Kaieteur News

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Govt. invites Thursday Edition NEWS bids for security cameras at CJIA AIETEUR

October 10, 2019 - Vol. 12 No. 41

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

Guyana’s largest selling daily & New York’s most popular weekly

Price $80

- Chinese contractor gets paid $80M for same project

Online readership yesterday 120,068

No cash transfers in the absence of

detailed studies

- David Granger

21 army ensigns receive paratrooper's wings Army ensigns who received certificates yesterday

Majority of fires recorded Region mulls One charged but in Berbice during past production Police continue to 2 years were “deliberately of plantation explore leads in white sugar Haslington murder set” - Fire Service

Assets declared to Integrity Commission

should be made public - IMF

Kaieteur News

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Thursday October 10, 2019

$8M upgrade for La Penitence Market Works being carried out on the Sanitary Block at the Albouystown Market

[From the left] City Councilors, David Allicock and Eston Bostwick along with M&CC City Engineer Rashid Kellman carrying out inspections on the rehabilitated office to house the City Constabulary

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n e w l y constructed Revenue Office and renovated City Constabulary outpost are among the upgrades to the La Penitence Market.

These rehabilitative works are estimated at more than $8M. On Tuesday, a team from the Georgetown Municipality visited the market to assess the ongoing

works.

Councillor for Constituency 10, David Allicock stated, works on the market commenced six weeks ago and is 95% complete. “Presently, the

City Constabulary Division, Revenue Office and a sanitary block have been renovated… there is fixed ventilation, new steps, ceiling and flooring as well,” he stated.

Eston Bostwick, another councillor, further explained that the construction has been divided into two phases, with phase one expected to be completed by next week. Plans are already being streamlined for the commencement of phase two in 2020.

“For phase two, we recognised that 90% of the roof will have to be done over... It is mostly the northern, eastern and southern sides that need total re-sheeting of the roof,” he noted.

This is according to a released disseminated by the Department of Public Information.

In that release, City Engineer, attached to the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, Rashid Kellman, said that the newly renovated

revenue office will provide much relief to the vendors when paying their rates and taxes.

He also noted that with the newly renovated division office for the City Constabulary, security will be improved.

The project was made possible after funds were allotted to carry out major rehabilitation works at other markets in Georgetown, after a tendering process by the Georgetown Mayor and City Council.

Assets declared to Integrity Commission should be made public - IMF

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he International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged Government, during its latest Article IV Consultation in Guyana, to make asset declarations to the Integrity

Commission public.

In a report, the IMF noted that the re-establishment of the Integrity Commission by the coalition government, having received submissions from over 50 percent of the people required to declare assets in the 2018-2019 cycle, is a sign that efforts to ensure transparency have been reinvigorated.

The anti-corruption body u rg e d g o v e r n m e n t , i n addition to making declarations public, to develop the methodology used by the Integrity Commission to verify asset declarations, stating that that will improve governance, support investor confidence and promote growth.

The Commission is already developing a framework for verification of declarations across time and against other sources of information.

It should be noted that the Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, rejected the prospect of having his filings to the Integrity Commission, when he was questioned about it, in May last.

The IMF noted that, presently, Government is reviewing regulations to allow more access to

information, developing management information s y s t e m s , a n d operationalising the whistleblower policy. The Integrity Commission requires certain categories of public officials to declare their assets and liabilities by June 30th of each year.

The IMF noted that Government is also working to expand coverage of those people required to declare assets.

Government and IMF have found common ground that strengthening t r a n s p a rency and anticorruption frameworks is a key priority. It noted that sanctions for non-declaration or false declarations range from fines to prosecution.

The IMF, in advocating for greater compliance with the asset declaration regime, revealed that Government's commitment to the United Nations Convention against corruption is inhibited by certain risks.It listed the Integrity (continued on page 19)

Kaieteur News

Thursday October 10, 2019

PAGE 03

No cash transfers in the Guyana discusses oil absence of detailed studies training with Qatar - President Granger

President David Granger speaking to reporters yesterday

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he Coalition Government is cautious about committing to introduce any programmes that will see citizens receiving cash transfers from oil proceeds.

In a few months time, ExxonMobil will start production offshore Guyana.

That will be Guyana's first commercial production.

The situation has Guyana nervous with debates ongoing on the state of readiness and over local content and other issues.

Several months ago, Professor Clive Thomas of t h e Wo r k i n g P e o p l e ' s

Alliance (WPA), suggested, during a forum, cash transfers for citizens.

However, the suggestion was brushed aside initially.

In recent times, however, the WPA has been ramping up the issue.

Last week, Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Karen Cummings, made it clear that education was an area that the Coalition Government was concentrating on.

She said that President David Granger and Government have a preference to teach citizens to “fish” rather than giving them the “fish” as handouts.

Yesterday, speaking to reporters, Granger acknowledged that the issue would have seen some endorsement from the Coalition partners.

Granger said that he is not “for” or “against” at this time.

“The proposal has been made by the Working People's Alliance, but we have not worked out the details.

The other partners are not against cash grants but we asked for more information and details about who will be eligible and how it will be disbursed.”

Ahmed Ibrahim Abdulla Al-Abdulla with Minister Karen Cummings yesterday

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on-resident Ambassador (Designate) of the State of Qatar to the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, Ahmed Ibrahim Abdulla AlAbdulla, yesterday called on Minister of Foreign Affairs, Karen Cummings.

According to the ministry, Dr. Cummings welcomed the Qatari Ambassador (Designate) to Guyana and conveyed a commitment to further enhance bilateral relations.

“They then discussed possible areas of collaboration such as the oil and gas sector, mining, and technical training.”

According to the ministry, Guyana and

Qatar established formal diplomatic relations on August 23, 1996, and, since then, have collaborated at the multilateral level through organizations such as the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Guyana recently signed an Air Services Agreement with Qatar on the sidelines of the 40th General Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation in Montreal further promoting the movement of goods and people between the two countries.

Al-Abdulla later presented his Letters of Credence to President David Granger, succeeding Ambassador Ahmad Al-Hayki.

Al-Abdulla will be resident in Brazil.

Mother of Kaieteur News' grenade attack accused, charged with ganja possession

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n a search for 36year-old Alfie Garraway at his mother's resident some policemen discovered firearm, ammunitions and a quantity of cannabis in a bedroom. The police have since charged his mother, Roseann Garraway, who admitted to the cannabis when the substance was

found.

Alfie Garraway, the son of the defendant, is one of three men who are accused of the grenade attack at Kaieteur News which occurred on June 4, 2015, at Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown.

Previously Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan ruled that prima facie case have been established against the three

men who are accused of lobbing a grenade at a vehicle belonging to Kaieteur News Publisher, Glenn Lall. The three accused are to stand trial in the High Court. Fifty-fiveyear-old Roseann Garraway, a cook and a mother of six of Lot 71 D' Urban Street Lodge, Georgetown, was yesterday arraigned before Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty in

the Georgetown Magistrate's Court where she pleaded not guilty to a possession of narcotics charge.

It is alleged that on October 5, 2019, at D' Urban Street, Lodge, Georgetown she had in her possession 39 grams of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking.

Roseann Garraway is being represented by attorney-at-

law, Siand Durjon, who made a successful bail application for his client.

A c c o r d i n g t o information, the police went to the defendant's home, identified themselves and asked to conduct a search in and around the house.

During the search the defendant was asked to open her bedroom door which was secured with a padlock.

The court heard that when the door was opened and the police gained access

to the bedroom, a parcel containing leaves, seeds and stems was found.

The woman was then cautioned and when the allegation was put to her she claimed ownership of the substance and told the police that she usually boils it and uses it as medicine.

Moreover, police prosecutor Annalisa Brummell made objections to bail being granted based on the nature and penalty of the offence.

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Kaieteur News

Thursday October 10, 2019

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

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

EDITORIAL

Parking and Politics Even if there were the best of intentions, those now seem suspect. Nobody is listening. Rational questions arise about the motivations, the real objectives behind the parking confrontations.

The parking meter project was constructed wrong, presented wrong, and was wrong on many other fronts.

Almost similarly, the parking protests had a troubling flavor to them. The energy levels were just too much, the doggedness and resourcefulness exhibited not of ordinary men and women seeking a vehicular footprint here and there on a temporary basis, or of one car in one space.

Clearly, this involved commercial interests, with cash and strength to make things stay roiled. Ordinary citizens sensed other presences. Sure, those fingerprints are blurred, but there was enough to enable deciphering of the reasonable from the real politicks that are of this rancorous Guyana.

No holds they are, with nothing off-limits. When something as routine as parking rises to the level of the frenzies that were generated, then good sense conveys that something is off-color, not quite right. It was too much for something not so threatening. It was too organized, too well-resourced, too concerted in effort and spirit.

Further, the degree of stridency brought to the table and before the public was way out of proportion to the issue at hand. The corroborating public relations program was intense. As a reminder, this was over parking space.

One would have thought that this was about banning of protests; or closing down all houses of entertainment; or suspending the writ of habeas corpus.

The passions displayed would have found greater credibility for such endangering issues as police brutality, or other law enforcement corrupt practices, that clearly impinge upon the freedoms and safety of the simple, regular citizenry. There are a host of other controversial and disturbing issues that this nation has experienced, and which should have unleashed deserving and powerful groundswells of objection. But they did not. Not even when life and limb are in the balance. And yet there it was for something as inexplicable as parking.

It was just as inexplicable to absorbing and sifting citizens, the more impacted man-in-the-street. Those would be the people, who use the town more than anyone else: the residents, the shoppers, the taxi drivers, the deliverers and the collectors. The bewildered musings were: What is the problem? Why the hullabaloo? Over parking? Come on, get real! It is highly likely that men and women from the areas outside of the city, those of different philosophical persuasions, and all those of varying social standings felt the same way. Too much over too little. The objections were well thought-out: Not a revenue generator; not legal; not cheap enough; not consulted enough; not managed well enough.

Interest groups bring intense and sustained pressure to bear on that which has damaged and inflict continuing harms. Interest groups, in their general and individual composition, have their political inclinations and political affiliations. But those are secondary to what may have started out as an undertaking of merit but ends up being something of single-minded pursuit.

Cigarette smoking, drunk driving, and cancer care come to mind.

At the inception, the parking meter issue may (may) have had sympathy in its favor. Too expensive; too poorly marketed; too mishandled. However, as events unfolded, the surrounding issues crystallized, and the involved parties took final shape and form, the initial sympathies garnered were dissipated at the grassroots level, and the overall matter assumed the regular complexions.

In Guyana, this can be rough, but accurately, translated to mean this: because the other man and the other side have their hands on this thing and are responsible for its origin, implementation, and possible success, then that is damnable. It just cannot be allowed. For in this country, opposition-regardless of the group that holds that portfolio at any one time-has come to mean resistance and undermining towards futility and failure for the sake of simply doing so. No issue is too small or too immaterial to leave alone. Thwart the next side, force into retreat, compel surrender on everything. Even if authentic underpinnings were once present, that now takes a back seat to what has since been made public. It’s the political, stupid. What else?

The obnoxious PSA has removed the fat from the cow DEAR EDITOR, I wish to request that you please provide me the opportunity to share my views on the issue of direct cash transfer. I am equally aware that this issue has gradually ascended to the national stage, where the citizens of Guyana are given an opportunity to discuss this salient topic. With the passage of time, we have seemed to accept the 1999 and 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) that was signed between the Government of Guyana and Exxon Mobil. However, the direct cash transfer is a derivative that critically depends on the production sharing agreement that should remain an outcry to the people of this country.

In its current format, the PSA may not sustain a longterm social policy, such as the direct cash transfer to citizens. We are guaranteed only two (2%) percent of gross income or royalty that emanates from the oil revenue.

The other fifty (50%) percent of profit/(loss) is not within our remit or control, since the outcome is significantly influenced and determined by external factors, such as the world market price for oil and Exxon Mobil’s insatiable expenditures (including donations) that would flowthrough its profit & loss (P&L) statement.

Notwithstanding the fact that whatever the fifty (50%) would represent after the P&L line items have been accounted for, the Government of Guyana would have to bear the corporate tax burden (e.g.

40% of profit) from its share of profit that Exxon Mobil should have rightfully paid when that time comes.

Therefore, we should not discuss the topic of direct cash transfer in isolation of the PSA for the former is a derivative of the later.

While Guyana is poised to become “the Dubai of the Caribbean”, I would caution that the obnoxious PSA has

removed the fat from the cow, and we are left to survive on the bones. It is therefore critically important that we hire a team of experienced finance managers that would properly manage the funds that would emanate from the oil agreement. Instead of the direct cash transfer, we should focus on improving the country’s infrastructure: bridges, network of roads for the hinterland and coastland; accessing a ready supply of electricity, repaying our creditors (World Bank and IDB) and improving the healthcare and education sectors. In summary, let there be a renaissance of developments that all the people of the country could benefit from.

I am struggling to believe that the Buxtonians, that believe in hard work and selfreliance; would demand that their government give them direct cash transfer for their votes. I don’t buy it. Of all the constituents that are within the confine of Guyana, is only Buxton giving support to the professor’s socio-economic proposal? And if one is that

gullible to accept that proposition, is Buxton presentative of the entire population? The statistical sample is just too small to arrive to a reasonable conclusion. I could only perceive that the “grounding” of the WPA is not only revolutionary but very ambitious. It is the Professor’s democratic right, however, to present a case for the direct cash transfer. But he should allow the financial experts present to the people a revenue projection and analysis of net profit/(loss) that would derive from that would derive from the oil deal.

Only then, we would know what discretionary social programmes the government should entertain. Indeed, the direct cash transfer sounds very encouraging and promising, but we must remember, that there are many external factors that could influence the realization of our share of the revenue and profit (after Exxon Mobil’s corporate tax is deducted).

Let’s amend the PSA, eliminate or minimize some of (Continued on page 22)

How soon we forget!

DEAR EDITOR, Please allow me space to respond to former PNCR Executive member, B. Beniprashad Rayman who made an effort to pose questions in true ‘strawman’ fashion. It is always difficult to reply to fiction with fact as readers are often left at a loss of whom to believe. These are the tactics of the desperate, but they must never be allowed to flourish.

Rayman begins by positing that the Diamond and LBI estates were closed by President Bharrat Jagdeo, The Diamond factory was closed in 1985 and a large area of the estate’s cultivation was retired. Bharrat Jagdeo was a student at the time. In 2011, a decision was made to close the LBI factory. The decision was taken against the backdrop of the improvement of the Enmore factory and the construction of the packaging plant which yielded a higher price for the sugar produced.

Few of the workers were affected by the closure; some were retained at LBI to work in the enlarged workshop that was created while the others were transferred to work in the Enmore factory and a small number that opted for early retirement. In contrast, the actions of the Granger administration are unmatched for their callous nature.

In April 2016, the Granger administration closed the LBI Estate which ceased to exist and many workers were shown the door. A few weeks

later, Granger announced its closure of the East Demerara Estate and put thousands out of work. Granger has closed four sugar estates and put seven thousand persons out of work. The rationale offered

by Granger’s Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan that “Probably it was destined that way.

Probably God wanted it that way that we have to make the decision now,” who also said that payment of workers severances was a “drag” on the economy. David Granger is not done with the Sugar industry by any means, GUYSUCO remains the country’s single largest employer, going by Ramjattan pronouncements, probably nothing but total closure of the sugar industry will satisfy ‘God’.

The absolute fiction of the PPP government closing down the bauxite industry is in direct contrast to the facts; production of bauxite declined rapidly after Burnham nationalized the industry in the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, bauxite production was 1.5 million tons per year or half the annual level of the 1960s and 1970s. The state-owned Guyana Mining Enterprise Limited (Guymine) suffered repeated losses as a result of inefficient management, declining world prices for bauxite, and prolonged strikes by workers. The losses drained the company’s capital reserves

and led to the deterioration of plants and equipment.

Guyana’s single alumina plant, located in Linden, used to separate 300,000 tons per year of aluminium oxide from raw bauxite ore until the facility closed in 1982.

Interestingly, it was the USD 400 Million levies paid by the sugar industry that propped up bauxite and Burnham’s burgeoning Public Service.

How soon we forget!

In 1992, PPP/C met an arrangement by the Multilateral Financial Institutions (MFIS), which funded and placed MINPROC as manager of the Linden Bauxite Company (LINMINE). MINPROC’s purpose was to determine and demonstrate whether LINMINE could be profitable.

MINPROC reported that the there was no pathway to profitable operation, however, the PPP/C did not shut down the industry. They subsidized the industry until OMAI came onboard as a managing partner/investor.

The PPP brought in both current employers in the bauxite industry, Bosai, and Rusal. The PPP has also enabled large scale gold mining and timber operations whose employees are primarily from Region 10.

Having dispensed with the distracting fictions, I can discuss a matching of performance by Irfaan Ali during his tenure as a Minister and David Granger as President. Irfaan Ali held the

important Housing and Water portfolios, he delivered 28,456 new housing units, more than anyone in the history of Guyana, provided transformational leadership in the industry, with his ‘onestops’ delivering expedited house-lot ownership throughout the country.

Irfaan Ali delivered twentyfive new wells and seven treatment plants, moving access to potable water from twenty-five percent of the population to over fifty percent. Granger has held one portfolio during his tenure as President, Oil, and Gas, this he assumes reluctantly after widespread criticism and dissatisfaction surfaced about Raphael Trotman’s disastrous engagements with ExxonMobil, namely, the hidden $18 Million Bonus and the two percent renegotiation. Granger has not accomplished anything in the O&G sector, and in fact, passed the work of securing the interests of Guyanese through Local Content legislation to Dr. Mark Bynoe, a crony who wrote for Granger’s National Review publication. Bynoe also passed the buck; this work has been delegated to foreigners to the detriment of the local populace. Granger as President cannot match the achievements of Ali as Minister. I will concede that David Granger is unmatched in his incompetence; (Continued on page 6)

Thursday October 10, 2019

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Kaieteur News

The WPA has to report on its experiences DEAR EDITOR, In his most recent column (Give us a chance: To do what? Stabroek News October 9, 2019). Dr. Henry Jeffrey sought to make sense of part of President Granger’s appeal to his constituents at the recent PNC rally at Linden. Jeffrey zeroed in on the following quotation from the president: “‘Now my brothers and sisters, we are in government again. Eight years ago, we founded APNU and four years ago, we went into an alliance to form a coalition with the AFC. This is the first time in the history of Guyana that a six-party coalition has formed the government. We formed it because that is what the people wanted. They don’t want to see winner takes all.

They don’t want to see oneparty government. They got what they asked for. Look at our record… We deserve another five years to conduct, to carry on the work we have started…give us a chance” (SN: 06/10/2019).

Jeffrey took issue with the statement on two grounds.

First, he correctly contends that the Coalition does not represent Granger’s and the APNU+AFC’s promised

Government of National Unity. Second, he suggests that the coalition of parties is really a mask for African Guyanese ethnic vote for the PNC. It is this second conclusion that prompts my response. While I agree with Jeffrey’s view that African and Indian Guyanese electoral behaviours are driven by ethnicity, I think he has not given sufficient attention to the nuances that accompany that ethnic vote.

Understandably, over time analysts and analysis of Guyanese politics have become so trapped by this notion of hyper-ethnicity that we often miss other elements of political behaviour. In a sense we tend to start our analysis with the conclusion of an unchanging ethnicity rather than with an observation of the present and let that guide the conclusion. Because of the absence of serious and regular polling data, analysts and the media take refuge in this ethnic paradigm. So, for example, in this AfricanIndian, PNC-PPP paradigm, there can be no place for viable Third Parties. My party, the WPA falls victim to the logic of this paradigm. The

AFC, after exposing the inadequacy of this paradigm at the last three elections, is now increasingly being perceived as ineffectual as the WPA. I am arguing that there have always been nuances that accompany ethnic political behaviour in Guyana.

Despite the electoral dominance of the two major parties and the ethnic sentiments that drive that behaviour, there has always been a plural political attitude within the respective groups.

For all of the PNC’s reign 1964-92, it had to compete among African Guyanese first with Kwayana’s ASCRIA and later Rodney’s WPA for political space and allegiance.

And the PPP has had to contend with similar insurgencies within the Indian Guyanese constituency.

ASCRIA, for example, declined to contest the 1964 election after Kwayana and Burnham agreed that such a move would split the African vote. According to a study by Edward Greene, ASCRIA and the PNC had overlapping membership. Between 1964 and 1974 ASCRIA functioned as a radical left flank of the

Govt. Must be Commended for Installation of Elevators on the EBD Overpasses DEAR EDITOR, This is in reference to the letter by Charles Sohan (Kaieteur News, Monday October 7, 2019, Installation of elevators on the EDB overpasses will prove to be a tragic and costly error). In my view Government must be commended for its decision to install these elevators in recognition of the provisions of the national disability act.

The primary purpose of these elevators is to allow disabled persons and/or persons with limited mobility to access the levels of the overpasses. In the past, access to buildings and other structures by the disabled was not a prominent feature in our construction guidelines. It is certainly worthy to note that

these provisions are now part of our construction milieu.

Editor, from my casual observation, the elevators in question are single reach, one storeyed, and of slow speed.

They are to be operated by attendants. They are unlike the fast moving, automatic elevators used in multistoreyed, high-rise buildings and skyscrapers. The maintenance and operation of the installed elevators are not of the complexity and high standards required of high speed, multi storeyed elevators. The simplicity in their maintenance and operation cannot be beyond the skills of trained Guyanese technicians. To cater for failures in electricity supply a suitably sized generator,

preferably with an automatic control switch, can be installed. Surely, systems can be put in place to deal with theft and vandalism within this small area.

The Government owes the public an explanation if, indeed, the project is beyond the scheduled completion date and has experienced cost overruns. However, these lapses do not negate the value of the service to the disabled.

Yours faithfully, Abraham David

PNC both through cooperation and confrontation.

When ASCRIA merged with others to form the WPA, it took the confrontation to a higher level of competition during the period 1974-92. Both Kwayana and Rodney had equal standing with Burnham and Hoyte among African Guyanese, but it cannot be measured only in electoral terms. Kwayana influenced support for Burnham’s PNC until their break in 1971. It was Kwayana and ASCRIA’s critical mass of support that provided the WPA with its initial constituency which Rodney was able to broaden In the post-1992 era the AFC briefly did the same in the 2006-2011 period when it reduced the PNC to 34 percent of the vote in 2006.

The AFC, with Nagamootoo and Ramjattan at the helm then did the same to the PPP at the next two elections, leading the unexpected defeat of that seemingly unbeatable party. The AFC as the WPA did before shattered the rigid PPP-PNC paradigm by exploiting the plural sentiments within the ethnic groups. What is often forgotten is that Paul Tennessee’s DLM and Ravi Dev’s ROAR preceded the AFC in influencing Indian Guyanese political behaviour even if it was not reflected in their electoral performance.

I come back to Henry Jeffrey. I think his overreliance on the ethnic PPPPNC paradigm leads him to misread President Granger’s Coalition’s message to the Linden Rally. Granger was being careful and astute—he was speaking from the standpoint of an informed actor. The emergence of the Coalition has allowed for an accompanying re-emergence

of political plurality among African Guyanese whereby they vote ethnically but arrive at the ballot box from more than one perspective. In that regarded, the voters vote race, but comes to that race vote from different perspectives. I understand how in the absence of data and by not visiting the communities Jeffery and other analysts could miss this development.

I arrive at this conclusion by visiting communities as part of the WPA’s groundings and through daily communications from individuals. I discovered, for example, from going into the communities that there is a critical mass of the African Guyanese constituency whose political thinking is in line with the WPA’s and/or is influenced by individual members of the party’s leadership, including this writer. This segment of the constituency is currently disappointed at the Coalition’s performance in government but are simultaneously anti-PPP. Hence the WPA’s message that identifies critical areas of advance under the Coalition within the context of a selfcriticism that highlights the shortcomings is enthusiastically embraced.

They are also receptive to a nuanced message that combines empowerment of African Guyanese and the poor. The direct cash-transfer policy, for example resonates with them.

Finally, this segment that cuts across gender and agegroup welcomes the WPA’s apology for the Coalition’s shortcomings even as they crave an aggressive pushback against what they view as the aggressive Jagdeo-PPP juggernaut. The

WPA’s message brings all of this together and the potential effect is not lost on the PPP and Ravi Dev. The PPP’s relentless demeaning of the WPA as being in an abusive relationship with the PNC and Ravi Dev’s observation of the WPA’s as a PNC flank group recognize the pivotal role of the WPA in the Coalition.

It is clear to the WPA that its resonance within the African Guyanese constituency is contingent upon the party remaining in the Coalition. To borrow from President Granger, that’s what the people want. One of my most applauded lines at the meetings urges constituents who are dissatisfied with the PNC and AFC to vote WPA. It is for that reason that the WPA has resisted suggestions from some wellmeaning supporters to pull the party out of the Coalition—that is not what our supporters want. And I think the PNC and AFC are hearing the same thing from their supporters. The point here is that analysts who are unfamiliar with how the intraCoalition dynamics are (Continued on page 6)

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Kaieteur News

Thursday October 10, 2019

Handouts cannot develop the lives of the people over the long term DEAR EDITOR, I refer to a news report in one of the daily newspapers on October 1, 2019, captioned “Nappi residents overjoyed about first-time water access in homes”. Editor, I found many misleading statements in that article that brings into question its credibility.

Editor, under the PPP/C administration the water sector had experienced unprecedented progress and development, as the focus was on ensuring greater access to potable water was given to the local residents.

The PPP/C administration investments in in the sector included but was not limited to solar water systems, drilled wells, trestles and gravity feed systems.

The strategy if we had won power in 2015 was to expand the water treatment facilities to ensure more people can benefit from potable water.

But the record of the PPP/ C Government can stand up to scrutiny since it has enough empirical evidence to show that the PPP/C administration transformed the lives of thousands in the Amerindian communities. It is an incontrovertible fact that the successive PPP/C administration made Hinterland Development a priority which redounded to the benefit of Guyana’s first peoples. Numerous socioeconomic initiatives were implemented in all hinterland communities, all to eventually bring hinterland development

in conjunction to coastal development without sacrificing traditional values and customs.

Primarily, the ultimate goal of these development projects under the PPP/C were focused on making these hinterland communities selfsufficient, with a robust system of self-administration under the Amerindian Village Councils . After all, it was the PPP/C who established the first every Ministry of Amerindian Affairs in 1992 to focus the agenda on rapid hinterland developments.

And we should not forget that it was then President Cheddi Jagan who designated Amerindian Heritage Month and honoured the first Guyanese indigenous Member of Parliament, Stephen Campbell, by naming September 10 every year as Amerindian Heritage Day. Editor, I want to take this opportunity to remind the readers of the following: PRESIDENTIAL GRANT The PPP/C government had provided the necessary funds for presidential grants, which had significantly impacted Amerindian communities.

The presidential grants had allowed many villages to implement empowerment/ development projects.

LAND TITLINGAND DEMARCATION The implementation of the US$10.7M Land Titling Project was well advanced under the PPP/C

administration.

This programme which began in 2013 and had targeted 45 villages and the process should have been completed by the end of 2016.

Unfortunately the Granger administration has not completed any land titles since May 2015 causing massive delay in the process.

HOUSING Hinterland communities had also benefitted from the National Housing Programme. Among the communities that benefited were White Water, Manawarin and Oronoque in Region One, and Kwatamang, Annai, Massara, Katoka and Apoteri in Region 9.

HINTERLAND ELECTRIFICATION PROGRAMME Hinterland communities were provided with electricity through the Hinterland Electrification Programme with upgraded grid systems in Madhia, Port Kaituma, Lethem and Matthews Ridge.

EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES Amerindian communities were provided with the necessary infrastructure which had enabled them to receive the quality of education for their development.

Spread across the hinterland regions are approximately 250 schools, inclusive of secondary schools at Annai, Aishalton, Sand Creek, Kato and Waramadong. All of these schools had dormitories to

accommodate students from far flung areas. The PPP/C transformed the secondary school network in the hinterlands of Guyana.

SOCIALASSISTANCE The National School Feeding and Uniform programmes aided thousands of hinterland students, providing them with hot meals, and school uniforms. The direct benefit of this programme was better school attendance and performance.

Each student in the public school system benefitted from the PPP/C government “Because We Care” $10,000 cash grant that ensure they were properly outfitted at the beginning of the school term.

HINTERLAND SCHOLARSHIP The Hinterland Scholarship Programme had provided academic facilitation, both at the secondary and tertiary levels for hinterland students, annually.

TRANSPORTATION BOOST Amerindian communities had benefitted from transportation assistance in the form of buses, All Terrain Vehicles, boats and engines and pick-ups to aid in community projects, transport students to school, emergencies, among others.

Tractors and trailers were also given to boost agriculture ventures and were

From page 5 playing out on the ground are arriving at partly flawed conclusions.

The WPA has to report on its experiences or toot its own horn because the logic of the dominant ethnic paradigm locks it out of consideration by analysts and the media.

That they could think that my constant media presence as an opinion shaper, for example, does not translate into some political capital for the WPA points to the over reliance on the dominant paradigm. I am contesting the coming election as part of the WPA’s leadership. The WPA is contesting the elections as a party that has something to offer Guyana—we are

contesting as part of the Coalition.

In the process we are putting WPA’s traditional values, its political culture and its ideas for development before the people of Guyana.

We do so cognizant that there is acritical mass of people who look to us for political guidance and leadership and that we have the capacity to sway disgruntled voters who may otherwise choose to stay home.

Unlike Jeffery, I think the president was responding to this dynamic at Linden. It is no secret that both parties are doing internal polling. The president, I think, was partly responding to what he is hearing from his people on

the ground and from his polling. First, by asking for a second chance, he was apologizing to his constituency. And as someone who has been apologizing, I can attest to how such apology facilitates an easier discourse with voters.

Second, he was aware that he was in Linden, which is probably the most plural and independent section of the Coalition’s constituency. You have to sell the Coalition to Linden and the larger constituency even as you sell the individual parties. As President Granger opined, that is what drives them—that is what they want.

David Hinds

DEAR EDITOR, Parliament is due today, but The PPP/C will not be there. The chairs for The Opposition would be unoccupied due to the fact that the party has categorically rejected this government.

The Constitution of Guyana has branded entities like The PNC Led Coalition as illegals and so does The PPP/C, the answer is as clear as that. The fact is you cannot legitimize an illegal government, the laws of Guyana is very explicit in this regard. All civilized countries, those that are under democratic rule are governed by laws and Guyana is no different, so The PPP/C has every right to boycott this eleventh sitting of the house.

Having laid out the ground rules for The Opposition’s refusal, we must turn our attention to some of the reasons why The PNC has decided to convene parliament. Now their call for a return to parliament hinges on two key areas, that is the natural disaster facing the

also used to transport villagers.

ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE To create greater linkages between Amerindian communities and improve access to goods and services, the PPP/C government had invested huge sums on the establishment of new roads and maintenance of existing ones.

There was consequently reduced costs resulting from easier accessibility to goods and services, all due to improved road networks.

HEALTH The PPP/C government had ensured Amerindians receive much-needed healthcare, which was seen through the expansion of hospitals or health centres in every hinterland community.

DEVELOPMENT PLANS Community Development Plans (CDPs) were aimed at securing livelihood options for Amerindian communities under the Amerindian Development Fund of the Low Carbon Development Strategy, to embark on projects in the areas of agriculture and tourism, among other job and wealthcreational areas.

YOUTH EMPOWERMENT – YEAP The Youth Empowerment and Apprenticeship Programme, which was aimed at developing young Amerindians in various skill areas, recruited 1972 youth as

Community Support Officers in various regions where Amerindians reside.

ICT To ensure every Guyanese citizen has access to Information Communication Technology, the PPP/C government initiated the One Laptop Per Family Programme.

Computer Hubs were in the process of installation in every Amerindian community so that they too could have benefitted.

Editor, I can go on and on to mention numerous achievements, progress and developmental initiatives that have taken place across the hinterland regions under the successive PPP/C administration, which is are in stark contrast when compared to the PNC regime, a currently the illegal coalition government.

Editor, it is evident the Granger group is traversing across the hinterland at the expense of taxpayers, distributing handouts, while using state resources in their bid for the Amerindians and hinterland residents to give them another chance at the upcoming elections. But handouts cannot develop the lives of the people over the long term; they want opportunities and this is what this Granger group fail to give the Amerindians.

Regards, Alister Charlie PPP/C MP

The PPP/C has every right to boycott The WPA has to report on its... this eleventh sitting of the house

How soon we forget!...

From page 4 mismanagement; untrustworthiness; undermining of democracy; lack of vision; lack of leadership; condoning of corruption and his penchant for pursuit of the trivial.

Over the coming months, Irfaan Ali will deliver speeches outlining his vision for Guyana’s future; they will be as detailed as articulate. In the same period, Granger will

subject us to the vague ‘good life’ promise he has been making since Noah was a boy. Granger has promised much and delivered very little; Granger deliberately cloaks his incompetence in vagueness. Irfaan Ali’s promises will be made on deliverables, based on sound economic principles and an unmatched performance record.

Respectfully Robin Singh

nation at this time due to the unusually high tides and money for GECOM. There would be a big hue and cry that there is dire need for billions for infrastructural works on sea defenses and the like to help mitigate the disaster caused by massive flooding. You would hear of the heartless nature of The Opposition who care less of people and the nation but are only concern about their own personal agenda. You would be bombarded with talk that Jagdeo and The PPP/C are an uncaring lot who are only avidly obsessed with power and nothing else.

Now, if all of these things are true then you don’t have to depend on The PPP/C to release funds from the treasury for natural disasters, there is a contingency fund for such things. If this socalled caretaker government was acting in its real capacity then matters of disasters should have been budgeted for and monies expedited to the affected areas immediately, there is no need for a parliament to address

that. But it all goes to show how desperate The PNC are to legitimize their standing before the people that even a natural disaster would be used to achieve their evil end. The PNC would be seeking to gain sympathy for their pathetic showing as a government.

Then, since they have so much concern for the nation and caring of its people, then why not use the billions earmarked for Mashramani Celebrations next year? Yes, there are billions set aside in slush fund to massively fete locals as well as foreign participants to galvanize support for the flagging PNC, then I would suggest siphon off some of that cash for disaster preparedness. We won’t mind you using up our taxpayers money in a worthy venture such as disaster mitigating projects.

The PNC is once again “p***ing in we eye and calling it rain,” but this time we are seeing them for who they are worth bluffers and evil squatters.

Respectfully Submitted Neil Adams

Thursday October 10, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Region mulls production of plantation white sugar Regional sugar producers believe that they have an answer to problems besieging the industry.

They are seriously considering producing plantation white sugar on a large scale to replace the refined white sugar that is being imported from out of the region.

The news would come as Guyana continues to struggle with its sugar industry with four estates closed in the last four years and more than 5,000 workers sent home.

Recently, a draft study“Study on the Reform of the CARICOM Sugar Regime and Sugar Industry Stakeholders Consultation- Study on the Substitutability of Plantation White For Refined Sugar In Regional Manufacturing”, was discussed at a series of meeting, in Belize, involving officials from sugar companies of the region.

Present at the meeting were Harold David from the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo); Paul Ryberg, Legal Counsel to the CBI Sugar Group and the International Sugar Trade Coalition; Nigel Durrant from the CARICOM Secretariat; Celestino Ruiz, of the ASR Group; Karl James, chairman of Jamaica Cane Product Sales.

According to the report, the objectives were to provide the CARICOM Secretariat and sugar stakeholders of the Caribbean an assessment of “the substitutability of Plantation White (PW) sugar for refined white sugar in regional manufacturing of beverages and sugar-containing products”.

The draft study found that plantation white sugar could be used once there is work to adjust the production facilities.

“The study has illustrated through consultations, research and the presentation of case studies that plantation

white sugar can be, and is being used across the industrial food and beverage sectors, regionally and internationally either as direct consumption sugar or with some additional treatment to meet, in particular, colour and a few related requirements particularly for the carbonate beverage industry and other beverages some of them alcoholic (some are franchise products) but require a clear or transparent appearance where no sign of colour and impurities are visible.”

Importantly, at the regional level, a critical consideration is the investment required in plant and equipment and operational cost by some (not all) food and beverage manufacturers for clarification and testing of a simple syrup made from PW to bring it down to an acceptable level.

The sugar officials were told that the investments in plantation white sugar are feasible.

“This colour requirement would meet the franchise specifications of major beverage producers. The clarification of simple syrup through investment in plant and equipment has been globally established and the investment would more than pay for itself many times over.

Also, against the utilization cost of imported refined sugar, there would be an economic advantage for the majority of the time based on historical global sugar prices.”

The report called for investment in improved technology (retrofitting existing sugar mills) to facilitate the production of plantation white sugar particularly to meet colour and sucrose purity levels.

It also urged for sugar producers and other private sector entities to explore option of production of liquid sugars.

The Albion factory, East Berbice

“It is a reasonably easy process to treat high quality PW sugars to meet the franchise standards for major beverage companies. Importantly, for most other manufacturing needs, PW is a suitable substitute.”

However, it was warned that any move to substitute refined white sugar for plantation white sugar would require closer collaboration between producers and manufacturers.

“As such some capacity should be developed to monitor what happens within the trade, including data collection on quality issues that may arise and as necessary address corrective action.”

The study was funded by the Caribbean Development Bank.

While there has been no official statement as yet from SAC, Jamaican press reported

that implementation can change the tone of a trade dispute among CARICOM producers.

According to the Jamaican Gleaner, interest groups came away from a series of meetings in Belize, where the report was presented, saying the talks from October 2-4 made more progress in the past week than in the past several years in resolving the long-running stand-off between sugar producers and manufacturers over the quality of white sugar, also called plantation white.

The two sides are fighting over the high volumes of refined sugar being imported into the region to the disadvantage of regional producers of plantation white.

“Its the best progress we have made in years,” said Karl James, chairman of the Sugar Association of the Caribbean,

Linden gets PUC office The Public Utilities Commission, (PUC) yesterday, commissioned its spanking new office, in the upper flat of the Linden Enterprise Network building, on Republic Avenue, Linden.

Cutting the ceremonial ribbon to declare the facility officially opened, was Minister of Public Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s Catherine Hughes, who also delivered the feature address.

Hughes said that the commissioning of the PUC office in Linden is part of the much larger plan that Government has put in place to decentralize its services.

“We want to make sure that we can bring an array of Government and other services, closer to (Continued on page 22)

PUCs Chairperson, Dela Britton; Minister Cathy Hughes and other officials at the commissioning yesterday

SAC. Providing an update on the discussions, James said there were also presentations on the long-standing use of plantation white sugar by large companies, including soft drink makers Coca-Cola and PepsiCo and food and drink manufacturing conglomerate Nestlé.

The report is a win for Belize, which is the leading producer of plantation white sugar, accounting for nearly all of the regions output; and potentially for Guyana, which is said to be advanced with plans to start producing plantation white.

With the question answered by empirical study,

the regions ministers of agriculture and trade have agreed to forward a number of recommendations for agreement and policy changes at the next meeting of CARICOM Council for Trade and Economic Development in November.

The main proposed policy change is central to a lobby effort mounted by the SAC running several years and involves the imposition of the existing 40 per cent common external tariff, CET, on all sugar brown, refined and plantation white entering CARICOM markets from outside the regional grouping.

Jamaica and Barbados are the other CARICOM sugarproducing territories.

PAGE 8

Kaieteur News

Thursday October 10, 2019

Govt. invites bids for security cameras at CJIA - Chinese contractor gets paid $80M for same project The Government has released an invitation for seal bids from companies for the supply of CCTV IP Network Cameras to be installed at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).

Kaieteur News understands that such cameras were already paid for, based on the contract signed by the People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) when it was in government and China Harbour Engineering Company Limited (CHEC).

According to page 56 of the contract in relation to Bills and Quantities (See PHOTO), it shows that in terms of communication and engineering of the terminal, such cameras were already catered for.

The contract shows that 280 cameras at US$1, 145.59 a piece were catered for which totals to a cost of US$320,866.

A total of 24, 24 inch monitors were also included in the bill at unit cost of US$982.55 which totals US$23,581.20. A total of three CCTV System Software were also billed for a total cost of US$19,646.70.

When calculated the total cost is US$364,102.90 which is equivalent to roughly GYD$80M. The question is left to be answered as to why the government is now tendering for bids for security cameras that have already been catered or paid for.

In the Year 2011 a few weeks before former President Bharrat Jadeo left office, the agreement between CHEC and the PPP was signed for the Expansion of the CJIA at the cost of US$150M. This

publication also learnt that the signing of the contract was done secretly and was only made known to the public by the Jamaican press.

The Expansion Project was said to entail a longer

runway to accommodate larger planes and an entirely new and modernized terminal building. Guyana was also promised that its international airport would have had the luxuries of eight passengers’

bridges, elevators, escalators, energy saving roofs and sufficient space to install a viewing gallery.

It was reported that the funding for this project was only released in the year 2012

and construction began in 2013. The contract and project was then criticized by the then opposition, the coalition Government, A Partnership for National Unity +Alliance for Change

(APNU+AFC). After the coalition government took office the project was halted and modifications were made before continuing with CHEC. The original plan of eight (Continued on page 22)

Thursday October 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

Who are riding bicycles to school in the city?

The APNU+AFC seems determined to lose the next elections. You would have presumed that since a date for elections has been named, that the government would have been more circumspect in its actions and try to avoid projecting the wrong image.

But the government dropped its guard and failed to take the necessary steps to avoid projecting the wrong image.

It continues to make careless mistakes even when it has good intentions.

Last Friday, the government distributed fifty bicycles to school children.

The intention of the government was good. It wanted to publicize this gesture and so it posted the photographs on social media.

The ethnic balance of the group receiving the bicycles is not something that the government should be proud about; it is certainly not something that they should have been advertising all over social media months before a general and regional elections. It sends the wrong message to the public, a message which can cost the government votes in the next elections.

It is understandable that

when the government distributes these cycles in certain areas there is bound to be some ethnic imbalance based upon the demographics of the area.

However, the government has to be mindful of not seeming to be casual towards this issue. It should therefore have taken precautions to ensure that distribution, in areas such as Georgetown, is more balanced.

No one is accusing the government here of ethnic bias. The contention is a lack of sensitivity.

The photographs indicate that most of the students were donning uniforms of Georgetown-based schools. This is interesting because very few secondary school students these days ride to school. It is not that having a bicycle is a luxury. It is far from a luxury. It is just that a child would prefer to catch public transport to get to school than to face the tantalizing of his or her peers if seen riding to school.

The other main factor which accounts from the small number of children riding to school in the city is the danger of doing so. The way some minibuses and motor car drivers use the

Dem boys seh ...

If Soulja Bai slip Guyana would get nuff poor people Ever since Professor Clive talk about giving every poor household US$5,000 a year from de oil money dem have people who planning to stop wukking and sit down whole year.

Politicians all over de world know de dangers of giving free money. Some people who get welfare use to refuse to wuk till de government tell dem that dem got six months to find a job or no more welfare.

A week don’t past without people asking Soulja Bai when he gun start paying out de money. Jagdeo people asking him de same question suh this money gun be a big election issue. Dem boys know that even now it hard to find a labourer because people don’t want to wuk.

Imagine wha gun happen when de same people start to get free money. Dem would even picket de government one day if de money late. But de economist seh that inflation would kick in. Everything would cost more and in de end everybody gun be poor because everybody gun want to get de US$5,000.

People gun lef dem wuk fuh stay home and be poor just to collect de money.

Soulja Bai ain’t stupid. Some people ask him bout de money bearing in mind that Guyana ain’t get any oil as yet.

De man tell dem that he got to look at de whole picture. Dem boys appreciate that.

De way how de man thinking got dem boys wondering how he got some Ministers doing stupidness. De airport contract wha Jagdeo sign had security cameras. Now de government putting out tender fuh security cameras.

Is either de contractor pocket de first set of money and lef Guyana to spend pun de same thing again or de airport money run out before de contractor coulda buy de cameras.

Dem boys know how de cameras important. De odda day a lady had to use she cell phone to trap a CANU officer who try to plant drugs pun she. Dem had odda occasions when people use to wait till de luggage check in and then put drugs inside.

Now de airport buying cameras but it depends on who monitoring. Then Geer come up wid some idea that would sink de Titanic.

Talk half and wait for tomorrow.

roadways would cause most parents to be scared of having their children ride to school.

The roads in the city are much too narrow. Motorists drive much too recklessly to allow for any large numbers of parents encouraging their children to ride to school.

Even in the countryside many children do not cycle to school because of the speeding vehicles on the public roads where most of the schools are located.

Most low income parents prefer to have their children walk some distance to get to the main roads to catch a bus to get to school, rather than buy a $15,000 bicycle for them

to ride directly from home to school. The parents simply are afraid of having their children ride to school in the city. It is too dangerous.

The government is soliciting their bicycles on the grounds that students will use them to get to school. In the rural and interior areas this may work fine but not on the coast. The reckless use of the roads by motorists makes parents nervous about their children using public transport much less having to ride a bicycle on some of our public roads.

The government should take a step back and examine just what it is doing. The

government should have gone into a rural area and distribute those bicycles since more rural students are likely to use bicycles rather than city school students.

In its rush for a photo opportunity to show that it is helping children, the government has gifted more political ammunition to the Opposition. The Opposition now has further grounds to be critical of the ethnic balance of the cycles distribution process. The government should have been more careful. It should have understood by now that appearances matter and therefore it should have taken

PAGE 9

steps to ensure that the recipients were more ethically balanced.

But the bigger issue is the encouragement of children to ride bicycles to school in a city in which the roads are extremely dangerous.

Children lives matter just as much as getting them to school.

PAGE 10

Thursday October 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===

Kamarang visit: Jagan compared with Granger The late Minister of E d u c a t i o n , D r. D a l e Bisnauth, told me that Cheddi Jagan was one of the world’s most modest leaders. If I can remember well, he said, “the most.”

Bisnauth said he admired Jagan deeply for that trait.

He went on to tell me that of all the leaders in the world, Jagan didn’t really care about having a sense of humour.

Bisnauth gave me an example of Jagan’s phenomenal modesty and his muted sense of humour.

The year was 1994. President Jagan paid a three day trip to Region 7 with Finance Minister Asgar Ally and Bisnauth himself. He spent overnight at Kamarang where he stayed at an ordinary house and eat what the guest offered.

President Jagan’s plane was late by two hours and the delegation waited under a benab where conversations flew non-stop with President Jagan hardly speaking but listening.

Bisnauth said while others were cracking up with the

jokes, and amusing situations he, Bisnauth described, Jagan hardly showed any humour.

In the first week of August, President Granger spent four hours in Kamarang. He went to Region 7 to open the annual football tournament held at Jawalla in the Upper Mazaruni.

On Granger’s visit, all the hotels and restaurants were booked two days in advance by the government. Two days before the arrival of the president, his family and extended family members, a full plane load of bodyguards were in Kamarang.

In the morning, at 9.30 hours, before the arrival of the president, a plane landed with state media personnel.

The president’s aircraft touched down at 10. 40 hours. There were an additional 8 bodyguards that came with Mr. Granger. My source counted in total, 18 armed security ranks.

I contacted one of the longest serving businessmen in Kamarang, Reginald Sookram, to confirm the description of the facts of the

President’s visit to Region 7. Mr. Sookram wanted to know who gave me the “facts” but I could not reveal that information to him and he understood.

Mr. Sookram told me that the person who gave me the information got it from him, Sookram. He said that he can verify all the details and he stands by it and even informed me that a fuller description of President Granger’s presence in Region 7 is on his Facebook account. I told him I couldn’t access that since I am not a social media participant.

Life has strange coincidences. Sookram said he met President Jagan when he visited Kamarang in 1994.

He said he was a young man then and was part of the local welcoming committee and was in fact at the benab with the presidential delegation waiting for takeoff back to Georgetown.

Sookram said something that I found difficult to accept. He told me Jagan didn’t have bodyguards with him. I informed him that was protocol in all governments.

President Jagan had to have security details with him but maybe it was just one or two and they didn’t demonstrate their presence. Sookram, however,

insisted that the aircraft that came to take President Jagan back didn’t have anyone in it except a pilot and an assistant.

For the record, I did ask Sookram if he was willing to be named and he said he has no problem whatsoever.

There are those who have justified the large security cordons that characterize the president’s visits in Georgetown since the Pegasus Hotel incident two weeks ago.

I wrote this column here for two reasons. I intentionally wanted to show the modesty of Dr. Jagan.

Secondly, it was motivated by the politics of ostentatious displays in the APNU+AFC regime. This is not confined to President Granger but to the total political leadership of APNU+AFC. The Region 7 visit came long before the Pegasus incident so one cannot use it to justify those kinds of security configurations we saw in Region 7 in August.

The security overkill is bad advice by President Granger’s people if it is not the idea of Granger himself.

For example, on Monday, the Toshaos conference opened at the Arthur Chung Centre on Railway Embankment. The police stopped east bound traffic

Frederick Kissoon from Sheriff Street to UG road and west bound traffic from UG Road. No one could access Giftland Mall and the Aquatic Centre.

Many CARICOM officials ended up arguing with the police ranks. A driver told the police he lived at Demerara Estates, back of Giftland but he was refused. Here is the chorus of one of my favourite reggae songs by the group, Steel Pulse. Listen to the entire song. It is interesting.

“Bodyguard I wouldn’t like your job Snakes in the grass say they know not God Polytricksters drinking human blood Concrete heart can hold no love.”

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper

Thursday October 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

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Kaieteur News

Thursday October 10, 2019

Man, 44, now awaits sentencing for raping girl, 6 Stating that he really has nothing to say in relation to being found guilty by a jury of raping a six-year-old girl, 44-year-old Selwyn Lancaster was yesterday remanded to prison and returns to court on Monday, October 28, when Justice Simone MorrisRamlall is to sentence him to a term of imprisonment. State Prosecutor Tuanna Hardy presented two indictments

against Lancaster; one for rape of a child under sixteen, and the other for sexual activity with a child under 16.

The first charge stated that on October 6, 2018 in the county of Demerara, Lancaster engaged in sexual penetration with the underage girl. Further, it was alleged that one month later on November 6, 2018, he engaged in sexual activity

with the minor by touching her vagina.

A 12-person jury found him guilty on both charges; its verdicts were unanimous.

The now convicted rapist, who was represented by counsel, had initially pleaded not guilty to the charges.

According to reports, Lancaster was a frequent guest at the childs home. It

was reported that he made his way onto the verandah where the young girl was with an older sibling and placed his penis to her mouth. It was reported that the older sibling complained to their mother, but by the time the woman could have reached the scene, Lancaster had already fled.

He was nevertheless arrested.

At the announcement of the jurys verdict, Lancaster

appeared shocked. When asked by trial Judge Simone Morris-Ramlall if he had anything to say in relation to the jurys verdict, Lancaster, after consulting with his counsel said: “I really don t have anything to say.”

Thereafter, his lawyer requested that a probation report be complied on her client to assist the court with sentencing. Justice MorrisRamlall granted the request and remanded Lancaster to

prison.

Probation Officer, Simone Gaskin was tasked with presenting a victim impact statement she had taken from the young rape victim.

The young girl expressed that she still feels bad and would get angry every time she sees Lancaster. She confessed that she no longer trusts some people. To this end, she added, “I want Selwyn to go to jail because of what he did to me.”

One Charged but Police continue to explore Leads In Haslington Murder On Tuesday a young man by the name of Rollan Abrams aged 19, appeared before Magistrate Fabayo Azore, at the Cove and John Magistrates Court on a murder charge. The charge was in relation to the murder of the Golden Grove Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) worker, David Gentle, who was found with his head almost severed in September.

The teen was not required to plead to the charge and he was remanded to prison until October 22nd. Commander of the East Coast Contingent, Royston Andries-Juno, in an interview with this publication informed that there are indications that others were involved in the heinous crime and they are still investigating the matter even though someone was charged. “We have leads, they are just leads for now but there are additional persons of interest that we are looking at in connection to the murder.” He noted that their leads are looking good and the investigation of the matter will be thorough.

Initially, a butcher and his nephew, who are said to be from Nabaclis, East Coast Demerara, were held days after the body was discovered and questioned about the incident. Kaieteur News understands that Gentle, who was employed at the Haslington/ Grove NDC, had made numerous complaints to the police about individuals from nearby communities who were allegedly involved in illegal activities. “He used to complain that there were a lot of people who were stealing cattle and slaughtering them at the abattoir,” a source said. It is alleged that Gentle had told some individuals that he was following three men who he suspected were involved in illegal activities.

Prior to following the men, the 58-year-old was allegedly

Murder accused: Rollan Abrams seen drinking at a shop.

There are reports that Gentle was at a bar for a Karaoke session, when he got into a confrontation with another patron. Gentle reportedly left that location sometime before his death. This was the last time he was seen alive.

A woman who was heading to work came across the gruesome sight of Gentles mutilated body at the edge of a bridge, located near the Haslington Bus Shed Street.

He was lying face-down, with his head and hand on the bridge and a bicycle next to him. There were gaping wounds which appeared to be chops to the centre of his head and the back of the neck.

All the contents of his pockets as well as his other personal belongings and valuables were left intact.

Residents told Kaieteur News that Gentle would usually visit a sister of his who lives some distance away from where his body was found. There was a small amount of blood at the scene.

This led to speculations that the victim was killed elsewhere. Some residents also said it was “impossible” for someone to be hacked to death in that area, without anyone seeing or hearing anything.

Thursday October 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

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Thursday October 10, 2019

World Sight Day...

GPHC promotes early screening to prevent blindness from diabetic retinopathy - offers free screening at GPHC and Mattai's Supermarket today

A

bout 75 percent of all blindness cases can be avoided. With this in mind professionals attached to the Ophthalmology Department of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation [GPHC] are calling on members of the public to help safeguard their vision by opting for early screening which would determine the need for sight saving treatment While there are a number of conditions that can lead to blindness such as cataract, glaucoma and the age-

related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy is among the most worrying cause of blindness here in Guyana.

But there is hope for those with this condition.

Diabetic retinopathy, also known as diabetic eye disease, is a medical condition in which damage occurs to the retina due to diabetes mellitus. It is said to be a leading cause of blindness and can affect up to 80 percent of those who have had diabetes for the better part of 20 years.

Speaking to the issue of

diabetic retinopathy recently on Kaieteur Radio's health programme, Your Health Matters, Optometrist, Ms. Fionna Todd, said that it was because of the growing number of patients suffering from diabetic retinopathy that the hospital had to put tactical measures in place to reverse the trend.

This, she explained, saw the GPHC and the Ministry of Public Health collaborating with the World Diabetic Foundation and Orbis International to put in place a Diabetic Retinopathy Centre at the GPHC. The

Optometrist Fionna Todd is a key player in the GPHC's Diabetic Retinopathy Centre

Centre came into being in July of 2016 with the aim of allowing persons with diabetes to undergo free screening tests to detect early diabetic eye disease [diabetic retinopathy] before it proceeds to cause permanent blindness. Todd is one of the key players in the Centre.

“It was a Centre that was very much needed because of the prevalence of diabetes in Guyana and the rate at which people were losing vision to this condition [diabetic retinopathy]...,” said Todd as she went on to add, “early screening is very important because that is what could help in preventing avoidable blindness.”

Based on the GPHC's database, 9,300 diabetics have been screened for d i a b e t i c r e t i n o p a t h y.

Accessing screening for diabetic retinopathy as well as other eye conditions and diseases can be as simple as visiting the GPHC's Eye Care Department or persons can also make contact by calling [592] 227-5519.

According to Todd, “patients

do not need a referral for our clinic; they don't need any document, they just need to be a confirmed diabetic...they can call and make an appointment from the comfort of their home.

We really try to prevent, as far as possible, the barriers to screening, so we try to set appointment times so that they don't have to be waiting very long.”

Given the daunting impact that diabetic retinopathy can have on a nation, Todd said that the Ministry is making deliberate efforts to raise awareness about the Diabetic Retinopathy Centre so that persons can access treatment that can prevent blindness. “Even three years in, a lot of people with diabetes still don't know about the Centre, so what we do, we ask each patient that we screen if they know of any friend, neighbour or colleague who is a diabetic or may have diabetic relatives and we ask them to spread the word,” said Todd.

The GPHC is also currently working to expand its Diabetic Retinopathy

services to the East Coast Demerara Enmore Polyclinic. But even as it gears towards this today it will be amplifying its screening call to the public as World Sight Day [WSD] 2019 is observed under the theme: 'Vision First – a call to nations to ensure that everyone has access to affordable eye care'.

WSD is an international day of awareness, held annually on the second Thursday of October to focus attention on the global issue of eye health.

It is coordinated by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness [IAPB].

This annual observance became an official IAPB event in the year 2000, and has been marked in many different ways in countries around the world each year since then. It is a focal Advocacy and Public Relations event for IAPB and its members and partners each year, highlighting the fact that 75 percent of blindness is avoidable [i.e. preventable and/or (continued on page 19)

Thursday October 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 15

Commander Lord gives donation to flood victims

Some of the recipients with their hampers in the presence of Commander Lord and other senior officials.

‘D' Division Commander, Linden Lord, yesterday spearheaded a distribution of cleaning supplies to six households at Zeelugt East Bank Essequibo, an area within his jurisdiction, who were affected by flood waters.

Additionally donations were made to a teacher of the New Horizon Day Care centre and a Reverend of

the Ebenezer Church Playgroup both located at Den Amstel.

The recipients were thankful for the donations and the commander noted that “some of the supplies were purchased with cash that ranks put up to help out a good cause.”

Kaieteur News

PAGE 16

Thursday October 10, 2019

30 percent of patients learn they are diabetics - Interventional after suffering a heart attack Cardiologist

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bout 30 percent of patients who are rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation [GPHC] with a heart attack are also diabetics. What is however interesting to note is that these patients become aware of their diabetic state when they turn up at hospital for emergency medical care.

This is according to Interventional Cardiologist, Dr. Mahendra Carpen who offers his services to both the Caribbean Heart Institute and the GPHC's Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.

Dr. Carpen who was being interviewed recently on Kaieteur Radio's health programme - 'Your Health Matters' -said that “30 percent of all of our heart attack patients that come to the GPHC didn't know that they are diabetics. They are now finding out for the first time that they are diabetic...they are finding out, and we are finding out but at that point it has already caused damage to the heart that's sufficient for them to have a heart attack.”

For this reason, Dr. Carpen said that deliberate efforts are being made to sensitise people about the

importance of early screening so that they are not belatedly diagnosed with conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol. “If I had my way I would recommend that you are screened at age 25; check your height, weight, cholesterol levels, blood pressure and sugar levels and basic general health screening targeted towards the diseases that cause the most deaths and disabilities and that would be cardiovascular and cancer,” Dr. Carpen revealed.

It was disclosed by the Interventional Cardiologist too that across the developing world, “cardiovascular diseases account for a third of all deaths and within that spectrum heart disease accounts for the majority.”

This state of affairs, he said, is not just unique to the Caribbean since it is evident across developing countries and this is owing to a number of factors. According to him, “It is a combination of genetics, lifestyle changes and the availability of appropriate interventions, primary health care preventive strategies and interventional strategies

when prevention doesn't quite get the job done.”

In fact Dr. Carpen made it clear that a person's health could be allowed to deteriorate if they are strapped financially. “It is well known that the poorer you are, the worst your health care is whether it is for screening or advance interventions,” said Dr. Carpen. He, however, noted that “there are a couple of simple things that we can do to safeguard our health...these essentially involve the diet we eat and our activities and as well as primary health care.”

Speaking to the issue of diet, Dr. Carpen said, “Imagine your plate is a round plate, half of that plate should be vegetables, whether it is steam or raw (salads); the other half you divide into two quarters, one quarter for starch such as rice, provision or roti or whatever you prefer as your starch of choice, and then the other quarter should be your protein - fish, chicken but less of the red meat.”

While diet is an i m p o r t a n t f a c t o r, t h e Interventional Cardiologist made it clear that “I have always been a believer of

Interventional Cardiologist, Dr. Mahendra Carpen

moderation rather than drastic diets that is what I would tell my patients because what I want them to do is to have a sustainable habit...”

Continuing his conversation on the measures that can be taken to help improve one's health, Dr. Carpen turned his attention to the importance of exercise. While exercise may not be a regular practice

of some, Dr. Carpen noted that it should be viewed as a necessity. “With our current hectic lifestyle that's always a challenge but if you drive perhaps you should consider parking a block away from work, taking the stairs instead of the elevator; those are things that we can actually do...”

According to the heart expert, the American Heart Association recommends 30

minutes a day, five days a w e e k f o r b r i s k cardiovascular exercise such as walking, cycling, or swimming.

While diet and exercise is crucial, he said that one practice that is absolutely discouraged is that of smoking since “that is the number one bad habit that you can develop that can directly impact on your length of life.”

Thursday October 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 17

21 army ensigns receive paratrooper's wings

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hief-of-Staff, Brigadier Patrick West, yesterday presented 21 ensigns of the Standard Officer Course 51 with their Certificates of Completion and Paratrooper's Wings, after they successfully completed their final jump at Air Station London.

During his congratulatory remarks, Brigadier West observed that the history of the GDF and the Colonel Ulric Pilgrim Officer Cadet School was being written with "indelible ink".

The ensigns of SOC 51 are the second cohort to have completed the paratrooper course during their formative training.

Speaking to the inclusion of the course as a component of officer cadet training, Brigadier West emphasised that the model will continue to be used, as it will ultimately provide (the GDF) with an officer who is more operationally ready to face the challenges of the contemporary operating environment.

"You have overcome your fears and challenged yourselves to become qualified airborne operators within the GDF...You will grow more proficient as you practice your new-found skills and move from basic to advanced training and operations in this area," he said. "As officers, you must be prepared to be launched into any operation, by any means, in any terrain, and under any condition," he added.

The Chief-of-Staff explained that the inclusion of the paratrooper course is aimed at ensuring that junior leaders in the force attain the skills necessary to enable them to transition easily in any operational theatre.

Following the award of their certificates and the paratrooper wings, the ensigns were congratulated by an assemblage of officers which included the Commanding Officers of the Air Corps, the Training Corps, the 31 Special Forces Squadron, the Sixth Infantry Batallion, and the Staff Officer General Three, among others.

Scenes from the presentation ceremony yesterday

PAGE 18

Kaieteur News

“Overpass elevators require skilled technicians which Guyana doesn't have”- Charles Sohan

Emotional Bar admittance for Sophia Findlay

I

S

ophia Findlay knew she wanted to become an Attorney-at-Law from a very tender age. In fact, she was identified by an elder as the one in her family to pursue this noble profession because of some of the traits she displayed.

Yesterday, Findlay's dreams became a reality after her petition to practice law in the courts of Guyana was accepted by Chief Justice Roxane George.

Over the weekend, Findlay was among several Guyanese who graduated from the Hugh Wooding Law School, Trinidad with their Legal Education Certificate (LEC), a prerequisite to practice law in the Caribbean region. “I am not boastful, nor do I feel like I have arrived; I am humbled,” Findlay told the court as she promised to serve the people of her country.

The newest member to the legal fraternity revealed that her journey in getting this far was not easy, and that she endured many tears, sleepless nights.

She said, too, that there were also times when she doubted herself and credited her persistence to God. Findlay became emotional during her speech, as she dedicated her entrance into this profession to her teenage son who attends The Bishops High School.

Findlay is attached to the Hughes Fields and Stoby Law Firm of which prominent lawyer Nigel Hughes, who presented her petition, is a Managing Partner.

And Findlay also confessed that she aspires to be a fraction of the well-rounded lawyer Hughes is. Prior entering the legal profession, Findlay worked as a Flight Attendant, Teacher, Public Relations Consultant, Marketing Consultant and Human Resource Manager.

Thursday October 10, 2019

Attorney-at-Law Sophia Findlay

n a letter published in the Monday Edition of this newspaper Charles Sohan wrote concerning the overpass elevators located on the East Bank of Demerara.

In his letter titled “Installation of elevators on the EBD overpasses will prove to be a tragic and costly error” he outlined some critical facts that the public should have been aware of concerning the equipment.

Sohan said further in the letter that “The installation of elevators on overpasses along the East Bank will prove to be a tragic and costly error by Minister Patterson for several reasons. Firstly, elevators are complex equipment which require skilled technicians which Guyana does not have to service them.

Secondly, solar energy to power the elevators could be erratic because of battery storage and other factors.

If the electricity is supplied by GPL this could be problematic also because of regular blackouts to users.

Thirdly, the over passes will have to be provided

with 24/7 security as level of thefts and vandalism of unguarded equipment by some segments of society can be overwhelming, as was evidence by what happened at the Moco Moco and Tumatumari hydropower plants as well as the recently installed elevators, Sohan noted.

“The elevators were supplied by a Swedish manufacturer through its Trinidadian agent, while construction of the overpasses was awarded to local contractors.

No information was given on inspection of the equipment during installation nor supervision of the construction of the overpasses,” Sohan stated.

He went on to say that the project should have been completed by June 2018 but in September of this year only one of the elevators installed has been working with “teething” problems.

It was stated that they have a one year warranty but it was not made clear if or when this “warranty” period commenced, since this would determine which party is responsible for theft a n d v andalism of the equipment.

He noted that a quarterly

maintenance package was bought for the elevators but went on to question “Does this mean that the elevators will be inspected and services or repairs done to them will be carried out whenever breakdowns occur, as it is not unusual for elevators to break down between service intervals?”

A lot of things are not quite clear to the public regarding the elevators and a number of them are mentioned in the letter.

“These are key things that a person finds out when buying equipment at the price the elevators were bought for which is still unknown.

It is hoped that Minister Patterson will clear the air on all these critical concerns.”

He said that these elevators are “costly and complex equipment to operate and maintain, in accordance with set standards particularly when they are exposed to the elements.

The technicians who service and maintain them have to be trained and licensed.”

He went on to say that “Critical spares have to be kept for quick replacement to prevent serious incident from happening like people being trapped in them for long periods.”

Just recently there was an incident at one of these overpasses on the East Bank where there was what appeared to be a system malfunction and an operator along with passengers were trapped for hours.

This clearly shows that the country is not prepared and does not have the persons with the necessary skills to handle these situations. Hence it would have been rectified in a nick of time.

Kaieteur News

Thursday October 10, 2019

PAGE 19

Majority of fires recorded in Untreated damaged tissues in the eyes can lead to blindness Berbice during past 2 years were

O

n Monday's Edition of Kaieteur Radio's “Your Health Matters”, O p h t h a l m o l o g i s t , D r.

Celeste Hinds, said that the most common cause of blindness seen at the Georgetown Public Hospital is as a result of disease.

“Those common diseases like diabetes, cataract, and age related macular degeneration can lead to blindness,” she said.

In addition to these, infections can also make one become blind and they occur from a number of instances.

Dr. Hinds went on to say that a knock to the eye or sand entering it and being rubbed can cause mucus or pus to accumulate and run out of the eye. This is an indication of an eye infection.

If treatment and medical attention is not sought, tissues can be damaged and the scar tissue formed, and this process would cause a severe reduction of the visual quality, eventually leaving that person blind.

“Mainly at GPHC, the three main diseases that lead to blindness are cataract, glaucoma and diabetic

- Ophthalmologist

Ophthalmologist, Dr. Celeste Hinds retinopathy,” said Dr. Hinds.

Depending on the disease a person is suffering from, their signs and indications of the onset of blindness is different.

The Ophthalmologist explained that cataract is a progressive disease and persons suffering from it will notice over a period of time that things are getting cloudy, they may be seeing

rings around lights and colours are having a yellowish tint to them.

If someone has diabetic retinopathy, they may experience spots in the vision as if there is something floating and blocking parts of their vision.

This could be actual bleeding in the retina manifesting in their vision as well and should be checked out.

Glaucoma, however, does not have any initial signs. “You could be living with glaucoma for years and years and you're seeing perfectly fine,” said Dr. Hinds as she revealed that “you normally start losing vision in one eye at a time and it closes in to a tube like point which is called tunnel vision.”

It is therefore important to get check-ups and eye screening at least once a year to avoid complications so that any disease or infection that may lead to blindness can be detected early, monitored and treated, the ophthalmologist said.

Man who used Pepsi bottle to beat, rob woman, granted bail

A

labourer, who the court heard followed a woman from one place to another and successfully robbed her on his second attempt, was yesterday granted bail for the offence.

Travis Allen, of Lot 9 Front Road, West Ruimveldt, Georgetown, was arraigned before Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty in the Georgetown Magistrates' Court. The 23-year-old defendant, who pleaded not guilty to the charge, was represented by attorney-atlaw, Clyde Forde.

It is alleged that on August 18, 2019, at Forshaw Street Georgetown, he robbed Lakrisha Parks of a

bag containing an iPhone valued at $170,000, $24,000 cash and a car key, and at the time of, or immediately after the robbery, he used personal violence on same Lakrisha Parks.

Police prosecutor Annalisa Brummell made objections to bail being granted to the defendant based on the nature and the penalty the offence attracts.

A c c o r d i n g t o information, Parks was able to see the defendant's face twice on both occasions when he came in to contact with her.

The court heard that around 01:40 hrs Parks was leaving a show at the National Park when the defendant tried

to snatch her bag but she held on to it and raised an alarm, the defendant then made good his escape.

The victim, then headed to Rio Night Club with some friends and as they were about to leave, the defendant came up to Parks and dealt her several lashes to her body with a Pepsi bottle.

It was at that time the defendant relieved the victim of the articles mentioned in the charge, before making his escape.

Principal Magistrate McGusty ordered the defendant to lodge his passport and he was granted bail in sum of $150,000. The matter was adjourned to November 6, 2019.

Assets declared to Integrity Commission...

From page 2 Commission as one of the public organisations in which there are severe staff shortages that amount to significant capacity weaknesses, particularly legal and accounting expertise.

It warned that these capacity weaknesses severely impact the Commission's ability to ensure compliance with existing regulations, conduct investigations including for politically exposed persons (PEPs), and implement additional actions to further strengthen governance systems to address

corruption vulnerabilities.

Strengthening the asset disclosure framework and empowering the Integrity Commission to do its job has been a matter of public discourse for some time now.

Vice President and Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, has indicated his support for making the Commission a Constitutional agency, which would grant it independence. That is likely to be part of the coalition's propositions for Constitutional reform, during this election season.

“deliberately set” - Fire Service

T

he first nine months of the year 2019 has been deemed to be “significantly busier” for the 'B' Division (Berbice) of the Guyana Fire Service than last year. The Fire Service has recorded a total of 223 fire calls in 2018 between the period January and September, while this year saw 352 fire calls for the same period.

That brings it to a total of 575 calls. However, the outcome of the these calls are of even more importance as each time a call is received lives are risked, and there is the potential destruction of property. Divisional Officer (DO) of 'B' Division attached to the Guyana Fire Service, Dwayne Scotland, during an interview with this publication, explained that fires stem from different origins.

They may be caused by carelessness, a malicious act, arson included, deliberately lit in the cases of grass and rubbish fires that get out of hand, children playing with m a t ches and elec t r i c a l aspects.

The deliberately lit fires which topped the charts, numbered 92 in 2018 and 217 in 2019 an increase of 125 fires. The DO explained that these were “rubbish heaps that were lit and went out of hand or people lighting dried grass” and the wind changed direction.

These fires were very prominent in the dry season where there was dried grass which equals an excessive amount of fuel and high winds that is an unlimited supply of oxygen. Lighting a

Divisional Officer 'B' Division, Dwayne Scotland

fire that is not in controlled environments at this time is a risk as sudden wind direction change can see buildings flattening. In information he provided to this publication, it was noted that the year 2019 did not only have the highest number of fire calls and fires, but it exceeded the previous year in all categories and tied in the number of casualties.

Electrical fires in 2018 numbered 17, while in 2019 they increased by 11 bringing the number to 28. When asked about the reason for this spike and why these fires were so frequent. He informed that “These fires were mostly caused by negligence, persons are always leaving appliances plugged in and they often time are in the vicinity of flammables and when overheated, combustion occurs.”

The triangle of combustion is something people create while not being conscious of it. A fire needs three things to start, those being heat, fuel and oxygen.

A hot iron near to an open

window and a curtain presents all three of these elements and is a recipe for disaster.

There were 10 fires in 2018 and 14 in 2019 that were attributed to “pure carelessness”, while children playing with matches numbered three in 2018 and four in 2019. This is a clear case that parents need to be careful when having small children and matches in the same vicinity, Scotland said.

The next category was those fires that were maliciously lit. D.O Scotland explained that they consider malicious fires as “persons lighting houses and business on fire, it could either be their own or someone else's.”

Since they do not outright separate arson, it was covered in this area.

All of the fires in that nine month period last year saw 18 buildings destroyed, one severely damaged, 22 slightly damaged and one death, while this year saw 29 destroyed, one severely d a m a g e d , 11 s l i g h t l y damaged and one death.

GPHC promotes early screening to prevent blindness from diabetic...

From page 14 treatable]. This therefore means that at least three out of four people have avoidable visual impairment.

WSD provides a platform for organisations to encourage governments, corporations, institutions and individuals to actively support global blindness prevention efforts.

For the past six years, the GPHC's Department of Ophthalmology has been spearheading WSD activities in Guyana with various activities being done over the years to promote Vision Health Education and Awareness.

This year, GPHC will

continue to work along with local eye care professionals and organisations in a variety of activities.

Among these activities will be free eye screening at GPHC. According to Head of Ophthalmology a t t h e premier public health hospital, Dr. Shailendra Sugrim, the GPHC will be hosting free eye testing in its Eye Clinic and at the Water Street, Georgetown Mattai's Supermarket from 10:00am to 2:00pm [today]. Patients will have free access to the clinic and can walk into the clinic to have their eyes tested for

Glaucoma, Cataract, Refractive Errors, Diabetic Retinopathy and other eye diseases.

Dr. Sugrim assured that the Diabetic Retinopathy Centre will be opened all day today. Laser Treatment for Diabetic Retinopathy is available free of charge at GPHC and patients can prevent blindness by taking advantage of this, according to Dr. Sugrim.

T h e G P H C ' s administration is also working on constructing a billboard to encourage persons with diabetes to check their eyes for diabetic retinopathy.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 20

Thursday October 10, 2019

ExxonMobil Guyana continues engagements in coastal regions ExxonMobil personnel at Lake Mainstay during the oil spill training

E

xxonMobil Guyana is continuing engagements in coastal regions across Guyana to ensure that communities are informed about its operations.

U p d a t e s a r e simultaneously being provided on Payara, the third project, which is scheduled for startup in 2023.

Last week, one such event was staged at Lake Mainstay in Region Two. “We are also providing and showcasing information about oil spill response and equipment. We are working with the CDC in this effort to better educate and have awareness of how we would respond in the event of an oil spill emergency,” explained Senior Director for Public and Government Affairs, Deedra Moe. This activity was preceded by an 'Open House' on the Payara Project Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in Region

4 on September 30, 2019 at the Pegasus Hotel.

Attended by close to 200 persons, it featured information desks at which subject matter experts were available to answer questions.

Many of those in attendance were Environmental Science and Engineering students of the University of Guyana.

ExxonMobil Guyana says it has been seeking ways to enhance the effectiveness

of engagements moving forward.

“Trying to channel the feedback from folks at previous projects and engagements, the consultants have developed a non-technical summary of

the Environmental Impact Assessment to provide key information and learnings from that assessment,” Moe said.

Similar engagements will be held in Regions One, Three, Five and Six over the

next few weeks.

ExxonMobil is preparing to start producing oil in Guyana's offshore concession, with the Liza Destiny facilities already in place and currently being installed.

Guyana grapples with sub-standard drugs entering the market

Director of the Food and Drug Department, Marlan Cole

I

n its pledge to providing safe drugs, the Ministry of Public Health has begun consultations on strengthening its regulatory systems.

The two-day workshop, held at the Pegasus Hotel, is aimed at bolstering the procurement system to ensure that safe drugs are brought into Guyana.

The exercise, according to a Department of Public Information Report, is a

collaboration between the Ministry of Public Health and the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization.

Technical Assistant to the Public Health Ministry Patrice Douglas explained, that workshop is important since one in ten drugs sold globally is found to be substandard.

“The World Health Organisation has suggested to prevent, detect and respond to threats associated

Government is continuing to battle the importation of sub-standard drugs with substandard and falsified medication; we must increase technical capacity.”

She further noted that “the ministry will continue to ensure that all areas, best practices and good governance are done in the public health sector.”

Further explaining some of the risks that are involved in procuring unregistered

medication, Director of the Food and Drug Department, Marlan Cole pointed to recent reports which stated that seven persons, in Trinidad, had lost their sight due to the use of a substandard drug.

“To date, we have not had such cases, and we are thankful that we have not had any, but you can understand the importance

in terms of the support, technical capacity, the type of resources that would have been channelled by PAHO and the Ministry of Public Health to help us strengthen our regulatory capacity, to ensure that these occurrences do not take place in our society,” Cole underscored.

The Ministry of Public Health has taken several

steps, over the past four years, to ensure that safe drugs are brought to Guyana.

This includes becoming the first country in the Caribbean to be r e g i s t e r e d with the Caribbean Regulatory System.

This means that all drugs procured are reviewed and monitored for efficacy, safety, and quality.

Thursday October 10, 2019

NIS marks 50th anniversary with over 50,000 pensioners Guyanas premier social security institution, the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) is celebrating its 50th anniversary and has proudly announced that it has 52, 944 pensioners on roll. This is according to its General Manager, Holly Greaves, who stressed the importance of social security to the populace during her address to a General Assembly.

Reflecting on the growth of the organization, Greaves said that NIS started as a modest social security institution on September 29, 1969 and has now become the main “Social Security” provider to the people of Guyana. While noting that social security protects thousands of workers and their loved ones against the loss of income they would otherwise face in their old age, or upon the disability or death of the family breadwinner, she disclosed that at the end of August, 2019, there were 52,944 pensioners on roll.

Of this amount, she said, 39,008 are in receipt of Old Age pension; this number consisted of 11,736 overseas old age pensioners and 27,272 local old age pensioners.

According to the General Manager, 25,590 old age pensioners were in receipt of a minimum pension—$32,100 which represents 50 percent of the minimum wage, as at August, 2019.

NISs General Manager, Holly Greaves

Greaves added, “Worthy of mention is that of the 52,944 pensioners on roll 11,807 pensioners are in receipt of their pension through Bank Lodgement. The Scheme is presently encouraging pensioners to use the bank lodgement system for the payment of their pensions.” In terms of claims received and processed, Greaves disclosed as at August 2019, NIS received 82,429 claims.

Giving a breakdown, Greaves explained that the amount received comprised of 79,852 short term claims and 2,577 long term claims.

“Of the amount received 78,504 or 95.2% were processed and paid. Of the $1.7 billion budgeted for short term benefits in 2019, the

PAGE 21

Kaieteur News

Scheme has already expended $960M. The main contributing factor to this expenditure line is the $391M already spent on Medical Care expenses as at August 2019,” the General Manager told the Assembly.

She, however, related that of significance is the rising cost to the Scheme for some Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) such as Hypertension, Diabetes mellitus, Cancer, Degenerative Heart Disease and Respiratory Infection. As at August 2019 reimbursement for these five categories totaled $262,663,459, the General Manager told the Assembly.

Greaves, nevertheless added, “There is hardly a (Continued on page 22)

Linden gets PUC office From page 7 communities closer to citizens....we would say right in your backyard! “ The Minister pointed out, that no longer would persons have to take time out from work, and travel long distances and incur significant expense, just to lodge a simple complaint.

“Now you have your own office right here, to protect you and to help you deal with the challenges that sometimes occur.

“So fellow Guyanese I want you to appreciate the fact that those days are behind you, and that right here in Linden there will always be someone to look after you when you visit the PUC Office.”Minister Hughes encouraged Lindeners to embrace the new facility as their own.

She explained that “the PUC is here to regulate our utilities, including water, electricity and telecommunication services.

This is to ensure that they offer an efficient, quality service to consumers at a reasonable cost.”

The PUC, she said, ensures that these companies operate according to

acceptable international standards, ensuring that the consumer is always protected.

The Minister added, that residents can rest assured, that their complaints would be dealt with in an efficient and transparent manner, and if necessary, financial compensation could be made.

President of the Linden Chamber of Industry, Commerce and Development, Victor Fernandes, said that establishing the facility in Linden, is a plus to the community, as sometimes residents become frustrated, over issues they have no control over.

“So we are happy today for the privilege of having this office here.”

Fernandes alluded to some of the services offered in Linden, especially with regard to internet connectivity, and questioned, whether he was getting value for money expended, on this vital service.

Chairperson of the PUC, Dela Britton, said that part of the PUC’s ethos, is to ensure that they are supporting communities, wherever they have offices, and using what is good in the community.

“It gives me pride therefore, to share with you, that beautiful PUC signage, on the front of this building and the furniture, which now adorns this office, which were all constructed and assembled in Linden, by Lindeners.”

Britton said that “in 1990, as part of an agreement between the Government of Guyana, and the new Guyana telephone and telegraph Company (GTT) provision was made (and I quote) to establish an independent sanitary body to regulate the operations of Companies and all persons engaged in p r o v i d i n g Telecommunication services in Guyana.”

Later other utilities such as water and electricity came under that umbrella.

The PUC ensures that telecommunications, water and electricity tariffs are fair and non-discriminatory. It monitors the companies performance and protects consumers interest.

Among those in attendance at the simple ceremony were CEO of Digicel, Gregory Deane, and former CEO of GTT, Yog Mahadeo.

PAGE 22

Thursday October 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

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Furnished 2 bedroom apartment with AC Rooms.

Tel#223-6146

General domestic. 3 Days work. Must know to cook.

Apply with 2 references.

KeyFood McDoom village

PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, G R A D U AT I O N , W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 (1) & (2) Bedrooms furnished Apartments suitable for UG Students also Longterm & Short term.Whatsapp#6746394, Call#601-1585/225-1418/ 625-0266.

Prime ground floor space on Middle Str. 14,000 sq ft.Ideal for Travel Agency, Retail/ Office/Clinic.226-6229/6156796.

Eccles Property, 4 Bedrooms, 3 Toilets & Bath, 2 Kitchen Fully Furnished.All modern amenities in Immaculate condition.Contact 684-0495.

Licensed boat captain. Metro Construction Ltd in the British Virgin Islands. Call for more info #674-6585. Email: i n f o @ metroconstructionbvi.com Empress Boutique- Manager, Sales Rep. Bring application in store between 1 & 3 pm. 218 Lamaha St, G/town #647-8349 Driver.Must have a Sound Secondary Education.For More Information.Please Call:223-0090.

Female Cleaner Office/home 642-9823.

Vacancies- Nirva Superstore for Cashiers/Supermarket helpers, Apply in person with written application at 49 Sheriff & Craig St. Tel#2275771 DOMESTIC COOK VACANCY NEAR TURKEYEN SHIFT 6:301 4 : 3 0 h r s . AT T R A C T I V E SALARY. TWO REFERENCES & POLICECLEARANCE REQUIRED. CALL 219-0158.

WANTED Cosmetologist/Beautician and Receptionist with great personality for the beauty Industry.Call#226-4573.

1 Cook for Interior.Mahdia.

Call# 686-8996.

Live in Domestic. Must know to cook.25-45 Yrs.Salary $100,000 Monthly.Call#6103974 Live in Waitress/Bartender with Secondary Education.1825 Yrs.Salary $100,000 Monthly.Call#610-3974 1 Body Work Technician.Call #227-1717.

Labourers for wood concession - $5000 per day Call: 6180487 Wanted- Boys & Girls to work in shop & Labours also in the Interior.Tel#660-9093/6741767/687-7638.

VACANCY

Vacancy exists for one qualified Supervisor for food estabAttractive live in waitress- lishment in Call: 327-0252/674-4665/649- Georgetown.Call#231-8737.

3750 Waitress for Bar.Call#612Miners.Call#653-6265.

2522.

Bobcat & Mini-excavator Domestic.Contact#223-5273/ operator, must have 3 to 5 yrs 223-5274 experience, Contact #609Vacancy for one (1) Experi0766/655-0938 enced Driver/Salesman @ Wanted one wheel repair Humphrey Bakery.Tel #225Technician.Call#227-1717.

7864/227-8607.

Medical Laboratory/ Technician, needed to work in Trinidad, must be experienced and qualified.

Tel# 18686836492 Nexus Machining & Fabrication Inc- 4 Fitter Machinist, 2 Mill Wright. Call: 266-0309, Working experience will be an asset Salesman.Must know to write bills, Calculate & Stocktaking.Apply Keyfood Trading McDoom with A p p l i c a t i o n / Recommendation.

Office Assistant.Proficient in Excel.2 Yrs Experience minimum.Knowledge of NIS/ PAY E / PAY R O L L .mimadecor12@gmail.com 226-0176.

One (1) Clerk for TSI Eccles Industrial site office English1 Mathematics -2 Quickbooks. Call: 615-9132 1 music teacher (piano & guitar) to do at home teaching for two boys. Perferably from East Bank. #698-4432 1 Maid to cook and clean for East Bank area Call:615-9132.

Sales Representative.

Knowlege of Caterpillar Parts & SYS Programme. Send Application to:Agri Parts Machinery, 202 Mandela Ave.

From page 11 family, in Guyana which does not have one or more members receiving benefits, usually an aging parent or grandparent. It is evident that the safety net provided by this institution plays an important role in the socio-economic fabric of our society.”

“The challenges we face are real and will not be met easily in a short space in time. But we will continue to reaffirm our commitment to provide the best service to the contributors and pensioners. We

have before us the task to ensure that this institution is not only maintained, but developed to meet the future needs of the society.”

Another thing worthy of mentioning is that NIS has also been engaging companies in the emerging Oil and Gas Sector and as at August 2019, received $575, 034, 988 from 3,610 employees. NIS is celebrating its jubilee anniversary under the theme “50 years of Consistent and Dedicated service to Guyana”.

Govt. tenders bid for...

From page 8 passengers’ bridges was reduced to only four and instead of a new terminal building, the old one was renovated. This newspaper also learnt that the project was scheduled to finish last year but the deadline was not met.

An extension was granted by the government for the project to be completed by the end of the first quarter of this year. However, to date works are still ongoing.

As a matter of fact Kaieteur News had also reported that the four passenger boarding bridges had to be temporarily suspended to facilitate emergency works

which caused inconvenience to passengers.

The works done were also criticized for being below standard after media houses reported that runway lights failed due to slack cable connection. This caused a number of passengers to be left stranded after their flight was diverted to the Piarco Airport Trinidad and Tobago.

It was also reported recently that only a few of the many toilets installed were functioning at the CJIA. It is being asked by some commentators, whether taxpayers are getting full benefit for their dollars since this loan has to be repaid.

The obnoxious PSA...

From page 4 the cost recovery items (e.g. donations), clearly define cost of goods sold (COGS) and how it is computed, allowable versus unallowable expenses that could impact the profit & loss (P&L) statement. Thereby, a reasonable person could adequately understand the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) and engage in an amicable discussion about the country’s socio-economic future.

Unfortunately, having claimed that the WPA persuaded ten (10%) of the voting population to give the coalition government a second chance a few months ago, Dr. David Hinds seems to be counterproductively reversing all his party’s gains (efforts); having walked in that hot Guyana sun to convince people. Is he that credulous to believe that Jagdeo will consider his party’s direct

cash transfer proposal in whatever form? The art of politics is, if your opponent is not considering a policy that one of its members wishes to pursue, the opposition would conversely say that it “will” consider that policy. But “will consider it”, is not a guarantee that it would see the light of day.

Dr, Clive Thomas’ socioeconomic proposal appears viable, but it requires some “grounding” in financial analysis and strategy. I think he might have considered the multiplier effect of the direct cash transfer proposal that would encourage a significant increase in consumer spending.

However, in the short run it would lose its intended effect; inflation is already having a debilitating effect on the country and by extension the five thousand ($5,000) bill- take it out of circulation.

Respectfully, Winston Adams Master of Business Administration (MBA) Finance Bachelor of Science in Accounting & Finance

Thursday October 10, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Atasha Pantlitz wins inaugural Miss Skeldon Heritage Resort pageant After some three hours of intense competition and sizzling entertainment last Saturday it was 19-year-old Atasha Pantlitz who walked away with the inaugural crown of the 2019 Miss Skeldon Heritage Resort pageant. The pageant, which was held at the Skeldon Heritage Resort, saw a large turnout of people who came to witness eight ladies vie for the crown.

Although the pageant got off to a late start due to technical reasons, patrons were entertained and treated to a high standard of pageantry by the young ladies who ranged between the ages of 14 and 23 years old. The eight contestants showcased their stuff as they all competed fiercely in an effort to have the distinction of winning the crown for the first time.

Director General of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), Donald Sinclair, said that he first learnt of the pageant via the media and immediately contacted the organisers. Sinclair commended the organisers for being creative, innovative and having a timely pageant. He stressed that his organisation was pleased to be associated with it and said that come 2020, GTA will be a major sponsor. He said that GTA will be working with the resort in expanding and further growing the pageant.

“After reading about this pageant, I said that I must be there and I brought some persons to view the pageant so that come next year we can be better able to assist the organisers. I believe that such a pageant can really grow and we at the Authority would allow the winner to be the face and voice for us in this part of the country. Certainly this pageant can grow whereby it produces tourism ambassadors for Region Six; young ladies who are not only physically beautiful but young ladies who can represent their

region, their village and say good things about where they grow up,” Sinclair said.

The Director General added, “I am sure persons can tell a friend, overseas relatives, any one about this very special place called the Skeldon Heritage Resort where they can spend some time and learn something about the heritage of sugar and the traditions in this part of Guyana.”

The event was hosted by popular personality Linden Murray who coordinated the pageant, and Heart of Heart Founder and 2020 Miss Guyana World Delegate, Jamacia Mc Almount.

Those, who competed with Pantlitz for the crown in the segments of Intelligence, Talent, Resort Wear and Evening wear were: Natoya Rawlins, 19; Ishieka Nowrang, 18; Latisha Boyce, 18; Lalita Laljit, 14; Felicia Reece, 16; Renee France, 15, and India Laljita, 15.

The ladies all gave a good account of themselves in the respective categories and a number of supporters made their backing quite evident.

However, it was only Rawlins, Pantlitz, Reece and France who made it into the final round.

While a few fumbled with their answer to the final question (What three things would they do to market the Skeldon Heritage Resort?), Pantlitz’s response was very pleasing to the audience which erupted in screams of excitement. Rawlins supporters also went into a frenzy when she gave her response.

It was clear the judges had their work cut out for them. But it came as no surprise that it was just one point that separated the queen and her first runner-up. Many patrons expressed satisfaction with the results and urged the organisers to ensure that such high standard of pageantry remains a constant feature.

For being crowned queen,

The Queen flanked by other runners-up and delegates Pantlitz secured a cash prize of $200,000, a weekend for two at the Watooka Guest House, a gift basket, one year free entry to activities and events taking place at the resort along with one year marketing contract with the resort, where she will be their spokesperson and facial image. The first runner-up, Rawlins, took home $100,000 while the second runner-up, France, walked away with $75,000, and the third runnerup, Reece, got $50,000. The runners-up also each received a gift basket, one year free entry to activities and events taking place at the resort, a weekend stay for two at the Berbice Inn Hotel, among other prizes.

The best talent award was won by the first runner up, while the queen won the best evening gown award. Additionally, all the contestants each received a gift basket compliment of Ansa Mc Al Limited. The competition was sponsored by the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) and Ansa Mc Al.

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Kaieteur News

Thursday October 10, 2019

Thursday October 10, 2019

Turkey launches military offensive in Syria, days after Trump announced pullback of US troops (CNN)Turkey began a planned military offensive into northeastern Syria on Wednesday, launching airstrikes and artillery fire across the border just days after the Trump administration announced it was pulling US troops back from the area.

The operation is aimed at pushing Kurdish forces — who were a key ally of the US in the fight against ISIS — away from Turkey’s border.

“Our aim is to destroy the terror corridor which is trying to be established on our southern border and to bring peace and peace to the region,” Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted as he announced the start of the operation.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) who operate in the area are US allies. They are led by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Turkey considers a terrorist organization.

As a barrage of airstrikes and artillery fire volleyed into northern Syria, chaotic scenes unfolded on the ground as people tried to flee to safety. Roads were gridlocked with hundreds of fleeing families, motorcycles piled with five to six people and mattresses strapped to cars.

Reports began to filter in on Wednesday following the aerial bombardment, with the SDF tweeting that two civilians had been killed and two others injured in the village of Misharrafa, west of Ras alAin. The SDF said civilian homes in the village of Sikarkah in eastern Qamishli and areas near the Bouzra dam in Derik — which provides water to hundreds of thousands of civilians in northern Syria — were also targeted.

The SDF suspended their counter-ISIS operations amid the bombardment in order to

focus on the Turkish offensive.

“We will clash against the Turks to not allow them to cross the border. We will use all our possibilities against Turkish aggression,” the group’s spokesman Mustafa Bali tweeted.

Wednesday night, Turkey’s Defense Ministry wrote on their verified Twitter account: “The Turkish Armed Forces and the Syrian National Army have launched the land operation into the east of the Euphrates River as part of the Operation Peace Spring.”

The Syrian National Army is considered the biggest umbrella group for the factions of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army.

The offensive comes days after US President Donald Trump provoked a storm of criticism, including from his own party, by announcing the pullback of US military forces from northeast Syria.

Tunisia presidential candidate Nabil Karoui: released from jail

Nabil Karoui will face another political outsider, Kais Saied (C), in a run-off vote (BBC) A Tunisian court has released a presidential candidate days before he is due to stand in Sunday’s second round of national elections. A Tunis appeals court annulled the detention order for Nabil Karoui, who was arrested last month on charges of money laundering and tax fraud.

The 56-year-old media mogul was still able to stand for president, and came second in last month’s first round.b Critics say Mr Karoui’s detention has damaged the election’s credibil-

ity.

It is Tunisia’s second free presidential poll since the 2011 uprising that toppled exPresident Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and sparked the Arab Spring. Despite his release late on Wednesday, Mr Karoui is still facing charges - which he denies. No date has been set for a final verdict.

Tunisia’s electoral commission has said that if Mr Karoui loses Sunday’s election he could appeal the result as he has not been allowed a fair campaign.

Mr Karoui had failed to

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Kaieteur News

win previous attempts to be released and began a hunger strike in September to demand his freedom.

He has never held political office. He founded a charity focused on fighting poverty, an issue that has been a central theme of his campaign.

But critics have accused him of using the charity and his TV channel to further his political ambitions.

Mr. Karoui and another outsider, Kais Saied, saw off a crowded field of 24 other candidates in the first round.

Democrats plot next phase of impeachment inquiry House Democrats are preparing a flurry of subpoenas in the face of President Trump administration’s stonewalling of their impeachment investigation.

The preparations are happening amid a new debate within the Democratic caucus to hold a vote to formally authorize the inquiry in order to call the White House’s bluff, according to Democratic sources.

In the face of the White House letter refusing to cooperate with their probe, Democrats expect they are likely done with any voluntary interviews for most witnesses, according to multiple Democratic sources.

A small but influential

group of Democrats privately and publicly tell CNN that it makes sense to hold an impeachment inquiry vote — something House Republicans have demanded — arguing it would derail the White House’s argument that the impeachment inquiry is “invalid” because there’s been no House vote formally authorizing the probe.

Democrats are threatening to send subpoenas to associates of Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, and considering them for current State Department officials, including the former US Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch who is scheduled to appear for an interview Friday.

There are new concerns Yovanovitch won’t appear given that she is still a State Department employee and could face backlash internally if she were to appear voluntarily.

When could we see an impeachment vote: There is growing pressure to move to impeach Trump as soon as Thanksgiving, but at the same time House Democratic leaders want to appear as they are methodically collecting evidence over what they view is an abuse of power by Trump to urge the Ukranian government to investigate his potential political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, at the same time as US aid to the country had been stalled.

Singapore overtakes US as world’s most competitive economy Hong Kong (CNN Business) Singapore has knocked the United States out of the top spot in the World Economic Forum’s annual competitiveness report.

The index, published on Wednesday, takes stock of an economy’s competitive landscape, measuring factors such as macroeconomic stability, infrastructure, the labour market and innovation capability.

Singapore pushed the world’s largest economy down to second place this year, with the Asian city state scoring top marks for its infrastructure, health, labor market and financial system.

And while the United States lost out to Singapore overall, “it remains an innovation powerhouse,” the report said.

Brexit-backer James Dyson is moving his company HQ to Singapore Singapore and Vietnam

put up strong performances this year partly thanks to the US-China trade war.

The report noted that the two Asian economies “appear to be benefiting from global trade tensions through trade diversion.” Vietnam jumped 10 spots from last year to rank 67th out of 137 countries.

US imports from Vietnam rose by 36% in the first five months of this year, as companies have been shifting manufacturing from China to Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries to avoid steep tariffs.

The trade war hasn’t been a clean win for Singapore, which is heavily reliant on exports and counts China as its biggest trading partner.

Singapore slashed its forecast for GDP growth in August, after reporting a big drop in economic activity in the second quarter of this year. It’s heading for its weak-

est annual growth since the 2009 global financial crisis.

Singapore is heading for a recession. The trade war is hurting Hong Kong, the Netherlands and Switzerland rounded out the top five.

Hong Kong climbed four spots from last year’s report, despite the political crisis taking a toll on its economy.

The financial hub received high marks for its macroeconomic stability and financial syste m , b u t f e l l short on its capability to innovate.

Escalating trade and geopolitical tensions “are fueling uncertainty” around the world, the WEF report warned.

“This holds back investment and increases the risk of supply shocks: disruptions to global supply chains, sudden price spikes or interruptions in the availability of key resources,” the report said.

Brexit: EU leaders criticise UK proposals (BBC) EU leaders have pulled apart the UK’s Brexit proposals, accusing Boris Johnson of putting forward untested ideas to solve the Irish border crisis.

Chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the EU needed workable solutions “today not tomorrow”.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told MEPs that while he would “not exclude” a deal in the coming days, progress had been limited.

Mr Johnson has said he remains “cautiously optimis-

tic” about a deal.

He will meet his Irish counterpart, Leo Varadkar, on Thursday to try and break the deadlock, while continuing to insist the UK will leave on 31 October with or without an agreement.

In Westminster, meanwhile, a group of Conservative MPs has been demanding assurances from the PM that he will not take the party into the next general election - whenever it comes - on a straightforward promise to leave with no deal.

And earlier, it emerged

MPs would be called to Parliament for a special Saturday sitting on 19 October - the day after a crunch EU summit, which is seen as the last chance for a deal ahead of the Halloween deadline.

The UK put forward fresh proposals for a Brexit deal last week, but so far the reaction from the EU has not been encouraging.

Updating MEPs on the state of talks, Mr Barnier said he believed “with goodwill” on both sides there could be an agreement in the run-up to the summit.

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Kaieteur News

Thursday October 10, 2019

Thursday October 10, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Nicolas Sanchez stars as Pumas seal spot at 2023 World Cup with victory in final Pool C match

Joaquin Tuculet reaches out to score a try as Argentina sealed a spot at the World Cup in 2023.

Thursday October 03, 2019 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Have you been working toward public acknowledgement of some sort? If so, you may receive it today. You've been working hard and produced results that aren't likely to go unnoticed.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Happiness reigns in the home as your household continues to experience success. Someone new may come to visit. Expect a lot of comings and goings, plus an impromptu party or two.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) All should be going well for you - love, money, and career. Still, you seek other goals, and today you might be thinking of educational, intellectual, and spiritual matters that you've always wanted to pursue.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) A lot of interesting letters and calls could come your way today. Or you might have business to transact, perhaps involving paperwork, and spend a lot of time out in the community running errands.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Today you might decide to do some intense research regarding economics, stocks, or land investments and see how it applies to your current financial situation.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) You're likely to be doing so well financially that you might be a little complacent.

With all the hard work you've been doing, you might feel that you deserve some rewards and decide to go shopping.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) A social event involving business associates and friends could bring fresh ideas your way, pointing you in a new direction.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) You're likely feeling alert, strong, and full of energy and stamina. Your sense of adventure is high. You may be exploring the possibility of an interesting vacation.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Intimate relationships gather steam as increased involvement in each other's life brings you closer. Relationships grow through enhanced communication and shared dreams, goals, and ideals - not to mention physical passion!

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Your energy and enthusiasm are elevated as you approach yet a higher level of accomplishment. This could inspire you to channel most of your energy into more work and climb yet higher.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Today you might experience a bit of restlessness, perhaps because you feel there's something you ought to be doing but you aren't sure what.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) You might consider entering a business partnership of some kind with friends.

This is a good time because your communication is especially good.

MailOnline - Argentina secured the consolation of qualification for the 2023 World Cup as they wrapped up their 2019 campaign with a 47-17 win against the United States. Defeat by England last time out ended the Pumas’ hopes of reaching the knockout stages, having made it to the semi-finals four years ago.

But they made sure of third place in Pool C with a comfortable victory over the US in their final match of the tournament in Kumagaya yesterday. It took Mario Ledesma’s much-changed Argentina side until the 19th minute to break the deadlock, with Nicolas Sanchez, who contributed 15 points in total, touching down in the corner despite a last-ditch tackle from Mike Te’o.

Joaquin Tuculet got on the end of a chip to stretch the advantage and crossed

Recovering Powell...

From page 28 and three T20Is from December 6-22. Powell featured in only four CPL matches before pulling up hurt. Playing against Trinbago Knight Riders at Sabina Park, he struck a six off left-arm spinner Khary Pierre but then collapsed in pain and took no further part in the contest.

The 26-year-old, who has played 34 ODIs and 23 T20Is, said the rest and treatment had accelerated his recovery and he has resumed training without any complications.

“To be honest, it has come along very well,” he explained.

“I am very close to being fully fit because every day of the week, I am getting treatment, so in another week, I will be good. “It was a very painful injury, but the pain and everything have gone now [that] I have started to train.”

Arch rivals Rose Hall Town...

From page 31 and Garfield Benjamin 15 offered solid support. Left arm spinners Inzam Shazam 3 for 26 (8 overs), Kevin Umroa 3 for 36 (10 overs) and Off-spinner Beesham Surujnarine 2 for 22 (9 overs) were Albion’s leading bowlers.

The final would be played at the No. 69 Ground at the request of the sponsors who are overseas based Guyanese businessmen living in the New York area.

again six minutes from the break, but Blaine Scully raced on to an AJ MacGinty grubber kick to reduce the deficit in the closing stages of the half.

The Pumas found their rhythm early in the second period, with Juan Cruz Mallia crossing twice in the opening seven minutes and Jeronimo De La Fuente finishing off an excellent move as the South Americans opened up a 40-5

lead. Paul Lasike barged his way through the Argentine defence just short of the hour mark to take the US into double figures and, after Gonzalo Bertranou had chalked up Argentina’s seventh try, Scully went over for his second to round off the scoring.

The US face Tonga in Higashiosaka on Sunday in a clash between Pool C’s two eliminated sides.

PAGE 28

Thursday October 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

Scotland secure bonus point by running in 9 tries to set up Pool A winner-takes-all showdown with Japan MailOnline - Scotland scrum-half George Horne scored a hat-trick as his side easily secured the bonuspoint win they needed to keep them in the hunt for qualification to the World Cup knockout stages.

They had the fourth try in the bag five minutes after the break to leave them looking for a win over Japan by four clear points to make the quarter-finals. In total they ran in nine tries but that has to be taken in the context it was against Russia, a side that hasn’t come close to w i n n i n g a Wo r l d C u p match.

Against Scotland they were outclassed from start to finish and never threatened. They didn’t even score a single point which was all down to their ineptitude in attack rather than Scotland’s defence.

Scotland only struggled for the first few minutes when lots of passes didn’t go to hand.

Nerves were settled early through two tries in the first 20 minutes by fly-half Adam Hastings. His first came with 15 minutes on the clock when he broke

Adam Hastings gets the ball rolling for Scotland as he touches down in the first half. through two tackles to score.

His second was all his own work. He kicked ahead into acres of space and although Russian full-back Vasily Artemyev looked to have it covered he slipped at the vital moment. Hastings,

who had never given up the chase, took full advantage to touch down. It was the perfect start from the fly-half who converted both his tries.

Three minutes later it was Horne’s chance to take full advantage of a Russian mistake. They won the line-

out well but scrum-half Dmitry Perov’s attempted pass was so telegraphed it was picked off by George Horne for an easy score.

Hastings converted.

Scotland hooker Fraser Brown, who was playing out of position at flanker, was

replaced by Magnus Bradbury just before the halfhour mark. It looked like a preplanned substitution to keep him fresh for the game against Japan.

There was no more scoring in the first half but there was no need to worry.

Five minutes after the break winger Darcy Graham ran from deep before unselfishly playing in Horne to score Scotland’s vital fourth try and gave them the bonus point.

Hastings converted. Hooker George Turner got the fifth with Hastings converting yet again.

The tries kept coming with Seymour get one on 55 minutes following a clever grubber kick from Blair Kinghorn. Hastings kept up his hundred per cent kicking record with the conversion.

Horne got his third try before the hour mark as the Scots started to run riot. He thought he had his fourth but his touchdown in the corner was ruled out for a forward pass.

Russia looked to have run out of puff if John Barclay’s try was anything to go by. He didn’t even have to sprint as he ran past the defence to score under the posts.

Hastings put over the conversion.

Replacement Stuart McInally got the ninth try that was converted by Hastings. The fly-half thought he had a hat-trick of his own but his touchdown was ruled out by referee Wayne Barnes for another forward pass.

Meanwhile, England’s World Cup clash with France in Yokohama on Saturday is off – the first time in the 32year history of the tournament that a fixture will be cancelled.

With super typhoon Hagibis set to rage through Tokyo and surrounding areas this weekend, tournament organisers are due to announce contingency plans today.

However, Sportsmail understands that ‘Le Crunch’ will be abandoned. The fixture was due to take place at Yokohama Stadium on Saturday evening, at around the time that Hagibis is expected to pass through the area, wreaking havoc. The tropical storm is being classified as ‘violent’ by Japanese meteorologists, with wind speeds likely to exceed 160mph.

Wales 29-17 Fiji MailOnline - Good heavens that was close. Wales almost saw history repeat on them at the World Cup as they so nearly lost to a Fiji side at times playing rugby from the heavens. As it was they did not suffer the woes of defeat like in 2007 and equalled their best-ever tournament comeback, having been 10-0 down and emerging victorious.

Josh Adams scored a hat-trick, having been at fault for both early Fiji tries, and Liam Williams took a fourth to make sure Wales qualified for the quarter-finals back here in 10 days’ time.

There is great credit in the way that Wales did not succumb to the Fijian storm in Oita - but for large parts they were jittery, disjointed and in worlds of pain. Jonathan Davies and Dan Biggar both went off - this might have been a win, but Fiji’s impact on Wales could extend deep into the tournament.

The Pacific Islanders were such a joyous racket of pace, power, precision and downright pizzazz.

Josua Tuisova and Kini Murimurivalu scored and they took a penalty try. But when it came to it they did not have enough, and exit the World Cup ruing a horrible loss to Uruguay. The rugby gods are mortal after all.

Four tries, three yellow cards and a contentious TMO decision - and that was just the first half of utter, glorious bedlam in Oita.

So what was the idea for Wales?

Start fast? They were 10-0 down after nine minutes. Do not get dragged into the ‘excitement’? They were throwing risky passes and panicking. Put in an 80-minute defensive performance as Shaun Edwards demanded? Wales had made just 76 per cent of their tackles come half-time.

Keep your heads? Ken Owens was sent to the sin-bin for a tiptackle eight minutes in. Before the match had lasted double-figures of minutes Wales were already tasked with completing their joint-biggest World Cup comeback.

Only in 2015 were they 10 points down - 16-6 to England at Twickenham - and won. That day it was 28-25, and they were the underdogs, but here it was tailbetween-legs time as the clear favourites.

How did it all happen? Well, inside two minutes Leone Nakarawa - the sensational second-row - threw an other-wordly offload to Dominiko Waqaniburotu the captain. He surged on through the broken red line. Tone set. A try was soon to come.

When Wales were offside from Jonathan Davies’ clearance kick Fiji had a scrum with a big blindside.

Josua Tuisova - their Mr Muscle steamrollered Adams, Biggar and Josh Navidi and completed a onehanded finish. Incredible.

Josh Adams touches down in the corner to complete his hat-trick and regain the lead for Wales.

Then Wales thought they had scored, with North picking up a loose ball and feeding Navidi, but Hadleigh Parkes had dislodged the ball forward with his hit.

He was next to be flattened at the other end - Bill Mata pole-axing him after a dodgy hospital pass.

That calm, collected, wise-headed Wales we have come to know were flustered beyond belief.

And then Owens tipped Mata over onto his back as he passed to Semi Radradra, and was yellow-

carded.

That pass was forward, so Radradra did not score, but then Fiji did again. Radradra, another freakish athlete in this team of superstars, popped to Murimurivalu who laid out Adams - poor bloke - and scored. Both conversions were missed by Ben Volavola - and that was Wales’ only saving grace.

The Flying Fijians they call them - this lot were on cloud nine.

Edwards’ Six Nations Grand Slamwinning defence was being strewn

across the island of Kyushu. But then Fiji were down to earth with a bump. Tevita Cavubati shouldercharged a ruck. Yellow.

Parkes then slammed up the middle, Wales built the phases, Biggar kicked wide to Adams. Catch, try. Biggar was shouting, screaming, cajoling referee Jerome Garces as much as he could, asking the Frenchman anything - and with ball in hand liked the kick trick. The next was blocked, but Wales had a penalty and took a scrum.

Thursday October 10, 2019

PAGE 29

Kaieteur News

Intense battle expected as Trinidad and Tobago host Honduras Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago - Both Trinidad and Tobago and Honduras are looking for their first victory in Group C of the Nations League when they meet today at Hasley Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain.

For the hosts, it was a pair of stalemates against Martinique in September, with each team earning two points but failing to separate from each other in the opening rounds.

Positive performances from forward Ryan Telfer, including the second goal of the contest, earned the Canada-based player a recall, with fellow CPL forward Akeem Garcia also included and looking for his first cap since 2015.

Honduras has a few new faces as well but manager Fabian Coito can lean on the experience of defenders Maynor Figueroa and Emilio Izaguirre, plus midfielders Luis Garrido and Bryan Acosta, all of whom have at least 40 caps.

Alberth Elis scored the winner last time these teams played in Trinidad, a 2-1 win

Trinidad and Honduras will battle today in T&T. for Los Catrachos in 2018 World Cup qualification.

While the crowd in Port of Spain will be supporting the home side, the home-field advantage hasn’t always been felt strongly against Honduras.

In five all-time meetings between the teams in

Trinidad, Honduras has never lost, with three draws and two wins for the Central Americans.

Dennis Lawrence and his men will be eager to flip the script, but Honduras will want to start the CNL off right - a situation that should lead to a hard-fought game.

Gold Cup rematch set as Haiti welcome in Costa Rica ASSAU, Bahamas.Action resumes in Group D of Concacaf Nations League A when Costa Rica makes its debut in the tournament with an away match against Haiti today at Thomas Robinson Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas.

It wasn’t long ago that these teams last saw each other, with Haiti getting the better of the Central Americas to win their 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup group. It was Haiti’s first-ever win over Costa Rica and the Caribbean side went on to the semifinals of the tournament, losing to eventual champion Mexico, but started CNL play with a loss and a draw to Curacao.

Haiti manager Marc Collat has most of his Gold Cup core in for this match, but has also freshened up the squad with Ronaldo Damus after his standout season in USL League One and inexperienced attacker Christiano Francois, who debuted against Curacao.

Veteran midfielder WildeDonald Guerrier also returns after missing the first set of games sorting out his club situation.

Meanwhile, Sint Maarten and Turks and Caicos Islands will meet for the first time in history today in a Group D showdown in League C. Both sides suffered defeats to Guadeloupe in September and are looking

t o b o u n c e b a c k into contention with a victory in their second matches.

And though neither really got going against Les Gwada Boys, these two teams are both packing serious firepower up front. Sint Maarten’s Gerwin Lake has three goals in just two appearances with the national team; a free kick against Guadeloupe and two clean strikes against Saint Martin back in qualifying.

Turks and Caicos Islands sport the duo of Billy Forbes and Marc Fenelus, two accomplished goal scorers at both the club and international levels who are itching to get off the mark in this tournament.

Both teams know a draw is not enough here; if they want to catch Guadeloupe and enter the hunt for a 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup spot, a win on Thursday is almost a requirement.

With so many dynamic players on the field and a need for three points on both sides, the game promises to be full of excitement and drama. (Concacaf)

Oshada Fernando, Wanindu Hasaranga the stars as Sri Lanka whitewash Pakistan ESPNcricinfo - Sri Lanka’s crazy 2019 got even weirder yesterday, when they made five changes to the team that had won the first two T20Is against Pakistan, but still managed to pull off a whitewash - debutant Oshada Fernando producing the defining innings, before legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga took three wickets in his second successive match.

Oshada hit 78 not out off 48 balls, overseeing Sri Lanka’s recovery from 30 for 3 after five overs, then 58 for 4 after eight. Very much the talisman in the innings - no other batsman made even 15 - he guided Sri Lanka to 147 for 7 on a slow Lahore surface.

That total would prove 13 too many for Pakistan, who had a 76-run second-wicket partnership, and yet could never get ahead of the asking rate. Haris Sohail struck 52 off 50 balls for them, but there was the sense that the top order could have been more ambitious in the first twothirds of the innings.

After 12 overs the required rate had crept up to nine. Iftikhar Ahmed and Wahab Riaz both struck desperate boundaries in the final overs, but they had been left with too much to do.

Hasaranga’s two wickets in

the 18th over effectively sealed the whitewash for the visitors.

Sri Lanka have never won a three-match T20 series 3-0.

Pakistan have also never been whitewashed in a three-match series. That this has all been achieved without the likes of regular captain Lasith Malinga, or the Kusals Mendis and Perera - is flabbergasting.

Oshada had been good in his first forays into Test and ODI cricket, but he was arguably even better on his T20I debut, flicking his first ball in the format for four through fine leg, before playing the most serene shot of the evening second ball - a languid straight punch for six. He had 10 runs off his first two balls, and he continued to score freely, picking up frequent singles and twos, but also punishing even the slightest errors from Pakistan’s bowlers.

So confident was his start that occasionally he’d even come down the track to fast bowlers. He charged Usman Shinwari to hit him over midoff for four early in the 10th over, before pulling him fine for four next ball. Oshada was no less effective against spin, twice driving Shadab Khan for four through the offside in the 14th over.

He reached his half-

Oshada Fernando looks at the heavens after bringing up fifty AFP century off his 33rd delivery, and was only more aggressive after that, hitting a six and a four off Mohammad Amir - both on the legside - before slamming Wahab Riaz over deep square leg soon after. He stayed not out until the end, sweeping Amir aerially for four for an especially memorable boundary in the 19th over.

Pakistan’s batting Powerplay went a lot better than in their two previous matches, and yet, none of their batsmen were fluent on this surface, which perhaps

underscores the value of Oshada’s knock. Fakhar Zaman was bowled off his pads off the first delivery, but Haris and Babar Azam exerted a little control after that.

And yet, although both batsmen looked somewhat comfortable, Pakistan went at less than six an over in the Powerplay. Their rate quickened shortly after, but not by much. They were only 63 for 1 after 10 overs. When Lahiru Kumara had Babar caught behind for 27 off 32 balls, they were 76 for 2 after 12.

In fact, between overs 6 and 16 Pakistan mustered only two fours, which is really where the chase was sunk.

Lakshan Sandakan sneaked in three cheap overs through this period, as Hasaranga (in addition to Kumara) made his first breakthrough, having Haris stumped, after the batsman ran down the pitch and failed to read a googly.

In his next over - the 18th of the innings - Hasaranga had Asif Ali caught at longon, before bowling Sarfaraz Ahmed for the second match in a row with another googly.

After that, Pakistan needed 37 off 12 balls, and although Iftikhar and Wahab occasionally connected, a Pakistan victory seemed unlikely. In the end, they limped to 134 for 6.

Given the depleted nature of Sri Lanka’s squad, this tour was an early banana skin for Misbah-ul-Haq’s tenure as coach and selector. And Pakistan have slipped.

Scores: Sri Lanka 147 for 7 (Fernando 78*, Amir 327) beat Pakistan 134 for 6 (Sohail 52, Hasaranga 3-21) by 13 runs

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Kaieteur News

Thursday October 10, 2019

Coco Gauff to break into top 100 after Alyssa Healy’s rapid century secures record-breaking Australia victory reaching first WTA quarter-final

Coco Gauff could face Dutch world number eight Kiki Bertens, who is yet to play her first-round match, in the Linz Open quarter-finals.

BBCsport - American teenager Coco Gauff is set to break into the world’s top 100 for the first time after reaching her maiden WTA Tour quarter-final. The 15-year-old, who made a memorable run to the Wimbledon last 16 in July, reached the Linz Open last eight when opponent Kateryna Kozlova retired.

Gauff has provisionally climbed to 94th in the rankings, closer to automatic qualification for the Australian Open. She lost in Linz qualifying but entered

the main draw as a lucky loser.

Following Greek Maria Sakkari’s withdrawal, Gauff beat Swiss Stefanie Vogele on Tuesday and progressed again when Ukrainian Kozlova quit while trailing 64 4-6 0-2.

Gauff, who does not turn 16 until March, is the youngest player to reach a WTA quarter-final since Bulgarian Sesil Karatantcheva in January 2005. The Austrian tournament is Gauff’s first appearance since suffering a comprehensive defeat, which

left her in tears, by Naomi Osaka at the US Open last month.

Gauff became the youngest player in the Open era to reach the Wimbledon main draw and was given a wildcard to play at her home Grand Slam in New York.

Although most would expect her to receive a wildcard for the Australian Open, she is on course to qualify automatically with the top 100-ranked players going straight into the main draw in Melbourne.

Shanghai Masters: Novak Djokovic & Stefanos Tsitsipas win BBCsport - World number one Novak Djokovic continued his fine form with a straight-set win over Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the Shanghai Masters.

Serbia’s 16-time Grand Slam champion, who won the Japan Open last week without dropping a set, cruised to a 6-3 6-3 secondround victory.

Defending champion Djokovic will play American John Isner next. Isner hit 19 aces and lost only six points on his first serve in a 7-5 6-3 win over France’s Lucas Pouille. Austrian fourth seed Dominic Thiem, who won the China Open last week, beat Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 to reach the third round in Shanghai for the first time.

Greek sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas edged out Canadian Felix-Auger Aliassime in a match between two of the most exciting talents on the men’s tour. Tsitsipas, who had never beaten his 19-year-old opponent, even on the junior circuit, had to be patient before securing a 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-3) win.

ESPNcricinfo - Alyssa Healy continued her prolific run-scoring form by plundering a 71-ball hundred on her way to an unbeaten 76-ball 112 as Australia surged to a record-breaking 18th ODI victory in a row with a nine-wicket hammering of Sri Lanka.

Chamari Atapattu’s 103, her fifth ODI hundred and her second century of the tour following her T20I ton in Sydney, anchored Sri Lanka’s effort but the next-best score was 24 and they could still only post 8 for 195, which proved way short of giving Australia a challenge.

A 3-0 series result was nothing less than expected, but Australia’s ruthlessness was impressive. Healy and Rachael Haynes, who backed up her maiden ODI century with 63 to take her tally to 237 runs in the series, cruised towards the target - although both were dropped in the same over off Achini Kulasuriya - before Haynes was out sweeping with 37 runs needed.

Healy raced off the blocks in the chase and Australia’s fifty came up in the sixth o v e r. S h e s h o u l d h a v e been dismissed on 68 but the chance was spilled at deep midwicket and Haynes was then given a life on 39, but even if held it’s unlikely the result would have differed.

Healy’s third ODI hundred, which have all come in the last two years during which time she has averaged 57.15, came with captain Meg

Alyssa Healy’s 71-ball hundred took Australia to their record-breaking win Getty Images Lanning alongside her and a match-winning six was a fitting way for Australia to set their new record, surpassing the 17 wins in a row they managed between 1997 and 1999 under the captaincy of Belinda Clark.

For the first time in the series, Sri Lanka were able to set a target and there was a promising foundation at 1 for 68 before Harshitha Madavi was smartly run out by Healy’s direct hit as she ran around from behind the stumps after a badly misjudged single. They

slumped to 5 for 87 as Georgia Wareham struck twice, but Atapattu held firm.

She added 49 with Ama Kanchan a a n d 4 7 w i t h Oshadi Ranasinghe, bringing up an impressive hundred off 120 deliveries, to put a seal on a tour where she has been head and shoulders above the rest of Sri Lanka’s batting.

Scores: Australia Women 1 for 196 (Healy 112*, Haynes 63) beat Sri Lanka 8 for 195 (Atapattu 103, Wareham 2-18, Schutt 2-44) by nine wickets.

Recovering Powell eyeing Afghanistan, India tours

Djokovic did not drop a set on his way to the 2018 Shanghai Masters title. (Getty Images) Victory moved Tsitsipas closer to qualifying for the ATP Finals in London next month, while German fifth seed Alexander Zverev another still hoping to qualify and have the chance to defend his title - also needed two tie-breaks to overcome French veteran Jeremy

Chardy 7-6 (15-13) 7-6 (7-3).

Russian seventh seed Karen Khachanov, Spanish eighth seed Roberto Bautista Agut, Italian 11th seed Matteo Berrettini and Belgian 13th seed David Goffin progressed to boost their chances of reaching the season-ending finals.

Kingston, Jamaica, CMC – All-rounder Rovman Powell says he expects to make a return to full fitness in time to be available for West Indies’ upcoming series against Afghanistan and India starting next month.

The Jamaican sustained an abdominal strain nearly four weeks ago while representing Jamaica Tallawahs in the ongoing Caribbean Premier League, and was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament.

With rehabilitation at an advanced stage, however, Powell believes he can contend for a place on the limited overs squads. “I am basically fit now, and those tours are at the ending of the month, so I still have some

Rovman Powell time to do some work, which I have already started doing,” Powell told the Gleaner newspaper here.

“I did well against India recently, so I am looking forward to go down in India and doing well also because the [T20] World Cup is coming up, and everybody is

eyeing that also.” West Indies are scheduled to face Afghanistan in a Test, three One-Day Internationals and three T20 Internationals in India from November 5 to December 1.

The Caribbean side then take on India in three ODIs (Continued on page 25)

Thursday October 10, 2019

PAGE 31

Kaieteur News

Concacaf Nations League

GFF names 22-man squad ahead of back to back matches against Antigua & Barbuda

Trayon Bobb

Kadell Daniel

Emery Welshman (GettyImages)

Ahead of two very important encounters in four days in the Concacaf Nations League, Head Coach of the Golden Jaguars, MárcioMáximo, has released the names of players making up his 22-man squad that takes on Antigua and Barbuda on Friday (tomorrow) October 11 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium and on Monday October 14 here at the Leonora National Track & Field Center.

Boasting a balance of local and overseas based players, the Golden Jaguars will be aiming for back to back wins in their quest to further consolidate their current second place in Group C of League B where they are on

three points, the same as their opponent but with a superior goal difference of three to Antigua and Barbuda’s five.

The local based players have been going through their paces with Head of Sports Science Wilson Toledo and Head Coach Máximo ever since Guyana’s 0-4 loss to Jamaica, in order to be fit and ready to claim full points in both matches.

The players and staff, who would be sporting the new official uniform, apparel and equipment from the recently signed deal with Capelli Sports, arrived in the Land of the ‘Benna Boys’ on Tuesday.

Head Coach Máximo said they already had a session on Tuesday

afternoon and are prepared for a physical encounter against the host.

“For me the team is coming good;after we arrived we had a good session with the players on Tuesday and we also trained on Wednesday and I think that they have all held well so far and are focused on the task.

They understand our tactical approach for this game. Antigua is a very physical team and we should be smart to use our strategy well to win the game.

We are very optimistic as we look forward to our international players blending well with the local players to do us well; I think we can take a win on Friday,” said the

Nations League Squad – October 2019 – vs Antigua & Barbuda Name Position Club 1 Alex Murray Goalkeeper Santos FC 2 Akel Clarke Goalkeeper SV WBC 3 SeseNorville Goalkeeper Milerock FC 4 Sam Cox Defender Hampton & Richmond FC 5 Sherwin Skeete Defender Fruta Conquerors FC 6 Kevin Layne Defender Guyana Defence Force FC 7 Raphael Edwards Defender SV WBC 8 Matthew Briggs Defender HB Koge 9 Kadell Daniel Defender Margate FC 10 Kevin Dundas Defender Santos FC 11 Neil Danns Midfielder Tranmere FC 12 Clive Nobrega Midfielder Eagles FC 13 Daniel Wilson Midfielder Guyana Police Force FC 14 Delwin Fraser Midfielder Guyana Defence Force FC 15 Elliot Bonds Midfielder Hull City FC Fruta Conquerors FC 16 Ryan Hackett Midfielder 17 Kelsey Benjamin Forward Caledonia AIA 18 Keanu Marsh-Brown Forward Newport County AFC 19 Pernell Schultz Forward Guyana Police Force FC 20 Trayon Bobb Forward Uitvlugt Warriors FC 21 Sheldon Holder Forward Caledonia AIA 22 Emery Welshman Forward Hapoel Haifa Technical Staff Head Coach Marcio Maximo Assistant Coach Charles Pollard Goalkeeper Coach Eon DeVeira Lead Physiotherapist Denzil Hernandez Physiotherapist Quacy Paddy Head of Sports Science Wilson Toledo Head of Recruitment Faizal Khan Team Operations Manager Rawle Adams Equipment Manager Trevor Burnett

Head Coach.

Recalled to the team are Goalkeeper Sese Norville, Defenders Kadell Daniel and Kevin Dundas, Midfielder Elliot Bonds along with

Forwards Trayon Bobb and Emery Welshman.

Guyana will face the home team from 17:00hrs on Friday (tomorrow) at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium and return

to these shores on Saturday ahead on next Monday’s return match against the Antiguans at the Leonora National Track & Field Center from 20:00hrs.

Boston, Cadogan, Griffith, Jacks shines at Morgan’s Learning Institute Inter-House sports Devon Boston, Neil Cadogan, Zalika Griffith and Sanaa Jacks turned in sterling performances to emerge as champions of their respective events when the Morgan’s Learning Institute staged its Inter House Track events on Tuesday last at YMCA, Thomas Lands.

Boston of Falcon House won the boys U16 discuss ahead of Joel Talbot and Ryan Bumbury both of Macaw in that order. Neil Cadogan of Toucan House overpowered his rivals to win the javelin boys U18 title; Alwin Hoopies of Raven finished second and Ronaldo De Abreu of Toucan was third.

Boston was again in winner’s lane when he claimed the javelin boys U16 title; Ryan Bumbury ended second and Jared Saden of Raven was third. Zalika Griffith of Raven carted off the javelin girls U16 event; Amachi Lowe placed second and Leneice Graham of Raven finished third.

Chike Nurse and Chioke Nurse of Falcon House and Macaw House respectively showed their all-round ability

as they both won the shotput boys U12 event.

Following their fine performance in the pool on Friday last, Chike Nurse and Chioke Nurse both cleared 10.5m to be declared joint winners.

Adrian Phillips of Raven House placed second with 10.3m while Govinda Prashad also of Raven claimed third spot with 6.9m. Shawan Henry of Macaw won the shot-put girls U12 event after clearing 10.9m with her throw.

Sanaa Jacks of Raven took the shot-put girls U18 title with 20.6m while Alana Davis of Macaw took the runner up spot on 19m and Crystal Blair of Toucan finished in third position on 15.4.

The Discuss girls U14 title went to Kyla Barrow of Toucan; Rohanna Knights of Falcon placed second while Shyanna Emanuel of Macaw was third. Cadogan of Toucan won the shot-put boys U18 event while Anil Singh of Falcon grabbed second place and Jued Deziel of Toucan placed third.

Adrian Phillips of Macaw

captured the javelin boys U12 title ahead of Chike Nurse and Chioke Nurse respectively.

The Girls U12 title went to Shawan Henry of Macaw. Joel Talbot of Macaw took the top podium spot in the shot-put buys U16 event while Adeymi Craig of Raven placed second and Shacquon Liverpool of Toucan finished third.

Ianka Gonsalves of Falcon won the discuss girls U16 event. The boys U16 discuss was won by Devon Boston ahead of Joel Talbot of Macaw and Ryan Bumbury of Macaw in that order. Kayla Barrow emerged champion in the shot-put girls U14; Rohanna Knights of Falcon placed second and Mariza Joseph of Toucan was third.

Michael Nwarie of Toucan captured the shot-put boys U14 title while Joshua Morrison of Toucan and Dimitrius DeMendonca of Macaw finished in second and third position respectively.

Aaron Casbert handed Falcon another win when he captured the javelin boys U18 event; Jude Deziel of Toucan placed second and Isiah Stephen of Raven finished third.

Devon Boston-U16

Neil Cadogan

Zalika Griffith

Sanaa Jacks

The girls U18 javelin title went to Krystal Blair of Toucan; Alana Davis of Macaw took the runner up spot and Danielle Greaves of Toucan placed third. Joshua Morrison won the discuss

boys U14 event while Antonio Enmore of Raven was second and Michael Nwarie third. Janna Jacks turned in an outstanding performance to win the discuss girls U18 event while

Krystal Blair and Alana Davis took second and third places respectively.

Action continues today with the track events at the Police Sports Club ground, Eve Leary.

PAGE 32

Thursday October 10, 2019

Kaieteur News

Hero CPL Semi Final

TKR favoured to advance to 4th final, face-off with Tridents from 19:00hrs tonight Defending Champions Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) will have to go the long route to advance to their fourth Hero CPL T20 Final when the hosts clash with 2014 Champions Barbados Tridents at the State owned Brian Lara Academy in Tarouba, South Trinidad this evening from 19:00hrs.

TKR, with three titles to their name, beat Warriors in last year’s final and their fans would desperately hope for a repeat of that scenario in Saturday’s day/night final which is scheduled to commence at 17:00hrs and conclude with a massive concert at a venue that accommodates 15,000.

But while TRK, with home advantage and an anticipated capacity crowd cheering them on, Tridents, who beat the Warriors for their only Championship, ended the round-robin stage on 10 points, finishing second to the Warriors who ended with a record 20 points from 11 consecutive wins.

While the Tridents were beaten at Providence by the Warriors, they had a second chance to reach the final when TKR silenced the proPatriots crowd in Guyana with

a hard fought six-wicket win in a low scoring match.

Contrasting results during the back-end of one of better tournaments this year, meant that the Bajan Franchise sneaked into second place on a better net run rate ahead of Patriots while TKR who failed to win their last four games, finished fourth on nine points.

TKR scored the highest total this season when they made 267-2 against two-times champions Jamaica Tallawahs; Colin Munroe made an unbeaten 96 and Lendl Simmons made 86.

Munro, the South African born New Zealand batsman has fallen away and needs to regain his form tonight while Simmons has been very consistent and only Warrior’s opener Brandon King has more runs than him. His 429 runs include five fifties.

New Windies white ball Skipper Kieron Pollard has 326 runs but no other TKR batsmen have passed 126 runs including the big names like Daren Bravo and Denish Ramdin and they will have to step up tonight.

With DJ Bravo’s injury ruling him out of the entire tournament and the finger

Barbados Tridents will fancy their chances @CPL injury by Sunil Narine resulting in him missing key matches, this has been one of their worst performances in CPL cricket by the TKR whose leading wicket-taker is Jimmy Neesham with 11 but he is also their most expensive bowler going at 11.10 per over.

Bajan born England pacer Chris Jordon and American fast bowler Ali Khan have not been at their best but there’s no doubting their quality while Narine’s return has given TKR a massive boost

and along with Khary Pierre and Sri Lankan leg-spinner Seekkuge Prasanna, could do the bulk of the spinning.

Pollard with his of cutters and slower balls and Ramon Reifer could also be important tonight for their respective teams. The Tridents have not reached 200 runs in any of their games so far and on a track which is expected to be on the slow side JP Duminy, Johnson Charles, Shakib Al Hasan, Jonathon Carter, Reifer and Alex Hales who

have all gotten starts without going consistently will be aiming to come good.

Skipper Jason Holder has struggled with the bat with just 48 runs coming from his eight innings although he has been good with the ball and is the leading fast bowler for Tridents with 13 scalps, one behind Antigua born USA legspinner Hayden Walsh Jnr. who has 19 from seven matches.

Nineteen-year-old legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane has played 17 T20Is for Nepal

and has eight wickets from six matches along with Shakib and Walsh gives the Tridents a potent spin attack.

Specialist off-spinner Ashley Nurse has played 11 matches but has only bowled 6.2 overs.

Apart from Harry Gurney, who has played 10 ODIs for England, Holder, Reifer and Rovman Primus can also provided pace options in a game that the TKR will start as favorites to win. (Sean Devers)

Teams announced for women’s T10 matches The team names and squads for the two women’s T10 matches that the Hero Caribbean Premier League will be hosting today and Sunday at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad have been announced.

The teams will be called NLCB Revellers and the Courts Gladiators.

The Revellers will be made up from cricketers from Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and Leeward Islands. The Gladiators will feature cricketers from Barbados, Guyana and Windward Islands.

The NLCB Revellers will be captained by Stafanie Taylor and the Courts Gladiators will be led by Afy Fletcher.

The two teams will feature the best cricketing talent from across the Caribbean with the likes of Anisa Mohammad, Britney Cooper, Natasha McLean, Kycia Knight, Hayley Matthews and Qiana Joseph taking part.

Stafanie Taylor, who will be captaining the NLCB Revellers, said: “It is very pleasing to have an initiative such as this that the CPL has

done for Women’s cricket in the Caribbean.

It’s a long time coming to potentially have a women’s T20 franchise tournament here in the West Indies, bringing international players here to our conditions and pitches, just as we go to their leagues. No doubt this will aid Cricket West Indies in growing women’s cricket in the region.”

Afy Fletcher, the captain for the Courts Gladiators, said: “I think that it’s a great idea.

Women’s cricket is rapidly growing so kudos to the persons for taking the initiative to find different avenues to expose the talent of the ladies of the Caribbean.

Knowing that we have a small pool of female cricketers, I strongly believe that this is a stepping stone to move forward and also a way of attracting the eyes of the young girls across the region.”

These games have been made possible thanks to the support of the Trinidad & Tobago Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, Courts and the National Lottery Control

Board (NLCB) and Hero CPL would like to express their gratitude to these partners for making these games possible.

Susan Worrell, Events Manager at NLCB said: “The NLCB is delighted to be supporting the initiative by CPL of Women’s Cricket for the advancement of the sport which can be an inspiration to young girls since the NLCB continues its quest to create benefits.”

Clive Fletcher, Managing Director, Unicomer (Trinidad) LTD said: “This is a most significant partnership for us as it further supports the development of diversity in cricket.

This investment pushes the envelope for the evolution of the sport to new heights, as we provide a platform to showcase the full spectrum of talent displayed by our female cricketers across the Caribbean Region.

At Unicomer (Trinidad) LTD. and COURTS, we are very passionate and committed to the development of our people, and we believe in providing the opportunities to push the boundaries of innovation.”

Shabika Gajnabi These matches will take place before the semi-final and final of this year’s Hero CPL and ticket holders for those matches will be able to attend at no extra cost.

Fixtures - NLCB Challenge, 10 October, 3pm; Courts Invitational, 12 October, 12:30pm.

The teams for these matches are as follows: NLCB Revellers - 1. Stafanie Taylor –Captain (Jamaica), 2.

Anisa Mohammed (Trinidad & Tobago), 3. Chinelle Henry

Sheneta Grimmond

(Jamaica), 4. Natasha McLean (Jamaica), 5. Chedean Nation (Jamaica), 6. Jodian Morgan (Jamaica), 7. Stacy-Ann King (Trinidad & Tobago), 8.

Reniece Boyce (Trinidad & Tobago), 9. Britney Cooper (Trinidad & Tobago), 10.

Felicia Walters (Trinidad & Tobago), 11. Karishma Ramharack (Trinidad & Tobago), 12. Caneisha Isaac (Trinidad & Tobago), 13.

Shawnisha Hector (Leewards).

Courts Gladiators - 1. Afy

Fletcher – Captain (Windwards), 2. Kycia Knight (Barbados), 3. Kyshona Knight (Barbados), 4. Hayley Matthews (Barbados), 5.

Aaliyah Alleyne (Barbados), 6.

Qiana Joseph (Windwards), 7. Akeira Peters (Windwards), 8. Erva Giddings (Guyana), 9.

Shabika Gajnabi (Guyana), 10.

Kaysia Schultz (Guyana), 11.

Cherry-Ann Fraser (Guyana), 12. Sheneta Grimmond (Guyana), 13. Shakera Selman (Barbados).

Kaieteur News

Thursday October 10, 2019

PAGE 33

Courts PeeWee Football MVP Sports awards top athletes Round-of-16 to begin this weekend from 2019 ‘Jefford Classic’

From left, Ian Ramdeo, athletes Natasha Alder and Cassie Kelly-Ann Small with their gear and Edison Jefford.

D

uring a simple but significant ceremony yesterday morning at MVP Sports Store located in the Giftland Mall, the proprietor of the establishment, Ian Ramdeo, presented the top female athletes of the 2019 Jefford Classic Track & Field Athletics Meet with gear.

The athletes, Natasha Alder and Cassie Kelly-Ann Small both received footwear and ‘Under Armour’ gear. Alder had won the Shot Put, Discus and Javelin events at the event that was contested last August in the Bauxite Mining Town of Linden at the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) Ground while Small won the 100m, 200m and 400m sprint races.

During brief remarks at the presentation, Small posited, “Thanks to God and my coach and everyone that helped me.” Alder, who is a Police Officer, shared similar sentiments, “Thanks to God and the Police administration and Edison Jefford for a wonderful event.”

Meanwhile, Ramdeo said, “Our support (of Track and Field and the Jefford Classic) is ongoing and it will continue throughout the years. Thanks to Edison for allowing us to be part of the programme and we look forward for our continued partnership.” The champion male athlete was not on hand to receive his gear.

BCB/New York Business Group U-19 50 overs

Arch rivals Rose Hall Town Pepsi and Albion advance to another final Defending champions Rose Hall Town Pepsi will clash with arch rivals Albion in the final of the Berbice Cricket Board organised New York Business Group U-19 tournament. Rose Hall Town Pepsi easily defeated Rose Hall Canje Community Centre by 168 runs at the Canje Ground while Albion held their nerves to defeat a determined Tucber Park Cricket Club by three wickets after losing four wickets for no runs when just two runs were required for victory.

At the Rose Hall Community Centre Ground in Canje, the two-time defending champions Rose Hall Town Pepsi were surprisingly asked to bat first

by Rose Hall Canje after rain had reduced play to 35 overs per side.

The visitors amassed 253 for 7 in their allotted overs with West Indies U-19 selectee Kevlon Anderson stroking an attractive 80 while Mahendra Gopilall hit 50. Other useful contributions came from Ty r e s e S e a l e y 2 6 , Chanderpaul Govindhan 19, Junior Sinclair 19 and Lucas Arthur 17.

Under-15 leg Spinner

Kevlon Anderson Kevin Umroa Sanjay Algoo took 3 for 33 from seven impressive overs while West Indies U-15 fast bowler Isiah Thorne took 2 for 28 from seven pacy overs. Rose Hall Canje in response were bowled out for 84 in 26 overs with Metain Mentore and Bharrat Gopaul both top scoring with 10 runs each.

Offspinner Junior Sinclair 4 for 26 runs (7 overs) and medium pacer Kevlon Anderson were the main destroyers for RHT Pepsi who advanced to their third successive U-19 final.

At the Albion Ground, powerhouse Albion was coasting at 139 for 3, chasing 141 for victory when they lost four wickets for no runs in a dramatic collapse.

They eventually reached 144 for 7 with Antonio February 38 (5x4), Reyad Karim 30, Jetendra Outar 16, Sarwan Chaitnarine 17 and Kevin Umroa 14 the principal scorers. February and Karim added a crucial 80 runs for the fourth wicket after coming together at 59 for 3.

Pacers D. Mc Donald and Leon Swammy took 2 wickets for 19 and 33 respectively. Earlier, Tucber Park were made to work hard even as they struggled to 140 all out in 48 overs. The home team all spin attack restricted the batsmen.

A. Williams top scored with 35 while Gevon Shultz 22, Zeynul Ramsammy 16 (Continued on page 25)

Round-of-16 action in the Courts Peewee football tournament begins Saturday at the MOE ground.

St. Agnes Primary, St. Pius and North Georgetown are the only teams heading into the final 16 with a perfect record. The standings following the group round-robin play along with this Saturday’s fixtures for the MOE ground are found below.

Last Saturday marked the final day of play in the group round-robin stages of the 2019 Courts Under-12 PeeWee football tournament that is being contested at the Ministry of Education (MOE) ground on Carifesta Avenue.

Teams Play Win Group A Genesis 3 2 West Ruimveldt 3 1 Craig 3 1 South Ruimveldt 3 0 Group B St. Pius 3 3 Mae’s 3 2 Enterprise 3 1 Smith Memorial 3 0 Group C Tucville 3 2 St. Stephen’s 3 1 Mocha 3 1 J.E. Burnham 3 1 Group D Soesdyke 3 2 Marian Academy 3 1 F.E. Pollard 3 1 St Margaret’s 3 0 Group E North G/T 3 3 Redeemer 3 2 Uitvlugt 3 1 Ann’s Grove 3 0 Group F St. Agnes 3 3 Timerhi 3 2 St. Ambrose 3 1 Plaisance 3 0 Saturday’s Fixtures 10/12/2019 Round of 16 13:00 hrs Redeemer 13:00 hrs Genesis 13:50 hrs Timerhi 13:50 hrs Craig 14:40 hrs St. Pius 14:40 hrs Marian Academy 15:30hrs Enterprise 15:30hrs North Georgetown

Draw

Lost

GF

GA

GD

1 2 1 0

0 1 3

6 2 3 0

1 0 3 7

5 2 0 -7

7 5 4 0

0 0 0 0

0 1 2 1

20 6 4 3

1 11 5 16

19 -5 -1 -13

9 6 3 0

1 1 0 0

0 1 2 2

6 3 4 1

0 2 6 6

6 1 -2 -5

7 4 3 3

1 2 0 1

0 0 2 2

12 3 3 1

2 1 7 9

10 2 -4 -8

7 5 3 1

0 0 0 0

0 1 2 3

11 5 2 0

1 2 3 12

10 3 -1 -12

9 6 3 0

0 0 0 0

0 1 2 3

8 6 4 0

0 4 4 10

8 2 0 -10

9 6 3 0

MOE Ground vs St Agne’s vs Mae’s vs St Stephens vs Soesdyke vs Uitvlugt vs West Ruimveldt vs Tucville vs St. Ambrose

Match # 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44

Pts

Concacaf Nations League

GFF names 22-man squad ahead of back to back matches against Antigua & Barbuda

rt o p S

Golden Jaguars going through the paces last week at the GFF National Training Facility.

Teams announced for women’s T10 matches

Hero CPL Semi Final

TKR favoured to advance to 4th final, face-off with Tridents from 19:00hrs tonight Trinbago Knight Riders

The two Captains and other officials @ CPL

BCB/New York Business Group U-19 50 overs

P.

31

Arch rivals Rose Hall Town Pepsi and Albion advance to another final Coco Gauff to Courts PeeWee break into top Football 100 after reaching Round-of-16 to first WTA quarter-final begin this weekend

MVP Sports awards top athletes from 2019 ‘Jefford Classic’

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