Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday November 14, 2017

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

EDITORIAL

COLD, CALLOUS, HEARTLESS It was a cold, callous and heartless act. That is the only way to describe the conduct of who killed 22year-old Kescia Branche. She was found in an unconscious state early Sunday morning in the Le Repentir Cemetery on the roadside leading from Princess Street along Louisa Row. A school teacher at Richard Ishmael Secondary School, Kescia Branche succumbed to her injuries after being taken off a life support machine in the intensive care unit at the Georgetown Public Hospital last week Tuesday. The full facts are yet to emerge in relation to the circumstances surrounding the tragic and barbaric death of Kescia Branche. The secondary school teacher did not have to die this way. It is one senseless death too many. She had her full life ahead of her. Many are in anguish as they try to come to grips with the brutal death of a woman who had so much to live for. Her horrific death lit up every newspaper in the country and the social media. As her relatives and friends mourned Kescia Branche, her father, Andre Branche, with tears streaming down his face and her twin sister, Kassandra, at his side, said that “This is not right. Are we to believe that we are living in an animalistic society? I don’t know what transpired, but I can see no justification for this animalistic behaviour.” People go through life assuming that there will be a tomorrow. But sometimes, tragic things happen in life that thwarts that as in the case of Kescia Branche. Had she lived, one could not help but wonder what she would have been able to achieve in life; and what role she would have played in society. Could anything have been done to save her life? Alas! It was not meant to be. We can ask many questions as to how and why she met such tragic death. But one thing is clear, not even the wildest animals in the jungle would have committed such barbarous act. Those who murdered the school teacher did not even consider the possibility that medical attention could have made a major difference. Very often, the difference between life and death is a matter of seconds. Could they have assisted her in any way? While the case is now within the remit of the relevant law enforcement officials, surveillance footage at a Kitty night club shows the victim leaving with two patrol ranks, both of whom are under close arrest. While two other ranks are being questioned, the police have arrested her child’s father with her cell phone in is possession. But the question is, what was the role played by the ranks who have been trained to serve and protect the citizens? While this is a relevant question, the role of the ranks has called for greater scrutiny. Is there any excuse for not helping the victim if they had found an unconscious person? The records show that she was very much alive when she mounted the motorcycle of one of the ranks. This tragedy is a reminder of the attitudes that are prevalent among the populace. We see and we say that we are minding our own business. Even when we harm someone as was the case of the teacher; we leave to mind our own business. For sure, the police ranks digressed from their assigned roles as protectors of the society. They became excited dogs that smell a bitch in heat. They did not live up to their responsibilities and to their motto, which is to serve and protect.

What’s with the Guyana Consulate in Miami? DEAR EDITOR, I wish to bring the situation with the consular representation in Miami to the attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but I don’t know how to get it through the bureaucratic maze without having it tossed aside or languishing on someone’s desk. I thought about it and from reading your columns it seems that you know or have access to the powers that be. The story I am about to tell you is about something that has been going on for years. It was so under the last regime and I guess nobody thought to complain, because we all know how business was conducted then. However, it is a new day and I see the efforts that the new regime is making to bring back order and decency. Guyanese living in Florida, specifically all of southeast and southwest, must travel to Miami to conduct business with the consulate with relation to passport renewals, affidavits,

life certificates etc., but it seems that the Government of Guyana has not seen fit to set up a formal Consulate and maintains an Honorary Consul who is disinterested in the job and has no regard for the time and hardships that Guyanese endure to obtain these services. I am therefore forwarding a narrative from my brother who tried to obtain services for my father. He called, and left messages but got no response, so he had to travel several hours to find the consulate. When he located the place where the consulate was located it was closed, and there was no sign indicating whether the closing was temporary as in “out to lunch”. He decided to wait and after a long while a car pulled up and a female exited and walked over to the door. He inquired and she told him that she ran the office, which he noted was a part of a furniture store. The questions is, ‘Is this the way we want the world to see us?’ Preceding my encounter

with the “honorary consul”, as the female representative referred to herself, on October 12, 2017, all attempts to schedule an appropriate contact/meeting time at the consulate’s address - 6444 North West 7th, Avenue, Miami, Fl 33150 - were futile and exasperating. On October 10, 2017, I called the consulate, using the telephone numbers provided - 786-235-0431. As instructed, I left a voice mail request for contact to schedule an appointment. Since there was no response to this request, the following day, October 11, 2017, I called and left another voice mail request. Still there was no response. My final request to schedule an appointment was made by voice mail on October 12, 2017. On every occasion I left contact telephone numbers. Since there was no response to all my requests, I decided to venture into the bowels of the ghetto where the consulate is located. As I looked for the location, the address was disingenuously

displayed on the façade of a furniture store, protected by iron gates, and void of any symbol/flag designating the location as a consulate representing a country, and in this case, Guyana. The entry door read GUYANA CONSULATE; no Golden Arrow-head. On the inside there was no Guyana flag; yet an American flag was proudly displayed. Troubling! I spoke with the female honorary consul, and requested to be scheduled for an appointment the following week. The honorary consul bluntly stated that she “does not schedule “ appointments, but the office is opened daily from 10am-4pm. I requested a business card, but was told that she does not have business cards. At no time during the exchange was I provided the honorary consul’s name/s. Hence, I refer to the honorary consul as she. Indifference to representation! End of narrative. Harold Smith

No misrepresentation by Chris Ram could change this fact DEAR EDITOR, Is Christopher Ram serious when he writes that Act No 2 of 2000 has nothing to do with the Elections Commission, rather it has to do with taxes? Accompanying this letter is a copy of Act No 2 of 2000 entitled Constitution (Amendment) Act 2000. This establishes that my date was absolutely correct. Ram should apologise to the nation for needlessly confusing it. Unfortunately, in an attempt to dispute the facts, Mr. Ram somehow came up with his own history of events. It is mind boggling that Chris Ram and Komal Ramkarran would seek refuge in the view that it was a consensus clause rather than face the reality that this clause was initiated by Jagdeo and the PPP. Suddenly the PPP cannot remember who initiated it. Even their two spokespersons, Teixeira and Nandlall, are struck by convenient amnesia. Let me remind them: Jagdeo and the PPP did. In the history of the National Assembly, all bills that were tabled and debated while the PPP was in government came from the PPP. Raphael Trotman did table a Freedom of Information Bill. It never saw the light of day—Jagdeo and the PPP refused to have it debated. To state that the Act was assented to by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, performing

the functions of President, doesn’t help, even though it is true. It was well known that Sam Hinds, like so many others of that period, acted in keeping with Jagdeo’s script. In essence, it was Jagdeo’s doing. Hinds assented to it

because the dictator, Jagdeo, was overseas. It was a PPP Bill. Please don’t raise the argument that Jagdeo didn’t assent to Bill No 2 of 2000 and that the Bill was unanimous. He did, since there were a

number of bills in the same process that were unanimous, that he disagreed with and refused to assent to and make law. Among them is Bill No 18 of 2000 in the Constitution Amendment process. He (continued on page 5)

Tuesday November 14, 2017

Guyanese need the release of the ExxonMobil contract DEAR EDITOR, Stabroek News’ ‘Politikles’ cartoon, on the heels of its report that Petroleum Advisor to the President Dr Jan Mangal, said “I believe that all contracts should be made public,” adequately sums up the current state of affairs– the ruling administration is running from transparency and accountability. Why isn’t the Coalition government listening to the Advisor it hired? It is interesting that the Stabroek News report came on the same day that the stateowned Guyana Chronicle quoted Natural Resources Minister Trotman as saying that the ExxonMobil contract cannot be released because “a number of extenuating and external issues are being attended to, some of which have foreign affairs, sovereignty and national security implications.” First, in the same report, maybe it was a ‘slip of the pen’, Minister Trotman is quoted as saying that: “I have said that oftentimes, it is really a continuation of a 1999 contract and it was tweaked in just a few places and so there is nothing to hide.” If the 1999 contract is already public and only a few ‘tweaks’ have been made, why not release the contract? Secondly, Minister Trotman is also quoted as saying that: “We have released quite a few details in fact and if persons are wise enough, and many are, you can put pieces together to get a sense of what is the contract.” If this is the case, that ‘wise person’ can get a sense of what is in the contract with the details that are available, how can you justify the nonrelease of the contract by say-

ing that “a number of extenuating and external issues are being attended to, some of which have foreign affairs, sovereignty and national security implications.” If ‘any wise’ person can get a sense of what is in the contract with what information is available, would that not include persons who stand to benefit from the ‘external issues with foreign affairs, sovereignty and national security’ implications?” Minister Trotman, all by himself, exposes that his new excuse for not releasing the contract is fluff – he says mere tweaks were made to the already public 1999 contract, but will not release the contract; and he says that ‘wise persons’ can get a sense of what is in the contract with information that is available, but will not release the contract. The oil and gas sector is a massive emerging industry in Guyana and there must be transparency and accountability, which is what APNU and the AFC campaigned for. Minister Trotman is the leader of the AFC. Surely he remembers what he stood for. Guyanese need the release of the contract and they need to know if a US$20M signing bonus was paid to this government. Transparency is the only way Guyanese will have confidence in the Coalition government’s handling of this new and important industry. Minister Trotman’s comment that the “government has taken a decision” not to answer these pressing questions, as reported the Guyana Chronicle, implicates the entire Coalition government if wrongdoing is exposed in the future. Baldeo Mathura

No misrepresentation... From page 4 created history by being the first President in Guyana to not assent to a bill that was unanimous. This law that entrenches unilateralism is Jagdeo and the PPP’s doing, and it has returned to haunt them. No misrepresentation by Chris Ram could change the fact that in 2000 the law was passed and assented to under Jagdeo’s Presidency. I find it the summit of inanity for a lawyer to ask: how did Aubrey Norton vote on the issue, having asserted that the Act was a consensus/ unanimous document? The Senior Ramkarran,

who is a knowledgeable person, should advise him that you don’t vote in such circumstances—the Speaker merely notes that the ayes have it. Aubrey C. Norton

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This latest pronouncement is another manifestation of the ‘PNC faction’ in the AFC DEAR EDITOR, I have read with interest the comments made by President David Granger’s son-inlaw, Minister Dominic Gaskin, in attempting to justify, and poorly so, the AFC denial of being consulted on President Granger’s unilateral appointment of Reverend James Patterson as the GECOM Chairman and denial of playing any part in the selection process, in face of the present AFC leader, Raphael Trotman, at the October 19th, 2017 meeting between the President and the Opposition Leader. The report by Stabroek

News (November 13, 2017) states, and rightly so, that, as Natural Resources Minister, Trotman would have had no reason to be present at the meeting, in any capacity, other than that of AFC leader. Gaskin confirms that Trotman was present at the meeting between the President and the Opposition Leader because he is “the leader of the AFC” and “it is a recognition that we are a coalition government.” However, he then contradicts himself in defending the unilateral appointment of a GECOM Chairman by his father-in-law,

by saying that the Constitution does not provide for consultations with any party, as the decision to choose a chairman is placed on the President. Gaskin cannot defend the AFC when it says it was not consulted and not part of the selection process used to arrive at a GECOM Chairman, and at the same time defend his father-in-law as President. He cannot, using the proverbial term, “chew cane and blow whistle at the same time”. The AFC cannot be physically present when this egregious breach of the Constitu-

tion takes place and then pretend like “Pontius Pilate” that it washes its hands of its sin. This latest pronouncement by yet another AFC leader points clearly to another manifestation of the ‘PNC faction’ in the AFC. Dr. Henry Jeffrey and members of the AFC Canada Chapter recently publicly warned about this PNC faction. Gaskin has exposed himself as an apologist for his father-in-law, President Granger, and the PNC, and, has gone so far as to hang his own party, the AFC, out on a limb. Gail Teixeira, M.P.

Are these officials just joyriding around the world on the backs of poor citizens? DEAR EDITOR, It seems as though the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown has decided to discontinue a rather insipid weekly television programme that was titled ‘Georgetown on the move.’ Such a decision would make a lot of sense as the programme was not only dull and senseless, but a waste of money and time. It was clearly a feeble attempt at political propaganda and an attempt to divert attention from the mismanagement, corruption and unlawful activities ongoing at the Council. However, one would have hoped that the programme would have morphed from ‘Georgetown on the move’ to ‘Georgetown City Councillors on the Move Overseas’ Surely the municipal employees who have to wait for weeks after the official pay date to receive

their salaries, and the citizens whose garbage is overflowing without being picked up, those who have to pay increased property rates, and those without proper roads, street lights and good drainage would be thrilled to be updated weekly about the travels of the Kings and Queens of the city and their large entourages. We would like to know how much of the property owners’ money is spent on each trip for air fares, hotel accommodation, meal allowances and out of pocket allowances, what benefits the citizens and the city council accrues

from these trips, what deals are struck and what goods are procured and brought back. Citizens would like to know if these globetrotting individuals are negotiating international security deals to make Georgetown a safer city, trade partnerships to improve opportunities for the business sector of our capital, and climate agreements. Does Georgetown have its own foreign policy separate and apart from the national one? Citizens would like to know why these officials are travelling more than the Mayors of Tokyo, New Yo r k a n d P a r i s — t h o s e

which incidentally have higher concentrations of global organizations, businesses, and educational and cultural institutions in their cities. Cities worldwide have been forming their own associations and networks to enable collaboration on issues such as the environment, transport, energy efficiency, and economic development, but for all the travel being undertaken by the most senior functionaries here and others, we do not see Georgetown being a part of those or anything for that matter, or are they just joyriding around the world on the backs of the poor citizens. Magagula Jackson

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Tuesday November 14, 2017

President Granger claims to be a Burnhamite DEAR EDITOR, In his recent address to the 5th Biennial Conference of the PNCR’s North American Region (NAR) in Atlanta, Georgia, President Granger assured the party faithful of his commitment to the ideals of his party’s Founder-Leader, Forbes Burnham. The President is quoted as saying that “the most important decision” and “burning question” is whether the PNC is a Burnhamite party and if he is a Burnhamite. He told the gathering that “some people tried to deBurnhamise the PNC “however, he vowed that he intended “to protect and preserve and promote those ideals which I believe are still valid…” Referring to the ideas of the late Forbes Burnham, President Granger said, “My brothers and sisters, that is where I take my ideas from, my ideology from, and it’s good for you to know that.” Interestingly, these statements, noted in an article written by Denis Chabrol and published on Demerara Waves, quote the president referring to his party as PNC rather than PNCR. When Mr. Hoyte assumed the leadership of the party after Burnham’s death, the word ‘Reform’ was added to the name ‘People’s National Congress’, in a deliberate attempt to de-Burnhamise the party and distance it from

Burnham’s policies and ideas. Mr Hoyte transformed the party into a centre-right, procapitalist, imperialist friendly party. The party’s name is still People’s National Congress Reform. Some say Deform! President Granger claims that he has been a member of the party for 52 years and that he is “no stranger to struggle”. If he is a committed Burnhamite, as he claims, then where was his voice and struggle when Mr. Hoyte abandoned Burnham’s ideas and principles? Who would have guessed that President Granger was a committed Burnhamite when, under his leadership during the 2015 elections, the PNCR, as the largest and most powerful component of the APNU+AFC Coalition, “deBurnhamised”. Nervous that they might be associated with the ideas of Burnham, APNU+AFC ran ads singing Mr. Hoyte’s praises and crediting him with restoring democracy in Guyana. If you are crediting Mr. Hoyte with restoring democracy in Guyana then you must be claiming that under his predecessor, Forbes Burnham, there was no democracy. And yet, President Granger tells us he is a Burnhamite! In the 2015 elections, Organization for the Victory of the People (OVP) proudly proclaimed our adherence to

the vision and ideas of Forbes Burnham. Many in the PNCR said this was ‘political suicide’. That is the difference between us and politicians. The politician will tell the people anything to get votes. We are not politicians – we are revolutionaries, committed to the truth, whether it wins us votes or not. That is why our campaign truck carried two large posters – one of Forbes Burnham and the other of Marcus Garvey. In clear contrast to the PNCR and APNU+AFC, we were not afraid to be associated with Burnham’s ideas. On the contrary, we proudly proclaimed our commitment to Burnham’s vision for selfreliance, self-determination and economic justice. Fast forward to November 2017, and the reality is that, following the ousting of the corrupt PPP/C and the installment of an APNU+AFC government, Guyana remains a plantation society and economy, controlled and exploited by foreign powers. The people are disillusioned and disappointed. OVP, referred to by Eddie Rodney as a “Burnham revivalist” organization, is gaining support on the ground, at the grassroots. People are telling us that everything we said in 2015 was right. Fooling the people in 2020 may not be as easy as the politicians think. Guyanese are seeing for

themselves the difference between the truth and party ‘politricks’. Interestingly, just prior to the 2015 elections, President Granger was asked in an interview, “What is your ideology?” to which he replied, “We do not have any ideology as such.” Now, as support for the coalition wanes, they have caught wind of what is happening on the ground. They are afraid of the emergence of a genuine people’s movement in this country that could actually turn the tide in Guyana, freeing us from the garrison politics of the PNCR and the PPP. Once again they need the votes of the poor masses, so just as they did in 2015, they will tell us whatever they think we want to hear. The President has even moved from having “no ideology as such” two years ago, to being firmly committed to one now. Remember it was President Granger and Moses Nagamootoo who told the youth in 2015 that to vote for them was to vote for jobs, and once in office, told the same youth that it was not the responsibility of the government to provide jobs. As people worldwide tire of the deceptive statecraft and ‘politricks’ of politicians, their words become meaningless. People, especially the young all over the world, including Guyana, are no longer

interested in empty rhetoric; they are only interested in action. If President Granger is being truthful about being a Burnhamite; if these are not just more empty promises, but rather a sincere commitment to following Burnham’s ideas as he put it, then action should follow. He would have to reject the neo-liberal capitalist project, fight for Guyana’s true independence, and put an end to external meddling in our national affairs by the ABC/EU countries, renegotiate the oil deal and certainly not with corporate raiders such as ExxonMobil - and of course, feed, clothe and house the people.

OVP is not reviving Burnham the man in a way that requires worship of him personally or no criticism of the mistakes he made. We are reviving his vision for this country. After 23 years of PPP/C in government and almost two and a half years of APNU+AFC, the unemployed poor and working poor of this nation, of every ethnicity, especially the youth, who are the majority, have come to realize that the words of politicians are meaningless. In 2020, they will be judged by their actions. Gerald A. Perreira Leader Organization for the Victory of the People (OVP)

Deplorable state of Diamond Cinema Street DEAR EDITOR, I wish to highlight this situation that is affecting the residents in the area. Several contacts have been made with the NDC to address this situation, most of which is unsuccessful. The NDC made it clear that is not their responsibility to do roads, but that of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure. The street is loom-based and whenever it rains, you have to pick areas to walk, because most of the pot holes are huge and fill from end to

end with water. The condition is very unhealthy and taxis refuse to come through the street during these times. The NDC stores most of their heavy equipment through the same street head; I find it hard that they cannot work on the street at least to make it usable for the residents. I call on someone in authority to kindly visit the area and put some measures in place to address this situation. R. Saghar

Tuesday November 14, 2017

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PPP/C’s open letter to the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force Conference DEAR DELEGATES, The People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) welcomes you to the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. We hope that your deliberations will be successful and we encourage you to enjoy our country’s warm hospitality. As the Parliamentary Opposition, we feel compelled to draw to your attention that the Government of Guyana continues to lag behind in implementing several outstanding recommendations, which our nation is obliged to do as part of its international financial obligations. As a result of this incompetence and neglect, our financial and banking sectors continue to be visited with a repertoire of sanctions and hardships, which continue to make it very difficult for persons conducting certain categories of financial transactions in the country. This is the reality despite the Attorney General’s repeated public misrepresentation that Guyana has discharged all the requisite obligations under the regional AML/CFT regime. The truth is that it is under the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Administration that anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism laws were introduced in Guyana, firstly in 2001, and then again in

2009, with the enactment of our current Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act. It is common knowledge, fresh in the memory of most, that during the Tenth Parliament of Guyana, the APNU/ AFC (now the Government), used their one seat majority in the National Assembly to vote down two AML/CFT Amendment Bills, one in 2012, and one in 2014, which were intended to incorporate into the principal Act, a host of recommendations of CFATF. They did so after hijacking these Bills and keeping them in a Special Select Committee, unnecessarily, for several months, holding the then Government to ransom by demanding a multiplicity of political concessions. In the end, they still voted down the Bills, causing Guyana to be subjected to a regime of sanctions and to be reviewed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as recommended by CFATF. All that this Government has done over the past two years, was to simply enact the very two Bills, which they voted down while they were in the Opposition and which exposed our financial sector to sanctions as well as the loss of invaluable business relations in several countries

across the globe, especially, with international corresponding banks. Significantly, they have abysmally failed to have these sanctions removed and restore the invaluable relationships lost. In the meantime, they are guilty of a number of transgressions, which have exposed Guyana’s financial sector and indeed, the entire nation, to greater international harm, for example: 1. they have failed to implement aspects of their own amendments to the AML/CFT Act, for example, the failure to staff a top-heavy and unnecessary bureaucratic AML/CFT Authority; 2. they have compromised and undermined the autonomy and independence of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), by making it subject and responsible to the AML/CFT Authority; 3. they have contaminated the entire AML/CFT structure by enacting laws, which authorize politically exposed persons – Members of Parliament, to appoint the AML/ CFT Authority, the FIU Director, Deputy Director and other important functionaries in the FIU; 4. they have bastardized the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), established by the PPP/C Administration as the investigative arm of the

FIU, by financing that Unit through the Ministry of the Presidency and converting it into an Agency, which is being used to witch-hunt and persecute political opponents and public officers who worked with the previous Administration, rather than investigate organised crimes, such as drug trafficking, money-laundering and offences of that type, which it was established to do; 5. in these prosecutions, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the independent constitutional body authorized to conduct prosecution, is sidelined and these politically tainted charges filed by SOCU, are prosecuted by a band of Special Prosecutors paid out of the budget of the Ministry of Legal Affairs. 6. some of these cases include failure by members of the Board of Directors of a Public Corporation to enter transactions in a ledger, though not a dollar is reportedly missing and a litany of similarly trivial criminal offences. Significantly, not a single money-laundering or drug trafficking charge of substance has been instituted, though while in Opposition, this Government regularly described Guyana as a “Narco-State”. At the same time, legiti-

It would serve Mr. Trotman well to refer to Article 2 of the WTO’s Agreement DEAR EDITOR, A news item in one of the daily newspapers headlined: ‘Importers need permit for pinewood from January 1,’ attracted my attention as former Minister of Foreign Trade. According to Minister Trotman, “We find there is some degree of dumping of this foreign lumber coming in. It is crowding out local loggers.” Notwithstanding his apparent lack of acquaintance with trade language, the vagaries of international trade (WTO) rules as well as Chapter Five - Trade Policy of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, Trotman was referring to the alleged “dumping” of Canadian white pine on the local market. When Mr. Trotman states that his government will be imposing ‘restrictions’ on Canadian White Pine by way of import licenses and that ‘the restriction is not a ban,’ he obviously out of his

league. Legally, the product is banned from entering the local market unless an import license - is obtained from government. An import license is in effect a technical barrier to trade. It would serve Mr. Trotman well to refer to Article 2 of the WTO’s Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, the general principles for mandatory technical regulations and the disciplines for introducing new regulations etc; Incidentally, since we do not know whether the Canadian White Pine is being imported from within the region or extra-regionally, it is nevertheless important that Article 91, Part two of Chapter Five of CARICOM’s trade policy, which treats expansively with Qualitative Restrictions albeit among CARICOM member states and the role of COTED, be taken into consideration. With respect to the claim of ‘dumping,’ so loosely re-

ferred to by Mr. Trotman, WTO rules state very clearly that action against dumping can only be taken after an investigation has been held following the prescribed procedure. Moreover, for action to be taken against dumping, Guyana, in keeping with WTO rules, will have to determine that; (i) dumping exists, (ii) there is material injury or threat of material injury to its domestic industry (collectively called injury) and (iii) a causal link exists between the dumping and the injury. Mr Trotman must know that a product is said to be dumped if its export price is less than its normal value. The amount by which the export price is lower than the normal value is called the ‘dumping margin.’ Therefore there are three elements involved in the determination of dumping: (i) the determination of the export price, (ii) the determination of

the normal value, and (iii) the comparison of the export price and the normal price. In the final analysis, it appears that the Government of Guyana will be instituting quantitative restrictions on importation of a product which is not and cannot be produced nor manufactured in Guyana and consequently, is not competing with locally produced white pine. This brings into question the issue of competition. In other words, the question is: Is the imported Canadian White Pine competing with locally produced and manufactured Guyanese White Pine? In the circumstances, CARICOM’s Competition Commission will have to be brought into the dispute, but only if it is a dispute between CARICOM member states. If, however, it escalates to a dispute with two member states of the WTO, that is an entirely different matter. Clement J. Rohee

mate business entities and persons are being harassed by SOCU Officers, who turn up at business premises, as well as residences, at all hours of the night to conduct searches. Currently, the entire Board of Dire c t o r s o f o n e o f Guyana’s largest and most reputable commercial banks have been hauled before the courts by SOCU, for failure to supply information in relation to transactions outside of the statutory period for which the bank is required to keep such information. Additionally, the Central Bank, under the guise of combatting money-laundering, is regularly being used as an instrument to coerce and dictate to legiti-

mate cambio-dealers the rate at which they should trade foreign currency, contrary to and in violation of existing laws governing these entities. In short, rather than combat organised crimes, the AML/CFT legal apparatus is being used by the Government to harass, intimidate and persecute legitimate businesses, the Political Opposition and law abiding citizens of this country, while turning a blind eye to rampant financial crimes and corrupt practices being committed every day, more especially, in the governmental and public sectors at very high levels. All for your information and guidance. The People’s Progressive Party/ Civic

Call a spade a spade! DEAR EDITOR, The TIGI statement on President David Granger’s unilateral appointment of Reverend James Patterson as the Chairman of GECOM includes an objectionable line that must be called out for what it is. TIGI said that it is “poignantly aware of the problems that Guyana has had with elections, from the widespread charges of ‘elections rigging’ under the old PNC regime…” There were no “charges” of elections rigging in Guyana under the PNC. There were proven cases of elections rig-

ging in Guyana under the PNC. Just look at the documentary ‘The Making of a Prime Minister’ by ‘World in Action’ produced by Granada TV. It exposes all types of irregularities in the electoral process that resulted in rigged elections. When will some organisations, acting as independent voices in Guyana, be willing to call a spade a spade? It is a documented statement of fact that elections were rigged during the 28 years that the PNC held office in Guyana. Karen Manifold

Tuesday November 14, 2017

2 more witnesses to testify in schoolboy’s murder PI

Garbage is piling up There is a garbage crisis in the city…once again. Garbage is piling up throughout the city because the City Council has not been collecting garbage as per schedule for some weeks now. We are told that all of the City garbage trucks went down at the same time. Does City Hall not find it strange that all of the trucks which were being used to collect garbage went down at the same time? The President should launch a Commission of Inquiry into the circumstances which led to all of the garbage trucks being immobilised at the same time. The public needs answers to this mystery. The public also needs assistance with getting the garbage being removed from the city. It is piling up and it is presenting a health hazard because persons are leaving their bins and bags with refuse outside of their yards since they have no idea on which days the ser-

vice will be resumed. The cats and dogs are having a feast. They are raiding the bins and spewing the garbage all over. Years ago, it was convenient to place the blame at the feet of the PPPC. The excuse then was that the PPPC government was strangling City Hall. Well, the PPPC is no longer in power. City Hall, we are told has greater autonomy. They have a sympathetic government which has spent hundreds of millions of dollars providing services, such as road repairs and cleaning up the wards of the city, which ought to have been done by City Hall. Despite this, Georgetown has returned to its sordid state. Last Mother’s Day, the tears returned when persons turned up at the city’s cemetery and were greeted with a mini-jungle. They could not get anywhere near where their mother’s tombs were. They had to take back home the costly floral arrange-

ments that they had bought to place on their mothers’ tombs. There is a total lack of information as to how the present garbage crisis is going to be resolved. City Hall itself does not seem to appreciate the importance of at least communicating with the public as to when the garbage will be collected in many wards. At the minimum, collection points should be identified where those persons can take their garbage. But even this is not happening. In the meantime, the public is told that talks will begin with private garbage contractors to resume their service. We are even told that these contractors should not expect as a good terms as they used to enjoy. In any talks, however, City Hall will be negotiating from a position of weaknesses. City Hall owes the private contractors hundreds of millions of dollars. Those contractors are not going to go back to collecting garbage unless guarantees are made about the ar-

Dem boys seh...

Prepare fuh a Chinee city in de city Everyday de Waterfalls paper is warning everybody bout China and Exxon. Dem on de go to tek wha dem want with or without yuh permission and plant dem seed anyway in yuh. Dem boys hear two of dem from de city gone to China secretly fuh collect suh dem can name parts of Guyana, especially Sheriff Street, after a Chinee city. Dem two plan to rename part of Sheriff Street de place Fuqua after a Chinee city. Dem boys hear Canada also join de bandwagon. Monkey see, monkey do. Dem Canadians see wha Exxon doing and dem also grabbing up secretly. Dem boys hear how dem tek over a big portion of a big oil block wha Jagdeo did sell de African company, secretly. Dat is not de only secret thing he involve in. Dem boys know a ton of secret deals. Dem boys know he got secret bank accounts, too. And he does lie bad. Just de odda day he

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Kaieteur News

tell de whole Guyana how he MPs refuse to tek de increase wha Soulja Bai give to all dem MPs. He seh how dem gun pay de increase into a special account fuh charity. De nation never know dat de money he was talking about was fuh de pockets of he own MPs. One MP tell dem boys he, Jagdeo, thief enough fuh ten generation to come suh he didn’t care bout dem who just tun MP. If dem boys didn’t dig de nation woulda never know dat instead of sharing de money wid poor people dem was sharing it wid dem own family. Dem boys seh dis was a case of do as I say and not as I do. Donald seh de thing surprise him. He know Jagdeo pension bigger than de small frek wha parliament was paying suh he didn’t got to deduct nutten. Talk half and careful wid dat fancy Chinee city.

-as prosecution ordered to close case tomorrow

rears they are owed. The City Council therefore is not able to negotiate from a position of strength. It is doing so from a position of weakness and in the face of a crisis, so it cannot drive hard bargain. The tragedy of Guyana though is that parties which dominate the very Council which has brought the city back again to a state of crisis in terms of the collection of garbage, is going to be reelected next year when local government elections are held. There is not going to be a protest vote next year. The very forces which were responsible for the parking meters contract, if they run again with their parties’ approval, will win again by a landslide. Yet independent parties that are trying to gain a foothold in the Council are going to be routed once again. And in many respects, that is far more tragic than the present pile up garbage because the same forces which have failed the people will gain the support of the people in the next local government elections.

Despite Police Prosecutor Gordon Mansfield requesting an adjournment for a police witness to tender certain exhibits in the preliminary inquiry into the murder of schoolboy, Brian Yearwood, his application was denied by Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman. In fact, Magistrate Latchman instructed Prosecutor Mansfield to call his final two witnesses— both civilians—to testify tomorrow or else he would have no other choice but to close the case for the state. Magistrate Latchman set tomorrow as a peremptory date. Andy Peters, 17, of Lot 224 B Kaneville, Grove, East Bank Demerara and Shannon Cox, 20, of Lot 261 Kaneville, Grove are currently on remand for the indictable offence which occurred on April 29, last, at Covent Garden, East Bank Demerara. Nevertheless, three police witnesses, Inspector Hubert Henry, Corporal Kevin Hubbard and Constable Dookram were called to testify yesterday when the PI continued in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. Inspector Henry, who is the Officer in Charge of crime at the Ruimveldt Police Station, recalled visiting the crime scene on the day in question with other ranks when he discovered the body

of Yearwood. It was Corporal Hubbard, who told the court that he went to uplift the exhibits from the Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory but was told that they were not ready. In the circumstances, Prosecutor Mansfield asked for the witness to be given time to uplift and tender the exhibits in court. However, Magistrate Latchman opposed noting that the prosecution is wasting time. According to reports, Yearwood of Kaneville, East Bank Demerara was stabbed in the region of the heart during a scuffle allegedly by the two murder accused. The stabbing took place during a concert that was being held at the above mentioned school. The police recovered a knife, which is suspected to be the murder weapon. The teen was rushed to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, but it was too late as he was pronounced dead on arrival. Kaieteur News understands that the killing stemmed from gang-related issues. The two murder accused are said to be from one gang, while the 16-year-old victim was a member of another gang. The police said that Yearwood of Kaneville was preparing to sit the Caribbean Examination Council next year.

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Tuesday November 14, 2017

Kaieteur News

=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===

A telephone call from the beach to the Minister I was on the Eve Leary beach of the Atlantic Ocean very early yesterday morning with my dog. It was about 6.30 am. A number of vendors came up to me and showed me a letter from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure asking them to immediately vacate the area. One of them said that ministry officials have been demolishing some vendors’ stalls since last week and it is continuing. They said last Saturday, a barbecue stand was demolished. They showed me the remnants of the structure owned by an Amerindian woman who sold there for years. I know this lady because I am a fixture on the Camp Street seawall As these people spoke to me, I felt sick to my stomach. Was this what I helped to change the PPP for? I fought, literally “fight down” the previous Minister of Works over his wanton, reckless, heartless, bestial destruction of the income of these types of citizens. This newspaper nicknamed the Minister, “Bruck Up Benn.” I almost got arrested when Benn sent his crew to chase off some young women who were selling bottled water at the junction of Irving and Lamaha Streets. I remember during the elec-

tion campaign of 2015 telling those young ladies that when Benn goes, no one will harass them. My God! How wrong I was. Those women are still selling on that very site; will Patterson move them? I didn’t care how early it was in the morning. I rang Minister David Patterson to complain about his action against these vendors. My first words to him were; “David, this is the Christmas season man. How could you move them at this time?” As he spoke, my eternal bad habit kicked in; I was arguing with him. In an angry tone, he accused me of not wanting to share the ideas of others and I am only concerned with what I believe in. Minister’s Patterson’s position was inflexible. According to him, these vendors are an eye sore; the place is very dirty. He accused them of having old fridges all over the place hindering traffic. He intoned that they defecate all over the place. He said people get robbed in that vicinity all the time. I rejected all those accusations because I know this environment in ways David Patterson will never know. I know all these vendors in ways David Patterson will never know.

If David in his entire life has visited that area 1000 times, I would have exceeded that by one billion times. Let me meet head on each accusation of the Minister. It is not true the old fridges are all over the place. I spend an inordinate amount of time on the Camp Street seawall and I do not see those fridges scattered across the parapet and on the seawall road. I have never seen these fridges obstruct traffic. Do the vendors relieve themselves right where they sell? Anyone can visit the site and you will see four portable toilets. The vendor outside the DPP Chambers has a portable toilet.

Frederick Kissoon I will not dignify the asininity of David Patterson’s crude emanation that the place encourages robberies. In Guyana there isn’t a place that is safe from criminal harm. As I type this column, one

hour ago, my daughter’s friend rang her to say she was in a taxi and as it slowed, a guy grabbed her bag with all her money, identification papers and smart phone right in the heart of the city. The young lady had a few photographs of her dead mother that she cherishes. If anyone is reading this, please contact me so we can secure her ID and those photographs; there will be no police involvement. We don’t need the return of the money or phone just ID and photographs. My cell is 614-5927. My home is 222/1615 and 222/ 1616. I ended my conversation with David with the words that he will hear from me in 2020. I

promised my wife that my campaign days were over. But with each passing day as I see how bestial is the mistreatment of poor people by this government, I know I will be on the street corners for the 2020 campaign. I will never vote for the return of the PPP. I am not voting for the APNU+AFC. No other small party gets my attention. I certainly won’t vote for Ramon Gaskin’s party. But if a credible third party comes up, I will give it consideration and I know one is being formed. In the meantime, is there any group that feels that it should help those seawall vendors? No! I doubt it! This is Guyana!

Cashier, ex-cop accused of staging Hospital robbery A cashier/receptionist attached to the Woodlands Hospital and a former Police Officer who is accused of robbing the Woodlands Hospital of $1.4 M, yesterday made an appearance in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer to a simple larceny charge. Haniff Peters, 32, a Security guard, of Lot 71 Freeman Street, East La Penitence; and Susan Daniels, 33 of Lot 16 North Section Canal # 2 Polder, West Bank Demerara, both denied the charge that alleged that on the August 31,

last, at the Woodlands Hospital, Carmichael Street, North Cummingsburg, Georgetown, they stole $1.4 M cash, property of the Woodlands Hospital. It was also alleged that Daniels on September 1, last, at the Brickdam Police Station, gave false information to the police stating that she was robbed of a quantity of cash. She made them conduct an investigation which they would not have done. Daniels was represented by Attorney-at-law, Tiffany Jeffery, who asked that bail be granted to her client since she is the mother of three and the sole breadwinner for her family. Police Prosecutor, Gordon Mansfield, had no objection to bail being granted to the

duo. The Prosecutor told the court that the defendants are known to each other. The prosecutor further told the court that on the day in question, Daniels was taking the day’s money to the bank. The court heard that sometime later that day the defendant return to her superior and informed them that she was robbed by a masked man. The matter was then reported to the Brickdam Police Station and during the investigation it was revealed that Daniels gave the police false information. Further investigation carried out revealed that Daniels and Peters planned the robbery. They were both arrested and charge for the offence.

Charged Susan Daniels Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman granted bail to Peters in the sum of $100,000 and Daniels was ordered to post $200,000 bail. They were both instructed to make their next court appearance on December 4.

Tuesday November 14, 2017

Kaieteur News

At U.N., North Korea says U.S. to blame for ‘worst ever situation’ UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - North Korea complained to the United Nations yesterday about joint military exercises by the United States and South Korea, describing it as “the worst ever situation” because U.S. nuclear war equipment had been deployed ready to strike. In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, seen by Reuters, North Korean U.N. Ambassador Ja Song Nam said the United States was “running amok for war exercises by introducing nuclear war equipment in and around the Korean Peninsula.” Three U.S. aircraft carrier strike groups have been involved in the joint exercise in the Western Pacific in a rare show of force as President Donald Trump visits Asia. The last time three U.S. carrier strike groups exercised together in the Western Pacific was in 2007. South Korea has said the joint drill, due to finish on Tuesday, was in response to North Korean nuclear and missile provocations and to show any such developments by Pyongyang can be repelled with “overwhelming force.” However, Ja said Washington was to blame for escalating tensions and accused

North Korea’s Ambassador to the U.N. Ja Song Nam. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith the U.N. Security Council of ignoring “the nuclear war exercises of the United States who is hell bent on bringing catastrophic disaster to humanity.” Ja asked Guterres to bring to the attention of the 15member council - under the rarely used Article 99 of the U.N. Charter - “the danger being posed by the U.S. nuclear war exercises, which are clearly threats to international peace and security.” Tensions have soared between the United States and North Korea following a series of weapons tests by Pyongyang and a string of increasingly bellicose ex-

changes between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump said in a tweet on Sunday that Kim had insulted him by calling him “old” and said he would never call the North Korean leader “short and fat.” The United States has said that all options, including military, are on the table to deal with North Korea, although its preference is for a diplomatic solution. The U.N. Security Council has unanimously ratcheted up sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs since 2006.

U.S. to fight Islamic State in Syria ‘as long as they want to fight’: Mattis WASHINGTON (Reuters) The U.S. military will fight Islamic State in Syria “as long as they want to fight,” Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said yesterday, describing a longer-term role for U.S. troops long after the insurgents lose all of the territory they control. As U.S.-backed and Russian-backed forces battle to retake the remaining pockets of Islamic State-held terrain, Mattis said the U.S. military’s longerterm objective would be to prevent the return of an “ISIS 2.0.” “The enemy hasn’t declared that they’re done with the area yet, so we’ll keep fighting as long as they want to fight,” Mattis said, speaking to reporters at the Pentagon about the future of U.S. operations in Syria. He also stressed the importance of longer-term peace efforts, suggesting U.S. forces aimed to help set the conditions of a diplomatic solution in Syria, now in its seventh year of civil war. “We’re not just going to walk away right now before the

U.S. Secretary for Defense, Jim Mattis. (REUTERS/Simon Dawson) Geneva process has traction,” he added. U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin affirmed joint efforts to stabilize Syria as its civil war wanes, including with the expansion of a July 7 truce in the southwestern triangle bordering Israel and Jordan. Mattis said he believed

the southwestern zone was working, and spoke hopefully about additional areas in the future that might allow for more refugees to return home. “You keep broadening them. Try to (demilitarize) one area then (demilitarize) another and just keep it going, try to do the things that will allow people to return to their homes,” he told reporters at the Pentagon. He declined to enter into specifics about any future zones. Russia, which has a longterm military garrison in Syria, has said it wants foreign forces to quit the country eventually. Turkey said on Monday the United States had 13 bases in Syria and Russia had five. The U.S-backed Syrian YPG Kurdish militia has said Washington has established seven military bases in areas of northern Syria. The U.S.-led coalition says it does not discuss the location of its forces. One key aim for Washington is to limit Iranian influence in Syria and Iraq, which expanded during the war with Islamic State.

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Tuesday November 14, 2017

Kaieteur News

Smith Memorial Congregational Celebrates 174th Anniversary

SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY,ETC.-CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 2161043; 677-6620 Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK;Guyanapassport application. G r a p h i c s design, advertisement. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. INNOVATIVE MARKETING & PUBLISHING INC –TEL: 600-4212: We create A/ works, logos, busi ness cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included. PASSPORT, PERMANENT & VISITOR VISA APPLICATION, PROFESSIONAL IMMIGRATION CONSULTANT – SABITA IMMIGRATION SERVICES. CALL: 613-3920/625-3767. We e d i n g , cleaning, trimming, cutting down of trees especially coconut trees. Call: Lewis 697-3852 Cheapest airfares. Contact V or Amenia at Somwaru Travels. 35 North Road. 2277841/227-7845/616-2727 Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezer-Call: 610-5846 or 661-8158

SALON - Make-up Courses with Mac, Bare Minerals, etc. -CosmetologyCourses:$90,000 Technician Course: $35,000. Call: 647-1773/660-5257 PEN PAL Overseas male seeks female. Age 29-32. Call or text 6643119

FOR RENT PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY,ETC.-CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 2161043; 677-6620 FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY- $19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-2274754. Video games and consoles at affordable price. Repairs to video game system .Call:6722566/265-3231 1. Cat 320 BL Excavator, 1. Cat 215 B Excavator, 1. Cat 428 Back- Hoe, 1. Leyland Daft Truck, 1. 8CU.YD. Mack Cement Mixer Truck. Contact: 275-0367, 275-0538/ 683-7225 1. Double Steel Wheeled Road Roller, 1. 9-Wheeled Pneumatic Roller, 1. 450GLNS. Bitumen Spray Kettle, 1. Honda 450 ATV Bike. Contact: 275-0367, 275-0538/ 6837225 Creole chicks, ducklings, ducks, turkey chicks & one fridge. Contact: 610-0901 1 Mitsubishi canter, long base good condition. Contact# 698-8820. Parika Backdam. 9 acres of land with concrete building. Call Vish Realty: 612-7377 1 Leyland Daf Cement mixer, 1 caterpillar skid steer 236B. 7 mining blocks (North West) Contact# 650-0402 1 pool table, 2 freezers, 1 music set, tables and chairs. Call: 627-5607 TOLET One business space, located at 177 Charlotte & Alexander St- Kindly call: 689-3462 or 644-3555. Serious enquiries only. 3 bedroom apartment, Free wifi, Fully tiled, Bathtub, Spacious kitchen and living area. #641-3318 Commercial: One bottom flat. 23ft x 60ft. Cornelia Ida Public Road. Tel: 693-3340 Residential: One bedroom house. Cornelia Ida Public Road $25,000 per month. Tel: 693-3340 Furnished one and two bedroom apartment in Nandy Park.Parking available. Call 619-4824(for further information)

EDUCATION Day Care and Pre-K classes available in Diamond Call Canadian School 216-6921,216-6922

SERVICES I N S TA L L AT I O N S , REPAIRS AND PARTS FOR AC, FRIDGE, WASHING MACHINE, STOVE ETC: CALL NICK 627-3206, 6301600

Property for rent - 2 storey house at Republic Park, E.B.D$1200US. Call 647-1773 3 bedroom apartment in Diamond 3rd Avenue. Tel# 666-6503, 684-7599,695-7427

WANTED Loving homes for playful kittens. For enquiries, please call 676-1148 Experienced male sales attendant, stocktaking knowledge, computer literate, excellent service attitude, Able-bodied. KeyFood McDoom Village. Land to buy in Parafaite Harmonie or anywhere on the West Coast. Tel: 6421252

Rooms in Alberttown- Call: 225-9223

Waitress for bar. Tel#612-2522

Self contained rooms in South Riumveldt Park at $32,000 monthly Contact no: 660-9007

Live in & live out babysitter. Preferably from EBD. Call: 647-1773

One bedroom apartment for working couple $30,000 monthly. Light and water included. Call:638-8858

Female Maid (Domestic) at Vreed-en-hoop $3000 daily. 682-5230, 615-4414

Two bedroom bottom flat, fully grilled. $50,000 per month. Call :687-3017

CAR RENTAL DOLLY’SCARRENTAL-CALL: 225-7126/226-3693 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL@ YA H O O . C O M / W W W. DOLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM

Live in or live out babysitter/ domestic- Call: 223-7500 Monday to Saturday 8:15am-4:15pm Live-in Waitress $20,000 weekly. #610-5043 One live-in General Domestic. Must know to cook Indian dishes. Call: 223-1332 VEHICLE FOR SALE Allion, Primo, Fielder Wagon, Spacio, Bluebird, 212 Carina, NZE, Honda CRV, Toyota IST, RZ & Pit-bull – Call: 650-7501

PROGRESSIVE CAR R E N TA L : S U V F O R RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL:6560 0 8 7 , 6 4 3 - 5 1 2 2 ,EMAIL:PRO_AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM

1-Twinsteer Double Axle DAF and 4 Flatbed Leyland DAF, 1-620-240 DAF engine. Excellent condition. Owner migrating 6498449,228-5655

AIDAN’S CAR RENTAL:PICKUP,9-11 SEAT MINI BUS, GOOD FOR AIRPORT & FAMILY OUTINGS, CHEAPEST RATE . Call: 698-7807

Fielder wagon and 19 seater pitbull. Never worked passenger. Both excellent condition. Tel: 664-0802

WING’S CAR & PICKUP RENTAL: LOW DOWN PAYMENT, CHEAP RATES,SPECIALOFFERS! . CALL: 690-6494

VEHICLE FOR SALE Unregistered Axela 2011 $2.6M, dark interior, fully loaded, Nissan pickup extra cab $2.2M. Call: 617-5536 Tractor (foreign used) Massey Ferguson -165 -$1.7M, MF-135 $1M, MF-265 -$1.9M, 165 Loader tractor -$2.2M. Call: 682-5230/ 615-4414 1-AT192 Carina. Excellent condition Call: 662-9378.

This month, Smith Memorial Congregational Church Brickdam will celebrate its 174th anniversary. The occasion will be marked by an anniversary service on Sunday, November 19 at 09:00 hrs. The Church stands on the green lawns of the parish situated on the south eastern shoulder of Brickdam, Georgetown. It was erected as a tribute to the memory of Reverend John Smith, a London Missionary Society Minister, who was sentenced to die by hanging for the role he allegedly played in the notorious East Coast Demerara Slave Insurrection of 1823. Smith died as a prisoner in February 1817. He had succeeded the Reverend John Wray, pioneer, missionary Society at Bethel Chapel Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara. Like his predecessor Wray, Smith gave instructions to the slaves. They taught them to read the Bible and Catechism. Smith, as in the case of John Wray, did much to lay the foundation of schooling and education for their congregation.

Pickup Truck from Canada2005 Tacoma $2.3M, Ford F150 Sport $1.5M FordRanger Sport $1.4M #682-5230/ 615-4414 VACANCY Wanted- One real estate staff agent. Stipend and commission. Contact: 6187483. We need you, males 18-30 years to work in Garden Maintenance, Georgetown. Tel:648-1821. Account support specialist, Customer service representative, Office clerk with driver’s license. Apply to Zip Logistics @ hr@ziplogistics.com One experienced legal computer clerk. Call: 624-7087/ 226-4283/258-0213/ email: h u s a i n saphier@yahoo.com Experienced cleaners, Call between 7am and 9am. Tel: 225-8572

VACANCY General maintenance man. Age 25-50 Tel: 225-0198 or visit 233 South Rd, Lacytown. Chef and assistant chef. Please call 225-7933 or visit 172 Sheriff St. Deskstaff Age 25-40. Tel# 225-0198 or visit South Road, Lacytown. Confidential Cabs. Vacancy exist for one experienced dispatcher. Tel#231-5784 695-1961. Cook/ baker and Kitchen Assistant for interior location. Applicants must have experience. Call: 618-2020 Cashier/ Sales Clerk. Apply in person with written application @ Nirva Supermarket 49 Sheriff & Craig Street, C/ville. 227-5771

TAXI SERVICE GR TAXI SERVICE. CALL: 219-5000; 227-1982 & 2257878 (24HRS)

Quamina, a slave and senior deacon at Bethel Chapel then located at Le Ressouvenir, his son Jack Gladstone and other slaves suffered death for the role they allegedly played during the 1823 uprising, which had as its goal, the freedom of the slaves. On November 24, 1843, exactly 20 years after the date on which Reverend Smith was sentenced to death, Smith Memorial Church was opened as a tribute to the work and suffering that he had to endure on behalf of his deacons, members and other followers. It was one of the protest churches. The standard church is built along the east to west axis. This church was built along the north to south axis in protest of the treatment meted out to Rev John Smith.

Tuesday November 14, 2017

Kaieteur News

Venezuela offers chocolates but little else to creditors CARACAS (Reuters) Venezuela’s socialist government gifted chocolates to creditors yesterday, but offered no firm proposals at a brief meeting in Caracas that left investors without a clear understanding of the government’s strategy to renegotiate $60 billion in debt. President Nicolas Maduro confused investors this month with a vow to continue paying Venezuela’s crippling debt, while also seeking to restructure and refinance it. Both restructuring and refinancing appear out of the question, however, due to U.S. sanctions against the crisis-stricken nation. A default would compound Venezuela’s dire economic crisis. Yesterday’s short and confused meeting, attended by senior Venezuelan officials blacklisted by the United States, gave no clarity on how Maduro would carry out his plan, bondholders and their representatives who participated said afterwards. That means Venezuela remains with the dilemma of whether to continuing paying debt at the expense of an increasingly hungry and sick population, or defaulting on creditors and burning its bridges to the global financial system. “There was no offer, no terms, no strategy, nothing,” said one bondholder, leaving the meeting that lasted a little over half an hour at the ‘White Palace’, departing with a colorful gift-bag containing Venezuelan chocolates and coffee. But bond prices maintained last week’s rally, with one investor saying there was relief the meeting did not include a default announcement. Nearly $300 million in late interest payments on three bonds - PDVSA 2027, Venezuela 2019 and Venezuela 2024 - was also due on Monday after 30-day grace periods ended. But bondholders appeared

A woman counts Venezuelan bolivar notes at a vegetable street market in Caracas, yesterday. REUTERS/Marco Bello unconcerned at the delay, which was due in part to increased bank vigilance of Venezuela transactions. “My expectation is that the coupon payments will come through as well,” said Jan Dehn, Head of Research at Ashmore Investment Management. “We know that these delays exist and why they exist.” About 100 investors, including some bondholders from New York and lawyers representing creditors, entered the ‘White Palace’ via a red carpet and were greeted by a poster of Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chavez at the entrance of the meeting room inside. SANCTIONS OVERSHADOW MEETING Chief debt negotiators Vice President Tareck El Aissami and Economy Minister Simon Zerpa - on U.S. sanctions lists for drug and corruption charges respectively - attended the meeting for half an hour. They met with some bondholders, while others stayed out of the room on concerns about penalties for dealing with officials sanctioned by Washington. El Aissami told creditors that Deutsche Bank may soon cut off some financial

Brazil’s president to begin cabinet reshuffle BRASÍLIA (Reuters) Brazil’s President Michel Temer will start a cabinet reshuffle that should be completed in mid-December, his press office said yesterday without providing a reason for the change. The announcement came after the resignation yesterday of Bruno Araujo,

head of the Ministry of the Cities, one of four ministries held by the centrist PSDB party in Tem e r ’s government. PSDB plans to stand its own candidate for the presidential election next October and many of its members want to distance themselves from the unpopular government.

services to Venezuela, participants said. Deutsche declined to comment. He read a statement protesting unfair treatment by global financial institutions, including U.S. President Donald Trump’s sanctions aimed at preventing Venezuela from issuing new debt. “Now Maduro can say: ‘I showed goodwill, the bondholders showed goodwill ... but unfortunately because Uncle Sam is not playing ball we can’t (refinance)’,” said Dehn, who did not attend the meeting. “I‘m not hugely surprised nothing’s come out of that meeting.” Separately, the European Union approved economic sanctions and an arms embargo on Venezuela yesterday, although it has yet to name who will be subject to the sanctions. Markets continue to remain optimistic that Venezuela will service its debts, noting it has made close to $2 billion in payments in the past two weeks, albeit delayed. Bond prices were up across the board yesterday, with the benchmark 2022 notes issued by state oil firm PDVSA rising 3.3 percentage points. The economic implosion has already taken a brutal toll on Venezuelans. Citizens are suffering from malnutrition and preventable diseases because they cannot find food and medicine or cannot afford them because of tripledigit inflation. The sight of poor Venezuelans eating from garbage bags has become a powerful symbol of decay. It contrasts sharply with the era of Chavez, when high oil prices helped fuel state spending.

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Tuesday November 14, 2017

CDB to promote resilient recovery, climate action for the C’bean at UN Climate Change Conference BONN (CMC) – The Barbados based Caribbean Development will join other regional stakeholders in reiterating the urgent need for climate action and resilient recovery in the Caribbean during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP23) that gets underway here yesterday. During the event which runs until November 17, the CDB will also underscore its commitment to mobilising highly concessionary resources for regional countries to tackle the impacts of climate change. “We are pleased to add our voice to the global conversation on climate action, given the vulnerability of the low-lying and coastal states in the Caribbean Region.At COP23, our priority is to continue to draw attention to the very real challenges our small states are facing as a result of climate change; to strengthen partnerships to combat those challenges; and to further engage stakeholders as our Region seeks to ‘build back

better’,” said CDB President Dr. Warren Smith. While in Bonn, the Bank will sign a US$24 million agreement with the European Investment Bank for post-disaster reconstruction. This is an addition to the US$120 million Climate Action Framework Loan II signed earlier this year. Smith will also speak at a session titled, Confronting the 1.5 Degree Challenge and Accelerating NDC Implementation in the Caribbean at which technical experts will present scientific evidence on the implications for the Region if global warming reaches or exceeds 1.5 degrees Celsius. The CDB President is also scheduled to hold meetings with officials from the Government of Germany to discuss Germany-CDB relations as well as opportunities for increased collaboration and partnership.

Tuesday November 14, 2017

Kaieteur News

CDB, EIB ink new multimillion-dollar deal for hurricane-ravaged region

CDB President Warren Smith (right) watches as EIB Vice President responsible for Climate Action, Jonathan Taylor, signs the new agreement BONN (CMC) – Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Prime Minister of Grenada Dr. Keith Mitchell yesterday welcomed the establishment of an emergency post-disaster reconstruction financing initiative to help the Region recover from recent hurricane events. Mitchell, who is also chairman of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), was speaking in Germany on the new initiative between the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the CDB. The arrangement will support investments for infrastructure reconstruction projects in the Caribbean in the wake of the recent hurricanes. “We welcome the support from our partners in the international community, and today we particularly want to thank the European Investment Bank for the support it has provided over the years to the Caribbean Development Bank to assist its borrowing member countries in addressing the challenges of climate change,” Mitchell said in the EIB/CDB Event on the margins of COP23. “We welcome this support and the opportunity it provides to promote sustainable development and the use of low-carbon technologies in the pursuit of the goal of climate adaptation and to improve energy efficiency and to expand the use of renewable energy”. The new US$24 million financing package is an addition to the US$120 million Climate Action Framework Loan II signed in May this year, and which remains the EIB’s biggest loan to the

Caribbean. “We see the need to reexamine our sovereign debt regime in light of these natural disasters, which create additional debt burdens and more fiscal and economic trauma,” Mitchell said. “We also see the need to re-examine our regional resilience infrastructure like our insurance facilities; risk management mechanisms; and access to innovative sources of finance” Eligible investments under the new loan will include infrastructure reconstruction, with a focus on “building back better” and integrating climate risk and vulnerability assessments into the projects. This will help reduce the Bank’s Borrowing Member Countries’ vulnerability to future natural disasters and worsening climate change impacts. As well as infrastructure, financing to communities for low-carbon and climateresilience measures such as improved water resource management are also foreseen. CDB President Warren Smith and EIB Vice President responsible for Climate Action, Jonathan Taylor, signed the new agreement during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 23) underway here. “In response to the devastation caused by hurricanes in the region in recent weeks, the EIB and CDB rapidly agreed to commit

additional resources to support reconstruction investment projects in the Caribbean,” said Taylor. “We stand committed to developing our fruitful 40 year partnership with CDB, to support climate-resilient projects in the Caribbean and to help to adequately tackle the challenges related to climate change.” According to Smith – “The 2017 hurricane season was one of the most devastating the Caribbean has ever experienced, and underscored the urgent need for investment in climateresilient infrastructure in our region. The signing of this agreement is another milestone in our longstanding partnership with EIB, and will facilitate CDB’s increased support for resilient reconstruction in the Caribbean.” To date, CDB has committed all of the resources under the first Climate Action Line of Credit – USD 65.6 million – for seven projects. This co-financing is associated with total project financing of US$191 million. Since CDB’s Climate Resilience Strategy was approved in 2012, 58 percent of projects financed have included climate change adaptation and/or mitigation elements in the climatesensitive sectors of water, education, agriculture, and physical infrastructure such as sea defences, drainage, and roads.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday November 14, 2017

Red Force on Jaguars heels after massive win Bridgetown, Barbados, CMC – Trinidad and Tobago Red Force are now nipping at the heels of leaders Guyana Jaguars, after their big win in the third round of the Regional Four-Day Championship last weekend. Red Force trounced Windward Islands Volcanoes by 10 wickets inside three days at Queens Park Oval, after yet another strong

batting display where they piled up 402 and then dismissed Volcanoes cheaply in both innings, to be left with a simple victory target of 24. Captain Denesh Ramdin and Jason Mohammed both got hundreds for Red Force – two of three in the game after Devon Smith also reached three figures in Volcanoes second innings. With the success, Red

GSCL to host 10/10 at GNIC today Rafman Ally 15-overs starts Sunday The Georgetown Softball Cricket League Inc will be hosting a 10/10 affair in recognition of veteran softball cricket commentator Onkar Singh today at the GNIC Sport Club ground, Woolford Avenue. Singh will feature in the match alongside prominent Masters’ players from the local softball fraternity including Mahendra Hardyal, Eric Thomas, Eon Abel, Afzal Hanif, Abdel Gamaal, Laurie Singh and Ricky Persaud. The

game is expected to commence at 10:00hrs. Meanwhile, the Rafman Ally 15-over softball tournament is set to commence on Sunday at several venues in Georgetown. The tournament will be played in Open and Masters categories with trophies and cash prizes at stake. Interested team are asked to make contact with Ally on 645-2233 or 697 2700 for information on registration.

Force moved into second place in the standings on 41.4 points, just five points behind three-time reigning champions Jaguars who escaped defeat on the final day of their contest against Leeward Islands Hurricanes. Jaguars, who has led from the start of the tournament last month, suffered a batting meltdown at Warner Park in St Kitts and were forced to follow on, after Hurricanes raised 412 for nine declared in their first innings. The visitors needed veteran left-hander Shiv Chanderpaul’s 77th first hundred – a stellar 109 – to thwart Hurricanes on the final day and earn a draw. Hurricanes, who started the round in second spot, now lie third on 38.6 points, with the top three teams all unbeaten so far in the tournament. Barbados Pride, who drew with Jamaica Scorpions in the rain-hit day/night affair at Sabina Park, are fourth on 23.2 points while Scorpions

Tuesday November 14, 2017 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19): You may believe that gathering more information is a smart idea today, but additional data won’t help you make a better decision. Usually, compiling more facts enables you to easily choose an effective course of action. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20): Yourcareerobjectivesmayhavebeen clear in your own mind, but that was beforeyousetyourplan into motion. Now it might appear that you’ve made the situation worse. GEMINI (May 21–June 20): Challenging circumstances might prevent you from being clear about your direction today, making you feel as if you just want to retreat. Unfortunately, this is not a great time to give up. CANCER (Jun. 21–July 22): You may not understand why everything isn’t going your way today, but you might be jumping to the wrong conclusions. Whatever seems to be problematic now can actually work out for the best later on. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22): You could feel as if you’re fighting an inner battle now, yet it may play out in a current relationship. Don’t withdraw; facing a difficult issue with a close friend or partner is the best way to conquer your fears. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22): You may be bored at work today, but still need to fulfill your obligations. Instead of doing your job the same old way, it might help to take a new approach.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22): Even if you are receiving encouragement everywhere you turn today, you still might not believe the good news you are hearing. It’s difficult to trust the optimism of others. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21): You might not get everything you want today, yet there are still plenty of opportunities to make the best of current circumstances. Part of your problem may be your inflated hopes, leading you to expect things to fall magically into place. SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21): You don’t like to place all your eggs in one basket. However, you may be so focused on specific tasks that certain aspects won’t likely work out as expected. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19): Everything seems to be blown out of proportion today, so it’s challenging to find the right pace and stick to it. Even the littlest problem could become an insurmountable obstacle. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20– Feb.18): Sometimes you can appear disconnected from reality, but others usually don’t know how far out your thoughts actually are. Now, as the Moon moves through your sign, you can surprise everyone with your uncanny brilliance. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20): If you are justly accused of a wrongdoing today, quickly admit your guilt and ask for forgiveness.

Denesh Ramdin

are fifth on 18.2. Volcanoes, who have lost two of three so far, lie bottom on 15.6 points. In round four bowling off

on Thursday, Red Force host Jaguars at the Brian Lara Stadium in a top-of-the-table day/night clash, Hurricanes

welcome Scorpions to Warner Park while Pride travel to Arnos Vale Stadium to take on Volcanoes.

Jeffrey Wong attains 7th Dan Black Belt... From page 30 with Shotokan Karate. A kata is a detailed karate pattern that mimics a confrontation with one or many opponents, and firmly believes that the secret to his success is that he has never stopped learning and considers himself a lifelong student of karate and hungry learner. He said that the day he stops learning is the day that he stops living. For more than 40 years, Shihan Wong has trained between three and five times a week, and has not restricted his teaching to only Guyanese students but was also responsible for setting up a dojo in St. Kitts and training its students in the 1980's. But Wong considers as his proudest achievement, the founding in association with Master Frank Woon-a-tai and the late Ian Fung, the Guyana Karate College which was registered in August 2006, but commenced training in November 2007 with a total of twenty-five students. The Guyana Karate College has been the most successful karate institution in Guyana with unprecedented success in its 10 year history with outstanding performances in the two world tournaments and three Caribbean championships that it participated thus far. Shihan Wong whose other vocation is that of a miner, spends a lot of the time just thinking about improving the GKC and karate in Guyana at the expense of his business as many times rather than travelling to the interior to manage his concessions first hand, he opts instead to stay in Georgetown to teach karate. He said no matter what “style” you train, there's always something new to learn or do – whether it's kumite, kihon, bunkai, kata, embu or something else.

People practicing Shotokan Karate must rise from a white belt up 9 levels to reach the coveted black belt — which has 10 levels of its own. In the past, there was no need for the coloured belt system because there were only a few students practicing the martial art. But as numbers increased across the world, karate adopted judo's belt level system. Originally, there were only three colours (white, brown and black) but now you

progress through 9 "kyu" (white, white with a yellow stripe, yellow, orange, green, blue, purple and three browns) Then the black belt level begins, where there are 10 more rungs known as "dans". Shihan Wong's capability in karate are clearly evident with the karatekas from the Guyana Karate College blazing the trail, both in Guyana and across the globe, capturing many gold, silver and bronze medals.