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Sunday November 03, 2019

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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

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

EDITORIAL

No coalition a start if it holds No joining! No coalition! There it is: ringing, unequivocal, powerful. It would be a positive start if it could hold up to the forces waiting to overwhelm, both from the environment, and from inside the breast, too. Because many are the resolutions uttered of the steeliest and the unalterable, only for the other to creep forward. That would be the usual. The usual has meant compromising and crumbling in the face of circumstances, before the suppleness of the delicateness of domestic political overtures. Heavyweight shadows that can block out the sun, even limit breathing. This has been the story of those who made bold promises before. For there is the inexplicable irony of a society that stands against cooperating and the consensuses required, yet vacillates and hedges in everything else. For stronger men, perhaps nobler persons, did step up and swore: no coalition. Historically, some have blasphemed and betrayed their oaths of intentions and contributions in different ways: as groups, as individuals, and as agencies, which for all purposes and by any calculations, ended up being de facto coalitions…subsumed and consumed. For the doubting, reference to December 21st last is urged. Sometimes, the deed is done early, on other occasions a little later. Today, the calendar is some ways from March, the clock is young. We shall see. Whether coalition or not, does this society desires to see, hear, and experience more of the same? Like before? Like always? Some have turned and swung so much in political Guyana that they are more like pendulums than persons: back and forth, then across and around again. They do not have to be of party alone, or new. It is simply the syrupy nature of domestic political presences and fickle loyalties, fickler character, the feeblest of personal ideals. In sum, the worn and tattered tapestry of what goes into political ingredients in this land. It has been either that positioning (willingly), or partnering (selfishly), or reaching (calculatingly) that leads to societal hopes dashed, and the same sordid wheeling and dealing that leaves a lost populace even more stranded and useless to itself. Dreams fade, people retreat, and the bigger people rejoice. Business goes on, through life as usual. Even as there is rearranging, there is no changing. For the better. For the future. So, which one will stand by that stirring oath of: No coalition? Who will stand up to the tests of the rough tides (sure to come) and that of times that can wear down, through the inevitability of it all? What looks foregone? Who will have the spine and honor to hold to their promise, their commitment? It is sure to be a demanding road ahead. But it doesnt have to be for the enthusiastic newly christened. If they can stand firm, come what may, in whatever form, then a start has been made. It must be enduring, unflinching, unswerving. There is a better way to make voice and vote (in and out of parliament) register. A heavy presence must be felt and the longest of shadows cast. Why not? Why go the other way, the regular way, the expected way, the failed way? No coalition means readiness, over the long haul, to be spoiler and troublemaker. Progress does not come from the polite and the pure. Cultivate the (perhaps) nobler spirits from within the ranks of those who have politicized and professionalized dividing. Dividing peoples. Dividing society. Dividing local reality into sleaze and hate and ugliness. The new people should not be above doing some cajoling and dividing themselves. Turn the tables on those bent on thwarting, on maintaining what has harmed irreparably. Work at it. Be aggressive about. Make the hunter the hunted. Pick spots. Reconfigure the stream. There must be a few-a few only-who may be moved to breakaway. Heresies have littered the life and times of men. This must be taken as far as it can, and for as long as

Did Exxon’s automatic ‘file sweep’ program brush away the pre-contract records with Guyana? DEAR EDITOR, Exxon has an AUTOMATIC ‘file sweep’ program that has been deleting company records dated before August 2015. And, apparently, no backup exists for the deleted records. Did Exxon’s automatic ‘file sweep’ program brush away the pre-contract records? Hence, what evidence will Exxon be submitting to prove its portion of the estimated US$900 million pre-contract

costs? On October 5th, 2019 the New York Office of the Attorney General (OAG) filed court documents that stated, “After the OAG brought the Tracker Account to this Court’s attention, ExxonMobil revealed that it had failed to preserve any emails from that account before August 18, 2015. This was caused by ExxonMobil’s failure to disable its automatic ‘file sweep’ deletion program

it takes. Whatever it is, there can be no combining of any kind, let public word resonate uninterruptedly. There cannot be anymore of the unpalatable, the unfathomable, and the unsaleable. There can be no justification, given the history, given the betrayals, given the fears. No coalition translates to no maneuvering, no merging, no buying, no selling to any extent, or of any degree. To, with, or before anyone. Only those are unimpeachable. Wavering can be fatal, for with that comes succumbing. It might appear to be a sprint to March 2, but thereafter it is the longest and most grueling of marathons. The relentless

for the Tracker Account, even though ExxonMobil turned off the automatic deletion program for every other custodian after receiving the Subpoena.” A copy of the filing can be found here: http:/ /www.oggn.org/wp-content/ uploads/2019/10/ exxon_filesweep.pdf The Tracker Account was the primary email account that was being used by the then CEO, Rex Tillerson, to conduct official company

business. Exxon claimed the CEO’s emails were destroyed by an AUTOMATIC ‘file sweep’ deletion program. These deletion programs are common and are used in companies to purge old files. The reasons for their use vary from saving storage space to limiting the exposure if an employee’s laptop is stolen. In Exxon’s case, it appears that their AUTOMATIC ‘file (Continued on page 5)

torque of encroachment will come to change. That is the finish line aimed for by the powers. For the newly arrived, there is no prize which makes surrendering acceptable. None! No coalition must be absolute. It does not have to mean political death. Instead, real political emergence could come, and belated political recognition trickle down. The point in all of this, and the call from here, too is simple. Do on own terms. Deliver in ones own time. By ones own standards. No coalition may lead somewhere, even with the band of brothers that now advance on electoral Guyana. Two to three seats could be the wedge that makes a difference, many direly needed differences. Think of that now…. All of them.

Sunday November 03, 2019

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The public needs to know how Gecom Secretariat was constituted DEAR EDITOR, According to information available via the media, the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has decided in favour of the exclusion of the particulars of registrants/electors from the Revised List of Electors (RLE) which will naturally follow the ongoing Claims and Objections exercise. This would mean that the concerned persons would also be excluded from the Official List of Electors (OLE) to be produced for the imminent General and Regional Elections. As of now, I am treating this information as not being the official position of GECOM, since it has not come from the Chairman herself, or from a GECOM Media Release. And even if it were the official stance of GECOM, it cannot be an established position that is beyond review, considering that (i) GECOM has no legal authority to exclude, from any ‘voters’ list’ bona fide registrants who meet the criteria for inclusion and (ii) there is precedence of GECOM having revisited and overturned previous decisions, under the stewardship of former GECOM Chairman, Dr. Steve Surujbally, in the best interest of the free, fair and transparent conduct of registration and electoral projects. The ongoing controversy that has been generated by the above mentioned GECOM position necessitates that I make a contribution, albeit from the outside with the hope and expectation that, by outlining indisputable facts, I would have provided valuable grounds for GECOM to revisit this matter towards ensuring that no eligible person is denied his/her constitutionally guaranteed right to vote to elect a government of his/her choice. It is in this regard that I note the

following: 1.Article 42 of the Constitution provides the authority for persons entitled to be registered as citizens. Accordingly, Article 42(2) provides that “any application for registration under this article shall be made in such manner as may be prescribed.” 2. The National Registration Act, Chapter 19:08 provide the prescriptions for the registration of citizens of Guyana as mandated by Article 42 of the Constitution. 3. Specifically, Section 6 of the National Registration Act provides the conditions for registration of persons as citizens of Guyana. 4.Section 9 of the National Registration Act mandates the Commissioner of Registration (the Chief Election Officer is also the Commissioner of Registration) to “establish a Central Register” of Registrants which is the National Register of Registrants (NRR). 5.Section 8 of the National Registration Act provides that “without prejudice to the provisions of section 15(6), the registration of a person may (my emphasis) be cancelled or altered in accordance with any regulations made in that behalf.” 6 Section 14 of the National Registration Act, which deals with “Preparation of Preliminary Lists (PLE) prescribes that “…the Commission shall direct the Commissioner (of registration) to prepare a preliminary list in which he shall enter the full name, the address, the occupation and the serial number on every registration record of every (my emphasis) person registered for those purposes who is qualified for registration…” with reference to the qualifying date. 7.Section 15 of the National Registration Act, and

the associated regulations delineated in the NATIONAL REGISTRATION (RESIDENTS) REGULATIONS, provides the prescriptions for the conduct of Claims and Objections. 8.Section 35 of the NATIONAL REGISTRATION (RESIDENTS) REGULATIONS provides that “the Commissioner (of Registration) shall revise the list (including that for each registration division) by way of the annexation thereto of supplementary lists in such form as determined by the Commissioner containing all such changes and additions to the list (including that for any registration division) as are necessary from time to time by virtue of the final determination of claims and objections or by virtue of the Commissioner being satisfied that at the time of the publication of the preliminary list entries thereof were omitted and a supplementary list, together with the list or that for any division shall constitute the revised list or that for the respective division, as the case may be, at the date of the latest of such supplementary list.” In consideration of the above, it is crucial for the following deductions to be noted: a.Every registrant listed in the NRR met all of the criteria, including verification of their residency status, for registration before their applications were approved culminating with their inclusion in the NRR. Hence, there can be no question about the legitimacy of persons listed in the NRR.

In this regard, and since there is no proposal by or intention of GECOM to cancel the registration of anyone listed in the NRR, I will not deal with the issue of cancellation of registration. b.It must be obvious to all concerned that the PLE, which is being used as the basis to conduct the ongoing Claims and Objections exercise, was properly prepared in accordance with the provisions of Section 14 of the National Registration Act resulting, specifically, in the capture of every person who met the criteria for inclusion therein. c.Careful examination of all of the above referenced legislation will reveal that there is no provision for any elector listed the PLE to be omitted from the ensuing RLE and OLE because of his/her failure to collect his/her National Identification Card from GECOM. d. In fact, Regulation 35 of the NATIONAL REGISTRATION (RESIDENTS) REGULATIONS clearly stipulates the conditions associated with the preparation of the RLE. Essentially, the RLE will always contain the data included in the PLE as amended by GECOM on the basis of registration transactions done during Claims and Objections and approved by GECOM. In view of the foregoing, it must be clear to all concerned that any exclusion of persons listed in the PLE from the RLE and OLE because they are yet to collect their National Identification Cards from GECOM would be with-

out legal authority. It is of crucial importance for all concerned to note that, universally, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) spare no effort to ensure that every elector is guaranteed his/her constitutional right to participate in elections and to vote for the election of a government of his/her choice. This is one of the pillars on which elections are democratically conducted in accordance with the relevant statutory provisions and international best practices. In this regard, it would be very detrimental to GECOM, and by extension the Guyanese nation as a whole, should bona fide electors be excluded from the Of-

ficial List of Electors because they have not collected their National Identification Cards. I would be among the first to agree that among those persons who have not collected their ID Cards would be those who have died or migrated. But what about those who are alive? What offence have they committed? Which legislation have they breached? Surely they cannot be penalized by being denied their right to vote because they have not collected their ID Cards i.e. an act that carries no punitive measure. It is my considered view that, instead of illegally excluding the concerned (Continued on page 7)

Successive Governments Housing Policy have been failures DEAR EDITOR, I write this letter for the sake of young people in this country. The PPP/C Government and now the APNU + AFC Government have failed thousands of young people in the housing sector. All across Guyana, persons have been awarded house lots and because they continue to live in their parents or ancestral homes, they have built houses which are being rented or have resold their house lots making a profit in excess of 100%. This is in breach of their contracts and contrary to the policy of the government. Yet, all this took place under the former government and continues to happen under the present government. I am aware of one man who was awarded a house lot and rents a home he built on it while he continues to live with his parents and has purchased a second house lot which was awarded by the government to someone else. Again, all of this continues to take place while there are thousands of young men and women across this country who have been waiting at least a decade for a single house lot from the PPP/C Government and now the APNU + AFC Government to no avail. Apart from those who are waiting, today, this government is asking for in excess for $5,000,000 for a house lot. Assuming one is fortunate to be awarded a house lot, when will a young person working for 60,000 or 70,000 be in a position to afford to pay the government? Yours faithfully, Krishnanandat Arjune

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Sunday November 03, 2019

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This mode of action is long overdue

Did Exxon’s automatic ‘file sweep’ program...

DEAR EDITOR, After the appointment of Justice Singh to chair Gecom, one would have expected to see the end of the controversy that had emanated from Gecom since the NCM. That did not happen. After her appointment, I presumed that Justice Singh took her time and studied the system before calling an end to H2H registration. I assume that Justice Singh after some meticulous planning with the commissioners, provided the president with the end of February as the possible timeline for Gecom’s readiness for elections. It is no secret that the Commission had agreed on 35 days for claims and objections in that original plan. This was apparently, unknowingly to the Chairwoman, changed to 49 days by the CEO or the Secretariat. In what looked like a damage control scenario the chair had to sign for a compromised 42 days. A few days later Madam Chair was called on to change an edict issued by the Secretariat. The edict in part, “every person whose

name appears on the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE) must visit the Registration office in their respective area with their National Identification Card to verify their registration record in order to be included in the Official List of Electors OLE.” The above statement is definitely not a description of claims and objections, it is more like fresh registration. This language threatened to take the names of people who didn’t comply off the OLE. I am inclined to believe that personnel at the Secretariat would have been privileged to claims and objections from previous elections and would have known the language to describe same. The public needs to know what methodology was used to select the personnel for Gecom Secretariat. Was it the same political party based as with the commissioners? Was it simply the signing of a document of non allegiance to a political party? If it’s the latter, it doesn’t seem to be working. I hate the idea of Gecom been politicized down to the bone but given the narrative and actions emanating from the Secretariat recently, I have no choice but to support this idea. Those two incidents should make Madam Chairperson aware of mutinous elements in Gecom,s engine room (Secretariat). The big question in contemplation by the public for sometime now is How did the decision to incorporate the entire 370,000 names from the

H2H into the NRR get past the Commission, when all that was logically needed were the new registrants, in light of the planned claims and objections? How could duplicity be avoided and what’s this nonsense about highlighting duplicitous nam e s c o m i n g from one commissioner? It is difficult to understand how the news of 28 thousand ID cards that were never collected was never released before at previous elections. I am inclined to believe that most of these 28,000 ID cards were lost by their owners, forgotten at Banks and business places over the years and were delivered back to Gecom HQ, while the owners got replacement. A few days ago KN reported that Gecom the Chairperson, in response to a call from the opposition leader for her to address the public in person, said she would address the country only when decisions are made. This mode of action is long overdue. Hopefully, in her first appearance, she would trek back a little to her decision to allow the entire H2H list to be incorporated into the PLE and why it is not published on line to offer greater scrutiny. Rudolph Singh

From page 4 sweep’ program was poorly designed to blindly wipe files older than August, 2015. The program didn’t have any built-in intelligence to recognize sensitive CEO emails from benign ones. Try deleting a file on a Windows PC, it will prompt you to confirm that the file should be deleted. That confirmation prompt has been a feature of Microsoft Windows for many years and it is a widely adopted pattern in many types of software programs. Deleting the CEO’s emails without a confirmation prompt raises questions about if the ‘file sweep’ program was created in haste without proper verification of its features. If so, what other records did it “accidentally” delete? There is another puzzle. A large international company like Exxon would likely backup its most important data. Large International Companies cannot afford to have their computing systems down for even a few hours, especially the systems used by the CEO’s office to make billion-dollar investment decisions. That data would likely be backed-up on disks that are stored in a different location and sometimes even in a

different country. These disks are usually offline which means a poorly designed automatic program would not have access to remove this data. The public should question if the CEO’s emails were accidentally deleted (implied by labelling the program automatic), why one of the largest companies of the world didn’t have a backup disk with the stored emails? If backups are performed, at least weekly in the CEO office, you would expect many backup disks to exist with copies of the emails that were from August 2015 and before. It is unlikely the ‘file sweep’ program is only executed against the CEO’s emails and those of his executives. In my personal experience, having worked at one of the largest and oldest technology firms in the world, these programs are usually deployed company-wide. Recall that the precontract costs up to December 2015 was US$460 million and those costs have been incurred as far back as 1999. Now, if this Exxon ‘file sweep’ program was blindly deleting files before August, 2015 - then how is Exxon going to prove its share of the US$460 million pre-contract costs?

The pre-contract costs are probably composed of numerous individual items too small and likely deemed immaterial for public company disclosures. Thus, one can speculate the individual items necessary to conduct a reasonable audit are not in any public documents disclosed to organizations like the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). The source for these records may be the oil companies. Did the Government of Guyana keep any detailed records submitted by the oil companies from 1999 to 2015 that it can provide to the UK firm it hired? If not, what records are being verified and what are the criteria to deem them authentic? In the coming years, we will have hundreds of billions of US dollars of oil extracted within our territorial waters. Currently, we have to pay an offshore firm to audit pre-contract costs that stretch over more than 15 years. What is the government doing to ensure we don’t have a similar situation in the future? Darshanand Khusial on behalf of OGGN (References:https:// www.climateliabilitynews.org/ 2019/10/07/new-york-agexxon-climate-risk-trial/ https:www.stabroeknews.com/ 2018/05/18/features/theroad-to-first-oil/pre-contractcost-numbers-do-not-addup/https:/www.nytimes.com/ 2019/10/30/climate/rextillerson-exxon-climatechange-case.html)

Sunday November 03, 2019

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Early Start of Christmas Season Welcomed

WHEN WILL THEY STOP?

DEAR EDITOR, Reference is made to editorial “Christmas starts now, why wait for December?” (Nov 1). An early start to the season is welcomed. You made reference to the December 21 vote – that resulted in an ongoing conflict that put a damper on the last yuletide season. But some celebrated the fall of the government last December and they considered it their gift for the season. Too many complained about hard times and arrogance of some officials in the government and felt the government needed a wake up call “to pull up its socks”; and that it has been trying real hard to do so but not without more controversy and more pent up feelings. The real reason to start the early Christmas season (frolicking and shopping for gifts, etc) is to boost the economy. The business community has been complaining that “things are real bad”. Their revenues generation has been down by as much as 50% (small businesses in particular). The Diwali season did not produce the kind of boost in revenue anticipated by the business community; celebrants were smaller this year because of political and economic uncertainty and increased job losses. Government has been unable to turn around the economy. Businesses need a spurt to the economy. No other extended holiday period exists for the remainder of this year to encourage spending. So it makes sense to begin the Christmas season now. I travel extensively to study cultures (ethnography), politics, sociology, and development economics. In more and more countries, I find (found) that the Christmas season begins earlier (October) than usual (Decem-

ber) so that the business community can have a longer period to cash in on the year end festivities. It is hoped that extending the annual year end celebrations (when people are in a celebratory Christmas spirit) will encourage people to spend more so as to give a greater bounce to the economy. A significant portion of GDP is generated during the final month of the calendar year of every nation. The Christmas season (December) is when businesses generate the largest amount of revenues; they tend to hire more staff as well. Thus, it is wise to start Christmas sales earlier than usual; it helps businesses to generate more revenues. It gives a fillip to the overall economy with taxes and employment generation. Everyone benefits from a longer shopping season.Last year, I was in the UK in early November, and Christmas sales were in full bloom in stores and on the streets. This year, I was in the UK in mid October and shops were already dressed up for the Christmas season. Many stores put out Christmas items to lure shoppers. Last year, I was also in Mexico City in mid November and the city was magnificently decorated for

the Christmas season; stores and streets were decked with the annual seasonal decorations. In the UK, last month, stores had on display Christmas trees, decorations, and other related paraphernalia including gifts and there were “sales” on selected clothing. On shelves were Christmas cookies, candies, chocolates, and related snacks. Shops want to get rid of inventories from last year. So they offered “sales” or discounts to get rid of old stocks to make way for new items. In Trinidad, the stores and shopping areas are making a transformation in decorations from Diwali related to Christmas. The people are moving quickly into a holiday spirit. In so many places I visited in recent years – including Singapore, Malaysia, across Europe, and around the Caribbean – the Christmas season started early in November and even in October. Starting the Christmas season earlier than usual in Guyana is a smart move to ease the tensions in the society that arose out of December 21 of last year. It may also give a boost in sales to the business community and the sagging economy. Yours Truly, Dr. Vishnu Bisram

The public needs to... From page 5 persons from participation in the elections, GECOM must put in place legal and administrative checks and balances to guard against any form of skullduggery at the elections, but in this case specifically, voting by impersonation. This does not require any re-invention of the wheel. Such safeguards already exist and were applied successfully in General and Regional Elections since 2006. In conclusion, I wish to note that the purpose of this letter is in no way, shape or form intended to undermine the integrity or work of GECOM or its staff, nor to demonstrate bias for or against any political party. My singular objective is to add clarity to any further deliberations on this matter which would result in no person who is eligible to vote at the upcoming elections being denied his/her constitutional right to so do. Thank you. Vishnu Persaud

DEAR EDITOR, This is not news to anyone but I would still like to bring it to the fore since there seems to be no end in sight. The residents of the Diamond/Grove area are tired of being scared and helpless in their homes. The dilemma is even worse for the poor and feeble. I would like to highlight just such an incident that recently occurred. Editor, my neighbour is a very old and poor man. His house is the size of most bathrooms and his roof is a tarpaulin. He has no water, electricity or even a landline phone but yet he was the victim of unscrupulous criminals. They attacked and robbed him of the little he had right in his home. This was the

daunting news that me and my family awoke to Saturday morning. This senior citizen was not safe even in the little space he called home. He was bruised and evidently traumatized from the attack he endured. The perpetrators were young men who are known to roam the village and have been known to target persons of all ages and status, mainly under the cover of night. This is especially easy for these criminal elements since the areas they target are without street lights. Many streets, particularly in the Diamond area, are dark and lonely after the sun sets making it easy for criminal elements to pounce on suspecting persons. Many of these incidents

go unreported because many persons are convinced that the police would do little to nothing because of past experience. I personally had cause in the past to call for police assistance but was told by the rank on duty that there was no vehicle available. Editor, this is a glaring example of the police force failing our people. The Police Force is mandated to serve and protect and it is this that we the citizens are calling for before the situation further escalates. Concerned resident

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Sunday November 03, 2019

Robbed man critical at Badal, Hinds led “Govt.” promises 12% GPHC with bullet in chest VAT, other sweeping tax measures Akeem Ford, 24, of Bagotsville, West Bank Demerara (WBD), is now a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital Cooperation (GPHC) after he was reportedly shot and robbed by bandits while walking along Uitvlugt Bus Shed Street, West Coast Demerara (WCD).

Kaieteur News understands that the young man left home on Friday to meet a friend in Uitvlugt so that he can collect 15 pennyweights of raw gold, among other valuables. According to reports, around 22:15hrs on Friday evening, minutes after receiving the valuables from

his friend, the young man came face to face with two robbers who demand that he hand over his phone and other valuables to them. However, after realizing that he was being robbed a fight ensued between the young man and the bandits and that was when he was shot. The (Continued on page 17)

T

he recently formed Change Guyana Party which is led by Pegasus Hotel proprietor, Robert Badal, as its Presidential Candidate and Chartered Accountant, Nigel Hinds, as its Prime Ministerial Candidate, is promising a reduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) to 12 percent should it win the upcoming elections. During an interview with Kaieteur News, Hinds said that Change Guyana will also eliminate several tax categories and compliance requirements, especially where the inconvenience and psychological and material costs outweigh the benefits. In this regard, he commented that Guyana has over 40 tax revenue and non-tax revenue accounting lines. He said that these will be targeted for reduction in a strategic manner while stating that Capital Gains Tax, Property Tax and Estate Tax will be immediately discontinued under a Change Guyana administration. The Chartered Accountant said: “We will detail tax reform measures with an emphasis on tax incentives, poverty reduction, provide broadband internet for our learning centres and hospitals, pro-

Prime Ministerial Candidate for Change Guyana, Nigel Hinds vide livable pension for the elderly, scholarships to first class universities for our top performing students, funded homes and homeless shelters for those in extreme poverty, immediately increase the income tax threshold to $100,000 and guarantee scholarships to the University of Guyana for academically successful students who do not have the economic means to pay for university education.” Hinds added: “We will also emphasize adding value to our abundant natural re-

sources to reduce dependence on imports and increase foreign exchange earnings, provide reliable power generation, with tax incentives for private businesses investing in healthcare, and promote ecotourism and heritage tourism.” But thats not all Change Guyana has planned. The new party he said has every intention to provide tax stimulus as well as regulatory support to the major and labour-intensive industries such as sugar, bauxite, rice, mining, fishing, forestry, other agricultural farming and livestock industries. He said that this includes removal of all duty and taxes on heavy duty machinery and equipment for these sectors. Hinds said, too, that other sectors that contribute significantly to Guyanas Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will be targeted with tax stimulus for economic expansion and also for access by small and medium sized businesses. The Prime Ministerial candidate said that some of these sectors include construction, wholesale and retail trade, transportation, wharfage and storage, information technology and communication.

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Fire victims upset after PNCR gives check to Guinness Bar - no sympathy for them Watching your entire life burn up in flames right before your eyes can be a horrific and traumatizing ordeal for any one person. That same trauma was shared by a family of Peters Hall, East Bank Demerara who on Diwali night stood by helplessly as the place they called home for years was ravaged by fire. Also on the next night, the proprietor of popular liming spot “The Guinness Bar” stood and watched as his business was destroyed right before his eyes. Government officials over the years have lent their support to those persons who attempt to rebuild and start a brand new life again. It was expected that the same would have been done to bring aid to the families displaced by the fires. But in a shocking twist, only one of these two victims received support. That was the Guinness Bar. Citizens were outraged when the Guyana Chronicle on October 31, 2019, published the article with the headline “PNCR makes donation to help rebuild Guinness Bar”, The article brandished a photograph of Chairman of the Peoples National Congress Reform (PNCR), Volda Lawrence, presenting a cheque to the owner of the business, Troy Mendonca. In the article, it stated that “Minister Lawrence made a tangible donation to the owner of DUrban Street Guinness Bar and Restaurant”. The reason behind this move, Minister Lawrence said was because “that over the years and through his business, Mendonca has contributed to the Lodge community”. This move, did not sit well with one of the Peters Hall fire

Omadai Persaud and her relatives after the fire. victims; a family consisting of two elderly women- one bedridden. The son of fire victim, Omadai Persaud, expressed his disappointment in the PNCR for such a move. Another relative, Anand Persaud, disclosed to Kaieteur News that his mother and aunt would have been out on the streets if it was not

for the kindness of relatives. According to him, instead of trying to help the families who need it, the PNCR opted to lend a hand to rebuild a bar, often considered a nuisance to the residents who live nearby. “Guinness Bar is a lawless and wotless place…so many complains come from that place, it is ba-

Chairman of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Volda Lawrence makes a donation to the Guinness Bar and Restaurant owner, Troy Mendonca. (Guyana Chronicle photo)

sically a nuisance so how could they give them money? Im sure the owner has insurance.” Persaud said that his family received no assistance, not even an “ounce of sympathy” from any government official. “Nobody visited, nothing, poor people need the help but government didn t

come out, no sympathy but yet a bar gets money.” “Minister Lawrence, she aint care about people, only

her people. So many people upset about this, it affected my family, we have a (Continued on page 71)

PAGE 10 CCTV footage of the hooded man prying open the door of the car.

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Sunday November 03, 2019

CCTV footage shows how quickly thief hijacked car from Diamond Investigations are ongoing into the theft of a car from Diamond, East Bank Demerara. The taxi was stolen from the owners bridge in the wee hours of Saturday morning. The owner of the motor vehicle, Warren Samaroo, 25, told Kaieteur News that he parked his car on the bridge of their Lot 2005 Block X Section home. According to him, the car, a new model silver-grey 212 bearing registration number, HB 7606, was parked around 11pm. He said that he made sure to double-check that it was locked and secured. Warren, a taxi driver by profession, said that he awoke at 4:30am to get an early start to his day. But to his shock and surprise, when he ventured downstairs to start his car, it had vanished. Immediately, a report was

made to the nearest police station. Fortunately, the next door neighbour has cameras that captured the entire incident. Police obtained the CCTV footage which showed a man clad in a black hood and short black pants prying open the door of the motorcar. It took the man about 33 seconds to get into the locked car.Warren disclosed that his friend told him that he saw the car parked four streets away from where it was stolen. According to him, the car was stationary for about two minutes before moving off. Anyone with information that may lead to the recovery of the car is asked to contact Samaroo on 651-7728 or the nearest police station. See video footage of the theft at: (https:// w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m / GuyaneseCritic/videos/ 1419227514896233/)

Man wanted for raping, impregnating relative, captured in Berbice Police on the Corentyne, led by Assistant Superintendent Mahendra Singh, yesterday morning captured a man wanted for the alleged rape of a close relative.Kaieteur News was informed that the officer saw a Facebook post in October that the man fled to Berbice. The alleged rapist was arrested at a house he shared with another female at Manchester Village, Corentyne.The You Are Not Alone (YANA) organization, founded by Melly Mel, posted a detailed report given by the alleged victim. The victim, who stated that she wrote CSEC this year, detailed that she was raped by the man in 2018 and shortly after she found out she was pregnant with his child. She revealed the harrowing details of that unfortunate day. “I had just gotten out of a

bath when he covered my nose and mouth with something. He had his way while I laid unconscious on my mothers’ bed. When I woke up, I felt lost and bruised.”According to her, she left home to stay with her cousin and eventually garnered the courage to tell her mother. When she eventually told her mother, they visited the Ministry of Social Protection and subsequently the police station. The man was arrested and released after 72 hours. The teen said she felt as though the police did not take her case seriously but when a test was done and it was discovered that she was pregnant, the accused relative “ran away” to Berbice where he struck up a new relationship with a woman and eventually moved in with her.

E’bo businessman arrested for rape of boy A well-known businessman from the Essequibo coast is reportedly in police custody for brutally raping an underage boy. According to information received, Kaieteur News understands that the businessman was arrested on Saturday and is being kept at the Anna Regina police lockups. Commander of Region 2, Crystal Robinson, confirmed that the businessman is indeed in custody but declined to divulge any other information regarding the incident, stating that the matter is a sensitive one. Commander Robinson, however, did reveal that a file has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutor for legal advice.

Sunday November 03, 2019

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News The Albion sugar factory, East Berbice

Sunday November 03, 2019

GuySuCo extends sugar crop

The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), through a memorandum dated October 29th from the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), has been advised that the ongoing second sugar crop has been extended to weekending December 20, 2019. The extension would come as news of a major shortfall for the second crop was announced. The extension would likely be used to increase production. “Our union in a statement of October 25 did point out that the corporation could not have realized its production target by the time the crop was set to end. Of course, in that statement that based on the performance of the corporation during the crop, thus far, we estimated that the

target may not be realized at Albion and Blairmont estates.” The union disclosed that it was the corporation which has said that there is the possibility of some estates carrying over canes from this year. “It seems to say, from our point of view, that the sugar company is anticipating that not all the canes would be harvested and thus the crop target will be missed. Time, of course, will ultimately answer this question.” Through the memorandum, GuySuCo said that it has decided to reduce weekly production targets with effect from week-ending November 09, 2019. “As such the target at Albion will move from 2,140 tonnes to 2,076 tonnes; Blairmont from 1,275 tonnes

to 1,237 tonnes, and Uitvlugt from 1,100 tonnes to 1,067 tonnes. It may be recalled that the workers of Albion on the first day of their crop (August 08) as they protested, among other things, the arbitrary increase of the weekly target.” Indeed, GAWU said, while it is not happy about the situation, at the same time, it has been saying, for quite some time, that workers commitment has been sapped. “It appears to us that the proverbial chickens have come home to roost. The reality of the situation cannot be disconnected from the shabby and discriminatory treatment that has been meted out to workers in recent times. In fact when the history of the industry, under state ownership is considered, this is the worst that the workers have ever been treated. Certainly those who direct and control the Corporation need to remove this imprinted stain of ignominy.” Once king sugar, the industry has slumped after prices fell on the world market and Guyana lost its preferential market in Europe. The aging sugar factories and a dwindling workforce coupled with poor agriculture have not helped. In the last four years, the coalition government, insisting that the sugar industry is bleeding the treasury, has closed four sugar estates, sending home over 6,000 workers.

Sunday November 03, 2019

Kaieteur News

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Sunday November 03, 2019

Sunday November 03, 2019

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Ebo robbery-spree duo captured after gas station raid Two men, who are believed to be the cutlass-wielding bandits who attacked a well-known gas station in Lima, Essequibo Coast, are now in police custody. Reports are that sometime around 20:30hrs last Friday night, the two men, one of whom was armed with a cutlass, entered the gas station and demanded cash from the female pump attendant. A surveillance footage that was retrieved from a camera inside the gas station, revealed the two males, both of whom were masked, calmly walking into the gas station. The bandit, who was armed with the cutlass, searched the drawers and later walked out with a sum of cash in his hands. In the meantime, the other bandit was holding the female pump attendant around the neck. The bandit was said to have touched the woman inappropriately several times. Owner of the gas station, Hardat Sham Narine, disclosed yesterday that a sum

of $222,360 was missing. The man said that he immediately after the robbery contacted the police and Sergeant Elton Benjamin along with Lance Corporal Clain Dhanraj responded. The man said that the polices swift response led to the suspects apprehension within an hour. Sham, who is also an Alliance For Change councilor on the RDC, said that the police knew exactly where to go after reviewing the surveillance footage. “We collect the pump attendant and drove around Anna Regina multiple times, using a civilian car with the police inside, because the police said that was the hotspot. Eventually we see a group of young guys acting suspicious at the car park, and the pump attendant said one of them look like the guy.� Sham said that the police drove around the car park and pounced on the suspects. One of the suspects was found with a sum of $10,000

on him, while the other had $23,700. From the surveillance footage, police were able to confirm the suspects involvement, since their clothing corresponded with what was on camera. The pump attendant was able to identify the bandit who choked her, since he had a tattoo she recognised. One of the suspect has since been identified as a 21year-old resident from Richmond. He was fingered in a multimillion burglary last August. He was subsequently granted bail in the sum of $400,000. The duo is also suspected of burglarizing and robbing several places on the Essequibo coast, including Shawn Mini Mart, Bacchus Supermarket, Jai Gobind and a cell phone store. See video of robbery of gas station at this link: ( h t t p s : / / w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m / khemraj.narine.3/videos/ 10162699128065551/)

The suspects who were apprehended by police

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Sunday November 03, 2019

Sunday November 03, 2019

NICIL selling out Skeldon assets - GAWU warns The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) is warning of an intended sale of certain assets belonging to the Skeldon estate by the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) Special Purpose Unit (NICIL-SPU). Through newspaper advertisements announcing the sale, the union learnt of the sale of unserviceable motor vehicles and motorcycles. The union said it has raised concerns about previous sales of movable items from the sugar estates which appear to have been sold at “basement prices�. The sugar union is arguing that the very assets

could have been divested at superior prices. The union is also unsure whether the sale prices resembled the valuation carried out on the assets. Even on the scrap iron sales, the union holds the same view that higher prices could have been affixed, positing that one buyer who bought the assets from the Wales factory made a considerable profit. The union is calling on the Government to ensure that the sale of the sugar assets is transparent and above reproach. It said that it had observed in the state newspaper that an SPU officer disclosed that about 511 acres of former cane lands

are now under rice cultivation. That officer also, according to GAWU, said that one investor already has 116.7 acres of rice to harvest, and another rice farmer has 438 acres. The union is questioning who the lands at Wales have been leased to, for what purpose, the lease fees, and whether obligations have been placed on leases to employ the former estate workers. It posited that those workers should have been given the opportunity to express their want to secure some of the lands. It said no such opportunity was granted. GAWU said that NICILs (Continued n page 72)

Robbed man critical at GPHC... From page 8 bandits then made good their escape on foot, taking with them raw gold worth over $400,000 along with $45,000 in cash property of the injured man. In an interview, a relative of the victim told Kaieteur News that because of the injury he sustained to his

chest, Ford is unable to assist himself and has been crying out for severe pains. A surgery is scheduled to be performed on the young man to remove the bullet lodged in his chest. Ford was picked up by public-spirited persons and taken to the Leonora

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Diagnostic Centre. However, due to his condition he was subsequently transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital to seek further medical attention. An investigation has since been launched into the matter.

Man threatens to chop woman for walking in his yard, ends up with ganja charge A twenty-four-year-old farmer was last week released on $50,000, bail for allegedly using threatening language, abusive language and possession of narcotics. Dellon Richardson, of 46 Durban Street, Lodge, Georgetown, appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates Courts where he pleaded not guilty to all three charges after they were read to him. Richardson was charged for using abusive and threatening language towards Aretha Rofeno, at Friendship Squatting Area, on October 28, 2019. After the matter was reported, the police went to the defendants home to make the arrest. They allegedly found a black plastic bag, which contained a quantity of leaves, seeds and stems suspected

GWI Charged: Dellon Richardson to be narcotics. The contents were measured and amounted to 300 grams of cannabis.

Richardson was cautioned and he allegedly told the police that he was given it to sell. That led to his arrest and being charged for three offences and put before the court. According to information received, the defendant called the woman a name other than her own and told her that anytime he catches her walking through his yard, he would chop her. Police prosecutor Gordon Mansfield objected to bail being granted based on the seriousness, the prevalence and the punishment the offences attract. However, Chief Magistrate McLennan released the defendant on $50,000, bail and the matters were adjourned to November 22, 2019, and transferred to the Providence Magistrates Courts.

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Sunday November 03, 2019

Exxons records, emails before 2015 vanish- US court told -Guyana US$460M pre-contract costs in limbo By Kemol King

A troubling disappearance of records vital to New Yorks investigation of oil giant, ExxonMobil, could lead the New York Supreme Court to assume that those files held content which could have been damaging to Exxons case, and its record on climate change. It has also led a Canadabased engineer to question the implications the deletion of those files could have on Guyanas ability to verify the US$460M pre-contract costs that the oil company has hoisted onto the backs of the Guyanese people. Guyana is still to verify the accuracy of that amount. In the New York case, the company has been sued by that US state for allegedly misrepresenting the cost of climate change on its operations. A court document seen by Kaieteur News said that the state had requested, by way of a subpoena, documents from ExxonMobil, at the outset of its investigation in 2015. The companys then Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairman, Rex Tillerson, was the custodian of those documents, including emails which the state thought it necessary to peruse. When the New York Attorney Generals office brought to the courts attention an email account used by T i l l e r s o n wayne.tracker@exxonmobil.com ExxonMobil revealed that it failed to preserve any emails from that account before August 18, 2015, the document

ExxonMobils ex-CEO and Chair, Rex Tillerson is at the centre of the controversy surrounding the deleted files (Mike Segar/Reuters) states. The deletion from the “Tracker Account” was reportedly caused by the companys failure to disable its automatic “file sweep” deletion program for the Tracker account, despite the fact that the company was able to successfully turn off that program for every other custodian, after the subpoena was served. The NY AGs office has said that the unavailability of those documents is seriously consequential to the litigation it has brought before the oil

company. This is compounded by the fact that Tillerson had testified of the Tracker account being his primary email account, and that rex.w.tillerson@exxonmobil.com which the company had preserved and previously characterized as his “primary” email, was the one that he “almost never looked at”. The state said that the Tracker account contained information about key events occurring in 2014, during which Tillerson approved public reports that misrepresented ExxonMobils internal

New York Attorney General, Letitia James, is at helm of the Exxon case filed by her predecessor (Mike Segar/Reuters) practices concerning its management of climate change risks. The state also said that Tillerson, in 2014, also authorized a change in ExxonMobils internal practices that attempted to but ultimately did not correct those misrepresentations. The state has asked the Court to grant an adverse inference which assumes that the lost content was damaging to Exxons case, including that the earlier emails “would have corroborated other evidence indicating that

ExxonMobil senior management,” including Tillerson, did plan the fraud that the state accused the company of, according to The New York Times. Though a judge had expressed skepticism about that argument, he will allow the state to renew the argument during the trial, the publication reported. The development has caused engineer, Darshanand Khusial, to question whether the documents were really accidentally deleted, arguing that a company as large and

as rich as ExxonMobil is very unlikely to use such a faulty program to handle the automatic deletion of its documents, which just so happen to be vital to New Yorks investigation. He further argued that even if the contents of that email account were deleted, a company like ExxonMobil would typically keep all records backed up on offline disks which a faulty program could not reach. “Recall that the pre-contract costs up to December 2015 was US$460 million and those costs have been incurred as far back as 1999,” Khusial wrote in a letter to this publication. In his experience, having worked at IBM (one of the worlds largest and oldest technology firms), deletion programs like the one employed by ExxonMobil are usually employed companywide, not just for emails controlled by the companys executives. So the engineer poses the question If this file sweep program employed by ExxonMobil is blindly deleting files before August 2015, then how will ExxonMobil prove its share of the US$460M pre-contract costs? IHS Markit Limited is the London-based firm that the Energy Department has contracted to audit billions of dollars ExxonMobil and its partners said they invested in the Stabroek Block and will move to recover, starting next year.Khusial said that the precontracts costs to be verified by that company are probably constituted by numerous individual items too small and likely deemed immaterial for public company disclosures. “Thus, one can speculate the individual items necessary to conduct a reasonable audit are not in any public documents disclosed to organizations like the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).” he wrote. Did Government keep detailed records it could provide IHS Markit with on Exxons operations from 1999 to 2015 that could help with the firms probe? If not, what records are being verified and what are the criteria to deem them authentic? These are all pressing questions posed by the engineer. He is obstinate in the view that Government must put measures in place to ensure that the billions of dollars of oil to be extracted by ExxonMobil on the Stabroek Block, and other concessions the company controls, are subjected to the utmost scrutiny and safeguarded from misrepresentations.

Sunday November 03, 2019

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---Hinds’ Sight by Dr. David Hinds---

THE WALTER RODNEY LEGACY

A

recent news story in the Stabroek News quotes Walter Rodney’s widow, Dr. Patricia Rodney pleading with our government to make public the report of the Rodney Commission of Inquiry which was handed over more than four years ago. It caused me to stop and reflect on how we get so caught up in our day to day politics that we forget about the unfinished business of yesterday. The matter of Walter Rodney is unfinished business that ought not to be swept under the carpet. And we the comrades of Rodney have the biggest responsibility in this regard. I thought about what to say about the issues raised by his widow and decided that for now, the best that I can do is to remind the younger generation and Guyana at large about who Rodney was and is. Dr. Walter Rodney was assassinated on June 13, 1980. His assassination brought to a premature end a life that represented the best of our Caribbean civilisation. I am always saddened by the fact that our Guyana has still not come to wholeheartedly embrace our own shining star. Thanks to the inability of our political leaderships on all sides of the spectrum to separate narrow partisan interests from broad national pride and dignity, Rodney remains mired in our, often, muddy political waters. Walter Rodney was born in Georgetown, Guyana, in 1942. In 1960, he won an open scholarship to further his studies at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica and graduated with a firstclass honours degree in history in 1963. He then won another open scholarship to the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. In 1966, at age 24, he was awarded a Ph.D. with honours in African History. His doctoral research on slavery on the Upper Guinea Coast was published in 1970 by Oxford University Press under the title, A History of the Upper Guinea Coast, 1545-1800. Rodney took up his first teaching appointment in Tanzania before returning to his alma mater, the University of the West Indies, in 1968. However, Rodney did not confine his activities to the university campus. He took his message of Black Liberation and his knowledge of African history to the gullies of Jamaica where the impoverished masses, including the Rastafarians, lived. By mid-1968, Rodney’s “groundings” had begun to attract the attention of the

Jamaican government. When he attended a Black Writers’ Conference in Montreal, Canada, in October 1968, the Hugh Shearer-led Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) government banned him from re-entering the country. This action sparked widespread demonstrations in Kingston, during which several people were injured by the police and security forces and millions of dollars’ worth of property was destroyed. Rodney’s groundings with the Rastafarians were published in a small book titled “Grounding with My Brothers,” which became a handbook of the Caribbean Black Power movement and is still cited today as a central text in Caribbean and Black Studies. Having been expelled from Jamaica, he returned to Tanzania after a short stay in Cuba. There he lectured from 1968 to 1974 and continued his groundings in Tanzania and other parts of Africa. This was the period of the African liberation struggles and Rodney, who believed that the intellectual should make his or her skills available to the struggles of the poor and the powerless, became deeply involved. His second major work, and his best known, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, emerged from these activities. In 1974, Rodney returned to Guyana to take up an appointment as Professor of History at the University of Guyana, but the government rescinded the appointment. Rodney remained in Guyana and joined the newly formed political group, the Working People’s Alliance (WPA). Between 1974 and his assassination in 1980, he emerged as the leading figure in the WPA and the resistance movement against the authoritarian government. I reflect on Rodney and remember his contributions at a critical time in Guyana and Caribbean history. We do so at a time when our region is caught in the web of alienation, displacement and social destruction, brought about by the new recolonisation project misnamed globalisation. The consequences of this project are multi-layered, farreaching and total. The era of globalisation, has brought our country and region face to face with the demons of our plantation past. We are forced to take a fresh look at our independence — its content, its context, its trajectory and its promise. Here is where Walter Rodney is invaluable. He has, through his legacy, left us some tools with which we can try to make sense of our past, our present and our future. What is this Rodney legacy

that I am talking about? There are three major elements of this legacy. First, Rodney exemplified a broadened role for the intellectual in Guyanese and Caribbean society. For him, the intellectual must put herself and himself at the service of the people by becoming immersed in the popular struggle for freedom. The premise of this was the fact that it is the struggles and sacrifices of the working people that make it possible for the intellectual to attend university and hone his or her skills. This element of Rodney’s legacy is particularly relevant as our society grapples with the tension between individual aspiration and achievement on the one hand, and responsibility to community and nation on the other. For Rodney, there was no tension. His was a harmonisation of individual endeavour and collective advance. A second aspect of the Rodney legacy was his instinctive embrace of the concrete. Rodney saw no place for dogmatism in political praxis. This allowed him to construct a broad praxis which he used not to confine and limit his ability to understand social motion, but to help him to navigate the diversity and sometimes chaos that are very much part of our historical tapestry. This aspect of his praxis helped him to distinguish between the tree and the forest, even as he articulated the relationship between the two. Rodney, therefore, would not be stuck in time and place as some are desperately trying to do to him today. He would, for example, point out the continuity from the 1970s to the 2000s, but would alter his analysis to take into consideration the inevitable changes over time. A third aspect of the Rodney legacy that is applicable to our discourse today is this vision for the wholeness of our multi-ethnic society. His approach to ethnic problems which have plagued Guyana was three-fold. First, he adopted the approach of confronting the problem as a real living phenomenon. He did not see ethno-racialism as a fiction of people’s imagination, but as an unfortunate but real outcome of our history. Second, he made a distinction between ethno-racialism as identity and ethnoracialism as domination, insubordination and otherisation. Third, he saw the overcoming of ethno-ethno-racial polarisation as rooted in a praxis of inclusion rather than exclusion. But he advocated an inclusion premised on equality

and mutual respect or what he referred to as “jointness.” Such inclusion is multi-faceted–ethno-racial inclusion, class inclusion and generational inclusion. While he did not speak much on gender inclusion, his praxis did not silence it. A fourth aspect of Rodney’s legacy was the inclusion of resistance as a necessary aspect of nationhood. The right to resist was, for him, central to the realisation of freedom. In that regard, he saw the independent actions of the masses of people as critical to the process of

democratisation and freedom. It is within this context that his notions of self-activity and self-emancipation were located. For Rodney, protest and resistance were not meant as tools of destruction and domination, but as sites of selfactivity of the people. In the process of resisting, the people are creating and recreating their own identities and carving out their own spaces of liberation. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

Dr David Hinds More of Dr. Hinds’ writings and commentaries can be found on his YouTube Channel Hinds’ Sight: Dr. David Hinds’ Guyana-Caribbean Politics and on his w e b s i t e www.guyanacaribbeanpolitics.news. Send comments to dhinds6106@aol.com

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The cat, the corpse and the killer By Michael Jordan When I took him in to CID Headquarters. Eve Leary, six years ago, the youth they called ‘Big Foot’ didn’t seem to have a clue or care that I was taking him in for murder. It bothered me then, and, from what I have since learned, it now bothers me even more. On the morning of Wednesday, November 13, 2013, hotel handyman Wendell Eastman went to see his boss. That was Joseph Jagdeo, the proprietor of the South Central Hotel, located at Lot 208 South Road. It was hotel by name only. It was actually one of the last remaining brothels in Georgetown, catering to drug-addicted prostitutes and other sex workers on the lowest rung of the ladder. Eastman’s story is that he approached Jagdeo’s room, and noticed that the door was slightly open. He would later tell me that he called a few times, got no answer, assumed that his boss was sleeping, and left. But by nightfall, Jagdeo still had not appeared. Eastman says that at around 6:00 a.m. the following morning, he was filling water near to Room Nine, which Jagdeo occupied, when he observed his boss’s pet cat by Jagdeo’s office door. He said that after a while, the cat began scratching on the wall of Room 10 and started purring.He says he found the cat’s behaviour to be unusual and this prompted him to call Patrick Wilson, another hotel employee. He said that he told his colleague about the cat’s strange behaviour. He then peered through a louvre window in the room and saw the door keys to Room 10 on the bed.He said he pushed a pipe through the window and snagged the keys. He handed the keys over to Wilson, who opened the room door. According to Eastman, the cat made a sudden dash into the room and ran back out, purring. Eastman says he warned Wilson not to go into the room. Kneeling in a passageway next to the room, Eastman peered inside and said he saw exactly what had alarmed the cat.Beneath the bed was the body of 62-year-old Joseph Jagdeo.Someone had used strips from pillowcases to gag the brothel owner and tie his hands.A post mortem would reveal the cause of death as haemorrhage due to blunt trauma to the head, compounded by suffocation and compression to the neck. Whoever had killed Jagdeo had also broken his neck and spine.But who could that killer be, and what was his, or her motive?Jagdeo’s wife told me that he had only kept small sums of cash on the premises. The only item that appeared to be missing was a cell phone

The South Central Hotel, where Joseph Jagdeo was murdered that Jagdeo had reportedly recently bought. Jagdeo had been running the South Central ‘guest house’ for about 20 years. He had made the news in the nineteen nineties when he had locked his gates to sex workers who refused to show their HIV results.Detectives began to take a close look at some of Jagdeo’s employees and those who frequented the ‘guest house.’ Reports indicate that the guesthouse owner was slain some time on Wednesday, November 13, 2013. One of the women who frequented the brothel told me that she last saw Jagdeo alive at around eight-thirty a.m. that day, when she went to the businessman’s office, since she owed him money. She said that he then went into the compound for a few minutes before going back inside. Another woman said that she went to the guest house’s barmaid at around 10:00 hrs that same Wednesday to rent Room Ten, which is the same room in which Jagdeo was subsequently found. However, she said that the barmaid told her “don’t use room ten, use room fifteen.” The woman said that she was puzzled by the barmaid’s response, since she usually used room ten ‘for business.’ The woman said that while heading for her room, she observed that Room Ten was shut. Detectives detained the barmaid and about four others. Among them was a sex worker who had an interesting story to tell. On Tuesday, November 12, she had reportedly met up with a young man known as ‘Big Foot’ in Pike Street, Kitty. She had known ‘Big Foot’ when the two were serving time at the New Opportunity Corps (NOC). The woman and ‘Big Foot’ later occupied a room at the South Central

Muder: Hotel Owner Joseph Jagdeo

Brian Leitch

‘hotel.’Further, it is alleged that later on the same day, November 12, one of Jagdeo’s cell phones disappeared. The girlfriend said she subsequently gave the hotel owner the phone and claimed that her boyfriend, ‘Big Foot,’ had stolen it. It is alleged that Jagdeo bought another cell phone and also told ‘Big Foot’ that he would have to vacate the premises by Wednesday, November 13, 2013. The girlfriend alleged that she had put ‘Big Foot’ out of her room after finding him with the stolen phone. In a statement to police, she allegedly said that the maintenance man at the ‘hotel’ felt sorry for ‘Big Foot’ and permitted him to stay in Room 10. Police received more evidence that seemed to implicate ‘Big Foot’ after arresting a woman, Shauntel De Younge, with the slain man’s phone. Kiana Garnett, a friend of De Younge’s, alleged that on November 13, 2013, they were going to purchase a ‘Chinese food’ when they saw ‘Big Foot.’ ‘Big Foot’ allegedly asked them if they wanted a phone and “Shauntel replied yes.” ‘Big Foot’ allegedly sold a small silver Nokia cell phone to De Younge for $4,000 and told her “not to answer it when anyone calls.” That phone allegedly be-

longed to Joseph Jagdeo. On November 30, 2013, police issued a wanted bulletin for 19-year-old Brian Leitch, called “Big Foot,” in connection with the murder of South Central proprietor Joseph Jagdeo. The bulletin gave the suspect’s last known address as Lot 2118 Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara. But on November 30, before police could arrest him, Leitch and his mother turned up at the Kaieteur News. Leitch’s mother said she knew that her son was wanted by the police after seeing a bulletin and photograph of him in the Kaieteur News. She disclosed that he was released in 2011 from the NOC. She indicated that she did not want any trouble with the police and wanted him to turn himself in. As for Leitch, he sat silently in our editorial department, seemingly untroubled, sometimes smiling, and apparently unaware of his predicament. He did not even seem to recognize the South Central Hotel when we showed him a photograph of the premises. Meek as a lamb, Leitch, the suspect in a violent killing, accompanied me and his mother to CID Headquarters, Eve Leary. He was subsequently handed over to detectives at the Brickdam Po-

lice Station. There, he allegedly gave police an unsworn statement in which he confessed to attacking and binding Jagdeo. According to a detective, he put the accusation of murder to Leitch after cautioning him. Leitch, police allege, first said, “I don’t know anything about any murder.” In the caution statement, Leitch allegedly recounted that Joseph Jagdeo had come to his room at the hotel and asked him to leave. Leitch, the statement alleged, related that he was “very angry” at what Jagdeo told him and tied the hotel owner’s hands, while also tying another piece of cloth around Jagdeo’s mouth. In the statement attributed to the suspect, Leitch allegedly confessed that he pushed Jagdeo under the bed in the room before throwing the door keys on the bed. ”I then guh in he (Jagdeo) office and tek he cell phone. I sorry for what I made happen. I didn’t mean to kill he,” Leitch allegedly stated. On December 2, 2013, 19-yearold Brian Leitch was charged and remanded for murder. A photograph shows Leitch with that same ‘spaced out’ smile as he entered the docks. When his trial began early 2018 he was unable to hire an attorney and two attorneys for the state, (Hewley Griffith and Lawrence Harris) represented him. Giving unsworn testimony from the docks April, 2018 Leitch stated, “I don’t know anything about any murder. I did not kill anyone.” But the unsworn confession statement that police said Leitch allegedly made was also admitted as evidence. Attorney Harris suggested to the court that none of the ranks who questioned Leitch had asked the accused if he was literate. Sergeant Conway, who gave evidence, acknowledged that he had not asked Leitch if he could read or write. He was also unable to say if Sergeant Bowman (retired) who took the statement, had done so. The sergeant stated that he and Retired Sergeant Bowman read the statement to Leitch and informed him that he could request to alter, correct or change it. The witness added that the statement was also given to Leitch for him to read, and that he looked at it as though he was reading. ”You are not being truthful to this court,” Leitch’s attorney told the sergeant, who responded: “I am telling the truth and nothing but the truth.”

Statements from the woman who claimed Leitch had sold her a cell phone, and statements from the woman who had stayed at the hotel room with the accused, were also presented at the trial. However, none of the two women appeared to testify. On April 17, 2018, Leitch was found guilty on the lesser charge of manslaughter. A month later, Justice Sandil Kissoon, the presiding judge, sentenced him to 33 years imprisonment. Before the sentence was handed down, Attorney Harris pleaded with the court to consider his client’s “hard upbringing”, as well as his age and the time he had already spent in prison. A probation report stated that Leitch came from a single parent home.The accused was said to have gravitated to crime at an early age, and he was sentenced to serve time at the New Opportunity Corps.According to the report, after his release from the NOC, Leitch tried his hands at several skilled jobs but soon returned to wrongdoing.In calculating the sentence, Justice Kissoon deducted five years for the time the accused was on remand. However, he added three years because of Leitch’s criminal record and five years “for cruelty used in the commission of crime.” Last year, one of the attorneys representing Leitch said that while the youth appeared to have been a petty thief, he is convinced that Leitch did not murder Joseph Jagdeo. He described Leitch as being “way below average intellig e n c e ” . ”He was ‘spaced out’…he hadn’t a clue what was happening (to him).” According to the attorney, there appears to be evidence that Leitch had already left the hotel during the period that the proprietor was slain. He also expressed concern that “several key witnesses” did not turn up to testify. And in his view, there’s more to Joseph Jagdeo’s murder than it appears. The case, he says, is being appealed. He plans to prove his client’s innocence. If you have any information about this unusual case or any other, please contact us at our Lot 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown office, or by telephone. We can be reached on telephone numbers 592-2258473, 592-225-8458, 592-2258465, or 592-225-8491. You need not disclose your identity.You can also contact Michael Jordan at 592-6452447, or his email address: kamarangnight@gmail.com.

Sunday November 03, 2019

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==THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN==

The arrogance and autocracy of David Granger David Granger, if he retains the presidency in 2020, is very much unlikely to run again. If he uses up his entire second term, he would have completed ten years of the presidency. He is nearing five years. That balance sheet is nowhere near impressive. There isn’t one phenomenal achievement of President Granger. In a country that has been riveted by violent crises, political turmoil, social pessimism and ethnic poison in its entire pre- and post-Independence life, transformational, innovative, visionary leadership is something every citizen from every class stratification, race, gender, and age dream for Guyana to have. Since Jagan and Burnham messed up the unity slate in the 1950s, Guyana has been going nowhere. We have produced eight executive presidents and none has won the love and admiration of the entire nation. None has crossed over the lines that demarcate ethnic and political rivalries. None has achieved the embrace of even sixty percent of the population much less a handsome majority. Of the eight presidents, the history textbooks will devote endless pages to only four of them – Burnham, Hoyte, Jagan, Jagdeo. They stood very tall, even if not democratic. They were all controversial but were completely self-confident, and all four stamped their own brand of vision on their respective

governments. Near to complete five years, David Granger is as ordinary, in the essence of governance and in the substance of leadership qualities, as presidents Janet Jagan, Sam Hinds and Donald Ramotar. Of the four, Granger is far less a people’s president and far less an endearing charmer. He is stiff and unWest Indian. On reading what he told his interviewer, Gordon Moseley, Granger opened up himself to formidable accusations of arrogance, autocracy and hypocrisy. What follows are descriptions of his actions the past four and a half years, without putting any of the actions under the specific heading of autocracy, hypocrisy and arrogance.This president came to power by a mere point 3 percent majority, yet never governed with the explicit attitude of reaching out to the opposition and other stakeholders. Yet this president had the temerity to tell his interviewer that his ministers must be intelligent and have integrity. The analysts can ask questions about those values in Granger himself. This is a president that selected a man to head an industry that all Guyanese see as providing a future, yet the selectee has no training and qualification in the study of oil and gas. This is a president that will go down in the history books as summoning all the diplomatic envoys to

Guyana to inform them that the CCJ has ruled that he, as president, could provide a list of six names, submit it to himself, and select one for the GECOM chair. Nothing in any of the rulings of the CCJ provided Granger with that authority.This is a president that has refused to use castigating words on a concatenation of egregious behavioural manifestations of several ministers. The infamous list includes one of them filming a vulgar video in the sacred halls of parliament. One of the ministers is his deputy in the PNC. She said her policy is not to waste time with her enemies. She exclaimed that her attitude is to give jobs to her party people only. This is a president that accepts his choices as ministers the past four and a half years, and never saw it as plausible to shuffle any one of them out of the Cabinet. This is a president that has a one-seat parliamentary majority and became president with a majority of point three percent over his competitor yet, under his presidency, the state-owned newspaper is run as the possession of the ruling clique. In fact, this columnist’s opinion is that Mr. Granger had a hand in the removal of two iconic Guyanese as columnists with the Chronicle – Lincoln Lewis and Dr. David Hinds. I have my disagreements with Mr. Lewis, but I will not question his contributions to trade union struggle and political

activism. This columnist’s opinion is that Mr. Granger should apologize to both men; failure to do so calls into question, his integrity. This is a president that suggests state advertisements to the media be based on fair reporting. Should Guyanese trust Granger’s definition of fairness?This is a president that has a strange and unusual record among any govern-

mental head anywhere in the world today. In four and a half years of rule, he has called only three press conferences. Any analyst anywhere in the world is bound to ask if this shows leadership. The foregoing is just a short list of Granger’s failures. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)

Frederick Kissoon

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Sunday November 03, 2019

Our 14-year journey has been challenging, eventful By Khemraj Ramjattan, AFC Leader This journey which has brought us to our 14th Anniversary in 2019 has been extraordinarily challenging and eventful.

Along the course we have laughed and cried, run and stumbled, dusted off and ran again. Initially, it was difficult to even contemplate a third force with such potency and influence, but we realized it in a

short time, notwithstanding the jeers and mocking. We were encouraged too, by the kind words of thousands of supporters. After our launch on October 29, 2005 at the Guyana International Convention

Centre (now Arthur Chung Conference Centre), we soared like no other Third Party in this Caribbean Region ever did. Co-founders Sheila Holder, Raphael Trotman and myself, along with scores of other leaders at the central and regional levels, made sure that the AFC, in its first electoral outing in August 2006, won five (5) Parliamentary seats. Thereafter, our Parliamentary performance and our activists work in the communities all across Guyana inspired a youthful following that saw us winning seven (7) Parliamentary seats in the 2011 General and Regional elections; along with seats for at least one Regional Councillor in each of the 10 Administrative Regions of Guyana. This time, that potency and influence saw the PPP reduced to a minority Government. This was success of the highest order, and signaled the AFCs arrival. Our strategic role as part of a vibrant Opposition in that 10th Parliament (2011-2015) saw us filing a No-Confidence motion against the PPP Government three years into its term. This AFC-led motion convinced the Donald Ramotar-led government to prorogue Parliament and take their chances in early general elections. That risk led to a defeat in May 2015 that saw the PPP voted out by a people who were quite fed up with their style of Government. Prior to Polling Day, the parties that had up to then comprised the Opposition, came together and on St. Valentines Day 2015, signed the Cummingsburg Accord that created the historical Coalition, APNU+AFC. This move

proved to be a wise one as only three months later the Coalition won the elections and created this Government that has started to rebuild this nation. For all that the chatterati and naysayers have said, the AFC has determinedly stayed with our principles throughout these four years that we have been working as part of Government. It has not been easy, but we never expected a cakewalk. We did expect all kinds of trials and tribulations, but those never veered us off course. We journey on. These trials have become almost commonplace, and they have taught us to remain steadfast despite the constant stream of disinformation and ridiculous criticisms that sometimes come from quarters least expected. We are obligated to remain steadfast in order to preserve and strengthen our democracy. We must remain steadfast to continue to create economic opportunities for all Guyanese so that we can all enjoy that happy life we anticipate with the new oil and gas sector on the horizon. Guyana stands on the cusp of greatness. To all our supporters and members, thank you for your loyalty and contributions throughout these 14 years. President, Youth for Change, Juretha Fernandes Growing up I was taught to embrace policies and not personalities. I was taught that my generation will lead the cause against polarized politics in Guyana. As a child I remember hearing conversations from older people about how bad the “other side� was, and I remember seeing pain in the

Khemraj Ramjattan eyes of the storytellers as they reflected. Each side had a story to tell, each side was scared of the other. I had a very unique political family structure. My grandfather endorsed the PPP and my grandmother endorsed the PNC. With that, their children grew up as independent thinkers and were allowed to choose whoever earned their support. I first tried my hands in politics while doing my Degree at UG where I was a part of the United Student Alliance that was created to contest the UGSS elections. We had two runs, we lost the first election by less than 5 votes. We regrouped and won the next year. After I graduated in 2011, I went home to Bartica and was invited to my first meeting with executive members of the AFC. I still remember how the remarks given by the founder leader resonated in my heart and aligned perfectly with my ideologies. Finally, there was a place for me in politics; I had found a home in the Alliance For Change. The Alliance for Change has proven its strength time and time again. The Party is grounded in principles of equity and equality irrespective of age, gender, ethnicity or religious affiliation. The democracy within the AFC is like no other. The Party has come a long way in 14 years. It has brought the Coalition into government. The weight of the AFC cannot be challenged. The survival of the AFC is testimony to the changing mentality of Guyanese. The survival of the AFC is proof that the voice of Youths is profound. At last I understand what I was told as a child since today I play an active role in the fight against polarized politics in Guyana. The Alliance For Change is about Empowerment. Happy Birthday AFC! (The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)

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My column

Guyana is on the cusp of moving from its Third World status The fastest development in the history of the oil sector anywhere will take place in Guyana. From the accidental discovery of Guyana’s oil resource to first oil has taken a mere five years. Generally, it would take years. But Guyana’s oil is not like some others. It is ‘sweet’ and would therefore not need much refining. It is also light making it among the priciest on the world market. That is why so many companies are rushing here. Last week I spoke of how Exxon came to find oil. By a whisker that exploration company found oil and avoided leaving Guyana with knowledge that it had oil. A simple decision to drill a second well instead of the first gave Guyana the leg to move from a Third World country. I recently listened to a lecturer who grew up poor in Singapore at a time when Guyana and Singapore were at the same stage of development. He said that Singapore was a case of putting the best people in the best positions. Crucial to this was one word. Honesty. The lecturer did say that a lack of honesty is the downfall of most countries. Guyana was no different. There were politicians who looked out for their friends and family to the detriment of the country. I saw ordinary people become filthy rich on the backs of the Guyanese people. They helped themselves to money that would have gone

to boost national development. Watching some of them caused me to ask myself a simple question. How much money does a man need to live comfortably? Some people collected enough money to make four beds to sleep on. They used some of their money to go on jaunts with friends and for whom they paid all expenses. Fresh in the minds of people are the accusations of corruption levelled against the Jagdeo Government. Jagdeo himself by his opulence did nothing to dispel the accusations. People saw his house and the acquisition of other property that his salary in his wildest dreams could not have provided. Then came the Granger administration. Again people began to hurl accusations of corruption but there was no evidence. On one occasion the political opposition contended that President David Granger had built a mansion on East Bank Demerara soon after becoming president. It turned out that the Head of State merely inherited his brother’s property. Of course, the accusation of Granger’s wealth immediately disappeared but some of his Ministers became targets, not that anyone produced any evidence to support their claims. I expected these claims to be ramped up with news that first oil is mere weeks away. Instead, I heard former President Bharrat Jagdeo say that

no oil money should be spent until after the elections. Finance Minister Winston Jordan described these elections as the mother of all elections. He knew what he was saying. For starters people are looking at oil money, perhaps to accumulate more personal wealth. But oil money should go toward making Guyana so much better. People have been talking about getting windfalls. Some decided to grasp at the suggestion that every poor household should get US$5,000 a year by just being poor. The saner among us simply said that if such a thing were to happen then many people would stop working and merely sit to wait for the handout. Trinidad is a great lesson. That country enjoyed oil for more than one hundred years. I remember Trinidadians leaving to shop in Miami, partying at the drop of a hat and foregoing everything else to live on oil money. The result is that agriculture collapsed and there was nothing when the oil dried up. Crime has become rampant because people saw the gun as a means to make money by being hired guns or bandits. The murder rate in Trinidad is so high that it befuddles the imagination. At last count there were nearly four hundred murders for this year alone. On Friday, President Granger made it known that oil money would go toward

boosting agriculture. In his own words, people cannot eat oil. And in any case, the oil sector does not employ many people. The employment would come from the spinoffs. And there are many spinoffs. One of them is the development of Liquid Natural Gas, something that is in humongous quantities. Exxon did announce that it is finding huge pockets of gas which it does not need. It has offered to pipe that gas to shore. Immediately I can see the huge benefit to the country. Manufacturing that is very costly because of the dependence on fossil fuel would become radically cheap. At present the country wastes a lot of agricultural products. A cannery operating cheaply on gas would be the way to go. The power plants would be running on gas, saving money at the production and consumption levels. I dream for the day when electricity would be cheap. It would cost one million American dollars to lay the pipeline from the drill ships to shore—that would work out to US$100 million. President Granger said that there is a lot of thought going into where the gas would land.

The concern is the eroding coastland. In recent months the Atlantic Ocean really made its presence felt. Undoubtedly the tides have risen with global warming. People are feeling the brunt. The feeble efforts to keep out the tide appear to be a losing effort. Granger said that he does not want to land the gas at a location only to find that the Atlantic would be claiming that piece of land and consuming the gas effort. Yet gas is the way to go. Trinidad has suddenly found out that in the absence of oil it can make money from gas. It is developing that industry. Guyana has begun to move even before the oil comes. The roads, the new educational institutions, the increased social services and so much more attest to the forward movement of the country. I expect to see a rapid change in the education system, courtesy of the money from oil. Instead of producing so many illiterates, the schools should be producing top class students who would do what their counterparts did in Singapore—take over the country and run it with honesty and with pragmatism.

Adam Harris It matters not that a cat is black or white. Once it catches mice then it is doing the job. It should be the same with employment practices. The future beckons. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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Sunday November 03, 2019

Education and the Decade of Development (Excerpt from an address by HE David Granger on the occasion of the 175thanniversaryof Queen’s College 2019.10.29) uyana is on the threshold of a transformational stage of development. The country which you will enter as educated citizens in the next five or six years will be different from the one into which your parents and grandparents were born fifty or sixty years ago. Guyana plans to become a more ‘genial state’ in which everyone would enjoy a good

G

quality of life. It will expend the expected revenue from petroleum production to eliminate extreme poverty and inequality, enhance economic growth, extend public infrastructure and deliver better public services, especially public education, to the population. Guyana plans to become, also, a ‘green state,’ in which emphasis will be placed on the protection of the environment, the preservation of its biodiversity, the promotion of the generation of energy from renewable sources and the adoption of practical measures to ensure climate adaptation.

Guyana plans to become, also, a ‘digital state’ by placing increased emphasis on information communications technology. It aims at connecting every household, neighbourhood, community, municipality, region and government agency and will integrate the country, more completely, with the Caribbean and the rest of the world. Science and technology education Education is at the heart of the Government’s plan to prepare succeeding generations for these transformational changes, to ensure that College graduates enjoy the best opportunities available and to develop an internationally competitive economy. Guyana is not an island unto itself. It must compete with other countries in a constantly changing and rapidly developing world to sell its products and to seek invest-

ments. Science and technology are at the centre of those changes. Studies suggest that the rate of automation will continue to increase by 2030 [such as the Mc Kinsey Global Institute’s December 2017 study on job transitions in the workplace]. These studies point to an increasing need for engineers, information technology specialists and other scientists to drive economic growth. The world is experiencing its fourth industrial revolution. The first witnessed the use of water and steam energy to mechanize production; the second involved the acceleration of production through the use of electricity; the third witnessed the widespread diffusion of digital and electronic technology; and the fourth is witnessing the wider, deeper and speedier integration of technologies – physical, biological and informational. Many small states, including Guyana, are faced, still, with the challenge of the third industrial revolution of reducing the digital divide and of advancing into the fourth industrial age. Guyana must not be enfeebled or handicapped. It must move ahead or be left behind. Science and technology education is essential to mastering the skills needed for establishing knowledge-based industries and for modernization. There is good reason to continue to emphasize this form of education which is: . essential to acquiring the skills necessary for social, economic and industrial transformation and which will play a more transformative role in making Guyana internationally competitive; . fundamental to scientific innovation and will allow for the development of a more technologically competent workforce which is needed for making Guyana internationally competitive. Science education played a historically functional, rather than transformational, role in this country’s economy. It did produce doctors, engineers and other scientists many of whom went off work primarily in society, including in the bauxite, timber and sugar industries. Thos e industries, owned largely by foreign trans-national corporations, for decades, were extractive enclaves with little value-added production and were not necessar-

ily transformative for the economy. Their production was geared towards meeting the demands of metropolitan markets rather than fulfilling the needs of national development. A robust, local, industrial sector did not emerge in the shadow of these traditional sectors and the country was not able to recruit and employ the human resources needed for new industries such as petroleum. Many educated scientists were employed in the Public Service in Government ministries, especially in Agriculture, Public Health and Public Infrastructure rather than in emerging industries. Such employment was necessary, but not sufficient, to ensure economic growth. Guyana will need new skills to populate occupations in the ‘green environment’, ‘petroleum-producing’ and ‘digital’ emerging economic sectors in the evolving state. It will need an ‘A-to-Z’ corps of scientists – from agronomists, architects, biologists, botanists, chemists, doctors, engineers, environmentalists, geneticists, geologists, hydrologists, information systems specialists, and physicists to zoologists – for transformational national development. Decade of Development Guyana plans to launch a ‘Decade of development’ next year during which education will be accorded the highest priority. The national University will be developed into a worldclass, tertiary educational institution, offering the finest science and technology education. I have announced that free university education, in accordance with the Constitution, will be restored. No qualified Guyanese student will be required to pay for education at our public university. The ‘Decade’ will emphasize science and technology education in every secondary school. This emphasis, however, will not diminish attention to the humanities and social sciences; the country will continue to need accountants, attorneys, bankers, economists, linguists and managers. The ‘Decade’ will place higher priority on creating a corps of science scholars who will become the future captains of the country’s industries. It will focus on promoting the essential elements – four ‘Is’ – of science and

technology education: Infrastructure: Every secondary school will be equipped with laboratories to advance science and technology education; smart classrooms will be installed to allow students to benefit from modern pedagogies and every secondary school will be connected to the internet and have access to e-libraries; the laboratories at the Cyril Potter College of Education have been modernized to improve teachers’ competence in the delivery of science and technology education. - Investment: School administrators will be provided with increased budgets to allow them to employ qualified staff and to procure services and materials which are necessary for proper science instruction, for the replacement of equipment and for the maintenance of science and technology laboratories. Government will offer incentives by providing scholarships to encourage excellence in science and technology; - Institutions: Science and technology education is to be institutionalized more extensively, countrywide; it will be driven throughout the public education system by a strong and capable Department of Science and Technology. - Information Communications Technology: Information communications technology will be the means through which the country will become more fully interconnected and integrated; ICT education is essential to equipping and preparing students for the knowledge-based industries of the present and future. ICT development will transform the economy. It will to add value to our service sectors, diversify the economy away from overdependence on primary production, move manufacturing up the value chain and tap into larger external markets. The ‘Decade of Development’ will introduce transformative changes in education, particularly in science education. These changes will enhance schools’ scientific infrastructure – classrooms, and laboratories; increase resources available to schools’ administrators and improve opportunities for science and technology education for students and teachers. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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Low blood pressure: Is it always bad? By Dr Zulfikar Bux Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine Having low blood pressure is not always bad and may be a good thing for some patients who unnecessarily worry about it. What’s considered low blood pressure for you may be normal for someone else. Today I will attempt to help you understand the reality behind low blood pressure so that you can realize that it may be a good thing and not always bad. When is it too low? Experts often define low blood pressure as readings lower than 90 mm Hg systolic (top reading) or 60 mm Hg diastolic (bottom reading). If either number is below that, your pressure is lower than normal. In addition to this, if you have a sudden fall in blood pressure, it can be dangerous although it does not reach 90/60. A change of just 20 mm Hg a drop from 110 systolic to 90 mm Hg systolic, for example can cause dizziness and fainting when the brain fails to receive an ad-

equate supply of blood. What are symptoms of low blood pressure? Check your blood pressure if youre having the following symptoms: · lightheadedness or dizziness · feeling sick · blurred vision · generally feeling weak · confusion · fainting These may all be symptoms that your blood pressure is too low. What conditions cause low blood pressure? The following medical conditions can lead to low blood pressure: · Pregnancy. · Heart problems ·Endocrine problems such as thyroid conditions, diabetes, adrenal insufficiency · Dehydration · Excessive bleeding · Severe infection (septicemia) · Severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) · Lack of nutrients in your diet · Using medications that

lower blood pressure How is low blood pressure treated? Treatment for low blood pressure depends on the cause. If a cause can be found, your doctor will be able to recommend treatment to ease your symptoms. If you are not having any symptoms and there is no obvious medical condition causing your low blood pressure, your doctor may wait to see how you progress; this is often, the best way to go. However, if you are symptomatic, your doctor may recommend changing medicines or altering your dose, if this is the cause. Wearing support stockings can improve circulation and increase blood pressure. Medicine to increase blood pressure is rarely needed because simple lifestyle measures or treating the underlying cause is usually effective. What can you do to help your low blood pressure symptoms? What you should do: · get up slowly from sitting to standing

· take care when getting out of bed move slowly from lying to sitting to standing · keep the head of your bed elevated · eat small, frequent meals lying down or sitting still for a while after eating may also help · increase the amount of water you drink What you shouldnt do: · do not sit or stand for long periods · do not bend down or

change posture suddenly · do not drink caffeinated drinks at night · do not drink too much alcohol Remember that low blood pressure is not always bad. People who have lower blood pressures have a lower risk of stroke, kidney disease, and heart disease. Athletes, people who exercise regularly, people who maintain ideal body weight, and nonsmokers tend to have lower blood

Dr Zulfikar Bux pressures. Low blood pressure is desirable as long as it is not low enough to cause symptoms and damage to the organs in the body.

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SUNDAY BEWARE GUYANA! MEASURE LOCAL CONTENT BYVALUE NOT VOLUME – T&T OIL EXPERT While the Energy Department is in the process of adding the finishing touches to the draft Local Content Policy, there is one key rule that should not escape its attention— Measure the number of goods and services used as well and locals employed by value and not by volume alone. This was recently noted by Anthony Paul, a Trinidadian Local Content Expert. He made this revelation during a guest appearance on Kaieteur Radio’s Guyana’s Oil and You Programme on Thursday evening. There, the Energy Advisor said, “I like to think of local content as something we can measure because if we can measure it, then we know how well we are doing. People often describe local content as the number of people employed; the number of companies engaged. “But remember, every activity has to be budgeted for. As such, I like to think of local content in a monetary sense. I ask, ‘What is the value of inputs for the activities being carried out in the sector?” On this premise, the Energy Advisor said that a company’s local content plan must therefore spell out how many people would be employed, for how long, to

Sunday November 03, 2019

Kaieteur News

do what, and how much they will be paid. And while this is being done, he said that one must examine how the foreign participants can be used to build capacity. Paul said, “So if you have a five-year project, you must ask what the company’s starting point for local content is, where will you be after year one, after year two, and so forth, in a way that you will see progress. For this, you will also need targets.” Additionally, the Trinidadian said that the foregoing information needs to be stored in a place where the right institutions can have it. “In this way, the University of Guyana, for example, can see what skills the agencies serving the sector need down the road and figure out what it needs in order to provide that. OIL PRODUCTION VESSELS WILL EMPLOY JUST A FEW LOCALS Guyana’s world-class offshore basin is said to hold over 6.6 billion barrels of oil and gas. And according to Hess Corporation which holds a 30 percent interest in the Stabroek Block, those oil and gas resources increase the potential for Guyana to have not just three but five Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSOs) vessels. This picture by Hess Corporation has led some individuals to believe that hundreds of jobs would be available to Guyanese. But the project reports for the Stabroek Block tell a

completely different story. In fact, fewer than 200 persons would be working on each FPSO during oil production stage and less than half of that work force would be Guyanese. The Liza Phase One Project for example, will be using an oil storage vessel called Liza Destiny. It is designed to produce 100,000 to 120,000 barrels of oil per day. According to Exxon’s project plan, Liza Phase One is expected to employ about 140 persons during production operations. The Energy Department Head, Dr. Mark Bynoe, recently said that 25 Guyanese are being trained to be part of that workforce. As for Liza Phase Two, the project plan notes that the oil storage vessel called Liza Unity will be designed to produce 220,000 barrels of oil per day. Significantly, it will utilize less than 200 personnel during the production operations phase. As for the third Stabroek Block project called Payara, a FPSO called Prosperity is expected to employ up to about 140 persons during production. LINDEN HOSPITAL WORKER, TEEN KILLED IN AMBULANCE SMASHUP Two Linden families have been plunged into mourning, with the deaths of two young men whose lives were snuffed out, in an early morning accident on Saturday. Dead is 37-year-old Eon Reddock, of South Amelia’s Ward and 18-yearold Tristan Clarke, of New Scheme, Amelia’s Ward and One Mile, Wismar. ‘Tragic’ is how former Regional Chairman and Chairman of th e L i n d e n Hospital Complex Board, Mortimer Mingo, described the horrific accident between an ambulance and car that occurred on the A m e l i a ’s Wa r d P u b l i c Road, in the vicinity of O b a m a Drive, killing

Reddock and Clarke. Reddock was returning to Linden in the ambulance, after transporting a patient to the Georgetown Public Hospital. Clarke was reportedly on his way home, after attending a Pageant at the New Silver City Secondary School at Wismar. It was the second accident this year, involving a nurse from the Linden Hospital, to occur in the Amelia’s Ward area. On April 7, Reddock’s cousin, Shashyka Etienne, a registered nurse, perished less than a mile away, in the vicinity of the Amelia’s Ward bus shed. MONDAY APPROVAL OF OIL FIELD DEVELOPMENT PLANS GIVES GUYANA ROOM TO RECLAIM LOST VALUE – T&T EXPERT, ANTHONY PAUL Guyana’s Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs) with industry majors like ExxonMobil and Tullow Oil have been heavily criticized for their gaping loopholes that allow for significant revenue loss to the State. But Local Content Expert and Energy Advisor, Anthony Paul says, “All is not lost!” During his guest appearance last week on Kaieteur Radio’s Guyana’s Oil and You Programme, Paul said that the authorities have enough mechanisms in place to claw back some of the value lost through the deals that have been deemed as lopsided. One of these mechanisms he said is the approval the companies would need in order to go ahead with developing oil fields offshore. The Trinidadian said, “Guyana is making discovery after discovery. And each oil field has to be developed by the operator. But the company has to submit a plan on how it will go about doing this. This plan requires approval from government.

Now that approval process allows the Government of Guyana to pause the clock and say, ‘Let’s think about this and see how we do this in Guyana’s best interest.” Paul added, “So my view is that despite all the skepticism, Guyana has mechanisms in place to claw back some of the value from some of the deals that have been criticized for not being the best.” In the existing discoveries such as the 14 made in the Stabroek Block by ExxonMobil, Paul said Guyana can ensure it ramps up the existing benefits by looking at local content. In doing so, he advised that the authorities monitor and record not just the volume, but also the value of the projects being awarded to local businesses and the salary being earning by those working in the sector. This, he said, takes skillful leadership and commitment. But more importantly, Paul said it requires that all Guyanese understand the industry and all that can be possible from the effective management of it. “It is easy to bash government but sometimes it is only doing what it can while working with limitations…Sometimes bad decisions are often made through innocence and Guyanese can help the

government in this regard by bringing their voices and skills to help the government in the work it is doing.” GOLD MINER, BANDITS SHOOTOUT…SHOP OWNER WHO HELPED TRAIL VICTIM HAD PREVIOUSLY SET UP ARMED ROBBERYAT HIS OWN RUM SHOP Roberto Sankar and Delon ‘Demon Morgan’, two of the implicated suspects into the death of gold miner, Deon ‘Mow’ Stoll, had previously faced charges related to a robbery they were accused of staging. In March 2017, Sankar, the proprietor of a SuperBet outlet and others were remanded over a robbery he allegedly staged at his place of business. The 28-year-old of Lot 6 Pigeon Island, East Coast Demerara, was charged along with Morgan, 33, and Mark Vaughn, 46; both of Lot 27 Dowding Street, Kitty, Georgetown. They were also joined by Kasi Heyligar, 34, of Lot 42 Shell Road Kitty, Georgetown. It is alleged that on January 30, 2017 at Pigeon Island, East Coast Demerara, they robbed Dexter Lowe of a .32 Taurus pistol; and eight live matching rounds. It was also alleged that on the same (Continued on page 33)

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From page 32 day and at the same location they robbed Junior Chung of $1.2M. According to reports, six gunmen carried out a daring robbery at the sports betting agency and made off with $1.2M. Employees of SuperBet had just collected money from another shop up the East Coast of Demerara and were making a second pick up at Pigeon Island when the ‘bandits’ attacked. Kaieteur News understands that investigators received information that Sankar was involved in the plotting of the robbery. Police subsequently detained him during which he reportedly confessed to staging the robbery and identified two of his accomplices. However, these charges were dismissed as the alleged victims failed to turn up in court to give evidence. In relation to the recent attempted robbery and killing of Stoll, it is said that Sankar, who owns a ‘rum shop,’ was sent earlier in the morning to KGM Security Services on Sherriff Street, Georgetown. At the location he was made to monitor the movements of Stoll. After Stoll left KGM Security Services, Sankar with the use of a blue car, trailed him into Kitty until a Toyota 212 took over. The occupants of this vehicle then followed Stoll. Presently in police custody are Morgan, who is suspected to be one of the two bandits caught on camera during the shootout; his female cousin, who allegedly hid him from law enforcers; Steve Rollox, Wayne St. Hill and Dr. Alonzo De Santos. ANOTHER US STATE FOLLOWS NEW YORK; SUES EXXONMOBIL FOR HIDING CLIMATE CRISIS BLOOMBERG – Exxon Mobil Corp. was sued by Massachusetts for allegedly hiding its early knowledge of climate change from the public and misleading investors about the future financial impact of global warming, two days after a trial started on similar claims in New York. The 205-page complaint, filed Thursday in state court in Boston, goes further than the suit filed a year ago in New York by alleging Exxon misled the general public as well as shareholders by concealing the looming crisis. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, who’s seeking unspecified monetary damages, says Exxon predicted high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as early as 1982

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and effectively hid the information. According to the complaint, Irving, Texasbased Exxon went so far as to disregard the findings of one of its own scientists, who decades ago correctly predicted the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere in 2019 and said that climate change would become “catastrophic.” Healey, who’s been investigating Exxon since 2016, claims Exxon’s actions violated the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act. “The Massachusetts attorney general‘s office has filed a baseless complaint three years after announcing its politically motivated investigation, during which they have not interviewed a single Exxon Mobil employee or gathered one piece of evidence from the company,” Exxon said in an emailed statement. “We look forward to refuting the meritless allegations in court.” Healey said Exxon refused to cooperate with an investigation, so the state gathered information from banks, advertising agencies, New York’s investigation and other sources. Among obstacles Exxon put up, she said, was a lawsuit alleging the probe was politically motivated and an attempt to depose her. “Exxon has fought us every step of the way,” Healey said in the call. “Internal documents show Exxon tells Massachusetts investors one thing and does another. And that’s illegal.” TUESDAY NORTON STREET MURDER TRIAL… KEY WITNESS AND CAR MISSING ON WAY TO COURT – SAYS MOM A key witness, in relation to the murder of Marlon Seon Rodney, called ‘George’, is now missing before he could appear in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court to complete his evidence into the murder. The witness, 36year-old Collin Rodney, of 70 Joseph Pollydore Street, Lodge, who is also the cousin of the deceased, disappeared on Friday after he left for court. The distressed mother of the missing man, Jacqueline Hunter, told Kaieteur News that her son left home around 08:45 hrs on the day in question. “He had to return to court to be cross-examined by the defendants in the matter. When he left home, I didn’t see what he was wearing because by the time I look outside, he was already in his car leaving.”

Ms. Hunter indicated that since Friday her son did not return home and his silver grey Allion motorcar bearing registration number PRR 1076 has since vanished also. She added that calls to her son’s cell phone have gone unanswered, something that her son is not known to do. Police Prosecutor of the case, Dominic Bess, when contacted by this publication said that the witness did not show up to court for the hearing. However, Ms. Hunter is of the opinion that the defendants in the matter may have gotten to her son. According to the woman, one of the defendants is deep in drug operations and several witnesses in relation to this matter have received threats. To the best of her knowledge, neither she nor her son has received any threats. Her son as a key witness is very important as he can place one of the defendants, on the scene of the crime and also testify in relation to his cousin identifying his killer before his death. A police missing person report has since been made. US LAWSUITS AGAINST EXXONMOBIL RAISE SERIOUS QUESTIONS FOR GUYANA ExxonMobil has been alleged to have facilitated a wide-ranging deception in a landmark lawsuit brought against it by the State of New York. The company stands accused of misrepresenting the effect climate change would have on the cost of its operations. It was also sued by the State of Massachusetts for allegedly hiding its early knowledge of the climate crisis from the general public, and misleading its Massachusetts investors about the future financial impact of global warming, two days after the trial started on similar claims

in New York. The suits raise major questions for a country like Guyana, as the country is about to become a major oil producing nation, with Exxon at the helm of the budding sector. The most daunting of those questions is – If Exxon is willing to lie to its own investors, what would it lie about to a country like Guyana, which is severely underprepared to bring the oil giant to heel? This concern was raised by Canada-based engineer and member of the Oil and Gas Governance Network (OGGN), Darshanand Khusial. In a letter published in Sunday’s Kaieteur News, Khusial wrote about the New York lawsuit. “Exxon is accused of cooking the books. One set of accounting records for shareholders (investors) and another for its management,” he said, noting that the multinational’s alleged lies could cost its shareholders up to $1.6B. Simply put, ExxonMobil devised for its investors a tool to take into account the social, ecological and economic costs of its GHG emissions, but the lawsuit claims that the oil company did not follow the system through. The New York Attorney General’s summons states that the primary drafters of the allegedly falsified reports included a series of high level managers, including Exxon’s then Chief Executive Officer. T&T TRAPPED IN YEARS OF DECLINING GROWTH Despite its best efforts, the economy of Trinidad and Tobago is still struggling to find its way back to sustainable positive growth. In fact, the country has been trapped in declining growth for the last three years. For 2016, TT’s economy grew by -6.3. The following year, it achieved -2.3 percent growth.

Its government had projected that it would grow by 1.9 percent for 2018, but the economy failed to make this mark as TT’s Central Statistical Office recently revised the figure to -0.2. (http://www.looptt.com/ content/tts-real-gdp-revised19-02-20180 For 2019, the International Monetary Fund is projecting zero percent growth for the nation, which has been in the petroleum industry for over 100 years. (http://www.looptt.com/ content/imf-projects-0-gdpgrowth-tt-2019). A2 Global Risk, an international security risk management consultancy also spoke of the declining health of the Trinidadian economy in one of its latest assessments. The firm noted that T&T’s oil production has dropped by 14.5 percent since 2012. As a result, the CARICOM member is left with little alternative but to restructure its economy away from oil and gas. Global Risk alluded to the difficulties that may come with this restructuring since T&T has neglected its other sectors for decades while noting that a potentially disastrous impact for the national economy looms. As a result of its negligence, Global Risk said that T&T’s growth outside of oil has been low, and sometimes negative. In fact, the security risk management firm noted that the contribution of nonpetroleum sectors to the Gross Domestic Product has been shrinking. WEDNESDAY GUYANA’S OIL DISCOVERIES SECOND ONLY TO RUSSIA – RYSTAD ENERGY Guyana’s oil and gas discoveries for the year 2019 have been found by Rystad Energy to be second only

to Russia’s in volume. IHS Markit, a London-based global information provider has found that conventional oil and gas discoveries in the past three years are assessed as being the lowest levels in the past 70 years. Though that’s the case for conventional discoveries, several countries have managed to make major unconventional discoveries amounting to considerable volumes. This year, almost 8 billion barrels of oil equivalent have been discovered, compared to 10 billion last year, according to Julianne Geiger, a researcher for OilPrice. Russia, in the top spot, boasts 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent, after having made successful Dinkov and Nyarmeyskoye finds on the country’s Yamal peninsula shelf in the Kara sea. But Geiger wrote that though R u s s i a ’s discoveries are great in volume, extraction may be another issue entirely for the European nation, since it is likely to be very costly. I n G u y a n a ’s c a s e , however, the light crude makes Guyana one of the most attractive destinations because the cost to extract places the breakeven price of the oil in the Stabroek Block among the lowest in the world. That means that Guyana’s oil could be sold at a very low price, and the operators would still make a considerable profit. Up until a few days ago, Guyana was alone in second place. But a Monday discovery by BP off the coast of Mauritania placed the African state in a tie with Guyana. The country’s Orca-1 well, in the MSGBC (Mauritania-Senegal-GambiaBissau-Conakry) basin is estimated to hold about 1.3 (Continued on page 34)

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From page 33 billion barrels of oil equivalent, according to Rystad Energy. THOUSANDS RISK REMOVALFROM GECOM LIST FOR FAILURE TO UPLIFT IDS Thousands of eligible voters could have their names omitted from the Official List of Electors (OLE) if they don’t claim their national identification cards from the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). This is because GECOM Chair, (ret’d) Justice Claudette Singh S.C., made a decision Tuesday to follow a process laid out in the National Registration Act, for the cancellation of registrants. According to Commissioner Sase Gunraj, the last count he checked placed the number of persons at risk of having their names removed in excess of 25,000. Commissioner Charles Corbin said Tuesday that the process will include publishing a list of the names, likely in newspapers, allowing those persons to claim their identities. If they fail to do so, their names will not be included on the Revised List of Electors (RLE) and, consequently, the OLE, indicated Corbin. He also said that the 21-day process will involve sending notices to the registrants’ addresses. He was keen to note that, if persons fail to claim their identity, though their names

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will not be on the RLE, their names will not be removed from the National Register of Registrants (NRR). However, they will miss the opportunity to vote in the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections. Gunraj has taken issue with the decision made by the GECOM Chair. He has suggested that it is unlawful to impose an additional requirement on voters. He has also queried the publication of the House-to-House data and the manner in which that data will be treated. GECOM had recently placed copies of the House-to-House data on lists at registration offices serving the persons who had been registered during the truncated exercise. Late last night, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) released a statement demanding that GECOM withdraw the House-toHouse lists and continue only with the Claims and Objections exercise, because of the same issues raised by Gunraj. RENEGOTIATION OF EXXON DEAL IS A MUST – PM CANDIDATE, NIGEL HINDS Nigel Hinds, the Prime Ministerial Candidate of Change Guyana, a new party launched last night, has posited that the Production Sharing Agreement Government signed with ExxonMobil, for its operations

on the Stabroek Block, must be renegotiated. Hinds is quoted as saying “The ambiguous oil production sharing agreements that have extremely low royalties for Guyana, is a major cause for concern and Change Guyana Party believes that contract renegotiation for a fair share of oil benefits to Guyanese is absolutely needed.” His statement came hours after a Stabroek News article that claimed that Change Guyana’s presidential candidate, Robert Badal, said he will not seek a renegotiation of the controversial deal if elected in the upcoming General elections. The Stabroek News story presented Badal as saying that he will enlist industry experts to analyse current contracts so that they could make recommendations on the way forward, but there was no mention of a renegotiation of the Stabroek Block deal. In response to the Stabroek News article, Change Guyana took to Facebook to state the party’s position definitively on the current oil and gas contracts. The statement dismissed the Stabroek News headline ‘Badal says won’t renegotiate Exxon deal if elected’ as erroneous. The Stabroek PSA has been criticised as unfair and lopsided, and as a contract that sets the precedent for even more lopsided contracts

in favour of oil companies. There are myriad provisions which are considered illegal and/or ridiculous. Sections of the public have called for its renegotiation, and international industry experts have pointed out multiple provisions in the contract that are disadvantageous and unique to Guyana. THURSDAY HESS CORP. CONFIRMS FIRST OIL FOR CHRISTMAS Hess Corporation confirmed, Wednesday, that Guyana’s first barrel of oil will be produced before 2020. During the presentation of its third quarter earnings, the company which has a 30 percent stake in the Stabroek Block said that production is expected in December 2019 from the Liza Phase One which would be using 17 wells. Elaborating further on developments regarding its Guyana operations, CEO of Hess Corp., John Hess, reminded that the gross discovered recoverable resources are estimated at more than six billion barrels of oil and gas with multibillion barrels of future exploration potential remaining. In September, the official reminded that along with the Operator of the block, ExxonMobil, it was announced that a fourth discovery was made at the Tripletail-1 well located in the

Turbot area which is approximately three miles northeast of the Longtail discovery. Hess noted that the well encountered approximately 108 feet of a high-quality oilbearing sandstone reservoir. Subsequently, he said that additional hydrocarbon bearing reservoirs have been encountered below the previously announced Tripletail discovery. He also said that the Tripletail is still under evaluation and will further underpin the Turbot area as a major development hub. During the third quarter, the Chief Executive Officer noted that drilling and appraisal activities were completed at Hammerhead with encouraging results, including a successful drill stem test. The official said that these results are being evaluated for potential future development. Further to this, John Hess explained that drilling and evaluation activities continue on the Ranger 2 well with the objective of appraising the Ranger oil discovery. OPPOSITION LEADER NOT IN FAVOUR OF GETTINGGUYANAA BETTER DEAL FROM EXXONMOBIL The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) will not seek a renegotiation of the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) for the Stabroek Block, if it wins the March 2, 2020 General election, despite its leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, acknowledging that the provisions held therein, are below industry standards.

Gaping loopholes have been pointed out in the contract, which would amount to significant revenue loss to the State, if they are not rectified. As if that wasn’t daunting enough, several provisions have even been alleged to be illegal. Jagdeo Wednesday fielded questions about the prospect of renegotiation at his Church Street office. The contract allows for its own renegotiation, as long as the contractor grants prior consent. Typically, ExxonMobil wouldn’t give such consent, as it has waxed about the sanctity of contracts. Yet, Energy Advisor Anthony Paul participated in a segment of Guyana’s Oil & You on Kaieteur Radio, where he explained that there are ways in which a company like ExxonMobil can be convinced to sit down and revisit some of the contract’s provisions with the Government. One of those is the point at which Government embarks on an approval process for their field development plans. “Guyana is making discovery after discovery. And each oil field has to be developed by the operator. But the company has to submit a plan on how it will go about doing this. This plan requires approval from government. Now that approval process allows the Government of Guyana to pause the clock and say, ‘Let’s think about this and see how we do this in Guyana’s best interest,” Paul had said. RICE FARMER CHARGED WITH MURDER OF TEEN FOUND BURIED IN HOUSE FOUNDATION Shackled, and with his (Continued on page 35)

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From page 34 head bowed, rice farmer Jairam Seepersaud, entered the Wales Magistrates’ Court Wednesday to be charged with the murder of 14-year-old Christopher Basdeo. The teen’s body was found buried in the foundation of an abandoned house at La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara, 13 days ago. Seepersaud, 42, of Lot 548 La Parfaite Harmonie, appeared before Magistrate Seepaul Ali and was remanded to prison until December 12. Seepersaud is alleged to have murdered Basdeo on October 17. He is known to the victim’s family. Police said he told investigators that he and Basdeo were drinking ‘Banko’ wine when an argument erupted over money. He then became enraged and struck the teen in his head with a piece of wood. A boy accidentally found the corpse on October 23. The child was on his way to a creek in the 548 La Parfaite Harmonie area when he noticed a dog scratching at something within the foundation of an unfinished property. He used a stick to dig at the spot and unearthed bits of cloth and a skull. Police, who had already detained Seepersaud, said that he took them to the spot, where they unearthed Basdeo’s corpse. A postmortem performed Wednesday revealed that

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cause of death was brain haemorrhage caused by blunt trauma to the head. FRIDAY IN ABSENCE OFA DEPLETION POLICY, EXXON RAMPS UP PLANS TO DRAIN GUYANA’S OIL Institutions such as the World Bank, the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), have all acknowledged that the authorities of the State have the fundamental right to determine how fast or how slow their country’s oil and gas resources should be developed. In fact, the UNDP had commissioned a report in 2016 for Guyana, which recommended that the government pays attention to the rate at which the oil resources could be depleted. The adoption of a policy that regularizes the pace of production by ExxonMobil and other oil companies operating offshore Guyana, was also suggested. But in the absence of this crucial policy, ExxonMobil and its partners, Hess Corporation and CNOOC/ NEXEN, are steaming ahead with plans to extract Guyana’s oil as quickly as possible from the Stabroek Block. Oil production was initially projected to occur between January and March of 2020. But due to ExxonMobil’s impressive

progress on all the necessary installations, that target has been brought forward to December, 2019. While these plans are moving ahead for oil production from the Liza Phase One Project, ExxonMobil is ramping up its development plans for Liza Phase Two. During its third quarter earnings call this week, Hess Corporation disclosed that development drilling of Liza Phase Two will commence in the first quarter of 2020 with first oil expected by mid-2022. Pending government approvals, ExxonMobil is also eager to start a third oil production field on the Stabroek block called Payara. It is expected to utilize a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel with a gross production capacity of 220,000 barrels of oil per day. If the government grants the required approvals in keeping with the company’s expectations, oil can be produced from Payara as early as 2023. As it pushes ahead with those plans, ExxonMobil is also conducting appraisals of other wells to determine their productivity, all in an effort to maximize profits for its shareholders as quickly as possible. Two of these wells include the Ranger Two and Hammerhead. SUPERVISOR FORCES SECURITY GUARDS TO CLEAN FOWL PEN – DEMANDS PART OF THEIR SALARY A group of security guards working at the Anna

Regina office of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI) are disgusted at the way they are treated by their supervisor. Speaking with this publication Thursday, one of the security guards claimed that they are forced by their boss to clean his chicken pen, yard and even house. But what is even worse, is that he allegedly demanded they pay him $2,000 out of their salary, and have recently increased the sum to $5,000 whenever their bonuses is paid. Kaieteur News understands that the supervisor is a 74-yearold man who resides at Queenstown, Essequibo Coast. He supervises a group of seven security guards. The men said that they aren’t mindful if the supervisor had asked for assistance, due to fact that he is a pensioner who lives alone with his wife. “They would have been willing to assist,” one of the guards said. They are annoyed that he is using his authority to forcefully demand a cut of their salary. “We were contracted to be security guards looking over the equipment owned by the ministry that were left at different locations along the Essequibo Coast,” they said. They argued that at no time were they told that part of their job would be to clean for their supervisor, or for them to pay him a monthly contribution. One of guards along with another colleague decided to take a stand and have filed a report against the supervisor. The men claimed that they made their way down to the

Ministry’s sub-office located at Anna Regina and lodged a complaint. This was also confirmed by an accountant who works at the ministry’s office. ONE WEEK LATER… NO SIGNS OF MURDER WITNESS OR VEHICLE – FAMILY OFFERS REWARD FOR INFO As it moves to one week since 36-year-old Collin Rodney of 70 Joseph Pollydore Street, Lodge has gone missing, family members are becoming increasingly worried about the young man. This has moved the family to offer a reward in an effort to solicit information that can aid them in finding out about the missing man’s whereabouts. Collin is a key witness, in relation to the murder of his cousin Marlon Seon Rodney, called ‘George’. Collin went missing after he left home on Friday last, the same day that he was supposed to be present in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court to complete his evidence into the murder. The distressed mother of the missing man, Jacqueline Hunter, had told Kaieteur News that her son left home around 08:45 hrs on the day in question. “He had to return to court to be cross-examined

by the defendants in the matter. When he left home, I didn’t see what he was wearing because by the time I look outside, he was already in his car leaving.” Ms. Hunter indicated that since Friday her son did not return home and his silver grey Allion motorcar bearing registration number PRR 1076 has since vanished also. She added that calls to her son’s cell phone have gone unanswered, something that her son is not known to do. Police Prosecutor of the case, Dominic Bess, when contacted by this publication had said that the witness did not show up to court for the hearing. However, Ms. Hunter is of the opinion that the defendants in the matter may have gotten to her son. According to the woman, one of the defendants is said to be deep in drug operations and several witnesses in relation to this matter have received threats. To the best of her knowledge, her son has not received any threats. SATURDAY MISSING WITNESS IN MURDER TRIAL … BURNT BODY FOUND IN CAR TRUNK AT MAHAICONY The search for missing key witness Collin Rodney may have finally ended after the gruesome find of the burnt remains of a body in the trunk of a torched car. The (Continued on page 36)

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From page 35 discovery was made at around 13:00 hrs Friday at a desolate and swampy area at Letter T, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara. A senior police official told Kaieteur News Friday night that an anonymous caller contacted ranks at the Weldaad Police Station between 14:00hrs and 17:00hrs to say that a car was being torched in the area, indicating that a car was on fire at the Letter Kenny backlands; an area that is surrounded by coconut estates and rice fields. Upon arrival at the scene, the official said that they came across a badly burnt vehicle, which appeared to be a Toyota Allion. A stench was emanating from the vehicle. On opening the trunk, the ranks came across the horrible sight of a corpse, which had been burnt beyond recognition. Crime Scene ranks from Georgetown also scoured the scene. They eventually assisted in placing the remains in a bag. The corpse was then taken to a city funeral parlour. Police were preparing to atempt to positively identify the vehicle Saturday, while a post mortem examination may also be conducted on the remains. This was likely to be done Saturday. Forensic investigators are also likely to take DNA samples from Rodney’s relatives for a possible match with samples from the corpse. Thirty-six-year-old Collin

Kaieteur News

of 70 Joseph Pollydore Street, Lodge and his silver grey Toyota Allion bearing registration number PRR 1076, vanished on October 25. Collin was a key witness, in the murder of his cousin, Marlon Seon Rodney, called ‘George’.

BRAZIL SEEKS US$50B THROUGH AUCTION OF OIL BLOCKS Guyana’s neighbour Brazil hopes to reel in about US$50B from an auction of four oilfields, tentatively set

for next Wednesday – Buzios, Itapu, Atapu and Sepia. The fields involved in the ‘Transfer of Rights’ process could hold about 15B barrels of oil equivalent, according to a study by Houston-based consultancy Gaffney, Cline & Associates. The fields draw

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from the pre-salt layer, which it is thought holds a significant fraction of the earth’s petroleum reserves. Wood Mackenzie estimates that the four projects could be producing about 1.4M barrels per day by 2030. Buzios, the largest of the four, considered by ExxonMobil to be the “largest and most prolific” deepwater discovery ever. The field is Brazil’s second largest when it comes to production, currently putting out about 425,000 barrels per day. While Petrobras is intent on winning the bidding for that project, ExxonMobil’s President of Exploration, Stephen Greenlee said that the company needs to weigh just how much it wants to spend on the lucrative project against US Shale, other liquefied natural gas and deepwater projects, according to Bloomberg.

But still, along with 13 other producers, Exxon has signed up to participate in the auction. In Guyana, for instance, the oil major is set to start production on the Stabroek Block in December with its partners CNOOC Nexen and Hess. Of the Brazil auction, Greenlee is quoted as saying, “Whether or not we participate, it would be wrapped up in how we would see that opportunity versus all the other investment options, because there are a lot of investment options out there right now.” He reportedly argued that other oil companies have also expressed reservations about the cost to obtain those blocks that the billions in signing bonuses could eat into their profits. Total, Repsol, and BP have said that they will not participate in the auction.

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Naturally Beautiful Skin 1. The Golden Rule Do: Make sure you always (and we mean always) remove your makeup before hitting the sheets. The skin needs to breathe overnight. And makeup prevents that, as leaving it on overnight clogs the pores which may cause blemishes and/or blackheads. Don’t possess a makeup remover? Just put some olive oil on a cotton pad and gently massage the oil onto your face to get rid of the makeup and dirt. Don’t: Forget that exfoliation is indispensable. At least once or twice a week, exfoliate your skin to remove the layers of dead skin, sure to leave you with a more healthy glow and brighter skin. You can also apply a paste of walnut in powder form with yogurt to exfoliate your skin, as the antioxidants present in walnuts help remove dirt and promote radiant skin. 2. Sun and Skin Do: Apply sunscreen with SPF of at least 15 that blocks both UVA and UVB rays. Since a lifetime of sun exposure can cause wrinkles, age spots and other skin problems, you have to protect your skin from the sun. Make sure the label reads ‘noncomedogenic’ or ‘nonacnegenic’ so that the product does not tend to block pores. Don’t: Skip the sunscreen, whether it’s cloudy or cold outside (no excuses). If you’re heading to a beach or around reflective surfaces like snow or ice, lather your skin up with some more sunscreen with SPF of at least 30. 3. You are What You Eat Do: Keep a note of what you put on your plate. Eat fresh fruits, greens, sufficient protein and vitamins. A diet rich in vitamin C and low in fats and sugar promotes radiant skin. Consider a lowsugar diet, which can keep insulin levels down, allowing cells to maintain a healthy balance. “Don’t: Eat spicy and fermented foods, salt, citrus fruits, fried food. Instead favour blander foods such as rice, oatmeal and applesauce”, advises American author and Ayurvedic physician, Vasant Lad, in The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies. 4. Sweat It Out! Do: Exercise regularly. Running, jogging and yoga will give your body the necessary blood circulation, and also accelerate the cleansing process of your entire body. You will notice a glow on your face after working out. Racing against time? Just take a brisk walk around the block. Don’t: Skip skincare before and after a workout. Apply a toner to help minimize oil production before heading out. Exfoliate after, and then apply shea butter or olive oil to moisturize the skin. 5. Beauty Sleep Do: Try to sleep at least 8 hours every night. If you don’t get enough shut eye, your skin gets tired just like you - it sags and you get bags. So don’t risk it. You can also apply honey on your face twice or thrice a week to naturally soothe and heal your skin. Don’t: Forget to wash and moisturize your face before going to bed”, recommends Dr. Rahul Nagar, Dermatologist, Max Hospitals. “For dry skin, use milder cleansers that are free from alcohol. Apply lots of moisturizer, and avoid hot water as it dries out the skin excessively.”

SOLUTION TO LAST WEEK’S WORD SEARCH

Kaieteur News

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Killer pirates captured in Suriname

Captured: O Brian Fraser

Captured: Anonth Boodridge

Two men police had issued wanted bulletin for in relation to the recent attack and murder of four Guyanese fishermen in Corentyne waters, was captured in Nickerie, Suriname on Thursday. According to the Commander of B’ Division (Region Six), Calvin Brutus, the men were arrested by Suriname authorities after a wanted bulletin was issued by the Guyana Police Force for them. In police custody in Suriname are O’Brian Fraser of Cromarty Village and Anonth Boodridge of Belvedere Village, Corentyne, Berbice. Brutus told Kaieteur News that Dutch authorities are currently processing the men to be charged for an immigration violation and subsequently will be handed over to authorities in Berbice sometime next week.

The men are accused of attacking the SARA-1 fishing vessel with crewmen Kawal Ajai Kissoon, Marvin Tamasar, Lamar Petrie and captained by Vishnu Seeram called “Kevin”, approximately eight miles from the Number 58 foreshore. Fraser and Boodridge, in the company of three others, Narine Dhanraj aka “ChuChu-bai, Suresh Sumdatt aka “Buckman and Lennox Grimmond called “Breeze”, are accused of attacking the vessel, chopping the men, tying them up and dumping them overboard before stealing their fish. Dhanraj, Sumdatt and Grimmond were charged with murder and remanded to prison until the 7th November when they will return to court. On October 5th, 2019, the four fishermen left home to

Charged: Lennox Grimmond called “Breeze” work at sea for two weeks but were instead attacked by the suspects who were on another boat. They were killed and dumped overboard after the fishermen put up a fight for (Continued on page 70)

Killed: Lamar Petrie

Charged: Narine Dhanraj aka Chu-Chu-Bai (extreme right) and Suresh Sumdatt aka Buckman (centre)

Killed: Marvin Tamasar

Killed: Vishnu Seeram

Killed: Ajai Kissoon

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Sunday November 03, 2019

Labourer paralysed after crashing through 7 floors Devon Williams, a 31year-old labourer is lucky to be alive, after falling from the seventh floor of the Pegasus Hotel building, which is currently under construction at Kinston, Georgetown. The incident occurred on Monday last. It was Williams first day on his new job. He was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where it was discovered that his spine was broken in three places. Williams was admitted and his family were told that he will have to undergo surgery. Still in a state of disbelief and shock Williams told this newspaper that he was contracted to do “task work” by one of the foreman working at the construction.

The Pegasus building from which Williams fell He was told that his job for the day would be to carry blocks for the block layer on the seventh floor

of the building. Williams was given a helmet and a reflector vest before ascending upward

to where he was sent. When he arrived, he noticed his colleagues fetching blocks across two wooden planks where the mason was working.. At first he was afraid but soon gained confidence and began to work. He took his first load of blocks across the planks and returned safely. On his second trip across, he heard a creaking sound and before he knew it, he came crashing from plank to plank until he arrived at the bottom. Williams said he fainted and came to consciousness when his co-workers and colleagues were lifting him off the ground. “They ask me if I felt anything, but to be honest I could

not feel my legs they were numb,” said Williams. His grandmother, who was present at his bedside, said that the reason why her grandson is alive is because of Gods grace and the fact that he fell from one plank to the other before landing on the ground floor. Williams sister who is also a nurse at the hospital said that doctors had told them that even after surgery, it is not guaranteed that her brother will walk again. She added that the contractor on the building, China Harbour and Engineering Company Limited (CHEC), have offered to compensate and pay for the

medical expenses of Williams. However, since they did not contract her brother directly they are processing the funds through the foreman who employed Williams. According to the labourers sister, the foreman has paid for three computed tomography (CT) Scans and one magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). But there are additional costs that will have to be covered after surgery is completed. She was promised that a representative from CHEC and the foreman would visit them at the hospital on Friday to discuss these costs. But no one came.

Sunday November 03, 2019

STANDARDS IN FOCUS

LABORATORY CERTIFICATION PROVIDES CONFIDENCE IN RESULTS In Guyana, testing and medical laboratories are certified by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) to the National Laboratory Standard: GYS 170: 2009 “General requirements for the operation of a laboratory�, which provides heightened stakeholder confidence. This standard allows laboratories to develop a comprehensive laboratory management system, which facilitates the delivery of accurate and reliable test results. Laboratory Certification is a means of determining the performance of laboratories that are involved in conducting testing, measurement and calibration activities. It provides formal recognition that a laboratory has implemented a management system, thus providing a ready means for customers to identify and select reliable

testing, measurement and calibration services to meet their needs. To maintain this recognition, laboratories are re-evaluated periodically by the GNBS to ensure conformance to requirements and to verify that their standard of operation is being maintained. Laboratories also participate in proficiency testing programmes between re-assessments, as a further demonstration of technical performance. Certification benefits laboratories by allowing them to consistently operate in accordance with established procedures that are based on the national standard. It provides them with a benchmark for maintaining the laboratory management system and for improving the services offered to clients.

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Indeed, laboratory results are very critical for decision-making and the processes used to achieve those results must be controlled. For testing laboratories, the determination of physical, chemical and biological limits in raw materials and finished products is often necessary to guarantee product quality and safety. Meanwhile, credible results received from certified medical laboratories will allow health practitioners and professionals to provide a consistently high quality of service to their customers and clients. These results aid the medical diagnosis of patients, which helps to determine the appropriate medical prescriptions and treatment.

Without a certified laboratory management system, a laboratory has no recognized way of assuring its customers who include doctors, patients, insurance companies, embassies, regulatory authorities and other interested parties that the results they provide are reliable. The GNBS has the expertise to work with potential and currently certified laboratories to ensure they implement and maintain a laboratory management system. Currently, the certified laboratories in Guyana are

GPHC Medical Laboratory, Woodlands Pathology Laboratory, Kaizen Environmental Services Laboratory, Dr. Balwant Singh Hospital Laboratory, Eureka Medical Laboratories, Medical Art Centre Laboratory, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Laboratory, GDF Medical Laboratory, Quest Medical laboratory, GRDB Central Laboratory. GWI Testing Laboratory, Dr. Leslie Persaud Medical Diagnostic Centre, Doobay Medical Centre Laboratory, Anamyah Memorial Hospital Laboratory, Woodlands Hospital

Laboratory and Pesticide and Toxic Chemical Control Board Laboratory. The GNBS takes this opportunity to encourage other medical and testing laboratories, which have not yet decided on implementing the laboratory management system to come onboard the GNBS Laboratory Certification Programme. For further information, please contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 219-0069, 219-0065, 2190062 or visit the GNBS Website: www. gnbsgy.org

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a bustling location with immense agricultural opportunities

FOCUS By Alex Wayne

I

had heard a lot about Bath Settlement but I had no idea it was so breathtaking complete with wide open pastures, abundant tree species and twisting roads and alleyways. The cheery chatter of villagers was a harmonious sound, coupled with the merry squeals of children prancing around in the village. In the shops housewives were heckling girlishly and arguing to the top of their voices over price increase for some grocery items. Many rolled their eyes at the shop owners while others were very outspoken in their disagreement. I was somewhat enthralled that Bath Village still bore some resemblance of its yester-year infrastructure. From its many cottage styled houses, still many sandy streets and structures that took me back to many years ago, when many regarded 'wish wash' structures as wealth, even if they were not sporting the glitz and glamour that is associated with some structures today. The village has an arresting beauty that is presented quite nicely with a fusion of twisting roads, sprawling green pastures, adorable natural waterways,

and green expanses of farm lands. Upon entering the village one is greeted by the enticing evidence of its great agricultural potential by persons walking or riding around intent on trading their homegrown vegetables, ground provision, or fruits which always seem to be in abundance. Bath Village District is an administrative division and is located in MahaicaBerbice, Guyana. The estimate terrain elevation above sea level is about four metres. This village is located some sixty seven miles from Georgetown, and can be accessed by traveling the West Berbice Public Road. Years gone by Bath Village presently is the total opposite of what it was in years gone by. Today there are posh houses and businesses, and avenues for sport and recreation. The village has taken on a much modern aura with the introduction of a few stylish houses, and the village can be no longer remembered as the land of scattered thatched roof huts and bushy open pastures. Making the comparisons was village elder Sunil Phagoo, who with a contented smile started an enthralling tale. “I could remember my days as a young girl how we would run almost butt naked

Farmers prepare their lands for cultivation

SETTLEMENT

A section of the still developing village

in dem bushy pastures, with our hair flying. When the rain came down we would splash and play in the muddy waters. But many times our mothers came after us with tamarind whips and there goes all the fun. Then in the afternoon we would go down to about two standpipes in the village, and many times fights broke out over whose turn it was to draw water. As young girls or boys clash in battle, a large crowd would quickly gather, each chanting for the person they supported. It was a sight to see them roll around like pigs in the mud, flinging cuffs, pulling hair, or digging faces. The crowd would scatter in all directions when

village elders arrived, parting the fights with slaps and whip lashes.” Phagoo said, “In those days there was no electricity and the 'flambough lamps' was the going thing. You had to cook with it, do your school work with it and to save the cooking oil or kerosene, blow out the lamps before going to bed. Many families live in small huts and only the wealthy were living in cottage houses. Mosquitoes were always a problem, but we used to light dried 'cow dung' and make smoke to chase them away.” He said just before the early 1970's the village began to show signs of development and it started

with persons who erected many shops and stalls. Access roads were made to gain access to the village from various angles and things began to look a little brighter. The backlands of this village was a brilliant scattering of large farms and vegetable gardens which still remain until today. But almost in every yard one can see a promising kitchen garden. Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice is a wellpopulated community which has seen considerable development over the years, with the establishment of several large-scale businesses and a new housing scheme in one section. It is said that before the transformation of the village, persons were poor and struggled to make ends meet, with many working at the Blairmont sugar estate and as farmers and fisherfolk. At one time the sugar estates in Berbice provided the main means of livelihood for many people, but there are others who work as teachers, photographers, accountants, clerks, sales persons, mechanics and a d o c t o r, a m o n g o t h e r professions in and outside of the village. This village is also popular for its large-scale eschallot farming and because of its rich soil, almost every resident has a small portion of their yards

cultivated. Some also cultivate large kitchen gardens and some engage in poultry businesses and fishing. In the 1930s, the Bath Sugar Estate was owned by the Davson's Company. It was a very big village back then, and the name of the school in those days was the St. Nicholas Anglican Primary School. Sources indicated that the village began to grow at its current location in the late 1950s, when management began giving the workers lands on the roadside. Many of the people in this village continued to work with the sugar industry after the exodus to the roadside, and the Bath Estate closure in the early 1970s. A very busy village As I walked around Bath Village, I was certainly taken aback by its arresting picturesque appearance. It oozed a certain rustic aura, that seemed mystically accentuated with its striking fusion of cottage houses and of course many posh structures. In some cases the streets allowed a mind boggling view of some very alluring locations in the village. As I walked through streets and alleyways, I was caught up in the vortex of car horns blaring, and the wail of vendors trading fruits or (continued on page 67)

Sunday November 03, 2019 From page 66 vegetables. Girlish peals of laughter pierced the air as young school girls huddle together in hushed voices certainly not discussing anything academic, but instead the suggestive advances of young boys in the classrooms. I have certainly never seen so many vegetable stalls in one village, which spoke volumes of the agricultural potentials of the location. Men could be seen gathered around in large groups, playing card and sipping on rather chilled beers or in some cases stronger spirits at sports bars in the village. The small hair salons seemed filled to capacity with the sassy ladies having manicures, facials, or some getting the most extraordinary weave additions or extensions. The coconut vendors were making the best of the rush hour crowds, and all around they were stuffing dollar bills into their pockets as thirsty residents rushed to purchase this nourishing 'cool down' supplement. It's the Friday market scene at Bath Village that would certainly grasp one's attention. Here buyers could get practically anything that comes to mind that's needed in the kitchen or for other household uses. This well-populated community of Bath Settlement has seen considerable development over the years, with the establishment of several large-scale businesses and a new housing scheme in one section. Those desirous of building can get their supplies at Double R Hardware Store and Katcha, both of which supply building and construction

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materials to customers throughout West Coast and West Bank Berbice. Other businesses include Ram's Jewellery, Spare Parts and Pawn Shop; Len's Optical; Bunny & Sons Furniture Store; Kushi's Beauty Salon; Love's Variety Storeand others. For the religious at heart they have choices between masjids, mandirs and the churches, depending on their choice of religion. I was particularly impressed with the warm welcome I received from employees at the 'Green to Life Chemical and Plant Shop', who also supplied important information about the village. Yo u n g m e n w e r e chatting amicably in the streets, while in some areas others were rushing off to tend to their various jobs. Mothers were rushing in and out of variety stores, stocking up on their household supplies; while, under some houses, husbands and grandparents relaxed in hammocks after spending a tedious early morning on many kitchen gardens or large farms.

In almost every home there is a kitchen garden

Large scale farmers use excavators to prepare their farms in the backland locations

Sacrifices always pay off In 2016 I had the opportunity of visiting the home of the Ramcharrans and was very moved by their success story. It was pleasure to see that they were thriving even better. Their success story has always motivated me, and has urged me to make sacrifices since they always paid off in the long run. Today they are living in luxury and comfort and they are quite proud of the success their sacrifices have brought them. They are doing quite fine now, but

were plagued with deep poverty many years ago. The family had begun by planting eschallot on a large scale many years ago and saved their dollars and pennies to give them all a very good life. Sunil Ramcharran was proud to tell their story.

“Eschallot made me what I am today. Many years ago, we used to plant the eschallot, and it was really hard work. The entire family would leave early in the morning with just light snacks and work all day in the hot sun. We used to feed pon water coconuts and

Preparing eschallot for cultivation

fruits till we return sometimes in the night to our small one bedroom house. Then we guh come home and cook dinnah, and if yuh see how dem pickney tired, dem can hardly eat dem food. Then selling de eschallot was an nadda story. Because sometimes competition and suh much eschallot deh bout dat de price always ah drap. But we endure we struggles and save we money and build ah nice house fuh de family, as yuh see today.” The elderly camera-shy Lilawattie Rampersaud was still around, and though she shared much needed conversation, she bluntly refused to face the cameras. “When me was wan lil gyal, this was nevah de Bath Settlement wha yuh ah see hay today. This place was share bush. One rich man in de village used to provide current through wire from he house to people who can't afford it, suh nuff people used to use dem lantern and flambeau fuh move about and cook at night. Dem roads was not good as today, and we nah bin get prapah drains and canals like today. Things bin really hard in dem times, but we is hard wuking people

and we duh we best fuh survive.” Arresting beauty That aside, Bath Village is a very picturesque and breath-taking village with its mesmerizing array of lush green sprawling pastures and natural waterways in abundance. The lush green or golden rice fields display a picture of rice plants waving lazily in the cool winds. On sunny days the sun rays throw specks of diamond like ripples on the waves of trenches and ponds, the rhythmic movement of waves sometimes disturbed by bush fishes leaping and tumbling in delight. On these days in particular, large lizards often bask in the sun's glory on the dams, and hungry mongooses can be seen chasing after smaller animals. With its promising agricultural potentials and very happy people, Bath Village is indeed a location suitable for those desirous of a little fun in the tropical sun. Join us again next Sunday, when we take you on a tour of Sea Field Village on the West Coast of Berbice.

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Sunday November 03, 2019

Kaieteur News

Cyril Belgrave - politics and the trade union FOR RENT One 3 bedroom upper flat to rent at Zeeburg, West Coast Demerara. Contact Number #613-8928 SERVICES

FOR SALE

Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Graphics design, advertisements, Wedding arch rentals. Tel: 626-7040 ICONIC MARKETING & PRINTING –TEL: 6006887: We create A/works, logos, business cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included.

1 Perkins Marine Diesel 120 Horse Power, 1 Drill Press, 1 Honda Welder.Tel#699-4147.

PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Austin Powers Repairs & Services- We repair AC, Washers, Fridge, Freezers, Dryers, Gas stoves. Located at Vigilance ECD. Tel# 6852588/613-1711 Installation, Repairs and parts for AC, Fridge, Washing Machine, Stove etc. Call Nick 630-1600, 627-3206 CUSTOMS BROKERAGE/ ASCUYDA CERTIFIED MOTOR VEHICLES, AUTOMOTIVE SPARE PARTS. #661-3043. TEL/ WHATSAPP HOUSE PLAN TO DRAW OR YOU JUST ESTIMATE. CALL: 216-0671/692-8464. WHATSAPP #622-0267 REPAIRS AT LOW COST: FRIDGES, AIR CONDITIONERS, WASHING MACHINE, FREEZER, SALE OFAC’S. TEL#629-4946,225-4822 Professional Repair Service: Computers, Tv’s (LCD & LED), Cellphones & Other Electronics.Ph#6962 8 4 3 . E m a i l : akinscott@outlook.com

(2) GM Marine Diesel, (1) GM Stationary Diesel Engine, (1) 28 Horse Power Merphy Diesel welder etc. Tel#228-5797. LAND FOR SALE Transported land 11.6 acres, Lot 15 Public road #2 Village W.C. B/ce 5 mins from B/ce Bridge. Contact# 686-4818/ 648-7109 Parfaite Harmonie ten years up $1.8M,$3M, $1.5M, Business spot $4M, Providence $5M Call: 666-2326 Land for sale at 78 Springlands, Corentyne Berbice, Double Lot, Front row, Ideal for business. Tel# 690-5581 Farm Main road (East Bank) 105ft x 67ft $6.8M Schnoord (100ft x 50ft) $3.6M Parfaite Harmonie $1.4M. Tel# 6560701 /651-1969

Newly constructed 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, house overlooking the sea for sale, ECD#675-1510/613-7964

CK Construction CompanyWe’re specialized in painting, tiling, masonry, carpentry, chowel texting, plumbing, electrical #695-8838/692-0096

3 Bedroom 1 Storey Concrete Property @ Tuschen New Housing Scheme E.B.E Tel#682-1069.

Need a land surveyor? We do surveys for: Boundaries, Leases, engineering, cadastral, topo etc. Call: 6622677

1- (2) storey house, 3 1/2 bedroom, 3x1/2 bedroom, 2 washroom, 2 verendah, land 120x45 sq ft, Cummings Lodge. #686-5180 Negotiable

HEALTH

Property for sale at 15A Craig Village EBD, house 3 bedroom (1) self contain house #6177691/718-213-6496

HERBAL REMEDIES: DIABETES, INFERTILITY, M E N S T R U A L DISORDERS, ENLARGED PROSTATE, KIDNEY, GALL STONES & SKIN DISORDERS ETC. CALL SPARMAN #676-5924

Chicken farm on 20 acre of land at Coverden for rent. Serious enquiries only. Tel#639-7934 New, Beautiful 2 bedroom apt in residential area, fully furnished for expats/foreign workers $1000 US mthly #6745019

Property for sale by owner.Contact#695-7223/6435989.Address:179 between Albert & Charlotte St.Price is Neg.

One experienced welder to work in interior. Contact# 6802702

2 Waitress at D’Edward Village Berbice.Tel#327-5923/6855024. One female Pomeranian & one female Golden Retriever for mating purposes.Contact:6616161. Domestic Workers; Ages 35 yrs and older.Please Call:6785206.

House to rent-Diamond, 3 bedrooms, 2 bath, library, Urgently need one houselot living space, 1/2 bath, porch, to buy. Tel#648-1635 carport, water storage-filter. Experienced hire car drivers Call: 638-2482/655-0370 and dispatcher at Ramada PLANNING AN EVENT? Princess Hotel.Contact 265BIRTHDAY PARTY, 7075/616-5419. G R A D U AT I O N , W E D D I N G S , 1 skilled mason. #652-6565 ANNIVERSARY, ETC. - Attractive experienced female CALL DIAMOND TENTS: bartender 18-30 yrs, Salary 216-1043; 677-6620 $25,000 wkly. #648-7866 (2) bedroom furnished apartment in Charlestown, fully secure, students/ overseas visitor. Call 8am-9pm #225-1418/601-1585/625-0266

EAST STREET- Two storey building, four bedrooms, near Georgetown Hospital. Tel#225-3756/671-0690

One 3 Story building at 97 Sugar Cane St, S/Rveldt Gdns. $125,000,000. Tel#674-9905/ 695-1356/225-2971

One part time cooking maid required and a full time cleaning maid. Call: 231-0735.

Fully furnished, One bedroom apts, Providence & 2 bedroom, 3 bedroom, Labourers for wood Diamond. For Rent, Call: 672- concession - $5000 per day 1906/216-2299 Call: 630-1831

PROPERTY FOR SALE

Two houses located on ECD, Size of land 50x100, 7 bedroom, Upper Lower Flat, Price $36M Neg. #617-5737

WANTED

Bus Driver for 44 Route and car drivers. Call: 225-9223 1 male, experienced in Poultry farming, brooding & medication to work on farm in Interior. Age 25-50. Contact#680-2702 VEHICLE FOR SALE

CAR RENTAL PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS FROM $4000 & UP, SUV’S PER DAY- CALL: 656-0087 / 6435122 ,EMAIL:PRO_ A U T O R E N T A L @YAHOO.COM DOLLYS AUTO RENTAL CALL: 225-7126 & 2263693 -DOLLYS AUTO RENTAL @ YAHOO.COM/ W W W . D O L L Y SAUTORENTAL.COM AIDAN’S CAR RENTAL: PICKUP,9-11 SEAT MINI BUS, GOOD FOR AIRPORT & FAMILY OUTINGS, CHEAPEST RATE . Call: 698-7807 LEARN TO DRIVE N. Outar Driving School, Learn to Drive the right way @ Cuffy Square. Affordable package. Call: 644-5166/691-2561/6812808

From page 39 for Denny can be humiliating. I had a healthy respect for Denny’s contribution to the movement but the rules of the GTUC qualified me to contest,

1 Honda CRV. includes TV, music system, alarm, reverse camera, sproiler, crash bar, Low mileage. PTT Series (First Owner) Contact #649-0956 TO LET EAST SREET-Two bedrooms, TOP and BOTTOM FLATS, near Georgetown Hospital. Tel#225-3756/671-0690 EAST STREET, FURNISHED Three bedrooms, top flat near GeorgetownHospital. Tel#225-3756/671-0690 2 bedrooms cottage, 526, 11th Street Paradise ECD, preferably working couple $50,000 monthly. Contact#694-2398 VACANCY Female cleaner office & home. Call: 642-9823 1 Male receptionist & handyman to work night shift, Apply to Signature Inn Hotel.

FOR SALE/RENT

Vacancy-cook with experience using deep fryers, food handlers certificate would be an asset. Call: 690-4722

American Pool Tables. Tel #651-9039

Office assistant. Contact# 2235273/223-5274

VACANCY Security Officers to work, preferably ex army,police or disciplined services. Age 2440. Contact #223-4172/6396648 Driver/Expediter. Contact #223-5273/223-5274 Vacancy for (2) Professional nail technician. Location: Grove market street, EBD. #652-5800 General domestic. 3 Days work. Must know to cook. Apply with 2 references. KeyFood McDoom village 1 truck driver from G/town or EBD, 1 Salesgirl. Apply with hand written application. Tel#223-9677 For one experience person to assemble bicycle. Apply at Alabama Trading 65 Robb Street Bourda. Looking for a job & educational services? Contact The Job Centre 43 Croal & Alexander Street or call 6843757/600-8457 American Variety Store, 140 Regent & Light Street. Wanted Cashier/Supervisor/ Salesgirl, Apply in person For Porter. Apply in person at Alabama Trading 65 Robb Street, Bourda One (1) Clerk for TSI Eccles Industrial Site Office. English -1, Mathematics-2, Quickbooks. Call: 615-9132 1 maid to cook and clean for East Bank area. Call: 615-9132 Immediate vacancy exist for one driver with lorry license. Call: 231-1408/642-9191 One experience lorry driver. Apply in Person at Alabama Trading 65 Robb Street, Bourda One General Domestic. Apply in person at Alabama Trading, 65 Robb Street Bourda

I felt I stood a good chance and threw my hat in the ring. I was victorious. Denny came over and shook my hand in congratulation. Mindful of Belgrave’s perception, and unsure whether same was shared by others, I embraced Denny. The group secured all three positions - President, Organising Secretary and Treasurer which was won by Nanda Gopaul. Clearly, though Belgrave was a known PPP man, on this specific issued he sided with the GLU which supported Denny’s re-election. For him solidarity with the candidate of his union’s choice took primacy. This side of Belgrave is not much spoken of, particularly by those who seek to make him a partisan not national figure which he was. Having read Clement Rohee’s letter (KN 15th October) paying homage to this trade unionist, who I called a brother, he could not resist taking a cheap shot, which is characteristic of him. In that letter he claimed “The GTUC had objected to Belgrave’s appointment using the spurious argument that his appointment was a ‘departure from the original understanding and spirit of the law to insulate trade union recognition from party political interference.’” Opposition to Belgrave’s chairmanship of the Trade Union Recognition & Certification Board (TURB) was not based on “spurious argument.” It was and remains a principle, guided by ILO Convention No. 87, to insulate the trade union and employers’ business for political interference. This was a principle the PPP fought to have uphold when in the Opposition. Belgrave was a known and practicing politician when he was appointed as Chair of the TURB. His politics notwithstanding ours was a respectful relationship and whenever we crossed path we would stop and engage. Cyril passed to the great beyond on 10th October. May his work live on and his soul rest in peace. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

Sunday November 03, 2019

CONSUMER CONCERNS

INVESTMENT OF OIL REVENUES COULD ACHIEVE THE GUYANA AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION By PAT DIAL In Guyana’s history, there have been two pervading myths or traditions - Guyana being the City of Gold or El Dorado- and the other, Guyana being the Food Basket of the Caribbean. The first myth has materialised not merely because Guyana produces El Dorado, the unchallenged best golden rum in the world, but more seriously, because Guyana has been producing large quantities of gold with large deposits awaiting exploitation. The other tradition or myth of Guyana being the Food Basket of the Caribbean gave a brief indication of its reality when, during World War II Guyana’s rice and ground provisions held off famine from the Caribbean islands. The time has now come for Guyana to become the Food Basket of the Caribbean and supply its US$5 billion food imports. Becoming the Food Basket of the Caribbean would provide Guyana with complete food security and would give food security to the Caribbean as well. The Caribbean has always been a region, which lacked food security and two historical examples will illustrate this: The Caribbean islands, and in particular the British islands, depended on food imports from the British colonies in North America. When the American War of Independence erupted, the American colonies’ food exports to the Caribbean were almost ended and the Caribbean

suffered great distress. Second example:After Emancipation and the emigration of a large proportion of the plantation owners and managers, food imports to Guyana were gravely curtailed. The freedmen had to fend for themselves and were forced to live on ground provisions and breadfruit. Even this monotonous and slender food supply was sometimes affected by lack of rainfall and drought conditions. Now, with the Oil Revenues, the Agricultural Revolution could be clearly seen on the horizon. The great investments which Agriculture required to modernize, expand, increase production and productivity are now becoming available. Guyana is at the threshold of becoming the Food Basket of the Caribbean and satisfying the region’s food imports of US $5 billion. In April last, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s Assistant Director General, Dr Julio Berdegue visited Guyana because “FAO wished to strengthen ties and collaborate with Guyana, given the unique role Guyana can play in Agriculture development”. The “unique role” to which Dr Berdegue was referring was explained as: “The Caribbean faces the enormous problem of a food import bill which is growing every year for the past 30 to 35 years. Right now the Caribbean is spending US4.5 billion per year to buy food that can be grown in the subregion . This will address the huge problem of food security and safety in the Caribbean Region”.

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To take advantage of this US$5 billion Caribbean Agricultural market, an Agricultural improvement plan has to be formulated to encompass introducing modern agricultural methods, different varieties, modern agricultural technologies and training. This investment in Agriculture would derive from oil revenues. The new profitability, wealth and prestige which would be generated by Agriculture would once again encourage young people to again enter the industry. Sugar and rice which have been the agricultural, and indeed the economic backbone of the country for the last two centuries, will also be revived into a new prosperity. A burgeoning and profitable Agriculture Sector will inevitably birth value added industries, some of the basic ones, being, for example, rice wines, cereals and confections, various types of flours and oils. Many of these products could be exported to the niche markets of the Developed Countries. The large off-shore petroleum mining industry will certainly be disturbing the fish habitats as happened in Trinidad but this may be remedied in a number of ways such as inshore fish farming or relocating stocks. Successful efforts to preserve and save the fishing industry will depend on oil revenues being early invested in the industry. The issue of Climate Change should never be placed on the backburner but must be addressed since the Caribbean Region, by 2030, will move to 1.5 degrees in

higher temperature. This may imply relocating or growingcrops elsewhere in the country. The new petroleum industry should not be allowed to dominate the thinking of policy makers to the disadvantage of Agriculture. The petroleum industry is a finite one and will diminish as deposits become exhausted as

happened in Trinidad. Agriculture, on the other hand, is self-generating and would always be providing food and employment. Dr Berdegue’s advice is timely and relevant: “Oil and gas and Agriculture can live together. . . We need modern regularisation and modern technologies to manage the space in

order to make these different economic activities coexist in a less stressful and more mutually reinforcing situation”. If Agriculture captures the Caribbean import food market, provides the Region with food security and at the same time expands its exports to other countries, Guyana’s prosperity will be ensured.

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Sunday November 03, 2019

I am disappointed that I did not do enough - President Granger

David Granger being given a tour of Kaieteur News printer on Friday. “I have been very much disappointed that we havent been able to bring matters to prosecution... not only corruption matters but also matters of crime and murder.” These were the words of President Granger during an interview with Kaieteur Radio on Friday as he responded a question relating to the inability of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) to find success in prosecuting major corruption crimes. Granger explained that SOCU is also a branch of the police force and his that government had inherited a corrupt police force that needed to be reform. The president said that the reason why a number these cases have not been solved or brought to justice is because the process of reformation is still ongoing. “The process of reform has not been completed.” “As a result files have disappeared with key evidences and there have been cases where policemen have been biased,” explained Granger. The president said that his government wants to bring justice but with key evidence missing and law men not being hon-

est, convictions cannot be made. Granger stated that it is important for the Guyana Police force (GPF) to be capable enough to get the evidence, brings the cases to court and have the persons responsible for various atrocities prosecuted. However, due to the state of SOCU and the state of the police force, the going has been tough. The President explained that there are some cases where witnesses have been killed. But little has been achieved to find out who killed the witnesses and because of this, cases go unsolved and cold. A few examples of such cases, explained the president, the killing of Kaieteur News pressmen and the slaughter of the former Minister of Agriculture, Satyadeow Sawh and his siblings. The president concluded: “We have not been able to go forward and as fast as we should.” A number of significant cases including senior officials of the Guyana Rice Development Board have been thrown out in the courts.

Killer pirates captured... From page 63 their fish. A week later, a bound body washed up on the Abary shore. Two days later police in Berbice visited the homes of the families to inform them that a boat was found along the Wellington Park foreshore and just a few days later another bound body washed up at the Abary

shore. Both were identified as Lamar Petrie and Kawal Ajai Kissoon by their relatives. The two other fishermen still remain missing. A post mortem examination conducted on the bodies revealed that they died from drowning and blunt trauma to the head.

Sunday November 03, 2019

Kaieteur News

Fire victims upset after PNCR gives... From page 9 community with mixed people, from every background and they cant believe that this happened.” The upset man relayed that he voted for change but lamented that he will not make the same mistake again. “I voted for them, I have a picture in my phone with my ballot paper to show I vote for them, but never again,

never again. That just turned me off. Them nah help poor people but them ah help build back bar instead”. Diwali celebrations turned sour for Omadai Persaud who was at home conversing with relatives outside at around 20:00 hrs when a loud explosion was heard. A fire then erupted and spread to the nearby home that housed medical students who were

not at home at the time. It was suspected that the fire was started by a sparking meter behind the house but it was later revealed by Fire Chief Marlon Gentle that a lit diya placed inside the home caused the fire. Investigations at Guinness Bar revealed that a faulty freezer inside of the bar caused the blaze. It is unclear whether the business was insured or not.

NICIL selling out Skeldon assets ...

GAWU has warned of NICIL/SPU selling out assets below market prices. From page 17 engagements in the sale of many assets owned by the state, including recent orders signed by Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, regarding land transfers to

private individuals, is disheartening. Four sugar estatesSkeldon, Rose Hall, Enmore and Wales- were closed over the past four years because of poor performance by the

Coalition Government. The NICIL/SPU has been attempting to find investors, but investors have been balking at the aging factories and current low world price for sugar.

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Guyana among Caribbean territories to benefit from US$25M SME funding Jamaica (Loopjamaica) The National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited (NCB) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have entered into a partnership valued at US$25 Million or JMD$3.4 Billion. Brian Boothe, Senior General Manager of NCBs Corporate, Commercial & Consumer Banking Division said the NCB/USAID agreement marks the first-ever regional loan portfolio guarantee. Along with Jamaican entities, financing is also available to (Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) operating in Barbados, The Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and the twin-island republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The guarantee agreement allows lending to registered SMEs with no more than 250 employees and gross annual sales not exceeding US$20 Million. The partnership agreement was signed on Thursday, October 31 at the NCB Wellness and Recreation Centre. Boothe said that funding will also be available for investments in machinery, equipment, facilities, business expansion and small-scale ir-

rigation system projects. The Loan Fund under the agreement is available to SMEs who are customers of NCB as well as other banks and offers interest rates as low as 7% for JMD loans or 5% for USD loans with repayment terms up to 15 years. Loan amounts are available up to JMD690 Million (US$5 Million) with guarantee amounts of up to JMD$345 Million (US$2.5 Million). Through the initiative, known as the Development Credit Authority or “DCA” Loan Portfolio Guarantee Agreement, assistance will be made possible to SMEs via access to funding for Energy Saving and Clean Energy Production Projects. Boothe said that “SMEs are engines of job creation and are essential to strengthening our economy. Therefore, NCB has recognized that it is our responsibility to ensure we help create the optimal environment for such a critical sector.” Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Audley Shaw, CD, MP, in an address lauded NCB and USAID for the initiative which he said had a massive potential to stimulate SME growth and subsequent national and regional eco-

Mon Repos man feared dead after falling into sea during fishing trip before the incident, he

Missing: David Mohan Family members of David Mohan, 53, of Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara (ECD) are hoping for closure after he fell into the river during a fishing trip Thursday last. The mans body is yet to be recovered. The incident occurred in the Demerara River, behind the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown. Kaieteur News understands that last Thursday around 22:00hrs, Mohan along with his eldest son Christopher, while in the company of another fisher man, left to go on a fishing trip.Speaking with this publication, a relative of the missing man, Madonna Ghanie, stated that although she was not at the scene of the incident, she was told by the mans son that minutes

complained about not feeling well. “He tell he son that he was not feeling well… then he tell Christopher to go and bring he pressure table that was in his bag. But when he [Christopher] was about to go for the tablets, he saw his father leaning forward to fall into the river but when he stretch out his hand to assist him it was too late.”Hours after the accident, the son and his friend were rescued by relatives because neither of them was able to captain the boat back to sea shore, she also disclosed,Family members have since launched a search party for the missing man.Meanwhile, the son and the other fisherman are in police custody at the Beterverwagting Police Station assisting with the investigation.

nomic development. “I served for six years as Minister of Finance and one of the goals I set out was to bring the economy back to single-digit interest rates, so I am happy today to see that an initiative of this magnitude has achieved that. We are going in the right direction,” Shaw said. The initiative also provides targeted support for the energy sector, with an even more narrowed focus on renewable energy in Jamaica and the Caribbean to help build resilience and economic self-sustainability. John Barsa, Assistant Administrator, Latin America

& the Caribbean Bureau, USAID highlighted that the timing of the partnership is perfect as we currently navigate the 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season. “The recent events that crippled our neighbours in The Bahamas, is a harsh reminder to Jamaica, the United States and the rest of the region of how devastating natural disasters can be. While these events are unavoidable, what we can do, is put resilient measures in place to lessen the impact on our resources. The US has identified that one of the major concerns within Jamaica and the region is to advance the resil-

iency and security of the energy sector,” said Barsa. The NCB/USAID agreement marks the first-ever regional loan portfolio guarantee. Along with Jamaican entities, financing is also available to SMEs operating in Barbados, The Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and the twin-island republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Barsa continued by highlighting that the partnership with NCB was birthed through a pledge of additional support for energy security, following a meeting last year with heads of CARICOM

states. “This partnership is a testament to what can happen when the public and private sector come together to address common issues. This partnership will allow NCB, via the loan portfolio guarantee, to reduce [their] risk exposure and enable them to utilize their resources to increase lending for energy investments in Jamaica and the Caribbean,” Barsa concluded. The Loan Fund under the agreement is available to SMEs who are customers of NCB as well as other banks and offers interest rates as low as 7% for JMD loans or 5% for USD loans with repayment terms up to 15 years.

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Sunday November 03, 2019

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SVC Grill Masters, Regal All Stars march into open final; Wellman... From page 79 3-33 and Chandrashaker Arjune 2-19. Regal All Stars defeated SVC New York by 30 runs in the next semi final at DCC. Regal All Stars took first strike and managed 185-8. Sachin Singh struck 77 and Ravindra Ramnauth 30; Richard Latif had 3-38, Bobby Prahalad 342 and Mark Harold 3-47. SVC New York made 155 all out in 17 overs in reply. Delbert Hicks scored 37 and Safraz Esau 33; Kelvin Olford snared 3-32, Delroy Perreira 221 and Roy Persaud 2-29. Earlier at DCC, SVC Grill Masters batted first and posted 200-6. Lukenauth made 65, while David Williams scored 45, Samaroo 33 and Fernandes 28. Roy Persaud and Ravindra Ramnauth took three and two wickets respectively. Regal All Stars

responded with 162-9. Sewchand Budhu made 33, Fazal Rafiek 28, Ramnauth 22 and Keith Fraser 20. Karamchand Persaud and Chandrashaker Arjune grabbed three wickets each and Roy Jafferally 2-15. At TSC, Bartica managed 163-7, taking first knock. A. Simmons led with 54 and Amir Khan scored 36; Latchman Rohit captured 3-31. Cotton Field Wild Oats replied with 167-4 in 12 overs. Shaz Grovesnor stroked 98 while Norman Fredericks made 27 not out. Ravi Sewnarine took 2-36. Grovesnor received a bat from Zameer Mangru for his knock. In the Over-45 segment, Wellman Masters defeated Narine Masters by 153 runs in their semi final encounter. Batting first at Transports Sports Club, Wellman

Shaz Grovesnor (left)receives a bat from Zameer Mangru following his 98. Masters posted 230-4. Troy Lewis struck 10 fours and three sixes in a top score of 80, while Nandram Samlall made 33 not out, Wayne Jones got 29 not out, Greg De Franca 21, Surujdeo Ramdeen

Sunday November 03, 2019 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) You might have to work just a little harder to make money now. This might involve putting in extra time on a task, or it could simply mean that you have to make a few extra trips to the bank. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) A delay in receiving acknowledgment of some sort could happen today. This might be disappointing, but don't let it get you down. You'll receive it, just maybe not on time! GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Depressing news about the state of the world economy or stock market could have you feeling gloomy and wondering about your financial future. CANCER(June21–July22) Plans to get together with friends tonight could be delayed by responsibilities. It won't stop you but it will mean getting together a little later. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Do you have a garden or some houseplants that seem a little droopy? Don't worry about whether or not they're all going to die. Revive them! You might feel that some things are more trouble than they're worth. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Today close friends, a love partner, or children may appear to be in a quiet, melancholy mood. You might wonder if you've done something to cause it, but it probably has very little to do with you, if anything.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Home responsibilities may increase markedly today, leaving you feeling like you're the only member of the household getting anything done. You might give in to gloom, but don't dwell on it for too long. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Hurry up and wait is today's phrase. A visit from a close friend, love partner, or colleague might be delayed, perhaps because of something regarding money or possibly the arts. SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) You've been doing well financially. You want to do better, but you might feel temporarily discouraged. It seems you have to keep working harder to keep up the pace. CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) Today you might think you look awful and perhaps want to go out and change your whole look. AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Today you might feel unloved even though there's no real reason for it. Your relationships should be pretty strong, but your biorhythms are down so you might be lacking in selfconfidence. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Hurry up and wait is today's phrase. A visit from a close friend or colleague might be delayed, perhaps because of something regarding money or possibly the arts.

20 and Sahadeo Hardaiow 19. M. Persaud had 2-16. Narine Masters were limited to 77-9 in reply. V. Kissoon made 15 and Samuel Kingston 11; Sheldon Perch captured 4-13. In the next semi final, Regal Masters beat SVC Corriverton by four wickets. Batting first, SVC Corriverton scored 133 all out in 20 overs. S. Persaud made 38, K. Sanichar 33 and P. Singh 28. David Harper captured 3-21 and Ramesh Deonarine 3-26. Regal Masters scored 134-6 in 14.3 overs in response. Deonarine slammed 46, while

Over 40 entered as Republic... From page 79 yards for a winning purse of $225,000 and trophy. The H3 Maiden and Guyana Bred Open line up read so far, Not this Time, Miss Olympic, Sitara, and Storm Dancer. A keen battle is expected in the Guyana Bred 2 year-old Maiden event with the likes of Flash the Cash, Dazzling Girl, Awesome Bandit Princess Selena, Maryann and War Story in the fray. The race for animals classified J and Lower, 2 years Guy Bred Open features Justify the Heat, Plane Land, Awesome Banner, Uprising King in contention. First Prince, The Rock, Pikachu and Touch the Cash are among the entries in the event for L Class Open horses. There will definitely be a winner in the as the likes of Princess Celine, Star Quality, Pinky Promise, Careful Choice have been entered in the race for L Class non winners. The final event will be for horses that did not place in the two L Class races. The Champion Jockey, Trainer and Stable will all be rewarded with trophies and other incentives compliments of the Mr. Ramesh Sunich of the Trophy Stall. The Coordinator is Mohendra ‘Mohin’ Persaud. (Samuel Whyte)

Sheldon Perch (left) and Troy Lewis. Mohendra Arjune made 26 and Unnis Yusuf 25. T. Singh had 2-30 and K. Lutchman 235. Earlier at Queen’s College ground, Wellman Masters rattled up 201-4, taking first strike versus Fisherman Masters in their final preliminary round game. De Franca made 59, Lewis 48, Hardaiow 43 and Lloyd Ruplall 28. Fisherman Masters were bowled out for 136 in 16.5 overs in reply to hand Wellman Masters victory by 65 runs. Khemraj Sumair made 29; Clyde Canterbury snared 3-25 and Perch 2-32. In the Over-50 category, Regal Legends beat Savage by five wickets in their semi final match up at Queen’s College ground. Savage

batted first and made 140-8. Randolph Perreira made 44 and Herbert Wight 23; Eon Abel bagged 5-21. Regal Legends responded with 1415 in 16.4 overs. Hackim Majeed made 38 not out, Abel scored 27 and Mahase Chunilall 21. President’s XI defeated Guyana Rockaway Legends by seven wickets in another semi final game at YMCA. Guyana Rockaway Legends took first knock and made 129-6. H. Sackichand scored 60; Peter Persaud snared 2-22. President’s XI replied with 131-3 in 17 overs. Persaud scored 37 not out and Roger Matter 34. The finals will be contested today at the Everest Cricket Club. There will also be a female exhibition game.

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Sunday November 03, 2019

Fourth EBFA/Ralph Green U-11 League

MVP Hendricks leads Vurlon Mills Academy to title over Riddim Squad The Fourth Edition of the Annual East Bank Football Association (EBFA) / Ralph Green sponsored Under-11 League came to an exciting climax yesterday afternoon at the GFF National Training Centre when Vurlon Mills Academy stormed to the championship trophy ahead of Riddim Squad. One of the three teams invited who are not members of the EBFA, Mills Academy boys stormed back from being a goal down to wrest the title, 2-1. The Third place match saw immediate past champs, Timehri Panthers defeating Kuru Kururu Warriors 3-1. Scoring for the Panthers were Estaban Medina in the 3rd minute, Shaquan Kaleb in the 14th and Jadan Tasher, their most consistent scorer sealing the deal with the third in the 15th minute, his sixth of the tournament. Warriors got their consolation goal off the boot of Levi Madison in the 20th minute. The final turned out to be an exciting match-up as

predicted with both teams evenly matched, however, a few errors by Riddim Squad allowed Millis Academy to drive home their advantage and eventually lift the championship trophy. Riddim Squad leading player and Captain, Jaheam Lewis who took away the plaques for being the Most Disciplined and Most Promising Player, handed his side the lead with a well placed cross which he tapped in at the last post in the 5th minute of play. The Mocha based side were looking good and matched the Academy boys up until the 14th minute when Mills Academy were awarded a free kick just outside the box after a hand ball. Riddim Squad failed to set up a wall and this excited the Tournament’s Most Valuable Player Malcolm Hendricks who blasted the ball into the back of the nets with the goalkeeper, Joseph Magaram and two defenders left awe struck as did their teammates

and fans. On the other hand, the powerfully struck goal resulted in Hendricks’ teammates and supporters which included many parents, including fathers erupting in joy as the game was now leveled at 1-1. On the resumption, the game ebbed and flowed at both ends with sponsor Ralph Green and GFF Executive Member, Dion Inniss enjoying proceedings. As the minutes ticked away and seemingly headed towards extra time, it was Hendricks whose presence in the box delivered the knockout punch and winning goal. He was positioned at the last post at the right time to punch in well directed pass in the 28th minute to seal the match and ink their names on the championship trophy which was presented to the team by sponsor, Ralph Green. Inniss and Green in brief remarks before the presentation, complimented the association for the

sterling work it has been doing to promote youth football. Inniss stated that in a few years time, many of the players on show in the tournament would go on to represent Guyana once they remain focused and disciplined. He also complimented the EBFA for inviting teams from outside the association and commended the many parents who took the time to be at the matches on a weekly basis. Green committed to his investment of youth development and also thanked the parents for coming out and show vital support to their kids, consistently. Ending as the tournament’s leading goal scorer with a total of seven (7) goals was Diamond United’s, Rick Ramatar, his tally included a helmet-trick. Copping the Best Coach plaque was Vurlon Mills, while the Team Sportsmanship Award went to Riddim Squad. Vurlon Mills Academy’s Shakel Marshall was named

Highest Goal scorer, Rick Ramatar receives his plaque from GFF’s, Dion Inniss. the Best Goalkeeper and received a plaque and pair of goalkeeping gloves, compliments of National Goalkeeper Coach, Ian DeViera.

Riddim Squad’s goalie, Joseph Magaram also received a pair of goalkeeping gloves compliments of GFF Executive Committee Member, Dion Inniss.

Windies win last-ball thriller to take series lead NORTH SOUND, Antigua, CMC – West Indies Women survived a massive umpiring blunder in a tense final over to pull off a dramatic one-run victory off the last ball, in the opening One-Day International against India Women under lights here late Friday. With India requiring nine

runs from the final over with one wicket intact at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, veteran off-spinner Anisa Mohammed snatched wickets off the first and last delivery to finish with her sixth fivewicket haul in ODIs, as the hosts took a vital 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Mohammed removed Ekta

Bisht without scoring, caught at short backward point off the first delivery but tailender Jhulan Goswami eased the tension when she lofted the next ball to the cover boundary. Goswami was kept scoreless off the third delivery before controversy unfolded off the next ball

when she swung to deep midwicket and hurried back for the second. Kyshona Knight’s excellent throw to Mohammed found Poonam Yadav short of her ground at the non-striker’s end, only for umpire Patrick Gustard to astonishingly rule not out. Captain Stafanie Taylor remonstrated openly with Gustard over the decision and tensions were further heightened when television replays showed Poonam had been indeed run out by some distance. With three runs needed of the last two balls, Windies Women regained their composure to restrict Goswami to one run off the penultimate delivery and with two runs needed from the last ball, Poonam holed out to Stacy-Ann King at point. Mohammed finished with five for 46 while fellow offspinner Stafanie Taylor (2-30) and teenaged pace bowler Shabika Gajnabi (2-25) grabbed two wickets apiece. They combined to lead a West Indies comeback after opener Priya Punia topscored with 75 to put India Women in command of the run chase at 170 for two in the 40th over. Punia faced 107 deliveries and struck six fours, posting 78 for the first wicket with Jemimah Rodrigues (41), 46 for the second wicket with Punam Raut (22) and a further 46 for the third wicket with

Off-spipnner Anisa Mohammed … claimed a five-wicket haul. captain Mitjhali Raj (20). Once Mohammed removed Punia in the 40th to a catch at mid-off by replacement player Gajnabi and then drew Raj from her crease and had her stumped in her next over, India Women lost their last eight wickets for 54 runs. Taylor had earlier produced a Player-of-theMatch 94 as the hosts rattled up 225 for seven off their 50 overs, after winning the toss. The right-hander blossomed after a slow start to stroke eight fours and two sixes in a 91-ball innings, before holing out at long off to a magnificent leaping onehanded catch by Harmanpreet Kaur on the ropes, to fall agonsingly short of three figures. Crucially, she put 78 for the fourth wicket with

Chedean Nation who struck 43 from 51 balls with five fours, to pull the innings around after three wickets tumbled for 26 runs to leave the Windies on 77 for three in the 26th over. Natasha McLean had given West Indies a strong start, belting six fours and a six in an 82-ball 51, adding 51 for the first wicket with King (12). Scores: WEST INDIES WOMEN 225 for seven off 50 overs (Stafanie Taylor 94, Natasha McLean 51, Chedean Nation 43; Shikha Pandey 2-38, Deepti Sharma 2-41). INDIA WOMEN 224 off 50 overs (Priya Punia 76, Jemimah Rodrigues 41, Punam Raut 22, Mithali Raj 20; Anisa Mohammed 5-46, Shabika Gajnabi 2-25, Stafanie Taylor 2-30).

Sunday November 03, 2019

Terrence Alli National Open Boxing C/ships

Crawford, Butcher through to Youth Welterweight final - Allicock to fight tonight

Berbician Andre Bess (right) goes after Soldier Clinton Clarke in a high intensity bout. (By Sean Devers) By Sean Devers The opening night of Guyana Boxing Association’s Terrence Alli National Open Championships was off to a late start on Friday Night at National Gymnasium due late arrival of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) team Bus as seven bouts were held. Forgotten Youths Foundation’s (FYF) Mark Crawford executed a clinical destruction of Sherlon Stephen of the Winston Pompey Warriors Boxing Gym, while WPWBG’s Alex Butcher beat Rose Hall Jammers’ (RHJ) Nicholas Deheart in their Youths/ Juniors Welterweight semifinals to book their places in the final. GDF Boxer Clinton Clarke defeated Andre Bess of RHJ in an action packed Elites Bantamweight fight that could have gone either way while Solider Clairmont Gibson beat FYF’s Kareem Boyce in the

Lightweight division. These fights followed three Exhibition bouts by GDF pugilists Jermaine Grant and Anthony Lustal, Anzeemul Lewis and Lincon Murray and Lyndon Bennett and Neil Warden. Watched by a small but vocal gathering at the state owned facility where 26 of the 41 lights were turned off or not working, Butcher’s fight against Deheart was stopped at 2:01 seconds of the second round in the first semi-final. The second semi-final between Crawford and Stephen was an entertaining contest as Stephen answered the bell with an ultra-aggressive approach and threw more punches in the half of the opening stanza. But Crawford soon found his range and used his longer reach to his advantage with some crisp left-jabs before going the body of his man with well executed digs which resulted in Stephen receiving two standing

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eight counts in round one. In the second round Crawford looked the more accomplished boxer and his accurate jabs were followed up by good shots to mid-section as Stephen tried to counter punch. But he was caught with a crunching upper cut to his rib cage and after Stephen took a left to his head and right to the body Referee Richard Braithwaite stepped in to save the fighter from the Sophia Gym from further punishment as he called a halt to proceedings in 1:40 seconds of round two. Another exciting bout was the Elites Bantamweight clash between GDF’s Clarke and Berbician Bess. The pair put on an action packed show with plenty of punches and counterpunches in the high intensity affair. Both fighters threw good one-two combinations as they fought toe to toe before Clarke was caught with a wicked left hook and was given a standing eight-count as he was guilty of bending his head and rushing into punches. The second round began with the GDF drummers trying their best to inspire their Boxer with fast paced rhythms as the pair matched each other shot for shot and the GDF supporters were on their feet. But all the while a small contingent of Bess’ supporters bellowed instructions to the Corentyne Boxer as they sounded like a few hundred fans. With the drums beating and the fans shouting the noise level soon reached a crescendo as the Boxers went at each other. But the intensity of the fight began to take its toll and they shifted to long range to catch their breaths and toward the end of the round began to employ the holding strategy. In the final round Clarke was hit by straight right, while both fighters threw several big swinging shots, most of which missed their targets and in the end Bess was second best in a close fight that could have gone either way. In the last fight of the night, GDF’s Gibson, more experienced than FYF Boyce, threw some wild shots as Boyce retaliated with some nice left-right combinations. But towards the end of what had been a close contest Gibson dropped his guards and show-boating

C’bean Bantamweight Champ Keevin Allicock (front) with the FYF supporters.

invited Boyce to hit him but the FYF Boxer stayed at long range instead of going in for the kill and went on the back foot. Boyce was urged on to go forward by the FYC supports which included Caribbean

Bantamweight Champion Keevin Allicock who will fight tonight in the finals. Boyce eventually took their advice and in the last few seconds exchanged some good shots with Clarke but it was too

little too late and Clarke, who showed some flaws in this fight, was adjudged the winner. The Card, which includes three overseas Boxers, was scheduled to continue last night with night two action.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday November 03, 2019

Seven events listed for KMTC Boxing Day horserace meet Seven events have been carded for the annual Kennard Memorial Turf Club horserace meet which is set for December 26 at Bush Lot Farm, Corentyne. Dubbed the Boxing Day meet, the feature event is the Metro Million Mile race which is open to all horses, with the winner taking home $1,000,000, runner up $ 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 , t h i r d p l a ce $250,000 and fourth place $125,000. Metro Office Supplies is the sponsor for that race. Other events listed are LNon Earner for a distance of five furlongs and carries a top prize of $130,000 and the runner up $65,000. H and Lower for seven furlongs and

fetches a winning purse of $250,000 with the runner up $125,000. Two-year old Maiden for a distance of six furlongs and will see the champion pocketing $200,000 and the runner up $100,000. L-Non Winner for a winning purse of $150,000 and second place $75,000; J and K Lower which will see the winner receiving $200,000 and the runner up $100,000, and L-Open in which the winner will take home $170,000 and second place $85,000. The races will be run under the rules of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority and entries will be closed on December 16. No late entries will be accepted.

Cuban table tennis coach on 2-month stint in Guyana

Coach Osdani Romero Garcia of Cuba who will be working with local tennis players for two months. The Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) has acquired the services of Cuban Coach, Osdani Romero Garcia, who arrived in Guyana on Thursday last and will spend two months in the ‘Land of Many Waters’ working with the local tennis players. Osdani has a good resume with coaching experience in Venezuela top flight and more recently, he guided Caribbean women’s Champion Daniela Fonseca of Cuba to the title when the competition was held in Guyana last MarchApril. During a press brief to formally introduce the

Spanish-speaking ITTF level one certified coach, head of the GTTA, Godfrey Munroe explained that i t i s t h e G T TA’s p r e r o g a t i v e t o have Osdani work with as many local players as possible and in addition to p ossibly having two sessions per day at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH), he will assist Candacy McKenzie with the Schools’ pathway project. Upon conclusion of the two-month stint, Garcia will provide the GTTA with recommendations on what he believes is needed for Guyana’s tennis to go to the next level.

Kaieteur News

Sunday November 03, 2019

PAGE 79

GCB Female U-17 T20 Franchise cricket

GT Hitters to battle L/Corentyne Thunders in tomorrow’sfinal at Bourda

Renessa Byass retired twice in her top-score of 12 for West B’ce Stars in the afternoon game at Lusignan.

East Coast Sixers, led by a Player of the Match performance from Sara Amin beat Essequibo Hurricanes by six wickets yesterday in the morning game of the GCB Female U17 T20 Franchise cricket at Lusignan, while an unbeaten 33 from Player of the Match Varuni Petambir spurred West Demerara Heat to victory against West Berbice Stars in the afternoon encounter at the East Coast Demerara venue. At the Young Warriors ground in Cumberland, Canje Berbice Georgetown Hitters beat Upper Corentyne Strikers in the morning game and Lower

Corentyne Thunders defeated East Bank Warriors to book their places in tomorrow’s final at Bourda from 10:00hrs. In the first match at Lusignan the Hurricanes aided by 22 extras and 21 from Lisa Charles were dismissed for 58 in the 14th overs as Player of the Match Sara Amin took 2-12, while Tilleya Madram and Sherika Edwards also had two wickets each for Sixers who reached 59-4 in 11.4 overs. Vinita Balkisoon made 12, while Amin followed up her 17 at Everest on Thursday with eight not out. Charles had 1-14 as her team lost by six wickets.

Nand Persaud One Day Sprint Classic

Over 40 entered as Republic Bank enters as sponsor for today’s event The Nand Persaud and Company, Mega One Day Sprint Classic Horserace Meet today will see over 40 horses in action. The event which is promoted by the Sky Plus Inc. Promotion Group and will be held at the Company’s Racing Facility, No. 36 Village, Macedonia Estate, Corentyne, Berbice. Republic Bank has come on board as they join hands with Beverage giants Banks DIH Limited and Trophy Stall as lead sponsors for the event along with Poonai Pharmacy, NTN Television Station, Mohamed and Seeta Rahim (rice farmer of C . W. C ) , C y r i l S i n g h , Navindra Roopnarine (jones- rice farmer of BBP), NPC Trucking Service, NPG Packaging and Plastics Inc. as well as a number of subsidiaries of the Nand

Player of the Match Sarah Amin took two wickets and finished unbeaten on eight to lead East Coast Sixers to victory at Lusignan yesterday.

Lisa Charles made 21 and took a wicket for Hurricanes at Lusignan yesterday. In the afternoon game on the East Coast, Stars were bowled out for 74 with Extras being the top scorer with 35, while Renesse Byass who retired twice with a groin injury, made 12 and

Alisa Fordice contributed 10. Surika Henry had 3-15 and Avina Bukan 2-4 for the Heat who reached 75-4 with the left-handed Varuni

Petambir, who favoured the leg-side, reached the Boundary three times in her unbeaten 33 to take the Player of the Match Award. (Sean Devers)

A. Ally and Sons General Stores Cycle road race set for today

Cycle Coach Randolph Roberts collects the sponsorship from a Rep of the A. Ally and Sons stare in the presence of young riders.

In picture, a female representative of the NTN television station hands over their sponsorship cheque to a representative of the Nand Persaud racing Committee. Persaud Group of Company Limited. On Tuesday NTN Television Station handed over their prize to the

Miss Chitra Harilall handing over the Champion Jockey Trophy to Miss Amanda Budhoo Compliments of Trophy Stall, Berbice Branch.

organisers. Wi t h p r i z e m o n i e s totaling over $4M cash, trophies and other incentives, the seven race meet is expected to be keenly contested. The track which is arguable the best in the country is in perfect condition. The races being contested over 880 and 660 yards and with most of the top horses in the categories set to compete some fast times are expected. The feature event for horses classified G3 and Lower has some of the top animals lined up to go such as the inform TNT, Golden Dancer and Not This Time, Chameli and Silver and Things battling over 880 (Continued on page 73)

Cycling action is set for Berbice today when the A. Ally and Sons General Stores with branches throughout Guyana stage a 50 miles cycle road race. The event is being held in memory of the late owner of the Chain of Stores who passed away earlier this year. The race, which is opened to cyclists throughout Guyana, is organised by the Flying Ace Cycle club (FACC) of New Amsterdam. The riders are expected to ride off at 10:00hrs from in front of the Super Store Branch at Main and New Street, New Amsterdam, proceed to the Nand Persaud Rice Complex No 36 Village Corentyne

before turning back to finish at its place of origin. The riders will be rewarded with hefty prizes as there will be rewards for the first 10 finishers and the first five novice riders. There will also be eight prime prizes up for the taking. The company which was one of the leading sponsors of cycle racing a few years ago had taken a hiatus from the sports. CEO of the Company Fizal Ally will be on hand to send the riders on their way and along with family and staff will be on hand to help with the presentation of the prizes at the end of the event. The event will be coordinated by Randolph Roberts. (Samuel Whyte)

National Draughts C/Ship starts November 10 The Annual National Draughts Championship will commence on November 10 at the National Gymnasium Mandela Avenue. Players from most of the regions will participate in this event. The tournament would be played for three consecutive Sundays. The first game would be the B Division which would be contested on the 8x8 boards. The second game on the following Sunday would see the Senior players vie for top honors. This game would also be played on the 8x8 boards.

Then on the last Sunday players from all divisions would compete on the International 10x10 boards. Starting time for all games would be 10.30am sharp. Entrance fee is $500. Trophies and gifts would be awarded based on sponsorship and snacks will also be served. The National Draughts Association extends invitation to players and potential players to participate in this Championship. For more information call the association’s president Mr. Jairam on 614-6671.

PAGE 80

Kaieteur News

Sunday November 03, 2019

Inaugural Rio Indoor Yearend Football Extravaganza kicks off Nov. 14 The indoor format has become the most exciting element of the beautiful game

called football and when the inaugural Rio Indoor Yearend Extravaganza kicks off on

November 14, fans could expect this trend to continue. Unquestionably the

biggest tournament of the year in terms of total prize monies on offer, the selection of teams were carefully scrutinized by the Organisers to guarantee a high quality will be exhibited throughout the eight days of competition. The winning team is set to receive $1million, while second, third and fourth place finishers will be rewarded with $400,000, $200,000 and $100,000 respectively along with some beautiful trophies. Additionally, every night of the competition will see ten (10) lucky fans win cash prizes an amount which will be announced before the first ball is kicked. The Organisers are aiming to make the tournament a memorable one for fans, while also rewarding teams and their

- fans to win cash prizes supporters for the Christmas season. Twenty-four teams have been invited and they include: Gold is Money, Bent Street, Back Circle, Sparta Boss, Leopold Street, LA Ballers, Future Stars, Avocado Ballers, Tiger Bay, Sophia, Albouystown A and B, Showstoppers, Alexander Village, Rio All Stars, Melanie, Buxton Diamond, BV, Stabroek Ballers, New Market Street, Ol Skool Ballers, Island All Stars, Broad Street, and Silver Bullets. The other playing days are: November 16, 21, 23, 28, 30 December 7 and the final on the 14th. The Organisers are asking teams confirmed to participate

to be on time for a prompt start at 19:00hrs, while both members of the Guyana Police Force and Private Security have been retained to ensure that fans in attendance feel secured. The teams will be divided into six groups of four with the top two gaining automatic qualification, while the four best third placed teams will join them in the round of sixteen when the knockout phase commences. Giveaways and other incentives for the fans will be a feature every night of play. More details will be released shortly along with the date for the Launch of the tournament.

GT Beer semi-finalists decided Following the completion of the final quarter-final game between Bent Street and Tiger Bay which the former won, the semi-finalists in this year’s GT Beer / Keep Your Five Alive Futsal Competition have been decided. They now join Sparta Boss, Future Stars and Gold is Money in the last four which is slated to be played on Saturday, at the National Gymnasium. The semi-final line up will see defending champs Sparta Boss tackle a rejuvenated Future Stars, while Bent Street take on Gold is Money in what is being referred to as two blockbuster affairs for prize monies in excess of $1million

and trophies. In the opening game, Gold is Money missing their inspirational captain Hubert Pedro will look to leading marksman Jermin Junor to spearhead their quest for a final spot. His support will no doubt come from the experienced Phillip Rowley, Solomon Austin and Randolph Wagner. On the other hand, Bent Street a team loaded with national standouts will be aiming to underline that advantage to reach the championship game. The likes of Pernel Schultz, Daniel Wilson and William Europe are in their

lineup and their only focus will be to dominate their opponents. In the other game, champs Sparta Boss will have to be at their lethal best to hold off the impressive Future Stars that has looked in rich form. Sparta’s chances of winning will rest on the performances of Gregory Richardson, Sheldon Shepherd, Ryan Hackett and Eusi Phillips. On the other hand, the Stars will hope that players such as Keiron Solomon, Kevin Cummings and Jamal Cozier continue to shine to get them to the final. Two exhibition games will precede the semi-finals.

Trophy Stall on board with Terrence Ali boxing Ramesh Sunich MS, owner of the Trophy Stall, yesterday donated the Best Boxer trophy to the Guyana Boxing Association. The trophy will be presented this evening when the Terrence Alli National Open concludes at the National Gymnasium. Sunich handed over the trophy to GBA Technical Director Terrence Poole at a simple presentation at their Bourda Market location.

Ramesh Sunich MS (left) owner of the Trophy Stall hands over the trophy to GBA Technical Director Terrence Poole.

Sunday November 03, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 81

St. Agnes clinches 2019 Courts peewee football title

T

roy Wright, Coach of St. Agnes, had a premonition that this year’s Courts Peewee football title was going to be lifted by his team for the first time after a string of consistent performances throughout the years and he was proven right after his team outplayed Genesis Primary in their needling win in last night’s final which was played at the Ministry of Education (MOE) ground. The game started at 17:00hrs and after the score was locked at nil all at full time despite St. Agnes creating dangerous play after play, it wasn’t until five minutes into extra time that tournament MVP Darius Chester fired a low shot across Sundyah Grandison; who was awarded best goalkeeper of the tournament, to give St. Agnes the deserved victory. Coach Wright, who has many sessions working with his team at Parade ground, shared with Kaieteur Sport that he knew once his team played normal and stick to

Courts 2019 Peewee champs, St. Agnes Primary, pose with their accolades along with representatives of the sponsors and organisers of the event.

the basics, their victory was certain. In the third place playoff, Soesdyke

Primary defeated Tucville by a similar 1-0 fashion with the lone goal being netted in the ninth minute

of extra time by Jaden Tascher. Jamal Fraser of 2018 Champions St. Pius scored

the most goals in the tournament; a tally of 18, himself along with Grandison and Chester,

received an android tablet each for their standout performances in the eight edition of the tournament.

Sundyah Grandison of Genesis Primary; Best goalkeeper.

Jamal Fraser of St. Pius scored 18 goals in this year’s Courts Peewee football tourney.

MVP Darius Chester of St. Agnes.

GSCL Inc Prime Minister’s T20 Cup 3

SVC Grill Masters, Regal All Stars march into open final; Wellman Masters, Regal Masters, Regal Legends and President’s XI also secure final berths

Ramesh Deonarine was outstanding for Regal Masters.

By Zaheer Mohamed Regal will look to make it a three-peat as their All Stars, Masters and Legends teams have secured places in the final of the respective categories, but in doing so they will have to overcome the challenges of by SVC Grill Masters, Wellman Masters and President’s XI in the respective finals of the Georgetown Softball Cricket League Inc Prime Minister’s

T20 Cup 3 which will culminate today at the Everest Cricket Club. In the semi final of the Open category, SVC Grill Masters beat Cotton Field Wild Oats by 99 runs at Malteenoes Sports Club. David Lukenauth slammed two fours and 10 sixes in a top score of 76 and added 80 for the first wicket with Balram Samaroo to hand their team a solid start. Samaroo made 21,

Keon Sinclair and Eon Hooper contributed 20 each and Andy Fernandes 19 as SVC Grill Masters made 2038, batting first. Latchman Rohit took three wickets. Cotton Field Wild Oats were bowled out for 104 in 13.3 overs in response. D. Mohan made 23, C. Jairam 17 and Marvin Pearson 15; Karamchand Persaud claimed 3-13, Keon Sinclair (Continued on page 73)

Eon Abel (left) grabs 5 for in the semis, while Rudolph Baker struck a century in the preliminary round.

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GDF’s Clairmont Gibson (right) scores to face of FYF’s Kareem Boyce with a left jab.

Alex Butcher of WPWBG (right) scores to the head of RHJ’s Nicholas Deheart in an action packed fight.

Terrence Alli National Open Boxing Championships Crawford, Butcher through -toAllicock fight to Youth Welterweight final tonight

Vurlon Mills Academy Captain Christian Enderson receives the Fourth EBFA Ralph Green U-11 League champions’ trophy from Ralph Green.

Fourth EBFA/Ralph Green U-11 League

MVP Malcolm Hendricks (right) and Jaheam Lewis, Most Promising and Most Disciplined player doing battle in the final.

MVP Hendricks leads Vurlon Mills Academy to title over Riddim Squad

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