Guyana Times -- Friday, August 16, 2019

India’s 73rd Independence anniversary observed with flag-raising ceremony Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 4017

P12

THE BEACON OF TRUTH friday, august 16, 2019

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Jagdeo deems coalition Govt unconstitutional, usurper of power

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

See story on page 3

MoE blunders P14 with country’s top CAPE performer – St Rose's High student now top CAPE performer

Potential GuySuCo investors hesitant over political climate – Finance Minister – as divestment of estates put on hold by caretaker Govt

Page 7

UG brings curtain down on 5th Youth Parliament

Police on the P15 hunt for men who allegedly paid woman to use daughters as “sex slaves” Elderly man P8 nabbed with cocaine at CJIA remanded to prison

– Opposition wins debate

See story on page 11 Participants of the second sitting of the fifth Youth Parliament as it came to an end on Thursday with students of the University of Guyana (UG) taking on a range of issues in a thrilling debate session

Civil society groups join calls

Region 10 P15 dispatches team to Lamp Island as floodwaters continue to rise

for President, Cabinet to resign Page 9

…illegal Govt needs to respect the supreme law of Guyana — protestors

Man stabs ex-lover, No decisions made on H2H male companion Registration/elections during argument …awaiting CJ’s ruling in written format GECOM’s 1st meeting

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Page 13

Suspected thief shoots at City Constable P2 – who foils robbery at Bourda Market

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friday, august 16, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Suspected thief shoots at City Constable – who foils robbery at Bourda Market

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man, who attempted to scale a gate at Bourda Market, was in the wee hours of Thursday caught, but not before discharging a firearm on the city Constable who

was at the time conducting a routine patrol.

Chief Constable Andrew Foo explained that the incident occurred at about 03:00h in the vicinity of Orange Walk, Bourda. The

suspect was spotted climbing over the structure and an alarm was raised.

“I would have received information that around 03:00h this morning (Thursday) from a member

of the city Police who was at the Bourda Market doing routine patrols. He would have noticed an individual on Orange Walk. That individual was seen attempting to climb the second gate of the Bourda Market,” Foo stated.

However, the Constable called on the suspect to desist from climbing over the gate but in retaliation, he opened fire at the city Constable, who reciprocated with similar actions.

This caused the suspect to flee the scene and after a high-speed chase, he was apprehended at Hadfield Street and placed in the lock-ups.

“The ranks would have put up a challenge but he opened fire at him. The Constable returned fire causing the individual to flee.

The rank went in pursuit of chase, which ended up on Hadfield Street. Additional ranks were summoned and the suspect was seen Chief Constable Andrew Foo

Bourda Market, where the suspect was initially spotted

and attested in the vicinity of Smith Congregational Church”.

A search was conducted at the said location, where a pistol and 15 live rounds of ammunition were discovered.

Foo stated that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) was also briefed on the gun-related matter as investigations continue.

Throughout the ordeal, no injuries were incurred and stalls at the marketplace remained intact.

Berbice accident victim out of ICU

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amily members of 26-year-old accident victim Irfaan Ahmad, who was on life support after being struck down by a motorcar, are now elated after the young father was removed from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation

Irfaan Ahmad

Relatives told Guyana Times that this is the first indication that the young man’s condition is improving. The doctors have, how-

ever, informed the family that they will continue to monitor his progress.

Now that he is warded, his relatives have some hope. Ahmad had suffered a broken hip, broken legs and arms, swelling in his brain, and spinal injuries after he was struck down at Sheildstown, West Coast Berbice (WCD) while making his way home from work at the Blairmont Estate two Wednesdays ago.

However, the driver of the motorcar, an overseas-based Guyanese, who had attempted to escape the scene of the crime but was subsequently apprehended, is yet to be charged with the crime.

According to Ahmad’s sister, it was only after several inquiries were made at the Blairmont Police Station that ranks went to the scene of the accident to take measurements. This was two days after the incident occurred. Shabeena Ahmad revealed that her family was then told by an investigating rank that the driver cannot be charged since Ahmad has not succumbed.

“She tell me that we can’t

charge the man because your brother still alive, that we have to wait to see what happen with my brother,” the woman revealed.

Further, she told this publication that her family made inquiries as to whether the man’s passport has been confiscated by Police since he does not reside in Guyana but this also elicited a vague response.

“The Police tell we that she can’t tell we that, but I don’t understand how we brother deh battling for he life but they aren’t telling us anything. Only Sunday they even bother to go and take measurements on the road when he get knock down since Wednesday… she called me this morning (Wednesday) again to find out my brother condition.

Like maybe to find out if he passed away but I can’t understand how only then the driver can be charged when he already attempted the escape the scene, how wasn’t he charged with that?” the woman questioned.

She noted that her family is fearful because if the driver escapes, justice will not be served.

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friday, august 16, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Friday, August 16 – 05:00h - 06:30h and Saturday, August 17 – 05:30h – 07:00h.

Jagdeo deems coalition Govt unconstitutional, usurper of power

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Friday, August 16 – 17:00h - 18:30h and Saturday, August 17 – 05:15h – 06:45h.

FERRY SCHEDULE Parika and Supenaam departure times - 05:00h, 11:00h and 16:00h daily

WEATHER TODAY Light rain showers are expected throughout the morning and afternoon hours. These conditions continue in the evening with partly cloudy skies later at night. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-Easterly to East SouthEasterly between 1.78 metres and 4.02 metres.

High Tide: 017:15h reaching a maximum height of 2.53 metres.

Low Tide: 10:52h and 23:04h reaching minimum heights of 0.63 metre and 0.66 metre.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

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n light of Chief Justice Roxane George refusing to set a date by which constitutionally-due early elections ought to be held, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has declared that his party – the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) — will now view the coalition Government as unconstitutional.

At his weekly press conference on Thursday, Jagdeo explained that this position is being taken since the December 21, 2018 passage of the No-Confidence Motion (NCM) triggered early elections within three months, and since there was no extension by the National Assembly to extend this timeline as required, then General and Regional

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Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George Elections ought to have been held by March 21, 2019.

“My new position in the PPP and based on this new ruling… [is] since March 21 of this year, the Government has been practicing unconstitutional rule. It has been a usurper of power in Guyana. It has acted outside of the provision of our Constitution. We were prepared to allow this to happen after September 18; to be generous and say after September 18, you go into unconstitutional rule. But if

they think this ruling helps now, well it only reiterated what we already know that the Government has been a usurper of power since March 21,” Jagdeo posited.

According to the Opposition Leader, this now means that every deal and agreement made by the coalition since then will become null and void.

“So I saw they’re extending the oil contract – CGX got an extension and I want to say to CGX that that extension is not valid because it was done in a period when we have a caretaker govern-

ment. I’ve already made it clear that the daily sale of land and all of these things that are being practicing, and not through public processes, are all illegal. And, this is not from June 18 or September 18 but from March 21,” he asserted.

On Wednesday, Chief Justice Roxane George dismissed an application filed

by Christopher Ram, who challenged the constitutionality of ongoing Houseto-House Registration and asked the Court to compel the Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield,

the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) validated the passage of the NCM against the Government.

However, the Chief Justice noted that like the Trinidad-based regional Court ruled, the High Court cannot set a date by which elections ought to be held and that the conduct of House-to-House Registration is not illegal.

But she did note that it would be unconstitutional for the registration exercise to remove qualified persons from the voters’ list for reasons other than death

Some members of Cabinet

and others to hold elections on or before September 18, which is three months since

or those disqualified under Article 159 (2), (3), or (4).

Turn to page 9

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friday, august 16, 2019

Views Editor: Tusika Martin News Hotline: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544, 223-7230, 223-7231, 225-7761 Marketing: 231-8064 Accounts: 225-6707 Mailing address: Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, marketing@guyanatimesgy.com

Lasting solutions for GPL Finding a lasting solution to the power woes

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he issue regarding the constant power outages across Guyana and its huge negative impact on both individuals and businesses is once again making the headlines. The problem seems insurmountable for the Government to deal with, as promises to make blackouts a thing of the past remain unfulfilled, and it looks as if Guyanese will have to wait much longer before they could enjoy the ‘good life’ promised by the coalition Government on the 2015 campaign trail.

It is well known that businesses are becoming fed up with the situation, and based on information gathered, some are even contemplating closing shop. For example, the Essequibo Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ECCI) had issued a passionate call for the Government intervene and bring some relief to the residents of Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), especially the business sector— who were all suffering tremendously because of the inadequate power supply.

The ECCI President was quoted in this newspaper as saying that the Region’s commerce is collapsing owing to the poor service offered by Guyana Power and Light (GPL). It was revealed that businesses were dumping products and those who have standby generators were pumping thousands of dollars into fuel and maintenance costs.

Now that Guyana’s oil and gas sector is about to take off, it would be in the country’s interest to have a reliable supply of power. Investors, manufacturers, and so on will not be attracted to come here and do business if the present situation— as it relates to electricity supply— continues.

In addition to the negative impact on businesses as a result of blackouts, it is a huge discomfort to individuals as it disrupts their daily lives. Also, everyone knows that constant power surges can result in severe damage to household appliances and even cause fires, etc. It is even more frustrating when one considers the fact that GPL does not have any clear policies as it relates to providing compensation when electrical appliances or machinery etc are damaged because of irregular power supply.

It is clear that both businesses and private individuals are dissatisfied with the service being provided by the power company, especially so since the cost they are paying for such service has not decreased; in fact, it has increased over the past few years, even though Government has been saving millions of dollars because of declining oil prices on the world market.

At present, it is still not clear as to what steps are being taken to bring a lasting solution to the power woes the country has been experiencing; in fact, officials have been giving one excuse after the other, which does not help in any way. Some experts believe that there is a manifest lack of short— and long—term solutions to address the company’s inefficiency.

They have expressed the view that no relief is being provided by the Government in the short-term, and no effective plan is in place to address the situation in the medium to long term, which could eventually see the problem deteriorating further.

We had stated before that Guyana could have been in a better position regarding an affordable, reliable supply of electricity if there was bipartisan support for the Amaila Falls Hydropower (AFHP) project— which should have been in the system from 2017. Unfortunately, the APNU/AFC parties, while in Opposition, did everything they could to kill the project.

That said, we are not oblivious to the many problems being experienced by the power company. These problems, which include line losses and electricity theft, have been known for decades and have certainly had a tremendous impact on the company’s ability to provide better services to Guyanese consumers. The extent of electricity theft is shocking and GPL must continue to tackle the issue frontally.

The authorities must stop making excuses and find a solution to the problem once and for all. After investing so many billions, in this day and age, these constant power outages are unacceptable.

A woman sits in a wheelchair as Palestinians and Israelis visit the shore of the Mediterranean Sea during the Muslim holiday of Eid alAdha at a beach in Tel Aviv, Israel (Reuters/Corinna Kern)

Venezuela’s Maduro reshuffles Cabinet as Supreme Court strips 3 Opposition lawmakers of immunity

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enezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced seven new ministers on Monday.

Vanessa Montero, Cesar Trompiz, Asia Villegas and Oswaldo Barbera are taking over the Urban Agriculture, Higher Education, Women and Gender Equality, and Eco-socialism Ministries, respectively.

Additionally, Admiral Gilberto Pinto was tapped to lead the Ministry of Mining and National Guard General Raul Alfonso the Public Works Ministry. The final change saw the creation of a new Tourism and Foreign Trade Ministry, to be headed by Felix Plasencia.

Maduro has announced a “deep renovation” of his Cabinet on several occasions in recent months. Nevertheless, prior to the latest reshuffle, only a handful of changes had taken place, including the replacement of Electricity Minister Luis Motta Dominguez, following the March and April blackouts.

However, key portfolios such as economy, finance, oil and the multiple vice presidencies have seen few changes since last year.

The Cabinet changes followed a Supreme Court decision to lift the parliamentary immunity of three opposition lawmakers, paving the way for criminal prosecution.

According to a communique, Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab requested that that the Supreme Court allow that National Assembly deputies Juan Pablo Garcia, Tomas Guanipa and Jose Guerra be investigated for “treason, conspiracy, incitement to insurrection, usurpation of functions,” among others. The accusations are covered by seven articles of the Venezuelan penal code.

Garcia, Guanipa and Guerra follow a host of opposition lawmakers that have seen their parliamentary immunity lifted since National Assembly President Juan Guaido proclaimed himself “interim president” on January 23.

The Opposition has since launched several attempts to oust the Maduro

The National Constituent Assembly rejected Trump’s embargo on August 12

government, including efforts to bring in “humanitarian aid” across a closed Venezuelan-Colombian border on February 23 and a failed military putsch on April 30. Several lawmakers had their immunity revoked for alleged involvement in these episodes, notably National Assembly Vice President Edgar Zambrano.

Venezuela’s plenipotentiary National Constituent Assembly (ANC) lauded the Supreme Court ruling in a session on Monday, with Deputy Dario Vivas claiming that there can be no impunity.

Monday’s session also saw the body approve a decree rejecting the embargo imposed by the Trump administration against the Caribbean nation.

The text rejected “renewed meddling” from Washington, reiterating that the country has a “democratic and constitutional path to secure the people’s well-being”.

Washington escalated its sanctions programme into a full-scale embargo on August 5, freezing all Venezuelan state assets in US territory and enabling sweeping secondary sanctions against entities that deal with Caracas.

ANC President Diosdado Cabello

likewise announced the creation of a commission to evaluate whether legislative elections should be brought forward.

According to the Constitution, elections for the National Assembly should take place in 2020, with the body’s term due to expire in December. However, the Legislative chamber has been in contempt of court since July 2016 when its Opposition majority swore in three deputies under investigation for voter fraud. The standoff between the legislative and Chavista-held branches of government escalated in 2017 when the Opposition took to the streets in violent protests, prompting Maduro to call for ANC elections under Article 348 of Venezuela’s Constitution.

Maduro and other government officials have floated the possibility of early parliamentary elections on repeated occasions. Elections are reportedly one of the topics under discussion in the government-Opposition talks taking place in Barbados with Norwegian mediation, but no details have been disclosed. The Venezuelan government called off the latest round of negotiations in the aftermath of the embargo imposed by the Trump administration.

(Venezuela Analysis)

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You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com

Possible recession looms for US Guyana’s economy Dear Editor, In recent days, the US interest rates have produced an inverted yield curve, which is a sign of slowing economic activity in the US economy, and this may possibly trigger a recession.

For Guyana, this could be an opportunity which triggers local currency appreciation, depending on how the Central Bank and Ministry of Finance handle the US adjustment to

interest rates.

However, it should also be noted that if our currency and gold reserves are strengthened while simultaneously reducing our debt levels as a percentage of GDP, the opportunity to take advantage of the US economic adjustment would improve.

The projected growth of our oil revenue will also substantially aid in achieving such currency appreciation (via resulting

debt-to-GDP ratio reduction), and given our high dependency on foreign imports, a strong Guyanese dollar should be good for the economy, and help to keep inflation under control in the near to midterm, while global trade adjusts.

The resulting increased buying power of the Guyanese dollar will also help ease the burden on local salaries, and enable households to improve

their standards of living.

The economy is currently experiencing high unemployment, and such an adjustment to monetary policy would have a much-awaited positive impact on the lives of many Guyanese. As the saying goes, “a little goes a long way”, and in this case, it surely will.

Best regards, Jamil Changlee (Mr)

Directive must be given for continuous maintenance of road

Dear Editor, I would like to bring attention to the deplorable condition of the access road for the Yaya pontoon crossing of the Essequibo River. This is a critical piece of road infrastructure for gold miners, loggers, and other Guyanese who depend on access to Omai, 72 Miles, Issano, in between, and beyond for their livelihoods.

The condition of this access road has worsened in the last year, exacerbated by increasing movements of log trucks and protracted rainy seasons.

Concern over their own safety – and that of their vehicles and cargo – has forced some truck operators to consider suspending their operations until this eight-mile stretch of road is restored to a safe and acceptable condition. The poor condition of this road costs time and money when vehicles are stuck or need to be repaired. This, in turn, affects the profitability of operations, and further, their viability.

In previous years, the Mekdeci Mining Company – which has sole control of this crossing (and oth-

ers nationwide) – has honoured its responsibility to maintain the ingress from Yaya turn-off to the crossing, and the egress from point of disembarkation up to Issano Road turn-off.

However, there has been close to zero effort to conduct any maintenance in the last year.

At least 4 vehicles can cross with the Mekdeci pontoon leaving every hour between the hours of 6:00h and 18:00h and at a cost of some $9,000 for a pickup truck and $45,000 for a double axel truck, and upwards for lorries

and other equipment.

Surely, some of this income can be set aside for maintenance of the roads which bring vehicles to their crossing.

The necessary directive must be given by the Government agency which governs the Mekdeci pontoon operations, for regular maintenance to resume immediately and much needed relief brought to the Yaya road users. The livelihoods of hard-working Guyanese depend on it.

Sincerely, Jahar Rohit

not performing as well as Govt reported

Dear Editor, The Guyana economy cannot be performing as well as the PNC-led APNU+AFC Government would like people to believe.

This is because people are struggling to pay their electricity bills, resulting in GPL having a deficit of $4.2 billion, as reported in the news article “GPL wallowing in $4.2B deficit” (Guyana Times, 15th August 2019).

As the economy worsens, Guyanese will have less disposable income, hence they will seek to cut back on their expenditure, as is happening. Never

mind the alleged increase in GDP, as this has been eroded away by higher taxation and by the widening in the goods and services being taxed.

It is expected that GPL would finish the year with a $9.5 billion deficit, which is clearly a burden to taxpayers. Is the PNC-led APNU+AFC Government going to shutdown GPL as it downsized GuySuCo allegedly for being a burden on taxpayers? Clearly, Government needs to be consistent and “downsize” GPL. Yours faithfully, Sean Ori

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sk any kid: Grandparents rule.

They’re known worldwide as great companions and often shower their grandchildren with special treats and lots of love. Some kids live far away from their grandparents so they stay in touch by phone, through email, and with letters. Other kids live close to their grandparents, making it easy to visit often. And still other kids live with their grandparents.

Sometimes, the family is sharing the grandparents’ house and sometimes the grandparent moves into the family’s house or apartment. Maybe your grandmother moved in with your family because she was having trouble living alone. Or maybe your grandparents take care of you in place of your mom or dad.

Being a grandparent is a big job, but grandparents have a lot of experience.

They raised and cared for your parent when he or she was a kid! And grandparents have been the heads of households since the beginning of time. In many cultures – Native American and Chinese, for instance – grandparents are looked up to as a source of wisdom.

When a grandparent moves in

Any change can be difficult to adjust to. So even if you love your grandfather, it may be tough when he moves

Foundation

in. Your grandfather will need a room to sleep in and everyone will have to learn to share the bathroom and the TV. Try to be as nice as you can during this time. Your grandparent may have trouble settling into a house that isn’t his or her own.

After the adjustment period, you might find you enjoy having someone else in the house and a new person to spend time with. Grandparents often tell the best stories, like interesting tales about when they were kids. You might start by asking how many miles they had to walk to school each day!

Helping out

If your grandparent needs help, you might be the one to lend a hand. And your grandparent might be able to help you by playing a game with you or fixing you a snack after school. If your grandparent needs a lot of help or is ill, your parents will help care for him or her. In some cases, a nurse might visit your house.

As your household gets bigger, you may feel left out or decide you need more of your parents’ attention.

Share your feelings if you feel this way.

Maybe your mom or dad can schedule some special time with you. Your parents will appreciate it if you pitch in around the house and do a few more

chores than usual. This can be really helpful when there’s so much to do.

When you move in with a grandparent

Quite a few kids live with grandparents who take care of them in place of their moms or dads. These are often loving relationships, but it can be a challenging situation for both the kid and the grandparent.

Kids who live with grandparents might miss their moms or dads and wish they could live with them instead. The grandparent may find it difficult to keep up with a kid and all of his or her needs.

Talk with your grandparent, or another trusted adult, if you have some of these feelings. Often the solution is that both the kid and the grandparent work together. The grandkid can help by working hard in school, staying out of trouble, and helping around the house. The grandparent can try to be understanding about what it’s like to be a kid these days. Loving and caring for each other can be the glue that keeps everything together.

And one more thing: You might want to put the first Sunday after Labour Day in America (the first Monday in September) on your calendar. Why? It’s Grandparents Day! (kidshealth.org)

T

he Huichol Indians, or Wixaritari, of the remote Sierra Madre Occidental areas in Mexico are famous for their brightly coloured and elaborate yarn paintings. These works of art reflect this community’s religious and cultural beliefs.

The process involves melting a layer of beeswax or pine resin to use as glue to adhere yarn to a square or circular wooden base. Here, you can imitate this process using glue in lieu of beeswax. This fun and colourful cultural craft will help you build fine motor skills and open your eyes to a new world of art making.

What you need:

Square or circular piece of cardboard or wood; heavy construction paper will work, too Yarn in assorted colours Glue Toothpick Pictures of Huichol symbols and yarn paintings (you can go to the library to find books with these kinds of images or go on-line) Scissors

What you do:

1. Find library books or Internet resources that illustrate Huichol sacred symbols and their meanings, and show examples of yarn paintings. Often, birds such as eagles and hummingbirds are depicted in Huichol art, as well as the sun, earth, water, air, fire, shaman’s wand, prayer arrow, peyote cactus, sacred deer, and portals between worlds, just to name a few.

2. In pencil, draw your picture onto the cardboard. Select one or two key Huichol symbols to showcase in artwork and build upon those. Use a multitude of images to fill the empty space.

3. Before you begin gluing on the yarn to colour in the “painting”, think about what colours you want where, so that you can get a sense of where the yarn will go.

4. Now work in small sections at a time to trace the pencil outlines in yarn, filling them in with bold colours. First, spread glue in the selected area and then, using a toothpick or your fingertips, gently press the yarn into place. You can coil one continuous piece of yarn or cut it into smaller pieces, whichever you find easier. Keep a damp cloth or paper towel handy to wipe dried glue off of sticky fingers.

5. The more vibrant the colours, the better! If you are feeling ambitious, fill in the background completely so that there is no white space, making it more similar to an authentic Huichol yarn painting. This activity is a unique way to inspire creativity and commemorate Mexican history and culture and explores your inner artist. (Adapted from education.com)

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friday, august 16, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Potential GuySuCo investors hesitant over political climate – Finance Minister – as divestment of estates put on hold by caretaker Govt

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he divestment of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has hit a snag, with the Government admitting that investors who were previously eager to buy up assets are now holding back owing to the political climate.

This is according to Finance Minister Winston Jordan, who was at the time speaking at a press conference on Wednesday.

He was asked whether the political situation had impacted the divestment of assets being overseen by the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).

“The sale of the estates has been delayed.

Partly due to the political side. Because nobody is expressing interest when the Opposition says we are going to review sales and so on. So that has not gone down too well and I don’t think at this stage, given our status as interim, we will want to engage in any major privatisation at this time.”

Back in June, it had been reported that accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), on behalf of NICIL,

level, that investors are extremely cautious, in light of statements that their buyin will be reviewed should somebody get into power in the next elections. If I were an investor, I would say hold on, pull my horse out of the race and wait until the next round comes around. That is what investors do. If you’re going to put up uncertain conditions, they’re not about to put their money first.”

Finance Minister Winston Jordan

was in negotiations with investors to buy GuySuCo assets. In fact, the firm had said that it was close to concluding a deal with investors who were particularly interested in the Rose Hall Estate.

When asked by this newscast whether these are the investors who are sitting on the fence, however, Jordan was reluctant to corroborate this. He noted that this reluctance to invest in the wake of political uncertainty is understandable. And Jordan also noted that those who have already invested are likely to take steps to protect their assets.

“I’ll say, at a general

The deal

In June, PwC Managing Director Wilfred Bhagaloo had announced at a press conference that negotiations with a consortium of investors from Guyana, India and Ghana have reached an advanced stage. He had also revealed that the Rose Hall Estate, which received the most interest from investors, was the targeted estate.

During meetings with Government officials last year, some of the areas bidders had concerns about were the state of the equipment and factories. But a year ago, Government had secured a $30 billion bond through commercial banks both in Guyana and the region as part of the diversifi-

cation initiatives. In 2018, the interest of $1.5 billion was paid and another $1.5 million will have to be paid this year for the government to sit on the funds.

Back in 2017, Government had announced plans to close the Enmore and Rose Hall Sugar Estates, sell the Skeldon Sugar Factory, reduce the annual production of sugar, and take on the responsibility of managing the drainage and irrigation services offered by GuySuCo. Subsequently, in November of that year, GuySuCo announced plans to retrench 2500 workers by the end of that year.

Amid much criticism, over 7000 were retrenched.

Government then established the Special Purpose Unit (SPU) under NICIL to take over the divestment of GuySuCo’s assets that were earmarked for sale. The SPU then recruited PwC to conduct a valuation of the assets to be privatised and divested.

Political climate

Government fell to a No-Confidence Motion on December 21, 2018, and approached the courts soon

The Rose Hall Sugar Estate

after to overturn the vote.

When the matter reached the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), which is based in Trinidad, the regional court validated the no-confidence vote.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has always maintained that the Government should be acting in a caretaker capacity only and not entering into large scale contracts. In the wake of reports that State assets were being sold to cronies of the party, he has repeatedly warned that should the PPP take office, any underhand transactions will be investigated.

Jagdeo’s position was vindicated by the CCJ on July 12, when it noted in its consequential orders that the

Government should be in a caretaker status. CCJ President, Justice Adrian Saunders had outlined that the Cabinet, including the President, should have already been resigned, thus, reaffirming that the APNU/ AFC coalition is, in fact, and should be in a caretaker mode leading up to elections.

It was only last month that the presence of a Trinidadian Minister at the Guyana Government’s investment outreach in Trinidad and Tobago had drawn criticism from a lawmaker in the twin-island republic. The lawmaker had cause to urge his Government to maintain neutrality when dealing with Guyana’s caretaker Government.

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friday, august 16, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

IN THE COURTS Man remanded for armed robbery A 20-year-old man who was recently found guilty of minor offences and sentenced to community service has found himself at court once again, this time to answer to a charge of armed robbery.

Shiva Khadier of East Ruimveldt, Georgetown, appeared before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday.

Police stated that on August 11, 2019, at Kitty Seawall, Georgetown, while being armed with a knife, he robbed Jones Sealey of a

phone valued at $46,000, a bag valued at $36,000 and $15,000 in cash.

Khadier pleaded not guilty to the charge after

it was read to him. He was represented by Attorney-atLaw Paul Fung-a-Fat, who asked that his client be released on reasonable bail.

However, Police Prosecutor Traceyann Gittens made serious objections to bail being granted to the defendant based on the seriousness of the charge.

The Prosecutor told the court that Khadier was found guilty of an offence on July 17, 2019, and was sentenced to community service by the Magistrate after he agreed to repay the victim. This was, however, not done.

Upon hearing this, the Magistrate remanded Khadier to prison until September 11.

Elderly man nabbed with cocaine at CJIA remanded to prison

T

he senior citizen who was nabbed at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri on Wednesday with over 200 grams of cocaine stashed inside the sole of his shoes was on Thursday slapped with a trafficking in narcotics charge.

Sixty-six-year-old Roderick Andrew Chase appeared before Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Providence Magistrates’ Court, East Bank Demerara, and pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The charge alleged that on August 13, 2019, at CJIA, Timehri, Chase had 290 grams of cocaine in his possession for the purpose of

trafficking.

Chase was represented

by Attorney-at-Law George Thomas.

According to reports, Chase was preparing to board a New York-bound Caribbean Airlines flight when he was stopped and pulled aside for additional searches.

Security officials reportedly became suspicious after noticing that the man was travelling with no checked luggage. He was nabbed by the agents as he made his way through the full-body scanner.

Upon searching the elderly man, two parcels of cocaine were allegedly found stashed in the sole of his shoes. He was cautioned and

The cocaine found in the sole of the man’s shoes

taken into Police custody, where he was subsequently charged.

He was remanded to

prison and will make his next court appearance on August 30.

Police nab members of notorious robbery gang

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olice have arrested three members of the notorious ‘Scare Dem’ crew of Angoys Avenue New Amsterdam, Berbice following an early morning pursuit on Thursday.

Two of the men have since confessed to five armed robberies that have been committed in the com-

munity. The latest was committed on a Venezuelan National on Thursday morning at her Vryman’s Ervin home.

The other two were committed previously in Angoy’s Avenue.

Based on reports received, Police had been on the hunt for crew mem-

bers last week after two homes were broken into and robbed.

Two brothers and their nephew who are part of the gang along with their mother and a female were all arrested. Following her arrest, the woman was found to be in possession of several stolen items in her possession.

In addition, following a search at a house in Angoy’s Avenue several mobile phones, television sets and jewelry were recovered.

The items are said to be from some of the robberies that were conducted over the past week by the gang.

Police are continuing the investigation.

Duo charged for breaking and entering, larceny T r e t n E & Break wo men of Rasville Housing Scheme, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown, who were accused of stealing almost $300,000 in articles from a house they allegedly broke into, were granted bail on Wednesday by Senior Magistrate Leron Daly.

Nineteen-year-old Andrew Clarke and 30-year-old Destiny Fredericks appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts and pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to them.

The police stated that between August 9 and 10,

2019, at Cane View South Ruimveldt, Georgetown, they broke and entered the house of Sarah Adams and removed items totalling $286,000.

Magistrate Leron Daly granted the duo bail in the sum of $50,000 each and adjourned the matter to September 25, 2019.

Man granted bail for stealing coconuts

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28-year-old man, who was accused of stealing coconuts, was on Wednesday released on $10,000 bail by Senior Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Bernard Bourne, of Sophia, pleaded not guilty to the charge which alleged that on August 7, 2019, at Kitty, Georgetown, he stole 50 coconuts valued at $10,000.

During the court hear-

ing, no information regarding the theft was released by the Prosecutor, who had no objection to bail being granted to the accused.

Bourne will make his second appearance on August 27.

The ambiguity continues…

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…on elections he long-anticipated ruling by CJ Roxane George on the H2H Registration challenges was a bit of a downer to your Eyewitness. In trying to give something to each of the parties - the Govt, the Opposition and GECOM - she didn’t quite come off as Solomonic as your Eyewitness had hoped. As a result, it was the poor baby - in this case, our Constitution - that came out the worse for wear. Without citing all the cited Articles and their clauses, what was the gravamen (to filch a legal phrase) of the cases??

The Constitution always had the stipulation that, after a successful NCM, elections had to be held in 3 months. After the NCM was passed on Dec 21 2018, the PRO of GECOM announced they’d be getting ready to have elections by March 21. Yet, for reasons well ventilated in the public sphere - mainly having to do with foot dragging by Granger’s hand-picked Chairman, James Patterson - GECOM didn’t do a damn thing, even after the same CJ ruled that the NCM was validly passed.

Further appeals by the Govt - having nothing to do with GECOM, but on mathematical esoterica - placed the clock on hold; but nothing prevented GECOM from getting their systems in place to meet any new 3-month deadline when the clock started ticking again.

At this time, their major time cruncher was preparing an updated Official List of Electors (OLE), which is extracted from the NRR. There were two options: a claims- and-objections programme using the OLE from the just concluded LGE, or H2H. The first would take two months, while the second a year at least!! The Government, however, insisted that the OLE was “bloated” by some 200,000 names, and this could be rectified only by a H2H exercise.

It was against this background that Patterson decided to initiate H2H Registration. Soon after, he was declared by the CCJ to have been illegally appointed and the NCM validly passed. And we arrive at the present decision by the CJ, in which she, like the CCJ, insisted on using Gnomic rather than plain, unambiguous language. And so leave the political pot boiling like molten lava as before.

Why couldn’t she say clearly that while she can’t order an exact DATE, GECOM must use a method of creating a list to meet, as closely as possible, the three-month parameter of Sept 18, after the clock started ticking again on June 18??

Didn’t she realise we aren’t dealing with persons of integrity, as the CCJ presumed when they pointed out that the 3-month deadline for elections after an NCM needed no “gloss”?

Fortunately, Claudette Singh cannot be Gnomic!! …on “top schools” While the announcement of the CSEC and CAPE results were overshadowed by the goings on over at the High Court, they still gave your Eyewitness that frisson of excitement to see our youths can still be motivated to achieve set goals.

He’s constantly in trepidation that the Americanisation of mores that make young people so blasé might have reached our shores. He’s still in awe of our sixteen-year-olds writing TWENTY subjects at CSEC and succeeding with all grade ones!!

But two things made this year’s results more interesting.

First, three of the top students are drawn from hinterland communities… and, more than anything else, he believes this will be the start of the deconstruction of the persistent notion in coastlanders that our hinterland folks aren’t quite “with it”. Of course, they are, but these results are proof of the pudding!

The second point is the performance of regional schools!

They’re edging out the “premier” schools in G/town, even though the latter get the “cream” of each crop!

The times are a changin’ …in WI cricket The times are a changin’ in cricket also. With Test cricket fighting to stay relevant by bringing in a two-year championship format, the T-20 format is still setting the pace.

But whither the WI Team?

Readers are invited to send their comments by email to eye@guyanatimesgy.com

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friday, august 16, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Civil society groups join calls for President, Cabinet to resign …illegal Govt needs to respect the supreme law of Guyana — protestors

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handful of persons representing two civil society groups picketed the Ministry of the Presidency on Thursday, calling for President David Granger to adhere to the constitutional provisions that mandate his Cabinet to resign and call elections in light of the passage of the No-Confidence Motion (NCM).

The picketing exercise was organised by the Mass Action Peoples Movement (MAPM) – the group which was formed to protest against the parking meters project – and the newly-formed Association for Democracy and Human Rights (ADHR).

MAPM’s Don Singh contended that the Constitution of Guyana is being trampled upon by the coalition administration, which seems keen on not adhering to the law, and that the legal and right thing for the President and his Cabinet members to do now is resign.

“Whether you like it or not, it happened, article 106(6) and the consequences that follow thereafter are important, so we are saying resign Cabinet now. You (Government) accepted that you are interim or a caretaker government, well behave like that. We cannot have

A section of the groups outside of the Ministry of the Presidency on Thursday

new projects, I saw Minister David Patterson talking about a bridge to Suriname the other day that is ludicrous, and you cannot be planning to spend tax payers’ money when your cabinet is illegal”.

Meanwhile, another member of MAPM, Johnathan Yearwood, is of the belief that the APNU/ AFC coalition has lost all respect for Guyana’s Constitution.

“The Constitution clearly states in 106(6) that the Government, the President and the Cabinet shall resign. Not should, but shall resign. Then it goes on to say in 106(7) notwithstanding that resignation, they remain in government, but

apparently the President and the Cabinet, all the learned members of the Cabinet, do not understand what the word notwithstanding means because they have already said publicly that they will not be resigning and that is against our Constitution”.

Yearwood stated that instead of allowing due process in accordance with Guyana’s laws through provisions in the Constitution to have an early election within a stipulated timeframe of three months, the Government of the day has chosen to disregard the laws that govern the country.

“The Constitution clearly states that they must resign, not if they want to, and

Jagdeo deems coalition...

Pointing out that the “right to vote and the right to be registered to vote are sacrosanct”, the High Court Judge said “residence requirements from citizens are no longer a qualification for registration”. This means that persons cannot be removed from the list if they do not re-register, or if they are not in the jurisdiction or otherwise not at their residence during the registration exercise.

According to the Opposition Leader, this is a victory for the Opposition, which had joined in on Ram’s legal challenge.

“As far as we’re concerned, we achieved the purpose of what we set out to do, that is, to not have Guyanese de-registered by this APNU-led government. They would’ve done this; developed a flawed list, left out thousands of Guyanese, add in some fake names, and then rushed the elections through. That was their aim… but this [ruling] has thwarted that.

They can’t touch the database, the NRR (National Register of Registrants)…

So it’s a momentous victory, people don’t see that. And it’s not for the PPP, it’s for the Guyanese electorate,” Jagdeo contended.

Furthermore, the Chief Justice had ruled too that while it is not up to the court to determine whether House-to-House should be held, it is not the only option available to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to update the

current list. The Court said it is up to the Elections Commission to determine a way forward within the confines of the constitutional provisions.

But GECOM at a meeting on Thursday did not come up with any decisions on the holding of early elections, saying that it will await the court’s ruling later this month on a similar case challenging the Houseto-House exercise before deciding on the way forward.

from page 3

However, Jagdeo contended that the ongoing registration should be scrapped and the elections body should move to an extended Claims and Objections period during which new qualified persons can get registered.

“That is what is required at this point in time, and urgently so, because we’re not operating in the normal elections cycle as the Chief Justice pointed out,” the Opposition Leader stated.

they have said that they are not resigning. So, I am asking that our government show respect for the supreme law of our land which is the Constitution. If they don’t like the Constitution as it stands, well change it, but until it is changed, we must respect it, it makes no sense having a Constitution and then we don’t respect it”.

M e a n w h i l e , Representative of the ADHR, Tracy Shamsudeen, expressed similar sentiments.

“They have been deemed to be illegal as of March 21, a No-Confidence Motion was passed on 21st of December, last year, and we are asking them (Government) to please respect our Constitution. We fight for the rights of the cit-

izens of Guyana as you can see our name is Association for Democracy and Human Rights. So, we are fighting for the rights of citizens we are asking the Government to discontinue trampling on our rights and trying to disenfranchise persons from being able to vote in an election to elect a new government,” Shamsudeen added.

The Constitution says that following the passage of the NCM, the President and Cabinet must resign and elections held within three months of the passage of the motion. That deadline elapsed since March 21, 2019, with Government having spent much of this time in court seeking to overturn the motion, rather than ensuring elections were held.

However, the APNU/

Don Singh

AFC Government has maintained that they are acting in accordance with the Constitution, despite the repeated public outcries for the administration to resign and call elections as early as possible.

10 news

friday, august 16, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

18 trained to create user-friendly websites for persons with disabilities

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ome web and

18

Guyanese developers Information and Communications Technology (ICT) experts have been trained to create websites and applications that are usable by all, including persons with disabilities.

Those who were certified are Randy Baker, Anthony Chin, Penelope DeFraitas, Maria Kissoon, Alicia Layne, Daniel Lewis, Missouri Mascolt, Orin Paris, Davanand Persaud, Girendra Persaud, Lakhram Ramadan, Telvin Ramdan, Marcelli Sears, Aliya Shivertan, Keon Steven, Janella Marks, Jamie Skeete and Ramadio Persaud.

The first phase of the training, provided by the Public Telecommunications Ministry in collaboration with the University of Guyana, focused on the National Capacity Building

Programme on Web Accessibility.

The second phase focused on the design and development of assistive software for persons with disabilities.

The trainers received the International Telecommunications Union’s (ITU) Design and Development of Accessible Websites certificate.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Public Telecommunications Minister, Cathy Hughes underscored the importance of the initiative.

“This training was a train the trainers' programme… it was very important because, with our collaboration with the University of Guyana, we hope that we are going to train more web developers in terms of what they need to embed when they are actually creating the websites that enables it to be accessible by the visually or hearing impaired

The 18 newly-certified web developers Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes

persons,” Hughes noted.

In an interview with Guyana Times, some of the developers explained how beneficial the programme was for them.

Ramadio Persaud of the Public Telecommunication

along

with

Ministry said that the course, for him, was an enlightening experience.

“Prior to going into this training, I was quite unaware of how restricted persons with disability were so this was like an eye-opening experience, I was thought how just a small insertion of a snippet helps in a vast way so what we have been doing is incorporating those things into our own

Ministry’s website” Persaud disclosed.

Another trained personnel, Jeanella Marks, stated “I would develop websites and in doing so, I never thought of a visually impaired person and how accessible it would have been for them. One of the features of the workshop is that they invited visually impaired persons who used a screen reader software and this was embarrassing to know that you can build this beautiful website and put it out there but for somebody who can’t see, it wouldn’t benefit them” the trainer said.

In the near future, the Computer Science Department of the University of Guyana is expected to join the ITU Information Chain and include this subject in the curriculum.

This is to ensure that Guyanese continue to develop Guyana’s national capacities for digital content and technical design.

The National Capacity Building Programme was created by ITU with the objective of helping ITU mem-

Telecommunications Cathy Hughes

Minister

bers in acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills to develop and improve ICT accessibility policies and programs as well as accessible websites in their respective countries.

The final goal of the programme is for the Government to develop accessible websites in order for vital information and services to be provided by public agencies which are accessible to all citizens including persons with disabilities.

7-year-old burn victim opens eyes for 1st time after surgery

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even-year-old Atiya Shaniya Persaud, who walked out of her burning Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara (ECD) home with third degrees burns over 97% of her body, opened her eyes for the first time after a successful surgery.

The child was taken to the Shriners Hospital, Galveston, Texas, where

she underwent surgical operation to remove damaged tissue from her body.

Persaud’s treatment, however, continued and the Saving Hands Emergency Aid (SHEA) announced on Thursday that the child opened her eyes for the first time.

“She saw and recognised her mom and she is in good spirits,” SHEA said. The

Seven-year-old Atiya Shaniya Persaud

child is scheduled to undergo another surgery today (Friday) to graft her face and legs.

SHEA had collaborated with the Rotary Club of Demerara and successfully raised funds for the little girl to be transferred for overseas treatment. The cost is estimated to be about US$42,000, which is equivalent to GYD$8,807,400.

Persaud was in her Lot 101 Mon Repos North home asleep with her brothers when a candle, which was left alight, caused a fire.

However, in a bid to save their lives, the child’s brothers escaped, leaving her inside the house.

Persaud awakened to find her legs on fire but bravely walked out of the building.

She was rushed to the hospital where she remained in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) until she was medevacked to the US.

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friday, august 16, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

CGX extension, NRF Bill to be reviewed by a PPP govt – Jagdeo I n keeping with promises to review all deals and agreements entered into by the Coalition Government during the period when it should be acting in a caretaker role, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday said among the things that will be repealed is the recent extension given to CGX Energy Inc. for exploration activities.

Back in May, government had approved a Strategic Joint Venture between CGX Energy Inc. and Frontera Energy Corporation to farm into two shallow water offshore Petroleum Prospecting Licences for the Corentyne and Demerara Blocks – both of which are adjacent to ExxonMobil’s Stabroek Block, where 13

discoveries have been made thus far.

The farm-in joint venture allows Frontera to acquire a 33.333 per cent working interest in the two blocks.

The agreement will see CGX’s Utakwaaka well drilled by November 27, 2019 in the Corentyne Block, with an additional exploration well to be drilled

by November 27, 2022. In the Demerara Block, an exploration well will have to be drilled by February 12, 2021, with a further exploration well being drilled by February 12, 2023.

The Opposition Leader told reporters on Thursday that this extension granted by the APNU+AFC government would be reviewed.

“The extension of the

CGX contract, we will not treat it as valid. Nothing in that period (is valid)… The Government doesn’t have the authority to extend anything,” Jagdeo contended.

In fact, Jagdeo noted that even the Natural Resources Fund (NRF) Bill which was passed in the National Assembly back in January of this year in the absence of the Parliamentary Opposition will also be repealed.

The NRF Bill is a crucial piece of legislation that is intended to create a framework for saving and investing revenue from Guyana’s oil and gas sector. But the Opposition Leader pointed out that the Government delayed its passage for months, and then went

UG brings curtain down on 5th Youth Parliament – Opposition wins debate

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he Fifth Annual Youth Parliament came to an end today with students of the University of Guyana (UG) taking on a range of issues in a thrilling debate session.

According to the Department of Public Information (DPI), while the Opposition side of the House came out victorious after scoring a total of 939 points, together, the Youth Parliamentarians were said to have “outdone” themselves in the exciting debates. The Government side scored 865 points.

The mostly International Relations (IR) students debated motions on the formulation of a comprehensive policy document to address the entry of migrants and refugees to Guyana, the Amendment to the Representation of the People Act (Chapter 1:03) to include youth participation in governance, and the use of funds generated from the oil and gas sector.

The Youth Parliamentarians also defended a motion to amend Article 155 (1) (a) of the Constitution, which prevents Guyanese with dual citizenship from serving in the National Assembly.

Foreign Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge; Representative of the Centre for Communication Studies of the University of Guyana, Nelsonia Persaud-Budhram; and Regional Radio Manager of the National Communications Network Inc. (NCN Inc.), Michella Abraham-Ali, were the official judges of the debate.

Led by David Braithwaite, the Opposition side moved the motion on the use of funds generated from the oil sector, and the Government side

introduced the other three motions; but the presentation of the Shadow Minister of Communities, Safraz Yacoob, on the amendment of Article 155 (1) (a), earned him the ‘Best Speaker’ title.

Prime Minister Hayma Joseph’s compelling arguments touched on each of the motions. This was enough to see her being adjudged ‘Best Debater’ with 262 points.

The winners were announced by Chief Judge, Foreign Secretary Greenidge, who commended both sides for their gut and perseverance. He said the participants did themselves “justice”, and would be excellent future debaters in the National Assembly.

Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nayman Gill, moved the motion for the Amendment of Article 155 (1) (a) of the Constitution, calling for the relaxation of that law which excludes Guyanese with dual citizenship from serving in the House.

But Minister of Public Health, Jamain Hatton, outrightly rejected the proposition, saying that such a move would bring more harm than good to the country.

The Youth Parliamentarians were in agreement, as they suggest-

ed ways in which funds from the upcoming oil and gas industry would transform all sectors, and ultimately the country.

Minister of Natural Resources, Suphane Dash Alleyne, said Guyana would take all necessary steps to prevent the Dutch disease.

“We, as a people, must consider the future and avoid the crises [that] our sister nations are going through, as they have the roads, bridges and hospitals, but when the economic crises struck, they are nothing but remnants of what once was,” she told the House.

Minister of Social Cohesion, Orlando Belle, proposed an amendment to the Representation of the People Act (Chapter 1:03). He said this was in keeping with the National Youth Policy, which dictates that young people must have representation on Parliamentary Committees. He believes that young people are agents of social change, technological advancement and economic growth.

Minister of Citizenship, Shekina Stuart, called for the formulation of a comprehensive policy document to address the entry of migrants and refugees to Guyana.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

ahead to pass it shortly after a no-confidence vote against Government.

“As far as we’re concerned, it is illegal too…and we will repeal it and replace it (in) a very short period with another model that reflects some of the principles we’ve outlined and some we will outline in our Manifesto,” he noted.

According to Jagdeo, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) will encompass the Santiago Principle on Transparency and Norwegian type-management, which will see the management of the Fund placed at a distance from the politicians.

“As production takes place, the money could be placed in an escrow account and central bank, and nobody touches it. We publish how much money we received, and the money is there,” he stated.

The Opposition Leader went on to outline that, upon examination of the NRF, it will show that the Finance Minister is overall in charge of the Fund; the Central Bank, which reports to the Minister, is in charge of the operation of the Fund; the Minister will name a MacroEconomic Committee that is advisory to him, and that his Ministry chairs, and that will determine the economically feasible amount to be withdrawn from the fund; the Minister will also name an Investment Committee which will again be advisory to him and set up the investment mandate; and then the Minister, in his personal capacity, will determine the fiscally sustainable sum to withdraw.

“What is common in every one of those five issues is the Minister. That’s the management structure of the Fund, and you cannot have that. It’s a recipe for disaster. We’ll destroy the economy and we’ll have a ton of corruption if you do that.

You have to distance the

politicians from that… So the model that they pass is a model that we have no faith in. It destroys some fundamental principles of how you manage any windfall resource,” Jagdeo, an economist and former President, stated.

According to the Opposition Leader, should the PPP get into office, repeal of the SWF will be done immediately, without any disturbances to oil production activities which the United States oil giant ExxonMobil is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of next year.

The former Head of State criticised the Coalition Government for not realising its responsibility with a sense of urgency of the situation, and with an understanding of its mandate to protect the nation and its people.

“There is no understanding of the seriousness of the issue, and there is an abdication of their responsibility to protect us and our nation.

And when you have that, the companies can run amok. So the idea is not to stop production, but to make sure that we build those capabilities…. We want to offer that the PPP will be that sort of government that will do all of those things,” Jagdeo asserted.

12 news India’s 73rd Independence anniversary observed with flag-raising ceremony I friday, august 16, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

n commemoration of India’s 73rd Independence anniversary, the Indian High Commission on Thursday held a simple yet significant flag-raising ceremony at the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre.

In the presence of Indian officials and other

country’s Independence Day. The Indian flag was hoisted on the lawns of the compound as the National Anthem of India was recited.

The High Commissioner mentioned that India’s Independence Day is celebrated worldwide by Indians

The Indian flag being hoisted

invited guests, the recently accredited Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr K J Srinivasa delivered an address by the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, on the eve of the

in the diaspora while noting the greatest potential lies in the people, rather than the Government.

“While the Government inevitably has its part to play, I would argue that

the greater opportunity and ability lies in the skill, talent, innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship of 1.3 billion Indians. These attributes are not new. They have kept India going and have nurtured our civilisation for thousands of years.

There have been many times in our long history when our people encountered hardships and challenges. Even on such occasions, our society proved to be resilient.”

Kovind would have acknowledged in his speech that cooperation is key in forging dependable diplomatic relations with other nations. While India has a steadfast economy, it has maintained good relations with many countries, including Guyana.

“The spirit of cooperation is what we bring to our diplomatic endeavours as well, as we gladly share our experiences and our strengths with partner countries in every continent. At home and abroad, in domestic discourse and in foreign policy, let us always be conscious of the magic and uniqueness of India,” his address read.

India gained its independence from the United Kingdom on August 15, 1947. On August 15, 1947, the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, raised the Indian national flag above the Lahori Gate of the Red Fort in Delhi.

On each subsequent Independence Day, the incumbent Prime Minister customarily raises the flag and gives an address to the nation.

New Indian High Commissioner Dr K J Srinivasa interacts with invitees during the event

Man stabs ex-lover, male companion during argument

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he police are on the hunt for a jilted lover who allegedly stabbed his ex-lover and a man with whom the woman was having an affair on Wednesday at Hururu Mission, Upper Berbice River.

The injured woman, 48-year-old Dally Gobin, was stabbed to her left side breast while 40-yearold Leaymond Smith was stabbed to his left side chest. Both of the injured persons are from Hururu Mission, Upper Berbice River.

Based on reports received, on the day in question, the now injured duo was imbibing alcohol at Gobin’s house when the suspect showed up without

Commander of E Division (Linden-Kwakwani), Senior Superintendent Linden Lord

an invitation. This resulted in a heated argument among them.

The argument, however, turned into a scuffle and it was at this time that

the suspect whipped out a knife and dealt one blow to Gobin. He then turned his attention to Smith and stabbed him once before escaping the scene.

After the commotion, neighbours rushed to the aid of the two injured people and they were taken to the Kwakwani Hospital where they were treated and referred to the Linden Hospital Complex where they were admitted in stable conditions.

Commander of E Division (LindenKwakwani), Senior Superintendent Linden Lord on Thursday told Guyana Times that ranks in his Division have intensified the hunt for the suspect, who is still at large.

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friday, august 16, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

GECOM’s 1st meeting

No decisions made on H2H Registration/elections

Police hunt for mother of 9-year-old found locked in ECD house

…awaiting CJ’s ruling in written format

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ith the clock ticking, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has not yet made a decision with regards to the holding of elections or any other matters, even after the Chairperson, Justice Claudette Singh, had her first meeting with the six commissioners since her appointment last month.

The new GECOM Chair met with both Opposition and Governmentnominated commissioners for the first time on Thursday, but no decisions surfaced regarding the next course of action with respect to House-to-House Registration.

The meeting reportedly lasted a few hours, after which PPP Commissioner Bibi Shadick told the media that the Commission’s “businesses” was discussed.

She stated that the matters will be addressed once the Chief Justice’s ruling is submitted in written form.

“We have a new Chairperson…we have a new dispensation. There were no decisions taken today. We didn’t have bene-

Former AG Anil Nandlall

fit of the Chief Justice’s decision as yet. It has to be given out when it is completed,” Shadick told media operatives.

Meanwhile, PNC’s Commissioner Vincent Alexander stated that provision of the Chief Justice’s

GECOM Chairperson Retired Justice Claudette Singh decision will determine when discussions will reconvene. This second engagement will materialise possibly before Tuesday.

“The question on the way forward in some regards was not determined in the main because we’re still no recipients of the written decision of the Judge. There are those of us who would prefer not to rely on reports and third-hand information. What we have agreed is that we will await that decision and convene shortly after, hopefully before Tuesday to discuss the way forward,” he said.

On Wednesday, Chief Justice Roxane George ruled that the ongoing House-toHouse Registration is not unconstitutional, but noted that it is unconstitutional for qualified persons to be removed from the list.

At the High Court, the Chief Justice did not grant any of the orders sought by Christopher Ram, who had challenged the constitutionality of the House-to-House Registration and wanted the court to compel the holding General and Regional Elections by September 18.

In her ruling, Justice George concluded that the House-to-House exercise being conducted is not unlawful or unconstitutional. However, the Court did note that it is unconstitu-

tional for qualified persons to be removed from the list if they are not in the jurisdiction or not at their residence during the registration exercise. She further stated that only deceased persons and those otherwise disqualified under Article 159 (2) (3) or (4) are to be removed.

Pointing out that the “right to vote and the right to be registered to vote are sacrosanct”, the High Court Judge said “residence requirements from citizens are no longer a qualification for registration”.

Ram’s lawyers, who included former Attorney General Anil Nandlall and Senior Counsel Ralph Ramkarran, had argued in the application that the current registration exercise will disenfranchise many Guyanese who are already on the list.

Furthermore, the Chief Justice had noted that while it is not up to the court to determine whether Houseto-House should be held,

GECOM Commissioner Bibi Shadick

it is not the only option available to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to update the list. To this end, the Court further noted that it is up to the Elections Commission to determine a way forward within the confines of the constitutional provisions.

“The Court did not agree with submissions from

T

CCPA Director Ann Greene

GECOM Commissioner Vincent Alexander

the CEO (Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield) that House-to-House is necessary… GECOM may have to consider other options…

GECOM cannot operation as in a normal elections cycle,” she said, adding that it has to take into consideration the December passage of the No-Confidence Motion (NCM) which has been validated by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

In fact, both Nandlall and SC Ramkarran told reporters after the decision that this aspect of the judgement is significant since it means that Houseto-House is not mandatory and more importantly, not the only option for GECOM to revised the voters’ list.

“The Court pointed out very emphatically and very clearly that GECOM must now determine which one of the two courses of action it will chose, having regards to the timeframe that are available and that have become exigent upon the passage of a No-Confidence Motion. The Court endorsed our argument that the list can be refreshed with a suitable Claims and Objections period so the ball is now in GECOM’s court to determine which one of the two courses it will chose, and one will obviously lead to unconstitutionality as the CJ pointed out,” Nandlall contended.

he police are hunting for the mother of the 9-year-old boy who was discovered locked up in an East Coast Demerara (ECD) house and subsequently taken into custody by the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA).

Commander of C Division (East Coast Demerara), Calvin Brutus stated that although the woman had made an appeal to the media for assistance in having her son returned to her after claiming that her son might have been sexually molested, the woman never reported the matter to the police.

He stated that in an effort to help both the child and his mother, the police conducted a search in the village where the woman lives but came up empty-handed.

“The police did not get to contact her as yet; we would like to question her. We checked at the last address that we know but she is not there. We need to know who this man is that she is speaking of too.”

Recently, Director of the CCPA, Ann Greene told this publication that in relation to this matter, the boy’s mother went to the media for assistance but she is yet to visit the organisation to provide the relevant information about her son’s alleged abuse.

“The police should charge her because she is part of what happened to this child but they [parents] tend to get away with say-

C Division Commander Calvin Brutus

ing it is poverty and they went to look for betterment.

No, you have to first get the child properly cared for and then go and look for betterment so parents have got to understand this too. This child, he is traumatised with what happened to him and so he has to get proper care,” Greene had told this publication a few days ago.

According to the CCPA Director, although the mother is requesting for her son to return in her care, at this point she is being considered an accessory to whatever abuse and trauma the boy experienced in her absence.

“We are not going to hand him over to her, she needs some help so she has to work with us so we could give her the help so she can take better care of her son, we are not going to hand him over to her. We have to investigate her, she has to be evaluated and she just cannot appear back and said she came for her child. She can’t appear now and says she wants her son, how we going to hand him back to her so? For him to get further traumatised?”

She further explained that once a child has been removed from a home for child abuse in any form, even if the parent was not the one who inflicted the abuse then that parent would have to work with the CCPA to show that he/she is capable of providing a safe environment for that child.

(Kristen Macklingam)

14 News

friday, august 16, 2019| guyanatimesgy.com

MoE blunders with country’s top CAPE performer

– St Rose’s High student now top CAPE performer

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he Education Ministry on Thursday revealed that a huge error was made at the announcement of the top performers for the 2019 Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) on Wednesday.

The Ministry in a statement to the media declared Shanomae Milling of St Rose’s High School as the country’s top CAPE performer for this year, and not Michael Bhopaul of Queen’s College who secured Grade

One passes in eight units, as was previously announced.

Milling, who wrote eleven units, copped the first position after securing nine Grade Ones and two Grade Twos. Grade

Michael Bhopaul

Top CAPE performer, Shanomae Milling of St Rose’s High School

Acting Police Commissioner Nigel Hoppie hands over the cheque to Commander Robinson

C

Unit 1, Physical Education and Sports Unit 1. Whilst twos were obtained in Applied Mathematics Unit 2 and Communication Studies Unit 1.

AFC reiterates support for direct cash transfers to citizens

GPF hands over cash, hamper to Commander Robinson

ommander of G Division (Essequibo Coast-Islands), Superintendent Crystal Robinson, who suffered tremendous losses after a fire of unknown origin razed her Stewartville, West Coast Demerara (WCD) property last weekend was

Ones were obtained in Applied Mathematics Unit 1, Caribbean Studies Unit 1, Environmental Science Unit 1, Physics Unit 1 and 2, Biology Unit 1, Chemistry Unit 1, Pure Mathematics

the recipient of an undisclosed sum of cash and a food hamper from the Guyana Police Force.

Acting Police Commissioner Nigel Hoppie, DSM, handed over the items to Robinson in the Commissioner’s Conference Room in the

presence of several senior officers and once again assured of the Force’s commitment in supporting victims of disasters.

Robinson was extremely pleased for the assistance and expressed sincere thanks to the Guyana Police Force for its support.

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he Alliance for Change (AFC), one of the parties that presently make up the illegal coalition Government, has once again restated its support towards a proposal made by economist, Dr Clive Thomas back in 2018 which recommended that Government spend a percentage of the oil revenue on direct cash transfers to the people, whether conditional or not.

The party in a recent press release to the media restated that it strongly supports the conditional cash transfers since it is the means of ensuring that traditionally neglected segments of the country’s population are able to benefit meaningfully from the natural wealth of the country, which is oil revenues.

The AFC further added that it is currently in the process of preparing a more comprehensive policy which will consider numerous actions to benefit the Guyanese population.

“While the AFC is in the process of formulating a more comprehensive policy position to advance to the Guyanese people, we believe strongly that the concept has merit and should not be dismissed without the benefit of further examination….the policy will explore several in-

direct initiatives which can benefit Guyanese, including: low interest loans, improved healthcare, free education, enhanced pensions and NIS benefits, greater access to affordable housing, as well as conditional cash transfers”, the AFC noted in a statement.

The party pointed out that countries worldwide have managed to successfully pull off the idea of cash transfers, as Brazil’s “Bolsa Familia” programme was identified as a suitable model. It, therefore, believes that there is a scope for similar initiatives in Guyana.

“The AFC believes that cash transfers tied to social programmes and responsible civic behaviour have been proven to work in other coun-

tries. There are numerous successful models worldwide which have brought significant social adjustments to marginalised people and catalysed further socioeconomic progress, therefore, one such programme close to home is Brazil’s “Bolsa Familia”, under which poor families with children, must ensure their children attend school and are vaccinated in order to qualify for and remain on the programme.” The statement read.

But while other parties are backing the idea including the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), President David Granger, when asked about this proposal last year, had said there was “no evidential basis” for cash payouts.

news

Region 10 dispatches team to Lamp Island as floodwaters continue to rise

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he Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region 10 has dispatched a medical team to Lamp Island, Sub Region Ten, Upper Berbice, to assess the situation there. This comes in the wake of continued rising floodwaters, which has caused residents to express fear and concerns.

Regional Chairman Renis Morian said that some 220 odd residents live in Lamp Island and while the region over the years has been informing residents about the dangers of living in Lamp Island, residents have ignored warnings while continuing to live there.

He said that recognising that they are part of Region 10, he and his Council have sought to provide support and assistance to them in ensuring their safety.

Morian said that the res-

Regional Chairman Renis Morian

idents are concerned and his Council is equally concerned over the safety and health of the residents there.

He further added that with the initial reports that he has received, he has ordered the Regional Health Services Department under

the Regional Health Officer (RHO), Dr Pansy Armstrong, and the Regional Medical Committee to dispatch a team to the area first thing today to assess the situation there.

Regional Chairman Morian commenting on the situation said that his RDC is closely monitoring the situation, noting that they are prepared to take whatever action is needed to ensure the safety and wellbeing of residents.“We have noticed that the water in the Berbice River continues to rise significantly and in the interest of residents’ safety and health we are sending a rapid response team to Lamp Island with medical supplies. While there, they are going to objectively assess the health and social conditions there, so that the RDC can take appropriate and most importantly, timely actions,” the Regional

Chairman said.

The Regional Chairman stressed that he and his Councillors are continuing to monitor other areas within Region 10, declaring that they are standing by to take appropriate actions to ensure that communities affected by floods as a result of continuous rainfall can be protected.

“There are several communities that we have been monitoring and over the years we have noticed that based on the geographic location of Lamp Island here in Sub Region Two, there they continue to be affected by significant rising floodwaters, thus we are closely monitoring them”.

The Regional Chairman said that based on the report, he and his Council will take actions to ensure the continued safety and wellbeing of residents.

Police on the hunt for men who allegedly paid woman to use daughters as “sex slaves”

...mother supplied names, released on bail pending investigations – Police

By Kristen Macklingam

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he police have intensified their search for a number of men who allegedly had sex with the two teenage sisters at their East Coast Demerara (ECD) home after paying the mother a hefty sum.

This is according to Commander of C Division (East Coast Demerara), Calvin Brutus, who confirmed that the girls’ mother provided investigators with a list of names of men that she claimed paid her to have sex with her daughters.

However, while she did not supply the full or correct names of the individuals, she was able to provide “nicknames” or “call names” of the men, and that was enough for the police to begin their search.

In addition, the mother, who had been arrested, has been released on bail after the mandatory 72-hour holding period expired, the Commander noted.

However, according to the Director of the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA), Ann Greene, the two girls are receiving the therapy needed to commence healing from such a horrendous ordeal.

She told this newspaper on Thursday that the organisation is still conducting its independent investigation into the matter and is working hand in hand with the police to ensure that justice is served.

The teens escaped from home after they were noti-

fied that they were expected to perform sexual acts with two men who were also “spending the night”.

However, according to the police source, the most disturbing part of the appalling situation is that the girls’ mother would be present in the same room, looking on, as the men raped her daughters.

It was reported that the woman has been selling her daughters’ bodies to men for quite some time now.

On Thursday evening last, the two females, aged

13 and 14, reportedly ran to a nearby police station seeking assistance.

The CCPA Director had explained that when she was notified about the matter, she immediately arranged transportation for the sisters to be taken from the police station to a safe location.

She subsequently instructed that the mother be arrested and the teenagers be medically examined.

Nevertheless, the doctor on duty could not attend to the teens immediately due to their physical state of neglect. They were subsequently examined the following day.

Green had previously stated that the official reports by the children could not be taken at the police station when they rushed there for help because the first priority was getting the children into a safe place where they could be cared for and obtain medical treatment.

30 certified in Early Childhood Training

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hirty Early Childhood Development practitioners are now certified following the completion of a two-month training programme in Region Six, East Berbice-Corentyne.

Several of the childcare practitioners are employed with daycare service facilities and took full advantage of the opportunity. This was made possible through the Ministries of Social Protection and Public Health, the Childcare and Protection Agency (CCPA), UNICEF and the Board of Industrial Training (BIT).

According to Executive Officer of Early Childhood Development programme, Lavern Thorne, the initiative which provided formal

training was the first of its kind for Region Six. “We will continue this programme, and we plan to have more foundation programmes in Region Six and 10. Therefore, persons who would have missed out on this programme can look forward to future participation in Early Childhood Development in Region Six,” Thorne said.

She further urged the practitioners to be prepared for the new school term and implement their newfound knowledge.

In his remarks to the graduates, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Board of Industrial Training, Richard Maughn reminded that the agency is man-

dated to provide everyone throughout Guyana with the necessary skills to provide the services that will help to develop the country’s human resources potential.

Early childhood education is an integral part of the Government’s agenda.

It will receive all the support necessary to ensure that preschoolers can better learn and retain the foundational skills and knowledge to help them succeed later in life.

Some of the graduates shared with the Department of Public Information (DPI) their reason for seizing the opportunity.

“Before I was a housewife, and the love for children was always there for

me. I decided to get up and do something, which led me to be a part of the daycare service. Receiving my certificate here today is a next step closer to going to the University of Guyana and I cannot wait for that time,” Kowsella Harripersaud said.

Hazel David, another beneficiary of the programme, said she was employed at another daycare facility for more than nine years. She mentioned that the programme taught her several important factors which she will take along with her when supervising the little ones in her care In April 2019, the Government commissioned a new Early Childhood Centre at Ithaca, Mahaica-Berbice.

15

friday, august 16, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Alleged child rapist walks free after victim, mom request “no further action”

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man who was arrested and charged for the rape of a 14-yearold female from Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) will no longer be facing the brunt of the law after the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) allegedly advised law enforcement officials to take no further action in the matter.

A senior police source told Guyana Times on Thursday that the teenager along with her mother visited the DPP Chambers sometime last week and indicated that they no longer wished to proceed with the matter.

According to the source, based on whatever discussion the mother and the 14-year-old had with the DPP, ranks in E Division (Linden-Kwakwani) were notified that the legal advice obtained from the State Counsel was not to proceed with the matter.

It was reported that two weeks ago, as officers in that Division were preparing a wanted bulletin to be released to the media with names of suspects for rape cases, the alleged rapist’s name had been on that list.

Hours before the list was forwarded to the police, someone notified the suspect and he immediately visited one of the police stations in Region 10.

As such, he was arrested and charged for the offence of rape. However, on August 9, 2019, the correspondence from the DPP was sent to the police about the visit from the com-

Director of Public Prosecutions, Shalimar Ali-Hack

plainant and her mother and the advice to halt any further action.

A police source explained that in addition to the man being accused of raping the 14-year-old, there were three other men who were also alleged to have raped her.

When contacted on Thursday to confirm the details of the case, Commander of E Division (Linden-Kwakwani), Senior Superintendent Linden Lord stated that the police officers in his Division executed their investigations into the matter and completed the necessary steps that had to be taken when handling a child rape case.

However, although the Commander did not divulge the details about the matter, he reminded that whenever the police send files to the DPP for legal advice, the police have to use that advice for guidance and follow through.

MoE blunders with... from page 14

The Ministry only realised its error on Thursday and has since issued an apology via a statement.

The statement read: “We do apologise for the anomaly regarding the top position. However, this should not distract from the excellent and historical performance by our students this year at both the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and CAPE assessments.”

Meanwhile, an elated Milling during a brief interview expressed her immense joy when she was informed about her success.

The teen, however, recalled some of her challenges.

“Chemistry was tough that I had to wipe my eyes and look at that results again, but you know I’m thankful for it, I’m thankful for all of my teachers who helped me”, she stated.

The top performer, nev-

ertheless, made mention of her disappointment when her name was not called during the live stream of the official results on Wednesday.

“Everyone was just looking at the live stream to hear my name but you know I felt a little disappointed, sad that it wasn’t called but it’s okay, it’s been resolved” In extending gratitude to the persons who gave support throughout her journey to success, Milling noted that she plans to take a break before enrolling into the University of Guyana to pursue studies in medicine.

“I plan to take a gap year, and then next year I’m gonna study medicine at the University of Guyana. I would first like to thank my family, everyone who’s been there for me”.

guyanatimesgy.com

friday, august 16, 2019

16

Around the World

New UWI Five Islands Iran oil tanker: Gibraltar Principal named orders release of Grace 1

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he University of the West Indies (The UWI) has appointed Professor Stafford A Griffith as Interim Pro ViceChancellor and Principal of its Five Islands Campus located in Antigua and Barbuda with effect from August 15, 2019 until July 31, 2020.

Professor Griffith will lead the Campus for its initial year of operation, which is expected to welcome its first cohort of students in September. An official launch of the campus with the UWI Executive Management team is also planned in that month.

Established to provide a development platform for Antigua and Barbuda, the new Five Islands Campus will also function as a hub for the OECS and serve to expand UWI’s regional capacity in the delivery of higher education for the 21st Century.

It will begin with three schools—the School of Health and Behavioural Sciences, the School of Management, Sciences

Professor Stafford A Griffith will be the Interim Pro ViceChancellor and Principal of the Five Islands Campus in Antigua and Barbuda, effective from August 15, 2019 to July 31, 2020

and Technology; and the School of Humanities and Education.

Approval of the regional university’s newest campus was announced by ViceChancellor, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, during a media conference held on Wednesday, June 26, 2019.

Professor Griffith pre-

viously served as Regional Director of the University’s Office of Online Learning (OOL) since October 2017, Director of UWI’s School of Education, and Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education at the Mona Campus from August 2012 to September 2017.

He has also spent more than 35 years of his career at the professional and senior management levels in fields covering educational measurement and evaluation, programme planning and management, curriculum development, and teaching.

The holder of a Professorial Chair in Research, Measurement and Evaluation, Professor Griffith’s postgraduate qualifications consist of specialised study in research, measurement and evaluation, and curriculum development. He also holds an LLB degree and has completed graduate studies in the areas of Political Science and Development Studies. (Excerpt from Antigua Observer)

Political talks, central bank plan lift Argentina markets after grim rout

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rgentine markets on Thursday bucked a dismal three-day losing streak on signs of political compromise to tackle a dizzying economic crisis and a new central bank measure to prop up a currency that had lost around a quarter of its value.

The peso began to fall on Monday after Presidential Candidate Alberto Fernandez, running alongside former leftist President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, unexpectedly trounced centre-right President Mauricio Macri, whose austerity measures turned off voters in

Sunday’s primary vote.

The result prompted fears of a return to protectionist policies and the end of free-market economic reforms should Fernandez triumph in October’s election, as now seems likely.

There had been few signs of rapprochement between Macri and Fernandez in the immediate aftermath of the vote, but as markets continued to tumble on Wednesday, they spoke on the phone, agreeing to try to calm volatility. Fernandez later said his economic plans did not contemplate a debt default.

The central bank also announced on Thursday that from August 20 private banks would be barred from having total dollar holdings exceeding 5 per cent – essentially prompting them to sell US currency if their inventory of greenbacks exceeds that level.

The plan would unleash liquidity into the market without the central bank having to tap its reserves in dollar auctions, a source with knowledge of the plan said. The source added it was likely banks had already started selling dollars to comply. (Excerpt from Reuters)

G

ibraltar has freed an Iranian oil tanker detained last month on suspicion of sanctions-busting, despite a last-minute plea by the US authorities.

The UK territory received written assurances from Iran that the ship would not discharge its cargo in Syria.

Grace 1, carrying Iranian oil, was stopped by Royal Marines on July 4, triggering a standoff with Tehran.

Gibraltar's Chief Justice, Anthony Dudley, said no US application was currently before the court.

An independent legal body would make a determination on the American request, Gibraltar's Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said in a statement.

The tanker remained off Gibraltar early on Thursday evening but, according to witnesses speaking to Reuters news agency, its

The Grace 1 off Gibraltar

prow had moved around by at least 180 degrees.

It was unclear whether this was because of strong sea currents or because it was preparing to leave.

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office said Iran must abide by the assurances it had given that the tanker would not proceed to Syria, which is under EU sanctions.

The FCO described Syria as a "regime that has deployed chemical weapons

against its own people".

A couple of weeks after the Iranian tanker was stopped, Iran seized a British-flagged tanker, the Stena Impero, in the Gulf and, despite official denials, there has been speculation of a swap if the Grace 1 is freed.

Relations between the US and Iran have deteriorated sharply since US President Donald Trump took office in 2017, with the two countries coming close to armed conflict in June. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Israel bars Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib from visiting

I

srael is blocking two US Democratic lawmakers, who are prominent critics of the Israeli Government, from visiting.

Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib were due to visit the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem next week.

Both have supported the boycott movement against Israel, but Israeli law allows supporters of the campaign to be banned from visiting.

President Trump earlier tweeted it would show "great weakness" if the pair were allowed entry.

Omar described Israel's move as "an insult to democratic values and a chilling response to a visit by Government officials from an allied nation".

Earlier on Thursday, Trump had taken to Twitter to urge that the two lawmakers be blocked from visiting, adding that "they hate Israel and all Jewish people, and

Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib (left) and Ilhan Omar

there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds".

Omar and Tlaib have both been criticised for their stance on Israel - but have denied charges of being anti-Semitic.

Israeli law blocks entrance visas to any foreigner who calls for any type of boycott that targets Israel - either economic, cultural or academic.

The law attempts to suppress the "boycott, divest, sanction" movement, which

has drawn growing support across Europe and the US. Israeli officials had earlier said they would make an exception for the elected US officials, before backtracking.

According to US media, their trip was meant to begin on Sunday, and would include a stop at one of the most sensitive sites in the region - a hilltop plateau in Jerusalem known to Jews as the Temple Mount and Muslims as Haram al-Sharif. (Excerpt from BBC News)

British woman Natalie Crichlow set on fire in Barbados China warns it could quell Hong Kong

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British woman has died in Barbados after being doused in a flammable liquid and set alight while in bed.

Natalie Crichlow's "shocked and devastated" family are raising funds to repatriate her body.

Crichlow, 44, of Colindale in London, was in Barbados to look after her disabled brother when she was attacked.

The mother of three had survived cancer twice and had two strokes in the past decade, according to her niece. Ashley Best said her aunt suffered 75% burns to her body in the attack in Christ Church on July

Crichlow died of her injuries after being choked and set on fire while in bed

28. She died in hospital on August 6. Best said: "The intruder broke in the house, then strangled her and then set her alight. She went into hospital and died of her in-

juries. I do not understand why it happened and we are all in a state of shock".

Crichlow, who was born in Luton, has three children aged 10, 20 and 26 who are "devastated" and want to get her back home to Britain for burial.

They have set up a crowd-funding page in an attempt to raise £8,000 to bring her body home.

Her niece said the family are concerned the Royal Barbados Police Force is not treating the death as a murder investigation.

A spokesman for the local Police told the Press Association no arrests had been made. (Excerpt from BBC News)

protesters, Trump urges Xi to meet them

H

ong Kong braced for more mass protests over the weekend, even as China warned it could use its power to quell demonstrations and US President Donald Trump urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to meet personally with the protesters to defuse weeks of tensions.

Hundreds of China’s People’s Armed Police (PAP) on Thursday conducted exercises at a sports stadium in Shenzhen which borders Hong Kong after the US State Department said it was “deeply concerned” about the movements, which have prompted worries that the troops could

be used to break up protests.

Ten weeks of confrontations between Police and protesters have plunged Hong Kong into its worst crisis since it reverted from British to Chinese rule in 1997 and presented the biggest popular challenge to Xi in his seven years in power.

The Civil Human Rights Front, which organised million-strong marches in June, has scheduled another protest for Sunday.

The Friday edition of China’s influential state-controlled Global Times tabloid also warned that China had the option to “forcefully inter-

vene” and lashed out at what Beijing describes as US interference in Hong Kong.

White House national security adviser John Bolton warned against a repeat of Tiananmen in an interview on Wednesday, and Trump on Thursday urged Xi to meet with the protesters, saying it would lead to an end to tensions.

“If President Xi would meet directly and personally with the protesters, there would be a happy and enlightened ending to the Hong Kong problem. I have no doubt!”

Trump tweeted. (Excerpt from Reuters)

guyanatimesgy.com

T

he seven young ladies vying for the title of Miss Emancipation 2019 are expected to bring their ‘A’ game on Saturday evening when the pageant is hosted at the National Cultural Centre.

Those competing for the pageant are Marissa Scott, Denita Prowell, Shenelly Lashley, Marissa Williams, Alieca James, Alicia Joy Boodie and Melynda Paulinea Smith.

The pageant is being held under the theme, “Recolouring Culture in All Shades”.

The Miss Emancipation Pageant is a highly anticipated event that takes the form of an African gala. It is one of the few occasions in which Guyanese adorn themselves in their African attire showcasing the richness of the culture.

The main aim of the show is to showcase the beauty of the African culture while promoting community development and edifying our patrons on our African heritage, our challenges, and solutions.

Miss Emancipation is more than just an African-Guyanese show, it is an African experience. In 2012, Miss Guyana African Queen— brain child of Shauna

F

ifteen minutes of your time can save a life and it could be yours or someone else you love.

Sonia Noel Foundation, in collaboration with the National Blood Transfusion Service, will be hosting another blood drive on August 17 at NEXUS HUB Inc, at Lot 1 Wren Avenue, South Ruimveldt Gardens (right of Royal Castle from the entrance into South Ruimveldt).

The drive is expected to commence at 10:00h and end at 15:00h. Noel is very consistent with her philanthropic contributions to society and not only in her home country Guyana.

August is her birth month and the blood drive is one of the activities planned for the grand celebrations.

As such, she is encouraging persons to come out and donate a unit of blood. Every three seconds, someone needs a blood transfusion. Twenty per cent of the recipients are children – many

friDAY, August 16, 2019

Jemmott and supported by Dr Melissa Varswyk— was held at the National Cultural Centre.

In 2013, the show was renamed the Miss Emancipation Queen, in keeping with the celebrations in the month of August. The aim of the Miss Emancipation is to empower young African-Guyanese women through cultural awareness and education.

Over the years, the delegates of the Miss Emancipation have been engaging in a series of African History and women empowerment seminars. In addition, engaging in community projects in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics plays an integral role in moulding young minds to get involved in these fields to remain competitive in a changing world.

On the night of the pageant, the seven delegates will compete in an introduction segment, business wear segment, project presentation— where the delegates will be given the opportunity to present their project and answer questions relating to their projects— evening gown segment, and finally, the question and answer segment.

are cancer patients, accident victims, or patients undergoing surgery.

“Let’s celebrate life and save lives together”, the fashion icon stated. There are benefits to donating blood and tremendous benefits to the donors.

“I have hosted blood drives and donated before but this year I am more passionate about it because I am more intentional about every second of my life since the death of my brother. The feeling is priceless when saving a human life,” Noel added.

She, however, thinks that persons need to be more caring, loving, and compassionate about each other since we are interdependent.

She added that the contribution to humanity can be significant by the small things people do. Her birthday celebration continues with the annual tradition of hosting a group of children from the Drop-in Centre at her home to celebrate with her.

guyanatimesgy.com

friDAY, august 16, 2019

18

Jamzone

Regional Night

Concert to sizzle

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Hemp Fest Concerts this weekend at 3 venues

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he Hemp Fest Concerts kicked off on Thursday evening at the Anna Regina Community Centre Ground and will continue with three big shows this weekend.

On Friday, August 16, the concert will be taken to the Mackenzie Sports Club Ground, Linden, then on Saturday, August 17 at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, East Bank Demerara. The final show is billed for Sunday, August 18, at the Albion Community Centre Ground, Berbice.

The show is expected to be epic as several international and local artistes are on the cast. These include Edwin Yearwood out of KrosFyah, International Reggae artiste Mr Easy, Chutney singing sensation Rakesh Yankarran, Former Trinidad Chutney Monarch Omardath Maraj,

International Soca King Soca Raja, Guyana Soca sensation Adrian Dutchin, Chutney Queen Drupattie, Soca Sensation Militant, NY’s Chutney Queen Geeta Bisram and Guyana’s own Nesta Nelson.

Other performers include: Angel’s Frontline Singer, Dexter M; Mr Bollywood Jumping Jack, Danny B; Berbice star and Mystic. All the artistes will be accompanied by the Angle’s Caribbean Band. Master of Ceremony for the shows is Farouk Juman. Tickets cost $1,000, $2,000 and $5,000 for general admission, while those who want to experience

he 19th edition of Jamzone Summer Break will take place this weekend with several anticipated events.

O n e of

such events is the Regional Night Concert featuring “Popcaan”, also called “Unruly Boss”, as the headlining act. He will be joined by “Munga” and “Gage”, who are no strangers to Guyanese.

The show is set for this

the VIP experience will pay $25,000. Tickets will be sold at the venues.

The show is promoted by Bedessee Group of Companies in association with Guyana Hemp Industry.

“Beat the Heat — Ultimate After-Race Party”

for this Sunday A fter a long day of horse racing in the sun, the place to cool down and have a grand time is aback P Jagmohan and Sons Service Station, Bush Lot Village, West Coast Berbice on Sunday evening.

The event is titled, “Beat the Heat—Ultimate After-Race Party” featuring some big names in the entertainment business.

The lineup includes former International Chutney Monarch, Ravi B; Guyana’s own, Tameka Marshall; Trinidad’s Soca Star, Shal Marshall; Berbice Reggae artiste, Mystic; and Guyana versatile artiste, Roger B.

All the artistes are known for their energetic performances and without a doubt, they will entertain their fans to the fullest. This is the first time that such a show is being held and plans are moving afoot to make sure it is one that will be the talk of the town.

Tickets of the show cost $2,000 for general admission and $4,000 for VIP. There will also be vehicle passes at a cost of $2,000. Sound and lighting will be provided by Cloud 9 with the host being Deejay Akelo.

Beat the Heat is promoted by Vault Night Club and Bar.

Saturday, August 17 at the National Park.

The three artistes will also be joined by a complement of local artistes.

The regional artistes have all performed in Guyana and would have their own followers.

It is expected that Popcaan will perform some of his hits such as “Silence” and “Ova Dweet”.

However, early bird tickets for the event cost $3000 and $4000 for general admission, while stage front tickets cost $10000.

They are available for purchase at the Hits and Jams box office located at 206 Lance Gibbs Street, Queenstown.

friday, august 16, 2019

19

Bairstow, Burns stand up for England but Australia edge day Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes made very little impact to compound England’s batting concerns as Bairstow and Woakes set about rebuilding.

Woakes was hit hard on the helmet by a Cummins delivery and, after barely flipping the penultimate ball of the over to the leg side, fell on the next when Cummins’ delivery brushed his thumb on the way through to Paine behind the stumps.

Bairstow compiled his 52 off 95 deliveries, with seven fours, before he picked out Khawaja at deep square leg to hand Cummins his third wicket.

Nathan Lyon, who along with Hazlewood also picked up

Pat Cummins celebrates taking Woakes for 32 (Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian)

J

onny, be good. It was a plea rather than a statement and Jonny Bairstow duly answered England’s call.

Whether Bairstow’s halfcentury, his second in Tests in 2019 and his first on home soil in more than a year, combined with Rory Burns’ fifty proves to be enough remains to be seen but, given Australia’s performance in the opening Test, England’s first-innings total did not look overly impressive.

Most concerning for the hosts, was the events leading up to Bairstow’s entrance.

Again, England’s top order floundered, and Burns and Joe Denly were among just four batsmen to pass 20, another being No. 8 Chris Woakes.

Even a 66-run stand for the third wicket between Burns and Denly, while somewhat encouraging, was indicative of the England batting collective - a start without going on with it.

Australia battled during a tricky hour under lights at the end of a late session elongated after the washed-out first day.

Openers Cameron Bancroft

and David Warner, who both failed to break into double figures at Edgbaston, looked uncomfortable in the face of a fiery first spell from Test debutant Jofra Archer and Stuart Broad, who has had the measure of Warner in the series so far.

Broad claimed Warner’s wicket for the third time in as many innings, bowling him through the gate off an ideal length for just 3 with a ball that nipped back to take the leg bail and put Australia at 11 for 1, having dismissed him lbw and caught behind in the previous Test.

Archer could have had Warner out an over before with a 90-mph delivery that UltraEdge suggested shaved the bat, but with not so much as an appeal emanating from the bowler or the field, Warner hung on - briefly.

Bancroft and Usman Khawaja safely navigated the rest of the session as Australia went to the close with a slight edge.

Archer’s first over in Test cricket yielded plenty of pace and venom with speeds in the low 90s and high 80s after he

three wickets, moved level with Dennis Lillee on 355 Test wickets, joint-third overall for Australia.

The theme of the day was red, with Lord’s spectators urged to wear the colour and players entering the field wearing bright red caps in honour of the Ruth Strauss Foundation, set up by former England captain Andrew Strauss following the death of his wife last year from a rare form of lung cancer. By stumps the initiative had raised well in excess of £350,000 for cancer research and support for patients and their families.

(ESPNcricinfo)

3

SCOREBOARD

David Warner bowled by Stuart Broad for three (Photograph: Anthony Devlin/Shutterstock)

was made to wait a day to be a part of the action, having been handed his cap by Chris Jordan during a short break in the weather on Wednesday. His first foray came with the bat after Tim Paine won the toss and sent England in.

When Josh Hazlewood claimed the wickets of Jason Roy for a duck and Joe Root for just 14, England were in trouble at 26 for 2 and Paine’s call - which Root said he would have echoed had he won the toss - seemed well justified.

Doubts crept in, however, as Burns and Denly dug in, the former backing up his firstinnings 133 in Birmingham with a controlled 53 after he

was dropped on 16 by Khawaja at gully off the bowling of Peter Siddle, and Denly making a marginal improvement on his earlier innings of 18 and 11 in this series when he reached 30 to leave the match looking fairly even at lunch.

It took a brilliant catch by Bancroft, diving to his left at short leg, off Pat Cummins to dismiss Burns after Hazlewood had Denly caught behind. The England pair were among four wickets to fall in the second session, as Australia’s bowlers combined well, Cummins banging the ball in short while Hazlewood and Siddle found some away swing from the Pavilion End.

England 1st Innings RJ Burns c Bancroft b Cummins . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 JJ Roy c †Paine b Hazlewood . 0 JE Root (c) lbw b Hazlewood . 14 JL Denly c †Paine b Hazlewood . . . . . . . . . . . 30 JC Buttler c †Paine b Siddle . . 12 BA Stokes lbw b Lyon . . . . . 13 JM Bairstow † c Khawaja b Lyon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 CR Woakes c †Paine b Cummins . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 JC Archer c Khawaja b Cummins . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 SCJ Broad b Lyon . . . . . . . . 11 MJ Leach not out . . . . . . . 6 Extras (b 12, lb 5, w 6) . . . . 23 TOTAL (77.1 Overs, RR: 3.34) 258 all out Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Jason Roy, 1.3 ov), 2-26 (Joe Root, 9.1 ov), 3-92 (Joe Denly, 31.6 ov), 4-116 (Rory Burns, 38.3 ov), 5-136 (Jos Buttler, 42.3 ov), 6-138

(Ben Stokes, 45.2 ov), 7-210 (Chris Woakes, 64.6 ov), 8-230 (Jofra Archer, 70.2 ov), 9-251 (Stuart Broad, 73.5 ov), 10258 (Jonny Bairstow, 77.1 ov) BOWLING : PJ Cummins (218-61-3), JR Hazlewood (226-58-3), PM Siddle (13-2-481), NM Lyon (19.1-2-68-3), SPD Smith (2-0-6-0) Australia 1st Innings CT Bancroft not out . . . . . . 5 DA Warner b Broad . . . . . . 3 UT Khawaja not out . . . . . . 18 Extras (b 4) . . . . . . . . . . . 4 TOTAL (13 Overs, RR: 2.3) 30-1 Yet to bat: SPD Smith, TM Head, MS Wade, TD Paine (c) †, PJ Cummins, PM Siddle, NM Lyon, JR Hazlewood Fall of wickets: 1-11 (David Warner, 4.2 ov) BOWLING : SCJ Broad (50-13-1), JC Archer (6-3-100), CR Woakes (2-0-3-0)

US women’s football team talks with national federation over equal pay break down

T

he United States women’s football team say they are prepared to take their discrimination lawsuit against US Soccer to court after mediation talks broke down.

The US women’s team (USWNT) began legal action against the US Soccer Federation (USSF) over equal pay in March, four months before retaining the World Cup. The parties met in New York this week.

“We entered this week’s mediation full of hope,” said players’ spokesperson Molly Levinson.

“We must conclude these meetings sorely disappointed in the federation’s determination to perpetuate fundamentally discriminatory

The USA beat the Netherlands 2-0 to win the World Cup for a fourth time in July (Getty Images)

workplace conditions and behaviour.”

All 28 USWNT members filed the lawsuit, which alleged they had been consistently paid less than their male

counterparts despite superior performance to the men’s team, who failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. In July, the USSF said the women’s team had been paid

more than the men over the last decade.

The women, who won a fourth World Cup title in France this summer, responded by saying the numbers were

“utterly false” and accusing the federation of a “ruse” before both sides agreed to mediation talks.

After no resolution and with no further talks planned, Levinson said in a statement on Wednesday that it is “clear” that USSF and president Carlos Cordeiro “fully intend to continue to compensate women players less than men”.

“They will not succeed - we want all of our fans, sponsors, peers around the world, and women everywhere to know we are undaunted and will eagerly look forward to a jury trial,” she added.

USSF said the statement is “inflammatory” and that it wanted to “continue discussions in good faith”.

“We have said numerous times that our goal is to find

a resolution, and during mediation we had hoped we would be able to address the issues in a respectful manner and reach an agreement,” said USSF. “Unfortunately, instead of allowing mediation to proceed in a considerate manner, plaintiffs’ counsel took an aggressive and ultimately unproductive approach that follows months of presenting misleading information to the public in an effort to perpetuate confusion.

“Despite inflammatory statements from their spokesperson, which are intended to paint our actions inaccurately and unfairly, we are undaunted in our efforts to continue discussions in good faith.” (BBC Sport)

20

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

friday, august 16, 2019

Neymar: PSG forward ‘would take ¤15M pay cut’ to rejoin T Barcelona

Kyrgios fined $113,000 for Cincinnati meltdown

N

eymar would take a pay cut of 15 million euros (£13.7m) to rejoin Barcelona from Paris St-Germain, says BBC Radio 5 Live’s Guillem Balague.

The Spanish giants are believed to have made several offers for the Brazil international, including one of 100m euros (£92.4m) plus Philippe Coutinho.

However, those bids have been rejected with PSG holding out for more money.

“The player is happy to reduce his wages from 38 million euros n e t to 23 million euros net,” said Balague.

“It is an interesting situation at Barcelona. They feel they have to try really hard to get him back.

“Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique and Luis Suarez want him back but also the president Josep Maria Bartomeu has two more years in his mandate and he wants to leave a big legacy. Can you imagine all those players that have been mentioned and Neymar as well?”

Neymar is currently training alone at PSG, although that is understood to be part of a scheduled programme rather than related to the transfer saga.

Real Madrid have also put forward a deal that includes money as well as Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez but, like Barcelona’s bid, that has been rejected.

Listen to more from Guillem Balague on the BBC Radio 5 live European Football Daily Podcast

’Neymar belongs to PSG and we’ll see what happens’

Barca boss Ernesto Valverde was non-committal when asked about Neymar in a news conference previewing Friday’s La Liga opener between the defending champions a n d

window.

“The normal thing would be that the team you start with is the same one that will compete for the whole season.

“Now we have two weeks until the transfer window shuts and you can’t breathe easily until then. I’m very happy with the squad I have at the moment but I don’t know what will happen next.

“Neymar belongs to PSG and we’ll see what happens but I can’t say anything more about him.”

Messi to miss season opener

Athletic Bilbao.

Valverde lamented the fact the transfer window does not close until 2 September and insisted he was “very happy with the

Messi scored 51 goals in 50 appearances for Barcelona in all competitions in 2018-19 but will miss the start of this season because of a calf injury.

The Argentina international has not trained ahead of Friday’s game at San Mames and Valverde said: “We are not going to take risks with any player, even less with Leo. “He hasn’t trained or played with the team. We will wait a while but his recovery process is going well.”

Friday’s game will be broadcast on ITV after the broadcaster agreed a continuation of their La Liga partnership to screen the Spanish top flight on terrestrial TV this season.

he ATP has fined Nick Kyrgios a total of $113,000 following his second-round loss at the Cincinnati Masters on Wednesday, when the Australian argued loudly with the chair umpire and smashed several rackets.

The fines included five charges of unsportsmanlike conduct totaling $85,000, $20,000 for verbal abuse, $5,000 for audible obscenity and $3,000 for leaving the court.

“In addition to the onsite fines, the ATP is looking further into what happened during and immediately after the match to see if additional action is warranted,” the governing body said in a statement.

“That could result in an additional fine and/or suspension.”

K y r g i o s clashed with umpire Fergus

Murphy in the second set of the night match against Russian Karen Khachanov.

Kyrgios accused Murphy of starting the shot clock too early and was ultimately issued a point penalty at the end of the second set tiebreak for insulting the Irish umpire using an expletive.

The 24-year-old then left the court for what he deemed a bathroom break, despite protests from Murphy, and television pictures showed him smashing his rackets in a tunnel.

Kyrgios left the court without shaking Murphy’s hand.

He had clashed with the Irish official two weeks ago at the Washington Open and was also fined by the ATP after being embroiled in an expletive-ridden rant with Murphy at the Queen’s Club Wimbledon warmup tournament in June.

(Reuters)

(BBC Sport)

squad”.

“It’s inconvenient and it’s not logical,” he said about the transfer

Nick Kyrgios (AUS) attempts to return a shot against Lorenzo Sonego (ITA) during the Western and Southern Open tennis tournament at Lindner Family Tennis Center (Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports)

Ruiz v Joshua II: Champion wants Report: Tsai to buy remainder New York, not Saudi Arabia, to host of Nets franchise

Ruiz knocked down Joshua four times on his way to a seven-round stoppage on 1 June

U

nified world heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr says he has not signed to fight Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia and hopes their rematch is in New York.

A 7 December rematch in Saudi Arabia was announced on Friday and Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn told a a news conference on Monday it was signed.

Ruiz did not speak or post about the bout on social media until Wednesday.

The 29-year-old told ESPN in Mexico: “I have not signed anything yet, we are negotiating everything.”

Asked about a Saudi Arabia contest he said: “They want to do it there but we have to see where we negotiate with my team. I would like it in New York again.”

Saudi fight suits Joshua more than Ruiz - Costello & Bunce discuss moral issues around rematch

’Joshua’s too big’

Ruiz stunned Joshua - who was a 1-25 favourite with bookmakers - at New York’s Madison Square Garden on 1 June.

In doing so, he walked away with

the IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles, becoming Mexico’s first world champion in the division.

Joshua, 29, took up his right to a rematch and promoter Hearn has repeatedly pointed to Ruiz being signed to fight as a result of the fact a rematch clause was part of the first fight’s contract.

Hearn has said Joshua’s team contractually only need to let Ruiz “know the time, date and venue” and says the champion could face legal proceedings if the fight does not happen.

Organisers in Saudi Arabia have put forward a reported fee of $40m (£33m) to host the event but there has been criticism of taking a fight of such magnitude there given the country’s human rights record.

Human rights organisation Amnesty International has said the move provides “opportunity for the Saudi authorities to try to ‘sportswash’ their severely tarnished image”.

Ruiz is again a bookmakers’ underdog for the repeat fixture but since his shock seventh-round stoppage win has stated Joshua is “not good at boxing”.

Asked on Wednesday about facing Joshua again, he said: “I think he will want to run a little longer, move, but he is too big, he has many muscles and it will be very difficult for him.” (BBC Sport)

Joseph Tsai, Executive Vice Chairman of Alibaba Group

J

oseph Tsai plans to buy the remainder of the Brooklyn Nets from Mikhail Prokhorov and become sole owner of the NBA franchise, the New York Post reported Wednesday.

When Tsai purchased 49 percent of the team last year for $1 billion, he locked in the right to buy the remaining 51 percent before the 2021-22 season for $1.35 billion, according to the report.

The combined $2.35 billion transaction would be the highest price ever paid

for a sports franchise in the United States.

David Tepper paid $2.2 billion for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers last year, the same amount Tilman Fertitta spent for the NBA’s Houston Rockets in 2017.

Tsai, 55, is the co-founder of the Chinese shopping website Alibaba. He also owns the WNBA’s New York Liberty.

The Post said the deal will be announced this week.

The Nets declined to comment on the story.

guyanatimesgy.com

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Hand-in-Hand throws support behind Winfield Brathwaite Tournament

T

he Hand-in-Hand Mutual Fire Insurance Company Ltd has joined a number of corporate entities in adding to the betterment of the Winfield Brathwaite Junior Boxing Tournament.

The company proudly announced on Thursday that they will again provide sponsorship to the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) for their previously named Caribbean Schoolboys and Juniors tournament, scheduled for staging from 16th – 18th August, 2019.

This novel tournament was created in 2016 when the GABA was voted the Most Improved Association of 2016 at the National Sports Awards Ceremony. It is the first of its kind in Latin America, and has provided a forum for the region’s best Under-16 and juniors to test themselves against each other.

Guyana has proudly hosted, and has graciously been crowned champion of, the three tournaments held so far.

This is the first time that teams from the USA, Panama, Puerto Rico

The sponsorship cheque being handed over by a Hand-in-Hand representative

and the Dominican Republic have been invited to participate in this tournament, as the GABA envisage that the higher level of competition would be a stern test for the region’s nursery.

Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, St Maarten, St Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago have each signalled intention to participate.

The Hand-in-Hand Mutual Fire Insurance Company Ltd has been a longstanding partner of the GABA, and has always been an unwavering supporter of boxing in Guyana. This company continues to contribute towards the sporting industry in order to enhance the development of youths in our communities and fulfil its corporate responsibility.

Courts Guyana, Associated Packers Industry, Cevons Waste Management and the National Sports Commission (NSC) are also sponsors of this tournament, which begins this evening at the Cliff Anderson’s Sport Hall. The first bout will commence at 6pm.

Guyanese contingent dominates New York National Cricket League

T

he New York National Cricket League features many Guyanese players who are representing their respective teams. The Bachan Cricket Club, currently ranked 4th on the league table out of a total of 14 teams, boasts exceptional players in Yutesh Avi Dhanpaul, Subhas Persaud, Javed Karim and Derrick Narine.

Dhanpaul and Persaud have used their experience to establish a partnership which has led their team to some of the most dominating victories in the tournament. Persaud is currently ranked number 5 on the bowling charts, having played a total of 8 matches, as compared to his opponents, who have played their full quotas.

The right-arm medium-pacer has bagged a total of 16 wickets at an economy rate of 5.6 runs per over, and has played a total of 7 matches for the club, from which he has scored a total of 201 runs. Moreover, he holds the record for the highest individual score, 142, and has also bagged a total of 9 wickets.

He is the record holder of the previous fastest 50 and century in the tournament. That record was broken by his team-mate Derrick Narine, who now holds those titles.

While Narine has scored runs at a batting average of 136, it is his hope that through his exceptional performance he can break into the USA team.

Javed Karim, who hails from the Blairmont Community Centre Cricket Club (BCCC), is also hoping that his league performances with the bat will follow him when he returns to Guyana for the Guyana Franchise League.

While Karim has played a total of only 9 matches, he has

amassed a total of 285 runs at a batting average of 47.50, to stand 6th on the batting charts.

Having placed 6th in the 2018 edition of the

tournament, Bachan CC are on course to claim the title, with consecutive wins and consistent performances coming from their top players.

Javed Karim, Yutesh Dhanpaul, Subhas Persaud, and Derrick Narine

22

friday, august 16, 2019

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

Coach, company confident of retaining Winfield Brathwaite title properly. We also tried to instill rhythm and timing. The kids are strong, they want to fight, but these technical aspects are what they are lacking. They cannot come to perfection with two weeks’ camp, but they would have come a far way,” he said.

Given that the tournament is being hosted right in their backyard, so to speak, the coach was keen to highlight

The hopeful bunch going through their paces during a training session

Coach Clive Atwell (left) spars with a young boxer

By Jemima Holmes

A

n eager bunch of young boxers are biting their nails and watching the clock as they bide the time before embracing the opportunity to put their skills to the test against their Caribbean counterparts in the Winfield Brathwaite Junior Boxing tournament.

This evening at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH), a batch of 20 school-aged Guyanese boxers will take to the ring against pugilists from Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, Cayman Islands, St Lucia, Grenada and Dominica as they vie for top honours in the Winfield Brathwaite tournament -formerly the Caribbean School Boys and Juniors tournament.

The Guyanese boxers have been fully encamped since August 2, and are said to be eager and ready for the threeday competition that will run from Friday August 16 to

Sunday August 18.

Guyana Times Sport caught up with one of three coaches, Clive Atwell, who spoke on the importance of conducting such an encampment.

“It was definitely important.

There’s this proverb: ‘If you lime with wolves, you’ll learn how to howl’, and living with boxers like yourself, it helps you to sharpen your craft and think like a better boxer. The whole spectrum of being amongst people who share a similar passion like you share has been an important medium in their progress. That’s why we thought it was necessary to have an encampment,” Atwell explained.

Questioned about the technical aspects of the encampment, Atwell, a former boxer himself, revealed some of the areas that were worked on, and noted that the team has made vast improvements.

“One of the key elements was balance: how to rotate the body and position your punch

Coach Clive Atwell

that the team would be looking to utilize the home advantage.

“I think the main point in sports it that you’re at home.

And when you’re at home, you try your best to give it your all, because you’ve got your friend and family in the background, and you want the flag to continue flying. So, being in your home country is automatically a boost for the fighters,” he said.

Disclosing some of the technical aspects of the training sessions -- which

Gayle: I didn’t announce any retirement

C

hris Gayle’s ODI career may not be over as the West Indies opener stated he “didn’t announce any retirement” after blasting a quickfire half-century in the defeat to India on Wednesday.

Gayle raised his helmet on his bat and shook hands with India players as he left the field in the final match of the series in Port of Spain, where he smashed 72 from only 41 balls.

The 39-year-old was given a standing ovation following what was thought to be his last international innings in the 50-over format.

Yet, in a brief clip posted on the Windies’ Twitter account, Gayle later declared: “I didn’t announce any retirement”. He then added that he would be around “until further notice”.

Windies captain Jason Holder confirmed there had b e e n no word on Gayle quitting ODIs.

“To my knowledge, he hasn’t retired,” said the skipper, whose opposite number Virat Kohli saw the tourists home with a second successive century.

“But today was an example of his career. The knock he played was outstanding. He got us off to a really good start.

“He was entertaining, he showed presence, and that’s just what people have come to expect of Chris Gayle over the years.”

On Sunday, Gayle broke Brian Lara’s record for both ODI appearances and runs in the second match of a series which India won 2-0. (Sportsmax)

Chris Gayle

included agility, mobility and landing better punches -- the coach also revealed that the boxers have become more disciplined since they began the encampment. For this reason and more, Atwell is positive that Guyana can cop the overall win for a fourth year in a row.

“I don’t see there being a problem with us taking the title; the guys are ready and eager. There are a few who haven’t committed to an opponent as yet, and you can see that disappointment.

So, all going well tomorrow night (tonight), Saturday and Sunday, I don’t see any reason why Guyana wouldn’t walk away with the overall crown,” the coach proudly declared.

The teenage pugilists are pumped up ahead of Friday’s

card. One of last year’s best female boxers, Alisha Jackman, has said she has her eyes set on the accolade again.

“Some of the things I worked on were my jabs and my 1-2. I’m focused on winning again, starring again, and getting (nominated as) best boxer,” she declared.

The youngest boxer in the camp is 13-year-old Thierry Moore. He will be making his Caribbean Championship debut, but the youngster is confident of copping a gold medal.

“I worked on my defense, my attacking, and combat.

I think I can win. I’ll go into my ‘A’ game and come back with the gold,” the youngster predicted.

A gold medal is also on Emmanuel Pompey’s mind.

The youngster revealed this while explaining that he had focused on his right hand punches during training.

“I trained hard, and hope to go out there and do my best to bring home this gold for Guyana,” he said.

The full list of boxers is: Isaiah Moore, Emmanuel Pompey, Thierry Moore, Mark Crawford, Richard Howard, Travis Inverary, Malachi Jones, Jaqwan Milo, Sean Graham, Dwayne Castello, Alex Butcher, Fitz Haywood, Jevon McKenzie, Shurlon Stephen, Royan Benjamin, Alisha Jackman and Abiola Jackman.

Tickets for the stands are priced at $500, while ringside tickets cost $1500.

Ringside season passes can be purchased for $4000.

Brendon McCullum

named KKR Head Coach

B

rendon McCullum is set to take over as head coach at Kolkata Knight Riders for the upcoming season, to go with his appointment as the head coach of Trinbago Knight Riders, the other team owned by the same group, as well.

“It’s a great honour to take on this responsibility,” McCullum said. “The Knight Rider franchises in IPL and CPL have become iconic and have set the standard in franchise cricket. We have fantastic squads in both KKR and TKR and I, along with the support staff will be looking to build on the success both franchises have enjoyed.”

Less than a week ago, it had been learnt that McCullum would take over as head coach at Trinbago but only as assistant coach with the IPL franchise, following his retirement from all forms of the game earlier in the month. That’s changed since, with the top job at the Kolkata franchise going to the former New Zealand captain, too.

KKR’s chief executive Venky Mysore described him as an ideal candidate to take over from Jacques Kallis, the Kolkata coach till last season.

“Brendon has been an integral part of the Knight Riders family for a long time,” Mysore said.

“His leadership qualities, honesty, positive and aggressive style, combined with his natural ability to bring the best out of the teams he has been a part of makes him ideally suited to lead both KKR and TKR as a head coach.”

McCullum, 37, was expected to play in the Euro T20 Slam from August 30 as an icon player for Glasgow Giants but instead announced his retirement as a freelance cricketer. It’s understood that the decision to skip the new tournament was because Trinbago wanted him to helm the team at the CPL this year itself, and the dates of the two competitions clashed; the CPL starts from September 5. In any case, the Euro T20 Slam has since been cancelled because of financial difficulties.

Indeed, in his message on Instagram at the time of announcing his retirement, McCullum had mentioned that “the next chapter, in both media and coaching, will challenge me further”.

Kolkata recently announced that they were parting ways with Kallis, their head coach, and

Back to the drawing board – Brendon McCullum during a KKR training session in 2012 (Getty Images)

Simon Katich, the assistant coach who was also the head coach at Trinbago.

McCullum had retired from international cricket in 2016, after the Christchurch Test against Australia, but continued to turn out in franchisecricket leagues around the world, with stints in the IPL with Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore, as well as Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash, Lahore Qalandars in the PSL and Trinbago in the CPL. His association with the Knight Riders goes way back, as Mysore noted. An early pathbreaker of sorts in T20 cricket, McCullum’s best in the format was the unbeaten 158 he made for the Kolkata team against Royal Challengers in the inaugural IPL game, in 2008.

In December 2018, McCullum went unsold at the IPL auction. In February, he called time on his BBL career with Heat after a relatively strong season in which he made 302 runs in 13 innings. At the time, he had expressed his desire to continue playing T20 cricket worldwide.

“I owe it to myself and the teams I represent to close that chapter rather than just plough on regardless of what I know to be true,” he wrote.

“In T20 cricket, I’ve enjoyed so many varied challenges, I can leave the game knowing I left no stone unturned.” (ESPNcricinfo)

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friday, august 16, 2019

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St Lucia Zouks replaces Stars franchise T

he St Lucian franchise in the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) will return to its roots, after an announcement was made that the team will take on its former name, the St. Lucia Zouks.

The St Lucia Zouks will replace the St Lucia Stars for the 2019 CPL season following the recent termination of the participation agreement with the company operating the Stars franchise. The Zouks will be playing matches in St Lucia and across the Caribbean in this year’s CPL which takes place from 4 September to 12 October.

The Zouks was the name

of the St Lucia franchise when it was founded in 2013 and it still resonates with cricket fans around the world. St Lucia is one of four islands in the Caribbean known for its zouk music, making it the perfect name for the St Lucian team. The logo is a colourful mixture of blues and yellows with a flame symbol that is derived from the national coat of arms, representing a desire to win.

The Zouks will be playing 10 group games during the tournament, starting with a match against Guyana Amazon Warriors in Guyana on September 5.

They will visit Trinidad for

a game against Trinbago Knight Riders on September 8, Jamaica for the game against the Tallawahs on September 12 and St Kitts to play the Patriots on September 17. They will then play five matches at home between September 20 and September 27. Their final group game will see them taking on Barbados Tridents on September 29.

The Royal Sports Club, LLC were the previous owners of the St. Lucia franchise from the 2017 season, up until CPL Limited announced last week that the contract between the two was terminated.

2019 Caribbean Karate Cup… GCF’s Burrowes grateful to all as Guyana hosted Top regional karatekas successful JCCC to converge in Guyana

The junior racers just before the start of road race on Sunday last

P

resident of the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF), Horace Burrowes, is showering praises of all and sundry for combining efforts, which saw Guyana hosting its first major cycling championships ever.

August 10-11 has gone down in history as the dates when the 13th edition of the Junior Caribbean Cycling Championships were hosted here, with 15 nations making the memorable trip to the Land of Many Waters.

Burrowes, in an invited comment, said what makes the event even more memorable is that it is quite certain this was also the first time that such a huge event was held outside the confines of the Capital City.

The Green Town of Bartica and its Mayor, His Worship Gifford Marshall, Burrowes said, stepped up to the proverbial plate in a massive way to ensure that it was a win-win situation for all, as they underwrote the expenses for hosting everyone in Bartica. The GCF was responsible for all other expenses outside of Bartica.

“This event, I can assure all Guyana, was a massive breaking point for Guyana and not just (for) our Federation, in that it has shown the rest of the Caribbean that we have the capacity to host such events even though it took some time in reaching our shores.

“All the participating nations expressed satisfaction, and were happy that they made the trip to Guyana.

They complimented Mayor Marshall and the people of Bartica for their hospitality, and promised to be back.”

Burrowes stated that despite the challenges faced in terms of sponsorship, the Federation, with the help of some companies and individuals, pulled out all the stops to ensure that Guyana made its mark and come out with flying colours.

“I am really gratified with the level of commitment shown by many of our cyclists, who would have made the trip and volunteered their services as officials manning the race route among other areas, which all added up in making the event a success.

“The GCF is also very thankful to the Caribbean Cycling Federation, COPACI and the UCI for their efforts and assistance, as well as the event Commissars Henny Bonafacio and Ms. Clotilde Vicente.”

Appreciation is being extended to the Mayor and Town Council of Bartica, Industrial Safety Supplies Inc., Universal Auto Supplies, Humphrey’s Bakery & Farm Products of Ketley Street Charlestown, Clear Waters, Mr. Ramesh Sunich of the Trophy Stall, Chin Chan Bike Shop, Professional Key Shop, Showers of Blessing Bus Service, Kennard Lovell, Jeffrey Yearwood, Sasha Persaud, Dexter Sealey and Joseph Britton.

The nations that competed in the championships were Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Curacao, Anguilla, Barbados, United States Virgin Islands, Grenada, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, Antigua & Barbuda, Cayman Islands, Bahamas, St Martin and the hosts Guyana.

T

he Guyana Karate College (GKC) will be hosting its annual IKD Guyana Caribbean Karate Cup competition during the period August 23-25 at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on Homestretch Avenue in Georgetown.

Officials from Canada and competitors from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela are confirmed to participate.

With Guyana fielding about 100 athletes, participants attending this competition would number in excess of 200.

Athletes will be competing in individual events such as kata, and kumite or sparring. There will also be several team events, including in kata, kumite, bunkai (formal application of kata) and enbu

The 2018 Guyana team

(practical applications of bunkai fighting techniques).

Participants would be competing for medals, and the country with the highest gold medal count would have won the coveted Caribbean Cup Trophy.

Guyanese Shuseki Shihan (World Karate Master) Frank Woon-A-Tai, 9th Dan, M.S., head of the International Karate Daigaku (IKD) organisation, which has representation in 70 regions in 50 countries worldwide, said, “This will be another milestone in the history of traditional karate in Guyana and the region. Several eighthand seventh-dan masters will be attending to support fair judging, and competition will be fierce.

“However, I respectfully appeal to all competitors and spectators to remember that the aim of the art of karate

is not in winning or losing, but in the development of the character of all participants.

We teach discipline and the strongest karate, along with moulding good citizens’ character, sincerity, effort, etiquette, and the most important rule: self-control.”

Admission is $500, except for overseas delegations considering the above, and the GKC expects the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall to be packed to full capacity. The action begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday, 23rd August, 2019 with all kata, enbu and bunkai events.

Beginning at the same time on Sunday, 24th August, 2019, will be kumite events along with bunkai and enbu demonstrations.

The opening march-on ceremony will take place on August 24.

Botafago’s Osmond Cummings Memorial Football on Sunday at Silvertown

T

he annual Osmond Cummings Memorial Football promotion, which has for the past eight years been played by the Silvertown-based Botafago FC to honour its former president, Osmond Cummings, kicks off on Sunday morning from

10:00hrs.

Back home for the celebration is arguably Botafago’s finest player, Nigel ‘Mice’ Cummings, brother of the late Osmond, along with another brother, Wilbert, who all played for Botafago before migrating.

‘Mice’, a former Senior National player, said several trophies and medals are at stake for the various competitions, which start with the Under-15 championship involving Botafago FC, Eagles United, Rickland Hutson Leadership Academy, and a

team from Buxton.

A female clash between Botafago and a ‘Rest’ team from Linden follows at 13:00hrs.

The final football competition, from 16:00hrs, will see Botafago taking on Capital FC, and some of the

best young players from Linden will be on show in what should be a crowd-pleasing affair.

Admission is free, and there will be other attractions throughout the day for the huge crown that is expected for this annual football extravaganza in Wismar, Linden.

friday, august 16, 2019

Sports is no longer our game, it’s our business

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St Lucia Zouks replaces Stars franchise Page 23

GCF’s Burrowes grateful to all as Guyana hosted successful JCCC Page 23

Hand-in-Hand throws support behind Winfield Brathwaite Tournament Page 21

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