Kaieteur News
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Friday September 08, 2017
Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
EDITORIAL
An all-encompassing tragedy The heartless killing of 18-month-old Ronasha Pilgrim on Friday September 1, 2017, allegedly by her ex-convict uncle, has touched the raw emotions in Guyanese at home and abroad. The killing of children anywhere in the world is unthinkable, but the murder of this beautiful and innocent infant is shocking and unbearable. It is as if the future and hope of the nation has been dealt a fatal blow. In a real sense this is one of the most gruesome murders of an infant in recent history. Not even the most inventive horror dramatist could have scripted or devised a murder so grisly. It is alleged that the toddler’s uncle, who as reported was high on some illegal substance, broke into their North Sophia home, savagely ripped a pair of gold earrings from her ears, flung her out of a window, buried her alive in a shallow grave, and then covered the grave with pieces of wood to cover his tracks. It was the most senseless and violent death of a toddler and because of it, part of the country dies. Had she lived to become an adult, who knows what great things she could have achieved? She could have risen up amid her humble circumstances to become a leader, an educator, a CEO, or perhaps a high-ranking government official. But we will never know. What we do know is that she is gone too early and was not given a chance. Why her uncle allegedly buried her alive is a mystery? However, we condemn in the strongest possible terms this gruesome murder and express our condolences to the relatives of the deceased. It is clear there are systems in place to ensure the safety and protection of children in the country, but one wonders if they are sufficient. Even though the authorities do not have the wherewithal to prevent the murders of children in some instances, the regularity with which the murders of children have occurred over the years shows that there is the need for greater monitoring across the board, especially those in single parent homes, as was the case with Ronasha Pilgrim. It does not escape our notice that Little Ronasha and her two older brothers, ages12 and 10, were alone at home in their one-bedroom shack at the time their uncle broke in. There have long been concerns about the mental health of persons using illegal drugs. More to the point, in many cases when caught, they are prosecuted, imprisoned and released without counseling or mental health check-ups. One can reasonably surmise that the suspect in the toddler’s murder is suffering from mental health issues because no rational person would even think about performing such maniacal acts. The Ministry of Public Health and other health institutions should regularly examine and pronounce on the mental health of drug users in order to protect the most vulnerable members of society—children and the elderly. Needless to say, healthcare is not just needles and pills and surgeries and prescriptions. It is an examination of the fullness of the human being, the sacred soul housed within a fragile body. The murderer of Ronasha Pilgrim may have mental health problems, but in a normal existence there can be absolutely no excuse for what he did. Having said that, we as a society cannot see incidents like this occur and turn a blind eye. We have to do better. Mental health issues are serious, but the public needs to be made more aware of this. We are treating mental health on the same footing as physical well-being? A look at some of the country’s major public health facilities reveals that little emphasis is being placed on mental health issues. Ronasha Pilgrim was innocent. Her demise is an all-encompassing tragedy.
Editor’s Note; If your sent letter was not published and you felt its contents were valid and devoid of libel or personal attacks, please contact us by phone or email.
A desperate appeal by a pensioner for his NIS benefits Dear Editor, Please publish this letter as early as possible regarding my struggle with NIS concerning my old age benefit claims. In mid May 2017, myself and my contact person attended a meeting (by invitation) at NIS Head Office in Brickdam posted by NIS Deputy General Manager- Mr. Boston, Public Relations Officer –Ms. Diane Lewis Baxter, Chief Inspector-Mr.Yearwood, and two officials. During the meeting, Mr.Yearwood stated that he did a thorough investigation regarding my employment with Toolsie Persaud Ltd. (TPL) and found no record or evidence that I was an employee of TPL whose management strongly denied I was ever an employee and he (Yearwood) believes TPL’s management. Mr. Editor I was momentarily stunned by this unexpected and appalling statement. Here is the chief inspector of NIS with copies of my pay slips showing NIS and PAYE deductions made from my salaries and
an official letter from the Human Resources Consultant, Mr. Bostwick verifying I was an employee for over nineteen years (1969-1744, 1979-1998, 2002-2004) knowingly discrediting substantial facts raising suspicions of my integrity and sanity. I am still pondering whether the chief inspector is being manipulated. The deputy general manager intervened immediately and said he will attend to my benefit claim and set 16th June 2017 for an update to which I agreed. I was also advised to get at least two references from former managers to support my employment with TPL. This was obtained and delivered to Mr. Boston. To date 2nd September 2017 despite several phone calls, text messages and visits to NIS Head Office, Mr. Boston is elusive. A letter on my behalf (will not name the source) was sent to the Minister of Social Protection for investigation and not hearing from the honorable Minister, several copies of this said letter was hand delivered to the same Minister’s office and the Minister of
Labour. To date 2nd September 2017, no respond from either ministry. This highly official letter seems ignored. I’ve seen the Minister of Labour, Mr. Keith Scott on television addressing officials of security firms vehemently denouncing employment of women late at nights, inadequate working conditions, excessive working hours and salaries below the prescribed rate and advocating strong support for workers by his ministry. I will pretend Minister Scott is unaware of my dilemma and will again hand deliver all relevant information regarding my employment and my contributions to NIS pension fund. Minister Scott can now confront TPL with these facts, have my matter solved, give hope to former employees with similar complaints against this firm and prove to all Guyanese that he is not into rhetoric and spineless but a minister full of gumption. Thank you Mr. Editor, Hoping the Minister will take the challenge. Gerald Schomburgh
We need to know how the oil money is going to be used Dear Editor Oil was discovered in Guyana in 2015. It is expected to start flowing in 2020. And, Guyana will start receiving royalty soon afterwards. The APNU+AFC Coalition came into power in May 2015. Yet, little has been done in planning on how to use the oil money. Since 2015 the APNU+AFC Government of President David Granger seems to be living in a cocoon. There seems to be no forward economic planning on how to use the oil money to benefit the masses. Is the oil money going to be used to create much needed jobs in Guyana for Guyanese? Is it going to be used to bolster
the Treasury? Is it going to be used to create a Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) which is then invested to generate more money? Is it going to be used for infrastructure development? These are some of the questions that could be answered. Clearly the APNU+AFC Government of President David Granger needs to tackle its policy paralysis and formulate an economic blueprint on how the oil money will be spent. Oil is not going to make the ordinary Guyanese man/woman rich or even better-off unless the Government starts planning on how to use the royalty from oil to benefit Guyanese. Sean Ori
St. Margaret’s School is doing a disservice to these students Dear Editor, This is an open letter to the Minister of Education. My grandchildren attend St Margaret’s School and are excited to be going back to school. There is however, a matter of great concern to me. We found out that the Grade 6 Exam class that one of my grandchildren is in, has a temporary teacher who would be gone most of the time when university opens since she is a student there. I have the following questions; is this situation repeated in other schools? Do we have a teacher shortage? Are there teachers still waiting to be posted to schools? Can this be fixed? This is indeed a disappointment and should not be. It is unacceptable. All students should have
permanent teachers and especially at grade 6 since this is the year that they will prepare for an exam the results of which, will greatly determine their lives. Our children deserve better. I plead with the Minister of Education to look into this matter. We must not let our children down. Those responsible for their education must insure that each child has a full time teacher in class and every student required to write national exams is well prepared. We can do better for these students. These schools must be fully staffed. We all cannot afford private schools, the majority of families still depend on public education, as a country we must do right by them. Pamela Richmond
The arguments denouncing capitalism are flawed Dear Editor, I could not resist the urge to suffer my sick eyes to read the content of a certain letter. After reading it four times, I still could not grasp the writer’s concept that socialism is a superior system to capitalism. These are the types of narratives that dissuade young people from believing that they have the skills to read and understand. As they lose confidence in their ability to read and comprehend they will stop readingthe feeling of incompetence and illiteracy will set in like rigor mortis on their souls. The most basic comprehension question in this missive should be this. Give one reason for the writer opining that “Socialism is a superior system to
capitalism”? Not a single reason is given. Albeit the letter’s objective was to lambast a certain columnist (Peeping Tom) for an article captioned“Capitalism cannot exist where there is socialist thinking” which the writer, one Gerald Perreira describes as a “most vexatious and vulgar opinion piece”. He remonstrates at the Peeper’s ignorance in regards to “the genesis and development of capitalism and socialism, both globally and in Guyana. Perreira wrote. “The socialism we speak of existed prior to European notions of socialism and are rooted in our ancient traditions and cultures.” In analyzing this sentence, the socialism referred to makes socialism multifaceted-meaning that there are
different types of socialism. With that in mind, the Peeper could have been speaking of a different type of socialism than the one Perreira was alluding to. Who is the “we” in the “we speak of existed”? Suddenly he is writing on behalf of himself and other people (we) . Sir! If you’re on the path of refuting someone’s knowledge of something or concept you have to provide a clear and concise description of your knowledge of that something or concept. Sir you wrote; “The socialism we speak of existed” blah! blah! Existed means it was there -genesis speaks of beginnings - where is your genesis that you accuse the Peeper of not knowing? (Continued on page 6)
Friday September 08, 2017
A blueprint for the diversification of Wales Estate DEAR EDITOR, I refer to my letter, “Guyana’s future must be based on an agricultural economy, (KN, Sep.7). In this missive here I would like to suggest some steps for a new beginning. Wales estate offer a great opportunity 1 Land devolved into practical useful size plots for family cultivation. 2 Funding for loans which will be used as seed capital by the new landed farmer for basic but fundamentally difficult steps toward their development and prosperity. The seed loans are the venue through which the farmer is educated to the new technologies inherent in wind, water and solar engines. A new understanding of how water, wind and effort can be brought to the land for effective agricultural production. Hopefully to allow the farmers to an epiphany which says “farming is a profession of the utmost values, and not a fall back for the poor and defeated in spirit”. 3 This will naturally develop as an adjunct as the farmer gets more familiar with alternate energy technology to link him to the global community or link the individual farmer and community of farmers to the global similarities of interest. 4 OPENING of a channel for innovation, innovative thinking and experimentation and research. 5 Initial mapping of what a green economy could and should be. 6 A defining model that can be used in other traditionally agricultural communities in Guyana especially and worldwide. 7 The creation of not new urban communities, but globalized villages directly interacting with each other. Norway Fund: The biggest problem which appears to be hindering the transition of sugar industry in forms and function is the universal lament of lack of capital (money) seen as necessary for any movement to occur in transition to take form or begin. Notwithstanding the fact that there is the GREEN FUND
the Govt of Norway has agreed to as part of Guyana’s commitment to the protection of its greenery. CAPITAL inherent in the Guyana Diaspora - - savings and assets that might be mobilized if some form of a monetary financial system were to be implemented in Guyana i.e an active and well stocked Equities Market, Bond Market, at National, Municipal and Community levels. We do want cooperation among the future adherents of the Project Wales. This cooperation need not be in form but in substance. Settlers will be in charge of their own cultivation plots, they will cooperate by way of written contracts, and basic regulations in areas of maintenance of drainage and irrigation, dams, joint purchase of inputs to production, joint marketing, central processing, and all matters relevant to assuring sound business practices. As a consequence of the foregone, cooperation/ cooperatives would emerge, being the natural needs/requirements of community life. Senior and other managerial staff at Wales is essential to the superintendence of the project. The projection of Wales as the forerunner to a larger transition will include the entire West Bank Demerara. The former cane farmers who have been involved in the cooperative spirit, other owners of free hold lands, including the Canals Polder will come under the umbrella of the seasoned managers in the creation of mega fruit production, beginning with Wales. Some form of training in “other crops” will be quickl y a b s o r b e d b y these skilled persons, who already know the new farmers, the terrain and other faculties of Wales. We should endeavour to keep these professionals in the rural environment for all sorts of reasons, chief of which is the continued brain drain that has been affecting Guyana for decades. These are bare-boned possibilities for the envisioning and implementation of the Transition process at Wales. Hafiz Rahaman Rural People Organization
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BETTER TRAINING FACILITIES ARE NEEDED IN REGION 2 DEAR EDITOR, Sports remain an integral element in boosting the fitness, morale and confidence of a wide cross section of proactive Essequibians. During the past year I have witnessed an increase in the number of persons utilizing the public road primarily to exercise. Even some recognizable athletes have been reverting to the road as well since it has been difficult and untenable for them to do otherwise. I’m convinced therefore that much more needs to be done in creating an enabling and conducive training environment in Region 2. Along the Essequibo Coast there are a number of grounds that have been neglected, destroyed due to the invasion of stray animals, while others have been abandoned. This is quite unacceptable and the relevant authorities must become conscious about reversing this ugly situation. I am aware that the Government has been providing financial
support in upgrading grounds across the country. Interestingly though, the mechanisms by which some of these grounds are administered, leaves much to be desired. In one instance, countless loads of sand were thrown unto a ground in Henrietta to combat flooding. While the idea was commendable, unfortunately the sand was not mixed into the soil and it remained as it were until the thick grass reclaimed its presence. During the period, the ground became useless and still is presently. Similar unpopular decisions have been unearthed at other facilities too. Another huge space which has been underutilized and which can be transformed into a multi-purpose facility is the Anna Regina Drying Floor. This is massive concretelaid area which was built and used primarily by farmers to dry large amount of paddy. This practice is no longer continuing and the area has
deteriorated and became grass infested. However the residents within the village and in particular youths have been occupying same to indulge in sporting activities including cricket and football. Amazingly, it has become an ideal and strategic venue for leisure. It will be to the benefit of the community therefore to have this potential arena developed into a modern sporting spectacle. The Government must see the enormous benefits that can be derived from having such facilities in the Region, since the population is becoming increasingly more sports and health conscious, but without the necessary support at present. An appeal is also being made to safeguard the safety of fitness joggers whose lives and limbs are at risk whenever they occupy the roadways either early in the mornings or in the evenings. The road remains narrow amid an increase in the amount of vehicles presently as the threat
exist ever potently for accidents including with animals too. Additionally, raging dogs become quite an enemy too to those who continue to jog. These deterrent factors can be instantly reversed with the implementation of prudent policies that will seek to enhance the worthiness of many useless grounds as well as to recognize the importance of Region 2 population remaining healthy, strong and active in sports. It is indeed with much pride and a sense of glowing satisfaction too that I applaud the appointment of the Honorable Dr. George Norton, Minister of Social Cohesion who is now responsible for Sports. His sporting background being an administrator along with his country-side groundings no doubt will lend credence for his appreciation for the Coastland and the challenges to have sports prosper in such Regions. It is time though, for Region 2 to have better training facilities. Elroy Stephney
Adding greater meaning to education in a green economy DEAR EDITOR It is a fact that natural science taught in tropical schools suffers through having evolved from that of temperate countries; and this may be said not only of its content, but of the methods used in teaching it. The long ‘dead’ winter of the temperate zones, connected to what is generally an urban environment, has encouraged an indoor approach to the subject, based on the study of dead specimens and of books which we who teach in the tropics have less need to impose on ourselves. We are fortunate to work where direct contact with plants and animals in their natural habitats is usually possible at all seasons of the year. Exploiting this asset, especially when introducing biology in the fourth year of secondary school, would seem to hold considerable advantages. Then our students are most likely to come to appreciate the subject for what it is — a study of plants and animals by man — rather than as information to be accepted and memorized. A prior acquaintance with living plants and animals would pro-
vide the soundest possible background for the more systematic study of later years. Guyana today, a developing country having come out of a period of colonialism, greatly needs to take careful and accurate stock of its resources. The development programmes are placing increasing emphasis on agriculture, particularly the need for its diversification, but it is obvious that in order to accomplish diversification of agriculture and improvement of our natural resources, we
need to know, among other things, exactly what plants (edible and otherwise), animals and soils we have in Guyana, where they are and what are their characteristics. With such knowledge we can develop techniques for maximizing our gains from the soil, conducting research, promoting eco-tourism, creating employment and thus, go a long way towards real economic independence and indeed, lead easier lives. Towards this end, Evergreen Nature Study Club was
established on 8th September 1997, Georgetown, and soon taken to secondary and primary schools in other parts of the country with the aim of awakening the curiosity of the human mind emphasizing on natural science, geography, research techniques and tourism habits. To date, there are Club Representatives in every Administrative Region of the country - the last being Region 8, Mahdia in 2003. Besides practical outreach projects, a number of (Continued on page 6)
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Is the GFF Executive, still in charge of football in Guyana? DEAR EDITOR, I still support the notion of the philosopher, who once said “if one were to ask me for the perquisite of being involved in sports I would say the first thing is to be happy”. I’m no longer involve in the administration of football, since 2010. My tenure of 28 years began in 1982, with a modest commencement as a Divisional Representative. Thereafter, I climbed the Administrative ladder as a Divisional Secretary; Assistant Secretary/Treasurer (twice); Honorary Secretary elected (thrice) and in one instance Public Relations Officer, HonSecretary- I.M.C and Administrative Consultant. Suffice, it to say that all the relevant positions were within the Georgetown Football League (GFL) and Georgetown Football Association (GFA). As a consequence it remains “mind boggling” of what the administration of football has come to in our nation’s capital. Simply put a “prolonged dry spell” of domestic inactivity. That can
only be equated with reading out the Riot Act because of the loss of voting rights at General Council meetings of the GFF, with attendance still being a perquisite. The status quo as an affiliate is replaced by an Associate”. Where is the happiness? Is it a figment of one’s imagination? Would the present administrators continue to live in a world of glorious uncertainties, where happiness offers no guarantee? During my tenure, there were a few disappointments. At the end of each season, being happy and satisfied was always duly rewarding with an achievement collectively for our Executive to complete at least 85% competitions. Further, in two instances, over a two year period sixteen sponsored competitions were completed, with the relevant reports and audited financial statements. How does the GFF Executive view the unfortunate, money grabbing syndrome by private promoters, whose basic aim is enrichment at the expense of exploiting the
footballers. Interestingly, the majority of the players are products of the GFF, by virtue of being affiliated to clubs. As such it’s beyond my “stretch of imagination” that feature matches kicks off at 23:00 hours. Recently a finals was inconclusive at 02:30 hrs. Where are the collective voices of the GFF, General Council towards seeking a meaningful dialogue, via an Emergency Congress to discuss, the continued prostitution of 5-a- side football, with no tangible financial benefits for the GFF, being derived? Why the entire bunch of “egotistic and toothless poodles” can’t see beyond the tip of their noses? that the GFF can emerge out of the “dark casting shadows” towards imposing the relevant levy fees, or sanction the players, who participate. One thing I know for sure, this “confounded nonsense” would have never have occurred under the stewardship of former President and General Secretary,
President Granger has weakened the morale of the police force DEAR EDITOR: In law enforcement, your only real power comes from the strength of the system. The Guyana Police Force will only be strong if the system is allowed to function. President Granger’s instruction to the Police Service Commission did nothing else but weakens the system and he must be held accountable for the destruction of any green shoot of hope for that institution. There are clear procedures in the rule of law if an officer of the law is found to be corrupt, indiscipline or
out of order. The law sets out that a tribunal can be established to investigate the allegations and disciplinary actions can be taken. But Article 212 of the Guyana Constitution clearly articulated that “…. the power to make appointments to any office in the Police Force above the rank of Inspector…. resides with the Police Service Commission.” It does not reside with the President. So any rookie lawyer can advise that the President’s actions violated the rule of law and was highhanded, and did great harm to the Guyana Police Force. When good cops like Mr. Wendell Blanam cannot believe anymore that the system has their back so that they can do their work, when that ceases and when you
come under political pressure from the Presidency, then they have two choice – become corrupt or leave the system. Both options bring great harm to the institutions of the state and this is what President Granger did to the Crime Chief when he singled him out with his irrational comments upon receiving the reports from the Chairman of the COI into a bogus allegation of some kangaroo assassination. But more importantly Mr. Omesh Satyanand, the now departed Chairman of the Police Service Commission was nothing but a coward not clothe himself and his fellow members with the rule of law; rather they buckled to political bullyism which is now the raison d’être of the Granger administration. There goes the crime fighting capabilities of the Guyana Police Force thanks to President Granger himself. Ryan Basdeo
Colin Klass and George Rutherford respectively, due to the vibrancy of the General Council. By the way if it was the Kashif & Shangai Organisation in the forefront as an organiser, the level of disgruntlement, in every “nook and cranny” would have scaled the pinnacle of Mount Roraima. Where are the “prophets and doom and gloom within the media today? By the way, what has happened to the “Audit for the finances of the 2014 world Cup Qualifier Guyana vs Mexico”, which received adequate publicity, in both the electronic and print media? Editor, with the level of any sport, being determined by the level of Administration in place, it would be interesting to know if the present GFF-Administration would review all previous contracts inked between a past GFF Ex-
ecutive, (Klass- led) and private promoters for approval of tournaments. Failing of this would entail “dire consequences” for a legitimate Club / Association. While “Nero fiddles, Rome burns.” Football is the world’s most emotional sports with the largest spectatorship. It has most participating countries than other sports. It is the most financially lucrative of sports to the extent that the highest paid player worldwide is earning €600,000 weekly, after taxes. Additionally, the disbursements accrued from profits at World Cups enables 212 participating countries to benefit from a bonus, and not forgetting development funds. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, our beloved Guyana would be laughed upon for its “continued underdevelopment of the sport”.
Private promoters can continue to have a field day with coordinating tournaments unchecked. In the same vein can anyone of the lot, who were recently touted in the print media, of supposedly having the requisite administrative acumen of organizing, compile a comprehensive statistical tournament report? Surely, this would exclude Troy Mendonca, Co-Director, Petra Organisation, but definitely would include at least two journalists, one of whom was extremely critical in the past of purported shortcomings in the sport. In erstwhile organizing a tournament for entirely financial gains, can never be equated with organizing an “Annual Calendar of Activities consisting of development from the embryonic stage (PEE-WEE) - seniors. Lester Sealey
Reflections on the late Richard Berkeley Fields – QC Old Boy DEAR EDITOR, The Queen’s College (QC) Old Boys Alumni – of the “Fifties” era – mourns the transition of our dear “Schoolmates”, Richard Berkeley Fields (Fields, RB. – Pilgrim House, Upper Six Modern, U6M – 1957) “Dickie” as he was fondly known at QC (which institution informed our youthful nurture) was a respected and admired Student/Prefect/Cadet Corps whose incomparable “savoir faire” was the envy of us all. He personified decorum, dignity, and presence – all of which were the hallmarks of the QC “Boy” – qualities we all sought to emulate – thus earning him Pride of Place amongst his contemporaries.
Erudite in speech, immaculate in attire and with a penchant for scholarship, Dickie was also an accomplished athlete and it was gratifying to watch him float effortlessly over the hurdles at our annual school sports – invariably leaving the other competitors in his wake. There are not many of us of that epoch left in Guyana but I am positive, with the passing of Dickie, that the indissoluble bond which exists among “QC Old Boys” will resonate amongst the likes of Herman Rohlehr, Terry Fletcher, John and Harcourt Browman, Yussuff Sankar, Leslie Chin, Fitz McLean, “Gussie” Lee, Jeff and Peter Fraser, Tommy Payne, Tom Dalgetty, Rupert
Roopnaraine, Kelly Saul, “Chico” Beharry, “Gooby” McGowan, John Yates, Lennox Applewaite, Steve Backer, Owen Edwards, David Granger, Noel Holder, Desmond Roberts, Ron Robinson, Joe Singh, Roger Luncheon, Carlton James, “Celly” Pinkerton, Colin Cholmondeley, Denis Niles, Pat Woolford, Norbert Grant, Gladstone Mitchell, John Worrell, David Klautky, Donald Trotman et al. Let us be consoled by recalling the adage that “to live in the hearts of those we leave behind is not to die” We pray for the repose of his soul, QC Old Boys (Austin House) Upper Six Classical (U6C1959)
Adding greater meaning to education... From page 5 booklets have been produced by the Club and most importantly, this year the Club in collaboration with Mc Garrell Farm and Plant Nursery establishment has initiated a School Crop Garden Competition for secondary schools in regions 3, 4 and 10 as a start. The prizegiving project shall see a dura-
tion of eight weeks from the 4 September to 31 October, 2017 culminating in Agricultural Month. The objective is to encourage students towards greater participatory activities in agricultural/environmental sciences in Guyana’s schools as we strive towards a green economy. Education can be exciting. Every student knows that out-
doors is fun and only copying notes in class is boring Congratulations to all our representatives and students in every Region of Guyana on the occasion of the Club’s Twentieth Anniversary. Fitz H. Ogle Founder Evergreen Nature Study Club
The arguments denouncing capitalism are flawed From page 4 Perreria wrote; “Peeping Tom teaches us nothing about capitalism and socialism because he/she has not a clue about either.”As I see it, the peeper wrote under the assumption that readers could reckon with his message. You are saying that the Peeper, “has not a clue about each “of the “isms” and your
point about socialism is a superior system to capitalism puts the onus on yourself to explain the concepts and the pros and cons and your reason for giving socialism superior status. Me! I don’t have a clue. I am writing because of my disappointment in Mr Perreira content. What I do believe is that socialism on paper is a glit-
tery concept. It seems to offer a fair distribution of a country’s wealth. What the proponents of socialism failed to understand or grossly underestimate is the inherent greed in humans that commands them to strive and struggle to achieve wealth and prosperity for themselves. State ownership of the forces of pro-
duction under socialism practically killed the human spirit in that regard. Ultimately it failed leaving a trail of dictators around the world. The optimist in me persuades me to encourage the youths to continue to read and be enlightened. You are the futurebe instrumental in the changes you want to see. Rudolph Singh
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House blaze leads fire-fighters to man’s burnt body in living room - Cousin arrested as cops probe possible robbery/murder Fire-fighters early yesterday morning stumbled upon the body of a Golden Grove, East Coast Demerara man just minutes after they were called to his home to investigate a fire that had broken out in one of the bedrooms. The victim has been identified as 39-year-old Sean Prince, of 67 Sideline Dam, Golden Grove. He was managing his father’s shipping company—Prince’s Shipping—located in Muneshwers Building on Main Street, Georgetown. The man’s burnt body was found among the debris in the living room of his home around 01:30 hrs. A cousin who lives in the bottom flat of the two-storey property has been taken into custody as police probe a possible robbery/murder. The house in which the duo was residing is owned by Prince’s father, who resides in the United States of America. Fire Chief Marlon Gentle when contacted yesterday said that when his ranks responded to the scene, they had established that it was not a normal fire, based on the physical evidence present at the scene. He indicated that they are awaiting a Post Mortem examination to determine the cause of the businessman’s death. Kaieteur News was informed that residents claimed that they heard what sounded like gunshots in the village just before they noticed Prince’s home was engulfed in fire. A detective confirmed that they have received this information. Prince was last seen imbibing with persons in the village and watching cricket late Wednesday night at a shop in Golden Grove. After the game, he reportedly left in the company of a woman, who is said to be a stranger to villagers. It was the cousin, who has been detained, that raised an alarm. He managed to save
Prince was burnt to death in his home
Dead: Sean Prince some of his belongings. A relative of the deceased, who asked that her name be withheld, said that by the time she arrived at the location, the blaze had almost engulfed most of the building. “When they (firemen) put out the fire, they found the body.” The woman is convinced that something suspicious took place. One resident was heard saying, “You tell me a big strong man like that can’t scream or get out of a burning house? Something surely wrong there.” A neighbour said, “Everyone de watching de cricket,
The victim’s body being taken away from the scene
and as soon as it finished we went to bed and shortly after, we hear about the fire.” He added that residents assumed that the man was not at home. Kaieteur News was informed that most of the man’s relatives are residing in the US and they are currently making
arrangements to come to Guyana.
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Guyana moves to fix solid waste problem from ships The Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) on Thursday hosted a meeting with stakeholders to address challenges of waste disposal in the Maritime sector. The one-day meeting is the start of a feasibility study being considered as part of a Regional Plan to tackle the proper disposal of solid waste both internally and externally. Keith Donohue, a Consultant from the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) said that under the United National Environment Centre Programme – small islands developing states – of which Guyana is a part, faces challenges on handling waste domestically, also from ships coming into ports. “The feasibility is to see if we should do a Regional Plan for the Caribbean. If there is a reason to do a regional plan, then we submit that to the International Maritime Organisation and if it is approved, eventually it will lead to regional arrangements and that can be the different types of options. Maybe some locations of the Caribbean can be central locations or hubs or logistics hubs to receive more waste from ships,” Donohue explained. Donohue added that as part of this project, the IMO is seeking recommendations and solutions to improve methods of dealing with waste coming from ships. This will improve their capability reasons. For business reasons they will have more opportunities to recycle waste by aggregating at certain locations but what exactly that may be and if that is a possibility, we are not going to determine it until we move forward,”. Donohue explained that key areas with adequate port reception facilities are an obligation for contracting parties, under the International Convention to prevent pollution from ships. He added that under the National and Port plans, development, “Is a process in place so that when waste comes in, we know that it gets dealt with properly and get disposed of properly, but also to make sure that there are incentives for proper disposal in businesses.” Director of Maritime Safety, MARAD, Captain John Flores, said that the meeting will aid the preparation for an audit in February of 2018. “We are preparing for an audit next year February and at the same time we are preparing for Oil and Gas. We are putting a lot of the regulations in place, a lot of the structures, best practices under IMO and some of the other countries are putting in place.” Captain Flores added, “Guyana is a part the Caribbean Maritime Understanding (MCU/ MOU), and our standards have been prepared in keeping with other Caribbean countries and IMO. If next year audit finds us lacking in any area, I am sure that they will be (making) some recommendations”. The participants from government, the shipping industry and waste disposal companies all shared their views, understanding and positions on the plan.
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Political influence The People’s National Congress (PNC) held a special congress of the party on the 10th November 1973, a mere four months after dead people voted in the rigged 1973 elections. Addressing those gathered Founder Member, Member of Parliament and Parliamentary Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, Margaret Ackman, called for a system of exclusive membership, since she noted that persons
felt that using the party card entitled them to jobs, houses or other favours. If you had a party card in those days you could use it to get things done for you within the government. A party card unlocked doors and kept them open for you. The PNC party card was responsible for packing the public service with a lot of misfits - square pegs in round holes who could not function and who ran down
public corporations because of their incompetence on the job. It was at that very Congress also that Burnham proposed the idea of primary elections for choosing representatives of the party. So the system which was introduced to decide on the party’s presidential candidate in the 2011 elections is not a new one. Burnham’s suggestion was that all representatives be chosen by
Controversial Providence lands…
Govt. should enforce contracts on defaulting developers - Opposition Leader It is the position of the parliamentary opposition, that all contracts signed between the State and housing developers should be enforced if the agreements were breached in any way by the developer. R e c e n t l y, K a i e t e u r News published articles concerning two controversial land deals regarding housing development deals that were signed with the State involving BaiShanLin and Roopnarine ‘Ravie’ Ramcharitar. Responding to these articles, Opposition Leader and former President, Bharrat Jagdeo said that the opposition will support the government in enforcing agreements with private developers. Jagdeo was at the time making his opening statements at a press conference held at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition yesterday. “So what should the government do? And they have our full support; it is to enforce the agreement with these developers. If they (the developers) did not do what they promised to do, then there must be a penalty for not doing what they promised to do.” Jagdeo explained that the two specific land sales and the signing of the contracts occurred under the People’s Progressive Party Civic administration. He said that there was a public advertisement published in 2010 inviting expressions of interest for housing development at the proposed Eccles to Mocha housing development. “It (the advertisement) outlines all the conditions that people have to fulfil in expressing interest through a public process. It was an
advertisement in the newspaper. As a result of this advertisement, people submitted proposals for development. They had a contract; they got land at a particular price in exchange for commitments that they made.” Jagdeo said that approaching private developers was his government’s way of accelerating development of the housing programme. He said that each developer had a contract with conditions that they would have to satisfy to get the land and develop it. “If they breach any of these conditions then the government has the authority, the power to enforce on these contracts.” Further, Jagdeo said that after the reports appeared in the Kaieteur News, he sought some clarity from the then Minister of Housing, Irfaan Ali. He said that Ali told him that the sale of the lands was done following a public process, and that it was advertised. Jagdeo said that he further enquired whether the contracts were all standard contracts and that this was confirmed by Ali. He said that the contracts did not differ from any contract offered to other housing developers. “The same company that was written about in the Kaieteur News in a spectacular fashion has a contract like every other company, with obligations. Now it is our contention that if people have contracts with the government or the State, governments change, but the obligations remain the same.” The Opposition Leader went further to say that he is aware that there are other developers that are in breach of their contracts with the government. He said that the opposition would also support the government enforcing the
contracts against those developers if they are found to be in default of the performance of their obligations. “So if every one of these guys breaches the contracts which they got through a publicly tendered process, then they must be held accountable. This is our position on these matters. It’s simple, If you break the law, you have a contract and you profiteer and you should not have profiteered, (make money when you should have done the development), then the state needs to enforce it, and we will support the enforcement action of the state, because those contracts were concluded with us.” Jagdeo said that the same standard should be applied to Baishanlin. “They had agreements to develop facilities in Linden, a processing plant...they didn’t do it. Then the state had the right to intervene and say all the duty free (items) that you brought in for that project you have to account for it, because there was a contract.” The Opposition Leader went further and refuted claims that the contracts were part of an underhand deal. He said that if it were so, then there would not have been contracts with obligations to the developers. “If it was underhand, they would have had just an outright sale of the land to them at a low price and that’s the end of it.” C o n c e r n i n g BaiShanLin, 100 acres of land was sold by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) for US$2.2M to a company, Sunset Lakes, owned by local businessman Brian Tiwarie in 2014 to develop a gated community. However, eight weeks after that, the company was sold (Continued on page 10)
this process. But the thenPNC and the present PNCR would never go that far. Democracy is only trusted within certain limits within the PNCR. Today, you do not need a party card. You need a military card, and if you are retired and receiving a military pension, all the better, a big job awaits you. This is not to say that the party does not wield influence. It still does. All you need is to know somebody who knows somebody within the party and you can do just like what used to be done with the party card in 1973. One of the reasons why Ministers have become so ineffective is that they are spending half of their working day having to meet members of the public who are seeking jobs for their children. They are “pulling strings” rather
than cards to get jobs for their children and grandchildren. Red Thread is up in arms over the fact that a Regional Executive Officer (REO) who is before the courts on a sexual offence charge is still enjoying his full salary, even though he is on administrative leave. Is there a political connection to this saga? Is political influence at work here? It is standard practice in cases like these for a public servant before the court to be interdicted from duties and placed on half pay. The REO, however, is not a tenured public servant. He is most likely a contract employee. But in most contracts offered by the government, there is a stipulation which usually states that public service rules would apply. This should mean, therefore, that the REO should have been
interdicted and placed on half pay. Administrative leave is not used in cases where someone is facing trial for a charge unrelated to his work. Administrative leave is used when there is an investigation for an alleged infraction on the job. The REO should be interdicted and placed on half pay How then is the government going to explain this situation of the REO obtaining his full salary while awaiting trial? The Ministry of Communities has some questions to answer on this score.
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Friday September 08, 2017
Kaieteur News
=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===
Dog pen as a police station under the PPP’s hegemony The next two lines you are about to read I have published several times in the past year. Here we go; I cannot believe what I am reading in the newspapers about what PPP leaders are saying about bad governance at present. That preceding line I have penned umpteen times since May 2015. How can any human that has lived in this country under the presidencies of Jagdeo and Ramotar, and is still living in Guyana and reading the newspaper, retain their sanity after seeing what the former PPP ministers and presidents are writing? This newspaper last month, had a front page photograph of the police station at Matthew’s Ridge, which
was in such a dilapidated state, that many dog pens in Guyana are in better condition. This was Presidents Jagdeo and Ramotar. Fast forward the tape to 2017 and you will see a letter twice a week by Ramotar condemning the two-year-old government for non-performance. The same newspapers carry reports on the “alternative facts” Jagdeo spews out at his weekly press conference. Under these two presidents, a police station was in a worse condition than the average dog pen. I continue to advise people when I meet them that if they want to see a picture of how destructive the PPP leaders were when they controlled Guyana for twenty-three years, then read
the letter pages of the independent press. You will see stories about the sadistic neglect of the working people, the poor and powerless and even single mothers, by the PPP government that will make you cry. Do you know that in the hierarchy of the PPP organization in October 1992 when the PPP came to power was Roger Luncheon? From 1992 until the PPP was defeated at the 2015 poll, this gentleman was the Chairman of the Board of the NIS. I have had more complaints than I can count in my human rights career, from sugar workers, about the paper trail of contributions that cannot be found at the NIS and at GuySuCo. Some of these
Public advised to lodge complaints against lawyers via Appeal Court Members of the public aggrieved by actions of officials of the legal fraternity are encouraged to file their complaints with the Legal Practitioners’ Committee (LPC) via the Court of Appeal. Kaieteur News was informed that while the LPC is not sitting at present, the complainants can still visit the Court of Appeal and file their complaints. “When the LPC sits, the complaints will still be valid,” an official attached to the Appellate Court told Kaieteur News. “Forms are available for such matters to be filed.” The LPC is a statutory body established by the Legal Practitioners Act which hears complaints against lawyers. The LPC comprises two panels of Attorneys–at–law who are appointed by the Chancellor of the Judiciary. Article 36 of the Legal Practitioners Act gives the committee the power to “(a) dismiss the application; (b) impose on the attorney-at-law to whom the application relates, a fine not exceeding two hundred thou-
sand dollars as the Committee thinks proper; (c) reprimand the attorney-at-law to whom the application relates; or (d) make an order as to costs of proceedings as it thinks fit,” But despite its function, the committee has been largely criticised for its ineffectiveness. In a recent article, Attorney Christopher Ram cited a lack of resources, commitment and courage to deal with the “egregious infractions by some members of the profession,” among the hindrances to the work of the committee. He pointed out that he recently learnt of a matter in which a lawyer committed what amounts to a fraud on the courts. The matter was known to other lawyers, but they were reluctant to raise the issue. The lawyer was also critical of what he described as stories of case files being ducked. Ram’s concerns indeed would come at a time when there have been complaints against lawyers, lodged with
this newspaper and at other fora, about unethical practices of some lawyers. “Lawyers are bound by a Code of Conduct under the Legal Practitioners Act, but many, it seems, pay little attention to its prescriptions, confident that they will get away with whatever. Even when lawyers are found “guilty”, the strongest punishment they face is being told to refund the fees or money paid to them by their hapless clients,” Ram claimed in his letter. He said that in a civilised environment, such action would require publication. “Here in Guyana, there is no more tha n w h i s p e r among lawyers while the offending lawyer is free to continue the offending practice. My recommendation would be for the Legal Practitioners Committee to be headed by a retired judge enabled with capable fulltime staff, and for all its findings to be publicised. The public needs protection from unscrupulous practitioners,” Ram had said.
complaints were from retired sugar workers who virtually have no income. Some of these cries will bring tears to your eyes. These are the very leaders who are in the forefront of an anti-government condemnatory bandwagon. To see it just pick up the newspaper. During the hegemony of the PPP, I received pleas of help from people that reminded me of apartheid. These memories will forever live in my soul and once I am conscious of these pains, I will campaign against the PPP in the 2020 elections. The PPP two days ago put out a press release on me. No doubt it is designed to fool their supporters so they can retain the loyalty of their voters. The press statement rejects my contention in a recent column, that the decision to locate the Berbice Bridge between D’ Edward and Palmyra, was motivated by the politics of ethnic patronage. I will confront their propagandistic miasma on the bridge location in another col-
umn, but let’s return to memories of PPP’s destruction of Guyana. There were a man, his wife and his grandchild that were hounded down by the mandarin, KN’s satirical column, “Dem Boys Seh” referred to as the “Bruk Up” Minister, for selling on the parapet. The Ministry moved them from the parapet on Irving Street opposite St. Jose p h H i g h School. They went further up the street to J.B. Singh Road opposite Camp Ay a n g a n n a a n d w e r e evicted again, with their fruits being seized. Then I did a stupid thing (I do admit I put my foot in my mouth many times). After they complained to me and I wrote a column on it, vendetta visited them. They moved to the grassy parapet just next to Ocean View Hotel at Liliendaal, out of harm’s way. But the Ministry came there. I will never forget that sight of the grandmother holding her grandchild in her arms, with tears in her eyes, relating to
Frederick Kissoon me that the ministry confiscated all her stuff. I will never forget the look in that woman’s eyes. As I spoke to her, I knew there and then what my task was in my country; try as much as you can to help the poor classes. A month ago, I met the wife and daughter of the “Bruk Up” Minister at Bounty Supermarket. I knew her before she was married, so all during the reign of the PPP, we would say hello. I brought up the bad things the PPP did to this country, including her husband. Imagine, these destroyers are writing about bad governance in 2017.
Govt. should enforce contracts on... From page 9 to Baishanlin for US$8M. However, the CH&PA has commenced legal action seeking a declaration that the Authority is entitled to rescind the Agreement of Sale and Purchase made and entered into at Georgetown, Guyana between the Authority and Sunset Lakes in February
2014. Further, based on information received, Roopnarine ‘Ravie’ Ramcharitar also benefited from 28.8 acres of land at a cost of $173M. However, shortly after acquiring those lands, and in breach of his agreement with the CH&PA, resold those lands for three times the price, over $570M.
Dem boys seh ...
Guyana fed up wid pig in bag Fip Motilall come to Guyana bruck. Brassington, that crook and Jagdeo, that scamp, put Fip pun he foot. Dem boys believe that Fip compensate dem because dem is not family and dem was never friends. Brassington give him de US$10 million performance bond from de insurance company wha he friend and buddy own. That is wha seal de US$30 million hydro road contract and mek NICIL, de same company wha Brassington head, advance Fip money to bring in used equipment and scrap iron fuh de road. Everybody remember Brassington and Fip try to hid de equipment wha de advance money buy. De Waterfalls paper find dem in Linden pun a barge. Fip never had a blind cent to buy a piece of rope much less to begin de con-
tract. He come as a pauper and lef as a prince. He use to run from de press. Now dem got another set who trying wha Fip do. This set running from de press, too. De Waterfalls paper call dem and ask dem some simple and very straightforward questions about demselves and wha dem want to do in Guyana. One of de threesome tell dem boys to put that question in writing and e-mail it. When dem boys ask dem to name some of de places where dem do jobs, de answer was that it was confidential. Right away dem boys remember Jagdeo. Dem boys seh when a company cannot disclose where and in which country it work before and wid who, right away red flag gone up. When you seh it is confidential, things become more suspicious. When pressed fuh more
answers about de company de threesome seh how dem reputation should not be questioned. When dem boys hear that, dem get confused. Dem don’t know where to look fuh their reputation because that and all confidential. Dem can’t find nutten. Dem boys swear they don’t want Guyana get another pig in bag. Remember Fip did open an office in a garage in Campbellville; this set start wid an office in a garage in Canada. Fip tie bundle wid de govt; this set trying to tie bundle wid de govt. Fip come wid a big proposal and no money; this set come wid a small proposal and even smaller money hoping to carry away even bigger money than FIP. Talk half and avoid another pig in bag fuh Guyana
Friday September 08, 2017
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Kaieteur News
Jagdeo refuses to disclose details of meeting with Exxon Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo is refusing to release the details of a recent meeting he had with ExxonMobil executives. On Wednesday, Minister of Natural Resources had said at the Local Content Policy Framework engagement at the Marriott Hotel, that the parliamentary opposition is briefed frequently by ExxonMobil, regarding the oil and gas sector. On this premise, Jagdeo was asked by this newspaper yesterday at a press conference held at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, how frequent those briefings have been and what has been the subject of the engagements. Jagdeo said that he does not know what Minister
...says Trotman should tell country what happened before in U.S. Trotman would have meant by ‘frequent briefings.’ He said that after it was discovered by the media that five government Ministers visited Exxon Mobil’s Headquarters in Texas, USA, he received a call from the oil company to brief him about what was told to the Ministers while on the trip. “After the media discovered this, and then it became a public issue, I got a call from ExxonMobil to say that they wanted to brief me about was told to the Ministers in Texas, and I was thankful for it, and I had that briefing. But I don’t know what Trotman means by frequent briefings.”
Asked further what was conveyed to him by ExxonMobil officials regarding the Texas trip, Jagdeo said, “I can’t tell you that. I can’t give you all the details of the information. Trotman is the Minister, he should be disclosing. Did he tell you what they discussed in Texas? You’re asking me? I was not on the trip. I got a few pages of what took place. He should be telling the country.” Jagdeo has been calling for greater transparency surrounding the development of the oil and gas sector and every associated activity. He has even criticised some of
West Dem. Regional Hospital to be restored to former glory - Minister Cummings Minister within Ministry of Public Health Dr. Karen Cummings expressed her desire to reform the West Demerara Regional Hospital to its former glory. This was highlighted during a meeting yesterday, with the hospital’s department heads and representatives of the Regional Democratic Council about the health care delivery offered at the facility. The minister said that the image of the hospital has been compromised due to numerous incidents and this will have to be addressed by government. She requested the regional hospital’s department heads to inform her about the challenges faced and proffer solutions to address the issues at hand. Acting Regional Health Officer (RHO) Dr. Bibi Jabar, informed the minister that due to a lack of human resources in the theatre, x-ray and pharmacy departments, some services offered at the regional hospital are not provided on a 24-hour basis. Inter-Ministerial Sector Coordinator within the Ministry of Public Health, Mr. Seewchan, in response to the issue of a lack of human resources, explained that the matter is currently pending, and with the cooperation of the Ministry of Public Service, the gaps at the hospital should be filled by a number of pharmacy assistants who have recently graduated. He added that in another month’s time, the positions will be advertised and filled since the regional administration is responsible for that aspect of the hospital. However, he is adapting a holistic approach, not only filling the
Dr. Karen Cummings openings in the pharmacy, but other departments which also suffer. The coordinator stressed that he hopes that the regional administration can expedite the vacancy process so that the positions can be filled quickly. He suggested that, “in the interim until we (the regional hospital) have the persons appointed, we (Region Three) have pharmacists placed in various health centres, we can ask them (Minister with your intervention) once we can remunerate and ask them to be on a shift system….to provide this service at least to 11(pm) on roster”. It was highlighted that several individuals have already agreed to the initiative suggested by the inter-ministerial sector coordinator. Minister Cummings explained that though it is an excellent initiative suggested by the coordinator, it will create some issues considering the labour laws, noting necessary steps will need to be taken care before confirming such an initiative. Deputy Regional Executive Officer (DREO) Jennifer
Ferreira-Dougall emphasised that since her placement at the regional administration, the lack of human resources has been an ongoing issue. She pointed out that the process has stalled whilst at the Ministry of Public Service stage, noting that she understands the ministry has a heavy workload, but the placements need to be addressed in the West Demerara Regional Hospital for proper delivery of services. Additionally, the Regional Hospital Officer (ag), Sanjay Persaud highlighted that lack of maintenance of the hospital’s medical equipment has created an issue extending for six to seven months. The acting Regional Hospital Officer (RHO) noted that the hospital’s biochemistry machine has been out of commission for one year, since they are unable to attain a qualified technician to service the machine. Minister Cummings stressed that the ministry is working assiduously to devise an agreement with the manufacturers, from whom they procured the equipment, (Continued on page 12)
the apparent secrecy surrounding the details of the oil contract. He has said that the government can disclose the contents of the contract signed with the oil company, so that the nation can know its contents. However, despite calling for transparency, the Opposition Leader, who represents the interests of thousands of Guyanese, could not disclose the information relayed to him by members of the oil company concerning the Texas trip, an undertaking he said should have been disclosed from the onset.
“They should have disclosed the visit and the circumstances under which they were going and all of the financial issues etc. before they left, and they should have explained why they did not take any technical people.” The five senior ministers of the government that went on the trip were Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge; Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson and Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin.
The team left for Texas in early August. There were no prior announcements. The cost of the trip was borne by ExxonMobil. However this will be recouped by the company under the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) it signed with the government. Minister Patterson said at his party’s recent press conference that the trip to Texas was to get an update on the progress being made by ExxonMobil. He said that updates are given by the company every two to three months. He said that at every interval, a team from Guyana will either go to Texas or a team from Texas will come to Guyana.
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Friday September 08, 2017
Kaieteur News
Expect change in sizes of police divisions - Harmon A recently completed report into an alleged assassination plot against President David Granger has recommended reforms in the Police Force. Among the changes that can be expected are possibly smaller and more divisions being created to make the force more effective in its crime-fighting. The disclosure was made yesterday by Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, during the post-Cabinet press briefing. Harmon was being questioned about the recent Commission of Inquiry (CoI) report which was handed over by
Commissioner Paul Slowe. The CoI was ordered after a taxi service owner from Diamond, East Bank Demerara, Andriff Gillard, complained to the media that police were not being serious about a complaint he had filed on a plot to kill President Granger. He had accused a next door neighbour, businessman, Nizam Khan, of offering him $7M to kill Granger in 2015. This was after he asked Khan to borrow $6M. From testimonies, it appeared that top police officials did not take the matter seriously and even released the businessman on bail,
hours after he was held. The administration appeared to be taking seriously, lapses in procedure, and what also seemed like interference from one senior cop in the investigations. In July, the President reportedly asked the independent Police Service Commission to halt promotions for ranks until further direction. Recently, after an illegally-landed plane was discovered in Region Nine sparking worry by the administration, President Granger travelled to Lethem, where he warned army officials and police ranks that he was treat-
ing the matter as one of national security. It was reported that the police stationed there were ordered removed. According to Harmon yesterday, in August, the life of the Police Service Commission and the Public Service Commission ended, with the process for new nominees started. The Government will have to name some nominees, while a Parliamentary Select Committee will have to do the rest, in keeping with the requirements of the Constitution, Harmon explained. The Minister of State disclosed that the CoI report recommends “certain reforms” which should see some input from the British advisor on security sector reform. The CoI report will be made public, he said. Among some of the areas that the administration is looking at is reducing the size of some of the divisions. For example, one Police Commander has responsibilities spanning four regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine. The Government is thinking of placing senior cops in the various administration regions, instead of having com-
manders covering a huge area. According to Harmon, the current system of police divisions is more than a century old and no longer supports the growing realities of demographic changes, among other things. It has been known that police and even soldiers were running rackets in border areas, even providing protection to gun-runners and fuel smugglers. President Granger last week noted that CoIs are important since they help to uncover the truth and to correct malpractice and abuses in the system. ”I think the Office of the President is one that should enjoy the protection of the security services, and any reports of threats or any risks to the President’s life or immediate relatives of the President, such as the First Lady or the President’s children, deserve to be properly and thoroughly investigated. It is about ensuring that the President is safe and if there are any threats to that safety then it should be investigated,” he said. The Commission’s Terms of Reference had included in-
vestigating and reviewing the full range of the actions and responses of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to the reports and the extent to which such actions were conducted or executed with due diligence. It was also asked to determine whether any person, and, in particular, officers of the GPF, had information before and after the reports were made of the alleged assassination plot and whether that information was communicated to any superior authority; and report on what official action was taken on information received, and if there was due diligence by GPF officers in the investigation. Additionally, it was tasked with reviewing all actions taken by the GPF and examining whether there was “failure, neglect or omission to thoroughly and properly investigate” and to determine whether this was intentional. It was to also determine the “blameworthiness for failure or neglect of officers or persons involved in the investigation” and to recommend action to be taken against anyone found culpable, as well as to recommend steps that can be taken to prevent a recurrence.
Commissioner Paul Slowe handing over the CoI report last week to President David Granger.
West Dem. Regional Hospital to... From page 11 to also have the equipment serviced. She noted that the inclusion of a biomedical engineer from either the Cuban or Chinese medical team will help to fill the gap until further notice. The coordinator however explained that there are seven biomedical engineers who would be able to
do comprehensive assessment to provide a report before month-end. The acting RHO also spoke about issues surrounding the drug procurement in the region and the lack of communicatio n a m o n g those within the health facilities, adding that until an official visit is made to the health facilities, it is com-
mon knowledge that they are low in stock with certain medicines. The minister noted that the government has trained 10 logistic officers, one of whom is assigned to Region Three, who are capable of handling the management of a stock system, and who will in turn train the region to fix the issue.
Friday September 08, 2017
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Kaieteur News
Region Ten residents receive land titles after 25-yr long wait A 25-year long wait came to an end yesterday, when 22 residents of Upper DemeraraBerbice (Region Ten) and former employees of the Linden Mining Enterprises Limited (LINMINE) received titles to the lands they have been occupying, from Minister of State, Mr. Joseph Harmon. At a simple handing over ceremony held at Watooka House, Minister Harmon congratulated the recipients, noting that they had been neglected for far too long. These residents have lived in this area on the East Bank of the Demerara River in Mackenzie in houses built by the bauxite company for its employees. A programme of selling these properties to employees started in the late 1960s and at the time of vesting the lands to NICIL, there were a number of employees, who had signed sales agreements, but the titles were never transferred to them. The lands had been handed over to National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) by vesting order in 2005 by LINMINE after an injunction was passed as a result of a case brought by Mr. James Ramsahoye, to force the company to honour a prior judgement for wrongful dismissal. That injunction effectively blocked the transfer of titles by LINMINE to its ex-employees. Minister Harmon described the former administration as insensitive to the needs and plight of the residents, as it failed to take action to ensure the matter was resolved even after the court matter was settled. The Minister said that during a visit to the region last year, he received numerous complaints about the situation. He immediately convened a meeting with the regional officials, Head of NICIL’s Board, Mr. Horace James, and other stakeholders, and instructed that those complaints be addressed. “It was just a question of uncaringness of the Government at that time. A process has been put in place for those who are receiving transports and titles. Twentytwo titles were handed over and it ends the process for which transactions began since in the 1980s, but which were never completed because of a number of legal obstacles, which have now been resolved. The delay in granting these titles was also due to the fact that no work was done to grant the titles by the
enous peoples’ land titling as well as the joint or communal ownership of lands by freed African slaves and their descendants. The Government along with all stakeholders will bring closure and resolve these issues in relation to land that has remained unresolved for many years. “In addition, Government is also working towards establishing programmes that will guarantee sustainable use of land, while ensuring land resources are used for the improvement of the livelihood of all of our people. I urge you to improve your property and
Minister of State Joseph Harmon presents the title for the land to one of the residents of Upper Demerara-Berbice (Region Ten). previous administration, even though the processes were completed and vesting orders were published,” Minister Harmon said. One of the beneficiaries, Mr. Morris Reece, who lives in Industrial Area, Linden said that while he had initially gotten tired of waiting for the matter to be resolved, Minister Harmon’s reactiveness convinced him that his dream of owning the land would have been realised. “Today my dream has come true. I have been waiting 25 years and over, hoping and waiting for this day and today I am collecting my title. This is a good move by the Government and I really want to say thank you to Minister Harmon and the entire Government,” he said. Ms. Bibi Ameena, also from Industrial Area, echoed those sentiments. “Oh God, I am so thankful. Right now, I feel so proud, so thankful. I really feel good about this, because I waited such a long time for this day to come and I want to say thank you very much,” she said. Minister Harmon said that the David Granger-led administration is committed to ensuring that sustainable, family-oriented communities are created across Guyana. He noted that this exercise is part of a process of regularisation of land and property issues across Guyana by the Administration, which has a specific aim of creating communities where families can grow and thrive as a unit. The Minister of State said that the granting of titles to establish rightful ownership to deserving persons will help to improve their quality of lives and the status of their communities. Minister Harmon said,
We are life savers, you should be one too! Donate blood today!!
“We are not going to be constructing housing schemes. We are developing ‘livable’ communities. Houses are where families live. Families are the basic cells of communities and communities where people are socialised. The emphasis is, therefore, on housing as an integral part of communities. “Government’s policy, therefore, is to promote housing within the context of community development. Government housing programmes will go beyond the provision of house lots and housing units. It will cater to the needs of residents. Existing housing schemes will benefit from infrastructural upgrades, while new housing schemes will be designed in a manner which provides a safe environment and infrastructure, access to quality public services and facilities to promote livelihood of our people.” The Minister of State said that the housing plans over the past two decades have been bedevilled by problems, including the cavalier approach to land distribution, prohibitive cost of housing lands, abysmal infrastructure within the communities, failure on some part of private developers to meet their contractual obligations, sloth of the processing of land titles and shoddy works on houses. This Government, he said, will ensure that citizens can live in an environment in which they can enjoy the ‘good life.’ “In this regard, work is ongoing with respect to Indig-
to utilise the resources that can be utilised productively for the improvement of your lives and the enhancement of the communities,” he said. As Guyana continues to forge ahead with its ‘green’ development agenda, Minister Harmon told the residents that they have a role to play in the achievement of this goal, and it is their responsibility to take care of their environment and ensure the proper disposal of their refuse. He also urged them to plant trees in their yards to help mitigate the effects of flooding and other disasters, caused by climate change.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Board of NICIL, Horace James said that the company is committed to seeing this process to a resolution. “This has been a very long wait. I have seen letters written starting the process since 1964 in some cases, and there were a number of reasons for not completing the process. There was communication and then no communication on both ends and all of that, but as a company, we will make contact with you, and will ensure that we keep you updated and carry out this process through to the end,” he said.
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Friday September 08, 2017
Kaieteur News
Did Ministers receive per diem from Exxon during Texas trip?
Former Minister within the Ministry of Finance, Juan Edghill seems to be starving for more details on the events that unfolded before, during and after the recent trip that “the quintet plus one” made to Houston, Texas in the United States. Edghill has had many questions about the relationship between the government and ExxonMobil. His latest have to do with matters related to a recent trip. The Ministers who went on that trip were David Patterson, Winston Jordan, Raphael Trotman, Carl Greenidge and Dominic Gaskin. Those officials, with the exception of Greenidge - who went on the
trip in the space of Minister Joseph Harmon - make up the Cabinet sub-committee referred to as the quintet. There is also a “plus one”—Dr. Jan Mangal. They met with ExxonMobil officials about a month ago. The trip was not announced as is the norm when government officials venture abroad to represent Guyana. It was only after the media broke the story about the trip, and after the Ministers would have returned that any information about the trip was forthcoming from the government. Edghill said that he has a serious problem with this. “Why would this govern-
- Opposition MP asks ment send its cabinet subcommittee to Houston to engage with officials at Exxon and not even announce it?” The Member of Parliament (MP) continued, “If we had to find out about this the way we did in the media, without government announcing it, then what else can we expect from this government?” At a press conference subsequent to his return, Minister Patterson had indicated that ExxonMobil stood the expense for the all-inclusive trip. This seems to be not
enough information for Edghill. The MP wants to know the cost of accommodation. Further, he questioned, “Did they receive per diem and what was the daily rate? Did they receive gifts from Exxon more than US$50? Because the Integrity Commission Act says they have to declare this, if they received more than that. And if they did receive it, have they made that declaration as yet?” Edghill said that the environment of secrecy and lack of accountability that the David Granger-led government has created “Leaves any reasonable person to question whether the Guyanese people are being cheated”. And Edghill is not the only one who has concerns about the trip. Former Auditor General and anti-corruption advocate, Anand Goolsarran, also has his reservations. Goolsarran even made the details surrounding the trip, the focus of one of his recent articles on accountability. He said that he was hesitant to comment on the recent visit to the Houston headquarters of ExxonMobil until the facts are known as to the purpose for the trip and the source of funding. “We now know that the purpose was to obtain an update on progress being made by the U.S. oil giant in relation to the extraction of crude oil in Guyana’s waters and that the trip was funded by ExxonMobil.” Goolsarran said that both the Government and ExxonMobil should have been aware that it is “highly inappropriate” from an ethical and moral standpoint for ExxonMobil to fund the trip. The anti-corruption advocate said that the agreement with ExxonMobil is in the nature of a procurement contract, and Guyana’s Procurement Act prohibits the acceptance of gifts and other
Opposition MP, Juan Edghill
Former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran
favours from suppliers/contractors. He said that such acceptance has the potential of influencing decisions in favour of suppliers/contractors, hence a potential conflict of interest. Additionally, Goolsarran said that the Integrity Commission Act has a schedule of Code of Conduct that prohibits the acceptance of gifts and other favours. The Code has since been revised and gazetted, but the related amendments to the Act are yet to be tabled in the National Assembly. Further, Goolsarran said that in an apparent attempt at damage control, Government officials have indicated that the cost of the trip will be included in Exxon’s investment to be recovered against revenue when production begins in 2020. “This explanation should be rejected, since the U.S. oil giant’s investment cannot include expenditure incurred on behalf of the Government of Guyana. A competent and independent auditor is more than likely to reject such expenditure as a charge to Exxon in its books. This practice can also open the floodgates for all sorts of government expenditure to be incurred and included in Exxon’s investment.” Also, Goolsarran noted that there is no provision in the Fiscal Management and Accountability (FMA) Act or the Constitution that allows
expenditure to be incurred and charged against future revenues; nor can there be netting off of expenditure against revenue. In fact, he noted that Section 38(1) of the FMA Act specifically states that “All public moneys raised or received by the Government shall be credited fully and promptly to the Consolidated Fund …” Goolsarran said that the cost of the trip should therefore have been funded by the Government through the budget process. Additionally, Goolsarran said that one needs to reflect on whether such a costly visit to obtain an update on progress made by ExxonMobil, was indeed necessary, considering that in an age of rapid advances in information technology, virtual meetings can be conveniently held via Skype, conference calls and other technologyrelated means. “Is it not a case of waste and extravagance in the use of public funds?” Goolsarran said that in the circumstances, “ExxonMobil should be requested to present to the Government an invoice for the expenditure incurred and reimbursement made at the approved travelling rates for Ministers and other officials. As it stands, the expenditure will not be reflected in the public accounts. One hopes that there will not be a repeat of this practice.”
Friday September 08, 2017
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Kaieteur News
AFC being dishonest with Guyana on disclosure of Exxon contract - Jagdeo Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo sought to expose yesterday, what he sees as a web of dishonesty which has been spun in the media, particularly by members of the Alliance For Change (AFC). At a press conference held at his Church Street office, the former President said that the nation has been hearing different things from the government regarding the release of the contract Government has with US oil giant, ExxonMobil. He stated that the government was holding on to its excuse regarding national security. But when this started to lose its effect, the AFC faction of the coalition party turned to another red herring. “They argued that the PPP made some amendments to the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act and because it is the law, they cannot release the contracts. They said it is the PPP that has us (Guyana) in this problem.” The Opposition Leader bemoaned the fact that AFC Executive members were peddling such falsehoods. Jagdeo recalled that several members of the AFC have
been repeating this statement, so as to fool the nation into believing that this is one of the reasons why the contract with Exxon Mobil cannot be released. To further cement his argument, the former President cited various articles from the print media where AFC officials were quoted on the subject matter. Jagdeo noted that on July 23, last, Natural Resources Minister and AFC Leader, Raphael Trotman, was quoted in the Kaieteur News as saying, “The entire Act, including the nondisclosure clause added by former President Bharrat Jagdeo in 1997, is under review”. Jagdeo also stated that just last month, in another section of the media, Public Security Minister and AFC Executive Member, Khemraj Ramjattan, was quoted as saying that there are challenges with the contract. Ramjattan nonetheless expressed, “We are doing everything in view of a history of where that contract is literally made secret … and amendment of the law passed by the Jagdeo administration
Opposition leader, Bharrat Jagdeo in 2011. It is important we understand that. We are trying our best to come out of that, knowing very well that when we have a big company like ExxonMobil who have demanded obviously during those early days in the exploration agreement that it be made secret, and Jagdeo and his boys allowing that to happen and then passing it along…” After taking a few minutes to display his research to the media, Jagdeo then followed up by going to the Petroleum
Act which was signed by President Desmond Hoyte. The 1986 Act at that time, already consisted of the controversial nondisclosure clause. That section of the law states: “…No information furnished, or information in a report submitted, pursuant to this Act by a licensee shall be disclosed to any person who is not a Minister, a public officer or an employee of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission except with the consent of the licensee…” Jagdeo then noted that there were two amendments to the Act in 1992 by Hoyte, and those changes spoke about the assignment of responsibility. The Opposition Leader said that in 1997, other amendments were made by the PPP administration, but these only spoke about increased penalties for offences. The former President said, “The reality is that this nondisclosure clause was in the main Act from since 1986…But the entire AFC leadership, including Trotman, have fooled this country; have been dishon-
est with the country to say that the PPP put this clause in place, and as a result of that it cannot release the contract. That has been their mantra…If this is what is taking place, then how can they be trusted to competently negotiate with ExxonMobil. One wonders, why all of these excuses?” Additionally, Jagdeo expressed the view that the Act does not necessarily prohibit the release of oil contracts. He said that the Act prohibits the release of proprietary information submitted by Exxon or any other oil company for that
matter. The Opposition Leader also stated that the law might even allow for the release of information from oil contracts. In this regard, he directed the media to Clause 4 Section (2) F and G. This aspect says that information can be provided under certain circumstances: “(f) for, or in connection with, the determination of any liability of the licensee to make any payments to the State or the Government; (g) for, or in connection with, any matter or purpose specified in a petroleum agreement.”
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Friday September 08, 2017
Kaieteur News
No ban on single moms working night shifts at security services
Government has clarified that currently there is no ban on single moms working the night shifts at the private security services. Yesterday, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, explained that in relation to the question about a night work ban for women, the Minister of Social Protection is responsible for the protection of all Guyanese, including women, and therefore it is quite appropriate for concerns to be expressed about the condition under which women work at night. He however made it clear that there is no policy position approved by Cabinet where there is to be a ban on
any females working in security services at night. “As far as the government is concerned, we have had no debate on the matter. The senior Minister of Social Protection in that regard would have to bring a paper to Cabinet and Cabinet would have to debate on it. Until such time that that occurs, the situation remains as it is, and that is to say, that women will continue to work either day or night, and there is no restriction on them.” Harmon has instead indicated that Government is calling on security companies to acknowledge and recognize that there are special conditions under which women should work, and therefore
- Govt. clarifies those facilities for women should also be acknowledged and recognized by security firms. “There is no restriction on their right to work, what we will ask and we will insist is that the employers who employ women must ensure the conditions under which they work, that they provide for the special arrangements which have to do with women in the workforce.” The Minister of State added, too, that Government is always open to advice, as he stressed that the rights of workers must always be protected in the actual payment which they receive for the work that they do. He noted too that “these persons’ National Insurance (Scheme) contributions must be paid. So there is an obligation on the part of the employer and an obligation on the part of the employee.” Minister Harmon said that the state will provide the legislative and regulatory frame-
work within which that relationship between employer and employee exists. The attention was placed on private security firms within the last few weeks after several companies turned up for a meeting arranged by the Ministry. Companies were warned by Minister Keith Scott that there were reports of sexual harassment and persons being paid below the minimum wage. He also said that Government was considering measures for single moms not to work the night shifts. Of course, he stressed, the single moms have an option. The Guyana Association of Private Security Organizations (GAPSO) warned on Wednesday that Government needed to think the matter through before making a move. Meanwhile, the Women’s Progressive Organisation (WPO) said yesterday it is calling for better pay for female security guards. The women’s arm of the former ruling party - the People’s Progressive Party - the WPO, said that the recent statement by Minister
Scott regarding his concern for female security guards who work in the night is commendable. However, WPO warned yesterday, one has to take the reality of Guyana into consideration. “There are about 55,000 and more female-headed households, the majority of which do not have the spousal or financial support to take care of themselves and families. Many of these women are forced to go out and work to take care of their families. In the absence of proper paying jobs, they have to take whatever is available, and in Guyana today, those are the jobs that are available.” The organisation noted that women risk their lives and limb as well as the welfare of their children when they accept these low-paying and dangerous jobs. “What the Minister needs to do is to enquire from the security guards, the salaries which they receive, the conditions which they work under, and whether their NIS and other benefits are paid.” The WPO noted that security companies are thriving, with the upsurge in crime, more and more companies and organizations are turning to someone to watch their pre-
Minister Keith Scott mises. “The government is the biggest employer of security guards and they are hiring companies which hire more female security guards, because they are more reliable, and they are forced to accept low wages since they do not have other alternatives.” The WPO said that the Minister should urgently investigate the security firms that provide shoddy conditions for their employees both men and women - and “if he is so concerned with the plight of women’s security, let him request better conditions, starting with transportation and a raise in pay. Match your words with immediate action.”
Baker remanded on two robbery under-arms charges Thirty-two-year-old Quinton Bourne, a baker, of 17 Castello Housing Scheme, Georgetown, was yesterday remanded to prison when he made an appearance in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. Bourne appeared before Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman, and denied the charges which alleged that on August 22 at Sheriff Street, Campbellville, Georgetown, while being in the company of others and armed with a gun, he robbed Shawn Anthony of one Samsung S5 valued $34,000. It was further alleged that on the same day in question, while being armed with a gun, he robbed Leon Bentham of one Samsung S5 valued $25,000 and two million in cash. The defendant was represented by Attorney-at-Law Dexter Todd, who in his application to secure bail for his client told the court that he has never been charged before and has no pending matters in any other court. The lawyer argued that his client was never placed on an identification parade
Remanded to prison: Quinton Bourne nor did he give the police a caution statement or any oral statement. The lawyer added that his client rented a car for a friend who was spending some time in Guyana and that car was allegedly used to commit the robberies. Todd went on to tell the court that the only reason that Bourne has been charged for the robberies is because the police cannot find the other suspect in relation to the matters, and they need to arrest someone and charge them in order to show that they are doing their work. Todd said that the police
have no case against his client and he will prove it at the trial. However Police Prosecutor Shawn Gonsalves objected to bail being granted to the defendant citing the serious nature of the offences, the penalty the charges attract and the fact that an alleged weapon was used to carry out the offences. The Prosecutor added that the vehicle which was rented by the defendant was found by the police, abandoned at Middle Road, La Penitence, Georgetown, and when they contacted the rental service they found out it was the defendant who had signed and uplifted the vehicle. The court heard that after a wanted bulletin was issued for the defendant, he showed up at the station with his Attorney. The Prosecutor’s objection was upheld by the Magistrate and the defendant was remanded to prison. His next court date was fixed for today, when he will appear before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.
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Friday September 08, 2017
Kaieteur News
‘I see a healthy cultural direction’ - VP Allicock says at Indigenous Month Activity The National Gallery of Art, Castellani House, in collaboration with the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples Affairs, launched an exhibition on Wednesday, in celebration of Indigenous Peoples Heritage Month. Amerindian Heritage Month is celebrated in September of each year. This year it is being celebrated under the theme ‘Guyana’s first peoples; sustaining a rich and cultural environment’. The exhibition which took place at Castellani House was homage to Sister Theresa La Rose, who was a pioneer promoter of Indigenous Art and Craft. It was convened by Ohene Koama and attended by Minister of Social Cohesion and Minister within the Ministry of Education, Department of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. George Norton; Minister of Indigenous
Amerindian youths participate in a cultural dance Minister of Indigenous Peoples Affairs, Sydney Allicock, delivering remarks Peoples Affairs, Sydney Allicock, artists and ceramists among others.
On display were many craft and artistic pieces with reference to the month-long celebrations. Minister Norton said the exhibition gives an opportunity for the “wider public to view artworks from the country’s first peoples.” Commenting on Sister La Rose, he said, “If it hadn’t been for her, this exhibition today would not have been possible. This exhibition is offering persons a better appreciation of the time and effort that goes in row, making pieces of art.” The pieces that were on display spoke of talents and skills possessed by Amerindians. Such were often taken for granted. He added that the pieces remain one of the best ways for the rich cultural heritage to be preserved in Guyana. Minister of Indigenous Peoples Affairs, Sydney Allicock, said he has no doubts that Minister Norton in his capacity would be able to expand and present Amerindian arts and craft, since the gift remains hidden. “This will be one good way that they will be able to help to educate the rest of Guyanese of what the Indigenous Peoples can do. This is another way that we will be able to unite this very beautiful nation of ours.” Allicock said that it is the most appropriate time for people to make use of the Amerindian Research Unit at the University of Guyana. “Music and art are essential aspects that keep communities alive. Music and art keep the people laughing and smiling; they prevent ‘Gloom and Doom’ situations,” said Allicock, who elaborated on the significance of art and how useful it is. Allicock said that he is hopeful that one day, through the Castellani House, Guyana would be able to shape a nation that is as colourful as the rainbow. It was explained that
Deborah Mathias displays her craft
Minister George Norton admires a painting at the exhibition
the rainbow is not just beautiful because it is divided, but rather, because it maintains its formation. “If the nation clings to its roots and culture and becomes unified, giving respect, then will Guyana be as beautiful as a rainbow
which has seven colours, and reminiscent of Guyana’s ethnicities,” he said. He sought to inform attendees that one passes through the journey of life just once, and so it becomes fundamental for one’s mark to be
left on the generation. The exhibition draws attention to the pivotal role that Sister Theresa La Rose would have played in keeping Amerindian crafts and arts alive. She was born in 1928 and passed away in 2009.
Friday September 08, 2017
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Kaieteur News
Tree-planting exercise among early Education Month activities
Chief Education Officer (CEO) Marcel Hutson gets actively involved with one of the plants during the National Tree Planting Day exercise The Ministry of Education completed a ‘tree-planting’ exercise in all schools across the country, on Wednesday, in observance of Education Month. Education Month 2017 is held under the theme ‘Promoting wellness and in communities through quality education’. The tree-planting activity attracted Chief Education Officer (CEO) Marcel Hutson and other officials from the Ministry. Kaieteur News caught up with Hutson at the Tucville Primary and Secondary Schools. “We are trying to ensure that we do not harm the environment and more so, ensure that we fix it in such a way that we will enjoy a better life by not degrading it,” the CEO stated. Hutson added that this was just one of the many activities that the Ministry has planned in observance of Education Month. “We trust that as we continue to roll out the activities of Education Month, all our teachers, our students, other educationists, the community members, and the business community will be a part of this process, because we’re advocating that without the
input of all stakeholders, which includes the home, the school and community, nothing is possible.” Progress has begun in the delivery of education, according to the CEO, however he confessed, “We are not where we want to be.” He assured the pupils that he is working to do everything he can, so as to ensure that children “fulfill potential and enjoy life to the maximum.” Hutson expressed gratitude at being able to participate in the event. The CEO said that this activity was organized because President David Granger is striving to achieve a ‘Green Economy’. He reiterated the importance of trees. The entire Tucville Primary School participated in the outdoor activity which commenced at 09:00 hours on Wednesday. Each grade – one to six, was able to present six pupils who planted trees. According to the Head Teacher of the school, Alison Lanserman, the children were very excited to be part of the event, although there were some who were unable to participate because of the dust. Five trees were planted at the Primary school. The Deputy Chief Educa-
tion Officer (DEO) for Primary schools, Principal Education Officer (PEO) Primary and DEO Nursery were also involved in the activity.
Hutson poses with teachers and pupils of Tucville Primary, around one of the newly planted trees
Kaieteur News
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Friday September 08, 2017
Hurricane Irma ravages British Trinidad and Tobago to send helicopter Virgin Islands and crew to Antigua and Barbuda
TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands, CMC – Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful storms in history, ravaged sections of the British Virgin Islands as it ripped across the island chain late Wednesday. Images have emerged of homes being flattened and several Government offices destroyed. According to Jermaine Smith, a Jamaican living here, the only thing he managed to save was his passport. “Everything mash up, everything, nothing
saved,” Smith said in a video being circulated on social media. Smith alluded to the loss of lives, but according to BVI News Online, there has been no official confirmation of deaths. “You have people in buildings die and nobody can get to them. You have cars mashed up; all the houses have been ripped to pieces. Only thing I could have saved is our passport and our lives.” Meanwhile, in the neighbouring US Virgin Islands, it is reported that the
hurricane has crippled the only hospital on the island of St. Thomas. “St. Thomas and St. John are pretty devastated,” said Stacey Plaskett, the Virgin Islands’ delegate to Congress in an interview with USA Today. She said the winds ripped the roof off the Roy Schneider Medical Centre in St. Thomas and the authorities have been evacuating patients to the island of St. Croix via helicopter. She also said that the 911 emergency system is down.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, , CMC – The Tr i n i d a d a n d To b a g o Government has announced plans to send a helicopter and crew to Antigua and Barbuda to assist the twin island state in relief efforts following the passage of Hurricane Irma. On the island of Barbuda, over 90 percent of the buildings have been destroyed. Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, who toured
the island late yesterday, declared Barbuda a disaster zone and implemented a state of emergency. In a statement yesterday, the Office of the Prime Minister here said the Keith Rowley led government has been communicating with the Government of Antigua and Barbuda with respect to the devastation suffered. “The Government has agreed to provide assistance to Antigua and Barbuda by providing a helicopter and crew for the period of a week
to directly contribute to the provision of relief and aid for Barbuda,” the statement said. It added that the government “has carefully considered the current difficult economic circumstances and despite these difficulties, because it recognizes the responsibility of helping our CARICOM (Caribbean Community) neighbour in this time of disaster and need, it has agreed to provide this specific assistance”.
Friday September 08, 2017
Kaieteur News
Trump’s son met Russian lawyer for damaging information on Clinton WA S H I N G T O N (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s eldest son told Senate investigators on Thursday that he had set up a June 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer because she might have had damaging information about Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump Jr., in a prepared statement to Senate Judiciary Committee investigators for a meeting behind closed doors, said it was important to learn about Clinton’s “fitness” to be president. “To the extent they had information concerning the fitness, character or qualifications of a presidential candidate, I believed that I should at least hear them out,” said the statement, which was seen by Reuters. Trump also said the meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya and others in Trump Tower in New York provided no meaningful information. The New York Times first reported the statement. Russia has loomed large over the Trump presidency. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded Moscow worked to tilt the 2016 presidential election in Trump’s favor. Several congressional committees and a special counsel are also investigating allegations of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow. The younger Trump’s testimony is believed to be the first by a member of the p r e s i d e n t ’s f a m i l y t o congressional investigators, much of whose work has
been conducted behind closed doors. Moscow denies meddling and Trump denies collusion by his campaign, while regularly denouncing the investigations as political witchhunts. When news of the meeting with the lawyer broke earlier this year, the younger Trump at first said that the main topic at the encounter was child adoption from Russia but then he released emails that showed his reason for attending the meeting was to receive possibly damaging information about Clinton. His statement on Thursday is further acknowledgment that he was willing to receive potential help from a Russian citizen t o h e l p h i s f a t h e r ’s campaign, when it was still not certain he was going to be the Republican presidential nominee. “The fact that Trump Jr. acknowledges taking the meeting along with two other top campaign officials ... during a time in which the nomination was to be contested at the convention, also highlights how significant the campaign viewed the promise of dirt on their opponent from the Russian government,” Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, said in a statement. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, now a senior White House adviser, and former campaign chairman Paul Manafort also attended the Trump Tower meeting. Congressional investigators have focused
on the June 9, 2016, meeting, and what came of it, if anything, in terms of the relationship between Russians and the Trump campaign or Trump business interests. “As will become clear, I did not collude with any foreign government and do not know of anyone who did,” the statement said, promising to “set forth the sum and substance” of what happened at that meeting. Trump Jr. was questioned by Judiciary Committee staff for five hours. He left without speaking to reporters, and the meeting room entrance was shielded by a special partition that kept news cameras from recording his arrival and departure. A handful of mostly Democratic senators attended the meeting but said questioning was limited to staff. The session was not classified and Trump Jr. was not under oath. However, it is illegal to provide false information to Congress. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal described the atmosphere in the room as “cordial.” He said the testimony made it clear there was more to discover. “There certainly are a lot of areas that are opening for future witnesses, and questioning,” he told reporters. Blumenthal also said he expected Trump Jr. would testify under oath later at a public Judiciary Committee hearing. Schiff said his panel looked forward to having many questions answered when he appeared before them.
Mexico expels North Korean ambassador over nuclear tests MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The Mexican government on Thursday said it had declared the North Korean ambassador to Mexico persona non grata in protest at the country’s nuclear tests, an unusually firm step that moved it closely into line with Washington. In a statement, the government said it had given Kim Hyong Gil 72 hours to leave Mexico in order to express its “absolute rejection” of North Korea’s recent nuclear activity, describing it as a grave threat
to the region and the world. Mexico has traditionally sought to steer clear of diplomatic ructions, but in the past few months it has adopted robust language to condemn the governments of Venezuela and North Korea as they descended into increasing international isolation. Facing a rocky relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump due to his threats to tear up the North American Free Trade A g r e e m e n t ( N A F TA ) , Mexico has backed him diplomatically on issues that
imply no great political cost for the government. “North Korea’s nuclear activity is a serious risk for international peace and security and represents a growing threat to nations in the region, including fundamental allies of Mexico like Japan and South Korea,” the Mexican government said. Mexico’s step follows a tide of international condemnation of North Korea for repeated missile launches in recent weeks that intensified again following a nuclear test on Sunday.
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Venezuela’s Maduro says will shun U.S. dollar in favor of yuan, others CARACAS (Reuters) Ve n e z u e l a ’s P r e s i d e n t Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday that the cashstrapped country would seek to “free” itself from the U.S. dollar and that the country’s weakest
official exchange mechanism would next week use a basket of other currencies, including the Chinese yuan. “ Ve n e z u e l a w i l l implement a new mechanism of international
payment and create a basket of currencies,” said Maduro, who also increased the country’s minimum wage by 40 percent, making it a total of just under $7 per month at the black market exchange rate.
Exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengu seeks US asylum
(BBC) A New Yorkbased property tycoon who has accused top Chinese officials of corruption has applied for political asylum in the US, his lawyer said. Guo Wengui, also known as Miles Kwok, believes he is “perceived as a political opponent of the Chinese regime”, Thomas Ragland told the BBC. Beijing has sought Mr Guo’s arrest, but charges against him are unclear. State media outlets have accused the 50-year-old of bribing a vice-minister, a charge which Mr Guo has denied. “He fears that the Chinese regime would seek retribution for the things he’s been saying and the exposure he’s been responsible for,” Mr Ragland said on Thursday. Mr Guo, who left China in 2014, has published a series of tweets and YouTube videos to allege corruption among top members of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, including Beijing’s anti-corruption czar, Wang Qishan. He has also released what he alleges are official state secrets ahead of a key Communist Party congress, which is held every five years and is scheduled to begin on 18 October.
Though Mr Guo has not provided substantial evidence for his claims, his criticism has drawn ire from Beijing. The Chinese government in April issued a global “red notice” through the global police co-operation agency Interpol for Mr Guo’s arrest. Chinese authorities have reportedly investigated Mr Guo for at least 19 crimes including kidnapping, fraud and money laundering, according to AP news agency. Last month Chinese police opened an investigation into a new allegation of rape against Mr Guo, the agency reported. In April, Chinese news outlets said Mr Guo had bribed the former viceminister of state security, Ma Jian, with 60m yuan (£6.8m, $8.7m). Mr Ma has since been arrested and is being prosecuted for corruption. Mr Guo has denied the charges and suggested the arrest warrant was politically motivated.
As an asylum applicant, Mr Guo, whose tourist visa is due to expire later this year, is entitled remain in the US until a final administrative decision is reached, Mr Ragland said. The national average for an asylum application process is two to three years, Reuters news agency reports. He also faces a series of defamation lawsuits in the US by several Chinese individuals and companies. Mr Guo says he is no longer a citizen of China. In April, he told Voice of A m e r i c a ’s C h i n e s e language service he had passports from 11 countries, but it is unclear why he would not move to another country once his US visa expires. Mr Ragland declined to elaborate on his standing as a Chinese citizen, citing confidentiality reasons. “He is here on a valid passport with a valid visa and beyond that I don’t really want to discuss passport issues,” he said.
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WANTED La Parfaite Harmonie, Zeelugt, Uitvlugt. Call: 6818746 Need Land/Property to Buy in Eccles Area 50’x100'.Call:592-2701885 or 592-668-1102. Experienced person to work in a body workshop. Call Neil: 655-0807 Office Clerk Senior /Junior, CXC English/ Mathematics, Computer Knowledge an Asset. Call 223 – 7500 Live In Live out Babysitter / Domestic 223-7500 Call: Monday to Saturday 8:15 4:15 pm Experienced salesgirl & handy boy, Christine’s Variety Store on Lombard St. Call: 227-8529 Night Security Guards. Previous experience would be an asset. Call 629-3141 We buy land in Parfaite Harmonie, Covent Garden,Eccles,Herstelling, Providence,Farm,Zeelugt. Call: 656-0701,651-1969 Female worker wanted sound secondary education, computer literate-Tel: 6225518 One experienced cook, ages 20-45 to work in snackette & bar. Call:663-7741/ 223-5798 Experience garbage truck drivers &labourers. Call: 670-7920 Zeelugt - $2.5M, Tuschen $2.5M.Call:642-1252 Uitvlugt New Scheme,1st Street (100ftx50ft) $4M, Parfaite Harmonie $1.5M & $1.8M, Covent Garden $4M Call: 656-0701,651-1969 Parfaite Harmonie $3.5M,$1.4M,$1.3M, doublelot $3M, Farm $4M, Herstelling $2.5M, $3M. Call: 604-6724,686-9608 Parfaite Harmonie $1.2M,$1.6M,$3.5M, Tuschen $2.3M, Tuschen house & land $5M, Herstelling $2.3M, $3M. Call: 666-2326 Prime land to build that dream home. Not far from Princess, New Thriving, Massy, HJ water world. Price reduced for quick sale. $12M - Call: 6698397. LEARN TO DRIVE
EDUCATIONAL Register @ IAE: full-time, afternoon, day/evening CXC/CSEC classes for adults & repeaters: Mathematics & English A. Call: 683-5742/ 621-7365
Friday September 08, 2017
Kaieteur News
C. Persaud& N. Outar Driving School formerly Soman& Sons Driving School @ Maraj BuildingCall: 644-5166; 622-2872; 615-0964; 689-5997 (affordable packages).
One real estate agent at General Marketing Enterprise (Call or text) Shawn at 231-7805,648-2345 One Female Gardner contact 223-5273/74 Mechanic for maintenance & repair of vehicles & equipment. Experience & references required. Call: 6182020,231-2250 Waitress for bar Call: 612-2522 1 Hair dresser & 1 nail technician @ Natural Beauty Salon & Spa located @ Grove Market Street, EBD. Call Ms Rashari: 652-5800 One Full Time Auto Body Technician. Previous experience would be an asset. Call 626-8698 Jobs available at the Plant Shop/Maintenance, Georgetown, 18-25yrs. Tel: 643-7193 Experienced bartender. Call: 225-8572 between 7AM and 9AM One experienced legal computer clerk. Call: 6247087/ 226-4283/258-0213/ email:husainsaphier@ yahoo.com
FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754. 1 - Mitsubishi Fuso 7 1/2 ton Canter. Year: 2007 - $ 3.8 M. Contact: 650-0402/ 603-1402 2-20" Grizzle surface planers, 114’ aluminum boat, 1- 15HP Yamaha outboard engine (short foot), 1 table saw, 1 LT 15 woodmizer mill. Call: 664-5807 One 40ft anchor seine boat complete. Tell: 231-1817 Besler and chromega photo enlarger 35mm up $160,000 each, sencore Oscilloscope 5C6100 $155,000 Call Terry 686-9126,269-1401. Button assemble kit $52,000, 3 jaw puller $34,000, 46pc puller kit $42,000 Call Terry 686-9126,269-1401 Car suspension coil spring clamp $29,000, yamaha keyboard $30,000, bushing bearings 19pc kit $27,000 Call Terry 686-9126,269-1401 Air condition , fridge repair manual $12,000, juice extractor $16,000 Call Terry 6869126,269-1401
PEN PAL You deserve to be in a relationship filled with love and excitement. Call Harmony Singles 676-6312
Property for sale-House 25 x 72, land 40x120@ Friendship Road Top E.B.D $15.7M Call:681-1312 Property at Kaneville Grove, E.B.D Access Main Road. $6.5M negotiable. Call: 2661316,616-5433 Building with 3 apartments for sale. Income property at Diamond. Contact: 680-5944, 656-4211 House & land Parfaite Harmonie incomplete house $2M, Tuschen incomplete house $2.7M, $5M, Hague Public Road $35M. Call :6046724,686-9608
CAR RENTAL
DOLLY’SCARRENTAL-CALL: 225-7126/226-3693 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL@ YA H O O . C O M / W W W. DOLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM AIDAN’S CAR RENTAL:PICKUP,9-11 SEAT MINI BUS, GOOD FOR AIRPORT & FAMILY OUTINGS, CHEAPEST RATE. Call: 698-7807
Plaisance-big land transported 65feet by 260feet, $14M or best offer. 2 lots joined Contact 670-8675 Anderson
WING’S CAR & PICKUP RENTAL: LOW DOWN PAYMENT, CHEAP RATES,SPECIAL OFFERS! . CALL: 690-6494
FOR SALE One Raptor 4 door 2013 model Call:670-7920
FOR RENT
TAXI SERVICE
PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620
GR TAXI SERVICE. CALL: 219-5000; 227-1982 & 2257878 (24HRS)
Property for rent - 2 storey house at Republic Park, E.B.D$1200US. Call 647-1773 Fully furnished luxury apartment 2 &3 bedrooms, long & short term stay. Call:664-2143
VEHICLE FOR SALE One pit bull minibus, BTT series, in excellent working condition, with alarm, price – $1.8M negotiable. Call: 6259204/691-8272 Toyota 2007 Allion, accessories included. Tel: 6620803,669-7203 Unregistered Axela 2010 $2.7M, dark interior, fully loaded, Nissan pickup double cab $2.3M. Call: 6175536. Axio 2006 only 51,000km. Good condition $1.600,000.00 Contact :670-8675
Kastev, Meeten Meer Zorg, W.C.D: 3 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, verandah overlooking Atlantic ocean. Owner migrating -$36M, negotiable.Call:676-7974/615-0173
PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL:656-0087,6435122 ,EMAIL:PRO_AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM
1-MF 165 Tractor with front bucket, 1-new generator 12,000 WV Call:609-5672
One (1) experience welder/ fabricator. Tel: 222-3844 Experience skilled carpenter. Apply at Alabama Trading, Georgetown Ferry Stelling, Stabroek.
PROPERTY FOR SALE
Hair & barber station for rent @ New Market Street. Call: 638-1106 One 4 bedroom house with 2 self-contained room for rent at Creek Dam, Herstelling,E.B.D. Price$80,000. Call:692-8814 Two bedroom bottom flat, fully grilled, fenced, concrete yard @ Tuschen Housing Scheme. Call: 692-5525/2663973, 660 0483 77 Light Street Alberttown: short stay, modern 1 bedroom apartment: A/C, hot water, kitchen, internet. Call: 268723-5999/ 592-683-7928/ addunidrakes@yahoo.com
M11 Cummings Engine $600,000; 10 Forward gear box - $200,000; Double axle back end - $500,000. Call: 6159227
LAND FOR SALE Farm (East Bank )100ftx50ft, prime residential houselot $3M Call:656-0701, 651-1969 OnderneemingParfaiteHarmonie $900,000 Negotiable Call :681-3064
Friday September 08, 2017
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Water reservoir at Nappi completed The Ministry of Natural Resources is collaborating with Conservation International Guyana and regional administrators to ensure the completed water reservoir in the Rupununi is sustainably managed. On Wednesday, Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman visited the pilot project which is intended to address water shortages in the Rupununi, particularly during the dry season. The reservoir is located on Nappi lands and will bring relief to that community and surrounding villages. “We have invited Conservation International (CI) to give us guidance as to how we could have good management of this resource,” Minister Trotman told the Department of Public Information (DPI). CI-Guyana will be working with the village and regional administration to ensure the sustainability of the reservoir. “CI’s interest is very much related to the work we’re doing at the regional level, and
indeed the work we’re doing with local communities over the years in building the kinds of benefit-sharing, management mechanisms, governance mechanisms by which common pool resources, in this case water…is managed,” Vice President Dr. David Singh pointed out. CI-Guyana, which has been actively working in the Rupununi for several years, recently collaborated with the Region Nine administration on its plan of action for regional development. “It’s so important for people on the ground, who share common pool resources, to be really involved in the governance, the management, even as they use those resources. If the management systems are well structured, then in fact it leads to a large level of sustainability and long-term value to the communities,” Dr. Singh noted. Toshao of Nappi, Walter Henrico, had previously indicated to the DPI that the vil-
A section of the reservoir with already accumulated water
lage would like to explore aquaculture at the reservoir. Minister Trotman pointed out that he also heard of plans to turn the site into a tourist attraction. “We’ve read recently where villages are speaking about the tourism potential, and indeed while we may have started the project with
the intention of providing water for irrigation, and for usage of potable water, we now see another potential which was never anticipated,” Minister Trotman said. Minister Trotman is seeking to finalise the management of the reservoir before it is officially handed over. The
reservoir is buttressed by a 450-metre dam and can hold 4.5 million cubic metres of water at its maximum. The public-private partnership is the first of its kind and Minister Trotman said it will be used as an indicator, as the Ministry explores water harvesting as a resource. A similar reservoir is planned
for South Rupununi. “Having established it, of course there is the other aspect of its management, and this is where Conservation International is going to assist us and the region in ensuring there is a proper governance and management structure,” Minister Trotman explained.
Health Ministry reiterates need to address NCDs among youth The need to continue to address youth in the context of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) locally has once again been highlighted by the Ministry of Public Health. During a consultation exercise with representatives of a number of Non – Governmental Agencies on Wednesday, Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence, noted that Guyana’s situation seems to reflect the global trend, as there is a growing incidence of NCDs (diabetes, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and cardio-vascular diseases) among youths. In addition to this, the Minister said that mental health and accidents (home and road accidents) are major causes of morbidity and mortality among children; childhood o b e s i t y, d e p r e s s i o n , misuse and abuse of drugs, suicide are prevalent. “Statistics regarding children globally are disturbing. In 2002, there were 1.2 million deaths in people under the age of 20, accounting for over 13% of all NCD deaths under 60 years of age. More than half of all adult NCDs begin very early in childhood and the vast majority of behaviours and addiction that underlie NCDs start during adolescence.” Given the above trends in the Region of the Americas, Lawrence emphasized the need for participation/ intervention at all levels (multi-sectoral approach) to delay onset of NCDs and by extension, compress the
Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence (left) in discussion with officials at the consultation exercise period of morbidity. Outlining related statistics, Minister Lawrence noted that data from the Guyana Global School Health Survey 2010 revealed that 15.6% of students 13-15 years were overweight, 7.5% underweight and 4.5% were obese, with intake of fruit and vegetables minimal. About 70% drank carbonated drinks, 2.1% drank alcohol regularly and 32% occasionally over a 30-day period of the survey. 79% of school children had their first alcoholic drink before age 14. Lawrence said according to the Guyana Global Youth Tobacco Survey 2015, 14.8% of students currently use tobacco products (boys 19%; girls 10.4%); 11.7% of students currently smoke tobacco (boys 16.1%; girls 7.5%); 8.6% of students currently smoked cigarettes (boys 13.3%; girls 3.8%).
Global/national trends indicate that these NCDrelated behaviors are on the rise, and these established behaviors persist throughout life and are difficult to change (tobacco use, harmful use of
alcohol, poor eating habits, and lack of exercise). As such, Minister Lawrence suggested strengthening Community Support Groups to address NCDs in Children &
Adolescents. In her Power Point presentation, Minister Lawrence listed policy developments and implementations, cost effective measures of
prevention, management and control treatment, as part of the strategic initiatives for NCDs. Lawrence also pointed to the NCD Strategy 2013-2020 developed in 2013; the National NCDs Commission to be launched shortly, the national Tobacco Legislation Bill passed in Parliament and signed into law and the ongoing implementation of the National Food and Nutrition Security Strategy, as part of the initiatives to combat NCDs among youth. However, there are several critical gaps in addressing NCDs in children and adolescents in Guyana, the Minister said. “The data on NCDs risk factors available but must be prioritized.” She said it is also imperative that support for children affected by NCDs is engendered across the spectrum of home and family, school and the public domain.
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Guyana opens doors of border hospitals to Venezuelans
The situation in one of Venezuela’s hospitals as is being reported Despite cold bilateral relations between Guyana and Venezuela, this country is not willing to turn back its neighbours when they come knocking for help. In fact, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, says the matter came up this week during the Cabinet meeting of ministers. Venezuelans and Guyanese who live in that Spanish-speaking, oil-rich country have been trekking to border areas in the Barima/
Waini area, Region One, to health facilities there. In recent weeks, 368 Venezuelans have received treatment for malaria. Up to 1,000 persons, among them Gu y a n e s e , would have come from Venezuela for treatment, Harmon said. There are thousands of Guyanese who moved over to Venezuela when that country was booming. However, in recent years, the country has fallen on
hard times, after world prices for oil fell and a dependent Venezuela saw runaway inflation and shortages of basic items. There have been massive protests and internal struggles, with violent clashes between opposition forces and the Nicolas Maduro-led administration. Many of the hospitals there, like its empty supermarket shelves, are without drugs. Citizens have been scrambling for in garbage for food, it has been reported. Scores of Guyanese families living there for years have returned home, as the situation continues to deteriorate. According to Harmon
yesterday, on Tuesday, Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence, briefed Cabinet that the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have alerted of measles outbreaks in Venezuela and Bolivia. It was advised that Guyana put systems in place to increase surveillance and ensure adequate vaccination to prevent the spread of these diseases, Minister Harmon disclosed. It was during that Cabinet meeting also, that Lawrence made the disclosure of the Venezuelans crossing for medical care in Guyana. “We feel that this is part of our international
humanitarian effort and Cabinet advised that the Ministry of Health ensure that assistance be given to all those persons, be they Venezuelans or Guyanese living in Venezuela, who report to the medical facilities for help, as this is a humanitarian issue which we are very happy to be part of.� Harmon disclosed that there are adequate controls that screen Venezuelans coming here, as an identification document has to be shown, as well as reasons for the visit. Harmon emphasised that Venezuelans are human beings too, and in any case, Guyana is signatory to international treaties which mandate that it must render
humanitarian help when the situation arises. Guyanese have been migrating to all over the world, with thousands of them also living in St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles, which was ravaged by the deadly Hurricane Irma earlier this week. With regards to Venezuela, that country had halted a lucrative rice-for-oil deal after Guyana discovered oil in its waters in 2015. Venezuela claimed those waters. Guyana has complained to the United Nations. However, Guyana is still doing trade with that neighbouring country, as several tonnes of rice are reportedly going there monthly.
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Friday September 08, 2017
UK to assist victims of Hurricane Irma in Caribbean LONDON, CMC – The British Government has announced plans to send a military vessel to assist those affected by Hurricane Irma in the Carib-
bean. In a statement to Parliament, a junior foreign minister, Alan Duncan said a military vessel will be sent to the region and US$15.7 million in
aid has been assigned. “We are pulling out all the stops to make sure that we can do our utmost to bring urgent assistance,” Duncan said.
The British fleet auxiliary boat, RFA Mounts Bay, is already in the Caribbean and “should reach the affected territories later today,” Duncan added.
He also said that the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Foreign Office were on “full alert” and doing their “utmost” with a “great wealth of expertise to deploy on this”. He also said that charter flights tasked with delivering additional supplies as appropriate also stand ready. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Boris Johnson reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to respond to the “catastrophic damage” caused by Irma. “What we will be doing now is making an urgent assessment of the further needs of communities in the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla to see what more can be done in terms
of financial and humanitarian assistance,” he said. Prime Minister Theresa May also held a phone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, during which they agreed to coordinate their responses. “They agreed to cooperate closely, including with the Dutch, to understand the extent of the damage and to coordinate our relief efforts,” a spokesman for the premier’s office said. Hurricane Irma one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record has severely hit the Caribbean, claiming at least ten lives and devastating the islands of Barbuda and St Maarten .
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Friday September 08, 2017
UK to assist victims of Hurricane Irma in Caribbean LONDON, CMC – The British Government has announced plans to send a military vessel to assist those affected by Hurricane Irma in the Carib-
bean. In a statement to Parliament, a junior foreign minister, Alan Duncan said a military vessel will be sent to the region and US$15.7 million in
aid has been assigned. “We are pulling out all the stops to make sure that we can do our utmost to bring urgent assistance,” Duncan said.
The British fleet auxiliary boat, RFA Mounts Bay, is already in the Caribbean and “should reach the affected territories later today,” Duncan added.
He also said that the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Foreign Office were on “full alert” and doing their “utmost” with a “great wealth of expertise to deploy on this”. He also said that charter flights tasked with delivering additional supplies as appropriate also stand ready. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Boris Johnson reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to respond to the “catastrophic damage” caused by Irma. “What we will be doing now is making an urgent assessment of the further needs of communities in the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla to see what more can be done in terms
of financial and humanitarian assistance,” he said. Prime Minister Theresa May also held a phone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, during which they agreed to coordinate their responses. “They agreed to cooperate closely, including with the Dutch, to understand the extent of the damage and to coordinate our relief efforts,” a spokesman for the premier’s office said. Hurricane Irma one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record has severely hit the Caribbean, claiming at least ten lives and devastating the islands of Barbuda and St Maarten .
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Ruthless Madison Keys sets up US Open final with Sloane Stephens after demolishing Coco Vandeweghe Madison Keys made it an all-American semi-final line-up
Sloane Stephens hits a shot to Venus Williams. Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sport Madison Keys will take on Sloane Stephens in the final of the US Open as the pair both target their maiden Grand Slam title. The world No. 16 – who has had two wrist surgeries this year – was in fabulous
form to reach her first major final, downing good friend Coco Vandeweghe 6-1 6-2 in little over an hour. In an all-American contest – just like the two semi-finals – Keys will now get a shot at another close
companion after Stephens – who has climbed almost 900 places in the WTA rankings in the last month after foot surgery – took out Venus Williams. ‘Maddy is probably my closest friend on the tour,’
Zinedine Zidane has earned Real Madrid over £100m in prize money
Stephens said after downing Williams 6-1 0-6 7-5 earlier on Ashe. ‘I love her to death.’ H o w e v e r, i f K e y s ’ performance against Vandeweghe is anything to go by, she won’t have any problems in thumping her friend on t h e b i g g e s t s t a ge. Neither woman had been beyond a semi-final of a major prior to the event at Flushing Meadows but both
will now have a shot at making history. The only concern for the 22-year-old was the need to take a medical timeout for a right leg problem, which could prove to be a factor in Stephens’ favour in the final. It was the 15th seed who got off to the sharper start, breaking Vandeweghe on her way to a 3-0 lead in just six minutes. Her level didn’t drop and
she blasted 14 winners through the opener, making just two unforced errors on her way to a 6-1 lead after only 24 minutes. A break followed at the start of the second as Keys’ ruthless striking continued to make waves against the 20th seed and she then snatched a double break to all but confirm her place in the showpiece finale.
Tony’s ‘Gold is Money’ Birth Anniversary Dominoes set for Sunday
Madrid’s Zidane poses with the Champions League trophy at Hampden Park in 2002 It’s taken 16 years, but Real Madrid look to have recouped the world record transfer fee they paid for Zinedine Zidane - all thanks to the prize money picked up by the current Bernabeu boss. Zidane was signed from Juventus for £47million in 2001 in a fee that at the time was translated to euros at €77million. But in just 18 months as manager at the Bernabeu, prize money picked up by Zidane has already seen him earn the European champions £100m (€109m), according to Marca. The bulk of the winnings are a result of back-to-back Champions Leagues triumphs, as the Spanish federation does not directly offer financial benefits for
success. Appointed midway through the 2015-16 season as a replacement for the sacked Rafael Benitez, Zidane guided Los Blancos to a Champions League win and pocketed the club £27million (€29.5m). But it was a full season at the Bernabeu where Zidane made the club the most winnings. As well as another successful Champions League campaign coupled with Super Cup and World Club Cup wins, the Frenchman brought in £50million (€54.2m). With more Super Cup success last month and another mid-season trip to the Club World Cup on the way, Madrid’s prize money will rise further.
Should Madrid go on to become the first side to win European football’s biggest club prize three years running since Bayern Munich in the 1970s, Zidane could even end the year having repaid his transfer fee twice. I n t r u t h , Z i d a n e ’s performances as a player which included a memorable volley in the 2002 Champions League final win over Bayer Leverkusen - had already justified the money paid to sign him less than a year earlier. But even in the early days of his coaching career, Zidane continues to ensure that every penny invested in him by the club is money well spent. (MailOnline)
Tony of ‘Gold is Money’ hands over one of the trophies to Mark Wiltshire at Seeram’s Bar yesterday. S e e r a m ’s B a r o f Alexander Village is the venue for this Sunday’s big Dominoes Competition to celebrate the Birth Anniversary Tony of ‘Gold is Money’ team. According to Organiser Mark ‘Jumbie’ Wiltshire the competition is open to all teams across the country and
the entrance fee is $15,000 per team. Wiltshire also disclosed that over $250,000 in prize monies are up for grabs, adding that the prizes are guaranteed. The winning team will receive $150,000, while the second and third placed finishers will take home $75,000 and $35,000
respectively. Interested teams can c o n t a c t Wi l t s h i r e o n tele#665-5855 or Tony on 621-6077. He called on teams to get to the venue early for a prompt 14:30 hrs start. All the Guyana National Dominoes Association rules will be in effect according to Wiltshire.
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Friday September 08, 2017
RHTY&SC surpasses 2017 target Chris Froome extends lead a Espana of 500 programmes/activities in La Vuelta Sander Armee wins stage 18 New revised target of 700 set
At the start of this year, the eight cricket teams and the Management of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club (RHTY&SC) set themselves an ambitious target of 500 programmes/activities to be achieved and have done so with the year still a few months away from closure. Programmes/activities have been done under the sub-headings of sports, coaching, charity, youth development, religious, community development, anti-drugs, physical fitness, medical, antisuicide, anti-crime, public relations, educational, social development and jobs for youths among others. On Saturday last, the target was achieved with the hosting of an Evening of Music with the Guyana Defence Force Musical Band as part of the 175th Anniversary of the Rose Hall Village. Club Secretary/CEO, Hilbert Foster was elated at achieving the target so early in the year with four months remaining and disclosed that a revised target of 700 has now been set for the 31st December, 2017. He disclosed that the highest total of activities/programmes achieved by the club was 503 in 2016 and noted that 2017 has been very successful so far due to the hard work, dedication and sacrifice of its members especially Executives including Mark Papannah, Simon Naidu, Pamela Brusch, Elizabeth Brusch, Sohan Harry and a group of dedicated cricketers among them, Jonathan Rampersaud, Joel Pike, Dian Prahalad, Mahendra Gopilall, Una Mathadin,
Marian Samaroo and Tyrese Sealey. Foster disclosed that one of the main reasons for the target being achieved so early apart from hard work is the lack of cricket being played at any level during 2017 by the Berbice Cricket Board. No Inter-club matches have been played so far this year at the Under-15, 17, 19, Female or Second Division levels while the Rose Hall Town Gizmos & Gadgets First Division Team has only played one match. This has allowed the players to get more involved in personal developmental programmes and among the numerous activities successfully completed to date are Tribute to Heroes, Annual Award Ceremony, Tribute to Retired Teachers, Tribute to Outstanding Teachers, Children Mash Parade, Tribute to Law Enforcement Officers, Ansa Mcal Award of Excellence, Region 6 Sports Award, D o l p h i n Aw a r d o f Excellence, Annual Cricket Academy, Annual Republic Bank Summer Camp, Youth Information Booklet, Tourist Poster for Rose Hall Town, Fitness Walk, Health Fair, DMLAS Coaching Programme, Cross Country Race, Sharing out of $1M worth of school bags, assistance to cricket clubs, distribution of bicycles, Dare to Dream, Patron’s Green Economy T20 Cup, Say No/Say Yes Campaigns, NAMILCO Exercise Books Progra m m e , We C a r e Hampers Project, Say No to Crime, Football tournament, Mother of the Year, Father of the Year, Tribute to Senior Citizens, Monthly Pensioner Programme, Traffic Education Campaign, Restoration of Area ‘H’ Pavillion, Berbice Top Ten Aw a r d S c h e m e ,
Construction of Concrete Scoreboard, upgrading of Area ‘H’ ground, Say No to Alcohol, Athletes Fitness Events, Educational S c h o l a r s h i p , Yo u t h Information Booklet, NSC Balls Projects for Clubs, Youth Inspiration Forum, Scorebooks for Clubs Project, GWI cricket tournament, Educational Posters, Feeding of the Poor Programme, Essay Competition, Debating Competitions and Poster Competitions, among others. The Management of the Club and the eight cricket teams are confident that during the last four months of the year they would achieve the new target of 700 despite taking a well deserved slow down. Among the remaining activities for the year are, Career and Business Fair, DMLAS Teacher of the Year Award Scheme, Christmas Village, Busta Champion of Champions, Nasir Memorial Cricket, Republic Bank Under-17 Cricket Tribute to Head Teachers, Christmas Charity Programme, Annual Youth Review Magazine, Climate Change Booklet, Say No/Say Yes Electronic Billboard, Poster Competition and distribution of wheel chairs. The RHTY&SC, MS, is expressing gratitude to the following media houses for their support during 2017 – Kaieteur News, Guyana Chronicle, Guyana Times, TVG, NCN News Room, DTV-8, LRTVS CH10 and NTN. Special thanks are also extended to all the donors and sponsors of the Club who are too numerous to mention. The club is also acknowledging the outstanding contribution and support of its Patron, His Excellency President David Granger, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, Speaker of the National A s s e m b l y D r. B a r t o n Scotland, Mayor of Rose Hall Town His Worship Vijai Ramoo, Regional Chairman David Armogan, Educational Officer Volita Jaikishun, Police Commander Paul Williams, Berbice Prison Chief Mr. James, Ms R h o n d a Tr i m o f t h e Berbice Health Authority and Ms Angela Haniff.
Alberto Contador (left) managed to keep up the pace alongside Froome in the 18th stage. Chris Froome extended his lead in La Vuelta a Espana while Sander Armee spoiled Alexey Lutsenko’s birthday by beating him to victory on stage 18 to Santo Toribio de Liebana. A day after losing 42 seconds to Italian Vincenzo Nibali on the imposing ramps of Los Machucos, Britain’s Froome broke clear of the depleted peloton 600 metres from yesterday’s summit finish, with only Spaniard Alberto Contador and Canadian Michael Woods able to stick with him. The Team Sky man took 21 seconds out of Bahrain-
Merida’s Nibali, moving his lead out to one minute 37 seconds with two tests to come before Sunday’s parade into Madrid. Dutchman Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) sits third, two minutes 17 seconds down, 12 seconds ahead of Russian Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin) in fourth. Trek-Segafredo’s threet i m e Vu e l t a w i n n e r Contador, in his final professional race, is fifth, three minutes and 34 seconds down. Froome is bidding to become the first rider to win the Tour de France and La
Vuelta in the same year since 1978. Lotto-Soudal’s Armee and Astana’s Lutsenko were the final survivors of a 20man breakaway as they came to the final climb at the end of the 169km stage from Suances. Lutsenko, on paper, was the better climber, but the Kazakhstani did not have the legs on his 25th birthday as Belgium’s Armee rode clear with 700 metres left to win by 31 seconds. Today’s 149.7km stage will take the rides from the Parque Natural de Redes to Gijon. (MailOnline)
Roger Federer out of US Open after defeat in four sets by Juan Martin Del Potro Some things are meant to happen in life and perhaps Roger Federer versus Rafael Nadal at the US Open is simply not among them. Their 37 career meetings will still not include a matchup in New York after the ghosts of the 2009 final seemed to revisit Federer as he was beaten 7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 by Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarter finals. The Argentinian would surely have built on that triumph against the Swiss from eight years ago were it not for chronic wrist injuries, and even the most ardent fan of the Swiss would struggle not to have a smidgen of pleasure for him after this. He now meets Nadal after bludgeoning Federer with his serve and forehand and summoning up a little more composure on the biggest points. The Swiss had four set points in the third-set tiebreak, but could not put him away.
Del Potro celebrates winning a point.
Perhaps he felt in his legs the five setters he went through in the first two rounds, or the back twinges that have recently affected him, and he will have to settle for two Grand Slam titles this year, which is still an extraordinary return for him. Afterwards Del Potro thanked the vociferous
support for him on the Arthur Ashe Stadium which, while outnumbered, provided at least as much noise as that of his ever popular opponent. He managed to ignore his missed first serves being clapped on occasions. ’I think it’s my home court too,’ he said. ‘It makes me (Continued on page 32)
Friday September 08, 2017
Kaieteur News
Guyanese wins Digicel’s all inclusive trip to CPL Finals
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Easy Going Car Rental backs Stage of Champions 2
Lucky customer gets to jet off to T&T with three friends With the upcoming Hero CPL Finals a hot topic for sports fans, Digicel yesterday announced that one lucky customer has won a trip to the Finals in Trinidad and Tobago this week as part of its latest Quick Pick/Smart bundles CPL promotion. Customers were encouraged to activate a Digicel Smart bundle from August 11-31 for their chance to win. The winner is Guyanese Judy R a m p e r s a u d o f Essequibo Coast, who was in complete disbelief when she got the good news. She exclaimed; “Really? What? No man you lying, is this for real?” Judy and three lucky persons of her choice will be flying compliments of Digicel to Trinidad and Tobago to be a part of the much anticipated Hero
Caribbean Premier League CPLT20 Finals. The all-inclusive package includes roundtrip a i r f a r e s , h o t e l accommodation and ground transportation to and from the Game plus a stipend. In addition, the crew of four will get to ‘rub shoulders’ with the Soca Sensation himself, Machel Montano, who will be performing live during Digicel’s Postgame Live concert – which will also be streamed live on Digicel’s PlayGo app. Judy and her ‘crew’, who are scheduled to travel from 9th to 11th September, will get to meet Machel and live like true VIPs throughout their trip. ”CPL, and cricket in general, is a big love among Caribbean people and we’re happy to be helping them come out and support their
teams,” said Ben Bradley, Head of Sponsorship for Digicel. “This is about leveraging our platforms and our latest o ff e r i n g s , l i k e S m a r t Bundles to help customers stay connected to the things they love,” he added. The Digicel Quick Pick/Smart Bundles CPL promotion was hosted across all CPL and Digicel Markets including Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, The British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, S t . Vi n c e n t a n d t h e Grenadines, Suriname and Tr i n i d a d a n d To b a g o . Smart bundles allow prepaid customers to browse, stream, share and chat to their heart’s content on Digicel’s Guyana’s 4G network, plus enjoy rollover data and talk.
Bundesliga announce Bibiana Steinhaus as first female referee to take charge of first division fixture
Bibiana Steinhaus Bibiana Steinhaus will make history in Germany on Sunday when she becomes the first woman to referee a Bundesliga game. The German Football Federation announced yesterday that the 38-yearold police officer is to take charge of Hertha Berlin’s home game against Werder Bremen, confirming her place among the league’s elite group of 24 referees. ’She deserves it through her great performances,’ Bremen coach Alexander Nouri said. Hoffenheim’s Julian Nagelsmann added, ‘I’m happy. It’s all the same to me if a man or a woman is refereeing - the main thing is that they do the job well.’ Steinhaus has already spent a decade refereeing in Germany’s second division and she has plenty of experience with many of the country’s top stars having
taken charge of German Cup games, too. Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery has already showed she may be treated differently to her male colleagues when he played a trick on her during the side’s cup tie at Chemnitzer FC in August. Ribery untied one of her bootlaces as he pretended to put the ball in place for a free kick. Steinhaus passed it off by giving Ribery a couple of playful punches in response, but it is debatable whether the French forward would have attempted the same trick had he been dealing with a male referee. The daughter of a ref, Steinhaus began by officiating women’s games for the DFB in 1999 and then became a FIFA referee in 2005, earning her place in the second division in 2007, as the first female ref in
German professional football. Steinhaus has handled women’s World Cups and European Championships, along with the 2012 Olympic women’s final between the United States and Japan. Last June, she also took charge of the women’s Champions League final between Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain. Male players have mostly treated Steinhaus with respect, but any incidents involving her receive greater attention. In 2015, after Steinhaus sent off Kerem Demirbay, the thenFortuna Duesseldorf midfielder reportedly told her: ‘Women have no place in men’s football.’ Naturally, Demirbay was roundly criticised for the remark and handed a threegame ban with two further games suspended was also made to referee a girls’ game by his employers to ensure he understood the message. Demirbay apologised both publicly and to Steinhaus directly for his comment, and said he was ‘very happy that she accepted my apology.’ The two will likely meet again this season if Steinhaus takes c h a rg e o f a n y g a m e s involving his current club, Hoffenheim. (MailOnline)
Videsh Sookram (left) accepts the cheque from Gopaul Doodnauth Easy Going Car Rental of Georgetown has supported the second edition of ‘Stage of Champions’ body building competition set of November 18 at Theatre Guild, Kingston. Proprietor of the entity Gopaul Doodnauth recently
presented a cheque to organiser of the event Videsh Sookram who thanked him for the support. Athletes from Guyana, St. Maarten (French and D u t c h ) , Tr i n i d a d a n d Tobago, Anguilla, Suriname, Barbados and Curacao will
vie for supremacy in the U143 lbs, U154lbs, U164lbs, U176lbs and over 177 lbs categories. The competition also entails Men’s Physique and Bikini segments. Registration will be closed on October 15.
EM signs on as main sponsor
ExxonMobil has signed on as the marquee sponsor for the 2017 Pan American Hockey Federation (PAHF) / Indoor Pan American Cup (men & Women) Hockey Championships to be hosted in Guyana next month with a significant contribution. This partnership is very important for the Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) that will be hosting this event for the first time, from October 14-22, at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. In order to see the successful hosting of this event the GHB had imported a plastic tile surface that is of international indoor hockey standards and the local hockey body expects this event will contribute significantly to Guyana’s efforts of becoming a top destination for Sports Tourism. ”We are excited to support youth, sports and the Guyana Hockey Board”, said ExxonMobil Lead Country Manager Rod Henson.
“Sport is a great way to reach across generations and cultures to demonstrate our commitment to l o c a l development”, Henson added. This is the first time ExxonMobil has partnered with the Guyana Hockey Board and the second time for the year the company has thrown it support behind sport after partnering with the Guyana Squash Association for the successful hosting of the Caribbean Squash Arena Junior Championships in July. The 2017 Indoor Pan American Cups (IPAC) serves as the Pan American Continental Qualifier for the International Hockey Federation’s Indoor Hockey World Cups scheduled for February 2018 in Berlin, Germany. This years’ IPAC will be one of the largest in the tournaments’ history since it began in 2002. Seven women’s teams and six men’s teams from Guyana, Argentina, Barbados, Canada, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, USA and Uruguay will participate with the top team earning a coveted spot in the World Cup.
This mix fully represents the diversity of the Americas; from the northern reaches of Canada to the southern tip of Argentina. Head of the GHB, Phillip Fernandes expressed honour to welcome ExxonMobil on board and expect this partnership will extend Guyana’s beauty, warmth and hospitality with the world. Fernandes explained the p a r t n e r s h i p a s , “ Ve r y exciting, we want to have a good tournament and having good companies supporting it is a great start. The partnership and the hosting of the tournament is a first for the GHB and it is important we put on a good show.” Also important is Guyana seeking a maiden victory in the Pan American Cups competition. Guyana has competed on three occasions in this competition which began in 2002, with a 4th place finish in 2005, fifth place in 2010 and their best showing, 3rd place in the last competition held in 2014 in Montevideo, Uruguay. However, the Guyanese women, who have competed creditably over the past 10 years in the outdoor version of the game, will taste their first international indoor hockey competition this year as the competition’s least experienced side.
Kaieteur News
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Friday September 08, 2017
Munro rides luck to bat TKR into final; Warriors go down by 6 wickets
By Sean Devers in Trinidad in association w i t h V n e t Communications, Noble House Seafoods & Elegance Jewellery & P a w n S h o p Trinidad Knight Riders marched into tomorrow’s final with a six-wicket win with two overs to spare over the Guyana Amazon Warriors last night at the Brian Lara Academy in South Trinidad. A 31-ball 37 with three sixes by Chadwick Walton, a 25-ball 39 with a four and three sixes by Gajanand Singh and an unbeaten 18ball 35 with four fours and a six from Roshon Primus rallied the Warriors 159-6 from 20 overs. Ronsford Beaton (2-30) and Sunil Narine (2-21) did the damage for TKI who galloped to 160-4 off 18 overs as Darren Bravo who made 37 from 27 balls with two fours and four sixes and shared in an 85-run stand with Colin Munro who made an unbeaten 57 from 51 balls with seven fours. Without Brendon McCullum, their only batsman with 300 runs due to injury, Knight Riders won toss and inserted Warriors to bat on a good track fast outfield and large crowd saw Sohail Tanvir flick Beaton into the party stand in the first over before Walton pulled Bravo for six as the Guyanese Franchise again began in positive fashion. The experiment to use Tanvir (8) as pinch-hitter again failed when the lefthander missed a sweep to Narine’s first ball and was LBW at 18-1 in the fourth over much to the delight of
Gajanand Singh powered Warriors to a strong finish ©Randy Brooks - CPL T20 / Getty
the TKR fans who produced sea of red on embankment. Ronchi and Walton, heroes of the previous game joined forces and Ronchi excellently bisected short third man and backward for four to third man as Bravo provided width. The 34-year-old Aussie pacer Daniel Christian bang on target and his first two overs only cost five runs as t h e p o w e r- p l a y o v e r s produced just 33 runs as Rashid Khan was introduced in the seventh over. Ronchi pulled Jevon Searles for four as the 50 was posted in the eighth over before Walton launched into Khan and deposited him over mid-wicket for six as the partnership began to take shape. However, with the score on 65 in 9.3 overs Dwayne Bravo breached Ronchi’s defence and crashed into his wicket and how the crowd, which was steadily building, danced and waved TKR flags. Ronchi’s 23 lasted 21 balls and included two fours. Narine was dumped for six by Walton but the offspinner had the last laugh when the Jamaican was comprehensively beaten and neatly stumped by Denish Ramdin next ball. Walton demise left the score on 73-3 off 10.2 overs. With the inform Walton and Ronchi out of the way TKR was in the ascendency and it was now up to Jason Mohammed and Singh to bat their team to glory but they struggled to score freely as Christain’s third over and the 14th in the innings cost just
Darren Bravo struck a breezy 43 ©Randy Brooks - CPL T20 / Getty
three runs. At 92-4 in 14.1 overs Mohammed who took 15 balls to make 10 was taken at short cover off Searles and Warriors were in need of some big hitting in five overs as Primus joined Singh. Primus swept Narine like a bullet for four but after 16 overs Warriors had crawled to 101-4. Singh broke the shackles by flicking Bravo for six and four off successive balls to add some impetus to the innings but missed the next two balls. Beaton has bowled splendidly throughout this tournament and once again delivered for TKR as the eighteenth over failed produce a boundary as nine came from it. Primus smashed Christian to the extra cover boundary, scattered the fans in the stands, edged to the third man boundary and clobbered him over cover in the most expensive over in the innings which cost 21 runs. Singh hit Beaton for over extra cover for six, straight drove him for four but missed a big heave and was bowled while Assad Fudadin (0) well taken on the second attempt by Kevin Copper at mid-off next ball and the impressive Beaton was on a hat-trick but Primus scampered two off the last ball to give the Warriors a fighting total. TKR began their reply in horrendous fashion losing Narine LBW to Tanvir off the first ball before Colin Munro took a liking to the dreadlocked Steven Jacobs for three boundaries before
he hit the next ball to Primus at mid-off who dropped the waist high ‘dolly’ to disbelief of Jacobs, his team-mates and the over 1000 Warriors supporters in the ground. Munro rode his luck and inside edged an expansive drive off Tanvir to fine leg for a fortuitous boundary while India born Canadian Hamza Tariq stroked Tanvir imperiously past cover for four. It seemed as if the Warriors were trying the best to lose when Emrit as short cover dropped Munro off Khan on 18 at 27-1 in the fourth over and drums rolled and fans danced to pulsating music emanating from the party stand and the atmosphere was simply fantastic.
Roshan Primus plays a ofted shot ©Randy Brooks - CPL T20 / Getty
But when Emrit had Tariq (10) caught behind at 33-2 in the fifth over the ‘Trinis’ fans were hushed but when Darren Bravo clobbered Jacobs for six the fans were on their feet again and it was Carnival in September. Bravo back cut Emrit majestically behind point for four and the shot brought back memories of the man whose name this ground was named after. Bravo repeated the shot next ball but this time the ball went right through Fudadin for another boundary and when the left hander danced into Khan and effortlessly deposited him for six over long-off, he had the fans eating out his hands. Bravo flicked Primus
delightfully to the boundary square as TKR raced 74-2 off 10 overs with both batsmen scoring freely off Jacobs who had resorted to bowling medium pace and conceded 17 runs as the loose fielding continued. When Munro cut Primus for four and Bravo lifted Khan into the crowd they went wild and at 106-2 off 12.1 overs TKR seemed headed to the finals Veerasammy Permaul was hit for six by Bravo but was taken in deep next ball but Dwayne came out with all guns blazing with a four and a six in the over which cost 18 runs. Bravo (11) was then stumped off Khan at 133-4 off 15 overs but it was too little too late as Ramdin and Munro saw them home.
Chadwick Walton provided Warriors with a start with 37 ©Randy Brooks CPL T20 / Getty
Kaieteur News
Friday September 08, 2017
PAGE 41
Hundreds benefit as Ms. World Guyana, RHTY&SC/NAMILCO RHTY&SC/NAMILCO host Diabetes and Health Fair The Rose Hall Town Independence Arch Square was a hive of activity on Thursday last when Ms. Wo r l d G u y a n a Ve n a Mookram with the support of the eight cricket teams of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club hosted a massive Diabetes and Health Fair. Hundreds of residents drawn from Rose Hall Town and and its surrounding villages in Berbice benefitted as Doctors, Nurses, Dentists and Medical Technicians from the Ministry of Health worked beyond the call of duty. The Diabetes and Health Fair were supported by officials of the Guyana Diabetes Association while the National Milling Company of Guyana (NAMILCO) sponsored the event. Residents were educated via posters, leaflets and verbal advice on diabetes, its effects on the human body,
the importance of physical fitness and the disease can be controlled. Residents flocked the event throughout its six hours duration and benefitted from a range of services including blood pres s ure, blood s ugar testing, eye tests, environmental advice, dental health, throat and ears care and general medical tests. The residents were also delighted to receive free reading glasses after getting their eyes tested while the Ministry of Health, Region Six Dental Bus took care of residents who had Dental issues. Poonai Pharmacy of Rose Hall Town also supported the activity with an exhibition of Diabetic medication and Health related products. Ms. Mookram, who would be representing Guyana at the Ms. World Contest in China during the
month of November, 2017, stated that her personal platform was a healthy lifestyle. She expressed her delight at being able to assist hundreds of residents to get access to free and high standard Medical Care. The Queen spent time interacting with the residents, offering comfort and advice to many and spoke widely on the disease, which she described as one which claims too many lives due to poor diet and lack of physical fitness. Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster stated that the Health Fair was the first of its kind to be organised by the cricket teams of the club although they have arranged over 30 Medical Outreaches in the past. The Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, Foster stated is the only cricket club in the Caribbean which on a
Residents waiting to be examined at the Diabetes and Health Fair in Rose Hall Town. daily basis seeks to make a positive difference in the lives of others and they were pleased to work along with Ms. World Guyana in her quest to promote her personal platform of a healthy lifestyle. Ms. Rhonda Trim of the Ministry of Health, Berbice said that the Health Fair was one of the largest events ever held there and congratulated Ms. Mookram on the outstanding work she was doing to assist her
countrymen to live longer. Mr. Afeeze Khan of NAMILCO stated that his Company was delighted that the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club was asked to sponsor the event because his Company was full of confidence in its organising skills and abilities. The Company, Khan stated, fully understands its responsibilities as a corporate entity and would continue to invest heavily on youths, sports, health and educational activities.
His Worship, the Mayor of Rose Hall Town, Vijay Ramoo expressed gratitude to Ms. Mookram, the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club and NAMILCO for choosing Rose Hall Town as the venue for the Health Fair. Meanwhile, Ms. Mookran would be hosting a Diabetes Clinic and opening a Play Park on Sunday in the East Bank, Demerara Village of Diamond, as part of her continued campaign for healthy lifestyle.
Reddy’s century crafts Farm’s win; Wellman, Success, Regal Masters among victors A fine century by Rajesh Reddy guided Farm to a seven-wicket victory over Regal Allstars when the Mike’s Pharmacy, Trophy Stall and Nauth Motor Spares 20-over softball tournament continued on Sunday last. Playing at Malteenoes Sports Club, Regal Allstars took first strike and scored 180-9. Mohamed Ayube slammed 79; Rawl Reid claimed 2-12 and Patrick Khan 2-20. Farm responded with 185-3 in 16 overs. Rajesh Reddy stroked 101 while Lincoln Leander made 50; Sachin Singh had 2-35. Success overcame Farm by 38 runs. Success posted 185-9, taking first knock. Suraj Boodhoo made 48; Rawl Reid captured 4-18. Farm was bowled out for 147 in reply. Reid and Unnis Yusuf made 27 each as Davandra Deosarran picked up 4-21. Regal Masters beat Amazon Masters by nine wickets. Amazon Masters were sent packing for 101 in 19.3 overs, batting first. S. Rasish made 23; Mahendra Arjune grabbed 4-
Mahendra Arjune 10 and Mahendra Hardyal 336. Regal Masters raced to 102-1 in 11.1 overs. Fazleem Mohamed stroked 51 not out and Arjune 29 not out. Wellman beat Regal Masters by seven wickets. Regal Masters took first turn at the crease and managed 153 all out. Mahase Chunilall struck 53 not out and Shawn Massiah contributed 43. Raymond Harper claimed 333, Sheldon Perch 2-9 and Latchman Kallicharran 230. Wellman replied with 157-3 in 19.3 overs.
Rawl Reid Lloyd Ruplall hammered an unbeaten 72 and Jagdesh Persaud 57. At Bourda, HS Masters defeated Amazon Masters by 68 runs. Batting first, HS Masters scored 201-6. S. Boodram made 52 and Danny Mohanram 28. Amazon Masters were bowled out for 133 in reply with Randolph Perreira scoring 28. HS Masters overcame Enterprise Legends by nine wickets. Enterprise Legends were skittled for 55 taking first knock. HS Masters
Rajesh Reddy replied with 57-1. Keith Fraser struck 51. S p eed b o at b eat R eg al Allstars by 37 runs. Speedboat batted first and were bowled out for 86 in 15.1 overs with Lennox Marks making 17. Regal Allstars were sent packing for 49 in reply. Greg Singh claimed 2-3, Ricky Sergeant 2-5 and Wazir H u s s e i n 2 - 1 4 . Speedboat got the better of Success by six wickets. Success was sent packing for 99, batting first. Greg Singh snared 3-12 and Y. Livan 2-4.
Lloyd Ruplall
Jagdesh Persaud
In reply, Speedboat finished on 100-4. Wazir Hussein made 26 not out. At Hydronie, East Bank Essequibo, Ariel Masters beat Sunrisers Masters by one wicket. Sunrisers Masters batted first and made 125-9 with Gopaul Deen scoring 36; SurajLall Kumar claimed 3-12 and Ryan Singh 3-16. Ariel Masters replied with 126-9 in 19.5 overs. Peter Persaud made 32; Fizul Mohamed had 2-17 and Deen 2-20. Parika Defenders overcame Ariel Masters by one wicket.
Batting first, Ariel Masters mustered 104-8. Peter Persaud got 28 and Ron Ramnauth 21. Devanan Kanan took 2-17 and Nazir Baksh 2-18. Parika Defenders scored 105-9 in 14.3 overs in response. Kabesh Persaud made 22; Randolph Johnson claimed 3-12 and Surujlall Kumar 315. The competition continues on Sunday at Hydronie where Wellman will face Sunrisers at 10:00hrs and Floodlights will face Parika Defenders at 13:00hrs.
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Friday September 08, 2017
Wickets tumble as Windies share honours
Kemar Roach struck early to remove Mark Stoneman Getty Images London, CMC – Seamer Ben Stokes exploited ideal swing conditions to rout West Indies with a sixwicket haul but the Caribbean side hit back to rock England, as 14 wickets fell on the opening day of the decisive Lord’s Test here yesterday. Choosing to bat first, the Windies were bundled out for 123 in their first innings, with left-handed opener Kieran Powell top-scoring with 39 and second Test hero Shai Hope getting 29. However, they were the only two to pass 20 as West Indies collapsed from a
promising position of 78 for two after lunch, losing their last eight wickets for 45 runs. Stokes finished with career-best figures of six for 22 while fellow seamers Jimmy Anderson (2-31) and Toby Roland-Jones (2-32) claimed two wickets apiece in support. England’s hopes of establishing a foothold in the game were then dashed as pacers Jason Holder (218) and Kemar Roach (2-21) produced key strikes to leave the hosts reeling at 46 for four – 77 runs behind on first innings. Stokes and Dawid
Malan, both unbeaten on 13, were propping up the innings in a fledgling 22-run fifth wicket stand when bad light ended play prematurely. Entering the contest on the back of their stunning Headingley triumph, West Indies were left to rue their decision to bat once the murky weather rolled in to replace the sunshine, leaving their batsmen at the mercy of the England seamers in familiar conditions. Rain intervened after nearly an hour to rob the session of almost 40 minutes, with the Windies losing a wicket on either side
of the break courtesy of Anderson on both occasions. Opener Kraigg Brathwaite, dropped on three at first slip b y A l a s t a i r C o o k o ff Anderson in the day’s third over, added just seven before nicking a catch to wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow with the score on 18. A n d K y l e H o p e ’s difficult series continued when he perished without scoring in the third over following the rain break, trying to leave alone a wide one but edging a catch behind at 22 for two. Powell and Shai Hope
MSC Opens Basketball League
Raiders aiming to stop Royals; Block 22 Flames play Falcons Two more round one matches in the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) Open Basketball League will continue this evening at the MSC Hard Court from 18.30hrs. Bankers Trust Falcons meet Block 22 Flames with the main game 20:30hrs between the unbeaten Victory Valley Royals and Linden’s best, Retrieve Raiders. Currently, Royals is the hottest team with an
unbeaten five game streak which puts them on ten points in second place to front runners, Half Mile Bulls which has won five and lost one to the Royals to be on 11 points. Retrieve Raiders is in third position with 8 points. The Royals have the firepower which can see them taking the championship. In their fire power there are the likes of national Chris Williams, Harold Adams and Orlando Glasgow who are in rich form. Support come s from Trevor Profitt and Yannick Tappin. Raiders will depend on the likes of Duel Montrose, Travis Sutton, Coel Winter, Neil Marks, Omally Sampson and Abdulla Hamid.
Meanwhile, in latest results, Royals closed out Block 22 Flames 52-25 led by Chris Williams and Glasgow with 14 points each while Selwyn Henry had 10 for the Flames. Half Mile Bulls (11 points) completed their quota of six matches with a 66-47 win over Christianburg Pistons led by top marksman Terron Welch with 25 points and Vibert Benjamin’s 14. A. Inniss (14) and Otis Williams 13 were the best performers for the Pistons . Raiders notched their third win by beating Pistons 67-55; Duel Montrose hit in 14 points, Travis Sutton 13 and Coel Winter 9. Mark Louis was again the top scorer for the Pistons who are winless with the game high 21 while Otis
Williams got 17 points. Royals pounded Bulls 100-64 with Glasgow pouring in the game high 35 points, Harold Adams 14 and Chris Williams 10. Te r r o n We l c h a n d Michael Turner had 20 and 16 points respectively for the Bulls. Jets made light work of Bankers Trust Falcons 8756; Akini Wilson and Donnel Benjamin each had 26 points for the winners while for Falcons, Quincy Richmond had 24 points, The Bulls also scored a 6736 win against Block 22 Flames. And tomorrow, Amelia’s Wa r d J e t s t a k e o n Christianburg Pistons in the first game at 18.30hrs to be followed by a clash between Half Mile Bulls and Bankers Trust Falcons.
then combined in a solid 56run, third wicket stand which carried the Windies to lunch on 35 for two and kept them afloat for an hour afterwards. Powell faced 98 balls in a shade under 2-1/2 hours at the crease and struck six fours while the right-handed Hope lasted 79 minutes and faced 57 deliveries. He struck seven fours – mostly sweetly timed offside drives. Hope was looking increasingly dangerous when he got one from Roland-Jones that bounced, and stabbed a catch to Cook at first slip nearing the hour mark. His dismissal triggered the slide and in the next over, Powell followed, driving a return catch to Stokes in the next over without a run added at 78 for four. Sixteen balls later, Jermaine Blackwood missed a wild swing at Roland-Jones and was bowled for one and Roston Chase spent 36 balls over 18 and struck four fours before he was turned inside out by a Stokes leg-cutter and bowled off-stump. When wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich nicked a push at Stokes and was taken at first slip by Cook for one, the Windies were hanging by a thread at 101 for seven, and they managed to limp to tea
with no further loss at 119. After the resumption, the last three wickets crashed for just four runs in the space of 21 deliveries as captain Jason Holder (9) failed to add Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel both perished without scoring. West Indies also made the most of the dreary conditions and made early inroads into the England innings. Roach claimed Mark Stoneman to a catch at the wicket for one with as many on the board in the third over and returned later in the same spell to find Cook’s edge for 10, as wicketkeeper Dowrich completed his second catch. Holder then turned the game on its head when he knocked over Tom Westley for eight and captain Joe Root for one in successive overs. The right armer squared up Westley and trapped him lbw and then claimed Root to a catch at first slip by Kieran Powell, as the in-form batsman attempted a forcing backfoot drive off a rising delivery from back of a length. In disarray at 24 for four, England were given respite by Stokes and Malan who both played positively in the gloom, under the floodlights.
Kaieteur News
Friday September 08, 2017
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EBFA Ralph Green U-11 League
Defending champs Agricola on show; four matches slated for tomorrow at Grove Playfield Four matches would be contested tomorrow when play in this year’s edition of the Ralph Green/East Bank Football Association Under11 League continues at the Grove Playfield. Defending champions Agricola Red Triangle will open their quest to retain their crown when they take on Herstelling Raiders FC from 09:00hrs which would be followed half an hour later by a clash between the teams from D i a m o n d , U n i t e d and Upsetters which will be making its debut. Diamond United sits at the top of Group A following their 20 win in the first match of this year’s league last week at et same venue against Mocha Champs. Ronald Adams and Jarrell George will be hoping to continue their goal scoring form against the new kids on the block. In Group B play, Grove Hi Tech will also be aiming
Diamond United and Mocha Champs battling each other on Saturday last at the Grove Playfield. to make it two out of two when they oppose Friendship from 10:00hrs. Friendship ended last year’s inaugural league in fourth place behind Grove (3rd) in their first year as a member of the EBFA and no doubt will be fancying their
chances of going a step further this year. The final match tomorrow will see a clash of the Linden Soesdyke Highway teams when Kuru Kururu Warriors match skills with Highway United. An entertaining day of action awaits.
Silverbullet, Sandpipers, Farm, North Soesdyke triumph
GCA competitions bowl off this weekend The Georgetown Cricket Associat i o n / G I S E / S t a r Party Rentals first division two-day competition is set to continue this weekend. To m o r r o w f r o m 09:30hrs, Transport SC will face Guyana Defence Force
with Andre Horry and Cyril Garnath, the umpires in charge while at Malteenoes SC, University of Guyana will play Gandhi Youth Organisation with Ravi Latif and Hortence Isaacs the standing officials. In the Noble House Seas
Foods second division twoday competition which starts tomorrow at 10:30hrs, DCC will entertain Diplomats (Joseph Jeffrey and Flemroy Lambert) and GYO will entertain Everest (Abena Parker and Linden Matthews).
Regal Sports Softball concludes on Sunday Deonarine Seegobin
Devaughn Nandan
Silverbullet, Sandpipers, Farm and North Soesdyke recorded victories when the East Bank Demerara Cricket Association Sterling Products Ltd. T20 tournament continued last weekend. At YMCA on Sunday, Silverbullet took first strike and managed 99-1 in a game which was reduced to six overs due to rain. Christopher Ramnauth hit 52 off 21 balls with two fours and two sixes while Raymond Mitchel made 25. Bayrock managed 74-6 in reply. Leon Moseley made
41 off 14 balls including four fours and four sixes while Sheldon Bovell got 15. Patrick Alexander captured 3-22. Sandpipers beat Providence by eight wickets. Providence batted first and was bowled out for 111 in 18 overs. Kevin Pillew snared 4-9. Sandpipers responded with 112-2 in 15 overs. Roopnarine Ramsundar slammed 51 off 31 balls while Pillew contributed 18. Farm overcame Uprising by 47 runs. Farm took first knock and scored 121 all out
Oslyn Batson in 16.5 overs. Davaughn Nandan slammed two fours and five sixes in a top score of 51 as Elton John claimed 4-21 and Kester Duncan 3-21. Uprising wthumbled for 74 in 10 overs in reply. Duncan made 35; Oslyn Batson captured 4-25 and John Paton 3-11. At GYO, Ruimveldt thumped North Soesdyke by 72 runs. Ruimveldt batted first and scored 212-8 with Deonarine Seegobin scoring 93 and Ovid Richardson 47; Trevor France 2-28 (Continued on page 32)
Exciting action is anticipated on Sunday at the Everest Cricket Club ground when the curtains come down on the Regal Sports 20-over softball competition. In the semi finals of the Masters division, Savage will challenge Ariel on pitch one while Regal will play HS Masters on pitch two at 09:00hrs. In the Open semi finals, Regal Allstars will face De Hoop on pitch three while at GYO Speedboat will take on Farm, both games are set for 09:00hrs. The finals will commence at 12:30hrs with the winning teams in
both segments taking home a trophy and $100,000 each and the runner up a trophy and $25,000. Teams are asked to be on time to facilitate a prompt s t a r t . Meanwhile, the Georgetown Softball Cricket League Inc. / Prime Minister’s T20 Cup will be launched prior to the finals at the Everest CC. This tournament will be played in the Masters and Open categories; players participating in the Masters segment must be 45 years and over, and must submit photo identification preferably a valid passport
for registration. The winner in the Over -45 category will take home a trophy and $500,000 while in the All Stars category the winning team will collect $600 000 and a tr ophy. SVC Mafia, New York President’s XI, Try State Masters and New York Hustlers are among the overseas teams that have confirmed their participation for the competition which will commence on October 27 in Georgetown. Registration can be done through Russel Jadbeer on 626-8228 or 226-4205; no entrance fee is required.