Kaieteur News

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AIETEUR Maduro orders Saturday Edition NEWS treason charges against Guaido over Guyana claim - GECOM Commissioners September 07, 2019 - Vol. 13 No. 35

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March 2020 is earliest possible time for elections SARA files court action to recover US$16M from Queens Atlantic and GBTI

The GBTI property in Kingston

The Sanata Textile property

City Council grants Beware of SARA official met Haitian scammers partial waiver to posing as our group in his personal 125 property owners brokers - NICIL capacity - Harmon Deputy Police Commissioner Alves 'cleared of any criminal conduct' - other administrative issues being dealt with - Top Cop Lyndon Alves

Canadian Bank Note awarded $2.5B project to build e-passport system

Kaieteur News

PAGE 02

Saturday September 07, 2019

Local Content Policy? or Foreign Content Policy?

Both local and foreign companies selling a USA manufactured pipeline to ExxonMobil

LOCAL COMPANY Cost

$ 100

FOREIGN COMPANY Cost

$ 100

Freight

$

5

Freight

$

5

VAT 14%

$

14

VAT 0%

$

0

Duty 30%

$

30

Duty 0%

$

0

Total Cost

$ 149

Total Cost

$ 105

Sold

$ 160

Sold

$ 160

Profit

$

11

Profit

$

55

Income Tax 30%

$

4

Income Tax 0%

$

0

Local’s take home

$

7

Foreigner’s take home

$

55

1.

2.

3.

4.

Who makes more profit?

Who can sell cheaper?

Foreigner Foreigner

Who can be more competitive?

Foreigner

If the foreigner decides to sell for $140 where does the local business stand in competing?

Paid Ad

Saturday September 07, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 03

Maduro orders treason charges against Guaido over Guyana claim V

e n e z u e l a (argusmedia)Ve n e z u e l a n president Nicolas Maduro ordered state prosecutors to lodge treason charges against opposition leader Juan Guaido for allegedly agreeing to relinquish Venezuela's century-old territorial claim to the Essequibo region of neighbouring Guyana.

Maduro's order, which was swiftly followed up by the announcement of an investigation by attorney general Tarek William Saab, ratchets up the stakes in Venezuela's political crisis, just as Guyana is about to debut as an oil producer from offshore acreage in the disputed territory.

ExxonMobil plans to produce 120,000 b/d of crude starting in March 2020 from the Stabroek block, rising to 750,000 b/d in 2025, a volume that nearly m a t c h e s Ve n e z u e l a ' s shrunken output.

The territorial dispute is considered a legacy of British colonialism. Most Venezuelans of all political stripes support the country's historical claim.

In a fiery speech on staterun television Thursday night, Maduro says the government has evidence of "how the treasonous bandit Juan Guaido is negotiating to give up the Essequibo in exchange for the (UK's) political support for his phantasmagorical and pretentiously farcical government."

Guaido, who presides the opposition-controlled National Assembly, declared

an interim presidency in January 2019, prompting the US and dozens of other countries to withdraw recognition of Maduro in his favor.

"Those who seek to weaken Venezuela, who seek to impose a pro-imperialist government and weaken the Bolivarian armed forces have but a single motive, which is to seize the Essequibo, seize Venezuela's oil, seize the Gulf of Venezuela and split the country into 20 pieces," Maduro said. "The attorney general must act expeditiously because the crime is treason against the fatherland."

Saab "already is reviewing the matter to determine how best to proceed against Guaido, whether it should be handled by civilian or military prosecutors and courts," an official in Saab's office said, asserting that he could be arrested soon because he was already stripped of his parliamentary immunity.

Saab is among dozens of Ve n e z u e l a n o f f i c i a l s targeted by US sanctions.

The governmentcontrolled National Constituent Assembly and Supreme Court voted to strip Guaido of his parliamentary immunity in April. While other opposition figures have been detained since then, Guaido has so far remained free.

Guaido has warned that if he is detained, his domestic and international supporters would react. But the White House has repeatedly signaled that it is

Opposition leader, Juan Guaido

President Nicolas Maduro not prone to military action in Venezuela, despite its outspoken support for Guaido's interim administration and a raft of sanctions.

Guaido is holding a public rally today in the Lecheria district of Puerto La Cruz, site of state-owned oil company PdV's stalled 190,000 b/d Puerto La Cruz refinery and the Guaraguao oil terminal. He has frequently led such rallies in Venezuelan cities since July as the huge crowds that initially responded to his calls for nationwide demonstrations have dwindled.

A senior official of Guaido's Voluntad Popular party in Caracas denied that he agreed to give up the Essequibo claim in exchange for the UK's support in the period before Guaido declared his interim presidency.

"Maduro is lying and inventing fake crimes to find ways to jail President Guaido illegally," the party official said. "President Guaido's position always has been that the Essequibo

region historically belongs to Venezuela."

Another official close to Guaido said yesterday that Maduro's late predecessor Hugo Chavez effectively abdicated the claim in exchange for Guyana's political support under Venezuela's PetroCaribe subsidized oil supply program for neighboring countries.

Guaido's putative foreign minister Julio Borges, who is based on Bogota, blamed Maduro's government of "giving away the Essequibo" and not defending the country's interests at the International Court of Justice.

Maduro's accusation against Guaido is intended to divert attention from the government's support for Colombian militants hiding in Venezuelan territory, Borges added.

Maduro's assertion that Guaido made a treasonous territorial deal with London is based on an audio tape that was released on social media yesterday by executive vice president Delcy Rodriguez.

Rodriguez claimed

yesterday that the tape captures the voice of Vanessa Neumann, Guaido's UK envoy, discussing the Essequibo issue with opposition adviser Manuel AvendaĂąo, before Guaido declared himself president on 23 January. In the recording, Neumann is alleged to say that after speaking with officials in the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office,she recommends that the opposition "drop the topic" of Venezuela's claim to the Essequibo in order to secure London's political support.

Argus could not confirm the validity of the tape.

Neither the UK nor Neumann has commented.

Guyana's government has not commented either.

Saab says his office is also investigating Avendano and Neumann.

"We are warning of the danger for the Republic, the fact that people unknown in the country, based abroad and that work for other governments, have the license of an inexistent government to negotiate out resources and assets," Saab said.

He also announced that Venezuelan navy units seized Guyana-flagged vessel Wanderer allegedly smuggling diesel hidden in 12 ballast tanks. Smuggling is commonplace on Venezuela's borders.

PAGE 4

Kaieteur News

Saturday September 07, 2019

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

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

EDITORIAL

China’s nuclear option

A

war looms out there. A trade war between the aging American superpower, struggling to come to grips with its many internal demons, and the upstart new Chinese teenager that overpowers all in its path. And unlike before, no matter how small that war, the once quaint world of Guyana will feel the pinch in an interconnected world, and given its relationship with one and the other.

On August 13, Oil.com warned that China was preparing its “nuclear option in trade war.” Part of the dragon’s swishing its powerful tail in signaling the independence of breaking ranks, is its engagement in three strategically significant Iranian projects. These form part of the Chinese leadership’s proven determination to operate beyond the restraints of American sanctions and with its own interests in mind, as well as addressed.

According to Oil.com, “China…was loathe to completely disregard all U.S. sensibilities when it came to Iran, but equally saw itself as a longstanding partner of the Islamic Republic…to ensure diversity of energy supply.” A safe, self-protecting move.

More specifically, the “third of China’s major as yet unfinished projects in Iran was the build-out of the Jask oil export terminal, which…does not lie within the Strait of Hormuz or even in the Persian Gulf, but rather in the Gulf Of Oman.”

By this action, China was giving notice of its separation from the vulnerabilities and tensions that plague the geography and rivalries of that turbulent region. It is of a destiny increasingly unattached to that of the West in general, and the United States in particular.

This was only the opening salvo. And with a trade war hot then warm and hot again, there is growing impatience with the impasses and pains felt.

The main artillery is with the Chinese in having what is termed the ‘nuclear option.’ That is, “selling all or a significant part of its US$1.4 trillion holding of U.S. Treasury Bills.” That would be a momentous step; yet not one to be moved off the table of consideration. Some of the implications of such sure-to-be roiling action should help.

What the Chinese now hold (US$1.4 trillion of Treasury Bills) is, “that through which the U.S. finances its economy and is an important factor both in the value of the dollar and therefore in the health of U.S. international companies especially – and has been used as a bargaining chip before by China, especially when it feels threatened.”

It feels threatened and bullied now, and it is not the nation of a hundred years ago, where dreadful ‘foreign devils’ humiliated the nation and laid it to waste in significant sections.

Now in this trade war, and as the US economy goes, so does a lot of the rest of the world. There is greater reliance on Uncle Sam than the other way around. Like it or not, and diversification and globalisation duly accounted for, the health of the US economy -buying and spending, currency and valuation, and the many other vital components - still influence the health of other places.

Those places depend upon its patronage, guiding hand, and benevolence. Guyana is in the thick of that pack, if only as an outlet for its peoples, its interest, and its protection. And, of course, now for its corporate oil investment; company and country are not separate.

The mandarins are aware of the power (and threat) that they possess, as “senior Chinese figures at various staterun think tanks…stated that the large-scale selling of this massive Treasury Bill holding would trigger a dollar crash, a huge spike in bond yields, the collapse of the housing market and stock market chaos.” That is a nightmare scenario for American leaders. With emphasis on the supremacy of the dollar, it is apposite to note that Chinese leaders have articulated interest and intent to topple the dollar from its longstanding perch as the big

Concerted efforts needed to give locals their chair at the head of the table DEAR EDITORS, The US Ambassador could not have been clearer in where, from the perspective of her responsibilities and country, the priority of interests focuses.

Though couched in the careful and studied language favoured by diplomats, there could-and should-be no mistaking the position of strength from which she spoke; and the thrusts embedded in those. A bit of a local firestorm resulted.

As widely reported in the media, Ambassador SarahAnn Lynch was guardedly candid without being confrontational. Her message was part warning, part appeal, and many other parts that are best read between the lines, and not so much from the words themselves, but the rippling echoes that they create.

A couple of quotes should assist in clearing up of any uncertainty.

First, from one online news outfit on (September 1), came this preemptive note: “some recent suggestions about local content policy in Guyana may send a signal that some investors as well as the employment and know-how

benefits they bring may not be welcome here.” From a Guyanese standpoint, the challenge is this: how to read that and walk away comforted? In plainer, more direct language, I interpret this in several ways relative to the now nettlesome local content policy: a) this is not the ideal way to do business; b) rethink quickly and significantly those emphases, which envision the premiership of domestic businesses, in any local-foreign matrix; and c) get with the programme that is being delivered in very nuanced phraseology and tone.

I am sure I heard more than veiled warnings in Her Excellency’s carefully scripted presentation. The bottom-line message is: don’t go about this the wrong way or Guyana is going to lose out.

To the local businesspeople, it was: understand your role better; know your limitations; and act accordingly. In sum: get real.

And get clean.

I found it unacceptable that firms from Caricom neighbours, pinpointing oilsavvy Trinidad and Tobago, are currently among the leading beneficiaries of foreign

contract largesse.

This must be particularly galling for Guyanese commercial leaders, who have seen business and political interests in that country, object against our own puny products struggling to get some toehold of reception over there.

The well-grounded thinking of the local private sector is that its members are losing in both directions. That is, when local exports are sent to Trinidad, there is always some built-in resistance, which essentially results in the bar of de facto embargo; and now that the oil riches are pending within Guyanese shores, the same brethren from the region are first in the reckoning to capitalise.

And with this, once again, Guyanese people come out holding the short end of the stick. Nothing going; nothing coming. On this, I stand with chamber people (not the most well-regarded bunch) in the cry for something resembling parity, and not the crumbs of charity.

Aside from the public speeches, political leaders across the spectrum should insist that there be more than

promises and bland, generalised statements that translate to the same story on the ground here.

Next to nothing for locals. There must be specifics about set asides for Guyanese, and more substantial and acceptable roles for Guyanese businesses and Guyanese workers, and more embedded detail regarding local presences and involvement with the those who say they come as partners. Foreign investors will not give away anything: must be bargained for in return for access to oilfields and all the other business opportunities that accrue.

These are tough nuts to crack, in view of the known weaknesses in local content at many levels.

There are the skills shortages, the barebones work ethic, the great corruption cultures in both bureaucracies and trenches. What has been warned against insistently and correspondingly dismissed just as consistently, now comes back to hurt badly in the challenges linked to that oil. The very things that were never a (Continued on page 6)

CLEARING THE AIR ON THAT MEETING AT THE CRITCHLOW LABOUR COLLEGE DEAR EDITOR, On Thursday 29 August, 2019, the Honourable Minister of Citizenship, Minister Winston Felix and I met with African and Haitian nationals who had applied for citizenship and work permits. The nationals had many questions with regards to the sta-

tus of their applications and needed clarification. We met at the Critchlow Labour College, which is a public place.

MTV Channel 65 without interviewing anyone subsequently aired on its news cast a mischievous and grossly inaccurate representation of that meeting and also a video

bully around town.

The prevailing sentiment is that this nuclear option will not be unleashed: there is too much at stake and that could come back to bite sharply and deeply. Meaning that such unloading of US Treasury holdings would squeeze the Yuan upward. This is something that would not work in Beijing’s favour.

According to the experts, “Beijing would need to be reinvested the proceeds in alternative securities” since there are limited blue chip options available for the kind of money freed from US Treasury holdings. Unlike its main adversary, the Chinese are not known for either the impetuous or frivolous, nor the boisterous and raucous. They do what is right for themselves. What is right for them could end being very troublesome for Guyana. The timing is inopportune.

As these big power rage and rise, the urgent challenge is for Guyana to plot a national course that capitalises early on its now proven holdings; to get its own options firmly nailed down and which serves national purposes foremost.

The continued cautioning is that this country must not be caught jawing away, with its pants down. It is not listening.

It must prepare to seize the moment. It doesn’t appear to be ready.

Guyana has its own nuclear option: race. It fiddles with that firestorm aimed internally. Leaders and society had better be prepared for the fallout from that double-edged sword, this nuclear option of our own. Like the leadership trusts of the two global powers, local leaders and their groupings are also faced with that option and a choice: compromise or confrontation and conflict.

posted on YouTube entitled the “PNC plans got busted” by an MTV news reporter.

The reporters did not interview me, Minister Felix or anyone present, yet they concocted a malicious story about promises being made to the Haitian and African Nationals with regards to citizenships, work permits and paying off of tuition fees in exchange for votes. Let me be pellucid: no one was promised work permits, citizenship or assistance with paying off of tuition fees and more so in exchange for votes. It was simply a question and answer segment. The news report from Channel 65 is libelous and it is obvious that MTV Channel 65 is desperately trying to tarnish my character and reputation and this is repugnant.

I take this opportunity to remind everyone, that Haiti is one of the 15 full member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), of which Guyana is a founding member.

Historically, Haiti has played one of the most important roles for emancipation in the western hemisphere, being second to the United States to free itself from colonial rule.

Haitians are entitled to work permits under the tenets of Caribbean Single Market and Economy.

It is known that Channel 65 is a PPP biased media outlet. We should ask why the fueling of Xenophobic attacks against Africans whether it be Africans from the continent of Africa or Africans from Haiti? February 26, 2019 Inews states: “With 5,123 documented Venezuelan migrants in Guyana, efforts are being made to roll out a programme to help them become self-sufficient, the National Multi-Sectoral Coordinating Committee noted in a statement”. Guyana has extended the right hand of brotherhood to the Venezuelan nationals in Region One and they are being helped by the Australian Government and International Organisation of Migration (IOM). If this help is being extended to Venezuelan nationals why is it that help in the form of support and information must not be given to Haiti and African nationals who reach out to this nation for necessary support?

In 2018, it was reported in the media that 298 foreigners acquired citizenship in Guyana and some 979 other foreigners were granted an extension of stay and work permits. These 979 foreigners included 225 Cubans, 175 Chinese, 165 Americans, 120 (Continued on page 5)

Saturday September 07, 2019

PAGE 5

Kaieteur News

Correcting inaccuracies about the Natural Resource Fund DEAR EDITOR, My attention was drawn to a letter written by Robin Singh and published in Kaieteur News, September 04, 2019 under the caption, “As ‘first oil’ rapidly approaches, we don’t have an acceptable SWF to manage our revenues”.

Mr. Singh appears to be one of a number of prolific letter writers who seem to be able to easily access precious column inches of your and two of the three other daily newspapers.

Without fail, all of his letters regurgitate the falsehoods of the Opposition.

While he is entitled to his opinions, he is not entitled to his own facts.

His letter under reference was riddled with several inaccuracies in relation to Guyana’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, whose correct name is Natural Resource Fund.

In the interest of educating and informing your readers, in the process correcting the falsehoods peddled by Mr. Singh, I offer the following.

On January 23, 2019 (not February 2019, as stated in Singh’s letter), His Excellency President David Granger assented to the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Bill, which was first presented to the National Assembly on No-

vember 16, 2018.

The Natural Resource Fund Act No. 12 of 2019 is the legislation that establishes Guyana’s Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) “to manage the natural resource wealth of Guyana for the present and future benefit of the people and for the sustainable development of the country.”

In recognising the importance of establishing a SWF to manage windfall revenues from our natural resources, especially petroleum, thereby reducing the risk of the resource curse, His Excellency requested that a green paper be prepared to allow for meaningful consultation on the SWF ahead of the presentation of a Bill to the National Assembly.

This policy paper, titled “Managing future petroleum revenues and establishment of a fiscal rule and a sovereign wealth fund,” was published on August 8, 2018 after which the Government met with, and received feedback from, stakeholders.

It should be noted that, in preparing the legislation for the NRF, the Government considered best practices, which included ensuring that the NRF would comply with the Santiago Principles.

These 24 Principles promote transparency, good governance, accountability and

prudent investment practices, whilst also encouraging a more open dialogue and deeper understanding of SWF activities.

The NRF Act directly complies with 21 of these principles, with the remaining 3 being met, once the Fund is fully operationalised.

Substantial details of how the NRF Act complies with the Santiago Principles are provided in Annex Three of the Green Paper.

I would like to note, also, that the Government is pursuing membership of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds, in 2019, and will be attending its upcoming Annual Meeting in Alaska, USA, in October.

These actions send strong signals of our commitment to ensure that we hold ourselves to the highest internationally recognised standards for SWFs. It is important, too, to note that, in crafting the NRF Act, we carefully examined the approaches taken by many other countries that have successfully established SWFs. This analysis (summarised in Annex Four of the Green Paper) revealed that there was no ‘one size fits all’ approach. However, many of the most highly regarded SWFs, including those of Chile and Norway, follow a

Clearing the air on that meeting at ...

From page 4 Indians, 70 Philippinos, 75 Venezuelans, 59 British, 45 from The Dominican Republic, 30 from Trinidad and Tobago and 15 Surinamese. There was no outrage or protest from the PPP or PPP biased media outlets.

The Guyana Times and the other PPP biased news media outlets simply reported the news in a mundane fashion.

Note that there were no Africans from Haiti and the African continent in this group.

It is obvious that Guyana is a destination choice for those near and far and as of December 31, 2018, Guyana recorded a total of 286,732 visitors, which is a 15.93 percent increase from the 247,330 visitors Guyana welcomed in 2017. With thousands of visi-

tors that we have had in this country and the hundreds that sought citizenship none has been treated more unfairly as the African and Haitian nationals by the PPP and their media outlets.

The xenophobic, inhospitable, unparalleled singlingout of African nationals and Haitians is suspected to be primarily because of their ethnicity, as there is no other plausible supposition. Such acts must be condemned in the strongest possible terms by all Guyanese and addressed by our competent authorities.

I call on the Ethnic Relations Committee (ERC) to investigate and sanction those who persist in the unsubstantiated allegations and unwarranted alarms against African and Haitian nationals in

Guyana.

These attacks by known PPP media news media outlets and against African nationals in Guyana obnoxious, racist and should be condemned by all.

It is obvious that Bharrat Jagdeo and his PPP cronies are using the media as a means of race baiting and to cause racial division in this harmonious society.

I vehemently condemn the xenophobic and racist attacks against the African and Haitian nationals and the malicious attempt to stain my good character as this is a poor attempt to remove the public attention from the corrupt practices of the PPP in Region Nine where persons have been caught with fraudulent birth certificates.

Heath Retemyer

“Manager Model,” whereby the Ministry of Finance is responsible for overall management, and the Central Bank is responsible for the operational management, of the SWF. These are the examples to which we aspired.

The Government has been praised widely, including from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the Inter-American Development Bank, for this landmark piece of legislation and for having it in place in advance of first oil.

I would like to assure the public that we have worked assiduously to accommodate all views and opinions on the NRF, recognising that there is no single approach that will please every individual or organisation.

However, we have legislated significant measures to ensure transparency and accountability in the management of Guyana’s petroleum revenues.

Paramount among these is the inclusion of a Public Accountability and Oversight Committee, which comprises representatives from a broad cross-section of society and is responsible for: (1) monitoring and evaluating the compliance of the Government and other relevant persons with the provisions of this Act; (2) monitoring and evaluating whether the Fund has been managed in accordance with the principles of transparency, good governance and international best practices including the Santiago Principles; (3) providing independent assessment of the management of the Fund and utilisation of withdrawals from the Fund; and (4) facilitating public consultations on the management of the Fund and utilisation of withdrawals from the Fund.

To ensure that this Committee is functional before first oil, the Government expects to host a seminar with all relevant stakeholders in a few weeks.

Editor, there are few other countries in the world that have legislated for such a Committee, highlighting this Government’s commitment to transparency and accountability.

I urge every Guyanese to read the Green Paper and the NRF Act (both of which are available at finance.gov.gy) and not rely solely on the opinions of others, which may be misinformed or biased.

The letter writer notes that the NRF puts ultimate control in the hands of the Minister of Finance, including how much money enters the NRF and how much is allocated to the annual budget. Nothing could be further from the truth. Part V of the NRF Act sets out the framework for deposits and withdrawals.

With respect to withdrawals, Section 21 states that, “Petroleum revenues shall be directly paid into a bank account denominated in United States of America Dollars and held by the Bank as part of the Fund.”

This approach is superior to the one being advocated by the Opposition Leader, who wants the money to be first deposited into the Consolidated Fund (CF), then some unknown person or entity will decide how much is taken from the CF and placed into the NRF. The remainder of this section clearly defines what can be classified as petroleum revenues.

A simple perusal of the Act would have revealed to the writer that the Minister of Finance has no say over how much petroleum revenues are deposited in the NRF. However, the Act is forward looking and does give the Minister the right to deposit excess mining and forestry revenues into the NRF,

if commodity prices or production are above their longterm average.

Turning to withdrawals from the NRF, Section 28 of the NRF Act states that the National Assembly, and not the Minister of Finance, shall be responsible for approving the withdrawal from the NRF that shall be included in the annual budget.

It should be noted that the Minister is responsible for putting forward a request for withdrawal from the NRF to the National Assembly, and the mechanism for determining the size of this withdrawal is enshrined in Part VI of the NRF Act. The maximum withdrawal is known as the Economically and Fiscally Sustainable Amount, which is bound by the smaller of an Economically Sustainable Amount (ESA) and a Fiscally Sustainable Amount (FSA).

A Macroeconomic Committee, comprising representatives of the Government, Bank of Guyana, Private Sector Commission and Opposition, is responsible for providing the Minister with a recommendation on the ESA, taking into account the effects of additional spending on Guyana’s economic competitiveness.

The Committee’s recommendation must be included in the annual budget proposal and annual report of the NRF, allowing the public to scrutinise any deviations from this advice.

Further, the FSA is a mathematical formula that is delineated in the First Schedule of (Continued on page 6)

PAGE 6

Kaieteur News

VENEZUELA IS NOT ALONE DEAR EDITOR, The financial oligarchy of the United States of America has, throughout history, used measures to economically and financially stifle nation-states and, consequently, their populations.

One hundred years ago, the then US President, Woodrow Wilson, stated: “A nation that is boycotted is a nation that is in sight of surrender. Apply this economic, peaceful, silent, deadly remedy and there will be no need for force. It does not cost a life outside the nation boycotted, but it brings a pressure upon that nation which, in my judgment, no modern nation could resist “.

Since 2014, the US government has attacked Venezuelans through a series of sanctions or unilateral coercive measures, which have been applied with increasing intensity, and encompass the political, diplomatic and economic spheres; seeking to generate violence and chaos with the aim of overthrowing a democratically elected government, and hence force a change of regime that will allow access to the vast natural resources of Venezuela, such as oil, natural gas and gold, on terms that are favourable for U.S. corporations.

Moreover, such ruthless and Machiavellian attacks have been accompanied with a campaign of disinformation, whereby the aggressor claims to be the victim, as was the case when the US Government proclaimed that Venezu-

ela represents an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to its national security.

In reality, they are acts of economic warfare, which are in line with geopolitical interests, and which end up undermining the principles that they supposedly defend.

The truth is out there.

According to independent experts, the unilateral coercive measures imposed

by Washington since 2014 have already caused a loss in Venezuela’s income in excess of US $150 billion, in addition to the theft of the assets of CITGO, the US subsidiary of the state company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), as well as the seizure of bank accounts abroad amounting to more than $30 billion.

It is undeniable that these sanctions directly affect the population.

In September of last year, President Nicolás Maduro denounced the seizure of a shipment of over 300,000 doses of insulin, as Citibank refused to receive the funds sent by Venezuela to pay for the importation of this insulin shipment. Similarly, US financial entities froze payments to international suppliers and prevented the unloading of 29 ships containing products needed for the processing of food in the country.

According to economists Mark Weisbrot and Jeffrey Sachs, the sanctions against Venezuela caused around 40,000 deaths between 2017 and 2018 and could be con-

sidered as attacks against the civilian population, as established by the Geneva and The Hague international conventions, of which the United States is a signatory.

Nonetheless, the US Government and its allies, somehow, claim that the sanctions are only aimed at President Nicolas Maduro and his aides, in an attempt to save face from their widespread systematic and deliberate attack against a civilian population.

Sadly, these measures are applauded by leaders whose selfish political interests lead them to beg Washington for the application of increasingly stringent sanctions, and to publicly express their aspiration for the Marines to reach the Venezuelan coast, regardless of the thousands of lives that could be lost.

The total blockade of the Venezuelan economy is rejected by the peoples of world, and Washington is aware of that.

We have forged international alliances that allow us to stoically resist imperial efforts to create chaos and social violence.

On July 21, the NonAligned Movement, which comprises 120 nations, strongly condemned the sanctions imposed by the United States, and called for the creation of a multi-polar world during a Ministerial meeting that took place in the city of Caracas.

Subsequently, on July 25th, representatives of 120 Latin American social and political organisations visited Caracas in the framework of the Meeting of the Sao Paulo Forum to discuss the neoliberal offensive against the Latin American people and the increase in poverty and inequality that has resulted from it.

In Guyana, social organisations, political leaders and hundreds of Guyanese have expressed their rejection of the economic and commercial blockade.

We are not alone because the peoples of the world understand what is at stake in Venezuela; which is not the permanence of a government in power, but sovereignty, self-determination, dignity and t h e d e f e n c e o f multilateralism and of peace; a struggle against w a r m o n g e r i n g unilateralism that seeks to impose new forms of colonialism on the world.

Mr. Wilson was wrong, and so is Mr. Trump; Venezuela is not alone, and we shall persevere and prevail.

H. E. Luis Díaz Monclús Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

Saturday September 07, 2019

Concerted efforts needed to give..

From page 4 priority and that were/are so much part of Guyanese life have been thrown right back on the table of discussion and in the face of locals.

On this Ambassador Lynch’s was most forthright, as I read it, and as this extract also from the online news outfit confirms, “the emphasis should be on whether the firms – be they local, be they international – are following international best practices on critical matters such as financial transparency, environmental protection and otherwise acting in a manner that contributes directly to Guyana’s overall sustainable prosperity.” In the shortest possible phrase: clean business. This is what matters.

My position is clear: get business practices firmly on that footing and then so many shots could be called, if not pressed for more powerfully.

Additionally, I can say what the Ambassador did avoid. Guyanese commercial captains venturing forth for a bigger (rightful) share of the oil pie, would be better off getting their houses in order and ensuring that those on whose behalf they advocate are in compliance to the fullest, and are not masquerading as ‘well-monied’ fronts for others with nebulous origins and sinister records. Being the trained diplomat that she surely is, Ambassador Lynch did incorporate the soothing throwaway line of all operating “as partners in growing the economy and not as adversaries.” That has to be

hard to fathom at the local level, where almost all business people of any stature see themselves as possessing the autonomy and authority-indeed, power-of sovereign states to be left alone to function as they determine to be fit. Partner is an alien word, and a dirty one, too.

Just ask the government for its experiences with that relationship.

As I share this, Guyanese must remember a few things paramount to America and its commercial titans. Business is uppermost; capitalist freedoms go hand in hand with that; and the two are always intricately, though not publicly, interlinked with America’s visions and interests.

The history of Exxon alone testifies to those three components, be it in Equatorial Guinea or Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

For its part, I thought that the Georgetown Chamber could have exhibited some more robustness in its response to the American Ambassador. Quite bluntly, it evaded through the lame generality of something that sounded like the American diplomat has to represent her country’s business interest and what Guyanese locals are doing is the equivalent. I submit that a stronger statement should have been along the lines of: we hear the ambassador, we share (and commit to fulfilling) those priorities on ISOs, best practices, and financial transparencies. We will make the sacrifice of meet-

ing those obligations on a sustained basis. And we then expect to stand as recognized allies in the oil adventure that is Guyana.

Hold the ambassador’s feet to the fire; call her out by worthwhile actions that stand scrutiny.

And then claim due place at the elevations.

The challenges will be responded to; and then there will be some from this side.

To be clear: those with a weak hand, those that have no standing, and those that are suspect, are not in a position to deliver hard ultimatums. (To be clear: financial transparency does incorporate elements of the new colonialism and imperialism).

More has to be done to favour reputable and capable Guyanese local content. On this, I agree. But so much more must be delivered first at the local level that they are worthwhile and trusted partners on the way forward; on this there must be minimal distrust. And on that (worthwhile and trusted), I will agree that we have a far way to go.

There are extremely few people and groups with, which I would engage in partnerships in this country.

The government has its problems confronting that same reality, but it is stuck.

The Americans are not. I hope that concerted efforts will be made to undo what has harmed and continues to limit, and which gives locals their chair at the head of the table or somewhere close to it.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

Correcting inaccuracies about ...

From page 5 the NRF Act, and effectively acts as a limit on any upward deviation from the advice of the Committee on the ESA. The maximum amount that can be withdrawn from the NRF is the amount determined by the mathematical formula.

The Minister does not have discretionary power over the amount that can be withdrawn from the NRF. Mr. Editor, it is evident that the writer relied heavily upon the opinion offered on the Green Paper by the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI). However, the NRGI report was limited to the information contained in the Green Paper. It should be noted that the Government did meet with NRGI towards the end of October 2018 and discussed the inadequacies of their draft report, many of which were due simply to them not having seen the draft NRF Bill. We urged them to be guided by the contents of the NRF Bill in drafting their report as it would allow for more clarity on many of the

issues raised. Unfortunately, they did not heed our advice, resulting in their deficient report.One such comment that would have not been included in the NRGI report, had they reviewed the draft NRF Bill, relates to investments of the NRF. Section 31 of the NRF Act clearly identifies eligible asset classes in which funds can be invested.

Funds cannot be invested in asset classes outside of this list. Additionally, the only commodity that can be invested in is gold, and the amount that can be invested in this commodity is limited to 10 percent of the NRF. Similarly, the only derivatives that can be invested in are those that reduce the risk of losses associated with assets held by the NRF. Editor, the only assertion by the writer that is factual is the exclusion of a limit on borrowing in the NRF Act. In this regard, as noted in the MidYear Report 2019, we are currently finalising the draft of a Public Debt Management Bill (PDMB), which, when

passed, will complement the NRF Act and other pieces of fiscal legislation, and ensure that debt is managed in a manner that is fiscally sustainable. It was our intent to introduce the PDMB in the National Assembly before year-end, but the disruption of our legislative agenda has precluded this from happening. This notwithstanding, the record clearly shows that this Government has done very well to avoid excessive borrowing against future oil revenues, thereby avoiding the pre-source curse, that is, spending based on projected revenues before actual revenues from petroleum are realised.

Editor, I intend to deal with the other part of his letter dealing with NICIL in a subsequent letter. Suffice it to say now, that we intend to debunk every falsehood peddled by Robin Singh and his ilk. The public deserves better.

Yours faithfully Winston Jordan, MP Minister of Finance

Saturday September 07, 2019

PAGE 7

Kaieteur News

March 2020 is earliest possible time for elections -GECOM Commissioners

Commissioner Bibi Shadick

M

arch 2020 is the earliest possible time for the holding of General and Regional Elections, according to several Commissioners at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) nominated by both sides of the political divide. They spoke to members of the media after yesterdays statutory meeting of the Commission at the Secretariats Kingston headquarters.

Commissioner Robeson Benn said that that timeline is repeated in four separate proposals made by the Secretariat to the Commission. To be more specific, Commissioner Bibi Shadick said that the date being looked at is precisely one year and two days after the Constitutional date of March 21 - which is the three month timeframe stipulated by the Constitution in the case of the passing of a No Confidence Motion. That would be March 23, 2020.

It is important to note that no decision was made at yesterdays meeting.

GECOM Chair, Justice Claudette Singh, during a brief interview yesterday,

Commissioner Robeson Benn noted that no date has been decided on. It was emphasised that this date is simply the proposal which currently provides the earliest date for elections.

Commissioner Vincent Alexander told reporters that the Commissioners were widely able to come to some consensus on some of the timelines proposed, but stressed that the proposals are still currently under revision.

Attempts were made to crunch the numbers to determine whether the timeline could be shortened, according to Commissioner Charles Corbin, but he said it is only possible to reduce the timelines in those proposals by eight days.

There are many activities that are to be done within the period leading up to March next year, and even though some run concurrently, its not enough to allow GECOM to crunch the numbers enough.

Alexander explained that there are certain statutory activities for which GECOM cant make a determination on how long it should take. An

Commissioner Sase Gunraj

example of that is the period that must span Nomination Day and Election Day. The Opposition-nominated Commissioners Shadick, Benn and Gunraj are adamant that elections should be held this year.

“We are opposed to that situation.” Benn stated.

Asked whether it is possible for elections to be held this year, Alexander said that it would be a “hard call” to make. He explained that it would be extremely improbable.

Gunraj said that it would be better for elections to be held in November of this year.

“We are insisting that we accord with the Constitutional imperatives,” Benn added.

But for the November timeline to work, according to Benn, GECOM would have to roll back on its decision to use the data from House-toHouse Registration.

“We advise that the House-to-House Registration is incomplete, its aborted.”

He said that some of the data from the exercise could still be used, but only in cases

Commissioner Vincent Alexander

where new registrants are being added who have come of age to vote. Even then, he contends that that would not add many young people. Further additions of new registrants who have come of age would, he advised, come from a period of claims and objections “with the political parties as scrutineers”.

The Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) has made it a major point of contention that the data acquired from the recently suspended House-toHouse exercise should be considered invalid, since it did not send scrutineers to participate.

But Corbin contends that a November date is an unrealistic timeline, and that there was no real discussion on how that timeline was arrived at.

“They dont want to discuss it. They just want to say this November.”

He explained that the correct practice is to determine a date based on how activities align, instead of attempting to fit the preparatory activities into a timeline of choice.

Several things must be

done before elections are held.

At present, the Secretariat is entering the data gotten from House-to-House into its database.

According to Shadick, of the 370,800+ registrants enumerators accumulated, the Secretariat has only scanned and input about 120,000 or so into its database. The Houseto-House exercise was brought to a halt, one week ago.

“So we re not even anywhere near to them inputting all that data that they collected. They input less than a third.”

After that, the Secretariat would have to have the crossmatching done. While there is no definitive decision at the level of the Commission on who will do it, Alexander said that there seems to be some amount of consensus on having it done by the previous

Commissioner Charles Corbin service provider, Cogent Systems Inc. He said that that could be done, subject to verification, in about 16 days.

According to GECOM, the merger of that data with the National Register of Registrants (NRR) would be followed by an extensive period of claims and objections, but the timeframe for that is unclear.

Otherwise, GECOM discussed the production of new identification (ID) cards, which are very different in configuration, material and design, from the cards currently in circulation.

Corbin, Alexander and Shadick all said that when that is done, the old ID cards would be decommissioned.

Shadick said the Commission has “kind of agreed” that GECOM should produce its own ID cards. According to (Continued on page 29 )

PAGE 8

Saturday September 07, 2019

Kaieteur News

Corentyne man guilty of manslaughter in ‘Back to School’ killing Paul Ivor Thom, a 47-yearold mason of Corentyne, Berbice, who was on trial for the unlawful killing of 19year-old Vishram Mohabir, called “Ajai”, of Williamsburg, Corentyne, has been found guilty of manslaughter. This was after he was found not guilty of murder.

Thom was on trial before Justice Priya SewnarineBeharry and a mixed jury in the Berbice High Court.

Attorney-at-law Mandel Moore presented the State’s

case. Attorney-at-law Surihya Sabsook appeared for Thom.

The court was told that on Sunday August 27, 2017 at the High Grade wash bay along the Williamsburg Public Road, a fight broke out during a “Back to school BarB-Que and Lime”.

During the altercation, Thom stabbed Kunal Singh, a 16-year-old who was at the party. Singh’s brother, Vishram Mohabir, who was also at the event, noticed the commotion and ran to his

brother ’s assistance.

Mohabir was then stabbed to the neck and chest.

Police ranks who were nearby apprehended Thom, while Kunal Singh and his severely injured brother, were taken to the Port Mourant Public Hospital where Mohabir succumbed to his injuries.

The murder weapon (a knife) was retrieved from the scene of the crime.

The defence put forward a case of self-defence. The accused in an unsworn statement had stated that he was at the ‘Back to School’ party when he was attacked by the brothers. He began to run away and was caught by the

Guilty: Ivor Thom brothers who were armed with missiles. He said that during a fight, Vishal Mohabir got injured and Kunal Singh was trying to pull away the knife

Killed: Vishram Mohabir

from him, thus he got cut on his hands.

During the trial, the Prosecution called 12 witnesses including four police officers

- two persons from the crime lab - the deceased man’s mother, and his brother who was injured during the (Continued on page 29)

Saturday September 07, 2019

PAGE 9

Kaieteur News

Did Burnham err in nationalising sugar and rice?

D

id Forbes Burnham err when he nationalised the commanding heights of the economy and removed foreign involvement from the local financial sector?

If Forbes Burnham erred, it means that the socialist experiment pursued by the PNC was ill-conceived. The fundamental basis of the socialist experiment was both national ownership and control of the main pillars of the Guyanese economy, namely sugar and bauxite. If it was an error to nationalise, then the socialist experiment was a colossal mistake.

The PPP has never accused Burnham of making an

error by nationalising the commanding heights of the economy. The PPP supported those policies, and, had it not been cheated out of office, would have most likely also nationalised the bauxite and sugar industries, which at the time were owned and controlled by foreign multinationals.

The PPP offered critical support to the PNC, because of the PNC’s decision to nationalise and its accompanying anti-imperialist postures at the time. What the PPP has always contended was that the PNC mismanaged the nationalised entities, resulting in inefficiency and the loss of export markets at a

time when had it enjoyed the benefits of increased exports, Guyana would never have found itself in the situation that it did.

In making a decision as to whether Guyana should have nationalised the commanding heights of the economy, Forbes Burnham must have considered the ability of locals to manage the industries.

Did Guyana at the time have the capacity to manage the industries? Was it a blunder

by Forbes Burnham to have concluded that we did when we did not?

Forbes Burnham was never in doubt as to the ability of Guyanese. He believed that the commanding heights

Dem boys seh People selling odda people property People talking how Guyana ain’t got money and how some people don’t have wuk. Dem boys see some people who get a job last week back pun de road.

These people seh dem got to get up too soon in de morning.

Dem boys ain’t include de set who claim that dem can’t wuk fuh that kind of money; how dem rather stay home and beg.

But while dem doing that, people selling property. Dem walking miles to find buyers. De thing is that de property dem selling is not dem own. Is not even dem parents own.

Dem boys remember when people use to sell Public Buildings and Town Hall. One man even sell Castellani House while

Burnham was living inside. Of course, he had a big problem, because nobody could see who would evict Burnham from any house.

Now people selling odda people property.

Nuff people get con. A man find somebody who was willing to buy de old GBC building on High Street. Dem go as far as de registry to impress de buyer.

Dem go to de counter and tell de person that dem want to transfer de title to de property and dem gun come back tomorrow to finalise de deal.

Then dem gun walk away before de clerk can seh anything. All de time de buyer standing nearby.

Other people sell some odda property. This set smart.

Dem does accept a down

payment before de deal even process; and people passing over de money.

De thing get so rampant that NICIL had to come out and talk. De people who was selling do dem research, and dem identify nuff Government property that wasn’t being used. And that tell de story of how much property empty.

Corentyne got nuff of dem and now dem boys wondering how many of dem get sell.

Dem also want to know how de registry does find out if de seller is de owner.

Of course people does get bogus power of attorney, like de case of de Robb Street granny who get shoot in she own home.

Talk half and check to see if you house get sell.

of the economy should and could have been wrested from the hands of foreigners. He believed not just in ownership of the bauxite and sugar industries, but that if independence was to have any meaning, then locals had to occupy the upper rungs of the managerial chain.

Ownership of the commanding sectors of the economy had to be complemented by the Guyanese managing these enterprises.

Burnham believed this and died believing this.

He cannot ever be described as a visionary if he was wrong on this score, because this was the main plank of his economic policies and his political beliefs.

For him, Guyanese were not second to any other and he believed that locals had a right to own and manage all aspects of national life. This is why he did not restrict nationalisation to only sugar and bauxite, but also extended it to the banks. In the financial sector, Burnham pressured a number of foreign-owned banks, including the Royal Bank of Canada and Barclays Banks International, to dispose of their shares to the State. Most did for $1.

As such, Burnham not only ensured national control

of the productive sectors, but also of the foreign-owned financial sector. It should be noted that these banks, when nationalised, continued to make a healthy profit and add to national development.

There were locals who rose to top positions in those nationalised banks, but some foreign management was also retained right into the 1980s.

Was it the foreign managers who ensured that these banks succeeded? Not so at all, because over time local mangers took over, and the formerly foreign-owned banks continued to do well.

On the other hand, Forbes Burnham also established local banks. These banks did not do well. Not because of the absence of foreign management, but because of political interference which affected their lending policies, and which eventually led to these banks accumulating massive bad debts.

What this says is that the problem was never about Guyanese not being able to manage their own affairs. The problem was political interference, which was greater in the indigenous banks than it was in the nationalised banks. The managers of the latter enjoyed greater autonomy and were freer from political influences.

The problem, therefore, was the imposing of political lackeys, which was mainly responsible for the ruin of state-enterprises..

If today, however, the PNCR wishes to concede that Burnham erred when he nationalised the commanding heights of the economy, it should then ask itself whether in a globalised world, where the managerial demands are greater, Guyanese can effectively manage their own affairs, more so considering oil and gas will be a major contributor to economic growth over the next 40 years.

It is posited that if Burnham erred by overestimating the local capacity to manage the bauxite and sugar industries, then is it safe to say that Guyanese will be unable to cope with an oil economy.

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

PAGE 10

Saturday September 07, 2019

Kaieteur News

=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===

Does the Ali candidacy have any bearing on the election outcome?

A

recent poll has as one of its findings that Irfaan Ali is not popular with PPP supporters, with preference for Anil Nandlall.

I have not seen the other discoveries of the survey, and, in addition, there seems to be a dearth of information on the polling organization.

This is Guyana, where foreigners and foreign-based Guyanese have an abysmally low estimation of the intelli-

gence of Guyanese, so they feel any untenable proposition would be accepted. In my life as a social activist and media practitioner, I will never forget what happened at UG during the past three years.

For a foreign-based Guyanese to have done the unacceptable things that he did for three consecutive years at UG tells you that people feel they can come to Guyana and heap any nonsense on this nation.

I would have expected at the press conference, the person who spoke would have given as many details about the organization as possible.

It is in those details the credibility of the organization lies.

Where it is located, who are its principals, who are the local facilitators? Guyanese have no such facts, but we are supposed to digest the findings.

I will not dismiss the contents of the survey, because

people’s curiosities about the organization may very well be answered by a public statement.

So let’s wait. For now, let us contextualize one aspect of what the survey found - Irfaan Ali is not the choice of PPP supporters.

My question is: what is the relevance to that in the context of the importance of the forthcoming general election? It is naïve to think that Ali is more presentable in Guyana than Anil Nandlall.

Apart from Jagdeo, Nandlall is the face of the PPP, and he has established formidable credentials as a lawyer fighting cases for the PPP and winning them.

But will the disadvantage of Ali undermine the number of ballots for the PPP? This is where a certain statement by the chief pollster of the organization needs to be confronted. He said Ali is so unpopular with PPP supporters that it will enhance Granger’s chances the sooner the election is held.

I am not voting for Ali or Granger, and I have no comparative preference, but that statement is pregnant with naivety, with regard to Guyana’s political sociology.

Ali as a non-starter cannot translate into votes for Granger, because the two ethnically-driven electoral worlds in Guyana do not meet.

The PPP voters who prefer Nandlall will not give their votes to Granger.

How then will an earlier election benefit Granger? It

cannot.

Ali’s rejectionists will either stay home or give their ballots to third parties.

It will help Granger in that sense. But it is not as simple as that. If Ali’s rejectionists stay home or give their preference to small parties, Granger may not benefit, because, like Ali, he has his acceptance problems too.

A private poll done by Caribbean pollster Peter Wickham (details of which were never published, so there are questions there too) finds that among APNU supporters, Granger has no challenger.

But aren’t Ali and Granger both uninspiring and lacklustre leaders who may chase voters to the smaller parties?

I would like to see a group of independent academics debate the qualities of Granger and elucidate his leadership qualities.

Why Wickham found that Granger has no challenger is because that is the reality inside the PNC. The PNC has no one, including Granger, who can excite the Guyanese imagination.

But since Granger is the incumbent, PNC members will feel it is hurtful to Granger to pinpoint another candidate (which they cannot do because there isn’t another candidate).

In addition, the PNC will not want to take the chance of changing its leader at this time.

The reason why the sur-

Frederick Kissoon vey found Ali was not the obvious choice is because Ali has serious challengers in the PPP, that PPP aficionados prefer.

The PNC’s barrel is empty, so Granger squeaks in.

How then can Ali’s presence, if the election is held very soon from now, benefit Granger?

From what David Hinds discovered (which he has put in writing the past three weeks) while holding meetings in African populated villages, is that there are redoubtable disappointments with the PNC’s performance in government.

I refer readers to my column of Wednesday, August 14, 2019, “The pathetic nonsense Granger’s British advisor uttered.”

That British gentleman told the AFC’s executive members that they must emphasize the personality of Granger in the coming elections. He knows the weak link is Granger himself. Ali and Granger are going to make PNC and PPP supporters vote for the smaller parties.

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

Saturday September 07, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

PAGE 12

Kaieteur News

Saturday September 07, 2019

Sudden storm causes damage in Mahdia There were reports of a storm hitting Mahdia, Region 8 yesterday. Power was cut and the regional radio station was affected. ( Lisa Lee photo)

Deputy Police Commissioner Alves ‘cleared of criminal conduct’ Deputy Police Commissioner Lyndon Alves has been “cleared of any criminal conduct,” but he remains on administrative leave as the Force investigates other issues relating to him.

Police Commissioner Leslie James made this disclosure to journalists yesterday following the opening of the Parfaite Harmonie Police Station.

“What I can say to you is that the investigation has been completed…I have obtained a file and in terms of criminal conduct, Mr. Alves has been cleared,” the Commissioner said.

“Internally, administratively there are some other issues that we are dealing with, and that is the final position. But criminal conduct, he has been cleared of any criminal conduct.”

Asked if Alves will now return from administrative leave, the Top Cop responded: “I didn’t say that, I said that there are some other administrative issues we are dealing with, and that will be dealt with shortly.”

Alves, who was appointed Crime Chief just over a year ago, was sent on leave last June, in the wake of a number of allegations that were made about corruption in Berbice. He had previously served as Commander of ‘B’

- other administrative issues being dealt with -Top Cop

Deputy Police Commissioner Lyndon Alves Division.

An investigation by the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) was said to contain allegations that were made by police ranks and civilians.

A lengthy report that was submitted to the Top Cop allegedly included claims about some ranks being paid to protect criminals, There were also claims about a plot to kill a policeman who was set to give evidence in a drugs case. Another allegation was that a bandit had made calls to a senior cop, mere hours before the bandit

was slain. Reports about ranks providing protection for drug shipments and interfering with investigations were also made.

Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, had indicated that Alves would return as Crime Chief if he is cleared. He had also stated that President Granger would make a decision on Alves’ fate if the allegations appeared to hold merit.

Alves was one of four deputies appointed in August 2018 by President David Granger in keeping with police reforms.

Saturday September 07, 2019

PAGE 13

Kaieteur News

Dissolution of Parliament dependent on word from GECOM – Harmon Director-General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon yesterday reiterated that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) must give the goahead before any decision on elections can be made.

This includes the dissolution of Parliament which, he stressed has to be done by President David Granger.

Addressing the media, the Director-General said the issue of the dissolution of Parliament is a process in the elections itself.

“The President has made it clear that he is not

going to dissolve Parliament nor name a date for elections until such time that he is advised by the Guyana Elections Commission that it is ready for credible elections,” Harmon said at the postCabinet press briefing.

“He has also said publicly that once he is advised by GECOM that it is ready that he will name a date for the elections in the shortest time.”

According to Harmon, the government has already said it respects the decisions of the commission, which he said, should also be given the

time to do the work it is being paid to do.

Addressing GECOM’s merging of the House-toHouse Registration data, he clarified that there will be a cross-matching of the list produced from the exercise and the current list that exists.

Harmon said at no time will the House-to-House data be put into one bundle with the current existing National Register of Registrants (NRR).

He further explained that the extended claims and objection period will be for persons whose names are not on the list or

who have credible information that the names of other persons should be removed, e.g. deceased relatives.

According to the Director-General, the political opposition fully understands the process, but is making an issue with

the “merging”. He said it has not yet been able to offer any practical alternative to deal with the matter in a timely way.

PAGE 14

Saturday September 07, 2019

Kaieteur News

Rose Hall workers back to work after downing tools over pay

The Rose Hall Town Council building Over 30 workers from the Rose Hall Town Council who downed their tools and were on strike from Thursday, were back at work from yesterday morning.

This was confirmed by the Head of the Constabulary Department Winston Smith.

Smith, however added that they are scheduled to meet with their union representative on Monday to discuss and find resolutions to the ongoing issue of demanding that minimum wage be paid to them.

According to Smith, the

Council has not been making provisions to generate finances to pay the staff “back-pay owed to us from January-July, some $19,000 per month”. He pointed out that a meeting was held with the Mayor and Councillors two weeks ago and all the heads of departments were asked to come up with ideas to generate finances to keep the council and the staff going.

“The Council is not making provisions to generate money to pay the staff. We had made a

recommendation to have persons, vendors pay to use the parking lot, but they seem not to want to do that. They haven’t given us any grounds to show that they can generate the money to give us the back-pay. When are we gonna get that?”

Smith stressed.

He added that the car park, which was recently rehabilitated was in the past used by vendors and persons, but a fee was paid to park their vehicle. That system, he said, was active when the previous Mayor

Labourers back at work cleaning a section of the market.

(Ramoo) held the office, but was discontinued under the stewardship of the current mayor Chattergoon Ramnauth.

Smith said that since the council has not met their demands and the union has failed to negotiate properly on their behalf, they are prepared to withdraw financial contributions from the union.

“The union representative was there on Wednesday and he told us to go on strike from 6:00 on Thursday because the council failed to reach our

demands.

We wanted to strike since two weeks ago, but the union negotiated with them and said to pay $10,000 and then they told the Council that after they can sit with us to decide when they will pay the retroactive.

He gave them an ultimatum (24 hrs). Council including the Mayor was to meet with us today (Friday) but they cancelled last-minute. The mayor has not spoken to workers since the strike started and was called off this morning (Friday)”, the head of Constabulary said.

He explained that they were striking for the minimum wage to be paid to them since they are receiving below the minimum wage ($44,000). The Council when they met with the workers had stated that a 16% increase would be paid; however, that increase was never received, workers said.

Smith said they will continue the strike on Monday if an agreement is not met between them, the union and the Town Council.

Efforts to contact Mayor Ramnauth on the issue proved futile.

Saturday September 07, 2019

Toddler, 3, dies after struck by hire car A three-year-old boy is now dead after sustaining severe injuries in an accident that occurred on the East Bank of Berbice (EBB) yesterday.

Dead is Derek Sulker of Lot 13 Islington Village, EBB. Police sources have since disclosed that the driver of motor vehicle HC 8566 that struck the child is presently in police custody.

Kaieteur News understands that the car was heading south along the Islington Public road, reportedly being driven in a reckless manner, when it struck the child.

However, the driver has since claimed that the toddler ran into the path of the car and the vehicle toppled into a trench.

The child was picked up in an unconscious state and rushed to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital. Late yesterday afternoon, his condition worsened and had to be rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital but he never made it. He died while o n h i s w a y, a r e l a t i v e confirmed.

Investigations are ongoing.

PAGE 15

Kaieteur News

Canadian Bank Note awarded $2.5B project to build e-passport system Government has announced a US$12.4M ($2.5B) project to procure a new border management system to cater for epassports. The project w a s a w a r d e d t o the Canadian Bank Note Company Limited, well known for its work in Guyana.

The project will be carried out for the Ministry of Citizenship, DirectorGeneral of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon said.

In recent years, there

The car that struck and killed 3-year-old Derek Sulker

have been significant improvements at especially the Passport Office, once under the direct command of the Ministry of Home Affairs and then the Ministry of Public Security.

Since then, the Passport Office has been placed under the Ministry of Citizenship, headed by Winston Felix, a former Commissioner of Police.

With one Passport Office on Camp Road, in the past, persons had to travel all the way to the city and sometimes

overnight to apply and collect their passports. In the last few months, passport offices were opened in Berbice and in Linden.

According to Harmon, most systems around the world are inter-linked with machine-readable passports.

The idea is to improve the current system, to reduce fraud and take security to another level.

The US$12.4M will be coming from the public treasury, Harmon said.

Govt. to invest $1.8B for upgrading of police stations – Ramjattan Several police stations are slated for rehabilitation works and complete refurbishing from $1.8B set aside by Central Government for upgrades.

This was disclosed by Vice President and Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan as he addressed a gathering at the commissioning of the La Parfaite Harmonie Police Station yesterday.

While he admonished police ranks to give of their

best when executing their duties, he noted that it is important that they are made to perform in environments and under conditions that are conducive to them being able to execute professional levels of service. He then stated that Government has allotted some $1.8B for upgrading of police stations around Guyana.

Ramjattan noted that his Ministry had observed that many police stations countrywide were lacking in

terms of suitable dormitories, essential amenities, proper spacing, and in some areas, structures are deteriorating.

He said that in 2018, some $621M was invested in upgrading infrastructure, while for 2019, the figure is $307M. He said that works would surround the rehabilitation of the Brickdam Police Station, Golden Grove Divisional Headquarters, Fort Wellington, Mahdia, and Leonora Police Stations, inclusive of the Special

Branch Department, and other locations.

Commenting on estimates for works on other police locations, Ramjattan said that $80M had been set aside for Wismar Police Station, while Parika Police Station upgrade is tabled at $59M. The Baramita Police location receives a $77M upgrade, with works at the Albion Police Station location set at $80.9M. The Whim Police Station was allotted $81.3 M for their rehabilitation project

as well.

According to Mr. Ramjattan, it is very important that ranks countrywide uphold the Guyana Police Force’s motto of being always ready to serve and to protect, noting that his Ministry and the Guyanese Government will always support the police in executing their duties in a responsible, positive, and disciplined manner, with the security of their communities being of utmost priority.

Kaieteur News

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Saturday September 07, 2019

SARA files court action to recover US$16M from Queens Atlantic and GBTI The Sanata Textile property

I

n what could be a test of the country's capacity to handle sensitive matters involving state assets, the courts have been approached for the recovery of more than $3B. Tw o c o m p a n i e s , including a major commercial bank, have been named in the cases.

According to the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA), which has power to go after properties that belong to the country, it has filed proceedings in the High Court seeking Civil Recovery Orders against Queens Atlantic Investment Inc. (QAII) by way of Fixed Date Application, and

against Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI)

by Statement of Claim.

SARA explained that both claims in the court were made under the State Assets Recovery Act 2017 and are for the recovery of $2,701,619,960 and $274,117,404 respectively, including interest.

“QAII was leasing the Sanata complex and entered negotiations for its purchase.

Cabinet approved a formula for the terms of the sale that required a US$27M investment over three years and a sum of money reflecting a valuation of the property.�

SARA noted in its statement yesterday that NICIL (the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited), a state unit charged with investments and

privatization, however, concluded the sale based on a formula suggested by the QAII, resulting in an investment of just US$21M being accepted and the company paying some $344.5M less than would have been payable further to the formula approved by then PPP/C Cabinet.

Sanata Textile is a sprawling compound in Ruimveldt Industrial Site that sits on prime property.

SARA is contending that QAII did not fulfill its

investments promises yet benefitted from an additional discount. On the property, QAII built drug bonds, installed printing presses and is running a newspaper, Guyana Times.

With regards to the GBTI matter, the claims by SARA have to do with a piece of prime property at the Kingston seawall area. The bank has built its corporate headquarters there.

A c c o r d i n g t o privatization documents (continued on page 26)

Saturday September 07, 2019

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Saturday September 07, 2019

Exxon to sell US$4B of oil and gas assets in Norway

N

orway (Reuters) - Exxon has agreed to sell off its oil and gas assets in Norway in a $4 billion deal, Reuters sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday, in what will mark an end to its long presence in Norway's upstream sector.

Exxon is selling its minority-held stages in 20 fields, currently operated by Equinor and Shell. Exxon has been in talks with interested buyers including Equinor—as well as Aker B P, D N O , L u n d i n Petroleum, Var Energi, and Hitech Vision.

In June, an Exxon spokesman told a Norwegian newspaper that the company was weighing the sale of its assets in

Norway. Rystad Energy had at the time estimated that Exxon's portfolio of Norwegian upstream assets has a value of US$3.1 billion.

As of 1 January 2019, Exxon controlled 530 million barrels of oil equivalent on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, the most valuable asset being a stake in the Snorre field, worth nearly US$700 million, according to Rystad.

Exxon announced in August that it was exiting the UK's North Sea, in a move that could raise $2 billion from the sale of interests in some or all of its 40 oil and gas fields that together account for 5% of UK's overall production.

Saturday September 07, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 21

20,000 Black Giant chicks distributed so far for 2019 20,000 Black Giant chicks have been distributed so far for 2019

T

he Guyana Livestock Development Agency (GLDA) on this week's episode of its show “This Week In Agriculture” made the announcement that so far for this year the agency has seen 20,000 Black Giant chicks distributed and will see the same number being distributed over the next few months.

This will be the highest number of chicks hatched and distributed since the project began and was expanded. However it is projected that numbers will continue to rise as the demand for the birds increase.

Project Black Giant was initiated in 2016 to increase the daily intake of protein in the diet of the hinterland communities as well as a cheaper means of protein products for the students living in the dorms.

The birds are dualpurpose, in that they can be used for both meat and eggs.

The adults have been recorded to weight around 12 to 15 pounds.

In 2017 the agency acquired 200 Black Giant hens which they imported from Brazil, after it was found that the ones acquired locally were of mixed breed.

This 200 saw the hatching and distribution of 7000 chicks for that year, however these were confined mainly to the hinterland communities.

In 2018 when the project was expanded to riverine and coastal communities, a yearly distribution of a little over 20,000 chicks was recorded. This year is

projected to easily double that number and it may triple next year.

Head of the Animal Production Unit Ms Coleen Bascom said that “The project was the brainchild of our CEO. Mr Cumberbatch and it was started in March 2016. The first set of chickens were bought

locally and it was discovered that it was a mixture.

Because of the importance of the project management decided to import some chickens from Brazil. That was done in late 2017. And we started hatching, rearing and selling to the hinterland communities first. Targeting the schools with dormitories,

so as to improve their nutrition and reduce the cost of protein nutrients for the students in those schools.”

The agency is working to have the project spread even further across country as more chicks will be hatched and distributed as more farms will be set up in the near future.

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Kaieteur News

Saturday September 07, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 24

Saturday September 07, 2019

Miners to submit list of grouses From page 23 the same time, we have the years that are counting down for us,” she said.

In response to the concerns raised, the President said, “The recommendation that Government must take a step forward to provide the techniques and resources to help to wean the artisanal miners off of it [mercury]… this is something we will have to work on together.”

The Head of State also said Government is working towards a Decade of Development from 20202029 and would welcome recommendations from the mining sector. He explained that the Ministry of Finance, along with other stakeholders, will have to develop a strategic plan for

the nation.

The President said that infrastructure is important, along with the safety and security of those who operate in the mining sector, and as such, he expects that within a short period of time, the Police Divisional structure will be modified to ensure that there is more security across hinterland locations.

“We need to protect our miners,” the President said, even as he referenced the Crops of Wardens attached to the Ministry of Natural Resources.

As it relates to taxation and concessions, the Head of State said the Government is heavily dependent on revenues and assured that Minister of Finance, Mr. Winston Jordan, who was also at the luncheon, will

Ms. Judith Blair raises concerns affecting small-scale miners. have to examine issues related to concessions and taxation.

“It is an aspect of Government policy which is continuously under review.

To the extent that we could get proceeds, profits or revenues from other sources, I would encourage him [Minister Jordan] to examine ways and means of looking at these concessions.

We don't want a 'higgly piggly' taxation in which we give 'A' and 'B' concessions because 'C' and 'D' will demand concessions as well.

One of the tasks of the GRA [Guyana Revenue Authority] is to try to eliminate anomalies…so that the taxation regime not only brings in more revenue, but at the same time is fair and is not subject to the type of abuse which could occur when you have too many loopholes. This is one area which we are prepared to examine,” the President said.

President Granger

further said that the mining industry is one which needs to be properly regulated.

“We have to remove mining from the 'ad hockery' which has plagued it for such a long time that people do not regard it as a settled industry where you can go and live and have children, schools and hospitals. It is important to have settled communities with proper infrastructure. I don't dismiss the idea of housing schemes, schools [so] that the children of miners could get the same quality education in any part of the country, wherever you live,” the Head of State said in response to a request for the establishment of housing schemes for miners.

In concluding the interactive session, the Head of State said, “The Government needs, Guyana needs the mining industry.”

It is expected that the

three mining organisations will submit a memorandum containing all of the concerns and recommendations to the Head of State for consideration.

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, the Ministers o f P u b l i c S e c u r i t y, Indigenous Peoples' Affairs, Business, Foreign Affairs, Communities, Social Cohesion and Citizenship; Members of the Board of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Chairman of the Guyana Gold Board, and representatives of the various mining organisations also attended the business luncheon.

Minister of Natural Resources, Mr. Raphael Trotman is currently in Colombia attending a Presidential Summit for the Amazon Rainforest.

(Ministry of the Presidency)

Saturday September 07, 2019

Kaieteur News

PAGE 25

GBTI after-tax profit dips at half-year

T

he Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) recently noted in its interim report for 2019 that its performance continues to be constrained by the slowdown of economic activity globally, regionally and locally. In fact, GBTI said that for the first six months of 2019, the bank and its subsidiary recorded an after-tax profit of $545M down from $649M last year.

GBTI said that this is expected to improve significantly during the next six months as some current projects come on stream.

Further to this, the financial institution said that the current political climate requires the bank to be more conservative in its approach to lending. GBTI said it hopes that these matters will soon be concluded.

With respect to oil and gas prospects for the economy, GBTI commented that these remain encouraging. Kaieteur News understands that the bank will be positioning itself to be a major player in this sector.

With respect to developments in the

- Entity cites slowdown of economic activity globally p e t r o l e u m s e c t o r, t h e estimate of gross recoverable reserve of the Stabroek Block has since moved up to over six billion barrels. This was recently noted by Hess Corporation during its 2019 second quarter results.

According to the American company which has a 30 percent stake in the Stabroek Block, the oil rich offshore concession continues to see multibillion barrels of additional exploration potential.

Significantly, it noted that the upgraded estimate shows that Hess' portfolio is on track to generate industry leading cash flow growth and increasing returns to shareholders.

Hess also noted that the second phase of the Liza Field was sanctioned by its other two partners, ExxonMobil and CNOOC/NEXEN, following regulatory approval from the government of Guyana.

In addition to this, the firm said that Liza Phase Two will utilize the Liza Unity FPSO, which will have the capacity to produce up to 220,000 gross barrels of oil per day.

It said that six drill centers are planned with a total of 30 wells, including 15 production wells, nine water injection wells, and six gas injection wells.

The company noted that first oil is expected by mid2022 and the development is expected to have a gross capital cost of approximately $6 billion, including a lease capitalization cost of approximately $1.6 billion for the FPSO, and will develop approximately 600 million barrels of oil.

Excluding pre-sanction and lease costs, the corporation said its net share of development costs is forecast to be approximately $1.6 billion, of which $210 million is included in its 2019 capital and exploratory budget.

PAGE 26

Kaieteur News

Saturday September 07, 2019

Beware of scammers posing as our brokers - NICIL National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), is appealing to the public to beware of scammers posing as officials of NICIL. This warning comes after several reports were made to the entity that persons were claiming to be “brokers” of NICIL, and had been approaching unsuspecting persons to sell a number of prime properties belonging to NICIL and the Government of Guyana.

NICIL has declared that no property or assets

belonging to the entity can be sold without the authorization of its CEO or Board of Directors.

Chief Executive Officer of NICIL, Mr. Colvin HeathLondon noted that, “We seem to be in a season where there are desperate people doing desperate things, and I would like to warn and appeal to everyone to not fall for the lies being peddled by an evidently evil organized network.”

In Guyana, a number of businesses, both private and governmental have been

reporting cases where scammers are posing as officials to rob people of their monies.

It was only recently that Kaieteur News reported a case where a fake profile of President Granger was offering Guyanese affordable housing. A release from the Ministry of the Presidency stated that the profile has been “luring unsuspected citizens to execute money transfers/ transactions…”

Since this publication reported the issue, there have been no reported cases.

SARA files court action to recover...

From page 18 found by SARA, the bank had submitted the fourth highest of 14 bids in a tendering process. It was questionably awarded the right to purchase the property for $224M, less than the most recent valuation of the property at that time.

“Cabinet had determined that the valuation would be the basis of the floor price in the event of a sale of that property,” SARA disclosed.

SARA has been given significant powers to go after state properties that it be-

lieves are stolen or have ended up illegally in the hands of others.

The entity explained yesterday that the State Assets Recovery Act (SARA) mandates it to recover, through civil proceedings, state property unlawfully acquired by a public official or any other person.

“The Act provides for investigations leading to the granting by the High Court of Restraint and Civil Recovery Orders in respect of unlawfully acquired property. The Act also allows SARA to engage in international

cooperation in the recovery of stolen assets of State that are outside of Guyana. The State Assets Recovery Act of 2017 was passed in Parliament on 13 April 2017 and assented to by President David Granger on Thursday 4 May 2017.”

It was pointed out that the State Assets Recovery Act is part of the Guyana government's efforts to fight corruption.

The filing of the actions would represent the state's most significant cases against private businesses.

Saturday September 07, 2019

Kaieteur News

City Council grants partial waiver to 125 property owners City Council has granted a partial waiver to 125 property owners on interest accrued on general rates for 2019.

The waiver was granted through the Difficult Circumstances Committee (DCC) which is headed by the Deputy City Mayor Alfred Mentore.

Persons who may be experiencing financial difficulties are being encouraged to go to Council and advised that their issues may be addressed and a collective solution found.

The Deputy Mayor said that the committee is achieving its objective to not only address the needs of citizens but challenges they may face as well.

“The strategy to reach out to citizens in dire situations is working,” Mentore said.

The Council has granted amnesty in the past on interest rates and this was done across the board, and many people who can’t afford to pay the accrued interest on their general rates benefited.

The key role of the DCC, he said, is to assess situations and provide whatever assistance is needed to get persons out of them,

Deputy Mayor of Georgetown Alfred Mentore “furthermore the Council is encouraging ratepayers who may be having severe financial challenges to utilise the forum provided, so that any indebtedness to Council can be liquidated”.

Timely payments of all general rates will aid in critical services provision to the citizens, which include cleaning of drains and canals, road repairs, maintenance of parks, provision of

recreational facilities, daycare service, collection and disposal of solid waste and public health services.

Additionally, the persons who have benefitted from these partial waivers but have outstanding amounts from previous years, a facility is available whereby they can pay a third of the outstanding amount owed and pay off the remainder in six equal instalments.

PAGE 27

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Kaieteur News

Saturday September 07, 2019

Saturday September 07, 2019

March 2020 is earliest ...

From page 7 an Internal Memorandum (dated September 3, 2019), GECOM would procure its own card issuance system at a cost of US$495,000, inclusive of consulting and administration costs. According to the document, it would take two weeks to acquire the equipment, three days to deploy and configure it, and about nine continuous days to produce 750,000 cards.

However, Alexander said that, in the interest of time, the Commission is considering printing only as much as is needed for the upcoming General and Regional Elections, for persons who would be over 18 years of age at a qualifying date. The Opposition-nominated Commissioners appeared opposed to the production of ID cards, as

they stressed that the process is not necessary at this time.

Alexander admitted that whether ID cards should be produced is a major matter of contention, but he maintains that it is a critical part of the exercise, as GECOM was granted funds specifically for the production of ID cards in the 2019 budget. In any case, Corbin explained that the production of ID cards runs concurrent with the preparation process, and that the election date does not depend in any way on the production of ID cards.

It should be noted that it is not necessary for a voter to produce an ID card at a polling station in order to cast their vote. “In other words, if you dont produce ID cards, it doesnt affect the date.”

Corbin said.

Corentyne man guilty...

From page 8 incident, a friend who reportedly witnessed the incident and another person who found the knife.

Dr. Vivekanand Brijmohan who conducted the post mortem examination, and gave the cause of death as shock and haemorrhage, due to injury, also testified.

Justice Sewnarine-Beharry took just over an hour to sum up the evidence to the jury. The jury then took just over an hour to return with the verdict of not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter.

Attorney at law Sabsook then requested a probation report, which was agreed to by the Judge.

Thom’s relatives who were present in court, broke down in tears after hearing the verdict.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 29

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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 Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Graphics design, advertisements, Wedding arch rentals. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535.

Pure Bred German Shepherd male puppies for sale.

Contact# 697-1141/612-6672

ICONIC MARKETING & PRINTING –TEL: 6006887: We create A/works, logos, business cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included.

Installation, Repairs and parts for AC, Fridge, Washing Machine, Stove etc. Call Nick 630-1600, 627-3206 Eagle’s re-gas AC, Fridge, Washing machine & computer repairs, Gas stove, Plasma flatscreen, Electrical installation & more. Call: 6972969/646-0966

Short Base Supercustom Bus without Engine and Gearbox as Parts.664-0802 Available for sale- Used zinc sheets, black tanks: 450 gal $14,000, 610 gal $20,000, Different types of wood.

Contact#697-0471 1 Tug Boat 2000 HP.Tel#6098986/661-6161.

Male k9 German Shepherd Pup $80,000.Contact#6260243 Brand New Movado Museum Watch $60,000.Contact#6260243 2-Drill Press,3-Latte,1Shaper,1-Surface Grinder & 130’ft Aluminum Jet Boat.Call:642-7898 for more Info 1 TM Truck GWW S e r i e s . Wo r k i n g condition.Contact Tel#6654350/600-3434/645-9062.

Building only.For Sale, One Green Heart Wooden House $260,000 Price Negotiable.R.Singh#5013706.

CAR RENTAL DOLLYS AUTO RENTAL CALL: 225-7126 & 2263693 -DOLLYS AUTO RENTAL @ YAHOO.COM/ W W W . D O L L Y SAUTORENTAL.COM PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS FROM $4000 & UP, SUV’S PER DAY- CALL: 656-0087 / 643-5122 ,EMAIL:PRO_ A U T O R E N TA L @YAHOO.COM AIDAN’S CAR RENTAL:PICKUP,9-11 SEAT MINI BUS, GOOD FOR AIRPORT & FAMILY OUTINGS, CHEAPEST RATE . Call: 698-7807 TO LET 2 Bedroom B/Flat apartment @ 39 Ujwana H/S LBI E.C.D.Price $50,000 per month.Preferably working couples Contact:694-2398 1 bedroom apartment to rent with electricity & all water facility at Independence Boulvard. Single/couple needed. Call Faye : 613-0296

Saturday September 07, 2019

Kaieteur News

VEHICLE FOR SALE Pearl white Toyota Runx. Lady Driven, very good condition, $1.450M Tel#676-9562 Mercedes C200, 2013,$4.2M.Tel#695-5701

FOR RENT

VACANCY

PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Up Scale 2 bedroom apartment semi furnished. Located in Charlestown.Students or Overseas visitor.Contact 2251418/601-1585

Mining engineering/ operations manager for Cuyuni area. Requirements: Academic qualifications & 5 years relevant experience in Mining. Call: 223-5180

2 Bedroom apartment at La Grange Independence St. Call #663-1280 One bedroom apartment for rent located for couple in Middle Road, La Penitence.

Tel#686-4564 2 Bedroom apartment to rent.Call#621-9558 after 6PM. LAND FOR SALE Soesdyke/Linden Highway Front 33.25 acres.Contact 6479498 Parfaite Harmonie 1.5M,2M Schoonard Main road ,2.3M Schoonard with foundation 5.5M Tuschen Phase (2) 1.6M Farm,Providence.Call:6662326 Transported land 11.6 acres, Lot 15 Public road #2 Village W.C. B/ce 5 mins from B/ce Bridge. Contact# 686-4818/ 648-7109 2 acre V/Hoop WCD Housing #621-6918/697-7731 PROPERTY FOR SALE (1) 3 bedroom house located at Middle St, Stewartville.

Tel#625-3299/268-3129 1-House with (4) master bedroom $55M, 1-House with (3) bedroom $35M Gated community @ Schoonard W.B.D, 1-House with (3) bedroom @ Blankenburg $22M.Contact#650-0402/6031402 VACANCY Experienced Cashier & Handyman apply with written application:American Variety Store 140 Regent & Light Street.

Toyota Allion. Excellent condition $1.5M. #600-5059

Clerk & Domestic live-in Facilities for Berbicians and Essequibians 219-5354.

1-Tundra $1.7M, 1-Audi $2.4M, S2000 Honda $2.4M, 1416 Caterpillar Backhoe $3.5M, 1-Caterpillar Generator 75KVA $1.8M.Contact#6500402/603-1402.

Office Asst/Accounts Clerk, 5 subjects, quickbooks, NIS, PAYE. Teamplayer, Customer Service experience. #2270176/227-0186. mimadecor12@gmail.com

PEN PAL

Lorry Driver with sales experience, submit application to Fernandes Guyana Ent,VVB Durban Backlands.#624-0092/2231773.

Mature man (54) Loving and Generous, desires a special friend. Whatsapp with picture today # +1-246-835-6908

2 Experienced Pastry Maker, 1 Experienced Driver/Salesman, 1 Vehicle Porter @ Humphrey38 Ketley Street Charlestown. #225-7864/227-8607 Salesgirl & Porters. Apply to Best Buy Food Supplies, Lot 1E Middleton & Dennis St, Campbellville with written application Kitchen Assistant for interior location. Job entails cleaning and assisting cooks. Call 6182020.

Vacancy exist for Servers.

Apply at German’s Restaurant, Lot 8 New Market Street, North Cummingsburg, G/town. Starting Salary $14,000 GYD weekly Waitress for bar. Age 18-28 #612-2522 1 experienced driver, must have license for car/van/ minibus & motorbus, residing in G/town between ages 2450 yrs old. #225-1429/641-5075 Driver,Bond Clerk, Factory worker, must have CSEC, for more information. Please call: 223-0090 Experienced Female Accounts clerk.Apply at Alabama Trading 65 Robb Street.

Experienced Lorry Driver.Apply at Alabama Trading 65 Robb Street Bourda Lathe Machinist/OperatorManual. Call: 223-5180 for further details Deputy chef, Fisheries Management. Call: 223-5180 for further details Project Management - Mining Sector. Call: 223-5180 for futher details Male Sales Clerk for West Demerara Store.Call:264-2524 between 8AM-4:30PM One shop assistant between 20-25 Yrs to work for 3 weeks.Call:226-2320.193 Charlotte St. Female cleaner Office & Home. Call: 642-9823 General Domestic to cook and cleaner for East Bank. Call: 614-4358 One male cleaner. Call: 6429823

LEGALNOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE CONTD

2019-HC-DEM-CIV-FD-801 IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE FAMILY, DIVORCE AND MATRIMONIAL JURISDICTION FAMILY DIVISION PETITION NO. FD-801 BETWEEN (NAUGHTON) MEGAN ENA nee BROWNE Petitioner – and- (NAUGHTON) RAYON ORLANDO Respondent TO: RAYON ORLANDO NAUGHTON (Last Known Address) Lot 153 Stanley Town, West Bank Demerara.

Guyana TAKE NOTICE that on the 21st day of June 2019 a Petition for Divorce was filed against you by MEGAN ENA NAUGHTON nee BROWNE, the Petitioner in the Family Division of the High Court in Georgetown, Demerara AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that as part of an Order made on the 21st day of August ,2019 the Petitioner was directed to effect service of her Petition on you by publication of this Notice in two (2) consecutive Saturday issue of the Kaieteur News Newspaper, a daily Newspaper printed, published and circulated in and around Guyana and on the Worldwide Web. AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that if you desire you may appear or attend in person or by your duly authorized agent or Attorneyat-Law at the Registry of Family Division of the High Court at Georgetown, Demerara where you will be issued with a certified copy of the Petition together with related documents.

AND FUTHER TAKE NOTICE that if you desire to Defend this Divorce, then upon receipt of the certified copy of the Petition, you must file an Acknowledgement of Service, Notice of Intention to Defend (Forms are available at the Registry) Answer and/ or Cross Petition in the Registry of the Family Division of the High Court at Georgetown, Demerara within 28(twenty-eight) days after the date of the second and final publication of this Notice TAKE NOTICE that the matter is fixed for Directions Hearing on Tuesday the 22nd day October 2019 at 9:10am before the Honourable Madam Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry in the Directions Hearing Room of the Family Division of the High Court at Georgetown.

The Registry of the Family Division of the High Court is located at the Law Courts, [Georgetown, Demerara].

The office is open to the public between 8:00am and 3:30pm Mondays to Thursdays and 8:00am to 2:30pm on Fridays except on public holidays and on such other days as the Registry is closed.

Dated the 29th day of August, 2019

IN DEFAULT of your filing an Acknowledgement of Service/Notice of Intention to Defend Answer and/or Cross Petition the Court may proceed in your absence and may make any Order it considers appropriate, including granting the Divorce.

WANTED Seamstress. Contact: 6911918. Monday to Saturday 9am to 4pm Truck Driver. Call: 227-1717 Gasoline Mechanic and Trained Mechanic needed.Please Call:623-0318 Labourers for wood concession - $5000 per day Call: 618-0487 Wanted Driver.Age 2555.Must have Car,Van and Lorry License.Tel#616-6988 One experience Driver, apply Hack’s Halaal with handwritten application 5 Commerce Str. Minibus Driver living in G/ Town to work with company.Tel#646-8748 Wanted land to buy- Eccles, Parfaite Harmonie, Farm,Providence,Tuschen, Uitvlugt,Diamond,Covent Garden. Best Price pay. Call: 666-2326 One Maid must be able to prepare vegetarian meal.Apply at Alabama Trading 65 Robb Street.

Experienced Workers for Land Dredge and 1 cook for Interior.Tel#629-8280 1 Private female tutor to teach grade 5 girl, preferably from East Bank.Call:6163952.

Front end loader operator for interior location. #2235273/4 Black Kakaralli Piles 65 ft long #223-5273/4 Female worker, Just write CXC, 3 subject or sound secondary school, ECD. Call: 622-5518

Saturday September 07, 2019

PAGE 31

Kaieteur News

SARA official met Haitian group in his personal capacity- Harmon A meeting last week Thursday with Haitians and other nationals, and involving Chief Executive Officer of the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA), Aubrey Heath-Retemyer, was held at the Critchlow Labour College. And the Ministry of the Presidency says the SARA official was there in his personal capacity.

The Director-General of the Ministry, Joseph Harmon, was yesterday asked about the matter.

Eyebrows were raised over the meeting which was not advertised and reportedly keep quiet.

However, HeathRetemyer said that there is nothing suspicious about the meeting.

He disclosed that on Thursday, August 29th, he and Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix, met with African and Haitian nationals who had applied for citizenship and work permits.

“The nationals had many questions with regards to the status of their applications and needed clarification. We met at the Critchlow Labour College which is a public place.”

The official said that MTV Channel 65 was there without interviewing anyone and subsequently aired on its newscast “a mischievous and grossly inaccurate representation of that meeting”.

A video was also posted on YouTube entitled “PNC plans got busted”. ”The reporters did not interview myself, Minister

Felix or anyone present, yet they concocted a malicious story about promises being made to the Haitian and African nationals with regards to citizenships, work permits and paying off of tuition fees in exchange for votes.”

Heath-Retemyer insisted that no one was promised work permits, citizenship or assistance with paying off of tuition fees and more so in exchange for votes.

“It was simply a question and answer segment. The news report from Channel 65 is libelous and it is obvious that MTV channel 65 is desperately trying to tarnish my character and reputation and this is repugnant.”

The official pointed out that Haiti is one of the 15 full member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), of which Guyana is a founding member.

“Haitians are entitled to work permits under the tenets of Caribbean Single Market and Economy. It is known that Channel 65 is a PPP biased media outlet,” HeathRetemyer asserted.

He questioned that if help is being extended to Venezuelan nationals, why is it that help in the form of support and information cannot also be given to Haiti and African nationals who have reached out for necessary support.

The SARA official pointed out that in 2018, it was reported in the media that 298 foreigners acquired citizenship in Guyana and some 979 other foreigners

were granted an extension of stay and work permits.

“This 979 foreigners included 225 Cubans, 175 Chinese, 165 Americans, 120 Indians, 70 Philippinos, 75 Venezuelans, 59 British, 45 from The Dominican Republic, 30 from Trinidad and Tobago and 15 Surinamese. There was no outrage or protest from the PPP or PPP biased media outlets.”

He said that it is obvious that Guyana is a destination choice for those near and far and as of December 31, 2018, Guyana recorded a total of 286,732 visitors, which is a 15.93 percent increase from the 247,330 visitors Guyana welcomed in 2017.

“With thousands of visitors that we have had in this country and the hundreds that sought citizenship, none has been treated more unfairly than the African and Haitian nationals by the PPP and their media outlets.”

Heath-Retemyer called on the Ethnic Relations Committee (ERC) to investigate and sanction those who persist in the unsubstantiated allegations and unwarranted alarms against African and Haitian nationals in Guyana.

“I am vehemently condemning the xenophobic and racist attacks against the

African and Haitian nationals and the malicious attempt to stain my good character, as this is a poor attempt to remove the public attention from the corrupt practices of the PPP in Region (9) where persons have been caught with fraudulent birth certificates.”

SARA’s CEO, Aubrey Heath-Retemyer

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Kaieteur News

Saturday September 07, 2019

Saturday September 07, 2019

GFF-Capelli Sport ink four-year kit...

From page 31 events organized by the GFF for promotional purposes including the setting up of merchandise and promotional booths for international home matches.

GFF’s President, Wayne Forde summed up the agreement: “The Capelli kit partnership contract is groundbreaking for Guyana Football. It is a very comprehensive kit/apparel contract negotiated by the Guyana Football Federation. The process was long and sometimes frustrating but, in the end, both parties were very happy with the final deal. The value this deal will deliver over the next four years will vastly impact the development of Football across Guyana. These are the types of opportunities

Saturday September 07, 2019

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Do you need a change of pace, Taurus? If things are beginning to feel boring and you're apathetic, chances are that you do. All you have to do is figure out what to shift.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Mind your physical health today. Don't push yourself if you're feeling tired and run down. Seriously consider taking a day off from everything to get the rest your body needs.

CANCER(June21–July22) Something out of the ordinary may appeal to you, Cancer, especially if life seems dull these days. Nothing says you can't indulge yourself as long as what you're considering isn't dangerous or something you'll regret.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) It's a great day to set some goals or review existing ones, Leo. If you don't have a working list, it's time you started one. Brainstorm without censorship. Let your thoughts flow and write them down.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Make yourself available to someone in need of a friend, Virgo. Don't turn anyone away even if you're busy or under the weather. Chances are the person who comes to you needs the advice and support that only you can offer.

Young Warriors...

From page 36 50 overs. Bowling for RHECC, West Indies under-15 pacer Isaiah Thorne took 2 for 32 off 10 overs and Berbice Under 15 left arm spinner Sanjay Algoo 2 for 51 off his 10 overs.

In reply, RHECC could only muster 65 all out with opener A. Persaud the only batsman to make double figures scoring 18. Ramdeholl took 3 for 11, Outar 3 for 15 and Windajellum took 3 for 20 bowling for YWCC. Both teams still qualify for the quarter finals set for next Saturday.

that Gold Cup appearances create. The Golden Jaguars international exposure during the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup created value, which was strategically leveraged to produce the best outcome for Guyana’s Football.”

Use Capelli Sport and GFF logos

ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Don't delude yourself, Aries.

While it can be a real temptation to see what you want to see, there's danger in doing so. A pipe dream can only last so long. It's never permanent!

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Kaieteur News

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Take care of yourself if you feel tired. There's no shame in slowing down or taking a day off if it's needed. If you can spend a day in bed, go for it. This can be more restorative than you know.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Music can soothe the savage beast, Scorpio. If you feel rather savage yourself, turn on some music. Dance and sing aloud. You'll be amazed at how this reduces stress and increases energy.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) If you feel sluggish today, put on some upbeat music to get you going. Whether it's your favorite tune or the radio, it will help a great deal.

Dance a little or sing while you tend to your work.

CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) Try then try again today, Capricorn. It can feel terrible to fail at something. Sometimes you just want to hide rather than face the possibility of humiliation.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Consider talking with a good friend today, Aquarius.

Don't let your pride get in the way of getting the support and help you need.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) It might be time to face a recent failure, Pisces. No one is exempt from disappointment, of not succeeding at something. It's part of reaching a goal, no matter who you are or what you've done in the past.

Lyles completes sprint double before world...

From page 33 night in Brussels he had to settle for a still respectable 19.74 seconds. In a photo finish, Guliyev came second, just ahead of De Grasse.

American Lyles has broken through in the past two years. He bettered Usain Bolt’s Paris Diamond League record for 200 meters last month and will run only the longer sprint in Qatar, saying he is not so strong over the shorter distance.

Lyles did though win the 100 in the first leg of the Diamond League finals in Zurich last week.

The women’s 100 yesterday was a straight foot race between AsherSmith, 23, and 32-year-old Jamaican Shelly-Ann raserPryce, the Briton showing greater stamina in the final strides to finish a meter or two ahead in 10.88 seconds, her best time of 2019. MarieJosee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast was third.

Olympic champion Elaine Thompson of Jamaica, who had run the world leading time in the 100, had qualified but opted out of the race to prepare for Doha.

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Saturday September 07, 2019

Kaieteur News

Italian GP: Charles Leclerc tops second practice

Leclerc leaves the pits during Friday’s practice. (AFP / Andrej Isakovic) BBC Sport - Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc edged Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes to set fastest time in a weatheraffected second practice at the Italian Grand Prix.

Leclerc, fresh from his maiden win in Belgium, was 0.068 seconds quicker than Hamilton. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was third, 0.201secs off the pace.

The second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas was fourth, from the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon.

Intermittent rain made competitiveness harder to read than usual.

The changeable weather meant that the teams ran their

sessions to different timetables, Ferrari and Red Bull cramming in their qualifying simulation laps early in the session before the first rain shower, Mercedes preferring to wait until it had passed.

That also meant an offset in the later racesimulation preparation, on which Mercedes appeared to have an advantage but on which Ferrari may have been affected by a damper track for the start of their runs.

Nevertheless, the performance pattern of the cars appeared as expected with Ferrari having an advantage on a single lap but

Mercedes faster over a longer run.

That is exactly the pattern seen in Belgium, where Leclerc took pole by threequarters of a second, but won the race with a charging Hamilton right on his tail.

Among the top six, there was a notable performance from Albon.

In only his second race for Red Bull following his promotion from Toro Rosso, he was a creditable 0.239secs slower than Verstappen, who will start this weekend from the back of the grid as a result of a penalty for using too many engines.

That is also the case for Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly,

Pakistan spin great Qadir dies aged 63 (Reuters) - Pakistan cricket great Abdul Qadir, who revived the art of leg-spin bowling, has died at the age of 63, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said yesterday.

Pakistani media reported that he died of cardiac arrest.

Qadir made his Pakistan debut in 1977 in Lahore and went on to play 67 tests and 104 one-day internationals, claiming a total of 368 wickets.

The PCB wrote on Twitter: “PCB is shocked at the news of ‘maestro’ Abdul Qadir ’s passing and has offered its deepest condolences to his family and friends.”

Qadir was an influential figure in Pakistan’s most successful teams in the 1980s and later a mentor to the next generation of leg-spinners, including Australia’s Shane Warne and Pakistan’s Mushtaq Ahmed.

After retiring from the

The second practice session had to be stopped while gravel was removed from the track. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was one of a number of culprits. (Getty Images) who was seventh fastest, and McLaren’s Lando Norris, who ended up 18th after missing the first half of the session while McLaren fixed an oil leak.

Behind Gasly, Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat and the second Renault of Nico Hulkenberg completed the top 10.

There were a few spins and off-track moments, but no accidents, unlike the first session, when both Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen and Racing Point’s Sergio Perez had heavy crashes.

“Not a massive amount different to the last race,” said Hamilton afterwards. “They

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. (Getty Images) (Ferrari) are quite quick in a straight line. We are quite strong on race pace but perhaps a little closer potentially on single-lap pace so it looks like we have a fight.”

Vettel added: “It was OK but we can still get more out of the car. The main thing is we got some decent laps, we know where the weaknesses are and that’s what we try to work on.”

Lyles completes sprint double before world championships

American Noah Lyles completed a sprint double. (Diamond League – Brussels) Abdul Qadir. (Getty Images) sport, he served as the chief selector for Pakistan.

“They called him the magician for many reasons but when he looked me in the eyes & told me I was going to play for Pakistan for the next

20 years, I believed him,” former Pakistan bowler Wasim Akram wrote on Twitter.

“A Magician, absolutely.

A leg spinner & a trailblazer of his time.”

BRUSSELS (Reuters) American Noah Lyles completed a sprint double with victory in the 200 meters at the Diamond League finals yesterday to add to last week’s 100 title before he seeks to be crowned world champion for the first time

later this month.

In the last major meeting before the world championships in Doha starting on Sept. 27, Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith also put down a marker with victory in the women’s 100 meters.

Lyles was pushed by

Turkey’s Ramil Guliyev and Canada’s Andre de Grasse, with both running season’s bests.

Lyles, 22, had talked on Thursday of wanting to improve on his personal best on Friday, but on a cold wet (Continued on page 31)

Saturday September 07, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Spain squeeze into World Cup quarters with no-frills Italy win

Juan Hernangomez of the Denver Nuggets led the scoring for Spain with 16 points. (AFP / Hector Retamal) AFP - Title-contenders Spain produced a devastating late burst to seal a 67-60 victory over Italy and squeeze into the Basketball World Cup quarter-finals yesterday — and take strongly fancied Serbia with them.

Also into the last eight in China are surprise package Poland and Argentina after they overcame Russia and Venezuela respectively.

Juan Hernangomez of the Denver Nuggets led the scoring for Spain with 16 points, but they will have to play better offensively if they are to go much farther in the competition.

Italy’s 60 points was their lowest-scoring game since 1998, according to governing body FIBA, and Spain coach Sergio Scariolo said:

“Everyone should give credit to what our players did defensively.

“It says a lot about our togetherness, toughness, commitment.

“It was not our best offensive game, but I give a lot of value to what my players did defensively.”

Scariolo admitted that the Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medallists started sloppily in Wuhan, in what was an occasionally testy secondround affair against their European rivals.

The teams were level 18-18 after the first quarter, only for the Italians to edge ahead by a single point at half-time.

Spain, ranked second in the world behind world and Olympic champions the United States, were a different

proposition for most of the third quarter, but saw their initial decent advantage narrowed to just two points going into the fourth.

Italy, ranked 13th, were the underdogs but they refused to lie down and tied the game at 50-50 with a lay-up by Marco Belinelli of NBA team San Antonio Spurs.

The Italians streaked into a four-point lead with four minutes left, as the pressure cranked up another notch.

But Spain and Ricky Rubio were not done, the Phoenix Suns guard getting the freedom of the court to edge ahead by two points once more.

The 28-year-old was increasingly influential when he was needed most.

He made two unerring free throws for a precious 60-56

Spain’s Pau Ribas goes to the basket during their game against Italy which they won 67-60. (AFP / Hector Retamal) lead, part of a game-winning 10-0 run for the Spaniards in the closing stages.

- Brilliant Serbia Denver Nuggets All-Star Nikola Jokic pulled the strings as formidable Serbia demolished Puerto Rico 90-47 to stand on the brink of the last eight.

Spain’s low-scoring victory later in the day was enough to send the impressive Serbs through but

the two countries will still play on Sunday in a mouthwatering match-up for supremacy of the group.

Spain coach Scariolo pointedly refused to answer any questions about the match with Serbia.

Jokic had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and made a sublime laser pass to cut open the Puerto Rico defence, as Serbia began the second-

round group phase much as they finished the first.

Sacramento Kings forward Nemanja Bjelica also impressed once more, drilling a leading 18 points.

World and Olympic silver medallists Serbia are in devastating form, comfortably winning all four matches in China and claiming the unofficial title of favourites from holders the United States.

Serena poised for multiple record-breaking U.S. Open final NEW YORK (Reuters) Twenty years after an improbable run at the age of 17 to her maiden U.S. Open victory, Serena Williams is running out of records to break.

Tantalizingly close to tying Margaret Court’s record 24 Grand Slam titles, Williams is already tennis’ undisputed GOAT (Greatest of All Time) in the eyes of her legions of adoring fans, with an evergrowing, odds-defying career and trophy case.

Of course, winning on Arthur Ashe Stadium today would also mean breaking Chris Evert’s record of 101 U.S. Open wins, and her record of six U.S. Open title championships.

“At 17 I thought for sure I’d be retired at 28, 29, living my life,” said Williams after defeating fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina in straight sets under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium in the semifinal.

“The game has just changed, I think there’s so much more depth,” said Williams. “I think when I first started, you could win a lot of easy matches, then you’re in the quarterfinals, that’s when it starts to get a little more tough.

“Now, like, there’s no easy match. Everyone’s playing great. Everyone’s just doing a lot better.”

Her return also holds significance in light of Williams’ controversy-fueled final last year against upstart Naomi Osaka, which prompted vociferous debate and promises of introspection from tournament organizers.

Asked by reporters about the 2018 bout, however, a laser-focused Williams responded that it “hasn’t really crossed my mind”.

The mindset is reflective of her renewed concentration,

with the six-times U.S. Open champion reiterating throughout the tournament the Spartan-like preparations she underwent to prepare for the stout talent at Flushing Meadows.

After losing in straight sets at the Wimbledon final to Simona Halep, Williams said she “knew I need to work harder, just do better”.

“I put a lot of time in the gym after Wimbledon, like I said, getting ready for Canada.

Yeah, I put a ton of time in.

Worked a lot on my fitness,” said Williams. “It always feels good to train without pain.”

After dismantling erstwhile rival Maria Sharapova in their highly anticipated first round, Williams has romped through the competition, save for a brief scare in her fourth-round match against Petra Martic, when she tweaked her right ankle.

Serena Williams of the United States hits to Elina Svitolina of Ukraine (not pictured) in a semifinal match at the US Open Tennis tournament. (Danielle Parhizkaran-USA Today Sports)

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Kaieteur News

Saturday September 07, 2019

Dina Asher-Smith beats Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to Diamond League 100m title - Lay down World Championship gauntlet

Johnson-Thompson produced an effort of 6.73m in the long jump. (AFP) The Telegraph - If Dina Asher-Smith’s plan was to head to the World Championships under the radar, she is doing a pretty poor job at ensuring she retains any semblance of underdog status.

In beating Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the double Olympic champion and fastest woman in the world this year, to the Diamond League 100m title in Brussels last night, AsherSmith catapulted herself into pole position for the world title.

This just a week after finishing second in the Diamond League 200m final. Forget being the hunter, Asher-Smith will now have to deal with

being the hunted.

It is difficult to overstate just how important this victory could prove at the most crucial time of the year.

Three times this season, Asher-Smith has found Fraser-Pryce or her fellow Jamaican Elaine Thompson - who was absent from Brussels - too quick for her in 100m races, but this reversal will serve as a huge confidence boost.

Faced with a slight headwind and a chilly night in the Belgian capital, there was nothing to choose between the two leading athletes for much of the race until Asher-Smith finished stronger to triumph in 10.88 seconds.

Dina Asher-Smith beats Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to Diamond League 100m title.

That she managed the second-fastest time of her life in conditions so unsuited to sprinting shows just how strong a run it was.

Fraser-Pryce managed 10.95sec in second, with Marie-Josee Ta Lou third in 11.09sec.

Having beaten her main 100m rivals and everyone in the 200m aside from Shaunae Miller-Uibo, who will not contest the event at the World Championships, it is not unfeasible to consider whether Asher-Smith’s sights may elevate from two global medals later this month to double gold.

Ever keen to downplay her achievements, AsherSmith insisted she was not

going to get ahead of herself just yet.

“It’s cool, but at the same time [Fraser-Pryce] is a multiple Olympic champion and you’ve got so many fantastically talented and experienced women,” she said.

“It’s great but a Diamond League is a one-off race.

When the championships come and you’ve got rounds, I’m sure everybody will bring their absolute A-game and it will be an interesting race.

“I’m very happy to have put together some good performances, particularly in the Diamond League finals, because even though it’s not a championships, it’s the right time of year to be getting faster. But it’s all about

mentality and I like to think of myself as a hunter, perpetually.”

While her Belgian heptathlete rival Nafi Thiam entertained her home crowd in the high jump, Katarina Johnson-Thompson opted to warm-up for her World Championships medal quest with a morale-boosting long jump display of impressive consistency.

Having produced her furthest jump for four and a half years last time out in Birmingham, JohnsonThompson followed up here with a best of 6.73m to finish third behind German runaway winner Mihambo Malaika in a field of long jump specialists.

Most pleasing was the rest

of her sequence, with just one foul and follow-up efforts of 6.64m, 6.62m, 6.70m and 6.65m to show the type of consistency that will be vital when she has only three attempts during the heptathlon in Doha.

“I’m happy with the placing to finish third, but disappointed with the distance because I feel like I’m in better shape than that and could have got a PB today,” she said.

“The longest jump came in the first round, which puts everything at ease. I’ve fallen into the trap before of starting with no jumps.

“I’m happy with where I am heading into Doha. This is the best prep I’ve ever had.”

Court frees famous Russian soccer players jailed for attacks: news agencies MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian court yesterday ordered the release on parole of two famous Russian soccer players jailed for their involvement in a pair of violent attacks last year, Russian news agencies reported.

Alexander Kokorin and Pavel Mamayev, who both played in Russia’s top league and used to play for their country, apologized after being caught on CCTV last year taking part in two violent assaults in Moscow.

The two players were present at both incidents after celebrating a decade of friendship in a Moscow strip club where they said they had been drinking beer. In May, Kokorin was sentenced to 18 months in jail, while Mamayev was ordered to serve 17 months after months of hearings that were widely covered by Russian state media. Some Kremlin critics said their harsh treatment and public shaming after an outcry was used to divert attention from bigger problems in the country, including an unpopular measure to increase the pension age.

The Moscow court ordered them to be freed on parole on Sept. 17, Russian news agencies cited their lawyer as saying.

Russian soccer player Alexander Kokorin, who is charged with a brutal assault and held in custody, is seen inside the defenders’ cage as he attends a court hearing in Moscow, Russia May 6, 2019.

(REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina)

Russian soccer player Pavel Mamayev, who is charged with a brutal assault and held in custody, attends a court hearing in Moscow, Russia May 8, 2019. (REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva)

Saturday September 07, 2019

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Kaieteur News

Hazlewood cuts through England as Australia tighten screw

Josh Hazlewood roars with delight after bowling Jason Roy, England v Australia, 4th Test, Day 3, Manchester, September 6, 2019 © Getty Images MANCHESTER (Reuters) - Australian paceman Josh Hazlewood ripped through England with three crucial late wickets in the final session to leave Joe Root’s side trailing by 297 runs on 200-5 in their first innings after the third day of the fourth Ashes test yesterday.

England still need 98 runs to avoid following on and that will be no formality after Hazlewood undid so much of the good work from Rory Burns (81) and Joe Root (71) earlier in the day.

The five-match series is standing at 1-1 and victory for Australia, who declared their first innings on 497-8, would ensure they retain The Ashes ahead of the final test at the Oval next week.

Tim Paine’s side will

surely fancy their chances of achieving in Manchester what slipped through their hands at Headingley while England need to stem the tourists’ momentum on Saturday and give themselves a chance of saving the test on Sunday.

Heavy rain wiped out the entire morning session at Old Trafford and England quickly lost nightwatchman Craig Overton — who was caught by first innings double centurion Steve Smith at second slip off Hazlewood.

The Burns-Root pairing put on 141 for the third wicket before Hazlewood removed Burns with a fine delivery that was edged to a gleeful Smith.

Burns had looked

confident throughout an impressive innings in which he picked up his third score of fifty or over in this series, taking advantage of Australia’s over-reliance on short-pitched deliveries.

He then showed tenacity to deal with Pat Cummins, who received no reward for a 10-over spell where he combined hostility with spoton line and length.

The nearest Cummins came to a breakthrough was when Root edged him between keeper Paine and David Warner at first slip.

DEJECTED EXPRESSION It was Hazlewood who got Root out — making it two wickets in 11 balls — rapping him on the pads with the England skipper’s dejected expression removing any

England’s Joe Root in action against Australia at Emirates Old Trafford. (Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine) need for a review.

Jason Roy, demoted from the opener slot, was joined by Ben Stokes and England badly needed a lengthy partnership from the two strokeplayers, but Hazlewood had other ideas.

The bowler removed Roy’s middle stump clean out of the ground with another delivery that nipped back off the seam and the jubilant response of the Au stralians in the field illustrated the significance of the wicket.

It was a devastating spell of 3-15 in 27 balls from the 28year-old and one which will leave England, whose attack struggled to penetrate, wondering what bowler James Anderson might have been able to provide for them

had he not been injured.

The surface may be a good batting track but Hazlewood and Cummins managed to extract just enough movement and the occasional sharp lift to trouble England in a way that only Stuart Broad got close to for the hosts.

Hazlewood ended the day with figures of 4-48 after bad light cut play short, to the relief of batsmen Stokes and Jonny Bairstow.

“It makes me happy when Josh comes on and takes wickets at the other end straight away,” said Cummins.

“We are pretty happy being (nearly) 300 ahead. It was a tough day of test cricket. To get those three wickets late, we feel really in

the game.”

Burns provided evidence that England may have found at least one opening batsman during this series but with those who followed him unable to show similar resilience, he was left hoping for another, Headingley-style, comeback.

“The way that game went, I think anything is possible.

We are not that far behind in this fixture. We are a couple of partnerships away from making them make a play again. It is about putting pressure back on them and playing well tomorrow,” he said.

Scores: England 200 for 5 (Stokes 7*, Bairstow 2*) trail Australia 497 for 8 (Smith 211, Labuschagne 67) by 297 runs.

Canada’s pride Andreescu delivers on hype at Flushing Meadows NEW YORK (Reuters) Clobbering her way past her semi-final opponent Belinda Bencic at Flushing Meadows on Thursday, 19year-old Bianca Andreescu proved she is no longer an underdog.

Andreescu’s win over Bencic also meant she became the first Canadian woman to make the U.S. Open final, where she faces Serena Williams, who is chasing a record-equaling 24th Grand Slam single title.

The victory over the Swiss has capped a rapid rise up the rankings in 2019, which has included her first two titles at Indian Wells and the Rogers Cup in Montreal.

“It’s just surreal. I really don’t know what to say,” said Andreescu, who had never advanced beyond the second round of a Grand Slam before. “It’s a dream come true playing against Serena in the final of the U.S.

Open.

“A lot of emotions are running through my body right now. A lot of thoughts, too. But right now I’m just trying to take in the victory.

“Hopefully I can just keep the momentum going for the final.”

Bencic, who battled all the way in an epic two-hour and 13-minute semi-final, felt the teen had the game to challenge the 37-year-old Williams.

“She beat so many great players. I definitely was not surprised. I don’t think anyone should be,” said 22year-old Bencic.

“I think she’s definitely a great player. She totally deserves to be in the final.”

Andreescu ended 2018 ranked 178th in the world. She now sits 15th and her rapid rise has astounded tennis fans, her opponents and even her coach.

Canadians, however, are eager to jump on the

bandwagon and support the youngster following her meteoric rise.

During the first set of her semi-final the hashtag #SheTheNorth became the number-two trending topic on Twitter in Canada, while tennis fans balked when the main sports station, TSN, bumped her match in favor for the NFL seasonopener between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears.

Williams, who won the first of her 23 Grand Slam titles before Andreescu was even born, has also acknowledged she would need to be at her best today to deny the teen.

“She’s a great player.

She mixes things up. You never know what is going to come from her,” said Williams.

“She serves well, moves well, has a ton of power. She’s very exciting to watch. It’s good. I think it’s great for women’s tennis.”

Bianca Andreescu of Canada reacts after defeating Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in a semifinal match on day eleven of the 2019 US Open. (Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports)

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Saturday September 07, 2019

Kaieteur News

Toronto Blizzards blitz their way to another title

Emma Sunich, daughter of Ramesh Sunich of Trophy Stall, hands over the winning trophy to Toronto Blizzards Manager Nasrudeen Baksh.

TORONTO, Canada – Their opponents were the same. The city was different and the result remained the same.

At June month-end, Toronto Blizzards defeated New York Hustlers by seven runs in a highly entertaining contest in the Legends Over50 final, as part of the New York Softball Cricket League (NYSCL) annual Independence Cup, played at Canarsie Park, Brooklyn, New York.

On Sunday last, Toronto Blizzards were again victorious, thrashing the same opponents by 37 runs at the University of Toronto ground when the third edition of Toronto Cup, organised by the Ontario Masters Softball Cricket Clubs (OMSCC) climaxed here.

Boasting a lineup consisting of several former Guyana national players and one who previously represented Canada (Desmond Chumney) at the ICC World Cup, Toronto Blizzards lived up to their pre-

tournament bidding, once again playing unbeaten on their way to claiming the top prize.

Led by a brilliant 76 from opener from former Guyana batsman Jaimini Singh, who creamed six fours and cleared the ropes on four occasions, Toronto Blizzards were paced to 160 for five in their allotted 20 overs after being asked to take first strike in the only match-up which saw teams from out of Toronto participating in the finals.

The Essequibian-born Singh dominated an opening stand of 56 with his skipper Shivnauth Seeram (15) and added a further 52 for the fourth wicket with Mohan Harihar whose contribution was 16 (one four and a six).

Lalchand Shivraj weighed in with 18 towards the backend of the innings, hitting a four and a six.

Rajpaul was the best bowler for the visitors, bagging two for 24, while there was one wicket each for Qayaam Farrouq, Cedric Beaton and Eustace Dodson

for 25, 26 and 29 runs respectively.

New York Hustlers lone resistance came from veteran Ken Sanichar whose 42 was decorated with four sixes as wickets tumbled around him.

Shivraj returned to claim three for 17. Terry Mathura, who had the unique distinction of being part of three championship teams in 2018, was also among the wickets with two for 16, while the wily Satrohan “Blade” Balkarran claimed one for eight.

Jaimini Singh was deservedly named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the final. He also took home the prize for scoring the most runs (196) in the category.

Balkarran took the most wickets (eight) and also had the best bowling figures (three for six) in a match, copping prizes for both achievements. Singh was also the recipient of a gold chain, compliments of Gologistics and engraved by Trophy Stall.

Toronto Blizzards

Volleyball and basketball competitions on today in Berbice Volleyball and basketball players will take to their respective courts today at the ‘Area H’ Ground, Rose Hall Town, Corentyne, Berbice. The competitions are organised by Club Fiesta, Jagdeo Racing Stables, DJ Dauren and Jagernaut Entertainment groups.

The Volleyball competition will start off the day’s proceedings with first serve expected to be at 16:00 hours and is expected to involve six teams.

Each team is required to pay an entrance fee of $2000 per team. Cash incentives, trophies and other incentives will be presented to the top

teams and other outstanding individual performers.

Basketball action is expected to tip off at 20:00 hours and four teams are expected to compete. Teams are expected to pay an entrance fee of $5000, the winners and outstanding players will be adequately rewarded.

MVP Jaimini Singh is the recipient of a bat from businessman Saeed Ali. winnings were US$3000, the highest among the three categories based on the number of teams which participated in the category.

They also took home the Trophy Stall trophy, while runners-up New York Hustlers received US$200 and the runners-up trophy. All the

players collected medals.

OMSCC president Azeem Khan, while praising all the teams for their participation in the three-day tournament, was delighted with the presence of Toronto’s Deputy Mayor Michael Thompson and councillor Jennifer McKelvie of Ward 25 –

Scarborough Rouge who readily accepted the invitation from the league officials. Toronto Blizzards owe their formation to businessman Nasrudeen Baksh, an ardent enthusiast and supporter of the Ontario Masters Softball Cricket Clubs (OMSCC).

New York Business Group Under-19 Tournament

Young Warriors CC humble Rose Hall Estate CC New York Business Group Under-19 50 Overs Cricket Competition for teams in Berbice recommenced last weekend. The tournament is sponsored by a group of overseas based Guyanese businessmen of New York, USA and jointly organised by Albion Community Centre and the Berbice Cricket Board.

In the match between neighbours Young Warriors Cricket Club and host Rose Hall Estate Cricket Club, half centuries by National Under19 opener Alex Algoo and Berbice youth all rounder Aaron Beharry along with three wickets haul from National youth player Ricardo Ramdeholl, Kevin Windajellum and Virendra Outar led the visitors to a massive win by 221 runs.

Batting first after winning the toss, YWCC enjoyed a solid opening partnership of 94 between Ramdeholl and another national youth player Jarron France before the former was lbw by national under-19 female player

From left Virendra Outar, Kevin Windajellum and Ricardo Ramdeholl.

Ashmini Munisar for a classy 45 consisting of 3 fours. The aggressive Algoo then joined France and together 46 for the second wicket before France went for 36. Berbice under-19 wicketkeeper/batsman Carl Gilgeous came and went quickly for 9. Beharry then joined Algoo in a partnership

of 55 before Algoo went LBW to his younger brother Sanjay for 77 consisting of 3 fours and 6 sixes. Beharry then took over and rallied the rest of the batting line up ending on 66 not out (7 fours and 2 sixes) with his team amassing 282 for 7 off their (Continued on page 31)

Saturday September 07, 2019

Healy, Lanning centuries crush Windies in opener ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Captain Stafanie Taylor’s dogged half-century was in vain as dominant hundreds by Player-of-theMatch Alyssa Healy and skipper Meg Lanning fired Australia Women to a crushing 178-run victory over West Indies Women in the opening One-Day International here Thursday.

In the day/night affair at Coolidge Cricket Ground, the Aussies recovered from the loss of Rachael Haynes to the first ball of the match to amass 308 for four off their 50 overs – their fifth highest total in ODIs. Healy struck 122 off 105 deliveries with 12 fours and two sixes while Lanning also carved out a dozen fours and lashed four sixes in a 146-ball knock.

The pair put on 225 in a record second wicket stand, laying the basis for their massive total after they were sent in.

Even after the partnership was broken, Lanning added a further 46 for the third wicket with Ellyse Perry (33 not out) who then put on a further 35 for the fourth wicket with

Beth Mooney (15).

Fast bowler Shamilia Connell snared two for 53 from her 10 overs as the home side’s attack struggled to contain the Aussies.

In reply, West Indies never challenged and limped to 130 all out in the 38th over with Taylor the only one to display any enterprise with an unbeaten 70 off 115 deliveries.

The Jamaican righthander was just one of two batsmen in double figures, Chinelle Henry the other with 14.

Taylor arrived at the crease when opener Natasha McLean was bowled by pacer Megan Schutt off the first ball of the innings, and defied the Aussie attack striking five fours and a six to notch her 34th ODI half-century.

Fast bowler Perry was the best bowler with three for 17 while leg-spinner Georgia Wareham supported with two for 44.

Already rocked by the loss of marquee opener and vice-captain Hayley Matthews who was suspended for disciplinary reasons prior to the match,

West Indies found their batting predictably short.

Their start was wretched, Stacy-Ann King following her partner McLean without scoring, bowled in the second over by Perry with four runs on the board.

And with four runs added, Perry struck in her next over when she trapped Kyshona Knight lbw also without scoring to leave the Windies innings in strife.

Taylor anchored the two best stands of the innings, adding 31 for the fifth wicket with Henry and another 36 for the sixth with Afy Fletcher (3).

West Indies had to do without the services of Kycia Knight who suffered a lower back injury while fielding and could not bat.

The second ODI is carded for the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground tomorrow.

S c o r e s : AUSTRALIA 308 for four off 50 overs (Alyssa Healy 122, Meg Lanning 121, Ellyse Perry 33 not out; Shamilia Connell 2-53).

WEST INDIES 130 off 37.3 overs (Stafanie Taylor 70 not out; Ellyse Perry 317, Georgia Wareham 2-44).

Matthews out of Aussie series over disciplinary incident ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Marquee all-rounder Hayley Matthews will take no part in the series against Australia after being pulled from the West Indies Women’s squad for disciplinary reasons.

A Cricket West Indies media release on Thursday failed to outline the 21-yearold’s charge but said she breached CWI’s code of conduct in an “incident that took place on Wednesday”.

“The matter has been referred to the CWI Disciplinary Tribunal,” the CWI release stated. “CWI will make no further comment at this time.”

Matthews, also the side’s vice-captain, is one of the leading batsmen in the world and was expected to play a key role against the powerful Australians in both the OneDay International and Twenty20 series.

The series is a crucial one for the Windies as they currently languish in seventh on 11 points in the ICC Women’s Championship which serves as a qualifier for the 2021 World Cup. Only the top four gain automatic qualification.

The right-handed opener

PAGE 39

Kaieteur News

Sri Lanka’s Malinga takes four wickets in four balls

Lasith Malinga appeals successfully © Associated Press (Reuters) - Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga claimed four wickets in four balls for the second time in his international career to rip through the New Zealand batting order in a Twenty20 match at Pallekele yesterday.

Chasing 126 runs to win, New Zealand openers Colin Munro and Tim Seifert scored 15 in the opening two overs before captain Malinga rattled Munro’s leg stump for his 100th Twenty20 international wicket. Malinga removed Hamish Rutherford and Colin de Grandhomme in his

next two deliveries to claim his second hat-trick in the format before trapping Ross Taylor leg-before for his fourth in the over.

Seifert became Malinga’s next victim as the wicketkeeper-batsman edged an outswinger to first slip, leaving New Zealand’s lower order exposed at 23 for 5. The 36-year-old paceman finished the evening with 56 in his four overs.

The first time Malinga claimed ‘four in four’ was against South Africa during the 50-overs World Cup in 2007. Malinga had dismissed

Shaun Pollock, Andrew Hall, Jacques Kallis and Makhaya Ntini but it was all in vain as South Africa clinched a lastgasp win.

Yet Malinga was not to be denied this time as spinners Akila Dananjaya and Lakshan Sandakan cleaned up the lower order to bowl out New Zealand for 88, handing Sri Lanka a 37run victory.

Scores: Sri Lanka 125 for 8 (Gunathilaka 30, Santner 3-12, Astle 3-28) beat New Zealand 88 (Southee 28*, Malinga 5-6) by 37 runs.

KFC commits sponsorship for year-end school tournament

West Indies batting all-rounder Hayley Matthews. has so far notched a hundred and four half-centuries in 42 matches in both formats, and is ranked 29th in ODIs and 12th in T20s.

Matthews steady off-spin has earned her 42 ODI scalps and 39 wickets in 20s, and she

is currently ranked fifth in the ICC all-rounders charts.

The Barbadian has been replaced by Sheneta Grimmond for the three-match ODI series against the Aussies which bowled off here Thursday.

Fast food giant, KFC, for the second successive year, has thrown its support behind the Petra Organisation that will run off the 2nd annual KFC Goodwill international school football tournament, which is scheduled for December 15th -22nd.

During the launch yesterday at the sponsor’s Vlissingen road office, codirector of Petra Organisation; Troy Mendonca, expressed thanks to KFC for showing confidence by signing on for another year. He further shared that the tournament will see an increase from four to six teams this year, which is a testament to the promotional group’s promise of seeing the event and

football in general grow from strength to strength in Guyana.

The teams that will contest for the KFC Cup are Annai Secondary of Region 9 and Waramadong Secondary of Region 7 along with the top two teams of the Guyoil Schools’ football league that kicks off this month end. Meanwhile, the International teams are USL Montjoly Academy of French Guiana and Shiva Boys’ Hindu College of Trinidad & Tobago that are the defending champions.

KFC’s commitment is in the sum of $2.5million which Training Manager, Charissa Rampersaud, handed over to Mendonca via cheque during

the simple but significant proceeding. Rampersaud posited during brief remarks that, “Football is a notable sport in Guyana and our future as a football nation looks very encouraging with the current generation of talented youth who are involved in the sport.”

The KFC representative further shared that, “We are confident that this series of games will be an exciting exhibition of skills and competition that will result in a thrilling experience for all fans.” The event has also gained the support of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and coach Wayne ‘Wiggy’ Dover was on hand to represent the entity.

PAGE 40

Saturday September 07, 2019

Kaieteur News

North Pakaraimas Football Tourney

Paramakatoi and Kanapang emerge male and female champions

North Pakaraimas Football Tourney 2019 male winners, Paramakatoi Spartans United.

Paramakatoi Spartans United defeated Kato 2-1 to win this year’s edition of the North Pakaraimas Football Tournament and have earned the right to represent at the Heritage Games, 2019 in the City.

In the third place match, Chenapou Red Heat was way too hot for Kanapang as they ran away 3-0 winners. Paramakatoi’s Daniel Calvalcante was named the Most Valuable Player of

Female champs of the 2019 North Pakaraimas Football Tourney, Kanapang FC.

the tournament, while Kato’s Carl Pereira ended as the Highest Goal Scorer with five goals.

James McGarrell was deemed to possess the safest pair of hands of the fourteen male teams and won the accolade as the Best Goalkeeper of the tournament while the Fair Play trophy went to host village, Kamana.

On the distaff side, Kanapang lifted the championship

trophy thanks to a 1-0 win over Kurukabaru. Itabac emerged as the winner of the third place match-up against Kamana by a similar score line as the final.

Kanapang swept all the individual prizes with Elizabeth Lewis claiming the MVP trophy, Ellen Williams was the leading goal scorer with six (6) with the Best Goalkeeper trophy going to Sharmella Clement. Kamana was declared the Fair Play team.

Quitting track? Semenya signs for South African soccer team AP - Tired, maybe, after 10 years of fighting track authorities, Caster Semenya has signed up to play with a South African soccer team.

Currently banned from competing in her preferred event, the two-time Olympic 800-meter champion might now be ready to give up running in favor of a sport where she isn’t forced to take hormone-suppressing medication.

Semenya wrote on Twitter yesterday that she had joined Johannesburg-based women’s club JVW FC, posting a photo of herself smiling and holding up a soccer shirt. She said in a separate statement she was looking forward to a “new journey.”

The club, which is owned

by South Africa national women’s team captain Janine van Wyk, said Semenya began training with the team this week but she won’t be registered to play league games until next year.

But that timing is significant because the South African women’s soccer season in 2020 will be in action at the same time as the Olympics in Tokyo.

“I am grateful for this opportunity and I appreciate the love and support I already get from the team,” the 28year-old Semenya said. “I am looking forward to this new journey, and hopefully I can contribute as much as I can to the club.”

Semenya, who won her

South Africa’s Caster Semenya smiles after winning the women’s 800-meter race during the Prefontaine Classic, an IAAF Diamond League athletics meeting. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File) first major track title at the world championships in Berlin a decade ago, didn’t directly say if she was retiring from track and field. But she has hinted on numerous occasions on social media in recent months she would be willing to give up if she isn’t allowed to compete in her favorite event without being forced to take medication to lower her natural testosterone level.

Semenya is barred from defending her 800 title at this month’s world championships — and cannot currently compete in any top-level races in distances from 400 meters to one mile — after refusing to

follow new IAAF rules requiring her to reduce her testosterone by taking daily contraceptive pills or having surgery.

She is appealing against those rules at the Swiss supreme court — her second legal challenge against them — but faced a setback in July when the court provisionally upheld the rules. That ended Semenya’s ambitions to defend her title at the worlds in Doha, Qatar. She last ran a competitive race in June.

Semenya lost her first legal appeal at the Swissbased Court of Arbitration for Sport earlier this year, prompting her to go to Switzerland’s supreme court.

The latest legal blow might have pushed her to quit.

The Swiss Federal Tribunal said Semenya’s latest challenge “does not appear with high probability to be well founded,” although the court still hasn’t given its final verdict.

In the hours after that provisional decision to uphold the testosterone regulations was announced, Semenya wrote on social media: “First chapter of my life done, looking forward to my second chapter.”

Her social media pages have also been littered lately with images of soccer balls, uniforms and cleats.

Unlike track, top-level

soccer doesn’t have any regulations forcing female players to lower naturally high testosterone levels.

The women’s soccer league in South Africa is only semi-professional — the country’s top players play overseas. But South Africa is bidding to host the next Women’s World Cup in 2023.

Usain Bolt played semiprofessional soccer in Australia after retiring from track — with limited success.

Van Wyk, a former Houston Dash defender and probably South Africa’s most successful female player, said Semenya had played soccer when she was younger and “it is no shock that she has finally set her sights on playing competitive football.”

“I am extremely elated to have such an iconic athlete join my football club,” van Wyk said. “I am absolutely honored that out of all the other women’s clubs around the world, she (Semenya) has chosen JVW as the club where she would like to start showcasing her football skills.”

Semenya is one of several elite female athletes with one of a group of conditions known as differences of sex development, which result in male and female biological characteristics.

She was legally identified as female at birth and has identified as female her whole life but was born with the typical male XY

chromosome pattern and has testosterone levels higher than the typical female range.

The IAAF says that testosterone gives her an unfair athletic advantage over other female runners and she must medically reduce it to be allowed to compete in certain events. The IAAF said athletes with her condition are “biologically male,” an assertion that Semenya calls “deeply hurtful.”

Semenya has three world titles to go with her two Olympic golds but has been fighting the IAAF ever since her first worlds in Berlin in 2009, when she arrived as an unknown teenager and beat the best. Her stunning success and muscular build prompted the IAAF to force her to undergo sex verification tests. She was suspended from competition for nearly a year and had to take hormone suppressing medication to be able to run from 2010-15.

Semenya has never spoken in detail in public about those experiences, but she revealed in court testimony in February how they threatened to kill her love of running.

In just one example, Semenya said she had been subjected to two intrusive sex verification tests without her proper consent when she was only 18. She called her treatment by track authorities “atrocious and humiliating.”

Saturday September 07, 2019

Kaieteur News

GFF-Capelli Sport ink four-year kit supply contract - Youth to Senior National Team Kits to be provided Following a successful initial engagement with Capelli Sport (CS), which outfitted the Guyana National Senior Men’s Team during its recent Gold Cup Campaign, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has inked a four-year contract with the sportswear manufacturer.

The contract, which became effective August 29, 2019, makes CS the official uniform, apparel and equipment provider of all levels of the GFF from the senior teams, youth and women’s national teams, including the U15, 17, 20 and senior teams respectively.

Among the other primary terms of the deliverables for CS are: -Providing logistical support to national teams visiting the USA or Europe, including free access to CSowned training fields, gyms, office spaces and other similar facilities available to aid the preparation of teams -Facilitating player scouting opportunities

including professional and collegiate trials and exposure for GFF elite players as well as coordinate training matches, as necessary -Creating and managing a branded online store for the GFF to sell replicas, fan wear, merchandise and accessories. All fan wear items to be offered will be the same as what the GFF offers for their own fan wear sales and the GFF will receive 30% of all the proceeds.

In exchange, the GFF will offer CS guaranteed annual purchase, preferential considerations when purchasing uniforms for Grassroots programmes and/or any Domestic Competitions organized and / or administered by the GFF, as well as other fan-related merchandise. CS will also be offered marketing privileges including but not limited to logo placements/agency brand visibility on GFF’s stationery and marketing platforms including social media, access to GFF’s

marketing partners for promotion / engagement

purposes and access by CS to (Continued on page 31)

PAGE 41

KFC commits t r o Sp sponsorship for year-end school tournament

From left, Troy Mendonca and Mark Alleyne of Petra along with Charissa Rampersaud of KFC and Wayne Dover of GFF pose with the sponsorship cheque during yesterday’s launch.

Healy, Lanning centuries crush Windies in opener

Lasith Malinga takes off in celebration after his hat-trick. (AFP)

West Indies skipper Stafanie Taylor.

Sri Lanka’s Malinga takes four wickets in four balls 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.