to be gathered and moved to the surface of the ocean for further processing. EEPGL will then install other oil production facilities on a vessel which floats on the surface of the ocean. The vessel is called a Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO). It will be moored on location in approximately 1,800-1,980 m (5,900-6,500 ft) of water depth and will remain on location throughout the life of the facility. EEPGL said that oil production facilities on the FPSO will further process the oil extracted from below the sea floor. The operator also stated that the FPSO will have the capacity to produce up to approximately 180,000 to 220,000 barrels of oil per day. During the early stage of production operations, the FPSO is anticipated to produce up to an average of approximately 5,700,000 to 6,600,000 barrels of crude oil per month. These estimates are preliminary and are subject to change.

With respect to the processed oil, EEPGL said that it will be stored in tanks in the FPSO hull which have the capacity to hold at least 1.6 million barrels of oil. Approximately every four - six days, EEPGL said that the oil will be pumped from the FPSO to a conventional oil tanker which is owned/operated by others. The tanker will then bring the oil to buyers. Elaborating further on this matter, EEPGL explained that it will utilise onshore support facilities to support drilling the wells, installing the offshore production facilities, and operating the offshore production facilities. It said that this may include a shore base, storage facilities, fabrication facilities, and waste management facilities. It said that helicopters and supply boats will also be needed to support the project. At peak, EEPGL noted that it will utilise approximately 1,200 personnel offshore during the stage where the wells are being drilled and the offshore oil production facilities are being installed. It said that this number will decrease to less than 200 personnel during the production operations phase. It said, too, that a smaller number of personnel will be utilised at the onshore support facilities. At the end of the life of project (at least 20 years), EEPGL would develop a plan to decommission the offshore production facilities. The plan would be submitted for approval by the government. KEY DIFFERENCES There are a number of key differences between Payara and the Liza Phases One and Two development fields.

The line on the map shows the location of the Payara well on the Stabroek Block In the area of oil production rates, EEPGL said that Payara’s production rate will be approximately 180,000 to 220,000 barrels of oil per day. It noted that the Liza Phase Two production rate will be 220,000 barrels of oil per day while Phase One production rate is 100,000 barrels of oil per day with the ability to operate at sustained peaks of 120,000 barrels per day. It terms of the number of wells, EEPGL noted that Payara will have approximately 35 to 45 wells. The Liza Phase Two will have up to 33 wells and Phase One will have 17 wells.

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Kaieteur News

Friday May 10, 2019

DemToCo denies scheme to avoid tax - says group has contributed significantly to the from GRA economies of the countries in which it operates. D emerara Tobacco C o m p a n y (DemToCo) has refuted a report that it deliberately operated a scheme to reduce the amount of tax it should be paying. According to DemToCo yesterday, BAT is a global company operating in some 200 markets worldwide. DemToCo insisted that the group has been making significant impact on the economies of the countries it operates. “Across the periods covered by the Tax Justice Network, from 2007-2016, the group contributed to £255bn in excise, duty and corporation tax to government globally.” DemToCo stated that transactions between BAT and its subsidiaries reflect genuine costs that are frequently audited by external parties. “Accordingly,

DEMTOCO does not accept that there is any avoidance or loss of tax revenue to Guyana in the manner contended by the report. The Group is a significant tax contributor to governments worldwide and fully complies with the applicable tax legislation where it does business and operates all transactions that occur between group companies on an arm’s length basis at market rates.” DemToCo said it is willing to answer any questions. DemToCo is a subsidiary of British American Tobacco (BAT) and are the distributors of Pall Mall and Bristol brands of cigarettes. A recent report listed Guyana and a number of other countries, including Trinidad and Tobago, where BAT benefitted from payments that reduced its profits and thus the amount of taxes it should have paid in the respective

countries. The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) recently said it is looking at allegations that BAT hid its profits from operations here. According to GRA’s Commissioner-General, Godfrey Statia, the issue has come to the attention of that tax body. Statia, however, would only say: “We are checking the manner in which it can be done.” BAT, according to a recent report released by the watchdog tax body, Tax Justice Network, Dem ToCo had a scheme where it avoided paying millions of dollars in taxes from a number of countries including Guyana. Between 2009 and 2012, an average of $200M in tax annually was avoided from Guyana, the watchdog body said. The report would come amid an ongoing debate of the country’s capacity to audit the accounts of foreign companies, especially with the coming of oil now. Local companies have been complaining about the tightening of GRA, which has become stricter on tax compliance and procedures. According to the report, Ashes to Ashes: How British American Tobacco Avoid Taxes in Low and Middle Income Countries, the com-

pany shifted more than half a dollar that would have been taxed locally to a UK subsidiary where BAT paid almost no tax. Tax Justice Network estimates Guyana, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kenya, Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago together stand to lose a total of nearly US$700 million in tax revenue by 2030 from the financial manoeuvring of just one tobacco company, if business continues as usual. According to the report, BAT used payments disguised as royalties, fees and IT charges, to avoid paying around US$3.4M ($680M) between 2009-2012. The watchdog body noted that the countries that it looked at also included Kenya, Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil, Indonesia and Bangladesh. In total, BAT avoided paying US$58.2M between 2007 and 2016. The Tax Justice Network also examined the cost of cigarettes on health and loss of productivity- what they said was the estimated economic cost of smoking- including health and low productivity costs due to early mortality and morbidity. In Guyana, 17.4 percent of men were using tobacco daily. The percentage of women over 15 years using tobacco daily was 2.3. The percentage of deaths caused by tobacco in men is 11.4 percent as against 4.7 percent for women. However, the worrying

DemToCo said it is willing to answer questions following a scathing report on how the profits are being creamed off. part, according to the report, is the estimated economic cost of smoking. It is US$15M. In the report published on the heels of BAT’s annual shareholders’ meeting in London, the Tax Justice Network revealed a range of mechanisms used by the tobacco company in 2016 to shift income equivalent to over 12 percent ($941 million) of its pre-tax profits to BAT Hold-

ings Ltd, a UK-based subsidiary where BAT paid almost no corporate income tax. By charging itself royalties, rerouting loans through tax havens and paying interests fees on loans made between regional offices, BAT shrunk its tax contributions in low and middle income countries where public funding is high in need and short in availability, according to the Tax Justice report.

Kaieteur News

Friday May 10, 2019

The government should explain itself

The government has said that it has an arrangement with the Guyana National Printers to supply exercise books. The only logical reason for this decision would have had to do with government trying to support the state-owned company. GNPL was not doing well for years. The PPPC had tried to privatise the entity but with no success. It is deadweight business. It should have long folded. There is no role for government in such a business. Government will never be able to compete with the private sector in these types of business. The Guyana National Printers Limited is a government-owned agency and the government may have felt an obligation to save the jobs of the employees of that entity. The government therefore may have decided that the Ministry of Education should support the GNPL. Unfortunately, the procurement laws of Guyana do not allow the government to hand out business to the state owned entity at the expense of public tendering. The arrangement with the GNPL amounts to sole-sourcing and the grounds for solesourcing do not exist. The government, therefore, needed to find another way to support the GNPL other than handing out work

to the corporation. It cannot try to support the GNPL by allowing it to have an unfair advantage over its private sector rivals. Government businesses have to compete and compete fairly with the private sector. But even more shocking has been the actions of the Guyana National Printers. Having been placed in a position whereby it can increase its business since it has an arrangement to supply the Ministry of Education, the GNPL decides to import exercise books. Why is it not producing the books? Why does it have to import the books? If it is a case whereby the GNPL does not have the capacity to print the books, then the least that could have been done was to have the orders sub-contracted to local suppliers through a public tendering process. On the other hand, it could have told the Ministry of Education that it does not have the capacity to produce all of the required exercise books. It could have asked the Ministry to reduce its quota and have the remaining quota tendered. It is unacceptable for the GNPL to have sub-contracted to foreign suppliers when it was given, rather than won, the contract for the supply of exercise books. If GNPL had

won a tender to supply exercise books to the Ministry of Education, it would have been within its right to sub-contract to whichever firm it wants, regardless of price or location. But it cannot do so under the present circumstances where it was gifted a contract by the government. This is the moral case. The legal case concerns the procurement laws of Guyana. The GNPL procurement practices must be consistent with the national procurement laws. This means that tendering was mandatory. GNPL has to go to tender. It cannot do otherwise. It is a state corporation and is bound by the procurement laws of Guyana. The Public Procurement Act states that government corporations may with the approval of the National Tender Board make its own rules on the grounds, which once these rules are inconsistent with the Public Procurement Act, the latter prevails. The Public Procurement Act also states that once funds are received from the Treasury for a specific procurement, then the government corporation is obligated to follow the rules set out under the Act. In the case of the GNPL, it is receiving funding from the Treasury for the

procurement of exercise books. Therefore, it has to comply with the ACT, which means that it has to go out to tender. The taking of work and then the sub-contracting of that work to foreigners, makes GNPL a commission agent. All it is doing is taking orders and

then having those orders filled overseas. Is this what the government intended when it gave the contract to GNPL or was its intention to try to save the jobs of the GNPL workers by having them produce the books. The government should explain itself. It should

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detail just why it did what it did and whether it accepts that GNPL had a right to source exercise books from Trinidad and Tobago.

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Kaieteur News

Friday May 10, 2019

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

Can Minister Ramjattan define what unhealthy means?

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agistrate Leron Daly jailed 19year-old Steven King of Kamarang village in the Mazaruni River for two years for the possession of a single bullet. Daly was in attendance at a conference on drug rehabilitation where in the featured address, Minister Ramjattan told the judicial officers present, including the country’s most senior magistrates, that in his experience as a prosecutor, he doesn’t accept jailing first offenders because they come out as hardened criminals (see my column of Friday, March15, 2019 “Are magistrates disrespecting Khemraj Ramjattan?” If the Minister of Public Security can offer that advice and Daly could jail a 19-yearold for possession of a single bullet then among magistrates there may be profound contempt for Ramjattan. On the other hand, could it be the case where the magistrates say to themselves,

‘who is he to tell us how to do our job when he can’t do his’ because our criminal rivers have burst their banks and have inundated Guyana. Crime is scaring from baby to the centurion in this country. Is Ramjattan a competent minister? I will refrain from an answer but offer a description of the climate that Ramjattan controls and owns. First, he faces tempestuous calls to resign when the two prison mayhems occurred, there was an outcry that the jails are flooded with young men who are convicted for petty crimes like possession of tiny amounts of marijuana. Lincoln Lewis has a phrase that he is fond of when describing our cowardly rulers. He would say that they lack “testicular fortitude.” Ramjattan lacks testicular fortitude in confronting the mediocre magistrates on their destruction of youths from poor economic fortunes but Ramjattan picks on prostitutes. The compelling ques-

tion is; this minister has nothing better to do with his time or is it that he has become so jaded that mental rut has stepped in? Ramjatan imposed a 2AM curfew on places of entertainment while most of his friends in the AFC and APNU party way beyond 2AM. Ramjattan (the satirical column, “Dem Boys Seh” has a rib-tickling sobriquet for Ramjattan) wants to do away with prostitution which is legal in many countries and if it is it not, the police hardly bother with the ladies of the night. Ramjattan says he wants to clamp down on strip-clubs because it is an unhealthy form of entertainment. What is healthy about tax evasion, casino gambling, intoxication at the rodeo and regatta that Ramjattan’s AFC and APNU colleagues never miss? One would like to think that runaway crime in any country is something that should be uppermost in the mind of the minister who holds

the portfolio of national security) officially known in Guyana as “public security” (heard that the government will soon change the names of the education and agriculture ministries and put the word, “public” in front of them), rather than bothering with the world’s oldest profession. Let’s continue with the climate that Ramjattan dwells in. Last week, I got several calls from a particular address on the East Coast Demerara urging me to come immediately and ‘see’ over-bearing noise creation by a neighbour at 7:30 AM. I declined on the ground that I had too many things to do that morning but I detected desperation in the callers’ voices so I went. I telephoned the aide to Ramjattan, Ms. Diana Ramkumar. She sits on the committee to eradicate the noise sarcoma. I gave her the details and told her I was at

the spot. She phoned back to say that she contacted Sparendaam Police Station, advised them of her status and asked for immediate action. She gave me the name of the rank. No rank came after half an hour. I apprised Ms. Ramkumar of the situation, she called Sparendaam again. I then called Sparendaam too. After two hours, no rank showed up. The residents had to put up with the torture while I journeyed back to town in disgust at the Ministry of Home Affairs. That very ministry made the end of noise nuisance a priority. But having failed on that front, Ramjattan wants to move against the beautiful women who are doing things that Ramjattan don’t like. I guess we can end this commentary with a philosophical question. What is an unhealthy situation in life? Is

Frederick Kissoon prostitution unhealthier than government spending the country’s money wastefully? Is prostitution unhealthier than magistrates who jail youths for the mere possession of a smoking utensil? Is prostitution unhealthier that the ubiquity of criminal violence? Is prostitution unhealthier than incompetent ministers who want to be reelected? Is prostitution unhealthier than corruption of government that came to power on the slogan of fighting against corruption?

DEM BOYS SEH

Everybody tekking blame fuh CJIA

De airport at Timehri is de centre of nuff confusion. Dem boys remember when dem see de first plan; it had all kind of nice things. When people see de plan, dem was certain dat Guyana was getting de most modern airport. De people who know bout airport seh dat Guyana got a shed wha anybody coulda build fuh quarter de money Jagdeo and Soulja Bai spend. De runway cost a penny but de building fuh de arrivals and departure really cheap. Of course, when people come from farrin after a long stay, dem does be impressed. Imagine wha Guyana had before dis. People talking how de airport nice and how dem proud to come home. But de people who live here know better. Dem see de original plan wha had eight air bridges. Dat mean dat eight plane could come to de airport and discharge people at de same time. Of course, dem boys want to know which immigration gon handle dat crowd. In fact, dem boys want to know when

Guyana gon ever attract so much people dat eight plane gon be pon de ground. In fact, dat is how Jagdeo and Robeson jump and tek de money to build de airport. De people tell dem dat Guyana gon be de hub. All of a sudden, people gon come through Africa and land in Guyana if dem want to go anywhere in South America. In de early days it did look so because nuff airline people come to talk. Talk cheap. Nobody ain’t come. Is when Guyana find oil, American Airways decide to come. Dem boys see some funny price at de start. Now American Airlines offering cheaper tickets. But dat is only part of de story. Dem boys want see dis new plan. Wha happening at de airport is a mystery and dem boys believe dat people wukking without a plan. De odda day dem tender fuh some more things fuh de airport. When de story buss, Jagdeo now seh is he cut out some things. He seh he tek some blame.Talk half and wonder who more gon tek blame.

Friday May 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Finance Minister agrees with cautionary advice on Belt and Road Initiative By Kiana Wilburg China’s Belt and Road Ini-But says it is still needed tiative (BRI) which aims to bring infrastructural development to various regions, has been treated with great disdain by many international critics considering how prone it has been to corruption while leaving countries with debts they simply cannot service. Because of this phenomenon, BRI has been classified as a diplomatic debt trap. It is on this ground that Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, recently advised that BRI should only go where it is needed and where countries can “sustainably” handle the debt that will follow. In light of the criticisms facing BRI, Kaieteur News asked Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan if he feels the initiative is needed in Guyana. From the outset, the Minister made it clear that he agrees with the cautionary advice that has been provided on the project. Be that as it may, the economist noted that Guyana’s infrastructural deficiencies are actually inhibiting its growth, hence his position, that BRI is needed. The Minister said that Guyana requires billions of dollars of investments to bring it into the 20th Century much less the 21st. He said that one can easily observe the poor road networks and bridges in and around the

Finance Minister, Winston Jordan country. He said that this is further compounded by the high electricity rates. The economist said, “If you don’t have cheap energy, it affects the private sector... Most of the people in the private sector have to produce using their own generators. You cannot compete competitively on the international market in such conditions.” The Finance Minister said that one cannot be cognizant of the infrastructural deficits facing the country and still be against those initiatives, which will address these concerns. “But I do agree with the caution which says that if you will borrow money, make sure it is used for productive purposes so that the infrastructure itself can allow a regeneration of other economic ac-

tivities,” the Finance Minister stated. For over a year now, Kaieteur News has been at the forefront of exposing how the debt burden from China’s BRI has been breaking the backs of nations which signed up for it. Sri Lanka for example was forced to sign over its strategically important Hambantota port to a Chinese state-owned company on a 99-year lease in 2017. The transfer of the port was to lift some of the enormous billion-dollar debts Sri Lanka owed to Beijing, debts which came from loans that helped fund Hambantota in the first place. Other countries, which have landed in the same boat with Sri Lanka include Pakistan, Djibouti, the Maldives, Fiji and Malaysia. (See link for further details: https:// www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/ category/chinas-modus-operandi/). In spite of the revelations made by this newspaper and the international reports warning countries about the BRI being nothing more than a debt trap, Guyana still signed it up. Other Caribbean nations, which have done the same include Jamaica, Barbados, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, and the Dominican Republic.

Friday May 10, 2019

Sam Hinds Jr. slapped with five charges -resisting arrest, assault of cop, refusing breathalyzer test, driving under the influence

Samuel Hinds Junior, the son of Former President and Prime Minister, Samuel Hinds, was yesterday hauled before a city magistrate where he was made to answer to five charges. This followed an encounter with police ranks early yesterday morning. Hinds denied all the allegations which were put to him by Magistrate Clive Nurse in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Courts. The first two charges alleged that on May 9, 2019, at Main Street, Georgetown, Hinds resisted arrest from and assaulted Police Constable Canterbury, a peace officer who was acting in the execution of his duties. The next charge alleged that on the same day and at the same location, the defendant behaved in a disorderly manner. Also, it was alleged that on the same day and at the same location, Hinds drove motor vehicle PMM 4446 when the identification mark on the vehicle was not visible. Finally, it was alleged that on May 9, 2019, at Main Street, Georgetown, Hinds refused to take a breathalyzer test from Police Constable Thom. Attorney-at-law Latchmi Rahamat represented Hinds. She told the court that he is 38 years old and resides at Agricola, East Bank Demerara (EBD). She further stated that he is a miner in the interior. The attorney promised

Samuel Hinds Junior

that if granted bail, Hinds will make every effort to return to court for the hearing and determination of his matters. According to reports, on the day in question, Hinds was stopped at the location by the police ranks who asked to conduct a breathalyzer test on him, he allegedly refused and started to behave in a disorderly manner. He was asked to step out of his vehicle and he again reportedly refused. While efforts were being made to have him arrested and taken to the Brickdam Police Station,

Hinds allegedly whipped out a firearm and pointed it at the ranks. The ranks then called for backup which resulted in his arrest. His firearm was confiscated and lodged and the five charges were instituted against him. Further information revealed that Hinds was allegedly found to be under the influence of alcohol. After listening to all of the information presented, Magistrate Nurse granted bail in the sum of $50,000. The matters were then adjourned until June 12, 2019.

Friday May 10, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Can Guyana ensure that its newfound riches benefit all its citizens? neering specialisms. Two years ago, 10 were given jobs. Last year, the same company asked for 20 more.“Now they [are] taking our students like hotcakes,” says Ms. Trim. Scepticism abounds In Sophia, one of Georgetown’s poorest neighbourhoods, there is less optimism. Some of the selfbuilt houses and shacks only got access to electricity and running water this century. “Quite frankly, in this

By Simon Maybin Assignment, BBC World Service South America’s second poorest nation is bracing for an oil boom that could catapult it to the top of the continent’s rich list - and beyond. But can Guyana avoid the so-called oil curse and ensure that its newfound riches benefit all Guyanese? “Many people still do not get how big this is,” then-US Ambassador to Guyana Perry Holloway told a reception in the capital, Georgetown, last November. “Come 2025, GDP will go up by 300% to 1,000%. This is gigantic. You will be the richest country in the hemisphere and potentially the richest country in the world.” It may sound far-fetched, but with a population of around 750,000, in per capita terms, Guyana’s wealth is set to skyrocket. ExxonMobil, the main operator in Guyana, says it has discovered more than 5.5 billion barrels’ worth of oil beneath the country’s waters in the Atlantic Ocean. ‘Oil curse’ The money would certainly be welcome. This former British colony - the only English-speaking country in South America - has high rates of unemployment and poverty. But history carries a warning for Guyana. The discovery of big oil in other devel-

oping nations has exacerbated existing corruption, leading to the new oil wealth being squandered and stolen. It has become known as the oil curse. In Guyana, “corruption is rampant,” says Troy Thomas, the head of the local chapter of global anti-corruption NGO Transparency International. He says he is “very worried” about the oil curse. A political crisis in recent months has been seen by some as an early sign of the curse’s effects. After the governing coalition lost a no-confidence vote in December, rather than call elections, it challenged the vote in the courts. That has led to protests. “All we’re asking for is for the government to respect our constitution,” a demonstrator tells me, standing on the road outside Guyana’s ministry of the presidency. “They just want to remain in power and control the oil money,” she adds. The legal battle has continued and this week the Caribbean Court of Justice is hearing the latest appeal in the case. Betting on education. “We’ve seen the experiences in other countries,” says Vincent Adams, the new head of Guyana’s Environmental Protection Agency, who worked for three decades at the US Department of En-

ergy. “They got all this oil wealth and a lot of those countries are now worse off than before oil.” For Mr. Adams, there is one key to avoiding that trap: “Education, education, education is the foundation. It’s the best investment that this country or any country can make.” He is leading a push to revamp the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Guyana, the country’s biggest higher education provider but preparing young Guyanese for the lucrative new industry has not been straightforward. “Unfortunately for us, we don’t have right now labs for a petroleum engineering programme,” says Elena Trim, the dean of the faculty. It has also been a challenge attracting academic talent with the relevant expertise. “Our salaries are not that high,” she says with an ironic chuckle. “So people are applying to the University of Guyana and when we tell them our salary level, they actually don’t want to take the offer.” Nonetheless, even at this early stage, Guyana’s oil industry has already been taking on the faculty’s graduates from other engi-

President Granger saddened at death of Magda Pollard, AA, CCH President David Granger has expressed sadness at the death of Magda Lois Muriel Pollard, (AA, CCH) former Principal of the Carnegie School of Home Economics and Women’s Affairs Officer at the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat. Magda Pollard was born in 1931 at Buxton, East Coast Demerara. Ms. Pollard taught Home Economics at the Bishops’ High School before transitioning to serve as teacher and principal at the Carnegie School of Home Economics from 1957 to 1978. Between 1980 and 1991, she served as Women’s Af-

fairs Officer at the Caribbean Community Secretariat. To celebrate her work in women’s advocacy and empowerment, in 1992, she was bestowed with the Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA) Award for Women. She has also received two national awards, the Cacique Crown of Honour and the Golden Arrowed of Achievement. Ms. Pollard was also bestowed the honour of the fourth CARICOM Triennial Award for Women in 1993. During her tenure at CARICOM, she strived for the creation of Women’s (Continued on page 30)

Magda Lois Muriel Pollard

community, it’s close to 10% of the city’s population who live here, but 10% of the city’s resources are not being spent in here,” Colin Marks tells me at the youth centre he set up. That helps to explain the scepticism about how far the benefits of oil will spread. “Most people are sensitive to it. Because there’s more negativity on what it could do for Guyana than

positivity. And that’s happening because what is happening at the political level. I mean, you’re hearing about what happened in Guinea, what happened in Nigeria - Venezuela’s next door, you know. So people are very, very sensitive, and not too sure.” “In a grassroots community like this, people just want know that if there is money in oil, we want a share of it. We want to benefit from it.”

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Kaieteur News

Brazil ex-President Temer turns himself in on corruption charges Al Jazeera— Brazil exPresident Temer has turned himself in on corruption charges. It’s the second time Michel Temer will be jailed on allegations that he participated in a vast corruption scheme. He was arrested for a second time on corruption charges yesterday, facing renewed scrutiny in a sprawling

corruption probe that has ensnared top politicians and businessmen. Temer, 78, is now at the headquarters of the federal police in Sao Paulo, but it was not immediately clear where he would spend the night, a decision that must be taken by a judge. On Wednesday, a federal judge ordered the former president to return to jail

while he’s investigated in several cases of alleged corruption related to the Car Wash investigation, a farreaching probe that has roiled Latin America’s largest nation. According to the prosecutors, construction company Engevix paid Temer bribes in exchange for a contract to build a nuclear power plant in the city of Angra dos

Reis in the southern part of Rio de Janeiro state. Prosecutors alleged in a previous statement that one Engevix executive said in plea bargain testimony that he paid more than $300,000 in 2014 to a company owned by a close Temer associate, Joao Baptista Lima Filho. An arrest warrant was also issued for Lima Filho. Temer was first arrested in March but freed on appeal five days later by a judge who argued he did not pose a risk to the ongoing investigation. Temer’s lawyer, Eduardo Carnelos, has criticised the

court’s latest decision, calling the former president’s detention an “injustice” with “no foundations”. Temer’s lawyers filed an appeal against the latest order. Temer has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. The Car Wash probe, launched in 2014, unveiled complex corruption schemes of money laundering and kickbacks among the highest echelons of power. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was president of Brazil from 2003 to 2010, is currently serving a sentence of eight years and 10 months. Temer became president

in 2016 after ex-President Dilma Rousseff was impeached and removed from office for allegedly violating rules on handling federal finances. Temer’s administration was clouded by corruption allegations and prosecutors charged him with corruption on three occasions. But Congress’s lower house never gave its consent to lifting his immunity from prosecution, which Brazil’s sitting presidents have. His immunity ended when he left office January 1. SOURCE: AP NEWS AGENCY

Brazilian Navy vessels dock

Three vessels of the Brazilian Navy docked in Port Georgetown on Wednesday and are berthed at the wharf at Coast Guard Ship Hinds (GDF Coast Guard Headquarters), Ruimveldt. The patrol vessels, the NPa BRACUI, the NPa GUANABARA, and the NPa GUAIBA, form the Brazilian naval contingent which is conducting the 2019 edition of CARIBEX.

CARIBEX is an annual operation conducted by the Brazilian Navy, which sends a task force to navigate Caribbean waters and to visit ports of friendly nations in the region. The mission’s objective is to carry out military drills at sea, in order to increase training and operational readiness among the ships involved, as well as to contribute to closer ties of friendship with the

countries visited. War and Sea Captain, Robledo de Lemos Costa e Sa commands the Brazilian military seafarers who number 121 in total. As is customary, Captain Coata e Sa along with his senior naval officers, are scheduled to pay a courtesy call on Chief-of-Staff Brigadier Patrick West, prior to his contingent’s departure on Saturday morning.

Prominent Women’s Right Activist Magda Pollard Dies A prominent Womens Right Activist Magda Pollard has died. She was 88. She was born to Muriel and Fitzgerald Pollard, both of them teachers in Buxton, East Coast Demerara. Her father was the head of the Buxton Congregational School. The family relocated to Georgetown when she was seven years old, and her father was offered a position to head the Smith Congregational School in Hadfield Street. Her sisters were at the Bishops High School where

she would later attend while her brother attended Queens College. The year 1941 would mark her entry to the Bishops High and the preparation for the spectacular and fruitful future she would have. Due to her outstanding, disciplined behaviour and continuous display of leadership and loyalty, she was promoted to the Head Girl (Head Prefect) in the last two years of her stay at the institution. Ms. Pollard received the coveted Fidele Collier Medal, which was bestowed upon students who have contributed significantly to the

school. Upon leaving school in 1950, she followed her parents choice of profession and became a teacher at the Broad Street (now Dolphin) Government school. Four years later, she would move on, with the financial support of her parents, to Scotland to attend Glasgow and West of Scotland College of Domestic Science, to receive training as a Grade 1 t e a c h e r . Ms. Pollard later pursued the Postgraduate Certificate (Continued on page 30)

Friday May 10, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Chinese Landing impasse…

Indigenous community asks Govt. to rectify auction of ‘ancestral lands’ to miner

Representatives of the Chinese Landing Community and other affected communities at the press conference yesterday The Chinese Landing Community of Region One is calling on the Government of Guyana to take action to reaffirm its right to ownership and use of its ancestral lands. Orin Fernandes, Toshao of Chinese Landing Village, led a press conference yesterday, detailing the issue faced by the community, after a mining concession was issued to miner Wayne Vieira without the community’s free prior and informed consent (FPIC). According to the Amerindian Act, Indigenous communities reserve the right to withhold Free, Prior and Informed Consent for their lands. However, Sharon Atkinson, Vice Chair for the Moruca Sub-district Council, told the media that a mining concession was issued to Wayne Vieira without the Chinese Landing Community’s FPIC. She said that, in 1995, Vieira purchased prospecting permits to areas of the community’s land without its knowledge, through an auction sale (lottery). “GGMC converted those prospecting permits to mining permits, again without any notice to our community”, she said. The community’s leaders indicated that they tried to find amicable solutions to the issue, but that the response they have gotten from gov-

ernment and Vieira have been less than graceful. A lot of developments have been made on this issue, but the substantive developments happened in court. In 2010, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) issued Cease Work Orders against Wayne Vieira, after realising that the issuance of mining concessions to him violated the Amerindian Act, because it was done without the FPIC of the community. Vieira had contended that the order was not validly issued nor was it retroactively validated by the Amerindian (Validation Commencement) Act 2010. The CWO was issued on November 26, 2010 under the Mining Regulations. Vieira had made several attempts since 2009 to secure a new agreement with the Village Council. His efforts proved futile. The CWO was subsequently issued under the Mining Regulations because of the absence of an agreement with the Village Council, as was required under the Amerindian law. According to the CWO, the Mines Officer deemed the stoppage to be ‘absolutely necessary’ for the maintenance of the public peace or for the protection of the State’s or private persons’ rights.

But Vieira moved to the High Court where he successfully challenged the decision to issue the CWO. That Court determined that the order could only be issued in relation to breaches concerning the Mining Act and not the Amerindian law. The Commission took the matter to the Court of Appeal and won, following which the miner appealed to the CCJ. The Commission had argued that Vieira’s attempts to reach an agreement to mine the lands, and his argument that he was treated unfairly, were irrelevant as the organisation was required by law to automatically issue the order. Vieira, on the other hand, contended that not only was his conduct and treatment relevant, but that the Mines Officer was not authorised to issue the CWO for a breach of any law other than the Mining Act. Upon review of the Act, the CCJ determined that the Minister responsible for the Mining Act could not make regulations under that law with a view to aiding or enforcing the requirements of another law – the Amerindian Act. So Vieira retained his mining concession for the land. On Sunday, government stated that it estimates that there are 17 illegal and heavily

mechanised mining operations occurring on the concession issued to Vieira. It is unclear whether all of those miners are indigenous miners, but the Chinese Landing Community has indicated that Indigenous miners are among that lot. Fernandes said that 11 of those Indigenous Miners are licensed to mine. A GGMC team, headed by Senior Mining Engineer, Michael Howard, began an exercise on May 1 to have them removed. A statement from government noted the

objective of that team: “to remove all mining operations from Wayne Vieira’s mineral properties”. Copies of the CCJ court order were shared during discussions between government and representatives of the Chinese Landing community, in 2018. The team already dismantled 11 wooden sluiceboxes and retrieved several pieces of tackling associated with the mining operations, according to government. Government has noted requests by the remaining persons that they be given time

to remove their equipment, and Vieira is expected to secure the property in a specified period. The Chinese Landing Community’s right to reserve issuance of its FPIC was violated by GGMC, the community’s representatives said. The commission can’t legally take action to reverse the issuance of the mining concession. Fernandes said yesterday that is time for the government to “start respecting” them, and reaffirm their right to their ancestral lands.

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Friday May 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

US$150M CJIA Renovation…

Jagdeo takes some blame for omitting office area in initial airport plan - Says Patterson will not show project designs Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, has accepted some blame for the omission of key facilities from the original Cheddi Jagan International airport (CJIA) renovation. During a press conference yesterday, he responded to a report by Kaieteur News that

vital facilities were excluded from the original airport plan, which his government signed onto. US$150M was put aside for works to be done on the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Corporation (CJIA). But despite so much money going into that project, CJIAC

is now looking to build a cargo facility, a commercial centre, an office area and a parking lot, separately. “I can accept the criticism that maybe we didnt put in some office space for airlines at the airport,” Jagdeo said yesterday.

Asked why those facilities were excluded, he said that the idea was for those things to be excluded so that local contractors could bid for and build them. He said, however, that the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) shouldnt be the focus at this point for what it left out of the plan, when the government didnt even achieve the construction of the facilities that were on the plan. The plan that was passed from the PPP to the Coalition Government in 2015 included a brand new terminal, eight air bridges, among other things. The Coalition Government claimed it found major problems when it entered office in 2015 and assessed the project. It claimed that major changes needed to be made. Instead of a brand new terminal building for the Arrivals and Departures along with a longer runway, there was renovation of the old terminal buildings and a smaller structure for the Arrivals. The number of passenger bridges has been reduced from eight to four and the fancy, energysaving glass roof that CHEC promised is now zinc sheets. Jagdeo said, “So we now have a rehabilitated terminal rather than a brand new terminal. And they have reduced the size of the apron and we get criticised for what we didnt put in the contract but theyre not even achieving what we put in the contract.” Jagdeo questioned “But why is it that were not holding this government accountable for ensuring that the con-

Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo

Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson

tractor delivers what we put in the contract?” He was reminded that Kaieteur News has been investigating and reporting on this matter for years. Asked for the original plan, Jagdeo said that David Patterson, Minister of Public Infrastructure, would have the plan. “You could ask Patterson for it, ask Patterson,” but Jagdeo said that Patterson would not release the designs, if asked. “Ask him what was his square footage of the new terminal and what the square footage is now, excluding the part where they are rehabilitating,” he said. To date, the public has not seen the original plan, nor has it seen the adjusted plan

that Patterson claims needed to be made. The Chinese contractor had claimed for US$90M with only seven percent of the work completed. A significant portion of that money was paid out. The contract was supposed to be completed in 32 months after being signed in 2011, but has dragged on to 2019. The PPP, which signed the contract in Jamaica secretly without going to tender, had accused the Coalition Government of drastically modifying the project, although this was not allowed for in fixed-price agreements. The Audit Office has announced that it will be launching an audit to determine how the money was spent and whether Guyana received value for its dollar.

Training under HEYS to recommence by year end Through the Hinterland Employment and Youth Service (HEYS) programme, another batch of young people from the hinterland region will be trained in areas of business, entrepreneurship, agriculture, ecotourism and technology. The training programme will commence by the end of 2019. This was declared by Minister of Indigenous Peoples Affairs, Sydney Allicock during his address to the youth of Massara and Annai, North Rupununi, Region 9 (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo). “We will be training another cohort of youth under this programme because. We did an assessment, and we had a number of successes so we will continue it.” The project now falls under the recently established Youth Corps at the Kuru Kuru Training Centre. Under this new programme, some 1,000 young people across the country will be taught under the HEYS and other youth training programmes. While this exercise may not cover young persons with children, the ministry will be providing support to communities to ensure there are training and job opportunities for them. “We had one case where a young lady had a family with six kids, she may not be able to leave her children and go for training. But we dont want those youth to feel left out, so

we are looking to a more community approach to deal with those cases.” The HEYS programme is the brainchild of President David Granger when he laid out the ten-point plan for hinterland development. Launched in 2015, the programme was designed to give 4,000 Indigenous youth a second opportunity to empower themselves through entrepreneurship. Cohort One of the programme would have seen 752 small and micro businesses established, while Cohort Two, an additional 1,000 similar businesses. Minister Allicock reminded that some $400,000 was invested in each of these young entrepreneurs through a monthly stipend of $30,000 along with an additional sum to startup their businesses. Through this programme, the APNU+AFC Government has, over the last three years, invested more than $2Billion in hinterland youth empowerment. In 2016, close to $1Billion was budgeted for the project, $991M in 2017 and $982M in 2018. Additionally, youth skills training will also be boosted in 2019, with the construction of the flagship Hinterland Green Enterprise Development Centre, at Bina Hill in Annai. This facility will benefit some 120 students. The newly constructed Hinterland Student Dormitory will also facilitate tertiary students in Georgetown.

Friday May 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

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Friday May 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

Pensioner, 75, critical, wife gun-butted during brutal home invasion The home at Alness

The window through which the bandits entered. A 76-year-old pensioner was left in a critical condition and his wife gun butted during a brutal attack by two masked robbers who invaded the couple’s Alness Village, Corentyne, Berbice early yesterday morning. Gilford Goodchild, the husband, is reportedly

hospitalised with internal bleeding. His wife, Kayneh Goodchild, who was gun butted to the head was treated and sent away. Erwin Scarville, the couple’s grandson, said he was asleep in his room at their Lot 53 Alness Village home,

located just a few meters from the public road, when he heard his grandmother screaming. Within minutes they were all confronted by the men with masks and guns demanding cash. He said the men gained entry by breaking a window and bending the grillwork in the bottom flat. "When I heard her scream I got up and ran towards her bedroom, but I was approached by a gunman and he stick me up and told me to lie down on the ground and then he started to stomp me in my

back,” Scarville recounted. While he was being beaten he saw another gunman attacking his grandfather in the room and demanding that they hand over whatever cash they had. "After they beating my grandfather, my grandmother was still screaming and they keep asking 'where the money'. I tell dem all I have is $5000 and they said give it to dem and they took my cell phone, and a Samsung Galaxy and a gold ring from my grandfather", he said.

Scarville said that before the men left, one of them hit him at the back of his head and also hit his grandmother to her head. He fell unconscious. From May 1 to date there have been three armed robberies with the victims either being shot or beaten. No one has been charged for any of the incidents. Prior to May 1, there were a string of other robberies with the use of firearms and cutlasses with only three persons being charged for one attack.

BEATEN: Kayneh Goodchild

Friday May 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

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Friday May 10, 2019

Death row convict who killed mother-in-law gets another 20 years for wounding reputed wife

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an Sarawati, who was previously sentenced to death on a charge of murdering his mother-in-law, has also been sentenced 20 years in jail for wounding his reputed wife in the same attack. The sentence was handed down by Justice Jo Ann Barlow in the Berbice High Court. The 30-year-old accused, o f B u s h L o t Vi l l a g e Corentyne, Berbice, was found guilty last week on the

wounding charge. H o w e v e r, d e f e n c e attorney Mursalene Bacchus had asked that sentencing be deferred. The state's case was presented by Attorney-atlaw Mandel Moore. The accused was represented by Attorneys-at-law Bacchus in association with Attorney Saria Sabsook. It was alleged that on December 11, 2014 at Whim, Corentyne Berbice, he unlawfully and

maliciously wounded his reputed wife Serojini Isaacs, who was 19 at the time, with the intent to murder her. The woman's mother, Nelawattie Isaacs, who was also chopped by Isaacs during the melee subsequently died. Sarawati and Serojnie were living together for about four years. During that time, his reputed wife made several complaints of abuse. She eventually returned to her parents' home.

Sarawati begged her to return home. When she refused, he began issuing threats, which Serojini ignored. He reportedly started stalking the woman. Around 7:30 hrs, on the day in question, the man showed up at the house where mother and daughter were staying and started to chop them. He first felled Nelawattie with a chop across her head before turning his weapon on Serojini.

Wife: Serojini Isaacs More jail: Ian Sarawati Male relatives who were nearby eventually overpowered the attacker and turned him over to the police. The women were rushed to the Port Mourant Hospital in a canter before being transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital and later the Georgetown Public Hospital. Nelawattie never regained consciousness. In handing down sentence, Justice Barlow admonished the accused for his cruelty and lack of remorse. She then sentenced him

to 20 years in jail. Sarawati was being tried on two counts of attempted murder and wounding with intent. He was found not guilty on the 'attempt murder' charge, but guilty on the 'wounding with intent' charge. The defence had based their case on inconsistency on the part of the prosecution, witnesses, and insufficient evidence. The accused had given an unsworn statement from the dock in which he denied committing the act and had claimed an uncle of his wife's committed the act.

US Ambassador calls on new Foreign Affairs Minister

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mbassador of the United States of America to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch, yesterday paid a courtesy call on newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Karen Cummings. During the meeting, A m b a s s a d o r Ly n c h congratulated the Foreign Minister on her app o i n t m e n t a n d t h e y

discussed areas of ongoing cooperation and of mutual interest. Guyana and the United States have continued to maintain a high level of bilateral cooperation since the establishment of diplomatic relations on August 15, 1966. In photo, Ambassador Ly n c h w i t h M i n i s t e r Cummings yesterday.

Kaieteur News

Friday May 10, 2019

Four years jail for trafficking 125lbs of ganja

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n Alberttown resident was yesterday sentenced to four years in prison after Senior Magistrate Leron Daly found sufficient evidence that he had trafficked 125lbs of cannabis. Tishan Haywood, 27, was on remand while his matter was being conducted in the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts. He was living with his reputed wife who is several months pregnant. It was alleged that on December 6, 2017, at Alberttown Georgetown, he had in his possession 56.7 kilos of cannabis, which is equivalent to 125 pounds, for the purpose of trafficking. Haywood's attorney contended that the narcotic was found in an open yard that many people traverse. He also stated that seven other adults were in the yard at the time of the arrest. However, according to the police, Haywood was under surveillance for some time. On the day in question, the ranks saw the accused, and another individual, taking bags from a car, to a structure under the house. The ranks then moved in and a search was conducted. They found a bag in a chicken pen. The bag contained several leaves, seeds and stems suspected to

Tishan Haywood be cannabis. At the completion of the matter yesterday, Magistrate Daly ruled that the prosecution had presented sufficient evidence against the defendant for him to be convicted. She sentenced Haywood to four years in prison. In handing down her sentence, the magistrate cited that Haywood wasted the court's time and she highlighted the need for a strong message to be sent to others who may be thinking of committing such an act. In the courtyard after the matter was completed, Haywood could be seen spending a few moments with his pregnant reputed wife and touching her distended stomach before being sent to prison.

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Friday May 10, 2019

Meet the contestants in the Mother-Daughter Pageant 2019 Mother and organizers of the beloved the s, on oti om Pr s tic lis orrow at the upa Sty to host a grand show tom d ise po are t, an ge Pa r the Daughte ) that is sure to showcase CC (N e ntr Ce ral ltu Cu l Nationa ther- daughter beauty that exists in a mo sophistication, love and iddle and relationship. ee categories: Junior, M thr in ng eti mp co are The contestants the winners will be nment understands that tours Senior. Kaieteur Entertai ners up will benefit from run the ile wh ps tri al on granted internati be had at Nigel's other prizes. Tickets can ntestants around Guyana, among e, here is a look at the co tim an me the In C. NC Supermarket and in each category.

Middle category

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Senior category

Juniour category

Palm Court celebrates Mother's Day with decadent brunch baskets Our mothers are often times, the best nurturers we can ever hope for. In recognition of this salient fact, this Mother's Day, Palm Court is inviting all of its longstanding supporters to give their moms a taste of that nurturing love with their decadent brunch baskets which only cost $10,000. The menu includes: Salt Fish stuffed duff in coconut milk, pepper pot and homemade bread , fruity cream filled

crepes , breakfast quesadillas, potato and sausage pie, beef fajitas, honey mustard pork bites, baked trout in sweet tomato sauce, chicken stuffed bell peppers, broccoli and cauliflower rice , cheese garlic penne pasta and the chef's salad. And that's not all. Dessert includes lemon meringue pie or earthquake cake with roasted marshmallow. To make an order call 2318144/6.

Friday May 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

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Friday May 10, 2019

Team Slingerz to host grand

GUYANA CARNIVAL TO HOST W.E.T WEDNESDAY FEATURING

Mother's Night Party

MACHEL MONTANO

on MAY 12

G

O

WHATZ

n Sunday May 12, Team Slingerz will be hosting a big Mother's night event called “Mama I love You” at the XS night Club in CI Village on the Westside. There will be lots of giveaways all night. Also, five lucky groups of three or more will win a free taxi ride back home (WESTSIDE ONLY).

Entertainment will be provided by Slingerz Family and Bobby Kush of Jamaica. There will also be a special mother's night surprise for all mothers at the party. Admission for this event easy and is proudly supported by Double Standard Taxi Service and Heineken Beer.

HOTTT

uyana Carnival is proud to present, The Monk of Soca, Machel Montano on May 22. This event will be labeled “Wet Wednesday” where Machel will share the stage with reigning soca monarch winner, Mr. Killa and Guyana's very own Jumo Primo. The venue is set for the National Park and starts at 8PM sharp. Come enjoy sounds by DJ Energy, DJ Shizzle, Patrick The Hypeman, DJ Jayand and DJ Jus Jay. Tickets cost $5000 for general and $25,000 for VIP. Visit guyanacarnival.eventbrite.com or its box office at 206 Lance Gibbs Street, Queenstown.

Imperial House launches Miss Guyana Teen Scholarship Pageant

this weekend!!! 704 Sports Bar to host 704 Sports Bar presents the ultimate De-stresser Build Your Bucket every weekend for the ladies Wednesday and Friday The legendary Destiny's Child famously said, “Ladies it ain't easy being independent.” And at 704, the management and staff understand just how hard the ladies work to take care of themselves hence the reason this unique establishment is inviting all ladies to head on over to the 704 bar to indulge in their simply tantalizing Destresser cocktail. The first 30 will get this signature cocktail for free. See you there!!!

Aura Bar and Lounge at Pegasus Hotel pres. club night Saturdays Every Saturday, the Management at Aura will be providing an ambiance filled with quality service, delicious food and great music. Every Saturday should be a party to remember and the Aura is determined to give you that experience. The Lounge will be open from 8pm. Music will be provided by Guyana's most popular DJs. For reservations, you can make contact with management on: 225-2853 or 600-6912.

At the 704 Sports Bar, there will always be an opportunity to evolve your choices. And every Wednesday and Friday, party-goers will get a chance to build their bucket. This interesting concept allows you to pick any combination of six beers to Build Your Bucket (BYB) and get it at a special price. This offer is available from 5pm to 7pm! See you there.

Escape the after work traffic today at Palm Court As the Great Caribbean Singer, Father Fox says, "Who does go to work on a Thursday or even a Friday?" Well, unfortunately, most of us do! But that shouldn't stop you from "ducking" every once in a while when the pressure seems too much and you desire to have a little fun. Every Friday, one of Guyana's number one entertainment spots, Palm Court will be offering a light celebration called "Escape the after work traffic. The event gets started from 4:00pm to 7:00pm so see you there.

It's Heineken Fridays at 704 Sports Bar If you are a die-hard fan of the Heineken brand then 704 Sports Bar is where you need to be this and every Friday. According to management, fans can get six Heinekens for just $2800 between 7pm and 9pm. Be sure to take advantage of this offer guys!

Past queen, Miss Guyana Talented Teen 2016, Aliya Wong poses for a photograph with the pageant organizers

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he Imperial House is a registered organization working towards creating and implementing social programmes for the advancement of Guyanese youth through pageants and the theatrical arts. Its mandate is to support social investments through youth empowerment, community service, entrepreneurship and the advancement of education. This year, the Organization will launch its flagship project, the “Miss Guyana Teen Scholarship Pageant” which will be a social programme for the advancement of education for young women in Guyana. The scholarship will be awarded to the winning delegate after a pageant slated for September 7, 2019 at The National Culture Centre. The award covers tuition/materials

/examination fees towards her academic pursuits. Application forms can be downloaded on The Imperial House's Face book page or purchased at the Medical Choice Pharmacy on Camp Street, two buildings before Burger King, for just one thousand dollars. All interested Teens are asked to submit their applications on or before June 22, 2019 at the aforementioned location. The Management of Imperial House strongly believes that social investments in Guyana's youths will have a positive impact on our country, however, we cannot undertake this project alone and therefore we wish to thank those who have already seen the value of this programme and partnered with us namely, KFC, PGS, Amanvani, 55 Photography and Medical Choice Pharmacy.

Shenseea to headline UG FETE on May 21

Kaieteur News

Friday May 10, 2019

REGGAE SUPER STAR

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BUJU BANTON G to perform in Guyana on May

25 R

eggae Super star Buju Banton is confirmed to perform in Guyana on May 25, 2019 as part of the Guyana Independence Carnival Celebrations. Over the past couple days, much excitement has been generated after a few popular social media sites leaked information that Buju Banton is expected to perform in Guyana in May. Well, now it is coming directly from the horse's mouth, he is coming. After seeing how excited Guyanese were to see Buju, High Frequency Entertainment in collaboration with King Leo Promotion and the Guyana Carnival Committee decided that it is a great opportunity to make Guyana a part of the 'Long Walk to Freedom' tour. Buju Banton, who's 'Long Road to Freedom' tour was announced late last year, listed many

countries in the Caribbean, such as, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, St. Kitts, Suriname, Grenada and his home country of Jamaica; finally, Guyana is on that list. Banton, who has always referred to Guyana as one of his favourite countries to perform in the Caribbean, has not performedhere for over 12 years, however, he will return with his full band to give his Guyanese fans a long overdue and highly anticipated concert. The reggae superstar is known for hits such as, 'untold stories', wanna be loved', 'champion', 'deportees', 'not an easy road' and much more. Tickets for this event will go on sale online and at ticket locations locally in the coming days. Stay tuned to social media sites @guyanacarnival and our website www.guyanacarnival592.com for more details.

“SOCA BLOCK PARTY” set for May 17

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f you enjoyed last year's inhale block party then you don't want to miss this one as Guyana Carnival & Inhale presents its “Soca Block Party”. It is the ultimate kick- start event and after work lime for Guyana Carnival on May 17th transforming Main Street into a fire breathing, stilt walking, visually breathtaking carnival zone. Inhale will also be launching new carnival hookah flavors titled “Carnival LOUD!” Some of the top international and local DJ's lined up are DJ Blank, DJ Jus Jay, Gully Ras, Selector Diamond, DJ Akelo, DJ Shizzle, Selector Biggs, DJ Energy, DJ King Keev and Seen Up. Stay tuned for more details on ticket prices.

Game of Thrones Season 8 Ep. 5 for viewing at 704 on Sunday

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he fifth episode of Game of Thrones Season 8 is all set for viewing at the exquisite 704 Sports Bar this Sunday at 9 PM. There will be a lineup of unique Game of Thrones cocktails such as, “Winter is Coming,” “Ours is the Fury”, “Fire and blood”, and “The Red Woman” for you to indulge in. Show up in your Game of Thrones Costume and you can get a free drink too. See you there.

uyana Carnival organizers are proud to present “UG Fete” featuring the #1Trending Gyal‟ Shensea” alongside the nation's very own, Timeka Marshall on May 21st. For UG Fete, Guyana Carnival collaborates with PACE ( Philanthrophy, Alumni and Civic Engagement) and The Student's Society in order to raise funds which strive to foster the rounded development of the University of Guyana's students. This will happen through the provision of services; programmes and the facilities to complement the academic environment that is holistically conducive to learning. General tickets cost $3000 and the stage front tickets cost $10000. UG Students will be able to receive a special rate of $2500 for a general ticket and a stage front ticket at $8000. Tickets will be on sale at the University of Guyana's Campus and the Guyana Carnival box office located at 206 Lance Gibbs Street Queenstown. The princess of dancehall will be at the Turkeyen Campus on May 20th performing where students will also be given the

opportunity to ask questions. Guyana Carnival 2019 is slated for May 17th– 27th with combinations of cooler fetes, mega concerts, day tours, jouverts and a grand Independence Day road parade. Make sure you get there!

Fireside Grill n' Chill presents the ultimate Mother's Day menu

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f you are undecided about what to cook for your mother this Sunday, then worry no more. The Fireside Grill n' Chill has you covered with the most exquisite menu for Mother's Day's. The Fireside Combo specials for this cherished event includes: Lobster and Lamb Chops, Lobster and Prawn s, Scallops and

Lobster, Scallops and Salmon, Scallops and Lamb Chops, Prawns and Salmon, Prawns and Steak, Lobster and Steak, Ribs and Lobster and Ribs and Prawns. If those don't suit your fancy, then you also have the option of making your own combo. To do so, contact management using these numbers: 681-9306 or 6619230. Enjoy!

Kosmos

The latest Entertainment hotspot that caters for all

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osmos is the new exciting destination for patrons of all walks of life looking for the ultimate experience. Whether you're craving a chef inspired meal, an afternoon hang spot or a great night out, Kosmos has you covered! There are daily happy hour specials, live band, nightly shows and theme parties combined with ultra modern environment and international line of beverages makes us the only place you will ever want to be. You will always want more at Kosmos. (See schedule for upcoming events at right)

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Region 3 rolls out five-year School Improvement Plan With a workshop at the Region 3 Boardroom yesterday, the Ministry of Education rolled out its five year guide for developing school improvement. Facilitator Anthony Hunte (Consultant with the Ministry of Education) said the programme is an instrument that enables head teachers and school management teams to undertake strategic planning regionally at school levels, primarily focusing on improving the school’s facilities, and raising educational attainment. It also is geared at increasing literacy and reasoning skills. He said that the programme also caters for the well-being of students and teachers and caters also for school welfare issues. According to Hunte, the Ministry of Education has begun to train head teachers in proving and nurturing structured education. He said the programmes has a structured five year format for all school levels,(nursery, primary and secondary) that allows for better preparation for education at a tertiary level. He noted that parents and the business sector play a vital role in the programme’s success, hence, the business

Head teachers at the School Improvement Plan Workshop yesterday sector has been encouraged to show support in any areas where there may be shortfalls. As a result, the business sector has been sponsoring school trips and other initiatives. He added that presently they are at a point where all head teachers in Region 3 are being trained, and yesterday’s event was

one such initiative. At the School Improvement Workshop yesterday, head teachers were made to present on particular subject areas and ventures to assess their knowledge on preparation, planning and executing school based initiatives. This exercise was done to assess their existing

planning/executing abilities in preparation for higher levels of training as dictated by the School Improvement Plan. Hunte informed that parts of the programme deal with change, which starts with the head teacher and is transferred to the teachers, then students, and by extension the parents. He said the segment of the programme that deals with planning is preparing head teachers to deal with their own lives, which will further equip them to deal with school based issues, and even situations in their communities. He said the programme had allowed for schools that excelled to utilise a grant of $1M, which was to be used

to facilitate positive changes in schools countrywide. This initiative saw schools making extensions to their facility, renovations, adding solar panels, upgrading laboratories, and introducing electricity to some institutions. Some schools also built libraries, reading corners, built IT facilities amongst other ventures. Hunte noted that schools ought to focus their staff meetings around the objectives of the plan by invoking that staff members fully comprehend their roles (and the roles of others) as part of the process. He said that a Staff Development Plan must be developed and effectively implemented to

address the needs of staff, thus ensuring they are equipped to execute the plan. According to Hunte, a Communication Strategy must be developed and effectively implemented to raise awareness of the School Improvement Plan to all stakeholders and objectives. In closing, he said that investing time in a thoughtful, focused plan will pay dividends to the school over time, emphasising that the plan should be viewed as a work in process and subjected to regular reviews. The concept of the School Improvement Plan will be also taught through a number of interactive exercises that develop abilities and competences.

Nigerian charged for illegal entry A Nigerian National was on Wednesday remanded after he pleaded not guilty to illegally entering Guyana by sea. Anthony Eze, 30, from Abuja, Nigeria, appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates Court before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan. It was alleged that between June 1, 2018 and June

30, 2018 at Springlands, Corentyne, Eze entered by sea and disembarked without the content of an immigration officer. According to the defendant, he was only visiting the country and he did not enter illegally. He stated that he has an international identification card which he usually travels with to visit countries. However, police prosecu-

tor Gordon Mansfield stated that although the defendant speaks of this identification card, there are no records of his entry at immigration. Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, after listening to both sides remanded the defendant to prison and adjourned the matter until May 13, 2019 where the matter will continue at the Springlands

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Kaieteur News

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Who is footing the bill for these ministers trip to the CCJ Ram Five Ministers of government have gone to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) but no one knows why they are there. Attorney-at-law, Christopher Ram, has criticised the government for sending them there for no apparent reason. Those ministers are VicePresident Sydney Allicock; Minister of Education, Nicolette Henry; Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr. George Norton; Minister of Public Service, Tabitha SarraboHalley; and Minister of Business Haimraj Rajkumar. They are not part of the legal team, Ram said and so is Attorneyat-law Darren Wade. “There is no apparent reason for any of the Ministers or Mr. Wade to be in Trinidad as a spectator of court proceedings that were live streamed and could have been accessible from any place in Guyana. One suggestion was a show of force to the Court or moral support for

the Attorney General (AG), hardly a justification for their presence,” he stated. What is troubling, Ram noted, is that it is likely that the trip was sponsored by taxpayer dollars. And even more troubling is the likelihood, he said, that the decision to send them was made by the President David Granger led Cabinet. Ram said that it is safe to say that none of the ministers is in any way connected with the cases, nor is any one of them legally trained. He also said, “It is hoped that the AG and the Minister of Finance will give taxpayers a full account of the expenditure borne by them for the prosecution of these cases. So far, the AG has retained at least five Senior Counsel from abroad who command very high fees.” “Responsible government requires that taxpayers money is properly spent and fully accounted for.”

[From left] Vice-President, Sydney Allicock; Minister of Public Service, Tabitha Sarrabo-Halley; Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr. George Norton; Minister of Education, Nicolette Henry; and Minister of Business Haimraj Rajkumar

NFMU staff sent home as Telecoms Agency takes over The staff members of the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU) have all been sent home, as today is the date when the unit, which licenses broadcasters and manages the spectrum waves for the state, will be placed under the Telecoms agency, according to a notice in the Official Gazette of Guyana, on March 18th. Some of the persons who were sent home are concerned because they stand to lose their pensions. Hand-in-Hand is claiming that they were supposed to be informed six months prior to the termination, but that was not done. Hence, the pension that some workers were working toward, they may no longer be eligible for, at least not with the most favourable arrangement. Kaieteur News was informed that they were advised to send in their applications for jobs in the new Telecoms agency. Whether they are guaranteed jobs in the new agency is unclear. Minister of Public Telecommunications, Cathy Hughes had signed the commencement order. 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. All the assets, including rights and interests of the Unit will be transferred to and vested in the Telecoms Agency. 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 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 desig-

nated 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. The Director of Telecommunications of the agency will also be part of the board. The Telecoms laws explained that the Minister shall after seeking the written advice and recommendations of the agency, develop telecommunications and spectrumrelated policies at the national, bilateral, regional and international levels, consistent with the purposes of this Act. The Minister and agency will also make final determinations regarding granting or denying applications for, and amending, renewing, suspending and terminating licences, exemptions and frequency authorisations. The toughening of laws has been dragging on for years with legislations finally passed under this Coalition Government. The Telecoms Sector is being seen as a major driver of the economy because of the internet connectivity, virtual classrooms and possibilities that will come. A number of telephone and cable companies are standing by.

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Friday May 10, 2019

Local printers demand National Printers come clean -says it is clear case of Govt. killing private sector

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everal local printers yesterday banded together to demand an investigation after the state-owned Guyana National Printers Limited (GNPL) admitted that it subcontracted a Trinidad supplier for text and exercise books. Representatives of the local printers said that there is more than enough capacity and competitive pricing in Guyana to comfortably handle any orders for books that the Government of Guyana has. Gathered at a meeting to ponder their next move were the biggest printers in the country- A1 Printery, Kimoke Printery, Kaieteur Books Inc. and F&H Printing Establishment, among others. There are at least four

other large printers who are angry over the situation and are planning to ask President David Granger for a meeting. The Ministry of Education reportedly has more than $500M earmarked this year for producing text and exercise books for the scores of primary and secondary schools that the state manages across the country.However, very little work is coming the way of the local printers since 2017. Instead, the Ministry of Education has contracted GNPL to produce the books. GNPL is in essence competing with private printers, receiving a price that is more than double than what local printers can produce, Kaieteur News was told yesterday.

General Manager of GNPL, Trevor Bassoo According to the printers, they want to make it absolutely clear that they are not advocating for GNPL to not be part of the process. Rather, they are calling on President David Granger to

ensure that there is a level playing field. Level Playing Field “We have workers. We pay our taxes. We pay VAT.

We don’t get tax breaks on equipment. We are not being subsidised. We are asking for a level-playing field. The government has been talking about building capacity. We have capacity. We are inviting them to visit us to see what we have,” a spokesman of the printers said yesterday. Under the arrangements, GNPL was supposed to produce local textbooks and exercise books. It was granted a $100M loan for a printery in 2017, but that printer has not been operating. In any case, the entity on its own is unable to meet the demands of the Ministry. There were questions raised also about the secrecy of the orders by the Ministry. No one seems to have an idea what the Ministry of Education has ordered. No one can say what was delivered and at what cost. The ministry insisted that it contracted GNPL for books and not any other company. The Ministry made no mention of the price and what it ordered. Since 2017, the orders for books have not been publicly tendered. In fact, the printing officials said, their companies have not even been prequalified.“We have cases where documents we have submitted have mysteriously disappeared during the procurement phase. There is a lot that is wrong with the procurement of books. We understand that by exposing this we are open for discrimination but we believe that the President is a serious man who will not tolerate this.”The President in 2016 had toured GNPL’s La Penitence operations where the conditions were noted. Granger announced he will make funding available for the printing operations to be made more competitive and modern. However, technical issues have plagued the corporation with a second-hand press

experiencing electrical and other issues.The printers said they have written President Granger, former Minister of State, Joseph Harmon and even Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, at varying times.“We were not consulted for orders. GNPL will have to provide proof whether there was a tender to sub-contract and how it decided to choose a particular printer over another. What we know is that we reading in the paper that they went to Trinidad,” an official from a prominent city printer said. The disclosures by the printers would bolster claims that GNPL did not consult with local companies to fulfill a major order by the Ministry of Education. Rather, it went to Trinidad directly. “Here is the nonsense from GNPL. They are saying that we can’t fulfill within a particular time frame. We have been fulfilling it all the time. Then you go to Trinidad and place the same order and it can be delivered cheaper, inclusive of shipping and handling? Somebody is lying.” Printers said they were asked to use papers that GNPL acquired elsewhere to produce exercise books. On Wednesday, under pressure to explain why it bypassed local companies, GNPL admitted that it ordered books from Trinidad and Tobago. The Audit Office of Guyana has said that it is preparing to investigate whether proper procurement procedures were followed and whether Guyana got value for its money. Rackets involving the procurement of exercise and textbooks, to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, have been ongoing for years now. The Coalition Government has vowed to stamp out the corruption. Unilaterally Selected GNPL has been selected (Continued on page 29)

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Local printers demand National Printers ... Charrandass vote at centre of arguments before CCJ From page 28 unilaterally by Government to produce registration forms for the Guyana Elections Commission, and even Official Gazettes, to the tune of millions of dollars. GNPL said that over the years, it was contracted by the Ministry of Education to supply exercise books for use by public schools in Guyana. It said that all textbooks were ordered directly by the MOE, either from the printers in Trinidad, or local suppliers –many of whom order the supplies from Port of Spain. The entity claimed that most or all of the local printers did not have the capacity to supply the large orders, something that the printers vehemently denied yesterday. GNPL did not immediately say what prices it paid the overseas suppliers. That price would include waiting time, shipping and handling. GNPL stressed that over the years, it has always supplied exercise books to the Ministry of Education. With regards to recent orders, GNPL had this to say: “As part of the exercise books contract, GNPL received orders to supply checkered line books as well. Because of old equipment and consistent delays, the company, in an effort to meet the deadlines of providing the books for schools,

ordered the checkered line books on a sub-contractual basis from Trinidad. This arrangement continued up until 2017.” The corporation claimed that in 2017, Kaieteur Books Inc., which now had the capacity to print the checkered line books, was given the orders by GNPL to print the books locally. It claimed that the price by local printers was higher than Trinidad. However, GNPL provided no proof of this on Thursday. GNPL claimed that the local printer was unable to provide a complete product (inclusive of Quality Control and Packaging) to hand over to the Ministry of Education. According to Kaieteur Books, this is a blatant untruth. GNPL said that it is it is no secret that the Ministry of Education, in the past did contract a Trinidadian company to print the majority of the textbooks because the capacity to do it locally was not available, at that time. GNPL did not say how many times it went to Trinidad to sole-source books. It added, “Therefore, there was great excitement and expectations to have that business come back to Guyana since we were on the verge of having our press up and running. Unfortunately, we encountered some early

electrical issues and were faced with the challenge of meeting our deadline for the Ministry of Education. “In our efforts to salvage any disruptions of the delivery of the books, GNPL contacted the local companies we felt had the capacity to print the books, including Kaieteur Books Inc.”Kaieteur Books Inc. refuted this statement. GNPL however reverted to the Trinidad company for the printing of the textbooks. The corporation said that since these developments, it has continued to produce and satisfy the orders for e x ercise books for the Ministry of Education and all of its customers. It said it is also putting systems in place to correct the challenges “and can assure we will be ready to print the orders for books for the upcoming academic year.”

(From page 3) power if it does not have the confidence and the loyalty of its partner. The Senior Counsel had previously noted that Persaud was a serial violator of the constitution in that he knew that he held dual citizenship and yet he took a seat in parliament.The lawyer noted that Persaud not only violated the law but acted criminally when he made the declaration that he was not a citizen of another country. Mr. Persaud being an Attorney -at -law knew that that Article 155 of the Constitution prohibits dual citizens from sitting in House. Not only did he declare falsely but he travelled on his Canadian passport before and after making that declaration. The former Attorney General was at the time debunking claims by Opposition lead Counsel Douglas Mendes S.C that Persaud’s vote was validly passed even if he was not

validly a member of National Assembly. Applied to Mr. Persaud ‘s situation even if this Court were to find that he was invalidly elected or he is to be treated as having vacated his seat at some undefined date prior to December 21, 2018, his vote in favour of the motion is to treated as valid under the de facto doctrine. Arguing on the point of a majority vote, Mendes noted that the Attorney General Basil Williams accepts that the ordinary and legal meaning of the word majority is a number greater than half; that concession ought to lead to a shift in determination of this appeal. Mendes added that half of 65 is 32.5; a number higher than 32.5 is 33. He stressed that Williams spoke about absolute and simple majority. Those phrases are nowhere found in Guyana’s Constitution. He said that those words were simply injected into the arguments to suit the

government’s position. He held that 33 is the majority of 65; therefore, Guyana’s Court of Appeal was wrong to hold otherwise. In keeping with his submission that the no- confidence motion was validly passed, Mendes who is representing Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, called on the CCJ to issue an order to hold general elections in the shortest possible time. “We can’t turn the clock back but in determining what orders to make, we have to bear in mind that we are on borrowed time and so any further time that my learned friend wishes to borrow will have to be kept to the absolute minimum,” he said. The matter is being presented before CCJ Judges, Adrian Saunders, Winston Anderson, Maureen Ragnauth-Lee, Jacob Witt, and David Hayton. It is expected to continue today at 9:00 am.

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Kaieteur News

Prominent Womens... FOR RENT

SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Graphics design, advertisements, Wedding arch rentals. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. ICONIC MARKETING & PRINTING –TEL: 6006887: We create A/works, logos, business cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included. 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: 6972969/646-0966 Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezerCall: 610-5846 or 661-8158 Design a Website for your Business that can be viewed on any device.Contact Computing Core@600-1096.

PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 One Apartment to rent in FOR SALE Charity.Contact#654-7162/ House lot for sale.27 Hill St 687-5814. Albouystown.Contact#225- 1 Upper flat, fully furnished 8916. Restaurant located at 170 Barr Porcelain tiles. Huge reduction. 12x12, 12x24, 10x14, 24x24, 716 & 3/8 thickness.Tel 695-4785/643-1000/265-3541.

Street Kitty.Tel#225-9211.

3 Bedroom apartment unfurnished, 2 living rooms. Water included $62,000 Enclosed Canter Hino Dutro suitable for storage.Room for 2 0 0 6 . E n g i n e N 0 4 C single person.675-2550/674( T u r b o ) . P r i c e $ 3 . 1 M 2526. (negotiable). Contact: 601- For lease. 253L X 50W. 3963. Commercial Land, Public Road Agricola.Call/Whatsapp +1Methai, Sirnee & Dholl Puri 647-572-3378. etc.@ affordable prices.Call: Hafiz/Alsiani 689-3745.We One flat concrete 2-bedroom cater for any amount & property at Herstelling New occasions. Scheme.$35,000 monthly. $40,000 Deposit.Tel#696-1680. Iphone7 32gb $63,000, 3000 watt Inverter $30,000.Free VEHICLE FOR SALE Cable TV and movie ondemand $14,000.Contact 621- TM 4X4 Truck, Case 680H BackhoeExcellent 9604. condition.Call Richard#609Bank shares (250,000) 7675/674-1705/233-2614. Call#661-6000 Pick up Truck from Canada extra cab, 2005 Tacoma $1.8M, Ford F150 Sport $1.3M, Ford Ranger sport $1.1M, 682-5230/ 615-4414. Tractor Massey Ferguson (foreign used) MF165$1.5M, MF135 $1.1M, MF265 $1.8M, EDUCATION MF165 Loader tractor $2.2M Vreed-en-hoop.Call:682-5230/ Care for Elderly/Care for 615-4414. children, First aid and CPR programs: 227-4881.

VACANCY Industrial Sales Representative, 5 Subject CXC Age 25+ Experience in Sales, must own vehicle, email r e s u m e : vacancy@josarltd.com Driver.Must have a sound secondary education.For more information please call:223-0090. One Manager to work @ Hotel PurpleHeart.Send Applications/CV’s to email: innovationsamericamng @gmail.com DemBake @ Land of Canaan is seeking distributors & experienced drivers & sales agents. Email CV: admin@demerarabakery.com / 266-5848 Experienced male sales attendant, stocktaking knowledge, computer literate, excellent service attitude, able bodied.Key Food McDoom Village. General Domestic with cooking experience for East Bank.Call#614-4358. Female cleaner office & home. Age 25-50.Call#642-9823. Room attendant, Desk staff receptionist.Age 25-40yrs.233 South Road Lacytown/2250198. Assistant cook preferably Carnegie trained & Cashier/ waitress.225-7933 or visit 172 Sheriff Street. Experienced Chefs & Bartenders.Kindly submit a detailed CV to Park Vue Hotel or email: lorenzo.persaud.pv @gmail.com

LAND FOR SALE

Support worker program/Care giver program.Train to work as in home caregiver in Canada. 227-4881.

1 part time kitchen asst/cook & 1 live-in domestic.2035yrs.Contact Mr.Khan.6956550/656-9313.

Transported land 11.6 acres. Lot 15 public road. #2 Village W.C.B. Price $18M. Contact 686-4818, 648-7109

Common Entrance Computer Package 9 courses $40,000. Micrographics Vreed-enHoop. 264-3057.

Uitvlugt-$2.3M neg, Parfaite Harmony-$2M, Parfaite harmony-$1.7M. Tel#6976311.

Study in Canada US. 100% acceptance. Registration in process for 2020. Micrographics Vreed-enHoop.264-3057.

Immediate Vacancy exist for one cashier. Must have Maths+English & workers @ Del Ice Co.Call 231-1408/6429191.

CAR RENTAL DOLLYS AUTO RENTAL CALL: 225-7126 & 2263693 - DOLLYS AUTO RENTAL @ YAHOO.COM/ WWW.DOLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM

Tuschen Phase2 $1.5M, $3.5M Parfaite Harmonie Transferrable, $3.5M Parfaite Harmonie, $2.5M Providence, Herstelling $5.5M, Farm, Eccles. Call:666-2326

PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS FROM CSEC 2019 Diploma in $4000 & UP, SUV’sPER Computer Studies 9 courses DAY- CALL: 656-0087 / 643$40,000.Micrographics Vreed- 5 1 2 2 , E M A I L : P R O _ en-Hoop. 264-3057. A U T O R E N T A L @YAHOO.COM Computerized Accounting 4 C o u r s e s ( Q u i c k b o o k s , AIDAN’SCAR RENTAL: Peachtree, Point of Sale, Excel) PICKUP,9-11 SEAT MINI $40,000.Micrographics Vreed- BUS, GOOD FOR AIRPORT & FAMILY OUTINGS, en-Hoop. 264-3057 CHEAPEST RATE . Call: 6987807 LEARN TO DRIVE

Farm (East Bank) $3.8M (Neg), Parfaite Harmonie $1.4M, Dairy $2.2M Neg. Tel#656-0701.

WING’S CAR & PICKUP N. Outar Driving School, Learn RENTAL: LOW DOWN to Drive the right way @ Cuffy PAYMENT,CHEAP RATES, Square. Affordable package. SPECIAL OFFERS! . CALL: Call: 644-5166/691-2561 690-6494

Prime residential houselot in Schoonard (100ft x 50ft) with 20ft reserve. All utilities available-10yrs up.Tel#648-1635.

From page 14 Course at the Queen Elizabeth College, London University, in Home Economics related to Community Development, gaining a distinction. A large part of her years after university was spent at the Carnegie School of Home Economics in the post of both a lecturer and

Taxation Personnel: 3 yrs experience.Minimum qualification C AT / Diploma in Accountancy. S e n d ap p l i c a t i o n t o bs.vacancy @gmail.com. Experienced Cooks needed. Apply in person at the Coffee Bean 133 Church Street. Tel#223-2222. Sales Representative Indoors. Must have a sound secondary education. For more info please call #2230090. Looking for a job & educational services? Contact The Job Centre 43 Croal & Alexander Streets or call 5024002/600-8457

WANTED Attractive live in waitressCall: 327-0252/674-4665/6493750 Wanted Maid for cleaning and washing for Kitty. Call#223-5897. 1 live in or live out domestic worker.Call from MondaySaturday between 8:15 - 4:15 PM 223-7500. Salesgirls & porters. Apply with written application at Best Buy Food Supplies 1E Dennis & Middleton Sts, Campbellville Wanted Land to Buy: Eccles, Parfaite Harmonie, Providence, Farm, Tuschen, Uitvlugt, Zeelught and Herstelling. Call: 666-2326 TO LET 1 Bedroom apt for working couple/single person $35,000 monthly. Light & water included. Lodge. Call 623-0076 Office space to let.74 Brickdam opposite GT&T, 2 Floors fully Air conditioned, Generator,parking available.Call: 226-6771/2264537. Ground and upper floor. Camp St for commercial purpose, Enmore Mall E.C.D. Commercial spaces.Richard #609-7675/674-1705/2332614. Business space to rent. No restaurant.Serious enquiries only. 233 South Road 2250198/615-0317 PROPERTY FOR SALE House for sale, Eccles Housing Scheme. 7 bedrooms, 3 toilets and bathrooms enclosed. $28.5M. Call 6420391/ 001447587233657. yashardabhola4@gmail.com Lot 89 Robb Street, Lacytown, Georgetown. Next door to Mike’s Pharmacy.Land size- 3431.25 Sq.ft. Phone: 617-5323, 6668052. One 3-Bedroom concrete upstairs at 18th Street Diamond $18M Neg. Contact 216-1390/610-0515.

the Principal. Appointed as the first Womens Affairs Officer, the CARICOM Secretariat opened doors for her to influence the lives of women, both in Guyana and across the Caribbean Region. She daringly accepted the challenge of spearheading a project for the development of women in CARICOM, which set the agenda for the integration of actions and policies to benefit women in regional programmes. Ms. Pollards invaluable contribution with regards to the development of women, captured the regions attention and earned her several awards and honours, inclusive of the fourth CARICOM Triennial Award for Women in 1993, t h e 1 9 9 2 C A R I F E S TA Award for Women, two national awards, the Cacique Crown of Honour and the Golden Arrow of Achievement as well as the special award of the Caribbean Association of Home Economists of which she was a founding member. A woman highly respected, who carried herself with nothing but grace and dignity, Ms. Pollard paved the way and set an example for young women to follow. Her contributions both nationally and regionally will not go in vain. Her name lives on and she will forever be remembered for the great deeds she did.

President Granger... From page 13 Bureaus in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and spearheaded a threeyear programme, ‘Management for Development: Effecting Change’ whose target included senior women administrators. She also has to her credit two publications on Home Economics which she has co-authored. Over the years, Ms. Pollard served in many capacities, including as President of the Guyana Girl Guides Association, Director at Republic Bank Guyana, Secretary to the Anne Blue Scholarship Programme, the Women and Gender Equality Commission and as Chairperson of the National Commission for Women and Chairperson of the National Task Force on Domestic Violence. President Granger extends heartfelt condolences to her immediate family members, other relatives and friends.

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Mall owners grandson gunned down in Bagotstown Police on the scene last evening Dead: Patrick Fraser, 20

A grandson of a prominent East Bank Demerara businessman was shot dead at around 20:00 hrs last evening in Bagotstown, East Bank Demerara.

Dead is Patrick Fraser, 20. He is the grandson of Peter Fraser, who owns the popular C&F Harbour Bridge Mall, located just a few hundred yards from the area.

Family members, shocked, last evening confirmed he was shot. Police on the scene last eveningPolice on the scene last evening According to persons on the scene, the

NAMILCO to stage outreach initiative for 50th Anniversary Observances The National Milling Company of Guyana Inc. (NAMILCO) will be staging a series of outreach initiatives in observances of their 50th Anniversary. In a brief interview with the company’s Events Coordinator, Afeeze Khan yesterday this publication learnt that the facility has already embarked on a few initiatives in anticipation of the May 16 celebrations. Khan has informed that while the company has contributed to several sports initiatives countrywide ahead of the anniversary, they are also poised to orchestrate outreach initiatives in schools and other sectors of the society. Just recently, NAMILCO participated in the Essequibo Chamber of Commerce annual Essequibo Agro & Trade Expo, where they distributed free samples of their products to those who attended. At a special raffle, Essequibians Denise Paton, Sumintra Jadonandan, Reshad Fizol and Jaiwantie Jaipaul all won sizeable hampers with NAMILCO products. The company recently hosted a Health Fair at the Demerara Harbour Bridge. This was done in collaboration with the Guyana Busi-

40

ness coalition on Health Awareness, Ministry of Public Health, The Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation, Noble House Seafood’s Ltd, Massy Gas Products, Massy Distribution and New GPC Inc also participated at the event. Residents of Peter’s Hall

and Bagotstown on the East Bank Demerara and other patrons benefited from free medical services provided by personnel from the Ministry of Public Health services. Patrons were also treated to sampling of the company’s health products.

young Fraser was shot twice. One of the bullets entered his right side. He was also shot in the leg. According to reports, the young Fraser was hanging out in the area. He was reportedly warned about going there.

Kaieteur News was told that he was with a number of other persons when someone ran up and shot him twice. Fraser was rushed to the Diamond Regional Hospital where attempts were made to stabilise

him. However, the doctors attempts were in vain. Up to late last night, police were still on the scene investigating. (Additional reporting and photos by Guyanese Critic)

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Friday May 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

Jamaican Fowler-Reid on losing end, Federer survives... Trinidadian Wallace keeps Swifts... From page 33 Nelson and Romelda Aiken had to settle for a share of the spoils as Queensland Firebirds and Magpies Netball drew 57-all. Aiken scored 31 goals from 39 attempts including 16 from 20 in the first half as Firebirds commanded a 3224 lead at the half. However, Nelson produced her best in the second half with 28 goals from 31 attempts to finish with 42 from 47 overall, as Magpies bounced back to out-score Firebirds 33-25 and level the contest.

“I think Gael did a nice job of not being frustrated losing the first set,” Federer said. “I lost five games in a row and it didn’t look good for a while but I hung in. There were some highly stressful moments but I mixed it up nicely.” Federer’s fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka, champion at Roland Garros in 2015, continued to produce some vintage form as he beat Japan’s Kei Nishikori 6-3 76(3). World number one Novak Djokovic was untroubled as he beat Jeremy Chardy 6-1 7-6(2) to set up a clash against Marin Cilic. Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who later this month will aim for a 12th French Open, faces American Frances Tiafoe later while defending champion Alexander Zverev plays Hubert Hurkacz.

ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) People often see you as shy and reserved, Aries, but of course you know that you're really very friendly once you relax. Today you find it unusually easy to interact with others.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) If you aren't getting on a plane today, Libra, expect to in the near future. Your wanderlust is back and you're bound for the wild blue yonder yet again, most likely to someplace exotic.

Ledson DaSilva’s brace leads...

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) All things domestic are highlighted, Taurus. It could be that you've finally called the plumber or set out to do those household repairs yourself. New people are likely to come into your life.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Positive change rarely happens without effort. Keep this in mind as transformation occurs quickly. You may feel as though you're in the middle of a whirlpool and getting sucked deeper and deeper, unsure of where you'll ultimately end up.

From page 37 scored 18 from 20 and goal shooter Cara Koenen, 17 from 20. Lightning had raced to a 44-25 lead at half-time and continued their dominance in the second half, en route to their single-game record of 80 goals. At The Quaycentre in Sydney, Trinidadian Samantha Wallace conjured up another strong display to fire New South Wales Swifts to a convincing 61-43 victory over Adelaide Thunderbirds and remain unbeaten for the

new season. Wallace, playing at goal shooter, scored 31 from as many attempts as Swifts took a 35-21 lead at the half and never looked back. She was supported by goal attack Helen Housby who shot 24 from 28 attempts. For the losers, goal attack Sasha Glasgow scored 24 from 28 while goal shooter Maria Folau chipped in with 19 goals from 23 attempts. At the Queensland State Netball Centre in Brisbane, the Jamaican pair of Shimona

Friday May 10, 2019

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Keep your mind open to any and all possibilities today. It's likely that you'll encounter someone who imparts valuable information. CANCER (June 21–July 22) Your ship could come in today, Cancer. It will happen unexpectedly, and it may take you some time to adjust to this sudden financial windfall. This is a day of big changes LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) You're likely aware of your writing abilities, Leo, but you may not realize the extent of your talent. It would be worthwhile to devote more time to your craft. You can't improve much if writing time is interrupted by other obligations. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Tact isn't necessarily your strong suit. No one would accuse you of being overly sensitive to other people's emotions, but today you turn over a new leaf. This "new and improved" you tunes in to the thoughts and feelings of others and responds in thoughtful, caring ways.

SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21) You have natural leadership abilities, and today would be an ideal day to make use of this talent. In the past you may have hesitated to step forward and implement your ideas, Sagittarius. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Today you feel in control and on top of the world. You can do anything, Capricorn. This would be an auspicious time to begin a new project or creative endeavor. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) Friendship could turn into romance if you aren't careful, Aquarius. A platonic relationship could turn passionate, and no one would be more surprised than you. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Today you wake up feeling reinvigorated and renewed. You feel as though you can accomplish anything. And very likely, today you can. Anything you set your mind and attention to works out beautifully.

From page 36 turnaround in fortunes for Gladiators which fired back with two goals from Eric Atkinson in the 58th minute and Orlando Francis, two minutes later. That would have been as far as they would have gotten as Snatchers kept their composure to ease to a close win which result in Gladiators being sent packing.

Skerritt happy with progress despite tough decisions, financial... From page 36 happen but it just taking a year and a half to come to fruition and hopefully it will be happening soon.” It emerged over the last month that CWI owed large amounts to territorial boards relating to the domestic first class championship and media reports said Skerritt had ordered a stop to spending on all “non-essential activities” until finances were reviewed. Skerritt, however, praised the board’s creditors, noting they had shown great understanding so far. “Our creditors to whom we owe

money have had to carry the credit with us longer and larger than perhaps they had expected. I want to thank all who have been doing it including the Barbados Cricket Association and others whom we owe money to,” Skerritt said. “There’s a tremendous amount of goodwill out there and I believe that goodwill has gone up. And so people who have been hounding us down understandably, have eased off a bit and they are taking our word that it is soon going to improve.”

Friday May 10, 2019

Warriors hold off Rockets despite Durant’s injury

Houston Rockets’ James Harden, left, and Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant (35) react to a referee’s call during the second half of Game 5 on Wednesday in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot) Reuters - Draymond Green and Klay Thompson buried 3-pointers on consecutive possessions late in the game Wednesday night, allowing the Golden State Warriors to survive the loss of Kevin Durant and hold off the Houston Rockets 10499 in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals in Oakland, Calif. Top-seeded Golden State’s third narrow win of the best-of-seven series puts the defending champions one victory away from a fifth straight trip to the West finals. The Warriors will get their first opportunity to earn advancement in Game 6 of the series tonight in Houston. Game 7, if necessary, would be played Sunday in Oakland. After the Rockets rallied from 20 down to take the lead late in the third quarter, and with Durant in the locker room for the final 14 minutes following a calf injury, the Warriors outfinished their fourth-seeded foe. A 3-pointer by Eric Gordon had the Rockets

down just 89-88 with 4:49 to play, and a free throw by James Harden kept Houston within 91-89 with 3:39 to go. But Green then buried his 3pointer, and after a Houston turnover, Thompson bombed in his trey to push the Golden State lead to 97-89 with 2:34 to go. Houston got as close as three one more time, on a layup by Harden with 18.6 seconds left, before Thompson, after nearly throwing the ball away, dropped in an interior hoop for the clinching basket with 4.1 seconds left. Durant’s injury occurred innocently enough after he hit a jumper from the right side with 2:05 left in the third quarter. He took a step toward the defensive end of the court before grimacing in pain and looking down at his lower right leg, leading to concerns he might have ruptured his Achilles. However, the injury was later announced by the Warriors to be a strained right calf. Thompson finished with 27 points, Stephen Curry 25

and Durant 22 for the Warriors, who continued a run of home wins by the teams in the series. Andre Iguodala added 11 points, while Green had a brilliant all-around game before fouling out, complementing eight points with 12 rebounds and 11 assists. Harden was the game’s leading scorer with 31 points for the Rockets, who were both outshot by the Warriors from the field 45.9 percent to 41.8 percent and outscored on 3-pointers 3936. Gordon chipped in with 19 points for Houston, while P.J. Tucker had 13 to go with 10 rebounds. Chris Paul and Iman Shumpert had 11 points apiece, and Houston’s Clint Capela was the game’s leading rebounder with 14 to go with six points. The Warriors used a 17-0 burst late in the first half to go up 57-37, only to see the entire advantage disappear before the end of the third period, when Harden’s floater gave Houston a 71-70 lead.

Federer survives match points to beat Monfils Madrid (Reuters) - Roger Federer survived two match points against French maverick Gael Monfils to extend his claycourt comeback and reach the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open yesterday. The evergreen Swiss 37year-old did not drop a game in a dominant first set but was dragged into an intense battle by an inspired Monfils before prevailing 60 4-6 7-6(3). World number three

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Kaieteur News

Federer, playing his first tournament on clay for three years as he prepares for the French Open, surrendered the initiative after his brisk start and was in deep trouble in the third set when he trailed 4-1. Federer struggled with his timing on occasions in breezy, sunny conditions and swatted a ball angrily over the stands when he dropped serve at the start of the decider. But he broke back in the seventh game with a stunning sliced backhand

return. Monfils earned a match point at 5-6 on the Federer serve with an ice-cool backhand pass, but Federer followed in a second serve and bounced away a smash. Federer saved another match point to set up a tiebreak and he proved unstoppable as he swept to his 1,200th match win. Austrian Dominic Thiem awaits in the next round after he beat Italian Fabio Fognini. (Continued on page 32)

Hamilton tightens the gloves for battle with Bottas Barcelona (Reuters) Lewis Hamilton says he will be tougher on track to Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas now that the Finn is again leading the Formula One championship, even if relations would remain respectful. The five-times world champion said after Bottas won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the team’s fourth successive one-two finish, that he had been “too friendly” at the start and “basically gave it to him”. Hamilton made clear to reporters at the Spanish Grand Prix yesterday that Bottas would have to fight hard for position from now on. “Ultimately, the core goal is for the team to finish at the top and I’m a team player,” he said. “We’re not going to be touching (cars), that’s for sure. But in terms of giving up positions, that won’t happen again,” added the 34year-old. Bottas and Hamilton have two wins and two second places each but the Finn is a point ahead by virtue of the newlyintroduced point for fastest lap at the Australian seasonopener. Hamilton starts as favorite for Sunday’s race, the

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. File Photo REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov first round of the traditional European season, as he chases his fourth Spanish Grand Prix victory with rivals Ferrari struggling to assert themselves. The Briton, who has won the last two races at the Circuit de Catalunya, alluded to the internal strife that marked the years when he was partnered by nowretired 2016 champion team mate Nico Rosberg. He assured reporters that was not about to be repeated. “There’s things that happen in the background that you won’t know about,” he said. “What’s really important is that we pull together as a team. We’ve

discussed it and hopefully rectified it and it won’t spring up again. “What happened before, an individual just continued to go down that route, but that’s not what we have here. “The respect is there. We have an agreed rule set out so that we do finish the races one-two and we play supporting roles either way. “Yes, it’s going to be close and tight between us. Tension, that’s just there — there’s always tension when you want to beat someone else....but what we’re paid to do is win for the team. As long as we remember that we shouldn’t have problems.”

Madrid Open: Naomi Osaka loses to Belinda Bencic; Simona Halep through BBCsport - World number one Naomi Osaka was beaten by Belinda Bencic as the Swiss fought back from a set down to reach the Madrid Open semi-finals. The Japanese led by a break in the final set and served for the match, but Bencic broke back to win 3-6 6-2 7-5. Bencic, ranked 18 in the world, saved eight of 12 break points as she secured her second victory over Osaka in 2019. The 22-year-old will play world number three Simona Halep next after Halep’s quarter-final win over Ashleigh Barty. Halep, a two-time champion in Madrid, beat Australian ninth seed Barty 7-5 7-5. The Romanian can replace Osaka as world number one if she wins the title. Bencic, who ended twotime Grand Slam champion Osaka’s Indian Wells title defence in March, produced some fine returns to come through a tight final set. Top seed Osaka broke in the fifth game of the deciding set and held off two break points in her next service game to retain

Osaka reached the semi-finals of the Stuttgart Open in April but pulled out with an abdominal injury. her advantage. However, she faltered as she served for the match at 54 and Bencic broke to love to level the set at 5-5. The Swiss, who won the Dubai Championships in February, then won the next two games to close out an impressive win.

“Today, it was a drama, so much drama in my head. I don’t know what was going on,” Osaka said. “Normally, I’m able to move on and just concentrate on the next point. “I think I was just thinking about too many things. I wanted to win this match so much.”

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Friday May 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

Bucks rout Celtics to clinch series 4-1 The team with the best record in the NBA regular season also won the race to be the first into the postseason conference finals Wednesday night, when the Milwaukee Bucks ran away from the visiting Boston Celtics for a series-clinching, 116-91 victory. The top-seeded Bucks now advance to the Eastern finals, where they will have the home-court advantage over the winner of the other Eastern semifinal between Toronto and Philadelphia. Those two hopefuls meet in a Game 6 in Philadelphia on Thursday night, with the second-seeded Raptors holding a 3-2 series lead. “It’s amazing. It was a team effort,” said Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who scored 20 points. “We did not mess around with the game. We did our job. We defended. We moved the ball. That’s how we were able to close the game.” Avenging a seven-game, first-round loss to the Celtics last season, the Bucks won

Action in the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics game five of the second round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Fiserv Forum. Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports four straight in the series after being stunned 122-90 at home in the best-of-seven opener. “The first game, we weren’t focused enough,” Antetokounmpo said. “We weren’t ourselves. The next four games, we came out with

a different approach, a different mind-set, a killer mind-set, and we were able to win the four games.” Milwaukee trailed for just a matter of seconds late in the first quarter in the clincher, building as much as a 16-

Late Nurse influenced generations, says PM Mottley Bridgetown, Barbados, CMC – Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley has hailed late West Indies great, Seymour Nurse, as “a true cricket icon and gentleman” and has credited him with influencing successive generations of Barbadian cricketers. Nurse, who played 29 Tests for West Indies between 1960 and 169, passed away here last Monday at age 85, following a long battle with illness. Following his playing career, Nurse devoted much of his time as a youth coach at the National Sports Council, helping to shape the careers of several who went on to represent Barbados and West Indies. “Though Mr. Nurse made a name for himself, his country and the whole Caribbean back in the 1960s as a batsman of immense class on the West Indies cricket team, he would have in more recent times endeared himself to countless younger Barbadians through his work as a cricket coach,” Mottley said in a statement. “Time’s journey being what it is, not one child he coached as he visited schools around the country as an employee of the National Sports Council, would have

point lead in the second quarter and 18 in the third before coasting home. The Bucks used balanced scoring and a stingy defense to eliminate the fourth-seeded Celtics, who had reached the Eastern finals against Cleveland each of the past two seasons. Antetokounmpo led seven players in double figures for the Bucks, who will be making their first

appearance in the conference finals since 2001, when they lost to Philadelphia. Antetokounmpo also found time for eight rebounds and a game-high eight assists.Khris Middleton (19 points), Eric Bledsoe (18), George Hill (16), Nikola Mirotic (10) and Ersan Ilyasova (10) also scored in double figures for the Bucks, who shot 44.7 percent overall and outscored the Celtics 4521 on 3-pointers. The Bucks also got 10 points in 16 minutes from guard Malcolm Brogdon, who was returning from a heel injury that had sidelined him since March 15. Mirotic shared team-high rebounding honors with Pat Connaughton with 11 apiece. Kyrie Irving had 15 points to top the Celtics, who had beaten the Bucks in five of their previous six postseason head-to-heads. Irving shot 6-for-21 overall and 1-for-7 on 3-point attempts, and he was limited to one assist in what could be his final game as a Celtic. He can become a free agent this summer. “They kept a body on me practically the whole game,” Irving said. “They did a great job running their offense with pace. They did it all year.” As

for his future, Irving said, “I’m going to be honest with you: I’m just trying to get back to Boston first. See my family, decompress, do what human beings do.” Marcus Morris and Jayson Tatum finished with 14 points apiece, and Jaylen Brown had 12 for the Celtics, who shot just 31.2 percent from the field. Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said, “We talk about defense every day. I just think the way we guarded, the commitment we had at the defensive end really set the tone for us.” Morris completed a double-double with a teamhigh 11 rebounds. Celtics coach Brad Stevens said, “This game was disappointing. Our issues have been well chronicled. We didn’t meet the outside expectations. We really rode a rollercoaster all year. It was difficult. “Hats off to (the Bucks). They are one helluva basketball team. They have been building habits every day, and they showed up. They were tremendous. They’re better than we are. And they earned that. And it was clear throughout the five-game series.”

Rose Ramdehol sponsors Corona Futsal tourney MVP motorcycle

Barbados Prime Minister, Mia Mottley. had the opportunity to see him execute any of the exquisite batting shots for which he became a legend while wearing the West Indies cap. “However, the life lessons he imparted to them while wearing his coach’s hat for so many years, I am sure would have positively impacted countless young minds on and off the field – and no doubt will continue to live on, even after his death.” Nurse gathered 2523 runs at an average of 47.60, hitting six hundreds – the last of which was a monumental career-best 258 against New Zealand in Christchurch which signaled his international farewell and age 35. His maiden Test hundred was also a double – 201 against Bob Simpson’s

Australia at Kensington Oval here in 1965. Legendary former skipper Sir Garry Sobers, who played alongside Nurse, described his fellow Barbadian as a player on whom any captain could depend. “He was always the kind of person that you wanted in your team because he could play so well – he was such a great player and you could rely on him,” Sir Garry, the country’s only living National Hero, told the Nation newspaper here. “It is very sad to hear of the passing of Seymour, who has given so much not only in cricket, but in football as well. “I never saw him play football, but the reports about him on the football field have been glowing. He was a tremendous goal-scorer, so he was a good sportsman.”

Franchise holders of Hero Motorcycles in Guyana, Rose Ramdehol, have continued their sponsorship of the Corona Futsal tournament that is in its fourth year. The company, located on South Road, will be providing the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament with a Hero Honda 150 CC motorcycle. During a simple presentation ceremony 5/11/2019 19:30 hrs 20:15 hrs 21:00 hrs 21:45 hrs 22:30 hrs 23:15 hrs 5/14/2019 19:30 hrs 20:15 hrs 21:00 hrs 21:45 hrs 22:30 hrs 23:15 hrs 5/18/2019 19:30 hrs 20:15 hrs 21:00 hrs 21:45 hrs 22:30 hrs 23:15 hrs

yesterday at the company, Joshua Ramdehol, speaking on behalf of the sponsors noted that he was happy to see his company continue their support of the Petra Organisation event. Co-Director of Petra, Troy Mendonca, thanked Rose Ramdehol for their support before disclosing that the tournament continues tomorrow with the first five matches in the group-round

robin stage. The teams that come out on top in the group stages will be awarded as follows: first $40,000; second $30,000; third $15,000, and fourth $10,000, as an added incentive. In the grand finale, first place winner will receive $500,000, while second place will pocket $250,000. Third place will cop a $125,000 prize; while fourth will have to settle for $75,000.

Corona Futsal Tourney – group-round robin stage Round Robin Night 1 Tucville vs North East La Penitence Bent Street vs Mocha Leopold Street vs Future Stars Sparta Boss vs Beacons West Front Road vs Tiger Bay Back Circle vs California Square Round Robin Night 2 Tucville vs Tiger Bay Leopold Street vs Mocha Back Circle vs Beacons Bent Street vs Future Stars Sparta Boss vs California Square West Front Road vs North East La Penetance Round Robin Night 3 Beacons vs California Square Mocha vs Future Stars Tucville vs West Front Road Tiger Bay vs North East La Penetance Leopold Street vs Bent Street Back Circle vs Sparta Boss

Match # 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Friday May 10, 2019

Hand-in-Hand 3-day U-19 Inter County Cricket

Select U-17 trail E’bo by 68 with seven wickets in hand The Select Under-17 team are trailing Essequibo by 68 runs with 7 wickets in hand when the second day of the third and final round Handin-Hand Inter County U19 three-day tournament ended yesterday. After most of the first day’s play on Wednesday and the entire morning session of the second day, yesterday were lost, the players were relieved when play began at 12:40hrs at the Everest Cricket Club. Orlando Jailall and Ameer Singh began the day on 13 and 6 respectively, with Essequibo on 30-1, batting first. The pair resisted well with some tidy stroke play as they took the score to 65 before Jailall was removed by Matthew Nandu after striking four fours and one six in scoring 34. Singh added a further 34 with Jeremiah Scott before Scott who struck Nandu for a six, was bowled by left arm orthodox spinner Chanderpaul Ramraj for 12 while Singh was lbw to Ramraj for 29 which included a solitary boundary, to leave Essequibo at 101-4. The U17 lads maintained a steady line and Essequibo never recovered, losing wickets at regular intervals.

Marvan Prashad (left) and Chanderpaul Ramraj shared five wickets between them. Lance Roberts (08) was bowled by Sarwan Chaitnarine, Bhumeshwar Ramkissoon (04) was lbw by Ramraj while Ajay Gainda removed Elian Whyte (07) with the score on 122-7. Azim Mohamed provided some resistance down the order with 24 as Essequibo were bowled out for 145 after facing 53.1 overs. Ramraj claimed 3-6 from 10 overs and Marvin Prashad 2-0 from 1.1 overs. In reply, the U17 side lost opener Rampertab Ramnauth who was run out for one before Nandu and Zeynul

Ramsammy steadied the innings fairly. The duo timed the ball well as they accumulated runs on both sides of the pitch. However, they lacked proper communication when running between the wickets and a run out seemed inevitable. And Nandu it was who perished in same manner for 24 which contained two fours and one six while Ramsammy was lbw to Roberts for 28. Mavindra Dindyal will resume on 21 (3x4), Andre Seepersaud is on one. Play is set to start at 09:30hrs today. (Zaheer Mohamed)

Spinners revel as 25 wickets tumble in two sessions; Demerara take first innings points In a match which the entire opening day and first session yesterday were lost to rain, 25 wickets tumbled in just two sessions as Demerara gained a slim six-run lead over Berbice when the second day of their final round three-day Hand-in-Hand U-19 Inter County match ended at Lusignan. But the game was still in the balance heading into the final day which will determine if Berbice retains their title. Although the sun was out in all its glory for most of the day, wet spots on the track and bowler’s run-up from the previous day curtailed the action until 12:40hrs. Demerara, who started the contest with .7 of a point behind the defending champions (17 points) were bundled out for 60 in one session on a track which had little to do with their substandard batting and erratic shot selection. National U-19 left-arm

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Kaieteur News

BCB and Let’s Bet Sports partners to host 100 Balls Tourney - 90 Clubs in Ancient County to participate in Inter Zone format The Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) in continuing its robust push towards ensuring that the game is played continuously has inked one of the biggest deals ever in the 79 year history of the BCB. Yesterday, in the board room of the Guyana Chronicle Newspapers, Board President Hilbert Foster and Let’s Bet Sports Brand Manager Ian De Barros exchanged handshakes during the ceremonial hand over of the cheque valued at 1.1 million dollars. Also sharing the head table at yesterday’s event were Let’s Bet Sports Assistant Brand Manager Joel Lee and Brand Ambassador, Rawle Toney. Foster, whilst expressing profound gratitude to Let’s Bet for inking the partnership deal in less than a week after being approached, shared that the 100 Balls tournament would be played in four Internal Zones which would be followed by an overall championship with the four Zone champions. “Teams in West Berbice, New Amsterdam/Canje, Lower/Central Corentyne, and Upper Corentyne would participate in four separate tournaments to decide the overall champions. Each tournament would have cash prizes and trophies.” Among the West Berbice

well organised and would achieve all its objectives.” The BCB boss also stated that the company would be well promoted in both Regions 5 and 6. “On behalf of the Berbice Cricket Board, I would like to express gratitude to the Management and staff of Lotto/Let’s Bet Sports for coming on board with us. Your support would enable us to continue the remarkable transformation of Berbice cricket and for this, we would be forever grateful, Foster concluded. Toney in brief remarks expressed delight in being able to partner with the BCB for such a huge tournament which would bowl off in the coming weeks. For the year, the BCB has ran off some twenty (20) competitions and ever since Foster took over as leader, some 43 competitions have been organised, the board raising close to 17 Million in cash and kind. Tournaments have been played at the Under-13, 15, 17, 19, 21, Female, Primary and Secondary School, Inter Zone, Second Division, Double Wicket and First Division levels. Numerous developmental programmes have also been held which has aided in the transformation of the general mood from gloom to total happiness, Foster opined.

Pure Racing fueled by ExxonMobil ESSO Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, ExxonMobil has returned to the side of the Pure racing family ahead of this weekend’s season opening GT Motorsports Grand Prix. The company yesterday handed over sponsorship to the team at its new market street Georgetown office. ExxonMobil’s Nicholas Yearwood, who handed over the sponsorship, told the media that the company is more than willing to support the youth in sport. “Last year was a lot of fun; a lot of wins and a lot of

Joel Spooner followed up match figures of 11-65 against E’bo with 4-9 yesterday.

teams set to play are Blairmont Community Centre, Achievers, D’Edward and Cotton Tree Die Hard. Those in New Amsterdam/Canje would include, Rose Hall Canje, Young Warriors, Tucber Park, Guymine, Mount Sinai and the Mantal Hospital. Among those from Lower/Central Corentyne are Albion, Rose Hall Town Bakewell, Kildonan, Fyrish, Courtland and Port Mourant whilst from Upper Corentyne, Scottsburg, Skeldon Titans, No. 72 All Stars, Dukestown Warriors and No. 64 Fighting Marines would contest. It was further disclosed that due to the nature of the sponsorship, players under the age of 18 years would not be allowed to play while teams would be allowed a maximum of three first division players who are not debarred by the BCB. “The BCB is quite good at organizing tournaments of this nature and the Berbice cricketing public loves this version of the game,” Foster boasted. The main objectives of the tournament are to promote the game at the grassroots level; to develop inter-village rivalry and to allow older players the opportunity to play the game. “I wish to reassure the management of Lotto that all of the tournaments would be

excitement and we are committed to the development of sport locally. We want to continue working with activities to develop youth.” “We just want to wish them the best in the upcoming race meet and we want them to have fun and be safe.” Pure Racing’s Annalisa Phang stated that sponsors like Exxon have allowed the younger generation of drivers to hone their skills. The team includes Ben Phang in the Baby Cup, Justin Ten-Pow in the Sunburst 60cc Kids Cup, Jeremy Ten-Pow and Paige

Mendonca in the 125cc X30 Juniors and Jhon Phang in the 125cc X30 Seniors. This weekend’s GT Motorsports Georgetown Grand Prix is billed for tomorrow and is expected to include drivers from Trinidad and Tobago as well as Jamaica. Trinidad’s Kristian Boodoosingh and Zachary Boodram are expected in the 125cc X30 Senior Class along with Jamaica’s Collin Daley. Daley’s countryman Tommi Gore is expected in the 125cc X30 Junior class.

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Friday May 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

It’s Dhoni v Pant again with everything on the line today

MS Dhoni Big picture ESPNcricinfo - At its core, good sport is meant to shock us. To move us. To sweep us up in its awesomeness. Delhi Capitals weren’t supposed to come this far - they had never even won an IPL playoff match before. But here they are as cricket tries its hardest not to lag behind football, which is putting on such a wondrous spectacle in Europe. “I think we have an affinity to make things interesting,” Prithvi Shaw said after the breakneck finish on Wednesday. Capitals have this odd little habit of putting pressure on themselves even when the game seems done and dusted. Their opponents, meanwhile, have made it their business to be immune to pressure. To follow their captain’s lead and become high-functioning sportsiopaths. This is a lovely clash. It’s youth v experience. It’s a team learning to revel under pressure v a team that repels it. It has fun written all over it. So let’s just sit back, relax and enjoy what should be another wild night. Oh, and while we do that, maybe we could also think about the ones who couldn’t make it. Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan, like Hakim Ziyech and Noussair Mazraoui, had performed at mind-bogglingly high levels while they were fasting for

Rishabh Pant Ramadan. Likely XIs - Chennai Super Kings: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 M Vijay, 5 Ambati Rayudu, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Dwayne Bravo, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Imran Tahir. Delhi Capitals: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Colin Ingram, 6 Sherfane Rutherford, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Keemo Paul, 9 Amit Mishra, 10 Chris Morris/ Trent Boult, 11 Ishant Sharma. Previous meeting Capitals came off quite the worse for wear, all out for 99 chasing 179 courtesy the CSK spinners. Strategy punt MS Dhoni is master of the endgame: 213 of his 405 runs this season have come from overs 18 to 20. Chris Morris is good at the death too: ten of his 13 wickets this IPL have come in overs 16 to 20. That match-up should get the South African in the XI. That and the fact that Dhoni hits every other Capitals bowler at a strike rate of 170 or more. Rishabh Pant always had the big-hitting thing down but now he’s starting to finish games. But for some reason, he hadn’t hit a six on the off side against fast bowling until last night. Maybe Dwayne Bravo, who has a favourable T20

head-to-head against the lefthander (25 off 20, one dismissal), could run with that; bowl wide of off stump to see what happens. Stats that matter CSK’s spinners have taken 55 wickets this IPL, the most by a team in a single season. And it hasn’t been a one-man show either: Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir and Ravindra Jadeja have all picked up 12-plus wickets. They will be very keen to have a go at the Capitals middle-order. The Nos. 4 to 7 have averaged only 20.5, third-worst among all teams this year. CSK have batting issues as well, in their top order. Shane Watson’s average of 14.6 in the Powerplay is the second-lowest for an opener in the history of the IPL. And, as a result of that, the team has rarely had a solid foundation to build an innings. Trent Boult is genius. But it’s not always been apparent in the IPL, where he averages 53.7 runs per wicket in Powerplay and concedes at 10.7 runs per over at the death, two phases where a fast bowler is expected to deliver for the team. The average score in Vizag in T20Is and IPL matches since 2013 is 148. And based on the Eliminator, spin could play a big part: economy rate of 6 as opposed to 9.6 for fast bowling.

GFF/KFC U-20 Independence KO Cup –Rupununi FA Leg

Ledson DaSilva’s brace leads Snatchers past Gladiators A first half double off the boot of Ledson DaSilva orchestrated a narrow 3-2 win for Snatchers FC over Gladiators FC when the GFF/ KFC U20 Independence Cup

knock-out tournament, Rupununi Football Association leg continued on Wednesday last. DaSilva scored in the 4th and 34th minute with his

teammate Jarred George scoring in the 36th minute to establish what seemed to be a comfortable 3-0 advantage. The second half saw a (Continued on page 32)

Reifer earmarks Hope as future batting leader Dublin, Ireland, CMC – Interim head coach Floyd Reifer says Shai Hope will be one of the keys to West Indies’ batting in the future, following the right-hander’s back-to-back hundreds in the ongoing Tri-Nations Series . Hope stroked 170 last Sunday’s opener against Ireland in a world-record 365run opening stand with John Campbell (179) before hitting 109 against Bangladesh in the second game on Tuesday which West Indies lost by eight wickets. The 25-year-old has now scored four of his six One-Day Internationals in his last eight innings, and averages 50 from 51 matches. “The last 12, 14 games he has played he has batted really well and scored about four hundreds and about four half-centuries as well,” said Reifer. “To see him batting here is a dream and he played really well – he paced the innings really well, played some beautiful cricket shots and accelerated the innings at the end. I thought he read the game very, very well and he’s definitely one for the future in terms of scoring a lot of runs for West Indies cricket.” Reifer said what made Hope so important to the Windies lineup was his ability to dictate the pace of the innings while also batting deep. Hope batted nearly 48 overs against Ireland and 42 against Bangladesh, and also kept the score ticking over throughout his innings with

Floyd Reifer the use of strike rotation. Reifer pointed out that Hope’s patience early in both innings had eventually paid dividends for the side. “The first 10 overs of the game the pitch was very slow so it’s not a pitch where you can go out and try to get 60 runs in the first 10 overs,” Reifer explained. “We were happy to take 40 runs without a loss of wicket and what he (Hope) did was pace the innings very well … in the middle overs he rotated the strike very, very well. He ran aggressively between the wickets and at the back end of the game he really accelerated the innings and both innings were beautiful innings.” Hope’s position in the order has been a subject of discussion. Four of his six hundreds have come at the top of the order but with

specialist openers Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis named in the 15-man World Cup squad, Hope is expected to drop down to humber three as he did in the recent home series against England. Reifer said Hope would be used in either position depending on what was required at the time. “Hope is very versatile,” Reifer pointed out. “In some games he will open, in some games he can bat at three. That’s the versatility of our team. We have guys that can play in any position.” Campbell, who hit his maiden hundred in only his sixth ODI, also came in for praise from Reifer. “John batted very well. Again, he took his time early on in the innings and then he went on in the middle overs and rotated the strike very well,” Reifer said. “The communication between himself and Hope was very good along with the running between the wickets. John also played some beautiful cricket shots. He actually got over his hurdle where he usually gets to 30 and gets out. “When he got there, he really dug in and focussed on getting over that small hurdle. As soon as he did that he just accelerated the innings.” West Indies face Ireland again on Saturday in their third match. The series is their final audition before the ICC World Cup bowls off on May 30.

Skerritt happy with progress despite tough decisions, financial challenges Bridgetown, Barbados, CMC – Cricket West Indies president, Ricky Skerritt, says he has had to make “difficult decisions” and contend with rocky finances during his short tenure in charge of the regional organisation but insists he has no regrets so far. The former St Kitts and Nevis Cabinet minister swept to power last March when he stunned three-time incumbent Dave Cameron in CWI elections staged in Jamaica. “Cricket is a never ending challenge. At the moment, [it is important] to get stability in a number of areas and to put ourselves into a position where we can build, just getting better and get improvements and growth in all the key areas,” he told the Mason and Guest cricket radio show here.

“It’s going to take a while but I’m not going to complain. We’ve had to make some difficult decisions and we’re having to be careful with how we spend money until we can get a little more income flowing in. “Apart from that I would say it’s coming together and we’re confident we’re moving in the right direction.” One of the major drawbacks for Skerritt and vice-president Dr Kishore Shallow has been the lack of funds at their disposal. CWI has navigated choppy financial waters over the last year and only recently Skerritt described the board’s finances as “worse than you think”. He said in some cases, key grassroots development programmes had been impact by the poor financial situation. “I would have enjoyed coming into a situation where

we had some cash to spend and invest in some of the key areas especially in the grassroots and youth cricket,” he pointed out. “There are some grassroots programmes that have either slowed down or just come to a halt because we haven’t been able to pay various vendors and suppliers. That has been the most troubling thing for me right now.” He added: “We knew the previous financial year …. was going to be a significant loss-making year. The deficit was always going to be in the region of US$20 million. To fund that gap, there were certain things which we had been told were in place – one of them was raising some from funds from the private sector in Jamaica. “That is still going to (Continued on page 32)

Friday May 10, 2019

PAGE 39

Kaieteur News

D’ Andrade wins QRC Blu Chancellor Challenge run

Chelsea beat Eintracht Frankfurt on penalties to reach final

The Blues needed the tie to go the full distance before emerging as eventual victors at Stamford Bridge.

The top three athletes display their prizes. Guyanese Lionel D’Andrade continued his rich vein of form in Trinidad and Tobago when he captured the QRC Blu Chancellor Challenge run last weekend. D’Andrade clocked 13 minutes 34 seconds to win the event ahead of George Guswil of St. Vincent and the Grenadines who completed the race in 13:57. Third place was taken by Xavion Yorke of the host nation who finished in a time of 14:08. Forty athletes started the race. D’Andrade’ next assignment is tomorrow.

Georgetown/East Coast Regionals’ Tournament Fixtures for May 10-11 Friday May 10th Category Match Up U18 President’s Colllege vs St Roses High U18 Saint Stanislaus vs Bishops High U18 Marian Academy vs Queens College U18 Chase vs GTI Saturday, May 11th U14 St Roses High vs Bladen Hall U14 Bishops’ High vs YBG Cluster U14 Tutorial High vs Marian Academy U18 St Roses High vs Tutorial High

Time 15:30hrs 16:30hrs 17:30hrs 18:30hrs

Venue Cliff Anderson SH “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “

14:30hrs 15:20hrs 16:10hrs 17:00hrs

“ “ “ “

“ “ “ “

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GFF Elite League Season 4 Weekend Fixtures for May 11-12 Saturday May 11 Mt. Team Team Time 35 Victoria Kings vs Santos FC 13:30hrs 36 Buxton United vs Police FC 16:00hrs Sunday May 12 37 Milerock vs Anns Grove 11:00hrs 38 Western Tigers vs GDF 13:30hrs 39 Den Amstel vs Fruta Conquerors 16:00hrs All matches would be played at the GFF National Training Facility, Providence, EBD.

MailOnline - Eden Hazard scored the winning penalty as Chelsea edged past Eintracht Frankfurt 4-3 on penalties to set up an all-English Europa League final against Arsenal. Hazard, who could have played his final game for the Blues at Stamford Bridge, converted after Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga had saved from both Martin Hinteregger and Goncalo Paciencia. Chelsea will now meet Arsenal in the final in Baku on 29 May and the result means both the Champions League and Europa League final will be played between English clubs this season the first time all four finalists in Europe’s top two competitions have come from one nation. With the score 1-1 after the first leg, Chelsea took lead in the second when Ruben Loftus-Cheek coolly stroked into the far corner in the 28th minute, but the night was far from straight-forward. Frankfurt levelled the tie

four minutes after half-time when Luka Jovic slotted past Arrizabalaga after being played in by Mijat Gacinovic. Jovic’s goal punished Chelsea for a sloppy start to the second half and the Blues continued to be wasteful as Stamford Bridge became increasingly restless. In extratime the Germans twice had efforts cleared off the line with David Luiz first denying Sebastian Haller and then Davide Zappacosta clearing Haller again at a corner. Chelsea thought they had won it late in extra-time but Cesar Azpilicueta, who later missed first in the penalty shootout, had a goal ruled out when the referee deemed he had bundled the ball out of Frankfurt keeper Kevin Trapp’s hands. The shootout was Chelsea’s first since they lost the Carabao Cup final to Manchester City on penalties in February. That game was overshadowed by Arrizabalaga’s refusal to be substituted, but at Stamford

Bridge he proved to be the hero. After Azpilicueta missed first, Arrizabalaga remarkably kept out Eintracht’s fourth penalty by trapping the ball under his shin as he stood still when Hinteregger went for power and then dived low to his right to palm away the visitors’ fifth. That left Hazard with the opportunity to complete the win and the Belgian delivered - sending Trapp the wrong way, tucking the ball into the corner. Hazard has been strongly linked with a move to Real Madrid this summer and if he does depart the game will be his final at Stamford Bridge after seven years at the club. There were no waves to the crowd or clear indications he will leave in the summer and when asked whether the final would be his last game for the club he said “in my mind I do not know yet”. If he does leave in the summer it would be a fitting way for him to finish in west London.

Jamaican Fowler-Reid on losing end, Trinidadian Wallace keeps Swifts unbeaten Perth, Australia, CMC – Sunshine Girls star Jhaniele Fowler-Reid produced another outstanding performance for West Coast Fever but was unable to prevent them from suffering a heavy drubbing to two-time reigning champions Sunshine Coast Lightning, in the Suncorp Super Netball championship last weekend. In a rematch of last season’s final, Fever found themselves outplayed from the start, resulting in a humbling 80-55 thumping at RAC Arena – their second defeat in as many matches. Goal shooter Fowler-Reid, who recovered from injury in time to start, shot 51 from 55

Trinidadian Samantha Wallace. attempts, including a perfect 15 from 15 in the opening quarter and 12 from 12 in the third. She was, however,

overshadowed by Ugandan Peace Proscovia who sank 48 goals from 54 attempts while goal attack Steph Wood (Continued on page 32)

PAGE 40

Friday May 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

Integrated Security Services Timehri Panthers and Grove Hi Tech golf tourney on tomorrow GFF/KFC U-20 Independence KO Cup –EBFA Leg

to clash in lone semi-final

As the battle for the only available spot to represent the East Bank Football Association in the National Playoffs of the GFF/KFC Independence KO Cup continue, the lone semi-final would be contested tomorrow at the GFF National Training Facility. Set to face off from 10:00hrs in what is expected to be a fierce battle are Timehri Panthers and Grove Hi Tech. Soesdyke Falcons drew the bye to the final following the conclusion of two rounds of play. Grove Hi Tech chartered their way to this stage via wins over Diamond Upsetters (walk over) and were 3-1 winners over Kuru Kururu Warriors. Timehri Panthers defeated Herstelling Raiders (6-0) and Agricola Red Triangle via sudden death penalty kicks 5-4, after a 1-1 tie in regulation time. Soesdyke Falcons had defeated Mocha Champs 3-0 and hammered Diamond United 13-2.

Trevon Pluck Grove Hi Tech FC Timehri’s quest for a win would center around the likes of forward Tyrone Burnett, national Under-17 defender Shannon Samnauth who just returned from the Concacaf Championship in Florida, national Under-17 goalkeeper

Ronaldo Blair who has also returned from Florida, Ishmael Pulsaram (midfielder) and utility player, Prince Forde. Grove High Tech will depend on former national Under-17 defender Akel Clarke, Trevon Pluck will control the midfield, Paul Fields will be hunting goals upfront while experienced custodian Usher Jones will be their last line of defense. The leading goal scorers to date are Soesdyke Falcon’ Tyrone Khan with 5, his teammate Mark Barker has 3 the same as Tyrone Burnett of Timehri Panthers whose club mate, Ishmael Pulsaram has 2. West Demarara FA Semis Meanwhile, the semi finals of the West Demerara Football Association leg of the competition will also be played tomorrow at the Den Amstel Community Center ground. Pouderoyen will oppose Eagles whilst the home team, Den Amstel will match skills with Uitvlugt Warriors.

Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Linden on tonight at Silver City Hard-Court Tarmac The destiny of several teams will be known tonight when the curtains come down on the group round in the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Linden Championship at the Silver City Hard-Court Tarmac. The venue has provided several upsets to date; in the process setting up several high profile must win matches, as teams strive to earn a place in the business round of the tournament. In the first match of the night, Assassa Ballers will oppose Amazings from 19:30hrs, with NK Ballers battling

Capital Storm from 20:00hrs. The third fixture will pit High Rollers against Retrieve Unknown from 20:30hrs, with Amelia’s Ward Russians locking horns with Coomacka from 21:00hrs. In the final two matches, home side Swag Entertainment battle Wisroc at 21:30hrs, while fellow community team and defending champion Silver Bullets tackle Barsenal from 22:00hrs. According to an official release from the coordinators, “Despite the weather which has hindered play, we have experienced quality football

and with several teams needing to win on the night, we are expecting nothing short of excitement for the fans who are expected to descend on the venue.” The release further said, “The dates for the tournament has also shifted, with the quarterfinal and semi-final pegged for tomorrow [Saturday]. This move will ensure for a faster conclusion of the event and forced the teams to prepare and execute better, as they aim to seal a place in the championship match. The grand finale is slated for May 18th.”

Action from the previous night in the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Linden Championship at the Mackenzie Market Tarmac.

Max Persaud has been in fine form recently.

Dr. Joaan Deo - Dr. Joaan Deo recently represented in Barbados.

Integrated Security Services (ISS) Inc., one of the largest security services locally, has partnered with the Lusignan Golf Club (LGC) for the staging of its inaugural tournament tomorrow at the LGC, teeing off from12:30hrs. ISS, located at 21 Peter Rose Street, Queenstown, has indicated that for a long time they have had a high interest in the sport since being introduced to the LGC by top fashion designer, Sonia Noel. In discussion with the LGC President Aleem Hussain, ISS management noted that the precision required in the game of golf can be compared and likened to the precision required in the high level of security and other services that that ISS provides, engaging no margin for error.

ISS plans to use the club and golf to help in team-building activities for their staff. Meanwhile, tomorrow’s tournament is opened to all golfers and members while members of the public are invited to witness what is expected to be a keenly contested tournament. Fans can contact the LGC on 220 5660 or 645 0944 to resister for free lessons in the game. The lighted driving range that is being developed by LGC partnered by MACORP is expected to be completed soon and will help to raise the standard of golf locally; it will be open to golfers and learners for practice. This tournament will be played in 0-9, 1018, 19-28 flights; there will be prizes for nearest to the pin, best gross, best net and longest drive.

Registration ongoing for the Academy of Contemporary Martial Arts classes Registration is currently ongoing for male and female students who wish to pursue training with the Academy of Contemporary Martial Arts. The Academy is set to commence classes shortly in several communities in Taekwondo, Kung fu, self defense, kickboxing and sambo. Additional programmes such as personal training, child obedience and competition training will also be offered. Sessions will be held tomorrow and Sunday at Uitvlugt from 10:00 - 11:30hrs, Mahaica Guinness Bar from 14:00 - 15:30hrs and Mahaicony Perth Hall from 16:00 - 17:30hrs. The Academy will visit the Essequibo Coast on Tuesday and Wednesday where classes will be held at the Anna Regina Multlaterial

Sensi Rodwell Alleyne (left) and Master Dellon Hyman, the two Instructors. School from 16:00 - 18:00hrs. For additional information, interested persons can

contact instructor Master Dellon Hyman on 666 3416 or 687 7427.

Kaieteur News

Friday May 10, 2019

Guyana drawn in Gr. D of 2020 Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Championship - Top three advance to FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup

Guyana Rush Saints Female Team

M

iami – The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) conducted the official draw for the 2020 Concacaf Wo m e n ’s U n d e r - 1 7 Championship, at the Concacaf headquarters, in Miami, FL.

The draw, which sorted the 32 participating teams into eight groups, was conducted by the Concacaf Head of National Competitions, Carlos Fernandez. The groups for the Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Championship Qualification Stage, set to take place between August 17-25, 2019 are as follows:

Group A Group Honduras Antigua & Barbuda St. Lucia Dominica Anguilla Cayman Islands Bonaire Martinique Group C Group D Barbados Bahamas St. Kitts and Nevis Curacao US Virgin Islands Guyana Belize St. Vincent & the Grenadines After round-robin play, the top finisher in each group will advance directly to the knockout stage of the competition. The complete schedule for the Qualification Stage,

including the host countries, will be published at a later date. The groups for the Concacaf Women’s Under17 Championship Group Stage are as follows:

Group E Mexico Trinidad & Tobago Bermuda Dominican Republic

Group F Canada Costa Rica Panama Cuba

Group G USA Jamaica Puerto Rico Nicaragua

Group H Haiti Guatemala El Salvador Grenada

A

fter round-robin play, the top three finishers in each of the groups will qualify for the knockout stage, joining the four group winners of the Qualification Stage in the Round of 16. The complete schedule for the group stage, including the host country, will be published at a later date. The knockout stage of the competition will be

played in its entirety in a single match elimination format, with the finalists and third place finisher automatically qualifying for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2020. In the previous edition of the Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Championship, played in 2018, the United States won its fourth title, with a 3-2 win over Mexico in the Final.

PAGE 41

t r o Sp Hand-in-Hand 3-day U-19 Inter County Cricket

Select U-17 trail E’bo by 68 with seven wickets in hand

BCB and Let’s Bet Sports partners to host 100 Balls Tourney - 90 Clubs in Ancient County to participate in Inter Zone format

Matthew Nandu looked solid before he was run out.

BCB President Hilbert Foster (2nd left) accepts the sponsorship cheque from Let’s Bet Sports Brand Manager Ian De Barros in the presence of Assistant Brand Manager Joel Lee (right) and Brand Ambassador, Rawle Toney.

Spinners revel as 25 wickets Pure Racing fueled by ExxonMobil tumble in two sessions; Demerara take first innings points Rose Ramdehol sponsors Corona Futsal tourney MVP motorcycle From left, Annalisa Phang, Ben Phang, Nicholas Yearwood, Paige Mendonca (collecting cheque), John Phang and Tammy Quail at ExxonMobil’s New Market Street office.

GFF/KFC U-20 Independence KO Cup –Rupununi FA Leg

From left, Petra’s Mark Alleyne, Joshua Ramdehol and Troy Mendonca pose with some of the Hero Honda motorcycles yesterday.

Ledson DaSilva’s brace leads Snatchers past Gladiators Timehri Panthers and Grove Hi Tech to clash in lone semi-final tomorrow

Ledson DaSilva and Jarred George – Snatchers FC

- WDFA Semis also on...

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