Kaieteur News

Saturday Edition

Online readership yesterday 134,186

November 28, 2015 - Vol. 9 No. 47 - Price $80 kaieteurnews@yahoo.com Website:http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com Guyana’s largest selling daily & New York’s most popular weekly

Committee set up to review legality of radio licences Unidentified body found on Kingston seawall CID wants One dead... CJIA probing use Tacoma to question driver looks of BaiShanLin’s former GPL at victims, trucks in US$150M Deputy CEO speeds off expansion project Specialty Hospital saga…

Finance Minister declines to

react to queries, concerns

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Saturday November 28, 2015

Saturday November 28, 2015

Specialty Hospital saga… By Kiana Wilburg In spite of the criticisms over Government’s selection of a particular contractor for the completion of the Specialty Hospital, Finance Minister Winston Jordan says that he simply won’t respond. Jordan said that on Wednesday, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which will see works restarting on the construction of the Specialty Hospital was signed between him and Fedders Lloyd Country Representative, Ajay Jha. According to the Ministry, Fedders Lloyd will review the works already started; conclude a design of the Hospital that is acceptable to the coalition government and commit to fully equip the facility on completion of its construction. The company has also undertaken to commence work on the facility immediately. But the decision by

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Finance Minister declines to react to queries, concerns Government to bypass the tender process has not gone down well with several members of the public inclusive of Transparency Institute Guyana and members of the political opposition. They share the view that government’s actions fly in the face of transparency and accountability. Pressed yesterday to say why Government did not go to tender and for a reaction to the mounting concerns, Jordan said, “We have nothing to react to. We put out a statement which clearly states what we did and that’s all we will say at the moment. Government is moving forward. We signed an MOU and not a contract. They are two different things and people need to understand that.” But Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Irfaan Ali, insists that government’s selection of Fedders Lloyd flies in the face of transparency and accountability and proves that “the APNU+AFC is a

Finance Minister, Winston Jordan deceptive and hypocritical administration.” The former Minister stated, “This was the same people who said when we were in government that the Specialty Hospital is not necessary. They roasted us left, right and centre for going forward with this project. They even said that the money could be better spent on other projects. “Lo and behold, this government is making an

about turn and doing the same things they once chastised us for. How hypocritical and deceptive can one be? Do they intend to sink lower than this?” He added, “There should have been public tendering for this project. It is in breach of international best practices. I want to remind the nation, too, that this is the very company (Fedders Lloyd) that was legally represented by the now Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan when it protested the procurement process for the project back in 2012. Now that APNU+AFC is in power, their true colours are being revealed.” Former Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, using social media, recalled that this was a project conceived by the former PPP/Civic Administration.

“But when the PPP/Civic Administration allocated money to do preparatory work (in the initial stages), the APNU+AFC sliced it out of the National Budget for three consecutive years. They advanced innumerable reasons, both in and out of Parliament, why this project should not proceed. “Only three months ago, they announced the “official scrapping” of the project. The reason given then was that as a nation, we are not ready for this type of health care and they pledged to divert the financing into the improvement of primary health care,” expressed Nandlall. He said that the APNU+AFC administration will now have to justify to the public, their actions regarding the project. “Regardless of how they proceed, their position now

clearly confirms that their postures on matters of national importance are not based on principle and upon merit but on what is politically exigent at the time,” expressed the former minister. He noted, too, that during the procurement process in 2012 when the project was first tendered for, Fedders Lloyd was disqualified at an early stage, in accordance with the law and rules which governed that particular procurement process. “At the time, the Leader of the AFC (Khemraj Ramjattan) led a public campaign advocating a case for Fedders Lloyd in the National Assembly and elsewhere. At the time, it was publicly revealed that he was hired to do so. I do not recall any denial from him then. “Fedders Lloyd was (Continued on page 23)

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Letters... Where your views make the news Letters... Where your views make the news

Dr. Janet Bulkan’s long list Linden mortuary needs ice and DEAR EDITOR, It is with great dismay and amazement I continue to read Ms. Janette Bulkan’s controversial issues. For as long as I can remember Ms. Bulkan has been making references to and quoting from many Government’s and Non-Governmental Organisations websites, including Guyana Forestry Commission. She can also be found to make references to and quote both K.N and S.N. Quoting days, dates and issues and pages. Therefore I find it very strange that Ms. Bulkan has this long list of unanswered questions especially when G.F.0 has made it clear that most of that information can be accessed by simply

visiting their website. I am beginning to wonder whether Ms. Bulkan only visits the website conveniently. As recent as Saturday issue (Nov 14th) PG 4 Ms. Bulkan castigates the APNU/ AFC Government for, as she puts it “Allowing Chinese Transitional Logger Bai Shan Lin (BSL) to continue its rapacious unsustainable logging of furniture and flooring lumber for export.” (SN Nov 14th). Ms. Bulkan continues in the same article ranting about the amount of money (US 20 million) that she claims BSL has made from export. She further goes on to “Remind this company (BSL) and the Coalition Government APNU/AFC of the manifesto commitment published “Just

a few months ago”. I want to remind Ms. Bulkan about (3) three things. Firstly, the Coalition Government is “Only a few months old” lots of things still has to be put in place. Secondly, I want to remind Ms. Bulkan that G.F.0 is and has always been among the top three (3) leading financial earners for this country or Government offers. This fact has been conferred on numerous interviews on “Plain Talk” between Raymand Gaskin and Christopher Ram. Thirdly, I would like to remind Ms. Bulkan that a prominent and reputable organisation namely I.T.T.O has debunked her findings as false, malicious and misleading. Joseph Kendall

DEAR EDITOR, I was appalled at the light sentence of 58 months handed down to the driver who killed little Jadon Mars. It is time Guyanese from all walks of life raise their voice against the wanton destruction of life on our roadways. It’s as though our

roads have become killing fields. To compound the issue is the fact that many drivers care little about the laws and rules of the road. This is prevalent among providers of public transportation services. The dollar is seemingly more

From page 4 Union Recognition Act (TURA) and the agreements with the unions and a practice going back to decades. The recent strike to call for the start of negotiations signals the restiveness of workers who feel they will be

denied that increase so important to their living standards. This is not a good beginning for the re-employed management personnel, the ‘Board of Directors’ or the administration. Frederick Yuraj

important than a life. Because of this scourge, something more draconian needs to be done. Education, pleas, fines and jail were all tried but to no avail. I think it is time that the stakes be upped. The law should be changed to enable an initial charge of murder whenever there is a death as a result of a road accident. The driver should be made to prove otherwise. I bet my bottom dollar most of the recklessness and drunk driving will end. Why not give this a try? After all everything so far has failed to halt the senseless killings. Carl Parker

Bring murder charges against drivers who cause death

Tony Vieira’s use of the word...

generator to store dead

DEAR EDITOR, It is with most disgust and grief I write this letter highlighting the poor state of the funeral parlour in Linden, Wismar and the way bereaved ones have to endure and send off their loved one’s remain. Recently, I attended my grand-father’s funeral in Linden and was most sickened during my bereavement of the state families corpse is being handled and preserved for a funeral. The body of my relative was stored at the mortuary of the Linden Wismar hospital. There is a fee charged. One would believe their corpse is stored properly for the keeping of the body for the ritual- funeral service then burial. Unlike to that belief, I sadly highlight that there is no proper storage at the

Linden Wismar Hospital mortuary. My relative’s body the day of the funeral was in a decomposed state. The normalcy of the funeral proceeding had to be minded in opening the coffin. There was a rigid stench. Certain body parts had to be extremely covered from the public’s sight because it was that much decomposed. It was told to the deceased’s wife that she should have provided ice to store the body. How ridiculous that can be of a mortuary. How much ice can one carry to store a body; is it the same ice we store in our home freezers suitable for that use? This surely is not the first of such a case in Linden, it was told that it has become a norm for Lindeners because that mortuary (Wismar’s) is

the only operational one apart from a newly refurbished one in McKenzie which is not functioning as yet because they need generators. This concern warrants immediate attention from the Ministrygovernment and the Environmental Protection Agency, Industry, Infrastructure and Energy body. It is uncaring to treat the human remain with so mindless care; it is unhealthy to have to inhale such a stench (air pollution) and a total disgrace for the mortuary to be functioning with poor or no proper facility for human remain.I hope with this letter the relevant authorities address this concern as soon as possible. Ms. Esther Reid deceased’s wife and Ms. R.Shipley- granddaughter of deceased

DEAR EDITOR, It has always been my resolve not to respond to comments made about the Bank in the media in like manner. However, in the case of the comments by your columnist, Mr Freddy Kissoon, in your edition of Wednesday, November 25, 2015, “What is President Granger going to say to GBTI”, I am compelled to so do to offer an apology to Mr Kissoon and any member of the public who may have been offended or bothered by the advertisement placed in

your paper about our latest savings product, “The Education Savings Plan”. No offence was intended. I admit that not enough thought may have been given to the creation of the advertisement and hasten to inform that this advertisement was “pulled” forthwith when Mr. Kissoon’s comments were read. I wish also to take the opportunity to say to Mr. Kissoon that the Education Savings Plan has a flier and a brochure that are adorned with the photographs of real Guyanese children, and adults that showcase the rich

variety of our races (see attached).This being said, I now hope that attention would be focused on the elements of the Plan considered praiseworthy by the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine. John T. Tracey Chief Executive Officer GBTI

GBTI pulls inappropriate advertisement

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Berbice Bridge still to return Aeronautical fraternity gives late signed agreement for tolls lowering Veteran Pilot a hero’s welcome

The Berbice Bridge Company Inc. is still to return a signed agreement that will pave the way for lower tolls from Tuesday. Lower tolls for the Berbice Bridge were expected to be implemented by Tuesday, December 1, but the operator is still to sign and return the agreement to Government for it to become a reality. Giving an update yesterday, Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, said that a draft agreement was sent earlier this month to the Berbice Bridge Company Inc., (BBCI) to sign. It set forth the conditions where the tolls will be lowered by Tuesday and the BBCI will start accepting the $40M Government subvention. The non-receipt of the signed agreement means that for all intents and purposes, the December 1, deadline is still very much in limbo. The agreement caters for the toll for passenger cars and buses to be reduced from $2,200 to $1,900, a 13.6 percent decline, while other types of vehicles will be reduced by 10 percent. The toll reductions had been a campaign promise by the coalition and were outlined in Budget 2015. It was expected to be

implemented from September 1, 2015, but was not because negotiations between the Government and BBCI remained deadlocked. BBCI had asked the government for some extension so that it could discuss the implications of the proposals with their stakeholders. In the interim, as the commuters awaited the reduced toll, the Government had implemented river taxis to ply the Rosignol to New Amsterdam route. Minister Patterson told reporters earlier this month that between September 21 and November 7, some 62,465 persons had used the boats. Of this, 11,623 were either students or the elderly. Government has said that its efforts to reduce the Berbice Bridge toll is part of a plan to alleviate the burden of the high fare for the over 150,000 Guyanese who live within Regions Five and Six that traverse the bridge to access education and health services, conduct business and travel on a daily basis. In total, the river taxis

Clarke’s body being taken onboard the SkyTruck.

conducted over 2,800 trips across the river between September 21 and November 7. The bridge has been a sore issue for the opposition and Berbicians who have been complaining about the tolls. Built as a public/private partnership, the financing of the structure and how it ended up in the hands of a few private individuals with little say for Government, has seen the administration moving to increase its shares.

A fleet of planes departed Ogle Airport yesterday for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport to await the body of the late Veteran Pilot, Captain Alvin Winston Clarke. In what was referred to as a hero’s welcome, scores of colleagues, family members and friends formed a passage of honour as the body was taken off the Fly Jamaica flight and transferred on to the BK SkyTruck. To show respect to their fallen comrade, planes attached to several airlines parked in a straight formation on Runway Bravo as the

body was passed through the passage. After takeoff, the planes arranged themselves into an “arrow” formation in the sky. Upon arrival at Ogle, another honour passage was formed following a moment of silence before family members took possession of the body. Although the date of the funeral has not been announced, Roraima Airways announced that there will be a flyover of his body by a fleet of aircraft, as a show of respect moments before his burial. Clarke lost his battle to cancer on November 1 while

While Aeshwar Deonarine, the suspended GPL Deputy CEO, GPL remains out of the country local police investigations are moving ahead to address the issue of the $27.8M that he had paid himself as back pay. Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum yesterday said, “Investigations will go ahead. We have strategized on a certain course of action that we will take as it relates to Mr. Aeshwar Deonarine.” Blanhum said that despite the fact that the GPL, DCEO is away based on confirmations, the investigations will go ahead. The Crime Chief said that the CID is questioning persons from the GPL. Some

statements have already been obtained from those individuals. He however noted, “(Deonarine) is wanted for questioning for larceny by public officer.” Blanhum said that the CID has interviewed and taken statements from Carvil Duncan who has been cooperating fully with the police for the investigation. It is unclear what impact the police investigations will have on Duncan’s position in other entities. Last July, Government asked police to investigate two senior officials of Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) who reportedly paid themselves almost $29M

without authorization earlier this year. In deep trouble and expected to be questioned by police are Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Aeshwar Deonarine and Carvil Duncan, a prominent trade unionist who is a member of the Board of the Directors. Both were signatories on GPL’s bank accounts. Deonarine was sent on administrative leave. The disclosures were made by Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, during the Government’s post-Cabinet weekly briefings in late July. The discoveries of the suspicious transfers were made by independent

undergoing medical evaluation in Canada. He served as an officer and pilot in the Guyana Defence Force and gained “Veteran Medivac Pilot” status over the years belting more than 13,000 hours of flight time. He also served as Roraima’s Chief Pilot from April 1, 2005 up to the time of his death. At the gathering yesterday, Nigel Hughes recounted Clarke’s heroism in saving his life back in 2014 when he was struck with a medical complication at 2 pm in Aishalton Village, Region Nine.

CID wants to question former GPL Deputy CEO - says Crime Chief

auditors who were probing the PetroCaribe Fund, which hold proceeds of oil shipments taken from neighbouring Venezuela. Some of the monies were used to buy Wartsila engines for GPL, among other things. It was while tracking payments to GPL that auditors unearthed the strange transactions. Patterson had said that he was alerted by the auditors to their findings as it was felt that immediate actions were warranted. Deonarine reportedly signed off on payments to himself totaling $27.8 million. Minister David Patterson had said that there are two Deputy Chief Executive Officers in GPL- one for administration and one for operations. Deonarine is responsible for administration. He had reportedly wanted to receive the same level of pay as the then Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Technical), Colin Welch, but his approaches to the Board of Directors were rebuffed. Welch has since been appointed as CEO of the Utility Company. GPL is a state-owned entity that has been under fire for its spending and high tariffs.

Saturday November 28, 2015

Kaieteur News

ACP critical of EU blacklisting regional states BRUSSELS - CMC – Secretary General of the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP), Dr. Patrick Gomes, says moves by the European Union (EU) countries to “attack” the financial services in the Caribbean are “unjustified” and other accusations by the European Commission on the region’s financial services “are unfounded”. “What we want to see from the Caribbean and has often been pointed out by the Caribbean, the scope for the Caribbean’s EPA (Economic Partnership Agreement) to really make headway is to look at the services sector…and that means access to what is called vote for, whereby processionals from the Caribbean and also the financial services now that coming under attack by very indiscreet and not an objective assessment of referring to our text administrations as not sufficiently regularised. “Well we think that accusation coming from the European Commission is unfounded and even the OECD (Organization of Economic Corporation and Development)… and others have said those countries should not be blacklisted because it has a negative consequence on what has been done to the countries by giving them that connotation. Gomes said that the ACP is “in constant dialogue and pressing the (EU) Commission for Trade and the Commission as a whole to re-think and re-examine the basis on which that accusation has been made about the financial tax regimes, particularly in the Caribbean”. Regional countries have in the past criticised European countries that have included them on so called tax haven lists say-

Dr. Patrick Gomes ing that they have met all the conditions for operating their financial services. During the 102nd session of the ACP Council of Ministers that ended this week, the delegates passed a resolution reiterating that the conclusion and implementation of EPA between the ACP regions and the EU “must be balanced, with a view to speeding up sustainable and inclusive development of ACP countries. “The Council reaffirmed the need for additional EU resources, set up in special EPA Funds, while also increasing aid for trade financing.” The ACP noted that to date, the Caribbean region (CARIFORUM) is the only one currently implementing a full EPA with the EU, while the Southern African Development Community EPA Group, the East Africa Community, and West Africa have completed negotiations for full EPAs, to be signed and ratified by October 2016.

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CJIA probing use of BaiShanLin’s trucks in US$150M expansion project An investigation has been ordered by the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) into how several trucks belonging to a logging firm, BaiShanlin Forest Development Inc., have been working on the expansion project at Timehri. Yesterday, Ramesh Ghir, Chief Executive Officer of CJIA, said that he only learnt of the presence of the trucks after reading Kaieteur News yesterday. He has asked the consultants for a report on the matter. The runway extension is part of a bigger US$150M

project to modernize the airport to allow for bigger planes to land. Last year, the then Government of Guyana hired Canadian supervising firm, MMM Group in association with locally-based Caribbean Engineering and Management Consultants (CEMCO), to manage the runway part of the project. The consultants were to be paid US$5.9M. There would be questions if it was the responsibility of the consultants to determine whether BaiShanLin should have been allowed to truck sand for the runway project.

The issue was raised this week when several local truck operators complained that they saw no tenders by the Government or CJIA that they wanted trucks to transport materials to the site. What also have the operators angry is that BaiShanLin is a logging company that was granted hundreds of millions of dollars in duty free concessions to bring in trucks and other heavy equipment, specifically for use in the forestry activities. BaiShanLin would have had to seek permission for the duty free import under its in-

vestment agreement signed with the government. Using the trucks at CJIA would have been highly illegal and a breach of the agreement. A visit to the area on Thursday found several of BaiShanLin’s trucks in the compound of China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) south of the main runway at CJIA where works are ongoing. There was evidence that crude attempts had been made to cover up the logo of BaiShanLin on a number of trucks. Some of the logos were painted over while oth-

ers were covered by white plastic. However, the registrations were still in BaiShanLin’s name. CHEC officials were unwilling to talk about it and instead summoned an armed guard to demand that the reporters vacate the area. Workers confirmed that BaiShanLin has been hired to transport sand for the runway extension and has been on site for several months now. In addition to trucks, it appeared that BaiShanLin’s heavy equipment is on site as well, but with little identifying marks, it was hard to tell. This particular timber company is in deep trouble with Government for failing to construct a wood processing facility in Region Ten, despite significant reports of timber harvesting and an unknown amount in log exports. The establishment has been here almost a decade and has been granted hundreds of millions of dollars in tax and duty free concessions. The duty free concessions were for trucks, skidders, excavators and other equipment to be used specifically for BaiShanLin’s activities in their logging concessions. The duty free concessions had been a hot topic of interest for Guyana, and for the current Government, which while in Opposition

CJIA’s CEO, Ramesh Ghir prior to the May 11 general elections, spoke vehemently about it. As a matter of fact, the contract signed between the Government of Guyana and CHEC, and dated November 2011, placed the provision of sand as a responsibility of the Government of Guyana. CHEC also agreed to use local nationals and make sure the proportion of the Chinese labour and the local nationals will not be less than the ratio of 6:4, except for special skills. In the meantime, BaiShanLin has ventured into the gold mining sector, concrete mixing and rental of its barges.

Two of BaiShanLin’s trucks at the Timehri’s compound of CHEC.

Brazil to sue BHP, Vale for $5 billion in damages for dam burst BRASILIA (Reuters) Brazil’s federal and state governments plan to sue the owners of the Samarco iron ore miner for 20 billion reais ($5.24 billion) in damages caused by the burst of a tailings pond dam, Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira told reporters yesterday. Samarco is a joint venture between the world’s largest mining company,

BHP Billiton Ltd, and the biggest iron ore miner, Vale SA. The dam burst earlier this month, unleashing 60 million cubic meters of mud and mine waste that devastated a village, killed at least 13 people and polluted a major river. Teixeira said the suit will be filed on Monday. The proceeds will be used for environmental cleanup in the Rio Doce valley.

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Kaieteur News

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LOCAL GOVT. ELECTIONS MAY NOT BE HELD NEXT YEAR! If as anticipated there is a constitutional challenge to our local government laws and if as anticipated this challenge is upheld, it could very well see the cancellation of local government elections. That aside, there are major problems involved in the holding of local government elections (LGE). Firstly there is a new electoral system in place that people know very little about. There needs to be a prolonged public relations campaign throughout the country to educate the public about this system. This will cost a great deal of money. The holding of the LGE proper will also cost a few

billion dollars. It is left to be seen whether the money can be found for both next year given the fact that the economy is now confirmed to be in a tailspin with very little answers coming from the government. Secondly, the present electoral system makes a mockery of the system of people electing their own representatives. In Georgetown for example, the largest municipality, the number of constituency seats are far too small considering the number of wards that there are in the city. Some persons will be contesting to be the representative for as much as

three wards. This is bare nonsense. Where there is a settled geographic or demographic formation, that formation should constitute a constituency. In the case of Georgetown, each ward should elect its own representative. In a previous column I expressed the view that the PPP can win and take over the Georgetown municipality since it has a very good chance of winning at least seven of the constituent seats and with the additional seats that it can gain from its proportion of the total votes cast, it could end up with the most seats. That position now has to be rectified in light of the fact the

Dem boys seh...

Guyana get an exchange There is an old saying fair exchange is no robbery. People might not understand wha dem saying but dem want to give an example. A man and a woman watch one another eye to eye, have a discussion and come together at somewhere private. That is fair exchange and no robbery. De Pee Pee Pee was in govt fuh 23 years and dem thief lef, right and centre. Dem thief so much that even dem great, great, great grand pickney would have a great life wid de wealth. Dem boys nah certain bout dem health. De same Opposition wha now deh in govt, did tell de nation that. That is why de nation remove de Pee Pee Pee and put dem in. Dem boys notice dem actions and dem words and conclude that de people of Guyana ain’t get no change, but an exchange. Scampishness, skullduggery and lack of transparency is de name of de game today. For example, NICIL, tek that institution wha do de gods wid de Guyanese people property, money and assets. When this new

govt was in de opposition dem proppa cuss NICIL, Brassington and Marcie. Dem tell de nation as soon as dem go in power dem gun shut down NICIL and lock up all dem who was in charge. Today, a few months in office dem seh dem have to keep NICIL, no matter what. Dem see de sweetness. Dem thought GuySuCo had sugar but when dem see NICIL and what it can do fuh dem and dem great, great, great grand children, dem hug it as if dem hugging a Barbie doll. Dem boys surprise Hay Heff See ain’t say nutten and Rum Jattan was one of de fierce critics. He use to talk till foam come out he mouth. De papers never use to have fuh how much he use to talk. Now he phone answering fuh he. Is de same thing wid Li’l Joe. He talk till he dribble when he was in opposition. Now he got to go to a special school fuh learn fuh talk again. Dem boys plan to talk plenty more things and hot up dem Christmas. Talk half and watch how people does change overnight.

AFC will be part of a coalition with APNU to contest next year’s LGE. Now this tilts the balance against the PPP in Georgetown but do not rule out Mark Benschop as yet. He is very much liked by the grassroots people and in an election where the stakes are far less high than in general elections, he can end up making a surprise in the same way as Hamilton Green upset PNC’s candidate in the last municipal elections in Guyana. The PPP should, outside of Georgetown, dominate the elections. It has always been strong in the rural areas and the present system is tailor- made for the party in these areas. The AFC should have considered participating by itself in some areas so as to undercut the support of the PPP while in other areas, such as in Georgetown, it should have considered contesting as a coalition with APNU. Such a strategy would have been also in the interest of the AFC since it would have been killing two birds with one stone. On one hand it would have been part of a joint opposition plan to deny the PPP control of some

NDCs and municipalities – Rose Hall, for example, is a toss-up. On the other hand, it could have used the opportunity to build support with traditional PPP constituencies thereby further emphasizing its value to the coalition. A blanket decision to not go it alone is therefore not a wellconsidered decision. The AFC should contest alone where if contesting will definitely deny the PPP victory and should contest as part of the coalition where that will be needed to also deny the PPP victories. The biggest challenge in these elections will be to get the interest of the young people. The young people who voted for the new government in May of this year will be disappointed at what they have seen over the last six months and it will be hard to get them to turn out to vote much less run as candidates.

There are too many old people at the top of the government machinery and to ask young people to fill the local government positions will be interpreted as undervaluing their contributions. Young people are therefore likely to vote with their feet — by staying away from the polls in large numbers. The other most interesting development will be the future of the old guard of the PNC. They have been shunted aside in the makeup of the new government. LGE will decide whether they survive or not and whether the PNCR is finally converted into a veterans’ party.

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Saturday November 28, 2015

== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ==

…but mommy, why the song and not the singer? Over sixty percent of this nation is under thirty-five years of age. That, by international standards, is a pretty young nation. Over seventy percent of that figure does not know some of the great names that have contributed to the contemporary shape of Guyana. You ask seventy percent of the Guyanese people if they know a Guyanese singer by the name of Johnny Braff; my guess is they would be nonplussed. In the sixties, he was a famous singer that contributed largely to the resuscitation of pop music in Guyana. If you are to examine our historical contributors, they will run into hundreds. Therefore, the Mayor and City Council cannot arrogate to itself the right to name streets, roadways and places without consulting a wide crosssection of the Guyanese society. The Council must invite suggestions. The scope should be wide. Included must be the major political parties – PPP, PNC, AFC; NGOs, women groups,

youth groups. Other stakeholders should include the business community, trade union movement and educational institutions like the University of Guyana. The format should not be the submission of names to the Council and leave it to them to accept. There must be broad-based discussions on the persons to be honoured. I don’t want to submit Eusi Kwayana then the committee at City Hall discards his name. My point is that the decision must not rest exclusively with the Mayor and City Council. It has been announced that Orange Walk is to be given a new identity – Electric Avenue – after one of Eddy Grant’s most famous songs. Why the song and not the man? When people walk on that road, they will ask who is Eddy Grant and you will say the first international superstar in the entertainment field that Guyana produced. That sounds far better than Electric Avenue. One can well imagine, a child asking her

mother fifty years from now why is it called Electric Avenue. The mother tells her it came about after a world famous song by a Guyanese singer. The child may ask why not the singer, why the song? Really! Who came up with Electric Avenue? In fact, “Gimme Hope Joanna” was a bigger Grant hit than Electric Avenue The naming of streets and buildings make the personality live forever, therefore it is no small matter, and the people of Guyana must make sure that the City Council accepts other choices than their own. Generations to come will know there was a President that was assassinated named John F. Kennedy, because one of the busiest airports in the world is named after him. The central airport in France pays honour to President Charles de Gaulle. Generations of Jamaicans to come will know who Bob Marley was because there is a Bob Marley Avenue. It would be a great loss to this nation if in the coming months Guyanese

organizations do not demand their right to participate. The categories should be social activities, politics, business, education, culture, sports, civic spheres, agriculture, the security sector, local government, entertainment, media, law, medicine, human rights, arts/ literature/music, nursing, hinterland development, presidential figures among other classifications. I would like to pick Eusi Kwayana for the category of politics, culture, social activities, education and human rights. Eusi Kwayana has left a huge legacy in this land. There is no way there could be space in a newspaper column to outline the prodigious history of this man and his service to the Guyanese people I would suggest the National Park be named after

Forbes Burnham than the Botanical Gardens. The Gardens were there long before Burnham wore long pants. And there is no philosophical connection with him and the Gardens. It is an entirely different story with the National Park. Burnham birthed this phenomenal landscape that perhaps sees more visitors than the Botanical Gardens and hosts far more activities than the Gardens. Desmond Hoyte must be celebrated in a big way that goes beyond attaching his name to a street. Hoyte was one of the Third World’s bravest governmental leaders who proved that post-colonial societies can embrace democracy. Apart from Yesu Persaud, Clive Thomas, Dave Martins and Ron Robinson who have been selected, and those who

Frederick Kissoon already have places named after them like Dr. Ptolemy Reid, I can think of Dr. Josh Ramsammy, Dr. David Hinds, Peter D’Aguiar, Father Andrew Morrison, Father Malcolm Rodrigues, Shridath Ramphal, Carl Hooper, Hamilton Green, Janet Jagan, Boysie Ramkarran, Professor Dennis Irvine, Laurie Lewis, Moses Nagamootoo. Dr. Leslie Mootoo. Places to be renamed should include the National Library and certain schools. Why Christ Church Secondary and not Carl Hooper Secondary? More on this in a later column.

Mother of two accused of burglarizing home

It doesn’t pay to be greedy. Yesterday an unemployed woman was placed before City Magistrate Fabayo Azore, after it was alleged that she broke into the dwelling house of Lord Apiah, of Herstelling, East Bank Demerara and stole a gun with matching ammunition. The woman, Latoya Needleman, 20, who hails from D’Urban Street, Lodge, Georgetown is accused of breaking and entering the dwelling house between October 12 and October 13. The court heard that the woman stole one .32 Revolver; seven .32 rounds of ammunition; two Gold rings; two cell phones; one Apple Tab; three Laptops; three wrist watches and one pair of spectacles. The items carry a total value of $1,752,000. Needleman, who had no

- released on $150,000 bail

Latoya Needleman lawyer, pleaded not guilty to the charge and was granted a $150,000 bail. Police Corporal Simone Payne presented the prosecution’s case and objected to the defendant been granted pre-trail liberty. The prosecutor argued that

bail should be refused based on the seriousness and prevalence of the offence. However her objection was over-ruled by the Magistrate. The mother of two is expected to return to court on December 7, before the Chief Magistrate.

Saturday November 28, 2015

Kaieteur News

Committee set up to review legality of radio licences By Abena Rockcliffe The Board of the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) has set up a special committee to review all issues relating to broadcasting licences as well as examine the validity of some licences. Head of the Authority, Leonard Craig, told Kaieteur News yesterday that the Board had already discussed licences, but did not look into them in detail. He said that the Board recently made the decision to set up a sub committee which is mandated to submit a report on Thursday, December 10. That committee is chaired by veteran broadcaster, Anthony Vieira. The committee is expected to recommend to the Board, which broadcasting licences definitely need to be revoked and those that need further review. However, the final decision lies with the Board. Craig said that the issues relating to broadcasting licences are taking priority for the Board along with some internal management issues. When contacted, Vieira gave Kaieteur News further details as to what is expected of the committee. He said that it has on its agenda a task to look, in-depth, at the entire fee structure. Vieira said that the fee has to be adjusted reasonably so that it can be in harmony with the different classes of licences. He explained that the fee attached to a class of licence for a Broadcasting station operating in Georgetown should not be the same as one operating in New Amsterdam. The committee Chairman listed the four classes of licences - primary, secondary, tertiary and community. He said that licences to

Anthony Vieira operate in Georgetown will be classified in a Primary class as the capital is definitely the largest zone for income. Meanwhile, someone who wants to operate in the town of New Amsterdam will need a Secondary licence and a broadcaster who wants to operate in Linden or Lethem will need a tertiary licence. A broadcaster seeking to operate out of Mahaicony will need a community class licence. Vieira explained that the Broadcasting Act 2011 stipulates such a system so that different licences will attract different fees. “A licence to operate in Georgetown should not attract the same price as one in Mahaicony, that’s just wrong,” said Vieira. The Chairman pointed out that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) administration never bothered to ensure such systems were in place, even though it is mandated by the Broadcasting Act. The said Act also mandates the Authority to carry out surveys and investigations of broadcasters’ income, so as to set a fair broadcasting fee. Therefore, it should not be an across the board fee. Vieira said that because he

is a broadcaster and he is chairing the committee, no investigations will be carried out by that committee. He, like Craig, said that the committee will look at all radio licences distributed by former President Bharrat Jagdeo before he left office, with an eye to determine whether they were legally granted or not. That committee will also look at the $2.5M radio licence fee and review applications for licences that were ignored during the reign of the PPP. Bharrat Jagdeo, before ending his two terms in office in 2011, approved several radio and cable television licences for mainly friends and his party members. In so doing, he sidelined applications from several prominent media houses including Kaieteur News, Stabroek News, Capitol News, HBTV Channel Nine and CNS Channel Six. This was despite a standing agreement for no new licences until new broadcasting regulations and the GNBA were in place. Jagdeo’s best friend, Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, received one with multiple frequencies. Also receiving a similar number of frequencies was The Mirror, a newspaper which belongs to the ruling party and Telcor, a company with close links to the then Natural Resources Minister, Robert Persaud. The disclosures of the licences, which also included approval for two cable TV operations, sparked court cases and several days of protests, as well as local and international condemnation. Craig, during a previous interview, had told Kaieteur News that he will also address outstanding radio applications. This was confirmed by Vieira.

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Counsellors needed to help UG students with “mental” frustration – UGSS President There are stages in life that persons can feel that they are under tremendous pressure. This can especially be true for students during university life, according to President of the University of Guyana Students’ Society (UGSS), Joshua Griffith. “Students at this point of their lives can come under a lot of pressure; they have a lot of responsibilities and have to make a lot of choices...Sometimes they need someone to talk to and someone to counsel and to guide them,” Griffith observed during an interview with this publication. He reflected on a time when the University of Guyana (UG) had a Counsellor who catered to such needs. But the availability of a Counsellor at the tertiary institution is currently non-existence. “I have heard many calls at various administrative meetings to have a Counsellor reinstated. However, this is not taking place,” lamented Griffith. According to him, the resulting situation is that students have been opting to turn to lecturers and even the Students’ Society for counselling. “Sometimes I do counselling...they (students) also go to the various religious societies and they get access to counselling there too and that alleviates the problem a bit, but the University definitely needs to consider seriously the mental frustration, the psychological issues that students face and provide a service to assist in that regard. That is a basic service that the University should provide,” asserted Griffith. As such he noted that the need for a University counsellor cannot be emphasized enough thus “we call on the University of

UGSS President, Joshua Griffith Guyana Administration to ensure a minimum of two counsellors are hired for both the Turkeyen campus and Berbice Campus.” The issue of mental health is one that has been gaining increasing attention of recent in multiple sectors. Among the 7,000 odd student population at the University there many manifesting mental health related problems, Griffith disclosed. But according to him, while this mental health issue is one of grave concern there are numerous others that are yet affecting the UG student population. He pointed out that “as Student President I have been in touch with the experiences and feelings of the students of the University of Guyana at both its campuses. My every action has been in solidarity with students as we seek to have a good quality education,” Griffith asserted.

He disclosed that the UG Administration has reneged on many of its promises to the UGSS over the years and by extension the students of the University that “we are now very wary of any promises made and we now prefer commitments in writing followed up by speedy action.” He added too that “it is sad when students are treated as invisible, and nobody wants to listen to students in a meaningful way. This then force students to express themselves in alternative ways,” he observed. “I have even observed a practice of manipulation by central administration into the affairs of committees. As such committees have been disemboweled and have become like a dentist’s nightmare - toothless, a mere formal gathering of academics for the sake of discussion,” added Griffith. Furthermore, he noted that the University must take seriously the matter of continuity within its organizational structure, as too often when absence or leave is taken by its members a void is created which significantly hinders progress. “Education means a lot to the average Guyanese, some whom may be the first in their families to qualify,” asserted Griffith even as he turned his attention to the role of Government in helping to improve every aspect of the delivery of education. “If the Government does not focus on education, it means they are not serious about the future,” stressed the UGSS President.

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Kaieteur News

Saturday November 28, 2015

CJIA hosts biennial exercise to test Police ups crime fight on CG bikes, tinted vehicles - Crime chief emergency response capabilities

Members of the Guyana Defence Force during a demonstration exercise at the biennial emergency training, held recently at CJIA. A biennial emergency exercise was held at Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) on Wednesday to test the airport’s ability to handle a plane crash scenario. By the end of the one-anda-half hour exercise, CJIA demonstrated successfully its capabilities in responding to and then securing the crash site. More than 200 representatives from 11 Government departments and organisations took part, with 35 playing the role of passengers and six as crew members. The exercise began at midday when a notional flight had a hard landing on the main runway. The landing resulted in the aircraft veering to the left of the runway, triggering an explosion. The air traffic control tower witnessed the accident and immediately activated the crash alarm, alerting relevant parties. The Airport Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) was also activated to facilitate communications and effective coordination. A total of 39 simulated injuries and two deaths were reported. As part of the airport’s medical response procedures, the injured were

sent to Diamond and Georgetown Public hospitals. Passengers and crew members were taken to a Care Centre located at a hangar at the airport. Responding agencies were CJIA, the Guyana Defence Force, Guyana Police Force, Airport Fire Service, Customs and Immigration, Airport Security Unit, Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, Diamond Diagnostic Centre, Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, Airport Operators/Airlines, the Civil Defence Commission and Port Health. David Patterson, Minister of Public Infrastructure, witnessed the exercise and was impressed with what he saw. “Such an exercise provides a valuable opportunity for the whole airport community to test their readiness during an emergency. I must commend the stakeholders for their active participation, together with the lessons and experience gained today, will help us refine our contingency measures and better prepare us for future challenges,” he stated. Marco Farure, Supervisor of COPA Airlines gave the

exercise a positive grade. According to him, it was evident that the agencies were prepared. We can’t expect perfection in a drill, but I am very satisfied that the airport has systems in place if we had a crash,” he added. Similar sentiments were expressed by Gregory Wickham, Timehri Fire Station’s Divisional Officer (Operations) and Ian Amsterdam, Deputy Commander of ‘A’ Division. Both were pleased with the response time to douse the flames and the security measures implemented. The emergency is crucial to analyze the effectiveness of the airport community, Government departments and relevant organisations, in dealing with aircraft accidents, and to practice their intra- and inter-organisational emergency responses and communications. “Safety is the airport’s top priority at all times,” said Ramesh Ghir, the airport’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO). “At CJIAC, we promote this by establishing guidelines, best practices, staff training, promotional campaigns and performance targets for the whole airport community.”

Ann’s Grove Housing Scheme to get water service for the first time - GWI After 12 years without potable water supply the Ann’s Grove Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara housing development may soon have that needed utility supplied. Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), Chief Executive, Dr. Richard Van West-Charles, at a community meeting organized by residents of Ann’s Grove on November 19, outlined a programme which will result in residents of the 500 households receiving water for the first

time. Speaking to residents in the presence of GWI officials, Dr. Van West-Charles stated that he was concerned about the lack of water within the community particularly with the number of households with large families residing in the housing scheme. “Our mandate is to ensure that every citizen of this country has access to safe water,” stated the GWI Chief Executive. He also noted GWI’s plans to assist the low income

families in Ann’s Grove. “GWI is offering a flexible payment contract so that families can afford to pay for the new service connections r e q u i r e d to provide the community with water service.” Representatives of the community also offered to partner with the Guyana Water Inc. to assist with the labour needed to install the distribution network including the laying of pipelines and the installation of distribution and transmission mains.

In the face of many robberies being perpetuated by bandits using CG motorbikes for easy transport to and from crime scenes, the police have taken a decision to launch a campaign against CG bikes, tinted vehicles and bicycles. Noting that the bikes are easy to maneuver through the congested city, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum said, yesterday, “Is not only CG bikes, but we are looking at those tinted vehicles and also bicycles, as we have quite a number of perpetrators using bicycles to commit robberies.” The campaign that is already in effect is yielding results, the Crime Chief assured, stating that over the past week, perpetrators have opted to not use motorbikes to access locations as they are already aware of the current posture of the force. “We will continue with that posture even as we are zooming in on those CG motor

cycles, bicycles and also motor cars with tint.” This is in addition to road blocks that are being established at strategic points where police will be stopping and searching persons including persons in minibuses. “The amount of robberies has increased whereby passengers were robbed while using transportation.” Dealing with the issue of tint, efforts are ongoing within the force to address the issue of ranks owning and operating vehicles with tint. In fact, a junior officer was placed before the court by a senior officer for his vehicle having tint, and as that matter continues to engage the courts Blanhum said, “All senior officers are tasked with the duty to address persons driving into the police compound or around the police premises with tinted vehicles. The tints must be removed.” On the subject of CCTV use in crime solving locally,

the Crime Chief said the force is already reaping benefits from them. “We have had a number of cases where we were able to confront suspects with the images and positively identify them, and their cases are before the court.” Recently we were able to solve a murder in Festival City using the CCTV footage. The killer was shown the footage and he positively identified himself. That evidence will be used in the court. “The CCTV has been very beneficial, Blanhum said. Very soon the police force will be launching the safe street smart city CCTV image initiative whereby, all the areas within the city of Georgetown will have cameras supported by an emergency operation center. “That center would house persons from the Ministry of Health, the Police Force and the Fire Service whose mandate would be to respond to emergencies.”

Zorg shopkeeper shot after fighting robbers

Zorg businessman Fizul Mohamed, who was attacked and robbed of his gold jewellery on Wednesday night at his home, is nursing a gunshot wound below his left knee. Doctors have since performed an emergency operation on the 55-year-old. The bullet was removed and Mohamed is recovering at the Suddie Public Hospital. Mohamed told this newspaper that he can identify the gun-toting bandits. The men stole one 45- pennyweight gold chain and an 18-pennyweight gold band. One of Mohamed’s neighbours, a woman, said that she was viewing television when she was startled by repeated gunshots. According to the woman, at first she thought it was squibs (firecrackers) but after the sound was consistent, she decided to take cover. The woman said that her daughter had already opened a glass door and was making her way onto the verandah when she told her not to venture outside. “My daughter pulled the glass door to peep at what was going on, but I told her to join me, so we ran to the back of the house and hide.” The woman said that she learnt that the men passed by Mohamed’s house repeatedly before launching their attack. In the aftermath, Mohamed’s neighbour and her daughter came out from hiding and proceeded over to

Shot: Fizul Mohammed the shopkeeper’s premises to listen to what had transpired. The victim had by then been transported to the Suddie Public Hospital. The police launched an intensive search which led to the arrest of the two men, but neither the jewellery nor the gun was recovered.Mohamed said that he can recognize the men, one of whom carried a shotgun. The injured man said that the men approached him while he was sitting on a bench in front of his shop. He said the man without a gun had on a cap and a handkerchief wrapped around his face. Mohamed said the one

who carried the shotgun first discharged three shots in the air before shooting him. Mohamed said that he wrestled with the bandits, who attacked him, and was able to prevent the men from attacking his wife who was in the shop, by raising an alarm. “I holler for her and she managed to close the shop before the men could have entered.” Commander of “ G” Division, Kevin Adonis said charges are likely to be instituted against the men as early as Monday. (Yannason Duncan)

Saturday November 28, 2015

Kaieteur News

Car torched in early morning arson attack

The burnt car outside the Meadowbrook residence. A Meadowbrook man is now contemplating his next move after his car was set on fire earlier this week. In what appears to be an act of arson, the interior of motor car HB 5075 was destroyed in the wee hours of Monday last. The owner of the vehicle, Shawn Bishop, told his publication yesterday that it was a deliberate act to cause damage since based on video footage presented to him, the perpetrator was caught making several attempts to set fire to the vehicle. “I was sleeping around 4:30 the morning when I heard my neighbour shouting. When I looked outside I saw the fire, I began bailing water to out the fire (gesturing to a trench adjacent to his home),” Bishop said. Based on footage provided by a source, who requested anonymity, the perpetrator was seen fleeing the scene after the car went up in flames. According to Bishop,

the matter was reported to La Penitence Police Station but was subsequently referred to a forensic team that conducted the preliminary investigation. However, no one was arrested but samples were taken to determine the agent that was used to cause the blaze. Upon inspection, the window on the driver’s side was missing but was replaced by what seemed like a piece of plastic. Bishop pointed out that the perpetrator might have used that opening to hurl the substance in the car. Bishop also lamented that the lack of street lights and the role it would have played in either indentifying the suspect or deterring the crime entirely. “There should be street lights. I heard that they don’t have money to install street lights, but lights play an import role… Then the police patrols should be more covert in their rounds. Obviously if the perps see a police van coming they will make their escape. “ he said.

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Saturday November 28, 2015

Kaieteur News

CID Gets $5m IT donation from US-based Guyanese group

Police Commissioner (Ag) Balram Persaud tries out one of the computer systems

Crime fighting in Guyana is about to be moved to the next level technologically through the generosity of the US-based Guyana-owned Zara Realty. To assist the Guyana Police Force in its duties to serve and protect, computers and information technology equipment worth $5M were handed over to the Criminal Investigations Department Headquarters Registry from the group’s Vice President, Jay Sobhraj.

Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum, at the handing over c e r e m o n y, d u b b e d t h e initiative as one that will alleviate the burden of ranks having to file a lot of paper work and files being strewn all over the place.” He also noted that aside from computer systems the project entailed the refurbishing of the Registry office and thanked the donors for the furniture. He said that through the Zara group, policing in Guyana is further developed. There has been a number of donations of computers and related items to other divisions. “The Police Force is grateful that beyond criticism, it has been offered tangible solutions to crime fighting and crime solving.” Jay Sobhraj a Director of the Zara group, in making the presentation s a i d t h e e ff o r t i s a collective one aimed at making things more advanced for data collection and filing and he encouraged maintenance as the key or the systems will become useless. “What we are doing here today is creating a situation where information on persons is updated and easily accessed by police for more effective crime fighting through easy access to records but its just one of our many centers to also foster a relationship between the police and the public.” He also encouraged the police to adopt a police activity lane project to help children through the center, and to help the community. “We are giving tools to be put to work to make the future better.” Naresh Singh, New York based IT consultant affiliate with the Zara group said the project is a tangible support offer of over $5m of not just hardware but consulting, implementing and installing as well as furniture and room renovation.

The equipment handed over included eight desktop computers, two network printers, a server, network switches and cable infrastructure. He noted that there are three other computer centers plus libraries at the three police colleges. All told the ZARA group has donated more than 100 computer systems over a period of time. “It’s because it’s an effort to give communities opportunities while giving the Guyana Police Force technological resources to assist in crime solving while building relationships,” Singh noted. He also assisted the force in setting up the room and even trained staffers. He said that despite the negatives associated with being a police there is a light at the end of every tunnel. The idea for the project he said was birthed on November 14 during consultations to raise funds for those who lost their lives in the line of duty. He said he saw the room previously and it was chaotic for the ranks and the Crime Chief. Singh also noted that while others only see it fit to complain about the negatives of the police force his group decided to rise above in the hope that others will follow in the same line. “Giving computers was not enough, work flow system is important, I want solutions not only complaints. We need to move the negativity aside and work with the police because crime is not just a police problem but a general issue that consumes us all.” He encouraged Guyanese to be optimistic as he is and get on-board to help in crime fighting through positive contributions. “Criticism is good but it is time for us to be positive and offer solutions. He has introduced the force crime fighting leadership as part of the project to sophisticated software that will give real time information.” He also noted that the department has a far way to go (Continued on page 18)

Saturday November 28, 2015

Kaieteur News

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One dead...

Tacoma driver looks at victims, speeds off A 17-year-old motorcyclist is the country’s latest reported road fatality. Travis Bollers, of Princes Street, Wortmanville, died around 1:00 hr yesterday at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) after he was struck by a motor vehicle on Sheriff and Pike Streets, Georgetown. The accident occurred at 23:30 hrs on Thursday. A c c o r d i n g t o information received, Bollers, the rider of the motorcycle, was on Pike Street, about to cross onto Sheriff Street when a speeding Tacoma turned into Pike Street and struck the teen and a pillion rider off the bike. The Princes Street teenager, who was patiently waiting to join the Guyana Defence Force in January, was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident- this resulted in him sustaining multiple head injuries. The pillion rider, who was the teen’s cousin, escaped with a few scratches. Bollers’ brother, Eon, said that there was a hole in his sibling’s head from

Dead: Travis Bollers which his brain could have been seen protruding from his skull. The young man was rushed to the GPHC where he later succumbed to his injuries. The driver of the vehicle that struck Bollers drove away from the scene. From eyewitness reports, the driver, after hitting the duo off the bike, came out of the vehicle and looked at the two persons as they lay on the road. He then boarded his vehicle and reportedly drove away. According to Eon Bollers, his sibling and cousin were returning home

from Plaisance, East Coast Demerara (ECD) when the accident occurred. The dead teen’s relatives are pleading with the public to come forward if they have any information relating to this accident. The police are also hunting for the driver of the Tacoma. With just three more days remaining, November 2015 has turned out to be the deadliest month for road users. Statistics acquired from the Police Traffic Department showed that there were 16 deaths in just 27 days in November, which is designated Road Safety Month. With 14 deaths, February, May and July have reported the second most road deaths. According to figures acquired by this newspaper, there were five deaths in January; 10 in March, seven in April; eight in August; 10 in September and six in October. The drivers, in most of the accidents, were killed and according to a traffic officer, this is as a result of drivers being under the influence of alcohol or speeding

on the country’s roadways. On Thursday, three persons were killed in separate road accidents. Forty-year-old Shermon Harper of Seafield Village, West Coast Berbice was killed when he tried to cross the Rising Sun Public Road on his bicycle and was struck by a motorcar.

The impact of the accident damaged the man’s body-- his hand and shoulder ended up inside the car while one foot was also severed and ended on the opposite side of the road. At Coverden, East Bank Demerara (EBD) 49-yearold Roshini Dourga and her uncle, George Madhulall

were killed in a head-on collision on the EBD Public Road when one of the drivers allegedly fell asleep and ended up in the path of the oncoming traffic. Robert Dourga, R o s h i n i ’s h u s b a n d , i s hospitalized at the GPHC. He was the driver of the car they were travelling in.

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Kaieteur News

‘USA Today’ to highlight Guyana’s future plans in May 26 edition

Pablo Dabrio, Project Editor from United World, speaking with Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson yesterday.

M

inister of P u b l i c Infrastructure yesterday met with a representative from United

World, an international communication agency that is currently developing a socio-economic report on Guyana. This report is set to

be published as a special supplement in USA Today, a national American daily n e w s p a p e r, a n d w i l l commemorate Guyana’s

50th Independence Anniversary. The newspaper is one of the most widely read in the US. Pablo Dabrio, Project Editor from United World, paid a visit to Minister Patterson and sat down for a chat in the main boardroom of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI). During the engagement, MPI disclosed yesterday, the two discussed Guyana’s

development and the role the ministry plays in the nation’s future. MPI, one of Guyana’s largest ministries, will receive a full page in the report. During the discussion with Dabrio, Minister Patterson shared some of MPI’s plans, including the creation of deep water harbours; the upgrade of the maritime section; the addition of new vessels to ply interior routes; and the maximisation of Guyana’s use of renewable energy. “Dabrio expressed particular interest in the ministry’s plans to connect the rest of the country with the hinterland regions; the MPI’s strategy to access a cheap source of energy; Guyana’s oil and gas potential; and the fostering of private public partnerships.” Minister Patterson, MPI said, stressed that the main objective of the Ministry is to create a “fresh approach” to unlock a brighter future for Guyana. He shared that the Guyana Government will be focused on opening the c o u n t r y, n o t o n l y t o Guyanese, but to the wider world. When questioned by Dabrio, specifically on opening Guyana to US investors, Minister Patterson expressed enthusiasm at the prospect. “Guyana is a place for opportunities and is certainly a place to invest,” Minister Patterson said. “If investors

were to come to this side of the hemisphere, then Guyana is the place to come.” He added that Government will strive towards removing encumbrances which stymie development. Meanwhile, Dabrio, who has been in Guyana for about six weeks, indicated that there were “many reasons” why Guyana was chosen to be featured by United World. He explained that the nation caught the attention of the international community when there was a change in administration after more than two decades. Noting the “fresh approach” view being held by many, Dabrio said that his team wanted to portray how the new Guyana Government is “changing the course of Guyana”. He said too that it was felt that Guyana was a nation which needed to be highlighted to the general American public. The special report on Guyana is set to be released on May 26, 2016 - the date of observance for Guyana’s 50th independence anniversary. Dabrio shared that he has already spoken with a number of Government ministers as well as President David Granger. Pic filed as UW-meeting Caption: Pablo Dabrio, Project Editor from United World, speaking with Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson yesterday.

CID Gets $5m IT... From page 14 still but has installed eyesight software that will help with police clearance and records. The integrated systems help to follow cases from beginning to end. We are giving solutions to solve problems. In less than a week they can have this system running. Acting Police Commissioner, Balram Persaud, was full of praises for the support that the Zara group has given to make the work of the force more efficient and effective. Zara in realty has moved the police force ahead in IT moving this unit from pen and paper to being more IT oriented which makes work less stressful. “They have given and are seeking no personal returns. If we had one more company like Zara we would have been even further.”

Commissioner Persaud noted the Guyana Police Force is a very hazardous job. No one knows the daily experiences of a police and the risks involved in the execution of duties. There are some police who have given the ultimate sacrifice of their lives yet the organization still comes under scrutiny which is in most cases unwarranted. The help given will promote a better image and a better service, Persaud said, while he encouraged ranks present to keep it tight and do what we have to do within the law and ensure that peace and stability remain in this land. “We must show Zara that we are grateful and worthy of the help given. Your initiatives will be maintained and look forward to partnerships.” (Mondale Smith)

Saturday November 28, 2015

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Amerindian Development Fund projects to be restructured The Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs will be restructuring the implementation process of projects under the Amerindian Development Fund (ADF), to ensure that persons are sensitised about the projects, and are provided adequate training to ensure transparency and accountability. This was explained by Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Sydney Allicock, during an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA). He expressed dissatisfaction with the way the projects were being implemented. “When this fund was made available, while it was a good initiative, the mechanism was not in place to allow full benefit out of the funds spent because onto now, we have not had anyone with a certificate to say they are trained. The training was a one or two-day training which did not gear persons enough of what the funding was about,” Minister

Allicock explained. During Phase l of the Community Development Plans (CDP), funded t h r o u g h t h e A D F, 2 7 communities were selected. However, 26 received disbursements to implement their respective CDPs. Projects executed during this pilot stage included farming, agro-processing, aquaculture, poultry and cattle rearing, mining, village infrastructure including construction of village office and multipurpose building, village shop and museum, and transportation and tourism. However, when the

- Minister Allicock Coalition Government took office, it was observed that some of these ventures were not successful. “Some of these ideas are useful, but because of the lack of proper management, the lack of accountability and transparency, we ended up in those situations. We are talking to the new Councils. We will look at these projects, examine them, fix what can be fixed and move forward. It is a lot of time and money spent and we can’t just give up on something

without properly investigating,” Minister Allicock emphasised. T h e M i n i s t r y, i n collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is in the process of implementing Phase II of the ADF Project. The Ministry is also

reviewing community proposals, after which training will be conducted. Communities will also be sensitised about the project, what it entails, and what is expected of them. The project aims to strengthen entrepreneurial and institutional capacities of the village economy of Amerindian Communities/ Villages, improve linkages with the private sector to further develop value chains

Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock and strengthen institutional frameworks to support local economies.

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Chinese companies urged to uphold Guyanese labour laws

Minister Simona Broomes Junior Social Protection Minister, Simona Broomes, yesterday reminded six Chinese companies to adhere to Guyana’s labour laws and to respect their employees. Broomes advised the companies that even though the Government of Guyana welcomes them, they should respect the country’s labour

laws. She made this declaration at the Movie Town Project site, Rupert Craig Highway during a meeting with the six companies and the Association of Chinese Enterprises in Guyana (ACEG). “This government is not Chinese-anti. We embrace you and welcome you. We want to work with you,” she said, adding that she was proud to see six Chinese Company Chief Executive Officers present at the engagement. She hailed it as a positive sign and something that all parties should build on. Broomes said that the CEOs should sit with their management teams and educate them about the labour laws. She added that there is need for more “inhouse work” to be done in these companies. “They need to observe the laws,” she said, adding: “While the government embraces the Chinese companies,

employees’ rights must be adhered to. The law is a must and I want to make that very clear. We cannot flex that part of it.” “The Chinese will come here and work, raise their families and respect the law and the rights of the people of Guyana. So when we speak about the Chinese we must take best practices from them,” she declared further. The six companies which were present at the meeting were the CMC Guyana Transmission Line Project Office Inc, BaiShanlin International Forest Development Inc, China Railway First Group (Guyana) Inc, Standard Agroforestry Inc, China Harbour Engineering Company (Guyana) Inc and Rong-AnInc. Managing Director of China Harbour Engineering Company (Guyana) Inc, Kevin Liu, assured Broomes that his company will not forget its obligation to the

The project site

Male City constable arrested for soliciting sex act from female colleague Even as the City Constabulary’s women’s arm is getting ready to mark its anniversary a male rank who tried to become too close to one of his colleagues inappropriately has landed himself in a fix. The male rank aged in his late 30’s was arrested yesterday on allegations of sexual misconduct committed against a female rank. He faces possible dismissal as well as criminal charges. Nikhail Khansanally was ordered arrested and was turned over to the Police pending investigations. Kaieteur News understands that on Friday November 20 while working the ‘11-7 shift’ with a female rank, he approached her with an offer of oral sex. The woman who is

relatively new to the profession allegedly resisted the advances but he did not take no for an answer. Sources close to the investigation revealed that the man who apparently has a fetish for such acts continued to pursue his female colleague in a menacing way for the remainder of the shift. The matter was reported to the City Constabulary senior officers who launched their own investigations and found the allegations to be true after a confrontation was held. During the confrontation, the man confessed to the allegations but had a different story to tell. Yesterday the matter was reported to the police and the man who has been in the

Department for several years was arrested pending investigations. The file will be sent to the Director of Public Prosecution for advice. Officially once such allegations are proven true it results in summary dismissal and criminal charges are laid. A Senior City Constable said this is not the first time that the suspect has made advances to female ranks with the proposal to perform oral sex on them. Several other ranks that refused his advances have also made allegations and are expected to come forward shortly. Investigations revealed that all the women are aged 18 to 22. When contacted about the report, Stephen Bailey, acting Chief Constable, said Continued on page 24

employees and to Guyana. CEO of BaiShanlin International Forest Development Inc, Chu, also said that his company will adhere to the laws while remaining committed toward

the development of Guyana and its people. Earlier this month, Broomes had declared that the labour department of the ministry would be taking BaiShanlin to court over

suspected labour violations reported by its workers. The decision was announced after Chu did not attend a meeting Broomes had scheduled to discuss the violations.

Page 22

Kaieteur News

SALON -Make Up Courses with Mac, Bare Minerals, Black Opal, Mabelline. -Nail Technician Course Call: 647-1773/660-5257 SERVICES

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PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY,ETC.–CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 2161043; 677-6620

1 Cook to work in the Interior for Family. Call: 683-2271 Wanted experienced taxi drivers and dispatchers@ Princess Hotel ProvidenceTel: 616-5419, 256-7075

Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Guyana Passport application. Graphics design, Advertisement. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. PARTY DECORATING: balloon creation, back drops etc. for weddings, birthdays, anniversary etc. Make your event extra special! Tel Maya: 642-6664 REPAIRS AT LOW COST: FRIDGES, A/C, WASHING MACHINES, TVS, MICROWAVES,FREEZERSCALL: 629-4946 OR 2254822 Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezerCall: 610-5846 or 661-8158 Landscaping: Palms, largest varieties of plants, Used in every one of our unique landscapes- Call: 648-1821/ 219-0468 Permanent & Visitors Visa Applications, Professional Immigration Consultant Room D5 Maraj Building. visadocumentsgy@yahoo.com. Call: 225-6496, 662-6045 We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer-Call: 231-0655; 683-8734. Omar LCD-Plasma-LED TV repairs etc. Contact Abdul Electronics. Call: 225-0391 Floor sanding & Lacquering House plans, Estimate & painting, boat for Santa Mission Tours –Call: 650-4362 Landscaping: Palms, largest varieties of plants, Used in every one of our unique landscapes- Call: 648-1821/ 219-0468 We print ribbons and napkins for weddings etc, at a Competitive Price. Call: 2258133; 671-6754 Building Contractor: drawing plan, general home maintenance, free estimateCall: 216-0671/ 622-0267/6928 4 6 4 / email:klakeram.construction @gmail.com FOR SALE/RENT American Pools table-Call: 277-0578 CATERING Order now – Puri, Roti and curries (no order too big or small) –Call: 676-6312; 626-2629

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Saturday November 28, 2015

VACANCY Rays One Stop Auto Parts: experienced used parts counter and bond clerk @ 74 Sheriff Street. Call: 225-6356/ 7 Landscape maintenance team seeks, Hardworking, reliable workers, 17-35 ages; on the job, training. Contact: 2190468/621-2453 Plant Shop Sales Clerk: Hardworking, literate, punctual workers, Work experience an asset.Contact: 648-1821 Experienced bar/ shop worker for Ekereku bottom Interior, age 17-30years- Call: 231-0363 One sales representative must be at least 20years old. Contact: 254-1801 Exist for bartender, waitress, security guard –Contact Sheik or Donald on Tel: 227-1131 Hairdressers, barbers, also hair stations available for rental -location: New Market Street- Call: 638-1106 Immediate: One female to prepare cutters at a Sports Bar E.B.D, free meals & accommodation -$17,000 weekly. Whatsapp/Call: 661-8802 Experienced cook, waitress, bartender, bouncer needed for Eden’s Bar. Call for appointment: 652-0074 Live in housekeeper to care for child, long term employment. Call: 656-1284 Vacancy exists for cooks, waitstaff, bartenders & cleaners at Starbuds Restaurant. Send applications to 183 Albert St, Georgetown. ACCOUNTS CLERK, MINIMUM CXC Accounts Grades I or II; PLANT TRAINEE, GTI/ GITC graduates preferred E.B.D Residents- Tel. 676 6700 Security officers wanted by security company-Contact: 672-1920, between 8:00am5:00pm

CAR RENTAL PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS& SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL: 643-5122, 656-0087 ,EMAIL:PRO_ A U T O R E N T A L @YAHOO.COM

EDUCATIONAL Computerized Accounting: QuickBooks, Peachtree, Excel 2016, P.O.S Pre-Xmas giveaway -$35,000 Micrographics, Vreed-enHoop, Royal Castle Building. Call: 264-3057

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FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754. One 928 F Caterpillar Wheel Loader $ 7.1 M, Price Negotiable-Call Us Today 650-0402/260-4988

VEHICLE FOR SALE Star Cars Auto Sales: Premio, Spacio, Runx, IS, Fielder, Bluebird, Axela, Pit-bull, Raum, Benz -Tel: 268-3509; 679-3140

3 Lots At Blankenburg Behind The Gas Station; $13 M Price Negotiable; Each Lot Size 75x76- Call Us Today 650-0402/260-4988

AT192, 212, Allion, unregistered Premio, Hilux Surf, BNN, RZ & Pit-bull, 7 seater super custom. Cash / terms- Call: 680-3154

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Rotweiler pups. Tel: 619-6086, Toyota Noah & Voxy, Fully 622-6646, 699-7077. loaded, never registered, ‘G’ Series -$1.7M –Call: 617-2891 PRADO: TOP CONDITION, SUNROOF, FULLY Tractor Massey Ferguson LOADED, 8 SEATER, FUEL, from Canada: MF165-$1.7M, 2000 MODEL. CALL: 684- MF 135 -$1.1M, MF 265 $2.2M, Tundra -$1.9M, 5868 Tacoma -$2.3M. Call: 682CRV EXCELLENT 5230; 628-9596 CONDITION, 1998CC, ALARM, DVD, MAGRIM, 1 Hilux pick, single cab long CLEAN ENGINE & BODY- bass -$1.2M negotiable – Call: 675-2650 CALL: 684-5868 Nissan 1-36ft cabin Cruiser for sale- Unregistered Bluebird 2006 -$2.3M & Call: 648-6815; 654-2817 Toyota Allion 2006 50lbs Bags, dog food W/Sale $2.35Neg- Contact: 644-9277 & Retail- Call: 222-7891; 6099202 One yellow cab 212 motor car, Pools table, generator, flat very good condition-Call: screen, TV, AC, Stove, Freezer 691-5086 & music set, fridge –Call: 616- One Honda CRV, immaculate 0398; 676-7643; 687-1757 condition –price $1,650,0001 Mitsubishi Canter: Long Call: 626-2884 base, open back, PNN series Mitsubishi Canter for sale; 4D33 Engine –Call: 610-2878 GTT series, next to new – Used XBOX 360, PS Vita, PS3 Call: 611-5354; 615-4728, I-pad & I-pods, XBOX one & price reasonable games –Tel: 621-7497; 603- PRR Mazda Axela with 8643; 649-3277 chrome kit, auto start alarm. Rottweiler and German Price $1.450M series. Shepherd mix pups for sale – Serious enquires only call: 617-7113 Call: 641-1771 and 654-0388 Pure bred Rottweiler pups with pedigree – best quality. Call/Whatsapp: 664-5401 Stalls 64-72 -47ft longX7ft wide @ La Penetence Market Albouystown-Call: 663-1597; 218-4837; 225-4410 Cheap! Cheap! CCTV Security Surveillance Kit, 8 Channels DVR with built in Hard Drive, 8 bullet cameras – Tel: 621-4740; 686-3500 Pools-table cloth, balls, pocket, coin-shute, rubber, cue-stick, coin, chalk, spots gully boot, white ball, poolstable locks –Tel: 669-9927 One white eye parrot and one Amazon Parrot –Call: 6678896 Pure bred pit-bull pups for sale –Contact Lisa: 697-8867 One 600amp automatic transfer switch sold as isCall:627-7835 ADULTAMERICAN BULLYCALL:667-4845, 610-0068, 220-7933

TO LET Rooms in Albertown –Call: 225-3234 Brand new top flat unfurnished 2 bedrooms apartment, located Lot 8 Shell Road Kitty Georgetown $70,000 –Call: 231-4385; 6385894 For foreigners fully furnished two bedrooms apartment in South. Hot & cold, cable, washing machine & internet. Tel: 6895877 2 BEDROOMS FULLY F U R N I S H E D APARTMENT, IN ECCLES (FOR OVERSEAS VISITORS) US$30 DAILY. CALL MAX: 609-8132; 672-8569 Continued on page 23

Saturday November 28, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 23

Solving the drainage problem...

Dutch team presents recommendations on way forward After days of analysing Guyana’s drainage system, the Dutch Risk Reduction (DRR) Team on Thursday evening presented its recommendations on the way forward for Guyana. Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, was present for the session which took place at a boardroom in the Ministry of Agriculture. Agriculture Minister Noel Holder was also present. The report is critical, as the David Granger-led administration, which took office in May, is looking to find a more long-term solution to the country’s drainage woes. It has turned to the Dutch, who have helped build most of the country’s drainage system, for answers. During remarks on Thursday evening following a presentation by the DRR Team, Minister Patterson said that the observations made were “very informative”. He also said that he was impressed that, in just a few days, the team had managed to make spot-on assessments of Guyana’s situation. Minister Patterson also thanked the team for its frankness. “We don’t see it as a critique; it’s all a learning process,” he said. Additionally, Patterson indicated his support for some of the recommendations and expressed his

anticipation for the final report. He also thanked the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Ernst Noorman, and the DRR Team for their collaboration and assistance. The three-member team arrived in Guyana on Sunday evening and, since Monday, has been conducting analyses throughout the country. The group included Team Leader, Rob Steijn; Social Scientist, Judith Klostermann; and Civil Engineer, Fokke Westebring. Their trip involved a flyover of Guyana as well as a dozen interviews with local officials. During the wrap-up session, Steijn noted that The Netherlands has significant experience in drainage, with that country, like Guyana, being a low-lying one. The majority of The Netherlands is below sea level. According to Steijn, the team received much support during its time here. “Everything was arranged extremely well; it could not have been better. All persons we met were very knowledgeable and dedicated,” he emphasised. During the presentation, Steijn delivered six key messages, including the need for an upgrade of Guyana’s drainage on both a technical and managerial level. “If you don’t manage it properly, the system will fail and if your water system fails, your country will fail,” Steijn stressed.

He further emphasised that Guyana’s water system needed to be crucially addressed, with Government’s predictability to pertinent issues improved. Additionally, he noted that short-term improvements, such as small-scale dredging, are possible. “The main message is that we need a holistic approach,” he said. He added that the issue must be attacked on all levels, from the planning stage right up to the enforcement of legislation. He said too that an integrated approach involving all stakeholders was necessary. “A participatory approach leads to much more progress and faster implementation in the end,” he added. However, Steijn’s presentation was not all doom and gloom. Rather, he noted that the observations were “not all bad”. “There were good things and other things that need some improvement.” Steijn concluded by presenting his team’s preliminary recommendations. The seven recommendations were to upgrade modelling capability; increase flood resilience of people and businesses; upgrade dredging capabilities and improve flow efficiency; develop long-term plans; develop and test a pilot project; develop and apply a life cycle approach for the drainage assets; and data management through digitisation.

From page 3 never the second bidder in that process as some are trying to make out. It was disqualified at a very early stage on technical grounds. In addition, they have been publicly associated with and connected to the Alliance For Change,” said Nandlall. Work on the Specialty Hospital was initially halted after allegations of impropriety and fraud were leveled against the contractor Surendra Engineering Corporation Limited (SECL) which won the bid for its construction in 2012. It was agreed that the company would provide services related to designing, building, equipping, testing, delivering, installing and commissioning of facilities for the facility at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara. The cost of the contract was over US$18M. Following the termination of the contract, Government moved to the Commercial Division of the High Court and sued Surendra. Government was claiming damages in excess of $100M, as well as special damages amounting to

over US$4M. Surendra had by then, flown the coop and had vacated its local office in Berbice when court officials visited to serve the writ, so when the matter was called twice, on January 21 and again on January 23, and no one appeared on behalf of the company, the court awarded judgment in favour of the Government of Guyana. Following a court judgment awarded January 23, 2015, Government is still to collect over US$4M from the embattled Indian firm. It created a situation which left the future of the Line of Credit (LOC) threatened. The APNU+AFC government, on accession to office, reviewed the project and concluded that since there was no existing contract that could be enforced, it was impractical to continue to keep the LOC in its existing form, especially since it was attracting commitment fees. Government therefore requested EXIM Bank of India to cancel the LOC for the Specialty Hospital and to re-allocate the balance of funds to a project to modernize three Primary Healthcare Facilities.

However, the Government of India (GOI) in its response, while indicating its no objection and support for the modernization of Primary Health Care Facilities, suggested that the Granger administration consider salvaging the Specialty Hospital, as it will complement Primary Health Care facilities in Guyana. The Specialty Hospital is intended to cater for high end surgeries and other health care demands. The administration having examined the merits of the proposal began searching for a willing partner to complete the Specialty Hospital using the remainder of the LOC. In the interest of time, Government said that it approached Fedders Lloyd to explore the possibility of the company completing the project. At the time of tendering in 2012, Fedders Lloyd had also submitted a bid. Fedders Lloyd’s bid was not only lower, but the company also had actual experience in constructing specialty hospitals across the world. Surendra, a spare parts fabricator for sugar mills across India, was found to have none.

Finance Minister refuses to react to...

Meanwhile, Steijn indicated that the analyses do not end upon the team’s exit from Guyana. He stressed that four days were not enough. Thus, he said that the team will return to The Netherlands and further analyse the data presented before completing its report. Thursday night’s discussions would also aid in the recommendations, Steijn stated. Minister Patterson stressed the importance of the report being more than “just another report”. He indicated that, since taking office, he would have realised that studies would have been previously done, but their findings never implemented, a reality that needs to change. Steijn also indicated that the report will be completed before the end of the year. He projected that it would be finalised and formally handed over to the Guyana Government by midDecember. The team left Guyana yesterday morning. Drainage has been a critical issue for the country, especially for the thousands of farmers along the coastland. With those areas below sea level, consecutive Governments have been battling to not only keep the ocean out, but to keep farmlands adequately irrigated. It is by no means cheap, and it included a Europeanfunded project to plant mangroves as part of the sea defence fight. The country earlier this year commissioned a $3.6B alternative drainage canal at Hope, East Coast Demerara, to receive excess water from the East Demerara Water Conservancy, which lies behind the many housing schemes and farmlands, and which holds billions of gallons of water.

From page 23 TO LET 3 Bedrooms apartment for rental at W.B.D- Call: 2671446, 674-6080

LAND FOR SALE Luxury gated community with pool, mall, swipe entry/exit, underground irrigation – Contact: 609-0783 DIAMOND/GROVE HOUSING SCHEME 50X80 –CALL: 676-0931 Formerly Globe Cinema, corner lot @ Church & Waterloo Street, size 126ftX133ft. Call: 610-2234 Transported Land @ Richmond Essequibo, next to school, fenced, fruit trees, filled high -$4.5M. Call:6825230; 628-9596 Eccles -$5M, Herstelling $4.5M, Parfaite Harmonie$1.3M & $1.5M, Lowlands (East Coast) -$1.8M –Uitvlugt -$2.8M-Call:611-7223;604-2207 Providence Scheme 115ftX81ft located on a Cul de Sac close to Bai Shan Lin -$8.2M negotiable –Call: 601-4163; 223-0719 Land @ Moblissa Soesdyke Linden Highway, 22 Acres if cleared land with nearby creek -3 minutes off Highway-Call: 689-0003 At Parfaite Harmonie- $1.4M, $1.6M, $1.1M, Tuschen 2nd street $5M, Tuschen Phase 2 $1.2M. Term available- Call: 604-6724

PROPERTY FOR SALE 1-2 Storey building in Diamond, New Scheme 3rd Avenue & Better Hope, Line Top-Call: 220-5525, serious buyer only 2 storied transported concrete property- upstairs: 2 bedrooms apartment, downstairs: 2 bedroom apartment, block ‘8’ MonRepos, E.C.D -$19M neg. Call: 625-1514; 231-7255 2 Storey 45x35 concrete property, lower flat incomplete. Land 65x120 @ Diamond N/S 5th Avenue,E.B.D- Call: 664-5052 Popular business place at temple Street, WindsorForest, W.C.D, -$35M price negotiable. Call: 642-6664

PROPERTY FOR SALE House on land, 18 ponds, length-200X24-width, 20,000 Tilapia & Hassa in pond at Craig – Back. Call: 266-3156; 682-6128 Church and 2 storey building Lot 180 Charlotte Street Bourda-Call: 227-6817; 624-7341 Property for sale, Grove $20M / Rent: $50,000 per month. Tel: 625-5461. Brand new 2 storey concrete building in 5th Avenue, Diamond, E.B.D, all modern amenities –Call: 662-9335; 612-3244 2 Bedrooms house @ Good Hope E.C.D –Call: 662-9043

LEGALNOTICE 2015 NO.D-200 DEMERARA IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE DIVORCE AND M AT R I M O N I A L JURISDICTION DIVORCE BETWEEN:(SINGH), SADHNA nee MORTIMER Petitioner -and (SINGH) MAHADEO Respondent CITATION TO: MAHADEO SINGH 291 Tuschen (North), East Bank Essequibo, Guyana WHEREAS, SADHNA SINGH nee MORTIMER, Teacher, of 291 Tuschen (North), East Bank Essequibo, Guyana, claiming to have been married to you has filed a Petition against you in the Registry of the High Court of the Supreme Court of Judicature of Guyana praying for a dissolution of marriage on the ground of malicious desertion. UPON APPLICATION in person or by letter to Mrs. Kamini Parag-Singh, Attorney at Law, whose address for service and place of business is at 160 ‘A’ Waterloo Street, North Cummingsburg, Georgetown, a copy of the said Petition will be delivered or sent to you. If within, 28 (twenty-eight) days after the date of the second and final publication of this Notice no application has been made nor appearance entered the Court may proceed to hear the said Petition and pronounce judgment therein in your absence notwithstanding. AND TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that for the purpose aforesaid you are to attend in person or by your Attorney-at-Law at the Registry of the said Court at the Law Courts, Georgetown, and then and there to enter an appearance in a book provided for that purpose without which you will not be allowed to address the Court either in person or by Attorney-atLaw at any stage of the proceedings in this cause. Dated a Georgetown, Demerara, This The 2nd Day of July, 2015

Page 24

Kaieteur News

EU hosts C’bean conference on abolition of death penalty The European Union, in cooperation with the British High Commission and the International Commission against the Death Penalty, has organised a Caribbean Regional Conference consisting of keynote speeches and a number of panel discussion on aspects of abolition of the death penalty. The conference is being held to consider the situation of the death penalty in the Caribbean region; experiences of other countries in abolition of the death penalty and whether the death penalty works as a deterrent. During the discussions, various compelling reasons for the abolition of the death penalty were highlighted including the e v e r - p r e s e n t risk of executing innocent people that exists in any justice system, the arbitrary application of the death penalty that can never be ruled out, the death penalty is incompatible with human rights and human dignity, and the death penalty does not deter crime effectively. Even though many Caricom countries still retain the death sentence, there have been no executions in the Region for some time. The European Union is the world’s leading institutional actor in the fight against the death penalty and its action in this area represents a key priority of its external human rights policy. Experience in Europe and other parts of the world has

taught that the death penalty does not prevent an increase in violent crime, nor does it bring justice to the victims of such crimes. The International Commission against the Death Penalty (ICDP) was established on 7 October 2010 and is currently composed of 17 Commissioners who are persons of high international standing from all regions of the world, and who act with total independence and neutrality. ICDP opposes the death penalty under any circumstances, believing that it violates the right to life enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The work of the Commission is supported by a diverse group of 18 states from all regions of the world that are committed to abolition of the death penalty. Its secretariat is based in Madrid. According to a statement from the organisers of the event, the death penalty undermines human dignity and violates the right to life proclaimed by the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and should never be used – regardless of the circumstances. “The death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights – it is cruel, morally wrong, violates basic human rights and harms society. The death penalty is inherently wrong and fundamentally flawed.” “Murder is wrong, whether committed by an individual or the state. Imposition of the death

penalty contravenes the right to life and the right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. Any miscarriage of justice – which is inevitable in any legal system – could lead to innocent persons being killed and is irreversible.” Participants in the recently held two-day panel discussion, at the Authur Chung Convention Centre Liliendaal included Lord Navnit Dholakia, UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Abolition of the Death Penalty; Ms Ruth Wijdenbosch, former Deputy Chair of the National Assembly of Suriname; Ms Asunta Vivó Cavaller, Secretary-General, International Commission against the Death Penalty;as well as representatives from organisations such as Greater Caribbean for Life, G u y a n a Human Rights Association, Justice Institute Guyana, Human Rights Commission Belize, Réseau National de Défense des Droits Humains Haiti, World Coalition Against the Death Penalty. The Ministry of Legal Affairs of Guyana was also among the participants. Participants in the conference represent the whole Caribbean region as well as other parts of the world – demonstrating that there is a strong and continuing trend towards the abolition of the death penalty in all regions of the world and that it is time for the Caribbean region to join this trend and become a death penalty free zone.

Saturday November 28, 2015

Unidentified body found on Kingston seawall

Police ranks lifting the body out of the water yesterday. The body of an unidentified man was discovered yesterday on the Kingston seawall in the vicinity of the Marriott International Hotel. The discovery was made around 14: 00 hrs. It was reportedly spotted by passersby, who informed the

police. The man, of African descent, was clad only in a blue checkered shirt and underwear. His underwear however seemed to be that of a female’s. At the scene, many speculated that the man might have been a vagrant.

No marks of violence were found on the body. Police believed that the body was lying in the water for only a few hours. Blood could have been seen dripping from the man’s month. His lips were swollen. The body is at the Lyken Funeral Home.

The High Court trial of murder accused, Patrick Anthony Balgobin, has commenced. Balgobin, a farm help from East Bank Essequibo, (EBE) is facing a trial before Justice Jo Ann Barlow and a mixed jury for the murder of 73-year-old Rudolph Moonsammy. The incident allegedly took place in June 2010 at Lot 3, St. Lawrence, East Bank Essequibo.In her opening address State Prosecutor, Tuanna Hardy, related that the two men had a quarrel when the accused followed the victim and dealt him a lash with a piece of wood. She said that the wood broke but Balgobin took up a cutlass and chopped the man about his

body. Hardy is presenting the case in association with State Counsel, Diana Kaulesar. According to reports, the accused was employed as a labourer on the victim’s poultry farm. The farmer had allegedly attempted to reprimand his drunken employee (Balgobin) for verbally abusing his wife and attacking a co-worker, when they began to quarrel. Balgobin is said to have attacked Moonsammy battering him in the head and chopping him. Residents later found the elderly man unconscious in his bedroom. Moonsammy was then rushed to the Leonora Cottage Hospital. He was thereafter transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation,

(GPHC). The injured man died there, approximately three days after. Balgobin was later arrested and charged for murder. He pleaded not guilty to the charge at the commencement of the trial on Thursday. Meanwhile in another murder trial before Justice Priya Sewnarine, State Pathologist, Dr .Nehaul Singh testified that based on a post mortem, murder victim, Donna Thomas died of asphyxiation compounded by compression injuries to the neck along with blunt cranial trauma. Thomas had been living with her common law husband, Anthony Morrison at the time of her death. Morrison is on trial before Justice Beharry and a mixed jury for murder. He had pleaded not guilty to the offence and is being represented by Defence Attorney Arun Gadraj. State Prosecutor Stacey Goodings is presenting the case.

High court murder trial commences for Parika farm hand

Male City constable...

From page 21 that he could not comment on the issue except to state that a rank is indeed in custody. One female city constable speaking about the issue said this is just the tip of the iceberg for the department where older male City constables prey on the young women in the unit. She said, “This thing got to stop because dem men in constab always taking advantage of the girls. There is a big difference between having a relationship and being bothered and forced into sex acts. Whole night he was fatiguing the woman.” There have been many situations like this but it is the first time that one person was bold enough to expose the issue.

Saturday November 28, 2015

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Saturday November 28, 2015

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Kaieteur News

Saturday November 28, 2015

Guyana seeks Singapore’s help for struggling Iwokrama -as Guyana deepens ties with Netherlands, United Kingdom Malta- President David Granger and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge, who are attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM 2015) in Malta, seized the opportunity to hold key bilateral meetings in the margins of the conference, even as the body elected a new Secretary General, Baroness Patricia Scotland, to replace outgoing Secretary General, Kalamesh Sharma. Baroness Scotland, a Dominican by birth, held the position of Attorney General in Britain. Though Guyana had thrown its support behind Antigua and Barbuda’s candidate, Guyana-born Sir Ronald Sanders, President Granger said, in an interview with the Guyanese press corps, that the new Secretary General was selected in a clean and clear process. Guyana and all Commonwealth countries must therefore support the Baroness. “I am assured that the Commonwealth’s decision is going to receive the support of the member states and this is the way forward. We are

looking to the future and we believe that the Commonwealth must rally around its Secretary General… and we are committed to working with the Secretary General for the improvement of the Commonwealth,” he said. Following the opening ceremony of CHOGM 2015, at which Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II addressed the leaders, President Granger, along with the other Heads of Government, attended the first Executive and working sessions in addition to a special session on climate action. Bilateral Meetings Importantly, President Granger and Minister Carl Greenidge, yesterday held a bilateral meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies of Singapore, Tharman Shanmugaratnam. President Granger said that though Guyana has enjoyed good political relations with Singapore for a number of years, there has been a limited trade and economic relationship. “Singapore is rich in edu-

cation, rich in technology and we would like to develop relations with Singapore so that Guyana could be assisted in developing the infrastructure that we need, particularly in the hinterland so that we can [have] access to our resources,” the President said. Minister Greenidge added that investment potential was a key focus of the discussions and described the meeting as useful. He said, “The Prime Minister was very responsive and we agreed to have a mechanism that will allow us to concretise these inter-proposals projects.” Guyana also discussed with the Singaporean delegation the Iwokrama International Rainforest Centre, in the context of increased attention on issues related to climate change globally. The President said, “The important thing is that for nearly 25 years Guyana has put on the table the offer of the Iwokrama International Rainforest Centre, and we feel that Singapore, as a member of the Commonwealth, could help to advance the work that we are doing in Iwokrama.”

President David Granger shakes hands with the Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies of Singapore, Tharman Shanmugaratnam On the agenda of the meeting was also the Venezuelan threat to Guyana’s territory. President Granger related that the Prime Minister was briefed on the developments with regard to the work of Secretary General of the United Nations to ensure a resolution is reached, even as

Baroness Patricia Scotland elected first woman head of Commonwealth Malta (Maltatoday.com) Baroness Patricia Scotland has been elected as the new Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, beating two other contenders for the role, yesterday. Scotland held the position of Attorney General in Britain. “It is such an honour to being appointed to this role,” she said in her first comments to journalists. She added that Antigua was also a winner as she was Antiguan from her father’s side. “I am a daughter of Africa too. I am truly a child of the Commonwealth. I hope that the 53 of us will look to create a better world for our children.” Taking a series of questions from the floor, Scotland refused to be dragged into who should succeed the Queen as leader of the Commonwealth, the choice between Prince Charles or another leader elected by the member states. “My role as SecretaryGeneral is to listen to the 53 heads, so the decision will be theirs, not mine,” she said. Scotland, who declared herself “incredibly proud” of her new appointment, spoke of her ambitions for the Commonwealth to push for more equality and women’s rights. “One of the great things about the Commonwealth is that we share a great deal. We have to focus on what joins us, create social capital and

ensure that the each individual is given the opportunity to contribute and participate. “But we also have to respect sovereignty. If you work respectfully, with patience you can reach a joint position. This has to be done through partnership with governments and third parties and push forward the economic case for human rights.” She added that the Commonwealth had a charter that embodied the aspirations and values all aspire to. “That charter is not a meaningless document but we can work with vigor. Sovereignty of these countries mean something. But in order to encourage them to fulfill its aspects, we have to work with them along the way. “It will be a tortuous journey but I believe that the Commonwealth can succeed through partnership. But it needs all of us to do it. I will use every fiber in my body to fight for equality.” This is the first time that two of the candidates were women, with the second female candidate being Mmasekgoa MasireMwamba, who served two terms as Deputy SecretaryGeneral of the Commonwealth Secretariat from 2008-2014. The third candidate was Sir Ronald Sanders, currently Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador Extraordinary. But Sanders’ nomination ended up in controversy af-

Elected Secretary General: Baroness Patricia Scotland ter British media reported that he was named by an investigator for receiving almost $1.4 million from an alleged fraud against Antigua’s government. The tenth of 12 children, she was born Patricia Scotland on the Caribbean island of Dominica in 1955. Her family moved to Walthamstow, east London, when she was three years old. Baroness Scotland went to school in London and Essex and went on to study law at the University of London. She became the first black woman to be a made a QC in 1991 before becoming the first black female government minister a decade ago. As a lawyer she specialised in family and public law - in particular cases involving child abuse, mental health and housing. Baroness Scotland is a member of the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship and was formerly one of Her Majesty’s

Commissioners for Racial Equality. In 1985 she married barrister Richard Mawhinney. She has two sons. After co-founding a successful legal chambers, she appeared to be on course to become a High Court judge, but her talents had caught Tony Blair’s eye and in 1997 her career changed when she was made a Labour peer, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, named after Asthal in Oxfordshire. Baroness Scotland’s first government job was at the Foreign Office in 1999. She moved to the Lord Chancellor’s Department two years later and to the Home Office in 2003, where she had responsibility for reducing crime, anti-social behaviour policy, youth crime, domestic violence and race equality. In her ministerial career Baroness Scotland has been regarded as an efficient and

Guyana seeks a juridical settlement. In other bilateral meetings, Minister Greenidge met with the United Kingdom’s Rt. Hon Hugo Swire, Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Though he was unable to go into details, Minister Greenidge described the meeting as fruitful. He said that Guyana and the United Kingdom used the opportunity to exchange information on areas of common interest and to confirm the mechanisms for deepening partnerships. Minister Greenidge also met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Bert Koenders, where the discussion centered heavily on the Netherlands’s Candidature to the United Nations’ Security Council. While Guyana discussed several areas of possible support, Minister Greenidge was keen on discussing the Netherlands’s role were they to gain a place on the Security Council. “We went on to discuss issues such as the areas where the Netherlands would be interested in rendering assistance and more importantly, also, we were discussing mechanisms by which we might cooperate and, in the event that the Netherlands gets on the Security Council, the types of things that it would be promoting and that it would be working on. We drew to their attention

our interest in having countries on the Security Council who don’t forget that there are small States that need to have their interests represented. We need advocates in the corridors of power who don’t leave behind those small states that helped them get elected,” the Minister said. Guyana also held meetings with the Maldives as well as informal discussions with other Heads of State and is expected to have other similar engagements tomorrow, including with Uganda. Additionally, President Granger remains confident that the Commonwealth will make a declaration that is favourable to Guyana; he said that it is likely to be part of the final Communiqué, following the meeting. “That has always been guaranteed. The Commonwealth has never let us down and there is no reason to believe that that support will drain away… we don’t take it for granted but I think they are aware of the plight of Guyana and they too are committed to having the controversy resolved. I would say that they are in strong support of Guyana’s territorial integrity.” President Granger and First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger attended a Reception and Dinner, hosted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh at the Corinthia Palace Hotel.

Saturday November 28, 2015

Harris ‘Paints a boxing picture’

Harris Paints Retail Services Manager Nicole Griffith hands over sponsorship check to GABA President Steve Ninvalle. Yesterday Harris Paints made a timely contribution to the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association to assist in offsetting expense associated with the hosting of the 13-nation Caribbean Development tournament now being held at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. The tournament runs for four days and concludes tomorrow. Harris Paints Retail Services Manager Nicole Griffith presented the sponsorship check to GABA President Steve Ninvalle yesterday.

Kaieteur News

Grant, Fowler, George and Gaskin crowned... (From page 30) lived up to all expectation as the starter whistle sounded. Both girls were off the blocks quickly. They raised their heads together with Mahaica slightly in the lead to the wall but as they both approached the wall Grant joined Mahaica to turn at the same time. Mahaica’s fans felt like it was all over just like the last two losses. Amy’s fans knew that the race was not over even though Mahaica had a slight lead off the turn from the way they were shouting. Grant is a fighter and would not give up easily as she added more gas to join Mahaica with only ten meters to the finish. She then made a move that stretched Mahaica to the limit as both Girls propelled for the Gold. However, it was the underdog Grant who came out victorious as she hit the overdrive button and utilised all the little details fed to her by coaches, Yannick Roberts, her mother and Jaime Skeete to finish in a flash and reclaimed her title as the Blue Ribbon speed queen. Grant swam a faster time than she did at the Schools National

Saturday November 28, 2015 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Take the time today to consider your health, Aries. Living a long, healthy life is something we all want. Start now to take care of your body.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Your mother may be on your mind today, Libra. Your mother probably affects how you think, act, and feel, both in the past and now.

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Today you may emphasize organizing things and managing your life, Taurus.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Focus on yourself today, Scorpio. Take note of your health.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) One day, I want to be…. When you were little, how did you finish that sentence, Gemini?

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) No dream is too big or too late to fulfill. You may be thinking about your special dreams today, perhaps you aspire to do something really great, be a pioneer in some field, or be a prominent figure.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) If you feel cautious today, Cancer, don't be alarmed. This can be a good thing, Cancer, as you can be too trusting at times or forget to take care when going into something new.

Page 29

CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) Chances are good that you will receive a helping hand or comfort from someone many years your senior who cares about you, Capricorn.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Leo, personal dignity may be important to you today. This may come about when things go wrong or if you're accused of something you didn't do.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Today, Aquarius, you may think about competition and possible future goals.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) It could indicate that it's important for you to maintain control over most things these are all things that conservative people tend to closely monitor.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) You may think about your finances today, Pisces. It's never too late to learn about saving and investing, especially if there's something you really want to do, like travel.

Championship. The next exciting race saw Andrew Fowler winning the Boys Open 50m freestyle beating a former World Championship swimmer Orlando McRae. McRae had a flying start and was two lengths in front of the field at the half way stage before Fowler who represented Guyana at the World championships 2015 in Kazan, closed in on Mc Rae with powerful strokes and kicks and took the turn with him. However, McRae, who is the more experienced swimmer, came out of the turn a body length in front of Fowler. It looked like it was all over for Fowler as McRae headed for home holding a two lengths lead with ten meters to go but Fowler started to dig deep. M Rae started to lose steam as the young Fowler

showed that youth can beat experience as Fowler’s powerful strokes brought him level with McRae with five meters to go. It was all over for McRae as Fowler left him an arm length behind at the finish to claim the sprint crown. In the Girls 11-12, Jadyn George swam a brilliant race to edge her sister Danielle in a very competitive event for the girls 50 meters freestyle title. It was a race that any of the two sisters could have won but you have to give it to Jadyn because she has a lot of passion for the sport and they are also twins. It was the only time you could have separated them as Jadyn pipped Danielle at the finish line. In the Boys 15 - 17 category, Hannibal Gaskin was on top form as he sprang into

the pool off the blocks with the rest of the field behind in the 50 metres freestyle. The 200m Gold medalist and record breaker at the 2015 Goodwill championship is improving with every meet that he has participated in this year and it is not going to be a surprise if he goes to the Olympics in Rio in the summer of 2016. Gaskin, who won his heat at the 2015 World Championship in Kazan has been given a scholarship by FINA. He is expected to do his best at university and in the pool during his studies, which will make his parents and grandparents happy and his club proud to have had him as a member. He swam the 50m freestyle with speed and his usual powerful kicks and pull to leave Omar Adams to settle for second place.

Fight to enter knockout phase... (From page 29) Hubert Pedro, Michael Oie and Ola Pedro to secure a win for them, while Alexander Vi l l a g e ’s chances of registering an upset will rely on how well Shem Porter and Leon Yaw combine. Another encounter that should produce fireworks is the one between North Ruimveldt and Leopold Street.

North Ruimveldt will be depending on Nickosie Barker, Colin Daniels, Lenris Carrington, while Anthony Charles is a key player in Leopold’s quest for victory. The night’s full fixtures are seen below: 19:00 hrs Channel 9 versus Cross Street 19:30 hrs East Front Road vs Castello Avengers 20:00 hrs

Laing Av-

enue vs West Back Road 20:30 hrs Globe Yard vs Old School Ballers 21:00 hrs Festival City Warriors vs Albouystown B 21:30 hrs N o r t h Ruimveldt vs Leopold Street 22:00 hrs Albouystown A vs North East La Penitence 22:30 hrs West Front Road vs Alexander Village

Diamond Mineral Water Hockey... (From page 31) victory. GCC vets made light work of the Hickers with a 6-3 victory in the other veterans clash. Dwayne Scott led the GCC scoresheet with a hattrick, while Philip Fernandes added a double and Alan Fernandes a single. Devin Munroe, Jerry Bell and Rob-

Upper Demerara dismantle ...

(From page 26) with Upper Demerara’s Dexter Pellew second in 58.3 seconds and Corentyne’s Jameel Browne (58.8) third. Upper Demerara’s Deshanna Skeete (1:02.6) won the female race ahead of North Georgetown’s Yesenia Andrews (1:02.7) and East Georgetown’s Princess Brown (1:04.5) respectively.

ert Fernandes were the goal scorers for the Hickers. Matches continue

throughout this weekend the three finals set for tomorrow from 17:00hrs.

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Kaieteur News

Smalta / Ministry of Public Health Girls Pee Wee Football Tournament

Matches planned for today and tomorrow

Action in this year’s Smalta / Ministry of Public Health Girls Pee Wee Football Tournament. Following last week’s postponement due to a sodden outfield, organisers of the Smalta / Ministry of Public Health Girls 11 and under Pee Wee Football Tournament have decided that to make up for lost time there will have to be back to back rounds this weekend at the Ministry of Education ground, Carifesta Avenue. Matches will be played today and tomorrow with some teams playing on both days to return the tournament on schedule. Defending champion Stella Maris opening the competition with a win and they will be looking to continue in that same vein when they face Sophia in the final encounter of the day. They return tomorrow to

engage South Ruimveldt in what should be a tough assignment for them. West Ruimvedt and St.Pius too play back to back and it will be interesting to see how some of the better teams cope with this unavoidable development. 10:00 hrs West Ruimveldt versus St Angela’s 10:00 hrs F.E Pollard vs Tucville 10:45 hrs North Georgetown vs Winfer Gardens 10:45 hrs St. Pius vs St Margaret’s 11:30 hrs Smith Memorial vs Enterprise Primary 11:30 hrs St. Stephen’s vs St Ambrose

12:15 hrs South Ruimveldt vs St Anges 12:15 hrs Stella Maris vs Sophia Tomorrow’s roud of matches are seen below: 10:00 hrs Tucville vs St Angela’s 10:45 hrs Stella Maris vs South Ruimveldt 11:30 hrs F.E Pollard vs West Ruimveldt 12:15 hrs Sophia vs St Anges 13:00 hrs St Margaret’s vs Winfer Gardens 13:45 hrs St. Stephen’s vs Smith Memorial 14:30 hrs St Ambrose vs Enterprise 15:15 hrs St. Pius vs North Georgetown

Guyana Softball League to organise Minor League 10/10 for primary schools Opening set for today at Leonora Primary School venue The Guyana Softball League will organise a Minor League 10/10 softball cricket tournament for primary schools on the West Coast of Demerara. The tournament will be sponsored by Rohan Furniture Establishment of Tuschen, Omesh Parboo General Store and promoter Nigel. Primary schools from Windsor Forest to Parika will be involved and other schools wishing to take part can gather information from

GSL Youth Affairs coordinator Prem Persaud on telephone numbers 611-6903, 268-3501 or Leonard Harprashad on numbers 6460568, 268-2458. The competition will be played for trophies and medals and will be on a round robin basis. The aim of the tournament is to allow the younger talent to shine and the individual players to gain confidence in playing cricket thereby going on to bigger things.

This tournament has been in the making for sometime now and has finally it been realized. Most of the primary schools have been encouraged by th e exhibitions matches held in tandem with the Mobile Wi z a r d 1 0 / 1 0 a n d t h e attention and response has been tremendous. All teams will assemble at the Leonora Primary School Ground today for the opening and the start of the first round.

Saturday November 28, 2015

The first meeting overseas Guyana vs Antigua and Barbuda July 2nd, 2000 International Basketball rivalry between Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda began in August 1981 when the two countries clashed at the inaugural Caricom Championship at the National Sports Hall but the first time the two rivals met overseas was July 2nd 2000 at the 15thCaricom Championship in Bridgetown Barbados. Guyana playing under the captaincy of two times Caricom All Star Guard and local legend Lugard Mohan won 74 to 64. Power Centre Lorenzo (fudge) Withrite lit up the Sir Garfield Sobers Gymnasium with 17 pts and 9 rebounds, the late Israeli Pro Deryck Boyd had fans on their feet with 8 pts, 8 rebounds and 7 steals; for Antigua and Barbuda David Davis had a game high 26 pts, Mario Davis supported with 16 pts. The victorious Guyana Team was: Lugard Mohan Captain Ravens Orin Mohan Ravens Lorenzo Withrite Colts Andrew Ifill Colts Remington Ram Globe Trotters

Lancelot Loncke Globe Trotters Steve Neils Jr. Kings Deryck Boyd (deceased) -D.C. Jammers Sherwin Devonish D.C. Jammers Dexter Martin D.C. Jammers Darren Ainsworth D.C. Jammers Steven Nurse D.C. Jammers Bernard Daniels Coach Robert Cadogan Assistant Coach The next time the two countries clashed was August 2007 at the CAC Tournament in Puerto Rico; Guyana led by Antric Klaiber won 78 to 68. The Flambouyant Gordon Klaiber had fans at the Hector Sola Bezares coliseum in a frenzy. He had six three Pointers in his 34 pts to go with 9 rebounds. For Antigua and Barbuda Clinton Joshua scored 21 pts, and pulled down 15 rebounds, Lennox McCoy had 16 pts, and 11 rebounds. The two teams met again four years later, 2011, at the Caricom championship in Nassau Bahamas and this

time the Antiguans triumph 76 to 51. Lennox McCoy top scored for Antigua and Barbuda with 16 pts, Wayne Walker 15 pts and Melvin Hodge 15 pts. For Guyana, Keron McKenzie had a game high 21 pts and Dwayne Roberts 12 pts. This International clash took place at the Isaac Kennedy gymnasium. The teams met in 2002 in St. John’s but the Guyana team basically was a rookie squad and there were no overseas players and regular Captain Lugard Mohan sat out because of a broken nose he suffered in a contest against Anguilla. Please find below a summary of that 2002 two match series. Playing at the J.S.C Complex, Johnson’s village, Antigua & Barbuda won 87 to 75 Steve Neils Jr 17 pts, Andrew Ifill 13 pts, Bruce Davis 13 pts. Game two at the same venue, Antigua won 94 to 81 with Mario Davis 21 pts, while for Guyana; Bruce Davis had a game high 24 pts, Steve Neils Jr 17 pts, Rudy James 13 pts 11 rebounds, Andrew Ifill 10 pts and Marlon Peniston 8 pts 8 rebounds. (Charwayne Walker)

Upper Demerara dismantle opposition to reclaim National Schools’ Championships title -Yaw breaks U-20 400m record, Williams completes sprint treble By Edison Jefford Upper Demerara/ Kwakwani dismantled its opposition over five days of intense competition, to reclaim the National Schools’ Cycling, Swimming and Track and Field Championships’ overall title at the National Stadium, Providence yesterday. Upper Demerara/ Kwakwani amassed 71 points after winning the track and field competition with 777 points and placing second in the Cycling, Swimming and Teachers’ competitions, to reclaim the title it last won in 2011 at the same venue. The win for Upper/ Demerara ensured that they are levelled with North Georgetown with 14 titles apiece overall in the National Schools’ Championships. North Georgetown, which had won the title in 2012 and 2013 before rain forced abandonment last year, was relegated to second with 59 points. North Georgetown won the swimming contest and was second in track and field, but slipped in the other competitions. Corentyne and East

Georgetown tied for third with 47 points apiece, while West Demerara and South Georgetown tied for fourth with 46 points. New Amsterdam was fifth with 43 points with Bartica sixth on 42 points. East Coast was seventh with 37 points, while West Coast Berbice was eighth with 35 points. Essequibo Coast/Pomeroon was ninth with 31 points, while North West rounded off the top 10 Districts with 29 points. East Bank finished in the 11th position on 25 points while Rupununi was 12th with 24 points and Potaro/Siparuni 13th on 19 points. North Georgetown had won the swimming competition with 414 points, while West Demerara won the Teachers’ competition with 284 points and Corentyne the cycling competition with 255 points. North Georgetown’s Jason Yaw smashed Stephon James’ Under-20 Boys’ 400m record in 48.7 seconds yesterday in one of the highlights of the competition. South Georgetown’s Dequan Vancooten was second in 50.4 seconds while New

Amsterdam’s Devas Samlall finished third in 50.5 seconds. Corentyne’s Dennlie Gray won the female race in 1:01.7 ahead of North Georgetown’s Ruth Sammoogan (1:01.8) and East Georgetown’s Mearisha Carter (1:03.1) respectively. North Georgetown’s Avon Samuels won her second title of the Championships with 59.5 seconds run in the U-18 Girls’ 400m ahead of North Georgetown’s Kezra Murray (1:02.4) and Corentyne’s Collia Rowe (1:04.8) respectively. Samuel Lynch won the Boys’ U-18 title in 51.3 seconds from West Coast Berbice’s Aldon Henry (51.4s) and West Demerara’s Shemar Hetmyer (52.5s). Upper Demerara/Kwakwani’s, Daniel Williams completed his sprint treble with a 51.0 seconds performance in the U-16 Boys 400m ahead of North Georgetown’s Jeremy Garrett (52.9s) and West Demerara’s Nkosi Dazzell, who ran 53.1 seconds. East Georgetown’s Cassie Small (1:00.5) won the female race. In the U-14 400m category, North Georgetown’s Deron Roberts won in 57.9 seconds (Continued on page 25)

Saturday November 28, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 31

GABF versus Antigua All Profiles of the Antigua BasketStar Basketball Team series ball Team for the Goodwill tour starts tonight in Linden The Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) will be hosting an Antigua and Barbuda Men’s All Star Basketball Team from November 26 to December 3, 2015. The series starts tonight in the Mining Town of Linden. The Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) has named a squad for the All Star Basketball Challenge Series that will bring many of the Antiguan players from their Men’s team that placed third in the 2015 Caribbean Basketball Confederation Championships, held during June 2015 in the British Virgin Islands. Darcel Harris and Marlon Rodrigues will coach the Guyana Men’s All Star Basketball Team in their quest to outperform the Antigua and Barbuda side. The Guyana All Star Team will be selected from the fol-

28.

Kurt Elias

1.

Dominic Vincente

29.

Ryan Gullen

2.

Dave Causway

30.

Rayon Cummings

3.

Travis Burnette

4.

Kurtleigh English

lowing squad:

5.

Shelroy Thomas

6.

Nikolai Smith

7.

Travin Dryden

8.

Harold Adams

9.

Terron Welch

10.

Amineke Archibald

11.

Chris Williams

The game dates, start time and locations for the All Star Challenge Basketball Series between Antigua and Guyana are: 1.

Saturday,

November

28,

Mackenzie Sports Club from 20:00 Hours. 2.

Sunday, November 29, Burnham

Court from 20:00 Hours. 3.

Monday, November 30, Cliff

12.

Dennis Niles

13.

Keon Cameron

14.

Trenton Woolford

15.

Orin Rose

Anderson Sports Hall from 21:00 Hours.

16.

Jermaine Hamilton

17.

Akeem Kanhai

18.

Jason Squires

19.

Stefon Gillis

20.

Ruel Ritch

21.

Tyrone Hamid

22.

Randy Richardson

23.

Royston Siland

Supporting games will be played before each of the feature games. Basketball fans are encouraged to support their local basketball stars; with free admission being for Under-13 children.

24.

Jermaine Slater

25.

Shane Webster

26.

Drumson McAulay

27.

Fabian Johnson

points per game and rallied his team to a second place finish in the second division, promoting them to the premier division. In the business league, Davis was no different as he led his team with his hardcore style, averaging 11 points and 5 rebounds per game to finish third in the regular season.

Anderson Sports Hall from 21:00 Hours. 4.

Wednesday, December 2, Cliff

Name: Marlon George Position: Coach Background: George is the head coach and manager for Digicel in the Business basketball league for the past years, leading his team to a third place finish in this year’s competition.

National Schools Cycling C/ships

Hicks captures 5000m boys Open, Tiexeira takes girls 1500m Open By Zaheer Mohamed Andrew Hicks turned in a commendable performance to win the 5000m boys Open when the National Schools cycling championships culminated yesterday at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence. Hicks of District six Corentyne rode brilliantly to win the contest ahead of Christopher Griffith of District 11 North Georgetown and Shaquel Agard of District 10 Upper Demerara/Kwakwani. Shenika Tiexeira of District six captured the 1500m girls open title, while Selena Blair of District 12 East Georgetown placed second and Uranne Charles of District three West Demerara third. Briton John of District 11 won gold in the 1500m boys U16; Casey Abrams of District five West Coast Berbice grabbed silver and Christopher Joseph of District 10 bronze. The 1500m girls U16 title went to Destheney Lewis of District 15 New Amsterdam, while Tamera Henry of District 12 finished second and Allia Roberts of District 13 South Georgetown third. Leona James of District 10 took the top podium spot in the 1500m girls U14 race while Annstaysha King of District four East Coast Demerara and Beyonce Ross of District six placed second and third in

Emanuel Atherly of district seven Bartica reacts after winning the 1500m boys U14 event. that order. Emanuel Atherly of District seven Bartica won the 1500m boys U14 event, while Kasho Hardeo of District four ended in second spot and Julian DeAbreu of District 14 East Bank Demerara third. Hicks was again in winners lane this time in the 1500m boys open; he was followed by Jormel Yearwood of District 10 and Keomo Logan of District 15 respectively.

Balram Narine of District six captured the 800m boys open; Jamual John of District 13 took the runner up spot and Silvio Inniss of District 10 third. The 800m boys U16 was taken by Briton John of District 11, while Carim Chase of District seven placed second just ahead of Raymond Daw of District four. Tieanna Barker of District 12 claimed the 800m girls open; Deancae Welch of District six finished second, while Andriska Mickle of District 11 took the bronze. Kendia Don of District six bagged gold in the 800m girls U16 race, Abigail Jeffery of District 10 snared the runner up position; Sydney Solomon of District 11 was third. Mark David of District 12 carted off the 800m boys U14 event, while Fayyad Arakhan of District six placed second; Kasha Hardeo of District four followed. Angelee Lewis of District 15 was the winner in the 800m girls U14, while Kalika Felix of District 13 ended in second spot and Chelcia Sanchara of District 10 third. The female open ‘devil takes the hindmost’ was won by Destheney Lewis District 15, while the boys’ equivalent was captured by Balram Narine of District six. District six was overall winner in this event.

Name: Carlton Brodie Position: Referee Background: Brodie is the First Vice President of the Antigua Barbuda Basketball Association and a FIBA Certified Official for the past 10 years.

Name: Ettienne Davis Height: 5’11 Position: Guard Basketball background: Davis who currently plays for Big Banana Express in the local league and Digicel in the Business league led both teams. In the local league, Davis averages 9

Name: Mario Samuel Height: 5’10 Position: Guard Basketball background: Samuel currently plays for KC Ballers in the second division of the local league averaging 5 points per game. He also plays for Sandals in the Business league where he averages 10.2 points per game.

Name: Adissa ‘Rass-I’ Harris Height: 5’10 Position: Point Guard Basketball background: Harris currently plays for the local league and playoff champions, F and G Trading Cuties Ovals Ojays in the premier division where he averages 8 points and 8 assists per game. Harris also plays for the 2015 league champions in the business league, 3Ds.

Name: Eric‘Lebron’ Joseph Height: 6’1 Position: Small Forward Basketball background: Joseph who is a three time champion in the local league currently plays for the 2015 league and playoff champions in the premier division, F and G Trading Cuties Ovals Ojays averaging 8 points and 4 rebounds per game. Joseph plays for newcomers Fitzroy Rewinding Transformers leading his team to an eighth place finish in the regular season and a spot in the playoffs with 15.4 points and 8 rebounds per game.

Name: George Francis Height: 6’1 Position: Guard Basketball background: Francis who is a 2 time MVP and 2 time highest scorer currently plays for the Big Banana Express, the longest playing team in the local league where he averages 17.5 points per game rallying his team to a second place finish and promotion to the premier division. In the business league, Francis plays for Digicel where he averages 16 points and 2.2 steals per game, leading them to a third place finish in the regular season. Francis also represented Antigua in the Caricom Youth Championships in Trinidad in 2005.

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Kaieteur News

Saturday November 28, 2015

‘Back to the Future’ Caribbean Development Boxing Tournament

Minister Nicolette Henry congratulates organisers as Guyanese boxers assume early lead By Michael Benjamin An excellent display of aggression and counterpunching skills earned Guyanese boxers 4 wins out of their 5 bouts when the local pugilists started their trek for championship honours as action in the ‘Back to the Future’ Development Boxing Tournament got underway at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) last Thursday evening. Jamal Eastman opened Guyana’s account with a commanding display that earned him a technical knockout victory over Grenadian, Neilon Cyrus in the 52-56kgs division of the Youth category. Eastman, a Berbician that has shown great promise in earlier bouts in the run up to the tournament, signaled his intention from the very first gong when he rushed out and dealt his man a clubbing blow to hi s temple. Thereafter, Cyrus, in an attempt to evade several similar blows, ducked below the belt and the referee warned him twice. Eastman then bulldozed his man with several jolting shots and the referee intervened with a mandatory 8 count. Eastman applied the pressure upon resumption and a right cross connected to

Cyrus’ head that forced the referee to once again count the Grenadian and subsequently wave the bout off at 2:11secs of the first round after determining that he (Cyrus) was unable to continue. Eastman’s win set the pace but it was not totally a walk in the park for the local punchers as middleweight pugilist, Dennis Thomas, found out. He had to call on his reserves to win his bout against Arthur Langilier after the St Lucian stood his ground for the first two rounds and then rocked him with a vicious right cross in the 3rd round that dumped him on the canvass for the referee to institute the mandatory 8 count. Thomas had controlled the preceding rounds and one round earlier had forced the referee to institute a mandatory 8 count after he had unleashed several head and body shots that sent Langilier reeling into the ropes. After the knockdown, Thomas rose, more surprised than hurt, and launched a well-constructed attack that included wicked body and head shots. The St Lucian refused to say die and matched his opponent’s blows but by

Minister within the Ministry of Education Nicolette Henry declared the Caribbean Development Boxing Tournament Open at CASH on Thursday. (Sean Devers photo) then Thomas was in full flow and resorted to his vast experience to control the bout with well-placed combinations. Thomas rocked his man with pin-point right crosses and a few body shots for good measure that pushed Langilier on the back foot in an attempt to ward off the onslaught in the final stanza. The two pugilists were engaged in a delightful exchange that excited the small audience and when the bell sounded, a confident Thomas prematurely raised his hands in anticipation of the victory. Two minutes later, the judges concurred. Diwani Lampkin was also

Orin Joseph Memorial Domino Competition starts tomorrow The Georgetown Domino Association (GDA) has planned a three-week competition to honour the late President of the entity Orin Joseph at his wife’s residence 1223 Gaulding Place, South Ruimveldt. According to a release, from the GDA, the first round of action will begin tomorrow, starting from 15:00 hrs and teams are expected from East and West Bank Demerara, East Coast D e m e r a r a , B a r t i c a and Essequibo and they will join some of the best teams in Georgetown and Public and Private Organisations to compete for prize monies in excess of $400,000 and tro-

phies. The event which is being organised by GDA President Faye Joseph will see the winning team cart off $200,000 and a trophy, runner-up $100,000 and a trophy and third place $75,000 and a trophy. Entrance fee is $10,000 per team. Special prizes will be given to the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament and the Best Female Team. The competition is expected to conclude on December 20. Interested teams could contact Mark ‘Jumbie’ Wiltshire on tele # 665-5855.

Faye Joseph

Western Tigers Football Club to hold AGM tomorrow The Western Tigers Football Club will hold their Annual General Meeting (AGM) tomorrow at the Western Tigers Playfield in West Ruimveldt. Proceeding start at

10:00am and a report by the outgoing President Roger Moe will be one of the key reports presented. Elections of office bearers will be the main point of the agenda.

All club members are asked to be present and be on time for tomorrow’s important meeting as the club looks to chart the way forward and improve their fortunes.

in winners’ row, clinching a unanimous verdict over Nathan Ferreri (St Lucia) in their Youth light/welterweight encounter. Blessed with far more talent than he portrayed on fight night, Lampkin failed to assertively stamp his authority and despite clinching the victory, will have to sharpen up in a few departments if he is to come out on top of the heap. He was eventually awarded the bout unanimously. Local Elite Open lightweight boxer, Joel Williamson, proved too good for his T&T opponent, Christopher DeFreitas and boxed his way to a unanimous verdict, but Clifton Graham broke the sequence for the locals when he allowed Jamaican, Nico Yeyo to control the pace of their welterweight Elite Open bout to take a unanimous verdict. In the elite open light/welterweight division Jean Paul Cooper (T&T) boxed his way to a unanimous decision over Tyrone Oliver (Bahamas), while the first of two welterweight bouts between St Lucian, Lyndell Marcellin and Jamal Edmond (Barbados) saw the former pugilist pounding out a unanimous verdict over the latter. Hendrix Farlot (Cayenne) won unanimously over Charles Leatham (Dominica), also in the welterweight division while in the light/heavyweight division, Yakita Aska of Antigua and Barbuda failed to get past Marvin Anthony (St Lucia). Trinidad and Tobago’s Brendon Dennis and D’Angelo Swaby (Bahamas) battled in the heavyweight category and the latter pugilist prevailed on points. There were three semi-final matchups; in the welterweight division (Youth 17-18), Renaldo Steward (T&T)

outboxed Kemrod Moses (Grenada), while Ision Fraser (Barbados) proved too good for Tahj Browne (St Lucia). Jamaican lightweight boxer, Ricardo Carter turned in a spirited performance to prevail over Barbadian, Ezra Lord, in their Elite Open lightweight affair. Meanwhile, activities got underway when boxers, managers and trainers from 13 teams, all colorfully dressed, paraded before Minister within the Ministry of Education, Nicolette Henry and other officials where the Minister delivered the keynote address. She welcomed the delegates while thanking them for accepting the invitation to participate in the tournament. She noted that it was the first such tournament staged in decades even as she lauded the organizers for their efforts. The Minister also quoted the words of the late freedom fighter, Nelson Mandela, “Sports have the power to change the world,” even as she encouraged the participants to initiate requisite changes. Ms. Henry further pointed out that government was keen on providing opportunities for local sports stalwarts and has sports into the education sector to support this ideal. She said that she has learnt that many of the (participating) boxers are in school and this is indeed commendable. The Minister also highlighted the successes of former pugilists in their quest to bring glory to Guyana. “Boxing is a sport with a proud history and tradition and I note the achievements (of past pugilists) which includes numerous world titles and a (lone) bronze medal at the Olympics,” said Ms. Henry. The Minister also had special words for members of the corporate community and other individuals and groups that had contributed to the success of the tournament, “Your efforts have been noted and I must extend sincere gratitude to you all for this tournament could not have been held devoid of your input,” pronounced Ms. Henry. She further pledged Government’s support for this and other similar ventures. “On behalf of my Government, I wish you all the best and may your determination surpass your expectations,” proclaimed the Minister, mo-

ments before declaring the games open. President of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA), Steve Ninvalle, also welcomed the visiting teams and urged them to conform to the mantra of the Caribbean boxing community, “One voice, One Goal, One Caribbean”. He said that the tournament is not only about winning and losing fights but more importantly to unify the Caribbean nations in harmony. “It has been a long, arduous journey and if we stay on course there is much that we could achieve,” exhorted Mr. Ninvalle. He lauded the efforts of the other boxing Presidents in the region and said that though each country is aspiring for the championship crown, each must end the tournament feeling that they had won. Chairperson of the Caribbean (Boxing) Steering Committee, Barbadian, Kathy Harper Hall, admitted that the disbandment of the Caribbean Amateur Boxing Association had left the sport in dire straits. She further pointed out that the aim of the various heads of Associations is to concentrate heavily on the youths so as to strengthen the Caribbean force for the future. Ms. Harper Hall closed with the familiar caveat, “It is not whether you win or lose but how you play the game that matters.” Commendable words were also uttered by President of the Guyana Olympics Association, K. A. Juman Yassin. He said that he was delighted to see the large contingents that graced the tournament even as he anticipated a resurgence of the sport. Mr. Yassin further beseeched the boxers to resist the temptation of dabbling in drugs since such activities could spell doom for their careers and heap embarrassment on them and their countries. Director of Sports, Christopher Jones feels that boxing remains the beacon discipline since the others are still to emulate its feats. He urged the boxers and administrators to continue agitating for the coveted Olympic medal even as he voiced the thought that boxers participating in the 2016 will break the jinx. Activities continued last night and resumes tonight with the finals slated for tomorrow night.

Saturday November 28, 2015

Kaieteur News

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Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Futsal Competition

Fight to enter knockout phase continues tonight at Demerara Park

Part of the action in this year’s Georgetown Zone of the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Futsal Competition. With the knockout phase drawing near, teams are beginning to position themselves for that stage in the Georgetown Zone of the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Futsal Competition which resumes tonight, at Demerara’s Park, Banks

DIH. Eight more matches are scheduled for this evening and among the feature is West Front Road versus Alexander Village. West Front Road will be relying on the services of (Continued on page 25)

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Kaieteur News

Saturday November 28, 2015

Government of Guyana on board the - Sponsors $4M first prize STAG Elite League The Government of Guyana recently announced their alliance with the STAG Elite League, following a meeting between Guyana Football Federation (GFF) President Wayne Forde, first Vice President Brigadier (rtd) Jullian Bruce Lovell and Minister of State Joseph Harmon. It was during the meeting that Harmon, a long time lover of the game, stated that the Government of Guyana

will sponsor the league’s first prize of $4M. The first part of the league (Genesis) will conclude tomorrow (Sunday) at the Leonora Stadium, when Slingerz FC come up against rivals Alpha United where the winner between the two will pocket the Government’s contribution while the loser takes home $2M. In the third place playoff, Pele FC who was beaten by Alpha United in the semi-

Grant, Fowler, George and Gaskin crowned Queens and Kings of the pool at GASA C/ship

Amy Grant

Hannibal Gaskin

Andrew Fowler

Jadyn George

Thursday afternoon saw the closing events of the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association National Short Course Championship 2015 at the National Aquatic Centre, Liliendaal. The four day swim meet started on the afternoon of the completion of the 55th National Schools Swimming Championship. All eyes were on Amy Grant in the 50m Freestyle since she has been missing from action with a lung infection that kept her out of

swimming for seven weeks and she was beaten in the 50m freestyle swimming in the Girls Under-16 at the recently concluded National Schools Swimming Championships on Monday by Kenita Mahaica. Two days later she once again had to settle for silver to Mahaica at the GASA Championships swimming in the Girls 50m Butterfly in the 13-14 age group. The crowd was on their feet for the race and it (Continued on page 25)

final (3 – 1), faces Fruta Conquerors (who lost 2 – 0 to Slingerz). According to a release from the Ministry of the P r e s i d e n c y, M i n i s t e r Harmon pledged the government’s commitment to supporting the work of the GFF. The GFF President outlined to the Minister, his

plans to erase lawless practices from the football fraternity in Guyana and restoring the game to its former glory. Forde lauded Minister’s Harmon intervention and added that the GFF will be working closely with the Government of Guyana to GFF President Wayne Forde (left) looks on while 1st aid in the development of the VP Brigadier (rtd) Jullian Bruce Lovell greets Minister of State Joseph Harmon. (Photo courtesy of the game.

Ministry of the Presidency)

Saturday November 28, 2015

Kaieteur News

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Diamond Mineral Water Hockey Festival GCC got off to a cracking start as this year’s Diamond Mineral Water Hockey Festival commenced last Thursday evening at the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue. The Bourda club posted two wins in the veterans and men’s divisions with the latter being another exciting matchup with the outcome hanging in the balance until the very end. The Old Fort Shooting Stars shocked the Hikers ladies with their first ever victory over the veteran side in the opening matchup of the ladies division. YMCA of Barbados in the veterans division and the Pepsi Hikers men completed the evening’s winners. In the feature match of the evening, Old Fort and Bounty GCC squared off in the men’s first division competition. The two teams had recently played to an exciting draw in the just concluded GT&T national championships and were both back to settle the score. Although the game began somewhat scrappy as both teams struggled to put together any meaningful attacks, GCC secured a penalty stroke in the 18th minute which was converted by Kevin Spencer who ended as the game’s top marksman. Spencer followed his opening goal with a pair more of unanswered goals as he sent a well-placed shot high into the Old Fort net almost immediately upon resumption and scored a rebound in the 23rd minute. Old Fort’s John Abrahams, who was having a quiet night thus far, kept his team’s hopes alive with a goal in the 28th minute to bring the

score to 3-1. Although Old Fort would score twice more through Dwight Sullivan and a brilliant solo effort from Jason Clarke, Spencer’s heroics were not complete until he stole the ball from an errant pass to finish a swift counterattack with his fourth goal of the evening. GCC secured the full three points at the end of the match with a 4-3 victory. The other men’s match of the evening saw a spirited effort from the National under-21 selection as they held defending champions Pepsi Hikers within reach for most of the match before conceding a 5-3 victory to the Hikers. Young Aroydy Branford produced another dazzling display of hockey skills and scored all three of the goals for the under-21 side. The Hikers however used their normal composed passing game to pick apart their junior counterparts with five goals from Devin Munroe (2), Randy Hope, Robert France and Colonel Heywood. Macaela Harding proved to be the star of the lone female match which featured the young Old Fort Shooting Stars against the Hikers. Harding was the source of several raids on the Hikers goal throughout the match and managed to score a penalty corner 13 minutes into the second period to give the Stars a 1-0 victory. The Hikers failed to make use of several chances created and paid the price with the surprise end result. YMCA of Barbados got off to a successful start in this year’s campaign to hoist the Carib Veterans trophy. The

two sides, YMCA and Old Old Fort, featuring only players over the age of 35 years, managed to entertain the crowd with trickery, good hockey skills and amusement. While the YMCA appeared to tire in the closing minutes, their two goals through former national Ralph Watson and Beaumont Trotman remained unanswered by Old Old Fort at full time giving the Bajans a 2-0 (Continued on page 25)

Old Fort’s Aderemi Simon executes a penalty corner strike against the GCC defence.

t r o Sp Upper Demerara dismantle opposition to reclaim National Schools’ C/ships title -Yaw breaks U-20 400m record, Williams completes sprint treble

‘Back to the Future’ C/bean Development Boxing Tournament

VICTORY! Digicel’s Events and Sponsorship Manager, Louanna Abrams (partially hidden at centre) presents the Championships Trophy to Upper Demerara/Kwakwani last night at National Stadium, Providence.

Minister Nicolette Henry congratulates organisers as local boxers assume early lead

Guyana’s Jamal Eastman scores with a crunching right hand to the head of Neilon Cyrus of Grenada in the Junior Bantamweight division. (Sean Devers photo)

Guyana’s Dennis Thomas (right) lines up St Lucian Arthur Langelier for a thunderous right in their Middleweight bout. (Sean Devers photo)

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