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AIETEUR NEWS

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Attorney convicted

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of fraud in Canada,

May 23, 2019 - Vol. 12 No. 21 Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

appointed Senior Counsel

Price $80

Online readership yesterday 127,924

Magistrate jails police Inspector, Chief Justice

orders his immediate release MV Kimbia returns to a carnival welcome

The MV Kimbia completed its maiden run to Kumaka yesterday, where it received a carnival welcome from the community.

The boat hadn't made a successful run in four years.

But now, after a $488M rehabilitation, the boat is bigger and faster than the other boats servicing those communities.

Beware of Exxon's skilful non-compliance with regulations, penalties - Industry Experts

Wismar man AG to respond to Hummer seized President over dies after allegations of by GRA now being vigilante justice misconduct used by army

President still to declare assets to Integrity Commission

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Kaieteur News

Thursday May 23, 2019

Kaieteur News

Thursday May 23, 2019

PAGE 03

Magistrate jails police Inspector, Chief Justice orders his immediate release

By Feona Morrison

I

n an order granted late yesterday afternoon, Chief Justice Roxane GeorgeWiltshire ordered that Police Inspector Prem Narine be immediately released from detention. He was jailed for seven days by Magistrate Rondel Weever who found him guilty of misconduct in court.

Yesterday, Magistrate Weever found Inspector Prem Narine guilty of misconduct in court, without even conducting a trial, and sentenced him to imprisonment at the Camp Street jail. This was following the senior law e n f o r c e m e n t o ff i c i a l ' s request of the Magistrate to “address him with respect” after she reportedly spoke to him in a loud tone.

After the Magistrate's order of sentence, Inspector Narine complained of feeling unwell and was rushed to a private hospital where he was admitted under police guard. Subsequent to the Magistrate's order, Attorneys-at-Law Siand Dhurjon and Everton Singh-

Lammy moved to the High Court where they petitioned for Inspector Narine's release.

In her ruling, Justice George-Wiltshire held that the punishment of seven days imprisonment was excessive, and as such set aside the Magistrate's order.

The Chief Justice ordered that there be a partial remission of the sentence to reflect detention from the time the order of sentence was passed (yesterday) to no later than 16:30hours of the said day.

In essence, Justice George-Wiltshire said that the time Inspector Narine spent in police custody was sufficient punishment.

Inspector Narine was called to testify yesterday in an ongoing trial before Magistrate Weever at the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts. Kaieteur News was reliably informed that Inspector Narine had attended court to testify in the matter of Police vs Mohamed Ali who is on trial for obtaining $2.1M in phone credit by falsely pretending to be Minister of P u b l i c H e a l t h , Vo l d a

Magistrate: Rondel Weever Lawrence.

During the court proceedings, while testifying Inspector Narine had a lapse in memory and requested to refresh from his two-page statement. Certain sections of the Evidence Act make provisions for a witness to refresh from his/her statement.

The Magistrate is reported to have granted the request which allowed the senior police rank to read over certain parts of the statement before continuing his testimony.

Inspector Narine then made a second request to refresh from his statement which angered Ali who was

Police Inspector Prem Narine seated in the prisoner's docks. A source told Kaieteur News that the prisoner had an outburst and the Magistrate reportedly yelled at him to calm down.

At this point, the Magistrate turned to Inspector Narine and told him that the court cannot allow him to see his statement for a second time.

But, she reportedly did so in a loud tone which caused Inspector Narine to ask her to speak to him with respect.

According to the source, “I don't think the Magistrate heard him (Inspector Narine). She didn't hear him asking her to speak to him with respect. So (Inspector) Narine repeated himself and

Energy Dept. to hire consultant for cost recovery disputes

T

he Energy Department is set to hire a number of consultants with one being an Oil and Gas Commercial Specialist.

The industry expert will be tasked will handling cost recovery disputes which may arise if and when the authorities challenge costs ExxonMobil and its partners said they incurred on the Stabroek Block.

According to the terms of reference on the website of the Ministry of the Presidency, the consultant is also expected to provide advice and consultation to senior officials of the Department of Energy on matters related to the commercial management of the Petroleum Agreement(s) and associated agreements and to define the process and approach the commercial function the Department should adopt.

The consultant is required to provide general advice on commercial and contractual matters arising f r o m t h e

Energy Dept. Head, Dr. Mark Bynoe administration/management of existing Petroleum Agreement(s), including taxation, transfer pricing, operator capabilities, operator performance, guarantees, assignments, terminations, events of default, force majeure, disputes, dispute resolution of cost recovery audits, etc.

The successful candidate will also be required to provide advisory support to the preparation and

implementation of future licensing rounds; commercial advice on the Petroleum Agreement requirements regarding the marketing of crude oil to ensure that the marketing will be transparent, efficiently organized and that marketing agreements are in place prior to first oil; provide commercial advice on the downstream disposition of associated gas, including gas market development planning; and mentor Guyanese within the Department of Energy and other ministries on commercial aspects of the oil and gas industry.

This newspaper understands that reports on the work of the hired consultant would have to be submitted to the Department of Energy for review and approval.

The World Bank which is providing the funding for the recruit of these and other services, also has the option to review the deliverables for consistency with World Bank Safeguards.

(SEE LINK FOR FULL TERMS OF REFERENCE https://motp.gov.gy/index.p hp/notices/terms-ofreference/3513-terms-ofreference-consultingservices-for-oil-and-gascommercial-specialist

the Magistrate chased him out of the witness box and ordered that he be arrested.”

The source added that Inspector Narine complied with the Magistrate's order but refused to be arrested by junior ranks.

As such, the Magistrate commanded that an Inspector working at the court's lock-up come and arrest Inspector Narine. The source added, “In court the Magistrate cited him for contempt. But like after she (the Magistrate) realized she didn't had the powers to do such, she prepared a warrant stating that he insulted her.

To my knowledge only a Judge can cite someone for contempt.”

According to the warrant seen by this publication, on May 22 at Court 8&9 in the Georgetown Magistrates' Court Inspector Narine unlawfully insulted Magistrate Rondel Weever and is guilty of misconduct before the court and by verbal order was removed from the court and is sentenced to seven days imprisonment.”

A Senior Police rank,

however, believes that the Magistrate acted outside of her jurisdiction since she is a creature of statute. The rank questioned how his colleague could be found guilty of an offence when the court did not even conduct a trial. In any event, the senior police rank added even if a trial were to be conducted, the Magistrate would have had to recuse herself.

He added that the Magistrate should have put the allegation to Inspector Narine and allowed him a chance to petition for bail.

“So, okay the Magistrate found him guilty she should have allowed him to petition for bail pending appeal,” the senior cop added.

In 2016, Inspector Narine, then a Corporal, was adjudged 'Best Cop' when the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters, Eve Leary, Georgetown held its annual award ceremony. At that time, he was attached to the Major Crimes Investigations Unit which is responsible for solving many cold murder cases and dismantling criminal gangs.

Inspector Narine is currently stationed at the La Grange Police Station, West Bank Demerara. He was reportedly transferred there after he wrote a letter outlining instances of corruption among senior ranks of the Major Crimes Investigations Unit.

Among the matters investigated by Inspector Narine are trafficking in persons, possession of illegal firearm and ammunition, and robbery under-arms

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Thursday May 23, 2019

Kaieteur News

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

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

EDITORIAL

On lawyers and accountants

T

he professional world in Guyana is fluid with training. Within recent times, the focus and sweep have been on lawyers and accountants.

Those are two crucial presences in that thin, or occasion near invisible, line between constitutional rights and freedoms, on the one hand, and the pursuit of truth and justice, on the other. Rather interestingly, and more pointedly, the mandatory training programme involves anti money laundering standards, requirements, and expectations.

In Guyana, it is widely believed that this exercise is most needed, if only to reemphasize the obligations that accompany the licence to practise in those realms.

The world over, attorneys and accountants (auditors, too) are under increasing scrutiny for the wrong reasons: and these reasons have a certain compelling nature about them, as well as an alarming constancy.

These include the perception and reality of income cleansing, income concealing, and income tax evading. In Guyana, these have assumed the proportions of a national scourge, and for which there are only spurious defenses; all these practices have deep money laundering components embedded.

Large people are surrounded by larger sums, which attract professionals cloaked with still larger numerical and verbal skills. Frequently, they are aiders and abettors in spirit, in deeds, in degradation and abandonment of professional standards and obligations. Cook the books condone criminality; perpetuate lawlessness. They cannot hold selves up as civil, constitutional, and political pillars and leaders.

Not when skills and talents are used to circumvent the intents and reach of the law; then expansive societal issues of darker and dangerous sorts flourish. Every foreign agency of standing has indicated ongoing concern at what is known to be (not merely perceived) widespread nefarious practices in the plagues that paralyze a whole country, and yet there is very little discovered, very little found wrong and adjudicated accordingly, very little.

Guarded consensus is that professional practitioners, and those sitting as tribunes in seats of judgment, display greater loyalty to practice and client and supplicants, to the diminishment of law and truth and justice.

Abandoned are the bulwarks of principle and personal calling. The latter two have to be held dear and sacred.

The once venerable and well-regarded accounting firm Arthur Andersen was reduced to ashes for failure to identify conflicts of interest, its primary functions, and its uppermost responsibilities.

The price was as tortured and final, as it was ignominious.

From professional to plunge to pariah can be a freefall; a terrible force field of waste because of clever games played. In the legal arena. Robert Simmel took things a step too far, many such egregious steps. He did so in furtherance of his client’s interests at all costs and by any means necessary.

Like Arthur Andersen, this can be found laudable when the objectives are idealistic and embedded with regard for adherence to the highest personal and professional ethics.

Otherwise, there is only the spectacle of rogue accountants and auditors, who will go to any lengths to see nothing, know nothing, detect nothing, or expose anything.

In other locales, they suffer the fate of an Arthur Andersen.This has not been the case in murky, dismal Guyana, where the client is the be all and end all to success, prestige, prosperity, and durability. It could also suffice as the passport and password for entrée into certain inner circles, too. Likewise, in Guyana, there are too many in the legal fraternity who have grown comfortable (and bulky through billings) by being imitators versed well in the inclinations of a Robert Simmel.

Conscience is shredded; fairness and balance and right all pale and eventually succumb.

President Granger’s failure to file with Integrity Commission is the height of hypocrisy DEAR EDITOR, I am shocked, maybe I should say appalled, and my ‘jaw dropped’ when I read the Ministry of the Presidency’s release, dated May 22, 2019, that President David Granger is not compliant with the Integrity Commission Act and has not fulfilled his obligations in filing his declarations.

This is the height of hypocrisy and it is the clearest manifestation of duplicity.

It is a betrayal of the promised transparency and accountability and it is yet the clearest revelation of how hollow and insincere, he and his Administration have been, as it relates to keeping their word.

Mr. President, please remember your word is your bond.

Let your ‘yea’ be ‘yea’ and your ‘nay’ be ‘nay’.

Editor, to remind, it is this President who is now residing at Pearl, East Bank Demerara, in a newly-built

state-of-the-art, well-facilitated and equipped mansion.

He took up residence at this location after May 2015 when he took the oath of office. He should have already filed since June 2015 explaining to the Integrity Commission the source of the resources for such an undertaking, as well as declaring what his liabilities are.

We are now in 2019, and he is still not compliant.

What Guyanese have seen in the past four years is the APNU+AFC Coalition Government: disbanding the Integrity Commission Secretariat; taking actions to evict the Integrity Commission from its home in a building adjacent to State House; taking possession of the records of those who dutifully filed since the passage of the Integrity Commission Act; non-support for the motion tabled in the National Assembly by the

PPP/C for declarations to the Integrity Commission to be made public; and a lack of leadership in ensuring that Coalition Government Ministers and other politically appointed public officials fulfill their statutory duty by filing their declarations with the Integrity Commission.

To be told yesterday that the President “will file” is insulting to every law-abiding citizen of this country.

Editor, it must also be noted that it was only after pressure from the Parliamentary Opposition for the establishment of the Integrity Commission and Parliamentary pressure, during the consideration of national budgets, that it was put in place.

In addition to the fact that President Granger has not complied with the law, the primary consideration in the minds of Guyanese is whether, when he does file,

the declarations will accurately reflect his assets and liabilities . One also wonders, if this failure is a carryover from the days when President Granger sat in the National Assembly as Leader of the Opposition and did nothing to ensure his team also complied with the law.

Is President Granger aware that every gift that he receives, valued more than US$50, needs to be declared?

Is he in possession of an itemized list of all gifts that he has received since assuming office as Head of State?

Maybe, a goodwill gesture to win the trust and regain the confidence of all Guyanese is for President Granger to not only file with the Integrity Commission, but to also make his declarations public.

Bishop Juan Edghill, People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Parliamentarian

Trump’s Immigration Proposal will not be law DEAR EDITOR, Reference is made to “What’s Missing in Trump’s ‘Beautiful, Bold’ Immigration Plan” (KN May 18). The article is right about DACA (for 1.8 million youngsters brought by their illegal parents) and amnesty for the 11 million illegal immigrants.

The President’s signature policy is to reform the immigration system under which foreigners are allowed into the country – a shift back to the older system that excluded certain categories of people.

Prior to 1965, virtually only Whites were allowed into the US. This was changed under President Johnson’s open immigration policy that allowed immigrants from continents other than Europe.

It was further reformed to allow for family unification.

Currently, Americans and green card holders can sponsor relatives to settle in the US. The process can take anywhere from six months (for spouses) to 16 years for brothers and sisters.

Trump wants to abolish certain categories of sponsorship. In short, he wishes to replace family unification with accepting immigrants based on skills and education.

Trump wants to reduce the number of family-based green cards and move towards a points-based (“meritbased”) system that will reward, among other factors, education, skills and English language skills.

Currently about 12% of those receiving green cards (1.1 million in 2017) entered the U.S. based on skill-based vi-

sas (such as the H1B that are dominated by nationals from Europe and Asia) while some 66% are family-based green cards.

The new proposal will increase skills-based green cards close to 60%.

Points will be awarded to applicants based on their education, work experience, age, English language ability, among other factors.

Trump will also do away with the diversity lottery green cards, which currently makes 50,000 green cards available to underrepresented ethnic groups or countries each year. A large majority (over 70%) of

H1B visas, for skilled workers, went to Indians in fiscal year 2018.

These are eventually converted to green cards.

Indians getting green cards have been in the range of 57,000-62,000 in the 20152017 period based primarily on skills, education, and English.

But there is a huge backlog of over 300,000 skilled Indian professionals in US waiting for a green card.

In the last couple years, tens of thousands of Indian H1B professionals migrated from US to Canada with residency status, boosting that country’s economy.

The Trump proposal to

reform immigration is dead on arrival in Congress. It w i l l n o t b e c o m e l a w.

Trump’s spokespersons say the President’s plan can be a working proposal.

Legislators from both parties in both houses of Congress have rejected the proposal.

Some legislators have floated their own proposals that include some kind of amnesty for DACA and the other 11 million illegals.

This may be a no-go for Trump, who wants illegal immigrants to be an issue in the 2020 Presidential campaign.

Yours truly, Dr. Vishnu Bisram

What about the Nurses’ Pie? DEAR EDITOR, Basically, the way I see it is that a teacher teaches for five hours - three in the mornings and two in the afternoons, Monday to Friday.

That’s only 25 hours a week.

On Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays they don’t have to work.

You have the August, Christmas and Easter Holidays that they are at home but still get paid.

Their working hours are mainly between 8am to 4pm.

Most teachers live within close proximity of the school they teach or with minimal travelling. Now, teachers are doing a very important job, and I must say I am quite pleased that they’ve gotten a raise in their salary, and recently, duty free concessions for senior teachers.

With all that in the favour

of the teachers, they still get the opportunity to keep lessons for a fee (extra money for them) either at the school or at their home.

Whenever there’s a need at the school, they would keep meetings and request funds from the parents, or they would plan an activity/event to raise funds to get what is required.

I must say the teachers’ tasks are not that easy, but they still face it, and that is why they should be praised for what they are given.

Editor, having said the above, nurses on the other hand are doing an equally important job, and maybe more stressful, under worse conditions, and for a measly salary.

Nurses’ working hours vary. In other words, they work shifts - some of their

shifts have them walking the road either to or from work some late hours in the nights, some after 11pm.

They have to work Holidays, Sundays, basically almost every day/night unless their day off falls on one of the Holidays or Sundays.

Some nurses have to use three or four buses to reach their place of work.

For the longest while I haven’t heard anything worthy being given to the nurses, which brings me to my big question: what happened to duty free concessions for nurses?

They work is more timeconsuming, has them being at risk walking all hours to/from work.

What gives? They deserve better treatment.

Sahadeo Bates

Thursday May 23, 2019

THE COALITION’S SEEMING INCOMPETENCE IN DEALING WITH CORRUPTION HAS ONLY SERVED TO EMBOLDEN THE PPP DEAR EDITOR, It has become quite clear that the PPP is on a strident campaign to smear and besmirch the character of several ministers of the governing Coalition Administration, and I am forced again to put pen to paper to address scandalous unanswered claims by the unhealthy PPP cabal.I refer, for example, to the attempt by the PPP and its friends on social media to politically convict Minister David Patterson for allegedly taking a bribe of US$9,000 from persons in a place called Macao, near China, way back in 2016.The thing about this attempt to link a senior minister of government to take a bribe of this nature is scandalous. Worse yet, I believe that the Minister would be simply dumb and stupid to leave a clear and easy paper trail at a commercial bank in a world which has become fully digitized so at the touch of a button, transactions can easily be followed.

But the real point here is that the Coalition has been so recalcitrant in not bringing criminal charges against a slew of PPP officials for corruption while they were in office, that the Coalition’s seeming incompetence in this area has only served to embolden the PPP. The attempt to smear and politically convict these ministers in the eyes of the public is coming from a party which we all know raped

Guyana brutally for 23 years and is making a second attempt to come back into office now that Guyana may soon be an oil producer.

Let us examine the Skeldon sugar project as an example. Many people seem to think that Skeldon is an estate. No, it is just a factory.

Estates which were built in the past had a number of supporting buildings, homes and offices for managers, in some cases health centres, swimming pools and recreational clubs among others, but Guyanese must know that all we got from Skeldon was a single unit factory costing a whopping US$200 million. Is this possible? Those responsible for this outrage are allowed to freely roam the Country asking for another chance in Government and hurling accusations at Government officials.

This is clearly the fault of the Cabinet, as it has left SOCU to its own devices. Its rate of conviction is abysmal and laughable, so no one can actually blame the PPP for being emboldened enough to now accuse Coalition ministers of being the ones who are corrupt.As I see it, there is still time before elections to haul some of them before the courts, as everyone knows that corruption is among the main reasons why Guyanese voted for change last time around.

Peter Joseph

SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE BY GPL AND RESULTING DISRUPTION OF POWER - HELP IS AVAILABLE DEAR EDITOR, I respond to the statement from GPL on the power outages affecting the coastland and resulting power disruption.

I must first say that I think that their management team is doing an excellent job given the complexities and circumstances which they find themselves in, unfortunately due to no fault of their own. They are trying to work with aged equipment which should have been retired long ago, and the present power cuts are - apart from line disruptions - to try and give life to this obsolete equipment, while the long term strategy is forthcoming.

Due to the Giftland Mall Power Plant’s strategic location, we are once again offering our

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Kaieteur News

power at competitive rates to alleviate these power shortages.

We have engaged with GPL over the last three years, and with the guidance of the GPL Legal, Management and Overseas Consultant, have hammered out a 69-page power purchase agreement, to at least eliminate all power disruptions along the East Coast corridor in times of need. We hope that this can be signed so the maintenance which will go into a few years may be dealt with by our 5MW capacity to the residents of the East Coast.

With Regards, Roy Beepat Chairman Giftland Group

Congratulations and high praise for the Guyana Police Force DEAR EDITOR, This acknowledgement is partially personal, as it comes from a former member of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) but more importantly, it is grounded in the fact that all of us humans, either overtly or covertly, appreciate praise for a job well done.

This desire and the resultant recognition, serve in the majority of cases to stimulate and redouble the efforts of those who are so recognized. But more pertinently, Editor, this body, the GPF, has come under intense pressure, and in many instances has received well-deserved criticism for a number

of reasons, I too have leveled some of those criticisms as a former member of this body, though some fifty years past.

Concomitantly, I would be remiss if I withhold my praise for a job well done, not just recently, for bringing relief to those citizens in the Berbice region, but in the recent past, for speedily bringing to justice criminal elements and for solving a number of cold cases.

I am somewhat disappointed in some of the social media postings criticizing the fact that the police had to “take out” those bandits. I wonder what were they sup-

posed to do?

I suppose it’s a case of “damned if you do, and damned if you don’t”.

All the more reason for letters like this being published to encourage the members of the GPF to continue their efforts in bringing relief to the citizens, despite the negativity levelled at them.

The NYC Metro is a perfect example of this “ damned if you do” scenario - a crumbling subway, much noise for repairs, stations that will have to be closed as a result, much noise about the inconvenience.

Respectfully, Claudeston Massiah

I have a hypothesis about the formation of criminal gangs in Guyana DEAR EDITOR, Human cooperation is the cornerstone of human achievement - from the development of language and the brain via sharing information in tribes, clans or in modern times, the nation state.

I have a hypothesis that the formation of criminal gangs in Guyana is a modern expression of human cooperation not just for survival but for prosperity of an adversely affected groups and will either cooperate or challenge the formal system.

The evolution of the political parties in Guyana followed a similar pattern.

The regular Guyanese were not receiving sufficient benefits from the established British rule.

They form gangs called political parties to help secure a better life for their group (tribe).

The means were nonviolent while the criminal gangs’ means are violent. The objective is the same - to obtain a better life for the group (themselves). Most morality is for

prosperity of the group.

As a mathematician I study patterns.

If this group does not get a better life they will continue the struggle for their group.

Look at the mess Colombia is in.

Yours truly, Brian E Plummer

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Thursday May 23, 2019

Kaieteur News

TRUMP’S WALL - A TRUMPED-UP CALL DEAR EDITOR, Growing evidence shows that the real threat lies within the wall not outside the wall.

The Democratic leadership and its various committees totally blinded and blindsided by a strong dislike of President Trump, his pugnacity, his banality, along with an ongoing quest to bring about his downfall, are failing to see the multiplicity of problems that America and her citizens are facing.

Regrettably, Robert Mueller’s report did not produce the ammunition that they had hoped for. The U.S.Mexico border wall is a distraction and the reasons proffered for its erection are both unfounded and factitious.

Evidence exists that undocumented immigrants commit crime at lower rates than American-born citizens, and additionally are a crucial part of the labour force.

To support his call for the wall, President Trump has been telling exaggerated and uncorroborated stories about women being exploited by traffickers on the border. Such a statement rings familiar, as he also campaigned on pumpedup stories about Mexico being guilty of sending rapists to the U.S. Concerned as he may be for the safety and wellbeing of Americans, he has yet to see that the threats are not outside the wall, but coming instead from inside the wall.

President Trump remained

silent regarding Juan David Ortiz, a U.S. Border patrol agent who confessed to shooting four women in the head, one of them transgender, and leaving their bodies on rural Texas roadsides. The incidents took place in September 2018, and authorities have said the victims were sex workers whom Ortiz knew and targeted for their vulnerability.

During the 35-day partial shutdown from December 22, 2018 - January 25, 2019, and President Trump’s hostage– taking tantrum tactics to get his border wall built, nativeborn white male Americans, not Muslims, nor immigrants, proved once again to be the major fount of violence and hate in America.

January 19, 2019, three white men and a 16-year-old were arrested in upstate New York in an alleged plot to kill Muslims in nearby Islamberg.

They had in their possession

23 guns, and makeshift bombs packed with nails and black powder. All four of the males were members of the Boy Scouts of America, and one had even invited the President to his Eagle Scout ceremony in 2017.

On the very same day as the aforementioned incident, Christopher Cleary, a 27-yearold white male from Colorado, was arrested in Provo, Utah, after making credible threats to indiscriminately kill women.

According to one report, Cleary had written a long Facebook tirade about being a virgin and wanting to become “the next mass shooter”.

He was already on probation for stalking and threats of domestic violence.

January 24, 2019, Zephen Xavier, 21, a former prison guard trainee who had recently moved from Indiana to Florida, killed five women during a standoff at a small bank.

A woman, whom he had

dated, said that he was always preoccupied with death. He eventually surrendered to the SWAT Team that had surrounded the building.

Another 21-year -old, young white male, Dakota Theriot, went on a killing spree, starting with the 20year-old woman he was dating, her 17-year-old brother and her grandfather. He further went on to kill his parents, then fleeing to Virginia in his father’s truck, where he was captured at the home of his grandmother. According to reports, his grandmother had fled to a motel out of fear of her grandson.

USA Today reports state that James Jackson, a selfavowed racist and a white supremacist pleaded guilty in January 2019 of killing a homeless black man, 66-year-old Timothy Caughman, with a sword, as part of a racist plot.

He regarded the fatal stabbing as practice for a larger attack, and part of his plan to stop interracial relationships, and express his hatred for black people. The accused told police that he had travelled from Baltimore to New York to carry out the attack, because New

York was the media capital of the world.

Plainly put, or factually stated, the border wall is a grave distraction. More importantly it distracts Americans from things that actually kill a lot of people, including gun violence, car accidents, disasters, poor air quality, lack of access to medical care, and domestic violence. These are the walls that would make America safer — around the NRA and those who want the proliferation of guns, around racists and anti-Semites, homophobes, misogynists, and the entitlement that lies behind the delusion that anyone has the right to take the life of another human.

In the meantime, we should all remember what is and is not a threat to real lives.

Above all, to remember that the real serious threat to America is coming from inside Trump’s wall. If Democrats want to defeat Donald Trump at the ballot box in 2020, then all Americans should know the reasons underlying a continued call for the non-building of the wall. Let the truth be known that the sin is within.

Yvonne Sam

Thursday May 23, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Bloomberg: Guyana Probes Offshore Oil Leases Controlled by Exxon, Tullow Kevin Crowley (Bloomberg) — Guyana’s anti-corruption agency is investigating how exploration rights were awarded in the w o r l d ’s b i g g e s t n e w deepwater oil region, including those now controlled by Exxon Mobil Corp. and Tullow Oil Plc. The probe is broad in scope and is at an early “investigatory stage,” Professor Clive Thomas, director of the State Ass e t s R e c o v e r y A g e n c y, said in an interview in the seaside capital of Georgetown last week.

The Stabroek, Kaieteur and Canje blocks, all operated by Exxon, will be part of the i n q u i r y, a s w e l l a s Orinduik operated by Tullow, he said.

The investigation puts the administration of President David Granger against the previous government headed by Donald Ramotar, who left office in 2015. Neither Exxon nor Tullow have been singled out as targets of the probe or accused of any wrongdoing by authorities, and both the current government and opposition party have repeatedly said they stand by all oil contracts.

“We’re investigating the issuance of the licenses, for example, and the various blocks,”

Professor Clive Thomas T h o m a s s a i d . “ We ’ r e building up a case. This is an area of investigation into how the blocks were allocated and the decisions that were made.”

Spokesmen for Exxon and Tullow declined to comment on the probe.

Guyana has become one of the world’s most sought-after exploration plays after Exxon struck oil off the coast of the tiny South American nation in 2015, a discovery that has since blossomed to 5.5 billion barrels. But critics including the p r e s i d e n t ’s f o r m e r e n ergy adviser Jan Mangal s a y t h e c o u n t r y ’s o i l contracts were sold off too cheaply and without

due process.

Guyana ranks 93rd in T r a n s p a r e n c y International’s 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index of 180 countries, on a par with Kosovo and Gambia.

“We’re at an investigatory stage so we can’t libel persons by saying that we found proof of anything,” Thomas said.

But “there’s enough evidence for us to want to continue the investigation.”

All of Exxon’s discoveries have so far been made in Stabroek block, which was initially awarded in 1999 and renegotiated in 2016.

Tullow also signed up to explore Orinduik in 2016.

One particular area of focus for Thomas’s team involves the 2015 election, when Canje and Kaieteur were awarded to a group of junior exploration companies. Exxon was not among the initial investors but bought stakes in both blocks a year later and became operator.

Canje and Kaieteur encompass almost 20,000 square kilometers, an area equivalent to 870 leases in the U.S. section of the Gulf of Mexico.

Rights to drill the area were awarded during the final days of Ramotar ’s term. Nine days after the Kaieteur lease was signed, the government announced that Exxon stuck oil in a well called Liza-1.

The timeline is significant because with the discovery, Guyana went from being a high-risk frontier with no track record of success to one of the world’s most indemand exploration regions.

The country could have commanded much better terms for the blocks had they been granted after the Liza discovery, Mangal said.

Ramotar said in an interview last month that he had some indication that Liza would be a success before it was publicly announced. In hindsight, waiting until Exxon’s results were fully

disclosed would have put Guyana in a better negotiating position, he said.

“Looking back with 20/20 vision it probably wasn’t the right thing to do,”’ Ramotar said.

PAGE 8

Thursday May 23, 2019

Kaieteur News

Guyoil terminates services of Facilities Manager - Human Resources chief resigns State-owned Guyana Oil Company (Guyoil) has terminated the services of its Facilities Manager.

The entity would have also recently lost its Human Resources Manager who resigned for personal reasons.

Responding to questions this week, Guyoil s Board of Directors confirmed that Brion Singh, the Facilities Manager, had his services terminated.

However, the company would not confirm that that he was let go for allegedly approving a number of contracts not sanctioned by the Board of Directors.

“Mr. Brion Singh’s termination was in accordance with the provisions of his contract of employment. The reason alluded to in your question was never officially communicated to Mr. Singh or anyone else,” Guyoil said.

The company said that it has not received any lawyer s letter from the former manager challenging his termination.

Meanwhile, the company denied that its Human Resources Manager has resigned following investiga-

Services Terminated: Brion Singh tions.

“The Human Resources Manager was at no time under any investigation. He stated “personal family commitment” as his reason for resignation,” the statement said.

Responding to questions that the company, which runs a string of service stations across the coast, has not been meeting targets, the board said that Guyoil is the nations largest petroleum distributor. “…And has been a net

contributor to our economy for decades. The company remains profitable and viable in a very competitive market.”

Questioned also about accusations earlier this week that Guyoils human resources practices would have seen persons without the requisite qualifications being hired, the board denied anything is amiss.

“Guyoil is a proud equal opportunity employer. Our recruitment practices are strictly guided by the companys hiring policy. We are unaware of any cases where persons hired for a position lacked the prerequisite qualifications or equivalent experience.”

Since coming to Government in 2015, the Coalition has made sweeping board and management changes at its agencies and companies.

In 2017, the state company reported that it has lost ground in its gasoline, thanks to among other things, smuggling.

In its 2017 Annual Report, it was reported that net profit has decreased almost 29 percent.

GuyOil competes mainly

with SOL and Rubis.

The companys business involves the importation, storage, distribution and marketing of motor gasoline, gasoil, kerosene, fuel oil, and Castrol

lubricants.

The products are distributed through the large network in the petroleum business in Guyana, comprising 52 dealer-owned, dealer oper-

ated, and eight companyowned, company-operated service stations.

Its three terminals are at Adventure, Region Two; (Continued on page 22)

Thursday May 23, 2019

PAGE 9

Kaieteur News

Vice Chancellors contract renewal hinges on performance evaluation - UG unions repeat calls for assessment The University of Guyana (UG) unions have once again, expressed their position on the reappointment of Professor Ivelaw Griffith as Vice Chancellor, (VC ) of the University.

University Professor and Executive member of the UG‘s Senior Staff and Workers Union, Dr. Melissa Ifill, has said that the unions are adamant that reappointment of the Vice Chancellor will not be accepted unless he is subjected to an equivalent evaluation of his performance.

In a public social media post, Ifill noted that the Unions’ positions remain that the contract renewals, contract extensions, merit increments and reappointment of all faculties and staff are on

the sole basis of annual performance evaluations.

“When the VC was appointed in 2016, the then Council stipulated that the VC must be subjected to performance evaluations in order to receive bonuses.

“None was done but bonuses were paid despite objections from the Unions. The Unions then wrote the UG Council a n d r a i s e d t h e question of the VC’s possible reappointment and the need for an evaluation in November 2018,” Ifill added.

The University Profess o r n o t e d , h o w e v e r, i t wasn’t until March 2019 that the Pro-chancellor, Major General (rt’d) Joseph Singh, addressed the mat-

ter in Council. He now claims that time to design and apply an evaluation instrument has expired.

The Council is expected, Thursday, to consider among other things, the request of Prof. Griffith to be awarded another contract.

Ifill said that the Unions therefore suspect that the intention was/is to reappoint the VC without any evaluation. “We are serving notice that if the Council decides to reappoint the VC without any evaluation at its meeting on Thursday, there will be multiple swift and strong responses by staff.

The Unions will not accept the reappointment of the VC until the special audit on

Dem boys seh ...

Some stink mud stick pun Basil Once you pelt mud some must stick. Jagdeo and he people pelt a lot of mud at Basil de Willie and some stick. And is not mud that smell good. Is mud that mix up wid nuff thing that people don’t even touch if dem can help it.

Dem boys use to warn Basil de Willie about trying to look like a rock star. He mek sure he don’t have no grey hair; he mustache black and he clothes fancy. Jagdeo and he boys see that and it wasn’t hard fuh dem to come up wid de idea that Basil de Willie got he head full of sex.

De next thing dem boys know is dem accuse him of sexual misconduct in office.

When people hear that dem gun believe that de man doing things in he office but is nothing of de sort.

As dem boys seh, mud does stick. Somebody send de letter to Soulja Bai although dem boys believe he been trolling Facebook. From de time he see de letter he tell Basil de Willie to answer de claims in writing.

He still waiting but fuh sure as dem old people seh, you can mek joke wid de wuk but don’t mek joke wid de boss.

De thing is that de more outlandish a story sound is de more people does run to believe it. Is de same people did report how Soulja Bai build a mansion in three months. De one-time bishop claim how de house is a state of de art building. He never describe Jagdeo own.

But is strange how de people who write de letter and did not sign it begging people not to contact anybody to find out if de letter is true. Is only Soulja Bai asking Basil de Willie if is true.

Talk half and see who gun pelt back.

spending at the University is completed and the findings made public.”

In the absence of a performance evaluation, Professor Ifill emphasized that the position of Vice-Chancellor MUST be advertised.

“The VC who has expressed interest could reapply if he so desires and be subjected to the same scrutiny as all other applicants.

Reappointment of all members of the VC’s cabinet must be based on evaluations.” She added, “One Deputy Vice Chancellor has been there for almost six years and has never been subjected to an evaluation.

We are certain that an evaluation of this DVC will result in dismissal and/or non renewal of contract as the overwhelming sentiment among staff who engages this DVC is that the individual covers gross inefficiency with arrogance.”

“Any attempt to impose said individual as VC (acting) will also been vigorously resisted. That experiment in ‘acting’ was already tried post Opadeyi and it failed.”

She said that staff will use all legal and industrial measures to ensure that merit, transparency, accountability and fairness are the guiding criteria for all appointments.

Earlier this month, the Unions expressed concerns over the failure of the administration to provide to the unions with contract information. In a letter to the Council, the unions asked a series of questions for edification of its membership.

“How does Council enforce its decisions? We report Council’s decisions to our members and they have noted that it appears that Council makes decisions that are then ignored by the administration.

“There are apparently no

Dr. Melissa Ifill consequences for such actions.” Meanwhile, when contacted yesterda y f o r comment on the concerns in relation to the appointment of the Vice Chancellor, Pro-Chancellor Singh said that he was not in position to speak on the issue.

PAGE 10

Thursday May 23, 2019

Kaieteur News

=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===

Lincoln Lewis personifies the demise of Guyana This country has become so lost, nihilistic, and soulless that the infection is consuming most of us.

The latest victim is Lincoln Lewis. I am going to argue my case against him by the supply of facts not interpretations. I am going to quote what trade unions and employees have to say about this man.

Lewis, writing in yesterday’s edition of this newspaper, published a letter about me with the headline, “Freddie Kissoon is playing a dangerous game with this society and our highest tertiary institution of learning.” From reading Lewis’s missive, the game centers on my criticism of the current Vice Chancellor of UG and Lewis’s friend, Ivor English, who represents the TUC on the Council of the UG. This column will consist mostly of quotes from well known persons in this country, one of whom is a very close friend of Lewis

on what is taking place at UG and the betrayal of workers’ rights by Lewis and English.

I will ask readers to bear in mind some of these expressions are far harsher than the observations I have penned on UG’s current leadership and on Messrs. English and Lewis.

Before we come to the quotes, it is the wish of this columnist that TUC president, Coretta Mc Donald, does not embarrass herself by remaining silent on Lewis’s attack on her integrity. Ms. McDonald represents a noble profession – the one that educates all humans – teachers.

I cannot recall if it was three or two times, I brought up with Ms. McDonald the question of how English was assigned to the UG Council on behalf of the TUC. Ms. Donald told me that as president she and the TUC executive were not responsible for the selection of English; this was done unilaterally by Lewis.

Now if I am playing games with Guyana and UG, after supplying these quotes, Lewis will have to tell Guyanese if these people too are trying to destroy Guyana and UG. One of the closest comrades of Lewis is Christopher Ram. Here is what Ram had to say about the Vice Chancellor of UG in the Monday, May 19, 2019 edition of KN. I will reproduce the relevant section from the news item; “Money was spent without any accountability,” Ram said.

He told Kaieteur News that the audit committee functioned to, among other things, oversee audits by the internal auditors and to liaise with external auditors. But when the committee tried to hold meetings, Ram said that there have been efforts by the Vice Chancellor, Professor Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith, and his staff, to block those meetings. ”Even now, Ram said that there has not been a single audit of UG’s spending hab-

its throughout Griffith’s tenure – 2016 to present – and he worries that the lack of scrutiny has left too much to run amok.

“Griffith’s predecessor was heavily scrutinized to account for his foreign travels, which Ram said comes nowhere close to what Griffith is now getting away with.”

Here is what Ram wrote on the same day in another newspaper, the Stabroek News; “One of the early initiatives of Professor Griffith was the rewriting of the Statutes of the University, making the Vice Chancellor the centre of gravity of the University.

“I sat on the Council at the time and it was a struggle by a small group not dependent on the Vice Chancellor, willing to challenge some of the Vice Chancellor’s “initiatives”, including the proposed Georgetown Campus.

“I recall a letter in support of the proposal supplied to Council by the Ad-

ministration, purportedly by a banking institution whose existence could not be verified,” Here now is the union writing to its members on the UG administration; “The Unions suspect that the intention was/is to reappoint the VC without any evaluation. We are serving notice that If the Council decides to reappoint the VC without any evaluation at its meeting tomorrow (yesterday) there will be multiple swift and strong responses by staff.

“The Unions will NOT accept the reappointment of the VC until the special audit on spending at the University is completed and the findings made public.”

Here now is the union on the attitude of Lewis and English to workers’ rights; “Mr English has represented the TUC for over six years on the UG Council. During that period, notwithstanding ap-

Frederick Kissoon proaches made to him by the UG Unions’ representatives on the Council, he has consistently sided with the University’s management when there are disagreements with the Unions.

“Of grave concern to us is his reckless support of all initiatives over the past three years that have had grave financial implications for the University…Lewis is aware of all of this.”

In another column, I will expose Lewis’s betrayal even further.

Thursday May 23, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

PAGE 12

Thursday May 23, 2019

Kaieteur News

REO locks AFC councilor in office There appears to be increased friction between the Regional Executive Officer [REO] of Region Two, Denis Jaikaran, and Councilor of the Alliance for Change [AFC], Naith Ram. Just last week Tuesday, the RDC statutory meeting was adjourned after talks between the councilor and the REO, Clerk of the RDC, spiraled out of control.

Yesterday the councilor was locked in his office, located in the RDC compound, allegedly by the Regional Executive Officer.

Kaieteur News understands that Naith Ram occupies an office in the RDC compound, as the Regional Agri-

culture Coordinator, employed under the Ministry of the Presidency.

When this publication arrived on the Scene yesterday, Naith Ram was still locked in his office after an hour. The man was eventually released from the locked office, only after ranks from the Guyana Police Force showed up.

“When I arrived here I saw staff moving furnitures from inside the office. The REO saw me sitting in a corner… He said Naith Ram you gotta leave this office. He did say he assigned another office to me but I did not receive any key for that office,” Naith Ram said.

Naith Ram told this publi-

cation that he believes the REOs actions against him are somewhat vindictive. He added, “This basically stemmed from what transpired at the RDC meeting and it shows vindictiveness.”

The Prime Ministers Representative, Karan Chand, who also represents the AFC, said that he is in total disagreement with the REOs course of action. Another councilor who also represents the AFC said, “What disappoint me is that we are a coalition and we didnt expect this behaviour from the REO. “This is telling us that we should down tools as AFC councilors in the Region.”

(Continued on page 21)

Kaieteur News

Thursday May 23, 2019

Regulator moves to place five broadcasters before the courts

T

he Guyana N a t i o n a l Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) has refuted reports carried by Opposition-aligned news houses. The reports were taken from the 2019 Reporters Without Borders (RSF) index on press freedom in countries worldwide.

“In as much as the report indicated that Guyana moved from position 55 to 51 on the index, the assessment of Guyana is spurious especially as it relates to the 'media regulatory authority'”, GNBA said yesterday.

“The GNBA regards this as a reference to the Authority and seeks to set the record straight.

First the GNBA is an authority created by the Broadcasting Act passed by the Parliament of Guyana in 2011 and assented to by the then President of Guyana Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo.”

Members of the governing board of GNBA, it was explained, are appointed by the President according to the Act but are not necessarily selected by the President.

“Indeed one members of the Board has a statutory place by virtue of his office.

That is the Head of the National Frequency Management Unit or its successor and one member is nominated by the Leader of The Opposition.

The other five members of the Board are drawn from persons within the society at large who have experience in at least one of the following areas that is to say Information Communication Technology; Broadcasting; Law; Performing Arts; Literature; Science; Finance; Accountancy; Administration; Public

Service; and be of good standing, integrity and character. “ According to the GNBA, it is a “Non Sequitur” to contend that the provision which allows the President to appoint the Board Members “restricts the freedom of certain media outlets”.

“The GNBA calls out the RSF to point to a single instance between 2015 and 2019 where any media outlet was denied a licence by the GNBA for Radio, Television or Cable Broadcasting or where and when the licence of any broadcasting entity was suspended or was subjected to prosecution.”

The information presented appears outdated and/or archaic, the body said.

“It is not in keeping with the progress made in the broadcasting landscape in Guyana.

The GNBA functions independently, with the power vested in its governing Board to issue radio, television and cable licences on the basis of potential broadcasters, having met the requirements for a broadcast licence; and availability of spectrum space.”

The GNBA insists that it functions as a non-partisan, impartial and professional body that is free of Government intervention, with respect to the issuance of licences.

“The GNBA functions within the ambits of the broadcasting legislation and holds licenced broadcasters accountable for breaches of the Broadcasting Act especially with regard to the Broadcast Policy as set out by the Act.” Engagements The GNBA said that between 2015 and 2018, it held several engagements with broadcasters in the first

instance to advise the Prime Minister on necessary amendments to the Act. These were completed in 2017.

In other instances the GNBA formulates the Guidelines for Broadcasters.

“Several other consultations are planned for the next two years in keeping with the Authority's Strategic Plan. The Authority continues to renew the licences of existing broadcasters, once they have met their obligations to the Authority. In addition, the Authority continues to issue broadcasting licences.”

GNBA said it is challenging “Reporters Without Borders” to show an instance where any journalist was put before the court for reporting anything against the government. “ To d a y, G N B A h a s systems set up and ratified by its governing board to examine the actions of our broadcasters, before arriving at a decision whether to revoke, suspend, reduce the timeframe of a licence or impose a fine, as outlined in the Broadcasting Act. Importantly, there is the Monitoring and Compliance department which monitors the airwaves and when certain infractions are identified, those infractions are forwarded to the Special Investigative Committee for further examination.”

Other Systems GNBA explained that if it is decided that a fundamental breach was committed against the broadcasting Act, that broadcaster is summoned for a preliminary i n t e r v i e w, w h e r e a n opportunity is given for the broadcaster to refute or acknowledge the charge brought against his/her (continued on page 16)

PAGE 13

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Thursday May 23, 2019

Nand Persaud Group of Companies plays major part in Miss Earth Guyana activities

By Samuel Whyte

B

usiness Magnate, t h e N a n d Persaud Group of Companies, is continuing to set the pace for others to follow.

According to Managing Director Mohendra Persaud, they like to venture into new areas and do things that others are not doing.

According to him whenever they undertake a venture

they do it on a large scale.

The company, through its Nand Persaud Foundation, has teamed up with the Miss Earth Guyana 2019 Franchise to focus on raising awareness on environmental protection.

They recently hosted the finalists of the Miss Earth Guyana 2019 Competition for a weekend of activities in Berbice.

The main focus, according to Persaud, is the

The contestants and their management team with senior members of the Nand Persaud group of Companies Company's genuine appreciation for a safe, clean environment and giving back to the Community.

From the entire venture it is hoped that the delegates and others, in the long term, will value the environment in which they live.

Persaud stated that their associating with the Ms. Earth Competition and other environmental activities is a win, win situation for the Company.

Whist in Berbice the Miss Earth contestants visited the three Towns- New Amsterdam, Rose Hall and Corriverton. They engaged in cleaning up and tree planting exercises.

They also with members of the company undertook a

massive cleanup exercise at the No 63 Beach to remove tons of rubbish.

Managing Director for Miss Earth Guyana, Dr. Omesh Balmacoon, noted, “The Miss Earth Guyana franchise is not only about the pageant but also for the protection and preservation of our planet.�

He is proud to be involved and associated with a reputable company like the Nand Persaud Group of Companies through its Nand Persaud Foundation and the affable leadership team led

by CEO Rajendra Persaud, and Managing Director Mohendra Persaud.

The Nand Persaud Group of Companies boasts a number of subsidiaries that

include its Rice Milling and Packaging Complex at No36 Village, a Retail and Wholesale Outlet, Blue Sky Tech at Tain, Amazonia Rice Outlet at Black Bush Polder, NPG Packaging and Plastic Inc. at Wellington Park, an Agricultural and Machinery Department, an International Communication INC at Tain and East Bank Demerara, General Store at Rose Hall Town, horse racing facility and race track at No 36 Village.

It is a leading player in the country's Green Energy drive.

It is at present constructing a $40M soil testing lab at the University of Guyana (UG) Berbice Campus.

The contestants posing with sponsors Karibee Rice Logo on the No63 Beach

Kaieteur News

Thursday May 23, 2019

PAGE 15

Berbice youth organisations get help from Government

A

number of organisations in Berbice recently received cash grants from the government to enhance their work in the various communities.

On Thursday a team, led

by Foreign Secretary Carl Greenidge, and Presidential Advisor Dr. Mark Kirton, visited Berbice and distributed cash grants to the groups.

Among the eight groups were The New Leaders for Social Betterment Youth Group of Nurney Village Corentyne, Region Six. This group is on a mission to assist school dropouts through training.

According to the group, the initiative was taken since the issue is a growing problem in some communities.

The money received will jumpstart their cash crop garden which will provide jobs.

They will use the profits from the venture to help fund a skills training programme including computer studies and have a night class for

young people and students who have dropped out from school.

The Trafalgar Women on the Move group in Region Five received financial assistance which will be used to empower women in the community.

According to Secretary of the group, Marcia London, the group was formed to assist young females sewing skills.

The group tends to get involved in sewing uniforms, dresses, evening gowns, wedding apparels and other outfits.

Other groups that received assistance were The Albion Chapel Library and Skills Training Centre; The Upper Class Community Developers; The California Macou Youth Association; The Young Adventurers Cash Crop Farmers Co-op Society and the Golden Grove/Union Cash Crop Farmers Association.

The grants are provided by the Ministry of Communities.

Each community will benefit from a total of one

million dollars in cash and kind. A total of $1.3M was disbursed among the eight communities.

The initial monies will go towards preparatory works for the various projects that will spur the creation of hundreds of jobs.

Foreign Secretary Greenidge, making his first outing since his reassignment, said that he hopes the grants will be able to make a difference within the communities.

Meanwhile, Presidential Advisor Dr. Mark Kirton said that the grants are an investment by the government in the development of the c o m m u n i t i e s a n d its people. He also highlighted that it is an instalment towards ensuring all Guyanese enjoy the good life as promised by the governing Coalition.

Once the groups have utilized the monies received for its intended purpose, they will be receiving another disbursement of grants along with other assistance to complete their projects.

Secretary of the Trafalgar Women on the Move group Marcia London receiving the cash grant from Foreign Secretary Carl Greenidge

Chairperson New Leaders for Social Betterment Youth Group Janet Samuels receiving the cash grant from Foreign Secretary Carl Greenidge

Kaieteur News

Thursday May 23, 2019

PAGE 17

Hummer seized by GRA now being used by army

A

Hummer vehicle seized by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) in February last year amid allegations of a breach of its duty free concessions, has been donated to the army.

Yesterday, a senior official of GRA, in confirming that it has donated the Hummer HU3 to the Guyana Defence Force, explained that a seized asset or vehicle can be “donated” by another government agency. According to photos, it is now using DFB 1001. It was previously registered as PWW 1458. It does not have to be auctioned as is the case for other vehicles being sold to the general public.

“When it is seized, it belongs to the government,” the official said.

Questioned as to whether the parties, including the owner, has to be notified for the transfer, the official said that this is not necessary.

This particular vehicle has a chequered past.

In late February last year, GRA officials seized the vehicle that was questionably registered to the Ministry of Health. A non-governmental organization came under the spotlight as a result.

A c c o r d i n g t o Government officials, the 2007 HU3 model Hummer landed here about four years ago. It was owned by a USbased Guyanese. The vehicle came here from Suriname and was used for a while by the man. However, the New York businessman was about to take the vehicle back when he was told that it could be registered here, without the

The registration indicating that the Hummer was in the name of the Ministry of Health

The seized Hummer SUV with the army number plates necessary taxes and duties being waived.

The businessman reportedly signed it over to an NGO named Hope For the Nation Foundation. The vehicle was registered, as PWW 1458, in April 2017.

In January 2018, it was reported that the businessman became suspicious when he came to Guyana and was not allowed to use the SUV. “He (the businessman) reported that he had signed it over to the Hope Foundation with the intentions that he would be a member and have access to it to do the foundation's work when he is there.”

After reportedly being ejected from the Hummer one evening, in a desolate p a r t o f t h e c i t y, t h e businessman attempted to take steps to get back his SUV. It was only then that he shockingly learnt that the vehicle is registered to the (continued on page 18)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 18

Thursday May 23, 2019

Two Day Arts & Craft market opens on Main Street T

he annual Arts & Craft Market hosted by the Ministry of Social Cohesion opened yesterday at Main Street. It is slated for two days.

This event brings together Guyanese artists to showcase their talent as they are patronized by both locals and foreigners.

The objectives are basically to give opportunities to showcase local talent and use of local materials as well as to encourage packaging and branding.

A number of booths have been set up along the thoroughfare.

Steven McKenzie an artist, sculptor and potter said he has been in the business since around 1996. “This is how I eat� he said.

McKenzie majored in ceramics and minored in painting at ER Burrowes School of Art and then went

Locally made Jewellery on Display unto the University of Guyana to continue his studies. He graduated with distinctions from both

institutions.

The Arts & Craft market gives him an opportunity to attract new customers and expand his business.

Patricia Ramphal specializes in the production of local, natural Chai (Tea) that are a variety of local herbs combined.

She said the leaves used to make her tea, are locally grown in Enmore.

She recently added a line

of scented oils to her business. Currently she has 10 fragrances.

Shawnette DaCosta has been making crocheted clothing since she was 14 but established her business during the last two years.

All participants were pleased that they were getting the opportunity not only to expand and showcase but to share ideas on how to expand their line of products.

Some African prints available at DC Sewing Style

A section of the Arts and Craft market

Hummer seized...

From page 17 Ministry of Health. The Hope Foundation has reportedly been donating medical and other supplies to Guyana.

The matter was recently reported to the Guyana Revenue Authority which immediately sprang into action.

The Hummer was detained on the road and taken away by GRA enforcement staffers.

The NGO is reportedly being investigated, Kaieteur News was told. GRA has been clamping down on the frauds designed to rob the state of taxes.

Thursday May 23, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 19

US lawmakers seek review of Rusal's investment in Kentucky

A worker at a Rusal aluminium factory in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. The company announced Thursday that its board had approved a $200 million investment in a planned aluminum plant in Ashland, Ky. CreditIlya Naymushin/Reuters

By Kenneth P. Vogel

W

ASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers called on the Trump administration on Thursday to review an investment in Kentucky by a Russian aluminium company that they say has raised concerns about Russian influence on the economy and national security of the United States.

The Russian aluminium company, Rusal, announced on Thursday that its board had approved a $200 million investment in a planned aluminium plant in Ashland, Ky., in partnership with Braidy Industries, a private company based there.

The announcement came less than four months after the administration lifted sanctions on Rusal and its parent company, EN+.

The sanctions had banned the companies from doing business in the United States, and would have prevented the Kentucky deal, under which Rusal will own 40 percent of the plant and will supply it with unfinished aluminum for processing and sale to large institutional buyers, including automakers and airplane manufacturers.

The sanctions were imposed last year because the companies were owned and controlled by the influential Russian oligarch Oleg V. Deripaska, a Kremlin ally who the Treasury Department accused of aiding Russia's “malign activity” around the world.

After a sophisticated legal and lobbying campaign financed by the companies, the Treasury Department announced a deal last year to lift the sanctions in exchange for a restructuring intended to reduce Mr. Deripaska's control and ownership of the companies.

Yet a confidential, legally binding document detailing the agreement showed that Mr. Deripaska, who remains under personal sanction by the United States, and his allies would retain majority ownership of EN+. VTB, a Russian government-owned bank under limited United States sanctions, would own about 24 percent of EN+ under the deal.

“Given that EN+ is a company substantially owned by individuals and entities with close ties to the Russian government, we believe the proposed transaction warrants immediate review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States,” the lawmakers wrote in the

letter.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States is an interagency panel led by the Treasury Department that can block foreign investments in American companies on national security grounds.

The panel rarely discloses the existence of reviews, and a spokesman for Mr. Mnuchin declined to comment on the potential Rusal investment.

The companies say the deal is expected to close before the end of June, and the plant is expected to be operational by 2021.

Craig Bouchard, the chairman and chief executive of Braidy Industries, rejected the notion that the deal could be blocked by the committee, citing a provision in the regulations excluding from review start-ups or so-called greenfield investments, such as building a plant.

Rusal's investment is only in the new mill, he said in a statement. “It is not an investment at the parent company level.”

The plant could bring hundreds of “permanent green advanced manufacturing jobs to Appalachia,” Mr. Bouchard said in the statement.

He dismissed criticism of Rusal's involvement as politically driven, adding, “We take no sides in the political divisiveness plaguing our country at this time.” His company began negotiations with Rusal only after the sanctions were lifted, he said, explaining that he was satisfied that the sanctions relief deal ended Mr. Deripaska's control of the companies.

Mr. Bouchard said representatives from his company did not discuss the Rusal investment before it was announced with the Trump administration or Kentucky's senators, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, both of whom are Republicans.

A spotlight on the people reshaping our politics. A conversation with voters across the country.

And a guiding hand through the endless news cycle, telling you what you really need to know.

Mr. McConnell, the Senate majority leader, helped defeat a bipartisan effort in January to block the sanctions relief deal for Rusal.

His spokesman said Mr. McConnell's support for lifting the sanctions was unrelated to the potential investment in Kentucky, which was not publicly announced until last month — months after the vote.

Lobbying filings suggest that, just before

the April announcement, David Vitter, a former Republican senator who is being paid to lobby for EN+, reached out to give Mr. McConnell “a heads-up” about the announcement.

Mr. Paul, who also voted to lift the sanctions, said in a statement that he was “excited that Braidy Industries chose Ashland, Ky., for their headquarters and will create hundreds of jobs for Kentucky workers.”

He added that he had “no knowledge of any kind as to their financing, but I do find it deplorable that the fake news media would try to turn a big win for Kentucky into some partisan propaganda story.”

The investment comes as Rusal is pushing to expand into other parts of the United States.

Shortly after the announcement of the planned investment in Kentucky, Lord Barker of Battle, the former British member of Parliament who is the chairman of EN+, sent letters to governors of eight states saying “we see significant opportunities across the whole aluminum industry value chain in North America.”

The letters — sent to the governors of Alaska, Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — included articles about the Kentucky plan.

“This investment is just the beginning of our long-term ambitions,” Lord Barker wrote. “If appropriate, I would be delighted to explore these issues in more detail with you

Rusal's chief, Oleg V. Deripaska and your staff.”

Representative Lloyd Doggett, Democrat of Texas, who signed the letter to Mr. Mnuchin requesting a review, said “perhaps it's just an unusual coincidence” that Rusal is “placing in Kentucky the largest new aluminum plant built here in decades.”

“We seek a thorough review of the national security implications of Rusal putting down American roots in the Blue Grass State,” he added.

The letter said that “Russia remains a central threat” to the United States. “The proposed investment by EN+ — a company that is majority owned by a U.S.-sanctioned Russian national and Russian state bank — in an American aluminum mill, raises serious questions of national security.”

Representatives for Mr. Deripaska did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He is suing to overturn the United States sanctions against him.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 20

Wismar man dies after vigilante justice - don't take the law into your own hands - police commander warns

C

ommander of E Division, Linden Lord, has issued a strong warning to Lindeners to desist from taking the law into their "own hands" and meting out vigilante justice.

Lord issued the warning, following the death of a Wismar resident, Leonard Moriah, who succumbed to injuries he sustained, following a thrashing he received from irate residents of Block 22.

He was caught during the execution of a robbery early Tuesday morning.

The 37-year-old resident of Silvertown, Wismar, Linden, was taken to the Linden Hospital Complex where he died late Tuesday afternoon.

"We're appealing to residents to let the police do their work and not resort to this kind of behaviour...You should not take the law into your own hands," Lord admonished.

Moriah was described by some persons as a "career criminal", who was in and out of jail.

He was known by the aliases, "Cat, Kitten and Goat�.

According to a woman, people started calling Moriah, "Goat", after he stole a goat, from a Wismar resident.

Moriah was a few years ago, placed before the courts on armed robbery charges, and for being in possession of a firearm. According to Police sources, Moriah was handed over to the police following this recent incident, nursing a gunshot wound to his left knee.

It was claimed, that the man was accidentally shot, during a shuffle, with one of his victims. Following the incident, he was taken to the LHC where he was treated and discharged.

He was subsequently taken into police custody, but was however returned to the hospital, after he started crying out for pains.

Leonard Moriah, after he was captured and beaten Tuesday morning.

Moriah had reportedly broken into the home of a Block 22 family, early Tuesday morning and stole two small speaker boxes valued some $13,000, and an Acer laptop valued$120,000, among other items.

He was caught, while trying to remove other articles from the home, and soundly beaten by residents in the area.

Thursday May 23, 2019

Lima Sand residents capture jaguar

A

fully grown jaguar was trapped and caught at Lima Sands on the Essequibo Coast, around 03:00hrs yesterday.

Kaieteur News understands that the trap was set by a resident of the community, Mr. Marvin Calvan. Based on reports, the jaguar caught is only one of many that now frequently roam certain parts of the community.

Lima Sands is a recently established community, located some three miles behind the main coastland. Behind the community lies a dense jungle, which is home to wildlife, including Jaguars, and according to one resident, the Black Panther.

One resident who spoke to this publication said that the jaguars would come from the bushes at night, in search of food and water.

According to residents, they have lost a number of their livestock, and even their domestic animals to the roaming jaguars.

The Jaguar that was caught is believed to be a female and is being held in a secure caged.

Residents are not yet sure what to do with the cat, since it is protected under the Guyana Wildlife Protection Agency.

The Jaguar that was caught by residents yesterday morning at Lima Sands, Essequibo Coast, Region Two.

Thursday May 23, 2019

PAGE 21

Kaieteur News

Beware of Exxons skillful avoidance Wanted man opens fire on E’bo police of penalties Industry Expert

By Kiana Wilburg ExxonMobil is one of the worlds most affluent oil companies with all manner of skills at its disposal. Therefore, if a countrys regulators and politicians are not vigilant and resolute in the decisions made, they could be easily outmaneuvered by this oil king.

Just recently, Oil and Gas Consultant and Local Content Expert, Anthony Paul, conducted an interview with the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) where he shared an example of how Trinidad and Tobagos regulators were outmaneuvered

by ExxonMobil back in 2002.

Paul said that Exxon was able to skillfully avoid paying a hefty US$50M penalty it was slapped with after failing to honour a commitment to drill two wells.

The Industry Expert noted that even though the penalty was handed down by the TTs regulators, Exxon did not accept it. Instead, the oil giant went above the heads of the technocrats and straight to the government to negotiate its own deal which Paul also highlighted, “had limited in-

puts from the technical or commercial experts.”

The negotiation turned out to be a success for Exxon as it was able to avoid paying the penalty. In exchange, Exxon said it would perform some seismic interpretation and development drilling in TT s Trinmar acreage and partner with Petrotrin to produce any additional reserves it is able to identify.

During a follow-up interview with Kaieteur News on the foregoing case, Paul was careful to note that what he described to CCSI is not unique to TT, the oil industry, nor is it the sole domain of international firms.

The Energy and Strategy Advisor said that local companies and individuals engage in similar techniques to earn favour. While there are often legitimate reasons for sidelining established norms, Paul stressed that those doing so should always be doing it in the countrys best interest and should be able to demonstrate this to the public.

He said the lesson for Guyana and other countries new to oil and gas, is that,

Petroleum Consultant and Local Content Expert, Anthony Paul there will always be the need for a higher authority to make a decision above the pay grade of operations personnel in the regulatory body.

“However, politicians should be assisted in making the right decisions and not let others play on their egos or lack of experience by having readily available the right tools and information to do so,” Paul stated.

The Petroleum Consultant added, “We cannot blame politicians for making the wrong decisions if those charged to regulate dont anticipate and prepare for such conditions. In order to do that, regulators in new producing countries should themselves be prepared and assisted in developing these tools and procedures.”

PREVENTING UNDUE INFLUENCE / CORRUPTION Paul said what is required for good governance, particularly where public goods or money are concerned, is a system of accountability, wherein those making decisions, do so in a manner that is consistent, transparent and auditable.

He said there should be Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), with clear guidelines as to what factors are to be taken into account, what evidence must be presented/assessed and what criteria are used to evaluate and compare different options.

In addition, at each stage, there should be different individuals responsible for (Continued on page 22)

Ranks of the Guyana Police Force, G’ Division, came under fire yesterday afternoon after a failed attempt to apprehend a wanted man.

Some time around 13:15.hrs yesterday, ranks ventured into the Onderneeming backlands, Region Two, in an attempt to apprehend Leroy Price, 25, the man who escaped from police custody more than a year ago. It is believed that when Price, who was armed, saw the police approaching, he opened fire and made good his escape, despite police returning fire.

This publication understands that Price is wanted for a number of offenses committed in the Onderneeming Sandpit community.

A number of residents have confirmed that the man has been seen multiple times in Onderneeming backland,

where he resides with a female.

Based on reports, the man was arrested and arraigned before the court, but escaped for custody from the Suddie Police Station on March 03rd, 2018.

According to police reports, the escapee was remanded to prison having been charged with simple larceny and three other offences.

In 2017, the escapee poisoned multiple water tanks of an Onderneeming family, before attempting to set their house alight.

It is believed that the man damaged a number of crops on an Onderneeming farm, which belongs to a farmer from Adventure on the Essequibo Coast.

Residents are urging police to continue to pursue the criminal, since he poses a serious threat to the community.

PAGE 22

Thursday May 23, 2019

Kaieteur News

Beware of Exxons...

SERVICES

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Tel#226-2409/223-4159/6442388/687-5448 Jacob’s Jewellery and Pawnshop. Tel#227-8748/6224970 16 Pike Street, Kitty.

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

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2 bedroom apartment @ Nandy Park, recently renovated #641-3318 2 bedroom apartment. Eccles $45,000. Contact #629-1805 One (2) bedroom apt for rent @ Colligen, One (3) Bedroom Apt for rent @ Diamond.

Tel#602-2563/609-4365 One four bedroom concrete cottage unfurnished for rent located at Continental Park, Peter ’s Hall, East Bank Demerara. Tel No. #233-5808 Building at Coverden, East Bank Demerara. Call #6231615 TO LET

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

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Experienced male sales attendant, stocktaking knowledge, computer literate, excellent service attitude, able bodied.Key Food McDoom Village.

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Taxation Personnel: 3 yrs experience.Minimum qualification C AT / Diploma in Accountancy.

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One 2014-2015 Honda Vezel Pxx series, good as new. Price $4.7M Neg #689-5103

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From page 21 evaluating the situation and making recommendations for materially significant decisions and for approving same.

Both the level of value, subject to such procedure and the responsible individuals (either by office or role) should be clearly defined in SOPs. Paul, who has 40 years in petroleum and mining, cautioned that companies are very good at understanding governments and establish very robust government relations pathways and procedures.

He said that they identify the key decision-makers and influencers and build strong

Sales clerk to work at A&S General Store and Gaulin Supermarket.

Contact barry@adamantiumholdings.com or Tel#654-7162 English & Maths Tutor. Contact #223-5273/74 General domestic. 3 Days work. Must know to cook.

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Send application to PO box #101447 Experienced Washbay staff with driver’s licence #646-8748 Vacancy exist for 1 cook for a family, must have experience between 25-40 yrs old. Call: 231-8737 Looking for a job & educational services? Contact The Job Centre 43 Croal & Alexander Street or call 5024002/600-8457

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Contact 616-5419, 265-7075 Attractive live in waitressCall: 327-0252/674-4665/6493750 TM 4x4 winch #681-9130/2662700 Precept Officer/Driver. Call: 623-5255 Family to work on a farm on the East Bank Dem, Providence. Shivana #6536770 (1) Security and (1) Driver to work in Georgetown. Call #2271717 Caregiver for elderly female required to cook , clean. Call: 675-6723, recommendation required PEN PAL An Adult Male seeks single Female 30-35 years residing in Guyana. #675-4517 VACANCY Driver must be able to assist in workshop at Eccles, age 25-45, Car/Van license. Call #642-9823 One male technician installer, must be computer literate, apply with application. Tel#2273405 Female to help a 3- year old boy learn to play musical instrument: piano, guitar etc.

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inter-personal relations of trust between them and company employees/ contractors/ advisors/ partners, often to the level where those decision makers and influencers give more credence to the company relationship with the manager than to their own technocrats.

“So relationship-building works on very human characteristics, and is nuanced from country to country and from person to person. Therefore, power doesnt always have to come from the barrel of a gun or from a bank book,” the Trinidadian concluded on this matter.

Guyoil...

From page 8 Providence, East Bank Demerara and Heathburn, Berbice.

According to the chairman, Mark Benders 2017 report, “Despite the increasing manifestation of smuggled/ illegal fuel and the increased number of licensed private importers, GuyOil maintained its dominant position in the Guyana market and continued to be the leader in stabilizing fuel prices, to the benefit of the Guyanese consuming public and industries.”

According to the sales revenues, in 2017 sales were $35.259B, compared to $31.939B in 2016, an increase of $3.32B or 10.39%.

Cost of sales was $30.465B compared to $25.889B in 2016, an increase of $4.576B or 17.68 percent.

With regards to the sales volumes, GuyOil managed to reach 1,309,093 barrels compared to 1,287,211 barrels in 2016, an increase of 21,882 barrels or 1.7 %.

Thursday May 23, 2019

Guyana becomes 90th member of IHO The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an international organization which aims to ensure that world seas, oceans and navigable waters are properly surveys and charted. And on April 18, 2019, Guyana became the 90th country to be accepted to the IHO. The Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission as set out in the GLSC Act of 1999, has charge of, and acts as a guardians of all public lands, creeks and rivers of Guyana, inclusive of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) here in Guyana.

Recognizing the need for accurate maritime date, the GLSC and the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), both stand to benefit from Guyanas ascen-

sion to the IHO. GLSCs commissioner, Mr. Trevor L. Benn, initiated the process with the IHO, and the process was later advanced by Guyanas Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Part of the commissions mandate includes executing or cause to be executed hydrographic, topographic, geodetic and cadastral surveys in relation to the land and water resources of Guyana.

The commission therefore, as part of its strategy, has moved to strengthen the hydrographic capacity of the country and to ensure access to the relevant international instruments and opportunities for development.

Guyanas ascension to the IHO is a major achievement

for the country and comes at an opportune time as the country moves to develop its oil and gas sector.

To this end, hydrographic surveys will not only update the suite of nautical charts, but it will also help to maintain the safety of maritime commerce, as well as recreational boaters and natural ecosystems.

In addition, as part of the work being executed under the Sustainable Land Development and Management project, a National Spatial Data Infrastructure is currently being developed and implemented, and will also see digital data included that would include maps of the land and marine environments of Guyana being updated and developed.

Ocean mapping should be done consistently-British High Commissioner British High Commissioner, Greg Quinn, has urged that ocean mapping be done consistently. “Going forward, work will have to be undertaken to map the constant changes which happen in a dynamic environment such as the ocean.”

This was related yesterday at the Harbour Master s Boathouse when the Guyana Maritime Administration (MARAD), received a donation of $68M in equipmen t f r o m t h e United Kingdoms Hydrog r a p h i c O ff i c e . A m o n g the equipment is a multibeam echo-sounder that will be installed on the MT Aruka.

The donation of the e q u i p m e n t w ill help Guyana to uphold its commitment towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), SDG 14 which aims to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

He explained that efficient nautical navigation and related marine activities such as scientific research, security and defense and environmental protection are some of the areas that would stand to benefit from consistency in mapping the changes.

“Much of the topography of Guyanas ocean floor remains unknown and unmapped.” Many countries, inclusive of Guyana lack the scientific data to explain the oceans role concerning sustainable development.

H o w e v e r, Quinn noted the progress Guyana has made towards mapping of its

PAGE 23

Kaieteur News

ocean floor since partnering with the Commonwealth Marine Economies (CME) Programme.

MARADS DirectorGeneral, Claudette Rogers, who was representing the Ministry of Public Infrastructure at the ceremony, cited the significance of staff being trained to properly use the hydrographic equipment.

Director-General Rogers said the training, “would facilitate the compilation of modern navigational charts of the priority areas and will improve access for commercial shipping, ultimately reducing the cost of both import and export by sea”.

Cruise tourism and its associated economic benefits are some of the prospects generated from having the trained staff, she noted . “ T h e w o r k w i l l also reduce risk to life and the environment.”

During his remarks, Hydrographic Programme Manager within the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO), Ian Davies highlighted the UKHO s commitment towards building capacity in Guyanas maritime sector.

“UKHO will continue to provide advice and guidance to the survey team and the National Hydrographic Committee on the planning and conduct of surveys to ensure that the data collected meets international standards and contributes not only to the safety of navigation through updated navigational charting, but also provides information to be used across government to support the development and management of your [Guyanas] coastal waters”.

In 2017, UKHO assisted

Guyana in surveying the mouths of the Essequibo and the Demerara Rivers.

Coming out of this exercise, two nautical charts were updated, and a new chart was created after four decades of using old charts.

With the handing over of the equipment, eight persons will be trained in surveying for three weeks

by UKHO. These individuals will come from both the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) and the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC).

Fisheries, disaster management and climate change mitigation are some of the areas that can benefit from the hydrographic equipment.

Black Bush Polder truck driver appeals manslaughter conviction Navendra Basdeo, called ‘Phone’, 24, of 14 Johanna North, Black Bush Polder who was on trial for the unlawful killing of Karan Sukhdeo in the Berbice High Court, and found guilty of manslaughter, has appealed his conviction to the court of appeal. Basdeo, who was on trial before Justice Jo Ann Barlow and a mixed Jury, is accused of killing Sukhdeo, called “Vishal”, 30, a truck driver and father of one, of 101 Johanna North Black Bush Polder. The killing occurred on Saturday August 23, 2014. He was convicted on May 14, last, but is still to be sentenced since a probation report has been ordered.

He was represented by Attorney at law Mursalene Bacchus in association with attorney at Law Surihya Sabsook.

State Prosecutor Mandel Moore presented the state’s case.

Basdeo, through his attorneys, has listed a number of grounds for appealing his conviction.

The verdict is unreasonable and cannot be supported by the evidence.

The verdict is inconsistent and ought not to be allowed to stand. The law of omissions, inconsistencies and contradictions was not adequately put to the jury resulting in a miscarriage of justice.

The law of self-defence and the weaknesses of the prosecution’s case were not adequately discussed by the judge with the jury.

The incident reportedly occurred following an altercation between Sookdeo and a group of men, including Basdeo, at a wedding house at Johanna North, Black Bush Polder, and Corentyne Berbice.

Sukdeo reportedly died from multiple injuries.

He received stab wounds in the region of the heart and about the body.

PAGE 24

Thursday May 23, 2019

Kaieteur News

AG to respond to President over Europe holds “most important” EU vote allegations of misconduct President David Granger has asked Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, to respond in writing to the reports accusing him of misconduct.

An, unsigned letter which was circulated to various media platforms this past fortnight stated that the AG verbally abuses staff, engages in sexual misconduct and is grossly incompetent.

President Granger told reporters following an event at the Ministry of the Presidency yesterday that he is aware of the letter.

“I have seen a copy of the letter.”

Granger noted, however, that the letter is anonymous and “we have to be very careful with anonymous letters. If somebody had evidence, they’d put their name to it and be prepared to defend that evidence but if it is a fake letter, anybody can write anything.”

The Head of State said the AG is yet to respond in writing.

Meanwhile, on May 16, last, the Attorney General referring to allegations as ‘fake news in a post on his Facebook page, alleged that the letter is the work of the political opposition.

He noted that he has been practising law for over 32 years and no allegations of bribery of police, witnesses, jurors, magistrates or Judges were ever leveled against him.

Williams added that there was also no allegation of corruption leveled against him during his years as a Minister of Government.

“I reject out of hand the fake news of their newly acquired advisers,” he said in his social media post.

General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams Williams is being accused of sexual, verbal, emotional, mental and physiological abuse of the staff of that Ministry.

An unsigned letter circulating on social media stated that people were said to be scared of coming out and supporting the allegations. It advised against people contacting some of the people identified.

This letter was sparked by statements Williams made at the Caribbean Court of Justice. The Attorney General was leading a team to the Trinidad-based CCJ to challenge the contention by the opposition that the no-confidence motion was valid.

In his address to the judicial panel in Trinidad, Williams accused the opposition People’s Progressive Party of creating and presiding over a narco-state.

This comment so incensed the PPP that it imme-

diately caused the letter appearing on the social media to be distributed.

The letter, unsigned as it is, contained serious allegations designed to attack Williams’s character. The only material that appears to be credible are the names of 19 lawyers who worked in the advice and litigation department of the Attorney General’s Chambers.

To date, there has been one challenge to the unsigned letter. The letter reported that, “Mr. Fung-a-Fat (sic), Chief Parliamentary Counsel was not immune from this type of abuse.”

In a response that was published in the local newspapers, Mr. Charles Fung-aFat, Chief Parliamentary Counsel, stated that if he failed “to respond to this falsehood and not seek to correct it, I would be neglecting my moral duty and bring the office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel into disrepute.”

He said, “This falsehood has made me anxious that it could be possibly be entertained and believed by the people of Guyana, and more particularly, the Head of State.”

Asked to comment on the unsigned missive, Williams said that no one has ever accused him of sexual misconduct. He said that he has not been the only Government Minister that is being attacked at this time.

He said that the mature media simply ignored the letter on social media except for a media house that queried whether Williams was being investigated. The answer to that query was that the issue has not even reached the ears of the Government.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) Europeans start voting today in four days of elections to the EU parliament that will influence not just Brussels policy for the next five years but, to some extent, the very future of the Union project itself.

In 2014, nationalists hostile to the EU doubled their presence in the assembly, topped the poll in Britain and went on to win a 2016 referendum there that yanked out one of the bloc’s biggest members. Almost.

Five years on, polls show eurosceptics gaining again. But Brexit is yet to happen, and may not; Brussels’ fiercest enemies will still struggle to top 20%; and the far-right goes into the weekend hit by scandal over its Austrian flagbearer ’s videotaped collusion with a supposed Russian oligarch’s niece eager to buy favor.

Others who want to halt or reverse federalist trends, if not scrap the European Union altogether, also face headwinds. Some who are tasting national power must also face disillusioned supporters — notably Italy’s corulers the League and 5-Star.

The European project is facing a list of challenges, including un p r e c e d e n t e d transatlantic slights from a

U.S. president who fetes Europe’s populists, border rows over migrants and an economy hobbled by public debt and challenged by the rise of China.

But parties seeking collective continental action on shared issues such as trade, security, migration or climate change should still dominate the chamber, albeit with a smaller overall majority.

NATIONALIST TIDE Europeans are preparing to remember events that shaped the Union — 75 years since Americans landed in France to defeat Nazi Germany and since Russian forces let the Germans crush a Polish bid for freedom; 30 since Germans smashed the Berlin Wall to reunite east and west Europe.

But memories of wars, hot and cold, have not sufficed to build faith in a united future. Jean-Claude Juncker, the Luxemburger who will be replaced as EU executive head after the election, warns of a rising tide of nationalism, not just on the fringes.

Mainstream parties pushing closer integration of the euro currency zone’s economy are struggling to capture the imagination of a public jaded with political elites.

Describing it as “un-

doubtedly the most important” since the first such election in 1979, centrist French President Emmanuel Macron again flourished the standard he has raised for Europe, calling on Thursday for cooperation from conservatives, socialists and Greens to face down a caucus of anti-EU forces.

“In today’s world we need a stronger, more united Europe,” Macron told Belgium’s Le Soir newspaper. Asked if he believed his opponents could destroy the EU, he replied: “Of course.”

He need look no further than home turf to see the threat. Marine Le Pen’s National Rally hopes to top the French EU poll again. And she is delightedly telling voters that she will find many more allies to block what she calls a “rush to federalism”.

BREXIT BALLOT Matteo Salvini’s League may pip the Christian Democrats of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the bloc’s power broker beset by nationalists to her right, to become the biggest single party in the 751-seat chamber.

Right-wing ruling parties in Poland and Hungary, defying Brussels over curbs to judicial and media independence, will also return eurosceptic lawmakers on Sunday.

China: U.S. resembles “Don Quixote” in seeing other powers as threats GENEVA (Reuters) - China told the world’s main disarmament forum yesterday that U.S. foreign policy was destabilizing, baffling and redolent of Don Quixote, the Spanish fictional hero whose misplaced determination leads him on a series of doomed endeavors.

“The Cold War mentality has come back to drive the security strategy and

policy of a major power,” China’s disarmament ambassador Li Song told the Conference on Disarmament, a long-stalemated arena for arms talks at the United Nations in Geneva.

“In particular the U.S. keeps saying other countries make it feel unsafe – this is truly baffling,” he said.

Brexit crisis - Minister quits, piling pressure on May LONDON (Reuters) Prominent Brexit supporter Andrea Leadsom resigned from Prime Minister Theresa May’s government yesterday, piling pressure on the British leader, after a new Brexit gambit backfired and fuelled calls for her to quit.

So far May has resisted, vowing to press on despite opposition from lawmakers and other ministers to her bid to get her Brexit deal through parliament by softening her stance on a second referendum and customs arrangements. But Leadsom’s resignation further deepens the Brexit crisis, sapping an already weak leader of her authority. Almost three years since Britain voted to leave the European Union, it is not clear when, how or even if Brexit will happen.

Leadsom, Leader of the House of Commons, said she

could not announce the new Withdrawal Agreement Bill, which will implement Britain’s departure, in parliament today as she did not believe in it.

“I no longer believe that our approach will deliver on the referendum result,” Leadsom, once a challenger to May to become prime minister, said in a resignation letter.

“It is therefore with great regret and with a heavy heart that I resign from the government.”

A Downing Street spokesman praised Leadsom and expressed disappointment at her decision, but added: “The prime minister remains focusaed on delivering the Brexit people voted for.”

May might still try to press on with her new Brexit plan, which includes a vote on whether to hold a second

Brexit referendum — once her legislation passes the first stage — as well as closer trading arrangements with the EU. But it has been met with a swift backlash, with several lawmakers who have supported her in previous Brexit votes saying they could not back the new plan, particularly over her U-turn regarding a possible second referendum.

“I have always maintained that a second referendum would be dangerously divisive, and I do not support the government willingly facilitating such a concession,” Leadsom said.

“No one has wanted you to succeed more than I have,” Leadsom wrote to May. “But I do now urge you to make the right decisions in the interests of the country, this government and our party.”

Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at the House of Commons in London, Britain May 22, 2019. ©UK Parliament/Mark Duffy/Handout via REUTERS

Thursday May 23, 2019

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Kaieteur News

11 years later…

Killer of scrap metal dealer gets 16 year sentence Rondell Bacchus, who was charged with the July 2008 murder of scrap metal dealer Akbar Alli, was yesterday sentenced to 16 years imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to the lesser count of m a n s l a u g h t e r, t h e r e b y admitting that he unlawfully killed.

But Bacchus will serve a reduced sentence of about five years.

Justice Navindra Singh ordered that the prison authority is to deduct the time he spent in pre-trial custody from the sentencewhich is 11 years.

Bacchus admitted that on July 24, 2008, he killed Akbar Alli.

Based on reports, on the day of his demise, Alli withdrew about $2.1 million from a city bank and went with his wife to another city bank after which he proceeded to Brickdam to transact business with an auto dealer.

Alli had parked and along with his wife, exited the vehicle. It was then that two men rode up on a

motorcycle and snatched the bag containing the money which his wife had.

The men then rode away, but Alli gave chase. One of the bandits shot him in the chest.

The injured man was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he eventually succumbed.

Also y e s t e r d a y, Bacchus was indicted for robbery under-arms and possession of unlawful firearm and ammunition.

He also pleaded guilty to these charges. He confessed that on July 24, 2008, while being armed with a gun, he robbed the Allis of $2.1M. Bacchus further admitted that on August 15, 2008, he had a .38 special colt revolver, along with six .38 special ammunition when he was not the holder of a firearm license enforced at the time.

In respect to the robbery under-arms charge, Justice Singh imposed a sentence of three years. Alli was jailed

CONFESSED KILLER: Rondell Bacchus for one year each on the charges of possession illegal firearm and ammunition.

The judge, however, ordered that the sentences run concurrently which means that 16 years sentence for manslaughter will take precedence.

Bacchus was represented by Attorneysat-Law Nigel Hughes, Ashley Henry and Ronald

REO locks AFC councilor in office From page 12 When contacted for a comment, REO Jaikaran explained that the building which the councilors office occupies is currently being renovated.

He said that the councilor was informed and reassigned to an office almost two weeks ago, in an effort to faci l i t a t e t h e renovations.

When asked why the doors were padlocked y e s t e r d a y, J a i k a r a n said, “The door was locked in an effort to s e c u r e items stored in there by the accounts department due to the renovation.

He was asked several times to remove, as a result

REO: Denis Jaikaran of rehabilitation work and safety for our workers will always be a priority.”

As the clash between the REO and AFC repre-

Locked up: Naith Ram

sentatives continues to heighten, no one is sure what this will mean for the APNU/AFC Coalition Government in Region Two.

KILLED: Akbar Alli Daniels. During a plea in mitigation, Hughes pleaded with the court to

be lenient with his client and to consider the amount of years he had already spent on remand.

The lawyer assured the court that his client will be of benefit to society when he is released from prison.

In that same breath, Hughes added, “All of us, irrespective of our deeds are capable of redemption.” According to the lawyer, Bacchus has shown extreme remorse, and wanted the opportunity to apologize to Allis widow.

Unfortunately the woman was not present in court. In his address to the court, Bacchus said that he was sorry and told Justice Singh that he did not come to waste time.

“I fed up fight,” he said, perhaps referring to his two previous trials for Allis murder which both ended in a hung jury.

State Prosecutor Tuanna Hardy asked that the sentence reflect the serious nature of the offence.

A c c o r d i n g t o h e r, Bacchuss action resulted in a daughter being left without a father to walk or down the aisle, and a son without someone to give him advice on life.

Before he was escorted to commence his sentence, Justice Singh told Bacchus that he was relatively young and could still make a meaningful contribution to society when he is released from prison.

President still to declare assets to integrity commission President David Granger has not yet declared his assets to the Integrity Commission. He told reporters this at the Ministry of the Presidencys Shiv Chanderpaul Drive office.

“I have not submitted all of my declarations.

[The documents] are taking some time. But I am in touch with (the commission). The commission has heard from me.”

The President said that he has had some challenges over the period leading down to the annual deadline of June 30 for officials to declare their assets, but he has assured that he is working on it.

He noted that the commission is aware of his interest in ensuring that theyre submitted as quickly as possible.

The President had traveled to Cuba frequently for treatment for N o n - H o d g k i n s Ly m phoma, a cancer of the blood. He only lately returned to Guyana, with a warning from his medical t e a m not to take on too much strenuous work.

The integrity commission had noted that over a hundred officials have failed to declare their assets, and the President indicated his concern.

Public officers listed under the Integrity Commission Act have to disclose their financial assets and liabilities on or before June 30, each year.

“As far as the Cabinet is concerned the general opinion or general rule is that we should all comply.

President David Granger So, its just a matter of time.

Some of the details, I think, may have taken some Members time, but I cannot say if all of them are compliant… but that is the policy of the Cabinet, that every Minister should comply.”

The entities targeted for scrutiny in a recent publication in the official gazette, by the commission, include the Bureau of Statistics; the Burrowes School of Art; Cheddi Jagan Interna-

tional Airport Corporation; Cyril Potter College of Education; Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation; Dependent Pension Fund; Environmental Protection Agency; Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation; G u y a n a C i v i l Av i a t i o n Authority; Guyana Gold Board; Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission; Guyana Livestock Development Authority and the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority.

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Thursday May 23, 2019

Thursday May 23, 2019

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Venezuela turns to Russia, Regional countries participate Cuba, China in health crisis in digital economy conference

GENEVA (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government is increasingly turning to allies Cuba, China and Russia to offset a health crisis caused

by U.S. sanctions, a minister said yesterday.

Venezuelans have been suffering dire shortages of medicines and health equipment for several years as it has spiraled into economic chaos and political conflict.

The opposition blames that on economic incompetence and corruption by the leftist movement in power for two decades, but Maduro says U.S. economic sanctions are the cause.

In Geneva for a World Health Organization (WHO) assembly, Health Minister Carlos Alvarado said Western sanctions had led to the freezing of 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) in assets, including gold in the Bank of England and funds in major institutions like Citibank.

That would cover

Carlos Alvarado Venezuela’s medical needs for six years, he told a news briefing.

“Today we can certainly say that the main health problem is the criminal blockade that we are victims of by the United States,” Alvarado said.

“What are we doing in Venezuela to overcome this situation? We do not stay with our hands crossed. We are strengthening our alliances with countries such as

Cuba, China, Russia, Turkey, Palestine, and Iran.”

Sanctions were hurting the whole population due to insufficient foreign currency for medicine imports, and some diseases including measles had re-emerged, the minister said.

“The greatest threat that we have is the threat of war that the U.S. government imposes on the Venezuelan people,” he said.

Caribbean countries vote on situation in Nicaragua

WASHINGTON - CMC – Two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries voted against a resolution at the Organization of American States (OAS) that expressed concern at the deterioration of democratic i n s t i t u t i o n s and human rights in Nicaragua and support for a peaceful solution to the political crisis in that country.

St. Vincent a n d t h e Grenadines and Suriname joined Nicaragua in voting against the resolution in the OAS Permanent Council, while Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Guyana, Haiti, and St. Lucia were among 20 countries that voted in support of the resolution.

Barbados, Belize,

Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica and St. Kitts-Nevis were among 10 countries abstained while Trinidad and Tobago was the only country not present for the vote.

In the resolution, the OAS Permanent Council urges the parties in Argentina “to further effective dialogue in good faith,” and urged the government to ensure such an environment by the “unconditional release of all prisoners, by June 18th, 2019 as well as allow the “effective work of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and its mechanisms in Nicaragua.”

The resolution is also urging the authorities to “initiate institutional measures necessary to ensure free, fair, transparent, and legitimate elec-

tions in accordance with international standards,” as well as “ensure freedom of expression and the press, allow the exercise of the right to demonstrate peacefully, stop arbitrary detentions”.

It is also seek to “guarantee the return and safe stay, without reprisals, of all the people who were forced to leave Nicaragua as a result of the current crisis.”

The resolution also calls on the Permanent Council to bring “this issue forward to the General Assembly in June 2019”.

More than 300 people have died and several others arrested since President Daniel Ortega launched a crackdown on opponents last April, political observers have said.

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - CMC – Several Caribbean countries will participate in a two-day conference on the digital economy in the Eastern Caribbean that gets underway in the United States today. The “Digital Economy, Moonshot for the Eastern Caribbean,” conference is being organised by the World Bank, and will bring together policy makers and technical teams from A n t i g u a a nd Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. KittsNevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

It will also be attended by representatives of the World Bank, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL), the OECS Commission as well as international companies.

The organisers said that the conference will discuss various aspects of the

digital economy, as well as seek to advance the services within the digital economy throughout the Eastern Caribbean by building on the experiences and needs of the countries.

“This consultative process will help to inform an action plan for a regional project to be supported by the World Bank.,” they said.

In March, the ECCB, which serves as the central bank for the countries in the sub-regional Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), signed a contract with the Barbados-based fintech company, Bitt Inc. (Bitt) to conduct a blockchain-issued Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot within the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU).

It said that the p i l o t project is the first of its kind and will involve a securely minted and issued

digital version of the EC dollar.

“The pilot is part of the E C C B ’s St r a t e g i c P l a n 2017-2021 which aims to help reduce cash usage within the ECCU by 50 per cent, promote greater financial sector stability, and expedite the growth and development of our member countries. It would be a game-changer for the way we do business,” the ECCB added. The multi-national consulting firm, Deloitte, defines the digital economy as “the economic activity that results from billions of everyday online connections among people, businesses, devices, data, and processes “The backbone of the digital economy is hyper connectivity which means growing interconnectedness of people, organisations, and machines that results from the Internet, mobile technology and the internet of things,” it added.

91 Venezuelans migrants stopped on south coast

This image shows some of the Venezuelan migrants Trinidad Express - At least 91 Venezuelan migrants were f o u n d i n Santa Flora yesterday afternoon.

They had arrived via b o a t s t h a t came ashore along the south coast and were camping out bear Beach Road when officers of the S a n t a F l o r a C I D and Emergency Response Unit found them.

Footage posted on social media showed the arrivals, mainly men, lined up along the beach under the watchful eyes of police officers.

At least 20 and 11 chil-

dren were among the group.

They were detained by officers and Immigration officials were called to check whether or they were carrying valid travel documentation.

There has been an influx of Venezuelans into Trinidad since Minister of National Security Stuart Young urged them to register for an amnesty, where they will be given ID cards and allowed to work for one year.

The registration process will be held between May 31 to June 14.

Last month, a vessel loaded with 38 passengers overturned east of the uninhabited Los Patos Island, near Dragon’s Mouth.

Nine persons were pulled from the water alive.

The body of a 16-year-old girl was recovered the following day.

A second Venezuelan migrant boat, travelling from Guiria to Trinidad, was reported missing at the weekend.

It is reported to have overturned near Dragon’s Mouth, the same location as where the first vessel went down last month.

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Thursday May 23, 2019

Thursday May 23, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Tridents sign controversial Hales, Bravo remains at TKR LONDON, CMC – Barbados Tridents signed troubled England batsman Alex Hales as their first round pick while two-time reigning champions, Trinbago Knight Riders, put to rest rampant speculation over Dwayne Bravo’s departure by retaining the veteran all-rounder in the Caribbean Premier League draft staged here yesterday.

There were no real major surprises at the event hosted at the Gfinity eSports Arena, however, as the six franchises for the most part predictably staffed their 17-man squads for the September 4 to October 12 showpiece in the Caribbean.

Tridents, looking to rebuild after finishing bottom of the standings last season, also nabbed 18-year-old Nepal leg-spinning sensation,

Sandeep Lamichhane, in the fifth round, and further supplemented their slow bowling attack by picking up Pakistan left-armer Imad Wasim in the ninth round.

They also secured the services of Pakistan batsman Asif Ali and out-of-favour West Indies opener Johnson Charles who had previously played for St Lucia Stars, while recalling the previously overlooked left-hander Jonathan Carter and retaining the likes of highly-rated strokemaker Shai Hope, off-spinner Ashley Nurse and Wahab Riaz.

The 30-year-old Hales, meanwhile, will take his explosive batting at the top of the order to the Bridgetownbased franchise and will bring additional firepower to their rankings.

Only recently, however,

Veteran Trinbago Knight Riders all-rounder, Dwayne Bravo.

Hales found himself embroiled in controversy when he was suspended and axed from England’s World Cup squad for failing a second drugs test, the latest in what men’s team director, Ashley Giles said had

Thursday May 23, 2019 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Aries, you may have had some confused emotions about your relationship or family over the past few days. You may not have been able to fully express your worries to others.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) If every day were like today, life would be heaven, Taurus! This is potentially a wonderful time for you. You may find the answers to problems that have been bothering you for a few weeks.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Gemini, you don't have to be at everyone's beck and call all the time. This is exhausting, and you lose contact with yourself. You should try to take some time out today.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Is it possible you're too demanding, Cancer? Today's planetary aspects may be asking you LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Today's a day to daydream, although this may not be an activity you usually do. You may even feel as if you're on vacation. Let's just hope people don't ask you a lot of difficult questions,.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) If you have someone special in your life, Virgo, today is a perfect day to stop playing at being your partner's parent, as you sometimes seem to do.

Reverse roles, and let other people take care of you.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) You won't be able to fix your indecisiveness, Libra. You just need to give yourself some time.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) You have a strange and wonderful day ahead, Scorpio. Once you've finished your work, you may want to either draw or write something that will help you remember today for a long time.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) You have a nice day in store, Sagittarius. People may seem more attentive to your needs and generally very pleasant. You may not be used to this kind of treatment!

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Today is a day for healing and reconciliation. You may have been feeling abused and mistreated lately by someone (or a few people) in your family over the past few weeks.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) You may feel living your life is like crossing a desert, but fortunately, Aquarius, today brings your oasis. Take advantage of it!

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Certain questions about your family life aren't as cut and dried as you might think, Pisces. This can be the case when emotions are involved. Yet more than anyone else, you need to be careful not to hurt anyone's feelings.

been “a string of poor behaviour over time”.

In 2017, Hales was suspended and fined for an incident outside a Bristol nightclub following a One-Day International against West

Indies.

In a surprise development, there was no place on the Tridents roster or any of the other franchises for the services of veteran T20 star, Dwayne Smith.

The 36-year-old has hit four CPL hundreds – the most by any batsman in the league – but had a poor 2018 season where he managed just 185 runs and a single half-century.

There was relief for TKR fans when Bravo was selected as a first round choice, squashing speculation he would not be turning out for his native franchise in the upcoming season.

In a comment on Twitter on Tuesday, Bravo said: “No TKR for me this season guys.

Sorry. But I have de nuff of the cussing. I need to enjoy my time now. Good luck TKR

fans!!!”

The 35-year-old, however, the league’s leading wickettaker with 97 scalps, will join marquee player Kieron Pollard, along with the usual suspects Sunil Narine, Darren Bravo, Denesh Ramdin and Khary Pierre, in retaining the distinctive Trinidadian flavour of the franchise.

New Zealand’s Colin Munro, who topped the runscoring charts last season with 567 runs, was also retained.

St Lucia Stars, yet to make a significant impression in the CPL, boosted their chances of strong showing this season by picking up Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga in the first round.

The franchise also secured last season’s leading wicket-taker, leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed, in the second round, and opted for the batting talents of one the West Indies’ latest recruits, lefthanded opener John Campbell.

There was added Sri Lankan flair to the franchise as Stars signed the pair of Thisara Perera and Niroshan Dickwella.

Guyana Amazon Warriors, meanwhile, strengthened their bowling attack with the inclusion of first round pick, Pakistan leg-spinner Shadab Khan, and also secured Australian fast bowler Ben Laughlin in the fifth round.

As expected, West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell was retained by Jamaica Tallawahs, joining veteran opener Chris Gayle who has returned to the franchise following a couple seasons with St Kitts and Nevis Patriots.

Forced to do without Gayle, Patriots signed Sri Lanka fast-bowling allrounder Isuru Udana in a first round move, while also pulling Rayad Emrit from Amazon Warriors.

Astonishingly, England’s Barbadian fast bowling sensation, Jofra Archer, went unsold in the auction.

Usman Khawaja struck on helmet

by Andre Russell...

From page 31 had meant David Warner moved down to No. 3, but if Khawaja is ruled out for any length of time as a result of the injury, it could pave the way for Warner to return to the opening spot he held before serving a year-long ban for his part in the ball tampering scandal in South Africa.

Khawaja was on 5 when he retired hurt and Warner made 12 before he was out to Oshane Thomas.

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Thursday May 23, 2019

Kaieteur News

Golden Jaguars away to Aruba in opening match of Inaugural Concacaf Nations League

Guyana’s flagship team, the ‘Golden Jaguars’ will open its quest to further consolidate its status as an emerging thoroughbred in Concacaf when it take on Aruba in the evening of Friday September 6 next when the group stage of the 2019/2020 Concacaf Nations League, kicks off.

The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) on Tuesday unveiled the schedule for the group stage of the League which will see some one-hundred-and-two matches in Leagues A, B and C which will take place during the FIFA match windows of September, October and November 2019.

Three days after taking on Aruba, the Golden Jaguars would be welcoming Jamaica’s ‘Reggae Boyz’ for their second match in Group ‘F’/ League ‘B’ which also has Antigua and Barbuda.

On October 11, Guyana would be away to Antigua and Barbuda and three days later, the Guyanese would be entertaining their rivals. Guyana

will host Aruba on November 15 after which they will travel to the Land of Reggae to engage the host, three days later.

At the conclusion of the homeand-away round robin group stage, the winners of each League A group will qualify to the Final Championship, while the League B and C group winners will be promoted to League A and B for the next edition of the competition.

Additionally, the teams at the bottom of each League A and B group will be relegated to League B and C respectively.

The official draw, which sub-divided the three Leagues into groups, took place Wednesday, March 27, 2019, at the Chelsea Theater in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Concacaf Chief Football Officer Manolo Zubiria conducted the draw alongside Concacaf Director of Development and former Grenada international footballer, Jason Roberts. The Concacaf Nations League kicked off with a one-off qualifying phase.

Head Coach Michael Johnson chatting with his charges following the conclusion of March 12th last at the GFF Training Facility.

Following 68 matches, the 34 participating teams were compiled into an aggregate table, ranking them 1-34.

The final position of each team determined if they were placed into League A, B or C. By virtue of having qualified for the Hexagonal Round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Russia 2018, Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, United States and Trinidad & Tobago where pre-seeded directly into League A.

Turning Point claim Colin Boyce Domino title

Colin Boyce (2nd from right) presents the trophy to members of the victorious Turning Point team.

Turning Point prevailed in a closely contested affair to win the final of the Colin Boyce four-game dominoes competition which was contested on Saturday night at Dynasty Sports bar.

Turning Point who drew the bye to the final, chalked up 55 games to beat Spartons on 50 and Phantom with 48.

June Watts led the scoring for the winners with 11 games, while Sandra Welch made eight. Tyrone Ambrose who

was named man-of-the-match in the final, and Martin Permaul made 12 and eight respectively for Spartons, while Rawle Cameron and Rawl Peters scored nine and eight in that order for Phantom.

Spartans won the semi final encounter with 50 games ahead of Phantom who marked 44 and Gold is Money with 40. Ambrose made eight for the winners, while Llyall Gittens and Rawle Cameron got nine and eight in that or-

der for Phantom; Clarence Whitehead made 10 for Gold is Money.

Boyce who is the Vice President of the Georgetown Dominoes Association expressed gratitude to the teams and thanked the sponsors; Ansa McAl, K and B Mining, BL Abrigo Shipping, Jacobs Jewellery and Pawn Shop, Star Party Rentals, Reginald Roach, Builders Lumber Yard and Millennium Manor International Hotel.

Additionally, Guatemala, who did not participate in the qualifying phase due to a suspension imposed by FIFA, was placed into League C. Meanwhile, the Golden Jaguars which created history by qualifying for the first time in the 17 plus year history of the nation for the Concacaf Gold Cup will commence preparations on June 1 with an inter-

national camp that includes two international friendly matches.

From June 1st next, the camp would start in Bermuda where they will come up against the fellow Gold Cup debutants in an international friendly on June 6. They then travel to Costa Rica to continue their camp over the period June 9 – 13.

Whilst there, the Golden Jaguars will play the second international friendly against Caribbean powerhouse Haiti on June 11. From Costa Rica the team travels to their base in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, for their opening game of Concacaf Gold Cup 2019 on June 18 at the Allianz Field against defending champions USA.

Mackenzie High versus Multi battle on Independence Day

Selected primary school athletes get free tickets, AAG timing system to be used

Shawn McNeil at left handing over tickets to Watooka Day Primary School Head Teacher Ms. Grandison in presence of other pupils.

The organisers of the first ever ‘Mackenzie High versus Multi’ Track and field championships, Team McNeil/ Cameron, are making it possible for one hundred and twenty athletes from the primary schools in Linden to witness the clash on Sunday at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground.

Team McNeil /Cameron were earlier this week busy distributing each of the six schools: St. Aidans, Christianburg, One Mile, Wismar Hill, Amelia’s Ward and Mackenzie Primary

schools with tickets to give to their top athletes.

This was the gesture to help the promising athletes at the Under 12 level to come and see their more prominent athletes on display and some of the older ones who would have helped the District 10 to be the dominant force they are over the years and at present.

Some eighty athletes drawn from the two schools will be in contention on Sunday and the event is whipping up interest among their various followings and

this will be a must seen event as bragging rights at the end of the day will be at stake.

The Amateur Athletics Associati o n o f G u y a n a (AAG), who governs the staging of track and field locally, have given the green light for the meet and will also be making their presence felt with the use of the internationally recognised Fully Automatic Timing (FAT) System to record the performances of the athletes at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground.

Thursday May 23, 2019

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GCF launches 2019 CCF/Junior Caribbean Championships August 10-11 would be historical, Bartica is selected venue For the first time in its history, the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) will host a Caribbean championship when on August 10-11 affiliates of the Caribbean Cycling Federation descend on these shores for the 2019 edition of the Junior Caribbean Cycling Championships.

In attendance at a press conference hosted yesterday at the National Sports Commission by GCF President Horace Burrowes were Director of Sport Christopher Jones, His Worship Mayor of Bartica Gifford Marshall, President of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana Mitra Ramkumar and Secretary of the GCF, Maria Leung.

Expressing pleasure at being able to host this prestigious spectacle, Burrowes thanked the Government of Guyana, NSC and the Bartica Town Council for their support thus far, noting that when Guyana was given the option of hosting this year, one year ahead of being awarded the 2019 edition, Jones and Marshall had no hesitation in giving the thumbs up.

Jamaica, Burrowes informed, had been selected as the next host nation but they indicated their inability to host and that’s when Guyana stepped u p .

The Town of Bartica has been selected to host both the Time Trials and Road Races on

August 11-12 with teams expected to start arriving in Guyana on August 8th, next.

Director of Sports, Jones in his remarks choose to make a call to all to understand the magnitude of the event at hand, noting that the GCF and Mayor and Town Council of Bartica have taken the conversation of Sport Tourism to a level of action. ”This is the second such major activity of cycling that is going to be had in Bartica, essentially, it provides an opportunity for local Guyanese to visit Bartica and also those in the Diaspora to come back home during what is called the July/August summer vacation for those abroad and for us locally, its vacation.”

Jones posited that the hotels, restaurants and tour operators among others within the Cayuni/Mazaruni area have the opportunity to cash in on the many opportunities that would be available during the weekend of activities.

He alluded to the fact that there would be several meetings with corporate Guyana and the business community in Bartica to give all an opportunity to come on board with a view of making the activity a resounding success. ”This is an opportunity where the entire country would be on show and corporate Guyana should take the opportunity to get on board as a

Director of Sport, Christopher Jones (2nd left) makes a point during his feature remarks at yesterday’s launch at the NSC, Homestretch Avenue. partner. I want again to congratulate president Burrowes for the work that he’s been doing, we recognize at the NSC and Board of Commissioners levels, the work he has been doing for cycling in Guyana. We recognize that because of his stewardship, Guyana is now being represented at the international level where we are now attending congresses and being put on the map.”

Jones committed that the Government of Guyana and by extension, the NSC would be fully supportive of this historical event.

Mayor Marshall also gave his Council’s full commitment on behalf of all the residents of Bartica that their holistic sup-

Usman Khawaja struck on helmet by Andre Russell bouncer during World Cup warm-up

port is guaranteed.

Whilst also commending the Government of Guyana and the NSC for making the historical opportunity a reality, Marshall stated that while it would be a tall order for them, the local tourism industry would be impacted positively and that Bartica would ensure that Guyana is represented well as all visitors would be happy to return. ”Cycling of course is an activity that speaks to active mobility and in our green objectives this is one of the areas we’ve been focusing on.

We’ve been focusing a lot on the health of our people, we’ve been focusing a lot on investment in sports especially where our youths are concerned and cycling embodies both of those objectives.

This we believe can be used as a tool to continue our green objectives and ensure that Bartica grows from strength to strength.”

Marshall also alluded to the fact that event tourism has a positive impact on the local economy which is a step in the right direction. ”We had a very successful Bartica Cycling Challenge in March this year and we would have seen what it did to the local economy so in time to come we will be of course, promoting more activities and we

believe that we would continue to have the support of the NSC, Government of Guyana and other agencies.

Bartica is open and we are ready to host the competition.”

T&HAG President, Ramkumar in his presentation said that the Bartica experience of being green is the focus of our tourism, reminding that Guyana is the number one Eco Tourism destination in the world. ”So Guyana is the new hot destination, people want to come here so what we need to do is to ensure that whenever people come, whatever is the purpose of their visit that they meet a friendly and hospitable country; a destination that is open, open for tourism, open for business, open for sports.”Ramkumar also stated that it is the belief of T&HAG, that tourism can be used for positive change. ”Many countries across the world have invested heavily in sports tourism and sports facilities. You look at what Abu Dhabi has done, they have built Ferrari world in a dessert and it was done for sports tourism. We want to collaborate with the sporting authorities, especially the people in cycling with the Director of Sports and the Sports Commission and with

the Mayor of Bartica.”

It was pointed out by Ramkumar that they see Bartica as a critical component in the sports tourism drive since there are a number of resorts in that area including Baganara, Aruwai, Baracara Falls and Sloth Island along the Essequibo circuit. ”So it’s in that light that we welcome this initiative and we would want people to come here, and when they come they share that experience and that of itself becomes a marketing tool. Everybody is on social media, they take a selfie and they share it and that’s a huge marketing tool. I look forward to collaborating with all to make this a success.”

Countries expected to travel for the Junior Caribbean Cycling Championships are Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, US Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Cayman Islands, Barbados, Bermuda, Bahamas, Jamaica, Curacao, Suriname, Puerto Rico St. Kitts & Nevis, Grenada, British Virgin Islands and Haiti.

The respective Presidents of the COPACI and Caribbean are also expected to be here.

Burrowes indicated that efforts are being made to have the UCI boss in Guyana also.

Brathwaite, Lewis find form in ...

Andre Russell checks on Usman Khawaja after hitting him on the head with a bouncer during a World Cup warm-up match. (PA Images via Getty Images) ESPNcricinfo -Usman Khawaja has sent a scare through the Australian World Cup camp after being struck on the helmet while batting against West Indies in a warmup match at Southampton. · Khawaja went to hospital for scans on his jaw after suffering a nasty blow from an Andre Russell bouncer during the unofficial warm-up match at Southampton’s Nurs-

ery Ground.

The opener retired hurt and looked to be in some discomfort, indicating an area on the right side of his head as he walked off the field accompanied by Australian team doctor Richard Saw. He did not take any further part in the match.Khawaja’s presence at the top of the order (Continued on page 29)

From page 33 Ambris to mount a 74-run, seventh wicket partnership and spare the Windies further blushes.Brathwaite played extravagantly, hitting five fours and three sixes – including one that landed in an adjacent golf course – while Ambris faced 46 deliveries and counted three fours.

Ambris eventually fell in the 36th over, hooking Starc to fine leg and Brathwaite followed in the 42nd over after adding 35

for the eighth wicket with Fabian Allen (12), holing out to wide long on off leftarm seamer Jason Behrendorff.

The Aussies then batted well in partnerships to complete the result as Smith posted 53 for the second wicket with Finch before adding 109 for the third wicket with Marsh.

Smith counted seven fours and two sixes while Marsh notched seven boundaries.

West Indies, currently involved in a preparation camp here, will take on South Africa in the first of their two official warm-ups in Bristol on Sunday.

Scores: WEST INDIES 229 off 46.2 overs (Carlos Brathwaite 60, Evin Lewis 50, Sunil Ambris 37; George Maxwell 2-14, Nathan Coulter-Nile 2-25).

AUSTRALIA 230 for three off 38.2 overs (Steve Smith 76, Shaun Marsh 55 not out, Aaron Finch 42).

PAGE 32

Thursday May 23, 2019

Kaieteur News

Clinton Pestano named Cricketer of the Year as RHTYSC, MS hold 29th Annual Awards

All of the Awardees of the RHTYSC 29th Annual Awards Ceremony pose with special invitees for a photo.

- Over $2.5M in prizes /donations shared out The large training hall of the St. Francis Community Developers was almost filled to capacity as Guyana’s leading youth and sports club, the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, MS held a gala 29th Annual Award Ceremony.

A total of $2.5M worth of trophies, medals, framed certificates, prizes and donations were shared out to dozens of Club Members, Cricket Clubs, Youths, Medical Personnel, Retired Teachers, outstanding Teachers and Students, Law Enforcement Officers and deserving members of the public. Among the prizes shared out were cell phones, smart phones, Gold rings, smart watches, gold medallions, designer clothing, electrical equipment, household and kitchen items, food hampers, cricket bats, sport gears, cosmetics, hampers, educational materials and designer watches among others.

Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster stated that the Award Ceremony is hosted every year to recognise and honour outstanding Club Members who excel during the past calendar year and to encourage all RHTYSC Members to always strive for excellence.

The Club, during the three hour ceremony, also honoured sixteen Medical Personnel, four Retired Teachers, four outstanding Law Enforcement Officers, eight Teachers of the Year, eight Students of the Year and presented its highest award “The Dolphin Award of Excellence” to five outstanding Guyanese.

The long standing Secre-

tary/CEO in a comprehensive report stated that the Club in 2018 completed a record 718 activities and was very successful on the cricket field.

The ten cricket teams of the club over the last fourteen months has won a total of fifteen cricket tournaments including Pepsi 50-Overs, Busta Champion of Champions 40Overs, New York Business Group Under-19, New Building Society 40-Over Second Division, Patron’s Cup 10/10 and Raffik Construction 100 Balls Tournaments. The Club also produced a total of seventeen National Players including Clinton Pestano, Jonathan Rampersaud, Kevin Sinclair, Shemaine Campbelle, Junior Sinclair, Erva Giddings, Kevlon Anderson, Shabiki Gajnabi, Sheneta Grimmond and Mahendra Gopilall.

Mayor of Rose Hall Town and Town Clerk Natasha Griffith both hailed the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, MS as a proud symbol of the Township and hailed the positive impact the Club has made in the lives of residents in Guyana’s smallest Township. Regional Vice Chairman Dennis Deroop, one of the five awardees of the RHTYSC Dolphin Award of Excellence, stated that the Club should be cherished by all Berbicians and be used as a role model. He pledged the Region 6 RDC cooperation to the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club on its community and youth development efforts.

Guest Speaker Jimeel Davis in a well received feature address spoke directly to the young members of the

Hamilton exempted...

From page 33 everything racing really,” he said.

“I remember at Silverstone when I won my first or second GP3 race and he was down at the podium with Toto and I couldn’t believe it really.

“I’d only been part of Mercedes for half a year and there’s Niki Lauda congratulating me at the podium. He was just an amazing person.”

Formula One managing director for motorsport Ross Brawn, who worked with Lauda at Mercedes in 2012, said the Austrian had been key to Hamilton’s move from McLaren, particularly in persuading the Mercedes board to part with the money.

“Niki’s loss is of huge significance to Formula One,” said the Briton. “Ours is a sport that revolves around larger than life personalities and Niki was one of racing’s most formidable characters.

“His presence in the paddock was a reminder that Formula One is a sport of heroes, an arena for competitors who push past common limits of fortitude and endurance and find an elevated plane beyond the ordinary. Simply, he was a legend.”

RHTYSC, MS Cricketer of the Year Clinton Pestano receives his prizes from Regional Vice Chairman Dennis Deroop.

Club on the importance of education, discipline and being a role model to others to emulate. Davis told the attentive audience that success is achieved through hard work.

Like the other speakers, he urged club members to continue striving for excellence and to uphold the high standard they have set themselves. Over $500,000 worth of cricket balls, bicycles, cricket gears, stationery, trophies, household items and medals were donated to twenty cricket clubs, the Upper Corentyne Cricket Association, Berbice Cricket Board, Students, Rose Hall Town Hindu Temple, an elderly resident from New Amsterdam and a Medical Personnel whose house was recently destroyed by fire.

National Player Clinton Pestano copped the prestigious RHTYSC Cricketer of the Year Award and took home $350,000 worth of prizes including a Steven Jacobs Gold Ring, bicycle, smart phone, watches, household

items, electrical items, lazy boy, kitchen utensils among others. Asst Secretary/CEO Simon Naidu collected a West Indian gold medallion from King’s Jewellery World and Smart Watch after been named “Worker of the Year/Benefit Year”, while West Indies female fast bowler Erva Giddings copped the Female Cricketer of the Year Award.

The full List of Awardees for 2018 are: Under-13 Batsman/Cricketer of the Year - Nyron Hicks.

Under-13 Bowler of the Year - Nathan Kistama Under-15 Batsman - Christopher Deroop Under-15 Bowler/Cricketer - Matthew Pottaya Under-17 Batsman Mahendra Gopilall Under-17 Bowler - Tyrese Sealey Under-17 Cricketer Jonathan Rampersaud Under-19 Batsman/ Bowler/Cricketer - Kevin Sinclair Under-21 Batsman Kevlon Anderson

Female Cricketers of the Year Erva Giddings receives her prizes from Metro Office Supplies Berbice Manager.

Under-21 Bowler - Keith Simpson Under-21 Cricketer - Kevin Sinclair Metro Female Batter Shemaine Campbelle Metro Female Bowler/ Cricketer - Erva Giddings Second Division Batsman - Kevin Sinclair Second Division Bowler/ Cricketer - Junior Sinclair First Division Batsman Kevlon Anderson First Division Bowler Shawn Pereira First Division Cricketer Kevin Sinclair Discipline Male Player Chanderpaul Govindan Discipline Female Player Mariam Samaroo Most Promising Female Player - Sheneta Grimmond Most Promising Male Player - Kevin Sueraj Most Committed Male Player - Mahendra Gopilall Most Committee Female Player - Uma Matadin Worker of the Year/Benefit Year - Simon Naidu Most Improved Female

Cricketer - Abigail Kishun Most Improved Male Cricketer - Nicholas Lawson/ Shivnarine Ramnarine Male Fielder of the Year Junior Sinclair Female Fielder of the Year - Shabiki Gajnabi Special Award - Eon Hooper Special Under-13 Award Terell Hutson Cricketer of the Year Clinton Pestano Secretary/CEO Special Award: Terry Pike, Sohan Harry, Tyrone Pottaya, Keith Hicks, Ravindranauth Kissoonlall, Surendra Kissoonlall, Navin Raghoo, Mark Papannah, Eon Wiggins, Elizabeth Brusch, Phil Arthur, Brenda Millington and Neville Beaton.

Additionally, the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club and official sponsor Bakewell honoured fifteen members of the Rose Hall Town Bakewell Second Division Team for winning six major titles over the last fourteen months.

Thursday May 23, 2019

PAGE 33

Kaieteur News

New Amsterdam United FC defeat Siparuta at female football The New Amsterdam United Football Club (NAUFC) females defeated their counterparts from the Siparuta/ Orealla, Corentyne River area, 2-0 when the two teams clashed in a friendly football match played recently in New Amsterdam in observance of Youth Week.

Minister of Social Cohesion, with responsibility for Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. George Norton was among those who witnessed the encounter.

Scoring for NAUFC were Affia Hartman and Aaliyah Kendal with a goal each.

Minister Norton was on a visit to Berbice for the launch of the Youth Week Celebrations. The Minister expressed satisfaction in witnessing a football match between females of the East Berbice-Corentyne Region.

The game, he said demonstrated a real sense of social cohesion by “breaking down” the geographical

barriers.

“One of the teams is from way up Siparuta/Orealla area, it is good that they can come down to play against a team from here in New Amsterdam, this is a true sense of what we want to see for National Youth Week,” he noted.

He reminded that the sportsmen and women from the Orealla Community are not left behind as they have received support over the years to assist them to better their skill.

The event saw the minister pledging his continuous support to the Riverrain village and residents being urged to take advantage of what is made available.

Village Councilor, Kingsley Hutson disclosed that it is the first time that the females from the village participated in a competition outside of their community.

He is optimistic that their participation will help to

Minister George Norton with the captains of the two teams. boost their skills in preparation for the upcoming

Hamilton exempted from media duties as F1 mourns Lauda MONACO (Reuters) - Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton was exempted from media duties at the Monaco Grand Prix yesterday as teams and drivers came to terms with the death of triple world champion Niki Lauda.

A team spokesman said they had asked for Hamilton to be excused on the grounds that he had “lost a very close friend in Niki”.

Lauda, who died on Monday aged 70, won in Monaco with Ferrari in 1975 and 1976 but was latterly the Mercedes team’s non-executive chairman and shareholder with principal Toto Wolff.

Formula One said a tribute was in the works, with details to be confirmed. A minute’s silence is likely before the race.

Hamilton, a five-times world champion, had paid an emotional tribute to the Austrian on Instagram on Tuesday night.

“My buddy, I am struggling to believe you are gone,” he said.

While he made an appearance in the harborside paddock, arriving on a motorcycle and waving to fans, the Briton now has no official media commitments until after Saturday’s qualifying.

Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas spoke to reporters instead.

“He (Lauda) was a key member of ours in the race team and factory, a big part of the Mercedes family and was a massive motivation for everyone and myself as well,”

Niki Lauda addresses a news conference presenting his new airline Laudamotion in Vienna, Austria March 16, 2018. (REUTERS/ Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo) Bottas said.

Mercedes said team members would wear black armbands from Thursday and the cars would have “Danke Niki (Thanks Niki)’” and the Austrian’s signature on the nose of the cars. One of the stars on the engine cover will be painted red.

Lauda wore a trademark red cap to cover the burns he suffered in a fiery near-fatal crash at the Nuerburgring in 1976, the year of his title duel w i t h M c L a r e n ’s J a m e s Hunt.

Ferrari and McLaren, the teams Lauda won his titles with, will also carry stickers on their cars celebrating his achievements.

Lauda won the 1975 and 1977 world titles with Ferrari.

He then made a comeback from retirement to take his third title with McLaren in 1984.

TRUE CHARACTER “I think there’s a lot of people that are not the way

you see them on television, I think they are growing in numbers quickly, but Niki wasn’t one of them,” said Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

“He was who he was and never pretended to be anything or anybody else...very outspoken, a true character, a true racer, passionate for the sport, said a lot of things people respected. He’s leaving a big gap we won’t be able to fill.”

Photographs and television footage of Lauda’s famous 1976 duel with rival and eventual champion James Hunt were being played constantly on screens in the Ferrari and Mercedes hospitality units.British rookie George Russell, a Mercedes-backed driver who was the team’s official reserve until securing a race seat with Williams, recalled how he and Lauda used to watch MotoGP races together.“He just loved (Continued on page 32)

Minister of Social Cohesion, with responsibility for Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. George Norton interacting with residents and supporters of Siparuta.

heritage games and a tournament in Suriname in

July.National Youth Week 2019 is being held under the

theme ‘Inspire and build resilient youths’.

Brathwaite, Lewis find form in Windies defeat

SOUTHAMPTON, England, CMC – All-rounder Carlos Brathwaite and opener Evin Lewis tuned up for the imminent World Cup with up tempo half-centuries but Australia overpowered West Indies to win by seven wickets, in a practice match at the Rose Bowl here yesterday.

Sent in, West Indies were dismissed for 229 in the 47th over with Brathwaite lashing a top score of 60 from 64 balls and the left-handed Lewis stroking exactly 50 from 54 deliveries.

Sunil Ambris, not a member of the World Cup squad, chipped in with 37, while Shai Hope got 21, but the Windies never found top gear after finding themselves 119 for six at the halfway point of the innings.

They were kept in check throughout by off-spinner George Maxwell (2-14) and pacers Nathan Coulter-Nile (2-25) and Mitchell Starc (234) all of whom finished with two wickets each.

In reply, former captain Steve Smith carved out a polished 76 from 84 balls and Shaun Marsh finished unbeaten on 55 off 59 deliveries, as the Aussies cruised to an uncomplicated target in the 39th over.

Opener Aaron Finch struck 42 off 47 balls to give Australia a handy start to their run chase.

Playing ahead of their opening World Cup match against Pakistan in nine days,

Opener Evin Lewis goes on the attack during his 50 against Australia at the Rose Bowl. (Photo courtesy CWI Media) the Windies were handed a solid start by Lewis and Hope who put on 39 off 41 balls for the first wicket.

Hope played imperiously in his brief 23-ball innings, punching two fours and two sixes before gloving a leg-side catch to wicketkeeper Alex Carey, after failing to handle a short ball from speedster Pat Cummins in the seventh over.

When Darren Bravo (5) dragged on a loose drive at Coulter-Nile in the 12th over, West Indies lost wickets

steadily, with five going down for 46 runs to leave the innings tottering on 104 for six in the 22nd over.

Shimron Hetmyer topedged a pull at Coulter-Nile and was taken at fine leg for 11, while Lewis played back and was trapped lbw on his crease by Maxwell after belting six fours and a six.

Nicholas Pooran (5) and Andre Russell (5) both perished cheaply in successive overs leaving Brathwaite and (Continued on page 27)

PAGE 34

Thursday May 23, 2019

Kaieteur News

Guyanese IPL trio in Warriors Franchise for CPL Pooran is Marquee player, Malik is Skipper Guyana’s trio to this IPL T20 Franchise in India, Shimron Hetymer, Kemo Paul and Sherfane Rutherford were all retained by the Guyana Amazon Warriors at yesterday’s draft in London, while Nicolas Pooran was named their ‘Marquee’ player for this year’s Caribbean Premier League which starts on September 4.

The Warriors will be coached by 37-year-old South African Johan Botha and Captained by 37-year-old Pa-

kistani Shoaib Malik who has the experience of 111 T20s.

The 22-year-old Hetymer, the most naturally gifted young batsman in the Region, failed to make double figures in his first four IPL games before he was dropped but rebounded in the last match with a belligerent 75, while fellow left-hander 20-year-old Rutherford played seven games and made a highest score of 28 in a fairly decent outing in India.

The 21-year-old Paul

made the most impact among the Guyanese, picking up a couple of three-wicket hauls and a Man-of-the Match showing. Paul also scored vital runs in the last few overs to take Capitals to victory.

The 23-year-old Trinidadian Pooran, a pugnacious left-handed batsman will also do duties as Wicketkeeper after he played for Barbados Tridents last year.

Pooran, who recently featured for Kings XI Punjab in

Packed weekend ahead for Athletics From page 33 the BMR relay, Smith explained that the organizers wanted to give the middle and long distance athlete an opportunity to shine in the relay format which is often lined to sprint alone.

Sixteen events are currently on the relay programme with 13 local clubs already registered. As it relates to the one-mile event, athletes under-8 will run a 400M race, while from 9-18 years will be required to run the mile.

The athletes will be given much incentive to bring home the gold medals as the EAFA disclosed some of the prizes.

A total of 14 tablets, 8 bicycles and 65 pairs of running shoes are up for grabs, while the

male and female winners of 5K/ 10K road race will pocket $50,000 each.

AAG President Aubrey Hutson, expressed his gratitude to the organizers, while stating that they should take credit for the successes of Guyanese athletes.“The evidence of your work is reflected in what we’re doing internationally. I’m saying that the medals that we earn at CARIFTA and the performances that we’ve been having internationally, comes directly from a collaborative effort. Every one of us here have a part to play and the initiative of these events is one such good thing that is happening in track and field and it is being manifested in the results we’re getting. So thanks a whole lot,” Hutson stated.

the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019, played seven games with the highest score of 48 and has played 11 T20Is and one ODI for the West Indies.

Australian off-spinner Christopher Green and 20year-old Pakistan leg-spinner Shadab Khan who has 103 wickets from 86 T20 matches are the main spinners in the side along with Malik and Guyanese left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul.

The other International player in the squad is 36-yearold Australian pacer Ben Laughlin, who played just five ODIs and three T20 Internationals. Chanderpaul Hemraj, Clinton Pestano, Romario Shepherd and Anthony Bramble are the other Guyanese in the 15-sqaud.

Permaul was picked up after the Warriors’ initial choice; Raymond Refier, who represented Guyana in Regional tournaments, was bought by Barbados Tridents.

Pacers Odean Smith, Brandon King, Surahbah Netravalkar and 20-year-old Keagan Simmons who played

Shoaib Malik sets off for a run © PSL his five Regional 50-over games for West Indies ‘B’ in the last Regional Super50 are the other non-Guyanese in the side.

England batsman Alex Hales and Sri Lanka seamers Lasith Malinga and Isuru Udana were among the big gainers in the 2019 Caribbean Premier League draft, bagging USD $160,000 each after being picked up in the first round. Hales went to Barbados Tridents, Malinga to St

Lucia Stars, and Udana to St Kitts & Nevis Patriots.

Steven Jacobs will represent the Jamaica Tallawahs, while Christopher Barnwell will represent the St Lucia Stars.

GAW Squad: S Malik (Captain), S Hetmyer, N Pooran, B Laughlin, S Khan, C Green, S Rutherford, K Paul, B King, O Smith, K Simmons, C Hemraj, V Permaul, C Pestano, R Shepherd, A Bramble and S Netravalkar.

John Botha is Head Coach.

Kaieteur News

Thursday May 23, 2019

GFF/KFC U20 Independence KO Cup – Essequibo/Pomeroon FA

Queenstown prevail over Dartmouth on PKs to lift title

PAGE 35

Packed weekend ahead for Athletics

The organisers for the event pose for a photo-op during Tuesday’s press conference.

Queenstown Football Club – Essequibo/Pomeroon FA/GFF/KFC U20 Independence Cup KO Champs.

In a pulsating climax to the Essequibo/Pomeroon leg of the GFF/KFC Under-20 Independence Cup knockout tournament, Queenstown were declared champions after getting the better of Dartmouth via kicks from the penalty mark.

The two teams, determined to outdo each other, battled to an exciting 1-1 deadlock in regulation time and even an extra half hour which was granted them could not separate the t w o b a t t l i n g s i d e s .

Queenstown took the lead on 39 minutes when Victor Williams sent them ahead and even though Dartmouth had to wait some time to

find the equalizer, they did so in the 72nd minute through a Shermon McLenon strike.

When kicks from the penalty mark were taken, Queenstown hit the back of the nets on three occasions compared to just two for Dartmouth which meant that Queenstown not only won the Essequibo/Pomeroon leg of the tournament, but also earned the right to represent this Regional Members Association in the National Playoffs.

The other clubs which participated in the tournament were Charity, Tapacooma, Essequibo Technical Institute, Henrietta and GoodHope.

While others may c e l e b r a t e G u y a n a ’s Independence with song and dance, Guyana’s athletes will be able to celebrate on the track with a series of events for the Independence Season.

The Amateur Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) in collaboration with the Ex-Athletes and Friends Association (EAFA) will be running off three track events over the course of Saturday May 25 and Sunday, May 26.

On Saturday Morning, a

Plaisance/ Sparendaam onemile race will be hosted for children within the area.

Later in the afternoon at 5pm, the 5K/10K race will trot off at 06:00hrs. The route will go from the GNS Ground on Carifesta Avenue to the University of Guyana before returning to the start line for the finish.When the sun begins to set on Sunday, the athletes will head to the National Track and Field Center (NTFC), Leonora on West Coast Demerara for the relay festival.

Organizer Kenrick Smith

disclosed some additions that will be made for the second edition of the relay event.“This year we’re trying to make it more exciting by adding two events and that is the SMR and the BMR. The SMR is a sprint medley relay which consists of four legs that is two 100M, a 200M and a 400M. The BMR, which is a mixed medley relay, also consists of four legs and we have the 1200M, a 400M, an 800M and a 1600M,” Smith noted.Citing the reason for (Continued on page 31)

rt o p S

Guyanese IPL trio in Warriors Franchise for CPL Pooran is Marquee player, Malik is Skipper P. 34

Kemo Paul Shimron Hetymer

Sherfane Rutherford

GCF launches 2019 CCF/Junior Caribbean Championships August 10-11 would be historical, Bartica is selected venue P. 31

GCF President Horace Burrowes (2nd right) is flanked by, from left, Director of Sport Christopher Jones, President of the Tourism & Hospitality Association of Guyana Mitra Ramkumar, GCF Secretary Maria Leung and Mayor of Bartica, Gifford Marshall.

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