Guyana Times November 24, 2018

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Issue No. 3756

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Saturday, November 24, 2018

PRICE

UG unions to take salary fight to Governing Council

WHAT'S INSIDE:

MACORP P12 launches new agricultural equipment

Page 7

– says 3, 4% increases proposed by administration “insulting” – university claps back, says union was party to increase

PPP says GECOM deliberately withholding official LGE Page 3 results

Waste disposal companies have ‘no confidence’ Page in City Hall 7

– call for Central Government to intervene as debt continues to climb

GBTI launches 2019 calendar

$80 vat included

Page 16

Trio arraigned with murder P8 of “Buckman” Caricom to re-introduce single security check at P16 airports

Journalist detained for alleged P14 unlicensed gun

Noise nuisance management P13 Noise

Executive Director of the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry Limited (GBTI), Richard Isava, is flanked by winners of the art competition featured in the banking institution’s 2019 calendar (Adam Baksh photo)

Elderly man battered to death during suspected Page robbery 9

Foundation set for airline operation between Ghana and Page Guyana 11

clampdown should be done uniformly – GCCI President …says businesses will suffer

Guyana Airways hopes to hit P11 the skies by February 2019

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saturdAY, November 24, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

news

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saturdAY, November 24, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

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

Saturday, November 24 – 05:30h-07:00h and Sunday, November 25 – 05:30h-07:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Saturday, November 24 – 05:10h-06:40h and Sunday, November 25 – 05:50h-07:20h

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Sunny intervals are expected throughout the day, partly cloudy skies in the evening. Temperatures will range between 22 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

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

High Tide: 05:00h and 17:12h reaching maximum heights of 2.75 metres and 2.87 metres respectively.

PPP says GECOM deliberately withholding official LGE results A lmost two weeks after the 2018 Local Government Elections (LGE) was held, the Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is accusing the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) of withholding the official elections results, including vital breakdowns of party votes.

In a statement on Friday evening, the PPP said GECOM continues to act in a manner that erodes public confidence in itself, while also conveying the public impression that it is ostensibly acting in consort with

access to the votes received by each party since the aggregate whole is made up of those constituent parts.

“We believe that GECOM is withholding this breakdown of the results in order to conceal from the nation the magnitude of the loss suffered by both the APNU and the AFC at the recently concluded LGE; and it is this omission, which allows the AFC to fabricate contentions of the like that it has received 10 per cent of the votes cast, a blatant lie,” the Opposition noted.

The Party went on to highlight the “seriousness

both the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) by not disclosing the “official results”.

To date, according to the Opposition, all GECOM has done is the release of the total votes cast as 208,534, which constitutes 36 per cent of the total of the registered electors.

“In the past, within a few days after elections, GECOM would normally disclose the formal results, which would include the votes obtained by each of the political parties contesting those elections, along with further breakdowns in terms of votes cast per region or votes cast per Local Authorities Areas (LAAs) along with rejected/spoilt ballots. On this occasion, for some inexplicable reason, GECOM is refusing to disclose this vital breakdown,” the PPP stated.

The PPP believes that the refusal to do so is intentional, adding that if GECOM has the aggregate number of votes cast then it also has

and alacrity” with which GECOM has treated certain allegations, which first surfaced on Facebook from “unconfirmed and dubious” APNU sources that there were certain irregularities, in relation to, the procedure for the approval for proxies in the municipality of Mabaruma.

“Our information is that the GECOM officials who visited from Georgetown were being openly transported in the Mabaruma area by APNU officials. There was not even an attempt to hide the complicity. So here we have GECOM officials leaving Georgetown to travel to Region One [Barima-Waini] to investigate certain spurious claims emanating from Facebook, which at best, can have no material impact whatsoever on the results of that municipality, simply because APNU was soundly thrashed by the PPP at LGE in that area,” the PPP statement further detailed.

Furthermore, the PPP has made multiple complaints of serious irregular-

Low Tide: 10:47h and 23:14h reaching minimum heights of 0.50 metre and 0.33 metre respectively.

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

ities right across the country and according to the Party, in most cases, it did not get even a response from GECOM. The Party noted that whenever it did get a response from the elections body, it was one that rejected their complaints.

For instance, the PPP drew attention to the numerous complaints of widespread allegations of blatant forgeries both on the lists of candidates and the lists of backers of both the APNU and the AFC; complaints against the Returning Officer for Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), who refused to accept requests for recounts by the PPP, which are guaranteed by law, in relation to the 2015 General and Regional Elections and rather than receiving some form of sanction from GECOM, this officer was promoted by GECOM to the position of supervisor for Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), in respect to the 2018 LGE. The Opposition continued that even in the elections petition filed against the 2015 General and Regional Elections, the Party highlighted a number of irregularities and illegalities committed in the electoral process; rather than assist the court in having these irregularities and ille-

galities addressed and ventilated, GECOM filed proceedings to strike out the petition.

“Unless there is a fundamental change in the way GECOM functions, it will continue to contribute to a lack of confidence, not only in the Commission itself, but in the electoral machinery as a whole,” the PPP stated.

Four days after the November 12, 2018 LGE, the Elections Commission held a press conference where it revealed the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has turned in significant improvements over its 2016 performance. What has also been revealed is that the elections were held with a voter turnout of just 36 per cent of the electorate.

According to statistics released, the PPP made major gains in several Neighbourhood Democratic Councils and municipalities. For instance, the Party won 5 out of the 10 towns.

These are Mabaruma, Anna Regina, Rose Hall, Corriverton and Lethem.

Additionally, the data shows that out of 572,531 persons registered to vote, only 208,534 actually went out to vote. This is a turnout of 36 per cent. When LGE were last held in 2016, the turnout was 47 per cent.

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

Remembering Castro

T

wo years after his death, the iconic Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro remains present in the minds of not only Cubans, but many around the world, who remember his numerous exploits, speeches and writings.

Since his death at the age of 90, on November 25, 2016, his wishes have been respected in Cuba. On his first death anniversary, the Cuban state media reported that no street, square or building bears his name, and no statue or monument has been erected in his honour.

Despite the fierce divide between admirers and haters, how can one forget the legacy of Fidel Castro? He was the revolutionary leader of Cuba who defied the US, the mightiest country on the globe, for over half a century by representing an alternative vision of human development in the twentieth century.

Like most countries in Latin America, Cuba had been ruled in the 1950s by a dictator, Batista, who had close ties with business and political interests in the US, and they controlled much of the Cuban economy. An idealistic, newly-minted lawyer, who was the son of a wealthy plantation owner, the young Castro launched an attack against a military barrack, on July 26, 1953, to trigger an open rebellion against the dictatorship. Even though it failed ignominiously and he was captured, at his trial, Castro made a powerful speech in which the phrase “history will absolve me” became a rallying cry for many youthful colonial politicians who were struggling to free their countries from the yoke of imperialism.

Castro was released and fled to Mexico, where he raised a rag-tag group of revolutionaries, including the Argentinian medical doctor Ernesto “Che” Guevara. He returned to Cuba, and waged a guerrilla war against the Batista regime from the Sierra Maestra mountains. By January 1959, he and his troops had entered Havana and taken over the Government, after Batista fled to the US. Castro was just 32 years old.

Initially, he was viewed positively in the US, but after he nationalised businesses, land and property owned by Americans to distribute to landless peasants, sentiments shifted. And as he adopted an increasingly radical posture and opened up communication with the USSR -- then locked in a “Cold War” with the US -- by 1960, the Eisenhower Government had begun preparations for a CIA-organised invasion to overthrow Castro’s “revolutionary Government”.

This “Bay of Pigs” invasion was eventually conducted by the new administration of John F Kennedy, and its miserable failure was to weigh heavily on his foreign policy initiatives.

Castro’s story became intertwined with ours right here in Guyana after Cheddi Jagan won the 1961 elections and visited Washington in search of aid. In the opinion of JFK, it equivocated on the question of whether Jagan was a “communist”. His fate was sealed, and he was duly deposed by 1964 in a CIA-directed operation that worked through local labour and political leaders.

The PNC, which was ushered into office under Forbes Burnham, was allowed to rig elections to remain there for 28 years, because Cheddi Jagan was still unacceptable to the Americans.

Castro encouraged revolutionary activity against dictatorships in Latin America; and in 1962, there was one leftist guerrilla group in western Venezuela which encouraged that Government to collaborate with the US in efforts to remove Jagan from office. JFK actually visited Venezuela at that time.

Ironically, of course, Burnham veered “leftwards” after 1970, and vied with Jagan for the approbation of Fidel Castro as a “revolutionary”. Burnham was one of the Big Four leaders in the British Caribbean who opened up diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1972. Eric Williams, one of the other Big Four leaders, wrote a book, “From Columbus to Castro”, to signal the seminal role Castro played in West Indian History.

Domestically, Castro held the faith on the low esteem leftists held for what the West defined as “democracy” but they called “bourgeois democracy”, since it focused on the “political” right to elect governments, but not on ensuring that “economic and social rights” were concretely given meaning.

Castro’s regime introduced universal free education from nursery to university, levelled income distribution, gave his country a free medical system, and concretely integrated Cuba’s mixed population.

Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS launched 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-based Violence at the Caricom Secretariat on Friday

Khashoggi killing: CIA did not blame Saudi crown prince, says Trump

U

S President Donald Trump has said the CIA did not conclude that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Khashoggi was killed on October 2, 2018, in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

US officials have reportedly said that such an operation would have needed the prince's approval. But Saudi Arabia maintains it was a "rogue operation".

"They didn't conclude," Trump said when asked about the CIA's reported evaluation by reporters in Florida.

His comments on Thursday came as the Saudi crown prince began a regional tour of the Middle East, starting with the United Arab Emirates his first official trip abroad since Khashoggi was killed.

The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed, tweeted to say the UAE "will always be a loving and supportive home for our brothers in Saudi Arabia".

The Saudi crown prince is also expected to participate in a G20 meeting of world leaders in Buenos Aires at the end of the month that will be attended by leaders from the US, Turkey and a number of European countries.

In another development, about 200 British military personnel and eight Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon jets have arrived in Saudi Arabia to take part in a joint military exercise.

The RAF described it as a "pre-planned exercise"

but the timing is potentially embarrassing to the UK Government, BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale says.

Britain has previously called on Saudi authorities to fully explain Khashoggi's death.

Meanwhile, France has announced that it is imposing sanctions on 18 Saudi nationals – the same individuals targeted with sanctions by the US, UK and Germany – allegedly linked to the Khashoggi murder.

Their list of individuals does not include the crown prince, a spokesperson for the French ministry of foreign affairs said.

What has Trump said about the CIA report?

"They have feelings certain ways. I have the report, they have not concluded, I don't know if anyone's going to be able to conclude the crown prince did it," Trump told reporters in Florida.

"But whether he did or whether he didn't, he denies it vehemently. His father denies it, the king, vehemently," he added.

Earlier this week, Trump released a statement suggesting that the crown prince "could very well" have known about the murder.

His statement said: "[It] could very well be that the crown prince had knowledge of this tragic event – maybe he did and maybe he didn't!"

The President has repeatedly stressed the importance of Saudi Arabia to the US following the killing, calling the kingdom a "steadfast partner" that has

agreed to invest "a record amount of money" in the US. On November 17, 2018, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters that Trump had confidence in the CIA following conversations with Director Gina Haspel and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the Khashoggi murder.

Sources quoted in the US media at the time stressed that there was no single piece of evidence linking the crown prince directly to the murder, but officials believe the killing would have required his endorsement.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says intelligence agencies rarely offer their governments cast-iron, 100 per cent conclusions, instead producing nuanced assessments often based on probabilities.

This wariness has become more pronounced since the mistakes made in the runup to the Iraq invasion of 2003.

Separately, the Hurriyet newspaper reported on Thursday that Haspel told Turkish officials last month that the CIA had a recording in which the crown prince gave instructions to "silence" the Saudi writer as soon as possible.

When asked about the claims by reporters, Trump said: "I don't want to talk about it. You'll have to ask them."

What have the Saudis said?

Saudi Arabia says claims that the crown prince may have ordered the Khashoggi killing are false and maintains that he knew nothing about it.

The Gulf kingdom's public prosecutor has said Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate as a result of a "rogue operation" on the orders of an intelligence officer.

Khashoggi was given a lethal injection after a struggle. His body was then dismembered inside the consulate in Istanbul and the body parts were handed over to a local "collaborator" outside the grounds, the prosecutor said.

He said investigations had "revealed that the person who ordered the killing was the head of the negotiations team", but did not identify any of the 11 people charged with the murder.

Who was Jamal Khashoggi?

As a prominent journalist, he covered major stories including the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the rise of Osama Bin Laden for various Saudi news organisations.

For decades he was close to the Saudi royal family and also served as an adviser to the government.

But he fell out of favour and went into self-imposed exile in the US last year. From there, he wrote a monthly column in the Washington Post in which he criticised the policies of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

In his first column for the newspaper, Khashoggi said he feared being arrested in an apparent crackdown on dissent overseen by the prince since.

In his last column, he criticised Saudi involvement in the Yemen conflict. (BBC News)

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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

Government accountable to Guyanese, not CCJ Dear Editor, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo overstepped his authority when he announced Government’s commitment to “giving teeth” to the CCJ’s ruling that, in Guyana, men are free to disguise themselves as women, and women are free to disguise themselves as men, in public.

The Prime Minister has perhaps forgotten that he and his Government are accountable to the 800,000 people of Guyana, and not to

the seven judges of the CCJ. Whether or not the CCJ’s ruling is right is irrelevant, because the Government of Guyana has bound itself to abide by that ruling.

However, the CCJ cannot, and will never, usurp the sovereignty of the elected Parliament of Guyana.

The CCJ is limited to interpreting the laws of Guyana. Our Government is tasked with effectively writing the laws of Guyana within the context of our Constitution, which itself is

subject to amendment.

The CCJ’s ruling is a blatant, backward, retrograde backdoor step to the introduction of proposed legalisation of same-sex marriages and similar human relations, which are beneath the dignity of Guyana’s dogs, cows, cats and rats.

Instead of giving teeth to enforce the CCJ’s ruling, the Prime Minister should be rallying the legal minds of his Government and civic society to legislatively protect the socio-economic

and spiritual fabric and values of Guyana, by plugging the Constitutional loopholes through which the CCJ has inserted its pernicious ruling.

Cross-dressing, buggery, homosexuality and their affiliates are all offensive to the values of Guyana’s Christian and Muslim majority; to the majority of its Hindu population, and to the foundational principles on which Guyana’s greatness is built.

On the other hand, ev-

Compare GECOM’s actions with APNU’s complaint vs PPP/C's complaint Dear Editor, Please compare the actions on the part of GECOM regarding A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU’s) complaint in Mabaruma, Region One (Barima-Waini) with several complaints made by individuals and the PPP/C in Whim, Corriverton, Berbice and elsewhere.

In the face of no investigations into their complaints, some complainants have resorted to a court action which GECOM stoutly defended to the tune of over $3 million. GECOM did not see it fit to investigate any complaint other than one made by the APNU on an issue which might not even have had any effect on the final results. Talk about duplicity!!

Prior to the meeting, I read of allegations being made in Lethem, but no one brought up that issue today. Perhaps we will hear more of that later.

The DCEO had no an-

swer for several matters arising out of the minutes concerning tasks which should have been performed by the CEO. For instance, at last week’s meeting, the CEO had undertaken the task of providing commissioners with scanned copies of the declaration of results made by each of the eighty Returning Officers. I had asked for these, because I wanted to compare the ‘preliminary results’ with the actual declarations.

The numbers announced by the PRO, and published in various sections of the press under the heading of LGE Results, are just statistics showing voter turnout! Why not publish the actual numbers of votes cast for each political party? That is what can properly be called results, instead of saying that a total of 208,534 persons, or 36 per cent of the total registered electors, voted.

The electorate wants

results, not statistics.

Publication of the real results would publicly reveal the current mood of the electorate.

As I have had to say before, getting any information from GECOM is akin to pulling teeth -- a painful process!! But I am pre-

pared to persevere, and hope that one day things will get better at GECOM. So long for now, until next week folks.

Regards, Bibi Safora Shadick Commissioner – GECOM

ery Guyanese enjoys the inalienable right and freedom to act behind closed doors in a manner of his or her choosing, so long as the exercise of those rights and freedoms do not offend, invade, or wrong the rights and freedoms of others.

The laws of Guyana must always protect Guyana’s vulnerable minority from the tyranny of the majority. However, it is palpably abhorrent for our laws to promote the tyranny of the large majority by a small minority.

We value our women for who they are, and for what they bring to our society. We

value our men for who they are, and for what they bring to our society. When a small minority of our men fail to value themselves for their own inherent self-worth, we must lovingly aid their restoration, not empower them to corrupt and demoralise the rest of our society. This must be the underlying objective of our elected Government: to enhance the values that have made Guyana great.

Sincerely, Phyllis J Jordan Caretaker-Councillor Constituency 4; & Convenor, “Operation Restoration”

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saturdAY, november 24, 2018

Page

Foundation

T

he world is full of great books, just waiting to be read.

How can you pick one you'll really like? Here are some tips:

Novels, short stories, and fables are all examples of fiction. These books can transport you to another world or help you imagine something beyond your own experience.

Find a family favourite

What was your mother's favourite book when she was your age? Or your dad's? What about a sibling's? Ask them and give it a read. Then you can talk about what they liked about it and share your thoughts. It's a fun way to get to know your family a little better, and to find a book you'll enjoy!

Ask an expert

What makes you happy?

If you have a favourite hobby or pastime, look for books about that activity. Are you really into dinosaurs or dogs or a specific celebrity? Are there a few careers you're interested in? You can find books about almost anything you like, and you're more likely to enjoy reading a book if you're already interested in its subject.

Fact or fiction?

Some books are entirely made up and imagined. Those are called fiction books. Novels, short stories, and fables are all examples of fiction. These books can transport you to another world or help you imagine something beyond your own experience.

Nonfiction books give you the who, what, when, and why. They tell stories using facts – but that doesn't mean they're boring. Nonfiction books can bring to life everything from the first trip to the moon to what it's like to explore the deepest oceans. Many of them read like novels from start to finish. Try both fiction and nonfiction books to see which you like better.

Your local library is a great place to find books that you'll love, and you don't have to search all by yourself.

Tell a librarian about your interests — rock stars, sports teams, historical events, whatever you're into — and the names o f some books you already like. Your librarian can help you find other books that you're sure to love. Your teacher is another good person to ask.

Launch a book swap

Why not get some friends together and trade favourite books? It's always fun to see what your friends are reading.

Even if they're not exactly bookworms, you can all encourage each other to read and share books and authors you like. You also can look for book swaps in your area. It's a great way to build your personal library for free! (kidshealth.org)

By Ana Dziengel of Babble Dabble Do

T

urn a ketchup bottle into a Butterfly Feeder and attract pollinators to your yard!

• • • • • • •

Materials

Plastic bottle with lid Cotton ball Rubber bands Flowers Yarn Water Sugar

Instructions

1. Place a strong rubber band around the bottle 2. Tie a piece of yarn to rubber band on both sides of the bottle 3. Place additional rubber bands around the bottle 4. Place a cotton ball through hole in the lid 5. Place flowers under the rubber bands

Make Butterfly “Food”:

• ¼ cup of sugar + 1 cup of water. Stir well • Add sugar water to the bottle • Close the lid • Hang it outside Tips:

Make sure the cotton ball "wick" is sticking through the bottom of the lid after hanging your feeder up.

If you are having trouble pushing the cotton ball through the hole, use

a toothpick to help push it the cotton through.

If using fresh flowers use hardy varieties that won’t wilt quickly.

To make a more permanent Butterfly Feeder, use fake flowers.

DO NOT add food colouring to the butterfly food as that is not good for butterflies. (pbs.org)

news

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saturdAY, November 24, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

UG unions to take salary fight to Governing Council – says 3, 4% increases proposed by administration “insulting” – university claps back, says union was party to increase

D

escribing the increases proposed by the university administration as insulting to staff, the University of Guyana Workers Union (UGWU) and the UG Senior Staff Association (UGSSA) on Friday revealed that they are pushing for the matter to be heard at the level of the Governing Council.

The University of Guyana Workers Union (UGWU), represented by Union President Bruce Haynes, and the UGSSA, represented by Chairperson Dr Jewel

From left: UGWU executive Khemraj Narine; UGWU President Bruce Haynes; and UGSSA Chairperson, Dr Jewel Thomas

Waste disposal companies have ‘no confidence’ in City Hall

– call for Central Government to intervene as debt continues to climb

C

evons Waste Management and Purans Brothers Disposal have united behind calls for Central Government to ‘take the wheel’, as the companies contended that City Hall is out of its depth and cannot resolve the municipality’s mounting debts to the companies.

This was communicated in a statement on Friday, where the two companies laid out what they are owed

by City Hall and even provided a payment plan. They explained that they withdrew their service over an outstanding debt of $160 million. Shockingly, the companies noted that this debt accumulated from June of this year.

“Our decision was made only after futile attempts to engage the municipality on the issue of settling these outstanding amounts. In the process, we found City Hall to be decidedly lacking in a sense of urgency.”

“It is as if the administration of City Hall has concluded that it is entirely reasonable to expect us to continue to provide service in the face of its astounding delinquency,” the company stated.

According to the companies, they want their June and July arrears payment

by November month end; August and September payments by December 31 and the resumption of regular payments as stipulated in their contract in February.

They called on Government to intervene in support of this process, to ensure efficient garbage disposal.

“We wish both the Government of Guyana and the citizens to be assured that a great deal of human and physical resources are invested in discharging our responsibility to the capital,” the company said. “In that context we submit that it is both morally and legally wrong to expect that we can

The Haags Bosch dumpsite

continue, over a protracted period of time, to discharge these services without compensation.”

The two companies also responded to reports that City Hall would contract smaller companies to replace them. They warned of the risk to the entire city should City Hall engage persons with less capacity to collect garbage than them.

“In the past, City Hall’s resort to less than professional replacement service providers have led to unwholesome consequences, not least, movement through the streets of the capital of vehicles unsuited to the task making deposits of garbage and putrid liquid on streets in the capital to say nothing large numbers of disgruntled citizens,” the companies noted.

Financial shortfall

In a statement earlier this week, City Hall had explained that “…because of a serious financial shortfall, the Council is unable to honour its obligation to both contractors in a timely manner, a situation which the Council regrets.”

Five smaller garbage contractors had since expressed willingness to work with the Council from Monday, November 26, to carry out the collection services. As such, the Council was scheduled to meet with these small contractors to concretise the details of the agreement.

According to the govern-

ing body in the Capital City, it expends approximately $30 million monthly for the removal of waste from the Georgetown environs. This solid waste management bill, it added, accounts for 38 per cent of the Council’s monthly income, which is some $89 million.

To this end, the M&CC said moving forward next year it will have to reassess how it manages waste collection in the City. Last month, both Purans Brothers and Cevons Waste Management had said they were owed some $150 million by City Hall. This debt was said to have been outstanding since the second quarter of 2018.

Puran Brothers Disposal Service is owed $73 million, while Cevons Waste Disposal is owed $75 million.

At that time, the two entities had been contemplating pulling their services, since there was “no positive outcome” to their meetings with City Hall.

For one of the collectors, the monthly operational expenditure is somewhere in the vicinity of $15 million.

City Hall’s financial crisis dates back to times when, with no other option, both solid waste collectors had been forced to withdraw their services until pending payments had been made.

Staffers were also dismissed and later rehired in light of this process. Managing City Hall’s finances will be a stern test for the recently elected new body of councillors.

Thomas, on Friday held a joint press conference on campus, wherein they confronted the recent three and four per cent increases the UG administration had announced days ago.

According to UGSSA Chairperson Dr Jewel Thomas, those increases are an insult. She stressed that considering what staff go through -- sometimes even subsidising their own classrooms -- they deserve more.

“It is completely contrary to the principles of labour relations to impose an increase where trade unions exist and negotiations are possible. The percentages named are also insulting to staff.

Moreover, the University’s unions have been trying to negotiate wages and salaries with the University’s administration since January of this year,” she declared.

She explained that the unions want to negotiate for better travel allowances, book allowances, medical scheme, gratuity for persons not on the pension scheme, and pension for staff. On the other hand, Thomas explained, the administration had six items of their own on their agenda, including performance management.

There were other issues to do with the administration’s negotiating team. She said that while they were

prepared to go ahead while noting their objection, the administration was unwilling to give in to the unions’ demands that their items take precedence. In an effort to break the gridlock, Thomas said, assistance from Government’s Department of Labour was sought in August.

“The administration refused to meet with us. The Department of Labour invited us to a meeting on October 25; we turned up to that meeting, the administration did not. Instead of inviting us to a meeting, their action was to rush (the salary increases) item on the agenda for a scheduled (Finance and General Purposes Committee) meeting, and to get those present to agree to this unilateral increase. We reject it entirely,” she explained.

Following the announced increases, the unions had written to the UG Pro Chancellor, Retired Major General Joe Singh. It is understood that since registering their complaints, a meeting to address the increases is being planned at the level of the UG Council.

It was announced last week that the Finance and General Purposes Committee (FGPC) had approved three to four per cent salary increases for staff. The increases were reportedly sought by UG’s Vice Chancellor Ivelaw Griffith. They would have been retroactive to January 1, 2018.

Union voted yes

But in a release issued later on Friday, the university administration claimed that President of the UGWU, Bruce Haynes, was party to the unilateral increases, as he was at the FGPC council meeting when the unanimous vote was taken.

The administration also

gave its side of the story.

Responding to the unions’ contention that the administration had caused the breakdown of talks, the administration noted that the unions wanted certain people excluded from the negotiation.

“They insisted on the exclusion of both the Personnel Officer and the Chief of Staff from the Administration’s team. These conditions were rejected by the administration. These officers were part of the 2017 negotiating team, over which there were no complaints. In addition, this demand represents a violation of a cardinal rule of negotiation: that each party determines the composition of its team.

“The Unions next proceeded to seek the intervention of the Ministry of Labour without formally informing the administration of their intention to refer the impasse to the Ministry of Labour for conciliation. The administration was invited by the Ministry of Labour to a conciliation meeting, and declined the invitation, indicating that there was no impasse as the negotiation did not move beyond differences over the Agenda.”

That being said, the university insisted that it was still open to negotiating with the unions. It also insisted that the three and four per cent increases were made “without prejudice to subsequent negotiation”, and therefore can always be adjusted when negotiations begin.

Meanwhile, other wellplaced sources at the university have noted that the union’s demands do not take into account existing allowances that were put in place to incentivise staff. According to one, these allowances include the university’s policy of waiving tuition for eligible staff who study at the university.

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saturdAY, November 24, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

IN THE COURTS

Trio arraigned with murder of “Buckman”

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wo teenagers – a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old – of Gafoors Compound, East Bank Demerara; and of Cross Street, Georgetown, along with a 19-yearold accomplice, John McKenzie of Leopold Street, Georgetown, was on Friday arraigned with the murder of “Buckman” who was stabbed to death.

The trio appeared before Chief Magistrate

Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts where they were not required to plea to the indictable charge which stated that on November 17, 2018, they murdered “Buckman”.

The two teenagers were both remanded to the Juvenile Holding Centre while McKenzie was remanded to prison. They are expected to make their next court appearance on

December 11.

It was reported that the now dead man, whose is only known as “Buckman”, lived as a vagrant and frequented the Leopold Street, Werk-en-Rust area in Georgetown, where he met his demise after a reported argument over drugs.

Reports are the dead man, who is around 45 years old, was stabbed multiple times in an alleged row over the selling of drugs.

While details into the killing remain sketchy, it was pointed out that the suspects supposedly became annoyed after “Buckman” and few others stopped buying drugs from them. Individuals familiar with the matter stated that the four men were not from Leopold Street.

The man died while receiving medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Couple gets bail on narco-trafficking charge

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male and a female who were accused of having a quantity of narcotics in their possession were granted bail by Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus when they appeared at the Providence Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

Thirty-year-old Niketa Bishop, a cosmetologist; and Jammal Eastman, 24, a rank attacked to the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), denied the charge which alleged that on November 21, 2018, at Lot 1212 Diamond Grove, East Bank Demerara, they had 380 grams of cannabis

for the purpose of trafficking.

The defendants were represented by Attorney Bernard DaSliva who in his application for bail told the court that the illegal drug was found in a building which Bishop rented and not in the possession of the cou-

ple. He further stated that the place is open to the public.

Magistrate IsaacsMarcus however granted the duo their pre-trial liberty of bail in the sum $100,000 each, and they are expected to make their next court appearance on December 17.

Pushing…

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…the President? he Press Officer of President Granger has announced he’s “fully back at work”. Your Eyewitness is very worried. What does “fully back at work” mean? That he’ll be back to the same schedule before he detected those “symptoms” that made him fly over to Trinidad?

Meaning, chairing Cabinet meetings that can last all day?

Accepting invitations to events in various parts of the country – including the interior?

Your Eyewitness hopes not! He understands the need for press people to try to reassure the Guyanese people that the ship of state is in good hands, but they can’t lull those same people into unrealistic expectations about what the President can do at this time. The man just received his first round of chemotherapy for nonHodgkin’s Lymphoma – a type of cancer of the blood, in layman’s terms.

Folks need to understand what chemotherapy is, and how it can affect the patient. Very bluntly, unlike surgery or radiation treatment for cancer, which is very localised, chemotherapy involves introducing chemicals (hence “chemotherapy”) into your body to kill the fast multiplying cancer cells – in this case, your own white blood cells. The problem for the patient is that, while those cells are being killed, other fast multiplying “good” cells are also killed.

Very bluntly, the “chemo” treatment is a race between killing the body and killing the cancer cells. Because of the damage to “good cells”, the treatment is in cycles…one week of treatment followed by 3 or 4 weeks of rest, to allow the “good cells” to regenerate. During treatment, red blood cells – which transport oxygen to the cells of the body – are among the most likely “good cells” to be destroyed. The patient is then often listless and without energy, because of the lack of oxygen to the brain and other organs.

As the cycles continue, the effects of the chemo on the patient will become more severe and debilitating.

And this is why the “handlers” of the President’s info must not be unrealistic in their announcements. As for the President’s duties, this is where we as a people should be reminded of the need to build institutions that take into consideration the frailties of the individuals who fill the roles in those institutions.

At this time, if the President can’t perform his role, the Prime Minister acts to do so. But in the case of the coalition, this PM is from a minority member, and not the President’s party. Is this the concern which is forcing the President’s office to announce that he is “fully” back on the job?? We have to be blunt about these questions, because the President’s life is literally at stake.

Let us give him time to recover. …The fight against noise While other forms of pollution may pass under our radar because they fall on us like a fine mist, noise pollution literally hits us like a punch in the gut! Especially with those “walls” of speakers that have become “the thing” at rum shops and other “sport” in private homes, and in specially sound-augmented cars. In addition to your eardrums being damaged – leading to Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) – even the windows of your house rock in sympathy!

After years of hapless citizens’ suffering without any recourse, there was a training session of some Police officers equipped with “decibel monitors” to respond to noise complaints. The problem was that, as soon as the officers approached two notorious noise spots in Kitty with their equipment, they turned down their blasters even before the cops could turn on their detectors!! In both instances!!

Obviously, someone from within the Police informed the rum shops about the impending raid.

And that is why nothing will come out of this “Noise Pollution Initiative”. …Vote buying The PNC’s so transparent. The only reason they want the Budget Debate is to announce a spending spree for their supporters.

Knowing they’ll lose the no-confidence motion and elections will be called in three months, the debate becomes free advertisement!!

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

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saturdAY, November 24, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Elderly man battered to death during suspected robbery

The scene on Thursday evening

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he relatively quiet community of Surat Drive, Triumph, East Coast Demerara was plunged into deep shock on Friday afternoon after the lifeless body of 88-year-old pensioner Dhruwa Ramnauth, also

called “Uncle Dhrub,” was discovered in the kitchen of his home with his hands bound and his head smashed in. A ‘massala brick’ was reportedly found on his head.

According to information reaching this publication, the

man, late of Lot 119 Surat Drive, Triumph ECD, had been operating a grocery shop at his residence for all his life, and this was not the first time he had been attacked.

The next-door neighbour, Sachin Singh, said he would usually call on Ramnauth just to check in with him. It was he who made the discovery of the elderly man’s body.

“We were working and we were loading the truck, and my mother called me and I try calling Uncle Dhrub, and didn’t get no response from him. After that, I went to the fence and jump over; and when I jumped over I watch in the shop and see the shop ransack, and I watch in the kitchen and I see he tied up and a brick was on (his) head,” Singh related.

He said that despite their being next door, they had heard no strange noises, nor did they observe any strange movements. He also said that the neighbours would have seen Ramnauth during the

Dead: Dhruwa Ramnauth, also called “Uncle Dhrub”

day, since his shop had been opened during the morning hours. He added that after he made the discovery, he raised an alarm and the Police were summoned.

Sachin Singh’s father, Patrick Singh, reiterated that this is not the first time the late Ramnauth had been attacked. He recounted that the last attack had been just over a year ago, when Sachin had heard Ramnauth moaning in his house and had immediately rushed over, only to discover the man bound and lying on the floor in pain.

The pensioner had lived alone; most of his relatives live overseas, and his nephew, Baliram Shivdas, would check in on him from time to time. Shivdas told Guyana Times that the last time he had seen his uncle alive was on Thursday, when he had visited the nearby mandir.

“I just get a call and my nephew came and tell me that this happened, and that is when I know. He said he

heard that somebody break in and they attacked mamoo (uncle) and he died, and that is how I came. When I came, the Police (were) in here doing their investigation and taking statements,” Shivdas related.

“It (his body) was in the kitchen, and from all appearances he was going to eat, and the plate and all was on the ground; and they hit him, and he had a knock on the head, and it has something to do with the massala brick. It could have been that, I don’t know; he has a wound at the back at his head,” Shivdas related.

He said the place was ransacked, but he could not say what has gone missing since he had very little knowledge of what his uncle had in his house. He, like many of the residents, described the dead man as kind-hearted and someone who had had no malice with anyone.

The Police are conducting their investigations.

PPP to Nagamootoo: “Stop spouting hot air; bring on no-confidence motion” …motion to be debated in December after Budget presentation, debate

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ollowing what it refers to as “vacuous ramblings” of Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo on the no-confidence motion against the Coalition Administration filed by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is calling on Government to put the motion up for debate at the earliest time possible.

The Opposition said on Friday that in an attempt to make a ridiculous case that the no-confidence motion is an act of desperation and would be defeated, Nagamootoo has comically and desperately sought to argue for a delay in debating it.

“As they say, ‘the proof of the pudding is in the eating’.

Nagamootoo should stop spouting hot air and bring on the no-confidence motion for debate earliest. Despite all the “fat talk”, the truth is he is scared to death to do

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

so. Instead, he parrots the Government’s position that the budget must be presented and debated first,” the PPP declared in a missive on Friday evening.

The PP has also said that Government must accept the reality that Nagamootoo is widely regarded as a “political joke” in Guyana, and should be the last person assigned the respon-

sibility of publishing the Government’s position; that is, if the Government wants that position to be taken seriously by the nation.

“This man simply has no credibility in the eyes of the Guyanese public, because of the number of lies which he has spoken and written over the years. Only recently, he threatened to demolish the PPP at Whim and at the Local Government Elections (LGE). The results show that not even the backers voted for his candidates at Whim, and the AFC received less than 4 per cent of the total votes cast at the LGE,” the party posited.

The PPP went on to address Nagamootoo’s claim of “fear and desperation”, reminding him that as Leader of Government Business, instead of leading his troops to Parliament last Friday, he led them into hiding at Congress Place; and with the gates securely locked and

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo

the environs surrounded by a band of aggressive APNU supporters, he then puffed his chest to the press as he declared that he is not afraid of the no-confidence motion.

“We reiterate our call for the no-confidence motion to be debated in the Parliament earliest, and we respectfully demand that the National Assembly puts the Motion up for debate. We say

to the Government, ‘Stop the grandstanding outside the National Assembly and come to the National Assembly to debate the Motion’,” the Opposition has declared.

Hours before the PPP missive was issued on Friday evening, Prime Minister Nagamootoo, in an address to the public that was streamed live on Department of Public Information’s (DPI) facebook page, asserted that the motion will not be debated before the presentation and debate of Budget 2019.

However, while the Prime Minister assured that his administration is committed to debating the no-confidence motion, a date for its debate has not been fixed.

“We’re not running away from a no-confidence motion, we are prepared for a discussion on any such motion, but we believe that there are some issues that take precedent over such a motion…

We will debate this motion,

we will have this motion discussed, and we will defeat it; because it is not a viable motion, it is a motion that is bred out of desperation; it is a motion that is bred out of Opposition frustration; it is a motion that is bred by this opportunism to look forward to the new wealth of Guyana and trying to destabilise our beautiful country,” Nagamootoo posited in his Friday afternoon address.

Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs, has written the Parliamentary Opposition, informing them that their motion will not be heard before the 2019 Budget is dealt with by the House.

Finance Minister Winston Jordan is schedule to present the National Budget on Monday, November 26, 2018, and debate is expected to commence one week after, with Consideration of the Estimates beginning the following week.

10 news Kwakwani businessman Digicel launches “The Gift of Data” Christmas promotion nabbed with narcotics – more than 50% off smartphones this Christmas R C saturdAY, November 24, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

anks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) arrested a businessman of Kwakwani, Upper Berbice River, Region 10 on Thursday at about 17:10h after they allegedly found a quantity of compressed marijuana at his home.

The Police report that, acting on information received, a party of Policemen from ‘E’ Division went to the Kwakwani Water Front home of the 31-year-old businessman and carried out a search, during which

the cannabis was found in several small Ziplock bags.

The narcotic was later weighed and amounted

to 110 grams. The suspect has since been taken into custody, and is being processed for court.

hristmas is fast approaching, and Digicel is giving the gift of savings with whopping discounts on handsets and data. The telephone giant is giving its customers more reasons to smile this holiday season, with more than 50 per cent off selected smartphones and 50 per cent off all 4G Smart Bundle Data Plans activated during the period January to March 2019.

For every smartphone purchased during the promotional period, the purchaser would receive a monthly 4G Smart Bundle data plan (with talk, text and data) absolutely free.

Upon purchase of a new SIM card, the purchaser would also benefit from 50 per cent off all 4G Smart

Digicel making donation to Ava Chapman of the Linden Centre for Special Needs

Digicel’s Vidya Sanichara handing over cheques and back-packs to Veron Todd of For the Children’s Sake organisation

Bundle data plans activated during the period January to March 2019.

Customers can get these great offers at all Digicel stores across Guyana. The red network unveiled “The Gift of Data” promotion in Linden on Friday.

“We want to give customers the best quality device and service, so we’ve re-

duced rates on our handsets across the country, where our customers will be getting whopping savings in stores across Guyana,” was the reason proffered for the offer.

Any customer purchasing a smartphone costing from $5,500 up will get a monthly data plan absolutely free! And that’s not all, customers activating a SIM

within the promotional period will get 50 per cent off all 4G Smart Bundle data plans for the next 3 months. These red hot deals mean that customers can also spread the joy this season with their loved ones near and far, explained Digicel’s Chief Executive Officer Gregory Dean.

In addition to sales on devices, Digicel would be giving back through its annual Christmas Cheers activity by making several donations to several organisations, including “For The Children’s Sake” organisation.

The Christmas Cheers activities will be held in other communities across Guyana during the promotional period.

Dean add, “We have always been in the business of giving back to our customers in ways that meet their needs, and also instantly rewarding new customers to Digicel. It’s about deepening our relationship with them by adding further value to what we already offer.”

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saturdAY, November 24, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Guyana Airways hopes to hit the skies by February 2019

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he Guyana Airways Corporation (GAC) which recently won a court case against the State for the use of the name of the air carrier, has revealed that it remains optimistic to hit the market by February 2019.

This was disclosed during an exclusive interview with Guyana Times on Friday at the GAC headquarters on Barrack Street, Kingston, Georgetown.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Colin Abrams said he was ecstatic over the news that the airline won the case against the State.

“We were pretty ecstatic with the ruling of the High Court in our favour that means we can move forward.

The court order was procedural, they didn’t follow the procedures that they were supposed to…the bottom line is corporation is a living body and when you are attempting to remove life from that living body you have to notify them first,” Abrams told this publication, while speaking

the country”.

Local employment

The Chief Executive Officer of Guyana Airways, Colin Abrams

of the experience between himself and the Government.

A court proceeding was filed after the CEO of GAC was discovered to be using the name of the previously Government-owned airline, which no longer exists.

The inconvenienced business man explained, “Two years after we’ve been registered and putting all this together and spending all this money, they just snuffed the life out of us without a hearing, without anything. We just had a marshal show up at our secretary’s home and that’s it, so they kinda mur-

dered us”.

Despite the setbacks, he noted that he hopes the new airline will be able to hit the market by February.

Minister within the Public Infrastructure Ministry, Annette Ferguson and Minister of Aviation of Ghana, Joseph Kofi Adda signing the agreement, flanked by delegates and officials

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Meeting, where a recent assessment found that it usually takes more than 38 hours from a Caribbean country to Africa and this initiated discussions.

Ghana’s Aviation Minister Joseph Kofi Adda explained that the agreement came at an opportune time for the Government and the people of Ghana.

“We hope that the true meaning of what we signed today would be that aircraft and airlines will connect Georgetown, Guyana to other cities of the Caribbean and South America. We’re trying to cut down the time and bring all the socio-economic benefit to all the countries involved. And this is what our politicians can do to show there is political work and commitment.”

On Wednesday, the Governments of Guyana and Aruba signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will see direct flights from

Lower cost flights

Among the cards expected to be thrown out on the table by the airline is that of low cost flights. The CEO noted that flights with Guyana Airways will be of a

Why Guyana Airways

When the CEO was asked why the name Guyana Airways, he averted the question and asked “why not Guyana Airways?”

He said, “Since there was a 17-year void where there were no carriers from Guyana and we relied on the services of other airlines, I thought it was time to bring some national pride back to

Foundation set for airline operation between Ghana and Guyana

n air services agreement, initiating the process to facilitate directs flights between Guyana and Ghana, was on Friday inked at the ongoing International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Air Transport Meeting.

Minister within the Public Infrastructure Ministry, with responsibility for the aviation sector, Annette Ferguson; and Minister of Aviation of Ghana, Joseph Kofi Adda, signed the agreements on behalf of their respective governments at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACC) on Friday.

The Government has demonstrated the notion of, “putting words into action” with the ceremony. She said Guyana will be looking forward to the collaboration between South America and Africa.

The agreement was signed after the hosting of the third African Diaspora

The fruits of Guyana Airways are already beginning to blossom, as the CEO related that most, if not all Guyanese employees will be hired.

According to him, 110 flight attendants have already been hired for the two aircraft which will soon provide flights to Cuba, Barbados and Trinidad for now and will extend its services to the United States of America (USA) when

Guyana becomes authorised to do so.

Meanwhile, some 150 persons in total will be hired to work on the airline. Training for those employees will be done here in Guyana for four weeks and wind down in Miami, USA.

Georgetown to Aruba in the near future. These agreements and MoUs are geared at bolstering Guyana’s aviation sector.

GAC headquarters on Barrack Street, Kingston, Georgetown

reduced cost all year round, which will afford Guyanese the opportunity to fly back and forth from North to South America.

Abrams explained, “Usually the number one reason why people fly in a carrier is because of cost and two, it’s not only going to be low-cost but the experience from the time you purchase your ticket to the time you get to the airport”.

The CEO promised excellent customer care service as compared to others.

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saturdAY, November 24, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

MACORP launches new agricultural equipment

One of the tractors that were introduced by CASE IH to the Guyanese market

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achinery giant MACORP on Friday collaborated with the Brazilian machinery company CASE IH to launch its new agricultural equipment.

This launching came on the heels of MACORP celebrating 25 years of service to Guyana, and showcases a new brand of equipment on the Guyanese market.

Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, who was present at the demonstration exercise, held at Parc Rayne at Rahaman’s Park in Georgetown, noted that the new equipment being introduced would play “a big role” in Guyana’s agriculture sector.

The minister also said it is reassuring when established companies diversify their

product range.

“It tells me that they (international markets) are seeing something, and I know the company has a vision; but what it tells me is that Guyana is part of that vision. As a minister in Government, it is very reassuring (to see this development)”, Minister Gaskin underscored.

He noted that Guyana is still an agriculture-based economy, and he said while there are talks about economic diversification, there is “no intention” for Guyana to move away from agriculture.

In brief remarks, MACORP’s Chief Executive Officer, Guillermo Escarraga, explained that the new features on the tractors are in keeping with the new Information and Communications Technology

(ICT) era.

Escarraga pointed out that MACORP has done a tremendous amount of work to ensure that it stays ahead of technological advancements. He added that the excavators on show would help customers to be more productive, make the operators safer, and “get the job done faster”.

MACORP’s focus is to become the undisputed leader in supplying sustainable integrated solutions for issues that arise in mining, forestry, agriculture, construction, power systems, oil and gas, and the industrial sectors of Guyana; and it wants to do this with a clear sense of permanence in time, with excellence in delivery, and with due regard to the interest of all stakeholders.

The new, compactly-designed, six-cylinder, 150 hp and four-cylinder 145 hp Maxxum CVX tractors are equipped with a continuously-variable transmission (CVT), and will now be available to customers in Guyana.

However, recognising some customers’ preference for six-cylinder machines at the upper end of this power bracket, there is now an alternative to the four-cylinder 145 hp Maxxum.

With the ability to work at a set engine or forward speed, and alter either one independently of the other, tractors with continuously-variable transmissions are particularly well-suited to operating equipment where this is advantageous.

Out-of-school youths to receive STEM & Robotics training

Public Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes (fourth from left) and the Robotics team

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cadre of local youth volunteers residing in various communities in Regions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10 will serve as resource persons for a series of STEM and Robotics training programmes scheduled to begin in December.

The participants are young people who are out of school but are as yet unattached.

The training will begin by educating the youths on STEM (Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics initially) along with Robotics and coding/computer programming.

This ground-breaking programme is an initiative of the Department of Culture, Youth and Sport, and the ultimate objective is to equip more young people with marketable skills that would render them employable.

In the longer term, the ultimate objective is to have those young people teaching the Robotics and STEM skills they have learnt to other students.

The Department of Culture is collaborating with the Public Telecommunications

Ministry, the Education Ministry and STEMGuyana to teach Robotics to Guyanese students.

The main organisers met last Thursday to refine the training programme and its logistics, which include identifying the regional ICT hubs that would be used as training venues, and the schedule for meeting with the regional Community Development Officers.

The latter, who are all attached to the Ministry of Public Telecommunications (MoPT), would be required to manage the programme’s logistics in their respective regions, which include ensuring that the training modules are loaded onto the computers in the ICT hubs, and transporting participants to the training venues.

STEMGuyana drafted the training curriculum, which hinges on computer coding, Scratch programming, building and programming robots, and mathematics using the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) syllabus.

This is also the beginning of what the organisers hope would become a series

of training interventions leading to entering highly skilled Guyanese teams into the annual International Robotics Olympics.

Scratch is a programming language and online community where technology students receive assistance to create their own interactive stories, games, and animations.

The organisers expect the participants and facilitators to later establish tech(nology) clubs for primary, secondary and adult students in their communities. In February this year, STEMGuyana trained and certified approximately 50 youth leaders and teachers, and encouraged them to start technology clubs in their communities.

That STEM certification programme was the beginning of many outreaches that STEMGuyana has conducted in Guyana through various Ministries and through the Office of the First Lady, Sandra Granger.

STEMGuyana is led

by Leon Caleb Christian; Karen Abrams, a Start-up Inclusion Consultant; and Ima Christian.

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saturdAY, November 24, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Noise nuisance management

Noise clampdown should be done uniformly – GCCI President …says businesses will suffer

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he Public Security Ministry’s efforts to clamp down on noise nuisance across the country by restricting the rights of businesses to play music has led to some serious concerns regarding whether this will be a fair process.

President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Deodat Indar, told Guyana Times that while he is not against this move, law enforcement officials should discharge their responsibilities in all fairness.

“If people are breaking the law (by) playing music to an unacceptable level of loudness, and are causing discomfort to the neighbours and people in the surrounding periphery, the Police have to enforce what the law is. What I’m hoping for is that whenever this does happen, it happens in an even manner, and not an uneven manner. If we’re going to enforce something, do it across the board. If we’re going to do it, I’m hoping that the Police, when they have to enforce a law, they do it across the board,” Indar noted.

Since the campaign commenced on Thursday, a few prominent businesses have been left with no choice but to cease operations until the next day. The GCCI President insists that if these enterprises are operating for lesser hours, their

A push cart music vendor earning his living at the Stabroek Market

incomes could be negatively impacted.

He explained, “If businesses are accustomed to opening at a certain number of hours to bring in revenue, and that number becomes shortened, it will obviously impact the business in a negative way. It will affect business, because if businesses get closed down for some reason or the other, it will affect consumption and it will affect the business community”.

Indar further stated that the 02:00h curfew that was established for businesses would have already affected many establishments, forcing some to close their doors because of various reasons.

He indicated that concerns were raised about some being targeted while some have been given the preferential treatment.

UG recorded deficit in 2017– Union – administration says finances under control

University Bursar and primary financial officer, Holda Poonai

UG Senior Staff Association Chairperson, Dr Jewel Thomas

t seems the University of Guyana (UG) recorded a budget deficit last year, even as negotiations between unions at the university and the administration in regard to salary increases are headed to the governing council.

This is according to UG Senior Staff Association Chairperson, Dr Jewel Thomas, at a press conference on Friday. She noted that the state of UG’s finances is a major worry for the unions, as they are negotiating on behalf of workers for salary increases.

“There is a great deal that

is unknown. Suffice to say that at the end of last year we had a deficit. The issue that was unknown was exactly how large it was… So the administration said to us and others that they were trying to assess the size of the deficit, and they would have more of a sense of it by the middle of the year.

“So, the middle of the year, I think, they did do additional assessments and they found that it (deficit) was millions, and they had to take measures to begin to deal with it.

I

continued on page 14

“The 2 a.m. curfew had an impact on businesses, and some of them had to close down. My complaint to the Police at that time was that they were implementing the law or enforcing the law unevenly. Some people were being targeted and closing down at that time, while some were getting off

with it.”

Junior Vice President of the GCCI, Timothy Tucker, had questioned the rationale of the Police when undertaking measures to ensure that the curfew is enforced. He said many GCCI members feel there is a double standard where enforcement is concerned.

“The observation of some of the members is that it’s not being done across the board; they feel there’s a double standard – that their bars are being shut down while others are not being shut down just outside of Georgetown,” Tucker was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Owner of Seeta’s Bar, Seeta Gosahai, explained that Police officers had visited her place business place on Station Street last Thursday evening, and she had been forced to close earlier that the normal time.

She asserted that only her establishment had been targeted, and other establishments where music was being played louder continued playing their music late into the night.

“One of them in the street does play louder than me, and they didn’t stop them.

They pass all the bars in the street and come straight to me. If they doing a campaign, it supposed to be all over,” Gosahai said.

The distraught business owner claimed she was subjected to closing her bar early in the afternoon, and would do so for the coming days. This has put a pressure on her since expenditures are to be paid.

“We can’t do business now; look how much workers we have! We gotta pay GRA, rates and tax, and for the parapet now for City Council.”

On Thursday, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan posited that revoking the licences of some music operators is being looked at.

“We want to take the profit out of this illegal activity, and that means we must start after going through the procedures, ensuring that we can revoke some of the licences of these bars that play loud music, or the (carts) selling their video and their tape recordings…or the cars of people,” Ramjattan stated.

While he said the Police should target unlicensed operators, a majority of licensed businesses reportedly were visited by Police ranks. Push cart vendors have also protested against this move, since their livelihoods would be wiped out entirely.

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saturdAY, November 24, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Nandlall to lead defence Journalist detained for in law books fiasco alleged unlicensed gun

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ormer Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minster Anil Nandlall who appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Friday, was instructed to lead his defence on December 6, 2018, by Magistrate Fabayo Azore, after she adjudged that the evidence provided by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) was enough for him to face the charge which alleges that he stole some 14 Commonwealth law books worth $2.3 million.

SOCU’s Prosecutor, Patrice Henry presented on behalf of the State, meanwhile defence Attorney Glenn Hanoman informed the court that it is expected to have former President Donald Ramotar as a witness into the matter.

The former Attorney General was on April 27, 2017, released on self-bail after he was charged for fraudulently acquiring and converting Commonwealth law books to his own use and benefits, property of the State.

On April 24 2017, Nandlall was called in to SOCU headquarters for questioning in relation to the Commonwealth law books. The day after his detainment, the attorney took to the High Court and filed legal proceedings against

Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall

Attorney General Basil Williams, SC, to prove that the 14 law books are his property.

Following the legal arguments in court, the Chief Justice (ag), Roxane George had granted the conservatory order, restraining officers of SOCU and the Guyana Police Force from seizing or detaining the said books.

Nandlall had explained to the media that when he was appointed Attorney General, he requested as part of his contract of service for the Government of Guyana to stand the expense for his subscriptions for the Commonwealth law books.

He had subscribed to Lexis Nexis, the publishers of the law reports.

His contentions were cor-

roborated publicly by then President Donald Ramotar.

However, two days later, on April 27, 2017, Nandlall was arraigned before Georgetown Magistrate Fabayo Azore on a charge instituted by members of SOCU. Nandlall continues to maintain that the accusation laid against him by SOCU was instigated by Attorney General Basil Williams because he [Nandlall] continues to criticise his [Willams’] performance.

Nandlall has previously explained that when he was appointed Attorney General, he requested as part of his contract of service for the Government of Guyana to stand the expense for his subscriptions for the Commonwealth law books.

He had subscribed to Lexis Nexis, the publishers of the law reports. Insisting that nothing was abnormal about the practice, the former AG had argued that it was done by other Government Ministries such as Finance and Health.

He had expressed awareness that for decades prior, the Government had paid for professional and technical publications, journals, periodicals, magazines. This, he said, had been done for Ministers as well as professional and technical personnel.

A

Journalist, Leroy Smith was on Friday afternoon arrested after an unlicensed 4.5mm air pistol was found in his motorcar during a stop and search exercise at Regent and Albert Streets, Georgetown.

Based on information received, at about 16:20h, motorcar bearing registration number PVV 4965 driven

by Smith was stopped by Police ranks. At the time of the exercise, a teenager of Wismar Linden was in the car.

However, during the search, the Colt Defender 4.5mm air pistol was found between the front passenger seats in a compartment pocket. Smith immediately claimed ownership and subsequently produced an approval letter signed by former Commissioner Seelall Persaud dated January 17, 2017.

A senior Police rank when contacted told Guyana Times that the letter of approval was given to Smith to purchase the weapon. “It means that after he would have purchased the gun, he had to get it registered and then a licence will be issued… we are trying to ascertain whether or not

Journalist Leroy Smith

it is the same gun that the approval was given to purchase is the one that Smith had in his possession,” the senior rank stated.

In addition, the senior Police rank added that air pistols are not a regular firearm that can be kept in someone’s possession around the clock. “Those guns are for hunting purposes and once they are not

used as was intended, they have to be locked away in a safe space until they are ready to be used again”.

As a result of the law, Smith was arrested and taken into custody at Brickdam Police Station while the firearm was lodged. He and the occupant of the car were later released.

The Police are continuing their investigations.

The gun that was found in Smith’s car

UG recorded...

“So where we are now is that we were told at the last (meeting) that measures have been successfully taken to deal with it, but we have not seen the documentation to support this assertion. So we are waiting for documentation on this matter; it is an issue where no clear statement has been received for some time,” Dr Thomas explained.

Thomas also expressed serious concerns about how the university has been spending money. According to the union rep, lecturers are sometimes forced to go into their own pockets to buy classroom essentials in order to carry out their work.

Thomas explained that the terms of resumption of work after UG workers’ 2015 strike had included the administration providing adequate resources so staff would not be put into expense. Three years later, according to Thomas, the practise continues.

“Members of staff were paying to keep this university running from their own resources in spite of more money coming to the university.

And you can see evidence of spending (while) staff are still paying for essentials.

Staff are still paying for ink,

from page 13

paper, buying their own projectors and bringing it to use in classrooms,” Thomas detailed.

“I was told yesterday by someone (that) they had to buy their own office supplies and paper clips, because they were told they can’t have. Leaking roofs can’t be fixed, they have no money. Recently, staff had to be moved in here, and had to work out of this room because of the bat and rat infestation on the old wing of this building. It was so severe that staff couldn’t work anymore,” she detailed.

This newscast made contact with the University’s Bursar and primary financial officer, Holda Poonai. She noted that, far from a deficit, the university has cleared all salaries, liabilities, and has been managing its finances.

She maintained that, having adjusted its expenditure, there is no shortfall of money.

“I know we have paid our November salaries; we have made all our deduction payments. Remember, budget changes based on circumstances. If there is a shortfall and you don’t adjust your expenditure, you will have a shortfall. We’ve since adjusted our expenditure,” she said.

news

15

saturdAY, November 24, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

“Today it is possible to end AIDS” – PANCAP assures …16 Days of Activism to End Gender-based Violence launched

“T

oday it is possible to end AIDS. It is no longer a dream, it can become a reality and UN (United Nations) Aids has set as its target ending AIDS by 2030,” shared an optimistic Director of the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP), Dereck Springer.

He made those remarks during the launch of ‘World AIDS Day’, which is slated for December 1 and ‘16 Days of Activism to End Genderbased Violence’.

Although Springer said

AIDS can be eliminated by 2030, he noted that the goal can only be achieved if the UN’s target of 90/90/90 is gained, where 90 per cent of all persons tested HIV positive become aware of their status and of those who become aware of their status, 90 per cent of them receive treatment and remain on treatment, where at the same time, of that 90 per cent on treatment, receive viral suppression.

The Director also pointed out, “HIV is not our problem, but the socio-economic issues that put people at

risk and make them vulnerable, those are the issues that we have to address and gender-based violence is one such issue…gender is a very critical component in our response to HIV”.

According to him, women and girls are more vulnerable because of biology and because of the dynamics of relationships where many women are afraid to be tested for the disease because of concerns that if they test HIV positive, they can suffer both emotional and physical violence and even death at the hands of their partner.

Director of the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP), Dereck Springer

40 graduate from technical training programme

Officials and students taking a ride in the boat that was donated to the St Monica Amerindian community

F

orty youths of St Monica and Kabacaburi on Friday graduated from the Social Protection Ministry’s technical training programme sponsored by the Board of Industrial Training, National Training Project for Youth Empowerment.

At a simple ceremony held at St Monica, the students were given certificates for participating in various technical skills.

Ten male and females

students were trained in boat building, while at Kabakaburi, 30 students were trained in block making, electrical insulation and small engine repairs.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Board of Industrial Training (BIT), Clinton Williams in his remarks noted that the programme, which started in 2006, now has the full support of the Government and as such, BIT is also giving full support because of the

need to educate our children in the field of technical skills.

He said the programme is being delivered in all regions of Guyana and is designed to target vulnerable youths such as school drop outs and young people from depressed communities.

Williams further explained that the programme will empower the youths to take advantage of the many vacancies for technical skills in the Private and Public Sector.

Minister Keith Scott in his feature address encourage the youths to continue to upgrade their skills so as to be masters of their trade. He said technical skills are in great demand and Guyanese should take the opportunity to qualify themselves for the many technical job opportunities.

“The oil and gas sector which is presently coming on board will need many persons with various technical skills... continue to study and grab all opportunities possible,” Scott encouraged the graduates.

As an act of encouragement to the trainees who completed their training in boat building and engine repairs, the Government of Guyana through the Social Protection Ministry donated one 75HP Yamaha outboard engine to the community to be used.

Transgender women, he said, are also vulnerable to AIDS as well as men and boys which makes it important for gender, in the context of HIV, to be brought out of isolation.

World AIDS Day will this year coincide with the 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-based Violence. The planned days of activism is being held under the theme ‘Orange the World #hearmetoo end violence against women and girls’.

“Orange was chosen as it is a bright unifying colour which represents a future free of violence for women and girls and we

say women and girls because women and girls are disproportionately affected by violence,” Deputy Programme Manager, Crime and Security, AnnMarie Williams pointed out.

She added, “The 16 Days of Activism campaign is a time to galvanise action to end violence around the world to end impunity, silence and stigma and have allowed violence against women and girls to escalade to pandemic proportions”.

She said based on a United Nations (UN) report, only two countries have managed to out-law violence, while 37 countries world-wide still exempt rape perpetrators from prosecution. Additionally 49 countries across the globe have no laws protecting women and girls.

The 16 Days of Activism begins on November 25 and will wind down on December 10. The period will entail International Day to End Violence against Women and girls on November 26; International Women’s Human Rights Defenders Day on November 29; and importantly December 1, World AIDS Day. This year, World AIDS Day is being held under the theme ‘Know your status’.

16

guyanatimesgy.com

saturdAY, november 24, 2018

News

Caricom to re-introduce single security check at airports

S

peaking at the opening of the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO’s) Air Transport Conference at the Guyana Conference Centre at Liliendaal on 21 November 2018, Caricom SecretaryGeneral, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, said the Caribbean Community (Caricom) is seeking to re-introduce the single security check for direct transit passengers on multi-stop intra-community flights. He said this will no doubt be “a welcome initiative for regional travellers.”

Caricom had successfully implemented a single security check initiative during the Region’s hosting of the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2007. That arrangement has since been put on pause, and intra-regional travellers making transit stops are required to go through security checks until they reach their final destination.

Secretary-General LaRocque told the meeting that under the auspices of the

Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System (CASSOS), work will soon commence on the development of a regional policy through which the single security check would enhance travellers’ experience in the Region and minimise inconvenience.

Formally launched in 2009, CASSOS has been facilitating growth and development of the regional aviation sector through training; resource sharing; and harmonisation of policies and procedures, among other areas.

CASSOS member states seek to uphold the highest standards of safety and security in aviation, as determined by the rules and regulations of the ICAO, the Secretary-General told the meeting.

He said the actions Caricom has been taking were not limited to its domestic situation, but were also in pursuit of enhancing global transportation links, with consequent benefit

High-level officials at the opening ceremony of the ICAO Air Transport Conference in Guyana

flowing to the regional tourism product.

In this regard, he said, a consultancy has been launched to formulate a regional airlift policy and strategy; with technical reviews, analytical work, and stakeholder consultations in member states already un-

Guyana delegation makes strong case for lifting of greenheart import restrictions in the UK

dertaken.

The objective of the regional airlift policy and strategy, Ambassador LaRocque said, is to harmonise aviation policies in the Community, and support the expansion of the tourism sector as a major contributor to the sustainable growth of member states.

Noting that those objectives have key linkages with the objectives of the Air Transport Conference, he said the presence of

the Honourable Joseph Kofi Adda, Minister of Aviation of Ghana; and Her Excellency Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy of the African Union Commission, presents an opportunity to explore possibilities for air links and consequent increase in travel among the African diaspora.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) conference has advanced the outcome of a spe-

cial event on promoting air links between African states and the diaspora which was held in Accra, Ghana in 2017.

Emphasising the conference’s vast potential for improving tourism and trade linkages between the African continent and Caricom member states, the Secretary-General encouraged the meeting to advance those prospects.

Dr Amani Abou-Zeid, in her remarks at the opening of the Conference, invited Ambassador LaRocque to discuss connecting the Caribbean and the African continent.

Underscoring the immense potential of this collaboration, she said Africa’s population is expected to double to 2.5 billion people by 2020, and the African diaspora is estimated at more than 150 million, with 23 million in the Caribbean alone.

Noting the need for follow-up on this discussion, which began in 2014, she said, “Aviation provides a critical infrastructure link for the promotion of tourism between the Caribbean and the continent, and for linking the people of the Caribbean to the motherland.”

GBTI launches 2019 calendar

The Guyanese delegation among representatives of the UK Environment Agency and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

T

he Guyana delegation in the United Kingdom (UK) has made Guyana’s case for the lifting of the greenheart import ban which was placed

by UK Environment Agency (EA) in 2015.

The delegation which included Guyana Forestry Commission’s (GFC) Chairman of the Board, Joslyn Dow; EU-FLEGT Secretariat Head, Kenny David; GFC Deputy Commissioner, Andrew Mendez, of McVantahe Inc; among others, made a combined presentation to Andy Powell of the UK EA and Clare Marsden of Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

The presentation focused on the many accomplishments of Guyana when it comes to sustainable forest practices, and the key impacts the restrictions have had on the industry and the country as a whole.

It also focused on the current code of practice and the maintenance of Guyana’s biodiversity.

From the presentation

the delegation then sought clarification from the EA and DEFRA representatives on whether or not the FLEGT certification which will be given to Guyana in about five-six years, will be accepted for Category B timber since the UK only accepts Category A FSC 100 per cent Greenheart from Iwokrama as of 2016.

They also challenged the UK EA’s stance on offering support to the country in getting FSC certification since only this is accepted but is costly. Further, they asked what can be done between now and the time FLEGT certification starts to restore trade between the two countries.

From the presentation, the EA and DEFRA representatives clarified that they did not consider the restrictions a ban; though conceding that standards had acted as a barrier to imports. They also shared that more needs to be done in terms of awareness and thus far, they have met with some of their suppliers to clarify their position on this.

Overall, the UK EA was very impressed by the presentation and noted that the information was very useful in clarifying the negative perception of timber from Guyana’s forests.

Guyana will now have to await feedback from the UK EA on moving forward as they consult superiors and make recommendations.

The greenheart restrictions were introduced by the EA in the UK in 2015.

Then it was claimed that proof of sustainable sourcing of the forest product was inadequate, and this has since resulted in a drastic decrease in export of the product to the UK. In December 2016 the EA relaxed the restrictions on greenheart, but only began to accept Category A FSC 100 per cent Greenheart from Iwokrama.

The Guyana delegation is confident that this direct engagement will lead to greater relaxation of the restrictions and lead to increased access to the United Kingdom market for producers and exporters of greenheart forest producers.

T

Some of the artwork featured in the annual calendar

he Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) on Friday revealed its 2019 calendar while the students who participated in the art competition were also rewarded.

The six students – Chelsea Wallerson, Mariana Ramai, Lorenzo Smartt, Darshanie Pirana, Unn Persaud and Shavanie Balkissoon – were among more than 130 students who would have entered their artworks to be featured in the calendar.

As they were rewarded, Public Relations and Marketing Manager, Pamela Binda pointed out that along with the creative pieces, the almanac is inked with the banking institution’s new tagline “We see

Guyana through your eyes”.

They are also aligned to focus more on retail and commercial lending.

“We have been focusing more on commercial lending and this is one of the reasons you will see GBTI being repositioned and one of the reasons we have a new tagline ‘We see Guyana through your eyes’. We’re more than banking. We believe in people achieving their dreams,” Binda noted.

She further stated that the response from stakeholders surpassed all expectations, while added that the Bank will continue to support and investing in youths.

“This year exceeded more than we anticipated.

Thankfully, people still see

our calendar art competition as one that is worthwhile entering and this is testimony to the fact that we invest in our young people and we will continue to do this. The bank will continue to make avenues like these possible so that persons can exhibit their skills and talents,” she asserted.

Meanwhile, Executive Director Richard Isava stated, “Many times, we don’t encourage our children to participate in the arts and literature and music. This is a great demonstration that there are many careers in Guyana that you can pursue.”

Consumers can look forward to their decorated calendar next year which features the six winning pieces.

17

saturdAY, november 24, 2018

guyanatimesgy.com

Around the World

Pakistan PM Imran Khan orders inquiry Belize Police Officer shoots girlfriend, into attack on Chinese consulate

P

akistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday ordered an inquiry into the attack on China's consulate in the coastal city of Karachi in which two policemen were killed.

"The Prime Minister has ordered a complete inquiry into the incident and has desired that elements behind this incident must be unearthed," Khan's office said in a statement, adding that the attack was part of a conspiracy aimed at undermining economic and strategic cooperation between the two nations.

"Such incidents will never be able to undermine Pak-China relationship," the statement added. Neighbouring China is Pakistan's closest ally, ploughing billions of dollars

in loans and infrastructure investments into the South Asian nation as part of Beijing's vast Belt and Road initiative.

Three suicide attackers stormed the Chinese consulate in the Pakistani city of Karachi amid a series of gunshots and an explosion on Friday, but were killed before they could force their way in with a car packed with explosives, Police said.

The attack killed four people, including two Police Officers, but it was far from the most deadly on a particularly violent day across the region.

A suicide attacker on a motorbike set off explosives in a crowded festival and market in northwest Pakistan’s Orakzai region, killing at least 25 people at around the same time as the

commits suicide

L

Pakistani security personnel stand next to burned out vehicles in front of the Chinese consulate after an attack in Karachi on November 23, 2018

Karachi bloodshed.

Over the border in eastern Afghanistan, a suicide blast at a mosque on an army base killed at least 26 people and wounded 50, security officials said. Earlier in the week, a suicide bomber killed 55 people in the capital, Kabul.

The attack on China’s consulate in Karachi was claimed by the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) insurgent group that opposes Chinese projects linked to its Belt and Road initiative in resource-rich Baluchistan. (Excerpt from MSN and Reuters)

aw enforcement officials are investigating an incident in which one of their colleagues used his Police-issued 9mm pistol to kill his common-law wife and then commit suicide.

The bodies of Police Constable Steven Anthony Ferguson and Josephine Hamilton were found at their residence in Punta Gorda Town, the capital and largest town of Toledo District in southern Belize.

“Officer Ferguson was seen on the floor, motionless, with an apparent gunshot type injury to the right temple which apparently exited the left temple. The Police-issued 9mm pistol was seen about a foot away from his head.

“Nearby to his body his common-law wife Josephine Hamilton, 30 years …of the same address was seen in a sitting position, motionless as well. Upon examination of the scene, she was seen with several gunshot type injuries, two to the top of the head and one towards the left eye,” said the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Joseph Myvett, who is also head of the National Crimes Investigation Branch.

The Police said that the incident occurred on Wednesday night and residents in the area reported that the couple had been engaged in a confrontation and that the killings took place in the presence of their children. (Jamaica Observer)

Barbados overhauls corporate tax regime, slashes African Union tax rate on local companies more than 20% hit by sexual harassment claims B

S

Faki says a policy on sexual harassment at work will be set up

exual harassment is a major problem for women who work at the African Union Commission (AUC), an internal investigation has found. Most of the victims are short-term staff, youth volunteers and interns looking for jobs, the report said.

Those responsible "position themselves as 'gate-keepers' and 'king-makers'", it added.

The inquiry was launched in May and all staff members who had a complaint were invited for a confidential interview. The special committee was formed by the AUC Chairperson, Moussa Faki, after an anonymous letter alerted him to the abuse.

The team found 44 cases of alleged sexual harassment and that young women were being "exploited for sex in exchange for jobs".

The report did not name any of the alleged perpetrators.

Staff behind the harassment made "believable promises to young women that they will be offered contracts," the report said.

Interviewees said reporting incidents of sexual harassment was often counterproductive as there was no process internally to do so because the AUC does not have a sexual harassment policy.

The team also found incidents of bribery, corruption, bullying, discrimination and intimidation.

South Africa's Mail AND Guardian paper says the inquiry was established after it reported on a petition signed by 37 female members of AU staff complaining about sexual harassment at the Commission.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

arbados will harmonise its domestic and international corporation tax regimes, by December 31, 2018, slashing the tax burden for some local companies by up to 29 per cent.

Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced in the Barbados Parliament on Tuesday, November 20, the ambitious target to overhaul a 40-year-old system that had provided a preferential low-tax regime for international business entities.

This comes only a month after the corporation tax on domestic companies was raised from 25 to 30 per cent in a bid to boost flagging state finances.

Prime Minister Mottley explained that the convergence of the tax systems

Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced in the Barbados Parliament on Tuesday, November 20, the ambitious target to overhaul a 40-year-old system

was to fulfil commitments made to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) by the previous Freundel Stuart administration.

She said a failure to re-

move the differential taxation policies for domestic and international companies registered in Barbados would make the island non-compliant with the OECD’s Base Erosion and

Profit Shifting (BEPS) rules and expose it to severe penalties for harmful tax practices.

The overhaul of the tax system will see the repeal of the International Business Companies Act, the Societies with Restricted Liability Act, and the Exempt Insurance Act. As a result of the move toward convergence, most corporate entities in Barbados will be taxed on a sliding scale of 5.5 per cent for those companies with taxable income up to BDS$1 million (US$500,000) down to one per cent for those with taxable income over BDS$30 million (US$15 million). Insurance companies will be taxed at a rate of zero to two per cent depending on their class of business. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

Indian Police investigate who helped young American killed on remote island

I

ndian authorities said on Friday they are investigating whether a young American believed to have been killed by an isolated tribe on a remote island, may have had help from more people than initially thought to make his illegal voyage.

John Chau, 26, was allegedly killed on November 17, 2018, by people of the Sentinelese tribe who inhabit the North Sentinel Island in the Andaman and Nicobar island chain. Chau’s family said in a social media post he was a Christian missionary and mountaineer.

It is illegal for people to visit the island and seven people suspected of helping Chau reach it, including fishermen, have been arrested. The fishermen told police that they saw Chau’s body being dragged across a beach and buried in the sand.

Police are now investigating if Chau had help from other people to travel to North Sentinel, Vijay Singh, senior superintendent of police (SSP) in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, said in

a statement.

Police would investigate “the sequence of events, the sea route followed”, and other matters, said Singh.

The Sentinelese, hunter-gatherers armed with primitive spears and bows and arrows, are considered to be the last pre-Neolithic tribe in the world and the most isolated such group. The tribe, estimated to be only a few dozen in number, have for decades aggressively resisted contact with the outside world.

Anthropologists were briefly in contact with the tribe in the early 1990s, but their effort was abandoned due to fears that contact with the outside world could expose the tribe to pathogens and lead to their extinction.

North Sentinel, 50 km (31 miles) West of Port Blair – the capital of the island cluster – is protected by laws which bar even fishing within a 5-nautical mile radius of the island. The law also bars tourism or photography. Those guilty of breaking the law face jail of up to three years. (Excerpt from Reuters)

An American self-styled adventurer and Christian missionary, John Allen Chau, has been killed and buried by a tribe of huntergatherers on a remote island in the Indian Ocean where he had gone to proselytize, according to local law enforcement officials, in this undated image obtained from a social media on November 23, 2018

18

guyanatimesgy.com

saturdAY, November 24, 2018

ARCHIE

ARIES (March 21April 19)

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

dilbert

If you are feeling uncertain about something or someone, ask direct questions before you make a commitment. Once you know where you stand, positive change can take place.

CANCER

A steady pace will help you reach your goal. If you do things your way, you'll be happy with the results. An unusual perspective will captivate your audience.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Calvin and Hobbes

Clear up unfinished chores or family responsibilities. Be careful what you sign up for. If you offer to help someone, you are likely to be taken for granted.

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

(June 21July 22)

Peanuts

Open discussions will help you avoid a misunderstanding. Make plans with a loved one. A promise or commitment can be made.

Personal change is encouraged. Romance is in the stars.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

You will thrive on change, social events and activities that take ingenuity as well as endurance. If you stand tall and do your best, victory will be yours.

Romance is highlighted.

You are best off removing negative influences from your life. Don't let anyone bring you down or interfere with your plans. Set a standard and don't veer off track.

Visit a friend or relative LIBRA (Sept. 23- who can offer clarity and inOct. 23) sight into a domestic situa-

tion you face. Personal change will make you feel better about yourself and your future.

WORD GAME

SUDOKU

TODAY’S WORD — TOPIARY (TOPIARY: TOPE-ee-air-ee: The art of trimming trees into ornamental shapes.)

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

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

YESTERDAY’S WORD — NARCISSISM crass crisis iris sans sari sass scam scan scar scram

scrim simian main manic marc mass mica mini minicar miss

RULES OF THE GAME: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” is not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed. To contact Word Game creator Kathleen Saxe, write to Word Game, Kathleen Saxe, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

Copyright 2015, Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

A home improvement project will brighten your day. Try something unique that will spark your imagination and encourage you to spend more time with family or old friends.

Listen, but don't beSAGITTARIUS lieve everything you hear.

(Nov. 23- Someone will mislead you in Dec. 21) order to get his or her way.

Ask questions and make changes based on what you discover.

Average mark 23 words Time limit 30 minutes

naris amir amiss arms racism rain raisin rani cairn cram

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

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

Go over your qualifications and set up a new resume.

Update information that will encourage you to save money or make better use of it.

Exercise will help overcome stress.

Get together with the people who motivate you the most. A team effort will help you get something finished that will improve your living quarters. Host a gathering to celebrate your victory.

Seek advice and engage in conPISCES (Feb. 20- versation, but do your own thing March 20) in the end. Tailor whatever is suggested to fit your set of circumstances. Don't let emotions and temptation entice you into something that isn't right for you.

saturdAY, november 24, 2018

19

Abu Dhabi GP: Bottas fastest as Red Bull show pace M

ercedes driver Valtteri Bottas headed Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in second practice at the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The Finn, who has yet to win this year while team-mate Lewis Hamilton claimed a fifth world title, was just 0.044 seconds quicker than Verstappen.

The second Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo was third, 0.192secs off the pace, ahead of Hamilton and the Ferraris.

Kimi Raikkonen headed Sebastian Vettel, who has not won a race since August.

The German wants to finish the season on a high after a title challenge slipped through his fingers as a result of errors from driver and team.

Vettel said that winning would be “difficult”, adding: “Today we were not fast enough, so we see. We need to find quite a bit of pace. For one lap we should be able to improve quite a bit. The conditions came to us. The car was definitely quicker this evening than this afternoon.”

“Overall, it’s been a good day,” said Hamilton. “Even though the first session was not great. The track was very green in the beginning, so there was

a lot of sliding around and - just like everyone else - we were struggling with the tyres.

“We made some really good changes over the break and I was much happier with the car in the second session, but there’s still a lot of work to do. Red Bull looked quick.

They’re usually fast in practice and in the race, so I have no doubts it will be the same this weekend.”

A close fight come race day But on the evidence of Friday, such as it is, the top three teams will be closely matched - only 0.333secs separated all their six drivers on a relatively long lap.

Verstappen is the form man as the season comes to an end. He would have won in Brazil two weeks ago had he not tangled with a lapped car, did win in Mexico two weeks before that, and climbed from 18th on the grid to finish second the race before that in

Jose Mourinho: ‘Manchester United can be in top four by end of year’

America.

On race pace, Hamilton, Verstappen and Raikkonen also looked closely matched on the hypersoft tyres, which will need careful management if teams start the race on them.

But the softest tyre in Pirelli’s range was again proving fragile and it may be that some of the leading teams will try to get through second qualifying on the harder ultra-soft tyre to give themselves a more comfortable race.

There were no major incidents in the session, after Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson spun and dinked his front wing in the earlier first 90 minutes.

Off track, Haas, whose drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen were seventh and ninth fastest have lodged a protest against Force India.

Their claim is that

Force India are technically breaking the rules because they are racing cars they did not design, which is a requirement in F1.

This follows Force India’s collapse into administration in the summer and rescue by the Canadian businessman Lawrence Stroll. Although the same people are working for the team now as before, the rescue package involved Stroll buying the team’s assets and being allowed an entry as a new team, starting from zero points.

Haas are upset because Force India have been allowed to keep their entitlement to a significant part of the prize money fund, which is only available to teams that have finished in the top 10 in two of the previous three seasons.

Haas team principal Gunther Steiner said: “We are seeking equality for all teams. We

came in under certain circumstances.

We were aware of what we had to do.

But that was not the case in this case.

“We tried to mediate to find an amicable solution but if you don’t get anywhere at some point you need to do something.”

He added: “I don’t want more money for us. I want that it is fair.”

Hamilton ran on Friday the engine that he used in the last race in Brazil, and which at one point there the team felt was within one lap of failing.

Mercedes said the problems was with the variable valve system and that settings were changed during the race to “contain the risk of failure/ maximise performance”.

Mercedes say they have “made hardware changes outside the sealed perimeter and we are running that engine today”.

Mercedes will analyse the engine at the end of Friday’s running. If it is not fine, they face the choice between running one that has already done seven weekends - and therefore would be over its planned life - or fitting a new engine.

Fernando Alonso, in his final race, was 13th fastest for McLaren. (BBC Sport)

Real captain Ramos ‘did not breach antidoping rules’ after Champions League final

Jose Mourinho (left) has confirmed Anthony Martial is fit to face Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday

M

anchester United can break into the Premier League’s top four by the end of December, says manager Jose Mourinho.

United are currently eighth, seven points off the Champions League qualification spots.

“I know it’s a big gap,” said Mourinho, ahead of Saturday’s clash against Crystal Palace at Old Trafford.

“But I also know until the end of December we have eight Premier League matches to play, and with eight matches we are speaking about 24 points.”

The 55-year-old, who has a near full-strength squad to choose from against Palace, added: “I believe we are going to be there.”

United fell to a 3-1 defeat against Manchester City in their last match before the international break and Mourinho has confirmed Anthony Martial - his side’s top scorer so far

this season - is fit after he picked up an injury in that match.

“Anthony stayed with us, he didn’t go to the national team, the national team was aware of his problems and with permission he stayed, he worked really hard on that,” Mourinho said, referring to the French forward’s muscle problems.

“He was in a pre-injury situation, he worked really hard, he’s ready for tomorrow, he plays for tomorrow. Is he ready to play three in a row in the same week? I don’t know, but the most important match is the next.”

Midfielder Marouane Fellaini is also fit after missing international duty with Belgium, while Marcus Rashford, Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba are also available to face Palace after shaking off minor injuries.

United then host Arsenal in the league on 5 December before a trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool on 16 December. (BBC Sport)

Ramos has won the Champions League four times with Real Madrid

R

eal Madrid have denied captain Sergio Ramos broke anti-doping rules after the 2017 Champions League final in Cardiff.

The German news magazine Der Spiegel claims the Spain international tested positive for anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone, which is only banned if testers are not informed of its use.

Der Spiegel reports doping control officers were told Ramos, 32, had taken a different anti-inflammatory ahead of the final.

Uefa accepted an apology from Ramos.

The player blamed the club’s doctor for the mix-up.

Real Madrid said in a

statement: “Ramos has never breached the anti-doping control regulations.

“Uefa requested timely information and closed the matter immediately, as is usual in these cases, after verification by the experts themselves.”

The doctor, in a letter to Uefa seen by Der Spiegel, said he had accidentally written the name of a different drug on the doping report after the match as Ramos was being tested.

Testers were told Ramos had injections of betamethasone in his left knee and left shoulder, which is also banned by Wada, rather than dexamethasone.

Both drugs, which are similar anti-inflammatories, are permitted under World Anti-Doping Authority (Wada) rules if they are declared at the testing stage.

Der Spiegel said the unnamed doctor from Real Madrid had noted down the wrong drug in the doping report following the game because of the “euphoria” felt from winning the title, and the fact Juan Carlos, the former King of Spain, and the country’s prime minister had visited the doping control station to see Ramos.

Real Madrid beat Juventus 4-1 in the final and Ramos played the full 90 minutes.

A letter from Uefa, seen

by Der Spiegel, said it was “very likely” the player and the doctor had committed “an administrative mistake”.

“In the future, we ask you and your team doctor to be utmost cautious when completing the doping control form and more precisely the declaration of medication,” the letter said, according to Der Spiegel.

In a statement, Uefa said: “Uefa strongly and categorically refutes unfounded allegations it has covered up positive doping results.

“All Uefa doping control cases are conducted in full compliance with the Wada Code.” (BBC Sport)

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Griffith calls for more consistency as Regional 4-Day looms

By Clifton Ross

G

uyana Jaguars Assistant Coach, Rayon Griffith, has expressed satisfaction with the performances seen in the first of two trial matches, but has called for players to be a bit more consistent going forward, as they prepare to defend their Regional 4-Day Title.

The champs recently engaged in the first of two 3-day trial games, played at the Everest Cricket Club Ground.

The players were mixed into two teams, one led

by Jags skipper Leon Johnson and the other by senior middle-order batsman Vishaul Singh, as they sought to get themselves in match form with the Regional season just weeks away.

A few of the big name players, like Trevon Griffith, Robin Bacchus, Bhaskar Yadram, Ronaldo Alimohammed

Players would want to put their proverbial best foot forward in the final upcoming match

and Anthony Bramble, were among those who showed good batting form, with Griffith scoring a century while Bacchus, Bramble, Yadram and Alimohammed all posted scores in excess of 50.

The West Indies ‘A’ coach told Guyana Times Sport on Friday that he felt the first game was good, although he sighted a few areas where improvement is needed heading into the next game.

“I think some of the batters showed good discipline, but they will need to be more consistent going forward. I think they can improve a bit more in the batting, and show a bit more responsibility and avoid losing wickets in clusters,” he disclosed.

The bowlers have, over the years, been a key part of the Jaguars’ success, with the likes of Veerasammy Permaul, Devendra Bishoo, Raymon Reifer, Keon Joseph and others really making up the core of senior bowlers.

With inclusion of a few youngsters the likes of Clinton Pestano, Ramaal Lewis and Gudakesh Motie -- who has been a crucial part of the 4-day team even though still young, and with others, Guyana has widened its pool of bowlers for all formats.

Griffith, a former national pacer, believes the bowlers also could add a bit more stability to their skill, as they likewise flexed their muscles on a good Everest batting surface, to cause a few worries for the batsmen during the first match. “The Everest track is a good batting pitch, and I think it will just get better. The bowlers were good, but they, too, need to get more consistent, because we are not playing 50 Overs or T20 cricket, we are playing 4-Day, so everyone needs to be more consistent,” Griffith has said.

Guyana’s claim to fame -- becoming champs for 4 consecutive seasons -- was boosted last season by the ad-

dition of a few youngsters, the likes of Keemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford and Romario Shepherd, among others; and most of these players have graduated to playing for the West Indies.

With Paul, Bishoo and Shimron Hetmyer on Windies duties, a number of players will be seeking to make the squad; and Griffith believes that now is the right time for them to show what they have in the trial games.

“It’s important for the young guys and beneficial for them, because everyone will be trying to get in performances from the previous game. If they (youngsters) can get in good performances, they can try and make the team either now or in the future; but at least they will be on the selector’s radar for the future,” Griffith declared.

Meanwhile, the players will, from next week Wednesday, assemble yet again for their last trail game at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence.

World T20 renamed as T20 World Cup

Shannon Gabriel

– Captains of men’s and women’s teams hail ICC decision

T

Gabriel suspended for Mirpur Test

W

indies fast bowler Shannon Gabriel has been suspended for next week’s second Test in Mirpur after his accumulated demerit points reached five within a 24-month period following his latest breach of the ICC Code of Conduct for which he received a 30 per cent fine and two demerit points.

During the opening day’s play in the Chittagong Test against Bangladesh on Thursday, Gabriel was found guilty of breaching Article 2.12 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “inappropriate physical contact with a player, player support personnel, umpire, match referee or any other person (including a spectator) during an international match”.

As Gabriel had received a 50 per cent fine and three demerit points during the Jamaica Test against Pakistan in April 2017, with the addition of these two demerit points, he has reached the threshold of four demerit points, which, pursuant to article 7.6 of the Code, have now

been converted into two suspension points.

As two suspension points equate to a ban from one Test or two ODIs or two T20Is, whatever comes first for the player or player support personnel, Gabriel has been suspended from the second Test, which will be played in Mirpur from 30 November to 4 December.

Thursday’s incident happened in the eighth over of the Test when, after bowling a delivery, Gabriel made inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with Bangladesh batsman Imrul Kayes. In the opinion of the umpires, this physical contact was avoidable.

Gabriel admitted the offence on Friday morning and accepted the sanction proposed by David Boon of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees and, as such, there was no need for a formal hearing.

The charge was leveled by onfield umpires Aleem Dar and Richard Illingworth, third umpire Ruchira Palliyaguruge and fourth official Masudur Rahman.

he International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday announced that it has renamed the ICC World T20 as the ICC T20 World Cup. This means next editions of the events in 2020 in Australia will be known as the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020.

The renaming decision is aligned to the Global Cricket Strategy which will be launched in early 2019, in which the shortest format will not only be used as the vehicle to globalise the game, but to also enhance its profile and status and ensure its status is at par with the pinnacle events of the other two formats.

The ICC Board had already approved that all T20s between its Members will be granted T20I status. It then introduced a regional qualification process that provides a pathway to all its 104 Members with an opportunity to play and win the World Cup. The renaming of the event is also aimed at cementing the importance this event holds in the international cricket calendar and ensuring parity across all three formats of the game.

The decision to rename the event was backed by international captains, while South Africa’s Faf du Plessis hinted that the event in the last quarter of 2020 in Australia will be his final ICC event.

Australia men’s captain Aaron Finch, whose country will play host to the two events in 2020, said: “It’s exciting for Australia to be hosting both the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2020.

The Windies men’s team captain

The Australians captain that led their side to World Cup triumphs

Carlos Braithwaite, whose side will defend the title they won in Kolkata in 2016, said: “I think the change in name is a brilliant initiative, it will now make the women feel equal and part of the entire spectacle, without segregation of gender, it’s The Cricket World Cup, because cricket is played by both genders.

“The growth of T20 cricket has been remarkable. I’m not sure how many people could have predicted how far the game or the format would’ve risen when it was first introduced, but certainly it has taken the sport to new markets, pushed it to new levels. As a result of this, the other two formats in cricket have benefited because players now come with an attacking nature, and it’s continuing to push the bat vs ball debate, with batsmen continuously trying to find new ways to conquer bowlers, and as a result, bowlers are getting smarter, so it’s pushing the level of cricket being played now.”

India men’s captain Virat Kohli said: “I’m really excited for the opportunity to be part of the T20 World Cup in Australia. The pinnacle event for T20 cricket is rightly now the World Cup. India won the first edition of the World T20 in 2007 and it would be a great moment to hold the T20 World Cup trophy aloft in Australia.”

England women’s team captain Heather Knight, whose side is ranked second in the shortest format, said: “We’ve always loved playing in this tournament and with the increasing focus on T20I cricket, it is bound to become even more fiercely contested. It has always been a global event and we’ve see a number of countries perform in it across the years so the change in name makes sense.

“It’s always been a World Cup to us and I’m sure to other teams as well so we look forward to playing in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2020.”

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to Federation

he report prepared after allegations of sexual harassment of female referees within the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) had been investigated has been submitted to the GFF by Dr Karen Pilgrim, Chairperson of the Board of Inquiry (BoI), on November 19.

Said to be the findings following the completion of a thorough investigation, The report is scheduled to be tabled for review and action by the

Executive Committee at the next scheduled meeting of the GFF, on Saturday December 1, 2018.

The inquiry, which began in March 2018, was necessitated following allegations of sexual harassment made by female referees, and was conducted by a five-member panel led by Chairperson Dr Karen Pilgrim, Vice President of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA).

Other members of the BoI included Dr Melissa Ifill of the University of Guyana, Human Resources Consultant Karen Joseph, and Red Thread members Karen De Souza and Joy Nichola Marcus-Reid.

The Terms of Reference of the BoI included: to develop a policy against sexual harassment for referees in Guyana; to evolve a permanent mechanism for the prevention and redress of sexual harassment cases; to ensure implementation of the policy in letter and spirit through proper reporting of the complaints and their follow-up procedures; to create a secure physical and social environment to deter any act of sexual harassment; and to promote a social and psychological environment to raise awareness on sexual harassment in its various forms,” a release from the GFF stated.

MYO supports outstanding youths

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Anil Rampersaud presenting a cricket bat to Abdul Ramsammy on behalf of MYO President Azad Ibrahim

T

he Muslim Youth Organisation (MYO) has recognised the spectacular performances of its young cricketers, and has opted to play a significant role in their success.

The MYO recently took the initiative to present young prospect Abdul Ramsammy with a brand new SM cricket bat.

Ramsammy, who recently scored his maiden century for MYO against the Malteenoes Sports Club, has represented Guyana at the under-15 level, and has played inter-county cricket at the under-17 level.

MYO President Azad Ibrahim has also vowed to

continue supporting the youths, since they are the future of the game. He has said he would present bowling spikes and additional cricket bats to century makers and bowlers with five-wicket hauls.

The other individuals likely to receive items from MYO are Krishna Singh and Isai Thorne. Singh has been impressive for MYO; while Thorne, a Guyana under-15 player, is arguably the fastest 14-year-old seam bowler in the Caribbean. Both these players will have the MYO and Ibrahim’s support throughout their blooming careers.

indies Women’s captain Stafanie Taylor insists the team will do a post-mortem following yet another disappointing batting performance in a semi-final loss against Australia on Thursday.

The Windies meekly surrendered their crown after capitulating to 71, under the pressure of chasing Australia’s first in innings total of 142 for 5. With of their success in the tournament coming from runs chases, the Windies won the toss but opted to field first, a decision that has drawn some criticism.

“After we looked at the pitch today we thought bowling was the better option,” Taylor said.

Taylor top scored with 16 and once again the top order struggled with Hayley Matthews scoring 5 and Deandra Dottin scoring 6. It was the opposite for Australia who got solid contributions from Alyssa Healy (46) and Meg Lanning (31).

“I thought that in the last we let them get away but even though they got 142 I just thought as batters we just didn’t bat properly,” Taylor said.

“I think everyone is different. I will have to ask them when I get to the dressing room but we came into this game with a lot of confidence but it was one of those days where we didn’t get off where the bat was concerned.” (Sportsmax)

Noble House Seafoods 2-day Tournament…

Final 4 clash for final spots T

he semi-final stage of the Noble House Seafoods’ two-day second-division tournament will be played today and tomorrow, with one matchup involving Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) facing Malteenoes Sports Club at the Bourda cricket ground, as they look to advance to the finals.

In the other scheduled semifinal, Police will duel with Everest Cricket Club at the Eve Leary ground in Kingston.

Play in both match-

Winston Forrester

es is scheduled to start at 10:30hrs.

Veteran all-rounder Winston Forrester has had many seasons abroad, and has racked up considerable experience. He returns to the GCC franchise, and this will give GCC the extra boost, and possibly take them into the finals.

Throughout his promising cricket career, Forrester has played for many clubs overseas, but his most recent stint has been with the Big Apple Cricket Club in New York.

22

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

saturdAY, november 24, 2018

Archery championships a measuring tool for national selection – Coach Hing A

rchery Guyana Head Coach, Nicholas Hing, in a recent interview with Guyana Times Sport, has said the ongoing Archery Championships would help to identify shooters worthy of being part of the national male and female teams in the near future.

Sighting more excitement ahead as the indoor phase enters its final rounds come December 2, Hing credited the archers for their skills and determination shown during the first shoot a week ago. He rated the first event as a good one for all archers, especially the newbies, who were atop their games despite partici-

GABA Rainforest Water/ Malta Supreme League…

Eagles pip Vikings – Kobras’ plan backfires

P

lay in the 2018 Rainforest Water/ Malta Supreme/ Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) League continued on Wednesday night at the Burnham Hard Court with the Eagles defeating the Vikings and the UG Trojans walking away with a win over the Kobras.

In the first matchup of the night, Vikings lost to the Eagles in the second division leg of the league 6657. For the first three periods of the game it was back and forth; however, holding a deficit in all three periods, the Vikings couldn’t make a comeback in the fourth, as they were outscored 23-17.

The in-form Sherland

Gillis led with 20 points for the Eagles, and was ably supported by Shamaar Huntley (18).

Only three players on the Vikings team could make double digits, the rest failed to make an impact. Osafa Johnson and Eon Meredith both had 11 points, while Shayne Joseph chipped in with 10.

In the other matchup, an under-23 showdown, UG Trojans defeated the dangerous Kobras before they could strike. The Kobras were clearly out matched, as the Trojans showed up to prove a point following two successive losses. They dominated the Kobras throughout the match, and won the contest 70-56.

Leading the Trojans to victory was Denzel Ross, who scored 15 points; while Jonathan Browne, Darrol Williams and Kadeem Peterkin each had 11 points.

Akil Higgins’s 19 and Justin Algu’s 16 weren’t enough to save the Kobras from defeat.

Now that the group stages have been completed, the teams eagerly await the results of the quarterfinalists.

Archers will be keen to bring their A-game with the final rounds approaching

pating in their first tournament.

He believes that all the archers did well, but has still called for everyone, including himself, to be a bit more mentally strong with crunch time approaching.

The veteran archer pointed out that while physicality plays a role, it is the mental aspect which suffices for what archery represents,

and he is urging his fellow shooters to spend more time harnessing their mental strengths, as he said the sport is more mental than physical.

Hing says the objective behind the championships is to have archers continuously enhance their form and skills. Although in competition, he noted, it is essential for archers to learn as much as they can when it comes to archery.

Another crucial factor of mental strength Hing added, is the importance of being mentally at one’s peak, especially when competing at the international level against the world’s best deadeyes.

The local archers competed in categories Male, Female, Junior and Team; and archers in all categories recorded numerous top performances. Hing singled out the championships’ lone competitors in the junior category --juniors Jessica Callender and Talitha Kissoon -- for the maturity and skills they have displayed. He said that despite Jessica being the older of the two, at 16, Kissoon has emerged with the most points in the junior category, following the end of the

last round. He credited the girls’ progression as part of their willingness to get better, and their consistency of training with the adults on a regular basis.

With the semi-finals and finals of the indoor leg just around the corner, Hing noted, the objective following the end of the championships is to select a national team. He explained that with archery being an Olympic sport, it is important for Archery Guyana to start identifying persons in the Georgetown demographic who are registered members of the association, in order to have them train and compete regularly as they seek to form male and female senior teams that would be ready to represent Guyana at any overseas tournament should any arise.

Hing has also hinted that the teams could easily be selected as early as next year, with the indoor leg being followed by the finals of the outdoor leg on December 16th, before Archery Guyana brings down its curtains on activities for 2018.

The semi-finals and finals shoot off from 10:00h on December 2 at the National Gymnasium.

(Clifton Ross)

UCCA receives sponsorship from Trophy Stall S ix teams will participate in a new U-19 tournament on Sunday as the Upper Corentyne Cricket Association (UCCA) secures sponsorship from Trophy Stall to assist in the venture.

At a simple but significant presentation ceremony held recently at the new Trophy Stall outlet at Port Mourant, Corentyne, Vicky Bharosay, former Treasurer of the UCCA and Berbice Cricket Board (BCB), thanked Ramesh Sunich and his company, Trophy Stall, for opening a branch in close proximity to the club, and for coming on board with the Association.

He promised that the tournament would be of a high standard, with intention to groom players for the first division, Berbice, Guyana and Windies teams.

Sunich, in response, said he follows the work of the Association, and is impressed with the standard of cricket administration.

He also mentioned that he is pleased to be associated with the UCCA, and is happy to be on board.

He further stated that he feels privileged to be the sponsor of this tournament, and to give opportunities to

Ramesh Sunich (left), proprietor of Trophy Stall, and Vicky Bharosay, former treasurer of the UCCA and BCB, during a simple hand-over ceremony

young cricketers.

Meanwhile, the newest Trophy Stall branch will be opened in January, 2019, and will serve the Berbice community with quality tokens for sports and many other related services.

The tournament will follow a round robin format

and will see three matches in the first round.

The fixtures are: No. 73 Warriors vs. No. 72 Cut and Load No. 48 Cricket Club vs.

No. 66 Cricket Club Scottsburg vs. No. 73 Mandir

guyanatimesgy.com

saturdAY, november 24, 2018

23

West Indies claw back late on 17-wicket day edge was detected much later.

Taijul Islam finally put him out of his misery in the 11th over, when he was given lbw after missing a sweep shot on the stumps.

Shimron Hetmyer and Shane Dowrich

A

ll the ingredients of an exciting Test match, that is often the case on a spicy pitch, frothed out in the last two sessions in Chittagong.

After Shimron Hetmyer and Shane Dowrich made 63 each to give West Indies some breathing space, 17-year old Nayeem Hasan became the youngest ever debutant to take a five-wicket haul. But Bangladesh’s tendency to collapse was sparked in the final hour and 15 minutes of an absorbing second day.

West Indies spinners Jomel Warrican and Roston Chase took two wickets each as the home side crawled to 55 for 5 at stumps, extending their lead to 133 runs. But they have plenty of rebuilding remaining on the third day with Mushfiqur Rahim and Mehidy Hasan the unbeaten batsmen at the crease.

Warrican removed Imrul Kayes in the second over of

the innings, bowled with a leftarm spinner’s classic that spun between bat and pad. Soumya Sarkar had a second failure in the game, caught at first slip where Kraigg Brathwaite took a juggling catch off Chase. He then removed Mominul Haque, who made his eighth Test hundred in the first innings, with a delivery that spun back into his pads. Mominul opted out of a review after discussion with Mohammad Mithun.

Shakib Al Hasan’s dismissal was the biggest moment, though. With his side reeling on 35 for 3 with more than 11 overs remaining in the day, the Bangladesh captain slogswept Warrican straight to deep midwicket off the second ball he faced.

After a little resistance, Devendra Bishoo removed Mithun for the second time in the game, this time the

Bangladesh No. 4 played back to a fullish delivery, and was bowled.

Spin was the order of the day as Nayeem’s 5 for 61 had earlier headlined Bangladesh’s dominance over West Indies. He took three wickets after the tea break, removing Bishoo, Kemar Roach and Warrican, to add to his two wickets in the middle session.

Nayeem beat Pat Cummins’ record as the youngest Test debutant to take a five-wicket haul, and became the fourth youngest of all time to take a five-for.

After Bangladesh added just nine runs in 4.4 overs in the morning, West Indies had made a nervous start to their innings.

Opener Kieran Powell survived an lbw decision and a close stumping chance before being dropped by Mushfiqur off the last ball, although the outside

Shakib then got into the act with the wickets of Shai Hope and Brathwaite, the most important batsmen in the West Indies lineup. Hope missed a delivery that pitched outside the leg stump but spun back to hit the leg stump, while Brathwaite edged to first slip where Soumya took an easy catch.

Chase, who was taken by Imrul at short leg, became Nayeem’s maiden Test wicket before he had Ambris playing back to a delivery that ripped back into his pads from outside the off stump, the lbw decision an easy one.

But from 88 for 5, Hetmyer counterattacked his way to 63

off 47 balls with five fours and four sixes. He added 92 for the sixth wicket with Shane Dowrich, who remained unbeaten on a fighting 63. Dowrich struck two fours and three sixes during

Nayeem Hasan

his 101-ball stay.

It was mostly Hetmyer who hit back, starting with a pull over mid-on off Nayeem, and two sixes off successive balls off Taijul, both on the leg side. His third six came off Nayeem over long-off, after he had struck him for a four through point.

Hetmyer reached his fifty off 42 balls before blasting Shakib over mid-on twice in the same over, the first going for four and the next for a six. (ESPNcricinfo)

3

SCOREBOARD

Bangladesh 1st Innings 324 all out West Indies 1st Innings KC Brathwaite (c) c Sarkar b Shakib 13 KOA Powell lbw b Islam 14 SD Hope b Shakib 1 SW Ambris lbw b Hasan 19 RL Chase c Kayes b Hasan 31 SO Hetmyer c † Rahim b Miraz 63 SO Dowrich † not out 63 D Bishoo lbw b Hasan 7 KAJ Roach lbw b Hasan 2 JA Warrican b Hasan ST Gabriel c Mahmudullah b Shakib 6 Extras (b 6, lb 2, nb 2, pen 5) 15 TOTAL (all out, 64 Overs, RR: 3.84, 258 minutes) 246 Fall of wickets: 1-29 (KOA Powell, 10.1 ov), 2-30 (SD Hope, 11.1 ov), 3-31 (KC Brathwaite, 11.6 ov), 4-77 (RL Chase, 29.1 ov), 5-88 (SW Ambris, 31.5 ov), 6-180 (SO Hetmyer, 45.6 ov), 7-199 (D Bishoo, 52.3 ov), 8-205 (KAJ Roach, 52.6 ov), 9-225 (JA Warrican, 60.2 ov), 10-246 (ST Gabriel, 63.6 ov) BOWLING: MRahman (2-1-40), M Miraz (15-0-67-1), T Islam (20-3-51-1), S Al Hasan (11-

1-43-3), N Hasan (14-2-61-5), Mahmudullah (2-0-7-0)

Bangladesh 2nd Innings I Kayes b Warrican 2 S Sarkar c Brathwaite b Chase 11 M Haque lbw b Chase 12 M Mithun b Bishoo 17 S Al Hasan (c) c Gabriel b Warrican 1 M Rahim † not out 11 M Miraz not out 0 Extras (lb 1) 1 TOTAL (5 wickets, 17 Overs, RR: 3.23) 55 Yet to bat: Mahmudullah, Nayeem Hasan, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Imrul Kayes, 1.5 ov), 2-13 (Soumya Sarkar, 2.4 ov), 3-32 (Mominul Haque, 6.6 ov), 4-35 (Shakib Al Hasan, 7.5 ov), 5-53 (Mohammad Mithun, 14.6 ov) BOWLING: KAJ Roach (10-11-0), JA Warrican (8-022-2), RL Chase (5-1-162), D Bishoo (3-0-5-1) Notes: Bangladesh lead by 133 runs with 5 wickets in hand

Stand-alone Women’s World T20 tournament…

Australia, England clash in historic final today

By Brandon Corlette

A

rch-rivals England and Australia will clash in the first ever International Cricket Council (ICC) standalone Women’s World T20 Final, to be held at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, West Indies from 20:00 hours Eastern Caribbean time.

This is a highly anticipated match, as both Australia and England had registered contrasting victories in the semifinals; Australia defeating West Indies by 71 runs, and England stunning India by eight wickets.

Five time finalists

Five times’ finalists Australia are making their appearance in this World T20 final, and will be looking for a fourth title when

they meet England today.

Australia began their campaign with a crushing 52run win against Pakistan at Providence in Demerara, Guyana. The trans-Tasmanian giants scored a daunting 165-5 in that match, with Player-of-the-Match Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney scoring 48 runs each. The bowlers then defended that target comfortably, restricting Pakistan to 113-8.

The dominant performances continued in the second match, with Alyssa Healy, wife of Mitchell Starc, continuing her fantastic tournament, winning another Player-of-the- Match award.

The Australian bowlers, spearheaded by Megan Schutt, had restricted Ireland to 93-6 in 20 overs, before Healy blazed a 31-ball-56 to complete a

comprehensive victory in Australia’s second match.

Australia then faced a tougher opponent in New Zealand, in their third group match in Guyana. The results were no different for Australia, as they completed a 33-run victory, with the ever-dependable Healy scoring a scorching half-century.

Megan Schutt bowled brilliantly in that match to restrict New Zealand to 120 all out, but Healy was again awarded Player-of-theMatch for her outstanding batting and glove work.

In Australia’s fourth group match, underdogs India handed the mighty Aussies their first defeat.

Led by Mandhana’s 83 and Kaur’s 43, India scored 167 and restricted Australia to 119 all out. Healy was unable to save her team, as in

that match she had suffered a mild concussion and was unable to bat.

Heading into the semifinals against the defending champions West Indies, all eyes had been on the fitagain Healy, who delivered with her fourth Player-ofthe-Match performance. She led Australia to 142-5, enabling her side to win by 71 runs, having restricted the Caribbean team to 71 all out.

Meg Lanning, Australia’s captain, has led her team brilliantly throughout this tournament, and is expected to add another World T20 Trophy to their cabinet.

Excellent England

England have been brilliant in 2017, winning the ICC Women’s 50 Over World Cup in home conditions, but

Captain Heather Knight and her team desperately desired a World T20 trophy. The English women, playing their group matches in St Lucia, did not have the ideal start to the tournament. Their first match was abandoned due to rain in St Lucia. However, in their second match, they comprehensively beat Bangladesh by seven wickets in a low-scoring encounter, with debutant Kristie Gordon starring.

In their third group match, a must-win encounter against South Africa, Natalie Sciver and Anya Shrubsole starred for the English women in a low-scoring match, which England won by seven wickets after bowling out South Africa for 85.

The Stafanie Taylor-led

West Indies team overcame England by four wickets in a nail-biting affair in a packed St Lucia ground. That was England’s first loss, when they were restricted to 115-8 by the all-rounder Deandra Dottin. However, they still made it to the semifinals in their bumpy World T20 campaign.

The batters have not been consistent for England in this tournament, but in the semifinals against India, Amy Jones and Natalie Sciver came to the party with unbeaten half centuries to take England into the grand finale.

Today’s final is expected to be a show of high-quality cricket between Australia and England, who respectively are currently ranked numbers one and two in T20 International cricket.

saturdAY, november 24, 2018

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Stand-alone Women’s World T20 tournament…

Australia, England clash in historic final today

Page 23

West Indies claw Archery championships a measuring tool for back late on national selection – Coach Hing 17-wicket day Page 23

Page 22

Archery Guyana Chairman/Coach Nicholas Hing (centre) during an outdoor session with Vidushi Persaud-McKinnon

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