Kaieteur News
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Friday May 12, 2017
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 Ignorance of the law The anger that people feel at being robbed or violated is understandable. People feel violated when they lose something forcibly. It is not simply the loss. It is the indignity and injustice of someone unlawfully depriving you of what you own. It amounts to an act of violation; this triggers the anger and the hurt. Most citizens can empathise with such feelings and abhor criminal behaviour. This explains why, very often, whenever a criminal is caught, in a community, there is hardly any sympathy for that criminal. An offence against one member of the community is often viewed as an assault against the entire community, leading to the exaction of justice and retribution. Many thieves have received a good thrashing at the hands of members of the community, outraged over the violation of their community. Often, it is the arrival of the police that saves the criminals from further punishment. There has been, over the years, a moral acceptance of these forms of justice. There are hardly any voices of dissent raised over these beatings, and even the police have been known not to pursue charges against those who are involved in beating criminals caught stealing in neighbourhoods. Beating criminals is, however, at odds with the law, which provides for penalties for all forms of assault, even assault of the most depraved of criminals. A respect for human rights also shows no discrimination between the guilty and innocent. The exaction of justice is thus best left to the law enforcement and judicial authorities. Persons guilty of crimes should be placed before the courts and be allowed to face the consequences. Citizens should not take the law into their own hands. Unfortunately, in the case of people caught stealing within communities, this principle is often observed in the breach, to the extent that most citizens now feel that there is nothing wrong with them giving a good thrashing to someone caught stealing from one of their members. In most cases, the outcome of these exchanges is not too serious, and thus the authorities have generally turned a blind eye, since they, too, understand what it feels like to be unlawfully deprived of what you own. There is also a general dislike and disdain for criminals, who are not viewed with much sympathy. The police, therefore, hardly press charges against the person (s) involved in the beating of criminals. There are times, however, when the punishment exacted goes too far. In one case many years ago, a thief was tied to a lamp post and beaten to death. No charges were laid against anyone, thereby further reinforcing the view that citizens are free to beat criminals caught committing crimes in their neighbourhoods. Many young people have grown up with the belief that, so long as a person has been caught committing a criminal offence, there is nothing wrong with beating that person to a pulp. This is what many persons of the present generation have grown up to believe, a belief that has been reinforced by the sanction that the public gives to such actions, and the blind eye that is turned by the authorities whenever criminals are at the receiving end. Ignorance, they say, is no excuse for breaking the law; but more important than that is breaking the ignorance of the law. All citizens should know what is permissible and what is not. It is time that the public is sensitised and re-oriented as to the approved methods of dealing with persons caught committing criminal acts in communities. Otherwise, we will end up in a situation where innocent citizens who feel that they are serving the interest of justice within their communities find themselves facing the wrath of the law, instead of being praised for ensuring that their communities are kept securely.
Editor’s Note; If your sent letter was not published and you felt its contents were valid and devoid of libel or personal attacks, please contact us by phone or email.
Damning allegations against a private security company Dear Editor, We, the employees of a security service operating in the area east of Vlissengen Road, are voicing our concern over the Company’s refusal to comply with the order to pay the minimum wage increase. Every time there is an increase the Company delays for (4) four months to pay the increase. That delay creates a retroactive sum which they fail to pay. It seems to us as though this delinquent Company is getting coverage from some left over
corrupt oligarchs from the previous administration that are still functioning within the system at the Ministry of Social Protection (Labour Department) that should have been long gone with their masters are still receiving honey from the hives. Apart from the Honourable Minister, there may be a few exceptions, but to select them would be difficult; it is like asking a man to count salt by the grain. When the minimum wage was increased from one hundred dollars
($100) an hour to one hundred and forty dollars ($140) they took four (4) months to pay the increase and never paid the retroactive. The same was done when the increase was made from 1st July, 2013. We are of the opinion that the above mentioned department is where conspiracy is taking place. Honourable Minister, we are appealing to you because every time we lodge a complaint at the Labour Department; we are being told by (Continued on page 5)
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Proposal to Establish an Industrial Tribunal Anil Nandlall’s political In relation to any inDEAR EDITOR, Chair and representatives of ing the complaint by the Chief After reviewing the labour ILO recognised Employers’ Labour Officer or Acting Chief dividual dispute or complaint hypocrisy cannot be His political hypocrisy before it, Industrial Tribunal legislation on Industrial Tri- Organization on labour, and Labour Officer. and mischief cannot be disThe Chief Labour Officer is required to make such or- disguised bunals in CARICOM Member representatives of the trade guised. Anil Nandlall has abStates, I wish to share some unions based on consultation (CLO) or a Senior Labour Ad- ders or awards as it considthoughts on the essential content of any legislation for an Industrial Tribunal to determine individual disputes of rights, based on statutory and or contractual entitlements. 1. An Industrial Tribunal Act The enactment of a new Law is required for establishing an Industrial Tribunal with jurisdiction to hear and determine any unresolved individual labour dispute or complaint which constitutes an individual rights dispute relating to statutory entitlements, or entitlements flowing from individual contracts of employment. Such an Industrial Tribunal, as in other CARICOM jurisdictions, shall not be subject to any other person or authority, in the exercise of its powers. The Orders, decisions and awards of the Industrial Tribunal shall be enforced by the High Court as though they were orders or judgements of that Court. Awards are final and binding on all the parties involved, except on a point of law which can be appealed at the High Court. 2. Composition and Appointment of the Industrial Tribunal Labour Tribunals are tripartite in composition, comprising of an independent the
with national trade union bodies. The Chair and Members of the Industrial Tribunal shall be appointed by the Minister for a period not exceeding three years and may be reappointed after the three years. The Minister may remove the Chair or any member of the Industrial Tribunal for good and sufficient cause, natural justice taken into account before any removal action. 3. Procedures for the Functions of the Industrial Tribunal The Minister may make regulations, and provide the required resources to enable the Industrial Tribunal to function effectively. In the absence of such regulations, the Industrial Tribunal regulates its own procedures and proceedings. Procedures are designed to enable the Industrial Tribunal to obtain the facts of any case before it, and determine its merits in terms of statutory and contract obligations for the appropriate award(s). 4. Reference to the Industrial Tribunal by Department of Labour Any unresolved individual dispute or complaint (disputes of rights) at the Department of Labour shall be referred to the Industrial Tribunal for determination within two months of receiv-
ministrator designated by the CLO shall present the case for an aggrieved employee or complainant to the Industrial Tribunal. 5. Hearings by the Industrial Tribunal The Industrial Tribunal hears and determines complaints, representations, and submission for the concerned parties under oath. The Industrial Tribunal may act without regard to technicalities and legal forms, and is not bound to follow the rules of evidence, having regards to its own regulations. In cases of dismissals for valid reasons or for good and sufficient cause, the burden of proof rests with the employer. In cases of constructive dismissal, the employee must establish that the continuation of the employment relationship is unreasonable and makes it difficult to continue to function. 6. Binding Order and Appeal only on a Point of Law Any determination or order by the Industrial Tribunal is binding on all concerned parties. An appeal, only on a point of law, may be made to the High Court within 21 days following the notification by the Industrial Tribunal of its decision to the concerned parties. 7. Remedies.
ers fair and just, and the substantial merits of the case. The Industrial Tribunal may order an employer to take such action as may constitute full compliance, or to pay to an employee such amounts as may be determined by the Industrial Tribunal. Except for personal services by an employee, including such as domestic help, care givers, personal chauffer, and personal security, the Industrial Tribunal may award or order re-instatement or re-employment without loss of status or benefit in comparable or other suitable work or a compensation order in terms of loss of earning and benefits 8. Offences and Penalties The contemplated Industrial Tribunal Act must provide for penalty on refusal to accept and implement the award of the Industrial Tribunal to a fine representing not less than twice the award of the Industrial Tribunal, on summary conviction in a Court of Law. 9. Staffing of the Industrial Tribunal and Remuneration The Industrial Tribunal must be staffed with suitably qualified persons with reasonable and comparable remuneration to be determined by the competent authority. Samuel J. Goolsarran
Suggestions for the future success of our farmers DEAR EDITOR, I refer to my letters, “An Adumbration of the greatness of our food exporting farmers (KN, May 11, 2017. Taking up from there, I would submit suggestions to expand the livelihood of our non-rice and non-sugar farmers. · Land devolved into practical useful size plots for family cultivation. · Funding for loans which will be used as seed capital by the new landed farmer for basic but fundamentally difficult steps toward their development and prosperity. The seed loans are the venue through which the farmer is educated to the new technologies inherent in wind,
water and solar engines. A new understanding of how water, wind and effort can be brought to the land for effective agricultural production. Hopefully to allow the farmers to an epiphany which says “farming is a profession of the utmost values, and not a fall back for the poor and defeated in spirit”. USING, INTERNET TECHNOLOGY. · This will naturally develop as an adjunct as the farmer gets more familiar with alternate energy technology to link him to the global community or link the individual farmer and community of farmers to the global similarities
of interest. · OPENING of a channel for innovation, innovative thinking and experimentation and research. OUTCOME OFA USEFUL MODEL OF WALES AS A TRANSFORMATIVEAGRICULTURAL MODEL FOR SIMILAR COMMUNITIES IN CANE INDUSTRY HISTORY. · Initial mapping of what a green economy could and should be. · A defining model that can be used in other traditionally agricultural communities in Guyana especially and worldwide.
· The creation of no new urban communities, but globalized villages directly interacting with each other. OPTIMIZATION OF EXISTING RESOURCES TO THEAFOREMENTIONED RESULTS. Norway Fund: The biggest problem which appears to be hindering the transition of sugar industry in forms and function is the universal lament of lack of capital (money) seen as necessary for any movement to occur in transition to take form or begin. Notwithstanding the fact that there is the GREEN FUND the Govt. of Norway has (Continued on page 6)
DEAR EDITOR, I read all of Anil Nandlall’s letters that touch and concern the high constitutional office of the Attorney General of Guyana. His latest is captioned: “Is this a diplomatic expression of no – confidence in the Minister”? (KN, Sunday, May 07, 2017). With an accustomed degree of illogicality and superficiality, he writes in relation to President Granger’s appointment of five (5) ministerial advisers to the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs that: “… the appointment of these highly decorated personnel by the President to assist the Attorney General in the discharge of his official duties is a most diplomatic expression of no confidence in this minister … this Minister should do nothing less but tender his resignation in dignity. … Let us examine now the cost that this Attorney General will now impose, monthly, on the backs of taxpayers for the services of these five advisers and ask of President Granger this fundamental question:” would it not be in the best interest of the nation and save taxpayers millions by appointing a competent person to serve in the position of Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, instead?”
solutely no interest, whatsoever, in the success or good will of this APNU + AFC government. Success of this government is failure of his PPP/ C. So, it is a matter of sheer commonsense and logic that his unrelenting condemnation of the Attorney General is not one jot actuated by benevolence, government, President Granger and taxpayers; not at all. On the contrary, it is because he perceives that this Attorney General is a real and present danger and threat to their financial viability and wealth sustainability. Recall Professor CliveThomas’ coinage of Guyana under this (1997 – 2015) PPP/C as the “Kleptocratic state”. One of the daunting challenges of this APNU + AFC government is the civil recovery of those misappropriated hundreds of billions of public/ state’s assets that the forensic audits have revealed. I put it to Mr. Nandlall that it is the sheer magnitude and scope of those misappropriations under that “Kleptocratic state”, by which the purpose, justification and expediency of the appointment of these ministerial advisers must be understood and judged. The Attorney General is responsible, in point of constitutional law, for their recovery. (Continued on page 6)
Damning allegations... From page 4 officers there that the Finance Department of a certain ministry that uses the service of this guard firm did not pay this particular company the increase on the previous occasion. Our representatives were told by one officer when we made out our complaint that the time had expired. We are not Signatories to this company agreement and should be paid according to the order from the date stated (January 1, 2017). We collectively would like this company to be investigated by the entities mentioned-below for the following breaches.
(1) The Finance Department of a major Ministry - (for over payment) false claims. (2) National Insurance Scheme - for not paying workers contribution. (3) Guyana Revenue Authority - for tax evasion and not paying contribution. (4) Ministry of Social Protection Labour Department — violation of workers’ rights, for corruption and violation within the employment system for financial benefits (officers). We have copied this letter to the Ministry of Presidency, Hon. Joseph Harmon. Exploited workers
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The New York Independence Committee is not fighting any group DEAR EDITOR, The Guyana Independence Anniversary Celebration Committee (New York) wishes to respond to an article titled “Diaspora groups fight over NY independence celebrations” that was published in the newspaper 1. Our Committee is a legitimate not for profit organization pursuant to US law. Our bone fides are incontestable. We have over 170 members, from 25 organizations in 9 States. We successfully organized the historic New York jubilee celebrations, which President David Granger, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and 6 government ministers attended. Combined, over 25,000 patrons attended our events. Last year our website received over 3.5 million visits. Immediately after jubilee celebrations, we began
planning the 2017 independence celebration, to be held from May 26 – June 11, 2017. 2.Our Committee has not been fighting with any person or group; we’re too busy planning our celebration. The enthusiasm and rebirth of national pride which our committee aroused in the diaspora last year still persists. Hence many persons feel motivated to plan different events, and we welcome them. Guyana belongs to all of us. Therefore every Guyanese has a right to organize an event. Only our committee has an independence celebration planned. 3.A newly formed private group of a few persons deliberately planned three parties and dances on the same dates as our celebra-
tion. They attempted to use their presumed political connections to government officials to shut down our celebrations, so that more people can attend their paid parties. Guyanese must unite and reject such voracity. 4. I have no affiliation to the Diaspora Times and have no clue who publishes it. 5. In the article, Guyana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vice President Carl Greenidge said the government’s problem is that all of the groups were claiming to be the “The real McCoy”; the real representative of the Guyanese diaspora.” The Minister’s comments are completely erroneous. This is not an issue. Although our committee is the largest, most diverse Guyanese organization in the diaspora, we made no such claim nor attempted a monopoly. 6.The Minister knows the contention is that,
Guyana’s Consul General in New York wrote a letter, addressed to the “Guyana Unity Movement,” which claimed that our committee was dissolved in 2016 and that the government’s position is that our committee is not legitimate. 7.The Consul General’s letter was sent to our sponsors, event venues and to the state officials, in an attempt to block the Guyana Independence parade. This is unacceptable. As a public servant, the Consul General has an obligation to be neutral and apolitical, and to foster unity, not set groups against each other and divide the diaspora. The Minister can solve this issue very quickly by directing the Consul General to withdraw her letter. 8.Our Committee urges all Guyanese to come together and celebrate our independence, regardless of who they support. Rickford Burke Chairman
Anil Nandlall’s political hypocrisy cannot be... From page 4 He is the custodian/guardian of our national patrimony. He is, and will remain the government’s “principal legal adviser” (article 112(1) of the Constitution). Advisory assistance in the special circumstances of government’s policy of recovery, attracts no opprobrium. Understand that Civil recovery (that potentially may even involve tracing misappropriated assets overseas) is not like some easy criminal law prosecution matter; besides, such appointments does not offend article 112(1) and so portends no crisis in authority; or, cast any aspersions of indignity over the Attorney General. Having passed the recovery enabling SARA Bill (the President’s assent to which is impending) implementation of that law, can only be enhanced by these complimentary appointments (and this explains why all five advisers are lawyers, and not of some
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Kaieteur News
other profession). It is all about complementarity; these are not substitutionary in purpose; it is all about the magnitude and unprecedented scope of the recovery job to be done; not some rubbish notion of “no – confidence” (the Nandlall view). I put it to Mr. Nandlall that logic does not require five advisers as “an expression of no-confidence”, if that was indeed intended; one or two would have sufficed. Moreover, what if these appointments were on the initiative of the AG himself? The sheer logic of five is that if they are expressions of no-confidence, then there is some crisis of confidence even about some among the five – hence the need for multiple appointments! So, plainly Nandlall’s “no – confidence” opinion has absolutely no merit, or logic. Turning now to his graphic finance diatribe. With his accustomed degree of superficiality and bias he makes no attempt
whatsoever at an estimation (even an intentionally grossly understated one) at the likely benefits that would accrue to, or, be gained, by taxpayers and the nation, from such costs, (economists call this -the economic cost). But then, to expect such from Mr. Nandlall is pure naivety on my part. Be that as it may, it is plainly improvident stupidity for Mr. Nandlall to suppose that government spending $79,980,000 per annum (Nandlall’s estimated annual cost of the 5 advisers - $ 6,665,000 x 12) is as if such expenditure is some indulgence by President Granger of philanthropic enthusiasm at taxpayers expense; and not what it truly is - quid pro quo (i.e. what lawyers call consideration) for anticipated expert advisory assistance and services. Mr. Nandlall, I, for myself, would indeed wish to ask President Granger a “fundamental question”. But it is not yours. It is this: Mr. President what
took you so long? In 2015, some six months into the Granger presidency, professor justice Duke Pollard wrote: “… our learned Attorney General is being put on notice that much is expected of him in terms of identifying and vigorously pursuing delinquent officials for the recovery of national assets and resources” (KN Monday, October 5, 2015, caption” “CCJ has established an extremely daunting precedent in the Commonwealth”). His Excellency, President Granger has with, exemplary transparency and perspicacity, given professor Pollard, and four other advisers a re-numerated opportunity to offer their assistance to the realization of that clarion call. And if, as anticipated, such re-numeration contributes to the recovery of some of those billions, then the results for nation and taxpayers alike are all beneficial. Maxwell E. Edwards (Attorney – At – Law)
No date set for hearing in the Precision Woodworking Ltd case DEAR EDITOR, In February 2015, I participated together with former workers of Precision Woodworking Ltd, in a picketing exercise in front of Republic Bank Ltd corporate headquarters, New Market St. and reported in the Kaieteur News of February 28, 2015. This exercise which had to do with the non-payment of severance benefits to the above named persons, focused on the court action brought by the company against the bank and the amount of time it was taking for resolution of the case. At the time, the matter was before the court for almost three years. In one week from now, it will be five years since filing of this action before the Com-
mercial Court and believe it or not; a date for trial has not been set. This is in spite of the fact that to date there have been more than ninety court appearances! This observation forces me to conclude that the court system is obviously dysfunctional and clearly not a venue for timely legal resolution of differences, a matter that will adversely impact on investments, particularly foreign investments in the country. Editor, while the pretense of justice and of a justice system plays itself out, these workers whom I represent are left out in the cold. I appeal to the authorities and in particular, the judiciary to take a look at themselves. Eon Andrews
Suggestions for the ... From page 5 agreed to as part of Guyana’s commitment to the protection of its greenery. Capital inherent in the Guyana Diaspora - savings and assets that might be mobilized if some form of a monetary financial system were to be implemented in Guyana i.e. an active and well stocked Equities Market, Bond Market, at National, Municipal and Community levels. A foreign saving account banking in Guyana which allows for non-taxable Capital Gains and Stable Savings rates. Well identified and carefully researched projects which would be geared at attracting foreign investments. We do want cooperation among the future adherents of the Project Wales. This cooperation need not be in form but in substance. Settlers will be in charge of their own cultivation plots, they will cooperate by way of written contracts, and basic regulations in areas of maintenance of drainage and irrigation, dams, joint purchase of inputs to production, joint marketing, central processing, and all matters relevant to assuring sound business practices. As a consequence of the foregone, cooperation/
cooperatives would emerge, being the natural needs/requirements of community life. Senior and other managerial staff at Wales is essential to the superintendence of the project. The projection of Wales as the forerunner to a larger transition will include the entire West Bank Demerara. The former cane farmers who have been involved in the cooperative spirit, other owners of free hold lands, including the Canals Polder will come under the umbrella of the seasoned managers in the creation of mega fruit production, beginning w ith Wales. Some form of training in “other crops” will be quickly absorbed by these skilled persons, who already know the new farmers, the terrain and other f a c u l t i e s o f Wa l e s . We should endeavour to keep these professionals in the rural environment for all sorts of reasons, chief of which is the continued brain drain that has been affecting Guyana for decades. These are bare-boned possibilities for the envisioning and implementation of the Transition process at Wales. . Hafiz Rahaman for RURAL PEOPLE
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Probe into improper pre-2015 financial arrangements at E-Gov. Unit ongoing – Minister Hughes
Even though there has been no word on the status of the two-year-old investigation into the improper financial arrangements that existed pre-2015 at the E-Governance Unit, the coalition administration is adamant that justice will be had. This is according to Minister of Public Telecommunications, Cathy Hughes. The Parliamentarian assured that the case is still ongoing. Minister Hughes even noted that only a few weeks ago, there were three officials from the E-Governance Unit who were questioned by officers attached to the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU). She said, too, that the SOCU officials took the opportunity to visit and observe
the atrocious state of the Linden to Georgetown Fibre Optic Cable which cost the nation $1.3B and is beyond repair. To facilitate the investigation, the government had sent former head of the E-Governance initiative, Alexei Ramotar on administrative leave. This move was to ensure proper facilitation of investigations. The E-Government Project consists of a Data Centre, a transmission network and the data network. The Data Centre, or control centre, is being housed in the compound of Castellani House, in the same building that is used for the Central Intelligence Agency. The Transmission Network stretches from Moleson
Creek on the Corentyne Coast to Charity on the Essequibo Coast. The cable runs from Lethem in the Rupununi through Linden to Georgetown. The E-Governance project which was headed by the former President’s son includes not only the fibre optic element but is part of a US$32M, three-component initiative to connect Government facilities along the Linden-Lethem road and the coastland, with internet access. Contractors, because of the difficult terrain along the Linden-Lethem trail and technical issues with the integrity of the cable, ran into all sorts of problems with the cable from Brazil. The fibre optic cable
Arrangements made for GuySuCo to clear off $1.5B debt to NIS - Scheme to work on better management for high-risk investments While the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is still neck deep in over $90B in debt, it is still trying to make some effort to clear what it can. This can be seen in the case of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS). The stateowned Sugar Corporation owes contributions to the Scheme that is in excess of $1.5B. Kaieteur News understands that arrangements are being put in place to have this debt cleared up. This newspaper was also informed that GuySuCo is the largest defaulter at NIS. This was confirmed with NIS officials, along with Finance Minister, Winston Jordan. The issue of GuySuCo’s indebtedness is one where the NIS is also keen on addressing, as its previous management style left the company holding the strings to a number of reckless investments. The most high-risk investments for NIS remains those made into the Berbice Bridge Companies Incorporated (BBCI). The Scheme has the following investments in the BBCI: (a) Corporate bonds $1,060,000,000 (b) Subordinated Loan - $500,000,000 (which is a debt that ranks after other debts if a company falls into liquidation or bankruptcy). (c) Preference Shares - $950,000,000 and (d) Common Shares - $80,000,000. The ability of BBCI to pay interest/dividends/capital repayment will depend on its ability to generate profits. Todate it has made accumulated losses of $1,507,062,759
Finance Minister, Winston Jordan based on its 2014 audited financial statements. As a result, the investment in BBCI’s Common Shares may be impaired as the current net worth of an ordinary share is ($2.77) based on its 2014 audited financial statements. Financial analysts have noted that the Scheme’s in-
vestment in the Bridge is almost certain to be negatively affected. It was even stated that already, the ordinary shares have been impaired to a negative value, and the subordinate loans preference shares may also have been impaired. Financial experts have recommended that given the high-risk nature of the Scheme’s investments, the new Board should assess the risks and returns of investments held in BBCI. In addition, it was suggested that the scheme must carry out its own investigation to determine the value of the Bridge which was reported at $6,284,045,483 net or US$29,924,026 at December 31, 2014 in the audited financial statements. Kaieteur News also understands that recommendations were made for the Scheme’s Investment Committee to meet with the BBCI’s management to restructure the existing ‘Concession Agreement’ which will allow NIS to have a more dominant role in view of its shareholdings.
Minister of Public Telecommunications, Cathy Hughes project was intended to bring cheaper internet service to Guyana’s shores from the neighbouring Portuguesespeaking territory. But after some years, the cable project collapsed and under pressure from the media, the previous administration admitted that the cable was in a poor state even though more than $1B had been spent on the component
already. While Government was told by Ramotar that the cable was now too expensive to repair and that it should cut its losses, the former administration which his father led, awarded a handsome contract to a local firm to repair it. Before the PPP/C lost the May 11, 2015 elections, former Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon had an-
nounced that Dax Contracting Services owned by Faisal Mohamed, was awarded a contract to rehabilitate the cable. The agreement stated that Dax would undertake to repair and maintain the fibre optic cable from Brazil. But the many concessions in the project which were deemed as being highly unreasonable, are currently tied up at the Ministry of Finance. Dax Contracting Services proprietor had told Kaieteur News that he was eager to meet the new administration and speak with them on the works needed to be done on the Brazil to Guyana fibre optic cable. He sought to set the record straight that even though he was given what appeared to be a “sweetheart contract”, he has been unable to access the concessions. Mohamed said, “It is tied up at the Finance Ministry.” The Contractor said that as a result of this, he was forced to dip into his own pockets to complete at least quarter of the works at a cost of millions of dollars. His contract was nonetheless terminated by the current administration.
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Taxation of Guyana’s informal GNBA regulations get Cabinet approval has approved the handed over advice for the Some of the frequencies even economy very possible - Analysts newCabinet set of regulations pro- new regulations to better en- went to the ruling People’s
The informal sector consists of firms and individuals who are not fully registered and regulated, and therefore not in the standard tax net. It is therefore no surprise that taxation of the informal sector has posed problems for tax administrations locally, regionally and internationally. However, some of Guyana’s leading tax analysts believe that it is quite possible to catch those within the informal sector and ensure they pay their fair share of taxes. According to analysts such as Chartered Accountant, Chris Ram and Commissioner-General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Godfrey Statia, this can be achieved through a combination of business registration and formalization, strengthening tax enforcement as well as investigations and penalties as a deterrence, and indirect taxation through a system of withholding and credits. In a special tax report that was commissioned by the Granger administration, Guyana’s tax consultants said that since the decision about whether to formalize is usually based on costs (which can include higher taxes) versus benefits (the ability to
GRA Commissioner, Godfrey Statia
Chartered Accountant, Chris Ram
stay under the tax radar by not so registering together with access to credit), formalization alone will not have the desired effect; hence the proposal of a system of presumptive taxation to bring these individuals into the tax. “We propose the use of presumptive taxation for specific trades, and difficult to tax, unincorporated and informal businesses such as minibuses, taxi services, trucks, etc… We also propose that the duty free taxes on fuel be removed and replaced by a system of credits, for example,
for gold miners, upon submission of gold to the Gold Board.” The tax analysts also proposed that more resources should be devoted to the access of third party information, and that the timely submission and utilization of contractors’ information should be enforced by the Authority. They also noted that the presence of TINs (Taxpayer Identification Numbers) on contractors’ submissions will enable for improved enforcement and compliance.
posed by the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA). This brings the Authority another step closer to the day when it will finally have the tools needed to bring law and order to the local broadcasting. Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo recently told Kaieteur News that he has “done the necessaries” after receiving the regulations from GNBA Board Chairman, Leslie Sobers. He said that he then took it to Cabinet and it is now being sent to Chief Parliamentary Counsel to be vetted. Only last month Sobers
force provisions of the broadcasting authority. Nagamootoo said he completed the new regulations. Consultations on the broadcasting regulations started some time ago. Regulations are crucial as officials have pointed out a number of deficiencies in the past, especially with regards to enforcement. Attention is being paid to the GNBA and its activities, as there were questions when the Bharrat Jagdeo administration in 2011 approved several radio and cable licences to close friends and associa t e s .
Progressive Party/Civic ( P P P / C ) . Several prominent media houses were overlooked, including Kaieteur News and Stabroek News, for radio licences. The granting of those licences was done despite a standing agreement to have new broadcast laws in effect and an authority in place. The approval by Jagdeo was done a few weeks before he ended his constitutional two terms in office. Several broadcasters have since been found to be in breach of the current regulations.
Stepfather gives ‘poisoned drink’ to children 2, 4 and 9 - now on the run; victims stable A New Amsterdam man is on the run after allegedly poisoning his girlfriend’s young children. The three minors have been identified as 9-year-old Anesha Leacock, a student of New Amsterdam Primary School; 4-year-old Natalia Matheson, a student of the Savannah Park Nursery, and 2- year-old Atalia Leacock of Mai Mai Dam, Angoy’s Avenue in New Amsterdam. According to reports at around noon yesterday Shabana Leacock, 29, made a report at the Central Police Station, CID, that her boyfriend, Rafeek Rambarran, had poisoned her three children. The woman stated that she and Rambarran had a misunderstanding that fuelled a heated argument and as a result of the argument, she took her three children to their grandparents’ place of residence, the Amerindian Hostel in New Amsterdam.
She related that she placed her three children in the care of her mother and left. However, a short while after Rambarran visited the hostel and gave the three minors a bottle of “Icee drink” which they shared among themselves while he talked with them as normal. It was minutes later that the grandmother noticed something was wrong when the children began frothing. She immediately alerted the other occupants of the hostel and arrangements were made to transport the children to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital. A medical examination carried out by the doctors at the hospital confirmed that the minors indeed had ingested a poisonous substance. They were treated and later admitted for observation. They are all listed as being in stable condition. Police are on the hunt for the suspect.
Jordan urges patience with tendering process - says desired accountability, transparency will take time While significant strides have been made since the coalition of A Partnership of National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) came in to office, the desired accountability and transparency that is needed in the procuring process, will take some time. This is according to the Minister of Finance Winston Jordan, who engaged media officials after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of Guyana (GoG) and the United States of America (USA) for the Youth Empowerment Services. The signing was held at the Ministry of Finance, Main Street, Georgetown yesterday morning. Over the past few years, there were several instances of malpractice in the procuring process which occurred under the previous regime, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C). There were instances of sole-souring and cases of contract
splitting. Many of these cases were revealed in the 19 forensic audit reports that were done into several government-run agencies and institutions. The current administration after its ascension to office two years ago has not been immune to allegations of breaches in the procurement process. Minister Jordan emphasised yesterday that there is now more transparency and accountability in the tendering process than what existed prior to 2015. “Giving the accountability and transparency that came with the 2015 General Elections, it requires a system of change in the way business is done. This cannot be done overnight, but at the same time – I don’t want to say it is a negative – but as a result of ensuring proper accountability and transparency, requires a bit more time than just merely calling up a friend or two and you’re meeting at some particular hideout
and giving them the contract; now it is more exposed. It’s more open.” The Minister said. Apart from ensuring transparency and accountability in the tendering process, Jordan said that contracts are now being awarded within days. This, he said, was a welcomed change from what existed before. He noted that the mechanism available, to which “aggrieved” contractors can resort, is something that also never existed before. The mechanism the minister referred to is the Bid Protest Committee. He said that mechanism serves an additional layer of the fabric of transparency and accountability that the Government is designing. He spoke also about the assistance that was and is currently being provided by overseas agencies including the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), to improve the tendering process within the administrative regions.
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The government is aiming high and scoring low The implementation ratio of the government is said to be 20% so far for this year. This may appear to be a desperate situation, but it is not as bad as it seems. A 20% implementation can be improved upon over the next two quarters-plus in the year. The poor implementation ratio expressed itself in a decline in capital spending in 2016. The government has produced a far larger Budget than the last PPPC’s Budget, and therefore it should have been spending more on the capital side. The government believes that the poor implementation ratio is a people problem. Human resources is part of the problem, but it is problem which has been created by the present administration because of its haste in getting rid of
or reshuffling skilled persons within various government agencies. A great many people have been pushed out or dismissed since the government got into power. There is no substitute for experience and institutional memory. The experience which is needed to push projects is not there, because it has been purged. The government came in to office with preconceptions as to how the public service was populated, and this led to mass migration of skills out of the public service. The knowledge about how to do things has been disrupted, because new persons were placed into strategic positions. They were qualified, but they did not have the experience as to how the system worked. You cannot have so many persons
leaving the system without creating major disruptions. A lot of the newcomers are just not up to the grade. A lot of them are idling and twiddling their thumbs. They are not performing. There was also a shakeup at the Central Tender Board. Critical skills have either been removed or reshuffled. This was bound to affect the implementation ration of the government. If you cannot get tenders out as fast as you used to, it is impossible to improve your implementation ratio. When there is so much sole sourcing in one sector, it causes a loss of confidence in the system. The bugbears within the Tender Board system have to be removed before things can move quicker. The second problem is that the government was much too ambitious in its Budgeting. It launched large Budgets, but not only does
the government lack the capacity to spend such sums, but the economy also lacks the absorptive capacity to utilize such large funds. The APNU+AFC coalition’s Budget is bloated by about 25%. This is one of the reasons why the implementation ratio is low. It is low because there is more money to be spent than before, but no means to do so. The APNU + AFC coalition should have aimed for a smaller Budget. It would have found that the implementation ration would have been much higher than it is. The third problem is that there is no large massive public sector project in the Budget. You need a major project to drive up your implementation ratio. A large project would also inject some steam into the economy. There is no bridge yet being built across the Demerara River. There is
no single massive road programme. There is no factory being constructed or no international hotel being built with government funds. There is no massive hydroelectric plant being planned. The Specialty Hospital has been cancelled and the monies will be now used to fund small expansions to three other hospitals. Without a single large project, APNU +AFC will find it difficult to spend all the money it has approved in the Budget. Finally, the government is reaping the rewards of its cavalier cuts when it was in opposition. It destroyed the Central Planning Unit within the Ministry of Finance by beheading the budgetary allocation which the PPPC had tried to pass. The government now realizes the importance of such a unit and, according to a Demerara Waves report, is now trying
to reestablish it. The main problems, therefore, which are contributing to the poor implementation ratio are: the loss of skilled personnel and their replacement, in many instances, with square pegs; the government has hung its hat too high - it cannot spend the money which it plans to spend and definitely not with a capital programme which lacks a major project; and it has poor mechanisms to generate new projects.
Community involvement among key factors to expand EPI goals Increased sensitization and training for teachers and parents, too, are among the deliberate tactic being embraced by the Ministry of Public Health in its quest to advance its Expanded Programme on Immunization [EPI]. The Ministry is gearing to advance its immunization efforts by utilizing the MultiYear Plan 2017-2021, which provides funding to further vaccination outreach activities in the Americas. The Multi-Year Plan is one that was recently emphasized by Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings, as a key means of advancing Guyana’s EPI goals. While health workers are among the key targets of the sensitization to make more efficient the work of the Ministry, based on the Plan, it is required that members of the community also play an instrumental role. The Plan outlines the need for sensitization efforts, taking the form of sessions held at schools for Parent Teacher Associations and teachers and to the community at large. “These sessions would take the form of a delivery of a standardized set of messages, produced by health education specialists and delivered by knowledgeable health staff from the area,” the Plan details. It is expected that the Ministry will seek to have several such sessions at schools or at any forum that would be conducive to training. As part of a nationwide programme, the Ministry, according to Minister Cummings, is poised for a much more aggressive set of marketing initiatives for its immunization drive. This will therefore entail
the Plan being endorsed by prominent persons such as the President and the First Lady, well known sports personalities or singing sensations, or religious personalities, all of whom could relay the need for vaccine and the positive actions of disease prevention. In addition to having the stories of survivors and/or victims of cervical cancer for instance being shared, the Plan is one that encourages sensitization about immunization at public events such as fairs, cricket matches or other mass gatherings. Taking advantage of social media has also been recognized as an important means of raising immunization awareness. According to the Plan, “This is a powerful tool and can be very useful in identifying out of school girls and to encourage girls to have the vaccine.” Among the primary focuses of the immunization drive, particularly as it relates to young girls, is that of vaccination to protect them against the Human papillomavirus (HPV). The introduction of the vaccine was intended to help curb the prevalence of cervical cancer, since based on information from the Ministry of Public Health, Guyana has the third highest rate of cervical cancer in the Western hemisphere. The HPV vaccination drive, which commenced a few years ago, has been fraught with some setbacks. Among those who have confirmed this development has been senior nurse within the Ministry, Linda Johnson. Among the setbacks she recalled was that “a lot of people were going on the internet and finding all kinds of information, some of which were not
doing us any good. We had a lot of roadblocks when we started and we didn’t have much vaccines administered.” Among the misconceptions linked to the HPV vaccine is that girls who would have been administered the
vaccine become sterile, or it could cause their menstrual cycle to come too early. Consequently, the available vaccines declined, with a previous Minister of Health advising that health workers only complete doses with girls
that had received an initial dose. In order for a girl to be protected against cervical cancer during adulthood she would have had to have been administered three doses of the vaccine, within a specified timeframe. The local
health sector is currently vaccinating girls between the ages of nine and 13. However with the ongoing sensitisation with the support of those within the community, the shortcomings associated with the immunisation drive will become a thing of the past and thus help to expand the EPI goals of the Ministry. To date, the Public Health Ministry’s vaccination programme has introduced 17 antigens, including HPV, for the protection of the population against vaccine preventable diseases. The national coverage currently stands at over 90 percent for all antigens under one year. Added to this, the immunisation programme has expanded from a child immunisation programme to a family immunisation programme.
File on alleged plot against President submitted to Police Legal Advisor The Police Legal Advisor is in possession of a file containing claims by a civilian that he was offered $7M to assassina t e President David Granger, as well as statements disputing the man’s story. The file was reportedly submitted on We d n e s d a y. This report had previously been sent to the Police Legal Advisor, who had returned it for a confrontation to be held between the complainant and another individual. An individual has told investigators that the man making the allegation had offered to pay him to lie about being present when the deal was made. Police had held a confrontation between this in-
dividual and the so-called ‘hired assassin.’ Kaieteur News was told that the individual contacted police to refute the allegation that the alleged ‘hired assassin’ had made against the businessman. “He came forward and said that (the ‘hired assassin’) approached him, and said that he needed him (the individual) to corroborate his story and say that he was present when the proposal (to assassinate Granger) was made,” a source said. During the confrontation, the associate also accused the ‘hired assassin’ of offering him money to lie about being present. The associate told police he rejected the offer. The alleged ‘assassina-
tion plot’ was reportedly revealed when a man, whose name was not disclosed, was interviewed by HGP TV. During the interview, the man detailed a ‘plot’ in which he was offered $7M to kill Granger near or at State House, the official residence of the president. The man claimed that he went to borrow $6M from a businessman, said to be a gold miner. Instead, the businessman offered $7M. The businessman allegedly showed the person be-
ing interviewed a long gun and said it was to be used in the assassination. However, the man claimed he turned down the offer. The man was reportedly picked up and questioned. It was claimed that police officers and a businessman with links to the gold industry were said to be involved. The man, who insisted that he has never harmed anyone before, said he was threatened with death by the persons who attempted to hire him.
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=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===
Changing names, naming changes When the West Indies cricket team won the world’s T/20 championship under Darren Sammy, within two days, not two months, St. Lucia changed the name of its national stadium in honour of its most famous cricketer, Darren Sammy. It simply boggles the mind why there was a National Commemoration Commission to plan the Golden Jubilee of Independence and not one street, not even one roadway, was changed in memory of someone who played more than a passing role in the shaping of modern Guyana in its totality. By totality, I include the arts, education, academia, the security sector, business, and not just politics or public service. I have no idea what is legally involved to change the name of a street, but whatever it is, it cannot be months or years; it has to be weeks. The City Council did not take years to rename a section of New Garden Street after Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Why the PPP Government that was in power just months short of twenty-three years did nothing is quite under-
standable – keeping history alive simply was not within their range of interest. But what about thenMayor Hamilton Green and the City Council? Apart from New Garden Street, where else did Green rename? One of the reasons why naming streets and places after people, and changing banal names of roadways is important, is because our young population is very young. It is not that these young people are ignorant, bohemian, uncaring and wild, thus they have no interest in the history. They are not like this, far from it. It is just that there isn’t a system in place to keep history in their consciousness. Take Cheddi Jagan. Every young Guyanese knows who he is, because one of the most talked about places in Guyana is the main international airport. Surely, an 18-year-old would turn and ask his mother who Cheddi Jagan was, as they rush to get to the airport. It is simply sick and disgusting that the name Desmond Hoyte is fading
from the consciousness of a population that is very young. Let us say you were five years old when Hoyte lost power in 1992, you are now thirty. How much of Hoyte would you know? Hoyte is not a leader whose approach to political economy I admire. I think his pitfalls were too many and his naivety about Guyana’s psychology and sociology were awful. But Hoyte had an approach to personal integrity and democratic power that puts him in a category above all other leaders from colonial times to the present moment. First, I think he had no interest in running a state where constituency preference and constituency protection were at the top of his agenda. Every head of government practiced that kind of politics. Secondly, I don’t think Hoyte was interested in any form of authoritarian state power. Had he remained in office I believe Hoyte would have depoliticized state power. No other leader has done that, from Jagan in 1957 right up to Granger in 2017. There isn’t scope to adum-
brate a thesis on Hoyte in a newspaper column, but the one area that stands out and for which his name deserves to be emblazoned in Guyana, is the race factor. I think he is the only leader we have had that didn’t situate the race factor into governance. Though Hoyte would top my list for a major part of Guyana to be named after him, there are dozens of names that should adorn the physical landscape of Guyana. Burnham was right to erase Murray Street, named after a man who tortured slaves, and replace it with a slave rebel, Quamina. I don’t know how Almond Street got its title, but I know the name has no significance in Guyana, so
Lance Gibbs deserves to secure that honour. I can instantly call to mind some serious contributors to Guyanese history that the young generation needs to know about, and we need to keep these nationalist contributors alive by naming places or streets or scholarships or something else after them. There is the Walter Rodney Archives, but that was a wrong identification. Maybe UG Access Road should be named after him or Clive Thomas. I could understand retaining Railway Embankment on which I live. It is a part of our history. The train ran on that spot. But why South Road and North
Frederick Kissoon Road? Why the Theatre Guild and not the Ron Robinson Theatre? Finally, what about Moses Nagamootoo? Perhaps Guyana’s most enduring politician, Moses after what he did in May 2015 deserves to have some major identification carry his name.
Dem boys seh ...
One arch cause more confusion than a bomb Old people got a saying—Carrion Crow does wait till rain fall to build house. All it mean is that some people does sit down and don’t know that they want something until dire straits hit dem. That is wha happen de other day and cause all manner of confusion. And when all is said and done is de Hammer Man cause it. Years ago dem had an arch outside the Ruimveldt Police Station. De Hammer Man decide to widen de road suh he tek down de arch. When de road done and de people looking for de arch dem couldn’t find it. De Hammer Man seh it deh in he office compound, but still de people couldn’t find it. Dem boys seh that is
how Banks come to put up an arch by Eccles to mark the gateway to Georgetown. Banks do it fuh de 50th anniversary and was a big ceremony. Now up comes Ansa McAl and dem building another arch to signal de start of de city at the east. Was a good idea till de traffic confusion start, Vehicles couldn’t go east or west. Of course none could go north because that is de seawall. Children who was coming to town to write dem exams reach late. Dem boys wonder if some of dem miss de exam altogether. Is a wonder that a lady wasn’t coming to de city to get a baby. She woulda mek it in de car because is hours she woulda been stall pun de road. People cuss Soulja Bai,
because when anything go wrong is Soulja Bai cause it. Nuff people couldn’t reach dem wuk. Dem boys seh is a good thing wasn’t pay day, because dem woulda have a riot. People call Soulja Bai. Soulja Bai call Patterson, and Patterson call de one who responsible fuh roads. That one, Vaughn, call de Traffic Chief, who look fuh somebody to call, and didn’t see nobody. That is how dem stop de wuk pun de arch and let de traffic flow. Dem decide den gun do de wuk in de night, but that is when people going home. That is how dem boys know people sleep pun de road last night. Talk half and look out fuh more confusion today.
‘Jealous’ Blairmont man jailed while awaiting attempted murder trial A 40-year-old West Berbice man was on Wednesday sentenced to three years in prison while awaiting trial in the Berbice High Court. Dwayne Morgan, of 20 Plantain Walk, Blairmont, West Bank Berbice, presently serving a six-month sentence for assaulting his reputed wife, was jailed at the Fort Wellington Magistrate’s Court for inflicting grievous bodily harm, while he awaits trial in the Berbice High Court for attempted murder in a third matter. The case before the court as presented by Police Corporal Raquel Mars stated that because of a very abusive relationship, Morgan’s reputed wife had returned to her parents’ home at Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice. Morgan, how-
ever, did not give up, and was in the habit of going to Bush Lot from time to time to get her attention, even though he was not welcomed in the home. On December 12 last, Kegan McAlman, a cane harvester who also lives at Bush Lot, was retained by the father of Morgan’s reputed wife to fix a TV antenna. While McAlman was on the on the job, Morgan turned up at around 13:30 hours, jumped the fence, and forced his way into the home of Mr. Rupan Jagjit, accusing his estranged wife of having an affair with McAlman. McAlman in turn picked up his tools and was leaving when Morgan went after him with an electric iron and assaulted him, causing him
grievous bodily harm. The matter was reported to the police at Fort Wellington and Morgan was subsequently arrested and charged on December 19. The matter went to trial and Morgan was found guilty. When Morgan appeared before Magistrate Rhondel Weever at the Fort Wellington Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday for sentencing, the Magistrate noted that Morgan seemed to have no regard for human beings’ feelings, as he believes that he can assault people at will. The Magistrate then handed down a threeyear sentence. Morgan will have to return to the Berbice High Court some time later, where he will stand trial for attempted murder.
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More than 125 achievements in last two years - Coalition Govt. boasts Two years after entering office after a slim victory at the May 11, 2015 polls, vowing reforms to reduce corruption and waste, the Coalition Government believes it has done well. Yesterday, the administration made it clear that it has more than 125 things that it has achieved, including lowering the Berbice Bridge tolls, a cleaner city, holding Local Government Elections in more than two decades, less piracy and more transparency. In a two-page spread published in yesterday’s edition of this newspaper, the coalition, which comprises A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC), insisted that Guyana is “moving forward”. With the region facing tough times amidst a downturn in the world’s commodity market, Guyana has not been immune from the shocks. Last year, export earnings fell by US$30M forcing the administration to release foreign currency to stabilize the rates. Barbados, Trinidad and Suriname have been coming to Guyana for the precious US dollars. Central Bank has since halted purchases of the currencies from the first two countries. Malaysian-owned Barama
Company Limited has announced a scaling back of operations giving up its 1.6 million hectares of forests, further compounding the woes in the sector. With the introduction of new anti-money legislation and tougher scrutiny from commercial banks, Government has been facing pressure to find ways to steady an economy that was further buffeted by the problems in the sugar industry. Almost $33 billion has been spent to bailout out the Guyana Sugar Corporation in the last two years. The clampdown on fuel and the drug trade have also been affecting the underground economy. The administration itself has been under pressure for a number of things, including the parking meter project for the city, VAT on private education and the closure of a number of sugar estates. The administration pointed out yesterday that it has introduced buses that offer free transportation to school children, paved the way for 4G internet for smartphones, rekindled pride in the country and lowered the crime rate. There has been an increase in salaries for public servants and almost 70,000 persons are exempted from
We are proud of our administration’s achievements: President David Granger and Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo. income tax. On the labour front, collective bargaining has been restored with reduced house lot costs, better drainage and irrigation, and more pumps have been installed. NEW TELECOMS LAWS After a few years of being in limbo, new telecoms laws have finally been passed paving the way for new players to enter and compete in the market. More than 98,000 citizens are provided with free internet with two community radios - in Lethem and Mabaruma - launched. Several more are under construction. Also launched were three townships. With several questionable
Inner Wheel Club donates to blind community
Cecil Morris of the Guyana Society for the Blind accepts the donation from an Inner Wheel Club representative. The Inner Wheel Club of Georgetown Central has been serving the society and the less privileged for a number of years. This year it has decided to lend assistance to the Blind Community. Moreover the organization has donated 50 white canes valued at $406,261 to the Guyana Society for the Blind. The donation of white canes was a sig-
nificant need for the blind community, since the organization presently has no white canes to give its members. The white cane is the main mobility tool for persons who are blind and visually impaired. The Inner Wheel Club also donated one desktop computer and desk valued $93,000 to the Ministry of Education’s Unit for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
bank accounts lying around, the coalition also gave itself a pat on the back for restoring billions of dollars from these phantom accounts to the Treasury. Measures have been introduced to make newer cars more affordable with lesser duties being charged. With the VAT threshold increased to $15M, several items have also been zerorated. On the financial side, VAT has been reduced to 14 percent from 16 percent; with the highest gold declaration met at the end of 2016.
The administration is also proud of the JOF Haynes Law School of the Americas that it has launched and the formulation of the Petroleum Commission Bill of Guyana. In addition to the banning of Styrofoam, miners have benefitted from more lands and there is now a permanent home for the Bureau of Statistics. The achievements also included the restoration of professionalism in the public service and government being taken to the people through more outreaches. In the city and its
environs the age-old problem of non-working fire hydrants are being fixed- more than 400 of them have been rehabilitated. CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS With respect to updating the country’s laws, work has started to reform the Constitution with one key report already completed. During the two years, under the coalition, there has been a 38 percent in the minimum wage; a review of the Integrity legislation for public officials, rehabilitation of the Mazaruni prisons and a successful gun amnesty programme. A Code of Conduct for public officials has also been completed and dozens of state boards reconstituted. Several ICT hubs have also been launched in the hinterland with the first-ever Hackathon hosted for budding programmers. There have been critical repairs to key highways including the East Bank, Soesdyke/Linden, and Corentyne. Two aging ferries have been given another lease on life - Lady Northcote and MV Kimbia with the North West, Region One route now more dependable. (Continued on page 31)
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GINA will soon be history - PM wants one “highly professional” PR unit By Abena RockcliffeCampbell The Government Information Agency (GINA) will soon be history. Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo is looking to merge GINA with the Department of Public Information to form a “highly trained and professional” Public Relations (PR) unit. This was revealed during a recent interview with Kaieteur News. Prime Minister
Nagamootoo said that he is working on a White Paper on Public Information (a government or other authoritative report giving information or proposals on an issue) that is to be taken to the National Assembly. “The paper is intended to be presented to the National Assembly, so for the first time you will have clear guidelines on what public information is all about. Secondly, there will be consultation sessions. I
circulated a memo among all the public relations persons working in the state ministries, departments, units and agencies. I circulate it to them because I believe they must be involved,” said Nagamootoo. The Prime Minister said that the merger is part of the White Paper. He also indicated that the merger has already been authorized by Cabinet. “I always believe in a small, highly professional and
trained public relations unit. I believe they do not need several (government public relations representatives) all over the place. One centralized unit is just fine and will be efficient.” Nagamootoo explained that once the merger has taken place, government will then be able to use the White Paper as a go-to document for best practices and standards. “It will be used as a guide to say, well, these are what we believe your responsibilities are; this is what government thinks public information is about and this is how you should go about it, in terms of the platforms you use.” Nagamootoo was keen to point out that it would not be in terms of content. He said that the operation will take on a phased approach. He said that the merger and White Paper
Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo will be done simultaneously and will happen “as soon as possible.” The Prime Minister said that the White Paper will not speak about weak-
nesses in the system and the need to correct it. “The paper is not to do any analysis. It is a forwardlooking guideline to say what public information is and why you need to treat it as a matter of national importance.” He hinted that the paper will also have implications for private media entities. Nagamootoo said that private television stations will have to carry emergency notices. “It (the White Paper) is really trying to get the cooperation among all media, all forms, in a national effort to make people more informed.” He said though that outside of the White Paper, “I recognize that the state radio and television, in my opinion, they need to maximize their role in propagating public information. I believe they have a lot more to do in that respect.”
Opposition bemoans President’s non-appointment of Judges The main opposition Peoples Progressive Part Civic (PPP/C) is contending that President David Granger ’s non-appointment of the Judges recommended by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) is contrary to the stipulation of the constitution. At a press conference at the party’s Freedom House h e a d q u a r t e r s r e c e n t l y, former Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall said that the President can only follow two courses of action on the issue. Referring to specific clauses in the Constitution, the lawyer said that President Granger can only appoint or ask for a review of those names that are recommended by the JSC. Explaining the two positions that are at the p r e s i d e n t ’s disposal, Nandlall said that firstly the Head of State, if not satisfied with the names on the list submitted to him, can ask for the commission to revisit their decision. Upon reviewing, if the said names are returned to the President, he ‘shall’ appoint those persons that make up the said list. The other course of action the president can take is to appoint, without delay, the said names. It is the former Attorney General’s view that the president’s delay runs contrary to what the Constitution dictates. Nandlall went further, accusing President Granger of ‘overreaching’
Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall in his authority, and that such actions are unlawful and set a bad precedent. He said that while Granger continues to delay the appointment of the Judges, the justice system continues to suffer. Four judges were recommended in March 2015 by the JSC, Sandil Kissoon and Damone Young to the High Court, while Dawn Gregory and Rishi Persaud were recommended to serve at the Court of Appeal. When the Head of state was asked to explain his reason for the non-appointment, according to Nandlall, he (Granger) sent new names to the current chairman of the JSC for his recommendation. Nandlall said such a position defies logic and is deeply flawed and worrying, and the Head of State should know
better. Nandlall said that his party was told that the JSC is now looking at a new set of names, and he was unaware of what recommendations were made with regards to the previously proffered names. Referring to the Constitution as outlined by Article 128, “Judges other than the Chancellor and the Chief Justice, shall be appointed by the President who shall act in accordance with the advice of the JSC,” Nandlall said such a statement is very pellucid and is incapable of misinterpretation. He said that the forgoing article imposes a mandatory obligation on the President to act in accordance with the directives of the Constitution. Nandlall said that Article 128 leaves no room for the President to withhold his approval. During Bharrat Jagdeo tenure as president a similar situation had arisen; the JSC at the time recommended Justice James Bovell-Drakes to serve as a Judge at the High Court and Jagdeo withheld his approval. The reason given was that Justice Drakes was a former leader of the youth arm of the Peoples National Congress, and that affiliation brought his impartiality into question. After much protestation and threat of legal action, Jagdeo subsequently appointed Justice Bovell-Drakes.
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Kaieteur News
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Guyana gets USAID support to fight crime at youth level … five at-risk communities targetted Guyana will soon benefit from support provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through its Youth Empowerment Services (YES) Programme, to target five atrisk communities across the country. The communities which will benefit from this project are Corriverton, Lodge, East La Penitence, East Ruimveldt and Sophia. This was explained by Finance Minister, Winston Jordan. Jordan signed a Memorandum of Understanding yesterday in the Ministry’s boardroom with USAID Mission Director, Christopher Cushing. The programme is a US$64M initiative which targets countries in the Caribbean. The Minister said that the local communities were chosen following studies which showed they had the highest representation of high risk behaviours such as incarceration, high levels of youth involvement in crime, teenage pregnancy, youth unemployment, high numbers of dropouts and a significant use of drugs among others. He said that the YES programme is designed to reduce youth involvement in crime and violence in 10 Caribbean countries. According to Jordan, Guyana was chosen to be one of the three focus group countries together with St. Lucia and St. Kitts and Nevis. Jordan explained that this intervention will build on the work done under the Skills and Knowledge for Youth Employment (SKYE) precursor programme. This programme, he said, had assisted in creating alternative
opportunities for young people who were at risk of being involved in a life of crime and violence. “That programme also contributed to the juvenile justice system through a support programme that provided alternatives to youths who had committed minor offences.” He said that this is premised on the fact that more than 35 per cent of Guyana’s population falls between the 15 and 35 age cohorts. Jordan said that it is government’s belief that young people must be allowed to participate in their own development trajectory. According to Jordan, the YES programme is expected to improve institutional and technical capacity within government agencies, civil society, non-governmental organisations as well as stakeholders in selected communities to reduce the risks that fuel youth crimes, violence and discrimination. Meanwhile, Cushing said in his brief remarks that the MoU will govern the formalisation of the YES project that was launched under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, which aims to create a safer and prosperous Caribbean Community. He said, “Working together with regional bodies, the government of Guyana and community stakeholders, the YES Project will strengthen protective factors that build youth resilience, reduce crime and violence, while also reducing those that influence them in becoming perpetrators or victims of crime and violence.” According to Cushing, this project will lead to more
resilient youths, families and communities. He said that the project uses a communitycentred and public health model for crime and violence prevention, to identify, analyse and support project interventions. Cushing explained that the project will use data to understand where and why crime and violence is happening. He added that the programme will also support juvenile justice reform. He said that YES will also focus on broader community engagement and positive youth development. As a result of the programme, Cushing said that there will be an increase in local and national services to respond to a variety of social development needs. These services, he said, will include individual and family counselling, therapy, internships and job placements. He said that the YES project is driven by an evidence-based approach, as evidence is used to develop the appropriate strategy for Guyana. Further, Cushing said that the evaluation of these strategies will serve to inform investments made by the US government. “The project’s success will depend on partnerships created with diverse stakeholders working towards common goals. This includes engaging youth as positive change makers, working with ministries and other government agencies, business leaders, law enforcement, the justice sector, training institutions, the media, community-based organisations and others, because after all, it takes a village.”
New tendering process in India stalls infrastructural projects here A number of infrastructural projects which are being funded through grants and loans provided by the Indian government are experiencing delays due to a new tendering and procurement process in the South Asian nation. According to Minister of Finance Winston Jordan, the reason for the delay is that in the agreement surrounding these projects funded by the Indian government, there is a provision that Indian contractors should be used. As such, due to the new process being implemented, Indian contractors are taking some time to adjust to the changes which has trickled down to cause the delays in Guyana. Jordan made this known during a press conference following the signing of a Memo-
randum of Understanding between the government of Guyana and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for the Youth Empowerment Services (YES) Programme. Jordan was at the time giving an update on the work of the Ministry and challenges faced for the past two years since the APNU+AFC government has been in office. He said that the Indian government has been very helpful towards the Guyanese government in terms of approving the financing for the projects. He said that the Indian government has approved US$50M to link the East Coast Demerara and East Bank Demerara road network. He added that US$4M was approved to supply pumps and US$10M has been se-
cured for ferries to serve the North West District area, among other projects. Despite the delays, Jordan said that the APNU+AFC government is appreciative of the assistance. He said, “The thing is, all of these projects have to have Indian contractors and consultants, and we’re experiencing grave problems in getting movement and traction in getting these contractors on board.” He said that it has been over a year since his government would have signed the US$50M road project and nothing has been done. “It is not our fault; we are trying desperately to get contractors.” When asked what the problem is in getting contractors, the Minister explained, Continued on page 16
Finance Minister Winston Jordan (left) signing the MoU with USAID Mission Director, Christopher Cushing, in the company of other USAID officials.
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Friday May 12, 2017
Kaieteur News
Ill-fated ‘Son Chapman’ owner laid to rest Norman Yacoob Amin Chapman, owner of the ill fated’ Son Chapman’ launch which was blown up in the Demerara River over fifty years ago, was yesterday laid to rest at the Christianburg Cemetery following a grand funeral service at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground. It was a fitting send-off for a man that created a profound impact in a town that respected him as an icon. Among those who gathered to pay their final respects were President David Granger, former People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Leader Robert Corbin, former City Mayor Hamilton Green, Attorney General Basil Williams, Attorney Llewellyn John, Minister within the Ministry of communities Valerie Patterson, Regional Chairman Renis Morian and other Regional officials, relatives, family and friends. Many braved the incessant afternoon showers to say goodbye to someone they had grown to respect and admire. The tributes were many, and all spoke about a man that was passionate about life, his dreams and his goals. Pastor Selwyn Sills said that he couldn’t help but admire Chapman’s passion to pursue anything that he believed in. He described Chapman as a man of resilience and purpose. Those sentiments were reiterated by most of the speakers. Robert Corbin reflected on how Chapman changed the face of the transportation service to and from
Mackenzie, which was done by the ship R.H. Carr. He noted, “With the growing influence of Demba, nothing could take place without the approval and blessings of the Company. And naturally they frowned upon and undermined any economic activity that would compete with their demand for labour in the bauxite mines. It was in this environment that some local entrepreneurs such as Norman Chapman determined that these expatriates would not determine their lives and economic fortunes.” Corbin said that the Sprostons-owned steamer service which provided passenger service monopolized ingress and egress to and from Mackenzie. He posited that this monopoly allowed the Company to determine who could come and who would be allowed to stay. Corbin said that in defiance of this monopoly, a few local entrepreneurs decided the time was ripe for the community’s independent transport service. He said that a launch owned by Oxfield started the first service from Christianburg to Georgetown. Corbin said that not long after several residents and non residents, began to capitalize on the expanding need for such services. Among the non-resident launches was the Clemwood, which was a newer, larger and faster vessel than the R.H. Carr and became a serious competitor. Chapman, who had been
Part of the crowd that came to pay tribute yesterday. observing all this, was of the view that the economic benefits should flow to the community. Before long his entrepreneurial skills were on display when he introduced a faster and better service carried out by a wooden launch called the Son Chapman. Corbin said that the new vessel overshadowed all the others. “To raise capital for such a large project was no ordinary feat at that time. I don’t know how he did it.” He pointed out that the new service provided by the launch played an integral role in the developing commercial life of the community. That was until tragedy struck. Today the Son Chapman massacre is well documented. The tragedy however did not
Norman Chapman was described as the entrepreneur who changed the face of transportation in Mackenzie. daunt the entrepreneurial skill of Norman Chapman. He believed in and practiced self reliance. “We of the People’s National Congress Reform are grateful for his contributions and service. Over his many years of association with the PNCR, we are satisfied that he rendered distinguished service to the community in which he lived. He never
sought high political office as a reward for his contribution.” Regional Chairman Renis Morian said that Region Ten has truly lost a champion. In reflecting on his first meeting with Chapman, Morian said “I realized while he was so short in stature, he was larger than life!” “Today we need to take lessons from his life and in eulogizing what he has done,
we need to adopt his aggression; always moving forward and always proclaiming good things in the lives of persons. Chapman leaves to mourn his children including educators Janice Gibson, Ava and Grace Chapman, sports journalist Joe Chapman, singer Diana Chapman and businesswoman Fern Chapman-Jones.
Friday May 12, 2017
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Kaieteur News
IDB lends critical support to develop National Housing Strategy
Housing officials and other stakeholders during the meeting with IDB representatives The Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA), together with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), began a series of meetings to discuss the development of a National Housing Strategy. Last Wednesday’s discussion saw the IDB’s delegation, led by its Housing and Urban Development Specialist, Patricio ZambranoBarragan, meeting with CH&PA’s Chief Executive Officer, Lelon Saul; Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Water Incorporated, Dr. Richard Van West-Charles, Perma-
nent Secretary of the Ministry of Communities, Emil McGarrell and representatives from the Guyana Lands and Survey Commission, National Drainage and Irrigation Authority, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Indigenous Affairs, Environment Protection Agency, Guyana Power and Light and Mayor and City Council. The housing strategy being developed will be built on the housing profile created by UN-Habitat in collaboration
with the Central Housing and Planning Authority. The Guyana Housing Profile was completed in February 2017. According to CH&PA, the National Housing Strategy will form the basis upon which the housing sector will move forward. The strategy will address the expansion of housing supply, improving affordability and access to adequate housing. In December 2016, the IDB, following a request from the Government of Guyana,
approved US$517,250 for “support for the Development of a National Housing Strategy. Through IDB’s Housing and Urban Development Division, the Central Housing and Planning Authority will receive support to develop a National Housing Strategy as part of the broader Sustainable Development
Goals to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Following meetings with key stakeholders in the Ministry of Communities, it was agreed that the project will address several critical areas: Improving institutional capacity of the CH&PA to design, manage and implement housing and Urban policy;
strengthen CH&PA’s capacity to manage and analyse territorial information and to facilitate multi-sectoral knowledge-sharing on housing and urban development topics. The administration has announced more than $11B in projects for the housing sector this year to cater for low income earners, including public servants.
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Friday May 12, 2017
Kaieteur News
Give teachers assistants or change nursery entry age – COI proposes In addition to providing assistants to teachers, calls are being made for regional committees to be established to monitor the goings-on in nursery level schools. In fact, it is an expressed recommendation of the recently completed Commission of Inquiry [COI] into the education system. According to Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Ed Caesar, “we are suggesting that in every region a small committee be established with responsibility for examining what is happening at the nursery level and making recommendations.” Caesar added, “We were presumptuous to request the Education Departments in Regions Three and Five to take action now in this regard.” Such a move is important, Caesar said, since “we can’t play with nursery; we can’t play with those young children. We must start them right and any issues that we would have seen, we must address them urgently.” Among the concerns relating to nursery level schools is that of the age of entry. “This has been demonstrated as problematic in many places that we went to. Some of these teachers have said
to us that some of these children that are coming to schools now are not pottytrained,” said Caesar. And according to him, the result is, “this teacher [for instance] has 15 young children in her class...a child who is not potty-trained does it, she spends 15 minutes dealing with that child [during which] her class is left unattended.” Because of this dilemma, Caesar said that teachers have suggested that “if you want to stick with the young age [of admission], give us a teaching assistant who will be responsible for the non-academic issues so to speak.” The proposal being made Caesar said, “is either go back to the three [years], nine [months] [nursery entry age] or you put another unit [assistant] in the school that is responsible primarily for these developmental activities, so to speak, that occur from time to time with our young children.” According to Caesar, the nursery level is a stage that has already been preparing children to further their educational development. At this stage, Caesar explained that “they are exposed to reading and some degree of Mathematics and so on”. However, with the challenges associated with
Education COI Chairman, Mr. Ed Caesar early entry, there exists the possibility that the teaching process could be significantly undermined. A decision to revise the nursery entry age of children was among those of the education sector that had gained controversial attention with many questioning the rationale of having children entering the system earlier. Previously a child had to
be three years old by March 31 in order to enter Nursery School in September of the same year. However, with the revised undertaking by the Ministry, children have ever since been eligible to enter the nursery school system once they would have turned three by June of a given year. Ahead of introducing the revised age of entry, the Ministry had started holding national consultations in 2013.
However then-Minister of Education, under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic, Ms. Priya Manickchand, had said “I didn’t think that we were prepared in the system to accommodate these children in September 2013, for many reasons…” At the time, Manickchand said that the Ministry was not able to ascertain how many children would have been eligible for acceptance. And so registration for nursery children started in January 2015 as opposed to previous years, when it started around April/May, to allow the Ministry to make preparations to accommodate the additional children. Manickchand had informed that following the introduction of the revised age of entry there weren’t any major complaints. “I haven’t heard of any, but nursery-age children are always, when they get into schools...first they will bawl the school down for maybe the first week, and they bawl a little bit less for the first month and by the end of the first term they settle in.” Another known issue that children face, she’d acknowledged, was that of limited independence, whereby some of them were unable to use the toilets or are unable to eat by themselves. Although the Guyana
Teachers’ Union [GTU] was among the organisations that embraced early registration, it had however called for the downsizing of classes and special training for teachers to enable them to better deal with the younger children in their care. GTU General Secretary, Ms. Coretta McDonald, underscored, “These teachers will be required to have a whole lot more patience, a lot more tolerance, and it would require teachers to do a lot more than just adhere to their timetables during classes.” ”So when you have to teach and are still expected to do a certain amount of work coupled with changing pampers and feeding, it would take away from the time you are spending teaching the children the skills required at the first-year level,” added McDonald. But according to the GTU General Secretary, early entry into the education system could lend to children inculcating the right attitude to education from an early stage. However the COI, based on the feedback gained mainly from teachers during the inquiry, has been able to conclude that in addition to deliberate efforts to monitor the progress of the early intake age move, teachers could be more efficient with the support of an assistant.
Contractor reaches tax settlement with GRA over armour-plated SUV A contractor has reportedly reached a tax settlement with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) over a late model Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) that came under the spotlight this week. Yesterday, CommissionerGeneral Godfrey Statia did not immediately give details of the vehicle, a 2014 Toyota Land Cruiser, and the investigations. However, he did say that the matter has engaged the attention of GRA, and the contractor was summoned for a meeting. The contractor agreed to pay outstanding taxes on the vehicle, Statia said. The official said that investigations are, however, ongoing into a number of issues with the case. While the GRA chief did not name the contractor, Kaieteur News understands that it was B.K. International, a prominent entity. On Tuesday, Customs officials reportedly stopped a
vehicle that they had spotted. The SUV, a pearl white one, had PJJ number plates, which had been issued about a decade back. The Customs officials stopped the vehicle and the driver said he is a relative of the contractor, Brian Tiwarie. The officials were, however, asked to allow the vehicle to go. It was found that the SUV, an armourplated one, was brought just over two years ago, and released in a Customs process known as Permission
For Immediate Delivery (PID). This meant no taxes were paid and paperwork was not completed at GRA. GRA, over the past year, has cracked down on several persons who own high-end luxury rides brought into the country under duty free scams as well as smuggled. Many of the owners have reached a settlement with GRA rather than face a drawnout, publicized battle in court. GRA had claimed much success in recovering taxes from this area.
From page 13 “There is a new system in place in India; A new procurement and tendering system which according to the Indian High Commissioner, everybody is trying to get familiar with.” Secondly, Jordan reported that the amount for the project may seem significant for Guyana but it is small for Indian contractors, so to get
contractors who are interested in bidding for the project is an issue. Jordan said that his government has written to the Indian High Commission on several occasions on the issue. He said that if the situation continues, the two countries may have to resolve to use different approaches to address the delays.
New tendering process...
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Friday May 12, 2017
Kaieteur News
Hundreds protest Rose Hall estate impending closure
Rose Hall Sugar Estate workers protesting yesterday on the streets of East Canje While the coalition government yesterday celebrated two years since taking office, over 1000 sugar workers took to the streets of East Canje in a massive protest action against the planned closure of the Rose Hall Sugar Estate. The three-hour-long strike saw operations at the estate coming to a standstill, while housewives, business owners and regional officials stood in solidarity with the outraged sugar workers. The large crowd assembled at the Rose Hall Sugar Estate at 7:00 am but reverted to marching down the main access road gathering a large crowd of
spectators. As the massive crowd marched, the men shouted “No to the closure”. The protest action comes in light of Agriculture Minister Noel Holder’s announcement on Monday that by year 2017, the nation will see the closure of two more sugar estates, the cut down of annual production, and the medical services offered by the estates turned over to the government. One worker of the harvesting gang told Kaieteur News that government needs to rethink its decision as the closure of such a major estate will affect the entire country. “We need the sugar estate. Without this estate,
this town can’t function. How you gonna take away jobs from people and you not creating new ones. Dat mek sense?” Another worker, Marvin Sudoo, a sugar worker for 28 years, stated that government needs to find other alternatives to save the industry. “If they close this estate, wah we guh do? How me sending me pickney dem to school? How? They tekkin’ way we job and them nah create nun mo”. Another worker, Glenn McLeod called on the President to listen to the cries of the sugar workers. He stated that Guyana was built
on the strong foundation of the sugar industry. “Is sugar bring everybody hay. Sugar got this country where it is today. When you trimming a tree, you does trim from de top not de bottom. So government need to find another solution to fix this sugar industry. Is the big officials draining the money, not we poor people. And is we feeling the pressure not them”. One business owner Sherry Beepat, who operates a furniture establishment in Canefield, East Canje, stressed that the closure of the estate will result in the closure of her business. “A lot of people from the
estate buy furniture from my store on terms, so if you tek way these people jobs, how am I getting paid? Is the government so blind they not seeing what these actions are doing to poor people? They are bleeding the poor dry.” A housewife, Pam Singh, stated that she has to repay the bank every month and this expected closure will leave her homeless. “Me does gotta pay bank every month. How me gonna pay if me husband nah bring home money gimme. Is Granger gonna pay bank fuh me? Da me want know, ‘cause dem nah see how poor people ah get pressure in this country”. Regional Chairman
David Armagon disclosed to Kaieteur News that action will result in a regional shutdown. “The sugar workers have realized that government is concrete in their decision to shut down the Rose Hall Estate, and that is why people are out here in their numbers airing their concerns. This small town with be hit by an economic crisis that will result in its shutdown if this estate is closed”. Armagon noted that “thousands of people will be out of jobs and this will create a ripple effect on the entire country. They are fooling the people by saying alternative employment will be created at the other estates and they are slashing production by 7000 acres, meaning the decrease in the workforce”. Meanwhile, GAWU”s General Secretary Seepaul Narine who joined the protest line expressed his concerns regarding the future of the sugar workers if the closure plans are executed. According to Narine “the days ahead are bleak for these sugar workers and their families and also the country as a whole, because government fails to see the major impact sugar is making on Guyana’s economy”. Narine stated that the estate is one of the main sources of sustenance within the Berbice area and if closed will result in economy taking a further plunge down the deep end. “We are hoping that good sense will prevail and that government will hear the cries of these sugar workers and listen and try to make life better for them as was promised when they took office”. The protest actions are expected to continue throughout the upcoming weeks.
Friday May 12, 2017
NGO flies in $4B in urgent drugs to Health Ministry Following reports of shortages in the drug supply system at the Ministry of Public Health, the Guyana Medical Relief of Los Angeles, California, has sourced and was able to supply US$20,861,594 ($4.1B) in value of meds to the Ministry. This was disclosed by Chief Operations Officer (COO) of Guyana Medical Relief (GMR), Sharir Chan. These meds, including the asthma medication, Albuterol Sulfate, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, simvastatin, niacin, carvedilol, amlodipine, lovastatin, azithromycin, glipizide, Lisinopril, metformin, all touched down at Timehri Airport around April 20th, 2017. “We, at the request of the MMU (Materials Management Unit) in Diamond, have shipped these medications to the Ministry of Public Health, after recognizing the dire need for such. We air shipped these with the hope that they will be immediately utilized.” According to GMR, the meds were air shipped because of their immediate need. Chan stated that his NGO has been operating in Guyana for the past 32 years and during this time, GMR has had to inject meds as needed and as supplies are available. “We are delighted to be able to serve our people and to assist any way we can. Thanks to our partner, Direct Relief, we were able to quickly source these requested meds for Guyana.” “This emergency shipment of medications arrived in Guyana since April 20th and is yet to be distributed. Guyana Medical Relief has made this consignment to the Ministry of Health which in turn distributes this to the various regions as needed. This consignment
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was requested by the Ministry in light of the reports of shortage of drugs in the health system. Guyana Medical Relief looks forward to sending more shipments of pharmaceuticals if requested.” In addition to supplying medications and medical supplies, GMR has built VIA clinics to combat the spread of cervical cancer among Guyana’s women. VIA (Visualization in Acetic Acid), is a relatively inexpensive way to detect the presence of lesions that can lead to cervical cancer. If positive signs are indicated during such tests, treatment is immediately provided to the patient. VIA clinics were built in Mahaicony, Charity and Bartica Hospitals. In 2015, Guyana Medical Relief completely refurbished the Accident and Emergency Unit at the Port Mourant Hospital, providing the community with a modern unit. “This organization has also donated ultrasound machines to Baramita in Region 1, Port Mourant and Mahaicony Hospitals in Regions 6 and 5 respectively,” the NGO said in a statement. A major cornerstone of GMR’s work is to provide shoes to needy children in Guyana, especially those in the hinterland communities. To date, it has provided over 250,000 pairs of shoes to communities throughout Guyana, especially focusing on Regions 7, 8 and 9. According to Chan, GMR has been instrumental in assisting the immediate needs of the communities in Guyana, with the idea that long term physical infrastructure needs to be put in place for alleviation of these current needs. As such GMR, in addition
to satisfying the immediate needs for meds, has constructed buildings to affect the long term care of Guyanese. “We also recognize the need for collaboration amongst like-minded NGO’s and as such we have partnered with outreach missions, such as The Canada Guyana Outreach Mission (CanGo), based in Toronto, doing work in the Pomeroon areas in Region 1 and 2, and The Guyana Medical Mission led by Dr. Cort of Fyrish, in Region 6, to bring professional assistance to Guyana’s rural population.” The organization said it is also working to provide a sense of permanence to these outreach missions so that the population from these villages can have virtual access to doctors from North America via their Community Health Workers. In recent months, there have been complaints of drug shortages at a number of the state’s hospitals and health centers. It was found that because of a loose system, officials were not ordering on time. Health officials discovered a significant amount of drugs were also being stolen and sold to private pharmacies in a racket that has cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Guyana has introduced new systems to ensure transparency in the drug purchasing process for its institutions, but the complaints have continued of wrongdoing. Audits have revealed that proper records were not being kept. This year, an estimated $28B was allocated to the health sector. In 2014, purchases of drugs for health centres and hospitals were around $5B (US$25M).
Babita Sarjou murder PI…
Testimony of Brazilian doctor delayed for defence to have own translator …English version of qualifications
MURDER ACCUSED: Darrel Ponton
Murder Accused: Shardanand Naraine
MURDERED: Babita Sarjou
Renato Teodoro Ferreira Paranaibo, a Brazilian doctor, was yesterday prepared to give his evidence via Skype video call in the preliminary inquiry into the murder of Babita Sarjou. In fact the doctor was seen on a projected screen seated in an office waiting on the go-ahead to begin testifying. But this never happened, after several issues were raised by Attorney-atLaw Ronald Trotman. Another lawyer, Hubert Rodney was also present at the bar table Shardanand Naraine, the ex- husband of Sarjou, and Darrel Ponton are currently on remand for the murder. The prosecution comprising Police Inspectors Mangru and Mansfield called a Brazilian Federal Police Officer to interpret from Portuguese - the doctor’s native language - to English. The prosecution also had another interpreter on standby. Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan conducted a Voir Dire to deem whether the Federal Police Officer was com-
petent to carry out the task. During the Voir Dire the interpreter was subjected to a lengthy cross examination by Attorney Trotman. At the conclusion of the Voir Dire, the Chief Magistrate ruled that the witness was capable of translating from Portuguese to English and vice versa. However, Attorney Trotman requested for the defence to have its own interpreter to ensure what the court’s interpreter (the Brazilian Federal Police) is translating, is an accurate reflection of what the doctor is speaking. Attorney Trotman also requested to have certified translated copies of the doctor’s qualification. The defence asked that they be served with the English version of the doctor’s certificates, since those handed over to them by the prosecution were in Portuguese. These requests were granted by the Chief Magistrate who subsequently adjourned the preliminary inquiry until June 12. Attorney
Trotman also informed the court that he will also be investigating the reason - apart from translating - why the Brazilian Federal Police Officer is in Guyana. Sarjou went missing on November 4, 2010 after she left her Timehri, East Bank Demerara home to attend a Diwali motorcade, allegedly with Naraine who has called her. He reportedly picked her up in his car and while she was sitting in the front passenger seat she was allegedly strangled by Ponton who was reportedly seated at the back of the car. Sarjou’s lifeless body was allegedly transported to Naraine’s house where it was buried. Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum and a team of detectives were able to crack the case on May 22, 2016, after they spent over five hours digging up a site at Naraine’s home, where they found her skeletal remains. Reports had indicated that Naraine had dug the grave two days before Sarjou was killed.
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US-backed rebels say they wrested key Syrian city from ISIS CNN) US-backed rebels said they “liberated” the strategic Syrian city of Tabqa and a nearby dam from ISIS. Syrian Democratic Forces, a coaliti o n o f m a i n l y Kurdish and Arab fighters, took the city on Wednesday, SDF spokesman Talal Silo said. The push is part of Operation Euphrates Wrath, which is designed to seize control of key territory from ISIS. US Air Force Col. John Dorrian — the spokesman for the US-led coalition against ISIS called Operation Inherent Resolve — earlier tweeted that almost all of the city has been seized and that fighters were clearing two neighborhoods. Troops continued to close the net around Raqqa,
ISIS’s self-declared capital. Raqqa is the latest major city targeted by coalition forces in their attempts to rid Iraq and Syria of the extremist group. The city, the militants’ operational command headquarters, is now largely surrounded — its main supply routes cut off by advancing forces. The seizure of Tabqa and the nearby dam is a key stride toward taking Raqqa and grabbing key infrastructure away from the terror group.. The dam supplies electric power to a wide area of Syria. Mass killings in the Syrian conflict by government forces and militants affiliated with ISIS and other groups have been
long reported. During its control of Ta b q a a n d a n e a r b y airbase since 2014, ISIS released video footage of militants parading dozens of Syrian soldiers handcuffed through a desert in their underwear and then executing them. The presence of Syrian Kurdish fighters on the battlefield could complicate the mission. The United States sees the 50,000-strong Syrian Democratic Forces as the most effective force fighting ISIS in Syria and has armed the non-Kurdish Arab elements of that group for some time. Syrian Kurds make up just over half of the SDF, according to the US military.
Trump calls Comey ‘showboat,’ acting FBI chief contradicts president (Reuters) President Donald Trump on Thursday called ousted FBI chief James Comey a “showboat” and “grandstander,” but its acting leader contradicted the president and promised the agency’s probe into possible Trump campaign ties to Russia would proceed with vigor. Trump, facing Democratic accusations that he fired Comey on Tuesday to hinder the FBI investigation into alleged meddling by Russia in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, said he would have taken the action even without a recommendation to do so by the two top Justice Department officials. That ran counter to previous administration explanations of Comey’s dismissal. The Republican president also gave further details of his account that Comey informed him three times that he was not under investigation. Trump’s personal attack
Friday May 12, 2017
Kaieteur News
on Comey seemed designed to underline that Comey’s dismissal was about his performance at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and not a probe that has hung over Trump’s presidency since he took office in January and threatens to overwhelm his policy priorities. In testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, testifying in place of Comey, promised to tell the panel of any White House meddling into the agency’s probe. Democrats have called for a special prosecutor to look into the Russia matter. “He’s a showboat. He’s a grandstander,” Trump told NBC News in his first interview since firing Comey. “The FBI has been in turmoil. You know that, I know that, everybody knows that.” The White House and Vice President Mike Pence have said Trump fired Comey
on the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and No. 2 Justice Department official Rod Rosenstein. On Thursday, Trump said: “I was going to fire Comey. My decision,” Trump said. “I was going to fire regardless of recommendation.” Trump told NBC News he never pressured Comey into dropping the FBI probe, adding: “If Russia did anything, I want to know that.” Trump said there was no “collusion between me and my campaign and the Russians,” but added that “the Russians did not affect the vote.” McCabe’s testimony contradicted Trump’s appraisal of turmoil at the FBI under Comey. “I can tell you also that Director Comey enjoyed broad support within the FBI and still does to this day,” McCabe said. “I can tell you that I hold Director Comey in the absolute highest regard. I have the highest respect for his considerable abilities and his integrity,” McCabe added. “And it has been the greatest privilege and honor of my professional life to work with him.” Trump will not visit FBI headquarters in Washington as expected after agency officials told the White House he would not be greeted warmly following his firing of Comey, MSNBC reported on Thursday.
City Hall rakes in $111M in outstanding taxes
City Hall
The cash-strapped Georgetown Mayor and City Council recently raked in $111M for its coffers. The Municipality owes billions of dollars in debts, and with the parking meter project being in limbo, the council began hunting for other means of garnering funds. It came up with a programme to collect outstanding rates and taxes. The initiative, which kicked off on April 3 last, has resulted in errant taxpayers coming forward to settle their accounts. According to the Council’s Public Relations Officer, Debra Lewis, the programme will come to an end on June 3, and by then, those failing to honour their obligations will be dragged before the courts. M&CC is even threatening to seize the properties of delinquent taxpayers. City Treasurer Ron McAlmont had told Kaieteur News in an interview that City Hall can still be referred to as being cash-strapped, since it is usually not in possession of the $5B it needs to sustain itself. The Guyana Power and
Light Incorporated (GPL) alone is owed more than $1.8B by the council. Initially, M&CC had requested that the power company afford them a “write off” of the debt, so as to afford the council a chance of starting “fresh” in 2017. GPL, however, had different perspective. The company ended up writing to the M&CC threatening to disconnect power to City Hall and other buildings that fall under its purview, if the monies were not paid. Eventually, the two entities sorted out their issues, and came to an agreement on the way forward with payment. For many years, City Hall has struggled to be selfsufficient. It also owes millions of dollars to at least one garbage collection company. Prior to the issuance of 700 notices, City Hall was owed a total of $382M in rates and taxes for areas like Kingston, North Cummingsburg, South Cummingsburg and Lacytown. Based on figures provided, the Georgetown Municipality is still owed some $271M. The property count for
Kingston is 248. An estimated $475,082,519 is owed by altogether, by residents of that area. As for North Cummingsburg, there are about 343 properties that owe City Council some $185,846,995. South Cummingsburg has 463 properties that owe $317,321,937, while 351 properties in Lacytown owe $115,484,984. In order to garner more funds, the Council is also negotiating the possibility of instituting charges for garbage collection in the city. Although rates and taxes do cover this particular service being afforded residents, the City Treasurer said that it is not enough. “Times have changed, and the rates and taxes payments that used to cover all of these services many years ago, can no longer cut it,” McAlmont said. There have also been reports of the garbage disposal companies threatening to halt services due to outstanding payments. So far, none of the companies have moved to actually do so.
The CIA has just set up a unit to deal with North Korea (CNN) The CIA has established a Korea Mission Center to address “the nuclear and ballistic missile threat posed by” North Korea and its unpredictable leader, the US intelligence agency announced Wednesday. The creation of the center focusing on specific threats from the Korean peninsula will allow the CIA to “harness the full resources, capabilities, and authorities of the Agency” to deal with North Korea, according to the agency’s
statement. The center, which is located in CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, will put the forces of CIA analysts and officers side-by-side in one location to tackle the threat from Pyongyang. “The new Mission Center draws on experienced officers from across the Agency and integrates them in one entity to bring their expertise and creativity to bear against the North Korea target,” the statement reads.
A d d ed Heather Fritz Horniak, a CIA spokeswoman: “Just as the threats facing our nation are dynamic, so too must the CIA continue to e v o l v e t o a d d r e s s them.” Former CIA senior analyst John Nixon told CNN he expected the center to issue “sitreps” — situation reports for the intelligence community and the Trump administration — possibly twice daily, indicating an around-the-clock watch by an office of significant size.
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Kaieteur News
Haiti listed as one of the “riskiest” Prime Minister says crime is the countries in the world to do business country’s greatest challenge
PORTAU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – Haiti has been listed along with Venezuela as the riskiest countries in the world to do business. This is according to a new study published by property insurance group FM Global, based on data from the International Monetary F u n d ( I M F ) , t h e Wo r l d Economic Forum and the World Bank. The French speaking Caribbean country’s rank of 130 has been attributed to the deaths of more than 1,000
people when Hurricane Matthew struck a section of the country last October. On the other hand, the study found that Switzerland is the safest destination in the world for business. FM Global says the Alpine country is “among the best in the world for its infrastructure and local suppliers, its political stability, control of corruption and economic productivity”. Concerning cyber-crime, FM Global said this was another driver factor of risk in
the 2017 ranking. The study found that in general, countries ranking high in internet penetration and low in civil liberties were most at risk of succumbing to a cyber-attack, which in turn would place them further down the overall ranking. The four countries ranking lowest in the index for inherent cyber risk were Saudi Arabia, ranked 56th out of 130 in the overall index, Bahrain, ranked 44th, United Arab Emirates, ranked 32nd and Qatar, ranked 13th.
Cuban couple still detained in US nearly a month after judge denies asylum
Geidy Caraballo, second from left, next to the lawyer Wilfredo Allen (center). They are accompanied by Geidy’s husband and her brother Jorge Caraballo. MIAMI, CMC – An elderly Cuban couple detained on arrival at Miami International airport following an end to the United States “wet foot, dry foot” immigration policy remains in custody almost a month after a judge denied the couple’s asylum application. The Miami Herald reports that Aquilino Caraballo and Georgina Hernández, 67 and 64, are being held at separate facilities and do not know when they will be deported to the Spanish-speaking Caribbean island, despite the April 4 court ruling. The couple’s daughter, Geidy Caraballo, 41, of Miami, said relatives are “destroyed” by the denial of asylum, but also frantic because of the lengthy detention. “All I want now is for them to be returned to Cuba,” Caraballo said. “They are desperate because they want to leave already. That is psychological torture. “My parents are not delinquents; they are decent people who have their children here in the United States,” she added. The Herald reports that the asylum case could set a
precedent for Cubans who were detained after the end of “wet foot, dry foot” policy on January 12. Before then, it said, Cubans who made it to US could stay under a special admission permit, known as parole, that disappeared with the immigration policy change implemented by former President Barack Obama. Aquilino Caraballo and Georgina Hernández had a five-year tourist visa and had visited the United States six times when they were arrested on January 13. According to relatives, the couple was unaware that the policy had changed a day earlier and told an immigration officer that they “wanted to stay” in the United States. Hernández was placed at the Krome Detention Center in Miami-Dade while his wife was transported to the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach, known as BTC, in Florida. During a closed door hearing on March 10, the defense tried to argue that Caraballo, a small farmer in Batabanó, south of Havana, the Cuban capital, had been harassed by government officials and
would probably be harassed again if he returned to Cuba. Caraballo’s son, Jorge Caraballo, said Cuban authorities had confiscated 45 boxes of tomatoes and other products, accusing him of trying to sell them on his own and avoid the price hikes imposed by the state. Authorities also threatened to confiscate his property, the son said. Now, after more than four months of detention, the couple is “resigned to have to return to Cuba,” although they are also afraid of retaliation, the daughter told the Herald. “Anyone who leaves Cuba and is sent back is afraid,” said Ms. Caraballo, who has visited her mother but has not been able to see her father, telling the Herald that her mother has lost sight in one of her eyes. “It seems that it’s due to her nerves,” Caraballo said, adding that her mother has refused medical attention out of fear and prefers to be left alone. “If they take her to a hospital I may not see her anymore,” Caraballo told the Herald. “She’ll go to the hospital when she returns to Cuba.”
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, CMC – Prime Minister Timothy Harris has reiterated the government’s commitment to the fight against crime but also said the public’s help is needed. During a press briefing, Wednesday, the Prime Minister said the issue of crime is “by far the federation’s single greatest challenge and the government will continue its endeavors to ensure that citizens and residents remain safe.” “Our people, our business community, civil society, and our social institutions such as schools and churches all have a role to play in achieving this common objective.” He noted that investments in national security include training, technical assistance, the procurement of crime fighting equipment, strategic partnerships with overseas law enforcement agencies, and the restructuring of the Police Force. “Coupled with this significant investment in national security is the attention to our legal infrastructure. Our investments in technology including the buildout of our CCTV and security apps Programme are also an imperative.” He revealed that over the past two years, the government would have injected unprecedented sums in budgetary support into the Ministry of National Security in the
Prime Minister Timothy Harris fight against crime. Harris also made mention of his recent warning, where he reminded the general public that St. Kitts and Nevis is, “by and large, a nation of laws”. “We are governed by laws, so that we remain a respectful and disciplined people wherein the gains of development and prosperity are shared by all. Each and every person in this country deserves his or her fair share. Such is our right and such is our reasonable expectation,” he said. “However, the path to prosperity and a fair share is not characterized by lawlessness. It is not characterized by criminality, by homicides, robbery, fraud and the destructively selfish mindset
of coveting what others have without working for it. “Such behaviour has to stop – and will be stopped by whatever legal and other means are available to our national security agencies and our people who have the right to protect what is theirs.” The national security minister used the occasion to extend condolences to the families who have lost loved ones to crime, especially gun violence. He added that the nation’s people “have suffered enough at the hands of criminals. The families of victims have had to rebuild the pieces of their lives in the face of grief and fractured relationships.
Government to focus on revenue collection PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The Government’s revenue for the year has been revised upward from TT$47.2 billion (One TT dollar =US$0.16 cents) to $48 billion due to an expected increase of $575 million from income taxes from petroleum companies. Finance Minister Colm Imbert made the revelation as he presented his mid-year review of the budget in Parliament on Wednesday. He said the government now sees to focus on revenue collection an boost efforts to improve tax administration and compliance for the remainder of the fiscal year. This will be done with the help of a Revenue Authority. He said the government will submit enabling legislation to a Joint Select Committee of Parliament for scrutiny, and a project implementation committee has been established, to expedite the work required to establish the Revenue Authority. To modernise the out-
dated revenue collection system, he said, appropriate consultations with recognised trade unions to build consensus will be held. He noted that the budget was predicated on an average oil price of US$48 per barrel and a natural gas price of US$2.25 per mmbtu. “We have therefore increased the expected tax collections from the energy sector for 2017 to $3.6 billion, compared with the original budget projection of $2.6 billion, an increase of $1 billion,” he said As such, central government’s overall deficit for 2017, he said, is now projected at $5.9 billion (an estimated 3.8 per cent of GDP), compared with the original projected deficit of $6.0 billion (3.9 percent of GDP). Imbert added that Government expenditure for the half year was 14 percent lower than projected. “In the six months of the fiscal year, we had projected to spend $27.3 billion, roughly half of the approved
budget of $53 billion. We actually spent $23.5 billion, or $3.8 billion less than projected,” he said. He said government expected to receive $6.3 billion in capital revenue in the first half of the year due in part from the sale of CLICO assets. He said these have been delayed due to legal ‘road blocks’ which government is in the process of unravelling. He said there was also a shortfall in projected VAT collections amounting to $669 million. “There are indications that the major problem continues to be the long-standing weakness in our tax administration in both the Customs and Excise Division and the Board of Inland Revenue,” he said. Imbert added that income tax collections amounted to $743 million, 11 percent higher than projected, due in part to the 30 percent tax bracket on corporations and the ‘millionaire tax’ on persons with annual taxable incomes exceeding $1 million.
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WANTED One female vegetarian cook in the Interior. Call: 668-6421 Articulated/Dump truck driver for interior location, must be experienced. Call: 618-2020 for further details. SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY,ETC.-CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 2161043; 677-6620 Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Guyana p assport application. Graphics design, advertisement. Tel: 6267040; 265-4535.
SALON - Make-up Courses with Mac, Bare Minerals, etc. - Cosmetology Courses: $120,000 - Technician Course: $45,000. Call: 6471773/660-5257 Hair station for rent in prime location in Georgetown, preferably a braider. Call: 6807813
INNOVATIVEMARKETING & PUBLISHING INC –TEL: 600-4212: We create A/ works, logos, busi ness cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included. Floor sanding & Lacquering, house plans, estimate & painting, boat for Santa Mission. Call: 650-4362 Passport, permanent & visitor visa application, Professional Immigration Consultant – Sabita Immigration Services. Call: 225-6496/ 662-6045
Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezerCall: 610-5846 or 661-8158 TO LET 4 AC Rooms/2 large hall with 1 extra room, suitable for business/offices @ 21 Seaforth St. Campbellville, Georgetown. Call: 226-1877, 624-7436, 654-9350 Business Space on Middleton St. C/Ville. Call: 650-0716/667-1896
Two Dynamic Individual with communications & sales techniques, computer skill @ Sparkle, Meeten-Meer-Zorg & KeyFood Mc Doom location. Two general workers to work shift system. Call: 231-6293 Contract Cars and Drivers, Nigel’s Taxi Service @ Sheriff Street, C/Ville. Call: 219-5002/ 699-6152 Straight stitch/over edge machine operators/bond warehouse worker. Call: 2222541 8:00am-4:00pm (MonFri)
PROPERTY FOR SALE Transported property @ Grove and Diamond $16M negotiable. Call: 625-5461 New property for sale @ ‘BB’ Eccles, 5 bedrooms, 3 Full baths -$38Million negotiable. Call: 623-7963/ 602-9574
Dried and in large quantities: Corilla bush, lemon grass, sour sap leaves. Call: 6651397 Live in waitress and cashier for grocery and bar - $ 8 0 , 0 0 0 m o n t h l y, boarding and lodging free. Call: 610-3974 Buying Wamara, TATABU, Koraroballi, Itikiborabali, fresh logs. Call: 664-5150
Eagle’s: Re-gas -$8,000, Washing machine repairs, Gas Stove, Plasma flat Screen, computer repairs & more. Call: 697-2969/646-0966 For the best house plan prices & designs. Call: 610+4085/ Visit 37 Camp & Croal Streets
TAXI SERVICE GR TAXI SERVICE. CALL: 219-5000; 227-1982 & 225-7878 (24HRS)
We pay in local currencies or US$ for land in Eccles, Herstelling & La Parfaite Harmonie. Call:684-5822/ 629-2881 Investors needed for gold trading business in the Interior, weekly turnover. Call: 658-7553 Experienced bus and taxi drivers at Princess Ramada Hotel, Providence. Call: 6165419/ 265-7076
EDUCATIONAL First Aid/CPR Course, available on Saturdays, St. John, 110 Cowan St, Kingston, if interested please call: 225-9082 for details. FOR SALE/FOR RENT American Pool Table. Call: 277-0578
FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754. Design & Make Aluminum windows, doors, stainless rails, showcases, rolling shutters, make & install automatic doors. Call: 2336818/677-5599/659-9999 Yamaha Outboard: 200HP 4 Stroke (2015), 175HP 4 Stroke (2015), 150HP 4 Stroke (2014), 25HP, 4 Stroke (2015). Call: 612-8661 Honda Generator, Honda engine, electric motor. Call: 627-7835 One land in Tuschen Phase 2 – Call: 642-1252 Gold and Diamond land for sale or partnership in Berbice, Middle Mazaruni, Ekereou. Call: 600-0036/ 223-1273 Owner Migrating: all items for photocopy shop, internet café, also school supplies for sale. Call: 694-1895/667-8559 1 Transported property for sale at Covent Garden, music equipment for sale. Call: 2653586 Wooden building structure only with solid greenheart beams & columns ideal for house building. Reasonable offer accepted! Call: 227-4285
Plucking Machine used once, modelSY60, power 1.5KW, size 66X71X95cm, serious offers considered. Call: 218-2650/692-5373
Experienced sand truck driver. Call: 227-8529
CAR RENTAL
VEHICLE FOR SALE Allion, Primo, Fielder Wagon, Spacio, Bluebird, 212 Carina, NZE, Honda CRV, Toyota IST, RZ & Pitbull – Call: 650-7501 1-620-240 Leyland DAF engine foreign used and I.S.L Cummings Engine starters, all foreign used. Call:649-8449
ACCOMMODATION Le Grand Hotel Penthouse, 6 Commerce St, Lacytown, Georgetown. Low rates, selfcontained, central location. Call: 592-227-1801 or 592-2273494
TOURS Suriname City Tour: Independence weekend, dolphins, malls, casino, shopping May 25th -28th. Call: 665-5171/639-2663/6583758/223-7589
PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 3 Bedrooms upper flat, fully grilled with toilet, bath, kitchen, parking @ Block ‘8’ Mon Repos, E.C.D -$70,000 monthly. Call: 687-1050 Business Space to rent downstairs 26ftX32ft, Lime Street, Georgetown. Call: 6866866/223-8492 One newly built studio apartment @ Diamond 15X12. Call: 621-1485/ 663-2746 Two bedrooms, upper & lower flat @ Mc Doom Public Road, Married Couple/ Students - $50,000 each. Call: 643-8281 Furnished one bedroom apartment at Better Hope, Parking & Free Wi-Fi. Whatsapp or Call: 688-6010 Prime Business Place to rent on Sheriff Street, for offices only. Call: 627-6740/227-8644 4 Bedrooms top flat, semifurnished @ Ogle. Call: 2224630 Three storey 75X30 feet building/bond, open floor, 2 offices, 2 washrooms, driveways @ 25B Princes St., Charlestown. Call: 223-0654/ 225-0605
LAND FOR SALE Land @La Parfaite Harmonie: $1.5M, $1.6M, $1.8M, Tuschen -$1.2M, Herstelling -$3.5M, Farm, -$3M, House & land @ Parfaite -$14M. Call: 666-2326 Land at La Parfaite Harmonie -$1.8M, $1.6M, $2.5M, Tuschen Phase 2 - $1.3M, Herstelling $3.5M, Farm- $3.5M. Call: 6046724/ 686-9608
One domestic worker to work in Trinidad. between ages of 25-35. Call: 1868- 683-1528 One maid. Attractive salary. Contact 696-9386, WhatsApp and SMS, Or call 227-5672
FOR RENT
Great Deals on video games & all gaming consoles. PC, video games & repairs – Call: 672-2566; 265-3231
Uitvlugt, Tuschen, Zeelugt and La Parfaite Harmonie Harmonie. Call: 642-1252
1 Canter Driver. Call: 629-2912 DOLLY’S CAR RENTALCALL: 225-7126/226-3693 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL@ YA H O O . C O M / W W W. DOLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL: 677-7827, 6435122 ,EMAIL:PRO_AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM
Friday May 12, 2017
Kaieteur News
1 Black Primo. Call: 612-5356 1 House lot in #1 Canal 175X100 – price $3.5M. Call: 684-6048/694-4372
Farm (100ftX50ft) -$2.8M, Uitvlugt -$2.6M (100ftX50ft), La Parfaite Harmonie -$1.2M & $1.6M., Providence -$3.5M. Call: 658-5897/ 651-1969 12 House lots 80X60 at Plantation Schoonard: water, light and roads, 1 min from Harbour Bridge. Call: 6152346/627-3443 LEARN TO DRIVE C. Persaud & N. Outar Driving School formerly Soman & Sons Driving School @ Maraj BuildingCall: 644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997 (affordable packages).
VACANCY Office Clerk (senior/junior) with CXC English/ Mathematics, computer knowledge an asset. Call: 223-7500 Live in or live out babysitter/ domestic –Call: 223-7500. Monday-Saturday 8:15-4:15pm Boys for store/bond, warehouse work. Call: 2237500 between MondaySaturday, 8:15-4:15pm. Receptionist, male security guard, 30-40yrs @ 233 South Road Lacytown. Call: 225-0198 One Experienced Climber to install Wireless Broadband Equipment and One Domestic Worker. Call 2192226 for information. Welder/Fabricator for interior location. Applicants must be experienced with verifiable references. Call: 618-2020 Accounts Clerk for office in Eccles Industrial Site, knowledge of NIS, PAYE, VAT, Quickbooks call 6144358.
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Kaieteur News
Multi Stakeholder agencies visit Coomacka …seek solutions to erosion, flooding By Enid Joaquin A team of multi stakeholder agencies on Wednesday visited Coomacka to determine the way forward to stem the erosion that has resulted in a huge sand beach that is presently on the verge of bridging the Demerara River, and also to identify solutions as regards the beach itself, which has over recent years made the community prone to flooding. Among the team were officials from MARAD, the Civil Defence Commission, Public Infrastructure Ministry, officials from Bosai and Region Ten chairman Renis Morian and Councillors. Some of the immediate short term solutions suggested included the dredging of the river, and carting away of the sand which could be used to build up low-lying areas. Over the past few decades, Coomacka has become a flood prone community, due to the high volume of water and sand that washes down from mined out sites in the old Montgomery and Arrowcane mines. Morian said that following several visits to Coomacka by the Regional Works committee, it was recognized that the issues are bigger than what any single agency could handle, thus a decision was made to write various agencies. Morian said that President David Granger and Minister Joseph Harmon responded, and that the latter requested a mult- agency
meeting which was held last week Thursday in Georgetown. “So coming out of that meeting is why we are here today - to see what we could do for the short term, to the medium term and the long term”. Drainage and Irrigation specialist Heman Persaud, said that because of Coomacka’s position -only seven metres above sea level, while other areas are between nine and twenty metres above mean sea level, the area would constantly be under threat of flooding. He pointed out that as a result of the river combining with the water that comes down with a force from the mountain, there would always be close to six or seven feet of water in the community during heavy rainfall as happens during the May/ June season. “So one of the biggest decisions I think you guys should make is to look at relocating the persons that are here, because from now to infinity, that (flooding) is always going to be a problem.” Councillor Charles Sampson said that the situation with the heavy siltation and flooding is something that never used to happen in the past, as constant dredging was done of the Demerara River. He said that the problem is not a simple one, but one that needs a lot of engineering studies. Director General of the Civil Defence Commission Chabilall Ramsaroop, noted, “Last Friday when we met, we
talked about stopping the flow of the sand that has been coming down into the Demerara River, and stopping the flow that sometimes enters the homes of residents, whenever it rains heavily, and we also have to look at the bridge and what can be done about it, as it can go at any time. Then we have to look at the blockage of the Demerara River, and the region was supposed to look at that - to see how they dredge the river, to ensure that smooth flow…not only dredging the river to ensure… but where we’re going to put the spoils - so we have to estimate the spoils and where it’s going to go, and estimate the cost. So what we are looking at today is a short term, a medium term, and a long term plan - whether or not we have to relocate those people… we might have to look at that on the long term.” He noted that the May/ June rains have started, and so ways of stopping the flow of sand are now imperative. Ramsaroop said that if the sand barrier (beach) is not removed from the Demerara River urgently, it would block the flow of the river, which would result in the flooding not only of Coomacka, but other communities further upstream. Regional Chairman Morian is meanwhile engaging a contractor, with regard to the removal of some of the sand that makes up the beach. He said that works are expected to begin shortly, and that this would be a short term solution.
Public school cleaners decry slash in working hours It would appear as though private sector businesses are not the only ones “pinching a dollar.” The Ministry of Education has reportedly made a move to slash the working hours of sweeper/ cleaners within the public school system. Instead of the eight hours that were once afforded, the cleaners would now be required to work for only four hours. Several sweeper/ cleaners made contact with Kaieteur News to vent their frustration. Cheka Singh of Region Three spoke on their behalf. “I’m trying to sound my voice for all the cleaners. On Friday, the 29th of April, 2017, around 5:00pm, my head teacher informed me that someone from the Education Ministry called her to say that they don’t need the cleaners to work for eight hours anymore. She said that they now wanted us to work for four hours a day, and that the money will be cut.” Singh, who has been cleaning the same school for about 15 years now, said that her current salary used to be less than $50,000. The salary cut will leave her with a monthly budget of half of this amount. “It will be very hard on me. I have six children and it will be difficult to manage with that money,” Singh said. Barbara Mentor, an elderly sweeper/cleaner from Region Five, said that she has been employed by one
Primary School for about 25 years. “We struggle for a long time to get a proper salary, and now when it finally get lil better, we getting a cut. It just sad for we,” the woman said. School cleaners were required to work for just a few hours during the day. For many years, there has been the fight to have their role within the system be regularised. Many complained of having to work too hard for a meagre salary. An official of the Education Ministry explained yesterday though, that school cleaners were never in the category of workers required to be on the job for eight hours. “They just would have to clean, and they can leave. It is as simple as that,” the official said. It was further explained that even though the Education Ministry has been accommodating the cleaners working for the eight hours, it will not be able to continue doing so. “The thing is, they have been fighting for increased pay, and the Ministry would not be able to facilitate that. We know that they have been working hard and so, but the fact remains that they are only required to do a few hours of work,” the official noted. It was the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) that was at the forefront of calling for the emoluments of sweeper/cleaners to be regularised. A number of women from
across the country had complained that are usually forced to work beyond the four and six-hour stipulated time, due to school hours. This, they explained, sees them cleaning the schools’ classrooms, toilets and corridors beyond the time of duty. The majority of the women who have been complaining a r e s i n g l e mothers. The issue was also raised under the previous P e o p l e ’s Progressive Party (PPP) government. They said that in December 2013, the Cabinet at the time recognised the need for them to be paid standard salaries. The women, at a press conference sometime ago, complained that members of the current government stood in solidarity with them, while in the Opposition. Last year at the GPSU Labour Day rally, the union called for the sweeper / cleaners to be recognised, noting that they work extremely hard to ensure proper sanitary conditions within schools across the country. Contacted for a comment, Chief Education Officer (ag) Marcel Hutson was unable to confirm or deny the decision. Similarly, subject Minister, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine said that he had been in meetings all day, but promised to look into the issues affecting the cleaners. (Rehana Ahamad)
West Dem. woman fed up of daily abuse - despite restraining order against ex-lover Newfretia Phillips has been abused almost every day since her ex-lover got out of prison three months ago. The man, who is said to be a former military rank, was arrested several times for battering Phillips. About a year ago, he was sentenced to several months in prison. “Is just the other day he come out, and he break into my house. I tried my best to get him out, but he wouldn’t leave. Every time I talk, he does just beat me up,” the Bagotville, West Bank Demerara woman said. Phillips told this publication that several reports were made to the nearby La Grange Police Station, but the response, she said, leaves much to be desired. “Sometimes when I call, they would say that they don’t have police officers to come. They have other
times when they (the police) do come, this man would run away and they wouldn’t even try to chase him,” the mother of six said. Phillips, who owns a vulcanising shop, explained that a few months into her relationship with the 40year-old man, she realised it was a major and potentially deadly mistake. “He started to drink and s m o k e h e a v i l y, a n d h e doesn’t want to work. He does try to take over my shop, and when I talk about him drinking out the profits, I usually get a beating.” Because of the man’s behaviour, Phillips said that her daughters moved out and went to live on their own. “They never like how he does behave. I admit, I take it for a little while...about a few months or so, but then I just couldn’t
A troubled Newfretia Phillips anymore,” the woman noted. After about a year, Phillips began reporting most of her ordeals to the police. The perpetrator was charged many times, but sentenced to prison only once. “The police seem to think that I condoning this man,
because he does be in the house, but I keep telling them that I am not. This man is dangerous and I am helpless.” Phillips explained that because her house does not have proper windows, the man is able to manoeuvre his way in, and abuse her easily. “Every time I tell him to leave, he gets angry. And when he gets angry, there is nothing I can do, except pray to God that I make it out alive.” Having had it with the abuse, Phillips yesterday ventured to Georgetown to seek further police help. As she was speaking with this publication, Phillips received a telephone call from her 14-year-old daughter. The teen related that her mother’s ex had gone to the home once again. He even opened up the vulcanising shop for business.
Kaieteur News, after speaking with the woman whose body bore scars, made immediate contact with Divisional Commander, Leslie James. Phillips’ struggles were confirmed and James made
swift efforts in ensuring that her worries are addressed and that she is protected. The commander even offered to visit the woman’s home right away, but efforts were subsequently made for the two to meet last evening.
More than 125 achievements in last... From page 11 With regards to a new crossing for the Demerara River, studies and plans have been completed and there are moves to do the same for Essequibo River. It was also highlighted that on the international front, Guyana’s profile has been raised with an aggressive stance in defence of the country’s sovereignty taken to another level. There is increased training for the foreign service officers with a number of
overseas courses for public servants and crime fighters becoming a norm. Several criminal gangs have been smashed also. According t o the coalition, G u y a n a ’s transparency ratings and press freedom have improved along with a reduction of the red tape when doing business. The coalition also said it is extremely proud also that Guyana is being recognized as a ‘Green State’.
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Mexican who searched for ‘disappeared’ is killed (BBC) A Mexican businesswoman who headed a group of 600 families searching for their disappeared relatives has been killed. Miriam Rodriguez Martinez was shot in her home in the town of San Fernando in Tamaulipas state. She was known for successfully investigating the kidnap and murder of her daughter by a local drug cartel, the Zetas. The information she gave the police ensured the gang members were jailed. But in March one of them escaped and her colleagues said she started to receive threats. Her colleagues said she had asked for police protection but was ignored. The Mexican human rights commission issued a statement saying it deplored her murder and called for a full investigation. The UN in Mexico
tweeted its condemnation of the murder Mrs Rodriguez founded the local collective in her town for families who were victims of violence after her daughter was kidnapped in 2012. She had managed to find her daughter’s body in a clandestine grave and put her murderers in jail. She also foiled an attempted kidnapping by the Zetas of her husband, when she chased the gang in her car, at the same time notifying the army who then managed to arrest them. The group she established was part of a wider trend which mushroomed after the October 2014 disappearance of 43 rural student teachers studying at Ayotzinapa in the southwestern state of Guerrero. Frustrated by a lack of government help, groups of families began their own searches for people who had
disappeared in their areas, taking courses in forensic anthropology, archaeology, law, buying caving equipment and becoming experts in identifying graves and bones. There are now at least 13 of these groups across the country. The administration of former President Felipe Calderon (2006-2012) militarised the Mexican security forces to fight the drug cartels. In 10 years, the so-called war on drugs he launched left tens of thousands of murder victims with numbers varying widely between civic institutions and government figures. The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) issued its annual survey of armed conflict on Tuesday, saying that 23,000 people had died in Mexico in armed conflict in 2016. The Mexican government has questioned these figures.
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Mosul battle will be finished within days -- Iraqi army chief
(BBC) Iraqi security forces are only days away from completing the operation to recapture Mosul from socalled Islamic State, the army’s chief of staff says. Lt Gen Othman al-Ghanimi told the BBC he hoped the jihadist group would be defeated in the city before the Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins on 26 May. Recent gains in the north meant the remaining militants were being squeezed into an ever smaller area, he added. Mosul fell to IS in 2014 and is its last major urban stronghold in Iraq. Pro-government forces launched a major offensive to retake the city in October with the support of US-
led coalition air strikes. They managed to take full control of the eastern half of Mosul in January and started an assault on the west the following month. Fewer than 1,000 militants are now besieged in several north-western districts, including the Old City, along with as many as 450,000 civilians. “The security forces are carrying out a big and effective effort. I say that Daesh (IS) will be finished in days, God willing,” Gen Ghanimi told BBC Arabic’s Feras Kilani. “I say that the rest of Mosul will be liberated before the holy month of Ramadan.” A week ago, units from
the army’s 9th Armoured Division and the interior ministry’s Rapid Response Force opened a new front in the north after the advance into the denselypopulated Old City from the south and west stalled. Progress in the north was initially limited by fierce resistance from militants using suicide car bombs and snipers, but Gen Ghanimi said gains were now being made. On Wednesday, police commander Lt Gen Raed Jawdat said the Rapid Response Force had stormed the entrances to the Iqtisadiyeen district, southeast of Mushairfa, and killed dozens of militants in heavy clashes.
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Murray sent packing from Madrid Open, Djokovic eases into quarters World number one Andy Murray crashed out of the Madrid Open in the third round yesterday to 20-yearold Borna Coric in straight sets (6-3 6-3). The Briton, who was thrashed 6-3 6-1 by the Croatian in the Dubai Championships in 2015, performed poorly in the first set and after recovering in the second he then surrendered his serve
in the seventh game, giving Coric three break points. World No. 59 Coric, who won his first ATP title earlier this year in the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech, took the second break point to serve out for the match, sending last year’s finalist and two-time Madrid winner Murray packing. ”It feels great, I don’t know how I did it but I played
perfect during the game and I’m very happy about it,” Coric told Television Espanola. “I couldn’t imagine this when I woke up this morning, I always believed but I wasn’t sure how I was going to play, but in the end I played as I had dreamed.” World No. 2 Novak Djokovic also reached the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open yesterday with a
Persevering Windies overcome Azhar... (From page 40) off 38 balls before he fell to a catch in the deep by Vishaul Singh off Chase, 33 minutes before tea. Dropped by wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich off Holder before he had scored to the sixth ball he faced before lunch, Misbah emerged from ultra-cautious start to hit six fours and a six in a 148-ball knock. He was unbeaten on eight at lunch from 60 deliveries but upped the tempo as tea approached and reached his landmark by crashing the ineffective Bishoo over mid-off for four, in the penultimate over before tea.
Misbah then cleared the ropes with Chase off the first ball of the final over before the break but his ambition got the better of him and he topedged a reverse sweep off the next ball and was taken by Dowrich. On 311 for six at the interval, Pakistan were further rocked in the third over after the resumption when Holder produced a double wicket maiden, bowling Mohammad Amir for seven and then having Yasir Shah caught by Powell at first slip off the next delivery. But Sarfraz, unbeaten on eight at tea, provided the late flourish for Pakistan in a busy innings that
needed only 73 balls and contained four fours. Significantly, he posted an invaluable 45 with Mohammad Abbas who made only four, as the tail wagged for Pakistan. Bishoo, though, then struck a decisive blow when he removed Sarfraz to a catch at slip by Shai Hope, with the fifth delivery after the drinks break and Dowrich, who had earlier mis-stumped Abbas, then made amends by claiming the batsman in similar fashion in Bishoo’s next over. Misbah-ul-Haq celebrates a fifty in his final Test ©AFP
Ahamad, Da Silva... (From page 37) President’s College students Enoc Alicock and Douressa Thompson who were voted the 2016 male and female Race Walkers of the year as well as their runners-up Akiyela Darrel and Tashana La Rose. Meanwhile, the CS&TC will be hosting a 10k Race Walk on Sunday in observance of Guyana’s 51st Independence Anniversary. The race will commence at 06:30hrs at President’s College, Golden Grove, East Coast Demerara and proceed to the village market before returning to the place of origin for the finish. The activities will continue on May 28 with a 10k Race Walk around the National Park starting at 06:30hrs. Trophies, medals and other lucrative prizes are at stake for the top three finishers in the male and female (seniors and juniors), veterans and Differently Able.
straight set victory (6-4 7-5) over Feliciano Lopez. Djokovic, who won the tournament last year, had fewer problems against the 35-year-old Spaniard than in his three-set second round test with Nicolas Almagro a day earlier, taking the first set 6-4 before breaking in the 12th game of the second to avoid a tie-break. Rain in the Spanish capital meant the roof on the Manolo Santana court was closed for the game, slowing down Lopez’s powerful serve to the advantage of the Serb, who recently split from his long-term coach Marian Vajda. Djokovic joins David Goffin in the quarter-finals after the Belgian beat Milos Raonic 6-4 6-2, along with Kei
Borna Coric
Nishikori, who saw off David Ferrer of Spain 6-4 6-3. German Alexander Zverev also
reached the last eight by beating Czech Tomas Berdych. (Reuters)
Friday May 12, 2017 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Romantic opportunities will be plentiful if you get out and mingle. Your efforts will be rewarded handsomely. You should regain some of your self esteem if you get involved in organizational functions. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) You should be trying to clear up legal contracts that have been pending. Don't get into heated discussions. Don't bang your head against a wall. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) You can expect insincere gestures of friendliness today. Not everyone will be pleased with your plans. Try not to lose your cool, and make your point known. CANCER (June 21–July 22) Get rich quick schemes will not be successful. Involvement with prestigious organizations will be to your advantage. Efforts made to improve yourself will turn out to your satisfaction. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) You will be able to talk about emotional problems with your partner. It's time to reevaluate your motives. Visit friends or relatives you rarely see. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) You can gain distinction; however, it may be for the wrong reasons. You may have difficulties with foreigners. You may attract attention if you get out socially.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Avoid purchasing expensive items. Talk to peers who you trust in order to get sound advice. Be careful that you don't overextend yourself. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Business trips might prove unproductive. Any intimate relationships with colleagues will lead to gossip that could easily affect your position. Social functions will bring you in touch with new lovers. SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21) Entertainment should include your whole family. Competitive games will be your forte. Your involvement with children will be most rewarding. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) You may as well work on projects that will allow you to make progress. Bring work home if it will help you get caught up. Travel could include delays and other minor problems. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) Confusion could result when communicating with others. Don't get involved in other people's problems. Visit friends you don't get to see that often. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Take a close look at any contracts you've signed in order to be sure exactly where you stand. Try to concentrate on research and acquiring information that will be of value in your chosen field. Strong willpower will come to your rescue.
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FIFA Congress confirms next steps of the CPL: Pollard backs Tridents to bidding process for the 2026 World Cup bounce back from disappointing 2016 FIFA’s 211 member associations assembled today in Manama, Bahrain f o r t h e 6 7 t h F I FA Congress. T h e o r g a n i s a t i o n ’s supreme body made a few important decisions to validate reports on FIFA’s activities in 2016 and, more importantly, to agree on key steps for the future of the organisation. This included the ratification of the next stages of the bidding process to select the host(s) of the 2026 FIFA World Cup™. Following the approval of the bidding requirements by the FIFA Council on 9 May, the FIFA Congress agreed, with 93% of the valid votes, on a three-month period – until 11 August 2017 – for member associations from CAF, C O N C A C A F , CO N M E B O L a n d t h e OFC to express their interest in hosting the tournament. The decision on whether to select any of the bidders as the host(s) of the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be taken by the 68th FIFA Congress, which will convene in Moscow on 13 June next year, on the eve of the opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup™. The approved motion reads as follows:
”Based on specific regulations to be issued by the Council, the FIFA general secretariat shall establish a bidding procedure inviting initially the member associations of C O N C A C A F, C A F, CO N M E B O L a n d t h e OFC to express their interest by 11 August 2017 to submit to FIFA a bid to host the final competition of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The 68th FIFA Congress will decide on the selection of the candidate host associations. Should the 68th FIFA Congress not select any candidate host associations, the FIFA general secretariat will invite further member associations – including the member associations of AFC and UEFA and excluding those member associations that submitted a bid initially – to submit a bid to host the final competition of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.” Other key decisions: - Election of the members of the Audit and Compliance Committee, the Governance Committee and the judicial bodies. The members have been elected for a term of office of four years, effective i m m e d i a t e l y . - Approval of the detailed budget for 2018, with a total investment of USD 2.899
Bush Lot, No. 8, Belladrum register victories Bus Lot, No. 8 and Belladrum recorded victories when the West Berbice Cricket Association (WBCA) Republic Bank Inter-Secondary Schools U19 T20 tournament c o n t i n u e d r e c e n t l y. Host Bushlot defeated Fort Wellington by 75 runs. Batting first, Bush Lot Secondary scored 133 for 9. Marvan Prashad made 30 and Shahid Baksh 24; Leonard Williams, Andel Milne and Odel Miller had two wickets each. Fort Wellington were sent packing for 58 in reply. Shahid Baksh snared 3-6 while Lakeram Lalsa and Lamesh Persaud had two each. No. 8 Secondary overcame Rosignol Secondary by six wickets at
Bush Lot ground. Rosignol Secondary batted first and made 137 for 9 with Javid Karim scoring 55. Denanauth Persaud grabbed 4-42. No. 8 responded with 138 for 4 in 18.1 overs. Nigel Deodat struck 53 while Persaud made 50. Belladrum Secondary got p a s t F o r t We l l i n g t o n Secondary by 57 runs at the said venue. Batting first, Belladrum Secondary got to 154 for 7. Charlton Nicholson made 28, Vikash Singh 26 and Rondel Daniels 18. Kuma Small had 2-19 and Richwan Robertson 22 0 . Fort Wellington in reply made 97 for 9. Quincy Aulder claimed 4-13, Orlando Lowenfield 2-16 Kurtis Maxwell 2-17.
billion – 91% of which is allocated to football activities, chief among which is the organisation of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. - T h e 6 7 t h F I FA Congress followed the proposal of the FIFA Council with regard to the motion submitted by the Palestinian Football Association – “a request for official recognition of the Palestinian Football Association’s entitlements to all of its rights as described in the FIFA Statutes”. The FIFA Congress approved, with 73% of valid votes, the following proposal: “Considering that the matter is not a Congress competence but a Council competence, that a consolidated report of the monitoring committee is not yet ready, and that more time is needed to evaluate the situation and to take a decision, the Council proposes to the Congress not to vote on the proposal of the Palestinian Football Association and to give time to the Council to take a decision before the end of March 2018.” Nevertheless, the Council has committed to deciding on the matter already at its next meeting, on 27 October 2017.
B a r b a d o s Tr i d e n t s captain Kieron Pollard has backed the team to recover from a disappointing 2016 campaign that saw it achieve its lowest finish in the competition’s history. The Tridents finished in sixth place last season, missing out on the competition’s playoff round for the first time in four editions. P o l l a r d , h o w e v e r, believes last season’s campaign was heavy impacted by injuries to key players and the loss of South African batsman AB de Villiers as the team pushed to secure a place in the next round. ”Last year we struggled with multiple injuries and the departure of key players at inopportune times for the team. In 2017, we intend to return to our winning ways with the team we feel will win it all,” Pollard told Nation News. The all-rounder, who has hit a purple patch of form with Indian Premier League’s Mumbai Indians, has also encouraged the home fans to come out in full
Kieron Pollard’s ©BCCI support of the team. ”The CPL may be the biggest party in sport, but with the support of the Bajan fans, the Tridents will be the only ones partying after the matches this year. The
Tridents intend to play fierce brand of cricket which will be make it very uncomfortable for anyone we face, especially at The Mecca.” (SportsMax)
CONCACAF hosts 2026 World Cup joint-bid press conference
Banks DIH/ Rain Forest... (From page 34) the timely sponsorship of the event which is being hosted for the second time by the GBA. Banks DIH Communications Manager Troy Peters said the tournament continues to support the development of boxing in the Caribbean and his company was very supportive of this initiative. He extended a warm welcome to the visiting teams and officials and made a call to the Guyana team to “Win the Title”. Six countries including Guyana will compete in the tournament which opens this evening and runs until Sunday at t h e N a t i o n a l Gymnasium. The other competing countries are Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica and St. Lucia. Fight time each night is 19:00 hours.
From left, CSA President Steve Reed, CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani, USSF President Sunil Gulati and Mexican FF President Decio de Maria. Manama, Bahrain – Following its XXIV Extraordinary Congress in M an ama, B ah r ain , o n Wednesday, CONCACAF held a press conference in support of the joint proposal by three of its Member Associations – Canada, Mexico and the United States – to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani joined U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati,
Mexican Football Federation President Decio de Maria, and Canadian Soccer Association President Steve Reed in addressing the upcoming bidding process. ”CONCACAF is actively supporting Canada, Mexico and the United States in this ambitious bid to bring the FIFA World Cup back to the CONCACAF region,” said Montagliani. “With their pooled resources and experience hosting
World Cups at all levels, these three countries are uniquely qualified to host the first 48-team World Cup in 2026.” In addition to the sporting benefits of organizing the 2026 World Cup, President Montagliani h a s c o m m i t t e d CONCACAF to extending the potential of hosting a FIFA World Cup into promotion of development throughout the region. (Concacaf)
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Banks DIH/Rain Forest Water support for GBA/CSJB Tournament
GBA President Steve Ninvalle (right) receives the sponsorship cheque from Clive Pellew, Brand Manager (Water). Banks DIH Limited has teamed up with the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) for this weekend’s Second Annual Caribbean Schoolboys and Junior Boxing championships at the National Gymnasium on
Mandela Avenue. The local beverage giants will sponsor the regional championships under its Rain Forest Water brand. President of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) Steve Ninvalle
received the sponsorship cheque from Brand Manager of Water, Clive Pellew during a simple presentation c e r e m o n y y e s t e r d a y. Ninvalle expressed gratitude to Banks DIH Limited for (Continued on page 32)
Gayle only West Indian named in greatest Champions Trophy XI
JAAA announces Germaine Mason Scholarship In honour of late Jamaica-born high jumper Germaine Mason, who died on April 20; the Jamaica Athletic Administrative Association (JAAA) has announced a scholarship to the GC Foster College in St Catherine, Jamaica. The G.C. Foster College of Physical Education & Sport is the first of its kind to be established in the English-speaking Caribbean in September 1980. The College was named as a tribute to Gerald Claude Eugene (G.C.) Foster, who dedicated himself to the pursuit of excellence in all his sport-related endeavors. The Germaine Mason Scholarship will be awarded to a high-school student who has demonstrated talent in the high jump and is academically qualified, JAAA President Dr Warren Blake announced on Wednesday evening at the launch of the 2017 Jamaica International Invitational on Waterloo Road in Kingston.
Germaine Mason
The meet is set for the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday, May 20. Mason, arguably Jamaica’s best ever high jumper, died when his motorbike crashed in Harbour View, Kingston on April 20, after he was out partying with several of his friends including 100 and 200m world record holder, Usain Bolt. He was 34. He represented Jamaica
at the youth and senior levels winning gold medals at international competition before switching allegiance to Great Britain in 2006. He won that country’s first high jump medal in 80 years when he copped the silver at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Incidentally, the height he cleared, 2.34m to win silver, is also Jamaica’s national record. (SportsMax)
T&T women’s 4x100m relay team to launch second World Champs qualification attempt
Part of the Trinidad and Tobago 4x100m relay team.
Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle is the only West Indian player named in a greate s t C h a m p i o n s Trophy XI put together by Cricket Australia ahead of the upcoming edition of the tournament in England. The team captained by Sourav Ganguly also includes Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Damien Martyn, Rahul Dravid (wk), Shane Watson, Daniel Vettori, Kyle Mills, Muttiah
Friday May 12, 2017
Muraltiharan and Glenn McGrath. Gayle has typically performed well at the tournament. He was the second highest scorer in 2004 and was at his best in the 2006 edition, with three hundreds for an average of 79 from eight matches. There will be no West Indians present at the 2017 edition, which will be held in England and Wales from June 1 to 18, as the team
failed to qualify for the tournament due to lowly ranking. The West Indies won the 2004 edition of the tournament. Ganguly always performed brilliantly in this as a powerful opener with Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. Out of the 13 matches he played, he hammered centuries in the semi-final and final of the 2000 event. (SportsMax)
T h e Tr i n i d a d a n d Tobago women’s 4x100m relay team will make another attempt to qualify for the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London at the country’s National Open Championships next month. The team, which consisted of Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Khalifa St Fort, Semoy Hackett and Michelle-Lee Ahye, missed out on a qualification spot after dropping the baton at the IAAF/BTC World
Relays in The Bahamas earlier this month. However, events Committee Chairman of the National Championships Allan Baboolal confirmed that things were being set in motion for the unit to attempt another qualification bid. ”The 4x1 women are still to qualify for the World Championships and having spoken with our general secretary we have decided to use that (Open
Championships) as a relay qualifier. We are going to invite some other countries and have the women participate in an effort to qualify,” Baboolal told Newsday T&T. The NGC/Sagicor NAAA National Association of Athletics Administrations National Open Championships will be held at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo from June 2325. (SportsMax)
Kaieteur News
Friday May 12, 2017
Phantom cart off Boyce & Jefford Domino Competition
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Letter to the Sport Editor
NSC Commissioners stand with DOS Dear Sports Editor,
President of the Guyana National Dominoes Federation & the Georgetown Dominoes Association Faye Joseph hands over the winning trophy and first prize to Masters Captain Rawle Cameron in the presence of teammates and Organisers Edison Jefford (left) and Colin Boyce (right) on Wednesday. In what could only be described as a drama-filled conclusion to this year’s Boyce & Jefford Family & Fun Day Dominoes Competition, Phantom continued their excellent form by holding off Masters and C-7 in a close finish to win the final on Wednesday night, at 1223 Gaulding Place, South Ruimveldt. Following an impressive
semi-final performance on Monday when they defeated C-7 and Unity to book their place in the final, Phantom chalked up 77 games to scrape home ahead of Masters on 76 and C-7 on 75 to bring the curtains down on another exciting tournament. For their efforts, Phantom took home $130,000 and t h e w i n n i n g t r o p h y, while Masters received $75,000 and a trophy and
C-7 $40,000 and a trophy. Speaking at the conclusion of the event, Coorganiser Colin Boyce thanked the sponsors and the teams for their respective commitments to the tournament and added that because of their loyalty, citing the large number of teams that participated, the Committee has consented to elevate Dominoes to a
priority level come next year. ” T h e s u p p o r t demonstrated by the teams’ shows clearly that we will have to go back to the drawing board to extend the duration of the tournament from one day and ensure that we do not go beyond the assigned day,” Boyce said. Meanwhile, Matthew Glen was voted the Most Valuable Player.
Mumbai come up short despite Simmons, Pollard brilliance Mumbai, India, CMC – West Indies stars Kieron Pollard and Lendl Simmons both struck up tempo halfcenturies but failed to prevent Mumbai Indians from a narrow seven-run loss to Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League here, yesterday. Set an imposing 231 to win at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai made a valiant effort before finishing on 223 for six off their 20 with opener Simmons top-scoring with 59 and fellow Trinidadian Pollard unleashing an explosive unbeaten 50. Simmons set the stage for a successful run chase when he lashed five fours and four sixes off just 32 balls as he put on 99 for the first wicket with wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel who made 38 from 23 balls. They perished in successive overs with Simmons departing in the 10th to a stunning onehanded catch by New
Wriddhiman Saha ©BCCI Zealander Martin Guptill at long-on after the batsman tried to dispatch a full toss from Australian off-spinner Glenn Maxwell. Their departures saw four wickets fall for 22 runs in the space of 24 deliveries
to leave Mumbai stumbling on 121 for four in the 13th over. However, Pollard stepped up, belting a four and five sixes in a 24-ball cameo to energise the innings in a 55-run, fifth wicket partnership with
Hardik Pandya whose 30 came from a mere 13 balls and contained four fours. In the 16th over of the innings, both batsmen struck a pair of sixes as New Zealand seamer Matt Henry’s second over gushed 27 runs. Mumbai needed 16 from the last over bowled by seamer Mohit Sharma and even though Pollard blasted a six off the second ball, he was then held scoreless from the next three, as the run chase fizzled. Earlier, opener Wriddhiman Saha delivered a splendid 55-ball unbeaten 93 to propel Kings XI up to 230 for three after they were sent in. He struck 11 fours and three sixes, adding 68 for the first wicket with Guptill (36), 63 for the second with captain Maxwell (47) and 52 for the third with Aussie Shaun Marsh (25). Mumbai remained top of the eight-team standings with 18 points, four clear of fifth placed Kings XI.
We the undersigned, Commissioners of the National Sports Commission, have read an article in Kaieteur News edition (Monday May 8 2016) headlined ‘Ministry of Youth and Sport official under probe over missing millions’ and wish to throw our support behind our Director of Sports, Christopher Jones, of whom we believe this article refers. It seems as though some mischief is afoot by someone, or more than one individual that seeks to bring the reputation and character of Mr. Jones into disrepute. Firstly, we wish to make it clear that we reserve every confidence in Mr. Jones and his ability to perform his responsibilities with integrity, steadfastness and fairness. The incidents mentioned in the article, with specific reference to the matters relating to the Inter Guiana Games 2016, are within the knowledge and part of the remit of the National Sports Commission (NSC). Please note that there was an Inter Guiana Games Committee established to manage and oversee these Games which was headed by NSC Commissioner, Lavern Fraser with support of another NSC C o m m i s s i o n e r, S e o n Erskine, who served as a member of the said Inter Guiana Games Committee. As per protocol, the Committee kept Mr. Jones and other relevant Commissioners informed of development each day pertaining to the management and execution of the said Games. Consequently, we are extremely disheartened by allegations of corruption leveled at Mr. Jones even amidst our most stringent efforts to ensure that everything was done above board. Our efforts were also reflected in the tremendous success of these Games. All Guyana can also attest to the high quality of service rendered to both foreign and domestic athletes and officials coupled with the state of the art facilities installed for these Games. Mr. Editor, this was a collaborative effort between the Government of Guyana, the National Sports
Commission, the Private Sector and most of all, ordinary Guyanese whose input was instrumental in getting the job done. As it relates to the incidents described by the Deputy Director of Sport (DDOS), Melissa Dow Richardson, we the Commissioners of the NSC will say, regrettably, we found cause enough to document the full nature of her behavior and conduct. We categorically state that if an inquiry were to be launched into her overall conduct the findings would be alarming. Notwithstanding, we collectively frown on allegations of mistreatment to women at the workplace and welcome an investigation to clear up this allegation. Allow us to conclude that sport in Guyana is now at a good place where we are seeing results and where we are seeing tax dollars at work. We urge the nation and all stakeholders of the Sport Sector to remain focused. As we continue our developmental works, the Commissioners of the NSC with the support of the Minister of Education, Dr. Roopnaraine and his junior counterpart, Ms. Henry, former Permanent Secretary, Alfred King and support staff will be delivering a Synthetic Track i n L i n d e n . Other projects in the pipeline include the ‘Light It Up Project’ for grounds countrywide, scholarships for athletes, the installation of a Cool Air Venting System at the National Gymnasium, a MultiPurpose Facility in Bartica, completion of the Athletes Database and upgrades to the National Aquatic Centre amongst other projects in 2017. We end with a fitting question from our First Lady, Her Excellency Sandra Granger, “Will we ever be big enough to celebrate and emulate the achievements of others without seeking to drag them down?” God Bless Guyana. COMMISSIONERS: Ivan Persaud, Seon Erskine, Edison Jefford, Aliann Pompey, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Inga Teague, Lavern Fraser, James A Bond
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GDF aiming to end season with unblemished record – Coach Nantambu By Franklin Wilson Already winners of the of the First half of Season Two of the Stag Elite League, League Leaders Tournament and the Second half which they have wrapped with one game to go, Head Coach of the Guyana Defense Force (GDF), Bilall Namtambu says he is fancying his chances of ending on a high with another victory which would be the 10th. On Sunday night last, the Soldiers wrapped up the league with a resounding 4-1 win over debutants at this level, Linden’s Topp XX with a game still to play which would be against rivals and second placed, Fruta Conquerors. In an interview with Kaieteur Sport, Coach Nantambu who is in his first stint in charge of the CFU bound GDF, expressed delight at wrapping up the SEL with a game still to play but will be leaving no stones unturned as he aims to end on a high. ”With only one game to go and already winning the league feels like you are only waiting to celebrate but this coming game will be a test to our mental strength. I am expecting to end with an unblemished record.” They have recorded some huge margins of victory which underscores their knack for scoring (35 in total so far) and at the other end of the spectrum they have lived true to form of their name (Defense) and has conceded the least amount of goals, 6, the same as their
GDF FC players celebrating after winning the League Leaders Final. closest opponent, Conquerors which they defeated 4-1 when they clashed in December last year. Their main weapon in the league has been forward, Sherwyn Caesar who has scored a total of 9 goals to date. Coach Nantambu gave a bit of an insight into the kind of relationship he has established with players which has impacted positively in the way they have approached matches as a dedicated unit always looking to cut down
opponents. ”From the onset, the players and I established trust, respect, commitment and determination as the foundation of an ongoing relationship. So the performance of the team is expected to be at a high standard set by us. I’ve had full cooperation of all players involved.” Himself on a dream run on debut in charge of the GDF which many felt have been underperforming for a long time despite having facilities and resources available to them more than
any other team, Nantambu posited that their true opponent is themselves. ”If we can, and have to date, play to our standard, we’ll be successful. However, going forward my emphasis will be on technical excellence, tactical astuteness and more importantly maturity in our management of games and decision making without the ball.” With qualification to the CONCACAF Club Championships as part of their prize for dominance of local football, Nantambu gave an insight as to how he
would be approaching the Caribbean Football Union round of qualifying noting that he would definitely need a few experienced players at this level. ”Certain key positions need upgrading for regional competition but the seasoned players available are all lacking flexibility in their thinking and approach towards the game. It’s what you do without the ball that makes you a good player, a quote from Johan C r u y ff , b u t i t i s m y philosophy.” But for now, all focus
would be on Sunday’s final SEL match against Conquerors which would also be seeking to end the league on a high. This match would be the third of a triple header on the final day of competition at eh GDF ground. The other two matches will be between Victoria Kings and Monedderlust from 16:00hrs followed by a clash between Buxton United and Topp XX. Following Sunday’s matches the Big Four Tournament will take center stage.
Stag/WDFA Derrick Josiah Mem. KO Football
Double-header on tonight; Den Amstel & Young Achievers into semis The second set of quarter final matches in the 2017 edition of the Stag sponsored West Demerara Football A s s o c i a t i o n ( W D FA ) Derrick Josiah Memorial knockout competition will be played this evening at the Den Amstel Community Center ground. Up to battle for the remaining semi final spots are Pouderoyen when they take on Golden Warriors to be followed by a clash between Uitvlugt Warriors and Wales United. Already advancing to the semis are Den Amstel and
Lloyd Prince – Young Achievers Young Achievers which recorded wins over Stewartville and Eagles FC,
respectively on the opening night of action, Wednesday last. Den Amstel blanked Stewartville 5-0 on account of a brace of goals each from Delon Lanferman (6th and 8th minute) and Gideon Payne in the 60th and 62nd minute. Kester Jacobs netted the other in the 12th minute. Young Achievers upset Eagles FC 3-2, the latter scoring against themselves with five minutes to game time, Stephon Bentick, the culprit. Eagles took the lead first in a tight encounter on
From right, Delon Lanferman, Gideon Payne and Kester Jacobs - Den Amstel FC 60 minutes through a Marius Wi l l i a m s g o a l . But Lloyd Prince who scored both of Young Achievers’ goals first converted in the 8th minute to cancel out
Eagles’ advantage. However, five minutes later, Eagles restored their one goal advantage when Chris Macey found the back of the nets in the 85th minute
which was followed shortly after by the own goal. Prince sealed the deal and a place in the semi finals when he achieved his double.
Kaieteur News
Friday May 12, 2017
Grimes competes at Sportsworld Classic 2017 Invitational in T&T
Yannick Grimes poses with his medal following competition in T&T last year. Following his best ever international performance where he won silver last year, Men’s Physique athlete, Yannick Grimes is preparing to return to the Twin Island Republic of Trinidad a n d To b a g o a n d i s intent to go all the way this time around. The multi talented athlete who is a member of Buddy’s Gym and was on Sunday last crowned the overall Intermediate Classic winner at the Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation / Fitness Express Intermediate/Masters Championships has been able to use the strength sports much to his advantage. Speaking with Kaieteur
Sport, Grimes informed that he is training hard to win this time around but would only be able to realize is dream provided he raises the required funds to make the trip possible. The 2017 edition of the Sportsworld Classic Invitational is set for Saturday June 24th at the NAPA in Frederick Street, POS, T&T. The Men’s and Women’s Physique, Women’s Figure, Bikini, Lightweight, Middleweight, Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight are the categories that athletes will contest. Persons wishing to assist Grimes can do so by contacting him on cell# 685 0704.
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Ahamad, Da Silva to be honoured at Cavaliers STC awards ceremony
Managing Director of Mohamed Ahamad Construction Works, Mr. Mohamed Faraz Ahamad and Managing Director of Modern Optical Service, Dr. Jose Da Silva are among a
number of persons to be honoured by the Cavaliers Sports and Tour Club (CS&TC) when this entity holds its Awards Ceremony, later this month. The duo will be rewarded
for their outstanding contributions to the development of the Race Walking in Guyana over the
years. Among other persons set to receive awards are (Continued on page 32)
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Kaieteur News
Friday May 12, 2017
GCB/Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket tourney postponed The 2017 Guyana C r i c k e t B o a r d (GCB)/Scotiabank Kiddy Progression One Cricket Competition has been postponed until the September school term. The delay is due to the current inclement weather, which has been forecasted to persist into the month of July. As a result all primary schools are asked to note the adjustment. To date, the districts of New/Amsterdam/Canje and
East Bank Essequibo are the only two areas to have commenced their leg of the competition. However, primary schools will be encouraged to enjoy the benefits of the coaching education programmes which involves the activity aspects of “Meet the Emerging Player” and “Cricket Is My Game – Learn IT.” Further, School teachers and club coaches will benefit from four Child Protection Programmes, which are
scheduled to be conducted during the first two weeks in June. The Child Protection programmes will target interested individuals in Berbice, Essequibo, Upper Demerara and other specified locations in Demerara. Additionally, it should be noted, that the revised fixtures for the 2017 GCB/Scotiabank Kiddy Progression One Cricket will be circulated during the current school term.
Kaieteur News
Friday May 12, 2017
PAGE 43
Caribbean Schoolboys and Junior Boxing Tournament
All systems in place as four nations vie for honours in fistic encounters The fistic encounters between Guyanese boxers and their Cuban counterparts of the late seventies and early eighties have dissipated somewhat even though Guyana still enjoys bilateral relations with that Spanish speaking country. In the meantime, local pugilists have dominated the boxing arena at the Caribbean level and senior amateur boxers have asserted themselves as the powerhouse of the region when they carted off the lion’s share of medals at the Barbados staged Development Tournament in February. Tonight, the 2nd edition of the Caribbean Schoolboys and Junior Boxing Tournament gets underway at the National Gymnasium, M a n d e l a Av e n u e , a n d concludes on the 14th. Local boxers will match skills with the best talent out of Barbados, Suriname and St Lucia in highly anticipated duels meant to assert Caribbean dominance at the lower level. Up to press time, local selectors were still mulling over their final selection even as the Trinidadians have already dispatched their team composition. They are Abdul Taylor, Tyriane Hosien, Blessing Waldropt, Denzel Massy,
Meshack Thomas, Nyrell Hosein Juan Rodriguez and Edwin Felix. They are accompanied by their President, Cecil Forde. St Lucia administrators have said that their lads are prepared for war and are oozing confidence. Coached by former Guyanese amateur champion, Conrad Fredericks, the team is led by Nathan Ferrari, who copped the Best Boxer Award at this t o u r n a m e n t l a s t y e a r. Referee/judge, Julie Bonnet, also of St Lucia who recently received certification as an AIBA One Star Referee will also officiate at the Championships. Local boxers would also know that the St Lucians have always been competent and there is no indication that this trend will change. The team will also gain a morale booster since the boxing association President, David ‘Shakes’ Christopher, will be in attendance. The names of Suriname’s team are yet to be released, but one can reasonably assume that those officials would have learnt from their sojourn in Guyana last year, when Guyana hosted the inaugural, and they would field a more competent squad. Barbados is also to name its team but those lads were expected in yesterday afternoon. Jamaica’s five boxers will be accompanied by two coaches and that country’s boxing association President, Stephen
NSBF takes break to accommodate players’ CSEC Exam Following five weeks of competitive basketball in the Georgetown Extended Regionals of the National Schools Basketball Festival (NSBF) at Cliff Anderson’s S p o r t s H a l l , Yo u t h Basketball Guyana (YBG) is announcing a three-week tournament break. According to a press release from YBG, the break is to accommodate student athletes writing the Caribbean Secondary Examination Council (CSEC), and Caribbean
Advanced Proficiency Exam (CAPE). The tournament will resume on June 2. Following the resumption of the competition, it will continue through June 30, with Regional and Playoffs. The 12 Edition of the NSBF will be played from July 1 to 10. The tournament is sponsored by Edward B. Beharry Group of Companies Ltd and the National Sports Commission. th
‘Bomber’ Jones. The team will be led by the experienced lightweight pugilist, Daniel Hylton, who would have fought here twice in the past. The other members are Joseph Coley, Ramone Chung, Reshawn McWhinney and Jerome Ennis.
The team’s head coach is Gilbert Vaz, while Godfrey Collins is the assistant coach. The tournament had its first edition in Guyana last year April after regional administrators called for more focus to be placed on the nursery of the sport.
Local boxers were recently involved in the Pepsi U-16 tournament at the Andrew ‘Six Head’ Lewis Gym in Albouystown which allowed the local selectors to put together a competent squad with the talented Shaquincy Wright of the Vergenoogen Boxing Gym, formerly the
Essequibo Boxing Gym, leading the team. Fans will be required to pay $1000 for a ringside seat while those occupying the stands pay half that amount. The opening ceremony gets underway at 19:00hrs while the first gong sounds at 20:00hrs.
t r o Sp Caribbean Schoolboys and Junior Boxing Tournament
All systems in place as four nations vie for honours in fistic encounters
Persevering Windies overcome Azhar hundred to rally
Roston Chase celebrates a wicket with team-mates © AFP
The Trinidad and Tobago boxing contingent with GBA President Steve Ninvalle, left.
Roseau, Dominica, CMC – West Indies defied opener Azhar Ali’s 14th Test century and Pakistan’s attritional batting with sheer
perseverance, to leave the decisive third Test at Windsor Park well poised on the second day here yesterday. The Caribbean side were forced to toil on a lifeless pitch but did so manfully to dismiss Pakistan in their first innings for 376, an hour before the close. Azhar, starting the day unbeaten on 85, carved out 127 – his second successive hundred following his 105 in the first innings of the Barbados Test last week. Captain Misbah-ul-Haq struck 59 playing in his final Test while wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed produced a breezy 51 down the order. Part-time off-spinner Roston Chase was the best bowler with four for 103 while captain and seamer Jason Holder claimed three for 71 and leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo, two for 61. Left to navigate 11 tricky overs at the end, West Indies openers Kieran Powell (9 not out) and Kraigg Brathwaite (5 not out) endured little horrors to reach the close unscathed on 14 without loss. The Caribbean side trail Pakistan by 362 runs heading into the pivotal day three of the match. Resuming the day on 169 for two, the visitors inched their way painfully through an
extended opening session, adding a mere 58 runs from 30 overs sent down. The lone casualty of the morning was veteran outstanding right-hander Younis Khan, like Misbah in his final Test of a glittering career, fell lbw to Holder 45 minutes into the day after adding just eight to his overnight 10. He was adjudged to be struck in front by one that came back and he failed to get a reprieve after resorting to DRS. Azhar, however, reached his century an hour before lunch when he turned Holder to fine leg for a couple and was unbeaten on 122 at the interval with Pakistan crawling to 227 for three. He had put on 64 for the fourth wicket with Misbah when he finally perished halfhour after lunch, bowled missing a wild swing at Chase with the runs having dried up. All told, the 32year-old faced 334 balls and struck eight fours and two sixes, and is now just 35 runs short of 5 000 runs in Tests. Misbah then took control of the session, adding 33 for the fifth wicket with Asad Shafiq (17) and 37 for the sixth with Sarfraz, as he strolled to his 39th halfcentury. Shafiq tried to push the scoring along, showing urgency with two boundaries (Continued on page 32)
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