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Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
EDITORIAL
Guyana must search its soul
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Sunday May 19, 2019
Kaieteur News
ll the signs indicate that this country will soon go on a different footing; that there is going to be head-spinning, stomach-quivering, and gutclenching. There is both good and bad in the works; the problem is that even the good may not be looked upon as such by stressed, fatigued citizens. First the not so comforting tidings: the social seas ahead are predicted to be most agitated and stormy. It is the convulsions of a nation not knowing how to heal itself; and with impassioned, prejudiced souls striving for political (and racial) supremacy. Everything else gets lost in that unmoving, most fateful of priorities. The CCJ might bring some guidance; but final panacea it is not. The floodgates promise to open the moment the CCJ speaks. At that hour, Guyana will revert to its usual state. It is the same state contained in one of the more pungent religious rebuttals to the teachings of evolutionist, Charles Darwin; of one”filled with the chatter of apes, the hiss of serpents, and the croak of frogs” now mutated unrecognizably. That was the pious putdown, from a Brooklyn church, by a 19th century parson named Talmadge. With due deference to 21st century political correctness, this embodies the domestic political universe. Guyana today is that Hobbesian hell where there is “war of all against all.” The temporary interlude facilitated by the CCJ could turn out to be the equivalent of hiding behind cigarette smoke: a fig leaf thin and feathery. Guyanese would do well to imagine the condescending chuckles around the regional cocktail circuits among the more reserved and polite. And at the harsher end of the spectrum, they should cringe, even though they hear not the slurs as to the incapacity of the now aptly named ‘mudheads’ in “BeeGee.” They can’t get anything right; they are just a people, forlorn and pathetic, without the wisdom and pride and will to solve their own problems. For this country to get anywhere, all Guyanese must look at themselves and come to that place where St Augustine found himself: “I probed the hidden depths of my soul and wrung its pitiful secrets from it.” Unless this country humbles itself as to its raw truths, then it will keep going around in circles, and at lower and lower depths. Somehow there must be found patriots in this society to observe and to re-envision the local world through a wider frame. There must be willingness to look at where the nation languishes coldly and unsparingly; weigh everything dispassionately: the syntheses of differences. This could lead to improvement for a greater many, and not the lesser fraction. This would represent the height of political intelligence. Each of the major political parties, their leaders, and people think that they and they alone, possess the answers and visions for tomorrow. National history exposes the impoverishment of those positions. All either party has ever done is get by for a time, for the fewer, for the worst. Nothing emphasizes this more than governance of this broken and failed society: a society from which people flee uninterruptedly; where political stewards are so lacking that they themselves are compelled to flee to the sanctuary of the CCJ. For legal solace and cover, for perpetuation of political myths; for all the knowing in Guyana, there is still rejecting of knowing those primary elements that could remove from social life support, and give an opportunity, a long moment of rehabilitation and collective reinvigoration. In 1861, the Prime Minister of Piedmont, Massimo d’Azegliosaid, “We have created Italy, now we must create Italians.” A Guyana of sorts was created decades ago; now it is time to create Guyanese (not hyphenated ones).
Kaieteur M@ilbox Send your letters to Kaieteur News 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown or email us kaieteurnews@yahoo.com
I have discharged the duties of my office with probity and fairness DEAR EDITOR, In a letter published in your paper on May 17, 2019 under the title “Some senior public figures have been allowed to serve while ignoring and disobeying the law” the author and former Minister of Government Mr. Kit Nascimento addresses the issue of non-declarations of assets and liabilities to the Integrity Commission. The letter specifically refers to serving Minister as among the offenders, actions characterized by the writer, as showing contempt for the law. Though perhaps not inviting anarchy, the question is posed as to why should citizens “respect or obey or conform to any decision” made by these officials who the writer goes on to question whether they have no sense of civic duty
or conscience? Though not specifically named in this letter, I was and prominently so in an article published in your paper on November 14, 2018 under the title “Integrity Commission to take MPs, state officials to court over undeclared assets.” It is the case, however, that there are penalties, both monetary and imprisonment, for a false or incomplete declaration (S. 22). In my case, it is to avoid this legal jeopardy that is responsible for my failure to date, to submit a declaration. Specifically, I am unclear of my true liabilities to the sum of $82,068,617. This is as a result of conflicting statements issued to me by my bank, one on January 26, 2017, another in October 2017 and yet another in January 2018.
In an effort to clarify the foregoing, I wrote to the Managing Director of the said bank in March 2018, a polite request which to date I am yet to receive even the courtesy of an acknowledgement. This correspondence was copied to the Governor of the Bank of Guyana which is the regulatory body of licensed financial institutions and which, therefore, ought to be concerned about the particular issue. The Central Bank’s Governor has, however, been equally, strangely silent. After being ‘named and shamed’ (SN, Nov. 11, 2018 and KN, Nov. 14, 2018) I again wrote to the bank, letter dated 2018.12.18 seeking the same clarification wherein I made particular reference to the legal and other jeopardy I was exposed to as a result of their
lack of cooperation. This letter was also copied to the Bank of Guyana Governor as well as the External Auditors of the bank, a most wellknown figure and one deeply concerned about the need for integrity in public life. I am yet to receive any response from any of these institutions or individuals. In all of this, I have recently received a Request for Information from the very bank arising from the fact that I am “classified as a Politically Exposed Person (PEP) based on the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act.” I am now in the process of replying to same and in which I will explain my predicament which arises from actions of the institution where he is (Continued on page 7)
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Freddie Kissoon chooses to deliberately misconstrue developments to seats in the Na- ignation of the previous simple fact that our politics, support a scandalous proposition portioning tional Assembly it is possible GECOM Chairman, Dr. at this time, does not contribDEAR EDITOR, Mr. Freddie Kissoon has had a long career as a political commentator and social activist and I have always respected his independence and courage and valued his insights into political matters. We have never met and I know him only through his writings and news reports. However, his most recent commentaries have caused me to take a different view of his political activism. He seems to increasingly revel in self-pity and selfpromotion, intemperate language and abuse of those he seems to disagree with, wild imaginings and speculation and pandering to crass political interests. Earlier this year, Kissoon had declared that he believed that the sitting, majority, APNU/AFC government had instigated a coup d’état because it did not resign following the supposed passage of the NCV in December, 2018 but chose to pursue available legal and constitutional remedies to continue in office.
Kissoon’s coup clearly did not employ military force to usurp power or overthrow a legal government. Moreover, Mr. Kissoon is aware that members of the National Assembly of Guyana are representatives of a Party List and not independent actors and that the APNU/AFC government won 50.3% of the vote at the 2015 elections and were awarded 33 of the 65 seats in the National Assembly. Charandass Persaud’s vote supporting the PPP/C’s NCM was not an act of patriotism, heroism or democratic virtue. More recently, in his May 16, 2019 Kaieteur News column, he claims to “ believe the upcoming poll in Guyana will be tampered with by APNU+AFC” and that he sees “an improper general election where the West gets involved to bring about an APNU+AFC majority or APNU+AFC by itself rigs the poll”. He also believes that “the result of a free election, one of the two major parties will win a plurality, but not a
majority” but does not provide any basis for these contradictory, self-serving and partisan claims intended at political destabilization. Mr. Kissoon knows that the PPP/ C was defeated by APNU+AFC coalition politics and that there is no logical reason to resort to illegal means to continue in office; in the last two election cycles, during which the PPP/C were in government; the PPP/C lost the popular vote having secured 48.60% in 2011, and 49.19% in 2015 in elections deemed free and fair by Kissoon. It is not clear if he is now suggesting that those elections were fraudulent and that APNU+AFC were the architects. The PPP/C has never accepted the results of the 2015 elections alleging electoral fraud and collusion with the international community. Mr. Kissoon is also aware that given Guyana’s system of ap-
for one party to significantly increase their representation without a commensurate increase in vote count. In his May 18, 2019 Mr. Kissoon chooses to claim as settled fact what has always been disputed and to deliberately misconstrue developments to support an absurd and scandalous proposition when he claims that “for over 23 years the Carter-Price article in the constitution produced free and fair elections, and suddenly a new political leadership in government derecognizes it and went in the unilateral direction”. It is common knowledge that the opposition PNC/R in 1997 and APNU in 2011 as well as the governing PPP/C in 2015 disputed the results of those elections and certainly did not consider those elections free and fair. Moreover, it was the PPP/C which demanded, and secured, the res-
Surujbally, who was appointed by a PPP/C President, because of their electoral loss, thereby instigating the process of selecting a new chairman more amenable to the PPP. Kissoon knows as well as anyone that the Carter-Price formula, which allocated three seats each to the ruling and opposition parties, never intended to grant the opposition a fourth seat, but sought to have a compromise, good faith, selection as Chairman. That the formula failed to work as anticipated cannot reasonably be attributed to President Granger. It is the President, whether PPP/C or APNU/AFC, that selects and appoints the Chairman of GECOM with the participation of the Opposition Leader in the nomination process; the Opposition Leader does not, and never did, choose the GECOM Chairman as Kissoon asserts. It is a
ute to compromise or consensus and Kissoon clearly desires neither but is purposefully engaged in the unfolding campaign to drive racial hostility and political instability in the run-up to the next general elections. He seems to suggest that a Leader of the PNC appointing a judge as Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission is evidence, in itself, of fraudulent intent and that elections in Guyana are only free and fair under PPP administrations. His purpose now seems to be to use his media platform to sustain visceral attacks on the APNU/AFC which he is determined to portray as the enemy of the Guyanese people and to produce evidence of criminal intent and conduct before the commission of a crime. Sincerely Oscar Dolphin
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What so we have to celebrate as another Independence anniversary approaches?
A stellar example of a human being
DEAR EDITOR, In a few days we will be celebrating our 53rd Independence anniversary. What do we have to joyfully boast about—to the world? Pain! Suffering! Heartache! Racial prejudice! Treasury looters! I am ashamed, we all should be. After Independence in 1966, the joy and excitement of taking control of our lives rapidly dissipated. After 50 years of Independence, we continue on this charade of our backwardness of blaming outside forces. The rigged elections in 1968, (using overseas ballots), with the full support of the Johnson Administration quickly spiraled our nation into oblivion. We failed and we failed miserably. Is this a curse from the God we worship, or is it our own downright stupidity? Let us look at our Religious sector (yes, it is a sector–it’s money making). The Christians (of all ethnic
groups) worship the Savior of the world with pomp and glory. We sing lustily together, pray together, take Holy Communion together, gives tithes and offering together, embrace each other with the love of Jesus—then we go to the polls and vote along ethnic lines. No regard is placed on the message of unity and nation building. It is time for our own to be in political office. You get the picture? The Mandirs are filled with genuine worshippers. We pay homage to the Goddess of the Earth, the sun, the water, the air we breathe, pray for the blessings of our family and nation—then merrily go to the polls and vote for criminals who plundered our country’s resources as if there is no end—all I need is my race to be in power. In this holy month of Ramadhan, we fast dutifully, recite our prayers to perfection, gives zakat, stay
up for the entire night of the “Night of Power”, praying to Almighty Allah to guide and bless our nation—then go to the polls and vote for vipers who steal and plunder our resources. In the English language, the only word that truly describes us all—hypocrite. The question we need to consider now, “Will we continue to betray our country”? When will our Martin Luther King and our Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi rise up? When will we put the current leaders of our country to the dustbin (where they all belong)? When will our country be free indeed? To my fellow Guyanese, it is time. Young people, you are more than half of our population—time to rise up. Put aside racial animosity and work hand in hand to create a new and dynamic Guyana for you and your children. It is not late. The pain of our country will tarry on through the night, BUT Joy comes in the morning. The night is almost over, let us take back our country. Can we do it? Yes. We can. Sincerely, Charles Sugrim, CPA Partner in CPA firm in New York Adjunct Professor – CUNY York College and Queensborough College
DEAR EDITOR: Thank you for allowing me space in your fine publication to extend my congrats to Mr. Hydar Ally in not only recognizing, but shining a much needed light on a phenomenal act of honesty and integrity by a young Jamaican mother of two. Not only did Mr. Ally take the time to highlight this young woman’s story, but the fact that she is not Guyanese is even more heart warming. Ackaisha Green is a 24 year old single mother of two who had to borrow money from her mother to get her son to school. That very day she entered a bank in Kingston Jamaica and stumbled upon a plastic bag stuffed with visible $1.000 and $5.000 dollar bills. “Me coulda take it weh, but me neva take it weh.” What did this broke jobless mother of two do? She picked up the bag and handed it over to two police officers. A short time later, a frantic armor truck employee rushed into the bank in search of the money said to be in the millions he had forgotten in the bank. The moral of this story, the lessons are many, honesty, integrity, self respect, judgement, conscience, self worth etc, etc, etc. I’ve read a long time ago to “Never look down on a man/ woman, unless you are picking them up”. Who would have believed this young woman with limited education ( she tried twice to get back to school ) two mouths to feed, no job, would be capable of such a monumental act of hon-
esty? Her mother berated her, called her foolish and lamented the fact that her daughter borrowed money that very same morning from her. Even though this young woman had applied to two different training programs and rejected, she had no idea where the funds were coming from if accepted. It is my hope that the enormity of her act is not lost on our society from the very top to the bottom. There is nothing about this young woman that points to her magnificent integrity, Black, limited education, from a depressed community in Kingston no job but yet made most of us look like second rate humans by her act of honesty. In closing, her honesty paid off she was granted tuition free training to complete level 1 and 2 of the “Learning for Early Activity Program” (LEAP) and selected to be its first youth Ambassador where she will be asked to speak to other young job aspirants. In addition Ms. Green has been showered with gifts from home in Jamaica and the diaspora. As we look in the mirror and ask ourselves that question, “What would I have done if standing in her shoe?” Never judge a book by its cover. WHAT A STELLAR EXAMPLE OF A HUMAN BEING! Thank you Mr. Ally for not allowing me to drop the ball on Ms. Ackaisha Green. Respectfully Claudeston Massiah
Parties are Elected, MPs are Selected, Voters are Short-Changed DEAR EDITOR Since 1964 we have been going to the polls and ticking a box against the name of a political party of our choice. Each party contesting the elections must present a list of candidates to GECOM. Voters have no say as to who comprises the list of each party, or who gets chosen from the list to become members of parliament (MPs). The compilation of the lists and the selection of MPs are done in accordance with the
internal procedures of each party. It is no secret that this process is hardly competitive and mostly complies with the “principles” of loyalty and nepotism. I am not certain loyalty and nepotism can be deemed “principles” since the latter term is usually understood in the context of “values”, “truths” or “morals”, generally in a positive connotation. In short, we, the voters, are short-changed. Our votes bestow upon current leaders of the three main political parties extremely high levels of autonomy and authority, and no accountability. At the same
t i m e , t h e s e a r e l e a d ers who suffer from a very high level of inferiority complex, which makes them autocratic, aggressive and excessively intolerant to a l t e r n a t i v e views.The Guyanese people must elect their representatives, including their president and prime minister, directly. Individuals must be allowed to compete for any position of leadership. We must vote for people we know and trust and not for a list of names compiled by questionable and farfrom-transparent processes. Electoral reform is long overdue. Sincerely AA
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GY-EITI fabricated data in nation’s first report, deliberately blighting gold shadow of guilt or at least Robinson, Executive Director ubiquitous where key infor- equate from the start. to the news ar- doubt on the integrity of min- of the EITI (Global), and miners and mining sector mation such as descriptions ticle,According “… Dr. Rudy Jadoopat ers and the entire Guyanese DEAR EDITOR I am writing to redress a gross injustice served towards the reputation of my company – Winslow Higgins Mining Enterprises – by articles published in Kaieteur News. On 29th April and 4th May 2019 my company (and 18 other mining concerns) was branded as having, “refused to disclose the names of persons who benefit from its profits”. This allegation stems from bogus data published in the nation’s very first report to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). Full responsibility for the report, and the blatantly untruthful comments printed in the news articles, must be laid at the door of Dr. Rudy
Jadoopat. The assertion that my company refused to provide information is baseless and wholly untrue. Our awareness, of EITI and GY-EITI’s existence, commenced on encountering your April 2019 news article. I was shocked and shaken to witness my company wrongly targeted: named, blamed, paraded and shamed. Prior to the article we had no knowledge of Dr. Rudy Jadoopat or any other member of his Executive Team. From research I commissioned into GY-EITI, our lack of knowledge regarding their existence is now no surprise. GY-EITI’s own first work plan, dated August 2017 – December 2019 (downloaded from gyeiti.org) is substandard. Blank spaces are
of actions to be taken; indicative costings and funding sources should be listed. At least six vital meetings earmarked for completion in 2017 remain labelled “TBD” (To Be Decided) or “Meeting to be scheduled”. This is nothing short of shambolic management from less than competent individuals. Indeed, school-boy errors were even included in the final report. No definition is given for ‘NC’ the most widely used abbreviation in the entire document. The world is simply left to guess. My company is evidence that effective engagement with all stakeholders was not executed. Plans to manage that process, by the GY-EITI’s own published admission, were incomplete and inad-
Nothing being done about this dangerous practice with our fruits DEAR EDITOR, Over the years repeatedly I’ve penned my concerns regarding the farmers lacing their produce, mainly fruits and vegetables with chemicals and putting it on the market without giving the produce the due time for the chemicals to be less toxic. Under the previous administration and this present I’ve complained and those responsible fail to act or address this issue properly. Today you go to the market, make your purchase, store it either in or out of a fridge and chances are that most would be in a condition that you would end up discarding most away because it’s become inedible. Our country is still in the stone age in terms of medical testing and I am quite certain that the drugs in the fruits/vegetables cause some sort of effects on us. Government alone is not responsible for this lapse, there are various agencies responsible to monitor and carried out random checks but are failing. These people are getting paid to do a job and are not doing it.Those found wanting should be dismissed and give others a chance. That’s the only way we will have an effective system. Editor, at this present time,
it’s the season for mangoes and without doubt, it’s the most widely selling fruit, green or ripe. There is a chemical popularly known as ripening/ ripener, which is being used on vegetables and fruits to get them ripe before their period. When the mango is close to being ripe (most people say half ripe / full / turn) they would put the chemical on the fruits or vegetables. Now there are vendors going around purchasing mangoes (buying out the whole trees/ all the mangoes from the tree) and taking them home and soaking them in the chemicals to get them ripe. Sometimes or in most cases, these mangoes are extra green and they are being put in the chemicals to get ripe. Now you innocently
make a purchase and if you don’t eat it out the same day, it would turn black or have abnormal black spots inside, making it inedible. This is a new development and many fruits, especially mangoes, banana, etc. are being forced to ripe before the given time. As I said before, there’s people getting paid to do their jobs and they are not doing it. At any given day you could go to Stabroek Market and you would see people buying and getting either underweight or expired items and the only time raids are being conducted is when someone in higher authority says something. We are not moving/heading anywhere and it’s sad. Sahadeo Bates
I have discharged the duties ... From page 4 employed. Given the public ridicule and opprobrium to which I am currently subjected, I will say to the official to treat my reply as a precursor to legal action should their non-cooperation continue. Nothing that I have said should be taken to question the vital public issue raised by Mr. Nascimento, which is that persons who hold high public offices, have a commensurate obligation to adhere to the law and conduct themselves at all times with high standards of integrity. In this regard, I will face the electorate with confidence in the upcoming General Elections campaign arising from a belief that I have discharged the duties of my office with probity and fairness. Yours faithfully, Ronald Bulkan Minister of Communities
explained that the companies were asked to submit the information regarding beneficial ownership but many of them opted not to…” I would like to make this point very clear so as not to be misunderstood. My company, Higgin’s Mining Enterprises, is meticulous in retaining copies of all incoming and outgoing correspondence and communication. At no time, past or present, have I, my offices or any member of my staff, received any form of formal or informal contact, communication or correspondence, in letter, email, voice, text message forms, Morse code or braille (by hand, drone or pigeon) from any persons or entities (living, deceased or returning from the grave), from Earth or any other planet or realm, acting for or on behalf of the international EITI or its local chapter in Guyana: GY-EITI. My sarcasm is intended, but to be clearer still. My staff and I have had zero dealings with Dr. Jadoopat, Rached Maalej, Ms Diane Barker or any member of the GY-EITI Secretariat or Executive. Jadoopat’s assertions are blatant falsehoods. And, as if fabrication of facts were not enough, the news article quotes him as saying, “I don’t want to speculate or get into what are the reasons for the companies refusing to do so.” Mr Editor, your readers are wise. We are all too familiar with use of a contextually (preloaded) phrase such as this, in a manner that invites the worst possible public speculation and conjecture regarding guilt.Jadoopat’s self-righteous and disingenuous restraint from speculation, is artful semblance. He was aware all the companies, he planned to list, had not been given the right of participating in the Initiative. Further to this, in a callas and wilful display, confidential details of the gold production of mining companies from across Guyana, were published for international eyes without those companies having prior knowledge or veto in their promulgation. The intended or unintended consequence of Jadoopat’s actions has been to cast another unwarranted
mining sector. The context of his actions has fostered suggestions that miners are seeking to hide information, due to criminal intent, rather than desiring, as every other Guyanese businessperson has the right, to keep business successes and failures private. To treat miners and the mining sector in this way shows a level of wanton recklessness, disrespect, arrogance and unhinged-despotic behaviour, I doubt can be equalled. It lacks the respect, dignity, exercise of proper authority and good judgment required.What are my staff and I, fellow miners, the Guyanese public and international on lookers and commentators to make of all this? What would prompt the Doctor of Economics to be so economical with the truth and yet liberal with lies? Given Jadoopat’s unsolicited and unwarranted attack, it is not hard to conjecture any number of golden-leafed motives for his actions. Some, clearly, far shadier than others, but all shadowed by rank self-interest. What is certain, is that Dr. Jadoopat and his Executive have breached terms set out in their own Association’s Code of Conduct that calls for “Personal behaviour, integrity and values”. These qualities have been lacking in GY-EITI’s recent actions. On May 6th our letter of complaint was forwarded by email to GYEITI. To date no reply or acknowledgement has been received. We are therefore set to escalate the issue to Mark
Santiago J. Dondo Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. We appreciate the need for some transparency to ensure illicit trade and the activities of the criminal underworld are stifled. (We too want a safe, drug and crime free society, the type our children and grandchildren can thrive in.) However, GY-EITI needs to lead by example. So, we call on them to fully disclose the following (with clear and unambiguous audit trails): All direct communication of EITI’s standards sent to mining companies listed in the report with date(s) sent Specific correspondence sent regarding profit beneficiaries, with date(s) sent and reply deadlines given Checks made to ensure correspondences were received . How refusals were communicated back to GYEITI from companies and dates received Notification(s) issued to companies advising that production details were to be made public with date(s) sent If my company has been so undeservingly treated in this way, who can say the extent to which other mining companies listed, shared the same fate?We remain outraged at the actions of GYEITI and will not rest until this matter is properly investigated and appropriately addressed. Justice will prevail, and as the gold price now long suppressed, the fallen truth shall rise! Kind regards Adriel Lowe - +592 604 6228
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Exercise, text books procurement scandal... National Printers accuses Education Ministry of lying
Guyana National Printers Limited (GNPL), a stateowned company, on Friday, caused to be published a fullpage advertisement in the local press on what has now evolved into a full-blown scandal over the procurement and distribution of text and exercise books. In that paid advertisement, the GNPL has distanced itself from a published photo of an exercise book order from Trinidad. It is now saying that orders made to Trinidad, came directly from the Ministry of Education. However, this would conflict with the Ministry which said that it has contracted only GNPL to print exercise and textbooks in Guyana. The Ministry in a statement in response to the allegation that it printed contracted out the services to Trinidad, said that it only
GNPL’s chief, Trevor Bassoo
Don’t blame me: Education Minister Nicolette Henry
used GNPL to source exercise and textbooks. The GNPL advertisement, on Friday, would raise deep questions about which one of the state entities is telling the truth or whether there is a cover-up underway. There is hundreds of millions of dollars involved. This year alone almost $600M has been set aside for printing
of text and exercise books. According to photos released recently to Kaieteur News, the shipment from Trinidad’s Eniath Printing Company Limited included 56-page books, instead of the normal 80-page. GNPL denied it ordered those books. Rather, it said it is contracted by the Ministry to supply 80-page exercise
books and these are normally verified and received by the Ministry of Education (MoE) staffers. “GNPL have neither manufactured nor sourced from any company 56-page exercise books. GNPL have also never sourced exercise books from Eniath.” GNPL claimed in the advertisement that the image published by Kaieteur News may have either been photoshopped by the newspaper; old stock sourced directly from the Trinidad company by the MoE, or recent stock sourced directly by the ministry from Eniath. GNPL and the Education Ministry are facing accusations from local printers of deliberately stifling their businesses. Rather, since 2017, the Coalition Government has sole-sourced GNPL to print its books which are distributed to public schools from nursery to the secondary levels. A number of local printers have said they want a meeting with President David Granger for him to explain the situation.Wrongdoing in the procurement of books is nothing new in Guyana. In fact, the Audit Office of Guyana has consistently redflagged the procurement and distribution of books to public schools.The GNPL was recently in the news when it became clear to private printers that something was amiss. From the understanding of local printers, books were being printed in Trinidad while they did not have an opportunity to bid. The advertisement on Friday by GNPL instead sought to target Kaieteur News, instead of addressing the key issues.
A number of the private printers wanted GNPL to explain whether the proper procurement procedures were followed and as such, did Guyana get value for its money. They also want to know what is Government’s policy when it comes to state companies competing directly with private companies. The local printers which said they have been sidelined include A1 Printery, Kimoke Printery, Kaieteur Books Inc. and F&H Printing Establishment, among others. Responding to GNPL’s claims that Kaieteur News had its motives on the reports, publisher of the newspaper, Glenn Lall, made it clear that he will not be deterred. “Yes, one of our sister companies is Kaieteur Books Inc. Should the company roll over and turn a blind eye to wrongdoing because it wants business? “National Printers is now trying to divert the attention from the investigations that the Audit Office has launched. They have failed to address the issues.” According to Lall, nobody asked GNPL what it is doing for the rest of Guyana or for its staffers. “Yet in the advertisement they are trying to mislead the nation that they bought a sixcolour press and it is working…It is not working. Almost $100M was spent on that. “They should tell Guyana the price they are paying the local printers for books, and the price at which they are selling to the Ministry.“It is almost double the price to Government. That is what they should be
saying. Is this how we do business? By competing unfairly with private companies?” “The question is, how can Guyana grow when GNPL could supply books it did not print and charge double the price to the Ministry? The government is actually propping up a state agency at the expense of the private sector.” Lall said that GNPL is also trying to divert the attention from reports that the Chairman of the Board, Ronald Alert, has been running the state company and conducting board meetings from where he lives in the US. “We are now learning that the Guyana Elections Commission is giving GNPL work to print forms for houseto-house registration. Were proper procurement procedures followed? “How do we know we received value for our monies? We stand by our photos of the shipment from Trinidad. Somebody is not telling the truth and it will come out.” GNPL, an 80-year-old state company, fell on hard times. In 2016, during a visit, President David Granger committed resources to modernize its press. What was not said was that the GNPL would be competing directly with local private printers.This company is still struggling. On Friday, it spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in the daily newspapers to respond by way of a whole page advertisement to charges made by Kaieteur News. That could have been done by way of a press release which would have cost the company precious little.Further the coverage would have been wider since radio and television would have picked up the story. In recent years there has been increasing awareness over how tax dollars are being spent and that there are proper procurement procedures being followed. However, still, there have been emerging cases where ingenious ways have been found by executives to beat the system.
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Companies give laudable support to NAPS Food Bank programme
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urora Gold Mines Inc. on Friday donated a large quantity of food stuff to the National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS) to help take care of more than 50 percent of the daily distribution to its beneficiaries.The significant donation makes Aurora, a subsidiary of Guyana Gold Fields, “the largest single donor” to the NAPS-run food bank, Dr. Rhonda Moore, its Programme Manager revealed during yesterday’s handingover ceremony at its Hadfield Street, Georgetown headquarters. Dr. Moore said the mining firm’s significant donation will “ensure that our food supply doesn’t run out,” for the rest of 2019 and into May 2020. The Aurora Gold Mines Inc. donation will help feed 15 persons living with HIV (PLHIV) daily, more than half the number of clients who receive the food hampers from the NAPS-run programme. Other beneficiaries of the food distribution programme are in and out-of-school youths; unemployed young adults; HIV-positive single parents; persons living with disabilities and senior citizens Each food hamper comprises flour, rice, peas, cheese, oil, milk butter and cereal. Moore is hopeful that the company will be one of NAPS’ “long-standing partners”.Other longstanding partners of the 13year old programme are National Milling Company (NAMILCO); Sterling Products Limited (SPL); Modern Industries (Former AH &L Kissoons’ Ltd); Continental Industries; Laparkan (LPK) Shipping; Edward B Beharry & Company Limited; Farfan & Mendes; Cara Lodge; Crown Mining and CARICOM/ PANCAP “This support will benefit
Dr Rhonda Moore (second from left) accepts the donation from Aurora’s Miranda La Rose in the presence of Mr Delon Brathwaite, Corporate Social Responsibility Officer of Aurora and Mr Somdatt ‘Amar’ Ramessar extreme right. the PLHIV,” Dr. Moore reiterated, drawing the nexus between nutrition and the continued state of good health of NAPS beneficiaries. The food support programme helps PLHIV maintain a good body mass index (BMI) an indicator of their state of health. “We are pleased to support NAPS to help make every Guyan e s e productive,” said Ms Miranda La Rose, the firm’s Corporate Social Responsibility/ Sustainability Coordinator for Guyana, who commended NAPS for the dietary initiative during her brief remarks. Aurora Gold Mines Inc. has a presence in Caria Caria, Great Troolie Islands, Western Hogg Island and Buck Hall.Meanwhile, RAMPS Logistics, a Trinidad and Tobago Oil and Gas (O&G) firm with office in Guyana has also committed to supporting the NAPS food bank programme annually, according to its Human Resources Manager, Ms
Cherry Ferrell.Ms Ferrell was present at the handing over of a cheque from the company on Thursday at its Brickdam, Georgetown, office to Mr. Somdatt ‘Amar’ Ramessar, NAPS Senior Social Worker/ Nutritionist. RAMPS, Ramessar sai d , has promised financial backing to the programme annually. In return NAPS has committed itself to providing free HIV awareness and other health programmes for the staff of the institution. Next month, company employees plan to donate blood to the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS). Four years ago, Ramps Logistics commenced providing customs brokerage service, handling, shipping as well as managing the shorebase operations for ExxonMobil in Port-of-Spain and Georgetown. RAMPS was founded in 1985 in Trinidad and Tobago by Mr. Ramnarine Rampersad offering solely customs brokerage services. However, in 2003, increased demands nudged the company to
Dem boys seh ...
Somebody lying like horse trotting Whenever a story buss people does lie, sometimes fuh save demself. Tek de case of dem criminals. When a group of dem get ketch somebody does start talking. To hear he talk is to believe you hearing an angel singing. He never do nutten; is de odda person. That is why one of dem get kill in jail. He talk wha he know and inside de court de man who was he partner in crime threaten to kill him. So said, so done. De odda day two big government department find demself in hot water. De Waterfalls paper note some strange things wid de print-
ing of exercise books and textbooks. It seh that dem got people in Guyana who can do de job yet Printers does tek de wuk and send it to Trinidad. When de Waterfalls paper start fuh talk it claim how de Education Ministry was de one who was sending de wuk to Trinidad. Right away de Ministry seh it don’t print. It tell de press that it does give all de wuk to Printers. Right away dem boys seh de Ministry throw Printers under de bus. Dem boys see some kak wuk. When Guyana suppose to get 80-page exercise book it end up getting 56page exercise book. Dem boys blame Printers but printers put
de Ministry in de basket. It seh any funny wuk was because de Ministry itself order de wuk from Trinidad. Somebody lying. One seh it don’t order but it does ask Printers to order. Now Printers saying how de Ministry place de order by itself. De truth deh somewhere in de middle. Is just that dem boys don’t know who telling de truth at this time. Soulja Bai now got to get involved. He is de one who give de money to mek Printers come back to life. He got to be de one to find out who sending taxpayers money and jobs to Trinidad.Talk half and wait fuh de biggest lie.
RAMPS LOGISTICS’ Jamel Chan hands over cheque to NAPS’s Somdatt ‘Amar’ Ramessar as other officials look on.
diversify and it began also offering Freight Forwarding services. This marked their transition from a brokerage company to one of the region’s leading logistics provider across Latin America and the Caribbean with more
than 30 years service. RAMPS Logistics (Guyana) is providing logistics services and shore base management for ExxonMobil and recently secured full cross border logistics with UK giant,
Tullow.RAMPS is the winner of the Guyana Shipping Association for Advancement of Local Content; and the Exporter of the Year Award in Port-ofSpain. RAMPS copped both in 2017.
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Two years later …
I
t’s been two years since the last board of the Judicial Service Commission was actively in place. The JSC by legal definition is the guardian of Guyana‘s judicial autonomy. The Commission is responsible for making recommendations for judicial appointments and removing or exercising disciplinary control over persons holding or acting in judicial offices. However for the past two years, the State has had several delays in the appointment of a new board. The delays have resulted in criticisms being leveled against the State from lawyers and litigants alike. Peoples Progressive Party, Civic, PPP/C Executive and Attorney- at- law, Anil Nandlall, was amongst those
Sunday May 19, 2019
Kaieteur News
Still no judicial service commission
calling for the board of JSC to be resuscitated. Nandlall had accused the Government of trivialising the very important constitutional agency. Even senior judicial officers commenting on the absence of the JSC, have noted that the void has put the independence of the judiciary at stake. “As such, the government should make every effort to ensure that it is placed. It should be treated as a priority.” Last January, President David Granger promised to have a new board of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) in place before the end of the month. President Granger had said that he had been in discussion with the relevant officials on the matter. The President said that he
has held discussions with a number of persons including the Minister of Legal Affairs. “I am hoping that it could be done during this (January) month.” He said the JSC is intended to insulate judicial appointments from political partisanship and personal and other biases while ensuring that its recommendations for the appointment of judicial officers flow from a dispassionate and objective process. “The JSC is the custodian of the values and standards of ethical and legal probity by judges and judicial officials. The JSC must zealously ensure that the personal conduct of judges does not bring the judicature into disrepute. It must preserve and protect the system’s integrity,” the President added.
Some members of the last JSC from Left: Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings- Edwards; Chief Justice Roxanne George; President David Granger; GPSU President, Patrick Yarde; and Minister of State Joseph Harmon The Chancellor and the Chief Justice are ex-officio members of the JSC. The body includes Chairman of the Guyana Public Service Union,
(GPSU), a member appointed by Parliament and one by the President. The life of the membership of the last JSC expired Septem-
ber 30, 2017. As such, social and political commentators have lamented that the absence of the board is creating a constitutional vacuum.
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Kaieteur News
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Don’t be fearful of renegotiation...
Exxon will not walk away from Guyana, no matter what - says Houston University Instructor By Kiana Wilburg The APNU+AFC Administration has taken the position that renegotiation of the highly criticized Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), Hess Corporation and CNOOC/NEXEN, would send the wrong impression to investors. Like Exxon, it stressed that there must be respect for the sanctity of contracts. But Tom Mitro, Instructor and the Co-Director at the University of Houston, told Kaieteur News in unambiguous terms, that the renegotiation of contracts is quite normal in the petroleum industry. And when it comes to the uneasiness over contract renegotiation in Guyana, the Instructor categorically stated that ExxonMobil and its partners would not walk away from Guyana because the people want better terms. The Senior Fellow with the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) said, “You can safely say, and write this down, ‘Exxon will not walk
away from Guyana, no matter what. They have no other opportunity like this in the world...” The Consultant who has 45 years of experience in management and instruction of petroleum financial, commercial and government related activities said that even if ExxonMobil walked, which is highly unlikely, there are many other reputable companies that would willingly come into the sector. Mitro who previously worked for 32 years for Gulf Oil and Chevron said, “The best way for Government to do it (renegotiation) is to say ‘Let’s try to find a way forward that works for all of us’ because ExxonMobil is facing criticisms on this deal from different observers and the government too...” Mitro who teaches contract negotiation and studies the personalities of oil conglomerates said that criticisms of the current PSA poses risks for both the State and ExxonMobil. He said that ExxonMobil could face the risk of being excluded by some countries, for example, because they are not dealing
Co-Director, Instructor at Houston University, Tom Mitro fairly. The University Professor said, “Even the government can be at risk, because who knows...it may cause them to lose elections or cause unrest...” Furthermore, the Senior Fellow with the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment said that this project under current terms and relatively low oil prices will bring great returns for ExxonMobil. As such, Mitro said that Guyana can adjust and tweak terms in the contract so that it works for both parties. He said that trying to force a deal that does not work for both parties has implications.
Guyana Livestock and Development Authority closes hatchery One of the newest agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture, Guyana Livestock and Development Authority, delivers public service related to animal production, animal health, animal genetics, marketing, training and extension services as well as regulatory services. Some unusual occurrences have been observed, however, by the surveillance team at Guyana Livestock and Development Authority. There is the increase in the
mortality rate among the Muscovy duckling, between ages of two and three weeks. According to a notice in the press, there have been a number of reports received of high mortality in adult Muscovy ducks and other breeds such as Peking and the Kunshan. The GLDA is currently conducting an active surveillance exercise throughout all five coastal regions. It is monitoring the breeding flocks of the affected farmers. Most of
the ducklings on the farms were hatched at the GLDA hatchery. The notice also state that the GLDA will be working with an overseas reference laboratory to have the unusual event addressed within a short period of time. There will be a huge economic impact on the duck farming community, and GLDA will be working intensively to have the situation rectified at the earliest opportune time.
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David G Bus in Region 2 vandalized In Pomeroon-Supenaam, Region Two, a David G bus that was distributed to transport school children has been vandalized. Photographs of the vandalized bus were shared on social media and there was the suggestion that the bus was parked and left to rot. According to the post, it was alleged that water was poured into the diesel
tank of the bus. This then caused it to stop functioning. Attempts were made to contact the police officers in that region to verify the matter, but those calls went to no avail. In 2016 President David Granger rolled out the Three Bs Initiative that was aimed at distributing boats, buses and bicycles to the educational system.
President Granger said that the initiative will pay dividends for the development of the regions in which they operate: to improve education, to improve access to jobs and to assist the youth in participating in enterprise. He added that the initiative was introduced following a visit to the Pomeroon, in which he was informed of the high cost
of transportation for children to get to and from school. The riverine communities within the Pomeroon-Supenaam Region were among the first to benefit from the initiative, and have since received three boats, which transport children to and from school along the Pomeroon River. Other areas, which have benefitted through this ini-
tiative, so far, include Kuru Kururu, which received a bus and the riverine communities of Moraikobai on the Mahaicony River, Baracara Village in the East BerbiceCorentyne Region and Linden in the Upper Demerara Berbice Region which benefitted from boats. First Lady Sandra Granger has also played an active role in the programme, having received a number of donations
herself and participated in several commissioning ceremonies in various communities. Among the many presentations made by the First Lady included the people of Barima Waini Region, Lethem in the Upper Takutu- Upper Essequibo region, Mahdia in the Potaro-Siparuni Region, and the Mahaica-Berbice and East Berbice-Corentyne Regions.
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Businessman urges Guyana to take a stand against Domestic Violence A humble stand against Domestic Violence in Guyana appears to be taking on a rapid movement in the nation as one businessman urges all to put an end to this unpleasant dilemma. Forty-year-old Randy Shepherd on Friday last hosted a Graphic Artist print a logo standing up against Domestic Violence. It has since caught the eyes of many who wish to join the movement. Shepherd stated, “I was watching a video about this woman who was re-
cently shot in the head, burnt and buried in a shallow grave by her husband and it literally brought tears to my eyes. I cried as I saw her children just standing there bawling for their mother.” “As such I thought to myself that you know what somebody needs to start somewhere to stop this. So I thought of a way I can make a change hence; I decided to use my car to advertise this change I thought of.” The businessman fur-
ther stated that for the short period he has placed the logo on his vehicle and driven around, many persons have stopped him and asked where they can also have it placed on their vehicles. He said that even persons who were in buses or pedestrians on the road would quickly whip out their cell phones and take pictures. He added that he has seen multiple social media posts with his car. Shepherd also said that numerous persons have
The Domestic Violence printed on Shepherds car
contacted him and offered to carry the movement further. “From the persons who have contacted me so far we are working towards making a petition to the government to do more against this issue of Domestic Violence.” “We are also looking at creating a fund for caregivers who are left to take care of children when either both parents die as
a result of this or the father is in jail for murdering the mother.” In addition to the aforementioned ideas, the individuals are looking to create flyers and host events to bring more awareness to persons about the matter at hand. On Tuesday last, detectives dug up Zaila Sugrims bound, wrapped, and decomposing body from a s h a l l o w grave behind a
Crane, West Coast Demerara gas station where her husband is employed. According to reports, Mrs. Sugrim visited one of her sons on Saturday. She reportedly later left with her estranged spouse. When she failed to return home, relatives reportedly tried to contact her. After several futile attempts they reported her missing. In late December, Zaila (Continued on page
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Woman killed and buried in shallow grave laid to rest Thirty-six-year old Zaila Sugrim who was recently killed by her ex-husband was yesterday laid to rest. On Tuesday last, detectives dug up Zaila Sugrims bound, wrapped, and decomposing body from a shallow grave behind a Crane, We s t Coast Demerara gas station where her husband is employed. T h e s u s p e c t , Ry a n Sugrim, led the detectives to the area and the police later reported that he admitted to committing the gruesome act. According to reports, Mrs. Sugrim visited one of her sons on Saturday. She reportedly later left with her estranged spouse. When she failed to return
home, relatives reportedly tried to contact her. After several futile attempts they reported her missing. I n l a t e D e c e m b e r, Zaila Sugrim was hospitalized for five days after she was allegedly beaten by her spouse, from whom she had separated last August. She had left him, allegedly over his abusive behaviour. A post mortem, cond u c t e d on her body, revealed that the 36-year-old mother of five had died from a gunshot injury to the head. Friends and family of Mrs. Sugrim paid their last respect at the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana. She leaves to mourn her five children.
Zaila Sugrim
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Pegasus Suites and Corporate Centre
Badal targets 80 permanent staff, September 2020 completion - facilities to boast 30,000 sq. feet of solar panel Locally-owned Pegasus Hotel has announced a September 2020 completion of its 12-storey suites and a seven-storey corporate offices expansion. The construction of the estimated US$100M project started in October last year. It comprises a 12-storey tower providing long-term accommodation and a sevenstorey office complex providing first world corporate offices. According to Pegasus’s managing director, Robert Badal, all corporate offices would over time be converted to accommodation when it is viable to do so. The objective is to expand the services offered by Pegasus Hotel, a premier tourism company. Giving an update last week, the executive disclosed that regarding the economic benefits, taxes from suppliers and bank interest during construction is estimated at
An artist’s rendition of the new additions.
Pegasus’ chief, Robert Badal US$2.8M per annum and close to US$4M per annum after full operation. During the construction phase, there is employment for 300 persons, half of them Guyanese. The contractor is China Harbour Engineering Company, which is involved in the Cheddi Jagan International airport project
and more recently, the MovieTowne construction. According to Badal, the expansion will see the first Grade A green building in Guyana with Silver Leed-
certified and with 30,000 square feet of solar panels. Badal insisted that the project will see first world building technologies transferred to Guyana.
“Investments should not be taxed until they start to generate profits and free cash flows. Otherwise we would have no investments and no jobs creation,” the official
urged. He said that modern architecture and green technology, when completed, would be a source of national (Continued on page 63)
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---Hinds’ Sight by Dr. David Hinds---
To our peril, we have not managed to balance Ethnic fear and Civic Responsibility
T
here has under standably been some commentary on the achievements and nonachievements of the current government. The government itself set the tone with a lengthy statement which has become the subject of discussion by a few columnists and beyond. Predictably, the PPP has given the government a failing grade. Government supporters, on the other hand, have been full of praise for the administration and have been very hostile to any criticism. Their constant refrain has been two-fold. First, they speak feelingly about the bad days of the PPP. Second, they argue that four years is too little time for the government to create the miracles the critics wanted. I recap the above as an introduction to my reflections today on one of the embedded causes of the recycled bad governance that we have experienced for the last six decades. Our deep ethno-political divide has rendered our dominant political culture one of the most perplexing in the Caribbean. In Guyana, African and Indian Guyanese tend to critique and criticize the party and government of the opposite group, but when it comes to their group, they find every excuse under the sun to justify the most apparent faulty or bad governance. In the end, the quality of governance suffers, for no government anywhere in the world adheres to the tenets of democratic governance if it is not held accountable by a broad cross-section of its citizens. Successive governments in Guyana have not been held accountable sufficiently by their supporters. Ironically, the BurnhamHoyte government is the one that was most challenged by its own supporters. This was due mainly to the militancy of ASCRIA and the WPA, both of which had enough grounding among
African Guyanese to influence a serious questioning of the party for which they voted. In other words, major African Guyanese leaderships with standing in the community were prepared to risk alienating the governmental leadership of their group in pursuit of just and democratic politics. Further, significant sections of the African Guyanese masses were able to transcend their ethnic insecurity and fears to effectively challenge their government. The tables turned when the PPP returned to power in 1992. The major Indian Guyanese organizations outside of the PPP did not lead any sustained challenge to the PPP’s acceleration of the very authoritarian governance and ethnic domination it decried when in opposition. The minor exception was Ravi Dev’s ROAR, which challenged the PPP from an Indianist standpoint, which ironically was used by the PPP to convince the Indian Guyanese electorate not to rock the ethnic boat. My thesis is that the perceived and real insecurity and fear among Indian Guyanese was so strong it did not allow for any sustained questioning of their government or resistance against its wrongdoing. In other words, ROAR’s challenge to the PPP had the opposite effect of ASCRIA’s challenge to the PNC three decades later. It took Nagamootoo’s break with Jagdeo to cause a large enough Indian Guyanese electoral rebellion that was able to help topple the PPP. While the WPA sustained for some time a resistance praxis among African Guyanese and influenced a linkage with Indian Guyanese resistance, the AFC, did not develop a similar praxis and linkage. Younger political historians and sociologists would hopefully, in due course, tease
out the underlying reasons for these different outcomes. With the return to power of an African-dominated government in the form of the Coalition, some of us hoped that the uncritical response of the PPP’s constituency to their government would not be replicated. But we underestimated the extent to which the PPP’s politics of ethnic dominance while in office had blunted ther self-critical instincts among African Guyanese. No major African Guyanese organization has been prepared to hold the government accountable. Sure, a few individuals like Lincoln Lewis and a couple of WPA leaders have attempted to advance critiques of the government, but the organizations to which they belong have not joined them. I strongly believe that this current government would have performed much better than it has done to date if African Guyanese leaders and organizations had inspired themselves and the people to hold them accountable. So, in the end African Guyanese, despite discernable dissatisfaction with the government’s performance, have generally excused those shortcomings. There is a kind of loud suffering that refuses to evolve into serious questioning of power. And there is a very vocal political chatter that is consumed by an utterly uncritical mindset. One just has to peruse social media to get a sense of the extent to which that group views even the mildest criticisms of the government, particularly since the passage of the No Confidence Motion. This writer, despite my known support of the government, is a frequent victim of the venom that emanates from that collective mindset. During the last four years African Guyanese organizations, including those to which I belong, have politely distanced themselves from me. Many have questioned my
The Baccoo Speaks The reign of terror that has gripped Berbice is about to come to an end. Clues from the recent robberies in Black Bush Polder will send the police to two homes in the very community. They will find articles from the robberies. They will also find a gun. ** A stolen car would lead police to others. The racket was busted some time ago but a new gang went into operation. These cars
provide spares for auto dealers in the country area. One of the cars found would belong to a prominent citizen. It was used to
transport some criminals to the eastern part of the country. ** Some police ranks would be arrested for trying to protect a killer. They have received a large sum of money to fiddle with the evidence. This would stall the investigation until a new team of detectives would get involved. They are going to receive information of the payment and the efforts to thwart the investigation.
“ethnic loyalty.” Others have even questioned my sanity. I understand social and political origins of that mindset and do not dismiss it as craziness. There is some sanity to what appears in many regards to be the zenith of insanity. For me, it is always about how, in the circumstances, one can find possibilities for transformation. The challenge for us as a country is still what it was when we achieved self-government decades ago—how do we balance ethnic fears and pride with our civic responsibility to hold our government accountable? I am utterly convinced that despite advances at the level of popular culture and moments of enlightened resis-
tance and policy initiatives, we have not done enough to transcend our plantation legacy. We recycle discredited governments and governance praxis out of fear of the “other.” In my own case, just last week I recommended a return to office of the present government, not because of anything transformative it has done, but because I think that it would do less harm to the possibilities for the progressive agenda to which I subscribe. Unfortunately, that’s where we are in 2019—a choice between those who would stifle my freedom of expression and those who would point their guns at me.
Dr David Hinds Both choices are vulgar, but for now I have convinced myself, and perhaps others, that the vulgarity of one is more dangerous than the other. Can somebody please make a liar of me. More of Dr. Hinds’ writings and commentaries can be found on his YouTube Channel Hinds’ Sight: Dr. David Hinds’ Guyana-Caribbean Politics and on his website www.guyanacaribbeanpolitics.news. Send comments to dhinds6106@aol.com
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By Michael Jordan Every man has nightmares, sometimes, but not like the ones that tormented Vernon Lambert. In those nightmares, a burly man would be locking off his throat; he would see his longdead friend George Cantzlear, and he would hear the men in the jailhouse baying for his blood. And the worst part was that the monsters in his dream were real. It was 1959, and 33-year-old Lambert had recently gained employment as a warder at the Georgetown Prisons. In fact, he was still on probation; too ‘green’ to even wear his first uniform. On January 10, Lambert was sent to work in the ‘Brick prison’, the section holding prisoners in solitary confine-
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Kaieteur News
– The burly convict had Lambert by the throat, choking the life out of him. But where was Cantzlear? Lambert thought. Why isn’t he coming to my rescue? ment. He was partnered with George ‘Daddy’ Cantzlear, a strongly-built senior prison officer. The two officers were instructed to ‘exercise’ the seven prisoners in solitary. At around 2:00 p.m., Cantzlear ordered Lambert to enter the exercise yard. The young officer felt a surge of apprehension at the thought of being in such close proximity to the hardened criminals. Nevertheless, he obeyed. Prisoners in solitary were usually among the most violent of Camp Street’s inmates. Because of their temperament, prison officers were instructed to release one prisoner at a
time into the exercise yard. But somehow, two convicts persuaded Cantzlear that his work would be easier if he released them two at a time. Cantzlear agreed. He should have known better. Green though he was, Lambert knew that prisoners were not to be trusted. Standing in the exercise yard, Lambert saw prisoners leave their cells, bathe, and return to confinement. Then, at around 3.00 p.m., he saw two convicts, Wilbert Henry and Dennis Semple, approaching him. As they came nearer, Semple dropped back. Henry, a strapping convict, walked past Lambert. Then all hell
broke loose. An escape move was about to unfold. Lambert suddenly felt an arm around his neck. Someone was trying to choke the life out of him. It was Henry, the prisoner who had walked past him. As Lambert struggled with his attacker, Semple, the other convict, drew a baton and began to rain blows on the warder ’s stomach. At first, Lambert, who had boxed and was physically fit, remained passive and endured the blows. But then the convict began to strike at his face. A blow caught Lambert on the mouth and he felt a tooth break. The convict raised the baton again, this time aiming for the warder’s eye. Lambert blocked, catching the blow flush on his forearm. As he struggled with the prisoners, part of him wondered: Where is Cantzlear? Why isn’t he helping me? Realising that Cantzlear wasn’t coming, Lambert began to shout for help. His cries of ‘murder’ alerted Edwin France, a cadet officer. Seeing the commotion, France scaled a wall and entered the exercise yard. But Charles James, the convict who had masterminded the operation, kicked France’s whistle out of his mouth before the cadet officer could summon help. At that point, the inmate clubbed Lambert on the head. He collapsed. Groggy and bleeding, the young warder seemed to hear a voice saying: “You better get up, those boys will kill you…” Summoning reserves of strength, Lambert began to blow his whistle. In response, other officers began to blow theirs. The whistle blasts seemed to confuse one of the intended escapees, who was
scaling the prison wall. He perched on the wall, as if uncertain of his next move. But then his cell cronies shouted to him “wuk bannas , wuk,” and he scrambled to the other side of the wall. But the alarm had summoned the Chief Prison Officer, Edgar Baird, who began to enquire about Cantzlear’s whereabouts. Finally, he was told that the warder was in a cell. Still groggy from the attack, his shirt drenched in blood, Lambert followed the Chief Prison Officer to the cell. And there he saw his colleague George Cantzlear, and then understood why the veteran prison warder had not come to his rescue. Cantzlear’s legs were bound with shoe laces and a piece of chain. A flour-sack towel was knotted around his throat. Bending to Cantzlear, the Chief Prison Officer cut the gag. Lambert watched in horror as blood gushed from the dead man’s mouth. Lambert was sent to the infirmary. A head wound he sustained required ten stitches. While there, he heard the inmates shouting: “We want blood.” Concerned for his safety, the prison officials hustled Lambert through the prison’s back gate. He was taken to the Georgetown Hospital, where he collapsed again. When he recovered, he was in a ward surrounded by persons who were praying for his recovery. The Director of Prisons also visited him. He would later learn that convicts Charles James, Wilbert Henry, Dennis Semple and Douglas Lewis, called ‘Sotie’, had scaled the prison wall facing D’Urban Street.
James, Henry and Semple were recaptured shortly after, while Lewis was later found dead under mysterious circumstances in a house. It was later alleged that James and Lewis had killed Cantzlear, with Henry and Semple acting in consort with them. Lambert was summoned as a witness in the trial of the three convicts. He was terrified at first. He’d overheard some of the Camp Street inmates mutter, “God, is only one man dead and is three prisoners got to hang?” Ironically, the notorious Edward Lashley, who had butchered a policeman in a James Street canal, agreed that the men should hang. Gradually, Lambert gained enough courage to testify against the accused. His testimony, and that of other eyewitnesses, would lead to James, Henry and Semple being convicted on April 23, 1959. They were all hanged. But it wasn’t quite over for Vernon Lambert. He had to decide whether he should return to the job that had almost cost him his life. Memories of his escape and Cantzlear’s death haunted him. Even some seasoned prison officers advised him to stay off the job.Instead, to the surprise of many of the inmates, he returned to face them. The ordeal toughened him. He stood firm against hostile prisoners and gained their respect. ”Prisoners are not to be trusted,” he once told me. “You have to think ahead of them. In the old days they would have sharpened spoons. When you go to peep in their cells you put one hand in front of you. In that way you can grab the spoon and prevent them from boring out your eye.””I’ve seen one prisoner push a sharpened spoon up an officer’s nose because the officer told him not to carry the spoon into his cell. They also had sharpened wires, which they could push up under your ribs.” As for Cantzlear, he had made the fatal error of thinking that he could trust the prisoners; that he and the convicts on Camp Street were “alright.” If you have information about any unusual or unsolved cases, please contact Kaieteur News by letter or telephone at our Lot 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown. Our numbers are 22-58458, 22-58465, 22-58473 and 2258491. You need not disclose your identity. You can also contact Michael Jordan at his email address: kamarangnight@gmail.com.
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Kaieteur News
==THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN==
How does one begin to understand this country?
I
have lived all my life in Guyana, except for the period I was abroad studying. I think I can safely say I have a plausible understanding of Guyanese. My analysis as I write in 2019 is that it is a land overrun by the worst dimensions of psychology. Guyanese have lost their soul, humanity, human qualities, rationality and psychic integrity. I date this societal emptiness from the time Walter Rodney was killed. I can’t explain in a newspaper column what happened to the nature of Guyana from 1980 onwards, but I think the psychic destruction since that time has not been reversed, despite the democratic attempts of presidents Hoyte and Cheddi Jagan. When they came to power I think the society had so far gone down the nihilistic chasm that Guyanese society was not resuscitated under those two presidents. Most tragically, the soul and the spiritual fulcrums of Guyana so badly damaged after 1980 were further eroded by the rule of Jagdeo, Ramotar and now APNU+AFC. I will keep saying it for a long time to come – where and how do you begin to understand this place? Can the normal, logically thinking mind ever comprehend the nature of a nationality named Guyanese? Is this the most incomprehensible, irrational, illogical land on Planet Earth? This column is not about cricket. I use the just concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) matches broadcast in Guyana as a starting point to describe how deeply troubled this nation is. The games in IPL cricket were shown recently. This was welcomed by cricket fans in Guyana, because it was off the
air for a few years now. Brace yourself for the bizarre and inscrutable. I watched many of the games, some of which held no interest for me, but West Indians were playing and I looked. Every game in the IPL that was aired in Guyana showed the match presentation after the game ended. You would think the particular match every cricket fan on Planet Earth would want to see the presentation ceremony would be the final. And so there was the final which became an historical cricket match. One side won the game on the last ball bowled by a cricket legend. It was one of the most absorbing cricket contests ever played. And guess what? The final ball was bowled and the broadcast to Guyanese who were watching it without cable facility ended there and then. Viewers did not get to see what any fan was entitled to see – how the trophy was lifted; the opposing captains’ views; who was player of the match; who was the best bowler for the tournament; who was awarded t h e b e s t b a t s m en; who copped the prize for the best catch. Most importantly, viewers did not get to see how the emotions of the victorious team were manifested. Why would a station show the match presentation for all the games, some of which had no interest at all for the fans, yet the one that the entire community of cricket fans in Guyana would be overzealous about – the final - was not aired? Can you make sense of that? Can any human in this world make sense of that? But there is a question; should that surprise anyone who lives in this country? If they are surprised then, they are not living humans. What goes through the
mind of that person, whoever it is that was in charge of relaying the cricket, that he/she would broadcast the end-of match affair for the previous games but not the big, big, big one - the final? Is all hope lost for this nation? Of course the IPL final match is just another moment in the mysterious, sad life of this nation. There are countless others, some of which are highlighted in hundreds of these
columns of mine and as day passes into night, there will be more moments, more episodes, more traits in Guyana that make absolutely no sense in the thought process of the average human around the world. I want to state quite clearly that in dating the psychic collapse from 1980, I am not blaming the political leadership since then. Such leadership has deepened the rut, but the rut has destroyed the
nation, not only just its leadership. I end with a philosophical example of a people in a country that have humanity in them. A very poor, single mother found millions accidently left in an ATM booth. She took it to the police. Since then, Jamaican society is donating millions to her, with business firms leading the way. In Guyana, if that had happened, she would have continued to
Frederick Kissoon starve. Jamaica has a soul. Guyana is a soulless wasteland.
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Sunday May 19, 2019
Kaieteur News
The Opposition’s modus operandi
M
embers of the P e o p l e ’s Progressive Party (PPP) ‘gone again’ on a social media rampage, this time accusing people in this Government of everything that they themselves were guilty of for over 20 years. A load of spurious, irresponsible and unsubstantiated allegations have been made against Government functionaries,
ranging from money deposited in the account of a senior minister, querying who paid Compton Reid’s legal bills, and questioning the wisdom of President Granger ’s recent appointment of four cabinet ministers to replace those who resigned in the wake of the court ruling on the ineligibility of dual citizens to serve in the national assembly.
The wild allegations include a Facebook posting that accuses Public Infrastructure Minister Patterson of accepting a bribe from Chinese contractors somehow associated with building projects in Guyana. As a Party, the AFC categorically dismisses this allegation. It is nothing more than tit-for-tat. One member asked what possible reason could the PPP have for
maligning the integrity of people like David Patterson and Cathy Hughes. The simple answer is that this is their modus operandi. The PPP does not know how to do it any other way. They can’t conceive of anything else but to repeat the accusations that have been leveled at them for ten-plus years. They don’t even try to tickle our funny bones now and again by coming up with something new. Seriously though, the PPP is unquestionably the most corrupt government in Guyana’s history, and perhaps in all of CARICOM. None has even come close. It is hardly possible for any government, especially not this one, to even try to get past the hawk-like eyes of this watching nation. The wildly ubiquitous bad habits (alleged) of the PPP’s functionaries would be difficult to surpass - the graft, nepotism, malfeasance and misconduct in public office, blatant theft from the public purse, deliberately ignoring the law and opening bank accounts left, right and centre with funds that were borrowed from the highly reputable international lending community; the grabbing of private properties from the owners and ‘selling’ to their friends and family … this list seems to have no end. At our press conference on Friday, Party Vice Chairman and Public Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s Minister, Hon. Cathy Hughes, was moved to remind the nation of some of the mega scandals over projects that the PPP ‘executed’ over 20 years, which we all saw from the sidelines. These included the overland fibre optic cable that the PPP landed from Brazil and which should have been laid underground from Lethem to Georgetown, and used to connect Guyanese people to the worldwide web, and put the Internet in their hands. That project had to be abandoned because of unforgiveable errors,
nepotism and downright incompetence. It was so bad that they literally gave away the cable to a building contractor when they realized that they had damaged that delicate fibre cable so badly that it had no more use. This project was overseen by the son of the President. Before the 2015 elections, qualified engineers carried out checks and found the cable just lying along the corner of the roadway when it was supposed to have been buried. This travesty cost the people of Guyana upwards of $1.3 Billion, all gone down the drain. When the Coalition took the seat of Government in 2015, it had budgeted $240 million to repair the cable and resuscitate the connectivity project, but it could not be done, not with that cable. We were shocked by the extremely high level of incompetence, but at first we were reluctant to “call the time of death” on it. The Ministry had some qualified ICT Engineers examine every section of it, but in the end, the cable had to be abandoned because there was not one piece long enough to connect 2 villages in the hinterland. It was a sinful waste! Minister Hughes also mentioned the hundreds of Millions of dollars reported stolen from the Guyana Gold Board, and the Billions of Dollars that were wasted when the Charity and Supenaam Wharves floated away without ever being used by the public. This Government rebuilt and strengthened those structures, and hundreds of bridges, roads, dams, stellings, landings and other infrastructure. So when the PPP accuses us of corruption, we see the thumb that is pointed back at themselves. And let’s not forget the Cheddi Jagan airport project. The poor man must be spinning in his grave. First, the project that THE PPP HAD APPROVED, had major design and conceptual flaws.
Oh, they boasted that the airport was going to become a South America-Caribbean travel hub. The only problem was that nowhere in the plan was there any space for a car park! We continue to be grateful that our party is full of men and women who are made of stern stock, whose characters remain strong despite the PPP’s attempts to transfer their sins onto them. Here is how Party Treasurer Dominic Gaskin described the nonsense about Minister Patterson: “I think we are dealing with a bunch of makeup artists. I have no doubt it is utter rubbish. There is no truth in that allegation”. The panelists also addressed the PPP’s former parliamentarian’s question about citizen Compton Reid’s legal bill (the challenge to the No Confidence motion was filed by him). So, is there a rampant case of amnesia doing the rounds? This former Parliamentarian omitted to remind the public that the PPP third-term appeals were filed in the name of a citizen from West Ruimveldt, Cedric Richardson. Local media had reported that Mr. Richardson had once worked at the Finance ministry during the reign of Jagdeo. Maybe he came out of his own pocket to pay the high-priced lawyers who had argued the case at the CCJ. As for the re-assignment of those Ministers who recently resigned from Cabinet and Parliament following the High and Appeal Court rulings on the Constitution, Minister Hughes basically said that no Government in its right mind would put such skills out to pasture. She cited former Foreign Minister, Carl Greenidge’s role in the Guyana-Venezuela border case now before the World Court, saying, “I as a citizen, would like to be sure, as we go to the International Court, that we have the best team there. There must be maturity and institutional knowledge in our deliberations. We would be stupid as a nation to remove Mr. Greenidge from the team preparing our case in the international court”. In fact, our entire country’s future and the imminent inflow of wealth from the oilfields in our EEZ that Venezuela has already claimed, depends on Mr. Greenidge’s knowledge of the border impasse with Venezuela.
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Kaieteur News
My column
Kaieteur News suffers a sneak attack The ways of the court will always be challenged by people who feel that they were unjustly done. We have seen this a lot. We have seen cases determined by a lower court and overturned by a higher court. This is because of the interpretation of aspects of the law. With law there is no right and wrong. All there is are rulings depending on interpretations. There are lawyers who are always prepared to use the system to their advantage, sometimes taking advantage of those who are not as au fait with the law. Such is one case that is being appealed by Kaieteur News. Some years ago, a prominent lawyer moved to the courts claiming libel over a letter written by Charrandass Persaud and published by Kaieteur News. The letter contained some statements about lawyer Mursilene Bacchus. Of course, Bacchus found these statements offensive and he moved to the courts. He sued Charrandass Persaud and the newspaper. In addition, he sued the publisher Glenn Lall and editor Adam Harris. He spread his net, because he argued that someone had to pay. I am not a lawyer, but I will bet that Glenn Lall and Adam Harris were incorrectly sued. Lall may be the owner of the paper and Harris may be the editor, but they never libeled Bacchus. Further, to my layman’s mind, there was nothing libelous in the letter. I will not comment on the letter, but suffice it to say that the writ of the action was delivered to Kaieteur News. It was received and signed for by Dale Andrews, who has since died. The newspaper never received any notice of further action. That the original writ was never seen by the people who matter at the newspaper is not a concern of the courts. It will argue that once the writ was served, the newspaper should have systems in place for these to be duly forwarded to the relevant people.
But there must be other notices informing of the various court appearances. None was served on the newspaper. But something interesting happened. The matter was languishing until Charrandass Persaud left the country. Bacchus was aware of this, so he moved to have matter expedited. No notice was sent to Kaieteur News of the matter, so the newspaper was never given a chance to defend itself. I say this because I searched high and low for any legal notice and found none. I subsequently learnt that Bacchus got the matter called in January and secured judgement on April 1, 2019. This so-called libel was in the courts for more than five years. Perhaps the late Dale Andrews’s actions caused the paper to lapse in filing a defence way back then. Again, that is of no concern to the courts. I happened to be sitting in office when I got a call from a lawyer informing me that judgement was handed down against Kaieteur News in the sum of $6.5 million. It was said that the judge cited the newspaper for disrespect and so levied punitive damages to teach the newspaper a lesson. I called Bacchus and asked him why he chose to proceed in such a surreptitious manner. He knows me well. I am a mere phone call away. If the cost of the call would have been too much, he could have caused his lawyer to inform me of anything. To his credit, Bacchus said that we could work out something. When his lawyer did call, I told him of my conversation with Bacchus. In a subsequent conversation, Bacchus said that whatever we worked out must not make light of the judge’s award. I hasten to say that I do not spend Glenn Lall’s money, so I informed him of the situation. Lo and behold, a mere six weeks after the judgement, a copy of which is still to be received by the newspaper, Bacchus’s lawyer sent a letter
on Friday informing Glenn Lall and me that he was instructed to begin proceedings to levy against whom, I do not know. If it is me, then I have a little house and a car. If it is Glenn, then he has more than I do. If it is Kaieteur News, then there is a lot more. But with Charrandass Persaud being the number one defendant, I am at a loss to ascertain why Bacchus never made a move against Persaud. In instances like this, one cannot but help think that lawyers can conspire against a client. One gets another to libel him then disappears. The
party that publishes the libel is left holding the bag. At the end of the day there is nothing to stop them from splitting whatever proceed they secure from their conniving action. When Glenn Lall called Charrandass Persaud, he said that he knew nothing of the matter. This is interesting, especially since the courts should have notified him even before his now much talked about action in the National Assembly. Being a lawyer, he would have secured legal representation. This matter would never have reached this stage.
For example, Bacchus is representing Aeshwar Deonarine in a matter filed against Minister David Patterson and Kaieteur News. Attorney-at-law Ronald Burch-Smith is representing Patterson. The arguments he proffered would have been the same for Kaieteur News. There are no surprises here. That matter should have gone to trial and Mr. BurchSmith said that he is sorry that the judge opted to recuse herself. Deonarine is not coming back, so I cannot see him testifying in his own case. Kaieteur News has since
Adam Harris appealed this judgement. It is going to cost the company money, but that is to be expected, especially when a newspaper has to defend itself against sneaky attacks.
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Sunday May 19, 2019
Kaieteur News
Developing the Digital State
P
resident David Granger, address ing the Caribbean Information and Communication Technology (CICT) Roadshow in July 2018, articulated the central role of ICT to the development of Guyana. The President said; “ICT plays a central role in this country. Guyana’s Green State Development Strategy; it does so by reducing the carbon footprint. ICT must drive the establishment of paperless agencies, departments and ministries. It must promote greater use of noncash financial instruments. Egovernment must make public services more accessible; e-business must facilitate commerce, investment and trade. ICT is a functional and practical response to the challenge of digital deficit in Caribbean states. It will pro-
mote greater inclusion and innovation and provide information services and digital industries consistent with the Green State Development Strategy.” We are in an election season, and every week the PPP regales the media with talk of government wastage of public funds, scandals and allegations of poor governance. Lost from the constant and daily critique of the APNU+AFC, is the PPP’s vision for the future and any acknowledgement of their sins of the past. One may want to refer the PPP to the advice given in Matthew 7 verse 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. In the area of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), the record shows that the PPP, during it 23 years
in government was an abject failure. This column will highlight just one project that failed miserably and at great cost to the Guyanese taxpayers. In February 2010, then PPP General Secretary, Donald Ramotar told the nation that the government’s $ 1 Billion fibre optic cable project was aimed at breaking the monopoly control of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) in the telecommunication sector. He also called on the opposition in Parliament to see it as a path to job creation. Two years later in May 2012, the Project Manager of the E-Governance Unit, Alexei Ramotar, the person tasked with managing the fibre optic project, reported that the laying of fibre-optic cable to improve Guyana’s telecommunications sector and ensure connectivity in the country
should be completed by May/ July of that year (2012). Ramotar said about 85 per cent of the project was completed and both phases were expected to cost US$ 38.2 million. He further stated that staff had recently been trained in the use of the interconnection equipment and the project was in the process of advertising for technicians to be trained in the use of fibre connection equipment. Three years later in April 2015, the nation learned that this project was in trouble. The PPP government reported that the project had developed several problems and as part of the arrangements to correct the defects (with the E-Governance fibre optic cable from Brazil), the government had agreed to allow the contractor Faizal ‘Dax’ Mohamed of Dax Engineering, use of the bandwidth; they also agreed to have him maintain the cable for 25 years. It was also reported that 20 percent of the cable was damaged, with technical estimates putting repairs at US$28M. This project, as all Guyanese are aware, turned out to be a colossal failure. On May 11, 2017 Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes told Kaieteur News that the government (APNU+AFC) had tried to save the $ 1.3B project but given its atrocious state, spending more money would constitute a grave sin against hardworking taxpayers. Hughes said, “We had to scrap this project. And it is
frustrating to me and it is disappointing that here we have another project that has turned out to be nothing but a complete waste of taxpayers’ moneys. It is sickening.” She recalled that this project was abandoned by the previous Administration after it had spent over $1B. Hughes said that the lack of a feasibility study, poor planning, absence of effective project management and the use of inexperienced contractors were some of the major factors that led to the failure of this project. The APNU+AFC government, with little or no fanfare, has gone about the business of building a strong ICT sector. Already, over 100 government buildings have been connected to a new protected national network. Over 160 ICT Hubs have been established all across the country as well as internet and government‘s E-services to hinterland, poor and remote communities. The University of Guyana’s Campus Area Network – CAN - has been expanded and over 9000 computers have been distributed to teachers. A new Centre of Excellence in IT is now available at the UG Turkeyen Campus. Expansion of the national Egovernment fibre optic network is underway with commencement of a national broadband expansion project to commence before the end of 2019. The APNU+AFC recognises the importance of ICT. ICT effectively deployed, can promote improved pro-
ductivity and competitiveness. It is a manifestation of technological progress, fostering innovation and, consequently, economic growth. It is part of the globalisation process which brings peoples and markets closer together by unlocking new markets for goods and services. ICT is affecting our economic, social and private lives profoundly. It is increasing the volume, and the speed of market transactions. The digital state will deliver quality public services everywhere. It will reduce the need for citizens to travel outside of their regions, in years to come, to acquire passports, to access legal services, to examine their academic and medical records, to record births and deaths, to receive national insurance security benefits, to register businesses, to renew their drivers’ licences, to file income tax returns. The digital state will revolutionise the delivery of education, including distance education, by introducing technology-based teaching in the public education system thereby improving educational attainment. The educational value of the digital state can be encapsulated in the legend – “log on, look, listen and learn”. The adoption of information and communications technology, therefore, is a necessity for development for this government. It is the infrastructure upon which the superstructure of the digital state will be erected.
Sunday May 19, 2019
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Vaginal Yeast Infections: It’s very common in women By Dr Zulfikar Bux Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine Yeast infections are so common that every 3 out of 4 of women will have one in their lifetime. Half of all women have more than one infection in their lifetime. They are caused by a fungus called Candida which live in small numbers on the skin and inside the vagina. The acidic environment ofthe vagina helps keep yeast from growing. If the vagina becomes less acidic, too many yeast can grow and cause a vaginal infection. Today we will explain how vaginal yeast infections start and what steps you can take to prevent them. SYMPTOMS OF AYEAST INFECTION Yeast infections can be very uncomfortable, but are usually not serious. Symptoms include the following: · Itching and burning in the vagina and around the vulva (the skin that surrounds your vagina) · A white vaginal discharge that may look like cottage cheese · Pain during sexual intercourse · Swelling of the vulva WHAT CAUSES YEAST INFECTIONS?
The acidic balance of the vagina can be changed by a number of factors, including: · your period · pregnancy · diabetes · douche products · some antibiotics · birth control pills · steroids. Moisture and irritation of the vagina also seem to encourage yeast to grow. HOWARE YEAST INFECTIONS DIAGNOSED? If you have symptoms of a yeast infection, your doctor will probably want to talk to you about your symptoms and examine you to make sure a yeast infection is the cause. CAN YEAST INFECTIONS BE PREVENTED OR AVOIDED? Here are some things you can do to help prevent another yeast infection: · Don’t wear tight-fitting clothing or clothing made out of synthetic material. · Wear cotton underwear · Don’t wear pantyhose daily. · Ensure your genital area is properly dried after you bathe. · Change out of wet swimsuits or other damp clothes as soon as you can. · Don’t douche or use feminine hygiene sprays, de-
odorant sanitary pads, or tampons. · Also avoid using coloured or perfumed toilet paper. These items seem to affect the balance of acidity in the vagina and can lead to yeast infections. HOWARE YEAST INFECTIONS TREATED? Yeast infections are usually treated with medicine that you put into your vagina. This medicine may be a cream that you insert in your vagina with a special applicator. The medicine may be a suppository that you put into your vagina and allow to dissolve on its own. Medicine in a cream form can also be put on your vulva to help relieve itching. Medicine in a pill form that you take by mouth is also available. IS YOUR SEX PARTNER AT RISK?
Although it is rare, you can transmit a yeast infection to your partner through sexual intercourse. If your partner begins to develop symptoms of a yeast infection, talk to a doctor about treatment options. LIVING WITH YEAST INFECTIONS Some women (about 5%) have recurrent yeast infections. This means they get more than 4 vaginal yeast infections in a year. This condition is called recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis. If you have more than a few yeast infections each year, you should talk to your doctor. He or she may be able to pre-
scribe a treatment that can help prevent your recurring yeast infections. SHOULD YOU SEE YOUR DOCTOR EVERY TIMEYOU HAVEA YEAST INFECTION? Be sure to see your doctor the first time you have symptoms of a yeast infection. It’s very important to make sure you have a yeast infection and not another more serious infection. The symptoms of a yeast infection are also the symptoms of other infections, such as some sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Treating yourself for a yeast infection when you actually have another
Dr Zulfikar Bux type of infection may make the problem much worse. If you have often been diagnosed with yeast infections over the years, talk to your doctor about using a medicine you can buy without a prescription to relieve your symptoms and treat the infection.
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SUNDAY NATIONAL PRINTERS DUPED EDUCATION MINISTRY ON BOOK CONTRACTS–SUPPLIES 56-PAGE BOOKS BUT GOT PAID FOR 80-PAGE As the Audit Office prepares to probe the questionable procurement of hundreds of millions of dollars in exercise and text books, there are indications that the Ministry of Education got duped on what was delivered. According to information for a quantity of chequeredlined books delivered to the Ministry’s Book Distribution Unit, Guyana National Printers Limited (GNPL) supplied 56-page books instead of the standard 80 pages. Over the years, the Ministry has been ordering 80-page exercise books, including double lines and chequered-lined books. Following a number of stories about the book procurement contracts, which have been handled by GNPL, on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Kaieteur News was given a number of photographs which indicated that the people of Guyana did not get what the Ministry ordered and thus lost tens of millions of dollars overtime. This was among one of a number of schemes devised to defraud the system of procurement of text and exercise books. National Printers is under fire for sidelining local printers and instead going to a supplier in Trinidad. Local printers insist they have capacity. They want Guyana National Printers, a state-owned company, to explain and make public the figures of what was paid and other details. The Ministry of Education has distanced
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Kaieteur News
itself from the book orders, insisting in a statement, that it only contracted National Printers and that no other company was involved. National Printers has insisted that local printers had no capacity and it was forced to turn to Trinidad for the books to be produced. A number of printers met last week to complain about what they say is a clear plan by Government to kill their business. They are planning to ask President David Granger for a meeting. Representatives of the local printers said that there is more than enough capacity and competitive pricing in Guyana to comfortably handle any orders for books that the Government of Guyana needs. Gathered at a meeting to ponder their next move were the biggest printers in the country- A1 Printery, Kimoke Printery, Kaieteur Books Inc. and F&H Printing Establishment, among others. There are at least four other large printers who are angry over the situation and are planning to ask President David Granger for a meeting. The Ministry of Education has more than $500M earmarked this year for producing text and exercise books for the scores of primary and secondary schools that the state manages across the country. WITH MONOPOLY ON DIRECT NY/GEO FLIGHTS…AMERICAN AIRLINE GIVEN EDGE OVER REGIONAL CARRIERS On Monday, American Airlines has started selling tickets for the lucrative JFK to Georgetown route. On any day, it would spell good news for travellers. That route is the busiest and most lucrative one from Guyana for airlines. Over the years, passengers
were at the mercies of airlines at peaks periods. Several airlines have come and gone, including Delta, and a long list of charters like EZjet, RedJet and Universal. Most recently, the New York route became even tougher as Fly Jamaica fell out of the picture after a crash at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport at Timehri last November. However, news that American Airlines will be servicing the New York route has been impacting prices positively. American Airlines, which is scheduled to start that route on December 18, pending approvals from the regulatory agencies here, has introduced price as low as US$700 for a return ticket on the economy class seats. For the Business class, it is $1,500. There are few seats left as passengers snapped them up as soon as American started selling last Monday. Caribbean Airlines has,
for the same period, a return ticket on an economy class seat at US$1,213 and for business class, US$1,763. However, while that spells good news for passengers, for the airlines that ply the US route, it is bad news. Caribbean Airlines has been servicing the route for decades now, ever since it operated as BWIA. It cannot fly directly from a Caribbean destination to New York. If it originates in Guyana, it has to in-transit in Trinidad. Similarly, if it originates in Trinidad, it must make a stop in Guyana. Suriname Airways cannot fly directly to Miami. It has to originate from Suriname and make a stopover in a country like Guyana. The same thing had happened to Fly Jamaica. That airline, co-owned by Guyanese, had to make stops in Jamaica before landing in the US once it originated in
Georgetown. However, late last year, local regulators granted approval for American Airlines to fly directly from Miami, Florida to Georgetown. The airline, one of the biggest in the world, recently announced plans for the New York direct route. It will have an edge over Caribbean Airlines and Suriname Airways. American Airlines was also granted a huge discount on its airport landing fees. MONDAY BECAUSE OF OIL GIANT’S ‘BAD’ HISTORY… THERE MUST BE NO SECRET DEALS WITH GOVT. OFFICIALS AND PETROBRAS DR. JAN MANGAL Almost all major oil
companies come with a history that is stained by allegations of, and in some cases, proven cases of corruption. But when it comes to Brazil’s state-owned oil company, Petrobras, some transparency advocates indicate that Guyana needs to be extremely wary. Petrobras was at the heart of Operation Car Wash, a corruption scandal that is deemed to be the most infamous in the history of Latin America as it led to the conviction of 93 officials, two of which were former Brazilian presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff. Operation Car Wash started in 2014. The name was chosen because the alleged masterminds of the scheme used a currency exchange and money transfer service at the Posto da Torre (Tower Gas Station) and lava jato (car wash) in Brasília to move illicit payments. Initially a money laundering investigation, Operation Car Wash expanded to cover allegations of corruption at Petrobras where executives allegedly accepted bribes in return for awarding contracts to construction firms at inflated prices. Petrobras had delayed reporting its annual financial results for 2014, but in April 2015, it released “audited financial statements” showing US$2.1 billion in bribes. In light of this, Oil and Gas Consultant, Dr. Jan Mangal notes that Guyanese have to insist on complete transparency and open competitive processes for all dealings between their officials and Petrobras. During an exclusive (Continued on page 41)
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From page 32 interview with Kaieteur News, Dr. Mangal said, “When it comes to oil companies, they have mostly all been involved in corrupt practices but Petrobras’s recent history is pretty bad...It was used by the Brazilian administration for political ends and theft...The politicians likely shoulder most of the blame, but we still need to be careful with this company.” “We have to be careful with all companies, and we can do this by implementing transparent and rigorous decision making processes on our side which can standup to audit. We also need to understand the character of each of these companies, as they are all different, and we need to develop strategies for each.” PIRATES SNATCH $900,000 IN ESSEQUIBO RIVERATTACK -CREWMEN CHOPPED Two Thursday nights ago, three men plying the Essequibo River in a cargo vessel bound for Supenaam, were attacked by pirates. Today, those three men are fortunate to be alive. This publication understands that two of the victims were hospitalised with chop wounds following the ordeal last Thursday, one of whom has since been discharged. Based on reports reaching Kaieteur News, the three men departed Parika in a 50 foot vessel, bound for Supenaam, where they were to purchase fuel and supplies for Buck Hall. But at around 22:00hrs, three pirates in a small wooden boat, powered by an outboard engine attacked
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the crew. According to the manager of the cargo boat operation, two of the pirates, armed with a gun and cutlass, clambered onto the cargo boat. The third stayed aboard the smaller vessel. On seeing the pirates, one of the crew members jumped overboard. The other two weren’t so fortunate. The pirate with the cutlass inflicted several chops on the victims, when they failed to hand over a money bag. The manager said that the pirates eventually made off with the bag, containing some $900,000 in cash, along with the engine lead. Following the attack, the third crew member swam back to the vessel and called for help. The two men who were taken to the Suddie Hospital, where they received medical attention for chops to their heads and hands. GUNMEN STORM ALBION CHINESE SUPERMARKET -ESCAPEAFTER SHOOTINGAT POLICE VEHICLE It was nearly an hour of terror in the quiet village of Albion on the Corentyne when two men, reportedly armed with an AR-16 rifle and an automatic pistol, stormed the Z-One Chinese Supermarket located along the public road and robbed the proprietors of over $250,000 along with an employee’s iPhone sometime around 21:30 hrs two Saturdays ago. Multiple shots were fired and the sound could be heard
nearly a mile away. The entire episode that was caught on CCTV footage showed the armed men entering the supermarket from the front, then ordering a male Chinese national to lie on the ground while pointing a rifle at him. Another Chinese woman was seen crouching with a baby in her arms at the entrance. The second gunman rushed around the counter and ordered another female Chinese national to empty the cash register. He then proceeded to the second counter and took what was also in that register. At that point, multiple shots were being fired indiscriminately by the gunman standing guard with the rifle outside, sending customers and persons in the area running for cover. A police patrol vehicle that was heading from the Albion Police Station in the direction of the supermarket was met with a hail of bullets. At least two bullets pierced the vehicle, causing the ranks to retreat. According to an eyewitness who was present during the entire ordeal, he was in the vicinity of the supermarket when two men entered from the front. He stated, “there was massive shooting here causing the police vehicle to reverse back”. The eyewitness stated that despite being armed, the ranks did not return fire, but opted to wait until the men left the supermarket, He also claimed that ranks from the Whim Station arrived half an hour after the shooting. TUESDAY MORE IRREGULARITIES UNEARTHED IN PROCUREMENT OF EXERCISE, TEXTBOOKS - STATE AUDITORS BEGIN INVESTIGATIONS
A resident showing her zinc that was prised open by the men
State auditors have started their investigations into the controversial ordering of text and exercise books for public schools. The contracts involved over a $1B in the last four years, but there have been questions into the procurement and other issues related to the hundreds of thousands of exercise books and text books. The issue is threatening to drag in the Coalition Government which has been accusing the now Opposition (the P e o p l e ’s Progressive Party/Civic) of the same thing— rackets in the procurement of books. Until now, there has been
large shroud of secrecy over the ordering of books. The Government runs scores of public schools across the country. Under an ongoing programme, stretching for decades now, the books are distributed to students. In the case of text books, the books are supposed to be returned at the end of the year from students who are moving to higher classes. Quite a few of the text books are not from Guyana and cannot be printed here because of copyright reasons. Recently, local printers complained bitterly that since 2017, the government abruptly halted contracts on books being printed by locals. With hundreds of millions of dollars sunk into printing presses and other equipment, many of the printers looked on in disbelief as orders were placed in Trinidad to suppliers…work they say that should be awarded to them, as there is the capacity to handle the orders here. Many of the local printers were until now afraid to speak out because of repercussions. The Ministry of Education has distanced itself out from the orders, saying it only contracted the state-owned Guyana National Printers Limited (GNPL), and was not involved in any way with the Trinidad company. GNPL, after days of pressure, finally, through its Chief Executive Officer, Trevor Bassoo, issued a statement a few days ago, insisting that local producers did not have capacity and it only turned to a Trinidad supplier, Eniath’s Printing Company Limited, to meet orders from the Ministry of Education. However, local printers roundly rejected that they don’t have capacity. A number of them insisted that they were not aware of the book orders. Rather, GNPL never advertised for bids. It was found that on one occasion, a quantity of chequered lines exercise books ordered were 56 pages, instead of the normal 80 pages. This indicated that Guyana lost tens of millions of dollars in what is emerging to be systematic fraud. Local printers, who are preparing to ask for a meeting with President David Granger, have insisted that the Government has turned its back on the private sector, with no care for their investments and no care for their workers’ jobs. In addition to a reduced number of pages, local printers said that from their investigations, it appears that GNPL also would have been
ordering short supplies. EVEN WITH 5.5B BARRELS… OIL REFINERY NOT FEASIBLE FOR GUYANA - CONSULTANT STANDS BY EARLIER STUDY REPORT About three years ago, the APNU+AFC administration hired Mr. Pedro
Hass, Director of Advisory Services at UK-based firm, Hartree Partners, to conduct a study on the feasibility of an oil refinery here. His report categorically stated that this was not practical. At that time, Guyana was only pegged to produce some 120,000 barrels of oil per day. But there have been 13 discoveries from then to now (Continued on page 42)
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From page 41 in the Stabroek Block which have pushed reserve estimates of the block to 5.5B barrels of oil. In light of these new numbers, many have wondered whether Guyana needs to rethink the potential of having an oil refinery. But in spite of what the figures say today, the Refinery Consultant told Kaieteur News in a brief comment that he maintains the position of its initial report, which is, a refinery is just not economical in Guyana’s case. Furthermore, industry analysts believe that Guyana would be wise to avoid this project, regardless of how attractive it seems. To prove this, an analogy was offered. “Imagine you inherit some money from your uncle and someone offers you the opportunity to buy a house. But it is extremely expensive. It doesn’t make any sense for you to buy it. But you are still considering it…whether to buy it or not…In the middle of these considerations, you get a second inheritance that is much bigger than the first. Does it make the house a better buy?” On this note, the specialists said that even if Guyana has more money and more production, it doesn’t change the refining economics for the nation. Further to this, they explained that the US Gulf Coast refineries are today exporting about 3 million barrels of oil a day. These refineries they said are operating at full capacity. “Now it is highly likely that local demand in the US is going to shrink given electrification and other efficiency issues having to do with the quality of engines, and if you count the fact that internal combustion engines are getting more efficient; that hybrids are having a greater degree of penetration and electric vehicles will have a higher degree of penetration over the next 10 to 15 years, that means the refining capacity available for export is going to increase,” the analysts stated. They added, “So a new refinery is going to take four to five years to get built in Guyana and by the time you finish that refinery, it will have to recover the fixed cost of building the refinery and you will be competing with a depreciated, very efficient refinery in the US Gulf Coast.” In light of this reality, the specialists said that one of the more favourable possibilities before Guyana is to do a joint venture with a US oil refinery. That way, the officials said, Guyana gains, as it does not have to wait five years for construction, and
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the project is already operated by people who are experienced. SGT. CHARGED WITH SEXUALASSAULT ON WOMAN IN POLICE VEHICLE Forty-eight year-old Police Sergeant Norris Henry of Tuschen Housing Scheme, East Bank Essequibo, appeared Monday before a city magistrate and was required to answer to a sexual assault charge, after he allegedly fondled a woman en route to making an arrest. Henry is attached to the Alberttown Police Station. The charge alleges that on October 17, 2018, at Alberttown, Georgetown, Henry sexually assaulted a woman. He denied the allegation which was read to him by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. According to information, on the day in question, the woman went to the station and made a report. Henry then allegedly decided to accompany her to make an arrest based on her report. Shortly after the officer and the woman left the station in a police vehicle; Henry reportedly placed his hands under the woman’s skirt and rubbed her legs. The woman recently made a report of the incident. An investigation was carried out and the charge was instituted against Henry. After listening to the facts presented by the prosecutor, Magistrate McLennan released the defendant on $120,000 bail. She adjourned the matter until May 21. WEDNESDAY WOMAN’S BOUND REMAINS FOUND IN SHALLOW GRAVE NEAR HUSBAND’S BUSINESS PLACE As she lay in hospital with a blackened eye and swollen face, 36-year-old Zaila Sugrim told a young Kaieteur News reporter last December that her husband had threatened to kill her and leave her “in a shallow grave.” Tuesday, a team of detectives dug up what they believe to be Mrs. Sugrim’s bound, wrapped, and decomposing remains from a shallow grave behind a Crane, West Coast Demerara gas station that her husband, Ryan Sugrim, operates. Sources said that the victim, who was wearing a flowered dress, was bound hand and foot with strips of cloth. Kaieteur News understands that she appeared to have been badly beaten.
Her features were reportedly too decomposed to allow for a positively identification. The killer had set a fire over the grave, apparently in an attempt to obliterate the spot. As detectives worked at their gruesome task, a handcuffed Ryan Sugrim sat a short distance away in a police vehicle. Some of the victim’s close relatives were among the many who rushed to the area after news of the discovery spread. The body was subsequently taken to the Ezekiel Funeral Home, while the slain woman’s husband was taken to a police station for further questioning. Kaieteur News understands that Mr. Sugrim was taken into custody on Monday after police received reports that his estranged wife, a mother of five, was missing. She was said to have been last seen alive on Saturday, when she entered her husband’s vehicle. But a senior police official said that the detained husband has given no statement that has implicated him. The official stressed that investigators had a lot of work to do before they could consider the case closed. AURORA GOLD SELLS PLANE CONTRACTS LOCAL AIRCRAFT TO PROVIDE CHARTER FLIGHTS AGM Inc. and Trans Guyana Airways (TGA) have reached an agreement in which the local aircraft company will provide flights to the mining operations at Aurora in the Cuyuni River,
Region Seven. The agreement was reached last week with TGA on Tuesday starting to provide the service to AGM. This follows a selection process undertaken by AGM Inc. and its parent company Guyana Goldfields Inc., a statement said. AGM/Guyana Goldfields, a Canadian mining company, is the country’s biggest gold producer with more than 600 employees. It has been facing internal problems with shareholders but has managed to reach an agreement now that the situation is normalizing. As part of the restructuring, the company said it will sell its Twin Otter plane it acquired last year and examine chartering flights to cut its costs. “We are happy we are able to expand our local content by allowing local providers in the aviation industry to provide us the service that we need thus, ensuring that more local players are involved. We are happy to partner with Trans Guyana on this journey,” said Peter Benny, Director, Corporate Office and Compliance in the statement Tuesday. The mining company said that TGA was selected after an expression of interest was advertised in the local daily newspapers between February 20, and February 22, 2019. “This was followed up by Guyana Goldfield’s Supply Chain Director Ravi Samaroo and an AGM team meeting individually with local operators, in the event, that they had not seen the advertisement. Seven air charters responded to the ad.” Following their
expressions of interest, the charters were all asked to give information on the services they provide. “The information, which included among other things, costing, number of airplanes owned by the company and dates of registration, was evaluated and TGA was given the nod to provide the services that AGM requires.” AGM said it moved to charter service after a decision was taken to sell the Twin Otter the company procured last year. CJIA RENOVATION ADDS ANOTHER $122M FOR PARKING LOT Four key facilities were omitted from the original US$150M design for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) by the Jagdeoled People’s Progressive Party (PPP) in 2011. One of those, the parking lot, is estimated by an engineer attached to the Ministry of Public Infrastructure to cost Guyana $122,166,075. During Tuesday’s opening of bids at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, 10 contractors cast bids. The highest of those is from S&K Construction, Consulting Services & General Supplies ($178,742,600), while the lowest came from XL Engineering ($72,765,650). Apart from that, there is an office area for airlines, a cargo facility and a commercial centre awaiting bids. They are yet to be priced. Last week, Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, accepted some of the blame for the omission of those key airport facilities, claiming that the idea was to give local contractors the opportunity
to benefit. He said, however, that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) isn’t to blame at this point for what it left out of the plan, when the government didn’t even achieve the construction of the facilities that were on the plan. The plan that was passed from the PPP to the Coalition Government in 2015 included a brand new terminal and eight air bridges, among other things. The Coalition Government claimed an assessment found that seven percent of the project was completed, and that there were claims for US$90M, when it took office in 2015. It claimed it found major problems and that major changes needed to be made. Instead of a brand new terminal building for the Arrivals and Departures along with a longer runway, there was renovation of the old terminal buildings and a smaller structure for the Arrivals. The number of passenger bridges has been reduced from eight to four and the fancy, energy–saving glass roof that CHEC promised is now zinc sheets. THURSDAY GOVT. SEEKS $3.4B TO PREPARE FOR ELECTIONS Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has estimated that it needs $3,496,496,155 to prepare for elections, and Finance Minister Winston Jordan, Wednesday, asked the National Assembly to approve just $3,482,344,000. It includes appropriations for (Continued on page 43)
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From page 42 House-to-House Registration and Claims and Objections. The National Assembly is expected to debate and vote on the supplementary request in the coming week. The Commission is moving ahead to prepare for the consequences of the ruling by the Caribbean Court of Justice on the No Confidence Cases. No Matter the ruling, GECOM will have a lot of work to get done. If Guyana heads to early elections, elections could happen in November, as GECOM told President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) Adrian Saunders, that early elections could be held at that date. If not, GECOM will likely have to move to execute House-to-House Registration in preparation for elections in 2020, in accordance with the constitutional deadline under normal circumstances. On Tuesday last, GECOM’s legal officer, Excellence Dazzell, advised the commission to revise the list, which expired on April 30, after she opined that a new voter’s list is not required. G o v e r n m e n t commissioners remain adamant that House-toHouse Registration must happen before elections, while opposition commissioners have been advocating for early elections instead. GUYANA’S OVERDEPENDENCE ON OIL REVENUES IN MEDIUMTERM UNAVOIDABLE - FINANCE MINISTER SAYS DIVERSIFYING ECONOMY WILL TAKETIME Local Financial Analysts such as Anand Goolsarran and Christopher Ram have often called for the economy to be sufficiently diversified and become more exportoriented in order to avoid overdependence on oil revenues. But Finance Minister Winston Jordan firmly asserts that this is easier said than done. During a recent interview with Kaieteur News, the economist alluded to the fact that overdependence on oil revenues is virtually unavoidable in 2020, and even 10 years after, since the diversification of the economy will not happen overnight. “Sometimes we behave as if getting more revenues is going to be a curse. But let me say this, you cannot diversify the economy overnight. It is not as simple as that. To even stay in sugar, it requires millions of dollars,
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and to make it competitive requires billions more. So we can’t be running around hollering that we have to diversify. We know we have to do that. But it will not happen in one or 10 years. We have to fix several things before that can happen.” In this regard, Minister Jordan reminded that Guyana does not have the infrastructure that is needed to support investment outside of the extractive sector. “We don’t have proper ports, road networks, bridges or cheap electricity. All these things have to be in place.” In the absence of this, the Minister emphasised that the government cannot run to diversify the economy, as it would not be able to be competitive. Further to this, Jordan said that even the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was initially heavily dependent on oil revenues and, eventually, it was able to put in the required infrastructure and diversify. Jordan said that the UAE still depends on oil revenues, but not as much as it did to begin with. “For a long time, petroleum revenues will trump other areas in Guyana, and we will try to put in the infrastructure to attract investment beyond the extractive sector,” the Minister concluded. Just a few weeks ago, PPP General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo, registered his dissatisfaction with the efforts Government says it is making to ensure the nation is not overly dependent on the oil revenues to come. He also bemoaned the fact that the government is yet to put forward its plans to diversify the economy. CORPSE IN SHALLOW GRAVE… HUSBAND LODGED GUN AT POLICE STATION AFTER SHOOTING WIFE IN HEAD Thirty-eight year-old Ryan Sugrim killed his wife, buried her corpse, then asked the police to keep the murder weapon. That’s the bizarre story that emerged Wednesday as police continue to build their case. What has come out is that as detectives were frantically searching for Zaila Sugrim’s corpse last Tuesday, they had no clue that the alleged killer had literally presented them with evidence of his gruesome deed. That evidence was Mr. Sugrim’s licensed .32 revolver, which he had lodged on Monday at the Tactical Services Unit Headquarters, Eve Leary, shortly before detectives took him into
custody, and a day before they found his wife’s decomposing remains. A post mortem, conducted Wednesday, revealed that the 36-year-old mother of five had died from a gunshot injury to the head. Kaieteur News understands that a .32 warhead was extracted from the victim. It is unclear whether ballistic tests have established a match between the warhead and Mr. Sugrim’s firearm. Police have also impounded one of his vehicles. “This is still an active investigation. We got a break, but we still have work to do,” a senior official told Kaieteur News. “We want to have an air tight case,” the official added, while expressing optimism that the suspect may appear in court this week. A police release stated that the suspect “has admitted to having committed the gruesome act and is cooperating with investigators”. Wednesday, a relative of the slain woman expressed gratitude to the many individuals who have come out in support of the family. “I am happy for the outpouring of sympathy, and I am hoping that we will get justice,” the relative said. The body is still to be handed over to the family On Tuesday, detectives dug up Mrs. Sugrim’s bound, wrapped, and decomposing remains from a shallow grave behind a Crane, West Coast Demerara gas station where her husband is employed. FRIDAY SOLE SOURCED OR OPEN TENDER? QUESTIONS SURFACE OVER CONTRACT AWARDED TO EXXONMOBIL’S EMPLOYEE In February, Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon, had announced that Oil Consultant, Dr. Michael Warner, was hired for $22M to complete Guyana’s draft Local Content Policy. But several concerns were subsequently raised since Dr. Warner is also an employee of DAI, the contractor engaged by ExxonMobil to manage the Local Content Centre for Development located on South Road, Georgetown. There, the official provides training on how local businesses can fit themselves into the supply chain. Kaieteur News learnt that there are other local content experts who have no current
attachment to an oil company and are not on an oil firm’s payroll but were not approached about the tender. In light of this, questions are being raised on whether Dr. Warner was sole-sourced for the project. If he was not, and there was an open tender, who were the other individuals who sent in applications. Transparency advocates also want the Government to say when the tender for this project was made available, since the Ministry of the Presidency’s website has no such information about the contract nor does the Procurement Plan for the World Bank funded capacity development programme, which is managed by the Department of Energy. At the Ministry of the Presidency, Thursday, Director General Joseph Harmon, was asked to provide answers to the aforementioned questions since he is responsible for helping President, David Granger manage the Energy Department. But Harmon was quick to pass the buck to Energy
Department Head, Dr. Mark Bynoe. Harmon said, “…These are matters that are dealt with by the Department of Energy and I cannot comment on the intricacies of whether it went to tender, sole-sourced or was based on specific qualifications of that person…I can’t give you a precise answer but the processes which are engaged by the Department of Energy are transparent…” CORPSE IN SHALLOW GRAVE… COPS GRANTED EXTENSION TO FURTHER DETAIN CONFESSED KILLER The High Court has granted police a further 72 hours to detain Ryan Sugrim, who allegedly buried his wife in a shallow grave after shooting her in the head. Crime Chief Lyndon Alves confirmed this development, which comes in the wake of comments by another senior official of the need to ensure there is a solid case before police institute charges. On Wednesday, police said that the 38-year-old
businessman had confessed to killing his wife, Zaila Sugrim. A postmortem revealed that she had been shot in the head. A .32 warhead was reportedly extracted from the corpse during the autopsy. Police confirmed that the slain woman’s spouse owned a licensed .32 revolver, which he lodged at the Tactical Services Unit (TSU) Headquarters, Eve Leary, on Monday. Crime Chief Alves was unable to say whether ballistic tests have established a match between the warhead and Mr. Sugrim’s firearm. On Tuesday, detectives dug up Mrs. Sugrim’s bound, wrapped, and decomposing remains from a shallow grave behind a Crane, West Coast Demerara gas station where her husband is employed. The victim, who was wearing a flowered dress, was bound at the hands and feet with strips of cloth. Mr. Sugrim was taken into custody on Monday after police received reports that (Continued on page 44)
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From page 43 his estranged wife was missing. She was said to have been last seen alive on Saturday, when she entered her husband’s vehicle. According to reports, Mrs. Sugrim visited one of her sons on Saturday. She reportedly later left with her estranged spouse. When she failed to return home, relatives reportedly tried to contact her. After several futile attempts they reported her missing. JAGDEO PROMISES TO RELEASE INFORMATION ON GOVT. CORRUPTION… CREATES FACEBOOK PAGE TO GET INFO ON CORRUPTION BY PUBLIC SERVANTS Bharrat Jagdeo, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary, has claimed that he is sitting on information about instances of corruption by the current coalition government, and that the party will release them to the public, soon. He was, at the time, responding to an accusation by Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, that the PPP hired US lobbying firm, Mercury Public Affairs LLC, to interfere with the integrity of Guyana’s electoral progress by creating targeted advertisements and spreading fake news on social media.
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To the accusation, Jagdeo said, “Of course we will advertise, and we will advertise online. But it has nothing to do with Mercury.” “I made it clear why we had to hire the firm,” he said, “to counter Government lies in Washington and to lobby for free and fair elections.” Jagdeo said that there have been “hundreds of manifestations” of corruption in the four years this government has been in office, and that the PPP has played a role in exposing them to the public. He said that the PPP exposed the Conflict of Interest scandal involving former Housing Minister Valerie Adams-Patterson and her husband – a contractor – Godfrey Yearwood. He also sought to take credit for “exposing (David) Patterson breaching the law” in relation to the procurement of a feasibility study on the potential Demerara River Crossing. “So that is why we had to hire a firm abroad. But we will advertise and they know that we have a ton of information on the corrupt activities that they’re engaged in, which we will release over time. So they’re saying now that it’s fake news.” Further, the Opposition Leader has announced that the PPP is working to create avenues through which persons, especially public
servants, could report corruption by government, in confidence. SATURDAY CONTRACT TO COMPLETE GUYANA’S LOCAL CONTENT POLICY WAS NOT ADVERTISED - GASKIN The contract to complete Guyana’s Local Content Policy was never advertised. Only three persons were part of the restrictive tendering process that was used. Local Content Expert, Dr. Michael Warner who is also on ExxonMobil’s payroll, was among the lucky three. He was awarded the $22M contract in February last. Kaieteur News has been asking several questions regarding the tendering process, but it was only yesterday that answers were given. At a press conference held by the Alliance For Change (AFC), Director of Manufacturing and Marketing, Dominic Gaskin, commented on the matter. Gaskin would have knowledge about the issue to some extent, since his previous job as Business Minister saw him taking a leading role in ensuring the policy was completed. “I think it was selective tendering. I believe it was three consultants [who] were invited to submit proposals. If I recall, also, there was also some urgency on the part of the public, the political
opposition, and even Kaieteur News: ‘No local content policy as yet! No local content policy as yet!’ So, you know, it could have gone out to public tender. (But) who knows how long that might have taken? So I think [it’s] the smart thing to do…,” Gaskin asserted. Be that as it may, Guyana’s procurement law is clear-cut about the conditions under which a procuring entity should use “restricted tendering.” According to Section 26 of the Act, a procuring entity may engage in restricted tendering if, “the goods, construction or services by reason of their highly complex or specialised nature, are available only from a limited number of suppliers or contractors.” Even in such cases, the law makes it clear that not three or four, but all suppliers who can provide the said service or product must be invited to submit a tender. GUNMEN BRUTALISE, SHOOT AT, ROB BLACK BUSH RICE FARMER AND FAMILY - HOLD TEEN DAUGHTER HOSTAGE UNTILTHEY ESCAPE As bandits continue to wreak havoc in Berbice, a hardworking rice farmer and his family, are unfortunately, the latest victims.. Lennox Ramcharran, 41, of
Lot 15 Johanna South, Black Bush Polder, is nursing injuries to his head, while his wife, teenage daughter and son, who were also assaulted, are still traumatized after a brazen attack on Thursday night around 20:15 hours. Ramcharran told reporters that his 18-year-old daughter was held hostage until the bandits escaped after the nearly 30-minute ordeal. At the rice farmer’s home in Black Bush Polder, a jeepload of armed police along with detectives had just concluded taking statements. Ramcharran sat with his injuries exposed and recounted that he had just returned from the backdam and was parking his tractors when he heard his dogs barking, “not like the usual barking”. “After me seh ‘dem dogs nah bark so’ by time me turn around me see ah man run out from under the trailer and two more come and dem lash me down and start tie me up,” he recounted. He added that his 21-yearold son who was upstairs retreated to the bottom flat and was calling out for him, but he could not answer, so his son ran back upstairs. At that point, Ramcharran said the men dragged his almost six-foot tall figure up the steps with his hands and feet bound. “When dem carry me upstairs dem tek the gun and lash me in meh head and then blood start run out.” He
said they demanded cash and jewellery and also tied up his family. Ramcharran disclosed that they proceeded to ransack the entire house and began to thrash his daughter with the guns until she eventually gave the men whatever cash they had in the home. Over $300,000 in cash was stolen along with several pieces of gold jewellery. The rice farmer said that when the men got the cash and jewellery, one of them yelled out “Police” and they grabbed his teenage daughter and held her hostage as they ran out of the yard – using her as a shield until they escaped. Several shots were fired, hitting two louvre windows on the farmer’s home. Ramcharran said that himself, wife and son jumped over their verandah into the yard and ran out to locate the teen. “When we jump over and run and call fuh she, we see she running coming and crying, and me ask she if dem do she anything and she seh no, but she bin frighten.” The police arrived shortly after on motorcycles, but residents claim that the police were just a street away when the incident took place. It was disclosed that when Ramcharran’s relatives called for the police at the Mibicuri Station, they were told by a rank that there was no vehicle available to respond to the report.
Sunday May 19, 2019
Weight Loss Tips 1. Drink Water, Especially Before Meals It is often claimed that drinking water can help with weight loss — and that’s true.Drinking water can boost metabolism by 24–30% over a period of 1–1.5 hours, helping you burn off a few more calories 2. Eat Eggs For Breakfast Eating whole eggs can have all sorts of benefits, including helping you lose weight. 3. Drink Coffee (Preferably Black) Coffee has been unfairly demonized. Quality coffee is loaded with antioxidants and can have numerous health benefits. Studies show that the caffeine in coffee can boost metabolism by 3–11% and increase fat burning by up to 10–29% 4. Drink Green Tea Like coffee, green tea also has many benefits, one of them being weight loss. 5. Try Intermittent Fasting Intermittent fasting is a popular eating pattern in which people cycle between periods of fasting and eating. 6. Take a Glucomannan Supplement A fiber called glucomannan has been linked to weight loss in several studies. 7. Cut Back on Added Sugar Added sugar is one of the worst ingredients in the modern diet. Most people consume way too much. 8. Eat Less Refined Carbs Refined carbohydrates include sugar and grains that have been stripped of their fibrous, nutritious parts. These include white bread and pasta.If you’re going to eat carbs, make sure to eat them with their natural fiber. 9. Go on a Low-Carb Diet If you want to get all the benefits of carb restriction, then consider going all the way and committing to a low-carb diet. 10. Use Smaller Plates Using smaller plates has been shown to help some people automatically eat fewer calories. 11. Exercise Portion Control or Count Calories Portion control — simply eating less — or counting calories can be very useful, for obvious reasons 12. Keep Healthy Food Around in Case You Get Hungry Keeping healthy food nearby can help prevent you from eating something unhealthy if you become excessively hungry. Snacks that are easily portable and simple to prepare include whole fruits, nuts, baby carrots, yogurt and hard-boiled eggs. 13. Take Probiotic Supplements Taking probiotic supplements containing bacteria of the Lactobacillus subfamily have been shown to reduce fat mass . Shop for probiotic supplements online. 14. Eat Spicy Foods Chili peppers contain capsaicin, a spicy compound that can boost metabolism and reduce your appetite slightly . 15. Do Aerobic Exercise Doing aerobic exercise (cardio) is an excellent way to burn calories and improve your physical and mental health. 16. Lift Weights One of the worst side effects of dieting is that it tends to cause muscle loss and metabolic slowdown, often referred to as starvation mode .The best way to prevent this is to do some sort of resistance exercise such as lifting weights. Studies show that weight lifting can help keep your metabolism high and prevent you from losing precious muscle mass Of course, it’s important not just to lose fat — you also want to build muscle. Resistance exercise is critical for a toned body.
SOLUTION TO LAST WEEK’S WORD SEARCH
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Controlling Anger
T
here was once a young boy who had problem controlling his temper. When he became angry, he would just say anything that came to his mind and hurt people. So his father gave him a bag of nails and a hammer and said, “Every time you get angry, hammer one nail into the fence in our backyard”. The first few days the boy hammered so many nails that he emptied half the bag. Over the weeks, the number of nails he hammered to the fence reduced and gradually, his temper was much in control. Then came a day when he didn't lose his temper at all. His father asked him to remove one nail each day that he manages not to lose his temper. Finally, on the day the child was removing the last nail, his father says, “You have done well, boy. But do you see the holes in the wall? The fence is never going to be the same, even after repainting. Likewise, when you say mean things in
anger, you will leave a scar in the person's mind, as the nails did to the fence”. Moral Anger is a dangerous weapon like a knife. When you put a knife in a man and draw it out, the wound heals but the scar remains.
18. The Wet Pants A nine-year-old boy was sitting at his desk in class, when suddenly, his pants felt wet, and there was a puddle at his feet. His heart almost skipped a beat, as he got worried that his classmates would see that
and make fun of him. He quickly wanted to do something, and saw the teacher and his classmate Susie walking towards him. Susie was carrying a bowl of goldfish. As they came closer, the boy thought that the teacher noticed his wet pants, and suddenly Susie trips and drops the fishbowl in his lap. While thanking God for helping him, he pretends to get angry with Susie and yells at her. Everyone in the class thinks it is Susie's fault that the boy's pants got wet. The teacher helps the boy change into dry clothes, and the class continues. Later that
Stop bullying What should we do when we see this? Many children do not know, And so the bullies get more bold, And their bad behaviour continues to grow. The first thing to do to bullies Is to ask them calmly to stop, Or else you should find an adult – A parent, a teacher, or even a cop. You can also help someone being bullied, By making him feel you care; Talk to him and be kind to him, So that he will get rid of his fear. (BY UNCLE ROY)
Junior page DIY Marble run with toilet rolls For this craft you will need: ·11 Toilet paper rolls ·Cardboard base ·Tape ·Paint ·Glue ·Marbles / Pom Poms
tilted downward to encourage the marbles to roll down. I tested as I was cutting with a pom pom to make sure the holes in the towers where high enough to allow the balls through.
I made 3 towers, 2 towers that were 3 toilet rolls high and a 3rd that was 2 high. Each taped together with electrical tape, as that is what I have on hand. To connect the towers, I cut 3 toilet rolls in half longways and taped them together to make shoots.
For the base I used a side of a cardboard box, marked the towers out, then glued them down. I left this overnight to dry completely to ensure that it was secure.
Next, I cut holes in the towers for the shoots to rest in, making sure that it was
The next evening, I painted the towers, shoots and base, and in the morning used my
evening, the boy asks Susie, “You did that on purpose, didn't you?” “I wet my pants once too”, whispers Susie. Moral Each one of us goes through good days and bad days. Only those who help you out on your bad days are your true friends.
FUN WITH POETRY
Sometimes we find that boys and girls Join together to bully someone, And this can make that person Become afraid and sad and alone.
Sunday May 19, 2019
glue gun to secure the shoots in place before gathering marbles. Place the marbles at the top in the shoots and watch them run.
DinoMAZE Start at the arrows on the left and find your way to the arrows on your right.
Goodluck!
Kaieteur News
Sunday May 19, 2019
Make more progress towards your goals by managing your time efficiently
T
hree weeks ago we advised that, to produce the maximum benefit in your life, you need to manage your time by deciding on the things that are important, doing these now or next, and those that are unimportant, doing these later or not at all. We now advise on how you should decide on these two alternatives. The things that are important are the ones that will be most effective in moving you towards your worthy goals, such as, passing your examinations, fulfilling your responsibilities to your family by helping in the various ways at home, by keeping fit and strong by getting enough exercise and eating the right foods, keeping connected to your Creator by attending religious services and praying daily, and indulging in some form of healthy recreation to keep your mind active and refreshed. In all of this, organising beforehand is necessary to help you to keep on schedule and having the right amount of each activity. This involves a daily determination on what and how much time you need, and also what time of the day or night you will schedule
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This week we are publishing the second part of the poem that we started on Arrival Day. FOOTPRINTS ON THE PAGES OF TIME Arrival Day – Part 2 (by HarriramKhusial) Our forefathers have inspired us in the face of adversity, Like the Jagans and their struggle for democracy; They work always with love and empathy in their hearts, As from religious morals and values they seldom depart. Some have fallen through hardships by the wayside, But so many others have made tremendous strides; Many of their descendants have won international fame, Like Adams, Kanhai, Luckhoo and other famous names; Their contributions to the legacy of our nation Have enriched our people in every region; With celebration of Eid, Phagwah, Ramadan other festivals, Pulling narah, jaraying, playing chowtal and dantal.
each one. Towards this end, use of lists for each day will help. A notebook and a calendar will also serve to make this easier. Some people find that they can be more efficient in managing their time if they decide on a routine to do each activity on their list. When you follow this for a period of time, you will find that the things you need to do on a regular basis will become automatic, and you will not need to spend so much time and effort in daily
organising, resulting in your time becoming more easily managed. One last reminder is that, of all the resources that we have at our disposal, including energy, money and other possessions, time is the only one that is not renewable. Once time goes by, it cannot be recovered. This means that, if we want to enjoy the most success and happiness in our life, we need to be careful in how we spend it more than all others.
Chacha, chachee, papa, dada and bowgee, Are terms they have added to our vocabulary, As their descendants continue in making Invaluable contributions to our nation building. They are firm fighters and a brighter future they'll forge, Despite all the adversities, trials and woes, In all the difficulties they have faced, They have open-heartedly all other cultures embraced. They strive to make our nation's vision a reality, As part of One Nation, One People, One Destiny, As directed by a God, supreme and divine, Their footprints become printed on the pages of time. **********************************
Spending your time always in activities towards your goals will keep moving you forward.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
Solutions to last week’s
LogiCross EXISTENCE ITSELF DOES NOT FEEL HORRIBLE; IT FEELS LIKE AN ECSTASY, RATHER, WHICH WE HAVE ONLY TO BE STILL TO EXPERIENCE.
Crossword puzzle: Body
Cryptogram Cryptograms are simple-substitution ciphers where every letter of the alphabet has been switched. Your task is to usepattern recognition and your grammar and vocabulary abilities to decipher the hidden quote. Hint: start with the 1, 2 and 3 letter words, and remember that the most common letters in the English language are E-T-A-I-O-N, in roughly that order. Good luck! AO KER YQX QI GFS TQLSESR EIZ ROX LO QI ETT UFESXOSY GN XVOOESXV.— Sir John Lubbock JPM SOYPJ MKCMC. SEZ FEJP AXH GOLJEZQ. SEZ FEJP JPMZM AXH CMSMXJ.— Anna Wickham
URDM PK ZSTDW PK URDM QSB HYYW LSSG DHMYT, DVG URDM PK PZZSTDWPK URDM QSB HYYW ODG DHMYT. — Ernest Hemingway VYVAH MU ARUOTB, KMG VT RZRU, OT KVHWUR'T OKREMUVLFR OQARUVHOZR. — H. G. Wells
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Sunday May 19, 2019
territory profile The former British colony became a special administrative region of China in 1997, when Britain's 99-year lease of the New Territories, north of Hong Kong island, expired. Hong Kong is governed under the principle of "one country, two systems", under which China has agreed to give the region a high degree of autonomy and to preserve its economic and social systems for 50 years from the date of the handover. But Beijing can veto changes to the political system, and pro-democracy forces have been frustrated by what they see as the slow pace of political reform. LEADERS
Chief executive: Carrie Lam
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Hong Kong
Carrie Lam was sworn in as Hong Kong's first female chief executive on 1 July 2017 on the 20th
official. She is said to have been student activist and has been described as the "Iron Lady" and "the fighter". MEDIA Hong Kong is home to many of Asia's biggest media players. It has a major film industry and is a centre for broadcasting and publishing. The territory has kept its editorially-dynamic media, in contrast to the rest of
China. But media watchdogs have flagged up concerns about g r o w i n g m a i n l a n d influence. There are no indications of widespread o n l i n e censorship. Local news websites are an important source of independent information.
TIMELINE Some key dates in Hong Kong's history: 1842 - China cedes Hong
Hong Kong has grown rapidly since this waterfront scene was captured in this photograph from the 1950s
anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from Britain to China. Widely seen as Beijing's preferred candidate, Lam secured 777 votes from the 1,194-member Election Committee which picks the city's next chief and is believed to be dominated by Beijing loyalists. This was Hong Kong's first leadership election since the 2014 prodemocracy protests. Lam served as the city's secretary for development before being appointed the chief secretary for administration in 2012, Hong Kong's number two
Kong island to Britain after the First Opium War. 1898 - China leases the New Territories together with 235 islands to Britain for 99 years. 1941-45 - Japan occupies Hong Kong during Second World War. 1970s - Hong Kong is established as an "Asian Tiger" - one of the region's economic powerhouses with a thriving economy based on high-technology industries. 1997 - Hong Kong is handed back to the Chinese authorities after more than 150 years of British control. 2014 - Pro-democracy demonstrators occupy the city centre for weeks in protest at the Chinese government's decision to limit voters' choices in the 2017 Hong Kong leadership election. More than 100,000 people took to the streets at the height of the Occupy Central protests.
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Nate: Why was school easier for cave people? Kate: Why? Nate: Because there was no history to study! David: Why did the broom get a poor grade in school? Dan: I don't know. Why? David: Because it was always sweeping during class! Luke: Why did the M&M go to school? Stan: I'm stumped. Luke: Because he really wanted to be a Smartie! Chad: Why do magicians do so well in school? Josh: I don't know. Why? Chad: They're good at trick questions. Jacob: Why was the teacher wearing sunglasses to school? Leonard: Why? Jacob: She had bright students! Joe: What's the king of all school supplies? Moe: I don't know. What? Joe: The ruler. Teacher: Class, we will have only half a day of school this morning. Class: Hooray! Teacher: We will have the other half this afternoon. Stevie: Hey, Mom, I got a hundred in school today! Mom: That's great. What in? Stevie: A 40 in Reading and a 60 in Spelling. Hunter: What has given Mr. Bubbles nightmares since elementary school? Josh: Beats me. Hunter: Pop quizzes! What kind of school do you go to if you're… …an ice cream man? Sundae school. …a giant? High school. …a surfer? Boarding school. …King Arthur? Knight school. Mom: What did you do at school today? Mark: We did a guessing game. Mom: But I thought you were having a math exam. Mark: That's right! Teacher: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water? Donald: H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O. Teacher: What are you talking about? Donald: Yesterday you said it was H to O. Teacher: Daniel, I've had to send you to the principal every day this week. What do you have to say for yourself? Daniel: I'm glad it's Friday! Phil: What makes a Cyclops such an effective teacher? Cheryl: I don't know. Phil: He has only one pupil. Teacher: Where are the Great Plains located? Tommy: At the great airports! Teacher: If you had 13 apples, 12 grapes, 3 pineapples and 3 strawberries, what would you have? Billy: A delicious fruit salad. Math teacher: A man from Los Angeles drove toward New York at 250 miles per hour and a man from New York drove toward Los Angeles at 150 m.p.h. Where did they meet? Johnny: In jail! Teacher: Tommy, can you tell us where the Declaration of Independence was signed? Tommy: Yes, ma'am. At the bottom.
Kaieteur News
Sunday May 19, 2019
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Sunday May 19, 2019
Kaieteur News
Stag Beer launches the ultimate Guyana Carnival organizers Ride Out Promotion are proud to present “UG Fete ” featuring the #1Trending Gyal Shensea” alongside the nation’s very own, Timeka Marshall on May 21st. For UG Fete, Guyana Carnival collaborates with PACE ( Philanthrophy, Alumni and Civic Engagement) and The Student’s Society in order to raise funds which strive to foster the rounded development of the University of Guyana’s students. This will happen through the provision of services; programmes and the facilities to complement the academic environment that is holistically conducive to learning. General tickets cost $3000 and the stage front tickets cost $10000.UG Students will be able to receive a special rate of $2500 for a general ticket and a stage front ticket at $8000. Tickets will be on sale at the University of Guyana’s Campus and the Guyana Carnival box office located at 206 Lance Gibbs Street Queenstown. The princess of dancehall will be at the Turkeyen Campus on May 20th performing
where students will also be given the opportunity to ask questions. Guyana Carnival 2019 is slated for May 17th– 27th with
combinations of cooler fetes, mega concerts, day tours, jouverts and a grand Independence Day road parade. Make sure you get there!
Ansa McAL’s Ambassadors for the beloved Stag Beer are back again with a unique ‘Ride Out’ Promotion that is poised to see citizens winning thousands of dollars, television sets and even a sleek motorcycle. The promotion which kicks off in Georgetown and its environs will also be heading to Berbice, Bartica, Linden and the Essequibo Coast so the chances of not winning are remote. Every area will see a fortnightly draw with a Honda 125CC motorcycle to be won at every drawing in Georgetown. The bike is also up for grabs at the last fortnightly drawing in Berbice, Linden, Bartica and the Essequibo Coast. Other prizes which are up for grabs at every drawing include: two coolers filled with stag beers, US$200, and one 50 inch television set. To enter, drink the stag beers, save the crowns, enter six of them in an envelope with your name, contact number and address, and place it in the entry box. For Georgetown, the boxes will be
at several locations which include: Sweet Point, the Garage, Wings and Things, White Castle Fish shop and Green Paradise.
Wine of the week The Fiordaliso, Pinot Grigio is absolute royalty Distributed by Ansa McAL, the Fiordaliso, Pinot Grigio features a pale yellow with a characteristic aroma of wild flowers, hints of honey and banana taste. It is not excessively dry, but soft, fresh and lively, with a pleasant lingering aftertaste of ripe pears. The lush grapes for this creation are carefully selected from vineyards in Northern Italy. They are harvested in late September, and after it is transformed into its luscious, irresistible state, it is kept in stainless acer and remains there until the sterilization of the bottle is completed. The Fiordaliso, Pinot Grigio pairs well with shrimp, crab, lobster and mussels. It also complements tomato, vegetable and basil dishes.
There is no limit to how many times you can enter or win. The drawing dates are May 10 and 24 and June 7 and 21.
We must not forget or let... From page 35 government, organised labour built this nation and laid the foundation for social justice for all. We built it at a time, despite differences, despite moments of conflict, government was more friendly, respectful and inclusion of social partners with a vision for national development. Over the past years, labour has found itself struggling in an environment of greed, lawlessness, corruption, vindictiveness, forgetfulness, absence of vision and inclusion, and disrespect for the value of human capital in the productive processes of this country. We have been struggling to do what we have done historically and what we do best, that is, engage in relationships to create a better environment for all, holding politicians accountable to deliver in a nation divided by race and politics, and where our people are losing commitment to national development, the collective good, and a higher purpose outside of self. Labour was seen as a strategic social partner to the extent where our role is enshrined in the Constitution of Guyana at Articles 38 and 149C. As a force we must not be hesitant to ensure governmental concurrence.
Sunday May 19, 2019
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How to Get Rid of Belly Fat in a Week You’re fed up with your belly fat, and you want it gone — now. Your abdomen didn’t expand in one week, so you can’t expect it to slim down in that short time either. Use a week to introduce measures to help you lose belly fat over time and reduce bloating. You might feel a little lighter after seven days, but true loss of fat will take several weeks or months. Belly fat is a metabolically active type of fat that sits deep inside the abdominal cavity. It surrounds internal organs and releases compounds that make you vulnerable to metabolic disturbances, heart disease and inflammation. Belly fat may be dangerous, but it’s also responsive to traditional weight-loss strategies of diet and exercise. One pound of fat equals 3,500 calories; thus, to lose a pound, you must consume 3,500 calories fewer than you burn. In a week, you can’t afford much more than a 3,500or 7,000-calorie deficit without severely depriving yourself of nutrients and solid food. This deficit means you’ll lose 1 or 2 pounds per week. Some people can lose more than two pounds in a week with a dedicated fitness program and serious dietary restrictions. The time and effort required to lose weight that quickly is grueling and usually unsustainable, though. Even if you can lose
a notable amount of weight in a week, a lot of it will be water weight — not true belly fat. Weight you lose quickly is likely to be regained quickly too. Belly fat is usually the first weight lost when you start an exercise program, explains Rush University Medical Center. If you are new to exercise or coming back from a long hiatus, you can’t expect to hit the gym for hours at a time to burn off fat that first week. This only increases your risk of injury and burn out. Instead, build up to at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity cardio, such as swimming, jogging or hiking. A duration of 250 minutes per week will lead to more significant weight loss, explains the American College of Sports Medicine. This means 250 minutes a week for several weeks or months, though; you’re unlikely to see dramatic results after one week. Strength training is another critical component in belly fat loss. You can’t crunch your tummy away, but you can participate in a fullbody strength-training program that addresses all the major muscle groups. Do this at least twice a week to build muscle, which helps boost your metabolism. The results of strength-training are gradual, however. One week
of strength training won’t induce the changes in your body necessary to improve your metabolism, but over the long haul you’ll see improvements. Belly fat also responds to a lower-calorie diet that’s full of healthy, unprocessed foods. Go for lean protein, fresh produce and whole grains at meals. When you have just a week to lose as much as possible, ban all sweetened drinks — including soda and juice — bakery treats and ice cream. Also avoid refined grains, such as pizza and white bread, as well as alcohol. Keep your portion sizes to just 2 to 4 ounces for meats and other proteins and about 1/2 cup for grains. Over the long term, these dietary revisions help you drop belly fat. Resist the urge to use a diet that promises quick results. Often they don’t work, or they’re so restrictive you can’t handle them for more than a couple of days — let alone a week. If you do stick to the plan, you may very well see a drop in pounds — but it’s not from a substantial amount of fat; it’s mostly from water. A quick-fix diet teaches you nothing about sensible eating that will help you manage your belly fat and health forever. You’ll likely gain all the weight back as soon as you resume your normal eating habits.
When Corruption and Ethics collide From page 38 any area, it is my inability to gather enough evidence to have sent more of you to prison. But it will happen. Those who will succeed me, and the older ones of us, will continue the fight to rid the Bureau of corruption.” The transfer of Pedley and his colleagues – the good guys – is telling. The fate of this young man is anyone’s guess. And so too is the fate of the Bureau and the two
political parties that jockey for unbridled power. With bated breaths we anticipate the denouement of this saga. Surely, Peart has delivered a narrative with far-reaching implications. In many ways, ‘Blooming’ is an indictment on today’s nations pillaged by self-serving politicians and their cohorts. Political excess, tribalism and cronyism have made beggars of nations. Such is the
devastation of corruption; such is the consummate evil of greed. For sheer relevance, Peart has scored big. Really big. F e e d b a c k : glenvilleashby@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter@glenvilleashby That Blooming System by Sheldon Peart ISBN 9781976752766 Available at Amazon Ratings: Highly recommended
Although you can’t lose substantial fat in a week, you can jump start the weight-loss process. Also make a few dietary and lifestyle changes to reduce bloating so your tummy feels flatter. Avoid over stuffing your-
self at meals; eat small meals throughout the day. Chewing gum and drinking with a straw can cause excess air to gather in the digestive tract. Carbonated beverages, spicy foods, large servings of beans or cruciferous vegetables, dried fruits and fruit juice often in-
duce gas and bloating. If you’re lactose intolerant, avoid dairy products to help reduce belly swelling; make sure you obtain important nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D, from milk alternatives or other fortified foods. http://www.livestrong.com.
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Sunday May 19, 2019
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GTT celebrates World Telecommunication and Information Society Day The Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) on Friday celebrated World Telecommunication and Information Society Day. The company hosted 20 tech students from the B i s h o p ’s H i g h S c h o o l (BHS). Throughout the day, the students were engaged in several activities which included a presentation by VP Customer Experience, Orson Ferguson, and a tour of the communication hub through which mobile, landline and blaze services interface. A c c o r d i n g t o G T T, Senior Engineer, Floyd Rodney; and Network Technician, Carl De Souza, facilitated this. Chief Executive Officer at GTT, Justin Nedd said: “It is important to inspire future generations and mold their technical skills to contribute to the development of Guyana, it is our expectation that hosting students like you would kindle your interest in the technology sector.”
According to GTT, the aspiring engineers lauded the company on the opportunity to engage in the walkthrough citing how informational it was. Michelle Shivcharran was given special recognition by the company for being the only female in the tech stream at the Bishops High School. The students were quizzed on what they would have learnt and Omkar Persaud won for himself a cellular phone. Accompanying the students were Ms. Williams, a Math Teacher and Sir Blyden, the Te c h n i c a l Drawing Teacher. GTT said that over the years, it has contributed to bridging the standardization gap through the deployment of many new and improved services. The company, earlier this year, ventured into several new initiatives which comprised of a paperless billing system which supports the Green initiative, as well as the
Bishop’s High students during the visit on Friday.
enhanced use of technology through the use of electronic payment systems like Mobile Money Guyana (MMG) and the MyGTT App. W o r l d Telecommunications and Information Society Day marks the founding of the
I n t e r n a t i o n a l Telecommunications Union (ITU) on 17 May 1865,
when the first International Telegraph Convention was signed in Paris. This year
it is being celebrated under the theme “Bridging the standardisation gap.”
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Kaieteur News
Sunday May 19, 2019
Businessman urges Guyana to take a stand against Domestic Violence
Dead Farida Khayum From page 15 Sugrim was hospitalized for five days after she was allegedly beaten by her spouse, from whom she had separated last August. She had left him, allegedly over
Dead Zaila Sugrim his abusive behaviour. A post mortem, conducted on her body, revealed that the 36-year-old mother of five had died from a gunshot injury to the head. On Thursday night last, in Anna
Regina, a 39-year-old mother of six, Farida Khayum, was murdered by her husband who brutally stabbed her to death. The husband, Devanand Narine, reportedly attempted to commit suicide by
Shepherd and his son consuming a poisonous substance after committing the act. The couples 10-year-old son witnessed the entire ordeal. Narine was admitted to the Suddie Public Hospital where he remains in a critical state.
Sunday May 19, 2019
‘New’ CJIA still lacks cargo, office space, new parking... AFC’s executive members, Dominic Gaskin, and Minister Cathy Hughes at the press conference on Friday.
From page 3 However, the Opposition insisted that Government illegally modified the fixedprice contract with the Chinese contractor. State auditors are about to start investigations into the project with reports by this newspaper last week indicating structural issues leading to flooding in certain key areas of the airport. In fact, it was reported, an Immigration section had to cease operations because of flooding. However, the Coalition Government is not taking full blame. According to Hughes on Friday, it would be useful to understand that it was a project started by the previous administration since 2011. While there are criticisms that this administration is continuing projects by the previous one, it is a fact that they were all incomplete ones, she said. She noted that it was only recently that Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, admitted that certain aspects of the airport project, including a new parking lot and cargo area, were all left out from the original designs. “In fairness, because of these exclusions, they took the project and naturally had to modify it. And my colleague minister, Patterson, would be on top of any remedial works or any investigations as to why there might have been flooding. So we would raise it (the modified designs) with him and we would ask him to respond to you on that.” The modified designs would be helpful in determining costs and what went wrong to cause Cabinet to approve a drastically modified design for the airport terminal, one that was already badly inflated with its costs. Asked whether the situation with the CJIA project borders on being criminal, Hughes noted that it is always easy to look from the outside.
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She pointed to the 23 years that the Opposition spent in government, prior to 2015, where there was a heightened sense of insecurity. “We had 23 years practically of all kinds of scam…we had a gold scam…we had a Charity wharf that was built… it collapsed. Don’t let me start about my ICT cable that could be helping us today. So we have a history of corruption and we have to admit that this happened in the 23 years. Hughes insisted that her administration has been working to reduce corruption. “…But this Government has made a commitment to do everything we can to stamp it out and I think if you look back on the GRA (Guyana Revenue Authority) and the number of persons who have been sent home… do your own research, do your comparison, look and see if the high incidence of persons being sent home…” Over the last three years, GRA, under new management, confirmed that more than 100 staffers lost their jobs because of corruption and other issues. “So in this specific (airport) project I would not want to say it is necessarily corruption. There are indications that there were
things not included…We now have to go back and include them. It is more than six or seven years since the contract would have been signed. Costs go up. Those are the kind of analysis but I understand the inherent concerns that we have.” The minister stressed that Guyana has had a “terrible history of corruption” but this administration is committed to working and changing it. “The other thing I want to mention before I forget, is that corruption is a culture in Guyana today. And it is not just at the government level, it is down…all across our society, down to the individual that gets stopped by the police, and has a choice to pay $7,500 for the ticket but would give the police officer $5,000.” She urged that every person…the Customs Officers, the man on the wharf, who collects money and allows the container to go through without the VAT and even health workers who siphon off and sell drugs destined for hospitals and health centres are involved in the corruption. “Those are the stories that we need to tell because in Guyana we have a culture. And we have to start ensuring at all levels that we are eradicating it.”
STANDARDS IN FOCUS CARIFORUM MEMBER STATES TO BENEFIT FROM PACKAGING AND LABELLING TRAINING WORKSHOP IN GUYANA National Standards Bureaux and Producers, including Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), from across CARIFORUM Member States will benefit from a comprehensive three-day training on labelling and packaging of pre-packaged goods. This training, which will be held from May 20-22, 2019 at the Princess Ramada Hotel, Guyana, is expected to build the export capacity within these countries for access to the European Union Market. The event is funded through a collaboration between CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development through the Deutshe Gesellschaftfür International Zusammenarbelt (GIZ) GmbH. The objective of the training is to support CARIFORUM SMEs in capitalising on the opportunities
available under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) for the export of pre-packaged goods to the European Union, while building capacity within the associated Bureaux of Standards to facilitate this support. The Training will take the form of a train-the-trainers activity and will target representatives from select National Standard Bureaux, SMEs as well as Business Support Organisations (BSOs). It is envisaged that participants, specifically Bureau and BSOs representatives, will gain the capacity to conduct similar training to SMEs in the future. Specifically, participants are expected to benefit from the training by enhancing their knowledge on the application of European standards and related conformity assessment procedures. In addition, they should gain knowledge on the application of European Union
standards and regulations for labelling and packaging of goods with a focus on prepackaged foods. Participants will also acquire knowledge on the application of the disciplines for Sanitary and PhytoSanitary and Technical Barriers to Trade to support international trade. This training is expected to complement the EU CARIFORUM Business Forum, which the Caribbean Export Development Agency (in collaboration with GIZ) will be executing in Germany during the latter part of 2019. The selection of participating countries was determined by the GIZ in fulfilment of the above-mentioned activity. Participating countries include Bahamas, Belize, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. For further information, kindly contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 219-0065, 219-0066 or 219-0069.
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Sunday May 19, 2019
Kaieteur News
LAND FOR SALE Uitvlugt $2.3M. Tel#697-6311
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Porcelain tiles. Huge reduction. 12x12, 12x24, 10x14, 24x24, 716 & 3/8 thickness.Tel 695-4785/643-1000/265-3541.
(1) Spacious (3) bedroom upper flat apartment, (1) masterbedroom, Bent St between Camp & George $100,000 monthly. Tel#6097826 or 218-1688
1 (250) Gen set power by NT55.Cummings.Contact#2690603/609-2350/644-1190.
2 bedroom apartment @ Nandy Park, recently renovated #641-3318
Supercustom and local minibus seats, shortbase RZ minibus for parts, Household items #664-0802
2 bedroom apartment. Eccles $45,000. Contact #629-1805
Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Graphics design, advertisements, Wedding arch rentals. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. ICONIC MARKETING & PRINTING –TEL: 6006887: We create A/works, logos, business cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included. I N S TA L L AT I O N S , REPAIRS AND PARTS FOR AC, FRIDGE, WASHING MACHINE, STOVE ETC. CALL NICK 627-3206, 630-1600 Eagle’s re-gas AC, Fridge, Washing machine & computer repairs, Gas stove, Plasma flatscreen, Electrical installation & more. Call: 6972969/646-0966 REPAIRS AT LOW COST: FRIDGES, AIR CONDITIONERS, WASHING MACHINE, FREEZER, SALE OF AC’S. TEL#629-4946,225-4822 Bookland Gardens is the new outdoor place for social/special events. On facebook. Email: booklandguyana@gmail.com #680-7354 Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezer-Call: 610-5846 or 661-8158 Bedrooms and shopping in Central Georgetown. Email: caribamercare2014@gmail.com. Tel#226-2409/223-4159/6442388/687-5448 Seegobin construction from rough to finish. Specialize in house construction, swimming pools, fences and concrete textures. Tel# 6939327
Plants for Bookland Gardens on sale: Foxtail, Manilla Palms 1 to 4 ft tall, plus ornamental plants. Call: 680-7354 Small Bus/Van- Ideal for small business/vendor $380,000 neg, Left hand drive, Toyota Corolla $360,000 neg #6803863 Vegetable seedlings at Apsol Garden Centre, Lot 2 Independence St, La Grange. Tel#500-1564 Cell: 670-8840
One bedroom apartment $35,000, one room for bachelor $15,000. Tel#612-8380 One apartment for rent Mon Repos market street, EBD Tel#602-4105/220-7330 Self contained rooms to rent in Prashad Nagar. Tel#2272993 One four bedroom concrete cottage unfurnished for rent, located at 26 Continental Park, Peter’s Hall, East Bank Demerara. Tel. No: 233-5808.
Salesgirls & porters. Apply with written application at Best Buy Food Supplies 1E Dennis & Middleton Sts, Campbellville Kitchen Assistant-Male/ Female, Snackette AttendantMale /Female, Snackette Cleaner’s- Male/Female, Age 18-30. Apply @ Shanta’s 225 Camp St
Assistant cook preferably Carnegie trained & Cashier/ waitress.225-7933 or visit 172 Sheriff Street.
Cook #624-0033
Driver for route #42 Minibus #646-8748
Miners (Pit workers) to work in Konawaruk location. Call: 618-2020
Driver must be able to assist in workshop at Eccles, age 2545, Car/Van license. Call #6429823
1 welder, gas welding on exhaust and arc, Broad St, Charlestown #223-5595/6439125 Ages 25-35 Wanted experienced hire car drivers at Ramada Georgetown Princess Hotel. Contact 6165419, 265-7075 Attractive live in waitressCall: 327-0252/674-4665/6493750 TM 4x4 winch #681-9130/2662700
1 Honda 450 Atv bike, 1 Cat 215 excavator, 1 Cat 428 back hoe, 1 Mack mixer truck 8 cuyds Tel#275-0367/683-7225
2 Waitress.Phone 685-5024/ 327-5923.
1 Double steel wheel roller, 1 pnuematic 9 wheel roller, 2- tar kettles, small &large. 215-excavator spares, 1-3304 Cat Di engine Tel#275-0367/683-7225
Lot 89 Robb Street, Lacytown, Georgetown. Next door to Mike’s Pharmacy.Land size- 3431.25 Sq.ft. Phone: 617-5323, 6668052.
Entire Boutique closing down sale. All ladies clothing JL brand, over 2000 pieces.Tel:225-0571 1 Samsung 65" Smart TV, 1 Element 55" Smart TV, 1 Computer system 32" display screen slim, 1 Machine Cabinet.Tel#225-0571/6005076 Lab coats, Apron & caps, fruit juices. Call: 227-7850 2003 Toyota Tundra, excellent condition, extra cab, bouble back, four wheel drive. Price $2.5 mil neg. Contact #6577221
LEARN TO DRIVE
35 acres of land located @ a prime spot on main road @ Eight Miles, Port Kaituma $12M Neg. Contact# 657-7221
N. Outar Driving School, Learn to Drive the right way @ Cuffy Square. Affordable package. Call: 644-5166/6912561
10 acres of Prime land located in Swan, Linden/Soesdyke Highway, suitable for chicken farm $15M neg. Contact# 6577221
PROPERTY FOR SALE
PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS FROM $4000 & UP, SUV’sPER DAY- CALL: 656-0087 / 643-5122,EMAIL:PRO_ A U T O R E N T A L @YAHOO.COM DOLLYS AUTO RENTAL CALL: 225-7126 & 2263693 -DOLLYS AUTO RENTAL@ YAHOO.COM/ W W W . D O L L Y SAUTORENTAL.COM TO LET Business space to rent. No restaurant. Serious enquiries only. 233 South Road 225-0198/615-0317 Queenstown: Top flat, three bedrooms, unfurnished. $70,000. #621-4802 or 269-1080 Single room apartments. Short or Long term. 5 minutes Drive from DHB, WBD. Call: 676-6312
DemBake @ Land of Canaan PEN PAL is seeking distributors & experienced drivers & sales agents. Email CV: An Adult male seeks single 40-45 yrs, admin@demerarabakery.com / female adventurous, residing in 266-5848 Guyana. Text or call #672Experienced male sales 8844 attendant, stocktaking VEHICLE FOR SALE knowledge, computer literate, excellent service attitude, able bodied.Key 5 Leyland DAF Flatbed Lorries, 10 Guysuco Lorry Food McDoom Village. Heppiecycle & axle for 60 Room attendant, Desk staff DAF Lorries.Excellent condireceptionist.Age 25-40yrs.233 tion 228-5655/615-6683 South Road Lacytown/2250198. VACANCY
Experienced Cashier, Pastry maker, Apply @ Hack’s Halaal with H/written Application, 5 Commerce St
Grease rag $200 per lb #6819130/266-2700
CAR RENTAL
VACANCY
Parfaite Harmonie $1.7M Dairy $2.5M Schnoord $3.8M (100ftx50ft) Tel#656-0701/ 651-1969
One 3-Bedroom concrete upstairs at 18th Street Diamond $18M Neg. Contact 216-1390/610-0515. David St: Front propertycommerical/residential. Excellent location. #621-4802/ 269-1080 Non Pariel: One sturdy, one flat concrete residence $16M #621-4802/269-1080 Success: ECD- Land100’x100' with an old building $25M #621-4802/269-1080 One Building with four apartment for sale. Mon Repos Market Street EBD. Tel#220-7330/602-4105/203850-5235 House for sale, Eccles Housing Scheme. 7 bedrooms, 3 toilets and bathrooms enclosed. $28.5M. Call 642-0391/ 001447587233657
1 truck & car driver #223-9677 8am-5pm Mon to Friday Sales Representative Indoors. Must have a sound secondary education. For more info please call #223-0090.
Driver and Porter for Water Delivery Truck #680-3863
Purchasing clerk, Valid license (mc/mv/ml) Age 25-55 Please call #616-6988 Looking for a job & educational services? Contact The Job Centre 43 Croal & Alexander Street or call 5024002/600-8457
Taxation Personnel: 3 yrs experience.Minimum qualification C AT / Diploma in Accountancy. S e n d ap p l i c a t i o n t o bs.vacancy @gmail.com.
One male technician installer, must be computer literate, apply with application. Tel#2273402
Immediate Vacancy exist for one cashier. Must have Maths+English & workers @ Del Ice Co.Call 231-1408/ 642-9191.
Sales Person, 5 subjects, must be computer literate, sales clerk experience. Apply @ Trophy Stall, Bourda Market
Experienced salesgirls with 2 yrs experience. CXC maths & english. Apply @ Christine’s Variety, Lombard St. Contact: 227-8529 One domestic. Contact #2235273/74 Accounts clerk to work at the office. Contact barry@adamantiumholdings.com or Tel#654-7162 Cook: to cook and manage the A&S Fast food. Contact barry@adamantiumholdings.com or Tel#654-7162 Sales clerk to work at A&S General Store and Gaulin Supermarket. Contact barry@adamantiumholdings.com or Tel#654-7162 One legal computer clerk, 1 maid/cook, must reside in Mahaica/Mahaicony area. Phone 624-7087. Email: husainsaphier@yahoo.com English & Maths Tutor. Contact #223-5273/74
Sunday May 19, 2019
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CONSUMER CONCERNS
Prof. Griffith continues his labours for rebirth of a greater UG BY PAT DIAL Education at all levels is one of the great concerns of the Consumer Community as well as of the nation as a whole. Every August/September, thousands of parents frantically and even pathetically try to have their children placed in what are considered the better public schools. This is because of the wellfounded presumption that not all schools are of the same standard. This situation contrasted with admissions to the University of Guyana (UG). For many years, despite the very low fees, there was no overt rush to seek admission to UG. Parents tried to have their children admitted to foreign universities, either by their trying for scholarships or asking the support of relatives in the Diaspora. Within the last three years, however, since Professor Ivelaw Griffith assumed the post of Vice Chancellor, the image of the UG began to rapidly change. Parents and students alike began to feel that UG was growing into a university with high standards whose degrees would be accepted and recognized throughout the Caribbean and further afield. This remarkable transformation did not happen by chance. When Professor Griffith took up the post of Vice Chancellor, he, as the modern idiom goes, hit the road running. He immediately set out to reorganize the University and to work on raising both academic and physical standards. The task facing Professor Griffith was indeed herculean and the labours facing him were no less daunting than those which faced Hercules. Others in the past, faced with the insurmountable mountain of problems, decided that the immediate challenge was to keep the University afloat, and could not even contemplate embarking on the revolutionary changes which UG required. Professor Griffith's presence electrified UG. The
Guyanese public again became actively aware of their University. This immediate impact was not surprising: Professor Griffith was among the early graduates of UG; he emigrated to the United States to further his studies as so many others did; gained his Doctorate and became a full-time academic, achieving the highest levels in Academia. He did not spend his time in only teaching but went into university building and administration so that when he returned to Guyana he was well equipped to be Vice Chancellor of UG. Professor Griffith returned to Guyana because he felt the national call of his motherland and also because he felt the great need to give back to his Alma Mater but he did so at great personal sacrifice, both financial and familial. For this, many Guyanese are grateful. In the 36 months he has been leading the University, he conceived and began to effectuate "Project Renaissance". Project Renaissance should not be mistaken for a five-year or 10-year Development Plan; it is a Project of continuous creativity and pragmatic action and in the 36 months, the achievements have been numerous and revolutionary. In no other period of University's history has so much been achieved in so short a time. In a society where every aspect of life seems to politicized, Guyanese have been yearning for a platform where they could all stand together in unity and this rebirth of the University has given them such a platform on which they all stand with pride. It is impossible to detail the achievements of the last 36 months in a short article since each of them has reverberations and productive developments which go way into the future. We will therefore at random choose two or three, but before we do so, we would like to remind readers of a memorable statement he made when he assumed the
Vice Chancellorship. Professor Griffith said that he would expect no attempt would be made to inject political involvement in the University since that would not leave him space to do his job properly. In a politicized society, that was indeed a courageous and refreshing statement to make and he has succeeded in preserving the independence and professionalism of the University. In the Distinguished Lecture series honouring Prof Clive Thomas, Prof Noel Menezes and Dr. Ulric Trotz and the Turkeyen and Tain Talks, the University was brought to the people and the public was invited to participate and many students from the secondary schools and ordinary folk had their first exposure to the university. These lectures and discussions were available on internet, television and radio. The University had moved away from the ivory tower to becoming a people's university. Research, for one reason or other, had been neglected at the University and very few of the academic staff and none of the students did any. Professor Griffith understands that Research is the lifeblood of any university and he has begun to build this necessary culture not only among the academic staff but much more so among the undergraduates. Stimulating and focusing on research among the undergraduates is an important innovation. Student research conferences were held at Turkeyen and Tain, and Professor Griffith, using his contacts, was able to arrange the sponsoring of undergraduates to present their researches at universities in the USA (Georgia and Florida), Germany, Aruba and Jamaica. This programme of research is complemented by the establishment of a University of Guyana publishing press in cooperation with one of the international publishers. The UG publishing press would allow for research work
to be published and would place Guyana into the international research arena. The Renaissance Project has been engaging the very large Guyanese Diaspora and the second Guyanese Diaspora Conference will take place in July. Prominent Guyanese scholars settled abroad will be invited to make presentations. These engage-
ments with the Diaspora have begun to be a source of funding for the University and open the way for Diaspora support to other national efforts. We will revisit the Renaissance Project giving more details of its achievements and some of the programs in the pipeline. Professor Ivelaw Griffith's
achievements in his first 36 months have been phenomenal and both the local and foreign academic community and the Guyanese public as a whole look forward to him continuing to build the University into the world class international institution for which he has been so creatively laying the foundations.
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Sunday May 19, 2019
Carnival Market hosted for the season
Adornments for the ladies
The Guyana Carnival yesterday hosted a Carnival Market which advertised articles on sale for the festive season. The event was hosted all day yesterday at the Umana Yana. A number of private individuals took the opportunity to put their products on display for Guyanese to purchase and become aware of what they have been manufacturing in their own little country. On display were handmade accessories, costumes and clothing for the occasion. There
were wired bras with bright and colourful feathers attached to them. Some of the bras were also adorned with beads. Adhesive rhinestones were among the products displayed for persons who are looking to have every part of their body scream carnival. For the ladies who may have a hard time to control their hair, manufacturers of natural hair products also came out to support them. One of such persons was Denisha Victor from
Koko hair products
Koko with her hair wax. The hair wax is not only used to create that perfect style to keep in place but also works as a hair coloring. The Rupununi Essence brought their luxury Facial cleanser for individuals who are prepared for fun in the sun and the ultimate jouvert experience. Massy Stores did not forget persons who needed their vitamins to keep up with every event. They also walked along with nutrients
to get rid of any aches and pains that may come after. Guyana Carnival is a privately-sponsored festival in Guyana, between May 17 and May 27. This idea was birthed out of Guyana’s 50 Independence celebrations in 2016 when the country recorded thousands of arrivals of visitors to Guyana. The main aim of Guyana Carnival is to expand tourism and show Guyanas beauty, uniqueness, and unity.
Sunday May 19, 2019
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Essequibians express no confidence in Police Force
R
esidents living on the Essequibo Coast told the Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan during a meeting, yesterday, that they have no confidence in the service, nor protection provided by the Guyana Police Force. Minister Ramjattan and the newly appointed Minister of Business, Hemraj Ramkumar, were at the time having a discussion with residents on the Essequibo Coast, at the Anna Regina State House. One man who once served in the army, said that while the Police are to offer service and protection, there are a number of ranks on the Essequibo Coast who are not living up to the motto. A businessman who was robbed on five separate occasions, said that the police have made little effort in solving any of the cases. He said that he almost lost his life in the last robbery about a month ago, when four heavily armed men terrorized him and his family before making off with a significant amount of cash and cell phones. “I got robbed about 07:45 PM and the police came 08:00 PM on the scene.
I was tracking the men them and when I tell the police leh we go, they told me they got no boat. I told them I will hire a boat they tell me that they got blank bullets in the gun and they make all kind of excuse.” The businessman also noted that the manner in which the robbery was investigated was very sloppy, and to date police have no lead, nor has any arrest been made. He noted that fear has driven him and his family out of their home, since there is no form of protection from the Police Force. The issue of prisoners going missing from the Police holding cells, was also brought to the attention of the Public Security Minister. The minister pointed out that crime fighting needs a holistic approach and members of the community need to point out who the ‘bad eggs’ are.Residents explained that they are willing to point out the criminals in their communities, but the police need to be more professional in responding to tip offs. Some of the comments, yesterday, were, “When we tip off the police they going and confront the criminal yes, but some of them also saying
“Residents at the meeting yesterday.”
exactly who sent them… Some of the police got family who doing bad in society and before they go for them they tip them off.”The minister urged the Divisional Commander, Khali Pareshram, to take charge of his division. He was also advised to listen to members of the public since he was unaware of most of the cases brought up yesterday.
Badal targets 80 permanent staff, September... Ongoing works at the Kingston area.
From page 18 pride. With regards to the economic benefits, he said that income tax would be up to $70M during construction and almost $12M during operations. Annually, the NIS contributions will be around $9M. Contribution to the Value Added Tax, Badal estimates, would be around $200M. During construction, the total taxes would be around $560M with almost $8B
annually in taxes coming from the expansion when in full operations. Badal had boasted last year that the expansion represents one of the largest investments in the local private sector in Guyana. Plans for its construction indicate that there will be a 12storey hotel to provide luxury accommodation, bars, restaurants and entertainment facilities, as well as long term accommodation.
A second tower, intended to be the hotel’s corporate centre, will be built alongside the Pegasus Suites. The expansion is ongoing to the east of the current hotel, where a tennis court was once located. It would come with news that the Governmentcontrolled Marriott Hotel is reaching capacity as the activities of oil and gas heats up.Guyana is expected to start production of oil, offshore early in the new year.
SARA secures lawyers after almost two years in operation From page 3 assets. When people steal these assets, they don’t have them lying around. “They change form and even jurisdictions and in that sense, Government should make a conscious effort to try and understand the budgeting needed to track these assets funds.” Some two years ago, the coalition administration cre-
ated the State Asset Recovery Unit (SARU) to recover stolen state assets. Under the guidance of economist, Professor Clive Thomas, the unit dived into a number of investigations. But without legal powers, SARU was confined to a straitjacket. There wasn’t much it could do on the hundreds of reports it received about corruption.
It wasn’t until 2017 that the National Assembly passed legislation for SARU which then became the State Asset Recovery Agency (SARA). With that accomplishment, many critics of SARA expected that with the accusations and reports of corruption it often spoke of, SARA Directors would have at courts in 2018.
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Sunday May 19, 2019
Sunday May 19, 2019
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Hairdressers face off in wake of GPL’s move to dismantle illegal connections
Several hairdressers operating close to the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) office at Vreed-enHoop, yesterday staged a vocal protest against GPL’s intended move to seek out and dismantle several illegal connections from which the hairdressers were allegedly obtaining electricity. Hairdressers, yesterday, were observed outside their salons , not only loudly protesting the company’s intentions, but also making threats to one hairdresser who they claimed divulged the information to the media. The issue was made public when a disagreement between two hairdressers saw one ‘letting the cat out the bag’ and directing persons to just where the illegal wires were concealed. A brawl recently was what revealed that several salons were illegally obtaining electricity, just within a few meters of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) office at Vreed-en-Hoop, West Bank Demerara. GPL sources at Vreed-enHoop yesterday when contacted said that an immediate investigation will be launched into the matter,
how safe are these haphazard connections on homes on Saffon Street, Georgetown, especially with residents using the stairway, passing within inches of these wires?
but up to press time yesterday, sources informed that no representative from the Vreed-en-Hoop office had visited the location. Arguments by a few hairdressers yesterday were that an illegal connection was not made by them, but instead was done so by other businesses around the area. Haphazard electrical connections Meanwhile several residents in the West Demerara District are
complaining about haphazard connections done to their homes by GPL representatives. These connections, they say, pose danger to property, and their person. Residents occupying a building at 57 Roraima Housing Scheme, West Bank Demerara, told Kaieteur News that for months now they have been complaining to GPL field workers about a connection outside the home that would spark during rainy
weather, plunging the entire home into darkness. Tenants who occupy at least four apartments in the building have explained that during power surges the fixture outside the home would spark really badly and many has a result have suffered great losses when
electrical appliances burnt and smoked as a result. They said that their pleas have gone unheeded. Usually when complaints are made, GPL staffers would just come and repair the fixture and seal it with either duct tape or black insulation tape. They said wires are
exposed and threatens the safety of residents there.Some residents in Georgetown have complained that haphazard connections have been made to their homes as well by GPL, which does not guarantee safety from electronically induced fires.
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Sunday May 19, 2019
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Sunday May 19, 2019
Sunday May 19, 2019
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4th Independence Track and Field Meet
Copeland wins under-18 discuss Princess Browne leaping during the long jump.
Sunday May 19, 2019 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Changes to your chosen field are indicated, Aries. Ideas from other states or countries might fire your creativity. Your intellectual or artistic interests could take on a new dimension
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Projects involving a group, perhaps your entire community, could take up a lot of your time, Libra. Interesting news and stimulating conversations could come your way.
TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) A sum of money above and beyond your usual income could come your way. This could be a bonus, settlement, or even a gift of some kind.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) New ideas for your career could be on your mind, Scorpio. You might be thinking not only about getting a new job but also entering an entirely new field.
GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Some vast changes in your community could take place, Gemini. They're positive, for the most part. Today the news should spread widely, and you could be hearing about it from all sides
SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21) Continued success and good luck should have you feeling charged up to move ahead with plans and ideas. Your energy and enthusiasm are high, Sagittarius.
CANCER (June 21–July 22) Cancer, you might choose to do some volunteer work today or help a friend. This could make you aware of a talent you didn't know you had. It could pave the way to more income. You could feel very proud of yourself
CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Don't be surprised if sometime during the day you feel angry for no apparent reason. It's probably rooted in the past, from a situation that wasn't resolved long ago. Take a good look at what's going on today.
LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Today you might wake up feeling that you can move mountains - and this might be exactly what you set out to do, figuratively speaking. Your physical energy, enthusiasm, and self-confidence are very high, Leo.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) This is a great day to start new enterprises with others, Aquarius. Gatherings with friends or group activities could lead to ideas for new projects that fire your energy and enthusiasm. New immediate and long-term goals should be set.
VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Today you could recapture the joy in life that you had as a child, Virgo. You're serious by nature, and feelings of joy are to be lived and treasured. You could be experiencing true flow. There might not be any real reason for it, so don't try to find one.
PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Activities of some kind could put you in the public eye today, Pisces. Some work you've done well might bring you richly deserved acknowledgement. Your energy and enthusiasm are already high.
The opening day of the Guyana Overseas Based Sports Association’s (GOBSA) Fourth Annual Independence Track and Field Championship got underway yesterday at the National Track and Field Center (NTFC) Leonora with mostly field events and sprint heats. It was a proud moment for the mining town of Linden when Jahaziah Copeland of Upper Demerara Athletics Club won the girls’ under-18 Discuss throw with a top distance of 29.56m ahead of University of Guyana’s Tennisha Bruce’s effort of 19.87m. As expected, Carifta Gold medalist, Anisha Gibbons dominated in the girls’ under18 javelin, winning her event with a superior distance of 42.35m. In long jump, Keliza Smith of Running Braves Athletics Club (RBAC) upstaged her teammate Princess Browne in the girls’ under-18 division with a big 5.76m leap. Browne finished second with 5.36m. Wesley Tyndall of RBAC won the boys’ under-18 long jump, registering 6.56m. Carifta Gold medalist, Matthew Gordon of Hopetown Flames, won the boys’ under-18 1500m to ensure the Berbice club finished one-two in the event
Strikers FC defeat... From page 69 which silenced the Strikers FC players and fans, momentarily. Seven minutes later, Strikers struck their first goal of the match to draw level, Vento Gregory finding the back of the nets. And with two minutes to go before the half way point, Kelvin John fired Strikers into the lead, his goal timed at 43 minutes. The second half was competitive but the score line remained unchanged which meant that Strikers FC became the first team to qualify for the National Playoffs. Meanwhile, in semi final results, Strikers FC thrashed Flash FC 7-1; Naidison Daniels netted a hat-trick (19th, 54th, 82nd), Kelvin John had a brace (10th, 70th) as did Stephen Glasgow in the 85th and 87th minutes. In the other match, Snipers FC squeezed past Rising Stars FC, 2-1. John Gabriel and Nelson Claude netted for the winners in the 35th and 62nd minutes, while the losers got their goal from Howard George on the stroke of full time.
- Keen battles expected today
Jahaziah Copeland of Upper Demerara won the women’s discus throw. with Morvin Hamilton finishing second. In the heats, Revon Williams of the flaming hot Hopetown Flames club, won his under-18 400m heat in
under 55 seconds. Williams and the out sprinters will be in action today from 10:00hrs at the NTFC for the final day of the two-day event.
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Kaieteur News
Everest Masters, Odyssey Masters battle for ‘Sticky’ Jubilee Cup... From page 70 local scene and have reached out to the Odyssey Transportation Services
sponsored Meten-MeerZorg (MMZ) Masters for the occasion and they have accepted.
In their most recent match, MMZ Masters edged the Media XI in a nail biting finish and will be looking to
continue their winning ways, while the hosts recently bounced back to their winning trend with a
comprehensive victory over Bartica Masters after losing four consecutive matches in and out of Guyana.
The teams will wear coloured clothing and will play with the pink ball. The first ball is expected to be bowled at 12:30hrs. Teams will come from: Odyssey MMZ Masters; Troy Khan (captain), Muneshwar Balgobin, Mohan Chatram, Vinod Rajkumar, Jetendra Kishore, Hemandra Kowelsser, Sham Persaud, Gary Headley, Mohamed Willie, Zaheer Haniff, Chabiraj Ramcharran, Naaiem Habib, Abid Haniff and Zamal Khan. Everest Masters; Rajesh Singh (captain), Sahadeo Hardaiow, Saheed Mohamed, Hemraj Garbarran, Azemul Hanif, Basil Persaud, Imtiaz Sadik, Robert Pereira, Robin Bharat, Ucil Armstrong, John Ramsingh, Safraz Sheriffudeen, Ravi Narayan, Nadir Baksh and Ronald Jaisingh.
Bowlers have to limit... From page 68 is important. For the spinners, the pitches may turn a bit so we need our spinners to bowl economically,” Sir Curtly said. He, however, admitted that he was concerned with the team’s death bowling. He said it was important for bowlers, especially the fast bowlers to have variation. Sir Curtly said while high totals were expected, bowlers could not afford to be expensive in the dying overs. “As a fast bowler and with the pitch not responding to fast bowling, it is crazy to run and try to bowl 90 miles per hour every delivery. That will never work. You need variation – a couple quick ones, some cutters, some slower deliveries if you have them – so variation will be the key as opposed to running in and trying to bowl 90 mph every delivery. “I have a serious concern about our death bowling. If we don’t have guys who can bowl well in the death, we are going to struggle because if the first 40 overs or so we go for plenty runs, you know we’re going to go for a lot more in the death so I am very, very concerned about our death bowling,” he noted.
Sunday May 19, 2019
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NSC National Sports Awards
Rose Jr., Edghill, Wiltshire and Ramdhani top athletes of 2018 Stanton Rose Jr. who guided Guyana men to their maiden championship win in the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC), along with Table Tennis sensation, Chelsea Edghill, were awarded the senior male and female athletes of the year 2018 accolades on Friday night, when the National Sports Commission (NSC) held its annual awards ceremony at the Pegasus Hotel. In the 2018 CBC Championship, Rose Jr. copped the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award at the tournament that was held in Suriname during Guyana’s unbeaten run. Edghill won Gold for Guyana in the Under-21 category at the Senior Caribbean Table Tennis Championships in Jamaica last year. She also won the College National Districts Competition, placed second at College National Regional Competition in the United States, along with being a quarter-finalist at the South American Games. On the junior side, Badminton’s female marquee player Priyanna Ramdhani and Squash prodigy Shomari Wiltshire were recognised for their on-court brilliance. During the period under review, Ramdhani ranked as one of the top South American and Caribbean players. She dominated the Caribbean Regional Youth championships in Suriname, winning five gold medals, while also pocketing two
silvers and one bronze at the Caribbean International Senior Championships also held in Suriname. Wiltshire, on the local scene, won a staggering four local titles. His success began in May 2018 when he captured the Woodpecker Products Junior National Under-15, Under-17 and Under-19 titles. The young man continued his form regionally where he clinched for the second year running junior Caribbean Under-15 gold and was instrumental in leading Guyana to silver in the team event in Jamaica in July. One month later, the Guyanese defeated Robert Avram to nab another gold medal, this time on the international circuit while competing in the Newport Steamer Summer Gold Tournament, in Rhode Island, USA. Kaieteur Sports’ Calvin Chapman won Print Journalist of the Year, while Assistant Sport Editor; Franklin Wilson, copped Male Sports Official of the Year for his outstanding administrative work with the East Bank Football Association (EBFA). Ramesh Sunich, proprietor of Trophy Stall, won male Sport Personality of the Year accolade. In a society where sponsorship for sporting activities is hard to come by, Sunich has demonstrated the desire to make a difference by willingly donating trophies, medals and other
paraphernalia to just about everyone who turns up at his counter. Below is the full list of awardees Sportsman-of-the-Year (PWD)- Annson Forde Sportswoman-of-the-Year (PWD)- Davena Nauth Female Sports Official- Dr. Karen Pilgrim Male Sports OfficialFranklin Wilson Female Coach- Shelly Daly-Ramdyhan Male Coach- Junior Hercules Female Sports Personality– Kathy Ten-Pow (Mothers in Motor-racing) Male Sports PersonalityRamesh Sunich Most Improved Association– Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation Association-of-the-YearGuyana Football Federation Junior Sportsman– Shomari Wiltshire Junior Sportswoman– Priyanna Ramdhani Senior Sportsman– Stanton Rose Jr. Senior Sportswoman– Chelsea Edghill Team-of-the-Year– Senior Male Basketball team Journalist (Online)Akeem Greene Journalist (TV)- Eric Collymore Journalist (Print)– Calvin Chapman Special Awards: Bhaskar Ya d r a m , S h e m a r Britton, Walter GrantStuart, Theresa Pemberton, Allister Munroe, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Journalists of the year 2018 from left, Calvin Chapman (Kaieteur News Print), Akeem Greene (News Room - Online), Eric Collymore (Tv - NCN).
Kaieteur Sports’ Franklin Wilson (left) receives the Sports Official of the year award from Nicholas Fraser of Ministry of Education (News Room photo).
Woodpecker Products Junior National Squash Tournament
Beau Fernandes and Safirah Sumner serve up exciting contest On Friday night, spectators at the Georgetown Club were treated to another exciting evening at the Woodpecker Products Junior National Squash Tournament, with an especially thrilling bout between Beau Fernandes and Safirah Sumner that extended the usual 11-point game to 21. They both came out on a mission and intended to make an early mark, and Fernandes executed some ace serves, deep in the back of the court. Sumner gained some excellent points with good drops and the two girls battled through reaching 10/10, 11/11, 12/12 all the way up to 19/19. The exhausted young ladies finally wrapped up the game with Fernandes killing the ball for a 20/19 lead and then a signature serve for the 21/19 well fought win. Fernandes regrouped and dominated the next two games 11/5, 11/5 for a 3/0 triumph. Christiana Fernandes, Kirsten Gomes and Teija Edwards all secured wins for the girls. Edwards won a though 5 setter against Angel Rahmin despite the challenge of returning Rahim’s strong serves, an improved Edwards held her own and at 9/9 in the 5th deciding game, took the last two for the win. The boy’s matches were all won in 3 games. Louis DaSilva kept form defeating Chad DeAbreu and Shiloh Asreagdo sailed through a win with Matthew Spooner in the Under 13’s. Michael Alphonso conceded only 3 points each game in his match with Mohryan Baksh in the Under 15’s.
Teija Edwards (background) was made to work hard for her win against Angel Rahim Shomari Wiltshire continued his clean sweep against Demetrius DeAbreu in a match which commenced at 16:30hrs, while Nicholas Verwey was given a walkover by Samuel Ince-Carvalhal who suffered an injury to his right ankle. The final was scheduled for last night with the presentation of National titles and details will be provided in tomorrow’s edition of the Kaieteur News. Results GIRLS UNDER 11 Christiana Fernandes defeated Shriya Persaud 11/ 2, 11/1, 11/3 GIRLS UNDER 13 Beau Fernandes defeated Safirah Sumner 21/19, 11/5, 11/ 5 GIRLS UNDER 15
Kirsten Gomes defeated Aishani Persaud 11/0, 11/0, 11/1 GIRLS UNDER 17 Teija Edwards defeated Angel Rahim 12/10, 11/8, 6/11, 4/11, 11/9 BOYS UNDER 13 Louis DaSilva defeated Chad DeAbreu 11/0, 11/1, 11/ 3 Shiloh Asregado defeated Matthew Spooner 11/1, 11/4, 11/0 BOYS UNDER 15 Michael Alphonso defeated Mohryan Baksh 11/ 3, 11/3, 11/3 BOYS UNDER 17 Shomari Wiltshire defeated Demetrius DeAbreu 11/1, 11/6, 11/4 Nicholas Verwey was given a walkover by Samuel Ince-Carvalhal
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Sunday May 19, 2019
Kaieteur News
Reds concerned about weak Club structure - Training for Sports Officials also important By Sean Devers Veteran International broadcaster and Sports Administrator Guyanese Joseph ‘Reds’ Perriera is concerned with the direction that sports in the Caribbean is going and feels weak Club structures is affecting the development of Sports. “If you have strong Clubs, you will have strong Associations and those Associations make up the Olympic Committee in the Caribbean, I am not talking only about Guyana,” noted Reds, who now lives in St Lucia. Reds feels if Associations are stronger then the Olympic committee will be more vibrant. He said, “If you look at the club structure, it’s getting weaker, there are more teams where you are the captain and I am the vice-captain, especially in rural areas. There are no non playing executives to look at fund raising, club life, discipline, trying to find equipment and ensuring that you develop a support base, community base. There are very few vibrant clubs these days and weak clubs can’t make an impact. Weak Clubs will produce weak Associations which will mean that funds will not be properly used. You may get sponsorship but if you don’t provide good media releases, that sponsorship will soon end.
If your club is doing things in a constructive way, that’s the only way the sponsorship will continue. So a club needs to be active, do things in their community, self-development, see if they can get jobs for people,” added Reds, who did commentary on 145 Test matches between 1971 and 2005. According to Reds, many places in the Caribbean have less than 50 percent functioning Associations which are really disappointing. Some Associations are strong and very active and some you don’t know what’s going on. “Some of the minor sports are easy to run; take Volleyball, this should be one of the most played sports in the Caribbean. You only need a 60 x 30 feet of grass space and some countries don’t have any Volleyball being played. Some Sports Associations are very active but in the main many are weak and not enough is begin done to help them grow. I believe the fault lies with the Association,” continued the former Advisor to the Sports Minister in the Forbes Burnham Government. “If you go to register a Club, detailed information on the club should be requested; who are your non playing executives, so that they can see there is a structure that they will eventually benefit
from volunteers who can provide leadership and become members of the Olympic Committee or the National Association. It’s a positive. If for example, I am the President of the Basketball Association and it is May, 2020 and there is no activity, the Olympic Association should call me in and say it’s May but we have not seen anything being done since the start of the year,” Reds said. He says that’s not interfering. “They should ask. You said you would docertain things and we don’t see anything being done, so what is the problem, can we help? Everyone is responsible, the Ministry of Sports also has to be conscious of the strength of the Associations because they have facilities to be used by clubs or National Athletes which is underused, grass is growing, the basketball Court is empty. The Sports Ministry has got to be conscious…. not interfering.” The Pomeroon born Reds said, “If tomorrow I am elected President of an Association, the first thing I would need to do is to go to a Bank and inquire about month to month financial reports. I have to end up with a financial statement and that is a bug bear. Many clubs don’t have financial statements and cannot hold their AGM because the
financial statements are not ready and I could go on and on.” He added, “When you look at a Political Party, a Church, a Trade union… their strength is in themselves, their outreach group. Not a fancy building in the Capitol City and you say you are strong. The strength is what’s happening at the grass roots level. The other thing I feel is when national teams travel they should promote their countries. If you go to the CAC Games you should be given brochures by the tourism Ministry, most of the countries don’t do this. Only Jamaica has a link with the sport and promotion of their Country. A case in point is when Guyana goes to America to compete I hope they are given at least 1000 brochures to share out. Sports Tourism is something I am trying to let the Tourism Ministry understand the importance of this aspect of Tourism in Guyana and the benefits that can be deprived from it.” Reds feels the business community must not just try to sell more products through sponsorship but also help to lift standards. “When I was president of the Basketball Association, a Bank adopted Basketball they paid all of our fees to the World Body, they gave us money to run the Association. So there are times when everybody does not have go with the big
sports like Cricket, Football, Boxing but support the small Sports, it’s about getting the right mix,”said the 79-yearold. Red said, “It would be good if the Government could encourage the Business Community to Sports Development by giving them more tax relief for a genuine contribution to a National Association and I think that would encourage more Companies to provide more money if they know they will get a tax break.” The training of officials is also important he noted, too often there too few officials improving their qualifications. But there are some grass roots Coaches, especially in Boxing and Football, who might not be academically inclined to write a level one or level two Coaching exam. You could create a programme where he or she
Reds Perriera can get some kind of qualification that they can go to a school or a Community Centre and say I would like to Coach and have done this programme. It must not be totally ignoring those who might not have what it takes to write the exams but knows the practical work. It’s better to have trained Coaches from grass roots level right up to the top.
Bowlers have to limit opponents in World Cup: Sir Curtly BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – If the West Indies are going to have any chance of advancing deep into the ICC World Cup, legendary fast bowler Sir Curtly Ambrose believes their pace and spin bowlers must focus more on being economical. Sir Curtly, who took 225 wickets in 176 One Day Internationals (ODIs) at an economy rate of 3.48, said from all reports the World Cup was expected to be high scoring. However, he explained that while most of the Windies’ pacers were attacking bowlers, it was necessary for them to contain the opposing batsmen and build pressure. The World Cup will be held in England and will bowl off on May 30 and run until July 14. “When you’re talking about ODI cricket, I know every bowler wants to see a couple of wickets in the wickets column but when you’re thinking ODI cricket, the first thing you should think about is containment. “The more you contain batsmen, it builds pressure and when it builds pressure, the batsmen have to find a way to score so they tend to do things a little bit out of character and it gives you the bowler a chance to get wickets. I think that most of
Sir Curtly Ambrose wants the West Indies bowlers to contain opposing batsmen. our bowlers are attacking bowlers and we need to be able to contain players – that’s the first thing West Indies have to do,” Sir Curtly said. He said it was also important for spin bowlers to bowl tight and maintain that pressure when introduced into the attack. “They need to come to the party. If they’re going to play, we’re going to need to them to bowl tight. We can’t have our spinners bowling 10 [overs] for 60 [runs] and 10 for 70. “The wickets out there are a little helpful to batsmen so the fast bowlers won’t get too much out of the pitch, so that’s why containment (Continued on page 66)
Sunday May 19, 2019
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Kaieteur News
GBTI sponsored Open Tennis Tournament set for June 7 start - Sponsorship Cheque presented The Guyana Lawn Tennis Association on Friday last received a sponsorship cheque from the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry for the most anticipated tennis competition of the year, ‘The GBTI Open’. This is the 10th edition of the GBTI Open. Over the years GBTI has remained committed towards sponsoring the event annually. The GLTA is very appreciative of the bank’s commitment as it relies on sponsorship such as this for continued tennis development in Guyana.
GBTI’s Public Relations and Marketing Manager, Pamela Binda hands over the sponsorship cheque to GTA’s Vice President, Cristy Campbell in the presence of other officials of the club and bank.
GFF/KFC U-20 Independence KO Cup – Rupununi FA
Strikers FC defeat Snipers to win tournament
Photo of the winning team from Rupununi Strikers FC. The Rupununi Football Association leg of the GFF/ KFC Under-20 Independence knockout tournament concluded on Friday evening last at the Guyana Rush Saints FC ground with Strikers Football Club coming back from a goal down to defeat Snipers Football Club in the final. The match was decided in the first half as all three goals were scored in the first 45 minutes. Snipers had taken the lead in the 26th minute through a John Gabriel goal (Continued on page 65)
Strikers FC goal scorers in the final.
The event is slated to run from June 7th - June 23rd at the bank’s Bel-Air Park facility. The competition will feature the following categories: Ladies Open Singles Men’s Open Singles Junior Girls Open Singles Junior Boys Open Singles Novice Medley Singles Men’s over 35 Singles Men’s over 45 Singles Ladies Open Doubles Men’s Open Doubles Mixed Open Doubles Men’s over 35 Doubles Men’s over 35 Doubles Novice Medley Doubles
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Sunday May 19, 2019
Kaieteur News
Everest Masters, Odyssey Masters battle for ‘Sticky’ Jubilee Cup
Ronald ‘Sticky’ Jaisingh Meten-Meer-Zorg Masters have accepted the challenge thrown out by Everest Masters to a 25-over per side cricket match to celebrate the 50th birth anniversary of Ronald ‘Sticky’ Jaisingh today. Jaisingh, who is a longstanding member of
Everest Cricket Club Masters team, opted for a cricket celebration since most of his adult life is spent in cricket as a player and administrator especially along the East Bank of Demerara. Everest Masters have been a dominant force on the (Continued on page 66)
GFF/KFC U-20 Independence KO Cup – East Bank FA
Timehri Panthers waltz to title triumph over Soesdyke Falcons Led by the tournament’s highest goal scorer, Tyrone Burnett who fired in a hattrick, Timehri Panthers continued their dominance of football when they won the East Bank Football Association leg of the GFF/ KFC Under-20 Independence knock-out Cup yesterday with a comfortable 4-1 over Soesdyke Falcons in the final. Burnett, who ended the tournament with a total of six (6) goals teamed up with Shawn Steel who hit in the other goal to guide their club to victory and in the process became the second team to advance to the National Playoffs which would feature the nine (9) winners from the GFF’s Regional Members Associations. From posting the first win of the tournament via kicks from the penalty mark against Agricola Red Triangle on April 26th last, the Panthers grew in confidence with every game by putting on dominating performances
under the guidance of Coach, Delon Williams and his Technical staff. Yesterday, the young Panthers wasted little time in stamping their authority against neighbours Soesdyke; in fact, Burnett came against his former team and by the 6th minute he had already put one past the goalkeeper to signal their intentions. Shawn Steele, who ended the tournament with three goals, inked his name on the score sheet on 34 minutes to further cement his side’s hold on the game. The half time break came with the Panthers further consolidating, Burnett slamming in his second in the 41st minute. Timehri Panthers’ comfortable position at the break meant that it would have called for a herculean task from the Falcons to pull themselves back into contention; even their most potent forward and Captain, Tyrone Khan could not
Tyrone Burnette (left) and Shawn Steele Timehri Panthers FC goal scorers. counter the sturdy backline of the Panthers as he was kept quiet all match. Six (6) minutes into the second half, Burnett netted his third of the match and sixth of the tournament which virtually spelt the end of the battle. The scoreline could have been even more was it not for Ishmael Pulsaram missing a few clear chances when he put the ball wide of the uprights. Soesdyke were able to score a consolation goal in the
91st minute, thanks to Cledwin Williams’ effort. The champs, based on the tournament rules, have the option of strengthening up their line-up for the National Playoffs by adding three (3) players from within the association. GFF President Wayne Forde was on hand to witness the match and offered words of congratulations to Timehri Panthers for their win. Forde also thanked KFC for coming on board with sponsorship.
Sunday May 19, 2019
Kaieteur News
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t r o Sp GFF/KFC U-20 Independence KO Cup – East Bank FA
The Champs take a photo with GFF and EBFA Presidents Wayne Forde (2nd left) and Franklin Wilson (left) following their win yesterday at the GFF National Training Center, Providence, EBD.
Timehri Panthers waltz to title triumph over Soesdyke Falcons NSC National Sports Awards
Rose Jr., Edghill, Wiltshire and Ramdhani top athletes of 2018 Priyanna Ramdhani (left) won the Junior Sportswoman of the year award (Newsroom photo).
Shomari Wiltshire (right) receives his Junior Sportsman of the Year award from Min. Dr. George Norton (News Room photo).
GBTI sponsored Open Tennis Tournament set for June 7 start - Sponsorship Cheque presented 4th Independence Track and Field Meet
Copeland wins under-18 discuss - Keen battles expected today Printed and published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd., 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown. Tel: 225-8458, 225-8465, 225-8491 or Fax: 225-8473/226-8210.