Kaieteur News
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Sunday August 28, 2018
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
CONSEQUENCES OF CRIME
W
ith attempts by society to understand the high crime rate in Guyana, especially murder, it is difficult to fathom why there is such disregard for human life in the country. Neither can the public fathom Government’s inability to tackle this scourge in society nor the cluelessness by the criminals to murder. Every time the people think that they have faced the unimaginable, out of nowhere comes another crime that have shocked them at a whole new level. It has been known for quite some time that no one is safe in the country. The brutal murders of elderly men and women are most shocking because the elderly conjure up images of innocence, harmless, love, care and nurturing. How could anyone murder them? While the government has implemented measures to curb crime, they are not enough. A more robust crime fighting strategy is needed to solve the problem. Although the majority of murders and other heinous crimes have resulted in criminal convictions, crime continues to occur with horrific banality. It is time for the Minister of Public Security and the government to be held accountable for the appalling statistics of crime in the country, but society has to recognize its responsibilities at all levels to help solve crime. Crime flourishes like a malignant cancer in the country, therefore, everyone in society should help tackle it regardless of party affiliation or whichever government is in power. The traditional attitude has been that crime is the problem of the government or the police. But the police have for a very long time been saying that crime reduction requires community activism and support. However, the police themselves have a huge trust deficit with the society, especially with youths, which inhibits their cooperation with the police. The public would be naive not to acknowledge that many police officers of almost every rank are corrupt and that the force lacks the competence and commitment within its ranks to effectively fight crime. The truth is there can be little real improvement in the crime situation without real cooperation between the communities and the police. Crime, obviously, is having an adverse effect on the growth of the economy and more importantly on the citizenry. It is therefore incumbent on the government to recognize and obviously determine courses of action and act in a focused way to resolve this crime scourge on the country. But as citizens, we should be reminded that the ultimate life to which we are called do not preclude us from taking responsibility for our communities and our society. Indeed, we too must do our part in our communities by being vigilant, by agitating for purposeful official action, and by reporting suspicious activity and incidents to the police. Due to the high crime rate, the population, especially the elderly, have succumbed to fear. They have surrendered to the criminal elements in society. The fear and a sense of helplessness have helped to fuel crime and embolden the criminals to act with impunity. Crime has turned many into despair and has forced them to seek refuge in their homes behind barred windows and doors. Bold action by the authorities is needed to solve the worsening crime situation and end the fears. It is time for the government to implement an elite police unit with technological devices and resources to deal with the criminals. And it is certainly time for judges and magistrates to put the citizens first and recognize that justice is not served when slothful prosecutions and the delaying tactics of lawyers. Justice delayed is justice denied.
Editor’s Note; If your sent letter was not published and you felt its contents were valid and devoid of libel or personal attacks, please contact us by phone or email.
Copyright Legislation, a shot in the foot DEAR EDITOR, I hope the intention behind these laws is to protect local content producers and not to prostrate to some external force like the Motion Picture Association of America. Intentions aside, in my humble opinion it is extremely short sighted. Foreign sourced movies and music represent 99 percent of the entertainment media circulating Guyana. I challenge anyone to show me how enforcing copyright will make local producers any significant gain. If anything, it will be damaging to them,
piracy has proven to be a big driver in increasing audiences and mind-share across the industry. In fact, movie companies leak movies to tantalize audiences, and increase their box office returns. Economically, it is converting all the DVDs, CDs into massive profits for foreign companies and exporting even more of Guyana’s wealth outside the borders where it will not circulate to profit a Guyanese. On average a DVD or CD is twenty (20) USD, which translates to $4000.00 GYD. Is the Guyanese public now paying taxes to
pass laws and pay enforcement officials to fill the coffers of first world companies? This is extremely harmful to the Guyanese people. Another extremely troubling scenario is the extent of the copyright legislation. Will it extend to software? Leaving out the private sector, I know government agencies that run pirated software. Will they be paying all the licence fees for all their users now? This is the government shooting itself in the foot. To the ethics of this matter, we (Continued on page 6)
Pensioners yet to receive a livable pension DEAR EDITOR, Our pensioners who have given yeoman service to this country are now being paid a pension of $19,500 per month. I am motivated to write on the pension being paid to citizens 65 years and older, with the view that the governmental authorities will do a meaningful review of this pension for the 2019 Budget. Under this Administration, in September 2015, it was $17,000 and in year 2018 it had increased by $2,500 to $19,500. It can be argued that over the three years, there was a 15 percent increase. However, is this a significant increase to the pensioners? Yes, the government has been working towards creating an environment, which is supportive of socio-economic development with the objective of ensuring a ‘good life’ for all. If we are striving for a ‘good life’ for
all, certainly the pension being paid is insufficient and should be addressed as a major priority. This pension, like other pensions globally, should be at a minimum amount for the pensioner to live comfortably, and it is expected that it will be subsidized by the pensioner in the form of savings, contributions by relatives, remittances from overseas, etc. in order to meet a livable amount. Pensions are not increased in an objective manner. Each year, it is increased by an incremental percentage, and this is known in the financial literature as Incremental Budgeting. It is the view that Zero-Based Budgeting should be applied to determine a livable pension. In so doing in keeping with best practices, it should be addressed upwardly each time a new budget is formulated. The way forward is to do a Means Test, whereby on a monthly basis, an estimated amount is required,
for example for food, transportation, medical, utilities, accommodation. An estimated minimum monthly amount should be approximately $30,000 of which the major expenditure will be medical, food and transportation. A reduction in monthly water rate from October 1 is noted. That being said, the decision makers will be unable to meet this amount in 2019 due to insufficient funds for this financial activity, and this is understandable. Hence, the way forward, is to attain this $30,000 over a two-year period, assuming that there is no significant increase in the price indices for food, transportation, etc. When one looks at the upper levels of pensions being paid of over one million dollars per month, which is not a query, why pay the lowest level such a meager amount? We must move away from this incremental approach and do a (Continued on page 6)
Sunday October 28, 2018
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Kaieteur News
Kaieteur M@ilbox
Kaieteur M@ilbox
Guyana Forestry Commission responds to Kaieteur News DEAR EDITOR, I write on behalf of the Guyana Forestry Commission in response to your article dated October 24, 2018 written by Ms. Kiana Wilbur and titled ‘Audit reveals over 1900 breaches of forestry regulations in three years”. Firstly, I would like to
point out that the information presented in the article was taken in its entirety from the GFC’s website: since that fact was buried in the article, readers might wrongly believe that the reporter had uncovered something we were trying to hide. Secondly, the GFC held a
press briefing on October 5 so that members of the press could “interrogate the Commission on our work to date.” I was disappointed that no one from your newspaper was present and I took the time afterwards to speak to Mr. Gildharie and inquire the reasons for Kaieteur’s
absence given your long history of covering the GFC and forest concessions. He explained why no one from KN was present and we agreed to send him our statements and directed him to our website. An article that spoke to the content of the press briefing was published
in KN on October 6. You can therefore imagine my surprise and disappointment that your article (Ms. Wilburg’s) of October 24 sensationalized and cherry picked information from our website. We at GFC have received many inquiries since the front page of your
newspaper emblazoned the “news” of the 1900 infractions. I hope this letter offers your writer and the general public some context. For the benefit of readers I am reproducing the following table, which was included in the article: (Continued on page 6)
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Sunday October 28, 2018
Kaieteur News
Kaieteur M@ilbox The persecution of Baha’is continues DEAR EDITOR, The UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran has raised concerns regarding “serious violations” against the Baha’i community in Iran. Presenting a major report on the situation of human rights in Iran at the UN, Javaid Rehman expressed concerns of “substantial violations” against the religious community- the largest nonMuslim religious minority in Iran. The concerns were also echoed by representatives
from Germany, Norway and the United States whilst representatives from the UK and Switzerland also raised the issue of discrimination The Special Rapporteur is concerned by the substantial violations of the rights of religious and ethnic minorities...in particular the serious violations of rights consistently documented of members of the Baha’i community within Iran Allegations of discriminatory policies and practices have been received with respect to the denial of
the right to work and to earn a decent living; restriction of access to higher education; the closure of shops; and discrimination in policy owing to the fact that Baha’is do not constitute one of the three constitutionally recognized religious minorities in the country.Around 60 Baha’is currently remain imprisoned in Iran while tens of thousands more experience educational, economic and cultural persecution on a daily basis for merely practicing their faith.Baha’i homes are routinely raided and members of the community are arbitrarily arrested and detained. Baha’i run businesses are shut down and sealed, depriving them of earning a decent living and thousands of young Iranian Baha’is are denied access to higher education or are routinely expelled from universities for practicing their faith. Yours Rooplall Dudhnath
Kaieteur M@ilbox Guyana Forestry Commission responds... From page 5 This table presents a year by year due diligence report for the extraction and transportation of some 563,626 trees and about 180 million board feet of processed lumber for the three (3) year period, representing production from approximately 550 logging operators, in excess of 250 saw millers, and 300 lumberyards across Guyana, and employing some 21,000 people. Of the stated 1900 infractions, 1419 were the result of late submission of permits (the regulations require that permits be submitted within 24hrs of delivery of forest produce), which the GFC attributes, in the main, to the poor conditions of interior roads. The remaining “infractions” under the heading of removal permits, represents .oo89% of the total number of permits issued over the three year
period. It is noteworthy that even bar code scanners used in convenience stores in developed societies have a two percent margin of error and they are utilized under a more controlled environment as compared to the four million hectares of state forest that the GFC monitors. The external independent monitoring report by Soil Association Certification Ltd., a UK based firm, states in its conclusion that “… Guyana has a strong and well implemented system” and that “… illegal activities in Guyana’s forestry sector and the rate of deforestation and degradation are low compared with other International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) producer member countries”. We take pride in the fact th a t t h e r e p o r t concludes that, “Guyana’s forest sector is one of the better managed in the world.” We do acknowledge, however, that i m p r o v e m e n t s recommended would make our system more robust and it is our intention to lessen paperwork and to continue to work toward an even better compliance with our regulations. The GFC is like all state
institutions responsible to all Guyanese and has worked consistently under my Chairmanship to have an open door policy especially to reporters. We have benefitted, as I believe all Guyana has, from your unrelenting attention to wrongs in the sector. We expect the public and the media to continue to hold the GFC accountable. I would like to make it clear that this letter is not questioning the ri g h t o f your reporter to criticize and/or point out failures; rather, it is the deliberate attempt to skew the facts that has disappointed me and more i m p o r t a n t l y, distressed the staff and departments who have worked so hard to produce the ‘’ the no corrective m e a s u r es ‘’ in our last monitoring report, as can be seen in the very same website: www.forestry.gov.gy. Best regards Jocelyn Dow Chairperson GFC Editor’s Note: Our reporter Ms. Wilburg has stated that the information she used was not taken from GFC’s website, and there was no “deliberate attempt on her part to “ skew the facts.”
Copyright Legislation... From page 4 should remember not too long ago when Guyana had a trademark case against a US sugar company about the use of the name “Demerara Gold”. Guyana lost that case when in fact, “Demerara” is the actual description of the source of the sugar in Guyana and the foreign company had no such basis. The world is governed like a business and we should reflect on the fact that while the US was in its developing phase, they paid no respect to intellectual property rights of others and they stole inventions to advance themselves. Now they find themselves in the driver’s seat, they changed rules of the game to suit their pockets and are belligerent in getting every penny for any intellectual property they deem is owed to them. I implore the runners of this country to be practical and not shoot Guyana in the foot. Sincerely Yogistra Anderson
Pensioners yet to receive... From page 4 Means Test to determine a livable pension each year. It would be failing on my part if I do not mention the commencement of the pensionable age of 65 years. According to the latest World Health Organisation data, Life Expectancy in Guyana is 63.6 years for a male and 69 years for a female, a total average life expectancy of 66 years. Guyana was ranked at 130 in 2017, in 2018 its ranking is now 135. It is the expectation that the authorities should have an early review on the life expectancy and to consider lowering this pensionable age perhaps to 63 years, based on
the authentic global statistics. After all, our pensioners also deserve a ‘good life’ and time is running out. Yours sincerely John Seeram
Sunday October 28, 2018
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Kaieteur News
Oil company trains 32 young Berbicians to conduct Geochemical surveys The overseas trainers pose for a photograph with the students
CGX Energy Inc, through its 62% owned subsidiary, ON Energy Inc., recently engaged in a tangible demonstration of how local content can be developed and harnessed by the Oil and Gas Sector. The oil company embarked on an extensive Geochemical Survey of its onshore Berbice Block, utilizing almost 100% local content trained by the company. An initiative which was announced by the company’s Executive Chairman and Guyanese Professor, Suresh Narine, at the Berbice Business Expo earlier in October, was made good on this week when 32 young Berbicians from the University of Guyana Berbice Campus, Upper Corentyne Technical Institute, New Amsterdam Technical Institute and GUYSUCO Port Mourant Training Centre were trained in the theoretical and technical aspects of Geochemical Surveying. The training was conducted at the Tain Campus of the University of Guyana by three experts from Houston, Texas and one from Toronto, Canada. Professor Narine, himself a Professor of Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy, also conducted part of the training. The company originally announced that it would hire 20 of the 30 individuals who would be trained, but Prof. Narine explained that they were able, instead, to provide employment for all 32 students participating in the training. These students will all participate in the survey itself. CGX indicated that it took the decision to train locals rather than contract experts from abroad since this type of surveying is likely to be utilized by other companies in
the sector and therefore it opens the doors for locals trained in this type of analysis to be gainfully employed. Narine even posited that CGX would provide some support for company creation if some of the locally trained individuals decided to set up a third-party company in Geochemical Surveying. Narine indicated that the company has purchased the equipment necessary for the collection of samples and that the company would be pleased to donate this equipment, following the completion of its survey, to a locally formed company if this becomes a reality. It all fits into the company’s focus on Corporate Social Responsibility in the education sector. Narine explained that the training focused on Berbice because the company’s onshore block and its deep-water port facility and shore base are located in Region Six. Therefore, the company
has a commitment to the residents of the region. The company, which also holds two offshore licences, is the only exploration company, which operates in the basin and has drilled three onshore wells, all in the Berbice Block. Its work plan stipulates that it conducts a 120 square kilometer Geochemical Survey on the Berbice Block. Prof. Narine explained that the company is
conducting a 1100 square kilometer survey as ON Energy believes that the prospectivity onshore Guyana’s coast is significantly enhanced due to the recent finds by ExxonMobil and its partners offshore Guyana. The oil finds offshore Guyana have been determined to be of the same type and source as oil finds onshore in Suriname in the
Ta m b a r e d j o p r o d u c i n g fields, leading to an increased level of prospectivity and interest in Guyana’s coast. Because of this increased attention, Narine posits that extensive areas of the coast will now be surveyed using the non-invasive Geochemical Analysis, so as to further map the possible existence of commerci al hydrocarbon depos-
its. He emphasized thathaving a trained local force, which can conduct these surveys, positions those individuals well for additionalemployment.Professor Narin e a d d e d that the analysis is non-invasive and seeks to trap evolved gases from the soil by the insertion of a small probe into the earth. The evolved gases are then analyzed (Continued on page 10)
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Sunday October 28, 2018
Is the administration guilty of practising race-based appointments? Coming on to the end of the constitutional, presidential second term of Bharrat Jagdeo, in 2011, a major court case riveted Guyana. The former president sued prominent Kaieteur News columnist, Freddie Kissoon, who in a piece is alleged to have accused the former government of practising ideological racism.In court, a number of senior government officials, including former Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, were called to give evidence . Attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes, for Kissoon, in questioning these witnesses drew out some startling disclosures. For example, Luncheon was asked whether Elizabeth Harper was the only Guyanese of African descent who holds the position of Ambassador. Harper was based in Guyana and served as the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador to CARICOM. Dr. Luncheon confirmed that Harper was the only Ambassador who performs dual functions. Dr. Luncheon was further asked if there is currently no other African Guyanese who qualifies to get an overseas posting as Ambassador, and he said there were none. Regarding investments by the then government, Dr. Luncheon said between
US$180 and US$200 million was invested in sugar, namely the Skeldon Sugar Factory. He admitted the industry employs mostly East Indians, and is managed mostly by East Indians. Regarding bauxite, which Dr. Luncheon admitted mostly employs African Guyanese, he said he could not comment on comparable investments to that sector, because both the mines, in Linden and in the Berbice River, were privatised. Fast-forward to 2018, there is another government in place. Concerns are being expressed about ethnic imbalance in appointments. Last week, Kaieteur News’ columnist, Peeping Tom, listed number of senior government appointments since 2015, the year the Coalition entered office.The list is not flattering with just four of the 50-odd names, being Indo-Guyanese. Kaieteur News factchecked the list. According to the list, the four IndoGuyanese appointed to those top-tiered positions were Justice William Ramlal as Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority; Justice Nandram Kissoon as head of the Public Service Appellate Tribunal; Nizam Hassan as the General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board; and Kumar Dorasami as Chairman of the Integrity Commission. However, some of the per-
sons would have been appointed based on succession by virtue of rank seniority and, years of service. For example, Holly Greaves of the National Insurance Scheme; Frederick Flatts as CEO of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority; Charles Ogle as Chief Labour Officer and E o n d r e n e T h o mpson as General Manager of the Guyana Gold Board. However, there were also cases in which IndoGuyanese were bypassed for promotion or were removed from office. For example, David Ramnarine and Kemraj Parsram were bypassed for the posts of Commissioner of Police and Head of the Environmental Protection Agency respectively. Lisaveta Ramotar was removed as Head of the Guyana Gold Board. Peeping Tom only considered the top positions, leaving out such names as Marcel Hutson as Chief Education Officer. He did not consider the makeup of heads of government Boards, heads of Constitutional Commissions, Permanent Secretaries and Regional Executive Officers, the latter two of which IndoGuyanese are underrepresented.For the Regional Executive Officers (REOs), of the 10, two of them are Indo-Guyanese- the REOs in Region 3 and in Region 8. (See list Below and Side)
In fact, the following were the Permanent Secretaries as of 31st August 2018:
President David Granger
Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo
The list as presented by Peeping Tom on October 21, 2018:
Sunday October 28, 2018
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Kaieteur News
Govt. eyes partnership with private investor for new subsea cable
T
he Coalition Gov ernment plans to seek private investors as partners for laying a new subsea cable following telecommunications liberalisation, which has been promised by year end. Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, said on Thursday that the new subsea cable is part of a wider conceptualization that is outside of the works to be executed under broadband expansion project through the
$36.5M loan agreement signed with China. The project will rely on the existing broadband services provided via the lone subsea cable that is owned and operated by GTT. However, Government is concerned about the absence of redundancy in the system. In essence, if there is an outage along GTT’s cable, then the entire country will experience an internet blackout.Minister of Public Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s ,
Catherine Hughes, stated that under the broadband loan with China, Government is looking to connect Georgetown with Lethem via Timehri. She anticipates that the pursuit of the subsea cable will drive down prices for broadband services. “The subsea cable, we hope, we will be able to get a private investor that will be able to buy into that concept. Of course, we are working to have expressions of interest being in the
DEM BOYS SEH
Pay lawyers and dactahs wid checks When dem boys seh dat Jagdeo cultivate a culture of scamps, some people did vex wid dem boys. As de days go by more and more people calling dem boys and saying how dem was on target. Guyana reach a stage wheh dem got more crooks, scamps and dishonest people than de decent and honest ones. Just look at all dem professionals and de taxes dem pay. These professionals are de lawyers, dactahs, accountants, engineers, and de pharmacists. Can you imagine all of dem together pay less than $6 million in taxes? And dem nuff. De money wha each one of dem lawyer pay is less than de man who does walk and sell potato chip and mango at de roadside. De money wha some of dem does mek pon Sundays alone, and there is 52 Sundays in de whole year, is wha some govt workers does wuk for in 52 years. And tax got to come out of dat. Then you got de dactahs. De consultation fee alone on holidays in Guyana, and Guyana has 15 holidays a year, dem boys seh is equivalent to a public servant whole year
salary.And dem poor people gat to pay dem taxes out of dat. Then you got de accountants and pharmacists. Don’t talk bout dem at all. Yet all of dem together pay less than $6million Guyana in taxes for de whole 2017. Is not dem boys seh suh. Is de Auditor General report seh suh. Wha dem boys want tell people is dis trend of paying taxes been going all fuh all dem years. Then you got Rice Ton, de Clown Clerk. He and de Town Clown sell something wha dem never own. Not even City Hall own it. Now de man want back he money—every cent he pay Rice Ton and he can’t she, he never get money because de man pay him wid checks. Dem boys got an advice to get he money from de Clown Clerk before Monday. If not, he got to go behind bars to face de man and collect he money. Yesterday, dem boys see de Clown Clerk heading towards de airport. Dem ain’t certain if he jump pon a plane. Talk half and make sure you pay de professionals wid checks.
…hope to drive down broadband prices public domain and issued as soon as we have completed our liberalisaton and the 2016 telecommunications legislation comes fully into force,” Hughes said. In August, the Ministry of Public Telecommunications announced that Cable network provider, E-Networks Inc. was not authorized to land a subsea internet cable. The Ministry said that it took note of the publication of a notice to mariners by the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), published in the newspapers indicating that maritime surveys shall be conducted by two vessels “on behalf of E-Networks Inc. as preparatory works for subsea cable laying … within the Guyana Maritime Zone”. The Ministry said that while the interest of investors in the sector in general is welcome, no licence for the laying and landing of a subsea cable system has been granted to E-Networks Inc. In fact, any companies now in possession of a telecoms licence will have to comply with new laws in
Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes place since 2016. After much trouble, the Coalition Government finally passed amended laws in 2016 allowed for other companies to compete against GTT and Digicel. However, Government is still in consultations/negotiations with the US-owned GTT, which holds the monopoly on landline and international calls.Government wants other companies to offer faster internet, and more
options, even landing more internet cables.Cable and Wireless Networks, a US-controlled company, has signalled an interest on re-entering the Guyana market. The Ministry of Public Telecommunications has disclosed that it has hosted a meeting with the former UKowned telephone company, which was officially acquired by Liberty Global on M a y 1 6 , 2 0 1 6 . Vi s i t i n g Guyana for the meeting was Dennis Waters, Vice President of Subsea Systems, Cable and Wireless Networks. It was disclosed that C&W is currently laying the groundwork for ‘serious investments’ including a new local submarine network . The company said it has already engaged a local partner. C&W is describing itself as a wholesale telecommunications service provider that offers broadband and IP capacity services to telecommunications carriers, TV cable companies, Internet Service Providers and Network Integrators.Guyana currently has two telephone companies- Digicel and GTT.
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Oil company trains 32 young Berbicians ... From page 7 to assess the potential existence of petroleum reservoirs beneath the earth’s surface. He said that the technique is also used to determine the existence of methane deposits, which can cause explosions if they are present when drilling occurs, such as the situation which arose in Diamond, East Bank Demerara. In fact, CGX has also briefed the Ministry of Finance on the utility of the technology in mapping problematic areas so that appropriate precautions can be taken by planning authorities. Therefore, persons trained in the analysis can also be deployed to conduct testing of areas where
new water wells will be drilled or housing developments located.ON Energy will be drilling an onshore well on its Berbice Block in 2023, and this initial survey is part of its analysis of the block, which will be followed by seismic analysis. F o r t h i s s u r v e y, t h e c o l l e c t e d g a s s a m p l e s w i l l b e s e n t t o Te x a s f o r analysis, but Narine h a s i n d i c a t e d that CGX would be happy to work with contractors in Texas and other places to provide training to locals free of charge if there was interest in also developing the skills locally to chemically analyzing the evolved gases.
Sunday October 28, 2018
The continued growth of GTT Op-ed by Justin Nedd Justin Nedd is the Chief Executive Officer of GTT, Guyana’s strongest and longest serving technology providerIn 1990, GTC, the state owned telephone company, was being privatized. Given the statistics of 2012 census, GTT was born before more than 50% of the Guyanese population. At the time, there was one bidder for the state owned enterprise. The only bid was the reason that GTT was born.Twentyseven years and several hundreds of millions of US dollars in capital investment later, GTT continues to evolve and to reinvent itself as it refocuses its operations around the customer.I note that Stabroek News (October 23, 2018) carried an article “Digicel has slashed capital expenditure here by 80 [percent]”. This is in stark contrast to GTT’s investment in Guyana as we continue to focus on expanding broadband reach and speed by deploying the country’s fastest fibre optic network – Blaze, 4G LTE on the Essequibo Coast. In fact, over 2017 and 2018, more than 12,000 homes and businesses that never had service are now able to access Blaze. We are changing lives. Our push continues through 2019 as we move our development drive to Bartica and Berbice. Our investment in Guyana is a stark contrast to Digicel’s investment over the past three years. GTT has invested 160% more than Digicel in Guyana’s future. The contrast is much more glaring in the past fiscal year (2017), which shows GTT as investing almost five times or 500% more than Digicel in
order to build the nation. Why would GTT invest more in Guyana while the competitor invests less? As a company, we invest heavily in our staff as we transition to an era of “always on” where our customers expect everything to work all the time. That is a very fair expectation. This starts with leadership and we are about to embark on the fourth cohort of leadership development. In addition, our ISO 9000 and continuous improvement goal of being compliant by 2020 will put us in good stead to deliver higher quality of service to our customers. We are a team of 700 strong and we are improving.GTT plays a significant role in the lives of all Guyanese; we do not take our responsibility to the nation lightly. We are focused on improving the lives and we believe we are most impactful by doing two things (outside of our day job of ensuring that you are connected to your loved ones) – be a catalyst for STEM (acronym for science, engineering, technology and math) education and to create a pathway for families to be healthy and stay together through mitigating against the worst effects of cancer.For STEM, we aim to raise G$40 million annually to help Guyana not only dream but to realize dreams. Because of this initiative, most recently, Runique Belle of Bartica now has a full scholarship to University of Guyana to pursue a degree in Chemistry. STEMGuyana has been enabled to provide training on robotics to more than 800 Guyanese youth through commitment of more than 8
million dollars and significant intangible support from GTT. GTT Innov8, the main showcase of STEM development in Guyana, was an amazing event that saw more than 7000 people experience and learn about technology and applications of technology. The second running of Innov8 in March 2019 will prove to be even more inspiring. GTT’s vision for cancer is significant as we set out to create a healthy society. One of three people is likely to have some form of cancer at some point during their lifetime. One of five people who develop cancer is likely to die of the disease. We aim to beat the odds. Through strong partnerships, we are embarking on a mission to find partnerships to ensure that Guyana has strong awareness, screening and a viable oncology department by 2023. GTT ‘Pinktober’ is the vehicle that is being used to attain this dream. The GTT ‘Pinktober’ walk/run is certainly a show of solidarity as we estimate more than 8000 people (up from 5000 in 2017) came out to support a tour de force against this global epidemic. It has been 27 years – a time before most Guyanese were born - since GTT replaced GTC as the telecommunications provider. We have come a long way from only 13,000 telephone lines and waiting hours if not days to book a long distance call. We are not perfect. I assure you though; we are solely focused on our vision of improving life experiences by unlocking innovation through applications and infrastructure to every home and business.
Sunday October 28, 2018
Kaieteur News
Mystery surrounds death of Kwakwani midwife Relatives of the 37-yearold midwife say they suspect foul play, after the woman was found dead yesterday in her Kwakwani Park, Region Ten home. Paulette Wade, who worked at the Kwakwani Hospital, was found motionless and unresponsive around 06:30 hrs by her seven-year old daughter. Kaieteur News understands that the child, accompanied by a nine-year-old friend, ran to the Kwakwani Hospital, some 200 metres away and informed some of her mother’s colleagues. While police reportedly found no marks of violence or evidence of break in at the property, a close relative alleged that the body bore what appeared to be scratches and other injuries. According to the relative, Wade was laying face-up, her hands were above her head and he saw what appeared to be scratches on her elbows, breasts and neck. There was blood coming from her mouth and her eyes seemed puffy. The relative dismissed suggestions, reportedly made by the police, that Paulette Wade suffered from epilepsy. According to the relative,
Dead: Paulette Wade. Wade’s daughter said she woke up some time Friday night and heard sounds which suggested that her mother was having a scuffle with someone. She heard her mother calling out someone by the name of ‘Delon.’ The relative stated that when he arrived, there were already three police ranks on
the scene. Another team of ranks arrived later. He complained that none of the ranks, who were in plainclothes, identified themselves or gave the family any information.Relatives of the dead woman are appealing for information that would reveal the circumstances regarding her demise.
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Sunday October 28, 2018
Kaieteur News
Profit shifting can cost Guyana $$$ billions annually By Kiana Wilburg On an annual basis, several developing countries are losing over US$200 billion simply because of a global taxation issue called “Profit Shifting.” Profit shifting, in short, is where profits are made by company “A”, which operates in let’s say Guyana, but instead of that company reporting the profit to be taxed in Guyana, it finds ways of reporting that same profit in another country. Countries such as Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, and Mexico, have all
been able to plug this tax loophole by implementing stringent anti-profit shifting laws. But if Guyana fails to do the same, it can very well end up losing billions of dollars that could support its development. This was recently noted by Chartered Accountant, Shawn Naughton. During an interview with Kaieteur News, Naughton insisted that this is an issue, which the nation’s authorities must address with a sense of urgency and before first oil. He said that the failure to do this could see Guyana losing some $100B annually. Naughton said, “Clearly, this practice of profit shifting
…unless requisite laws are implemented - Charted Accountant would rob countries of tax revenue and therefore its development. Multinational companies (companies which operate cross borders through branches and/or sister companies) may benefit from profit shifting so they are motivated to take advantage of opportunities to ‘profit shift’ wherever the opportunity is made available to it.” “The main reason for profit shifting by multinational companies is the mini-
mization of their global tax bill. This is made possible because each country has its own unique tax laws with some countries taxing more harshly than others. Recognizing this, some multinational companies shift profits around to benefit from the best tax deal on offer.” Naughton said that another but less recognized reason that multinational companies shift profits around is patriotism. He opined that
some prefer to shift development to their home countries, wherever possible, and so, would deprive other countries to fulfill this objective. HOW IT ISACHIEVED The Chartered Accountant noted that it is important for Guyanese to understand that profit shifting is achieved by collusion; collusion between two or more sister companies operating in two or more countries. He said, “Let’s take the
Chartered Accountant, Shawn Naughton case of Chevron, and its subsidiary in Australia. That (Continued on page 66)
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Sunday October 28, 2018
Mining company wants back $1.8M from City Hall The mining company that paid $6.8M directly to Town Clerk Royston King and his Non-Governmental Organisation for a strip of Government reserve in Georgetown is seeking to re-
cover $1.8M from City Hall. Brian Chase, of Brian and Ingrid Chase Mining and Trucking Company, made the request via a letter to City Mayor, Patricia Chase-Greene and which was copied to all
councillors and Acting Town Clerk, Sharon Monroe. According to Chase’s letter to the Mayor, the company paid a leasing fee of $1.8M on February 21, 2017 by way of cheque to occupy a strip of
reserve land measuring approximately 23,600 sq ft opposite Lot 1576-1580 on Aubrey Barker Road, North Ruimveldt Road. The payment to the council is separate and
apart from the payments King and his NGO received. It appears that based on the payment to the council, a backdated document titled ‘Licence to Occupy Council Reserve Opposite Lot 15791580 Aubrey Barker Road North Ruimveldt – Guyana’ was issued and signed by King. In July 2015, King was a p p o i n t e d Town Clerk. However, the first line of the lease document, which carries King’s signature as Town Clerk, states ‘that the Licence is made and entered into on this day of 24th July, 2012’. Chase contends that the Guyana Lands and Survey Commission (GL&SC) has stopped work on the property and has indicated that the land belongs to the state agency. Kaieteur News understands that several documents and copies of encashed cheques detailing the suspicious transaction have been lodged with Chase-Green. On Friday, the Mayor was asked about the documents and she indicated to Kaieteur News that she was unaware of it, but then indicated that the documents will be placed on the agenda for the next Statutory Meeting of the Council. Several councillors have since confirmed that there is no other meeting planned for the current Council before the November 6 Local Government Elections. “Unless, there are plans to have an emergency sitting of the Council, as far as I am aware, the last Council meeting before the elections was last Monday, (October 22),” a Councillor stated. King has been implicated in a highly suspicious deal where he reportedly collected $6.8M from the company for the sale of lands identified as Government reserve. Payment to King reportedly started in 2013 while King was serving as the Public Relations Officer of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC). King, who was sent on administrative leave to facilitate the CoI, is expected to testify on Monday. Up until now, he has dodged numerous allegations of corrupt dealings utilising taxpayer funds. This latest information spotlights a transaction that started about two years prior to King’s appointment as Town Clerk. He reportedly accepted over 15 payments in cheques and cash totalling $6.8M from the mining company. Kaieteur News is in receipt of copies of the cheques and payment vouchers from the mining company, which indicate that King used the NGO,
Mayor Patricia Chase-Greene Environmental Community Health Organisation (ECHO), to secure the payments. Before his appointment as Town Clerk, King identified himself as the Executive Director of ECHO, writing letters to the media and leading protests calling for transparency and accountability in the extractive sector. The owne r s o f t h e mining company are contending that they knew and trusted King, who identified himself as the head of ECHO. Further, the owners indicated that King identified himself as the owner of the land, and they entered into an agreement to buy the strip of land for $7M. The payments for the t r a n s a c t i o n s reportedly started on April 15, 2013, with a cash payment of $200,000 – said to be legal fees. The payments continued in May 2013 with a Scotiabank cheque from the mining company issued to ECHO in the amount of $300,000. By the end of November 2013, there were seven subsequent payments by cheque made out directly to ECHO. Among them were a $700,000 transaction and two $500,000 payments. According to records, the mining company had prepared a cheque dated December 5, 2013 in the name of ECHO. However, the NGO’s name was scratched from that cheque and replaced by ‘Royston King’. However, the payment voucher indicates that the cheque was paid to ‘Royston King for ECHO’ and bears King’s signature as uplifting the payment. This was the first time in the transaction that King’s name appears among the cheques. The company executives have stated that they were told to make the payment in ECHO’s name, but when King became Town Clerk, they were told to make those payments directly to him.
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---Hinds’ Sight by Dr. David Hinds---
Thinking about Shadow: Poverty is Hell As a student of the mother music of the Anglophone Caribbean, the calypso, I weep for our region whenever one of the giants of the artform passes on. Yes, I am saddened when the artist is called to the great beyond, but I worry about the consequences for our region. From 1838, when slavery was forced into exile, to the present, one of our principal preoccupations has been the continued recovery of identity and humanity as free people. And central to that process has been the creative intellect and imagination of our people. Of course, that creativity and imagination were indispensable aspects of the quest for freedom—bondage invariably breeds a culture that imagines freedom. That is the source of the popular music and the wider popular culture of our Caribbean. The calypso, born in the crucible of resistance and affirmation of humanity, remains part of our socio-cultural and political reason for being. The calypsonian, then, does not go away; always reminding us of our collective history, struggle and identity. So, when I awoke last Tuesday to the news that Shadow,
the uniquely TrinbagonianCaribbean calypsonian had died, I went into a period of reflection on the state of our Caribbean. Only a few days before, I had listened over and over to his masterpiece, “Columbus Lie,” in preparation for my class next semester on Political Music. The man with the Santa Maria Was as great as a man can be He sailed down to Venezuela For another discovery He said he discovered new lands And he thought I wouldn’t know He discovered a lot of Indians Who discovered the lands beforeColumbus lied Columbus lied Columbus lied so bad I believe Columbus was mad I reflected on how he, The Shadow, with no training as a historian, could compose such historical narrative that surpasses those in our history books. And, I of course, wonder why our political and education managers have not seen it fit to make the lyrics of our calypso and reggae part of the texts in our schools. I know the answer, but I still bother to wonder where the creative imagination of our political leaders is.
I have noted the hype about STEM and I do welcome the emphasis on Science and Technology. But why not Science, Technology and Humanities? Why do we always think it has to be one or the other? Are we so incapable of seeing the interconnectedness of phenomena? A society of scientists without any relationship to humanism is as troubled as one without any science at all. Maybe, one day, not long from now, we will finally get it. So, as I think about The Shadow, I think about his creative intellect and his imagination—the man in black, jumping in one place, but owning the stage with the sheer depth of his lyrics and the unique African bass in the music. I was still a little boy becoming familiar with West Indian literature, when Shadow sang these graphic words “I am musically sick/ Mommy beat me with music stick.” What imagination! He had a few years before taken the Caribbean by storm with his “Bassman.” It was in the middle of what another calypso legend, Brother Valentino, calls the “roaring 70s.” It was the year Walter
The Baccoo Speaks It has long been known that there are many drug dealers but their money in the right hands often prevent them from arrests and detention. But what does not happen at home will happen elsewhere because they often must travel. Many have decided that they will never leave Guyana but there are those who must travel and therein lies the problem. There will be yet another arrest in the
coming days. ** Another road fatality would be recorded and again
carelessness would be the cause. An attempt to overtake would end deadly, leaving behind destruction. ** The police are going to arrest a group of men heading toward a robbery. They will panic after they see the police patrol in the city. The police would discover guns and other items in the car. There is a downside. The men would be released back on the streets after posting bail.
Rodney returned to Guyana to begin what would become a “civil rebellion” that is still seen as the defining moment in our modern political history. Shadow and Rodney are still linked in my mind—one born in 1941 and the other in 1942. There is something magical about that generation. As I thought about Shadow, I reflected on poverty—still the scourge of our Caribbean. Our president recently said he wants to beat poverty in Guyana. I was glad to hear a political leader actually utter those words. I have to take the president at his word. But I have been around long enough to know that that is quite a challenge. Poverty in our post-plantation spaces is systemic— institutional. So, it would take a comprehensive, visionary intervention to root it out. Its not going to be rooted out by neoliberal economic policies. Shadow says “poverty is hell.” Poverty is hell and the angels are in Paradise Driving in their limousine where everything is nice and clean A poor man living in a teeny-weeny hutThe children hungry, nothing in the pot
He gone by the neighbour to beg for some rice The neighbour under pressure, “Boy, things ent nice.” He gone in the big shot area to beg A police put a bullet in his teeny-weeny leg He gone in the courts and he lost the case The prosecutor say he have a bandit face Wake up in the morning and the baby cry The sugar pan empty, the milk bottle dry The little boy child on the mango tree The mango green, hurting up his belly The young girl bawling, she wouldn’t settle She wipe she bumsie with stinging nettle Toilet paper they never hadThey used to tootoo in the gully by the old backyard They rub she down and they put she to sleep The rain come down and the house does leak A poor man always dream a lot of dream He happy like a puppy when he dream another dreamHe dream that he have a new roof on the hut He dream that he have
Dr David Hinds some good food in the pot He dream that he have a rich friend name Frank He dream that he have a lot of cash in the bank He dream that he pay all his bills for the month He dream that he have a new car in the front He dream that he have to go to a fete He dream that his pocket have a big, fat wallet He wake up in the night and he rush for his pants All he found in the pocket was a whole lot of ants Poverty is hell! Poverty is hell! More of Dr. Hinds ‘writings and commentaries can be found on his YouTube Channel Hinds’ Sight: Dr. David Hinds’ Guyana-Caribbean Politics and on his w e b s i t e www.guyanacaribbeanpolitics.news. Send comments to dhinds6106@aol.com
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Sunday October 28, 2018
The cat, the corpse and the killer By Michael Jordan When I took him in to CID Headquarters. Eve Leary, five years ago, the youth they called ‘Big Foot’ didn’t seem to have a clue or care that I was taking him in for murder. It bothered me then, and, from what I have since learned, it now bothers me even more. On the morning of Wednesday, November 13, 2013, hotel handyman Wendell Eastman went to see his boss. That was Joseph Jagdeo, the proprietor of the South Central Hotel, located at Lot 208 South Road. It was hotel by name only. It was actually one of the last remaining brothels in Georgetown, catering to drug-addicted prostitutes and other sex workers on the lowest rung of the ladder. Eastman’s story is that he approached Jagdeo’s room, and noticed that the door was slightly open. He would later tell me that he called a few times, got no answer, assumed that his boss was sleeping, and left. But by nightfall, Jagdeo still had not appeared. Eastman says that at around 6:00 a.m. the following morning, he was filling water near to Room Nine, which Jagdeo occupied, when he observed his boss’s pet cat by Jagdeo’s office door. He said that after a while, the cat began scratching on the wall of Room 10 and started purring. He says he found the cat’s behaviour to be unusual and this prompted him to call Patrick Wilson, another hotel employee. He said that he told his colleague about the cat’s strange behaviour. He then peered through a louvre window in the room and saw the door keys to Room 10 on the bed. He said he pushed a pipe through the window and snagged the keys. He handed the keys over to Wilson, who opened the room door. According to Eastman, the cat made a sudden dash into the room and ran back out, purring. Eastman says he warned Wilson not to go into the room. Kneeling in a passageway
The South Central Hotel, where Joseph Jagdeo was murdered
A smiling Brian Leitch as he enters the docks next to the room, Eastman peered inside and said he saw exactly what had alarmed the cat. Beneath the bed was the body of 62-year-old Joseph Jagdeo. Someone had used strips from pillowcases to gag the brothel owner and tie his hands. A post mortem would reveal the cause of death as haemorrhage due to blunt trauma to the head, compounded by suffocation and compression to the neck. Whoever had killed Jagdeo had also broken his neck and spine. But who could that killer be, and what was his, or her motive?
Jagdeo’s wife told me that he had only kept small sums of cash on the premises. The only item that appeared to be missing was a cell phone that Jagdeo had reportedly recently bought. Jagdeo had been running the South Central ‘guest house’ for about 20 years. He had made the news in the nineteen nineties when he had locked his gates to sex workers who refused to show their HIV results. Detectives began to take a close look at some of Jagdeo’s employees and those who frequented the ‘guest house.’ Reports indicate that the guesthouse owner was slain some time on Wednesday, November 13, 2013. One of the women who frequented the brothel told me that she last saw Jagdeo alive at around eight-thirty a.m. that day, when she went to the businessman’s office, since she owed him money. She said that he then went into the compound for a few minutes before going back inside. Another woman said that she went to the guest house barmaid at around 10:00 hrs that same Wednesday to rent Room Ten, which is the same room in which Jagdeo was subsequently found. However, she said that the barmaid told her “don’t use room ten, use room fifteen.” The woman said that she was puzzled by the barmaid’s response, since she usually used room ten ‘for business.’ The woman said that while heading for her room, she observed that Room Ten was shut. Detectives detained the barmaid and about four others. Among them was a sex worker who had an interesting story to tell. On Tuesday, November 12, she had reportedly met up with a young man known as ‘Big Foot’ in Pike Street, Kitty. She had known ‘Big Foot’
Hotel Owner Joseph Jagdeo when the two were serving time at the New Opportunity Corps (NOC). The woman and ‘Big Foot’ later occupied a room at the South Central ‘hotel.’ Further, it is alleged that later on the same day, November 12, one of Jagdeo’s cell phones disappeared. The girlfriend said she subsequently gave the hotel owner the phone and claimed that her boyfriend, ‘Big Foot,’ had stolen it. It is alleged that Jagdeo bought another cell phone and also told ‘Big Foot’ that he would have to vacate the premises by Wednesday, November 13, 2013. The girlfriend alleged that she had put ‘Big Foot’ out of her room after finding him with the stolen phone. In a statement to police, she allegedly said that the maintenance man at the ‘hotel’ felt sorry for ‘Big Foot’ and permitted him to stay in Room 10. Police received more evidence that seemed to implicate ‘Big Foot’ after arresting a woman, Shauntel De Younge, with the slain man’s phone. Kiana Garnett, a friend of De Younge’s , alleged that on November 13, 2013, they were going to purchase a ‘Chinese food’ when they saw ‘Big
Foot.’ ‘Big Foot’ allegedly asked them if they wanted a phone and “Shauntel replied yes.” ‘Big Foot’ allegedly sold a small silver Nokia cell phone to De Younge for $4,000 and told her “not to answer it when anyone calls.” That phone allegedly belonged to Joseph Jagdeo. On November 30, 2013, police issued a wanted bulletin for 19-year-old Brian Leitch, called “Big Foot,” in connection with the murder of South Central proprietor Joseph Jagdeo. The bulletin gave the suspect’s last known address as Lot 2118 Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara. But on November 30, before police could arrest him, Leitch and his mother turned up at the Kaieteur News. Leitch’s mother said she knew that her son was wanted by the police after seeing a bulletin and photograph of him in the Kaieteur News. She disclosed that he was released in 2011 from the NOC. She indicated that she did not want any trouble with the police and wanted him to turn himself in. As for Leitch, he sat silently in our editorial department, seemingly untroubled, sometimes smiling, and apparently unaware of his predicament. He did not even seem to recognize the South Central Hotel when we showed him a photograph of the premises. Meek as a lamb, Leitch, the suspect in a violent killing, accompanied me and his mother to CID Headquarters, Eve Leary. He was subsequently handed over to detectives at the Brickdam Police Station. There, he allegedly gave police an unsworn statement in which he confessed to attacking and binding Jagdeo. According to a detective, he put the accusation of murder to Leitch after cautioning him. Leitch, police allege, first said, “I don’t know anything about any murder.” In the caution statement, Leitch allegedly recounted that Joseph Jagdeo had come to his room at the hotel and asked him to leave. Leitch, the statement alleged, related that he was “very angry” at what Jagdeo told him and tied the hotel owner’s hands, while also tying another piece of cloth around Jagdeo’s mouth. In the statement attributed to the suspect, Leitch allegedly confessed that he pushed Jagdeo under the bed
in the room before throwing the door keys on the bed. “I then guh in he (Jagdeo) office and tek he cell phone. I sorry for what I made happen. I didn’t mean to kill he,” Leitch allegedly stated. On December 2, 2013, 19year-old Brian Leitch was charged and remanded for murder. A photograph shows Leitch with that same ‘spaced out’ smile as he entered the docks. His trial began early this year. He was unable to hire an attorney and two attorneys for the state, (Hewley Griffith and Lawrence Harris) represented him. Giving unsworn testimony from the docks last April, Leitch stated, “I don’t know anything about any murder. I did not kill anyone.” But the unsworn confession statement that police said Leitch allegedly made was also admitted as evidence. Attorney Harris suggested to the court that none of the ranks who questioned Leitch had asked the accused if he was literate. Sergeant Conway, who gave evidence, acknowledged that he had not asked Leitch if he could read or write. He was also unable to say if Sergeant Bowman (retired) who took the statement, had done so. The sergeant stated that he and Retired Sergeant Bowman read the statement to Leitch and informed him that he could request to alter, correct or change it. The witness added that the statement was also given to Leitch for him to read, and that he looked at it as though he was reading. “You are not being truthful to this court,” Leitch’s attorney told the sergeant, who responded: “I am telling the truth and nothing but the truth.” Statements from the woman who claimed Leitch had sold her a cell phone, and statements from the woman who had stayed at the hotel room with the accused, were also presented at the trial. However, none of the two women appeared to testify. On April 17, 2018, Leitch was found guilty on the lesser charge of manslaughter. A month later, Justice Sandil Kissoon, the presiding judge, sentenced him to 33 years imprisonment.Before the sentence was handed down, Attorney Harris pleaded with the court to consider his client’s “hard upbringing”, as well as his age and the time he had already spent in prison.A probation (Continued on page 45 )
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==THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN==
Guyana: The untouchable class and the poor and powerless
T
here are times I look out my bedroom window straight onto the Atlantic and I wonder what became of me and my country when I was a freshman at university. There is a contemplative song, “Where Did It Go” on the 2005 Burt Bacharach album, “At This Time”, that is so appropriate when I think of the Guyana I lived in when I started out as a university student and the Guyana in which I now carry on my existence. Here are some compelling words from that song that haunt me whenever I think of the seventies and 2018 in this land. Stop the clock, make it stop Where’d it go? I don’t know Stop the clock, make it stop Where is that world? Where did it go? And tell me what happened to that world I knew? Is it really gone? How did we wind up in this place instead? Is it really gone? How do we get back to that other place? There’s got to be a way How do we undo a thousand mistakes? There’s got to be a way Where is that world? Where did it go? Where is that Guyana where people fought for justice; where people revolted against the rich pulverizing the poor; where university students rebelled against society’s injustices; where workers downed tools over
their mistreatment by rapacious employers; where academics sought to teach the masses about their legal rights; where lawyers were willing to fight on behalf of the downtrodden masses; where pickets and protests greeted bigoted people who discriminated against dark skin colour? Where is that Guyana? In the words of Bacharach, “how do we get back there?” This is a time in Guyana where the very concept of humanity is under threat. The most reckless abuse of the law by the mighty and powerful takes place, a caricature that would never have been tolerated without a reaction by the society in the Guyana I knew as a university student. In today’s Guyana, the untouchable class can do whatever they want and enjoy impunity and immunity, while the poor and powerless (a term coined by our famous radical professor, Clive Thomas who is now part of a neoliberal government and who was once a voice of power, reason and radicalism in the seventies – the era that shaped me along with the ideas of Clive Thomas; more on Thomas later) gets poorer and less powerful with every passing day in this land. Ryan “Effing” Crawford allegedly abused a traffic rank that stopped him. Crawford was charged. NIS inspectors went into the office of a lawyer who holds a formidable legal position with the state (see my column of Wednesday, March 29, 2017 captioned, “Two NIS inspectors accused PPP lawyer of violent scatology.”) to inquire
about lack of NIS payments. They were greeted in ways that were almost identical to what we heard on the tape with Ryan “Effing” Crawford and the policeman. This lawyer was not charged. My thinking is because of the job he has. Poor Ryan “Effing” Crawford! He does not possess a formidable state function. I took an employee to Minister Keith Scott about violations of his industrial rights by one of Guyana’s most eminent retail businesses (see my column of Friday, September 7, 2018 captioned, “I took a victim to
Minister Keith Scott.”). The gentleman told Scott that when he went to the NIS to claim medical reimbursement, he was told that there were only four remittances for him over a period of 18 months. The act of not paying NIS for employees is a criminal offence, for which there should be prosecution. That does not happen in the land Clifford Krauss wrote about named Guyana. A clerk steals $10,000 from any private business company and the police do not waste time to charge. I never saw a notice in the newspapers asking these clerks not to steal and
to stop doing it. But the newspapers often carry advertisements from the NIS naming wealthy individuals and companies who have not submitted remittances, and requesting that they do so. Not paying NIS for your employees is a criminal offence. Why should the NIS put a placement in the newspaper persuading people to visit them who have violated the law? The NIS should be prosecuting them instead. Will the NIS put an advertisement in the newspapers persuading the clerk who stole NIS money to bring it back?
Frederick Kissoon It all has to do with the degeneracy of the society where powerful people and companies can do what they want and are beyond the law. It is simple – they are “effing” powerful so why should they pay “effing” taxes.
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Sunday October 28, 2018
The decision by the judges has proven our case
I
n recent days, Guyana’s higher courts have dealt very fairly with the PPP, we believe. In the first case, the Court of Appeal unanimously ruled that H.E. President David Granger did have the legal and constitutional right to unilaterally appoint to the Chairmanship of the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) a person whom he considers to be “fit and proper”, completely in keeping with the laws of this land. In doing so, Guyana’s
second highest judicial tribunal after the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) had come to the very same conclusion as Chief Justice (ag.) Madam Roxane George in a previous High Court ruling, i.e. that the Head of State is not compelled to choose a Chairman from any list provided by the Leader of the Opposition as the law also requires. In the second case, Justice Navindra Singh dismissed a case also filed by the PPP, which had sought to scrub the names of about 50
electors from the list submitted by the AFC to GECOM for next month’s LGE. The candidates reside in the Bloomfield/Whim District in Region Six. That court ruled that it found no discrepancies on the AFC’s list. GECOM’s Public Relations team weighed in after the ruling. “Based on what the law says, we know that we kept within the confines of the law. The parties submit their lists of candidates with nominators. Once you have
reached the required amount, and met other criteria, then we have no basis on which to say that these persons were coerced. We have always (worked this way) and so the decision by the judges has really proven our case,” said the GECOM’S PRO. So these latest rulings by two separate courts, their arriving at the same conclusion, should send the People’s Progressive Party back to the drawing board. It is apparent that they have been laboring under the misconception that if they shout loud enough, and sufficient people come forward to applaud them for their noises, and if they hold on to their faulty beliefs strongly enough, they would convince enough people that their actions were right. Very few people doubt, to put it in the commonest terms, that the PPP believes that they own this country and the people in it, and that their old dictum of “what I say, goes” would continue ad nauseum. But the world does not work that way. The two main operating forums in the party – the Central Committee and the Central Executive, should also note that the same two courts in the very recent past, dismissed cases brought by the State through the sitting Attorney General and other State legal representatives. These courts also tabled rulings against para statal agencies like the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU), so the PPP’s accusations and posturing about unfairness and
judicial bias are totally without merit. There is no question that the local judiciary jealously guards its objectivity, and any accusations to the contrary get their hackles up. We wish to also remind the Opposition (and some of our own) that the Judiciary is an irrevocable arm of the Guyanese state, one of three – along with the Executive and the Legislature. We also wish that the Opposition would keep in mind the fact that this Government and its Cabinet have taken our share of licks, losses and reprimands from all levels of the judiciary, from the Magistracy through to the Appeals court All of us won’t ever like it, but we all are duty bound to respect every court decision and keep it sacrosanct, not curse the Judges out. Now the PPP has pledged to take GECOM and its Chairman, Justice James Patterson to the CCJ. With all the words of encouragement we could muster, we do urge the PPP to approach this Caribbean body of learned Jurisprudence with facts and solid arguments. In truth, Guyanese do not wish for the CCJ to begin to regard cases from this country as not worthy of their time and talent, even as objective as they are. In short, please do not waste the Court’s time. Former President Jagdeo has already attacked the credibility of the CCJ just as he has attacked GECOM and the AFC’s candidates in recent times. From all appearances, his party is laying the foun-
dation for their approach to the electorate after their 2020 defeat. They have to have something to blame it on. SOME PERSPECTIVE The AFC has 400 candidates vying for local government seats across the country. Unfortunately, many of our supporters living and campaigning in traditional PPP strongholds have been harassed and intimidated by PPP members. Our Party Chairman Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, has said that the PPP is employing ‘defeatist tactics”. “The PPP is fearful of the AFC’s challenge and is trying to use our party as a scapegoat for its campaign to discredit GECOM and the (LGE) elections,” VP Ramjattan said. The PPP’s members have been approaching the persons on record as having nominated the AFC’s candidates, and they have been begging them to claim that they did so without understanding the full extent of their actions. In other words, the PPP has accused the people of being backward and illiterate, since they failed to understand that they were selecting a member of the AFC to represent their interests in their villages, instead of choosing the PPP’s acolytes whose past non-actions they are very familiar with. The LGE is on Monday November 12, 2018. Please go out and vote for the candidate you KNOW will look after the interests of your community!
Sunday October 28, 2018
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My column
Another Guyanese traveller is arrested outside Guyana
A
s a boy, my mother always told me to be contended and not to feel envy over what someone else has. But when one is hungry it is difficult not to envy someone who always seems to have a full belly. Then there were the houses. They were not as huge as some of today’s mansions, but they were big. Some had three bedrooms when many of us were sleeping in a house with a single bedroom and a living room that served as a bedroom at nights. Later, many people began to put up their dream houses. They were the people who spent their productive years overseas and returned when they had amassed some money along with their pension from whatever jobs they did. But even as this was happening, there were people around who were putting up mansions although they had no visible source of income. These people also decorated the various entertainment centres and simply lived la dolce vita—the sweet life. I did not envy them, and with my friends I would always say that we do not know what they did to get their money. I must admit that they did a lot to help money circulate. I remember the days when there was a particular group that rode
around with seeming impunity. They filled the night clubs, took control of what was sold, and literally prevented any of the other patrons from buying. Those were the glory days. Word began to go around that drug money was in circulation. There were large houses going up and small hotels began to dot the landscape. There were questions about the role of the tax man. It was always said that if the authorities could not catch a man on his earnings, there was always the tax investigation. This was the case of Al Capone in the United States. During the prohibition era, he made a killing smuggling alcohol, tobacco and whatever was there to make money. The authorities did not catch him at his money-making efforts, but they got him on income tax evasion. People in Guyana thought that the same thing could have been done here. I suppose that these days the business community is not taking too many chances with Mr. Godfrey Statia. Yet Guyana is a country known to be home to the greatest tax dodgers. When people were complaining about a slowdown in business, people in the business community said that it was simply a case of businessmen having a lot of money that they cannot get
into the system. If that is the case, the business community had a glorious chance when the Guyana Revenue Authority granted a tax break. Many took the opportunity, and, as was seen, business began to pick up again. No longer was so much money lying in safes and cupboards. Then came Friday. News came that ‘Big Head’ had been arrested in Jamaica. I did not understand why until I had a chat with an official at the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit. The official said that the unit keeps hearing that only the small fry are being arrested, that the big fish remain untouched. He said that this is changing, but to me there must be serious intelligence on the local scene. That was how I learnt that the international community is here in Guyana looking at anyone who seems to be deeply involved in money laundering. And so I turned to Mr. Shervington Lovell. I never associated him with drugs, but on Friday I realized how popular he was in the drug world. His arrest stunned that community. People said to me that “they gone wid a good man”. I knew that he had invested heavily in Guyana and created employment opportunities for many contractors. I
found out that he was approachable and that he pretty much kept to himself. His arrest brought back memories of the Roger Khan arrest in Trinidad. It was also reminiscent of the Peter Morgan arrest on his way back to Guyana. Both men were arrested outside of Guyana as a result of something introduced when Cricket World Cup came to the region. It was the Advance Passenger Information System that is shared around the world. Every flight has a passenger manifest which is transmitted to the various authorities. An inspection of the manifest would reveal the name of a person of interest. Mr. Lovell’s name came up and when he landed in Jamaica, the Americans were there to greet him. They must have been collecting information from the drug couriers they arrested over time. We now hear that they want him for money laundering and drug trafficking.
We have also heard that he was whisked to a court in Jamaica where he was informed of his possible extradition to the United States and that he waived his right to an objection. What this is telling us is that many prominent people will not risk leaving Guyana. I know that Barry Dataram was wanted in the United States and he successfully challenged his extradition. Justice Ian Chang ruled that if there is a possibility that there could be extradition to a third country, then Guyana’s laws prohibit such extradition. I can imagine the law enforcers around the world scanning the passenger manifests out of Guyana. I remember on one occasion when I was travelling to the United States, the aircraft attracted unusual attention. Guyana was seen as a drug transshipment country. The aircraft was left on the tarmac for a while before being shunted to another gate. I suppose that was done
Adam Harris so that another crew could handle the baggage. On another occasion, I heard that the entire crop of baggage handlers was removed and replaced by another because the authorities anticipated drugs aboard the plane. Guyana has a reputation. Those of us who travel know that we are under scrutiny, very close scrutiny. There will, however, be some who will take the chance, get arrested, and name the local supplier. And all for money. That is why I do not envy people for what they have. There are consequences.
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The good life - More than a slogan – Part one “Guyana cannot become ‘One Nation’ if gross disparities persist between the hinterland and the coastland, between the educated few and a semi-literate mass and between the very rich and very poor. We shall foster the growth of a united nation in which cooperation prevails over confrontation”. All of our (the Coalition government) policies and programmes are developed to confirm with this vision of ‘one Guyana’, where the good life can be enjoyed by all Guyanese. The government has developed a comprehensive plan to invest in, improve or increase public infrastructure
assets. The Linden to Lethem road will be built linking the coast to the Hinterland. Phase One-Linden to Mabura, is slated to begin during the last quarter of 2018 and would be financed by the United Kingdom to the amount of 150 million pounds sterling. Phase Two- Kurupukari to Lethem is slated to begin in late 2019. Before 2020, work will begin on a bridge over the Essequibo River. Negotiations with national and international parties have been conducted and a bridge across the Essequibo River at Kurupukari will be a reality. The old Demerara Harbour Bridge will be replaced. Construction of a new
four lane Demerara Harbour bridge will begin next year (2019). The bridge will be a permanent structure with a height of 17.5 metres. At this height, approximately 90% of the riverain traffic will traverse the Demerara River without the need to disrupt the operations of the Bridge. To cater for the remaining 10% of the riverain traffic, there will be a section of the Bridge that will be lifted hydraulically 47.5 metres. This section will have a width of 70 metres, five metres wider than that of the existing bridge. Unlike the operations of the current bridge which opens and closes every day for more than one hour, there
will be a bar and a stop light at the beginning of the hydraulic section. When a vessel approaches the bridge, the stop light will show red and the bar lowered, thereby bringing vehicular traffic on the Bridge to a halt. As soon as the vessel completes its passage through the Bridge, the green light will come on and the bar lifted. This interruption is expected to last 10-15 minutes. Construction of the East Bank-East Coast connector will begin in the first quarter of 2019. This highway will link Diamond on the East Bank of Demerara with the Rupert Craig Highway on the East Coast of Demerara. Phase two of this project will see a road link from Diamond to Soesdyke. Over the past three years, the country’s transportation network of aerodromes, bridges, roads, stellings and wharves has been improved. More than 30 hinterland aerodromes have been rehabilitated and maintained. The Bartica Stelling has been rehabilitated. Village roads, extending over 100 km, have been constructed or repaired, including laying asphaltic cement. The country’s first pedestrian overpasses have been installed across the East Bank Public Road. Under the telecommunications sector, every government owned building is being connected to the internet, including airports, hospitals, markets, police stations, post offices and schools. Already, 175 primary schools, over 120 government agencies, 37 technical and other tertiary institutes have free internet access across the e-government network. The National Data Management Authority (NDMA), continues to establish Information and Communication Technology (ICT) hubs across the country, with the current total at 135 hubs. A US$17M ICT Access and eServices project for Hinterland, Poor and Remote communities has been cleared for roll out in 2019. The Coalition has provided a favourable investment climate. GCX (a private company) is investing $200 million to construct Guyana’s first deep water harbour and shore base, near Crab Island in the Berbice River. This project will provide thousands of jobs in the East Berbice- Corentyne Region. Your Government envisages a green Guyana. We shall exploit Guyana’s favourable geographical location and abundant assets in
order to develop a ‘green economy’ - one that generates human happiness in ways that are consistent with economic exploitation of its natural resources. We see a ‘green economy’ as one that sustains economic prosperity, environmental security and social well-being. It will allow the current generation to satisfy its needs without jeopardizing the opportunity of future generations to satisfy theirs. There are 67 identified potential hydro-electricity generation sites in Guyana. Solar Electricity is already being used in a limited way, particularly in the hinterland regions. Under the Unserved Areas Electrification Programme (UAEP), a number of communities have received solar photovoltaics’ home systems. Seven hundred residents of Mabaruma now enjoy seventeen hours of clean and reliable electricity with the completion of Guyana’s first ever solar farm. The $264Million farm in the Barima Waini Region covers ten acres on Khan’s Hill and provides power to Mabaruma and the surrounding areas. Other solar farms at Lethem in Region Nine, Mahdia in Region Eight and at Bartica in Region Seven are planned. T hese farms are anticipated to generate 800, 400, and 1.5 kilowatts of electricity respectively. They are all part of the government’s plan to move Guyana towards becoming a ‘Green State’. Solar-powered street lights are being installed and government buildings are increasingly being equipped to use solar energy. Incentives are being offered to encourage this transition to solar technologies. We have expanded the provision of water to unserved communities and improved the quality of service. The Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Programme (WSSIP) will benefit more than 50,000 consumers through the construction of new water treatment plants at Uitvlugt, Diamond and Sheet Anchor. Construction of these plants has already begun. Over the last three years, the Guyana Water Inc. was able to significantly increase the number of persons with access to potable water in Guyana. After some 30 years, North Sophia residents benefitted from potable water access, with the installation of in excess of 10 standpipes. GWI completed works in Ann’s Grove – ECD to provide service to more than 900
persons for the first time. In Tucber Park, Savannah Park and No. 68 Village– East Berbice service was provided to more than 600 persons. Approximately 20,000 residents of ‘D’ and ‘E’ Fields, Sophia, now have access to potable water supply, following the laying of transmission lines from newly rehabilitated wells in North Ruimveldt and Turkeyen to Sophia. New water supply systems have been installed in Dutch Cab Housing Scheme, Dazzell Housing Scheme, Vryheid’s Lust, Golden Grove, Melanie, Victoria, Le Ressouvenir, Lusignan, and Ann’s Grove - East Coast Demerara, which have provided new service to more than 6,000 persons for the first time. New water supply systems were installed in Barnwell/Mocha, Yarrowkabra, Friendship Squatting Area and Kuru Kururu, providing new service to residents for the first time. New mains were installed in Ross Village, Nos. 40, 41 and 42 Villages, Lovely- Lass, No. 30 Village, Lichfield, Esau/ Jacob, where more than 2,000 residents benefitted from new service for the first time. New mains have been installed in Tarlogie, Stanleytown, Nigg, No. 53 Village, No. 72 Village, No. 74 Village, Budhan Scheme and Angoy’s Avenue, which saw more than 6,500 persons getting potable water for the first time. A new water distribution system was installed in Byderabo to benefit more than 300 persons with service for the first time. A new potable water well was commissioned in Culvert City to provide service to more than 500 residents for the first time. Approximately 7000 residents of New Amsterdam benefitted from first time access to 24 hour treated water service. New mains have been installed in Green Valley, Amelia’s Ward and Blueberry Hill, Linden, which saw more than 300 persons receiving service for the first time. Yarakita – potable water is now being provided to 300 persons for the first time as a result of the drilling of a new well. Lima Sands – a new well and water supply system have resulted in 650 households accessing potable water Ridge Wakenaam- some 400 persons were eligible to receive potable water for the first time as a result of the drilling of a new well.
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Costochondritis: The intense chest pain that wouldn’t kill you By Dr Zulfikar Bux Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine Costochondritis is a painful condition of the chest wall that causes chest pain. People who get chest pain are often frightened they have a heart or lung problem. It is a very common cause of chest pain that creates quite a bit of anxiety for patients. Fortunately, if the pain is due to costochondritis, there is no need to panic, as it is not a lifethreatening condition and it usually gets better on its own with time. The pain you get if you have costochondritis comes from the protective cage formed by your ribs, and not from the heart or lungs or blood vessels inside your chest. More specifically, it comes from one or more of the joints between your ribs and your breastbone (sternum). These joints can become inflamed and cause severe chest pains. WHATARE THE COMMON CAUSES OF COSTOCHONDRITIS? The basic problem is inflammation, but the cause of this is unknown for most people. It affects women more. There are some situations that are known to cause inflammation and they include: · Chest infections of varying types.
· Large physical efforts, like lifting heavy objects or repeated bouts of coughing. · Accidents which hit the chest, like falls or car accidents. · Some types of arthritis. WHATARE SYMPTOMS OF COSTOCHONDITIS? · Costochondritis causes chest pain, felt at the front of the chest. · It is usually sharp and stabbing in nature and can be quite severe. · The pain is worse with movement, exertion and deep breathing. · Pressure over the affected area also causes sharp pain. · Some people may feel an aching pain. · The pain is usually confined to a small area but it can spread to a wider area. · The pain tends to wax and wane and it can settle with a change of position and quiet, shallow breathing. The most common sites of pain are close to the breastbone, at the level of the 4th, 5th and 6th ribs. Without tenderness, the cause of the chest pain is unlikely to be costochondritis. Remember to seek medical advice if you are unsure of the cause of your symptoms WHEN SHOULD I SEE A DOCTOR?
With chest pain, it makes sense to err on the side of caution if you are unsure. If you feel unwell, breathless, dizzy, or sweaty, or if your chest pain is very severe or spreading to your jaw or left arm then treat it as an emergency and do not hesitate to go see a doctor. If you have a pain in your chest which gets worse as you move your chest wall and hurts when you press on it then it is likely to be a chest wall cause, such as costochondritis. If you feel generally well, and the pain does not need painkillers, or can be managed with overthe-counter painkillers then you do not necessarily need to see a doctor. Even if you are fairly sure you have costochondritis, if the pain is severe or getting worse rather than better over time then see your doctor.If you have other symptoms in addition to the pain then see a doctor. This would include if you have: · A cough. · A high temperature (fever). · Breathlessness. · Blood in the mucus you cough up (sputum). · Pain which spreads to other parts of the body. · A rash. · A feeling of having a “thumping heart” (palpita-
tions). · Dizziness. · Difficulty swallowing. · Started to get heartburn or indigestion. HOW IS COSTOCHONDRITIS TREATED? Treatment is not always needed. Sometimes, it helps just to be reassured there is no serious cause for the chest pain. Worry can make the pain worse. With or without treatment, most people with costochondritis get better gradually over time. It is unusual for it to last more than two months. A course of antiinflammatory painkillers such
as diclofenac or ibuprofen usually help to alleviate the symptoms of costochondritis. For severe cases of costochondritis not responding to painkillers and anti-inflammatory medication, injections of steroids or local anesthetic medicines may be used.Non-medicinal measures can be tried for relief of pain in costochondritis. Examples of such techniques include: · Heat pads. · Ice application. · Acupuncture. · Gentle stretching exercises. · Avoidance of sports or
Dr Zulfikar Bux activities that worsen the pain. · Physiotherapy or chiropractic therapy. While the chest pains from costochondritis can be nagging and intense, it’s not life-threatening. However, if you are not sure, it’s better to go see your doctor.
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SUNDAY Concession Agreement says… Govt. can take over Berbice Bridge for sake of “national interest” – BCCI likely breached maintenance schedule A June 2006 Concession Agreement between the Government and the Berbice Bridge Company Inc. (BBCI) says that the former has options to take control of the facility for the sake of “national interest”. The issue would be pertinent as the Coalition Government is currently exploring its options after BBCI announced, much to widespread anger, that it will go ahead with a November 12, 2018 introduction of a sharp toll increase of 365 percent for vehicular traffic. November 12, coincidentally, is the same day when Local Government Elections are to be held. Government has made it clear it has no intentions to support the increases which the privately-owned BBCI is insisting that it is entitled to under the agreement. They are also accusing the Opposition of political machinations. Since commissioned in late 2008, the bridge’s 39 pontoons were not serviced in keeping with recommendations of between three to five years. BBCI said that its revenues were not enough and that shareholders are owed almost $3B. The bridge also claimed it has more than $6B in debts. Since the increases were announced last week, Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, said that Government has handed the matter to the Attorney General Chambers for legal advice. Among other things, Government is looking, as the Grantor to the Concession Agreement, to determine the extent of its powers. Government is also looking at other options, including the possibility of a takeover. According to the agreement, Government reserves the right to terminate the agreement and the concession for national interest, subject to adequate notice being given to BBCI and the payment, by Government, of adequate compensation in a sum to be determined at the time of early termination. The bridge company is not immediately saying whether shareholders want to sell. It is insisting that it consulted with Government and in any case the Concession Agreement allows for the increases.
Sunday October 28, 2018
Kaieteur News
‘I did the work before contracts were awarded’Berbice contractor admits – Says engineer’s estimate “is no secret in this country” Peter Lewis, of Associated Construction Services, has admitted that he completed eight multimillion-dollar jobs for Region Six even before the Regional Tender Board awarded the contracts. Lewis said this Saturday when he was contacted in the wake of a report by the Auditor General. Kaieteur News had published that the Office of the Auditor General launched a special investigation into what seems to be a quite beneficial relationship between Region Six officials and a particular contractor. While that investigation is ongoing, Auditor General Deodat Sharma made mention of it in his latest report covering an examination of the government’s spending in 2017. Sharma said that an audit revealed eight instances in Region Six where the contract sum was the same as the engineer’s estimate. In addition, each item on the contractor’s bill of quantities was identical to that of the engineer’s bill of quantities. Further, all eight of the contracts were awarded by the Regional Tender Board. Interestingly, four contracts were awarded at one sitting. Also, all eight contracts were awarded to the same contractor in 2017. This newspaper later learnt that Lewis finished the work then submitted a quotation. One source said, Lewis’s quotation “became the engineer’s estimate and not the other way around.” The source stressed that the legal procurement procedure has been violated and “this has been going on a long time now.” The source claimed that procurement in Berbice is “crazy” and it is the only area where “social cohesion is practiced. Everybody becomes one when it comes to that, once they are benefitting. This is the epitome of corruption. Mind you, this is the same man who donates buses to the Government.” When the contractor was contacted he said, “Yes, I did some of the work but the thing is so foolish. What y’all doing now, y’all should have done Saturday. Those jobs (were) emergency.” Lewis continued, “Another thing is that engineer’s estimates are no secret in this country. Everybody knows the engineer’s estimates. So what the Auditor General do is just foolishness.
The Berbice Bridge can be taken over in the public’s interest MONDAY Constitutional Reform absent from Granger’s 2019 legislative agenda …makes no mention of this during recent address to Parliament President David Granger addressed Parliament on Thursday last about his government’s agenda for 2019. But clearly absent from the agenda he provided was the burning issue of Constitutional Reform. In fact, the President completely omitted any reference to this subject matter during his address. This salient fact was pointed out by former Speaker and Attorney-at-law, Ralph Ramkarran during his recent writings. Since a budgetary provision was made, Ramkarran said that the Guyanese people were entitled to be told what legislative initiatives to expect from the Government on the issue of Constitutional Reform. He stressed that Constitution Reform was promised by the APNU+AFC manifesto and Government. The joint manifesto of APNU+AFC provides for “Priority areas to be addressed.” The first item in this section is “The introduction of a Meaningful Constitution Reform Programme geared towards improved governance and fair representation.” The very next section is entitled, “Programme of Action.” The first item is the “Establishment of a Constitutional Reform Committee with a mandate to complete consultations, draft amendments and present same to the National Assembly for approval within nine months.” Under the topic of “Constitutional
Reform,” the manifesto states: ”Areas, which we will recommend for consideration of the Committee include: The President should be elected by a majority of electors; there should be separate elections to the presidency and national assembly; executive power should be shared between the President, Prime Minister and the Cabinet; and the Cabinet should comprise members of the parties which have achieved at least 15% of the vote at the national elections…” Gunmen kill Mon Repos man in front of wife – suspect held A 30-year-old handyman was shot dead in front of his wife during a brazen, early morning attack Sunday on a small group of friends outside a Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara home. Christopher Swamy, of Lot 161 Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara, died at the scene after he was shot in the chest by one of two masked men. The robbers also gunbutted the slain man’s friend, Rawle Williams, and relieved his spouse Marcia Williams, of an undisclosed sum of cash before fleeing. It is unclear why the gunmen shot Swamy, since there is no indication that he attempted to intervene when the men attacked. Police have detained a suspect. Swamy’s body, covered with a sheet, was still at the scene when Kaieteur News arrived. Police in a statement said that Swamy, his wife and her sister , along with Rawle Williams, Swamy’s friend and
his spouse, Marcia Williams, of Mon Repos ,ECD, were imbibing in front of Swami’s home, when two masked men, one brandishing a handgun, attacked them. The suspects then allegedly relieved Marcia of her cell phone and a sum of cash, striking her husband on his head, after which Swamy was shot in the left side of his chest, after which they fled the scene. Rawle was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, where he was admitted in a stable condition, Christopher Swamy pronounced dead on arrival. A male suspect has since been arrested and is assisting police with their investigations. TUESDAY Ex-con promising to develop $multi-billion ‘Jack Nicklaus’ golf course In late 2007, he was sentenced to 84 months in jail in what US prosecutors said was a major scheme to defraud several targeted victims of their hard-earned monies. The victims included firemen and the sheriff department employees. He had promised to build condos in Florida and double the earnings of investors in a few months. Instead, he was hauled off a plane by Feds when he reportedly attempted to flee. He was charged, jailed and then asked to leave the US. Today, Aleem Hussain, 54, is the President of the Lusignan Golf Club, in Guyana, and he has unveiled an ambitious, world class golf community here. Like the Florida project, there is a big sports name attached- world renowned
golfer, Jack Nicklaus. Nicklaus is said to be “partnering” in building the golfing community somewhere on East Coast Demerara, on 500 acres of land. Hussain is reported to have even convinced a few government officials to endorse his project. It appears that Hussain, who boasts excellent marketing skills, likes a big splash. Last week, he was able to attract Roddy Carr to Guyana. Carr is said to be the Senior International Representative for Nicklaus Design, the world’s leading golf course design firm. Carr, during a signing of an agreement last week, said it is a very pioneer move for Guyana. ”It is one of the few countries that does not have a golf residential resort area. What is going to happen in Guyana going forward, it is going to be a requirement that you have facilities for people to relax, enjoy themselves and live. Auditor General finds… HDM Labs takes six months to supply “emergency drugs” that was needed in two weeks – Charges over $100M more than other suppliers Despite the vehement defence that the Ministry of Public Health mounted about its arrangement with HDM Labs, the Audit Office of Guyana still investigated the arrangement and has vowed to “conduct further scrutiny of the awarding and execution of the contract.” So far, the Audit Office has found that HDM Labs took (Continued on page 33)
Sunday October 28, 2018
From page 32 six months to complete its supply of over $400M worth of “emergency drugs” that was needed within two weeks. Further, auditors compared the prices charged by HDM Labs to the prices charged by other suppliers. A table presented in the 1027 audit report noted that the drugs could have been sourced for at least $100M less. The Audit Office noted that on April 28, 2017, the Ministry wrote the NPTAB requesting approval for six suppliers to be invited to bid for varying quantities of 13 drugs through the restricted method of procurement. The suppliers were International Pharmaceutical Agency, Caribbean Medical Supplies, Ansa McAl Trading Ltd, Global Healthcare Supplies Inc., Meditron Inc. and HDM Labs Inc. N P TA B g r a n t e d a p proval in May 2017 for the use of the requested method of procurement and tender documents were sold to all six suppliers. Only the first three suppliers, that is, the International Pharmaceutical Agency, Caribbean Medical Supplies and Ansa McAl Trading Limited, tendered for the supply of the items. The tenders were opened on May 23, 2017 and were evaluated by the Evaluation Committee appointed by the NPTAB. The
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Committee on June 14, 2017 did not recommend an award since the members agreed that no tenderer met all the required evaluation criteria and they all failed to submit complete bids for all of the items. The Ministry subsequently wrote the NPTAB on June 29, 2017 requesting approval to retender for the procurement of the items through the restricted method of procurement and from the same six suppliers. Concession agreement says… Private owners have option to run Berbice Bridge after Govt. takeover In nine years’ time, the Berbice Bridge Company Inc. (BBCI) is set to handover the structure to the Government of Guyana. However, that would not have been the end of the controversial company if former President Bharrat Jagdeo and his administration had had their way. According to the Concession Agreement that Jagdeo’s administration signed with BBCI- the Concessionaire/Operator- at the time of the “handback”, in nine years time, the company has the possibilities t o c o n t i n u e r unning the bridge and collect tolls. The agreement says: “At the expiration of the Concession Period and at the Handback date, the Concessionaire shall be eligible to tender for the ability to oper-
A farmer setting his field alight
Alem Hussain (left) signs the contract document in the presence of Roddy Carr (centre) and Mitra Ramkumar of Tourism Hospitality, over the weekend. ate and maintain the Toll Bridge and toll plaza on a competitive basis.” The disclosures of the leaked Concession Agreement would be shocking as it included also other sweetheart arrangements with the BBCI, a private company that was controlled by close friends of Jagdeo. In May 2015, the Coalition Government entered office and sought to change the board of directors, which was filled with top lieutenants of New GPC and other companies who were close to Jagdeo. This was after years of a
tight lid being kept on the operations of the facilities which had funds linked to the state, through the National Insurance Scheme and which were invested in the bridge company. However, despite placing Dr. Surendra Persaud, a close affiliate of the Alliance For Change (AFC), as Chairman, the government still had to contend with the shareholders. Last week, the Chairman dropped a bombshell, announcing a 365 percent increase of vehicular tolls come November 12, the same day as local government elections.
WEDNESDAY Two Sugar Industry Funds not audited in 38 years, another in nine years …Auditor General unable to verify $1.1B in deposits It has been over six years since the Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Fund (SILWF) was audited and 38 years since the financial statements of the Sugar Industry Rehabilitation Fund and the Sugar Industry Price Stabilization Fund were subject to any form of assessment. This was recently revealed by Auditor General, Deodat
Sharma in his latest report. Sharma said that in the absence of the records, he is unable to verify the accuracy of $1.1B as deposits held for investments on behalf of the Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Fund, the Sugar Industry Rehabilitation Fund and the Sugar Industry Price Stabilization Fund. In response to this state of affairs, the Ministry of Finance said that it is responsibility of the SILWF to furnish such information to the Auditor General, since they have the relevant records in their possession.The Finance (Continued on page 34)
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From page 33 Ministry noted, nonetheless, that it will follow recommendations to verify the deposits held for investment. When the coalition administration took office in 2015, a forensic audit was launched into the Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Fund. Forensic auditors confirmed that indeed, the last time the Fund was audited was in 2012. They stressed, however, that the report was incomplete, since it did not contain any financial statements. It was therefore considered an incomplete annual report. Further to this, forensic auditors said that failure by the management to prepare the Fund’s Annual Financial Statements for the years 2012 and beyond, as required by the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act and in compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards, is a critical financial breach. Auditors said that it is imperative that urgent attention be given to finalizing the respective accounts, and the Annual Financial Statements for the relevant years be prepared, signed by the authorized personnel, and submitted urgently to the Auditor General for audit. They said that the failure to produce Annual Financial Statements on a timely basis will ultimately affects management, among other stakeholders, in making meaningful decisions. E’bo farmers to burn 1,000 acres of rice after bug bites deep The rice industry in Region Two [Pomeroon/ Supenaam] is presently experiencing what is believed to be its worst phase in history. According to reports reaching this publication, a severe paddy bug infestation plagued the entire Essequibo Coast this crop, significantly decreasing production by more than 50%. The frustrating situation has left a number of farmers no choice, but to set fire to their fields. This publication was on the scene Tuesday, and had an opportunity to speak with a number of farmers. One farmer told Kaieteur News that the price for paddy was slashed by more than half this crop, due to the poor quality of the grain. The farmer also explained that setting the field afire will be more economical, instead of harvesting and transporting to the mill, which they claim will result in a greater loss. “The price slash by half and the expense gone up by four times…When you cut a 300 and 400 bags per
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Kaieteur News
The body of Kirk Peters being removed from the scene of the accident.
block, you only find that about 100 bag good. The half that you get is not no quality of paddy because of the bug and the blast inside.” The farmer said that there was a bug infestation back in 2013, but this is the worst he has seen in his entire farming career. He also pointed out that after spraying, the bugs will temporarily migrate to neighbouring fields and later return. Farmers claim that their grains were severely affected by blast – a blight which affects the full growth and maturity of the grain. According to a rice farmer, before developing into a solid grain the rice must first undergo a milky stage, in which the pods are very soft. These soft pods, the farmers stressed, are often punctured by paddy bugs in infested fields. On the Essequibo Coast, most of the rice lands are located on the western end of the coast, between the main coastland and the hinterland. Defaulting suppliers/ contractors cause undue embarrassment – GPHC CEO– Official says not opposed to debarment regulations Failure to deliver medical supplies in a timely manner could see contractors being debarred in the not so distant future. A move in this direction is certainly being supported by the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation [GPHC], which has time and again been subjected to the belated delivery of supplies from contractors.
Such a dilemma was recently amplified in the most recent Auditor General Report, which was tabled in the National Assembly. But according to the GPHC’s Chief Executive Officer [CEO], Brigadier George Lewis, he anticipates that this protracted predicament will become a thing of the past given the stance that the hospital is gearing to embrace. Lewis was at the time making reference to efforts currently being made by the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) to draft regulations for the debarment of errand suppliers. “Only one week or so ago, there was a forum where those draft regulations were examined,” said Lewis, as he shared his intent to have the hospital fully embrace a move that will see suppliers being sanctioned for failing to meet their contractual obligations. Last week, the PPC commenced a series of consultations to familiarise public authorities on proposed regulations, which could make it easier to debar contractors who do substandard work. These sessions were aimed at introducing stakeholders to the Draft Debarment and Suspension Regulations, and to obtain feedback on areas important to the effective functioning of the public procurement system, in keeping with the Public Procurement Act of 2003. ”Regulations like these are important, because from time to time, there are errant suppliers and contractors who sign contracts with government and procuring agencies to deliver items but fail
to deliver them on time, thus causing undue embarrassment, and agencies are not able to perform their roles in a timely manner as result,” said the GPHC CEO. THURSDAY Royston King pockets $6.8M from sale of govt. reserve Town Clerk, Royston King, has been implicated in the sale of city lands identified as government reserve and then diverting monies from the sale through his NonGovernmental Organisation (NGO) instead of to the Mayor & City Council (M&CC) Treasury Department. About two years before his appointment as Town Clerk, King while serving as the Public Relations Officer of M&CC, reportedly accepted over 15 payments in cheques and cash totalling $6.8M from Brian and Ingrid Chase Mining and Trucking company. The property is approximately 23,600 square feet located opposite Lot 1576-1580 on Aubrey Barker Road, North Ruimveldt, Georgetown. The expected lease period is for 20 years. Kaieteur News is in receipt of copies of the cheques and payment vouchers from the mining company which indicate that King used the NGO, Environmental Community Health Organisation (ECHO) to secure the payments. Before his appointment as Town Clerk, King identified himself as the Executive Director of ECHO, writing let-
ters to the media and leading protests calling for transparency and accountability in the extractive sector. The owners of the mining company are contending that they knew and trusted King who identified himself as the head of ECHO. Further, the owners indicated that King identified himself as the owner of the land and they entered into an agreement to buy the strip of land for $7M. The payments for the transactions reportedly started on April 15, 2013 with a cash payment of $200,000 which is said to be legal fees. The payments continued in May 2013 with a Scotiabank cheque from the mining company issued to ECHO in the amount of $300,000. By the end of November 2013, there were seven subsequent payments by cheque made out directly to ECHO. Among them were a $700,000 transaction and two $500,000 payments. Auditors have trouble verifying lawful disbursement of PIDs worth over $12B The Audit Office of Guyana continues to find the need to highlight issues surrounding the handling of Permission for Immediate Delivery (PID) by Customs which falls under the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA). When the Office was carrying out its review of the Customs activities during 2017, it could not determine if all the requirements for PID were adhered to. This was because relevant information was not available. Auditors noted that there
were serious breaches surrounding the disbursement of PID and these can result in serious loss to revenue. Regulations under the Customs Act provide for the issuance of a PID. Immediate delivery refers to the procedure under which an importer can take a shipment as soon as it is unloaded and inspected. Under the Customs Regulation 50 (2), a permission for immediate delivery prior to goods being entered (processed fully) may be issued for perishable goods and any other goods for which delivery can be permitted without any risk to the collection of any duty and other monies payable upon the goods. A permit is supposed to be issued when immediate release of such goods is necessary to avoid unusual loss or inconvenience to the importer. Goods that qualify for processing through the PID facility include goods perishable in nature e.g. hatching eggs, fruits; medical supplies, goods for use on Government projects/contracts that are subject to duties and taxes, fuel, raw materials for local manufacturers. The authority to approve and issue a PID has been delegated to the Head of Customs and Trade Administration. In his most recent report, the Auditor General said that 683 transactions with estimated duties and taxes totaling $30.198 billion were facilitated through the Permit for Immediate Delivery (PID) system. He noted that Regulation (Continued on page 35)
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From page 34 50 (9) made under the Customs Act requires that goods for immediate delivery be entered within ten working days from the date of the permit for the delivery of such goods, excluding Sundays and public holidays. GTU, Education Ministry sign agreement after “long haul”
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that we fought very hard to ensure that all the benefits gained will reflect in a positive way on the lives of our teachers and we believe what has been gained today will result in our teachers being better able to service their classroom in a satisfied way; being able to satisfy their families in terms of the increases they will get.”
The body of Peters pinned down in the truck.
FRIDAY Soon after inking an agreement with the Ministry of Education which will allow for teachers to receive salary increases for the period 2016 – 2018, President of the Guyana Teachers Union [GTU], Mr. Mark Lyte, was already sharing tactical moves for a new agreement. Although the union had started negotiations for a fiveyear agreement [2016 – 2020], Government in the end agreed to, and inked, an agreement Wednesday which only offered increases for a threeyear period. But according to Lyte, the union is ready to move forward with a new agreement in 2019. He anticipates that the union is in a better position to negotiate for more benefits for teachers. “I believe going forward we have learnt so many lessons that will prepare us better for the next phase of an agreement between ourselves and government,” Lyte told media operatives Wednesday. Lyte, however, noted that while on this occasion the union was not able to get several of the things it negotiated for its membership, he is convinced that “it is a work in progress to go forward to a new agreement in the new phase in 2019 that we can have more benefits given to our teachers.” The GTU President is nevertheless convinced that teachers will be satisfied with the package that the union has brokered for them. “We believe that we have been able to arrive at a position that will bring some level of satisfaction to the members of the GTU and the teaching fraternity in Guyana.” “Our teachers are going to benefit from outstanding clothing allowances, they will benefit from increases that date back to 2016,” said Lyte as he reflected on how “we were able to move away from where we were at the stage of thinking about arbitration to come back with the Ministry to sit and amicably resolve our differences and to arrive at a consensus in terms of our position.” Regarding negotiating as a “long haul”, the GTU President added, “We want to assure our members out there
Royston King backdated, signed lease for reserve land when he became Town Clerk…Mayor Patricia Chase-Green informed of suspicious deal Not only did Royston King divert $6.8M from a land deal through his Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), but he attempted to cover his tracks by issuing a backdated lease for the property when he became Town Clerk. This is according to documents obtained by Kaieteur News. King has been implicated in a highly suspicious deal where he reportedly collected $6.8M from Brian and Ingrid Chase Mining and Trucking for the sale of lands identified as Government reserve. The land is located along Aubrey Barker Road, North Ruimveldt. Payment started in 2013 while King was serving as the Public Relations Officer of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC). A document titled ‘License to Occupy Council Reserve Opposite Lot 1579-1580 Aubrey Barker Road North Ruimveldt – Guyana’ carries King’s signature as Town Clerk. In July 2015, King was appointed Town Clerk. However, the first line of the lease document, which carries King’s signature as Town Clerk states, ‘that the Licence is made and entered into on this day of 24th July, 2012’. There are no records or agreement produced to indicate that payments were made in 2012 through City Hall for the property. The agreement states that the licence is made and entered into between the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown and the mining company. Further, the agreement is for a period of 20 years with a right of renewal for a further period to be determined. Senior detective to face questions over alleged tampering in murder case An Assistant Superintendent of Police will face questions soon about whether he removed evidence from a
scene that is linked to a highprofile murder case. Commissioner of Police, Leslie James made this disclosure Thursday at his first press conference when asked about the case and allegations against the senior rank. James was asked whether a complaint of an assistant superintendent of police removing video evidence from a scene had reached his desk. In response, the Commissioner said that, “no complaint has reached my desk. I understand there has been a hearing of the matter, and as a result, some instructions were given to (Crime Chief Lyndon) Alves, and to date we have contacted one person in relation to a statement. The person (the assistant superintendent of police) is on leave, and when he resumes, questions will be put to him and we expect him to respond.” Former Crime Chief Paul Williams also confirmed that he had received complaints regarding the handling of the investigation, in which a Georgetown resident was shot dead. ”After the charge was made in that matter, the aunt of the deceased came to my office and voiced concerns on the charge we recommended. They felt it was inappropriate and we had some discussions. In the discussion, they told me certain things, I immediately summoned the investigators, and told them what was told to me, I told them I wished to recommend further investigations, and to get back in contact with the relatives and hear their story and see where the gaps lie.” However, Crime Chief Williams was transferred and another charge was instituted. Similar allegations of evi-
dence tampering in this case and another involving the death of a young woman were also made against a police inspector. Guyana will feel the squeeze for not instituting resource rent tax – Ramson As oil prices continue to rise, Guyana is likely to lose out significantly as a result of its failure to institute a resource rent tax on oil companies operating here. This was recently pointed out by Attorney-at-law, Charles Ramson Jr. Ramson, who has a Master’s Degree in oil and gas management, said that Guyana should quickly look to include provisions for resource rent tax that should be paid by oil companies that will secure blocks in the future. A resource rent tax is a tax on profits generated from mining of non-renewable resources in many countries, including Australia. In Australia, the tax is levied on 30 percent of the “super profits”. A company pays the tax when its annual profits reach US$75 million, a measure designed so as not to burden small business. Ramson told Kaieteur News that in other models of Production Sharing Agreements, “there is something called the resource rent tax. We do not have that in our model.” He said that as a result, Guyana will not be able to capture any excess revenue. ”Let’s say for instance that price of oil balloons without the production increasing; what happens as a result is that your economic rent increases. Your economic rent is basically anything over the
cost of production and the return on capital. So after you have cleared all expenses, anything above that is what you call economic rent. If that price for oil increases without doing anything differently on your production method and mechanism, you have gained an additional profit.” He said that oil companies enjoy working in countries where there is no resource rent tax “and that is why you are hearing that companies like Hess and CENOC/ NEXEN and ExxonMobil are trying to offload their assets in other countries and invest here, because they know they can extract the largest share of profit from a territory without resource rent tax. That is why I am saying that a resource tax should be included as part of our Production Sharing Agreement”. SATURDAY Guyana yet to set itself to become a successful oil producer - Still to secure three fundamentals to be a successful oil producer- Oil Expert How many times have we heard, “It’s not what you have, it is what you do with it.” Well, this was recently emphasized by Economist and oil and gas consultant, Andrew Bauer. During a recent interview with Kaieteur News, Bauer, of the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI),
pointed out that Guyana is yet to position itself to realize positive transformation from its oil money. He stressed that Guyana needs to quickly decide what it wants to do with its oil money before there can be real prospects of success. Bauer said that there are, at least, three fundamentals needed to be adopted by a nation in order for oil to be a blessing and not the dreaded curse it is in so many jurisdictions. These fundamentals are a National Development Strategy—that is feasible and carefully tailored to unlock the country’s potential; a fiscal rule “that can smooth expenditure”; and procedures that can, as much as possible, minimize tax avoidance by oil companies. Currently, Guyana has none of these fundamentals in place. But, according to Bauer, “They are being worked on.” Development is usually guided by a plan. Indeed, Guyana has such a plan. However, the National Development Strategy is outdated and dates back to the previous administration. The coalition government is yet to produce such a plan. Bauer is not the only one to have stressed the importance of a National Development Strategy. United Kingdom High Commissioner, Greg Quinn, was keen about the need for such a strategy. The envoy said, “If you (Continued on page 36)
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From page 35 are going to make this work, then you need to have an overall statement of what you want and where do you (government) want to see the country 20 or 25 years down the line.” He said that once the main pillars are erected, “then everything sort of comes down from it, in terms of what needs to be done to highlight the specific areas of development.” CANU vows to bring down more key figures in local drug trade - as “Big Head” faces extradition to US following arrest in Jamaica The Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit has vowed to bring down the major players in the local drug trade, thereby dispelling the impression that only the low level dealers are being interdicted. The promise was made by a senior CANU official, in the wake of the arrest in Jamaica of local businessman, Shervington Lovell aka “Big Head” for suspected drug trafficking. “At the end of the day we will get the large scale dealers. It’s just a matter of time; that’s what we are trying to achieve,” the official told Kaieteur News. The source confirmed that CANU played a role in the joint operation, involving “regional and international agencies,” which led to the arrest of popular local businessman and hotelier Shervington ‘Big Head’ Lovell. A Surinamese and a Venezuelan, who were in Lovell’s company were also arrested. The source indicated that Lovell is likely to be extradited soon to the US. Kaieteur News was told that the US has been pushing for narcotics charges against Lovell for some time. He has reportedly been under surveillance for several months, and according to the official, “He has always been a target for CANU.” However, the source declined to go into details about the drug operations that led to the arrests. Asked whether Lovell’s large assets here will be targeted, the official said that will be a matter for agencies which deal with money laundering. I am sure that those agencies are looking at that.” Lovell is the owner of the Tower Suites hotel on Main Street as well as the $400M ‘Leisure Inn Hotel’ and Multi Purpose facility, which Lovell and his wife opened last July in New Amsterdam. That gala opening was attended and lauded by key New Amsterdam officials, as well as officials from the Berbice Chamber of Com-
merce. Lovell was among several persons who were questioned following a spate of execution-style killings some eight years ago. However, he was never charged. Few of the suspected major drug dealers have been convicted here. Guyanese Shaheed ‘Roger” Khan was convicted in the United States in October 2009, after being arrested in Suriname. Khan had entered a plea bargain deal with US prosecutors on March 16 of that year. Porter crushed to death after truck ploughs into Providence Stadium fence An early Friday morning crash that saw a truck running off the East Bank Public Road and ploughing into the fence of the National Stadium, Providence, has left 45-yearold Kirk Peters of Sophia dead, while the driver received minor injuries. When Kaieteur News arrived on the scene, a green Model (M) Bedford truck, bearing registration plates GTT 2491 was cabin-first in the concrete drain just outside the Providence Stadium. Peters, the porter for the truck, was pinned in the cabin. The driver was said to have been taken to the Diamond Regional Hospital for treatment of injuries received in the accident. Police had already diverted traffic from the eastern carriageway and MACORP, a company that operates just a corner away from where the accident occurred, had a front end loader and an excavator trying to get the truck from the concrete drain where it was wedged. There was the attempt to
free the lifeless body of Peters from the cab. After some efforts, the staff of MACORP were able to get the truck that was laden with drums of diesel fuel, from the drain, unto the road. The staffers then used the heavy machinery to prize open the cabin to facilitate the removal of the body. Peters’s shirtless body lay motionless in a sitting position, with his seatbelt still in place. The scene was one that caused many persons who were in close proximity to the accident to express their pity. One witness told this publication that she was heading to Georgetown around 07:05 hours while the truck was heading up the East Bank in the direction of Timehri, when she heard a loud sound after which the truck veered off the road crashing into the concrete drain and fence of the Stadium. The woman said a number of people ran to help, but there was little that could have been done for Peters who was calling out for help, but was pinned. Another first responder said he was telling the man to hold on, and got replies from Peters from time to time, but after about six minutes, Peters stopped responding. The witness said he then assumed Peters was dead. Police in a statement said the 51-year-old driver of Albouys Street, Albouystown, was also the owner of the truck. He was given a breathalyzer test and was found to be negative for alcohol in his blood. He was then taken into custody where he is assisting police with their investigations.
No confidence motion … Mayor asked to ‘shut up’ at COI …accepted unsolicited legal advice from Town Clerk Mayor of Georgetown, Patricia Chase-Green faced the heat over the manner in which she dealt with the noconfidence motion brought against Town Clerk Royston King, as she appeared before the Commission of Inquiry into City Hall on Friday. And during the heated exchange that followed she was asked to “shut up.” Earlier this year, the Mayor disallowed a no-confidence motion brought against Town Clerk, Royston King, by Alliance For Change (AFC) Councillor, Sherod Duncan. She adopted unsolicited legal advice provided by King’s lawyer, Maxwell Edwards, to influence her decision. After presenting the Commission with a detailed account of what transpired on the day the no-confidence motion was brought against the Town Clerk, Chase-Green, who was accompanied by lawyers, Lyndon Amsterdam, and Latoya Roberts, faced a series of questions about the motion. The Mayor had circulated the advice from Edwards, who is also the husband of a city councillor, Noelle ChowChee. Among other things, Edwards advised that the motion be amended to remove the ‘no confidence’ clause. Duncan subsequently advised the Council that he would not change ‘a line’ or ‘a full stop’ in the motion. Edwards concluded that the motion in its original form is ultra vires; hence, is not a business required to be trans-
acted at a meeting. He pointed out that the Mayor, presiding at a statutory meeting, has a duty to prevent any business that is ultra vires the Municipal and District Councils Act (Chapter 28:01) from being transacted at such a meeting. According to Edwards’ advice, a vote of no confidence in King was in substance and intent, a disciplinary measure or action. The attorney stated that a Town Clerk cannot be disciplined by the City Council, only by the Local Government Commission (LGC), which became operational on October 23, 2017. However, Chairman for the Commission, retired Justice Cecil Kennard, was a d amant that the Mayor should not have allowed the Town Clerk to seek and use legal opinion he had obtained from his personal Attorney, Maxwell Edwards, to stop the debate on a no-confidence motion. The Chairman insisted that the Town Clerk ought not to have played any part in a matter involving allegations against him. “The Town Clerk should recuse himself from that…any participation or be seen at the meeting,” said Kennard. “These are serious accusations against the Town Clerk … He is the suspect so to speak, and you are going to act on this advice?” Justice Kennard noted, too, that King’s lawyer had sent a letter to Duncan threatening legal action. “You should have sought independent legal advice of another lawyer— council’s lawyer,” Justice Kennard stated. However, the Mayor insisted that she could not in-
dependently on her own seek legal advice from any lawyer without the Council. “The Council has its lawyers and the Town Clerk is responsible for that,” she added. In his representation of the City Mayor, Attorney Amsterdam added that he could not find anything in the Municipal and District Council’s Act 28:01 concerning the procedures the Mayor should follow when there is a no-confidence motion against the Town Clerk. “This is not a matter of law but a matter of commonsense,” replied Justice Kennard. The lawyer and judge engaged in a heated debate over the issue at hand. Amsterdam noted that the issue is whether the Mayor dealt with the no-confidence motion. “And I am saying that she did,” said Amsterdam However Kennard noted that issue is rather whether the motion was dealt with “properly”. The Judge insisted that “Councillors would have voted on the basis of wrong legal advice, improper legal advice.” Amsterdam noted, though, that the Mayor could not overturn a collective decision of the Council. “Let us go to the law to show why the advice wasn’t proper. We should not deal with the messenger. We should deal with the message. What is the advice tendered to the Town Clerk and what the Act says that makes that advice improper?” asked Amsterdam. At one point of the hearing, the Mayor was upbraided by the Chairman who asked her to “shut up” and leave her attitude for City Hall.
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A cesspool of... From page 44 city official and teen prisoner. I am not sure which part of the ground we have our heads stuck in, but I have not seen the outrage on this. Imagine it is your son, or brother, that it happened to. Someone saw the alleged incident and reports were made to the authorities. That someone, City Hall's prosecutor, was sent home for not entering the report in the records of City Hall. The alleged perpetrator too was sent home. There is evidence that top leaders of City Hall were all told of the alleged incident. The kicker is that the alleged perpetrator is said to have done something similar and was sent home, but brought back to work at City Hall by a senior official. Two similar incidents and what appears to be a guardian angel at City Hall. We sent home the whistleblower. That is how we protect our witnesses. Kaieteur News has been receiving the complaints, and what is galling is the fact that in this day and age where information is easily “gettable,” there is still a belief that it could be covered up. I want this city to shine. I want my Garden City. What we don't want is a city that is steep in corruption, where little deals are being worked out on reserve lands and contracts for garbage. The days of that are over.
The cat, the corpse... From page 26 report stated that Leitch came from a single parent home. The accused was said to have gravitated to crime at an early age, and he was sentenced to serve time at the New Opportunity Corps. According to the report, after his release from the NOC, Leitch tried his hands at several skilled jobs but soon returned to wrongdoing. In calculating the sentence, Justice Kissoon deducted five years for the time the accused was on remand. However, he added three years because of Leitch’s criminal record and five years “for cruelty used in the commission of crime.” Last week, one of the attorneys representing Leitch said that while the youth appeared to have been a petty thief, he is convinced that Leitch did not murder Joseph Jagdeo. He described Leitch as being “way below average intelligence”. “He was ‘spaced
out’…he hadn’t a clue what was happening (to him).” According to the attorney, there appears to be evidence that Leitch had already left the hotel during the period that the proprietor was slain. He also expressed concern that “several key witnesses” did not turn up to testify. And in his view, there’s more to Joseph Jagdeo’s murder than it appears. The case, he says, is being appealed. He plans to prove his client’s innocence. If you have any information about this unusual case or any other, please contact us at our Lot 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown office, or by telephone. We can be reached on telephone numbers 592225-8473, 592-225-8458, 592-225-8465, or 592-2258491. You need not disclose your identity. You can also contact Michael Jordan at 592-6452447, or his email address: kamarangnight@gmail.com.
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President's Address to... From page 39 a say through the Department of Labour. Additionally, workers would have appreciated had the President found it worthy to speak to a Job Creation Programme. Such a programme will be premised on policy that is not only being abstract, but points the nation as to where and how many jobs are created, and also protecting citizens from exploitative investors, local and foreign. Everybody cannot become entrepreneurs or own business, a fact recognised from time immemorial. Employment has three categories: the employer, self-employed and employees/workers. Each is a valued and unique participating member of the production, distribution and consumption cycle, and should be respected as such, with concomitant mechanism put in place to safeguard and advance their welfare. This is a nation where in the immediate post-emancipation period, the freed/small man embarked on an economic model that is nationally recognised as the foundation of the masses' socioeconomic and political development. The cooperative economy underpins the Village Movement and Local Government structure. As a trisector economy - private, public and cooperative - it's a disservice to the small man that the model that allows for his/her advancement, doesn't attract equal prominence and see as deserving of a vision. To the coalition, some efforts have been made to resuscitate the Cooperative economy. But even with the best of intent, where there exists deficiencies in the system things will fall apart. The De-
A mini health check is the first step to donating blood
partment of Cooperatives which operates out of the Ministry of Social Protection is understaffed and illequipped to address the needs of the cooperative community. The country is at a state where it takes as much as year to resuscitate or register a coop. This creates a high level of frustration among those who are determined to make something of their lives through this utilisation of this economic model. With oil and gas and a green economy, new types of skills will be needed. The nation is yet to see a coherent strategy as to how Guyanese labour will form part of and benefit from these. It was hoped the President would have seen it worthy of attention. We have a burgeoning young population, many of whom are unemployed. This Address notes this is about 35.2 percent based on a recent labour survey, which speaks to the 15- 24 years category. Youth stops at 35 years. Almost three-quarters of the nation's population are 35 and younger. The stated unemployed statistic did not capture the 25-35 age group, which means the percentage can be higher. Perusing the areas where government says it has created employment and entrepreneurial opportunities, the figure has not reached 20,000 which means government has to work hard in addressing the unemployment dilemma. If this is not attended through a structured national process, there will be more exodus and social ills, none of which serves the society well. The working class and small man represent more than 80 percent of a society. They must be treated as resources of national importance and a vision put in place to ensure their dignity and respect as equal and participating members of this society.
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Guyana aiming to implement ICAO CORSIA programme for local airline operators Guyana, through the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) will participate in the Pilot Phase of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) commencing in 2021. Guyana will proactively participate in the groundbreaking initiative launched by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). This intention was communicated to the Secretary General of the ICAO when the Director General Lt. Col. (Ret’d) Egbert Field presented the GCAA’s Letter of Participation during the 13th Air Navigation Conference in Montreal, Canada on October 16, 2018. CORSIA is a market-based measure (MBM) adopted by ICAO as part of a broad set of measures to help ICAO achieve its aspirational goals to decrease the carbon footprint of international civil aviation. A market-based measure (MBM) is a policy tool that is designed to achieve environmental goals at a lower cost and in a more flexible manner than traditional regulatory measures. Examples of MBMs include levies, emis-
sions trading systems, and carbon offsetting – CORSIA will take the form of carbon offsetting. CORSIA will have three implementation phases: the Pilot Phase from 2021-2023, the First Phase from 20242026, and the Second Phase from 2027-2035. ICAO’s goals involve realizing carbon neutral growth from the year 2020 onwards, by keeping the net CO2 emissions from 2020 at the same level. A baseline level of emissions will be calculated from the years 2019 and 2020. The total emissions from international aviation operations on routes that are covered under the scheme will be measured from 2021 onwards and will be compared to the baseline. Should the level of emissions found to be above this baseline, the emissions will have to be offset. Offsetting is done through acquiring and subsequently cancelling out emissions units acquired in the carbon market. BENEFITS FOR GUYANA Participating in CORSIA’s Pilot Phase will catapult Guyana’s aviation industry directly to the forefront of the fight against climate change. The inclusion of Guyana
Director General Lt. Col. (Ret’d) Egbert Field presenting Guyana’s Letter of Participation in the CORSIA programme to ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu. will bring the country closer to meeting the goal of carbon neutral growth. Director General of the GCAA, Lt. Col. (Ret’d) Egbert Field noted that while Guyana is not a high emitter owing to the relatively small scale of its international aviation industry, when compared to major States such as those that reside in Central and North America, “our industry will inevitably grow, and we must be forwardthinking and address that growth in a sustainable manner”. The initiative will be
aligned with the Government’s Green State Development Strategy, thereby contributing to Guyana’s national goals and ICAO’s goals simultaneously. States that voluntarily participate in the Pilot Phase will benefit from inclusion in ICAO’s capacity building initiatives and assistance programmes. Under the spirit of the ‘No Country Left Behind’ initiative, ICAO has committed to providing skilled technical resources and training to voluntary States. As a voluntary State,
Guyana will also have the opportunity to share the experiences of developing States in implementing CORSIA. The Director General said “it is imperative that we are able to have our perspectives and capabilities as a Small State taken into consideration in the wider global conversation”. REQUIREMENTS FOR OPERATORS In the years 2019 and 2020, Guyana will implement a Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system to monitor the level of CO2 emissions from our international
aviation operations and report these emissions to ICAO to create the baseline. Local Aircraft and Airline Operators will develop and furnish an Emissions Monitoring Plan to the State for approval. After approval, the operator will be required to monitor their emissions throughout the year in accordance with the Plan. Their subsequent report to the State will be in the form of an Annual Emissions Report. Guyana will be required to provide a summarized State Report on total emissions to ICAO.
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Delivery method, infant diet could impact long-term health The gut microbiome of 6week-old infants appears to be affected by both delivery method at birth and the way they are fed afterward, says research published online in JAMA Pediatrics. “Gut microbiome” refers to the diversity of bacterial life that colonizes the human
gastrointestinal tract. It develops after birth and after the start of feeding, and it has been increasingly linked with health outcomes in adults. Meanwhile, cesarean delivery has been linked with obesity,asthma, celiac disease and type 1 diabetes later in life, and breastfeeding has
been related to a lower risk of asthma, obesity, infection, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes, compared with formula feeding. It is thought that exposure to microflora present during vaginal delivery could be related to the microbiome patterns in infants, but how this
happens is unclear. Previous small studies have indicated a link between the intestinal microbiome of infants, delivery mode and whether or not they were breastfed. Less is known, however, about how early life exposures shape the gut microbiome and its long-term
effects on health. In addition, there is evidence that human milk primes and matures the infant gastrointestinal system, potentially promoting a unique microbial colonization profile that could lead to healthy outcomes. In the current study, researchers hypothesized that exposure to maternal vaginal microflora and/or to breast milk could cause specific microbes to be acquired in a particular order during the establishment of the core microbiome. This could represent a key mechanism underlying differences in immune development that influence lifelong disease risk. Anne G. Hoen, PhD, of the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH, and coauthors examined associations between delivery mode and feeding method with the composition of the gut microbiomes of 102 infants. The team collected information about the delivery mode from medical records, details on feeding from questionnaires and data about microbiome composition from stool samples. The infants were born at an average gestational age of nearly 40 weeks; 70 were delivered vaginally and 32 by cesarean section(C-section). In the first 6 weeks of life, 70 were breastfed, 26 received a combination of breast milk and formula, and six of them consumed only formula. Results showed a link between the composition of the gut microbiome and the delivery mode. Differences in microbiome composition between infants delivered vaginally and infants delivered by C-section were equivalent or
greater than the differences in composition by feeding method. The microbiome of infants who were breastfed exclusively was different from those who consumed formula milk or a combination. Those who were exclusively fed formula and those who were fed the combination shared a similar microbiome composition. There have been no longterm longitudinal studies of the effects of early feeding method on the microbiome, but it appears that early feeding methods could have lasting effects on microbial community structure. These findings could provide one explanation for how breastfeeding benefits health both in childhood and in the long term. The authors conclude: “Understanding the patterns of microbial colonization of the intestinal tract of healthy infants is critical for determining the health effects of specific alterable early-life risk factors and exposures. To this end, we have identified measurable differences in microbial communities in the intestinal tracts of infants according to their delivery mode and diet, with possible consequences for both shortand long-term health.” Limitations of the study include its small sample size and the population being from a single group in the US. Future studies could also take into account the exact proportion of the infants’ diets and timing. Medical News Today recently reported on research suggesting that people with anorexia have a unique gut microbiotacomposition. http:/ / www.medicalnewstoday.com.
Sunday October 28, 2018
Tekashi 6ix9ine Sentenced to 4 Years Probation in Child Sex Case
Tekashi 6ix9ine is ready to face the music. The Brooklyn rapper born Daniel Hernandez headed to a New York City courthouse Friday to receive his sentence in a child sex case. E! News can confirm a judge ordered the rapper to serve four years probation and 1,000 hours of community service for violating the terms of a plea agreement stemming from his 2015 arrest for the use of a child in a sexual performance. He is not required to register as a sex offender but must refrain from gang affiliation and the posting or reposting of online sexually explicit or violent images of women or children. He previously pled guilty after online videos surfaced of him sexually engaging with an underage girl in October 2015. At the time of the incident, Tekashi 6ix9ine was 18 while the victim was 13. Tekashi 6ix9ine rose to fame in late 2017 with the release of his debut single
“Gummo.” Soon after, he revealed his debut mixtape titled Day68 that debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 album chart. He also got the chance to collaborate with Nicki Minaj who wanted to perform with him at the MTV Video Music Awards. “I wanted Tekashi [6ix9ine] to perform with me at the VMAs, but somewhere along the lines he did not get approved by the powers that be,” she told listeners during an August taping of her Beats 1 Queen Radio show. “When I know somebody, there’s nothing you can tell me about them.” Through his legal troubles, Tekashi 6ix9ine has been focused on creating new music as well as expressing gratitude for his supporters. “10 for 10 THANK YOU TO ALL MY SUPPORTERS,” he previously wrote on Twitter. (https://www.eonline.com/ news/981118/tekashi-6ix9inesentenced-to-4-years-probation-in-child-sex-case)
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1.Q: Where can you catch a ghost train? A: At a mainfestation. 2.Q: Which ghost is the best dancer? A: The Boogie Man! 3.Q: How do you know when you're too old to Trick or Treat? A: You get winded from knocking on the door. 4.Q: What music do ghosts like? A: Haunting melodies. 5.Q: Why did the dyslexic vampire starve to death? A: He couldn't find any dloob. 6.Q: Why don't mummies take vacations? A: They're afraid to relax and unwind. 7.Q: How do you say goodbye to an evil vampire? A: So long sucker! 8.Q: What can you say about a horrible mummy joke? A: It Sphinx! 9.Q: What is a vampire's favorite dance? A: The Fang-Dango. 10.A: Why don't ghosts like rain? A: It dampens their sheets! 11.A.What kind of instrument do you play on Halloween? Q.A SPOOKulele. 12.What do you call two witches living together? Broommates. 13 Where do fashionable ghosts shop for sheets? Bootiques. 14.What do you call a witch who lives at the beach? A sand-witch. 15.What do you get when you cross a vampire and a snowman? Frostbite. 16.What kind of key does a ghost use to unlock his room? A spoo-key. 17.What do you get when you cross a werewolf and a vampire? A fur coat that fangs around your neck. 18 What do ghosts eat for supper? Spooketi. 19.What does a vampire never order at a restaurant? A stake sandwich. How do monsters tell their future? 20.They read their horrorscope. Why are ghosts so bad at lying? 21.Because you can see right through them! 23. What does a vampire fear the most? Tooth decay. 24. Why don't mummies take vacations? They're afraid they'll relax and unwind. 25. What do you call two spiders that just got married? Newlywebbed. 26. What do ghosts use to wash their hair? Shamboo! 27.Why do ghosts like to ride elevators? It raises their spirits. 28. Q: How do you fix a broken pumpkin? A: A pumpkin patch. 29. Q: What do you get if you cross an exam with blood? A: A blood test. 30. Why don't skeletons hang out in graveyards? A: They don't have the guts. 31. Q: Why couldn't the ghost see its mom and dad? A: Because they were trans-parents! 32. Q: What room of the house does the skeleton stay out of? A: The living room. 33. Q: What is a ghost's favorite food? A: Ghoulash. 34. Q: Why did Dracula become a vegetarian? A: He heard stake was bad for his heart. 34. Q: Why are graveyards so noisy? A: Because of all the coffin. 35. Q: What did the boy say when he saw the cemetery covered in snow? A: "Icy dead people." 36. Q: Why did the skeleton cross the road? A: To get to the body shop. 37. When I told my wife to use a vacuum instead of a broom, the witch flew off the handle. 38. Q: Why are there fences around cemeteries? A: Because people are dying to get in.
Sunday October 28, 2018
Beauty Tips For Healthy Pink lips 1.MoisturizeYourLips: Dryness and chapping of Lips is one big turn off and if it's not treatedattherighttime,itcausesdarkandpigmentedlips.Keepa Lip balm always handy, and apply it frequently throughout the day. Lip balms are addictive, so choose them wisely. Avoid Petrolatum or Petroleum based Lip balms as they don't turn out beneficial in the long run. Check for Ingredients like Natural Beeswax, Cadillac Wax, Glycerine,Almond Oil and Vitamin E inyourbalms.OrsimplyapplyVitaminEoilbeforegoingtobed. This will always be the first of the pink lips tips that you will ever get. 2.HydrateYourselfToKeepYourLipsHydratedToo: Hydration brings out a pinkish tinge and a juicy look to the lips, while dry lips look exactly the opposite, dark and dull. Keeping yourself hydrated will combat the dryness on the lips irrespective of the season. Only external application of Moisture is not sufficient, internal hydration is important as well. 3. Coat Your Lips With a Chap Stick or Lip Balm Before ApplyingLipstick: This will ensure you that your lips are moisturized in spite of the Lipstick on.Apply a lipgloss for a juicy pout or even a Lip salve. AvoidMattelipsticksastheymakethelipstaddry.OptforCrème finish or Satin finish, and make sure you moisturize your lips wellbeforeapplyinglipsticksandglosses. 4.Scrub-a-DubDub: Lip scrubbing helps you to get rid of the Dead cells, resulting in soft kissable lips. There are ways of Scrubbing lips, you can simply slather your lips with Plain, heavy Lip balm or even clarified butter before retiring and scrub of the dead cell with a tooth brush next morning while brushing. –Make a Sugar lips scrub,mixinsomegranulatedsugarwithPetroleumjellyoryour Lip balm, mix it well and apply a layer on your lips. Scrub your lips in a circular motion and wipe off with a damp cloth or cotton. BabySoftKissablewillbeallyours! 5. Stay Away From Dark Colours: Dark and pigmented Lipsticks may snatch the pinkish tinge from your lips,–eventually leading to pigmented lips. Use Soft Colours or even Nudes. Also well known Brands should be used for Lips as they may contain toxins that can harm your lips. 6. Rose Petals For Soft Pink Lips: Looking for home made tips for pink lips? · Crush some Rose petals and add a teaspoon of honey to it. If your lips are pigmented, add a teaspoon of Milk powder to it.· Apply this mixture to your lips for 10-15 minutes and wipe off with damp cotton and follow up with your Lip balm.
SOLUTION TO LAST WEEK’S WORD SEARCH
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MEXICO!
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Cops kill bandit, recover loot, except cash Police shot and killed a 19year-old of 808 Zeelugt New Housing Scheme, East Bank Essequibo, in Zeelugt on Friday night. The young man, they claimed, was a known character who had minutes earlier committed a robbery on a couple. Noel “Kevin” Kissoon allegedly robbed and assaulted the Zeelugt couple at their home, whilst armed with a handgun. A report was made after
the robbery and police were on the hunt for Kissoon who was said to have been previously convicted for Break and Enter and Larceny. He also had four pending matters before the court for robbery under arms, rape and possession of narcotics. Additionally, he was wanted for several recent robberies and for alleged indecent assault of a female. Police in a statement said investigations revealed that
GBTI appeals Full Court ruling to hand over banking records to SOCU Two weeks after the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) was ordered by the Full Court to hand over outstanding banking records in relation to an investigation being conducted by the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU) into a State entity, the banking institution is now asking the Court of Appeal to overturn the ruling. GBTI, through its lawyer, Senior Counsel Ralph Ramkarran, filed an appeal last week. In July, High Court Judge, Franklyn Holder, granted a production order directing the banking institution to hand over the document to SOCU, which has been asking the bank for the documents as part fraud investigations involving millions of dollars at the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB). The Production Order directed GBTI to produce specific records of transactions, documents which are relevant to identifying, locating or quantifying property (or tainted property as the case may be) or locating a document necessary for the transfer of such property (or tainted property), where a
person is being investigated for a serious offence, money laundering. However, GBTI filed an appeal with the Full Court. Reviewing the case was Justices Corbin-Lincoln and Nareshwar Harnanan who essentially ruled that the bank should comply with Justice Holder’s ruling since it was in accordance with Section 24 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering of Financial Act. The Full Court had ordered GBTI to hand over the documents by November 12 at 4:30 pm. The bank was also ordered to pay SOCU costs of $150,000. SOCU is being represented by Attorney-at-law Leslyn Noble. Several high-ranking officials of Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry are currently involved in contempt proceedings in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. They are Kathryn EytleMcLean; Chairman, Robin Stoby; and directors, Edward A. Beharry, Suresh Beharry, Richard Isava, Carlton James and Basil Mahadeo, along with Chief Executive (Continued on page 70)
the victims, a husband and wife were relaxing in their veranda about 19:00 hours on Friday night, when a male brandishing a handgun pounced on them and relieved them of a sum of cash, four cell phones, two gold bands and a finger ring. The suspect also allegedly struck the victims on their heads with the firearm in the process of the robbery. Based on information re-
ceived, about 05:45 hours on Saturday police proceeded to the suspect’s home, where he allegedly existed brandishing a handgun in a menacing manner, even pointing the gun at ranks. For that, he was shot once in the lower region of his abdomen. He was rushed to the Leonora Cottage Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The female victim’s finger
ring was found on one of the Kissoon’s fingers whilst the other items except the cash, were found in his house. The victims received medical attention for injuries received during the robbery, and were discharged, while the body of Kissoon was taken to the Ezekiel Funeral Home where it is awaiting a post mortem examination. Police investigations are continuing.
Dead bandit, Noel “Kevin” Kissoon
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Profit shifting can cost Guyana $$$ billions... (From page 12) company’s profit shifting scheme shifted revenue away from its branch in Australia to the tune of US$260M but the authorities were able to get justice for this because they
had anti-profit shifting laws… “The Australian court ruled that US$260M must be taxed…In addition, the court ruled that Chevron should pay to the Australian government $40M in penalties for not abid-
ing to the relevant laws.” Naughton said that the aforementioned example underscores the point that profits earned in country “A”, as a result of operations in that country, should be taxed in
country “A”. He stressed that this is the tax logic held globally, as evidenced by the tax policies of countries throughout the world. The Chartered Accountant said, “This is a reason-
able position to take since companies make use of resources available in the countries in which they operate so should contribute to the use of those resources (road network, etc). Ensuring that profits are reported for taxing purposes based on where it is earned are not easy to achieve without appropriate anti-profit shifting laws.” ANTI-PROFIT SHIFTING LAWS Naughton said that many countries have introduced legal rule, which seeks to protect it from profit shifting attempts by multinational companies. He said that there are also many countries, which have not yet done so. He said, “One reason for countries not yet having anti profit shifting rules is costs. Many developing countries are still with tax systems, which fairly address domestic taxing matters but are without much by way of rules for addressing international tax issues such as profit shifting. This fact makes developing countries like Guyana an easy prey for profit shifting attempts.” FORMULATINGINT’L TAX POLICIES
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According to Naughton, there is some good news for developing countries wanting to develop international tax laws to protect them from profit shifting attempts. He noted that model tax laws have been developed by a few organizations, which can help in the process of a country’s development of international tax laws. He said that these organizations include the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Naughton explained that OECD’s model is believed to be so robust that the UK (a member of the 30 plus economic powers making up the OECD) has included major sections of the model within its domestic laws without a single change. He said that developing countries can therefore study the model, to understand the logic behind the measures in the model, then implement as is deemed appropriate (with or without changes). The Chartered Accountant said that countries like Guyana, which suddenly attained international popularity, because of the new oil and gas industry, will be faced with a significant amount of international business activities. He cautioned that these countries should therefore become more concerned about issues like profit shifting and should begin/continue taking steps to improve its protectionist measures.
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STANDARDS IN FOCUS
CODE OF PRACTICE FOR FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES As we are near the conclusion of Agriculture Month, 2018, it is pertinent to feature a key standard, which offers useful guide to producers of fruits and vegetables. This National Standard is the Code of Practice for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (GCP 21:2005); which was adapted from the Draft Codex Standard “Code of Hygienic Practice for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables�. At the time of the development of this standard, there were numerous complaints about fresh fruits and vegetables as a source of foodborne illnesses. Though the quality of produce offered at the various markets and supermarkets has improved, there is need for farmers to manage the way they produce and handle fresh fruits and vegetables to maximize their earnings, and at the same time offer consumers the quality that they deserve. The Code of Practice for fresh fruits and vegetables
specifies general hygienic practices for the primary production and packing of fresh fruits and vegetables (cultivated for human consumption) in order to produce safe and wholesome products, particularly those intended to be consumed raw. Specifically, this standard is applicable to fresh fruits and vegetables grown openly without cover or in protected facilities such as hydroponic systems and greenhouses. It concentrates on microbial hazards and addresses physical and chemical hazards only in so far as these relate to Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs). The standard considers that fresh fruits and vegetables are grown in a wide range of conditions using various agricultural inputs and technologies, and on farms of varying sizes. Procedures associated with primary production shall be conducted in conditions that minimize potential haz-
ards to health due to contamination. Stipulations on the appropriate agricultural input requirements such as the type of water, manure, bio-solids and other natural fertilizers; type of soil, agricultural chemicals and biological controls are included in the standard. The standard also offers guidance on the design and layout of indoor facilities as-
sociated with growing and harvesting such as water supply, drainage and waste disposal systems. Other aspects covered by the standard include personnel health, hygiene and sanitary facilities; equipment associated with growing, harvesting, handling, storage and transport of fresh fruits and vegetables; pest control, packing and operational con-
trol. Citizens rely on our farmers to produce wholesome fresh fruits and vegetables for consumption. Therefore, the onus is on farmers to ensure their production processes and inputs continuously meet the requirements of the national standard to safeguard the health of consumers. The Guyana National Bu-
reau of Standards (GNBS) encourages every farmer, especially those producing fresh fruits and vegetables for sale to acquire a copy of the standard and use it as a guide during production. For further information, please contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 592-2190065 or 592-219-0066 or visit the GNBS website: www.gnbsgy.org
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SERVICES
FOR SALE
PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620
Generac Pressure Wash for sale 3100 PSI. Tel#654-5267/ 652-2244/220-4203
Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Graphics design, advertisement, Wedding arch rentals. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. ICONIC MARKETING & PRINTING –TEL: 6006887: We create A/works, logos, business cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included. Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezerCall: 610-5846 or 661-8158
9-Wheel pneumatic roller. Mack concrete mixer truck - 8 cu. yds. 450 - Honda ATV Bike. 650 - Gals. Spray Kettle. 275-0367, 683-7225 Cat 215 Excavator. Cat 215Excavator spares. Cat 428 Back-Hoe. Double steel wheeled 8-tons roller. Tel# 275-0367, 683-7225 1 flat house located @ Tuschen main road ( 7 houses away from police outpost) $10.9M Tel#650-0402/6031402 Supply boat, Steelhull engine CAT3406 can transport 50,000 gls diesel. Tel#227-0605. email: kbenterprise@telsnetgy.net Pluck chicken in large and small quantities $300 per lb #699-7415/610-6196
TAXI SERVICE GR TAXI SERVICE. CALL: 219-5000; 227-1982 & 225-7878 (24HRS)
Combines 7300 John Deere (2000hrs), Fiatagri L413 (2500hrs), Laverda 132 & Tractors: Massey 399, Fiat 110/90, Ford 6610, 290 Massey# 338-4354
FOR RENT
WANTED
VACANCY
CAR RENTAL
PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620
1 Air compressor 5HP 3 Phase 230/220 volts. Call: 628-1486/ 698-1134
Driver with car & van license for office in Eccles. Call: 2332745
Live in or live out babysitter/ domestic- Call: 223-7500 Monday to Saturday 8:15am4:15pm
Part time Nanny, Evening hours, must live between Georgetown to Ogle, US Visa applicants preferred. Call #223-6006
PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS FROM $4000 & UP, SUV’S PER DAY- CALL:643-5122/6560087, ,EMAIL:PRO_AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM
Salon for rental & Hair/ Stations makeup for rental, New Market Street Tel#6381106/699-6505 Mini excavator $8,800 per hour, also Bobcat service available. Tel#623-0290 2 bedroom apartment for rent, second floor 2 bedroom @ 186 Waterloo Street, South Cummingsburg. Call Jenny #698-4440 Apartment for rent @ Nandy Park. Recently renovated, $60,000 monthly. #641-3318 Business place or bond, app 1500 square feet 14 Lombard Street. #592-665-7705/416663-6018/647-701-5975 Self contained rooms to rent in Prashad Nagar. Tel#2272993 Business place to rent 114x18, 114x15, 114x10 located at first street Bartica. Contact #6500402/603-1402
LEARN TO DRIVE N. Outar Driving School, Learn to Drive the right way. Affordable package. Call: 644-5166/691-2561 HEALTH HERBAL REMEDIES: Diabetes, Hypertension, Infertility, Menstrual disorders, Enlarged prostate, Kidney,Gall stones & Arthritis etc. Call Sparman #676-5924 Lot 3 Charles Street (Giddings Pawnshop Building) Ultrasound of pregnancy, breasts, gallbladder etc. Pharmacy, Doctor diagnosis & treatment. Call: 691-5960 TOLET One 2 bedroom bottom flat at 11 Hadfield, Lodge G/t. Call: 608-0430 Furnished Air conditioned two bedroom bottom flat, First Phase in South Riumveldt Gardens. Call: 6188436
Cat 320 DL Excavator, MWM 6 cylinder turbo, Stihl Fogging machine, 1 Stihl weeding machine, 1 Oxygen bottle. Call: 613-5062 25 Yamaha HP, stone separator ( Wash plant for gold), Diamond Lavrador. Metal Detector 30x50, Rubberized Tarpaulin. Call: 613-5062 Nibbi Furniture, Sculptures, Paintings, Baskets, Ceramics & Local Gift items. Creations Crafts 7A Water Street. #2270472
Cooks, Kitchen assistants, apply @ Shantas 225 Camp & New Market. 1 Driver to work interior location. Must have Motorbus licence. #225-1429/ 641-5075 Buying non-working appliance: refrigerator, big washing machine, treadmill, deepfryer, dough mixer, stove etc. Whatsapp: 661-5099 One maid/cleaner to work @ Hardware store in G/town. Experience & valid police clearance necessary #2269768/500-5923 Wanted Female worker. Just write CXC 2018. Call 622-5518 Experienced Drivers, Cashier, Apply @ Hack’s Halaal with hand written application. 5 Commerce St Security supervisor, must have own car 30-55. Call: 6299450
One experienced male sale attendant with stocktaking knowledge. One porter. Apply with hand written application Keyfood McDoom Village Vacancy exist for Experienced Pharmacy assistants to work @ reputable pharmacy in Georgetown. Call: 696-5098/ 628-8811 between 8am-4pm 1 Gardener/Handyman to work @ 3 houses. Apply at R.Sookraj & Sons 108 Regent St (Opp GBTI) Casheir-CXC required, Porters. Survival supermarket, 16 Vlissengen Rd, Newtown. DemBake at Land of Canaan is seeking experienced Drivers and Sales agents. Tel#2665848 Male Factory workers needed. Must have police clearance. For more info: 223-0090
1 Experienced Domestic Worker (3 days weekly) 1 experienced cook #683-3360
Night supervisor, Handyman and Chef. Preferably carnegie trained. Call: 225-7933 or visit 173 Sheriff Street.
VEHICLE FOR SALE
Urgently need one land in Eccles, Herstelling, Parfaite Harmonie & Amelia’s Ward. Tel# 648-1635
Live-in Housekeeper for East Bank, must be able to cook indian dishes & have a clean police record. Call: 685-9668
Allion, Primo, Fielder Wagon, Spacio, Bluebird, 212 Carina, RZ,Pit-bull, Allex, 192 & Canter – Call: 650-7501
Office clerk, Senior/Junior CXC English/Mathematics, Computer knowledge an asset. Call: 223-7500
Female cleaner office & home age 25 to 50. Call: 233-2745
One DAF 60 working condition. Contact #6584655/618-4457
Qualified & Experienced teachers for a well established Primary School. Apply to: davidsukhdeo@gmail.com before 2nd November 2018.
ACCOMODATION ShortTerm: Furnished 2 bedroom in Section K Campbellville AC,TV, Wifi #688-9020
Sunday October 28, 2018
Kaieteur News
1 Lexus GX470 $11.5M neg. Tel#647-5076
PROPERTY FOR SALE
VEHICLE FOR SALE
Security guard, Apply to the Manager, Herdmanston Lodge, Lamaha & Peter Rose St
6 bedrooms house on double lot @ Ruimveldt Public Road, parking, overhead tank, amenities intact, secure yard. Call: 225-8427/660-3415
Nissan Laurel Executive car; Toyota Ipsum 7-seater car; Nissan Pathfinder Jeep. Well kept, Buy now. Call: 225-8427/ 660-3415
PEN PAL
Nighthawk Black Pearl Honda Accord 2400cc American Automatic For Sale at $4.5M. Contact 346-818-
Male seek female penpal. Whatsapp only: 695-8569
Pickup truck from Canada, extra-cab 2005 Tacoma $1.950, Ford F150 sport $1.3M, Ford ranger sport $1.1M. Call: 682-5230, 6154414
Transported land 11.6 acres. Lot 15 public road. #2 Village W.C.B. Price $18M. Contact 686-4818, 648-7109 Transported 9 acres located at Land of Canaan EBD on river side. Ideal for building a wharf. Call: 660-2461 Prime land to build that dream home. Not far from Princess, New Thriving, Massy, HJ water world $13M neg- Call: 669-8397 Land at Tuschen Housing Scheme, near school, 3 minutes away from main road. Call: 261-2988/695-8215 5 acre to lease, Coconut & other fruit trees on Demerara river. Call: 261-2988/695-8215
Tuschen (Phase 2) $1.2M Neg Parfaite Harmonie $2.6M. Tel#681-8746
Experienced cook, required at Herdmanston Lodge, Peter Rose and Anira Streets, Apply to the Manager.
Tractor (foreign used) MF excellent condition 165 $1.4M MF 135 $1.50M MF 265 $1.8M 165 loader, tractor $1.9M @ Vreed-en-Hoop. Call 682-5230/ 615-4414.
LAND FOR SALE
Tool room clerk, Welder/ Fabricator, Male cleaner, Mechanic- Apply at Technical Services Lot 18-23 Industrial Site, Eccles
Domestic help wanted. Female @ Vreed-en-hoop, light housekeeping $3000 daily. Call 682-5230/615-4414.
5 Flatbed Leyland DAF Lorry tray 30ft long, in excellent condition. Owner migrating. #228-5655/615-6683
WING’S CAR & PICKUP RENTAL: LOW DOWN PAYMENT, CHEAP RATES,SPECIAL OFFERS! . CALL: 690-6494
Maid for East Bank area to cook & clean age 25-50. Call: 614-4358
1 Maid. #225-3234/225-9223
2 storied concrete property at 17 St Diamond Scheme. Contact #216-2726 /626-3423
AIDAN’S CAR RENTAL:PICKUP,9-11 SEAT MINI BUS, GOOD FOR AIRPORT & FAMILY OUTINGS, CHEAPEST RATE . Call: 698-7807
Farm (East Bank) $3M & $3.5M Dairy (100ftx50ft) Semi-concrete fence $2.8M Schnoord $2.8M Amelia’s ward $1.2M Tel#651-1969/ 656-0701
FOR SALE/RENT
1 BMW 320I car for sale. PTT series. Owner leaving country. American Pool table. Tel#277- Price Neg. Contact 697-4726, 0578 259-0288, 259-0227
DOLLY’S CAR RENTALCALL:225-7126/ 2263 6 9 3 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL @YAHOO.COM/ WWW.D OLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM
Berbicians 23-70 years. CXC English & Mathematics a must. Work own time, unlimited earnings. Attractive benefits. Call: 679-2497 One experienced female accounts clerk, apply at Alabama Trading 65 Robb St, Bourda
EDUCATION BECOME FSPCA CERTIFIEDFOOD SAFETY PREVENTIVE CONTROL ALLIANCE ACCESS THE U.S FOOD MARKET. GTCIS #2274881 GOOD FOOD HANDLING PRACTICES COURSE, REGISTER NOW $15,000 GUYANA TRAINING COLLEGE #227-4881 VACANCY One general domestic, apply at Alabama Trading 65 Robb Street, Bourda Continued on page 69
Sunday October 28, 2018
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CONSUMER CONCERNS
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE COULD BE REVERSED BY PAT DIAL "Health" was often regarded as being largely physical, that is, if one's body was strong and well and the organs of the body, as for example, the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver and intestines were fully functional and without any diseases, then one was regarded as being in the pink of health. Of recent times, however, it has now been realized that mental health is as important as physical health and that a decline in mental health could be more disastrous to the quality of life than a decline in physical health. The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined mental health as "A state of wellbeing in which the individual realizes his or her abilities can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully and is able to make a contribution to his or her community". Mental health disorders are therefore the antithesis of good mental health and include ailments and disorders such as major or mild depression, stress, bipolar disorder, panic and phobias. Phobias, for instance, are as common as allergies and occur when the individual is subject to habitual fear of things, which would be considered normal to others. Schizophrenia is one of the forms of mental illness with which Guyanese are familiar since it was long treated at the mental hospital in Berbice. But the most ubiquitous and dangerous form of mental illness is Alzheimer's disease with which Guyanese are only now being acquainted. Alzheimer is growing in every part of the Western World and so far, there has not been any conclusive cure discovered for it. It is a disease, which destroys the brain and there are many theories as to
EDUCATION T R A I N I N G EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES- CARE FOR ELDERLY/ CHILDREN GUYANA TRAINING COLLEGE. #227-4881 FIRST AID AND CPRCONTACT GUYANA TRAINING COLLEGE #227-4881 First Aid/CPR & Home nursing courses at St John Association. Tel#225-9082
what precipitates it. It usually begins with loss of memory - one gradually forgets the basic things one routinely did throughout one's life. For example, one forgets keys, where to find one's clothes, being lost on the road, or if one were driving a motorcar, to be unwittingly breaking the traffic laws. Then the patient gradually becomes helpless ---he or she would not be able to operate a bank account or have any control of money or would not be able to go to the toilet. In Guyana, since there has not been so far, much education on Alzheimer, families do not know what to do or what help they could seek if a relative is afflicted with the disease. In most cases, they do not even know that their relative is afflicted with Alzheimer's disease. This situation causes much suffering and disorientation among families and this is compounded by the medical doctors usually advising that there is nothing that could be done to stabilize or reverse the disease. The old theory was that each day hundreds of brain cells die and these are never replaced and that the brain in effect becomes smaller and smaller. This was the fundamental cause of Alzheimer, it was felt. This hopeless and pessimistic theory has been overthrown and it is now known that the brain regenerates itself. A great deal of valuable research is being done on Alzheimer in the developed countries and there are many instances in which the disease has been reversed and several hopeless patients have been given a new lease of life. Such successes have been the result of experimentations and so far, no one technique or treatment has been discovered which is applicable to all or most patients. Modern Western medical research has come up with two , which seem to be universally accepted as valid. The first relates to the patient's intake of food - there are certain foods and vitamins, which patients must consume and other foods which he or she must avoid. The second is that some regular physical exercise would be very helpful. Western medical science may eventually discover an effective treatment or treatments for the disease but this still appears to be far away into the future. And in any case, the results of cutting-edge research would reach Guyana only after several years. Alternative Medicine assumes that any ailment should be treated holistically since all parts of the body must be considered as being linked to every other part, and being interconnected, affect each
other. Alternative Medicine, and especially the Ayurvedic System, has held out three treatments, which many Western groups are beginning to gradually adopt since they have been able to cure, stabilize or reverse the disease. Research into the medical journals and on the internet gives many accounts of sufferers who have been cured
by these ancient treatments. The three Ayurvedic treatments or preventatives which are usually mentioned are, one full teaspoon of turmeric powder sprinkled on food or taken with milk every morning; Then there is one tablespoon of coconut oil to be taken daily in any form, as for example drinking, eating with bread or frying an egg. And thirdly,
meditation in any of its forms. One common form of meditation which is known in the Western World and also available in Guyana is Transcendental Meditation. These treatments are available in Guyana and cost very little, unlike the cutting-edge scientific research and experimental cures achieved in the Developed Countries.
These treatments, especially the use of turmeric and coconut oil, have achieved many cures and are supported by the example of the experience of India. India has the lowest dementia and Alzheimer rate in the world and this is attributed to the fact of the Indians eating curries daily where turmeric is the main spice used.
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City Engineer unaware of construction of model houses for M&CC workers – COI hears Although it is public knowledge that the City Engineer’s Department is responsible for approving plans for the construction of buildings in and around Georgetown, officials of the municipality may have found themselves in yet another quandary for breaching their
own regulations. The Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) had earlier this year forged an ambitious plan to construct model houses for several of its workers in selected parts of the city. Under the purview of Town Clerk, Royston King,
members of the Council embarked on the housing drive in selected areas such as Guyhoc Gardens, South Ruimveldt and Bel Air Park. However, it would appear that due diligence was not followed and officers of City Hall may be in breach of regulations stipulated by its
own Engineer’s Department. The matter came up at the Commission of Inquiry, (COI) into City Hall last Friday, when Counsel for the Commission, Sherwin Benjamin, specifically inquired from City Engineer, Colvern Venture, about the progress of the project at
GuyHoc Park. The lawyer noted that the Commission received complaints about the ongoing project. Venture said that although his department is responsible for approving building plans in the city, as head of the unit, he is unaware of the issue. “As City Engineer, I was not consulted about the construction of any model houses,” Venture said. He admitted, too, that his department should have been notified of any such construction. As such, Venture was asked to prepare a report on the housing project for the Commission. Meanwhile, Kaieteur News understands that four houses have already been constructed in Guyhoc Park on an area i d e n t i f i e d a s C o u n c i l ’s reserve. This newspaper also understands that one of the houses is already occupied.
Earlier this year, Public Relations Officer of the M&CC, Debra Lewis, had detailed to another section of the media, plans by the Georgetown municipality to embark on a housing programme for employees at all levels. According to Lewis, the project will be rolled out in several plots of land in Georgetown that belong to the council and are currently underutilized. The PRO revealed that lands in Guyhoc Gardens, South Ruimveldt and Bel Air Park have been identified as part of the project. Lewis explained that several years ago, land was identified at Guyhoc but the land was not released. She noted nonetheless contractors were dispatched to commence clearing the area in Guyhoc identified for allotment. Lewis stressed that the municipality has been aiming at creating a relationship with mutual benefits for its employees. “This relationship must be reflected in their production, and be based on their housing security for their families and the comfort of their working environs. “We have decided that employees of both the fixed
City Engineer, Colvern Venture and unfixed establishment would have the opportunity to have their own homes at the behest of the municipality… “We h a v e a s o c i a l responsibility not only to clean the drains and to make Georgetown clean and bright, but we have a responsibility to employees to boost their morale and to retain their services,” Lewis had declared. City Hall‘s housing development plan has nonetheless faced certain hiccups. Last January, Justice Gino Persaud, handed down a decision which essentially blocked the Council from selling or lease reserved community lands located along Eping Av e n u e , B e l A i r P a r k Georgetown. The ruling was based on an application filed by Attorney-at-law, Devindra Kissoon, who is also a resident of Bel Air Park. Kissoon, a founding partner of London House Chambers (Law Firm), sued the M&CC and Central Housing and Planning seeking to prohibit the development of a community reserve property in Bel Air Park for the purpose of housing. Court documents noted that the Council was in negotiations with local housing developer, Terrence Taljit, to transfer prime community lands to him despite a restriction on the transport of the property for use as community purposes only.
GBTI appeals Full Court ruling to hand... From page 65 Officer (ag) Shaleeza Shaw. They have all denied the charge, which alleged that on September 7, 2017 at Georgetown, they failed to comply with production order granted by Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George-Wiltshire, for them to produce certain documents to the head of the Special Organized Crime Unit, Sydney James. The order was made on August 29, 2017. They are out on self-bail and the trial is ongoing.
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Khashoggi murder suspects to be prosecuted in Saudi Arabia By Kemol King Saudi Foreign Minister, Adel al-Jubeir, said that the 18 persons who are suspected to be involved in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi will be prosecuted. This comes after the Saudi television reports indicated that the public prosecution received information through the Joint Working Group between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Turkish Republic, which led them to conclude that the suspects in Khashoggi’s case premeditated their crime. About the extradition being demanded by Turkey, the Saudi Foreign Minister said that that is not in consideration because the suspects are Saudi nationals. President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had insisted that the 18 men involved in Khashoggi’s killing “must know” what happened. Directing his words to the Saudi royals, the Turkish President had said “You know how to make people talk. If you cannot make them talk, then hand them over to us. This incident happened in Istanbul. Let us put them on trial.” Aljazeera reported that Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) spoke for the first time on a phone call, and
that they discussed “the issue of joint efforts and the steps that need to be taken in order to shed light on the Jamal Khashoggi murder in all its aspects.” CCTV footage published by CNN had shown a man leaving the Saudi consulate dressed in the clothes Khashoggi wore on the day of his death. Reports indicate that the man is Mustafa alMadani, a “body double” and member of the 15-person team of officials and agents sent to target Khashoggi. The Washington Post reported that a diplomat familiar with the deliberations spoke of how the body double was flawed, which is why the footage of him never became an official part of the Saudi government’s narrative. The slain journalist’s fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, said that she declined an invitation from Donald Trump to visit the White House: “I perceived it as a statement to win public favour”. She reportedly broke down in tears, describing the slain journalist as a “patriot” and said “I found myself in a darkness I cannot express”. Cengiz has been placed under 24-hour protection by Turkish police, who raised concerns that she could become a target. Salah Khashoggi, son of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi, fled the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia late Wednes-
Saudi Foreign Minister, Adel al-Jubeir day and arrived in Washington, DC on early Thursday last. He had been banned from the Kingdom months ago due to the fact that his father had fled Saudi Arabia and became an outspoken critic of the Saudi dictatorship. Some of his family members, who are in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, have expressed a desire to rekindle with him outside of the Kingdom. He had been summoned to the royal court by the Saudi royals, before he left the Kingdom, to accept condolences from King Salman and Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS). Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman has finally broken his silence on
the killing of the journalist stating that it is a “heinous crime that cannot be justified”. He made this statement at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, where he said, “Some people are trying to seize this painful moment to drive a wedge between Saudi Arabia and Turkey.” MBS reportedly had a meeting with Chinese, Russian and Japanese business leaders with the statement “Now we know who our best friends are, and who our best enemies are,” since these country representatives had attended the economic forum hosted in Saudi Arabia, while many Western business leaders and world leaders boycotted the conference. The Wall Street Journal reported that MBS called White House adviser, Jared Khusher, on to ask him why the killing of Jamal Khashoggi caused such international outrage. He reportedly could not understand why Khashoggi’s murder was such a big deal. The Wall Street Journal reported that persons who recently interacted with the prince noted that he had become angry that the episode turned into a diplomatic crisis. Protests of Khashoggi’s killing are ongoing, outside of the US’ White House. Protesters have also been demonstrating outside of Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic missions in Britain, Turkey, America, and Indonesia. President of the US, Donald Trump, has condemned the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, calling it one of the worst cover-ups “in the history of cover-ups”, as the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, addressed his parliament over the “savage” murder of the journalist. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, President Trump was asked whether he thinks the Saudi Crown Prince is involved with Khashoggi’s killing, to which he responded, “Well, the prince is running things over there
more so at this stage. He’s running things and so if anybody were going to be, it would be him”. The Mirror UK had reported that Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman “always said that he will cut off the fingers of every writer who criticises him.” Trump’s comments have ranged from condemnation and threats of economic sanctions, to more conciliatory remarks about Saudi Arabia’s relationship with the US. This relationship has been threatened, as a bipartisan team of US lawmakers have introduced a bill to ban arms sales by the president to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, unless there is congressional approval. US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said that 21 Saudi officials will have their visas revoked or be made ineligible for visas in the future. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said “These penalties will not be the last word on the matter from the United States. We’re making very clear that the United States does not tolerate this kind of ruthless action to silence Mr. Khashoggi, a journalist, through violence.” CIA Director Gina Haspel has briefed President Trump after having travelled to Turkey on Monday last to assess the evidence the Turkish authorities have accumulated on Khashoggi’s killing. Haspel reportedly listened to the audio evidence of Khashoggi’s interrogation, torture and murder. Reports indicate that the evidence couldn’t be more compelling, and puts pressure on the US to take action. Meanwhile, Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel, reportedly made a call to Saudi Arabia, expressing her outrage over the journalist’s killing. The German Chancellor has halted weapons negotiations with Saudi Arabia, calling for a “credible” investigation. She reportedly also is advocating for the European Union to adopt a common position on potential limits to weapons sales. CNN reported that President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has finally broken his silence on Khashoggi’s killing, reasoning that “First of all we should wait for the results of the investigation.” “How can we, Russia, start spoiling our relations with Saudi Arabia without knowing what in fact happened there?” Putin said. The Kremlin pointed out, “We heard an official statement from Riyadh in which it is said that representatives of the royal family were not involved in the incident, we took this into account.” Aljazeera reported that a Downing Street spokesperson, speaking on a call made
between Prime Minister of the UK, Theresa May, and King Salman, said, “The Prime Minister said there remains an urgent need to establish exactly what happened. She strongly urged Saudi Arabia to cooperate with the Turkish investigation and to be transparent about the results. It is important that the full facts are established.” The British Prime Minister has promised to ban all the suspects involved in the journalist’s killing from entering the United Kingdom, telling the British Parliament, “The Home Secretary is taking action against all suspects to prevent them entering the UK, and if these individuals currently have visas, those visas will be revoked.” The British government has not re-examined weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, and is being brought to task by the “Campaign Against Arms Trade” (CAAT). The group is challenging the government’s decision to continue to license the export of military equipment to Saudi Arabia. The French President, Emmanuel Macron, has also expressed his discontentment over Khashoggi’s killing and the consequent handling of the matter, in a call with King Salman. He reportedly told King Salman that France could potentially take action against those who are involved in the journalist’s killing. France reportedly has not decided on any sanctions towards the suspects or to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia because the government does not want to make a hasty decision.The events surrounding the journalist’s death had started when he travelled to Turkey with his fiancée to obtain divorce papers from his previous marriage. He had left his wife outside of the Saudi Consulate in Turkey. When he did not emerge after the consulate closed, his fiancée called the police and reported him as missing. Reuters had reported, “The initial assessment of the Turkish police is that Mr. Khashoggi has been killed at the consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul. We believe that the murder was premeditated and the body was subsequently moved out of the consulate.” The Turkish Prime Minister had called an immediate investigation into the matter, following this statement. The Saudi government had reportedly swiftly responded to the allegations made by the Turkish Police, stating that Jamal Khashoggi left the consulate on the day of the incident. Turkish investigators, however, have alleged that Khashoggi was tortured before his death and his body dismembered with a bone-saw.
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GMRSC Ignite
Ming confirms participation in anticipated SR3 radicals’ battles Overseas based Guyanese and NACAM F4 Champion Calvin Ming has confirmed participation in the Radical Caribbean SR3 Cup set for November 10 and 11 at the South Dakota Circuit. The Guyanese, who was on the list as a provisional entry confirmed it participation yesterday afternoon. Ming, who earlier this year closed off the USF2000 series in fifth with the PABST racing team in the United States, will join up with fellow Guyanese Mark Vieira and MSVR Radical Contender and factory Radical’s Kristian Jeffrey. Ming and Jeffrey have only met competitively in Barbados during that country’s
Suzuki Radical series and their meeting here marks the first head to head contest the sons of the soil will face. Many have placed the wager on either side of the coin with Jeffrey having the experience in the SR3’S after two years in Europe. Ming on the other hand is no stranger to the SR3’s himself competing in the Barbados’ Suzuki Radical Challenge in years past with great success.Former Group Four champion Mark Vieira is expected in the mix as well as to complete the trifecta of Guyanese drivers set to defend home turf. They will have no easy task as they scrap to take on the brother’s three of current
Caribbean Motor Racing Championship SR3 points’ leader Stuart Maloney (167 points), Mark (140) and Sean (70 points). Considered some of the more experienced radical drivers having brought the sport here just less than five years ago, the Maloneys are serious game when it comes to the SR3’s. Add teenage driving sensation Isa Deen (154 points) of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) who splits Stuart and Mark Maloney in the CMRC SR3 points standing, it’s sure to make for a closely contested battle. Deen will have support from countrymen Kristian Boodoosingh (fourth with 94 points) and Luke Bhola (seventh on 38 points), complet-
Sunday October 28, 2018 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Glowing health and an enthusiastic attitude make almost anything a pleasure today, Aries. Relations with friends and family are warm, congenial, and cooperative.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Practical thoughts may be the result of unconscious impulses brought to the surface by events at home. Old traumas and phobias could be released.
TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Information that comes your way today could launch you into a search for truth. Perhaps this is a new business-related idea that you want to explore.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Gatherings in your neighborhood could bring new and interesting information your way, Scorpio. A message from an acquaintance could send you down a new path toward a new goal.
GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Although you're usually very responsible and you try to keep the proper balance between your home and professional lives, today your mind and heart are more focused on your home
SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Success in a project you've been working on could mean you want to go out and celebrate. You might feel guilty about doing it, but go ahead, Sagittarius.
CANCER (June 21–July 22) A gathering in your community could unite the people around you in aiming for a common goal, and this could be a new interest for you.
CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) A subject that you've been studying for a long time might suddenly start making sense to you.
LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) You may have been expecting some money over the past several days, and today it could finally arrive. Delays in reaching your goals are finished for the moment.
AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Past impressions that you may not even know you have could enhance your ability to deal with practical matters today. You might need to handle some paperwork regarding a settlement of some kind.
VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) You're feeling especially sharp. Your thoughts are more focused than usual and your mind especially penetrating. A promised get-together with friends or loved ones may have to be delayed, but it will take place.
PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Social events and group activities are on the agenda today. You may be introduced to someone who could prove helpful to your career. A letter containing good news could come from a friend or partner.
ing the nine-car SR3 grid for the November 10 and 11 meet which is being headlined as Ignite.
UDFA/ GTT 2017... From page 75 Connection who have nine points after playing four matches with three wins and one loss, while below them are Amelia’s Ward Panthers on seven points after playing four games with two wins, one loss and one draw for seven points.They are followed by Blueberry Hill United who have with six points after playing five games with two wins and three defeats and Silver Shattas next with four points from four games having one win, one draw and two losses, Topp XX have three points after one win and three losses while Botafago and Hi Stars are on the carpet position with zero points but Botafago have played three matches, while Hi Stars after four games are still to secure a win.
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Sunday October 28, 2018
Kohli’s third straight ton in vain as West Indies level series MUMBAI (Reuters) - India captain Virat Kohli struck his third consecutive hundred but it was not enough as West Indies defeated the hosts by 43 runs in the third one-day international yesterday to square the five-match series at 1-1. Milestone man Kohli, who became the fastest batsman to reach 10,000 ODI runs during Wednesday’s tied match at Visakhapatnam, compiled 107 to bring up his 38th century in the format but his dis-
missal ended India’s hopes of chasing down 284 for victory. Part-time off-spinner Marlon Samuels emerged as wrecker-in-chief for the Caribbean side, picking up his best ODI bowling figures of three for 12 as India were all out for 240 in the 48th over. West Indies batsman Shai Hope, who, like Kohli, also bats at number three, continued his rich vein of form, following up his unbeaten 123 in the last match with 95 to anchor the in-
nings and help his side to 283 for nine after being asked to bat first. With Kohli in irrepressible form, India appeared to be comfortably placed at 172 for three after 31 overs but lost their way with the quick wickets of Rishabh Pant, who made 24 off 18 balls, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Kohli still looked like a man on a mission — evident from his muted celebration after reaching his hundred — but once he got castled in
Samuels’ first over, the fate of the match was sealed. The right-handed batsman, who will turn 30 next month, hit 10 fours and one six in his 119-ball knock. Earlier, Jasprit Bumrah one of the three fast bowlers the hosts drafted in for the match - was the pick of the Indian attack with four for 35, and his early strikes threw the West Indies’ innings into disarray. Opener Chandrapaul Hemraj fell to a sensational
catch by India’s 37-year-old wickekeeper Dhoni, who ran towards the fine-leg boundary and completed a fulllength diving catch after the batsman had miscued a pull shot off Bumrah. Rohit Sharma then took a sharp catch at first slip to send back the other opener, Kieran Powell, and once fast bowler Khaleel Ahmed dismissed Samuels cheaply, West Indies were reduced to 55 for three. Hope, who hit six fours and three sixes in his 113-ball knock, and the swashbuckling Shimron Hetmyer (37) then added a quickfire 56 before Dhoni completed a smart stumping to dismiss the latter off-spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
Hetmyer hit two fours and three sixes in his 21-ball knock after scores of 106 and 94 in the two previous ODIs. Bumrah produced a superb inswinging yorker to dismiss Hope, reducing West Indies to 227-8 and boosting India’s hopes of restricting their opponents to a modest total. But the West Indies were boosted by tailenders Ashley Nurse and Kemar Roach, who added another 56 runs off 36 balls to take their side past 280. Nurse hit four boundaries and two sixes in his 22-ball 40 before becoming Bumrah’s fourth victim. The penultimate ODI will be played in Mumbai tomorrow.
Regal Masters, Fishermen... From page 78 Cricket Club defeated SVC Spartans by 29 runs. SVC CC batted first and rattled up 199-6. Vijay Surujpaul stroked 78 while Andrew Gonsalves made 40 and Navin Singh 28. Jonathan Fernandes claimed 2-30 and David Lukenauth 2-46. SVC Spartans were restricted to 170-6 in reply. Lukenauth slammed 89 while David Williams made 17 and Balram Samaroo 15. Mark Harold captured 2-11 and Richard Latif 2-25. The second semi final was contested last night at DCC between defending champions Ariel Speedboat and Regal All stars. The competition concludes today at DCC.
Sunday October 28, 2018
Regional Super50 cricket final
Jaguars aim to break 13year title drought, face CCC today at Kensington Oval By Sean Devers Guyana Jaguars, hunting their 10 title and first since 2005, face-off with surprise finalist CCC Marooners today from 11:30hrs at the ‘Mecca’ in the final of the 2018 Regional Super50 cricket tournament. The Jaguars sneaked a last over win with the last pair at the crease against Jamaica Scorpions in a nail biting semi-final on Thursday before the Marooners, made up of players from students from Barbados, Trinidad and one player from St Vincent embarrassed the star-studded pretournament favourites Red Force the next day. The Jaguars do not have the type of physiological disadvantage associated with opposing Trinidad who beat them the last two times they got to finals (2009 &2015). But they must not take CCC lightly since they have been the Giant killers of zone ‘B’. The other advantage for CCC, who plays as UWI in Barbados division one cricket, is their familiarity with the pace and bounce of the Kensington Oval track which is faster than those in Guyana and Trinidad where the Jaguars competed in zone ‘A’. Kjorn Ottley, one of seven Trinis in the CCC squad, is their leading run scorer with 261 runs with two fifties, while Ameer Jangoo (207) also with two half-centuries, is the other CCC batsman with 200 runs and they will hope for support from skipper Carlos Braithwaite who also have a pair of fifties in his 182,
Jonathon Drakes, Kyle Corbin and Nickolas Kirton. CCC will have to execute immaculate lines and lengths against a Jaguars team which have tremendous batting depth. Spinner Khesan Ottley has 17 wickets and could be the Jaguars’ biggest threat. Akeem Jordon (14), Braithwaite (10) and off-spinner Jon-Russ Jaggesar (10) have all had success with the ball for the home team. Left-hander Raymon Reifer has four fifties in 285 runs and been ‘mister consistency’ in this tournament, while another all-rounder; Chris Barnwell with 266 with two half-centuries including an unbeaten 99 have both been in excellent form. Trevon Griffith (215) and Leon Johnson (208) are the other batsmen with 200 runs, while Sherfane Rutherford’s highest score is 69 and has been very positive in his new role at the top of the order during the power-play overs. Anthony Bramble, Romario Shepherd, Veerasammy Permaul, Ricardo Adams and Clinton Pestano can all bat as well which provides the Jaguars plenty of fire power against a team playing in their first ever final. The bowling will be led by the impressive Pestano with 14 wickets and the only hat-trick by a Guyanese in 50over cricket, while off-spinner Ramaal Lewis (12), Permaul, Shepherd, Barnwell, Rutherford and Adams will lend support with the ball in a wonderfully balanced team.
UDFA/ GTT 2017/18 Senior League Football resumes tonight - Battle for survival as Hi Stars face Ward Panthers, Botafago against Topp XX The GTT Senior Football League which started a year ago will resume with two of the eighteen matches left tonight at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground. The Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) organized championship which involves nine clubs will see Amelia’s Ward Panthers facing Hi Stars at 19.00hrs, while the second game of the double header feature brings together Botafago and Topp XX from 21.00hrs. On Wednesday the
second of the nine remaining playing days will have as the first game Eagles United matching skills against Silver Shattas and the other featuring Amelia’s Ward Panthers. Eagles United and Net Rockers are tied on 12 points on 12 points from their four games played which they have won but a goal difference of 10-5 nudges the Eagles side on top of the table from Rockers. Next are Winners (Continued on page 75)
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Sunday October 28, 2018
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GFSCA Guyana Cup 8
Regal Masters, Fishermen Masters, Parika Defenders, Floodlights Legends and SVC CC march into finals By Zaheer Mohamed Regal Masters, Fishermen Masters, Parika Defenders, Floodlights Legends and SVC Cricket Club have secured their places in the final of their respective categories when the Guyana Floodlights Softball Cricket Association (GFSCA) Guyana Cup 8 continued yesterday. Playing in the Over 45 segment at Demerara Cricket Club; Regal Masters defeated Floodlights by three wickets. Floodlights took first strike and made 139-7. V. Vivakanand led with 36, while Unnis Yusuf made 17 and Ramesh Narine 16. Mohendra Arjune grabbed 3-25 and David Harper 2-22. Regal Masters responded with 1407 in 19.5 overs. Eric Thomas top scored with 30, while Mahase Chunilall made 24; Ramo Malone took 2-14. At Eve Leary, Albion Masters went down to Fishermen Masters by three wickets. Albion Masters batted
Vijay Surujpaul first and scored 145-6. Imran Hussain slammed 67, while Veerapen Moonsammy contributed 41. Fishermen Masters replied with 149-7 in 19.2 overs. Fazal Ali made 32 and Robert Mohan 30 contributed not out, Hemraj Pillay 17 and Baldeo Persaud 16. Hussain claimed 2-25. In the over-50 category at Eve Leary, Parika Defenders beat New York President’s XI by 42 runs. Led by a fine century from Oswald Chandler, Parika Defenders posted 1745 of their allotted 20 overs, batting first. Chandler smashed 13 fours and seven
sixes in a robust 109, while Sadiek Mohamed made 39 not out; Eric Jeffery took 2-5. New York President’s XI were limited to 132-9 in reply. Peter Persaud scored 43 while Robert Camacho got 21 and Danny Mohanram 20; Mohamed Saffie claimed 2-13, Glenn Fredericks 2-24 and Azeem Mohamed 2-29. Chandler received a bat for his performance from CEO of Rockaway Group of Companies Hafeez Ali. Floodlights Legends overcame New York Softball Cricket League by nine wickets. New York Softball Cricket League took first strike and managed 128-9. O. Jackson got 29, R. Singh 22, R. Fraser 16 and Hafeez Ali 10; Rudolph Perreira snared 3-15. Floodlights Legends responded with 133-1 in 13.5 overs. K. Baljit struck 62 while Perreira made 42 and Hackim Majeed 14. In the Open division at Malteenoes Sports Club, SVC (Continued on page 76)
Palm court on board Guyana Softball Cup 8
Vice President of the GFSCA Ramesh Sunich receives an undisclosed amount of cash from Palm Court head Accountant Tiya Chung, while Sophia Ramphal looks on. Organisers of the Guyana Softball Cup 8 received corporate backing from popular entertainment sport Palm Court of Main Street even as the event concludes today. Palm Court head Accountant Tiya Chung and employee Sophia Ramphal handed over their sponsorship to Vice President of the GFSCA Ramesh Sunich on Friday last. Sunich thanked Palm Court for the crucial support which helped to run off a tournament of this magnitude. The Guyana Softball Cup attracted teams from Guyana, New York, Canada and
Florida. The category finals would be played today at the Demerara Cricket Club, starting at 10:00hrs and concluding with the Open final under floodlights. The tournament, which started on Friday, has received corporate support from Stag Beer, Rubis Guyana, Trophy Stall, Steve’s Jewellery, Clear Waters, Busta, Rohan Auto Spares, A&R Jewanram Printery, WJ Enterprise, Mike’s Pharmacy, Ramchand Auto Spares, Karibee Rice and Survival Group of Business among others.
Kaieteur News
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Defending champs West Ruimveldt reach final four - Tucville upset dangerous St. Agnes
St. Ambrose’s Carl Demelo looks to clear a dangerous ball from an advancing West Ruimveldt player during his team’s 5-0 thumping yesterday at the MOE ground.
Sunday October 28, 2018
COURTS Peewee 2018
T
he quarterfinal round of the COURTS Under11 Peewee football tournament was completed yesterday at the Ministry of Education (MOE) ground on Carifesta Avenue with some exciting matches. The 2017 Champions, West Ruimveldt who had a tough contest in their roundof-16 match against Plaisance Bosco, played with more intent against St. Ambrose Primary in their last eight clash and inflicted a 5-0 thrashing on their opposition. Ruimveldt were led by a brace from Cleon La Rose, while skipper Jonathan Andries, Mark Philips and Syon Sampson each scored
one goal. Tucville Primary got the better of the free scoring St. Agnes with a tactful 3-1 win. Scoring for the football frenzied Tucville School were Carlos Negus, John H a r r y a n d Wa y n e Solomon, while Justin Alcindor netted a consolation for St. Agnes to take his tally to 10 goals. St. Pius ended the fantastic run of Golden Grove Primary who had killed the dream of Marian Academy reaching a second consecutive final with a 2-0 round-of-16 defeat with a similar 2-0 result. On the score sheet for St. Pius with one goal each were Chance Niles along with the
Tucville’s Dwayne Solomon, John Harry and Carl Negus that scored one goal each in the team’s 3-1 win over St. Agnes.
diminutive and skillful Kaden Wellington; arguably the player with the most flair in the 2018 COURTS Peewee tournament. Meanwhile, in the final match of the day, kicks from the penalty mark saw North Georgetown get Past Mocha Arcadia 3-2 (sudden death) after full and extra-time drew 0-0. (Calvin Chapman)
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Sunday October 28, 2018
Hamilton Green 9-a-side Inter-Ward resumes today at Den Amstel -Sparta Family headline Round Two
Quincy Ashley
Play in the Hamilton Green 9-a-side Inter-Ward/ Village KO Cup, which is being held to commemorate the 84th Birth Anniversary of the former Mayor of Georgetown and Prime Minister of Guyana Hamilton Green, is set to resume today with ten matches, at the Den Amstel Community Centre ground. In the opening encounter, Newtown Kitty oppose
Zeelugt from 16:00hrs and this will be followed by the clash between Alexander Village and Kuru Kururu from 16:30hrs. Then at 17:00hrs, Soesdyke tackle Sophia, while Bagotsville square off against Plaisance at 17:30hrs. Sara Lodge then go up against Jetty at 18:00hrs, b e f o r e Wa l e s a n d Vergenoegen collide at
18:30hrs. A g r ico la th en p lay against Wolves at 19:00hrs, before Goed Fortuin and De Kindren clash from 19:00hrs. Sparta Family and Den Amstel Back Street meet at 19:30hrs, before Crane and Kitty close out the night with their encounter at 20:00hrs. Thirty-two teams are battling for prize monies in excess of $700,000 and lots
of prizes, including the coveted first prize of $400,000 and the championship trophy compliments of the Ministry of Citizenship. The runner-up will be awarded $200,000 and trophy through the goodwill of John Fernandes Ltd, while third and fourth place finishers will receive $60,000 and $40,000 respectively along with the Techno Mills and Courtney Benn Construction Services trophies in that order. All four top finishers will receive hampers compliments of Ricks & Sari Industries, while the Highest Goalscorer, who will walk away with a Lazy Boy Chair
courtesy of A.H&L Kissoon and a Dinette Set compliment of China Trading. The Most Valuable Player will be awarded a special prize from Techno Mills. Meanwhile, Minister of State Joseph Harmon has promised to assist with the provision of floodlights following an approach from Co-ordinator Lennox Arthur. Among the other sponsors on board are: IPA, Alfro Alphonso, Sattaur Gafoor, Ansa McAl, Top Brandz Distributors, M A C O R P, C u m m i n g s Electrical, Ready Mix, BK International and New Thriving Restaurant.
Joint Services Sports 2018
Police detain Defence Force after three-year reign
Damian Williams receives his champion boy award from Asst. Commissioner Paul Williams. Following the cancellation of the 2017 games due to the Camp Street Prison break, the annual Joint Services (Prison, Police and Fire and Army) games resumed this year with the 2018, one week long event concluding on Saturday night at the Police Progressive Youth Club ground at Eve Leary. After the final points were tallied, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) emerged as Champions after amassing a total of 1099 points. GPF out finished with almost a hundred points ahead of two-time (2015 & 2016) defending champions Guyana Defence Force (GDF) who finished with
1004 points. The Police and Army athletes were some way in front of Guyana Fire Service that finished third with 223 points and the Guyana Prison Service that totaled 107 points in the last place finish.Police won the marquee female 4x100m and 4x400m relays, while GDF who finished second in the female relays won the male 4x400m and 4x100m relays ahead of the GPF. The Champion male athlete was Damian Williams from GDF, while Natasha Alder and Alita Moore both of GPF, tied for the champion female athlete accolade. (Calvin Chapman)
Sunday October 28, 2018
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All roads lead to Rising Sun Turf Club Rodeo today at West Berbice
The place to be today is at the Rising Sun Turf Club Rodeo Committee organised Grand Rodeo at their West Coast Berbice facility starting form 11:00am. Several events are carded for the day to bring the usual top notch excitement associated with rodeo events staged by the organisers at this venue. Among them are the Best dressed Vaquero or cowboy contest, Wild cow milking, Calf roping, Steer roping, Bare back bronco or wild horse riding, Bull riding and Saddle bronco. Adding entertainment and excitement to the programme would be the popular Clown and the Bull fighter as they display their evasive skills against the wild animals on show. The danger and tremendous skill of the
performers (Vaqueros, Clown and Bull fighter etc) will be on full display and will be supported by side attractions including musical accompaniment by Thunderbolt Sounds. No event of this nature is possible without the key support of the sponsors. Among those assisting the Rising Sun Turf Club Rodeo Committee are: Banks DIH, Jumbo Jet Auto Sales and Cattle Ranch, Rommel Jagroop Cattle Ranch, Abary Cattle Ranch, Sunil Suruj Cattle Ranch, BM Soat Auto Sales, Jai Seegobin Cattle Ranch, Reginald Hookumchand and Jerry Hookumchand.Fans are encouraged to make today a family outing to the West Berbice location of the Rising Sun Turf Club for top class Rodeo entertainment.
Fans are in for a treat today as the cowboys and the famous clowns perform daring and dangerous routines during the day.
t r o Sp
Kohli’s third straight ton in vain as West Indies level series
Hope struck a measured 95 to carry West Indies towards a competitive total ŠAFP
Joint Services Sports 2018
GPF Commissioner Leslie James (center left) hands over the championship trophy to GPF coach Lyndon Wilson Snr, in the presence of other top ranking GPF officials and members of the GPF sports team.
Police detain Defence Force after three-year reign Printed and published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd., 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown. Tel: 225-8458, 225-8465, 225-8491 or Fax: 225-8473/226-8210.