Guyana Times - Saturday, April 6, 2019

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Issue No. 3886

P13

THE BEACON OF TRUTH saturday, april 6, 2019

Contract awarded to Housing Minister’s husband a “conflict of interest” – CH&PA Head

…says award process needs reviewing

Page 3

Woman who allegedly paid $7M to kill husband nabbed at CJIA

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Guyanese fisherman dies aboard vessel in Surinamese waters P10 Dismissed bauxite workers to resume duties within 72 P10 hours …5 workers refuse to return to work

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Reading & Robotics Over 140 city businesses owe M&CC taxes – P2 Mayor Georgetown faces outrageous challenges P12 compared to other cities – UK consultant

Students in Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Esequibo) were enticed by the Robotics programme sponsored by ExxonMobil. The Reading & Robotics programme will be conducted every Saturday at the Lethem Library. ExxonMobil also donated a laptop and tablets, as well as a robot to the Lethem Library, while robotics club registration for all potential club members, as well as a projector were donated by members of the Diaspora

Former GPF rank jailed 26 years for raping 7-year-old Region 1 outbreak Corentyne farmer Matthews Ridge residents fights off armed concerned about health risks …say regional officials tight-lipped on situation bandits with cutlass Page 8

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Guyanese man killed as helicopter crashes on Florida highway P12

Man jailed for raping P8 4-year-old

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saturday, april 6, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Woman who allegedly paid $7M to kill husband nabbed at CJIA

F

ifty-year-old Milaimi Alli, who was wanted for questioning in relation to the murder of her husband Ramzan Ali, was arrested upon arrival at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport on Thursday evening.

The woman, according to information received, arrived on a Caribbean Airlines flight from the United States of America and was immediately taken into custody. Police had issued a wanted bulletin for the woman after investigations reportedly revealed that she allegedly paid $7 million to her lover to kill her husband. She was taken to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) where she

is being questioned in connection with the murder.

On July 12, 2009, the body of the fuel dealer was found in the trunk of a rented white Toyota Carina AT 212 on the Railway Embankment in the vicinity of Coldingen.

Police are viewing the killing as a crime of passion.

Earlier in the week, the police issued a wanted bulletin for Milaimi Alli’s arrest.

Just a few days ago, Zaheed Mitchell, a 38-yearold driver of Foulis, ECD, was charged with the murder of the fuel dealer.

The indictment stated that Mitchell and others murdered Ali between July 11 and 12, 2009. Mitchell was remanded to prison and

Arrested: Milaimi Alli

Murdered: Ramzan Ali

the case will continue on April 15. It was during investigations that Ali’s name surfaced, hence an arrest warrant was issued for her arrest.

Back in 2009, the businessman’s body was found by

relatives who had launched a search for him after several calls to his mobile went unanswered.

He was found with a paper bag sealed with duct tape over his head. Ali’s death came at a time when fami-

ly members were preparing to hold a religious function in memory of his brother, Akbar Ali, a scrap metal dealer from Enmore who was gunned down on Brickdam on July 24, 2008.

One of the dead man’s cousins who assisted in the search said he observed Ali’s locked car on the Railway Embankment.

Upon checking, he initially did not see anyone inside.

He made further checks and observed that blood was dripping from the trunk onto the roadway.

The relative then broke the driver’s side window and unlocked the trunk where he made the shocking discovery.

“His head was bagged

and taped,” the dead man’s relative had stated at the time. The police were contacted and they quickly cordoned off the scene and commenced their investigations.

The detectives believed that Ali was killed somewhere else and his killers took him in his car and left him in the desolate area.

There was what appeared to be a skid mark on the parapet near where Ali’s body was discovered, leading investigators to believe that the killers fled the scene in another car.

Several persons had recalled seeing the parked car at about 01:00h on July 12, 2009, but did not know it contained a body in the trunk.

Over 140 city businesses owe M&CC taxes – Mayor O

ver 100 city businesses proprietors have failed to pay taxes and according to Mayor Ubraj Narine, this results in the build-up of garbage in Georgetown.

Several photos began circulating on social media on Friday morning of overflowing bins throughout the capital city which saw City Hall coming in for a massive backlash.

However, at a press conference later on Friday, Mayor Narine revealed that the overflow was as a result of damages to the tyres of the lone tractor owned by the City Council.

A replacement of the tyres is difficult to obtain locally, he said, which saw the garbage bins throughout Georgetown being left unattended for the past three days. Further, it is expensive to buy new tractors, the Mayor said.

The Mayor then lambasted some 144 “high-end businesses” in Georgetown which have failed to pay their taxes and who owes City Hall billions.

According to Narine, City Hall is willing to procure two additional tractors, however, this is difficult since the finances are unavailable.

“There is only one tractor we have at this moment to remove all those skip bins and that tractor is currently down…however, we can do better but only if we get the resources from the taxpayers then we would be able to have two more tractors. There is a list with 144 business entities that due us tax and if these taxes can be paid up to the City Council we will get the additional tractors so that we will be able to do a better job…they owe us billions, these high-end businesses,” Narine revealed.

The Mayor is urging the businesses to pay up monies owed, which will make

the work of City Hall less strenuous, since according to Deputy Mayor Alfred Mentor, the monies for the tractor cannot be obtained from the Communities Ministry.

“This is a teamwork, this is a job that the ratepayers themselves, especially those in the commercial community, has to do…we just can’t be going to the religious communities and tapping the Central Government resources to be able to get these other machineries There are allocation of funds in the subvention that we will use to buy some other machineries but there are other departments that also have needs and we have already allocated funds for those things so it is very important for the business community to play their part,” Mentor urged.

Director of Solid Waste, Walter Narine, however, said efforts were being made to have the skip bins cleared.

He reiterated the Mayor and Deputy Mayor’s call, noting that the City Council is doing its part and as such, he implored businesses to do theirs.

“These waste primarily comes from the business community and we are expending a lot of resources and time to clean up waste in the business communities. We have a business truck that traverse the business community every morning, we have street orderly that walks the street to clean up garbage, we put those bins at those locations because before those bins, you had mountains of garbage every single day in front of those businesses.”

He added that the businesses which are not paying their taxes are putting tremendous pressure on the municipality’s finances.

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saturday, april 6, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

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

Saturday, April 6 – 05:30h-07:00h and Sunday, April 7 – 05:30h-07:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Contract awarded to Housing Minister’s husband a “conflict of interest” – CH&PA Head …says award process needs reviewing

Saturday, April 6 – 17:10h-18:40h and Sunday, April 7 – 05:10h-06:40h.

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

WEATHER TODAY

Early morning sunshine is expected to give way to sunny intervals that will last throughout the day, followed by clear skies in the evening.

Overall temperatures will range between 21 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-easterly to North-easterly between 2.23 metres and 5.36 metres.

High Tide: 05:09h and 17:29h reaching a maximum height of 2.75 metres at each scheduled high tide.

Low Tide: 11:03h and 23:18h reaching minimum heights of 0.43 metre and 0.51 metre respectively.

WEDNESday, APRIL 3, 2019

LOTTERY NUMBERS A

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DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS IN PUBLICATION. PLEASE CALL THE HOTLINE FOR CONFIRMATION - TEL: 225-8902

CH&PA Head Leon Saul

C

hief Executive Officer of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Leon Saul on Friday said that there is a conflict of interest regarding the contract awarded to the husband of Housing Minister Valerie PattersonYearwood to build houses for the Ministry.

Speaking with reporters on the sidelines of a CH&PA event on Friday, Saul pointed out that while the contract was awarded through a competitive bidding process, it still is a conflict of interest.

“If the contractor in question is the spouse of the Minister, certainly it would be a conflict of interest,” he posited.

The CH&PA Head called for a review of the awarding process so that there is no reoccurrence of such a situation.

“The award of contract is above my level. But I think the (CH&PA) Board should review that (awarding process) based on recommendations coming from the agency,” Saul asserted.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that the Housing Minister’s husband, Godfrey Yearwood, was awarded a contract to build homes for a project spearheaded by the CH&PA. That project is still ongoing and according to Saul, the contract awarded to the Minister’s husband was a one-off award.

When contacted on Thursday for a comment on the matter, which was published in Guyana Times on that day (April 4, 2019), Minister PattersonYearwood said she would not give a comment since this newspaper already carried the story without her input.

It was explained that several attempts were made to get on to her on Wednesday before the article was published the following day. In fact, the Minister acknowledged seeing the missed calls on Thursday morning but insisted that this publication should have held the arti-

cle until she was reached to comment on the issue.

“I saw some missed calls from Guyana Times when I woke this morning cause my phone was on silent after being in a meeting (almost all day Wednesday)…

Despite the fact that Guyana Times didn’t get me to give my comments, I see a headline in the Guyana Times so I will not be commenting on this matter.

One day was not too late for y’all to wait to make contact with me and let me give my clarifications before publishing a story… So I’m not going to give any further comments on this because it seems as though it

MInister Valerie Yearwood

Patterson-

was in a rush to make the Minister look bad so one day (wait) would’ve been too late,” Patterson-Yearwood insisted.

Nevertheless, Minister Patterson-Yearwood has since explained to other news outlets that the contract was awarded to her husband prior to their August 2017 marriage and was done without her knowledge.

This issue came to the fore on Wednesday when Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo disclosed that the Minister’s husband had sub-contracted the works and the person whom he hired is complaining of not

Godfrey Yearwood

being paid for works done to date. In fact, the construction worker, a resident of Victoria Village from the East Coast of Demerara, had written President David Granger four times over the past year for his intervention but only got acknowledgement responses so far.

According to the CH&PA Head, he is aware of the issue.

“A complaint was lodged at the Ministry, I think it was sometime last year, and we would have called in both parties and we advised them to settle the issue,” Saul told reporters on Friday.

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Love Dance!!

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

Recycling

T

he issue of recycling is becoming a major concern for both the general public and the economy. Scientific research has suggested that, due to lifestyle patterns of citizens, the earth is being depleted too fast to sustain a healthy balance. The earth’s natural resources are being consumed at a rate that reinforces the idea that we are living for today, and future generations will be paying for the consequences as a result of our lifestyle choices.

For years now, calls for citizens here to dispose of their waste in a responsible manner have fallen on deaf ears, and the issue of garbage build-up in and around the city continues to be repeated.

Governments and businesses all over are realising how serious the problem is, and are taking steps towards putting policy mechanisms in place to ensure that the environment is protected from various forms of pollution etc. Recycling along with reducing consumption has proven to be an effective way to counter the damage we have been doing to the earth for centuries.

A major part of recycling relates to how best we can recycle much of what we use, instead of turning it into unusable waste. For the sake of emphasis, recycling is important as a means of reducing poisonous emissions into the atmosphere, and also to spare our natural resources.

Guyana has indeed taken some time to get “on board”, while many companies and individuals in other parts of the world are improving their recycling habits by coming up with more ways to reduce and reuse what they use. In essence, while there has been much talk about the need to recycle certain products to save our environment from further damage, in a practical sense, the concept has not taken much root here as yet.

Only a handful of companies have shown that they are really serious about moving in this direction. For example, in a bid to support the efforts to sustain and maintain a clean and healthy environment through the provision of proper disposal mechanisms and technology, the Caribbean Containers Inc (CCI) had launched a line of bio-degradable products called Eco Pak. The Eco Pak products consist of bio-degradable table wares, including bowls, boxes and cups which are all environmentally friendly products because of the materials and the process utilised to manufacture them.

The then PPP Government had made an offer of tax-free concessions to individuals and businesses willing to invest and set up recycling plants for plastics and Styrofoam. This was viewed as a good start, and from all indications, a few companies had expressed an interest in taking up the offer.

However, we are not certain as to how far these companies have actually gone ahead with actual implementation of the project ideas.

That being said, if we are serious about maintaining a healthy and clean environment, consumers must demand that businesses engage in practices that are more eco-friendly. For example, consumers must be encouraged to purchase from companies that manufacture more eco-friendly products.

As part of efforts to spread the message of recycling, a comprehensive education and public awareness campaign would need to be carried out, using every available means.

Following this, the authorities should explore setting up recycling centres across the country, since it makes no sense preaching about recycling if the necessary infrastructural support system is not present.

In addition to the positive impacts on the environment, recycling brings in a lot of money for many countries.

Companies make huge sums from basically utilising the materials that could otherwise have been thrown away.

We believe that there is need for lifestyle changes among our citizens, and it would be very helpful if the schools, religious organisations and local Neighbourhood Democratic Councils and Municipalities in every region start the conversation with citizens about recycling. This should be done with the direct involvement of the decision makers.

Certainly, everyone prefers products that are manufactured in an eco-friendly manner, and wants a better, cleaner and healthier environment.

In this Shan W photo, a pair of red-crowned cranes participate in a courtship ritual in Hokkaido, Japan. It’s said that the birds mate for life, and as such they serve as a symbol of luck and longevity in Japanese culture (National Geographic Photo)

2 US citizens arrested in first Saudi arrest sweep since Khashoggi killing, sources say

S

audi Arabia detained seven activists, including two US citizens, on Thursday, sources tell CNN. It was the kingdom’s first sweep of arrests targeting dissidents since the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year.

A State Department official confirmed to CNN on Friday that two US citizens were arrested in Saudi Arabia, but declined to provide names.

“We can confirm that two US citizens were arrested in Saudi Arabia,” the official said. “We have already engaged the Saudi Government in this regard.

Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment.”

Salah al-Haidar, a dual Saudi-US citizen who is the son of prominent women’s rights defender Aziza al-Yousef, was one of those arrested, according to two sources familiar with the events. Yousef was temporarily freed from a prison in Riyadh last month and is on trial along with 10 other women’s rights defenders.

One source is a Saudi academic in a US university who has strong relations with the Saudi dissident community. The other source is a Saudi activist with knowledge of the events.

Haidar is a writer and journalist on social issues.

His father owns a home in Vienna, Virginia, according to the Saudi academic who asked not to be named out of concerns for his safety.

Salah al-Haidar and his mother Aziza al-Yousef in a car after a Saudi court granted her temporary release in March. Yousef is a prominent women’s rights

Salah al-Haidar and his mother Aziza al-Yousef in a car after a Saudi court granted her temporary release in March. Yousef is a prominent women’s rights defender who spent nearly a year behind bars. Haidar was arrested on April 4, around two weeks after his mother’s release

defender who spent nearly a year behind bars. Haidar was arrested on April 4, around two weeks after his mother’s release.

Another Saudi-US dual citizen, the writer and physician Bader al-Ibrahim, was also arrested in the crackdown, the sources said. The UK-based Saudi rights group Alqst reported that seven activists had been arrested on Thursday, and released their names.

All seven detainees are writers and social media bloggers who are connected to Yousef’s family and are friends with Haidar, according to the sources. They previously engaged in public discussions about reforms and have publicly endorsed women’s rights causes such as the right to drive, the sources said.

Two of the activists detained on Thursday are Saudi married couple Thumar al-Mazouqi and Khadijah al-Harbi, said the sources. Harbi, who has written about and campaigned for women’s rights, is in late-stage pregnancy, the sources added. She and Mazouqi have been supportive of detained women’s

rights defenders currently standing trial.

The sources also confirmed that a Riyadh university lecturer named Anas al-Mazrou was arrested on March 19. Days earlier a video of Mazrou filmed at a book fair, in which he publicly expressed solidarity with political prisoners and named some detained women’s rights defenders, had gone viral.

The Saudi Government did not immediately respond to CNN’s requests for comment about the case.

CNN has reached out to the US embassy in Riyadh for comment.

Saudi Arabia has conducted a series of crackdowns on dissidents since Prince Mohammed bin Salman was elevated to Crown Prince in June 2017.

The arrest sweeps have targeted clerics, academics and human rights defenders.

US citizen Dr Walid Fitaihi was also detained during the sweeping crackdown in 2017. He was reportedly beaten, tortured and jailed, a source familiar with the situation told CNN in March.

The US State

Department told CNN on Friday that it had raised Fitaihi’s case with the Saudi Government. “We are in close communication with Fitaihi’s family, and will continue to offer them all possible assistance. We have raised and continue to raise his case on a consistent basis with the Saudi Government.”

In May and June 2018, several women’s rights activists were detained in a series of arrests that were widely criticised by the international community, including at the United Nations human rights council.

The October 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a US resident and critic of the Government, at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul sparked international uproar.

The number of arrests of dissidents appeared to decrease significantly in the aftermath of Khashoggi’s killing, in what many observers hoped was sign that the kingdom’s crackdown was deescalating, Alqst director Yahya Assiri told CNN. Thursday’s arrests appeared to mark a renewal of the crackdown, Assiri and the Saudi academic said.

“It’s all breaking my heart but in particular is I know Salah al-Haidar’s family has already been thru so much after #Saudi feminist (Salah’s mother) Aziza al-Yousef’s arrest since May 2018,” wrote SaudiAmerican Harvard PhD student Nora Abdulkarim in a tweet. “Days after her temp release, and their celebrating, now Salah is arrested. I cannot fathom.” (CNN)

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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

Thorough investigation needed into Citizenship Dept Dear Editor, The alacrity with which the Department of Citizenship has responded to revelations of incorrect and therefore fraudulent notices of application for naturalisation as Guyanese citizens is surprising. Anyone who has had any dealing or transaction with any Government agency in our country knows of the sloth; it is legendary, a bureaucratic labyrinth from which it is painful to extract information and answers for any purpose.

The responses are themselves informative for what they say, as well as what is left out. “The Ministry would like to make it pellucid that all of the processes that the Department of

Citizenship applies to applications for citizenship are enshrined in the Laws of Guyana – the Guyana Citizenship Act 1401”, and Minister Felix “requires the applicant for naturalisation to publish their applications for naturalisation in one of the daily newspapers. The department has nothing to do with what appears in the newspapers. If an error occurs in the publication, that is a problem for the newspapers and the applicant. They have to sort that out and clear up any error that may have occurred.”

The statement by the Minister of Citizenship seems to be at odds with that of his ministry, for the laws are clear with whom

the responsibility for false statements lies, and what the penalties are: Laws of Guyana Cap 14.01 Evidence: 13. (1) Every document purporting to be a notice, certificate, order or declaration, or an entry in a register or a subscription of an oath of allegiance, given, granted or made under this Act or under Chapter IV of the Constitution shall be received in evidence and shall, unless the contrary is proved, be deemed to have been given, granted or made on behalf of the person by whom or on whose behalf it has been given, granted or been made.

Offences: 14. (1) Any person who for the pur-

pose of procuring anything to be done or not done under this Act or Chapter IV of the Constitution makes any statement to be false in a material particular, or recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material particular shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than twenty five thousand dollars nor more than fifty thousand dollars and imprisonment for six months.

Editor, was there an inquiry at the Department of Citizenship into the instances provided by the Leader of the Opposition? Did anyone pull these files and engage in close scrutiny of all documents provided? Was a biometric cross scan run

to confirm no duplicity exists? From the Chronicle, answers, or should I say excuses, were quickly provided by the General Manager of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited, who blamed a ‘computer glitch’ for these ‘errors’. Given the glibness emanating from both entities, I would ask that an official Police investigation be launched into this affair. An inquiry not limited to the false notices, but to ascertain if indeed any effort was made at either entity to seek the truth.

In numerous years of using computers, I am yet to experience any of these fabled ‘glitches’, and I would ask who conducted this inquiry at the Department of

Citizenship, and if there was a written report submitted.

Computer systems have logs built into the software; surely we can access those and see what exactly caused these ‘glitches’, and also if there has been any access of these files in the Citizenship Department.

Given the concerns raised by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo about the digitisation of records and the ease with which excuses of ‘computer error’ are offered and accepted, a thorough investigation is of national importance.

Yours truly, Vickram Bharrat Member of Parliament

Respect for laws is alien to PNC’s nature Dear Editor, Whether they are in the party or undercover in another party, the PNC would always be themselves; they cannot change. Instead of that party changing their horrendous ways and complying with the Constitution, they would rather change the Constitution to suit themselves. The foregoing affirmation has been verified as true and complete, amen.

The reason for me making that bold statement is that my findings are based on the bare facts of that party, which show who these people really are. They are persons who, once they get into power, never want to relinquish it. This is their

modus operandi: under no circumstance should you relinquish power. With such a mindset as this, the PNC would always be at the crossroads with the law.

The Constitution, which is the supreme guide and compass, automatically becomes a problem for them.

I rose Friday morning to read that Raphael Trotman wants an amendment to the Constitution. Leader of The Alliance for Change (AFC), Raphael Trotman, (a PNC clone) is of the view that the time has come to amend the constitutional provision which stipulates that a dual citizen cannot sit in the National Assembly.

According to that article, he did so with much conviction,

having decorated that “belief” in sugar- coated language that Guyana would be bereft of real development if we shut the door to qualified Guyanese in the diaspora.

Very nice words coming from a man who is now faced with the consequences of honouring the Constitution as it relates to dual citizenship. He never thought that day would come when he and comrades would have to face up to that aspect of the Constitution. It was their mistaken belief that it was only the PPP/C who would have had to honour that constitutional requirement.

When the Charrandas matter came up, he and friends in the Coalition gloated in the thought that it was only

the PPP/C would have to respect that constitutional provision. But that is not the case, we all have to respect the Constitution on dual citizenship; none is excluded!

But this is classic PNC behaviour, they want laws that would fit into their narrow, corrupt agenda, and when this is not forthcoming, then change the laws.

This has been the pattern of their operations ever since there was a party so named. Burnham made his own laws, then broke them whenever and wherever it fitted into his scheme.

Others he simply ignored.

And this is the well set path the so called reformed PNCR/APNU have followed.

Take, for example (and

there are examples too numerous to mention), the matter of the selection of the GECOM Chairman.

The law stipulates that the Opposition shall provide a list of six names from which the President should choose one such name. The Opposition Leader submitted three lists, eighteen names in total, and Granger contemptuously ignored every one of them and unilaterally appointed his puppet.

These and other matters are a blatant disregard for law and order. Actions of this kind breathe lawlessness and the ushering in of a dictatorship. The PNC pay no heed to laws, they respect nothing that makes for the smooth and genuine gover-

nance of a nation.

In this regard, we treat this latest call from Trotman with the utmost contempt it deserves. We are in no mood to listen into any change of the Constitution.

Absolutely not, Mr Trotman!

We will not listen to you in any shape or form; the law is the law, and every tenet, every facet of it, must see complete fulfillment.

However, what we can do for you is to have your folks refresh your knowledge of Article 106 (6) and its implications. That law is still there, and still to be respected by your Government.

Respectfully, Neil Adams

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SATURDay, APRIL 6, 2019

Page

Introduction An oil spill can happen on the ocean when a ship carrying big containers of petroleum oil starts to leak.

Or if an oil drilling rig malfunctions, as with the 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident off the coast of Louisiana.

Oil spills can also affect our rivers and other freshwater. If an oil pipeline that travels over land springs a leak, the oil can find its way into the local waterways and groundwater. Oil can also get into our rivers and waterways through stormwa-

guyanatimesgy.com

Foundation “birds” and “mammals”) and then create an oil spill. Then they will test different tools to clean up the river.

Supplies Basics

• Aluminum roasting pan or plastic tub • Water • Vegetable oil • Paper towels (for kids’ hands)

Habitat materials

• Large rocks to create an island

• Cotton balls • Sponges, cut into small pieces • Plastic spoons • 12-inch pieces of string • Dish soap (Dawn® works well)

Get kids thinking ...

Get everyone thinking about what happens when oil mixes with water.

Ask the kids:

How easy do you think it is to separate the oil from the water?

What happens to the fish, birds, and other animals that come in contact with the oil?

Let’s get started!

ter.

Spilled oil sticks to the fur and feathers of birds and animals that live on or near the water, and is hard to remove. That’s why animals are so affected by oil spills!

In this activity, kids will build a simple model of a river habitat (complete with

First, kids create their habitats: Place the rocks in the pan or tub Add 2-3 inches of water, to mostly cover the rocks (bigger ones can be poking out). Add blue food colouring if you have it.

Add the sticks and lettuce or moss (the “plants”) and the feathers and fake fur (the “birds” and “animals”) to the water.

• Sticks and moss or pieces of lettuce • Fake fur or craft pompoms and feathers • Blue food coloring (optional) •

Cleanup materials

Next, create the oil spill!

Pour 2-3 tablespoons of oil into the water and observe what happens.

How does the oil react with the water, the plants, and the animals. What happens when you blow on the oil in the water?

Record your observations on the chart on the next page.

Now try each of the clean-up materials and see which ones work the best.

Ask the kids:

What are the best materials for cleaning the birds and animals? What effect did detergent have on the oil?

What is the string best for? (The string can keep the oil in a smaller space but can’t clean it up.) (startwithabook. org)

When to try yoga

Try taking a weekly yoga class or using a yoga DVD to help you learn some yoga poses. There are classes as well as yoga DVDs created especially for teens.

You can also incorporate mini-bits of yoga into your daily life to help you manage stressful moments. Here are some ideas:

Before a test

Do easy neck and shoulder rolls right at your desk to relieve tense muscles in your neck, shoulders, and back.

Also try squeezing and relaxing your fingers and hands. These exercises can take as little as 30 seconds, and can be repeated as often as you need!

While studying

Try a few simple yoga moves to help relax any areas that may have become tense while studying. Neck and shoulder rolls can release tension in your back and shoulders. Forward folds and twists will relieve lower back strain. Give your face a mini-massage to help loosen up a tense jaw. Balancing poses, like tree pose, can help focus your energy so you can concentrate on what you need to do!

Continued from Friday

Before bed

Do a few yoga stretches before bed to help you relax — especially if you have a lot on your mind. Poses where you fold forward, like child’s pose, tend to be calming. They allow you to tune out the rest of the world and feel quiet and peaceful. Stay in a forward fold for three or four full, slowing breaths, and allow your body and mind to relax.

Yoga and YOU

The best part about yoga is that it helps you discover more about your mind, body, and emotions. Yoga can help you become more balanced, calm, focused, and relaxed as you go through life’s usual ups and downs.

Of course, you won’t instantly feel more positive, calm, or energetic after doing a few yoga poses. As with all good things, the effects of yoga need to build up over time.

But if you give yourself a half hour each day to do a few yoga poses, after a couple of weeks you should start noticing a subtle change. Keep going longer and yoga will become a natural part of your daily routine, ready to help you manage life’s stresses well into the future. (Excerpt from kidshealth.org)

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saturday, april 6, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Underground mining

Due diligence being carried out for Guyana Goldfields application ─ GGMC …company estimates underground mine will exceed previous earnings

Mining equipment parked in the pit, awaiting the go-ahead GGMC Commissioner Newell Dennison

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uyana Goldfields is just an approval away from launching its underground mine at Aurora, but according to the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), due diligence will be carried out on the documents submitted to the agency before it issues such a permit.

This is according to GGMC’s acting Commissioner Newell Dennison, who was part of a Government and media team touring the facilities on Thursday. The trip was facilitated by the Canadian-owned Guyana Goldfields.

Last month, Goldfields was issued a permit by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to construct the underground mine. It is currently awaiting further approv-

als from GGMC. In fact, this newscast observed equipment assembled at the site, waiting for the go ahead.

Dennison laid out what are some of the things GGMC expects. “There is no one formula. There are some basic rules when it comes to safety, engineering and technical issues that apply. We would look for those things. But we don’t have a one-sizefits-all to say this is it.

“You can prejudice yourself in such a way that you find a company can’t meet that premium benchmark, and you rule them out. But we certainly wouldn’t want companies to conduct and operate in a manner that is below a certain threshold.

And we look to our regulations to define what that is.”

Dennison explained that the GGMC is in possession of Goldfields’

application and will soon know whether anything else is needed. He made it clear that GGMC has no intention of delaying the process.

“From what I am aware, they have submitted [the documents]. I am of the view that we are in good way to be conducting the examination to determine whether we need anything more.

“To the extent that we ascertain that what is therein is sufficient representation of what they plan to do, and it is in keeping with our regulations and what we consider typical practices for these types of activities, we would then issue the permit,” Dennison said.

derground mines surpassing their previous operations. According to Caldwell, the underground well is likely to be a game changer when it comes to revenue. He also spoke of expanding the workforce and possibly opening another mine.

“We hope to receive the exploration permit shortly, so in three years’ time that would be up and running.

Hopefully, we would tour underground and you would see Guyanese men and women working underground. I think the profitability of the underground is actually going to be better than the open pit. I think it’s a unique deposit for that, so I think it’s going to be really good,” he said.

“The underground would be about 300 employees, plus. There would be no changes to the other employees. Some people might trans-

fer, but the level would go up as it is.

We have more employees today than we had a year ago. And hopefully, we have another mine somewhere else, maybe in Guyana, maybe somewhere else. So hopefully we have the underground going in three years.”

So far, Guyana Goldfields has invested US$300 million into its local operations. The underground mine is expected to cost US$25 million in the initial exploration stages. A further US$100 million is likely to be invested over the next ten years of production.

The company is eyeing the third quarter of 2019 to 2021 to conduct underground development activities and explorations, with production expected from 2022. For now, a portal at Aurora’s Mad Kiss pit and the waiting mining equipment are a harbinger of things to come.

Earnings

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer of Guyana Goldfields, Scott Caldwell, was optimistic of the un-

The Mad Kiss pit at Aurora, where a portal has been dug

Be vigilant of money launderers – FIU Head warns …receives 120 suspicious transaction reports for 2019

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irector of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Matthew Langevine is encouraging the general public to be vigilant of persons involved in money laundering and drug trafficking activities, who solicit individuals to carry out monetary transactions on their behalf.

The FIU Head said the Unit has been receiving increasing numbers of suspicious transaction reports from money transfer agencies. It has also been discovered that individuals involved in predicate offences tied to drug and human trafficking and money laundering are utilising the services of the regular man on the street.

“We have seen students being used to send monies through these money transfers agencies, housewives, unemployed persons etc we want to encourage the public at large to be vigilant against these activities and not to get caught up in these activities,” Langevine told the Department of Public Information (DPI).

For 2018 alone, the FIU received 330 suspicious transaction reports, the majority of which came from money transfer agencies. For this year, 120 suspicious reports were made to the Unit, a high per cent also coming from the money transfer entities. “[It is] a sector which we see a high level of suspicious transaction activities where

Director of the FIU Matthew Langevine

monies are sent cross borders that raise a number of concerns.”

Langevine stressed that every citizen has an obligation to play their part in fighting money laundering.

“We want to encourage the public at large not to get caught up in those kinds of activities however beneficial it may seem to you in the onset because it can have far-reaching implications for persons.”

The FIU Head lauded the support of the more than 330 reporting agencies that continue to provide much-needed information to the Unit.

“We have been getting relatively good support. I think the entities recognise the importance of this and with the kind of engagements we have been having nationally to ensure that the agencies understand their obligation, they appreciate why they need to

be reporting the information to us.”

These engagements include outreaches and training across the country.

Twelve intelligence reports have been sent to the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU).

In addition to reports from the money transfer agencies, the FIU has also been receiving suspicious transaction reports from a number of financial institutions, the Guyana Gold Board (GGB) and gold dealers. Langevine said those sectors continue to actively monitor transactions and provide intelligence to the FIU which, in turn, shares with SOCU. For 2018 and 2019, the FIU sent 29 and 12 intelligence reports respectively to SOCU, covering several different suspected predicate offences including corruption and bribery, drug trafficking, fraud and tax evasion among others.

Through MoU’s signed with State Asset Recovery Agency (SARA), the Unit has also been able to assist the entity with financial information to assist in investigations it was conducting.

He said FIU’s services are utilised across the intelligence sector and they work closely with several competent authorities including the GRA, Central Bank and the gaming authority.

8 News

saturday, april 6, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Unemployed man charged for killing “Gully Bop” O

ne of the four suspects who was taken into custody and questioned in connection to the murder of 18-yearold Christopher Mansfield called “Gully Bop” was on Friday hurled before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts after he was slapped with the capital offence of murder.

Shamar Harvey of Lot 135 King Edward Street, Albouystown, was not required to plea to the indictable charge which detailed that on March 31, 2019, at Albouystown, Georgetown, he murdered Christopher Mansfield.

The 21-year-old man was represented by Attorney-atLaw Ashley Henry, who informed the court that her client is unemployed. Police

Dead: Christopher Mansfield

Remanded: Shamar Harvey

Prosecutor Sanj Singh informed the Chief Magistrate that the file is incomplete and requested extended time to complete it before the Preliminary Inquiry commences.

Police reports contended

that the teen was attacked by three males, who were armed with a cutlass, knife and gun respectively, which were used to inflict wounds on the deceased.

During the altercation, the suspect, who was armed

with the gun, shot the teen to the right side of his abdomen, and the injured youth barely managed to seek refuge in a nearby yard before he collapsed.

The teen, of Lot 66 Barr Street, Albouystown, was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

On Friday, following the prosecution’s submission, Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan granted the extension requested by the prosecution and ordered that he undergoes a psychiatric evaluation after the accused broke down in tears and attempted to remove his undergarments in the courtroom on Friday.

The case will continue on May 10, 2019.

Former GPF rank Man jailed for jailed 26 years for raping 4-year-old raping 7-year-old

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former rank of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) was on Friday sentenced to 26 years in prison by High Court Judge JoAnn Barlow for raping a seven-year-old girl on March 27, 2014, in Essequibo.

A 12-member jury, on March 13, 2019, found 37-year-old Clinton Doris guilty of the act before Justice Barlow in the Sexual Offences Court.

The accused was sentenced on Friday after the court heard the probation report, which was requested to be done by Doris’s attorney, Ravindra Mohabir.

In court on Friday, Justice Barlow, before sentencing, noted that at the time when the act was com-

mitted, the victim was only seven years old and the accused is also the father of two children.

The court heard that the victim was on her way home from school when the accused was able to persuade the child to enter his home by offering her candy. When the child went into the house, he used the opportunity to commit the act. The child related what took place to her parents and the matter was reported to the police.

Justice Barlow ordered that the accused be given counselling for sex offenders during his time in prison.

The State’s case was presented by Prosecutors Lisa Cave, Sarah Martin, and Seeta Bishundial.

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wenty-eight-year-old Dwayne Hamilton, who was found guilty of raping a four-year-old, was on Friday sentenced to 12 years in prison by Justice JoAnn Barlow for the act which was committed on February 21, 2007.

The accused was found guilty of the offence on March 20, 2019, by a 12-member jury at the High Court but was sentenced on Friday after his lawyer had made a request for a probation report to be presented.

Justice Barlow during her sentencing explained that the only mitigating factor existing is that Hamilton was 16 years old when he committed the act, and thus metred a 12-year sentence against him.

After the sentence was handed down, Justice Barlow recommended that during

his time in prison Hamilton be exposed to counselling sessions, while advising him to participate meaningfully in same which would help reform him to be a part of society again after serving his time.

The accused was represented by Attorney Ravindra Mohabir while the State’s case was presented

by Prosecutors Lisa Cave, Seeta Bishundial and Sarah Martin.

The court heard that the accused committed the act on the child moments after she had used the washroom.

The accused, who was 16 at the time, was caught in the act by the child’s mother, who immediately reported the matter to the police. He, however, managed to evade the police but was eventually caught.

Police host “Health & Safety” awareness walk in Linden

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n observation of Occupational Safety and Health Month 2019, the Guyana Police Force’s E Division (Linden-Kwakwani) held a “Safety and Health” awareness walk on Friday in Linden, Region 10.

The event was spearheaded by the Division’s Community Relations Officer, Assistant Superintendent Palesa Peters-Fernandes, and Woman Inspector Colette Evans. The awareness walk, held under the theme “Safety and Health and the future of work, building on the knowledge and achievements accumulated over the years”, saw the participation of some 30 other ranks.

The journey started from the Mackenzie Hospital and

ended at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground.

The walk also saw the attendance of Senior Safety and Health Officer of the Social Cohesion Ministry, Rondel Cole.

In a statement from the Police Force, it was noted that the country’s premier law enforcement agency has placed great emphasis on the importance of its human resources, which have been highlighted as a primary focus in its ongoing reform process.

The Force has also, through its Safety and Health Officer Deputy Superintendent Dexter Brown, strategically implemented mechanisms to identify and report potential Occupational Safety hazards This all-female team was rewarded with a trophy for participation throughout the Force. and early attendance at the end of Friday’s awareness walk

Rethinking...

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...the Constitution

eemingly out of the blue, our Constitution has taken centre stage in our politics; which, given the pervasiveness of politics in Guyana, means in our lives! It seems our world’s now divided into “BD21” and “AD21” – Before Dec 21 and After Dec 21! With the defining event not being the birth of the Messiah, which took place 4 days later, but the NCM birthed by the PPP!!

The defining characteristic of life in AD21 is to wake up every morning to read in each of the dailies at least two exegesis on one or other articles of the Constitution.

The state mouthpiece, the Chronic, of course marches to its own drum beaten by the PM and his lackeys! It has an idiosyncratic (indeed, aberrational!) take on matters, but that’s to be expected. The mouth is muzzled by the hand that feeds it and all that, and with the amount of “feeding” the PM demands, he’s permanently muzzled!!

But maybe there’s a silver lining behind the dark clouds gathered over the courts by the PNC’s grasping at straws in their desperate efforts to eke out enough time to consummate their plans to “fix” the next elections.

With the word “fix” used as in “fixing” a dog by neutering it!! And what’s this silver lining? Well, just like when you don’t fix something that ain’t broken, you ought to fix it if it IS broken, don’t you?? And with all this back and forthing on the Constitution in all the courts all the way up to the CCJ, it’s quite clear the Constitution is broken.

But is anyone surprised? We shouldn’t be, with the evidence abounding all around us. When you have to have the word “or” parsed by the courts because the PNC won’t accept its unambiguous meaning, something’s certainly rotten in the State of Guyana. And that’s not just the AFC’s dead meat!! It also goes beyond the PNC’s caviling over the meaning of “majority”.

It has to do with the genesis of the 1980 Constitution, promulgated by the PNC after they rigged the 1973 elections to give themselves a 2/3 majority to do whatever they wanted to draft in this personal constitutional.

Burnham then converted the National Assembly into a “Constituent Assembly” that didn’t accept “an iota” of outside suggestions. He even had a “fixed” referendum in 1978 to make sure he won’t need a referendum to approve his creation!

What’s needed is a national discourse on the very issues that have risen to the surface in the last 4 months – especially the racial fears and suspicions – and then have a true Constituent Assembly draft a new constitution that addresses them.

Guyana: the Second Republic!!

…tolerance

With the PNC revealing their spots, we offer a perspective by Karl Popper from his magnum opus, “The Open society and its enemies”.

“Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them.?—?In this formulation, I do not imply, for instance, that we should always suppress the utterance of intolerant philosophies; as long as we can counter them by rational argument and keep them in check by public opinion, suppression would certainly be unwise.

“But we should claim the right to suppress them if necessary even by force; for it may easily turn out that they are not prepared to meet us on the level of rational argument, but begin by denouncing all argument; they may forbid their followers to listen to rational argument, because it is deceptive, and teach them to answer arguments by the use of their fists or pistols.

“We should therefore claim, in the name of tolerance, the right not to tolerate the intolerant.”

…renouncing citizenship

Renouncing US citizenship costs US$2350; Canada, CAD$100 and the Brits - not even a pence.

Is this proportional to their value?

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

News

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saturday, april 6, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Region 1 outbreak

Matthews Ridge residents concerned about health risks …say regional officials tight-lipped on situation

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egion One (BarimaWaini) health officials remain tightlipped on the situation relating to the condition of the miners who are being assessed at Matthews Ridge, even as another Chinese miner fell ill and is being treated for a respiratory tract infection at the Pakera Hospital, in Matthews Ridge.

An official from the Manganese Company Inc told Guyana Times on Friday that another miner was admitted to the hospital, however, the official could not allude to the severity of the miner’s condition or whether he will be transferred to the city.

The Public Health Ministry in a statement said the miner’s condition was “critical” but “stable.”

While the operations at that manganese company’s worksite remain at a standstill, other operations of the company are progressing.

Concerns

However, residents of Matthews Ridge have expressed concerns over the health risks involved and are furious that health officials are not disclosing in-

The quarantined area at the GPHC where the sick miners are being treated

formation as to the seriousness of the situation.

“Every time I see them nurse and ask about it, they keep telling me we can’t talk we ain’t want get in trouble,” one resident told this newspaper on Friday.

Several residents who reached out to this newspaper on Friday said that it is

time the health authorities speak to persons living in the area since they are very worried about the situation.

Efforts to obtain a comment from the regional health authorities by Guyana Times proved futile.

This newspaper was told that the Matthews Ridge

to Port Kaituma road has been closed to vehicles attached to the Manganese Company, however, the official from the company has denied this development.

Regional officials however could not offer a confirmation on this new development Friday.

Another Chinese miner died on Wednesday at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC), while several others who were brought out from the mining camp remain patients.

Chief Medical Officer of the GPHC, Dr Shamdeo Persaud, when contacted by this newspaper on Friday said tests are still being conducted even as they await results from the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) about a possible diagnosis for the patients who did not test positive for leptospirosis.

“When the results come back, whatever they are, we will disclose,” he said. He could not say when the results will return.

On Thursday, when Guyana Times visited the surgical bloc, it was observed that the miners were being kept in an isolated area that was cordoned off.

Sewage system at Aurora Secondary School broken 3 weeks now … Regional Engineering Department still to act

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Sewage in a section of the Aurora Secondary School drain

arents, teachers and students of Aurora Secondary School, Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam), are calling for the immediate fixture of their sewage system.

The system has been broken for over three weeks now and although reports were made to the Regional Education Department, nothing has been done to correct the unsanitary situation.

This newspaper was told on Friday that the pipe leading to the septic

tank from the toilet is broken and the sewage is presently overflowing into the school’s drainage.

Several parents and teachers told this publication that they are worried about health-related issues that can arise from the unbearable stench from the sewage in the drains.

One parent told Guyana Times that the drain in front of the school’s canteen is filled with sewage and is very unhealthy for those children and teachers purchas-

ing food from the canteen.

When contacted, the Regional Education Officer, Nichola Matthews said that the matter is presently engaging the Regional Engineering Department.

Concerned parents are, however, peeved at the slothfulness of the engineering department and are also calling for a complete check of the sewage system at the school since this is not the first time the issue has occurred.

A doctor was at the time administering checks on the patients; however, he was not allowed to offer any updates on the miners’ condition.

Meanwhile, the Ministry’s statement on Thursday confirmed the miners died from complications associated with leptospirosis while undergoing treatment at the GPHC. It also said two of those patients have since been discharged after successful treatment.

Dr Shamdeo Persaud has iterated that all precautionary measures are still in place at the Matthews Ridge tunnel site and its immediate surroundings, adding that essential medical supplies are in stock to treat employees of the mining firm and residents of the area.

Since last week’s outbreak, the area has been deemed a ‘Red Zone’ by Public Health Ministry authorities, and “no one is allowed to enter the site,” Dr Persaud reminded on Thursday.

The CMO has also stated that the hospital is continuing its evaluation of the miners, and additional tests

are being done by CARPHA to obtain a diagnosis for some of the patients who were not tested positive for leptospirosis.

Reports are that post-mortem examinations conducted on the two miners – Zhong Zhenglong, 47; and Zi Zheng Guo, 47 – on Thursday morning revealed that they died from haemorrhagic pneumonia as a result of leptospirosis. The more than one dozen affected miners exhibited symptoms of pain, fever, headache and respiratory distress.

Meanwhile, on Thursday afternoon, when approached by the media for a comment on the diagnosis of the other ill Chinese workers, subject Minister Volda Lawrence refused to comment on the issue.

The manganese mining company has been instructed to halt further exploration until the Public Health Ministry and a team from the Occupational Health and Safety Department of the Social Protection Ministry advice further on the matter.

10 news

saturday, april 6, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Guyanese fisherman dies aboard vessel in Surinamese waters

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41-year-old Berbice, Region Six fisherman, who left his home on Monday to work onboard a fishing vessel in Surinamese waters has died.

Dead is Deolall Sooklall

of Number 56 Village, Corentyne, Berbice.

Reports are the father of six departed the Number 66 Fisheries wharf early on Monday morning but his family did not hear from him. This raised some sus-

picion and as his family made inquiries, they were told that the other fishermen whom Sooklall worked with made a report to the police in Berbice that the now dead man had collapsed on the vessel on

Thursday.

According to reports, the man was unresponsive and the vessel returned to shore to obtain medical attention.

However, Sooklall was pronounced dead.

According to the police,

there were no visible marks of violence on Sooklall’s body.

Guyana Times understands that the now dead man’s body has been taken to the Skeldon mortuary awaiting a post mortem ex-

amination. Meanwhile, investigations into the matter continues. However, his family are contending that he was in good health and does not suffer from any illness.

Dismissed bauxite workers to resume duties within 72 hours ...5 workers refuse to return to work

GBGWU Head Lincoln Lewis

campsite in Aroaima. These meetings shall take place

RUSAL’s mining operations at Aroaima, Region 10

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alks between the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GBGWU) and management of the Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI) have resulted in the decision to have the 61 dismissed bauxite workers and the 30 who were displaced resume duties.

According to GBGWU, the Union and the management of the Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI) have commenced post-strike engagement consistent with the commitment at item three of the Terms of Reference (ToR) that all workers will resume duties within 72 hours after the official signing of documents on Friday.

“This will mark full re-

sumption.

Whereas the Union will not be privy as to how many have not returned to their substantive job, given that Record of Attendance forms part of the company’s record, we have been advised some workers may not return. Approximately five have communicated they will not, the reason given is that while they are happy, BCGI via the ToR, has accepted the basic rights of the workers to a union of choice and collective bargaining, they can no longer work under the current conditions.”

Next move The Union stated that in keeping with item four of the ToR, that “within 14 days following full resump-

tion of work, the parties shall commence negotiation of a new collective labour agreement…” the GBGWU has begun the process of preparing its proposal.

“This proposal shall be submitted to management not later than Friday, 11th April 2019. At the submission of same, BCGI is expected to give a written response with a view of commencing bilateral negotiations in the first week of May. In the meantime, the branch and management shall have engagement on a number of issues, inclusive of transportation to and from work, and workers’ living condition at the

at the Aroaima location.”

BCGI had dismissed 61 workers on February 19, 2019, for protesting against a one per cent wage increase and employees had resorted to blocking off a section of the river which leads to the company’s operation located at Aroaima, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice). A further 30 persons had been dismissed since the affected section of the operation had to be temporarily closed.

However, late in March, the Russian-owned company finally sought to recognise the GBGWU as the Union selected by the bauxite workers to represent their cause(s) and lobby on their behalf. According to the Union’s Head, Lincoln Lewis, the protesters had said that they would not remove the blockages until the company, in writing, gives in to their demands.

(Kristen Macklingam)

Assassination plot backfires: Hitman shoots ‘boss’

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33-year-old man who is believed to have organised the death of an associate is in critical condition under Police guard at the Port of Spain General Hospital after he was reportedly shot by the same man he hired to kill a businessman.

Police said the suspect met with his intended target, a 35-year-old Sangre Grande businessman, at El Socorro South at about 10:354h on Thursday to discuss a personal issue.

The businessman told the suspect to get into his car to talk, but he was hesitant.

After a while he got in and while they were talking, a gunman hired by the suspect fired at the car, hitting both the target and the man who hired him to do the killing.

The businessman was shot in the left shoulder and the suspect was shot in the chest.

The Emergency Response Patrol for the North Eastern Division was called and took the businessman to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex and the other man to the Port of Spain General Hospital.

Newsday understands the businessman’s six-year-

old daughter was in the back seat of the car but was unharmed.

Police believe the gunman did not expect the man who hired him to be in the car.

Investigators said they are still looking for the gunman and said the shooting may be related to the finalisation of the businessman’s divorce.

It came shortly after a release was circulated over an alleged plot to kill prison officers.

Newsday trieed to contact Prisons Commissioner Gerard Wilson for confirmation but was unsuccessful.

(T&T Newsday)

NEWS

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saturday, april 6, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

NA Technical Institute beating

Student claims he was bullied, suspended – Education Ministry …anti-bullying campaign launched as Police continue probe

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he student of the New Amsterdam Technical Institute (NATI) who was caught on camera assaulting his classmates has been suspended, the Education Ministry said on Friday.

Investigations revealed that the student who launched the attack on his colleagues claimed that he was being bullied. The teenager and his classmates who were assaulted are undergoing counselling.

The video of the assault went viral on social media on March 26, 2019. The incident had occurred on the previous day, March 25, 2019. The student was seen cuffing his fellow classmates and beating them with a belt. The student was also seen slapping one of the other students in a classroom.

Outrage ensued on social media when the video showing the beating went viral. This led to the Education Ministry launching a probe.

An initial brief meeting was

held with the administration of the Institute, senior officers of the Public Security Ministry’s Citizens’ Security Strengthening Programme (CSSP), some members of the Board of Governors of NATI, and the Assistant Chief Education Officer – Technical.

An assembly was held with the entire student population to reiterate the Education Ministry’s non-tolerance for violence. The students were also reminded of their signed commitment, at the time of admission to the Institute, to obey the rules of the Institute by ensuring that matters are reported to the school, as against taking matters into one’s hands.

According to the Education Ministry, a meeting was also held with the academic staff of the institution. The students involved in the incident were interviewed in the presence of their parents/ guardians. A meeting was also held with the parents/guardians of all students of the NATI. The NATI and

2 more NOC escapees recaptured by Police

The New Opportunity Corps, Onderneeming, Essequibo Coast, Region Two

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wo male teens, who had escaped from the New Opportunity Corps (NOC) which is located at Onderneeming, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) on March 26, have been recaptured by the police. However, police are still on the hunt for one more teen, who is still to be recaptured.

The others from the group of the six who escaped have returned to the NOC voluntarily.

This is according to Commander of G Division (Essequibo Coast-Islands), Senior Superintendent Khali Pareshram, who said that law enforcement officials are still on the hunt for one remaining juvenile.

He previously told this publication, in relation to the latest escape attempted by teens housed at the institution, that although six had escaped from the NOC between March 25 and 26, 2019, a report was only made to the police about the incident on March 29 (Friday).

Reports are that on March 26, 2019, at about 08:00h, four males escaped by scaling the fence surrounding the juvenile correctional facility.

On the same day at about 17:30h, two other male teens crawled through a dried up koker in the compound.

They all made good their escape.

Less than two weeks before this, on March 16, 24 teenagers, who were being housed at this holding centre in Region Two, escaped from the facility.

Reports are that at about 09:30h, the discovery was made that 17 males and seven females made good their escape even with three security officers and their dorm mothers and fathers in the building.

According to the police, investigations revealed that the females opened a southern door in their dormitory and tied five sheets together then threw the knotted sheets over the western fence of the compound in order to escape.

A snippet of the video which went viral, showing the student assaulting his colleagues

CSSP have been conducting welfare and counselling sessions with

the CSSP students, including conflict management and anger con-

trol and management. These services have also been extended to NATI’s regular students.

Among the recommended actions are that the frequency of assemblies at the institution must be increased, and sections of the rules and procedures must be discussed at these assemblies. At these assemblies, students will be encouraged to report incidents, and the procedure for doing so must be explained.

The Ministry said on Friday that to further address the issue of bullying on a bigger scale, the Institute will be launching an anti-bullying campaign to ensure that students are sensitised on the negative effects of bullying.

The Institute is to be declared a ‘No-Bullying’ Institution.

Meanwhile, Commander of ‘B’ Division, Paul Langevine, told Guyana Times that the Police are still conducting their investigation into the matter of the assault.

12 NEWS

saturday, april 6, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Georgetown faces outrageous challenges compared to other cities – UK Consultant

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eorgetown, the capital city of Guyana, is plagued by many issues including crime and even natural disasters such as flooding and the lead consultant from the European firm Vivid Economics, Charlie Dixon, said the challenges are some of the greatest he has seen in recent times.

In a recent interview with this publication, Dixon said that he thinks that “the challenges that Georgetown faces are some of the largest that I’ve seen in the types of cities and the types of areas that we’ve worked in”.

Dixon, who has been in Guyana for quite some time putting together a report on Climate Resilience Support for Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility for the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) explained that in addition to the aforementioned issues, the capital city is likely to undergo tremendous pressure in the near future, as the population is likely to expand.

He said that statistics collected by himself found

Lead Consultant of Vivid Economics, Charlie Dixon

that by 2040, Georgetown’s population is likely to grow from 130,000 to 200,000.

The spike in the population, he said, could be linked to the fact that the oil and gas sector is preparing to take off soon, which will see larger amounts of persons, both locals and others, seeking employment in the city or offshore.

“In Georgetown, I think it’s a really interesting opportunity because there is gonna be such phenomenal urban growth in Georgetown in the future and so this isn’t just because Guyana is already developing at a fast pace, but the increase of oil is gonna put

real dramatic pressures on the population and so that’s including impact in population growth, its including inward migrants who come to work in the oil and gas industry or diaspora that is attracted to move back and then finally there is gonna be an increase in urbanisation, so people moving from the interior to Georgetown as well,” Dixon explained.

Based on the report, the consultant noted that a number of key measures have been recommended which can be implemented by various responsible agencies, including the Office of Climate Change and even the Public Infrastructure Ministry, to ensure the preservation of the city.

He said, “There are a set of key actions that have been looked into, sized and modelled so you can tell not only how many emissions they will help you to reduce but also how much they’re likely to cost, both in terms of upfront investments and savings over throughout time”.

While presenting the

findings from his study, the consultant recommended on Tuesday that current sea defence structures should be rehabilitated while the drainage system in and around the city needs to be addressed.

He also told the Central Housing and Planning Authority that they may need to direct commercial and residential development away from high-risk areas in Georgetown while the onus may be upon the

Government to restore and expand mangrove conservation and sediment control structures.

The almost six-month long study was funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Guyanese man killed after helicopter crashes on Florida highway

The helicopter on the Tampa, Florida, US highway

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Guyanese man died on Thursday in Florida when a helicopter crashed onto the Tampa, Florida, US highway on which he was driving.

Dead is Deodat Ganga Persaud, 72. Persaud and his son were travelling in a Chevrolet Silverado pick-up.

The son escaped with minor injuries.

According to abcactionnews.com, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said that a helicopter suffered a catastrophic engine failure and made a hard landing on 50th Street at Palm River Road a little before 14:30h on Thursday.

The news agency reported that Bryan Messick, 39, was piloting the helicopter while Joshua Wells, 21, was co-piloting.

After the hard landing, the ABC Action News said that one of the rotor blades came off, hitting a Chevrolet Silverado pick-up truck that was carrying Persaud and his son, 35-year-old Ryan Persaud. The rotor blade hit

Deodat, who was a passenger in the truck.

Deputies said Ryan, who was driving the truck, was transported to Tampa General Hospital.

“You could start hearing the blades. I turn around and see the helicopter about like 20 feet above the air,” witness Alejandor Bou-Colon is quoted by ABC Action News as saying. “It tries to crash land in that patch of grass.

But, then it kept on sliding and sliding until it hit that pole right about there and cut it in half. It was very scary. It was really close. It could’ve been us.”

According to Deputies, the two people in the helicopter were highly-trained pilots and had recently been in for service. The chopper was on its way to Sarasota before pieces of its blades fell off.

Dan Boggs with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) told ABC Action News reporter Michael Paluska that the helicopter is brand new.

“It’s only a couple of

months old. We will be doing a complete and full investigation,” Boggs said.

The pilot told investigators that he had a catastrophic engine failure.

“The pilot did a great job, he came in he was auto rotating which means he was using gravity to make sure the rotor blades were spinning fast enough,” Boggs said. “I looked at the surveillance video there was a truck underneath him. He made sure he did not land on the truck; he was floating it as hard as he could til the truck passed by if this had been on grass he’d of probably stopped right where he landed. He really did about the best job you can do in that situation.” The chopper is a Robinson R-44 with tail number N4046J. FlightAware tracking shows the path the helicopter took and where it crashed.

The NTSB expects to release a preliminary report of their findings in a couple of weeks. It will take at least 18 months for their final report.

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saturday, april 6, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

NIS launches electronic data Shareholders’ clash will not transfer option for employers affect logistics – Goldfields CEO

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NIS Head Office, Brickdam, Georgetown

n observance of its 50th anniversary, the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) on Friday hosted an Open Day where it also launched an electronic mode of data transfer for employers, which will reduce the long waiting time and resources.

Public Relations Officer Dellon Davidson explained that employers will now have a hassle-free mode of transferring documents with regards to employee information. He added that the NIS plans to have payments also become easier for employers in the near future, which will see contributions being paid through the banks.

Davidson told Guyana Times that the online service will be critical for employers who have businesses in far-

flung areas. The service, he noted, will ensure that necessary documents are submitted in a timely manner.

“For employers who have problems coming into the (National Insurance) Scheme, joining the long lines for payments, we are making it more convenient and more feasible for persons to make their contributions online through the submission and on a later date, we will be offering payments online,” Davidson shared.

According to him, employers can make use of this service by logging onto the agency’s website at ‘www.nis.org. gy’.

Before this new initiative, workers were mandated to submit monthly documents with employees’ information,

Persons making enquiries at the Open Day hosted by NIS

which were filled out manually. With the new system, paper, time and energy will be conserved.

The Public Relations representative posited, “Instead of filling out the paper work manually, that system is now readily available, electronically on our web so the necessary information, as it relates to online submissions is readily available”.

He was keen to note that the new system will be easy to use as all the necessary instructions will be online for guidance. Businesses and other agencies using the electronic system for data transfer will no longer be required to walk with piles of documents to makes payments for its workers.

Meanwhile, scores of persons, both young and old crowded the agency’s Brickdam, Georgetown location in a bid to have their queries and concerns cleared up.

Maylene Fingal, a 68year old resident from South Ruimveldt Gardens, Georgetown, told Guyana Times that she was happy she came out to have her issue addressed as it was resolved in a timely manner.

The senior citizen added that she was quite pleased with the way she was treated, especially since her voucher was ready for her after waiting for a number of months.

On the other hand, Imtaz Baksh from Peter’s Hall, East Bank Demerara, said he went out to query his Old Age Pension benefits, but was told the process was not completed as yet, although waiting for almost a year.

Baksh told this publication that he was told that the process should be completed by month-end.

…says dismissal of Country Manager part of positive change

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Goldfields CEO Scott Caldwell

ven as shareholders of Guyana Goldfields call for a shake-up in the company and a crucial meeting looms to decide the way forward, the company’s Chief Executive Officer is assuring that operations will remain untouched.

This is according to CEO Scott Caldwell, who was speaking to the media during a tour of the facilities on Thursday. According to Caldwell, they are making a conscious effort to keep the day-to-day operations at Aurora Gold mines insulated.

“We are working very, very hard to keep the dayto-day activities, the production of gold separate from the proxy battle, Shareholders battle or discussions. And it’s ultimately up to the shareholders but it should not influence these operations at all,” he said.

Caldwell was also asked about the decision to dismiss former Country Manager, Violet Smith. While Caldwell

noted that the company will speak about it in the coming days, he did relate that despite Smith’s longevity with the company it was time for a change.

“The Country Manager and (founder of the company) Mr Patrick Sheridan, were involved in the company for 20 plus years. And (she) did some fine work during that time. But it was time for some change. And we think it’s a positive change.”

Guyana Goldfields remains the largest gold producer in Guyana, with over 150,000 ounces last year.

However, in January a group of shareholders had called for a shake-up in the company’s leadership over concerns about the operation.

It was noted in a statement on January 11 that the concerned shareholders had formally written the Toronto Stock Exchange, asking the body to monitor any proposal made by Guyana Goldfields for signs of entrenchment, shareholder dilution or attempts to structure around regulatory shareholder approval requirements.

According to the missive, the Guyana Goldfields has lost over CAD$1 billion in value since 2016 because of the Board’s operational failures, irresponsible actions and risky decisions.

To add insult to injury, it added, while shareholders have lost over 80 per cent of their investment since 2016, the Board has continued to reward itself handsomely and has offered no plan to turn things around.

In contrast, the concerned

shareholders said their nominees are putting forward a clear strategy to optimise operational performance, repair the relationship with the Government of Guyana, and turn the share price around and execute a value-maximising transaction.

These matters are expected to come to a head at a special company meeting scheduled for May 22, next month.

In its last performance review – 2018 third quarter operational and financial results in October – Guyana Goldfields reported its gold production guidance was revised downward to 150,000– 55,000 ounces as grades have not rebounded as quickly as anticipated in the fourth quarter.

This represents a reduction from the previous range of 175,000-185,000 ounces of gold. Consequently, cost of sales was also revised to US$1030-US$1055 per ounce and all-in sustaining costs of US$1025-US$1050 per ounce, and cash cost (before royalty) of US$660-US$685 per ounce for the year. back in Meanwhile, August of last year, the Canadian mining company confirmed its intentions of laying off approximately 80 local workers in a bid to consolidate its operations.

Aurora Gold Mines’ Public Relations Officer, Leon Roberts, had explained that the company would be focusing its operations at Aurora, located in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), thus cutting back operations from its Greenfield prospect, also located in Region Seven.

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SATURDAY, april 6, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

New Christianburg Primary to cost over $40M

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he presently abandoned Christianburg Primary School in Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) is expected to be rebuilt at a cost of more than $40 million, Deputy Regional Executive Officer (DREO), Maylene Stephen has indicated.

After being closed for four years, the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) is now making strides to secure funds to rebuild the dilapidated school.

Speaking at the Council’s statutory meeting on Thursday, Stephen noted that the administration is currently awaiting approval.

Despite concerns raised

in the past over the condition of the school’s present location, Regional Chairman Renis Morian said it will be rebuilt on site.

The school, which was one of the first to be built in the Linden community, had begun to sink and the structure deteriorated, rendering it dangerous for the growing numbers to continue to be housed there.

Several engineers have over the years visited the site to conduct tests to determine whether it was still suitable to rebuild at the location as officials had noted that due to issues such as drainage, the school had sunk tremendously over the years.

This, they noted, had intensified owing to the presence of ponds in the area.

Following its closure, students have been housed at the St Aidan’s Primary at Blueberry Hill, Linden.

The move has reportedly had some negative effects on students and teachers, as outlined by members of the Parent Teacher’s Association (PTA) who had stressed that the distance is too far flung, contributing to high transportation and extra meal costs, coupled with overcrowding among other negative issues.

Regional Education Committee Chairman, Denise Belgrave questioned the adequacy of the

1.1 million children affected by Venezuela crisis — UNICEF

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he number of children who are affected by the Venezuelan crisis and who will need humanitarian aid this year is expected to more than double to reach 1.1 million, up from nearly 500,000, the UN children’s agency said on Thursday.

The figure includes children uprooted from Venezuela, those who have returned and others in host and transit communities across Latin America and the Caribbean, said a UNICEF statement.

The latest estimate highlighted expecta-

tions among aid agencies that the political crisis in Venezuela will worsen in the coming months, exacerbating the dire humanitarian situation of children and families.

UNICEF called on governments in the region to uphold the rights of children and ensure they have access to essential services.

An internal UN report seen by AFP last week said seven million people — about 24 percent of Venezuela’s population — are in need of humanitarian aid, lacking access to food and medical care.

President Nicolas Maduro has blamed US sanctions for Venezuela’s economic problems but opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has declared himself interim president, says government corruption and mismanagement are at fault.

Guaido is recognised by the United States and around 50 other governments.

The UN Security Council is expected to meet next week at the request of the United States to discuss Venezuela’s humanitarian crisis. (AFP)

The abandoned Christianburg Primary School

school’s area as it relates to the number of students.

“I’m glad to hear that we’re able to get that large amount of money, but I’m thinking about the area.

Would it be adequate for the number of children?

Because remember, enrollment would have heightened since those children were there. So I’m wondering if they’re going to use the same structure and probably develop on it or are they going to have the whole thing broken down and restructured?” she

asked.

The Regional Chairman pointed out however that based on assessments which were carried out, the number of students are declining while he noted that the area is suitable.

“The area is adequate.

What we’re noting is that the numbers are falling because people are migrating to Amelia’s Ward... so with that, numbers dropping... right now there’s a graph showing that it’s going down for the longest

while,” Morian said.

But Belgrave indicated that the number of students has been fluctuating over a specific period.

“What I would have noticed, we have during a period, like three years, we see it go up and then it goes down and up,” she noted.

Councillor Vladimir Glasgow in addressing the Council said he was happy the school was being rebuilt since the issue has been a burning one since 2015.

25,000 house lot applications still being processed by CH&PA

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ith some 25,000 applications still piled up at the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) office, the agency’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lelon Saul had said at least 5000 solutions are required annually for the next five years to reduce the backlog.

While this may be the case, the CEO told the media that just about 3000 housing solutions were made over the past two years, in the form of houses and house lots.

Saul was at the time speaking to the media at the sidelines of an event on Friday.

According to him, the agency plans to develop a number of areas soon to tackle the backlog; however, undertaking the project to develop the lands will be costly.

“We have in excess of 25,000 active applications in the system. We are currently working to reduce the backlog. We will be developing several areas over the next two years

or so but this would not significantly reduce the numbers. For us to make a significant impact on that number, we need to make available an average of four to 5000 solutions yearly over the next five years,” the CEO explained.

He pointed out that its costs at least $4 million to have one house lot developed, which would require a vast sum being allotted for this purpose only.

Given that the number of applications would have mounted to the huge figure, Saul explained that while it will be important to distribute house lots based on the date of the application, consideration will also be given to those in “dire need”.

Under the previous Administration, over 100,000 house lots were distributed and over 200 core houses were made available to under-privileged families, while a programme for professional groups provided 200 teachers, nurses and Policemen with fast track access to loans for home

construction.

Under the present Administration, the first Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme was launched in January this year.

The project was a collaboration between the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) and the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB).

The first housing project comprises of a four hundred square-foot flat concrete building at a cost of $4 million, but requires approved applicants to make a down payment of $100,000 towards the construction. Meanwhile, the Home Improving Subsidy provides a grant of $500,000 in materials.

The project will be in four districts; areas in Georgetown; Industry to La Bonne Intention on the East Coast Demerara, Eccles to Diamond/ Grove on the East Bank Demerara and La Parfaite Harmonie in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara).

news

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saturday, april 6, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Corentyne farmer fights off armed bandits with cutlass

Doodnauth Takpersaud, also known as “Gabar”

Bullet holes in the walls of the business man’s house

Corentyne, Berbice poultry farmer used a cutlass to fight off four bandits, two of which were shooting at him. This is the third time for this year that the businessman has been attacked by armed intruders. He was previously attacked on four other occasions over the years.

Doodnauth Takpersaud called “Gabar”, who operates a poultry outlet at Clifton Village, Corentyne, Berbice, told Guyana Times on Friday that he realised that he was under attack on Wednesday morning when he saw a strange person on his surveillance monitor.

According to

Takpersaud, at about 03:00h he noticed that someone was in his yard.

He then asked two female family members to call the police.

“When I look at the monitor screen I notice them on the landing and one of them trying to wrench open the window with a crowbar.

I also saw a gun in two of them hand and one with a crowbar and one with a cutlass. So I go by the window with my cutlass while the girls gone in the bedroom and trying to call the police, my daughter and a friend,” the frustrated man said. He said that when the window was opened, he used his

A

cutlass to chop the hand of the intruders as he shouted for help.

“Bullets start firing from outside but I brace on the wall and firing chops…” the man said.

He explained that the bandits were pushing open the window and shooting at the same time but every time it was pushed open he used his cutlass to keep them at bay.

On January 3, bandits cut a hole in the fence to the pen and entered. Money, livestock and beverages were removed.

According to Takpersaud, he heard strange sounds coming from

Berbice man remanded on ganja trafficking charge

The ganja which was found in the New Amsterdam, Berbice house on Wednesday

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he man who was reportedly caught with 27.2 kilograms

of compressed marijuana was on Friday remanded to prison.

Dean Grenville, 27, of Lot 60 Stanleytown, New Amsterdam, is alleged to have had 27.2 kg of compressed marijuana on April 3, for the purpose of trafficking.

Grenville appeared at the Albion Magistrate’s Court and denied the charge.

He was represented by Attorney Charlyn Artiga.

The prosecution is contending that Police acting on information went to the Stanleytown house, where they swooped down on the suspect’s two-story East Bank Berbice residence at about 11:15h and conducted a search of his presence.

According to Police, 16 taped parcels of compressed cannabis were found. The Stanleytown resident who was arrested has been on the Police’s radar for “quite a while” Police said.

Magistrate Renita Singh remanded Grenville to prison and the case will continue on April 15.

the chicken pen, which is a part of the poultry outlet.

When he looked towards the business outlet, the lights were turned off. He said luckily, the police patrol was passing and the intruders escaped.

Back then, Takpersaud had said that he is aware of who the perpetrators are and is now saying that they are the same persons who have been attacking him.

Meanwhile, on January 28, two men, one carrying a firearm and the other a cutlass, broke into the home of poultry dealer. At the time, he was asleep.

As the bandits broke

open a window, he and his family members were awoken and they ran through the front door to the verandah and locked the two bandits in the house. The men then exited the window through which they entered while firing shots at the businessman.

“I know I am going to die; I am calling on the Commander, the Commissioner of Police, the Public Security Minister, the Prime Minister and the President; please help me to get protection,” the man pleaded.

Natural Resources Ministry to release mining, forestry contracts

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he Natural Resources Ministry has moved to engage a number of companies for the release of mining and forestry contracts but this is yet to materialise due to concerns being raised by stakeholders.

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman recently stated that the companies were written to, but the majority of them objected to the publication of such documents. According to him, they are against their competitors viewing sections of the contracts which provide valuable information. On the other hand, others have asked for an extended period to grant permission.

“We have written the other concessionaries for mining and for forestry. Some of them have expressed their objections to the publications.

Some of them have said that they need further clarifications from their head offices. While they may not have given precise reasons on why they might have objected or asked for further time, a lot of it has to do with ‘if I have this, I don’t want my competitors to know’. That is what is proprietary,” he said.

As part of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), all contracts from the oil and mineral resources must be publicised to ensure transparency. But Trotman stated that while Guyana has gained member-

Natural Resources Raphael Trotman

Minister

ship, they are now working to establish a framework to adopt and implement the requirements.

“We are pushing to move this as fast as possible and so, we’re not in a position to compel it in the absence of a legislation…I’m pleased that we were able to attain membership and produce our report and would have representation at an upcoming summit,” the Minister relayed.

He recalled that the oil and gas contracts with ExxonMobil were released after the company’s senior counterpart granted permission.

“We did publish the oil and gas contracts. Each and every contract has a confidentiality clause in it that a government on its own cannot publish. For all of the oil and gas companies, we wrote them, telling them of Government’s intention to get their permission. They had to refer to their

principles and that permission was given.”

Last year, Government released the Production Sharing Agreement with ExxonMobil after pressure was mounted for it to be released, so that it could be properly scrutinised.

Upon the contract’s release, it was recognised that there is contained therein clauses for the company to put aside millions for local content, but is also granted sweeping tax concessions.

That contract was signed in June 2017 between the coalition Government and ExxonMobil and its partners in the Stabroek block.

In Article 15 of the contract, Exxon is exempted from paying Corporation, Excise or Value Added Tax a(VAT) on its earnings from petroleum.

Article 15.4 also provides for the Government itself to pay the company’s income tax. To facilitate this, the oil company has to submit tax returns to the Government.

That’s not all. Article 32 stipulates that Government cannot modify the contract or increase any fiscal obligation the company has. This therefore puts a cap on the taxes, royalties, duties, fees or charges outlined in the contract.

The Minister had promised that other contracts with other oil exploration companies would be released to the public.

Boeing cuts 737 MAX output in wake of 2 deadly crashes

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oeing Co said on Friday it plans to cut its monthly 737 aircraft production by nearly 20 per cent in the wake of two deadly crashes, signaling it does not expect aviation authorities to allow the plane back in the air anytime soon.

Deliveries of Boeing’s

best-selling aircraft were frozen after a global grounding of the narrowbody model following the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jet on March 10, killing all 157 people onboard.

Production will be cut to 42 airplanes per month from 52 starting mid-April,

the company said in a statement, without giving an end-date.

US and airline officials said they now believe the plane could be grounded for at least two months, but an even longer grounding is a serious possibility.

The crash in Ethiopia and the crash of a Lion

Air plane in Indonesia last October that killed all 189 people on board have left the world’s largest planemaker in crisis.

Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg said on Friday said the company now knows that a chain of events caused both disas-

ters, with erroneous activation of so-called MCAS anti-stall software “a common link” between the two.

Boeing said it would not reduce jobs at the new production rate and will work to minimize the financial impact.

The company’s board

will establish a committee to review how the company designs and develops airplanes, Muilenburg said.

The group will “recommend improvements to our policies and procedures” for its 737 MAX and other airplane programs. (Reuters)

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guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, APRIL 6, 2019

Regional

referendum: Belize Opposition US targets Cuba's oil supply ICJ parties granted injunction from Venezuela in new sanctions

US Vice President Mike Pence listens as President Donald Trump meets with Fabiana Rosales, wife of Venezuelan Opposition Leader Juan Guaidó, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, March 27, 2019

T

he United States on Friday targeted oil shipments from

Venezuela to Cuba in its latest round of sanctions to pressure the government of President Nicolás Maduro, aiming to choke off a crucial supply of crude to the Communist island.

The US Treasury imposed sanctions on 34 vessels owned or operated

by Venezuelan State-run oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, SA, or PDVSA , and also on two companies and a vessel that delivered oil to Cuba in February and March.

“Treasury is taking action against vessels and entities transporting oil, providing a lifeline to keep the illegitimate Maduro regime afloat,” said Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin in a statement.

“Cuba continues to profit from, and prop up, the illegitimate Maduro regime through oil-for-repression schemes as they attempt to keep Maduro in power.”

The latest round of US sanctions, announced earlier by Vice President Mike Pence in a speech in Houston, aim to further undermine Maduro’s Government after the United States and most Western nations recognised Opposition Leader Juan Guaidó as the rightful President of Venezuela.

Guaido invoked the Venezuelan Constitution to assume an interim presidency in January, arguing that Maduro’s 2018 re-election was illegitimate. (Reuters)

Turks and Caicos Cabinet reshuffle reveals power shift

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embers of the Opposition parties led by the People’s United Party (PUP) challenged the legality of how the International Court of Justice (ICJ) referendum will be processed before the Belize Supreme Court on April 3, 2019. The hearing concluded with Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin handing down his ruling in favour of the opposition parties and granting an injunction in relation to the imminent plebiscite.

Belize Prime Minister, Dean Barrow, is planning to appeal the Judge’s ruling to the Belize Court of Appeals. In opposition to this move, the PUP is calling on the Government of Belize to respect Chief Justice Benjamin’s ruling and postpone the date of April 10, 2019, when the referendum on taking the territorial dispute with Guatemala to the ICJ is scheduled to be decided.

The PUP, in a statement to local media, said that it was happy the Chief Justice ruled as he did because of the 2008 special agreement and the resulting referendum was not only illegal but it was also unconstitutional.

The PUP is insist-

Fossil of ancient 4-legged whale found in Peru

…with ministerial promotions and demotions

T

urks and Caicos Islands (TCI) Premier Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson is changing her portfolio for a second time this year. The first change for 2019 was announced by way of the TCI Gazette published on January 19, 2019.

In a statement to media on Thursday, the premier announced that she will be reshuffling her Cabinet after this year’s budget debate on May 8, 2019. According to the premier, the reshuffle is part of a commitment to implement a Cabinet rotation at the half term mark of her Administration.

The premier added that the new portfolio assignments and the reassignments of departments are sure to assist her Administration in delivering on their manifesto promises and list of priority flagship projects.

However, according to some members of the Opposition Progressive National Party (PNP), the Deputy Premier Sean Astwood was sidelined or demoted. When analysing the changes, it is apparent that Astwood was demoted, one local observer noted, as Immigration is viewed by all in the TCI as the second most powerful

ministry in the British territory after the ministry of finance.

Cartwright-Robinson’s release said Astwood “will leave behind his present Ministry of Border Control and Employment.

He will be moving to the Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing, Planning and Development”.

During his tenure as Immigration Minister Astwood introduced no new bills to deal with the Haitian migrant crisis that has currently engulfed the islands. Astwood is also the MP for Five Cays where most Haitian immigrants reside. (Excerpt from Caribbean News Now)

ing that the Government show respect for due process, including the system of Government, which has a clear separation of powers between the executive branches of the Government and the legislative, something that the PUP believes was not respected by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet.

The PUP also said that the issue is of national importance and thus the Government should remain compliant with the law. The PUP also noted that the ruling is a victory for the people and chided Barrow for “attacking the judiciary” at the news conference he held recently. (Excerpt from Caribbean News Now)

The newly discovered early whale lived about 43 million years ago

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he fossil of a 43-million-year-old whale with four legs, webbed feet and hooves has been discovered in Peru. Palaeontologists believe the marine mammal’s four-metre-long (13 feet) body was adapted to swim and walk on land.

With four limbs capable of carrying its weight and a powerful tail, the semi-aquatic whale has been compared to an otter

or a beaver. Researchers believe the discovery could shed light on the evolution of the whale and how it spread.

"This is the most complete specimen ever found for a four-legged whale outside of India and Pakistan," Dr Olivier Lambert, a scientist at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences and co-author of the study, said.

It was found in marine

sediments 1km (0.6 miles) inland from Peru's Pacific coast, at Playa Media Luna.

The location has piqued researchers' interest as the first whales are thought to have first evolved in South Asia around 50 million years ago.

As their bodies became better suited to water, they migrated further afield to North Africa and North America, where fossils have been found. The latest discovery suggests early whales managed to swim there from South America.

An international team of palaeontologists from Peru, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium excavated the fossil in 2011. They have named it Peregocetus pacificus, meaning "the travelling whale that reached the Pacific". (Excerpt from BBC News)

UN torture expert urges Ecuador Brazil textbooks 'to be not to expel Assange from embassy revised to deny 1964 coup'

A truck carrying a poster relating to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is driven away from the Ecuadorian embassy, where Julian Assange is staying, in London, Britain April 5, 2019

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he United Nations torture investigator called on Ecuador on Friday not to expel Wikileaks founder Julian Assange from its London

embassy, voicing concern that he could be extradited to the United States and possibly face mistreatment.

A British friend said

Assange was “prepared” for expulsion from the building he has lived in for nearly seven years, after Ecuador’s President Lenin Moreno said he had “repeatedly violated” the terms of his asylum.

Moreno told radio stations on Tuesday that Assange did not have the right to “hack private accounts or phones” and could not intervene in the politics of other countries, especially those with friendly relations with Ecuador.

Moreno made the comments after private photographs of him and his family were circulated on social media. Although Moreno stopped short of explicitly blaming Assange for the

leak, the government said it believed the photos were shared by WikiLeaks.

Nils Melzer, UN special rapporteur on torture, voiced concern that Assange’s health was in “serious decline” and that, if he were expelled, he was likely to be arrested

by British authorities and extradited to the United States.

“Such a response could expose him to a real risk of serious violations of his human rights, including his freedom of expression, his right to a fair trial and the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” he said. (Excerpt from Reuters)

B

razil's Education Minister Ricardo Vélez says school textbooks will be revised so that children are taught "a wider version of history".

Vélez denies that the 1964 military ousting of democratically elected President João Goulart was a coup.

He also refers to the 21 years of military rule which followed as "a democratic regime by force". His comments come days after far-right President Jair Bolsonaro announced the coup's anniversary would be celebrated.

Vélez told news magazine Valor Económico that school textbooks should "rescue the vision" of the events in 1964 so children could develop a "true and real idea" of what happened.

"Brazilian history shows that what happened on

March 31, 1964, was a sovereign decision by Brazilian society," he told Valor Económico [in Portuguese].

While President Goulart was deposed without blood being shed on the night of 31 March 1964, the 21 years of military rule which followed were marked by brutal repression and heavy censorship.

More than 400 people disappeared or were killed, and thousands more were detained and tortured before democracy was restored in 1985, according to the findings of a 2014 national truth commission.

Vélez described military rule as "a democratic regime by force which was necessary at the time" and said the toppling of President Goulart was "an institutional shift, not a coup against the Constitution at the time". (Excerpt from BBC News)

guyanatimesgy.com

saturDAY, APRIL 6, 2019

17

Around the World

Chhattisgarh: Maoists kill Indian Brexit: Government offers ‘no soldiers days before polls change’ to deal, says Labour

State Police and paramilitary forces have intensified operations as the Maoist rebels have threatened to boycott the elections [Alok

S

Putul/Al Jazeera]

uspected Maoist rebels have killed five paramilitary personnel in two separate attacks in India’s State of Chhattisgarh days before the region votes in general elections.

One soldier was killed on Friday in a gunfight in the forests of Salehghat in Dhamtari district, while four troops from the Border Security Force (BSF) were

killed in Kanker district on Thursday.

The attacks have raised security concerns before a scheduled election rally on Saturday by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Sundar Raj P told Al Jazeera that security forces started massive operation against the Maoists in the forests of Salehghat on Friday morn-

ing after getting a tip-off.

Tens of thousands of security forces have been deployed to defeat the Maoist rebels, who have waged a guerrilla war for decades against what they call expropriation of their resources.

State police and paramilitary forces have intensified operations as the Maoist rebels have threatened to boycott the elections. Voting will be held in three phases in the State - April 11, 18 and 23.

In a statement sent to Al Jazeera, the spokesman for Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee of the Maoists, Vikalp, has urged voters to boycott the polls.

“People are being misled by making excuses for development… The solution of the problems of public is not the election, the struggle is the only way. So, we have given a slogan for election boycott,” the statement said.

Shadow Brexit Secretary, Sir Keir Starmer

T

he Government has not proposed any changes to the PM’s Brexit deal during cross-party talks, said shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer.

Meetings have been taking place between Tory and Labour politicians to find a proposal to put to the Commons before an emer-

gency EU summit next week.

But Sir Keir said the Government was not “countenancing any change” on the wording of the existing plan.

Sir Keir said the Government’s approach was “disappointing”, and it would not consider any changes the “actual wording” of the political declaration. “Compromise requires change,” he said.

The UK is currently due to leave the EU on April 12 and, as yet, no withdrawal deal has been approved by MPs. Theresa May has written to European Council President Donald Tusk to request an extension to June 30.

But she said if the Commons agrees a deal in

time, the UK should be able to leave before European parliamentary elections on May 23.

In case no agreement has been reached by May 23, the Prime Minister has said the UK would prepare to field candidates in European parliamentary elections.

BBC Europe editor Katya Adler has been told by a senior EU source that European Council President Donald Tusk will propose a 12-month “flexible” extension to Brexit, with the option of cutting it short if the UK Parliament ratifies a deal.

But French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said on Friday that it was “premature” to consider another delay. (Excerpt from BBC News)

er laws that hinder reporters.

“Those with a pen in their hand should not feel a noose around their neck,” the British-Lebanese barrister told an event on the issue at a G7 meeting of Foreign Ministers in France.

More than 60 journalists were killed in 2018 according to Reporters Without Borders, more than half of them targeted deliberately, with the murder of Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi in particular drawing international condemnation.

Britain’s Foreign Minister, Jeremy Hunt, told the event that democratic states needed to make it “an international taboo of the highest order” to murder, arrest or detain journalists for doing their jobs.

Last year, Clooney joined the legal team rep-

resenting two Reuters journalists who were convicted under Myanmar’s official secrets act and sentenced to seven years in prison.

On Friday, she said only one in ten countries enjoyed a free press.

The legal panel, she added, could propose reforms of national laws that run counter to international standards, such as blasphemy legislation, and encourage Governments to give journalists more consular protection abroad. The proposals will not be legally binding.

While Khashoggi’s death sparked global outrage, human rights groups criticised the meek response of many Western capitals, many of which cited the importance of trade relations for not adopting a tougher stance with Saudi Arabia. (Excerpt from

Rights lawyer Amal Clooney “Deeply concerned” UN chief leaves leads push to protect journalists Libya as fears of new war loom

Tripoli-allied forces took 145 troops allied to the eastern forces and confiscated dozens of vehicles in the town of Zawiya [Hani Amara/

T

Reuters]

he United Nations chief, Antonio Guterres, said he is leaving Libya with “heavy heart and deep concern”, after holding a meeting with renegade General Khalifa Haftar who has ordered his troops to march to the capital.

Guterres had travelled to Libya this week to help organise a national reconciliation conference planned for later this month and

aimed at drawing a plan for delayed elections.

But in a surprise move on Thursday, Haftar ordered his self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) to advance towards the capital, raising fears of a renewed civil war.

According to Al-Arabiya TV, Haftar told Guterres at the meeting in the eastern city of Benghazi that his operation towards Tripoli will continue until “terrorism”

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

has been defeated.

Since the NATO-backed removal of long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been split between rival Governments in the west and east - the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli and the House of Representatives in Tobruk, respectively - and an array of militias fighting over power and oil fields.

Haftar’s LNA troops on Thursday captured the town of Gharyan, about 100km south of Tripoli, without a fight, putting them closer than ever before to militias allied to the GNA. The renegade General then ordered his forces to march on the capital, saying in an audio recording posted online: “We are coming Tripoli, we are coming.”

He also urged his forces to enter the city peacefully and only raise their weapons “in the face of those who seek injustice and prefer confrontation and fighting”.

Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney attends a news conference on media freedom as part of the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Dinard, France, April 5, 2019

I

nternational human rights lawyer Amal Clooney will help lead a British-Canadian push to defend journalists from attacks and restrictions around the world, Ministers said on Friday.

She was named co-chair of a legal panel that will draw up proposals to count-

Reuters)

Netanyahu falls behind in Israel polls Hundreds of thousands of Algerians but still holds path to stay in power P march for sweeping change (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

H

undreds of thousands of protesters demanding radical change marched through Algiers for a seventh successive Friday, as Algeria’s spy chief was reportedly fired in a further sign of high-level turbulence after the veteran President resigned.

The demonstrators are pushing for the removal of what they see as an outdated and opaque political apparatus, built around the ruling party, army officers, businessmen, unions and veterans of a 1954-62 independence war against France.

The intelligence chief,

retired army General Athmane Tartag, was a close ally of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who quit on Tuesday under pressure from the army.

The military said it was acting in the national interest after weeks of largely peaceful anti-Government demonstrations.

Bouteflika’s departure has not eased tensions despite the appointment of a caretaker Government which will stay in office until elections in three months’ time.

This Friday, protesters pushed for the removal of Prime Minister Nouredine

Bedoui, upper house of Parliament Chairman Abdelkader Bensalah, and Head of the constitutional council, Tayeb Belaiz — all seen as establishment figures.

Protesters want to remove any traces of the old guard and introduce sweeping democratic reforms.

But no clear successor to Bouteflika has yet emerged and Algeria’s opposition is fragmented.

The uncertainty means the army is likely to continue playing its role as kingmaker with little resistance, guiding the sensitive transition process. (Excerpt from Reuters)

rime Minister B e n j a m i n Netanyahu has fallen behind his main challenger in opinion polls ahead of next week’s Israeli election but still has an easier path to form a Government that would keep him in power for a record fifth term.

Netanyahu, who has dominated Israeli politics for a generation, is fighting for his political survival against former top General Benny Gantz, a political novice.

The outcome is unlikely to be decided on Election Day, when voters cast ballots for party lists. No par-

ty has ever won an outright majority in the 120-seat Parliament, meaning days or even weeks of coalition negotiations will lie ahead.

And looming criminal indictments against Netanyahu, who has denied any wrongdoing in three cases of alleged bribery and fraud, could cloud his political future and that of any Government he might head, possibly leading to a new election.

On Friday, the last day polling is allowed, Gantz’s centrist Blue and White party was projected to take 30 seats, more than the 26 forecast for Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud, accord-

ing to a poll in Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

But the poll also projected a combined total of 63 seats for the parties in Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc, a slim but workable majority.

In the final stretch of the campaign, Netanyahu cautioned his right-wing supporters against over-confidence: “It’s a close race between right and left,” he told Israel Radio on Thursday.

Gantz appeared invigorated by the polling numbers on Friday, telling his backers they were “a few metres away from victory”.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

SATURDAY, APRIL 6, 2019

ARCHIE

ARIES (March 21April 19)

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

dilbert

Someone will mislead you about his or her feelings or a joint money venture.

Don’t feel the need to make a hasty decision. Gather the facts first.

CANCER

Mix business with pleasure to come out a winner.

The points you make with colleagues and a partner or loved one will make your life easier. Romance is highlighted.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Calvin and Hobbes

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

SUDOKU TODAY’S WORD — BINAURAL (BINAURAL: bye-NOR-ul: Having or relating to two ears.)

talus thus tush halt haul hula alas

alms alum amah asthma atlas lama

lash last lath lush lust malt mash

mast math maul mush must salt shalt

sham shut slam slat slum smalt smut

You can make a change that will improve your personal life and future. An educational pursuit, trip or serious communication regarding a lifestyle change looks promising.

Don’t limit what you can do. Take care of responsibilities early and move on to something that you find personally gratifying. Fitness, proper diet and a little relaxation are encouraged.

Don’t limit what you can do. Take care of responsibilities early and move on to something that you find personally gratifying. Fitness, proper diet and a little relaxation are encouraged.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21)

Take a look at the possibilities, but don’t let someone talk you into something that is costly or unhealthy.

Home and personal improvements should be your priorities.

Time limit 35 minutes

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

YESTERDAY’S WORD — THALAMUS

Stubbornness will not help you solve a problem or get ahead. Be willing to compromise or work alongside others to get things done on time. Do your best and avoid controversy.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

Average mark 20 words

Can you find 29 or more words in BINAURAL? The list will be published tomorrow.

Remain cool and take a wait-and-see approach when dealing with personal matters. Keep moderation in mind if celebrating or hanging out with indulgent friends.

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

(June 21July 22)

Peanuts

Take a close look at what others are doing and learn from what you see. If you expand your mind, interests and goals, you’ll be one step closer to achieving your dreams.

solution for LAST PUBLISHED puzzle AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

Consider your current situation and contemplate the changes that will lead to a better life. You may not please everyone, but this time you must put yourself first.

Keep busy. The more active you are, the less time you will have to fret over what everyone else is doing.

Don’t make comparisons.

Do what’s best for you.

Don’t let anyone draw you into something you don’t want to do. Focus on a creative outlet that eases stress and encourages you to grow emotionally and spiritually.

saturday, APRIL 6, 2019

19

VIVO IPL Edition 12…

Russell’s 48* off 13 stuns RCB to keep them winless

A

ndre Russell produced fourth consecutive devastating innings, clubbing an unbeaten 13-ball 48 as Kolkata Knight Riders chased a steep total with five balls to spare. Chasing 206, Knight Riders needed 66 off 24 at one point, and then 53 off 18 with Russell having faced two balls.

From there, Royal Challengers Bangalore used four bowlers Mohammed Siraj was suspended halfway through the 18th for a second beamer - all of whom were pumped to various corners of the ground by Russell who needed only eight scoring shots to score 46 of the 53 r e -

run stand with AB de Villiers seemed to have set up a win they desperately needed, having come into the game with four consecutive losses. The result told a familiar story - a long-standing deficit of quality death bowling, even on a night where they had seven bowling options.

him for boundaries off alternate balls around the ground - one from outside off to the square leg boundary, one past point, and a slightly straighter ball past the non-striker.

AB de Villiers and Virat Kholi

How Russell did it

Siraj had had a night to forget even before he was handed the ball for the 18th over. He had put down two catches - Chris Lynn and Nitish Rana’s and had bowled a beamer that was hit for six. With 53 required off 18, he started with two dot balls, fizzing past Russell’s outside edge on both occasions.

But just when he seemed to have redeemed himself, he bowled a bouncer that was called wide. From there, Royal Challengers lost control altogether.

His next ball, the quired. beamer that got It particuhim suspended, larly soured the was slapped for night for Royal six. The ensuChallengers ing free-hit, captain Virat mercilessK o h l i , ly handed whose 84 to Marcus and a Stoinis 108who had to complete t h e Andre Russell over,

also went for six. And so did the next ball. Twentythree came off that over.

Tim Southee, brought in place of Umesh Yadav, and with a reputation for tight death-overs bowling, seemed to be switching between many ideas.

He bowled from both over and around, tried slower balls, short lengths, full lengths - pretty much all that’s there - and was carted for four sixes and a four.

Russell had managed to get 28 off that over, and 47 off his last nine balls.

Knight Riders needed only a run off the last over.

How Knight Riders kept it alive

They lost Sunil Narine early, but Knight Riders’ top-order batsmen made use of the favourable batting conditions. Lynn finally hit form - and the roof, a couple of times -

and put on a crucial 65 with a free-flowing Robin Uthappa. Rana then kept the wheels moving even though the spinners slowed Knight Riders down in the middle overs. Together, Yuzvendra Chahal and Pawan Negi had figures of 7.1-0-45-3. But Negi was not bowled out, and Moeen Ali, the seventh bowling option that Kohli had said during the toss gave him comfort as a captain, was not used.

Earlier…

Kohli had said at the toss that his team was looking to enjoy the game again rather than desperately chase outcomes. It showed, at the very least, in his game. Kohli began the evening with two cover drives, the first one as perfect as cover drives come.

Then, he toyed with Lockie Ferguson, hitting

KKR create the chances but don’t take them Rana had dismissed Kohli and de Villiers off consecutive deliveries last season, and he nearly got Kohli first ball on Friday. Kohli’s mistimed flick was an easy grab for Sunil Narine at midwicket, but he was too late to react and let it straight through. This was in the eighth over, when Knight Riders’ spinners had begun pulling things back after the Powerplay. Rana got Parthiv in that over, but the drop proved to be costly.

De Villiers was also put down, in the 12th over off Kuldeep Yadav. The batsman was on 11 off 11 at the time and seemed not to be picking the spinners. The last time he was dropped, against Mumbai Indians for 0, he made 70. On Friday, he added 52 more.

Old forces reunite

With the chances put down and the settling done, Kohli and de Villiers didn’t hold back.

De Villiers found a way against the spinners, get-

3

SCOREBOARD

Royal Challengers Bangalore Innings (20 overs maximum) PA Patel † lbw b Rana 25 V Kohli (c) c & b Kuldeep Yadav 84 AB de Villiers c Shubman Gill b Narine 63 MP Stoinis not out 28 MM Ali not out 0 Extras (lb 1, w 4) 5 TOTAL (20 Overs, RR: 10.25) 205-3 Did not bat: AD Nath, P Negi, NA Saini, TG Southee, YS Chahal, Mohammed Siraj Fall of wickets: 1-64 (PA Patel, 7.5 ov), 2-172 (V Kohli, 17.1 ov), 3-185 (AB de Villiers, 18.5 ov) BOWLING M Krishna (3-0-41-0) PP Chawla (4-0-32-0) SP Narine (4-0-30-1) LH Ferguson (2-0-32-0) K Yadav (4-0-31-1) N Rana (2-0-22-1) AD Russell (1-0-16-0) Kolkata Knight Riders Innings (target: 206 runs from 20

ting deep in the crease and slapping all his boundaries against them over extra cover. Kohli was truer to his style - only eight boundaries and two sixes in his 84 - and, together, they were the relentless force that gives Royal Challengers the batting reputation that they have.

Royal Challengers made 94 runs between overs 10 and 17, and the pair had put on 108 in 56 balls before Kohli drilled one straight back to Kuldeep. In the middle of that phase, Knight Riders

overs) CA Lynn b Negi 43 SP Narine c Negi b Saini 10 RV Uthappa c Southee b Negi 33 N Rana c sub (H Klaasen) b Chahal 37 KD Karthik (c) † c Chahal b Saini 19 AD Russell not out 48 Shubman Gill not out 3 Extras (lb 2, nb 3, w 8) 13 TOTAL (19.1 Overs, RR: 10.74) 206-5 Yet to bat: PP Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, M Prasidh Krishna, LH Ferguson Fall of wickets: 1-28 (SP Narine, 1.5 ov), 2-93 (RV Uthappa, 9.5 ov), 3-108 (CA Lynn, 11.3 ov), 4-139 (N Rana, 15.4 ov), 5-153 (KD Karthik, 16.6 ov) BOWLING TG Southee (4-0-61-0) NA Saini (4-0-34-2) YS Chahal (4-0-24-1) M Siraj (2.2-0-36-0) P Negi (3.1-0-21-2) MP Stoinis (1.4-0-28-0)

seemed to have no answers; Russell’s only over, the 14th of the innings, was de Villiers’ launching pad, where he hit his first two sixes. The very next over Karthik took a gamble by giving Rana a second over. Eighteen came off that. Before Knight Riders could breathe which they did briefly at the end with spin stifling Royal Challengers - the home team had grabbed the advantage. Little did they know it would desert them so close to a victory.

(ESPN cricinfo)

Liverpool made to sweat before cool Mohamed Salah eases title nerves

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f this is to be Liverpool’s year then it may actually prove to have been an underlying resilience and ability to bounce back from set-backs within games, rather than a dazzling forward line or stingy defence, that sees them home. They were rarely at their best on the south coast but, confronted by awkward opponents forcing themselves clear of trouble near the foot, they still prevailed to move two points clear. It is nights like these which can make the difference.

Not that the visitors’ ability to recover from a deficit to move back ahead of Manchester City in this hypnotic title race should have come as a surprise. Liverpool had conceded first to Burnley recently, and again at Bayern Munich in the Champions League. They had cracked to suffer potentially damaging equalisers to Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur.

Yet each time they had found a way to win.

This, courtesy of Mohamed Salah’s first goal since mid-February and Jordan Henderson in the last 10 minutes of a frenetic occasion, would be no different. The latter’s had been his first of the campaign, slid in from close-range from Roberto Firmino’s low centre to leave Jürgen Klopp hopping in delight on the sidelines.

His team refuse to blink first in this

Mohamed Salah is mobbed by his Liverpool teammates after running from the halfway line to score his side’s crucial second goal at Southampton

tussle at the top. Emerging from contests this tight will only pep belief that the long wait is almost over.

This had been played at breakneck pace from the outset, a duel to savour even with the clubs’ contrasting priorities at opposite ends of the table. Southampton, rather than soaking up their opponents’ possession and clogging up the final third, had been impressively enterprising in their eager bursts up field.

Liverpool, initially winded by the aggression of their hosts’ start, had taken time to recover their poise but, in the slickness of their own approach play, spread anxiety with every foray into enemy territory.

They had departed at the interval apparently in the ascendancy having

recovered the deficit shipped early on.

Klopp’s side had struggled horribly to cope with Southampton’s intensity in those breathless initial exchanges, as Ryan Bertrand and Nathan Redmond tore down the left flank and Yan Valery mirrored their ambition down the right. Liverpool had been dizzied by the flurry of openings that aggression yielded, and had duly trailed from the ninth minute to another source of eager running.

Shane Long is never prolific these days, but the goal the Irishman prodded here from the edge of the sixyard box had completed an unlikely half-century in the Premier League.

His reward was born of Bertrand’s cross from deep, arced over an uncertain Joel Matip for an untracked

Pierre-Emile Hjøjbjerg to flick on beyond Virgil van Dijk’s jump. There loitered Long, with Andrew Robertson distracted by James Ward-Prowse’s run and Naby Keita slow to react, to collect and convert only a second league .

Southampton had gone over five hours of football against these opponents without netting – Sadio Mané had actually been their last scorer in this fixture, three years ago – and even threatened to make further inroads while Liverpool were gripped by panic. Alisson’s self-destructive eagerness to play short did them no favours.

Yet, by surviving that near-miss, Klopp’s team seemed to steel themselves to rise to the challenge. Mané should have drawn them level, forcing Angus Gunn into a fine instinctive save to his left as the Senegalese met Mohamed Salah’s centre. Naby Keita, who had played for Ralph Hasenhüttl at Red Bull Leipzig, clipped the outside of the post from the rebound, but he would not be denied his first Liverpool goal for long.

Southampton had heaved but failed to clear their lines nine minutes from the break but, when AlexanderArnold summoned a fine centre, there was the midfielder to nod through Gunn’s attempt to save down at the foot of his upright, the ball bouncing in over his outstretched arm.

The home side could bemoan the failure of an assistant referee to notice Salah marginally offside earlier in the move, though their marking, like that of Liverpool earlier in the piece, had left much to be desired.

The sloppiness actually added to the drama, with the ball surrendered far too readily in midfield by both teams and neither side able to exert any kind of control on a frantic contest. Maya Yoshida might have conceded a penalty after sliding in rashly and making contact with Keita as he bustled alone into the box – the ball may have run away from the though the centre-half would subsequently summon a fine block to suffocate Firmino’s close-range volley.

That reflected the shift in momentum as Liverpool frantically pursued a winner to set them apart at the top, though there was a certain irony that, when they did eventually force themselves ahead, the lead was secured on the counterattack. Twice Southampton had flung crosses into the box, the first from a corner, before the substitute Jordan Henderson headed clear and Salah gathered inside his own half. The Egyptian charged up field in possession, sprinting mercilessly at a back-tracking Bertrand,, before spurning the chance to supply Firmino and, instead, fizzing his shot into the corner of Gunn’s net. (The Guardian)

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GUYANATIMESgy.COM

saturday, APRIL 6, 2019

2018/2019 NBS 40-Overs 2nd Division Tournament…

Everest, GCC battle for top honours today

By Timothy Jaikarran

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Dwayne Adams and Devon Lord will duke it out in today’s final at DCC

he highly anticipated New Building Society (NBS) 2018/2019 Forty-overs’ Second Division tournament will culminate under lights, with the final fixture slated between Everest Cricket Club (ECC) and the Georgetown Cricket Club (ECC) at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) today from 14:30 hrs.

In the first semifinal, GCC battled MYO in a thriller that went down to the wire; while in the second semifinal, Everest defeated the in-form Police by 56 runs.

While both teams

have had a different story on their way to the finals, they will definitely be putting on a show when they lock horns. In an interview with Guyana Times Sport, captain of the Everest Cricket Club, Dwayne Adams, said, “We are very confident. After losing the first two games, we knew that we had to win the rest of the games. As such, we played our hearts out and won the rest of the games. For the finals, we will be giving our all despite not being able to make a finals for many years.

“This is our first limited over finals, and the first thing that is different is that the team is being led by a new captain, who will listen to the advice of others in benefit of the team. Basically, our team

is boosted by the variety of national players we have. One such is Amir Khan,” Adams said Also speaking to this publication was caption of the GCC side, Devon Lord, who said, “I feel pretty confident in my guys, no nervous energy. I know my players are going to show up on the day, and do their job. In terms of the team and fine tuning, everybody is perfect in the world, there is always room for improvement, like in the semifinal; but coming into the nets this week, we have been practising our game plan coming down to the back end of the game.”

Lord also said that despite Everest boasting many national players, GCC will

take the current situation as an advantage, since this is Everest’s first limited overs finals in a long time. He also related that despite the results, GCC will not underestimate their opponents, but will give their best and play as a team when they hit the field.

For Everest, they must be prepared and come to execute their plans, since nerves will be a key factor for the team in their matchup. Every player on the team must know their role, and back themselves if they are to take the finals.

GCC, who are no strangers to limited overs’ finals, will have their work cut out for them, since they are battling a team that everyone counted out from the tournament in the beginning.

Rashid, Nabi criticise captaincy Promoters excited change ahead of World Cup for final showdown Jumbo Jet Triple Crown…

T

T

he Jumbo Jet Thoroughbred Racing Committee (JJTRC) will complete the first Triple Crown horse racing event to be contested in Guyana on Easter Sunday (April 21) at the Port Mourant Turf Club in Corentyne, Berbice and the promoters of the event, in a release to Kaieteur Sport, has noted that they are as excited as the fans with the anticipated intense matchups to come.

The Triple Crown race promotion provides a bonus of $500,000 for whichever horse can complete three consecutive victories and come this Easter, the mare Valentina, in the threeyear-old Guyana Bred category, will be the only animal in the running for the Triple Crown bonus.

More importantly, a re-

match between Lucky Star; the unprecedented winner of the second leg’s feature race, which was jockeyed by 18-year-old sensation Marvin Appadu, and the Vera’s Finally of the Jumbo Jet Racing Stables will be event for the turfites.

Storm Bird that usually storms to the front but fades away in the final furlong will be a serious threat to the $1million winning purse for that C Class and lower feature race, if the thoroughbred can maintain its blistering pace.

A release from the organisers of the event revealed some exciting news of additional work being done on the Port Mourant Turf Club track inclusive of the construction of a shoot to start the one mile race. The document read,

“This way the horses will have a level and exact one mile start. The start of the seven & 3/4 furlongs race was usually used for the one-miler before due to the fact the mile was on the turn and a race can start on a turn.”

The feature race on Easter Sunday will attract a total prize purse amounting to almost $2million with the winner of that C Class and lower race pocketing $1million.

The winner of the threeyear-old Guyana bred race which Valentina will be looking to complete her triple crown in, will pocket $400,000, the F Class winner; $350,000, H Class; $300,000, I Class; $250,000, J class; $230,000, K Class; $220,000, L Class; $200,000, L Class and lower; $140,000.

The Afghanistan players, including Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi don their maiden Test caps

he biggest names in Afghanistan cricket globally, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan, have taken to Twitter to oppose the captaincy changes of their side, saying the timing was not correct, with the World Cup just around the corner.

This was in response to the Afghanistan Cricket Board removing Asghar Afghan as the captain from all three formats, naming Rahmat Shah (Test), Gulbadin Naib (ODI) and Rashid (T20I) as the new leaders.

Nabi tweeted in support of Afghan, saying the team had “gelled really well” un-

der the veteran, who had taken over the reins from Nabi, and Rashid called the decision was “irresponsible and biased”.

Rashid, named captain of the T20I side and vice-captain to Naib for ODIs, was even more scathing in its criticism.

“With all the respect to the Selection Committee, I strongly disagree with the decision as it is irresponsible & bias,” he tweeted.

“As we have @cricketworldcup in front of us, Captain #MAsgharAfghan should remain as our team Captain.

His captaincy is highly instrumental for team success. With just months to go

for such a mega event like World Cup, changing the captain will cause uncertainty and also team morale will be affected. @ashrafghani @ afgexecutive @hmohib.”

The reason given by ACB chairman Azizullah Fazli for the change in captaincy ahead of the World Cup was to “introduce change in leadership” in order to compete better against nine Full Members in the global tournament.

The change in captaincy is the latest in a series of moves involving the highest levels of the ACB, which - given the senior positions involved - have raised suspicions of interference from outside cricket. A few months ago, the entire top brass of ACB, including the chairman Atif Mashal and CEO Shafiqullah Stanikzai were removed from their posts suddenly, and Azizullah Fazli was given total powers as the board chairman.

The removal of Stanikzai was especially surprising as he had led the management since 2014, and oversaw a period of great success for the national team, including Afghanistan earning Full Member status in 2017. (ESPN cricinfo)

Duke’s Williamson named AP Player-of-the-Year

D

uke freshman forward Zion Williamson was named the Associated Press Player-of-the-Year on Friday.

He received 59 of the possible 64 votes in winning the award.

Williamson, who was also a unanimous selection to the 2019 college basketball All-America team on Tuesday, averaged 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.8 blocks per game.

His 68 percent shooting from the field was second nationally.

Williamson is projected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, though he has yet to officially commit to going pro.

The Blue Devils lost t o

Michigan State in the Elite Eight, despite being the overall top seed.

Zion Williamson

guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, APRIL 6, 2019

21

Guyana’s debut CONCACAF U-17 Boys’ Squad shaped by CSEC dates – GFF

T

he selection process for Guyana’s first appearance at the CONCACAF U-17 Championship for boys in May has been decided according to the availability of eligible players sitting CSEC exams this year, GFF Technical Director Ian Greenwood said on Friday.

Scheduling for the tournament has meant that participating Caribbean Football Union (CFU) nations have had to factor in study commitments and exam timetables as part of their tournament planning and squad preparation.

Players selected for a preliminary U-17 squad are currently preparing for the tournament with

at least five training sessions per week at the GFF National Training Centre in

Providence, under the guidance of GFF coaching staff.

The final squad will be an-

nounced on 15 April.

“The GFF is committed to ensuring our young players

focus on their education as a priority. We have worked closely with parents and put contingency measures in place to prepare the best talent available to us for our debut at this CONCACAF U-17 Championship,” said Greenwood. “Some of our more experienced U-17 players will be absent from the tournament or unavailable for certain matches.”

The CONCACAF U-17 Championship takes place between May 1st and 16th at the IMG Academy in Florida. Guyana is drawn in Group ‘G’ with Honduras, Haiti and El Salvador. The top four placed teams from a total of 20 participating countries will qualify for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World

Cup in Brazil. Guyana’s U-17 boys are ranked at a record high 18th out of 41 CONCACAF nations.

“We have competed at CFU level before, but this is the first time boys from Guyana will compete at CONCACAF level in this age group. We are extremely confident our players will make the nation proud, by giving their all in what is a tough group,” Greenwood said. “After our success at the U-15 SOULIGA Cup in 2017, this regional U-17 tournament is a big opportunity for players nurtured through the GFF’s Academy Training Centre system to continue their development within our national pathway.” (GFF)

GCS supports athletes bound for CARIFTA Games

By Timothy Jaikarran

A

thletes bound for the Junior CARIFTA Games 2019, to be held in the Grand Cayman Islands, have received a timely boost from the Guyana Committee of Services (GCS), a non-prof-

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it, non-governmental organisation.

This organisation has set out to support the nine participating athletes as they prepare for the games, scheduled from April 2022.

The GCS was formed in 2016, and started its first project to assist Guyanese boxer Clive Atwell when he was in need of major surgery at the sum of 5 million dollars.

From then, the GCS has gone on to assist other sportsmen and sporting-related activities in its threeyear tenure.

The committee consists of Chairman Eugene Noel, and popular comedians Linden ‘Jumbie’ Jones and Rajan Tiwari as the Vice Chairman and Public Relations Officer respectively. According to Jones, “In 2018, we launched training camps in Berbice and Linden, donated sports

Members of the GCS pose with the watches for the athletes and DVDS that will be sold to raise funds

gears to Bartica, and hosted a concert to raise funds. We have recorded the concert, and are selling it for $500 in front of Payless Variety Store today from 10:00 hrs to 17:00 hrs. The money raised will go towards the 17 athletes participating in the games. Besides the Junior CARIFTA, we have

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because of sponsors such as Star Party Rentals, ANSA McAL and Banks DIH, Payless Variety Store, E-Networks and many others that the organization is able to achieve greatness.

The full list of qualified athletes, along with their club and event, is as follows.

Milwaukee Bucks top Eastern Conference after beating Philadelphia 76ers

property for sale

SPIRITUALITY

been assisting other sportsmen and women. Once we see the need, we come forward and make our presence felt.”

Jones further relayed that GCS is very passionate about what it is doing as it sees a need for the development of athletes in Guyana. He also said it is

Females: Brianna Charles – Running Brave (100m), Deshana Skeete – Christianburg-Wismar Secondary School (CWSS) (200m), Keliza Smith – Running Brave (400m), Adriel Austin – Running Brave (800m), Shaquka Tyrell – CWSS (800, 1500m), Princess Browne – Running Brave (triple jump), Jahaziah Copeland – Upper Dem (shot put), and Anisha Gibbons – Ruralites (Javelin) Males: Osrick Pellew – Ruralite (100m), Loneil Marks – Hopetown Flames (100, 200m), Osa Blair – Police (100m), Daniel Williams – Upper Dem (200m), Cordell Charles – SUR (1500m), Daniel Melville – Police (800m), Matthew Gordon – Hopetown Flames (3000m), Melon Lowenfield – GDF (High Jump), and Tremaine Browne – CWSS (Long Jump).

M

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 45 points in a stunning individual display

ilwaukee Bucks ensured they would finish as Eastern Conference top seeds for the first time since 1974 with a 128-122 win over Philadelphia 76ers.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 45 points as the Bucks ensured they would have home court advantage in the play-offs.

“It’s been a really special

year,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “I’m very proud of the team.”

Golden State Warriors boosted hope of finishing top in the Western Conference by beating Los Angeles Lakers 108-90.

Golden State improved to 54 wins and 24 losses with four regular season games left and boast a two-game lead over Denver

Nuggets.

All eight Western Conference spots are filled, leaving just the finishing order to be determined.

In the Eastern conference meanwhile, the Bucks have 59 wins and now have three matches to get to 60 regular season wins for just the fifth time in franchise history.

Their latest success saw them take the final quarter 46-36 to overcome Philadelphia, with Antetokounmpo strengthening his claim to win the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award.

His haul of 45 points and 13 rebounds means he has 25 points or more and 10 rebounds or more in a game 42 times this season.

Budenholzer added: “It’s a special performance from him. It felt like a statement.

He’s an MVP in our eyes.

“We didn’t play our best but had a couple of guys catch fire.

“Any time you can have home court in the play-offs it’s a great thing.” (BBC Sport)

DeAbreau reps Guyana at Pan Am Archery

G

Wayne DeAbreau

uyanese Archer Wayne Gerald DeAbreu is currently in Chile participating in the Lima 2019 Pan Am Games.

The Chilean Archery

Federation is currently hosting the final qualification tournament for the Lima 2019 Pan American Games as part of the V-World Archery Ranking Tournament in Santiago de Chile, Chile.

On Tuesday, the 72 Arrows Ranking Round saw the Guyanese Archer securing position 32 after shooting a score of 594.

On Wednesday, he went up against Bolivia and lost, but against Barbados on Thursday, he won. His next match-up is against Ecuador.

22

saturday, APRIL 6, 2019

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

Only a glimpse of greatness shown by Guyana ladies ─ finished in 4th position in both tournaments

By Brandon Corlette

T

he Cricket West Indies (CWI) Regional Women’s tournaments took place in Guyana, and Barbados reigned supreme in both the Super50 and T20 Blaze tournaments. Team Guyana failed to capitalise on home conditions, and finished in fourth position in both tournaments.

In the Super50, Guyana finished with 10 points behind Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica. The T20 Blaze tournament saw Guyana finish with 9 points behind the same teams. However, Guyana won three matches in the T20 tournament, in contrast with two wins in the Super50.

The monumental win was against Jamaica.

Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago finished the T20 Blaze with 9 points each, but net-run rate favoured the other teams.

Erva Giddings was the standout performer in both tournaments, along with Guyana’s captain Shemaine Campbelle, who led the batting charts in both tournaments.

From the Super50 tournament, Campbelle scored 211 runs in five matches, while she amassed 165 runs in the five T20 Blaze matches.

Campbelle’s 165 runs came at an average of 41.25, striking at 102.48 with a high score of 77*, as she looked a class apart from her Guyanese team mates with the bat. Her fellow Berbician, Giddings, was the best fast bowler in the Caribbean, topping the fast-

Erva Giddings was the best fast bowler in both tournaments

bowlers’ charts with 10 wickets.

In the T20 Blaze tournament, Tre m ay n e Smartt was the only other batter to surpass 100+ runs in the tournament.

Known for her impressive fast bowling, Smartt proved her prowess with the bat by scoring 128 runs in the T20 Blaze, opening the batting and averaged 25.60, with a high score of 44.

Sheneta Grimmond followed in the Guyanese batting charts in the T20 Blaze tournaments with 63 runs at a poor average of 12.60 for any batswoman at the top of the order. Cherry Ann Fraser, who floated in the middle-lower order, scored 53 runs, while her fellow under-19 player Shabika Gajnabi

Team Guyana

Shemaine Campbelle had the most runs in both tournaments for Guyana

s co re d 46 runs.

O n e of the many players with a poor tournament,

Melanie Henry, had only 28 runs in four innings. Akaze Thompson, who scored a century in the inter-county, struggled with the bat in the Regional tournament, scoring only 23 runs in five innings.

Giddings showed why she deserves another chance at Windies level. She followed up her 10 wickets in the Super50 with another 10 scalp, and had ‘player of the match’ performances in Guyana’s

wins. The left-arm seamer Giddings had an unbelievable bowling average of 7.9 and a brilliant economy rate of 4.65.

Sheneta Grimmond got the important breakthrough on various occasions. She finished with 7 wickets at an average of 12.43 and a good economy rate of 4.83 in the T20 Blaze. Akaze Thompson, who bowls right arm medium, had six wickets at a bowling average of 13.67 and an economy rate of 5.53.

Plaffiana Millington (4) and Mandy Mangru (3) rounded off the bowling department for the Guyanese in the T20 Blaze tournaments.

These tournaments that were played would assist in selecting players to play in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s championships.

Windies women will play Ireland Women in May, then they will play England Women in June, 2019.

NSC supports GAPLF, NCSS who related that the Federation is grateful to the NSC for the donation as it will assist in bolstering their team.

The New Campbeville Secondary School’s Head Mistress Gayle Archer was the recipient of a cheque valued at $1,000,000 on behalf of the school. That will assist in the upcoming Penn’s Relays which will feature a contingent out of Fort Wellington, Guyana Technical Institute and The New Campbeville Secondary School, representing Guyana.

Coach of the Campbeville Secondary School Christopher Gaskin said, “The team being sent is

comprised of eight males and nine girls, they are expected to leave on April 21 and return April 30.

In general we expect great performance as we have done it in the first phase and is expected to do such in the upcoming games.”

The NSC financial assistance given for the month of March was to Alque Stanley, who was given $400,000 towards his tuition in pursuit of his degree at GC Foster College of Physical Education.

Clive Atwell of the Donald Allison Ricola Gym was given $300,000 to participate in the Goodwill boxing competition in Dominica.

CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield 2019…

Headmistress of NCSS receives a cheque from the Director of Sport, Christopher Jones

By Timothy Jaikarran

T

T

he National Sports Commission (NSC) at a simple press conference, on Friday at its headquarters on Homestretch Avenue donated a tidy sum to the Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation (GAPLF) and the New Campbeville Secondary School (NCSS).

Present at the simple ceremony was Director of Sports Christopher Jones who said, “We’ve received requests from various organizations and federations for the athletes to compete in Sweden for the World Classic Powerlifting Championships and in the United States for the Penn Relay 2019.”

Receiving a cheque valued $900,000 was committee member of the GAPLF David Gomes

Fruta Conquerors narrowly lose in opener

Committe Member of the GAPLF David Gomes receives a cheque from Director of Sport, Christopher Jones

he second edition of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield began today with Guyana’s Fruta Conquerors taking on Scholars International Sports Club of Cayman Islands in the opening match at the Ergilio Hato Stadium in Curacao.

Their Group ‘A’ clash was the first of three matches scheduled for the same venue, while the other two matches to complete the day’s quota were to be run simultaneously at the Dr Antoine Maduro Stadium. Unfortunately, Fruta Conquerors were defeated 2-1 by Scholars International.

Fruta Conquerors take on Curacao’s Jong Holland on April 7th at the same venue, which is

home to Jong Holland. The match is scheduled to kick off at 20:00 hrs.

Two days later, April 9, Conquerors are fixed to battle the Cubans, Santiago de Cuba, from 17:30 hrs at the Dr Antoine Maduro Stadium.

If the Conquerors are successful and manage to find a way out of Group ‘A’, the quarterfinals are slated for April 11, with the semifinals and final billed for April 13 and 15th respectively.

The winner of the Caribbean Shield will have opportunity to face the fourth-place finisher of the 2019 Flow CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship in a playoff match to determine the fourth Caribbean representative in the 2019 Scotiabank CONCACAF League.

guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, APRIL 6, 2019

23

GCB will abide by court order, says Sanasie I t is currently an eventful period in Guyana’s cricket following the ruling made

by Madam Justice Fidela Corbin that the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) is illegal and the appointment of Cricket Ombudsman Stephen Lewis is illegal.

Confirmation of this ruling was made by attorney Arudranauth Gossai. He said this turn of events came about because the last GCB elections were deemed illegal.

Sharing his sentiments in an exclusive interview with this daily publication, Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) secretary Anand Sanasie had this to say: “For the (Guyana) Cricket Board to move forward, we need to have the facts straight.

To the extent that we know there is a court order, we will comply, and obviously appeal whatever decision isn’t in our favour”.

Speaking on the cricket Ombudsman situation, Sanasie said the appointment of the

Ombudsman was conducted

by Minister George Norton on March 12, 2019, and Stephen Lewis’s appointment is not illegal as far as Sanasie is concerned. Earlier, it was revealed that the GCB elections should be done by January 26, 2020.

“The Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) and Mr Roger Harper of Georgetown, they’ve had court orders; but we ensure that the cricket is played, but we can only play within the regulations, we will not breach any court order,” Sanasie revealed.

He added that the GCB had always shown their interest in cricket, regardless of what’s going on in court.

“However, I would like to state that the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) has not put forward any cricket team to participate in any youth competition of the GCB for the past six years. The people that filed the court action should be responsible

Stephen Lewis

GCB Secretary Anand Sanasie

for this situation, not the GCB.” Those were the exact words of Sanasie.

“We will abide by any court decision. We will use the court system and any available means to do what we have to do in a legal and legitimate way”, Sanasie disclosed.

He said the GCB would look forward for the ombudsman to be allowed to verify the plots across Guyana, “and we look forward for every cricket organisation and cricket club

from every county board to legitimately have the elections”.

The decision made by the court will affect all cricket in the country, he acknowledged. Its effect was seen when the Under-17 InterCounty tournament that was scheduled for Saturday, April 5, 2019 was postponed. One reason why this occurred was because the sponsors for the Under-17 tournament pulled out following the court

decision.

The previous day, Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) secretary Rabindranath Saywack, in an exclusive interview with this publication, said this situation is a win-win situation for cricket in Guyana, because, in the year 2009, cricket in Guyana was in deep controversy.

“From that point to present, cricket in the country was suffering; but there is an argument that cricket is on the rise in Guyana. If it wasn’t for the BCB, cricket in the country would have been doomed”, Saywack declared.

He also revealed that the GCB had not aided the development of cricket in Berbice, but the vibrant BCB had reaped the success of hard work that it invested in development of players and cricket facilities.

“Under extreme conditions, we have been working day and night to provide a future for the young cricketers. GCB just coming and taking the credits”,

Saywack disclosed.

From a BCB point of view, he elaborated on the BCB struggle to find finances in recent times. “The GCB was supposed to release the BCB one million plus dollars to aid in cricket development and management. They have not done this since 2009, and even prior”, Saywack stated.

Sanasie, who holds the position of Cricket West Indies Director, said he understands that the court order is a lengthy decision, but he revealed that he was not present at the court. “As soon as the GCB is served, we will put out a detailed statement on the way forward”, he explained.

New season approaching…

Who will be in Windies ODI squad? ─ 28 days to ODI series in Ireland

By Brandon Corlette

T

he International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2019 is in the air, and squads will be selected at some point in April to compete in that mega-event that commences from May 30th.

New Zealand have officially announced their squad for the event; and the West Indies first opponent in the World Cup, Pakistan, have shortlisted some 23 players who will play as many as 11 matches, nine One-Day Internationals and two T20Is before that World Cup berth with West Indies.

Prior to this mega cricketing event, the men in maroon will play a Tri-Nation Series in Ireland from Sunday May 5, 2019 at the Clontarf Cricket Club Ground in Dublin. With 28 days left for that tour, the West Indies squad for that upcoming event is likely to be announced before then.

The World Cup squad may likely feature players who played in the ODI Home Series against England, which Windies levelled 2-2.

The top-order would include the dangerous Chris Gayle, who scored 424 runs in that series against England and had some

Jason Holder

solid innings in the ongoing Indian Premiere League. His fellow Jamaican opener John Campbelle, who played his maiden ODI series, may be the change in the Windies squad.

Campbelle, who was called up as a replacement for Evin Lewis, scored only

Chris Gayle. The Trinidadian has had 35 ODIs under his belt, with 1010 runs, averaging 32.58, with a high score of 176* against England in England.

The West Indies middle order should not expect wholesale changes, unless the new administration led by new CWI president Ricky Skerritt

form heading into the TriSeries that is 28 days away, and the ICC Cricket World Cup.

announces those.

The likes of Shai Hope, Darren Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer are first choice batsmen, but

69 runs in his five-match series against England.

The 27-yearold Lewis, who is currently in the IPL with the Mumbai Indians franchise, will be the second Windies opener after

Hetmyer has had a poor season t h u s far with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). In the next few weeks, he will be hoping to find

Shimron Hetmyer

If new batsmen are to earn a spot in the Windies ODI squad, the likes of Jonathan Carter and Jermaine Blackwood will be co n s i d e re d .

C a r t e r has had

consistent regional performances, topping the CWI Super50 batting charts with most runs, while he followed up that with stellar performances in the just concluded CWI Regional 4-Day championships. Carter has had 351 runs in the Super50 at an average of 50.14, while he scored 689 runs in the 4-Day competition.

Blackwood, another Regional performer, notched up useful runs in the Regional arena, scoring 320 runs at an average of 40 in the Super50, and 465 runs in the 4-Day competition.

Nicholas Pooran, who made his appearance in the series against England, will also have his eyes set on the World Cup prize.

The likes of Rovman Powell and Keemo Paul, who did not feature in that series against England, will be seeking p l a c e s .

Paul, who is

Rovman Powell

currently in the IPL, will be hoping to make his way into the Delhi Capitals starting XI and show the Windies selectors his worth.

Paul naturally swings the ball, and the conditions in England will suit his style of bowling.

The spin bowling department will raise questions, since Ashley Nurse and Devandra Bishoo have had poor outings in recent times. Kemar Roach, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas and Windies skipper Jason Holder have had good performances behind them. Will Windies test quick Shannon Gabriel book a ticket to England?

With this new era in Windies cricket, it would be interesting to see who makes the ODI squad to Ireland and the ICC Cricket World Cup, as selections will be made in the month of April.

saturday, APRIL 6, 2019

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

guyanatimesgy.com

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DeAbreau reps Guyana’s debut CONCACAF Guyana at U-17 Boys’ Squad shaped Pan Am

by CSEC dates – GFF Archery Wayne DeAbreau taking aim in Lima

GCB will abide by court order, says Sanasie

VIVO IPL Edition 12…

Match #18 Time: 10:30h

Page 23

GCB Secretary Anand Sanasie

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