Guyana Times - Saturday, September 7, 2019

Govt to introduce e-passport service P9 Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 4039

THE BEACON OF TRUTH saturday, september 7, 2019

Major sectors show decline – BoG Report

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Scammers P10 'selling' NICIL properties to unsuspecting individuals …company warns public not to be fooled

Page 2

GECOM putting cart before the horse with fingerprint cross-matching – Jagdeo

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3-year-old killed in Govt buckles Berbice to pressure: accident approves titles, extensions for 8 Indigenous communities Enumerators, SOCU’s embattled other H2H Head will not Registration staff return – Minister still to be paid After heavy criticisms

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Page 14

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Dead: Dominic Tyler Sulker

Page 9

AG asks Court to strike out application seeking P15 Cabinet’s resignation Crime Chief Alves cleared of criminal misconduct – Top P8 Cop …administrative issues being addressed

Taxi driver P8 jailed for illegal guns, ammo

Venezuela P4 Prosecutors to charge Juan Guaido with ‘high treason’ …after announcement of plans to renounce Essequibo claim

2 news

saturDAY, september 7, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Major sectors show decline – BoG Report

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he Bank of Guyana (BoG) Annual Report for 2018, showed a declining trend among most of the major economic sectors in Guyana including gold, rice and sugar. “… the output of sugar, rice, gold and fishing declined, reflecting poor weather and road conditions as well as lower domestic demand from regulatory requirements,” the report stated.

It was noted that the total gold declaration declined last year by 6.2 per cent, which is 83.3 per cent of the targeted amount of 736,000 troy ounces for 2018. This level of production, the BoG pointed out, reflects lower declarations from small and medium scale miners, which went down by 14.5 per cent.

“The local gold mining industry was hampered by increased smuggling activities and impassable roads in the hinterland regions, caused by heavy rainfall which delayed maintenance works.

In contrast, the two large foreign gold mining companies’ combined production increased by 8.6 per cent. The companies’ – Troy Resources and Guyana Goldfields Inc – shared overall declarations was higher, at 41.5 per cent compared to 35.8 per cent in 2017.

Rice

With regards to rice, the Central Bank noted that this sector declined by 0.5 per cent to approximately 626,684 tonnes, which was 101.5 per cent of the targeted amount of

617,353 tonnes for 2018.

“This outcome stemmed from poor weather conditions, paddy bug infestation, lesser hectares harvested and lower crop investments. In the first half of 2018, output of rice was 3.8 per cent lower than the 2017 level and was 52.6 per cent of the overall production,” it outlined.

Additionally, the report stated that acreage harvested last year reduced by 4.1 per cent to 86,631 hectares, compared with 90,341 hectares in 2017. Further, during the second half of 2018, production was 297,173 tonnes while acreage harvested decreased by 1.7 per cent to 80,528 hectares compared with 81,914 hectares in the previous year.

Sugar

Meanwhile, the sugar sector declined by 23.8 per cent, that is, 90.6 per cent of the targeted amount of 115,447 tonnes for 2018. This outturn, the report said, was due to structural reforms of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), unfavourable weather conditions and lesser supply of quality canes. This resulted in the output being lower in both the first and latter halves of last year by 30.6 per cent at 34,451 tonnes and 20.0 per cent at 70,191 tonnes, respectively.

There was also a 6.2 per cent decline in the fishing sub-sector against a 1.0 per cent growth in 2017.

“The overall amount of shrimp and fish catches decreased by 6.2 per cent and 1.2 per cent respectively, at-

tributed to market challenges, the implementation of rigorous international certification requirements and increased seaweed infestation.”

Despite these performances, however, the agriculture sector expanded by 1.5 per cent in 2018, showing a growth of 0.4 per cent over 2017. The BoG said this growth was buoyed by higher output of livestock, forestry and other crops, which more than offset the shortfalls in declining sectors.

In fact, the livestock sub-sector expanded by 23.1 per cent from a decline of 2.8 per cent in 2017. This performance was due to increased output of poultry meat and eggs by 36.7 per cent and 11.9 per cent respectively, resulting from strong consumer demand. Livestock growth was also driven by higher pork and beef production of 21.6 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively due to enhanced production practices and better breeds.

Forestry

In the forestry sector, the output of roundwood and total logs increased by 13.4 per cent and 4.3 per cent respectively, on account of favourable demand in the construction industry and improved foreign market conditions.

But the output of sawnwood declined by 7.1 per cent, attributed to poor road and weather conditions.

Mining

Meanwhile, the overall mining sector improved by 2.9 per cent following an 8.8 per cent decline in 2017. This outturn was due to the increase in bauxite output and quarrying activities, which offset the shortfall in gold declarations.

Bauxite production increased by 31.9 per cent, representing 101.4 per cent of the targeted amount of 1,897,205 tonnes for 2018. The bauxite industry experienced greater production of Metal Grade (MAZ), Chemical Grade

(CGB) and Refractory Grade (RASC) bauxite by 34.4 per cent, 29.2 per cent and 9.6 per cent respectively, as a result of stable demand.

Following the growth trend, total diamond declaration increased by 19.1 per cent to 62,111 carats, due to favourable market demand and an increase in average export price by 5.8 per cent to US$180.1 per metric carat from US$170.3 per metric carat at the end of 2017.

On the other hand, the manufacturing sector increased marginally by 1.0 per cent, relative to the 4.2 per cent growth in 2017. This was as a result of increased production of light manufacturing products and rice milling by 5.2 per cent and 0.2 per cent respectively.

Manufacturing goods grew on account of increased production of stockfeed by 11.8 per cent, paints by 6.5 per cent, liquid pharmaceuticals by 4.5 per cent and alcoholic beverages by 3.8 per cent due to higher market demand.

The services sector, which accounted for 53.7 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2018, grew by 4.5 per cent relative to 3.6 per cent growth the previous year.

“This outcome reflected increased activities of wholesale and retail trade, rental of dwellings, financial and insurance as well as other services by 8.1 per cent, 7.5 per cent, 5.2 per cent and 14.0 per cent respectively,” the report stated.

According to the BoG,

Guyana’s economic growth rate was stronger at 4.1 per cent for 2018 when compared to the 2.1 per cent growth in 2017. This, it noted, was because of higher production of bauxite, livestock, forestry and other crops as well as increases in construction, manufacturing and service activities coupled with favourable commodity prices, greater investment expenditure and moderate domestic demand, which were also major factors influencing growth.

Nevertheless, the Central Bank projects that Guyana’s economy will grow by 4.4 per cent at the end of 2019 with an expected increase in the major economic sectors.

The agriculture sector is expected to expand by 3.2 per cent, due to the increases in other crops by 4.0 per cent, production of rice by 3.4 per cent and the output of sugar by 3.2 per cent.

Meanwhile, the mining and quarrying sector is forecasted to increase by 3.4 per cent from the growth in bauxite production by 10.0 per cent and gold by 1.7 per cent. The services industry is estimated to grow by 3.7 per cent on account of higher outturns of wholesale and retail trade by 5.0 per cent and transportation and storage activities by 3.5 per cent. The construction and manufacturing industries are projected to increase by 10.5 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively. The inflation rate is forecasted at 2.5 per cent on account of moderate increases in food and fuel prices.

news

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saturDAY, september 7, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

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

Saturday, September 7 – 12:00h – 13:30h and Sunday, September 8 – 01:00h – 02:30h and 13:30h – 15:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Saturday, September 7 – 10:50h – 12:20h and Sunday, September 8 – 12:30h – 14:00h.

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

WEATHER TODAY Sunshine is expected throughout the day.

There will be clear skies at night. Temperatures should range between 21 degrees Celsius and 32 degrees Celsius.

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

High Tide: 10:50h and 23:14h reaching maximum heights of 2.10 metres and 2.14 metres.

Low Tide: 04:13h and 16:41h reaching minimum heights of 0.98 metre and 1.17 metres.

wednesday, september 4, 2019

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GECOM putting cart before the horse with fingerprint cross-matching – Jagdeo O

pposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has positioned that moving ahead with the proposed fingerprint cross-matching exercise is useless at this point in time since it would not yield any significant information while wasting valuable time.

This announcement was made during his weekly press conference on Friday, where it was clearly explained that the cross-referencing of registered fingerprints is done solely at the end of the Claims and Objections period to remove duplicates.

To move forward with such a step now, he noted, would not produce any pertinent data such as the names of new registrants but rather, only cases where duplicates are present. He insisted that the main attention should focus on new names to be added to the National Register of Registrants (NRR) before forging ahead.

“They want to now crossmatch the fingerprints. At the end of the Claims and Objections, that is something that is necessary. You have to check all the fingerprints, cross-match to see that you don’t have duplicates. That will come at the end. Before then, they want to do that now too, and spend nearly (US) $350,000 of our money in a lengthy process that will only tell you if there are duplicate fingerprints, not who the new registrants are,” he informed.

Jagdeo also shared concerns about the time this process would take, further pushing elections to a later date. Adding to that, it is a waste of taxpayers’ money.

“This current fingerprint matching exercise is a waste of time to delay once again the elections because, at the end, you still have to cross-match when you finish the Claims and Objections.

That’s the final test of the list…It’s a useless activity that will cost us a lot of money,” Jagdeo directed.

The House-to-House Registration exercise ended on August 31, as ordered by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairperson, retired Justice Claudette Singh. However, it was decided that persons registered during that time would be merged to the NRR. At that time, 370,000 were already registered.

Immediately after the decision was taken, however, the People’s Progressive Party nominated GECOM Commissioners were less

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

than happy about the decision to merge the Houseto-House Registration data.

According to Commissioner Robeson Benn, this was not a product of their proposals.

“The difficulty we have is merging and verification of the data. It was not our proposal. We have said that any merging or verification of the data is wrong. It will take a long time and it will contaminate the NRR. It will result in duplicates.

And having appeared as duplicates, each one of those will have to be investigated.”

Once again, Jagdeo contended that only the new registrants should be merged to the list since a complete combination of the database would take much longer. Merging all 370,000 persons would also present

difficulty in eliminating the names of those who were already registered since their names would be listed twice.

For this, he also questioned the accuracy of the software that would be used to eliminate duplicate names, since a simple error can result in anomalies on the final list.

“You don’t have to merge the entire database and take three months. First of all, prepare it because it is in registration forms...You can do it easily otherwise and in the Claims and Objections period, the 2000 new people could easily be registered. Not that they would be disenfranchised,” the Opposition Leader stated.

He added, “They want to create a new dataset and then merge the two to find out who the others are. We

pointed out that even if you do a software that recognise duplicate names and eliminate them, if they make an error in the inputting or the enumeration of your name, then the computer would read that same person with an error in the name, because it is spelt differently as a new person, and merge that person over to the NRR.” After last Tuesday’s statutory meeting, it was noted that a team from GECOM including the Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Roxanne Myers and the Information Technology Manager were in Jamaica, observing the process of cross-matching fingerprints.

Upon their return, Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield will prepare a plan, proposing the timeframe to merge the data with the register.

Notwithstanding these decisions, former Attorney General Anil Nandlall had also asserted that the registration data could not be used in the NRR. “The decision says House-to-House will be terminated. And the second component of the decision is more disturbing. It is that the data will be merged into the database. So we are rewarding those who acted in defiance of the Constitution.

The data generated by this exercise is deeply flawed,” Nandlall said.

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guyanatimesgy.com

Saturday, september 7, 2019

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

Dorian’s trail of death and destruction

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urricane Dorian has left a massive trail of death and destruction in the Bahamas – a country in which several Guyanese have made their home over the years in search of better opportunities. The Category 5 hurricane has left widespread and extensive destruction with many homes, businesses and other buildings completely or partially destroyed.

The International Red Cross estimates that 45% of homes on Grand Bahama and the Abacos – some 13,000 properties – were severely damaged or destroyed. According to the BBC report, the Island of Great Abaco is virtually uninhabitable, with bodies piled up, no water, power, or food, and militias formed to prevent looting. Aerial images over the Abacos showed mile upon mile of destruction, with roofs torn off, scattered debris, overturned cars, shipping containers and boats, and high water levels.

Even more worrying is the fact that the death toll continues to climb and is expected to rise further in the coming days as the dust from Dorian begins to settle. As it presently stands, the official death toll is approximately 30. According to a BBC report, officials are sending morticians and body bags to the Abaco Islands, the worst-hit part of the archipelago. There are reports that hundreds, possibly thousands, are still missing in the Abacos and Grand Bahama.

This devastation has triggered a worldwide show of solidarity as countries lend support to the island via various means. Governments around the Caribbean, including Guyana, have since activated response mechanisms to facilitate assistance and support to those affected. It was reported in the media that the Prime Ministers of St Lucia and Barbados are currently in The Bahamas to hold talks with Bahamian Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis about relief efforts.

The Rapid Needs Assessment Team (RNAT) located in Bahamas has prepared a pre-impact analysis, in collaboration with the national lead agencies, which is currently being reviewed by the Government of Bahamas through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

Certainly, the magnitude of reconstruction will require significant levels of financing which would be difficult for countries in the region alone to generate. Hence regional governments, through Caricom, may want to consider organising a donor conference, with support from the United Nations to raise the necessary finances to help the people of the Bahamas get back on their feet. The pledges and other forms of technical support garnered from this donor conference will go a far way in helping the hurricane-ravaged country recover from such massive damages.

That said, it is a fact that the world has become a more dangerous place for its inhabitants who are becoming more vulnerable to disasters. Natural disasters result in years of development efforts often being wiped out in days or even minutes; as we have seen in the case of the Bahamas a few days ago.

Here in Guyana, we are seeing a dramatic rise in the construction of buildings and other infrastructure, with most of it occurring in the coastal areas of the country, especially in the capital city. This is so despite the fact that our entire coastland is threatened whenever it rains excessively or in cases of extreme high tides; the 2005 floods readily comes to mind. One can only hope that the authorities are monitoring to ensure that the appropriate building codes etc are being adhered to.

The lessons to be learnt from what occurred recently in the Bahamas are many. The underlying one is that we must always seek to build smart. The Bahamas is a country that boasts of constructing buildings which adhere to strict building codes and which could withstand certain natural disasters, but Hurricane Dorian was proven to be very powerful.

Experts have predicted that more frequent and extreme weather linked to climate change like hurricanes and severe flooding will occur more often. While we cannot prevent natural disasters from occurring, we can certainly prepare better so that the impact is reduced. Surely, the decisions we make today will determine our long-term resilience to natural hazards and be critical to people’s well-being in the short and long term.

People’s Progressive Party Presidential Candidate Irfaan Ali shares a photo moment with several members of the Indigenous community at the Sophia Exhibition Centre, Georgetown, where the annual Heritage Village was hosted over the past week

Venezuela Prosecutors to charge Juan Guaido with ‘high treason’

…after announcement of plans to renounce Essequibo claim

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enezuelan prosecutors said Friday they would charge opposition leader Juan Guaido with “high treason” for planning to renounce the country’s claim to a disputed border area controlled by Guyana.

Guaido, the National Assembly speaker who is recognized as interim president by more than 50 countries, is being investigated for negotiating to renounce “the historical claim our country has on the territory of Esequibo,” Attorney General Tarek William Saab told reporters.

State prosecutors successfully petitioned the country’s all-powerful Constituent Assembly to lift Guaido’s parliamentary immunity in April. He already

Juan Guaido

faces several other charges, including one of “usurping the functions of the president”.

Guaido has remained free, however, and continues to rally support against President Nicolas Maduro.

Guaido’s main international sponsor, the

United States, has warned Venezuelan authorities against any attempt to arrest him.

Maduro appeared on television on Thursday to call on prosecutors to file treason charges on Guaido for allegedly plotting to hand over Esequibo to multinational companies.

The case is based on audio recordings purported to involve a US administration official urging an advisor to Guaido to “deliver the Esequibo” to Exxon Mobil and other multinationals, according to the Maduro government.

The resource-rich 61,600 square mile (159,000 square kilometer) territory is the subject of a longstanding border dispute, exacerbated in 2015 by a “significant”

oil discovery announced by ExxonMobil. The oil company’s exploration deal with Guyana angered Venezuela, which reasserted its territorial claim.

“We have initiated an investigation,” Saab said in a televised press conference, of Guaido’s involvement “in an illegal negotiation behind the country’s back that intends to withdraw the historical claim our country has on the territory of Esequibo.”

“The facts imply a crime of treason,” he said.

It is Latin America’s biggest remaining territorial dispute. If Venezuela’s claim were to win out, Guyana -- the former British Guiana -- would lose more than half its territory.

(AFP)

President Mauricio Macri was soundly beaten in a primary vote in August, making it highly likely that October’s election will be won by the main Peronist opposition ticket, which includes divisive populist ex-President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

Argentina, the No 4 destination for Venezuelan migrants, has been in recession and fire fighting economic crises since last year.

The shock primary result sparked a further market crash, with the peso losing over a quarter of its value against the dollar in August alone.

In response, Macri rolled out plans to delay debt repayments and imposed capital controls to protect the

peso. For some expatriate Venezuelans, that brought back reminders of home, which has long been under currency controls that many blame as the root causes of the country’s economic malaise.

“Really, the first thing you think is to leave,” said Alejandro Dugarte, an employee at a digital payments firm in Buenos Aires, who left Venezuela three years ago.

“We already lived it.

Living it again is not my plan,” he told Reuters from the living room of the Buenos Aires apartment he shares with his girlfriend, adding that he did not yet have concrete plans of where, when or even whether he would move. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Venezuelans in Argentina get sense of deja vu as crisis builds

A

ndreina Pirrone left Venezuela for Argentina six years ago as her country was spiralling toward the worst humanitarian crisis in its history. She did not know what the future would hold, but she was certain it would be brighter.

Pirrone, an employee at a pasta factory in Buenos Aires, is now feeling a sense of déjà vu, as her adopted home teeters towards its own economic crisis, with inflation running at over 50% and the peso currency plunging amid default fears.

Argentina’s turmoil hits close to home for the South American country’s extensive Venezuelan community, many of whom moved here to escape rising pover-

ty, spiralling inflation and tight controls on currency and food.

“It is not something I would like to go through again. I worked very hard to get my family out of there and now to have possibly brought them to the same situation is terrible,” said Pirrone, whose mother and sister have since joined her in Argentina.

She said leaving Argentina would be complicated but that she would consider it if things got worse, especially with a change of government likely toward the end of the year.

“I did not leave Venezuela to fall back into another type of similar government, so yes, I would leave.”

Argentina’s center-right

guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, september 7, 2019

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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

A President without any respect for our Constitution Dear Editor, It has been roughly nine months since the Granger Government fell from power, but Granger is refusing to resign and call elections. Clearly, this is a man without any respect for our Constitution, or anything for that matter.

The Constitution is the supreme law of our land; only dysfunctional bullies would disrespect our Constitution, and Mr Granger is operating like one. Bullies have no respect for anything; they do not even respect humanity.

Just remember how Mr Granger disrespected thousands of sugar workers by cruelly forcing them on to the breadline. Editor, Mr Granger is dangerous, he should never be toler-

ated; and hopefully, the courts will force him to respect the Constitution and eject him from office.

Also, as mandated by the Constitution, Mr Granger must fix a date for elections, and GECOM must accommodate that date. GECOM must always be in a state of readiness for elections to be called at any time.

Our Constitution has been disrespected and trampled on for far too long by both Mr Granger and GECOM. This is the kind of collaborative bullying that obtains in our country, and it should never be allowed to continue.

Of course GECOM is on the same immoral ground as Mr Granger. We all know that Mr Granger does not want to resign

and call elections, and GECOM is enabling him to get away with this lawlessness. This is clear.

GECOM has even undertaken a highly flawed and useless house-tohouse (H-t-H) registration exercise, at the expense of tax payers, to delay preparations for the elections. This exercise was abruptly aborted, and now GECOM wants to merge the flawed and incomplete data from this exercise with the existing database of the National Register of Registrants (NRR). This is pure lawlessness. These people can’t be serious, and they need to be fired for lawlessness on the job.

Merging the flawed data from the incomplete H-t-H registration exercise with databases of any

kind must be rejected. It is insane, reckless and lawless. It will result in serious problems for years to come, plus it will cost an arm and a leg to fix.

Further, I would like to remind Mr Granger that he climbed to power in a democratic environment, and this means that he must stand on moral ground to provide the same kind of democratic environment, and operate within it for the betterment of our country. This means that he must resign and call elections now.

And if he fails in this regard, then he will naturally be viewed as nothing but a bully.

Dear Editor, The GAWU cannot fail to address the several contentions raised by Mr Lincoln Lewis in his letters on September 6 titled “I remain steadfast in my commitment, regardless of political season or leadership”, “Accountability must not be selective”, and “It was the Jagdeo Gov’t that initiated the closure of Diamond, LBI sugar fields” as he sought to offer a response to our letter which appeared in several sections of the media on September 5, 2019.

Mr Lewis begins by charging that we are engaged in deception. We wonder how such a charge can be levelled in the first place. All we have done is merely point the relevant facts in order to bring clarity to issues raised by Mr Lewis in the first place.

The apparent admonishment, in our view, is misplaced and certainly has no basis.

We are told by the letter writer that the closure of the Diamond factory in 1985 did not, as a consequence, mean that the estate was closed. It appears to us, however, that Mr Lewis did not carefully consider our letter. We evidently pointed out that, apart from the factory closure, a significant section of the then Diamond Estate cultivation was abandoned as all the canes could not have been processed at the next closest factory located at LBI. What essentially remained in the post-1985 period was a shell of the former Diamond Estate. The GAWU hastens to point out too that we did not say we endorsed the decision to close the remaining section of Diamond Estate.

Turning to LBI, the

GAWU shared in its letter the circumstances which led to the decision to close the LBI factory. If we, or anyone for that matter, are to go by Mr Lewis’ logic, the closure of the factory ought not to be indicative of the closure of the estate. Recall, the letter writer posited that the estate is comprised of several elements of which the factory is one. In the instance of LBI, this was indeed the case. The former GuySuCo Human Resources Director, Jairam Petam, who was a central figure in the process, in a letter appearing in the April 27, 2016, issue of Kaieteur News pointed out that “…discussions with the Unions [GAWU and NAACIE] was restricted to the mergers of the LBI and Enmore factories”. Mr Petam went on to say “…meetings… focused on the redeployment of workers from LBI to Enmore, criteria for early retirement, payment of holiday with pay for LBI workers and the interviewing process with each employee”. Clearly, as Mr Petam pointed out, the intention was solely regarding the closure of the LBI factory.

Thus, the argument that closure of the factory was the precursor to the closure of the LBI Estate holds little water and credence for that matter. It is clear as day that the sole and only intention in 2011 regarded the factory. As Mr Petam said in his letter, the Union was assured “…that only the [LBI] factory will be affected by the merger…” Moreover, the cultivation and other operations at LBI remained intact until 2016 when the Corporation decided that it needed to “consol-

idate” LBI and Enmore’s operations. Of course the so-called ‘consolidation’ was short-lived as Enmore Estate was closed just a year later and thousands put on the breadline.

Again, Mr Lewis contended that if the Union had engaged Minister Ramjattan, as a consequence, it was the workers engaging the erstwhile gentleman as well.

However, the reality is that Minister Ramjattan was not engaged by the GAWU; it was Senior Counsel Ashton Chase who acted on the Union and workers’ behalf. It would have been hypocritical, if not asinine, for the Union to engage the now Minister. At that time, the GAWU had taken the now Minister before the courts regarding untrue statements he made about the Union while on television. Minister Ramjattan’s involvement was rather stoked by what we deemed his rank opportunism.

While he did commit to some workers of Diamond that he would represent their case, he did not fulfil that commitment. As we pointed out previously, he confessed to us that he couldn’t have seen the relevant section in the law to buttress the workers’ right to severance. Mr Lewis’ talk of ludicrousness is rather unfortunate.

We did not, at any time, fail to acknowledge Mr Lewis’ support to the recent struggles of the sugar workers. We and the workers are very appreciative for his stance and support as we, like him, seek to build workers and union solidarity. GAWU, as the writer well knows, has been steadfastly calling for and support of all efforts regarding closer worker/

union collaboration and co-operation. At the same time, we cannot ignore the reality that different approaches to the sugar workers’ plight have been taken. We too cannot fail to point out that our Union and the workers together with their families went to great lengths and suffered great pains to ensure that their lawful rights were respected and to ensure that justice was served. In calling for accountability we must be fearless in calling a spade a spade and reading the obvious tea leaves.

Mr Lewis, who seems to describe himself as a man for all seasons, has charged us of seeking to absolve our so-called “masters”. As he well knows, we serve no master and we have stood and are standing with the workers, whose interest we must protect and advance.

Certainly, in defence of their interest, we cannot idly stand by nor meekly countenance any wrong notwithstanding the perpetrator. It is, undoubtedly, our bounden duty to speak up and speak out regarding decisions or actions which violate the meaning and spirit of our Constitution or any other law for that matter as they affect the well-being and welfare of the Guyanese people, who are largely comprised of the working people and their families.

Finally, Mr Lewis is also well aware of our stance regarding exploitation of workers, protection of the environment and exploitation of our natural resources. We have not changed, our commitment to workers remains firm.

Sincerely, Annie Baliram (PhD)

Lincoln Lewis’ talk of “ludicrousness” is rather unfortunate

Yours faithfully, Seepaul Narine General Secretary GAWU

Town Clerk must be approachable with utmost integrity

Dear Editor, It is no coincidence, accident or unfortunate circumstance that caused Georgetown, our capital and once “Garden City”, to become one of the least livable cities in the world. It is as a result of deliberate, willful, wanton and uncharitable actions by a few persons.

Since January of this year, the substantive Town Clerk was fired by the Local Government Commission after a Commission of Inquiry found him guilty of gross misconduct. The person placed to act in his stead has since been sent on administrative leave in the midst of financial documents not being produced to the Audit Office of Guyana for a forensic audit into City Hall, yet up to now neither the municipality, the Local Government Commission nor the Ministry of Communities has found it necessary to appoint a new competent and substantive Town Clerk.

In Georgetown, which still follows an archaic colonial system, the Mayor is the leader of the city council but has no greater official authority than any other council member, in fact, the Mayor’s responsibilities are primarily to preside at council meetings and to act as Head of the city for ceremonial purposes, so, therefore, the role and functions of the Town Clerk are very important as that person is responsible for managing the municipality’s budget, over-

seeing city personnel, making recommendations to the Mayor and other city leaders on a variety of issues, etc and as a consequence, should be filled at all times with urgency.

Of course one would expect that it would be filled by someone not only with a Masters Degree in Public Administration, but with good writing and public speaking skills, knowledge of municipal and administrative laws and procedures and an understanding of management theory and practices as well as dispute resolution procedures. The officeholder must also be someone who is trustworthy, respectful, ethical, and who has an approachable character with the utmost integrity.

But what do the authorities do? They go in-house and select someone way down the food chain of junior rank, someone who does not have the experience, the capacity, the temperament and the wherewithal and stick them in the position temporarily.

It seems as though gone are the days when the position of Town Clerk was considered to be one of prestige, authority, respect and influence.

One can only hope that the Local Government Commission would look to fill the position of Town Clerk of Georgetown urgently with a proper candidate substantively.

Sincerely, Kishore Das

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ver wish you could have a cup of coffee with your child’s kindergarten teacher and get the inside scoop? We asked eight kindergarten teachers to share their best tips so you can successfully navigate your little one’s special year with their advice.

Read often

“Read stories to your children. I know it’s an important beginning of reading readiness, but that’s not my primary goal at first.

We are hardwired for story.

It’s like a magic spell. Even my wiggliest kindergartner cannot resist its power.

Reading stories builds rapport. It helps the children to know me, to get in the habit of listening to me and to trust me. Once that’s in place, they’re ready to learn from me.” – Sean Finn, kindergarten teacher at Griffin School.

Get musical

“Be intentional about surrounding your child with a musical environment! Whether it’s an educational music CD in the van ride to practice or just the routine of singing and rhyming when everyone’s at play, getting musical with your child is paramount for developing a strong vocabulary, triggering recall and strengthening social skills during the kindergarten year.” – Pete Harry, kindergarten teacher at Myers Elementary School and owner of Harry

Foundation Kindergarten

Encourage responsibility

“Consistently set the bar high. Most kindergarteners will rise to the occasion!

I am a huge proponent of teaching five- and six-yearolds to be independent.

There are so many ways they can take responsibility for themselves and their actions. They are responsible for keeping our classroom clean, cleaning up after themselves after snack, unpacking in the mornings and packing up in the afternoon. Offer similar opportunities at home, take a step back and see how capable your kindergartener is!” – Ronda Thomas, kindergarten teacher at Oak Mountain Elementary School

as many as 25 five-yearolds. That’s 50 shoelaces, 25 pants buttons and 25 coat zippers. That is a battle I cannot win. Work on these skills at home.

Giving your child independence with shoelaces, zippers and buttons makes kindergarten a much more rewarding place. And with less time tying, zipping and buttoning, we can learn more and have more time to play with glitter! And you help keep a kindergarten teacher a little more sane.”

– Greg Smedley-Warren, kindergarten teacher at Fall Hamilton Enhanced Option School and blogger at Smedley’s Smorgasbord Kindergarten

Start conversations

Celebrate childhood

“Let your kindergartner laugh, play and even make messes: bake, make homemade Play-Doh, plant a garden, blow bubbles and make forts with blankets or boxes. Listen closely when they share the most amazing thing they learned at school each day. Do not lose sight of what kindergarten is meant to be: a time when children can be children and a place where their hearts can be nurtured, friendships formed, social skills strengthened and laughter is encouraged.” – Darilynn Caston, kindergarten teacher at Redoubt Elementary School and blogger at Kinder Glitter

Practise zipping, tying and buttoning

“There is one of me and

Kindergarten

Get involved

“Ask your kindergartener’s teacher if you can volunteer in the classroom.

Tell your child in advance that you are coming to be with the whole class, not just your child. Follow all safety and security procedures, such as signing in at the office and prominently wearing your visitor badge.

Enter the classroom inconspicuously and wave and smile at your child from across the room, but encourage your child to remain with the lesson or activity.

As you circulate, help children other than your child.

Do not judge or discuss the abilities and behaviours of other people’s children.

Parent volunteers can be such a blessing!” – Jennifer Cook, literacy coach and former kindergarten teacher at Greenville Elementary School

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ant to have some fun while making the world a greener, more environmentally-friendly place?

Make exploding balls of seeds that are both fun to throw and an easy way to grow native wildflowers.

Here’s what you need (makes 8-10 balls):

Spend time together

“Students who have strong oral language will have greater academic success. Build oral language by snagging time every day to have real conversations. Resist the urge to put on the DVD player while driving in the car. This is a perfect moment to talk!

Ask your child questions and help them to respond in complete sentences. You can also play games such as ‘I Spy’ while on the go or preparing dinner: ‘I spy something that starts with B’ or ‘I spy something that rhymes with star.’ These early literacy skill builders can be slipped into even the busiest of schedules.”

– Deedee Wills, kindergarten teacher at Owensville Elementary School and blogger at Mrs Wills’

“As a kindergarten teacher and a mother to a six-year-old, I encourage you to take time and listen to your kindergartener. You can gain so much knowledge! Your son or daughter will be thinking, ‘I love it when you talk to me about my work. I love it when you read to me.’ When you show a genuine interest in their life, you cannot imagine the love they feel and the confidence they develop. I urge you to put down social media and turn off the TV and move to the floor to play with them, discover with them and learn from them.

Give them ‘us time’ every day. Make them feel like they are the most important thing in your life.” – Katie Mills, kindergarten teacher at Cassidy Elementary School (Excerpt from parenting.com)

1/2 oz native wildflower seeds (daisy, morning glory, etc) 3 1/2 oz dry, organic potting soil 1 1/2 oz dry clay (we suggest powdered red pottery clay) Water A mixing bowl A cookie sheet for drying the seed balls wax paper

Here’s what to do:

Line cookie sheet with wax paper.

Mix seeds and potting soil together.

Add dry clay and mix again.

Slowly add water while still mixing the seeds, potting soil, and water into a well-blended paste.

When you are able to form a ball of the blended material without it falling apart, you are ready to stop mixing.

Mould the mixture into small (~1 inch diameter) balls and place on a cookie sheet or tray with wax paper.

Allow balls to dry in the sun for at least one day.

Now that I have made seed balls, what do I do with them?

All you have to do is throw them at a patch of dirt and watch it explode! Once it rains (or you water them), they have everything they need to grow.

They also make great gifts! Put them in a plastic bag and give them to all your friends.

When you are making your seed balls, we recommend you use native wildflower seeds. Native wildflowers are plants that have been a natural part of an ecosystem.

Humans sometimes mess around with these local plants by removing them or by planting other species of plants that they think might look better. That might not seem like a big deal, but in reality many non-native plants can actually make it much harder for the native plants to survive! These non-native plants can out-compete other plants for resources. Also, they are often not as threatened as native plants are by the plant-eating animals in the area.

But if you make your seed balls with the right seeds, you could be doing the world a lot of good when you explode them onto the ground! Not only can your new plants make an area more beautiful, but also they can help rebuild natural ecosystems and take planet-warming greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. (climatekids.nasa.gov)

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saturDAY, september 7, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

SOCU’s embattled Head will not return – Minister …probe into allegations of mismanagement still ongoing …delayed owing to James’ illness

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mbattled Head of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), Sydney James, who is currently on administrative leave amidst allegations of mismanagement of funds at the unit will not be returning to his post.

This is according to Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, who told reporters on Friday that James’ contract has not expired and that he is still on administrative leave.

“Some else named Ms Althea Padmore has taken on his functions. So, he is not going to come back to the job,” Ramjattan stated.

Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Leslie James, also on Friday, told reporters that the probe into James’ operations at SOCU is still in progress but that his illness has resulted in a

Sydney James

delay of its closure.

“What I can tell you about Mr James, I understand that he has fallen ill recently and we are following up on that. It is dependent on how soon he recovers from his illness, then we will continue speaking with Mr James. But as you know, there has been a designated

Head of SOCU in the person of Ms Althea Padmore and there is a handover that is currently in progress but Mr James is currently sick,” the Top Cop stated.

The decision to send James on leave came months after a special audit had unearthed several instances of mismanagement of funds and falsification of documents at the entity.

The audit had also found some unaccounted-for expenditure which could not be verified by a paper trail.

The audit was ordered by the Police Commissioner in February. Although the Top Cop has not commented on the findings of that audit, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan had described the revelations as “damning”.

The probe into the operations of the white-col-

Former GRA officer charged for bribery

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enior Magistrate Leron Daly on Friday granted bail to 32-year-old Wayne Sam when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts charged for bribing a friend to forge a driver’s license.

Sam, a former employee of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), denied the charge which stated that on May 29, 2018, at Camp Street, Georgetown, he attempted to incite Christopher Ramadan to commit a felony, that is to

say, to forge one GRA motor vehicle licence for himself, by paying him the sum of $2000.

Defence Counsel Ashley Henry in a bail application told the court that her client is the sole provider for his family and as such should be granted bail in a substantial amount.

According to information, the defendant, after being terminated from his job, reached out to Ramadan, whom he offered the cash in order to forge his driver’s license.

However, the virtual complainant brought the matter to the attention of his superiors and an investigation was launched.

Upon completion of same, Sam was arrested for the offence and charged.

Magistrate Daly, after the prosecution did not object to bail, released Sam on $25,000 bail.

Same of Lot 347 Timehri, East Bank Demerara (EBD), will make his next court appearance on September 13, 2019.

lar crime-fighting Unit was triggered after the former British adviser, Dr Sam Sittlington, had made a number of allegations against the Unit.

Following those allegations, James was questioned over allegations of improper spending. This was in light of the ongoing investigation and audit which was conducted after the termination of the British adviser’s services.

The Public Security Minister had confirmed that an investigation was ongoing into the matter and he had noted that there were allegations of monies not being spent properly and had said it is now within the jurisdiction of the investigators to understand the spending procedures at SOCU. After being fired amidst a conflict of interest scandal, Sittlington had revealed that SOCU had not been operating in the manner in which it should and he had said there are instances of improper spending.

The parliamentary Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has maintained that SOCU, which was set up to fight

money-laundering and other white-collar crimes, has become a political Unit under the APNU/AFC regime.

The PPP had said that Sittlington was going beyond his advisory role and was taking on executive functions. It was pointed out that Sittlington was going on operations such as raids and arrests.

Questions were previously raised about the police investigating James and whether there could be

any bias involved; however, the Public Security Minister had assured that the investigation was perfectly normal and that in addition to the police’s own internal audits ongoing at SOCU, the Auditor General could come in and take control of the proceedings.

He had said the police auditors were seeking to better understand the systems which had been in place for spending at the agency.

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saturDAY, september 7, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Crime Chief Alves cleared of criminal misconduct – Top Cop

…administrative issues being addressed

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he investigations into allegations of corruption against Deputy Police Commissioner and Crime Chief Lyndon Alves, who is presently on administrative leave, has concluded and he has been cleared of criminal misconduct.

This is according to Police Commissioner Leslie James, who told reporters on Friday that although the probe has ended, there are still some other administrative issues that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) is currently dealing with which involves Alves.

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

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

However, it is uncertain as to whether Alves will return to his post as Crime Chief.

Embattled Crime Chief Lyndon Alves

When asked about Alves continuing this function until he retires in January 2020, the Top Cop did not deny or confirm Alves’ return.

“I said that there are some other administrative issues that we are dealing with and that is going to be dealt with shortly,” the Police Commissioner stated.

In June, Crime Chief Alves was sent on administrative leave to facilitate a probe into corruption allegations levelled against him.

The Police Commissioner had at that time acknowledged that there is the pervasive issue of corruption among his ranks.

Among the allegations against Alves is his alleged use of his influence during his tenure as Commander of B Division to protect rogue cops.

Another allegation levelled against the Crime Chief is his reported influence used to prevent his daughter, who was involved in an accident, from being charged. In that incident, the young woman allegedly struck four-yearold Mohan Ramkaran close to his Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) home.

However, after she was arrested, she was later placed on $20,000 station bail and over two years later, she is yet to be charged.

In July, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan had told this publication that the probe into Alves’ alleged misconduct as a serving senior member of the GPF has been completed and that his

file was sent for further advice to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on the way forward.

Shortly after, Minister Ramjattan had told the media that President David Granger appointed Alves, so the President would determine his fate after investigations are completed.

Given that the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) is conducting the investigation, meaning the Police is investigating itself, which in itself has raised a number of questions, Ramjattan had also said that it is important for such cases to be investigated by the OPR to build confidence.

He added that hundreds of cases have been investigated by the OPR before which have all been respected as they were even subject to further analysis.

Prior to his suspension of duties at the GPF, ranks in Berbice blew the whistle on alleged corruption by the Crime Chief and claimed that he was shielding a few junior rogue ranks who have been linked to criminals.

the holder of a firearm licence.

It was further stated that on the same occasion, he had in his possession 12 live rounds of 9mm ammunition and seven .32 ammunition without being a licensed firearm holder.

Magistrate Weaver handed down a sentence of four years’ imprisonment on the first two charges while on the remaining two, she sentenced Chapman to three years for each count.

However, the Magistrate noted that the sentences will run concurrently, leaving Chapman to spend a total of three years behind bars for all of the charges.

Chapman and his ac-

complices were arrested in November 2018 after trailing a businesswoman from the Eugene F Correia International Airport and robbing her of a package before shooting at her vehicle.

Ranks from the Ruimveldt Police Station were on the lookout at High and Princes Streets, Georgetown, when they observed the three men sitting in a vehicle and acting in a suspicious manner. The ranks then approached the vehicle, where they identified themselves. A search was conducted on the vehicle and they found the articles mentioned in the charges.

The men were all arrested and taken into custody.

Taxi driver jailed for illegal guns, ammo

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27-year-old taxi driver was on Friday sentenced to 10 years behind bars by Magistrate Rondel Weaver after being found guilty of a series of firearm-related charges.

Casey Chapman of Lot 77 South Sophia, Greater Georgetown, was recently convicted of the charges at the conclusion of the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the matter, while two of his accomplices were freed.

The first charge against Chapman stated that on November 26, 2018, at High and Princes Streets, he had in his possession a .32 Taurus pistol without being the licensed firearm holder.

The second charge stat-

Jailed: Casey Chapman

ed that on the same day and at the same location, he had in his possession one 9mm Glock pistol without being

Rupununi miner slapped with illegal firearm, ammo charge

The firearm and ammo that were found

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fter being found with an unlicensed firearm and several rounds of ammunition in his possession on Thursday, 25-year-old Deon Jonas, a miner of St Ignatius Village Central Rupununi, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) was on Friday arraigned before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to face the charges.

Jonas denied both charges after it

was read to him by Magistrate Clive Nurse. The first charge detailed that on September 5, at Meer Zorgen Public Road, West Bank Demerara (WBD) he had in his possession a .CZ 7.6 semi-automatic pistol without being the licensed firearm holder of same.

Another charge stated that on the same date and location, he also had eight live .32 rounds of ammunition without being the holder of a firearm licence.

According to reports, ranks of a Police Anti-Crime Unit patrol were conducting a road block on the Meer Zorgen Public Road, when they stopped motor car HC 1920, which was driven by a 36-yearold a taxi driver of Parika, East Bank Essequibo (EBE).

Jonas, along with a 36-year-old Venezuelan, were the only occupants in the car, when the ranks informed them that a search would be conducted on their personal belongings as well as the car.

During the said search, the illegal weapon and a magazine containing the ammunition were found in the pants crotch of the defendant.

While in custody, Jones allegedly gave a written statement under caution admitting ownership of the firearm and ammu-

Remanded: Deon Jonas

nition stating that he stole the firearm and ammunition from his uncle a businessman at Oko, Upper Cuyuni River, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

The prosecution objected to bail being granted to Jonas on the grounds that no special reason was provided by his attorney, Gordon Gilhuys, as to why bail should be granted.

As such, Magistrate Nurse remanded the defendant to prison and adjourned the matter until September 9, 2019.

Inexplicable…

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…but that’s true love! t was another glorious night at Providence National Stadium! After all the tensions the PNC had generated in the society by stretching out the date for elections after the successful NCM, ordinary Guyanese of all persuasions came out in numbers and showed us what Guyana could be if we follow the lead of the people. It was a Guyana of joy, love, happiness, fun and togetherness!!

What was illustrated, when you come down to it, even though we may be a “land of six peoples” and have not quite become “one nation, one people” we share more things than the few that divide us. What we saw at the Stadium was that to every man (and woman) Jack, the “Warriors” was “we own”…with the emphasis on the “we”!! When the Warriors started out carefully, we all were encouraging them on. When they faltered in the middle, the support grew even stronger. And when the bowlers went after the ball and scored an amazing 65 runs in the closing 5 overs, the Stadium was literally rocking!!

The question some of you may have is why can’t we replicate this love and unity of purpose in other sections of national life? But we do! Did you see how the ordinary folks responded to the Demerara Harbour Bridge disaster?

Did you see those orderly queues we made as we patiently waited our turn to board the “speed boats” from both the Vreed-en-Hoop and Stabroek Stelling sides?

Do you see the camaraderie of all our peoples in the markets as we rub shoulders to take care of our daily bread – or roti as the case may be?! People, let’s not kid ourselves. Spared the Hurricanes and earthquakes that regularly bedevil our Caribbean neighbours, and blessed with of our continental land of many waters and resources, why do we yet have the tensions we do?

The first thing we should note is tensions always rise when elections are in the air. So do we stop elections?

Well, we really can’t since we’re done with the age of monarchies! But democratic elections are a “numbers” game and therefore encourage politicians to get those numbers by any means necessary. Including demonising “the other” – albeit surreptitiously.

Are there other ways of selecting our governments or handling our national affairs to encourage cooperation rather than division? What we know is that just as we can’t have the warring parties settle that conflict – they need some outside help. It’s the same with our politics.

It’s time ordinary folks like those who showed up at Providence start insisting we need a better way!!

After all, even politicians from opposite sides were united in supporting the Warriors!! …meeting with Haitians and Africans Your Eyewitness does think Heath-Retemeyer doth protest too much about meeting Haitians and Africans at Critchlow College! OK…he can see Felix meeting with those who have problems with “papers”. After all, he’s Minister of Citizenship and is in charge of issuing said papers. But why only these two groups? What about all those thousands of Cuban visitors he expatiated on to huffily dismiss charges that Haitians were being facilitated to pad the voters list? You mean to say no Cuban has problems with papers??

And why should the Minister himself be dealing with immigration matters at this granular level when he has all those myrmidons to handle the minutiae?? Was the meeting advertised? How did these Africans and Haitians know about it? The meeting with these two groups had to be coordinated by somebody or bodies. And what was the turnout. Ah…there are so many questions in this special time of our political calendar!!

But what’s most baffling is why was Heath-Retemeyer, CEO of the State Asset Recovery Agency (SARA) there?

Had the attendees pilfered state assets? …request Your Eyewitness was thrown for a loop. GPL is NOW seeking power providers!?! For goodness sake, what has the new company, Power Producer and Distribution Inc, done after the Govt threw out Wartsilla??

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

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saturDAY, september 7, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Enumerators, other staff from H2H Registration still to be paid

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everal persons who were employed to work during the recently concluded House-toHouse Registration process and stationed at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Grove/Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD) cluster office are yet to receive payments for their services.

Although close to two months have elapsed since the House-to-House Registration activities began, and with the registration process now halted, those workers are still waiting for their salaries. House to House Registration began on July 20, 2019.

However, a senior source at the GECOM head office confirmed to Guyana Times

that several workers have indeed not been paid but assured that within days they will receive their monies.

He stated that the sloth in the payment process is not the fault of persons employed at the head office or even the accounting staff, but that the proper documentation to process payments from the Grove/ Diamond Cluster Office was not sent in a timely manner.

“It is not a withholding.

What has happened is that when the first payroll was done, apparently there were some changes in the appointment letter, some people came on after and so on so we had prepared a supplemental payroll. We prepared a payroll for that area already but some people, for

Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) head office in Kingston, Georgetown

whatever reason, were left off the payroll, the timesheet was not submitted on time etc,” the source said.

It was further explained that the payroll was pro-

cessed on Friday and that payments will be ready on the first working day of next week (Monday) but it was reiterated that the accounts department at GECOM can-

not make payments if it does not receive the proper documentation and verification to do so.

“We have paid over 5000 people around the country and it is not unusual that you will have a situation where the records submitted from the field office to the head office, sometimes there are some challenges there. Anyhow, the matter at hand is that we have it prepared and they will be paid on Monday and this… the payroll is already prepared. This was not a deliberate act, this is out of the fact that some timesheets were not submitted in a particular time,” he added.

On Friday morning several persons who were not paid from the Diamond/

Grove GECOM office complained about the non-payments of their salaries for the month of July.

One man stated that every time they enquire about their rightfully earned monies, they are redirected, without proper explanations, as to why there was such a lengthy delay.

“No feedback was given and whenever we question the status of our salary we are told that we will be paid. We all have families to feed…I’m very much disappointed in this organisation…This issue is of great concern and very worrying for some of us who would have invested the little we had to go to and from work in the hot sun,” he lamented.

port is a biometric passport which includes a chip, which can be used at the automated e-passport gates instead of having your passport checked by a Border Force officer. The chip holds the same information that is printed on the passport’s data page: the holder’s name, date of birth, and other biographic information. In some countries, including Germany, e-passports include two fingerprints as well.

The column published by Industry Segment also stat-

ed that the rapid development of the tourism industry and the improvement of people’s living standards are the main factors that promote the growth of this market. There are currently 122 countries with e-passport programs which QYR estimates are producing 146.83 million units of e-passport in 2018. Most e-passports are valid for 5 or 10 years and there are one billion e-passports in circulation, exceeding 60 per cent of all passports in use.

Govt to introduce e-passport service

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he Guyana Government will be implementing e-passport services that will see the country being linked to an international Border Management System.

This was announced

by Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon, at a post-Cabinet press briefing on Friday.

He disclosed that the contract for the “New Border Management System and e-passport Project” was awarded to the Canadian Bank Notes Company Limited to the tune of US$12.4 million.

“Before you used to have passports produced on a manual basis. You fill a form and somebody writes up everything and it takes forever to actually get a passport. The e-passport system allows you to provide information electronically and for that information to go to the Department of Citizenship, where these passports are produced,” he explained.

The project, which is

ID photo as well as all of the ID data found on the first page of the paper passport.

In addition, digital fingerprints can be stored. In this case, it is referred to as a biometric passport or second generation of electronic passport or e-passport.

According to Industry Segment in its business column, an e-passport is an electronic passport with high-security printing, an inlay including an antenna and a microprocessor, and other security features. An e-pass-

funded by the Guyana Government and will be implemented by the Department of Citizenship, will see Guyana being linked to an international system on border security.

“I cannot go into the fine details about it but I believe it involves not only the way in which these passports are produced but the way in which you read the information on the passport because it is now linked to an international system of border protection and border security. So that is part of an inter-

national process in which all of the passports internationally are produced electronically,” Harmon noted.

The use of electronic passports, also known as an e-passport or a digital passport, has been progressing since 2005. More than a decade later, over 150 countries around the world have started issuing this new type of travel document since mid-2018.

Unlike conventional passports, the electronic passport has a microprocessor which stores a digital version of the

10 news

saturDAY, september 7, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Scammers ‘selling’ NICIL properties to unsuspecting individuals …company warns public not to be fooled

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everal reports have surfaced over the last few days of scammers, claiming to be brokers of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), who are allegedly “selling” proper-

ties/assets.

This is according to acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Colvin HeathLondon, who on Friday stated that a number of persons with criminal intent have been approaching un-

suspecting persons claiming to be in authority and thus authorised to sell a number of properties belonging to NICIL. However, he added that this is far from the truth, and in light of this, is ap-

pealing to the public to beware of such scammers posing as officials of NICIL. “We seems to be in a season where there are desperate people doing desperate things and I would like to warn and appeal to everyone to be not fall for the lies being peddled by an evidently organised criminal network.”

Guyana Times was told that it was revealed that those responsible have been posing as ‘owners’ and/or ‘brokers’ of several prime properties which all belong to the Government of Guyana with the view of deceiving unsuspecting buyers into believing that they are in a position to sell these properties.

“I would like to warn persons in and out of Guyana to be on the lookout for persons posing as owners and or ‘brokers’ claiming to be in a position to sell these assets,” Heath-London stated.

NICIL has declared that no property and/or assets belonging to it can be sold without the authorisation of its CEO or its Board of

NICIL’s CEO (ag) Colvin Heath-London

Directors.

“We are urgently appealing to unsuspecting buyers to be on the lookout for persons who are seeking to scam them of their hard earn monies,” HeathLondon said.

As such, he is warning the general public to be on the lookout for persons who are “seeking to gain wealth through dishonest and criminal-minded approaches,” reiterating that only him, as the CEO, or NICIL’s Board has been invested with that

authority.

“As the CEO, I would like persons to be alerted so as to thwart any such unprofessional, illegal acts that may drag in unsuspecting persons with the promise that they are buying properties,” he added.

NICIL is 100 per cent owned by the Government of Guyana.

The primary objectives of the company are that of subscribing for, taking or otherwise acquiring, holding and managing the Government’s shares, stocks, debentures or other securities of any company, co-operative societies or other corporate body.

This means that all Government shareholdings in public corporations and companies including those falling under the Public Corporations Secretariat, and the Co-operative Finance Administration Institutions were to be transferred to NICIL. The objective was to have a unified and systematic management of Government’s shareholdings.

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saturDAY, september 7, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Govt continues to trample on Constitution, ERC called in to probe court ruling – Opposition Leader “racial comments” by WPA member against PSC Head C

rucial questions regarding when a date for elections will be announced were acknowledged by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo on Friday, who has raised concerns yet again about Government’s apparent bid to delay the polls.

Jagdeo argued that if it was up to Government to decide on the date for elections, the country would not head to the polls this year. He surmised that the caretaker administration is “mortally afraid” to head to the polls, after the last local government elections would have witnessed the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) being dealt with a stunning loss by a huge margin.

“When would we have elections? If we leave it to APNU, we would not have elections till next year, and even then, they may not want elections. They are mortally afraid elections.

You see a ghastly pale coming over them when you mention elections,” Jagdeo said during his press conference.

For this, Jagdeo was of the opinion that the delaying tactics will continue to interrupt the hosting of General and Regional Elections.

Consequently, he encouraged Guyanese to evaluate the Government on the basis of their adherence to the Constitution.

“They will do whatever it takes to delay the elections with the hope that they can go out in the so-called outreach using taxpayers’ mon-

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

ey…to polarise our country once again, hoping that somehow, they will change the outcome or their electoral fortunes on the ground. In doing so, they’re trampling on the Constitution and a court ruling,” the Opposition Leader insisted.

“Guyanese must assess the APNU based on how they relate to that document, the Constitution. If I can’t trust you to obey the law, to respect the Constitution, how can I trust you to fulfil any of your promises?” he further questioned.

He was referring to the ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice on June 18, 2019, which stated that Cabinet must resign and call elections in keeping with constitutional deadline, that is, three months. Since this deadline had already elapsed from the passage of the No-Confidence Motion on December 21, the countdown would commence on the date of the ruling, putting the

deadline on September 18 of this year.

In light of this decision, the international community had urged the country’s political players to act swiftly and in compliance with the Constitution, as ordered by the Court.

In a joint statement, members of the diplomatic community in Guyana, including the United States, United Kingdom, and the European Union, stated that it is important for the rule of law that all invoked actors abide by the CCJ’s ruling and the relevant provisions of the Constitution. The diplomats furthered urged that this adherence be done expeditiously.

As such, the Opposition Leader added that the caretaker administration is becoming even more isolated from the international community, owing to the election delay and other connected matters.

“They are becoming more

isolated. I know from the international community cause I have been meeting with [them]. They’re saying: the Constitution and you must have elections.

Guyanese are saying the same thing. We have the President continuing with his excuse, saying he’s waiting on GECOM,” Jagdeo claimed.

According to him, the administration is now convincing stakeholders to garner votes as the deadline for elections draws nearer. Mention was made to President David Granger’s meeting with miners, a much-needed call which was never pursued prior.

“You go back and check the statements from the miners. For several years, he tried to secure a meeting with them and he snubbed them, put in place some of the worst policies that have devastated the mining sector and today, he’s meeting with them because we’re in elections season,” the Opposition Leader cautioned.

He reminded of heavy taxes imposed on the manufacturing sector and exports, which has significantly stymied trading activities and production costs.

“His Government has put a tax on exports, VAT (Value Added Tax) on electricity and water – two of the biggest cost for input for manufacturing, and they have put VAT on all the building materials. If they have to build factories and everything else, they now have to spend more. Their entire cost has gone up”.

Government GECOM Commissioner and Executive Member of WPA, Desmond Trotman

T

he Ethnic Relations C o m m i s s i o n (ERC) was called in by the Private Sector Commission (PSC) to probe “racial comments” made by Governmentnominated Commissioner on the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and Executive Member of the Working Peoples Alliance (WPA), Desmond Trotman.

An executive of the PSC explained to Guyana Times on Friday that the ERC was officially requested to probe the comments, after a letter surfaced from Trotman responding to one written

by President of the PSC Captain Gerry Gouveia, which was published in Guyana Times on July 22.

In Gouveia’s letter, headlined “Lowenfield was not legally directed to commence House-to-House Registration”, the PSC Chairman addressed the Chief Elections Officer stat-

PSC President Captain Gerry Gouveia

ing, “We have sought legal advice on this matter and it is our understanding that you have not been legally directed by the Commission to proceed as you are doing and that to conduct House-to-House Registration is unlawful”.

The letter added, “We (PSC) have also noted that GECOM’s Internal Counsel has advised that GECOM would be in contempt of the ruling of the CCJ to carry out any instruction in this regard from former Chairman James Patterson, whose appointment by the President has been ruled to be flawed”.

Among other things, the PSC Chair at that time had called for GECOM to suspend House-to-House Registration.

Trotman, in his response letter dated July 24, 2019 to the PSC Chair, argued that he felt that Gouveia’s letter was riddled with inaccuracies and moreover aimed at disgracing Lowenfield’s character.

Turn to page 13

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After heavy criticisms

Govt buckles to pressure: approves titles, extensions for 8 Indigenous communities

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ays after it was heavily criticised over its handling of land titles and extensions within Guyana’s Indigenous community by the Opposition, Government on Friday announced that eight communities will soon be receiving either their title certificates or extensions, with Cabinet having recently approved the absolute grants under the Amerindian Land Titling (ALT) Project, which is funded by the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF) to the tune of US$10.7 million.

Grants were approved for the establishment of legal boundaries in the communities of Parabaru, Region Nine

MoTP Director General Joseph Harmon

(Upper Takatu-Essequibo); Rockstone, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), and in Region Seven (Cuyuni-

Mazaruni), Tasserene and Kangaruma.

Meanwhile, existing communities which had their grants approved for extensions are Mainstay/Whyaka, Mashabo and Capoey, on the Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).

This was revealed by Director General at the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon, who told reporters on Friday that these approvals were granted based on recommendations from the Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Ministry, which has responsibility for the ALT project.

“All of the approved grants have been made with

conditionalities based on their respective peculiar circumstances,” he explained.

The Amerindian Land Titling process was facilitated by the Amerindian Act of 2006 which catered for land titling and extensions. This led to the establishment of the Amerindian Land Titling Project, which commenced in 2013 and was scheduled to end in 2016. This was a US$10.7 million project funded by the GRIF programme and according to the Director General, the allotted sum has not been exhausted.

In May 2018, Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock had told the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Natural Resources at the National Assembly that some $500 million has been spent on the Project.

The ALT Project was extended by the coalition Government from 2016 to 2018 and then again from 2019 to 2021.

Of the 68 interventions identified, Harmon revealed that 21 demarcations have been completed and 18 certificates of titles issued thus far in the project. Additionally, 45 investigations have been completed which include 32 for extensions and 13 for new villages.

“Cabinet in approving the granting of the land titles reiterate its commitment to the completion of the Amerindian Land Titling Project and gave assurance that the project will continue until the Indigenous communities receive their titles in accordance with the law,” the Director General said.

However, the coalition Government has come under heavy criticism by the Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) over its failure to title Indigenous lands.

Only Friday at this weekly press conference, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo bashed the coalition on this as well as “disparaging statements” by several Government officials on Indigenous people.

Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock

He pointed out that the issue of land titling has been a historic promise by the PNC during the Independence period and was first made by the People’s National Congress (PNC) – the largest party in the APNU fraction of the coalition Government.

Jagdeo, a former twoterm President of Guyana, noted that when the PPP took office in 1992, it worked hard with limited resources to complete the demarcation in some areas and give out more titles. He noted that during that time, titled lands moved from 6 per cent to 14 per cent in Guyana.

“We left over $10 million USD and an Amerindian Land Titling Unit to continue the work and this [coalition] Government dismantled that unit but now they want to re-establish it because we’re getting close to elections. This is one of their promises at the last elections to accelerate the process. But they have not even titled one single village in the four years [in office] although we left with over $2 billion to do this in the programme and with a Unit in place. So they’ve just totally neglected that,” he contended.

Moreover, Minister Allicock also came under fire recently when he said at the launch of Indigenous Heritage Month 2019 that some villages have failed to adequately occupy the lands that they possess and utilise them accordingly yet they are applying for more access to lands. He had also declared that a Village Improvement

Plan (VIP) is important in identifying developments that are needed and that this should, instead, be the focus of the Indigenous communities in the country.

However, People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Member of Parliament, Yvonne Pearson, who represents the rights of Indigenous people on the Opposition side in the National Assembly, said such a statement goes against the rights of Indigenous peoples that are outlined in the Amerindian Act of 2006.

She pointed out that the Government should not be withholding lands from the Indigenous communities; lands that belong to them, but should seek to honour its obligations to Indigenous folks in the country and abide by the guidelines of the Amerindian Act. According to Pearson, at present, the livelihoods and development of Indigenous peoples are being stymied because of policies that the current Government has implemented.

She emphasised that the Indigenous populace depends heavily on farming activities on these lands; therefore, the APNU/AFC Government must facilitate land extensions since they are necessary for Indigenous folks to survive.

The Amerindian Act of 2006 states that a village may apply in writing to the Minister (of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs) for a grant of State lands as an extension to its village lands.

Furthermore, Indigenous communities can apply in writing to the subject Minister provided that it has been in existence for over 25 years at the time of application and for the immediately preceding five years, it comprises at least 150 persons among others.

However, the Act does not require a Village Improvement Plan for the processing or granting of land extensions to any Indigenous village or community.

news

Former Traffic Chief appointed new E Division Commander

3-year-old requires assistance to undergo eye surgery

New E Division (Linden- Kwakwani) Commander, Superintendent Ramesh Ashram

E

Division (LindenKwakwani) now has a new Police Commander at its Headquarters in Linden, Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice).

Superintendent Ramesh Ashram took over from senior Superintendent Linden Lord, commencing duties on Wednesday.

The new Divisional Commander, who is a former traffic chief, has 30 years’ experience in the Guyana Police Force (GPF). He has outlined plans to continue along the path of working along with the citizens of the community in the fight against crime. Speaking with this publication on Friday, Ashram cited the 20 per cent decrease in crime, which the Division recorded this year, noting that the crime-fighting strategies of the GPF will be maintained.

In highlighting issues faced by the Division such as rape, domestic violence, assault, petty theft and welfare issues, the new Commander indicated that it is a “relatively a quiet area”. He pointed out, however, that there is a trend as it relates to issues, such as rape, which are being reported in the riverine Kwakwani area. The new Divisional Commander asserted, however, that there is a presence of Community Policing Group (CPG) members and Rural Constables who assist the Police in the area.

He added that there is

an open-door policy and residents can feel free to visit or call him at the Divisional Headquarters regarding any complaints. Ashram further outlined plans to have Police sergeants conduct community outreaches in their respective districts as he noted that he is in the process of assessing, prior to implementing plans and strategies. One such plan, he highlighted, is the re- introduction of once-a-month mass patrols.

The new Divisional Commander pointed out that in the meantime, there are regular ongoing lectures at schools on topics such as road safety and that those with ranks who are trained to facilitate the Drug Addiction Reduction Education (DARE) programme. He also outlined plans to continue social programmes such as the Scout initiative.

In looking at the programmes already ongoing in the Division, Ashram said the Police 24- hour roadblock initiative at Bamia, which commenced in April along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway, is one which has been welcomed by residents and has proven to be very effective. He noted that there is also a 24-hour vehicular patrol in Linden.

Ashram also explained that while there will be challenges, he plans to overcome them given his 30 years of experience.

Rajin Sewsankar is vision in his right eye

my forefathers by yours, as they were beaten…”

Several calls made to the Chairman of ERC, Pastor John Smith, went unanswered on Friday; however, this publication was told by an officer at the ERC that the probe has commenced.

In a statement to the media, PSC condemned the racist attack of a Governmentappointed GECOM Commissioner.

“This disgraceful, extremely offensive and defamatory behaviour has no place in GECOM or a democratic society. We would expect the Government to take the appropriate action with regard to Mr Trotman’s attack on the integrity and good name of the PSC Chairman,” the PSC said.

The PSC, headed by

losing

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n East Coast Demerara (ECD) family is seeking assistance to offset expenses for their three-year-old son to undergo an eye surgery in Suriname.

Rajin Sewsankar of Hope Estate, ECD was just about to gain familiarity with the outside world when he would have experienced trauma to his right eye. Presently, he is losing his sight and an operation is severely needed to ease his condition.

The diagnosis was uncovered when a visit was made the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation earlier last month. He was admitted for eight days and it was later discovered that the young boy had corneal perforation with hypopyon.

Hypopyon is described as a medical condition involving inflammatory cells in the anterior chamber of the eye.

Along with that, doctors would have unearthed significant findings of congested conjunctiva, mild haze to the cornea and other problems upon examination. His vision continued to decrease while inflammation increased.

As such, it was recom-

ERC called in to probe...

Trotman stated, “It is not a true narrative of events and is deliberately designed to hold Lowenfield up to public ridicule. Additionally, your letter, in its attempt at assassinating his character and impugning by interference what you believe are his intentions, places the lives of Lowenfield and other members of his family in serious jeopardy”.

Moreover the letter said, “Further, what I found most disconcerting is the tone you adopted— a tone consistent with that of a white slave owner, who, in the presence of his overseers, is penalising a delinquent slave for failing to carry out the instructions of “massa”. When I read that part of your letter I was filled with anger and I imagined the treatment of

13

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from page 11

Captain Gerald Gouveia, represents a large number of local businesses in Guyana. These firms pay 82 per cent of the total income and corporation taxes to Government and employ thousands of Guyanese, the PSC explained.

The Commission is known for speaking out against certain issues affecting the country, including political matters which ultimately affect the investment climate and the business community.

In recent times, the PSC has been urging all political players to abide by the Guyana Constitution and had called out President David Granger for failing to do so.

mended that a vitreoretinal surgery be conducted as an evaluation, along with urgent Vitrectomy under anaesthesia. A Vitrectomy is a surgery conducted to remove some or all of the vitreous humour from the eye.

Sewsankar’s grandmother, Rajkumarie Budhoo told this publication on Friday that this surgery is not accessible here in Guyana. While the child is scheduled to have the surgery early next week, they are yet to acquire funds to go through with the operation.

“He was admitted at the Georgetown Public Hospital for eight days last month. The hospital discharge and then they give me last Monday to bring him back. I see the doctor and that’s when they discover that it spreading in his eye,” his grandmother explained.

The worried woman related that if the surgery is not performed in a timely manner, the child could lose sight in his right eye.

At that time, they had only raised $60,000 of the money to conduct the surgery and a large amount was still outstanding.

It was also indicated that the young patient has

The young patient with his mother and older brother

an older brother, aged five, who requires constant attention since he was born with brain damage. As such, they are left to contemplate on how to deal with the situation.

She is appealing to the general public for contributions to the procedure. This can be done by making contact on telephone number 681-4317.

14 news

saturDAY, september 7, 2019| guyanatimesgy.com

3-year-old killed in Focus on mental health of Berbice accident medical personnel – Director

Dead: Dominic Tyler Sulker

landed. This newspaper was told that the child landed 105 feet from where he was hit. The car subsequently crash landed in a nearby trench. Following the incident, the three-year-old was picked up and taken to the New Amsterdam Hospital.

Speaking with Guyana Times, the child’s mother, Cynthia McKenzie Sulker, said that she when she rushed to her son’s aid, she attempted to resuscitate

attempted to rush him to the Georgetown Public Hospital, but he died on his way to the city.

The car driver was able to get a heavy-duty machine to pull the vehicle bearing registration plate number HC 9655 out of the trench.

Police subsequently arrived at the scene and the driver was taken into custody.

Four passengers were in the car but did not sustain any major injuries.

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three-year-old is now dead after he was hit by a speeding car at Islington, Greater New Amsterdam, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

Dead is Dominic Tyler Sulker of Lot 49 Stanleytown, New Amsterdam, Berbice.

Reports are the incident occurred at approximately 13:00h on Friday on the section of the road which was recently resurfaced. Sulker was at the time at his grandfather’s business place at Islington when he reportedly ran out on to the public road where he was struck.

Reports are that the three-year-old had just returned home from school and got out of the car with his grandmother and went into the shop, but moments later an uncle saw him on the road and dashed out to get him. His efforts proved futile since he was hit by the speeding car before his uncle got to him.

Eyewitnesses said that the car hit the Savannah Park Nursery School student and the impact sent him flying through the air for several meters before he

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s part of ensuring that medical facilities in far-flung and hinterland areas have their services boosted, medical-surgical outreaches are deemed necessary, so as to allow certain hospitals to have the support they need with specialised services.

According to Director of Regional Health Services, Dr Kay Shako, a threeday surgical outreach will be taken to Region One (Barima-Waini), in particular, at the Kumaka District Hospital.

This outreach runs from September 6 to September 8, 2019.

During a visit there earlier this week, she stated that there are a number of concerns to be addressed at this health facility and that while some of them can be taken care of almost immediately, others will take some time.

“We want as much as possible [to] bring a number of services so that the people in Region One can benefit from them…of course, we will not only be having

Regional Health Services Director, Dr Kay Shako

surgeries alone like obstetrics and gynaecology or orthopaedics but we also want to extend some of our medical services to you and we want to boost up your team,” she told medical staff at that hospital recently.

According to Dr Shako, within that area in Region One, there are a number of women who need to undergo screening and other tests as it relates to cervical cancer, so that they can be aware of their health statuses.

“…and that is why we want that to play a pivotal role during our medical-surgical outreaches. Also, we want to ensure that persons know their status as it relates to HIV. And you know that HIV and tuberculosis, they go together,” she said.

Additionally, Dr Shako underscored the importance of good mental health, not only for patients who seek services at any health facility but also for medical personnel since their jobs can be very stressful and intense many times.

“According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), it is a state of physical, social and mental wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmities…

We want to make sure that our healthcare staff who are serving the public, that they are okay mentally…we know that there are a number of social issues that are there that overwhelm persons and affect them from impacting or providing positive services to the wider population,” she noted.

Govt gifts City Hall $45M garbage truck The car which hit the child

him by soaking his head with some water. She related that at the hospital, doctors pumped oxygen into his lungs and managed to resuscitate him. The grieving mother of two explained that her son was taken to the x-ray department and lost consciousness on two occasions and had to be resuscitated again. She added that because of the extent of his injuries the hospital staff

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, a minibus passenger was pinned to his seat after a car and a minibus collided in East Canje Berbice also on Friday. The incident occurred at about 09:30h in front of the Rose Hall Estate Primary School.

The injured man was identified only as Narine. He is in a stable condition at the New Amsterdam Hospital.

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h e Communities Ministry on Thursday donated a 28-cubic metre garbage truck worth some $45 million to City Hall.

H a n d i n g over the truck to Georgetown Mayor, Ubraj Narine was Minister Ronald Bulkan, who was keen to note that the truck is part of The newly-donated garbage truck the Government’s

2019 subvention programme.

The cash-strapped agency will now be equipped to pick up more of the city’s waste in a timelier manner.

Bulkan during brief comments said he is aware of the Council’s financial constraints, while explaining that he believes this donation will help to save the agency some cash.

In addition to the truck donated, the Minister has committed to contributing another garbage truck soon to the tune of $35 million.

In June City Hall was gifted a new John Deere tractor and dump trailer as part of Government’s subvention to that municipality by the Ministry. The total cost of that donation stood at $9 million.

Solid Waste Management Director Walter Narine at that time expressed appreciation as he noted that the Council is now closer to collecting its own solid waste. City Hall presently pays $14 million to its two major contractors.

news

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AG asks Court to strike out application seeking Cabinet’s resignation

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ttorney General Basil Williams is seeking to have the High Court strike out an application filed by his predecessor, Anil Nandlall, to compel the David Granger-led coalition Cabinet to stop meeting and resign.

Nandlall filed the Fixed Date Application (FDA) on Monday last, asking for an order compelling the Cabinet, including the President, to resign consequent upon the Government being defeated by the vote of a no-confidence on December 21, 2018, which is in accordance with Article 106 (6) of the Guyana Constitution.

He is also asking for a Conservatory Order or an order restraining the Cabinet, inclusive of the President, from meeting, making decisions as, or performing the functions of Cabinet consequent of the successful passage of the motion as outlined in the Constitution.

However, in a counter application, AG Williams wants the court to throw out the FDA. According to the court document, the AG is seeking an order from the court, striking out the Fixed Date Application filed by Nandlall, saying it is “an abuse of the process of the court”. He also wants a declaration that the court should not exercise its jurisdiction to grant the orders sought in the FDA. Williams argued that the FDA is an abuse of the process of the court and an affront to the doctrine of stare decisis or rule of precedent, and as such the court ought

not to grant the orders asked for

by Nandlall. He pointed out that those orders would require the court to make orders which the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), being the highest court, ruled on already.

“The court is being asked to adjudicate on an issue that the final court, the CCJ, has pronounced upon, and, as a consequence, the point is moot and clearly academic and a wanton abuse of the process of this Honourable Court,” the AG said in one of his grounds.

Referring to the CCJ ruling on the No-Confidence Motion cases, Williams pointed out that one of the proposed consequential orders was for the President and the Cabinet to immediately resign and vacate office but the regional court “refused to make such an order and clearly outlined that the Cabinet and President remain

in office but on a different footing in the nature of a caretaker Government”.

The Trinidad-based Court had opined: “It is important, however, that the Court makes this point. In mandating that the Government shall remain in office notwithstanding its defeat and the resignation of the President and the Cabinet, Article 106 envisages that the tenure in office of the Cabinet, including the President, after the Government’s defeat, is on a different footing from that which existed prior to the vote of no confidence. Chancellor Cummings-Edwards, citing Hogg, the Canadian constitutional expert, was right to note that: By convention, the Government is expected to behave during this interim period as a caretaker and so restrain the exercise of its legal authority. It is this caretak-

er or interim role that explains the three-month deadline, in the first instance that the Article lays down, in principle, for the holding of the fresh elections.”

To this end, AG Williams posited that “…it is in the Public Interest and a matter of Public Policy that the Fixed Date Application be struck out as being an abuse of the process of the jurisdiction of the court.”

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Opposition has been contending that Guyana is in a constitutional crisis as the Government continues to delay the hosting of early elections, which was triggered by the December passage of the NCM. According to Article 106 (7), “Notwithstanding its defeat, the Government shall remain in office and shall hold an election within three months, or such longer period as the National Assembly shall by resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of the votes of all the elected members of the National Assembly determine, and shall resign after the President takes the oath of office following the election”.

This means elections were to be held since March 21, 2019.

However, with the legal challenges which ensued, that timeline was on pause but was subsequently reinstated after the July 18, 2019, CCJ ruling, which validated the passage of the motion.

Against this backdrop, the Opposition was pushing for a September 18, 2019, polling day.

But President Granger had in-

sisted that he cannot set a date without first being advised by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on its preparedness to host General and Regional Elections.

GECOM had come under heavy criticism for also deliberately delaying the elections by going ahead with the controversial House-to-House Registration. The constitutionality of this exercise was then challenged in court.

In fact, Chief Justice Roxane George earlier this month ruled that the conduct of House-toHouse is not unconstitutional or illegal. However, she noted that GECOM cannot operate as it would in a normal elections cycle.

Given that the NCM triggered early elections, the Chief Justice had stated that there are other methods that can be used to sanitise the voters’ list in a timely manner such as Claims and Objections.

She had also ruled that it would be unconstitutional for GECOM to remove qualified persons already on the voters’ list since the Houseto-House exercise was aimed at creating a new National Register of Registrants (NRR) Database, which the Opposition said would have disenfranchised thousands of Guyanese.

Nevertheless, the Elections Commission has since scrapped the House-to-House Registration, which had recorded over 300,000 new registrants, and is looking to merge the new data obtained with the existing NRR database – something which the Opposition is against.

India loses contact with spacecraft on mission to the moon

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ndia lost contact with a spacecraft it was attempting to land on the moon on Saturday, the Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said, in a setback to the nation’s ambitious plans to become the first country to probe the unexplored lunar south pole.

The lander of India’s Chandrayaan-2 moon mission was attempting a “soft,” or controlled, landing near the south pole of the moon where scientists believe there could be water ice. ISRO lost communication with it just as it was

about to land on the moon.

“Vikram lander descent was as planned and normal performance was observed up to an altitude of 2.1 km.

Subsequently, communication from Lander to the ground stations was lost,” an ISRO official said. The lander was named Vikram after the father of India’s space programme, Vikram Sarabhai.

“There are ups and downs in life ... What you have accomplished is no small achievement,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was present at the ISRO centre, told scientists after being briefed by

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists work on various modules of lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 at ISRO Satellite Integration and Test Establishment (ISITE) in Bengaluru, India, June 12, 2019

Sivan.

Sivan had earlier described the final moments of the landing mission as “15 minutes of terror,” due to the complexities involved with lunar gravity, terrain and dust.

Only the United States, Russia and China have landed on the moon.

The south pole is believed to contain water as craters in the region are largely unaffected by the high temperatures of the sun. ISRO had hoped to confirm the presence of water in the form of ice, first detected on its mission in 2008. (Excerpt from Reuters)

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Regional

Honduras ex-First Lady bought Amazon countries sign forest pact, promising to coordinate disaster response jewellery with public funds

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even Amazonian countries on Friday signed a pact to protect the world’s largest tropical forest via disaster response coordination and satellite monitoring, amid recent fires that torched thousands of square miles of the jungle.

The Presidents of Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru, the Vice-President of Suriname and the Natural Resource Minister of Guyana attended the one-day summit in the jungle city of Leticia in southern Colombia.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro participated by video link, while his Foreign Minister, Ernesto Araujo, attended in person.

“This meeting will live on as a coordination mechanism for the presidents that share this treasure - the Amazon,” Colombian President Ivan Duque said at the signing,

adding the countries will meet again at the United Nations Climate Change conference in December.

“Goodwill alone is not enough anymore,” Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra added.

The countries will create a natural disaster network so they can better cooperate in the face of events like largescale fires, the pact said.

The group will also work on reforestation initiatives, increase efforts to monitor deforestation activity via satellite, develop education initiatives and increase the role of indigenous communities in sustainable development, it added.

The countries also agreed to share information on activities like illegal mining that hurt conservation, the pact said.

The group will “work to-

gether to strengthen the programs and financial mechanisms, reiterate the commitments made by countries in these scenarios, mobilize public and private resources, including the multilateral banks, as appropriate, for the implementation of this pact”.

Bolsonaro said in his remarks during the meeting that the pact was an affirmation of each country’s sovereignty.

Meanwhile, Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno opened by singing “Padre,” a song by Spanish singer Joan Manuel Serrat about environmental destruction.

Forest fires in the Brazilian Amazon have surged in number by 83% this year, according to government data, destroying vast swathes of a vital bulwark against global climate change. (Excerpt from Reuters)

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court in Honduras has sentenced former First Lady Rosa Elena Bonilla to 58 years in prison.

Bonilla, 52, was found guilty of misappropriating $779,000 (£635,000) from international donations and public funds during the four years her husband Porfirio Lobo was in power.

Prosecutors said she had used the money to buy jewellery and to pay for medical bills and her children’s tuition.

Her lawyer said Bonilla was innocent and would appeal.

Bonilla was arrested in February 2018 following an investigation into the disappearance of money from public funds, including a budget

Rosa Elena Bonilla says she is innocent and will appeal against the sentence

designed to provide shoes for poor Honduran children.

Bonilla’s personal assistant, Saúl Escobar, was also sentenced to 48 years in jail for fraud.

Neither Bonilla nor her husband were at court for the sentencing.

It is not the first time a member of the Lobo family has been sentenced. Porfirio Lobo’s oldest son, Fabio, was sentenced to 24 years in prison in 2017 after pleading guilty to charges of conspiring to import cocaine to the US. (BBC News)

Trinidad: Court blocks deportation Argentina’s markets hold steady of Venezuelan women

as protesters take to the streets T

wo Venezuelan women have managed to block their deporta-

Demonstrations were held in Buenos Aires on Wednesday protesting the government of Mauricio Macri and the International Monetary Fund, both blamed by many citizens for the country’s current financial crisis [File: Agustin Marcarian/Reuters]

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s thousands of protesters took to the streets of Buenos Aires on Wednesday, Argentina’s markets held steady amid demonstrations against the government of President Mauricio Macri and a darkening economic outlook in the recession-hit South American country.

The Argentine peso edged up and bonds rose after newly imposed capital controls helped stabilise haywire markets that have touched record lows since Macri was trounced in a primary vote last month all but dashing his hopes of re-election in October.

In the capital, protesters brandished banners slamming Macri’s austerity policies, rising poverty, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which agreed to extend a $57bn credit facility last year.

“Salary increases now!

The debt is with the people, not with the IMF,” read one banner in large red letters.

Other signs demanded higher wages and lower inflation, while some placards read “Macri and the IMF out”.

Many Argentines have been bitterly resentful of the IMF since a massive economic crisis and devaluation in 2001 that they blame in part on the IMF’s policies towards the country.

Argentina’s economic growth has stalled sharply since last year. Inflation is far outstripping salaries, leading to a sharp uptick in poverty, official data shows.

That trend was one of the key reasons for Macri’s larger-than-expected primary election defeat by the left-leaning Peronist candidate Alberto Fernandez.

“Given the fragility of our economy, we must now address the most urgent issues,” Macri said at a business leaders’ event on Wednesday. “We must focus on trying to anticipate and contain as much as possible the potential negative impact that it’s clearly having on the lives of all Argentines”.

The Government’s focus was on stabilising the exchange rate, protecting middle-class savings and looking to build “consensus” with other political forces in the country, he said. (Excerpt from

Al Jazeera)

tion.

Delivering a decision at the Hall of Justice in Port-ofSpain yesterday, High Court Judge Ricky Rahim granted an injunction blocking the Immigration Division from deporting Yoselin Pacheco Tourasi and Annys Maria Blanco Perez, both of Porlamar, Venezuela.

As part of his decision, Rahim ordered the conditional release of the women by instructing the division to place them on orders of supervision pending the determination of the case.

The women were among a group of eight Venezuelans,

seven women and a man, who were refused entry into the country at the Piarco International Airport after arriving aboard a La Venezolana charter flight on March 21.

The group was temporarily detained at a hotel in Trincity as another flight was not immediately available to facilitate their deportation. Nav Tours, the local travel agency who chartered the flight, was forced to foot the bill.

The group filed a lawsuit before Justice Jacqueline Wilson but before she could hear submissions in the case, the division agreed to place them on orders of supervision.

Late last month, the women’s application for refugee status was registered with the local office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

However, they were detained shortly after, during a routine visit to the division’s office to report as part of their supervision orders.

The women were scheduled to be deported on Sunday, but their attorneys, Lemuel Murphy, Joseph Sookoo, Shirvani Ramkissoon and Amit Mahabir were able to successfully obtain a temporary injunction from Rahim after the division failed to respond to their legal letters.

(Excerpt from T&T Guardian)

Hurricane Dorian: Bahamas death toll expected to be ‘staggering’

T

he death toll from Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas will be “staggering”, the country’s government has warned as aid efforts are being stepped up.

The official death toll stands at 30, but is expected to rise further.

Officials are sending morticians and 200 body bags to the Abaco Islands, the worst-hit part of the archipelago.

Dorian - which devastated the northern Bahamas from Sunday to Tuesday has now made landfall in the US state of North Carolina, but is weakening.

Officials say hundreds, possibly thousands, are still missing in the Abacos and Grand Bahama.

On Thursday Health Minister Duane Sands warned of a “staggering” final count.

“The public needs to prepare for unimaginable information about the death toll and the human suffering,”

Great Abaco has been rendered virtually uninhabitable

he told local radio.

Dr Ian Norton, who manages the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s emergency medical teams, also told reporters that he was also “really worried” about the potential death toll.

Dorian hit the Bahamas as a category five hurricane with winds reaching

185mph (297km/h).

It matched the highest ever recorded at landfall, and stayed over affected areas for two days.

The International Red Cross fears 45% of homes on Grand Bahama and the Abacos - some 13,000 properties - were severely damaged or destroyed.

Parts of the Bahamas received up to 35in (89cm) of rain, leaving vast areas of it flooded.

The Island of Great Abaco is virtually uninhabitable, with bodies piled up, no water, power or food, and militias formed to prevent looting, local media report.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

guyanatimesgy.com

saturDAY, september 7, 2019

17

Around the World

Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s strongman Hong Kong Police break up protests as ex-President, dies aged 95

R

obert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean independence icon turned authoritarian leader, has died aged 95.

Mugabe had been receiving treatment in a hospital in Singapore since April.

He was ousted in a military coup in 2017 after 37 years in power.

The former President was praised for broadening access to health and education for the black majority.

But later years were marked by violent repression of his political opponents and Zimbabwe’s economic ruin.

His successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa, expressed his “utmost sadness”, calling Mugabe “an icon of liberation”.

Mnangagwa had been

Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years

Mugabe’s deputy before replacing him.

Singapore’s Foreign Ministry said it was working with the Zimbabwean embassy there to have Mugabe’s body flown back to his home country.

After criticising the Government of Rhodesia in

1964 he was imprisoned for more than a decade without trial.

In 1973, while still in prison, he was chosen as President of the Zimbabwe African National Union (Zanu), of which he was a founding member.

Once released, he headed

to Mozambique, from where he directed guerrilla raids into Rhodesia but he was also seen as a skilled negotiator.

Political agreements to end the crisis resulted in the new independent Republic of Zimbabwe.

With his high profile in the independence movement, Mugabe secured an overwhelming victory in the republic’s first election in 1980.

But over his decades in power, international perceptions soured. Mugabe assumed the reputation of a “strongman” leader - all-powerful, ruling by threats and violence but with a strong base of support. An increasing number of critics labelled him a dictator. (Excerpt from BBC News)

UN nuclear watchdog Chief to meet Iranian officials

T

he acting Head of the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will travel to Iran this weekend to meet high-level officials.

The IAEA said in a statement on Friday that acting Director General Cornel Feruta “will travel to Tehran on Saturday for meetings with high-level Iranian officials on Sunday”.

“The visit is part of ongoing interactions between the IAEA and Iran,” the statement said, adding that this included “the IAEA’s verification and monitoring in Iran under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)”, the name

On Saturday, Iranian officials are expected to announce details of the third round of cuts in nuclear commitments under the JCPOA [Photo by: Mehdi Ghasemi/ISNA/Reuters]

for the 2015 deal with world powers over Iran’s nuclear programme.

On Saturday, Iranian officials are expected to announce details of the third

Turkish Opposition figure sentenced to nearly 10 years in jail

A

prominent Turkish opposition official was sentenced by a court on Friday to nine years and eight months in prison for insulting the President and spreading terrorist propaganda, a lawmaker from the main Opposition party said.

The Republican People’s Party (CHP) said Canan Kaftancioglu, Head of its Istanbul branch and one of the strongest Opposition voices within the party, will not immediately go to jail pending appeals.

The indictment also accused Kaftancioglu of insulting the Government and public servants, inciting hatred and enmity, mostly on the basis of tweets posted between 2012 and 2017.

Kaftancioglu played a significant role in municipal elections in Istanbul that saw the CHP take over the mayoralty, which had been held by President Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party and its Islamist

predecessors for the last 25 years.

Speaking outside Istanbul’s main courthouse following the verdict, Kaftancioglu said it would not silence her.

“Neither you all, nor I deserved this. If the court ruling is not in line with the law and is shaped by the wishes of the political power, it means there is no law in this country,” she told reporters.

The first session of Kaftancioglu’s trial took place five days after the CHP’s Ekrem Imamoglu won a rerun election for mayor of Istanbul in June.

Imamoglu said he was saddened by the verdict but believed it would be overturned by the appeals court.

Kati Piri, the European Parliament’s Turkey rapporteur, tweeted that the verdict was “surreal and outrageous”, adding, “Erdogan takes revenge for Opposition’s election victory. Unacceptable!”

(Excerpt from Reuters)

round of cuts in nuclear commitments under the JCPOA, which Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced on Wednesday, and said it will affect “the field of research and development”.

Feruta reported last week that Iran’s stock of enriched uranium has significantly surpassed the limits set by the pact and that it has continued to enrich uranium at a higher purity grade than allowed.

The nuclear deal - agreed on by Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, the US and the European Union gave Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for accepting curbs on its nuclear programme.

Tensions between Iran and the other parties to the deal have spiralled since the US unilaterally pulled out in 2018 and reinstated crippling economic sanctions. (Al Jazeera)

summer of discontent shows no sign of let-up

An anti-extradition bill protester sets fire during a protest at Prince Edward in Hong Kong, China September 6, 2019

H

ong Kong Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas on Friday to clear renewed protests outside a subway station on the densely populated Kowloon peninsula, the latest clashes in 14 weeks of sometimes violent anti-Government unrest.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced concessions this week to try to end the protests, including formally scrapping a hugely unpopular extradition bill, but many said they were too little, too late.

On Friday, the protesters withdrew when Police fired rubber bullets, but regrouped in smaller pockets to light fires in the street from wooden pallets, cardboard boxes and other debris. Firemen doused the flames as onlookers casually milled around, taking pictures.

Some protesters smashed up an elevator and entrance at the nearby Yau Ma Tei MTR station and traffic lights outside.

There was no immediate

official word on arrests or injuries, though some people were being treated at roadsides for minor wounds.

Cable News said one person had been attacked with a knife.

Mong Kok, Prince Edward and Yau Ma Tei stations were closed.

Lam’s measures to try to restore order in the Chineseruled city included the formal withdrawal of the bill that triggered the demonstrations. The law would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, despite the city having an independent judiciary dating back to British colonial rule.

But the demonstrations, which began in June, had long since broadened into calls for more democracy and many protesters have pledged to fight on, calling Lam’s concessions too little, too late.

Apart from withdrawing the bill, she announced three other measures to help ease the crisis, including a dialogue with the people. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Israeli troops kill Gaza teens during border protests: medics Brexit delay set to become law after winning Lords’ approval

I

sraeli forces shot dead two Palestinian teenagers including a 14-year-old boy during protests along the GazaIsrael border on Friday, Palestinian health officials said.

They named the dead as Khaled Al-Rabai, 14, and Ali Al-Ashqar, 17. Seventy protesters were wounded, 38 of them by live fire, medical officials said.

An Israeli military spokesman said that troops guarding the border were faced with more than 6000 demonstrators at several points along the fence, some hurling explosive devices and firebombs.

He said that some briefly managed to cross the fence before returning to Gaza, and that Israeli forces responded with riot dispersal measures. The spokesman did not comment on the deaths.

Protesters have staged 18 months of weekly demonstrations dubbed the “Great March of Return”, calling for an end to a security blockade imposed on Gaza by Israel and Egypt, and for Palestinians to have the right to return to land from which their families fled or were forced to flee during Israel’s founding in 1948.

Around 210 Palestinians have been killed since the protests began in March 2018, Gaza medical officials say.

Israel seized Gaza in a 1967 war and pulled out its settlers and troops in 2005.

It says the security blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Islamist group Hamas, which has fought three wars with Israel and fired thousands of rockets at it in the past decade. (Excerpt from Reuters)

T

he United Kingdom’s House of Lords - the upper chamber of the nation’s Parliament has approved a bill to delay Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union.

The Lords passed the bill on Friday.

Conservative peers had earlier in the week threatened to filibuster the fasttracked legislation into oblivion, and more than 100 amendments were tabled for discussion.

But constitutional law expert Jack Simson Caird said several of the Lords had committed to uphold the vote held in the House of Commons.

A deal was reached around 1:30 am on Thursday, and after some considered discussion in the past few days, the bill is now set to pass into law - meaning Prime Minister Boris

Johnson may have to go to the EU to ask for an extension to the October 31 Brexit deadline.

On Thursday, Johnson said he would rather “die in a ditch” than do so.

The legislation requires a delay to Brexit beyond October 31 unless a divorce deal is approved or Parliament agrees to leave the EU without one by October 19.

Conservative peer Lord True had argued: “How many more times must the British people be asked to take a delay?”

But Conservative Lords were in the end out-argued, and the bill sailed through its final stages in the Lords without amendment. It is now expected to receive royal assent on Monday, thereby completing all stages required to become law. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

Saturday, september 7, 2019

ARCHIE

ARIES (March 21April 19)

dilbert

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

Look, see and do. Let your imagination take charge and your intelligence help you develop what you want to pursue. Success will follow if you take action and chase your dream.

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

Getting involved in someone else’s life will be considered meddling. Be a good listener, but don’t offer advice or hands-on help.

Focus on self-improvement, not on changing others.

CANCER (June 21July 22)

Peanuts

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

VIRGO

(Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Calvin and Hobbes

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

SUDOKU

Be careful how you interpret what is being told to you. Someone will give you the wrong impression about a position that interests you. Do your research before you make a commitment.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

A positive change at home will boost your relationship with someone special. Love, romance and making plans as a couple will enhance your life.

Make a change only because it’s what’s right and best for you. If you follow someone else, you will end up having regrets. Trust in what you know and what you enjoy doing.

Get involved in events that offer knowledge and a different perspective on the possibilities you encounter.

Knowing the ins and outs will help you make a favorable lifestyle choice.

Refuse to give in to someone who is controlling. Look for new interests, and distance yourself from bad influences. Self-help will be successful.

Participate in a cause you want to help. You can make a difference if you speak up. The people you encounter will have a positive impact on your life.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21)

Move forward with caution. Not everyone you encounter has good intentions.

Watch for consistency, truth and respect for facts when dealing with others.

Don’t buy into something you don’t need.

CAPRICORN

If you express your emotions, you’ll make a difference to someone who has been waiting to hear what you have to say. Sharing feelings will lead to romantic plans.

(Dec. 22Jan. 19)

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

Open up only to those you know you can trust.

Keep a low profile and be a diligent observer. Your keen perception will protect you from making a mistake.

PISCES Make plans that will (Feb. 20- help stabilize your personal March 20) or professional life. Catch up with the latest technology or spend time with someone you want to work alongside.

saturday, september 7, 2019

19

Hazlewood rattles England after Burns-Root stand A

century partnership between Rory Burns and Joe Root kept Australia waiting for a while but Josh Hazlewood ensured that the visitors would continue to dominate the third Ashes Test at Old Trafford, Manchester.

Burns and Root put on a 141run partnership for the third wicket across two sessions on Friday (September 6) but Australia came roaring back into the game thanks to Hazlewood's four-wicket haul, which included three scalps in the final session of Day 3, that left England at 200 for 5 - still 297 behind.

A determined Pat Cummins put his back into it at the start of the third session and he could have had the reward too when he found the edge of Root's bat. But neither the 'keeper Tim Pane nor David Warner at first slip went for it, much to the disappointment of Cummins who was in the midst of a lively spell. He rapped Root on the pads, an enthusiastic Australia lost a review, he went past the outside edge of both batsmen with both good length and short of length

deliveries, while edges flew to the boundary. Cummins was putting on Australia's best bowling display of the day while Lyon was keeping it tight from the other end but it didn't yield any success.

It was a bowling change that worked for Australia, with Hazlewood forcing an outside edge off Burns's bat that landed in the hand of Smith at second slip, but the success had a lot to do with the pressure created by Cummins. Nevertheless, it was the avenue that Australia were hoping for and they cashed in as Hazlewood got one to jag back in to trap Root in front and removed the under pressure Jason Roy a short while later.

Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow were at the crease with a lot of work to do when bad light led to an early close.

Having waited for a couple of days and watched Steven Smith help himself to a double century, a jaded England side was ripe for Australia's picking. But indiscipline from the quicks allowed Burns and Root to build a partnership in the second session after the

3

Josh Hazelwood made a big impact on day three with his four wickets

first session was washed out.

Hazlewood bagged a wicket in the second over of the day - his 50th scalp against England - when he found the outside edge of Craig Overton's bat.

But that was the only wicket to

fall in the session as Burns and Root saw through testing overs in the first hour of play and later capitalised on some loose bowling - especially from Starc - to frustrate Australia.

Burns was peppered with

Williams reaches US Open final and will face Andreescu

S

erena Williams has another shot at winning a recordequalling 24th Grand Slam singles title after demolishing Elina Svitolina to reach the US Open final.

The American, 37, overpowered the Ukrainian fifth seed to win 6-3 6-1.

Williams, seeded eighth, is aiming for her first Grand Slam win since giving birth in September 2017.

The six-time champion will face Canadian 19-year-old Bianca Andreescu in Saturday's final in New York.

In a gripping encounter, Andreescu defeated 22-year-old Swiss Belinda Bencic 7-6 (7-3) 7-5, winning the last five games of the match.

Andreescu, who is playing in the US Open main draw for the first time and competing in only her fourth Grand Slam, was born nine months after Williams won her first title at Flushing Meadows in 1999.

Williams underlines why she is favoured for victory Williams is already considered by many as the greatest female player ever, yet will not be satisfied herself until she has levelled - and then overtaken - Australian Margaret Court's total of Grand Slam singles titles.

Following the difficult birth

of daughter Olympia two years ago which almost cost Williams her life, she has reached consecutive Wimbledon finals plus last year's controversial US Open showpiece against Naomi Osaka - without capping what has already been a remarkable comeback with another major win.

For Williams to not go on and win a seventh US Open title - an Open era record in the women's singles - would be a major shock on the evidence of her performances over the past two weeks.

Free of the knee injury which bothered her earlier this year, she is looking as sharp, powerful and clinical as she has in a long time.

That was illustrated by the ease with which she swatted aside Svitolina, the highestranked player to reach the last eight at Flushing Meadows and competing in her second successive Grand Slam semifinal.

The 24-year-old has one of the most impenetrable returning games on the WTA Tour, yet even she could not keep Williams at bay.

After a slow start where Svitolina could conceivably have led 2-0, it was the American who broke at the first attempt and from that point it was one-way traffic.

SCOREBOARD

Australia 1st Innings 497-8 dec England 1st Innings RJ Burns c Smith b Hazlewood 81 JL Denly c Wade b Cummins 4 C Overton c Smith b Hazlewood 5 JE Root (c) lbw b Hazlewood 71 JJ Roy b Hazlewood 22 BA Stokes not out 7 JM Bairstow † not out 2 Extras 8 (lb 6, nb 2) TOTAL 200/5 (74 Overs, RR: 2.7)

Bianca Andreescu consoles Serena Williams after Williams had to retire from the final of the Rogers Cup. (Photograph: Frank Gunn/AP)

Williams found her range quickly and dominated with her powerful, precise hitting which resulted in 33 winners in a match which lasted only one hour and 10 minutes.

Determined Andreescu battles through Saturday's final at Flushing Meadows comes four weeks after Williams tearfully retired with a back injury against Andreescu in the Rogers Cup final in Toronto.

Andreescu and Bencic were both competing in their first major semi-final, with the Canadian becoming the first teenager to play in a US Open last-four match since 2009.

Bencic made the running in the opening set but was undone as Andreescu saved all six break

points created by the Swiss.

Andreescu raced into a 5-0 lead in the first-set tie-break, and despite Bencic attempting a comeback, she made her lead count as her visibly frustrated opponent came to rue her missed opportunities.

Perhaps it was the spur that Bencic - who reached the quarter-finals in New York as a 17-year-old in 2014 - needed as she replied in stunning fashion, quickly going a double break up, and despite having her own serve broken, immediately broke again to extend her lead to 5-2.

But Andreescu refused to go away and won the next five games, breaking Andreescu once more on her third match point to book her place in the final. (BBC sport)

short deliveries but he did well to stay out of harm's way. Root didn't appear too confident be it footwork or shot-making - but hung around and assisted Burns in building a partnership.

He was happy to oblige to deliveries that were pitched on his leg with a couple of hits to the ropes. Nathan Lyon, meanwhile, found some turn and caused some problems for Root, targeting the England captain's inside edge with a forward short leg stationed.

But the pacemen could have been a lot tighter with their lines, and their lack of control

Yet to bat: JC Buttler, JC Archer, SCJ Broad, MJ Leach Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Joe Denly, 6.5 ov), 2-25 (Craig Overton, 11.3 ov), 3-166 (Rory Burns, 64.2 ov), 4-175 (Joe Root, 66.6 ov), 5-196 (Jason Roy, 72.4 ov) Bowling MA Starc (11-5-41-0) JR Hazlewood (20-4-48-4) PJ Cummins (17-4-37-1) NM Lyon (26-3-68-0)

allowed England to get away.

Burns, who did all the hard work earlier, ensured his efforts translated into a half-century, and in Root's company he helped raise the team's third century stand in this series - all three involving the England skipper at one end. Despite not being in complete control, Root, who even played and missed in the final over before Tea, remained unbeaten at the break but his struggles continued into the final session until he was snapped up by Australia's star performer of the day. (cricbuzz)

Khabib leads UFC 242 into the desert T

he UFC octagon has landed in the desert as Abu Dhabi plays host to UFC 242 on Saturday night.

And the all-conquering lightweight world champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is set for the main event as he faces interim champion Dustin Poirier in a title unification bout.

The undefeated Russian has compiled a 27-0 record and most recently finished Conor McGregor via fourthround submission at UFC 229 in 2018.

Despite his unblemished record and dominant displays throughout his UFC career, Nurmagomedov, 30, said he is taking Poirier’s challenge very seriously, but admitted his plan is no different to his past matchups as he looks to successfully defend his title.

“Dustin Poirier’s a very tough opponent,” Nurmagomedov said on Wednesday at the UFC 242 open workouts. “I don’t want to underestimate him. He has a lot of experience. But when I go to the cage, my plan is to make him tired, make him tap.

This is my plan.”

Nurmagomedov faces a surging contender who believes their main event matchup represents his

crowning moment as a professional fighter.

America’s Poirier, 30, is in the best form of his career and heads to the octagon as the UFC interim lightweight champion, having defeated featherweight world champion Max Holloway in April.

Speaking at the open workouts, pre-fight underdog Poirier said he’s ready to prove the doubters wrong.

“I’ve had naysayers my whole life and overcome the odds,” he said.

“I’m just in the moment, appreciative of the opportunity and will not let it slip through my fingers. I’m here to take full advantage of this, capitalise and be the undisputed world champion.

“I’ve had lessons in losses and picking myself off the ground.

Being undefeated is incredible.

It’s hard to do, especially against the competition he’s [Nurmagomedov] faced.

But I’ve learned lessons through trial, through error and triumph that he’s never learned yet. There’s something about picking yourself up off the ground time and time again and still chasing your dreams.

“I just can’t be broken. I will not be broken. I’m here to make history.” (BBC Sport)

20

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

saturday, september 7, 2019

GFF, Capelli Sport ink 4-year kit-supply contract

F

ollowing a successful initial engagement with Capelli Sport (CS), which outfitted the Guyana national senior men’s team the Golden Jaguars during their recent Gold Cup campaign, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has inked a four-year contract with that international sportswear manufacturer.

That contract, which became effective on August 29 last, makes CS the GFF’s official provider of uniforms, apparel and equipment for all categories of GFF teams: senior, youth and women; including U15, U17, U20 and senior teams respectively.

Among the other primary terms of the deliverables for CS are: Providing logistical support to national teams visiting the USA or Europe, including free access to CS-owned training fields, gyms, office spaces, and other similar facilities available to aid the preparation of teams; Facilitating player scouting opportunities, including professional and collegiate trials and exposure for GFF elite players; as well as coordinating training matches, as necessary; Creating and managing a branded online store for the GFF to sell replicas, fan wear, merchandise and accessories.

All fan wear items to be offered will be the same as

what the GFF offer for their own fan wear sales.

The GFF will receive 30% of all the proceeds from fan wear sales, and in exchange will offer CS guaranteed annual purchase; preferential consideration when purchasing uniforms for grassroots programmes and/or any domestic competitions organised and/or administered by the GFF; as well as other fan-related merchandise.

CS will also be offered marketing privileges including, but not limited to: logo placements/agency brand visibility on GFF’s stationery; and marketing platforms, including social media, access to GFF’s marketing partners for promotion/engagement purposes, and access by CS to events organised by the GFF for promotional purposes, including the setting up of merchandise and promotional booths for international home matches.

GFF President Wayne Forde summed up the agreement thus: “The Capelli kit partnership contract is groundbreaking for Guyana Football. It is a very comprehensive kit/ apparel contract negotiated by the Guyana Football Federation. The process was long and sometimes frustrating, but in the end both parties were very happy with the final deal.

“The value this deal will deliver over the next four

The current Golden Jaguars outfits

years will vastly impact the development of Football across Guyana. These are the types of opportunities that Gold Cup appearances create.

“The Golden Jaguars’ international exposure during the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup created value which was strategically leveraged to produce the best outcome for Guyana’s Football.”

GFF-NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power U-17 League…

Matches set for Berbice, EBFA this weekend

JHI Associates Inc on board “The Biggest Party in Sport”

The victorious Henrietta United FC

T

JHI’s Strategic Advisor John Gorman presented the Player-of-the-Match Award to Chris Green following the GAW victory in the opening match

J

HI Associates Inc (JHI), an oil and gas exploration company focused on frontier exploration in the Canje Block in the GuyanaSuriname Basin, has joined the biggest party in sport.

On Thursday, JHI sponsored the Man-of-the-

Match Award in Game 2 of the 2019 Edition of CPL: between the Guyana Amazon Warriors and the St Lucia Zouks, played at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence. That award was presented by JHI’s Strategic Advisor John Gorman to Guyana Amazon Warriors player Chris Green.

he Essequibo FA concluded their leg of the GFF/NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power U-17 Intra Association League on Sunday last at the Imam Bacchus Cricket Ground, where Henrietta United defeated Dartmouth Determinators in the final.

Action is set to continue in two other regional member associations (RMA) tomorrow.

The prolonged inclement weather had placed a damper on matches being played in all RMAs, but with a change in this situation, the respective associations still to complete will be getting busy in that regard.

All the matches in Berbice are set for play at the Esplanade Park, while the East Bank FA clubs will tangle at the GFF Training Facility at Providence, East Bank Demerara.

The first match in the Berbice league will kick-off with Cougars FC taking on Arsenal FC in a scintillating encounter from 13:00 hrs.

The action in the East Bank section of the

league will feature five matches.

The first encounter will see Herstelling Raiders taking on Timehri ‘B’ from 08:00 hrs, while Timehri ‘A’ will clash with Soesdyke Falcons at 10:00 hrs.

Samatta Point/ Kaneville will then come up against Grove Hi Tech at 12:00 hrs, while the final two matches will see Friendship All-Stars duking it out with Diamond United at 14:00 hrs, and Agricola Red Triangle tackling Mocha Champs at 16:00 hrs.

On Sunday, the Berbice leg will continue with one match. New Amsterdam United will battle Monedderlust at 13:00 hrs. In the East Bank leg, Mocha Champs will attempt to overthrow Diamond United at 08:00 hrs, while Timehri Panthers A will take on Timehri Panthers B at 10:00 hrs.

The final three fixtures of the day will see Soesdyke Falcons thrashing it out with Swan at 12:00 hrs, Herstelling Raiders taking on Grove Hi Tech at 14:00 hrs, and Samatta Point/Kaneville closing the afternoon off with a match against the Friendship All Stars from 16:00 hrs.

guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, september 7, 2019

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21

CONCACAF Nations League…

Guyana edge Aruba to taste victory G

uyana’s senior men’s football team, the Golden Jaguars, will now set their sights on capitalizing on their home advantage come Monday evening, after getting their CONCACAF Nations League Campaign off to a flying start with a 1-0 victory over Aruba on Friday evening.

Playing at the Stadion Ergilio Hato in Curacao, the Marcio Maximo-led Golden Jaguars opted for a starting XI which featured Akel Clarke (GK), Samuel Cox (C), Kevin Layne, Matthew Briggs, Liam Gordon, Clive Nobrega, Keanu MarshBrown, Neil Danns, Kelsey Benjamin, Daniel Wilson and Sheldon Holder.

While their opponents seemed determined enough, the hyper-focused Guyanese squad did not miss a mark from the moment the whistle sounded. Their reward came as soon as Kelsey Benjamin set up a tangible assist, which later came off the

boot of Sheldon Holder in the 22nd minute to give Guyana the advantage.

T h e G o l d e n Jags retained their lead in the second half, and when it seemed like their opponents, Aruba, would level the scores, Clarke leaped to the corner of the goalposts in the 90th, saving the Guyanese that scare.

Eventually, the lone goal was enough to secure the first points for the Guyanese, and set them on the path to another CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification.

Meanwhile, Group mates Jamaica defeated Antigua and Barbuda 6-0.

The Golden Jaguars will now head home to take on the Jamaican national team, the Reggae Boys, in their second CONCACAF

Italian GP: Charles Leclerc tops 2nd practice

F

errari's Charles Leclerc edged Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes to set fastest time in a weather-affected second practice at the Italian Grand Prix.

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

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

Intermittent rain made competitiveness harder to read than usual.

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

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

Nevertheless, the performance pattern of the cars appeared as expected with Ferrari having an advantage on a single lap but Mercedes faster over a longer run.

That is exactly the pattern seen in Belgium, where Leclerc took pole by three-quarters of a second, but won the race with a charging Hamilton right on

A glimpse of Guyana’s first CNL encounter

Nations League encounter.

The teams will meet at the National Track and Field

Centre at Leonora, West Coast Demerara on Monday, 9th September in a game that kicks off at 19:00hrs.

Tickets for entry cost $2000, and will be available at the gates.

St Kitts & Nevis Patriots penalised for slow over rate

Charles Leclerc greets Ferrari fans ahead of the Italian Grand Prix this weekend (AFP/Getty Images)

his tail.

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

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

That is also the case for Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly, who was seventh fastest, and McLaren's Lando Norris, who ended up 18th after missing the first half of the session while McLaren fixed an oil leak.

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

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

(BBC Sport)

T

he St Kitts & Nevis Patriots were charged with a breach of Article 2.5 of the Hero CPL Code of Conduct – Minimum Over Rate Offences – at the end of Match 1 between themselves and the Trinbago Knight Riders on Wednesday 4 September at the Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain.

The charge of being one (1) over down

was laid by the Match Officials Team against the captain of the Patriots, Carlos Brathwaite, who accepted the charge.

As provided for at Appendix 2, Section 4.2 of the Code of Conduct, the applicable monetary fine was imposed on the captain, and the Patriots team was penalized with a 0.05 reduction in their Net Run Rate.

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saturday, september 7, 2019

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

Quest for 592 Street Kings crown begins tonight!

ꟷ16 teams vying for $675,000 in cash

The 592 Street Kings will begin tonight at the Berlin Tarmac with 8 high-octane matches slated

S

treet football fans will tonight witness 16 of Guyana’s best and most enterprising teams go headto-head in contention as they begin their quest to be crowned the inaugural ‘592 Street Kings’ of Georgetown street football.

Powered by ANSA McAL’s 592 Lager Beer brand, the ‘592 Street Kings’ tourney begins tonight at the Berlin Tarmac at Drysdale and High Streets in Charlestown, Georgetown.

It will be a case or ‘win or go home’, as the competition will follow a straight knockout format.

Seasoned ‘street-ballers’ Alexander Village, led by Shem Porter, will open proceedings against the youthful LA Ballers (a mixture of National U-20 footballers) at 19:30hrs, while Back Circle are assigned the task of overcoming ANSA McAL AllStars at 20:00hrs.

Meanwhile, East Coast outfit Melanie-B will clash with Keron Solomon’s Future Stars at 20:30hrs, before a highly anticipated fixture at 21:00hrs features Broad Street, led by

Jimmy Gravesande, coming up against North East La Penitence.

The night’s fifth fixture, slated to begin at 21:30hrs, will see Okeene ‘Russian’ Fraser lead his Leopold Street side against arch- rivals Tiger Bay in an encounter that is sure to have the crowd on edge.

That game will be followed by renowned street-ballers Gold is Money, which boasts Hubert Pedro among their ranks, coming up against Avocado Ballers.

Fans will witness, in the penultimate game, streetball juggernaut Sparta Boss showcasing their talent against the exciting John Street outfit.

The night’s ultimate fixture –number 8 - will see Albouystown-B attempting to get past the dangerous Sophia to book their quarter-final spot.

The eight winners of the night will advance to the quarterfinal stage of the tourney, which is slated for the Burnham Court (Middle and Carmichael Streets) on September 14. Each of the eight quarter-finalists will have a chance to win cash prizes, as

the winners will advance to the semi-finals while the losers will be eligible for the ‘592 Shield,’ which has a purse of $50,000 up for grabs.

The semi-finals will also be played on match night two, while play in the third and final night of the tournament is set for the Durban Park Tarmac near Square of the Revolution.

That night will see the semifinals and finals of the ‘592 Shield’ being played, while the third place and final of the ‘592 Street Kings’ tournament will also kick off.

The inaugural ‘592 Street Kings’ will walk away with $300,000 in cash, while the runners-up will receive $150,000. The winner of the third-place playoff will pocket $100,000, while the fourth placed team will receive $75,000.

Entry to the event is free, and patrons can enjoy 592 Beer specials all night at 5 for $1000.

Every such purchase guarantees patrons prizes, among which are 592 jerseys, caps, cozies, openers and buckets.

Former National Champ claims top prize at inaugural Berbice Rapid Chess Open

T

he A. Ally & Sons Berbice Rapid Chess Open 2019 -- the first ever open chess competition organized by the Berbice Chess Association (BCA), was won by former Junior and twotime former Senior National Chess Champion Kriskal Persaud at the University of Guyana’s Berbice Campus at Tain, Corentyne on Sunday, September 1st.

Persaud, himself a Berbician, pitted his chess skills and experience against a field that included two former Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) Presidents in Shiv Nandalall and veteran chess columnist Errol Tiwari; four current executive members of the GCF in Frankie Farley (President), Professor Gonathinayagam Subramanian (Vice President), Loris Nathoo (Fund Raising Director) and Steve Leung (Executive Committee Member), and prevailed.

Sponsored by popular Berbice business entity A. Ally & Sons, the competition had for the taking five cash prizes, each paired with a trophy.

The competition was played using the Swiss Format for seven rounds.

Rashad Hussain, Tournament Director of the GCF, was efficient in conducting the competition.

Among the players were South African National Uddhav Bagwandeen, a medical student at Texila American

University on the East Bank of Demerara; Lottia Williamson, a student of English at the University of Guyana Berbice Campus; Marley London, brother of Darwin London; and John London, father of the London boys.

Chandradat Ramnarine (aka Mike) presented the trophies and cash prizes to the winners on behalf of A. Ally & Sons. Krishnanand Raghunandan, President of the BCA, welcomed the players and expressed the

Association's gratitude to the sponsor, to the University of Guyana Berbice Campus for making available its premises to stage the competition, and to the GCF for providing the chess sets and clocks used in the competition. He took the opportunity to express hope that this competition would become an annual affair.

The BCA would like to thank the various media houses for providing coverage of the competition.

Full results

First prize: Kriskal Persaud Second prize: Loris Nathoo Third prize: Frankie Farley Fourth Prize: Jacob Nauth (Best Berbician other than first prize winner Kriskal Persaud) Fifth prize: Darwin London (Best Junior Player)

Colonial Medical Insurance ODI series….

Aussie Women take 1-0 lead against Windies Women A

ustralia began their tour of the West Indies in fine style as Meg Lanning and Alyssa Healy flayed centuries as part of a 225-run stand to set up a crushing 178run victory in Antigua.

Lanning's was her 13th ODI century - the fastest player, male or female, to reach that landmark, in 76 innings, ahead of Hashim Amla's 83 - while Healy made her second as the pair dominated the majority of Australia's innings following the shock of losing Rachael Haynes first ball.

Healy was the first to her landmark off 95 balls with Lanning reaching three figures from 137 deliveries with a six off Stafanie Taylor. In all, Lanning struck four sixes with one of them landing in the swimming pool at the Coolidge Ground.

Australia's eventual margin of victory was their largest by runs against West Indies.

The stand of 225 in 38 overs, in oppressively hot conditions, was Australia's second highest for any wicket in ODIs, behind the 244 added by Karen Rolton and Lisa Sthalekar against Ireland in 2005. Both players were given lives in what was a ragged display from West Indies.

SCOREBOARD

Sheneta Grimmond and Shabika Gajnabi spotted in Windies Women set-up

When Healy departed, Ellyse Perry chipped in with an unbeaten 33 off 31 balls Australia's innings saw steady progression throughout with the five 10-over splits bringing 55, 51, 62, 66 and 74 runs.

There was precious little for West Indies to take from the innings after the early high of Shamilia Connell having Haynes caught behind although she and Afy Fletcher kept their economy rates under six an over in their allocation of 10 overs.

Perry, getting the new ball to swing, then played a

leading role in blowing away West Indies' top order which was missing the suspended Hayley Matthews who had been withdrawn from the ODI squad hours before the match started for breaching the code of conduct.

Both openers, Natasha McLean and Stacey-Ann King, fell for ducks as did Kyshona Knight as West Indies stumbled to 8 for 3 at the end of the second over and Perry's third wicket, trapping Reniece Boyce lbw, compounded the problems.

Taylor, who offered the majority of what resistance

there was, with 70 off 114 balls, and Chinelle Henry briefly rallied before the latter drove a return catch to legspinner Georgia Wareham who claimed her second wicket when Lanning added to her stellar day by grabbing a stunning catch, full-stretch to her right, at slip to remove debutant Shabika Gajnabi. Taylor showed her team-mates what was possible but was left stranded when Connell pulled to mid-on with Kycia Knight unable to bat. The only area where Australia slipped was conceding 26 wides. (Cricinfo)

RL Haynes c †Boyce b Connell 0 AJ Healy † c Gajnabi b Fletcher 122 MM Lanning (c) c Henry b Connell 121 EA Perry not out 33 BL Mooney c Gajnabi b Henry 15 A Gardner not out 2 Extras (b 1, w 14) 15 TOTAL (50 Overs, RR: 6.16) 308-4 Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Rachael Haynes, 0.1 ov), 2-225 (Alyssa Healy, 38.2 ov), 3-271 (Meg Lanning, 44.2 ov), 4-306 (Beth Mooney, 49.5 ov) Bowling SS Connell (10-0-53-2) CA Henry (9-0-61-1) SACA King (4-0-18-0) ASS Fletcher (10-0-54-1) SR Taylor (7-0-57-0) S Gajnabi (3-0-14-0) A Mohammed (7-0-50-0)

West Indies Women Innings (target: 309 runs from 50 overs) NY McLean lbw b Schutt 0 SACA King b Perry 0 SR Taylor (c) not out 70 Kyshona A Knight lbw b Perry 0

R Boyce † lbw b Perry 4 CA Henry c & b Wareham 14 ASS Fletcher b Carey 3 S Gajnabi c Lanning b Wareham 1 A Mohammed lbw b Gardner 3 SS Connell c Gardner b Vlaeminck 4 Kycia A Knight absent hurt Extras 31 (lb 5, w 26) TOTAL 130 all out (37.3 Overs, RR: 3.46) Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Natasha McLean, 0.1 ov), 2-4 (Stacy-Ann King, 1.3 ov), 3-8 (Kyshona Knight, 1.6 ov), 4-23 (Reniece Boyce, 7.3 ov), 5-54 (Chinelle Henry, 16.5 ov), 6-90 (Afy Fletcher, 24.5 ov), 7-101 (Shabika Gajnabi, 30.1 ov), 8-116 (Anisa Mohammed, 33.3 ov), 9-130 (Shamilia Connell, 37.3 ov) Bowling M Schutt (5-1-9-1) EA Perry (5-0-17-3) G Wareham (10-1-44-2) JL Jonassen (5-0-14-0) NJ Carey (4-0-15-1) TJ Vlaeminck (3.3-0-131) A Gardner (5-2-13-1)

guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, september 7, 2019

Hero CPL…

23

Green, Warriors rearing to continue winning ways ꟷ Patriots aiming to spoil “the party”

By Brandon Corlette

B

uoyed by the thrill of winning their CPL 2019 opening match against the St Lucia Zouks at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence on Thursday last, the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) will take on the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in their second home game tonight from 20:00 hours at the same venue.

The Patriots are no pushovers. In their

Kitts and Nevis Patriots had had a decent game against the Trinbago Knight Riders.

“I think losing four wickets in three overs did not help the cause, but I think the bowlers did well to restrict the Trinbago Knight Riders to 152 (in) a good effort”, he said.

The Warriors’ Green declared that it was the ideal way to start the tournament for the GAW. “This weekend is very exciting for the team, and

Outfoxed! Pooran with swift hands ended Barnwell’s night

Chris Green and Rayad Emrit at the pre-match press conference

opening game of CPL 2019, they restricted the champions, Trinbago Knight Riders, to 152; and went down fighting, losing the game by a mere 11 runs. Thus a ferocious battle for supremacy will be enjoined tonight.

On the eve of this match, Chris Green and Rayad Emrit addressed media operatives at the Guyana Marriott Hotel, each reflecting on their respective team’s opening match, and speaking on the way forward.

Emrit, who in previous seasons of the CPL had represented the GAW, contended that St

the guys that missed out last night will be looking to put on a show,” he predicted.

With Emrit and Jason Mohamed being former GAW players, they may be familiar with the conditions prevailing at the venue. Emrit admitted that their experience may help, but explained that conditions vary at Providence.

The right-arm seamer said his side has a lot of confidence, and they play as a team and not

rely on individuals.

With the Warriors looking forward to facing their next challenge, a confident Green highlighted that the Providence pitch is getting better, and this suits the GAW line-up. The GAW confidence has been boosted by that first win, he disclosed, and heading into their upcoming matches, “a few players stepped up in the first match, and the others will want to do the same,” Green noted.

In the GAW opening match, Captain Shoaib Malik suffered a blow to his hand when a ball struck by Hetmyer nailed it.

Green updated the media on Malik’s condition, and disclosed that the skipper is fine.

Malik had earlier posted on Twitter that the scan he had undergone had shown there was no fracture. Green shed some positive light on the GAW home fortress at Providence, explaining that support received is always good for the team. “The passion, the level of encouragement shown by the fans, means a lot to the team; and last

night, to have 10,000 people on a Thursday, was pretty exciting”, Green explained.

Looking forward to tonight’s game, Emrit said he has a lot of fans in Guyana, and will be looking to enjoy the game.

The Warriors, most consistent team in CPL, have a 6-2 head-to-head advantage over the Patriots in eight CPL matches in the history of “the biggest party in sport”; but Evin Lewis, Sheldon Cottrell, captain Carlos Brathwaite and company are anticipated to be bringing their ‘A’ game to “the party” in a bid to undermine the fortunes of the GAW. St Kitts and Nevis Patriots comprise: Evin Lewis, Shamarh Brooks, Alzarri Joseph, Fabian Allen, Mohammad Hafeez, Laurie Evans, Afif Hossain, Keron Cottoy, Aaron Jones, Carlos Brathwaite (C), Rayad Emrit, Devon Thomas, Sheldon Cottrell, Jeremiah Louis, Dominic Drakes, Akeem Jordan and Usama Mir. Guyana Amazon Warriors comprise: Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Keegan Simmons, Shoaib Malik (C), Sherfane Rutherford, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Shadab Khan, Chris Green, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Anthony Bramble, Ben Laughlin, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Veerasammy Permaul, and Clinton Pestano.

KFC injects over $2M into 2nd annual Goodwill Tournament …number of participating schools to increase

By Jemima Holmes

K

FC Guyana and the Petra Organization on Friday afternoon renewed their partnership in regard to hosting of the KFC Goodwill Tournament.

The proceedings took place at the company’s Vlissengen Road office, where it was disclosed that this year’s edition is expected to feature additional teams from Guyana and the wider region.

For the second year running, the KFC Goodwill Tournament will give some of the best and most competitive school football teams in Guyana and the wider region opportunity to showcase their skills.

Troy Mendonca, representing the coordinating body, the Petra Organization, declared the rationale behind hosting such a tournament. “Ever since we conceptualised this tournament two years ago, the whole idea was to give our schoolboys the opportunity to compete among a team, or teams, for us to understand where our level is at in terms of our performance. You would all agree that our boys last year gave a good account of themselves,” Mendonca explained.

The number of participating teams has been increased from the 4 of last year to six this year; and this tournament’s second edition is expected to feature two hinterland schools, namely Annai and Waramadong Secondary.

He said that two more local teams will join the line. Those two teams will be the first- and second-placed finishers in the upcoming Guyoil Football League. Last year’s champions, the Shiva Boys out of Trinidad

KFC’s training Manager Charissa Rampersaud

KFC’s Charissa Rampersaud presents the sponsorship cheque to Troy Mendonca in the presence of Petra’s Mark Alleyne and GFF’s Wayne Dover

and Tobago, will also participate, as would the USL Montjoly Academy out of French Guiana.

Mendonca expressed gratitude to KFC for giving youths such a platform. Speaking on behalf of the entire football fraternity and on GFF President Forde’s behalf, he said, “We would like to say ‘a special thank you’, and you’re not just investing in the actual playing of the game, but developing future leaders in our society.”

KFC Training Manager Charissa Rampersaud explained that the company is committed to its corporate responsibility, and she declared that she is looking forward to an exciting tournament.

“In our commitment to support the development of our youths, with the hope of some even becoming world class athletes, we have teamed up with the Petra Organization for the second consecutive year for the KFC Goodwill Tournament. We are confident

that this tournament will be an exciting exhibition of skills and competition that will result in a thrilling experience for all fans,” she said.

The Guyana Football Federation has declared its support of the competition.

Under-20 Coach Wayne Dover explained that the Federation will use the tournament as a basis for scouting new under- 20 talents.

“Only recently, the GFF embarked on a nationwide talent-scouting (exercise) to arrive at the next generation of Under-20 players for the CONCACAF Championships next year; and like I said, this initiative is timely. Cause as we go through the nation to scout talent, we will use this very tournament to get many players out of the school system to be a part of the national set-up,” Dover explained.

KFC has injected some $2.5 million into the tournament, and it is tentatively expected to last from December 15th to December 22nd.

saturday, september 7, 2019

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

guyanatimesgy.com

Hero CPL… Page 23

Green, Warriors rearing

to continue winning ways Former national champ claims top prize at inaugural Berbice Rapid Chess Open Page 22

The top performers of this event: Frankie Farley, Darwin London, Kriskal Persaud, Chandradat Ramnarain, Loris Nathoo and Jacob Nauth

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