Guyana Times November 7 2018

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THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 3739

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Govt's takeover of Berbice River Bridge unlawful – BBCI

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Region 2 P3 admin not maintaining Martyrs' Monument

Page 3

LGE 2018

AFC candidate claims he was used as “scapegoat”

Early Childhood Development Centre opens in P14 Linden

Page 11 PM’s $5.5M reform expenditure

Constitutional P9 violations taking place almost every day – Nandlall

Kwakwani midwife's murder

"We're leaving no stones unturned" – E Division Commander P15 The Hindu community celebrated Diwali on Tuesday with the auspicious lighting of diyas in observance of the Festival of Lights. In this Dexter Ceres photo, the Alexander Village Mandir was illuminated on what is described as the darkest night of the year

CH&PA starts clampdown on delinquent developers

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…CEO says Providence land being repossessed

Guyana in throes of economic mismanagement – Ali Page 7

...points out worrying economic indicators

Democrats strike early in battle for US House, face uphill climb in P17 Senate

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BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Wednesday, November 7 – a night retraction at 04:30h and a day retraction from 14:30h-16:00h and Thursday, November 8 –05:00h-06:30h.

Govt's takeover of Berbice River Bridge unlawful – BBCI gal options. I have a meeting with our lawyers tomorrow (Tuesday). This is a slap on the whole Private Sector … this is something bigger than toll increases … it is a slap to all public-private partnerships ... it was a model project for private-public partnership and so the Government will have to be responsible in its actions.”

But on Monday, several members of the Private Sector were on edge, as, according to a leading businessman, the move by Government did not augur well for investors in Guyana.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Wednesday, November 7 – 16:10h-17:40h and Thursday, November 8 –16:45h-18:15h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Sunny intervals can be expected throughout the day interrupted by light rain showers in the late-morning hours. Clear skies can be expected in the evening, with temperatures ranging between 21 degrees Celsius and 31 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Ranging from South South-easterly to North North-easterly between 1.34 metres and 5.36 metres.

High Tide: 16:14h reaching a maximum height of 2.80 metres.

Low Tide: 09:49h and 22:11h reaching minimum heights of 0.52 metre and 0.40 metre respectively.

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

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he Berbice Bridge Company Incorporated (BBCI) has denounced the shocking announcement that the Public Infrastructure Ministry has taken control of the Berbice Bridge, describing the order as unlawful and noting that they may challenge it in the High Court.

On Tuesday, the BBCI criticised the Government for the move and demanded answers from Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson. It noted that based on the legal advice it received, Toll Order 2018 to take over operations of the Bridge was unlawful under the Berbice River Bridge Act. The Company noted that pursuant to the Judicial Review Act, it has written to the Minister demanding an explanation. Section 15 of the Act compels anyone making an administrative decision to supply justification for said decision, upon request.

According to Section 15 (1) of the Act, “It is the duty of any person or body making an administrative decision, if requested in accordance with this section by any person adversely affected by the decision, to supply that person with a statement setting out the findings on material questions of fact, referring to the evidence or other material on which those findings were based and giving the reasons for the decision.”

The Act also stipulates that such an explanation must be provided within 14 days. The Company went on to add that it next course of

Region 2 admin not maintaining Martyrs' Monument

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t was built to honour five martyrs who were slain during an uprising at Devonshire Castle on the Essequibo Coast (Region Two, Pomeroon-Supenaam) in 1872, but the present state of the Devonshire Castle Monument is deemed unacceptable, and has since become a growing concern to residents of the area.

According to information reaching this publication, this monument -- located in Cabbage Dam, Devonshire Castle -- is presently in an environment surrounded by bushes, and its condition has not caught the attention of the relevant authorities.

Concerned residents have related to this publication that some efforts should be

Bushes surround the historical monument

made to clear the bushes and maintain the area, as it is a part of Guyana’s history.

Acting Mayor of Anna Regina, Darshan Persaud, when contacted, revealed that due to the lack of funds, the town is not in a position to

maintain its monument sites.

He expressed concern that while monies are being spent on parks, the Region Two Administration does not see it fit to maintain heritage sites in the region. turn to page 7

action would be determined by the response received … even if it means the High Court. In the meantime, however, the Company noted that it was forced to comply with the order.

It was only on November 4, that the BBCI announced that its recent request for a meeting with Government would be forwarded to Cabinet for discussion.

The BBCI also revealed that it had a proposal to end the impasse, should Government extend the life of the contract to 40 years, there would be no increases.

But in a shocking move on Monday, November 5, the Public Infrastructure Minister announced that the Government would be taking over the Bridge. While the Minister sought to assure it was only temporary and that the Board would remain untouched, the move has already touched off concerns in sections of society.

The BBCI has been seeking increases to its toll structure for the past three years to no avail. It, therefore, announced new increases last month, something the Government has been res-

olute against. The increases were announced by BBCI Chairman Dr Surendra Persaud, a close associate of the Alliance For Change (AFC) party.

The Government has been resolute in saying it would not agree to toll increases and has instead pointed to its servicing of the Bridge’s pontoons as a way it is mitigating the crisis. The BBCI has maintained that this arrangement was insufficient for it to meet its financial obligations, but has, nevertheless, tried to bring the Government to the table for discussions.

Slap to public-private partnerships

However, the Government’s unilateral decision did not go down well with BBCI Vice Chairman Paul Cheong, who on Monday told Guyana Times such an arbitrary move was a slap in the face of all public-private partnerships.

Speaking with this publication on Monday, a very livid Cheong said, “The decision came as a shock to us and, so we are working with our lawyers to weigh our le-

Dip in confidence

Last week, the World Bank’s 2018 Report signalled a dip in investors’ confidence in Guyana. This year, Guyana placed 126th in the global rankings. Last year, Guyana ranked 124th, while in 2015, the nation ranked 140th.

The Ease of Doing Business Index is one of the most comprehensive studies done by the World Bank.

In determining ease of doing business, the World Bank looks at key indicators such as registering, compliance, taxation, obtaining loans and similar factors such as administrative procedures. It also looks at legal measures, such as protection and settlements.

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

Unemployment

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lobally, the unemployment rate is estimated to stand at some 197.1 million, and is forecasted to rise. It is also predicted that an additional 1.1 million jobless will likely be added to the global tally. These findings, which are considered very useful to governments and policy makers, were included in ILO’s World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends (WESO) published.

There are several reasons for the rising unemployment rate in many countries; most notably, the significant slowdown in emerging economies since 2007, and the sharp decline in commodity prices, among others. If the current trends continue, it is clear that the unemployment situation for many countries will get worse. This therefore makes a strong case for all stakeholders to make the necessary bold decisions and move towards implementing effective policies which aim to minimise the impact on the rising unemployment rate on citizens everywhere.

According to the WESO outlook, while there has been a decrease in poverty rates, the rate of decline in the number of working poor in developing economies has slowed, and vulnerable employment still accounts for over 46 per cent of total employment globally, affecting nearly 1.5 billion people.

The authors of the WESO also document the fact that job quality remains a major challenge.

The lack of decent jobs leads people to turn to informal employment, which is typically characterised by low productivity, low pay, and no social protection.

A similar situation exists in Guyana, where many young people are unemployed or are just not finding suitable jobs to match their qualifications and experience. A study conducted by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) found that Guyana had a youth unemployment rate of about 40 per cent. According to the report’s findings, the regional countries with the highest persistent youth unemployment were Guyana and Suriname.

It would be worthwhile to mention, too, that since the APNU/AFC Coalition Government took political power in May 2015, they have not come up with any detailed plan on how they intend to address the unemployment crisis in the country. The present Government campaigned on the promise that it would provide thousands of jobs for citizens, but, so far, hardly any tangible effort has been made in this regard. In fact, what we have seen is the opposite – over 7000 sugar workers were fired, while many other persons were removed from their positions for reasons which were highly questionable.

That said, unemployment and poverty are two of the main challenges that countries -- both developed and developing -are faced with at present. Unemployment leads to financial crisis, and reduces the overall purchasing capacity of a nation.

This, in turn, results in persons getting in the bracket of poverty, followed by increasing burden of debt.

Young people everywhere, both skilled and unskilled, have been crying out for decent jobs. Far too many young people in the region are being pushed to the margins of society – unable to obtain a quality education, or secure a good job so that they can help to break the cycle of poverty which continues to plague their families and communities.

We had stated before that access to quality education is essential if one were to seize the opportunities and emerge from poverty. Everyone must have the opportunity to develop themselves, have their rights protected, and have access to basic services. The way to achieving this is by including fair, inclusive social policies in national development agendas which focus on supporting vulnerable groups in various communities.

Further, we stress the need for more collaboration between Government and the private sector, with the aim of increasing the scale of targeted youth programmes. This is necessary if young people are to be equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to allow them to function effectively in the working world.

While there are a few such programmes in Guyana, the question remains as to how effective they have been in meeting the needs of our youth and the country as a whole.

We anxiously await the 2019 Budget, which is expected to be presented to the Parliament before December. Our hope is that the Administration would take into account the need to design policies and programmes which allow for the creation of employment and training opportunities for our youth.

The spiritual “victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance” prevailed on Monday evening as these two young ladies joined in the traditional lighting of diyas to celebrate the Festival of Lights (Dexter Ceres photo)

Saudis tampered with CCTV cameras after Khashoggi murder – report …Sabah newspaper reports Saudis targeted CCTV cameras inside and outside Consulate where Jamal Khashoggi was killed

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urkish media have reported that staff at Saudi Arabia’s Consulate in Istanbul tried to dismantle security cameras to help cover up the murder of Journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The pro-Government Sabah newspaper reported on Tuesday that the Saudis tried to rip out the camera inside the consulate on October 2, the day Khashoggi was murdered.

They also tried to tamper with cameras at the Police security booth outside the building.

The body of Khashoggi, a former Washington Post columnist and critic of the powerful Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, remains missing.

According to the report, on October 6, at 01:00h local time, a consulate staff member went into the Police security outpost outside the Saudi Consulate to access the video system.

Sabah reported that the staff member put in a digital lock code into the system, which did not dismantle any cameras; rather the code was to prevent access to any videos showing movement at the entrance, including Khashoggi’s arrival at the consulate.

Al Jazeera’s Andrew Simmons, reporting from Istanbul, said that their attempt was, in any case, irrelevant because the Police had already deciphered the coding and accessed the system, retrieving a copy of

Jamal Khashoggi

the video well before the attempted tampering.

“All of this demonstrates, according to Turkish officials, in terms of the ... whole set of procedures, that there was an effort by the Saudi Arabian Consulate to once again tamper with evidence,” Simmons said.

“This follows a pattern of leaks which demonstrate beyond any doubt, according to the Turks, that the Saudis weren’t out to investigate a murder, they were out to cover it up.”

Turkish authorities claimed last month that security camera footage was removed from the consulate and that Turkish staff were told to take a holiday on the day Khashoggi was scheduled to visit the Consulate to pick up a document for marriage.

On October 23, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech to

ruling party legislators in Ankara that the murder was planned days in advance by a Saudi team.

He said that the surveillance system at the Consulate was deactivated on purpose.

“First, [the Saudis implicated] removed the hard disc from the camera system,” Erdogan said. “This is a political murder.”

Erdogan said he wanted answers to many questions, such as who gave the order to kill Khashoggi and what happened to his body.

On Friday, Erdogan said that the order to kill Khashoggi came from the “highest levels” of the Saudi Government, but added he did not believe King Salman was to blame.

More evidence to come

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu reiterated on a

visit to Japan on Tuesday that it was “obvious” that the 15-member team from Saudi Arabia had arrived in Istanbul with instructions to kill Khashoggi.

However, Ankara has not been able to receive an answer from Riyadh as to who specifically ordered Khashoggi’s murder.

“We have to find out who gave these instructions.

This is the simple question that we have put to the Saudis as well. We made it very public. It’s an ongoing investigation,” Cavusoglu said.

“Saudis proposed to have a joint working group and we accepted that, but this working group should be a result-oriented one.”

Cavusoglu added that Turkey has further evidence regarding Khashoggi’s killing which they have yet to share with the public and that details of his case will continue to be reported to the public until the investigation is complete.

A Turkish security source told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that CIA Director Gina Haspel has seen evidence of Khashoggi’s murder which proves that the operation was carried out on orders from the highest level of leadership in Saudi Arabia.

The source said that they expect Europe to take a position soon concerning Khashoggi’s murder, once European nations are provided with the evidence. (Al

Jazeera)

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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

Desperation of AFC over Calling for an audit in road projects rejection by Berbicians Dear Editor, Acting on behalf of the People’s Progressive Party/ Guyanese. True to prediction, Dear Editor, Earlier this month, this is exactly what happened. Berbicians remember an- Civic (PPP/C), I requestWhat is also interesting, other AFC Executive, Moses ed that the Audit Office Berbicians and the rest of Guyana woke up to the an- is that six days before the Nagamootoo, being in Berbice of Guyana to do a spenouncement that tolls for Local Government Elections, touting a reduction of the toll cial Audit of the following the Berbice Bridge would be we have this announcement by half and the takeover of projects: The East Bank hiked by almost 400 per cent by Minister David Patterson the Bridge by Government. Berbice road; Works on the and the effective date of the – despite the admission that The almost $400M paid to Mabaruma road, and the increases would be Election the matter is still to be dealt Larry Singh, the tenant of another AFC Executive, Cathy Port Kaituma road works.

Day, November 12, 2018. The with at Cabinet level.

I must note that Minister Hughes, for a bottom house I note, not with surprise, announcement came from the AFC-aligned Chairman of the David Patterson had also touted as a drug bond to the that the Minister of Public David Berbice Bridge Corporation said that he would seek le- Guyanese people was enough Infrastructure, Incorporated Board of gal advice, but the law is al- to pay for all of the common Patterson, has welcomed Directors, Surrendra Persaud. ready clear- There can be shares in the Bridge, and the the call for an audit to be Why did the AFC supporter no toll increases unless $1.5B spent on D’Urban Park done. announce such toll increas- he, the Minister of Public was enough to buy out about Editor, I say not with es and decide that it would Infrastructure, signs off on it. half of the investment made surprise, given that the be effective on Election Day? Why then, did Minister David by the National Insurance Minister has peddled a simClearly this was designed Patterson choose to drag the Scheme in the bonds used to ilar line before, in what to cause worry and trepida- issue about seeking legal ad- finance the Bridge. clearly appears to be his We have seen the desperation among Berbicians, since vice and what-not, when the the Bridge has become so vi- law was already clear? Even tion of the AFC, clutching for attempt to show ‘clean tal for their economic and so- the Attorney General, Basil any issue with which it could hands’ – when the realicial increase in tolls well-be- Williams, agreed that the return to Berbice. Because ty of the state of affairs at ing. How could the announced law passed by the former of the string of broken prom- his Ministry has been exnot be seen as an election gim- People’s Progressive Party/ ises made to Berbicians and posed time and time againCivic (PPP/C) on the issue is the mass rejection of the AFC most recently in the Auditor mick?

Fast forward to a few weeks clear and the company will in Berbice, the Party has had General’s 2017 report. The later, Guyanese woke up to the be in breach of the concession to bring up this matter and PPP/C will not allow the atannouncement by Minister agreement if it increases the even go to the extent of com- tempted deflection by the piling fraudulent Nominators’ of Public Infrastructure, toll.

Minister. The issue here is That said, I want to reiter- Lists (Backers’ Lists) in sevDavid Patterson, about the about accountability and eral areas in Berbice, includGovernment taking tempo- ate the position of the People’s ing the hometown of AFC’s transparency. rary control over the oper- Progressive Party/ Civic. The It was the same ations of the Berbice River Party has said it is opposed Nagamootoo.

The people of Berbice will Minister, who welcomed the Bridge in the interest of pub- to any toll increases because lic safety. This is the perpet- the financial model does not not be victims of the AFC’s investigation of the Public uation of the election gimmick support any increase of this election gimmickry.

Procurement Commission

magnitude and such increason the Guyanese people.

(PPC) into the award of a Regards, Editor, what is inter- es were not provided for in the contract for the feasibiliZulfikar Mustapha esting, is that the People’s agreement – as some in govty study into a new bridge Member of Progressive Party/ Civic ernment quarters would have across the Demerara River.

Parliament (PPP/C) had said that this is Guyanese believe.

For three and a half election gimmickry and predicted that it was intend- years the issue of the Bridge ed to offer Minister David could have been addressed Patterson/the AFC a chance – a promise made by the to come in like a ‘knight in Coalition Government. In the shining armour’ to ‘save’ pre-2015 election period, Most

What that report found was that the Minister breached multiple financial laws and that the Cabinet acted illegally in approving the contract. The Minister was not welcoming of these findings.

It was also the same Minister Patterson, who welcomed the investigation into the D’urban Park project. No receipts of the $500M given to HDI or documents relating to the project were found by the Auditor General’s office.

The Minister was not welcoming of these findings, which were included in the 2017 Auditor General’s report.

How much of what we saw in these two incidents alone has been replicated in the three road projects?

Editor, Minister Patterson has provided some details on the Mabaruma and Port Kaituma road works, but he has failed to say a few things. Were these projects given to the lowest responsive bidders? What was the procurement process used to engage the contractors?

The Minister should make public the contract documents. Once this is done, I am sure that the pattern of a lack of transparency, abuse of taxpayers’ monies

Unprofessional behaviour

by GECOM’s Commissioner

the proposed increase in tolls before taking such archaic draconian measures.

Rates' increases by Govt vs toll increase by BBCI

Dear Editor, In recent times Bibi Safora Shadick, one of GECOM’s Commissioners, has taken it upon herself to do a weekly report in the newspapers in the form of Letters, Columns, and other media, on the statutory meetings of GECOM. I consider her actions unethical for a range of reasons, including the disclosure of the names of those who are responsible for the issue on which a report is being made. Given the nature of GECOM’s undertakings and what is chosen to be reported on, such reports may well put Commissioners and staff in harm’s way of overzealous political activists as well as discrete and undermine the work of the organization.

That aside, the most recent report of November 1 clearly revealed the agenda driven, impartial, bias and vicious nature of Shadick’s reporting. She found it news-worthy to indicate that the Chairman came ahead of his Secretary; the CEO was “belligerent”; the DCEO “overwhelmed”; the PRO accepted bias advice from a vendor- and she doubted whether the organization could implement its plans, which she declared to be “good and proper”, among other things.

All of which were either irrel-

evant to the outcome of the meeting and/or opinionated.

What, however, is the most noteworthy was her omission of the issue that was interrogated/ discussed at the meeting, a matter that has serious implications for the conduct of the upcoming polls and the execution of which left much to be desired. Given my own disposition to reporting as she has been doing, I will mention the specifics of the matter, suffice to say that the officer responsible for that matter is kit and kin to her and has been openly and overwhelmingly favoured by her past events.

I can therefore come to no conclusion other than that Ms. Shadick’s reporting is an execution of the PPP/C campaign, to cast aspersions and malign the PPP/ C’s proclaimed 90% African Guyanese staff at GECOM, and GECOM itself.

In my 11 years of service at GECOM, I have never seen GECOM reduced to such a crass level of politicking. We now have some Commissioners who are essentially Fifth Columnists, in my view.

Yours truly, Vincent Alexander GECOM Commissioner

Dear Editor, While I do not support the proposed toll increases by the Berbice Bridge Company Ltd, with regards to the Berbice River Bridge I contend that the move by the PNC-led APNU/AFC Government of President David Granger to take control of the Berbice Bridge is draconian.

How does this

Government justify increasing rates and prices, including VAT on electricity and water which brings hardships to thousands of Guyanese, while refusing to allow BBCI to increase tolls?

I do not support a huge increase in tolls, but a company has income and it has expenses. The Government must demonstrate that BBCI was profiteering with

Yours faithfully, Sean Ori

and improper procurement processes will be exposed.

Minister Patterson contends that Guyanese are benefiting from the construction and rehabilitation of roadways nationwide.

Any resident could be loud in praise for a project, until they have the details of said project and I refer specifically to the East Bank Berbice road, which is being undertaken via use of the Force Account. Why is the Minister not giving figures of what has been spent, and the quantities spent on this project, as he did with the other two?

In case the Minister missed it, the question here is about value for money and compliance with Guyana’s financial rules.

The Minister should not use the plight of residents as an excuse to violate financial laws and procurement processes.

Minister Patterson has given his word on multiple occasions; offering assurances in the face of expressed concerns. As such, an official report must be completed into these matters. We are sure that once that official report is completed and it details adverse findings, Minister Patterson would return to adopting his unwelcoming posture.

Finally, editor, what is instructive in Minister Patterson’s ramblings about welcoming an audit into the three road projects is the indirect and simultaneous, albeit somewhat contradictory, indication that there is no need for an audit.

Sincerely, Bishop Juan Edghill, PPP/C MP

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By Meg Selig

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ou’ve planned to have dinner with your friend on Friday night. On Friday morning, the guy you’ve been crushing on asks you out for the evening. Do you say yes and break the date with your friend?

You just got a raise. Should you bank it for retirement or make your life more comfortable now?

You wanted to get a head start on an important report for work later this evening. But your child has had a tough day and could benefit from your attention. Should you prioritise work or family?

Life presents an endless series of decisions, large and small, that require you to make difficult choices. While many factors are involved, the critical factor in deciding may be your core values. These values tell you what kind of person you are, or want to be, and provide guidelines, or even imperatives, for your actions.

But how do you know what your core values are? This blog will reveal six ways to discover and choose your core values.

Values: a definition

First, what is a “value” anyway?

Values “are the principles that give our lives meaning and allow us to persevere through adversity,” according to psychologist Barb Markway and Celia Ampel in The Self-Confidence Workbook. I love both parts of this definition—that values stand for our most meaningful ideals and also that they inspire us to keep going when the going gets tough.

You’ve probably learnt many of your values from your parents, your teachers, your religious leaders, and the society around you. You’ve also probably rebelled against some of those values at times or changed your mind as you’ve learned more about yourself and your world. But it can be helpful

Foundation

to decide—or re-decide— the top sixeight values that mean the most to you right now and to have a shorthand label for those principles. That’s where the information below comes in.

Choosing core values

If you are not sure about your own core values, or if you would like to clarify which of your values are top priority now, here are six options.

1. Choose your top 6-8 values from a wide-ranging list of values.

To do this, you need a good list.

Dr Russ Harris, author of The Confidence Gap and other books, has generously provided such a list and other free resources at his website here (You’ll need to scroll down a little bit to see the list.) Or you could use a similar list on p. 28 in The Confidence Workbook. Or just use the mini-list that follows, making good use of the “Other” option at the end of the list: Financial Security; Compassion; Health/Fitness; Nature; Accomplishment; Creativity; Dependability; Loyalty; Beauty; Bravery; Gratitude; Love; Connection/ Relationships; Learning; Leadership; Survival; Self-Preservation; Security; Adventure; Family; Work; Success; Calm; Freedom; Other___; Other ___.

Now use one of these lists to select your top 6-8 values. Yes, you can change your mind. In fact, it's natural to modify some of the values on this list as you face new and challenging situations. However, other values represent enduring ideals that you would only change under duress.

I did this activity recently using the Harris list, despite thinking beforehand that I already knew my values pretty well. It turned out to be enormously useful to put specific labels on my vague ideas of my core values. Among other things, I learnt put a high value on many of the “C” values, such as "compassion," "creativity," and "connection."

Sometimes when I make a choice, I now say to myself, “Hmm. You decided to write a new blog instead of going out for coffee. That was ‘creativity’ winning out over 'connection.'”

Note that sometimes your choice is not between "right" and "wrong" but between two cherished values, as in my situation above.

2. Think of three to six people you most admire or love. Consider why they are so important to you.

Values can be personified in people that you love and admire. You can use this simple two-step process to uncover the values that you associate with your significant others and role models: Step 1: Identify and write down 6 people who are important role models or valued connections for you. Step 2: Think of the values they embody. For example, your list might include: “my grandfather for his acceptance and love”, “my wife for her honesty”, “my colleague for his listening skills”, and “my friend for his loyalty,” to name a few.

Dr Steven Hayes, the founder of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, suggests that you uncover your values by naming your heroes. For example, why do you admire, say, Martin Luther King, Jr? Is it because he fought for social justice? Is it his commitment to non-violence? His kindness to others?

Identifying the specific values embodied by your heroes can inspire you to adopt those values for yourself.

Your values are a major determinant of career choice, work decisions, and career transitions. For example, you may value “financial security,” “helping,” or “being my own boss (autonomy).” Each of those values might lead you down a different career path.

That’s why career counsellors have a large toolbox of strategies and inventories (self-report tests with no right answers), including values inventories, to help match their clients to a compatible career area. (Excerpt from psychologytoday.com)

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ost families embrace values in several areas, including the following

Social values

ers

Respect and courtesy Volunteer work Kindness to others Standing up for others Appropriate discipline Attitudes toward othChoice of language

Civic values

Opportunity Equality Patriotism Freedom Individual rights Respect for the law

General values

Honesty Trustworthiness Compassion Courage Integrity Patience Persistence Gratitude Fun Positive attitude Quality time together

Family values can become ingrained

Work values

Cooperation Commitment to excellence Creativity and expression Satisfaction in achievements Financial security or stability Spending philosophy Productivity Education and knowledge

Religious values

Reverence for God Adherence Scriptures

Religious worship attendance Abstinence before marriage Dress and appearance

to

When family values are well defined and reinforced at home, they become a part of who you are and how you act. Moral values, when intentionally taught and followed, can help a family work together toward common goals.

You might identify groups or communities with certain shared values, but this is largely a reflection of the family units within them. Moral values are ultimately instilled at home – and that’s a big responsibility for parents. (mormon.org)

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wednesdAY, november 7, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Guyana in throes of economic mismanagement – Ali …points out worrying economic indicators

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uyana’s performance on several economic indices is cause for worry. From the state of the foreign reserves to its ranking on Human Development Indices, former Minister and economist Irfaan Ali believes that the country was being mismanaged on a serious scale.

Commenting on the economic health of the country, Ali pointed to tax collection and the contraction in various traditional economic sectors. When it comes to the increased tax collection, Ali noted the effects this has had on ordinary families.

“Since taking up office in 2015, the Government has failed miserably in managing the nation’s key traditional sectors of rice, sugar, bauxite and timber. Tax collection has increased by more than $45 billion. In other words, since taking up office, this Government took away an additional $271,000 in disposable income from each family.”

The effective tax rate increased by more than eight per cent, Ali added, pointing that contrary to claims of reduced taxes

Economist and Member of Parliament, Irfaan Ali

enue for 2017 was $186 billion. Instead, Government actually collected $195 billion in current revenue.

This figure includes duties, as well as levy, personal income and withholding taxes.

The highest earnings came from the internal revenue category. Personal income tax collection grew by $2.5 billion. This, according to the Government, is because substantial arrear payments were recovered from self-employed persons through various initiatives.

One of the initiatives the GRA has been implementing is a tax amnesty.

by the Government, if one took into account the 200plus new tax measures, this Government increased taxes by more than eight per cent.”

Guyana Times had reported findings from the recently-released 2017 Auditor General Report, which had showed that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) collected more taxes than was even anticipated.

In the end-of-year budget and reconciliation report, it noted that the projected rev-

Ali also delved into non-performing loans, noting that these have increased considerably. This, he noted, is indicative of businesses failing and defaulting on their loan repayments. Another economic symptom, Ali pointed to, was the drop in average return on equity of the major commercial banks.

“Return on equity of our major commercial banks in Guyana fell from an average of 22.3 per cent in 2014, to 3

Non-performing loans

Lack of funding leaves...

“These monuments are there to remind us of the many struggles our fore-parents endured to make Guyana a free land for all to live and enjoy, and we must at no time allow our rich history to go down the drain. The five sugar workers: Kaulica, Beccaroo, Maxidally, Baldeo and Auckloo, paid the price for better working conditions for all with their precious lives, and at no time should we allow their struggle and sacrifice to be forgotten,” the acting mayor said.

Regional Chairman Davanand Ramdatt, in a comment on the issue, said

monies have been budgeted in the Region’s 2019 Budget; and the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), in collaboration with the

from page 3

National Trust, will have a shed built at the monument site, while other maintenance works will be undertaken.

per cent in 2017, which is a sign of acute economic hardship,” the former Minister related.

“The gold reserve fell from $25 billion in 2014 to $3 billion, as of September 2018. Government deposits at the Bank of Guyana fell from $21.4 billion in 2014, to an overdraft of $61 billion as of September 2018,” he said, adding that this was a sign of overspending.

In addition, Ali pointed to the decline shown by

the international reserve at the Bank of Guyana. He related that this fell from US$652 million in 2014 to US$447 million, as of August 2018. This, Ali stated, is indicative of trying to make up for falling foreign currency earnings from traditional exports.

“In 2018 thus far, the Government used up in excess of US$137 million. Forestry and bauxite sector loss in excess of US$37.8 million and

US$86.6 million in foreign exchange, during the period 2014 to 2017, which is $25.8 billion.”

Ali also noted that to finance the Government budget deficit, the State borrowed $22.7 billion between the years 2014 and 2017 domestically, an increase from previous years. He described this as funds that could have otherwise gone to local investors to expand their businesses and create jobs.

8 news

wednesdAY, november 7, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Appeal Court orders retrial for man accused of killing friend

T

he Appeal Court of Guyana on Monday overturned the decision of Justice Navindra Singh, who sentenced Redrick Alexander, called “Bumpy”, to 56 years in prison after a jury of his peers found him guilty of murdering his friend, Carl Thomas, known as “Dog”, back in November 2010.

Alexander’s sentence had been handed down in April 2014 after a murder trial in the High Court.

However, he appealed the verdict and the corresponding prison sentence imposed upon him.

When his matter came up for hearing, his attorney, Nigel Hughes presented arguments before acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette CummingsEdwards; Appellate Justice

Dawn Gregory and High Court Justice Brassington Reynolds. After the presentation, the acting Chancellor adjourned the hearing for five minutes before returning to court and announcing that the Court has accepted the grounds of the appeal.

As such, the Court set aside both the conviction and the sentence, and ordered a retrial at a future sitting of the Demerara Assizes. The decision was read by Justice Cummings-Edwards.

Attorney Teshanna Lake appeared for the State.

According to reports surrounding the case, Alexander had known Thomas since they were children and lived like siblings. However, on November 3, 2010, at John Street, Lodge, the two men engaged in a heated argument over clothes that

Thomas claimed went missing. In the midst of the argument, Thomas was stabbed once to his abdomen, and he was then rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he later succumbed while receiving treatment.

Senior State Counsel Judith Gildharie-Mursalin had prosecuted the case in 2014 and she had called seven witnesses to testify.

Alexander, who had been represented by Attorney Hukumchand Parag, had given an unsworn statement from the prisoner’s dock. This meant that he could not be cross-examined by the prosecution nor face questions from the judge or jury when he led his defence. When Alexander’s trial concluded, he protested his 56-year sentence and had pleaded with Justice

Singh for a reduction.

The accused was 61 years old when he was convicted four years ago. The prosecution’s main witness had been Lear Porter, a grocery shop owner, of John Street, Lodge, who was the brother of the deceased Thomas.

During his testimony, he recalled that around 18:00h on the day in question, he was in his grocery shop when he heard the two men arguing.

Porter had also noted that they had been calling each other “cross”.

Reports had stated that when Thomas entered his yard after being on the road, Alexander walked up, drew a knife from his waist and allegedly inflicted the fatal stab on Thomas. Reports were that Thomas’s intestines were protruding after the attack.

The return…

W …of PNC nationalisation

ell…well…well! There’s only so long a fella can hide his true nature; isn’t it so? The other foot has dropped – after the unilateral authoritarian hints -- and the APNU/AFC Government has revealed what it’s always been: the unreconstructed PNC in all its gory!

There were some folks who thought Granger might’ve been speaking metaphorically when he promised to fulfil his mentor Burnham’s legacy. But now that the APNU/AFC has nationalised the Berbice Bridge, there should be no doubt this is PNC regime, tout court!

And let’s not even quibble that the takeover of the BBCI isn’t REALLY a “nationalisation”. When it comes to the PublicPrivate Partnership arrangement that built the Bridge, there’s a CONTRACT that governs the relationship between BBCI – a private company – and the Government. The Government has flagrantly violated and breached the terms of the contract when it suddenly declared it will “temporarily run the Bridge”.

Invoking “threat to public safety” isn’t even a fig leaf to hide the brazen violation of the sanctity of contracts in a market economy. What threat was there? The tolls announced

by BCCI couldn’t take effect UNTIL THE MINISTER SIGNED OFF ON IT!! Until then it was just talk, which couldn’t be legally enforced!! The PNC-Government Ministers had consistently and adamantly refused to enter into discussions with BCCI to work out some other solution to the fix in which the managers of the bridge had found themselves; which was: to deal with the cash crunch that prevented them from servicing the loans, rather than plunging into bankruptcy. The BBCI had suggested the contract be extended for another twenty years, so that the annual payments would be reduced drastically. This wasn’t even given SHORT shrift, since, before a promised Cabinet consultation could be convened, the axe was dropped!

There had been speculation that the whole Bridge crisis was engineered by the “dead meat” AFC component of the Government to effect a Lazarus-type resurrection. After all, the Chairman of the BCCI and the Minister of Public Infrastructure (MPI) were both AFC executives – and “besties” to boot!! But your Eyewitness thinks no way in purgatory would the AFC dare implement the nationalisation move on their own; they just don’t have the testicular fortitude! This is PNC! So, in addition to allowing their true nature to finally surface, the PNC are using the nationalisation move to also see how far the AFC personnel would betray their party to try and survive the imminent LGE test. The question now is: How far will the PNC go?

Back in the 1970s, they were willing to buck the USA and nationalise the Texas aluminium giant Reynold’s Berbice bauxite operations.

Will they now go after the Texas oil giant Exxon?

…of the instigators?

Back in the 1970s, while the PNC had early on declared they wanted to ‘control the commanding heights of the economy,’ they were prodded by elements that supported them. In the present iteration of the PNC, there are still the diehard socialist Burnhamites around, like Granger and Alexander. But could it be that the ASCRIA’ites, like Thomas et al from the WPA, might also be stoking the fire?

In the parliamentary debate of Feb 27, 1971, to nationalise Bauxite, UF member E. Da Silva had quoted from an ASCRIA newsletter: “Ahwee Freedom Come!”

“For over fifty years we toiled and sweated for those Canadian bastards. We enjoyed the most inhuman conditions -- inadequate water supply, unfair income, rotten health service, poor housing facilities and last but not least, the fraudulent R.I.L.A. and Demba Thrift Plan. Yes, all this and more we suffered. And all this time, those Canadian bitches were reaping the fat of our labour, while turning a deaf ear and a Nelson’s eye to our problems!”

Sounds like the rhetoric around Exxon’s contract, doesn’t it?

…darkness

Sadly, then, with the nationalisation of the Berbice Bridge, the PNC-led Government has brought back the darkness of the seventies into Guyana – ironically, as the nation celebrates Diwali!!

But it’ll take more than lighting diyas to remove THIS darkness!! Over to the Opposition!!

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

News

9

wednesdAY, november 7, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

PM’s $5.5M reform expenditure

Constitutional violations taking place almost every day – Nandlall

P

rime Minister Moses Nagamootoo’s recent statement to the National Assembly that his secretariat spent some $5 million on constitutional reform was not sitting well with former Attorney General Anil Nandlall, who questioned how veracious was the senior Government official in his disclosure. In fact, the Opposition Member of Parliament called out Government for non-fulfilment of platform promises, which included a commitment to constitutional reform.

“We are three and a half years into the Government, and there are no tangible steps being taken in this direction.

We had a report done by a few persons handpicked by the Prime Minister and we were told millions were expended; it was handed to the PM and we have heard nothing about the report since,” the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) executive complained.

It was just months after the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition entered office that PM Nagamootoo

PPP/C MP Anil Nandlall

in August 2015 appointed a Steering Committee that was supposed to lay the framework for a new constitutional process. The Committee’s convener was Attorney Nigel Hughes, while constitution expert Haslyn Parris was named as a member in addition to Professor Harold Lutchman and Attorneys Gino Persaud and Geeta Chandan-Edmond.

Hughes is the husband of Public Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes while Chandan-Edmond, a former

magistrate, was later appointed Board Chairperson of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited (GNNL) which publishes the State-owned newspaper. Meanwhile, Persaud was subsequently appointed to the post of a High Court judge.

Speaking to Guyana Times, Nandlall observed that the Committee “did not speak” with the PPP, which, along with its Civic component, was the only Opposition party in the National Assembly. “So, we know very little about this mysterious report, then another year and a half passed again and there was no movement, but there was a lot of public criticism … and then the Prime Minister finally moved in the Parliament to establish a Constitutional Reform Committee earlier this year. A bill was passed, but up to now, the Committee has never met,” he stressed.

From the 2018 budget, it was outlined that the Office of the Prime Minister spent millions of dollars on constitutional reform and when the National Assembly came

CH&PA starts clampdown on delinquent developers …CEO says Providence land being repossessed

T

he Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) has started its clampdown on delinquent housing developers, who acquired lands but did not fulfil agreements to develop such land into house lots.

In an interview with Guyana Times, CH&PA Chief Executive Officer Lelon Saul cited housing developer Cumberland Development Incorporated. It has been reported that this company was allocated lands between Eccles and Mocha, on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD).

“We are repossessing land already and we are in the final process of concluding the repossession, based on the court orders. One that comes to mind is Cumberland at Providence.

Delinquent

CH&PA CEO Lelon Saul

“But we are to meet with the developer so that we can compensate him for work he would have already done,” Saul promised. “In court, we have some other cases that we have been working on.”

But while the CH&PA has to contend with delinquent housing developers, there is also the issue of delinquent homeowners. These are persons who acquire house lots but then do nothing with them, leaving the unoccupied land for weeds, the homeless and even criminal elements.

This comes even as the CH&PA has made it clear it has no house lots to give out in certain areas. At a recent press conference, the Authority repeated this announcement.

When asked, Saul also elaborated on the Authority’s position when it came to homeowners in breach of their agreement to start building their houses.

Turn to page 11

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo

out of recess last week, the Opposition questioned how much out of the $109.2 million allocated to Nagamootoo’s secretariat under the sub heading ‘other’ was spent.

It was revealed that while $21.4 million of the amount was spent up to August 2018, of that figure, the PM spent $5 million towards constitutional reform “activities”. Nandlall indicated to this newspaper that he was not satisfied with the response he obtained from Nagamootoo and outlined that his party would seek to ascertain how the money was expended.

Constitutional violations

Highlighting the slow implementation of the functioning of certain constitutional bodies, Nandlall posited the view that the current Administration was not

embarking on the required measures to achieve the reform, which it assured would have been carried out.

“You have constitutional violations taking place almost every day; right now, we don’t have a Judicial Services Commission (JSC) in place which is a violation of the Constitution. The President is not pursuing an agreement with the Leader of the Opposition for the appointment of a Chancellor and a Chief Justice of the country which is another constitutional violation,” Nandlall informed.

He added that “many people believe” that the Constitution was violated by the President in his unilateral appointment of James Patterson as the Chairman of the Guyana Election Commission (GECOM), but much could not be said on the matter as an appeal was before the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). The life of the most recent JSC ended in September 2017 along with the Police Service Commission (PSC). However, the PSC was re-constituted in August 2018, nearly one year later. In the PSC’s absence, Citizenship Minister Winston Felix, acting in the capacity of Public Security Minister, a post held by Khemraj Ramjattan, instructed the then acting Police Commissioner to send an Assistant Superintendent of Police home, but the High Court determined this was un-

constitutional.

“You have constitutional disobedience and Government’s commitment to constitutional reform is not taking place ... we don’t even know what these reforms are.

The Government has not put out a white paper about what it intends to achieve by this constitutional reform. They supposedly have a report which nobody else has seen, other than the Prime Minister and millions of taxpayer dollars have been spent to compile this report and not a single taxpayer has seen it,” the former Attorney General told this newspaper.

Apart from the money that was spent on the reforms, $5.5 million was spent on launching regional radios at Aishalton, Bartica and Orealla while some of the money also went towards training the radio personnel and Nagamootoo’s “outreach activities”.

Some $4.6 million was also spent on a supervisory consultancy for the regional radio project, while $1.2 million was spent on information technology and web services and $1.6 million on events and functions. In addition, another $1.4 million was spent on repairs to furniture at the official residence and office, and carpets. The remaining amounts, according to the Prime Minister, were spent on expenses such as cell phones and work study students’ stipends.

10 news

wednesdAY, november 7, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Matthews Ridge to Baramita road nearing completion

R

esidents traversing the Matthews Ridge to Baramita Road, in Region One (Barima-Waini), will have a smoother ride as a massive road rehabilitation project advances.

The rehabilitation of the approximately 40 kilometres of roadway commenced in March this year and was expected to wrap up before the end of the year.

A $318 million contract was awarded to A and S General Construction Incorporated for the rehabilitation of the laterite road.

The acting foreman for the project, Vincent Pancham said to date the work was

50 per cent complete. He explained that prior to the works, the road was covered with heavy bush and was inaccessible, which required crucial work.

Pancham explained, “If it weren’t for the weather, the work would have been completed. The scope of works includes excavation of the road, the establishment of the carriageway which is 24 feet and the placement of laterite on the road. We also had to do the drains and shoulders of the road and widen it.”

The unpredictable weather patterns continue to be a challenge for hinter-

land road projects. As a result, the contract for the rehabilitation of the Matthews Ridge to Baramita roadway was extended to eight months from the original six. Pancham assured that providing there was favourable weather, the works would be completed in four weeks.

“We’ve had other unforeseen challenges which were dealt with. The laterite while accessible was difficult to dig up. Our excavator was occupied for one month getting the laterite. Bridges were also a challenge: we replaced the beams of the 26 bridges along the route to

cross them. Nevertheless, we do expect to complete the works within four weeks, as long as there is good weather,” the acting foreman is quoted by the Department of Public Information (DPI) as saying.

Several other rehabilitation projects are ongoing in Region One, including the upgrade of roads in central Port Kaituma to concrete structures. This project is being executed by International Imports and Supplies, and the main access road from the airstrip to Port Kaituma is being completed by KP Thomas. turn to page 17

Return of King Midas

S

atiricus had a sinking feeling about what lay in store for him when he got to the Back Street Bar. After all, all the players in the unfolding horror story were from his KFC party…even though his party leaders, Nagga Man and Rum Jhaat, weren’t. He was worrying, of course, about the coalition Government nationalising the Berbice Bridge.

He wasn’t disappointed in his fears.

“Sato, me bin tell alyuh na fuh tie bundle wid dem Pee’n’See people!” said Cappo before Satiricus could even pick up his beer. “Look wha’ dem do now!”

“What specifically are you talking about?” asked Satiricus, stalling for time.

“Na play schupit, Sato!” said Bungi sharply. “Yuh know full well Cappo ah ta’k ‘bout how de Pe’n’See tek ova de Berbice Bridge!”

“An’ dem use yuh bai Patta-Sin fuh do de jaab!” added Cappo.

“I think Patta-Sin has been Pee’n’See “boy” for quite a while,” said Hari. “Notice how he tried to speak like Burnham when he announced the takeover?”

“Fellas, I just want to make clear I’m not in favour of this Bridge Nationalisation,” said Satiricus, as he downed his beer slowly.

“Suh yuh tell Nagga Man an’ Rum Jhaat da?” asked Bungi.

“Yes, I did, as a matter of fact,” replied Satiricus.

“So will they speak out against it?” countered Hari.

“Nagga Man told me, ‘When yuh haan in tigah mout’ yuh gat fuh pat ‘e head’,” said Satiricus cautiously.

“Wha’ de ass ‘e mean?!” demanded Cappo. “Wid GrainJa in Cuba, na he a de tigah?”

“E mean ‘e a wan toot’less tigah!” grinned Bungi.

“Out of all the people,” said Hari, “Nagga Man should know nationalisation isn’t the way to go.”

“That’s why I don’t agree with it,” said Satiricus defensively. “Rod Knee sarcastically called Burnt Ham “King Midas”, since everything he, Burnt Ham, touched turned to sh*t!”

“An’ since Burnt Ham tek ovah sugah, ba’xite, haspital drugs an’ ev’ryt’ing else, abee tu’n de fus ‘shithole country’!” laughed Cappo.

“Now abee guh tu’n jus’ like Venezuela!” moaned Bungi.

Iwokrama hosts capacity building sessions for schools

The Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development has partnered with several schools around Georgetown – both primary and secondary – to host a series of informative sessions on environmental topics. The initiative saw more than 280 students participating over a four-day period.

Presentations and discussions were focused on protected areas, biodiversity, climate change, sustainable development, sustainable tourism, and the centre’s work

news

11

wednesdAY, november 7, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

LGE 2018

AFC candidate claims he was used as “scapegoat” A Corentyne, Berbice pastor is accusing the Alliance For Change (AFC) of using him as a “scapegoat” and of now asking him to be silent, but he said that he could not be quiet, since the party has caused him to fool his entire congregation.

Pastor Lieon Benjamin, in an interview with Guyana Times, said that he was the AFC’s candidate for Constituency Number One in the Good Hope-Number 51 Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC). According to him, after he obtained all the required signatures and documents, he noticed that his name was removed and replaced with the name of a close associate of one of the party’s executives.

Benjamin said he made the discovery that he was not the AFC candidate for the constituency when the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) released the names of candidates contesting the November 12 Local

Pastor Lieon Benjamin

Government Elections (LGE).

According to Benjamin, he had given his documents to an AFC executive, who claimed that the party had approved and submitted the list.

However, when GECOM published the names of candidates, it was changed.

Pastor Benjamin said that he had got members of his congregation and villagers to support him and now they were accusing him of tricking them.

Murriel Brusch, who signed in support of Benjamin,

Trial to continue into “Shoe Lace” murder case

Dead: Kamal Ramsahoye

A

fter about one week in voir dire (trial within a trial), the overall proceedings in the murder trial for the December 2012 killing of Kamal Ramsahoye is expected to be heard at the

Demerara High Court.

It was Tuesday last that a 12-member jury was empanelled to hear the matter after the accused, Phillip “Shoe Lace” Paul, denied the charge when Prosecutors Lisa Cave and Orinthia Schmidt presented the indictment before Justice Sandil Kissoon.

The particulars of the charge allege that Paul murdered the man between December 8 and 9, 2012, during the course or furtherance of a robbery. Reports from 2012 had stated that Ramsahoye was found dead at his residence. A post-mortem examination had revealed that he died from haemorrhaging and shock due to massive blood loss. Paul is being represented by Attorney Brandon De Santos.

CH&PA starts...

“One has to take into consideration whether the person is in a position to build.

Yes, we do have problems, but we’re working with people to encourage them to build. Yes, there are challenges: affordability of mortgage is a problem for the low-income family.

“We don’t want to deprive anyone of their property,” Saul said, also noting that the CH&PA considered these matters on a case-by-case basis.

Earlier this year, Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan had revealed that of approximately 66,000 house lots allocated between 2000 and 2015, some 28,000 or 40 per cent remained unoccupied by recipients.

The Minister had reported that during 2011 and 2015, some 38 new schemes were developed comprising a total of 20,000 house lots, but to date 80 per cent of those lots remained unoccupied. A total of $12.8 billion

From page 9

was pumped into their development and $16 billion was now required to complete infrastructural works.

Additionally, from a total of 4927 interviews conducted in 2017, the CH&PA only issued 1131 house lots, with Region Four (DemeraraMahaica) accounting for the majority -- 3122 interviews and 513 allocations.

In Region One (BarimaWaini), 52 lots were allocated; Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam), 28 lots were allocated; Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), 27 lots were allocated; Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), 513 lots were allocated; Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), 20 lots were allocated; Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), 99 lots were allocated; Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), 132 lots were allocated; and in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), 201 lots were allocated.

said that she supported the pastor as the candidate and not the person whose name suddenly appeared on the list as the AFC candidate for the constituency.

When this publication contacted the person whose name appeared as the candidate for the constituency instead of Benjamin, she initially agreed to the interview, but after a short conversation with an AFC executive, she returned and said that she has nothing to say on the matter.

Meanwhile, Benjamin told this newspaper that several top officials from the party have telephoned him asking that he not go to the media.

“I can’t do that, because the people in the village who I went to believe that it is I who tricked them,” he said.

According to Benjamin, he signed on the candidate’s form and received 22 backers.

“I gave it to (name withheld) who took it to Georgetown and it was confirmed that everything was okay. When it came back, I don’t know what happened,

but from then on we don’t know what transpired.”

He said the persons who he had gone to in order to get their signatures were backing him and not necessarily the AFC. “Because I am the pastor in the area and they were looking for someone in the area who could have done certain things for them. We have some trenches in the area that have bush for years and the last person that was there did nothing, so they think that I was the fittest person to represent them,” he added.

This is not the first time persons in Berbice, Region Six are accusing the AFC of tricking them.

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) had filed a legal challenge after it found what the Party alleged to be “fraudulent” names on the GECOM list.

Legal proceedings began after 50 persons in the WhimBloomfield Local Authority Area, Berbice alleged that they were tricked into signing the AFC LGE list for their

area.

Shafraz Beekham, of Letter Kenny Village, Corentyne, and 49 other persons from the BloomfieldWhim, Corentyne area, filed affidavits saying they were misled into believing that they were supporting a party of their choice when in reality, they actually were “misled” into signing AFC’s nominator lists. The PPP’s legal suit was

filed on behalf of Beekham.

Berbice High Court Judge, Justice Navindra Singh ruled that there was no evidence of fraud, trickery or threat, and noted that there was no basis to ask the Chief Elections Officer to strike out the names of the nominators from AFC’s Lists of Candidates.

However, the PPP has since appealed the ruling. (Andrew Carmichael)

12news

wednesdAY, november 7, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

LGE candidate vows continued development at Wakenaam NDC

“W

hen you lie low, things will not go in your favour, but when you reach out, you get things done” were the sharp and pointed words of People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Local Government Elections (LGE) candidate

Shoma Manbodh as she continued her campaign while taking part in the Diwali celebrations on Tuesday.

The housewife and PPP/C organiser is contesting in the Wakenaam Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara)

and expressed much confidence in her bid to return as the elected representative of Constituency Seven (Meerzorg-Zeelandia).

In an interview with Guyana Times, the islander concurred with incumbent Wakenaam Chairman Sheikh Ahmad that the con-

PPP/C Wakenaam candidate Shoma Manbodh is contesting in Constituency Seven (Meerzorg-Zeelandia)

dition of the roads was the main issue affecting residents. She stressed that while being part of the previous Council, several efforts were made to involve the relevant authorities responsible for road works to have the situation addressed, but to little avail.

“The most important thing in the road – we know that the NDC is not in charge of the road, but there are numerous recommendations from the NDC to the RDC (Regional Democratic Council) about the road, but there’s nothing unto now.

With the koker and drainage networks, I have been

there for the past three years and the NDC has been doing a great job [in that regard] and we are continuing to maintain that,” the housewife expressed.

When questioned on the major challenges affecting farmers, Manbodh pointed out that low prices continue to hinder the rice industry.

Wakenaam farmers mainly cultivate rice and coconut while cattle and cash-crop farming are also done to a lesser extent. The PPP/C candidate stated that the NDC would continue to assist the farmers in getting their produce transported. To this end, she indicated that the Council would strive to ensure that the dams and all relevant infrastructure continue to function.

Manbodh told this newspaper that she opted to run for the LGE post after much

encouragement as she had a passion to reach out to others. With the experience of winning the seat for Constituency Seven at the 2016 LGE, the PPP/C candidate expressed much optimism in her ability to continue working for the island.

“I ran at the last Local Government Elections and now I am going back stronger than ever. I feel that everyone has a choice of their own, and seeing that I am continuing to do my campaign and from the past three years with the work that they’ve received, I think that’s why they [residents] will continue to support me,” the candidate noted.

The PPP/C is contesting eight of the nine constituencies in the Wakenaam NDC. Guyanese across 80 Local Authority Areas (LAAs) will head to the polls on November 12, 2018.

ETI offers full scholarship to top 2 ICT graduates

Representative from the Office of the First Lady, Lieutenant Colonel Yvonne Smith addressing participants at the BIT-ICT training programme

T

he fourth Information Communication Technology (ICT) training programme was launched at the Essequibo Technical Institute (ETI) by the Office of the First Lady, in collaboration with the Social Protection Ministry’s Board of Industrial Training (BIT).

During the launch, ETI Principal Rawl Pearce offered two scholarships in ICT specifically for the valedictorian and best graduating students of the BIT-ICT programme. Each scholarship will guarantee the student’s studies for two years.

“We are going to offer scholarships for two years for the valedictorian and best graduating student. Let this be the drive to push you to do well in this programme,” he stated.

Pearce encouraged the participants to take full advantage of the opportunity being afforded to them in furthering their education. He reminded them that ICT was becoming increasingly important and was used in almost every facet of life.

Meanwhile, BIT representative Mohammed Shaeed also took the time to admonish the participants to complete the five-week programme as it provided a platform for elevation.

“It is the mandate of BIT to offer a skill set to youths and vulnerable sections of the society so that they can be equipped with the requisite skills necessary to become more competitive… We are hoping at the end of this fiveweek programme, you can look at this programme as one that you can build on,” he said.

Additionally, ETI Chairman Dileep Singh said that the ICT training programme being offered by the Office of the First Lady was timely as it targeted vulnerable youth.

“We have a beautiful country to develop and young people are the most important assets to that development that we [Guyana] have and we want to ensure that you are equipped for that task,” Singh said.

The ICT programme has set its aims as providing youths with skills in the areas of information technology; literacy and numeracy; entrepreneurship; sexual reproductive health; and Science, and Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

The programme is being facilitated by Fitzroy Younge, and it is expected that on completion of the programme, participants will receive accredited certificates from BIT.

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wednesdAY, november 7, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Employees of Guyana Times, TVG/28, Radio Guyana 89.5FM engaged in a friendly Rangoli competition as Guyana joined the rest of the world in celebrating the Festival of Lights

Early Childhood Development Centre opens in Linden

A

n Early Childhood Development Centre has officially been opened in Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara- Berbice).

One of several opened in various regions across the country, the centre is an initiative of the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA).

The doors of the centre were officially opened on Monday to facilitate its first intake, though it had been commissioned some time ago.

This facility has the capacity to cater for 45 children aged between three months and six years, but it currently has a little more

than 20 children already registered.

The centre’s opening was attended by numerous officials, including the Region 10 District Education Officer (Nursery) Yolanda Menthis, who explained that the facility aims to provide cheap, affordable educational services for working parents and their children.

“The centre is a Government initiative to provide cheap, affordable daycare services for young people in the area, so that they can go back to work and have their children in a comfortable environment…

The Early Childhood Development Centre

Today, the first day, we had children actually coming in to start the daycare services,” she noted.

Menthis added that the

centre, which is equipped with seven childcare providers and a supervisor, has a structured timetable which caters for children to learn basic educational skills. She said the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) and Department of Education would also provide supervisory services

from time to time. She encouraged those who have already registered their children to have them attend the center.

Executive Officer for Early Childhood Development at the CCPA, Lavern Thorne, who was also present, noted that the centre will provide opportunity for parents to seek employment.

She said caregivers have a mandate to ensure that children are well taken care of, and she noted that activities will be engaged in to foster the children’s development.

“Everything that is going to be done has to be done through play, because play is the medium through which students learn at this age. The supervisors will have to ensure that every-

thing that is being done relates to their development and the services that are going to be offered here are of high quality…

“We would have put together a training module to give them the basic training that they would need in order to care for these children. We have caregivers who are presently at the University of Guyana pursuing the Early Childhood programme that is being offered there. So, we’re hoping that all the caregivers that are here will access that programme, and they all will be trained and qualified to care for children,” she added.

The centre will be opened from 07:00h to 17:00h daily. It was built by the Basic Needs Trust Fund, in collaboration with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

news

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wednesdAY, november 7, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Ramsammy’s Ruminations The elaborate hoax – knight in shining armour rescuing Berbice from high tolls

F

airytales have good guys and bad guys. APNU/AFC want you to believe they are the good guys and private investors are the bad guys. APNU/AFC, through Minister Patterson, announced the takeover of the Berbice River Bridge as of November 5, to stop the steep increases of tolls announced for November 12. The knights in shining armour have rescued us from the big, bad monster (private investors). But the monster that these knights in shining armour have slayed is fake, created by the fake knights as an elaborate election gimmick.

Having been rejected by the people of Berbice, AFC needed something dramatic to rescue them; they are clutching at straws, so they therefore created this elaborate hoax to fool people that they care. The increased toll itself was illegal from the start. The very Minister who now announces the takeover had Dr Leslie Ramsammy to sign an Order to make the toll possible.

APNU+AFC's big, bad monster, the private investors, are the very people that made the Berbice Bridge possible.

Those, mainly APNU+AFC, who are impugning the motives of the private investors should truly be ashamed. At a time when the bridge was absolutely necessary, a few bold private investors stood up to make the Berbice Bridge a reality, even though they were skeptical that the bridge would provide a meaningful return on their investments. Their investments were in the national interest, not self-interest. In contrast, the APNU+AFC's hoax of a fake toll increase is an excuse to take over the bridge in their own interest.

The Berbice Bridge was one of the transformative projects executed under the PPP/C. It became possible because of the vision of the then President Bharrat Jagdeo and the PPP, and because of the courage of the private investors who readily agreed to become a part of the public-private partnership. The bridge solved a huge problem for persons who needed to cross the river, and has contributed to economic development in Regions 5 and 6; and in fact across Guyana, since transport of goods and services became more convenient, more available, and cheaper. The success of this public- private partnership has paved the way forward for the new Demerara River Bridge and other transformational projects in Guyana.

The Berbice Bridge Board Chairman's announcement that tolls would be increased by more than 300 per cent from November 12 was a hoax from the start. The toll cannot be increased unless the Minister of Infrastructure signs an order to implement increased tolls. By simply refusing to sign the toll order, it is the end of the story. Clearly, APNU/AFC used their politically appointed Chairman to create a monster, and then provide an opportunity for them to come in like knights in shining armour to rescue the people by taking over the bridge. It is killing two birds with one stone: they pretend that they care, and they provide an excuse to nationalise the bridge.

APNU+AFC, with considerable help from some of their friends in the media, have peddled a fake story that the Chairman was forced by the greedy private investors to increase the tolls. The Board is controlled by the AFC Chairman, by board members of NIS and NICIL, and by the "golden" member. The "golden" member is from NICIL, and his/her vote can veto any decision, even if made by all the other members. The one "golden" member's vote outweighs the votes of all other members. So how did we get here, with the threat of a dramatic toll increase? It was always a ploy, an unconscionable hoax to nationalise the bridge.

After investing billions in the Berbice Bridge and waiting for now eleven years, none of the private investors has received a single dollar for their investment. Which private sector would invest billions and wait so patiently for a return on their investment? Rather than casting wicked aspersions on the private investors, we must be grateful that these private investors came forward to make possible a transformative project.

It is fake news that the private investors have caused NIS to lose its investment of $2.5 billion, causing it to go broke.

While the private sector is yet to receive a single dollar, the NIS has recouped most of its investment. If the NIS is broke, it has nothing to do with the Berbice Bridge.

Now that APNU/AFC have done the PNC thing: nationalised the bridge, what happens to the private investors? Will they be repaid their investment? How does this affect the Demerara River Bridge, which is supposed to be a public-private partnership? Who will trust APNU/ AFC to invest their money? Now that the APNU+AFC are nationalising the bridge to keep tolls low, then they should negotiate fairly with the private investors. We need to maintain among investors the confidence that their investments in Guyana are always safe.

Kwakwani midwife's murder

"We're leaving no stones unturned" – E Division Commander

E

Division (LindenK w a k w a n i ) Commander Linden Lord has indicated that Police were leaving no stones unturned in finding the perpetrator/s in the recent killing of Kwakwani midwife Paulette Wade.

Lord noted that investigators have checked all leads, which resulted in the questioning of several persons in connection with the murder.

"We had five persons in custody since last Monday, some on Tuesday and those that were arrested on Monday we questioned them thoroughly. Nothing substantial from them, so they're actually on bail to report to the station there at Kwakwani every morning," the Divisional Commander said.

He noted on Friday that

while some of those individuals were on bail, two were still being grilled by Police. Wade's husband, who works in the interior and was not present at the time of the killing, was also expected to be questioned

by Police.

"The other two, we continue to question ... We have a team in Kwakwani right now doing some more work. We intend to question the husband of the deceased to see if he has any knowledge as to what actually went on ... we're not giving up. We're leaving no stone unturned,” Lord noted.

An autopsy conducted on the body of Wade, who was found dead in her Kwakwani Park, Upper Berbice River home by her six-year-old daughter, revealed the woman was strangled to death.

Wade, a 37-year-old

nurse/midwife attached to the Kwakwani Hospital, died between 21:00h on October 25 and 06:30h on October 26 at her residence. According to information from the Police, the report gave the cause of death “as asphyxiation due to manual strangulation compounded by blunt trauma to the head”.

The woman reportedly went to bed with her six-yearold daughter on Thursday night and was found dead by the child on Friday morning.

The child reportedly found her mother lying motionless on the floor in the bedroom. She called out to her mother, who did not respond, so she opened the back door and went to her nine-year-old friend, who lives in the next street and told her what she saw.

They then went over the

road to the hospital compound and told the security guard, who then informed staff at the hospital. The Police were then notified, and nurses and a doctor went over to the home and pronounced Wade dead.

Investigators reportedly found Wade’s body lying face down on a concrete floor clad in pink night clothes.

According to information reaching Guyana Times, the woman had small bruises on her elbow and blood was on her mouth. No signs of forced entry were visible at the house, nor did it appeared ransacked.

The Divisional Commander is encouraging anyone with information to contact him or any Police Officer, noting that all information would be treated with confidence.

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news

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Democrats strike early in battle for US House, face uphill climb in Senate

D

emocrats struck early in the battle for the US House of Representatives on Tuesday, but faced an uphill climb to capture the Senate after Republican Mike Braun knocked off incumbent Democrat Joe Donnelly in Indiana.

Most of the races that will decide the balance of power in Congress and shape the future of Donald Trump’s presidency were still too close to call as polls closed in more than half of the 50 US states.

In the House, Democrat Jennifer Wexton ousted incumbent Republican Barbara Comstock in suburban Virginia outside Washington and Democrat Donna Shalala, a former Cabinet Secretary under President Bill Clinton, captured the south Florida seat of a retired Republican.

That gave Democrats two of the 23 seats they need to capture the Republican-held House, slam the brakes on Trump’s agenda and exercise renewed oversight of his administration.

In the Senate, Republicans are favored to maintain control, and Democrats must pick up two seats to win a majority. Knocking off Donnelly in Indiana makes the maths difficult for Democrats, with competitive Senate races still too close to call in Florida and Texas.

Incumbent Democratic Senator Joe Manchin won a hotly contested race in conservative West Virginia, and Marsha Blackburn held a Senate seat for Republicans.

Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a 2016 Democratic presidential contender, and Tim Kaine of Virginia, Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential nominee in 2016, easily won re-election, news networks projected.

Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown was projected to hold his seat in Ohio.

High-profile races for governor in Georgia, Florida and Ohio also were too close to call.

A full picture of the voting results were not expected for hours, with many of the most important races considered toss-ups heading into Election Day. The first national elections since Trump captured the White House in a 2016 upset became a referendum on the polarising president, and a test of whether Democrats can turn the energy of the liberal anti-Trump resistance into victories at the ballot box.

The Democrats were favoured by election forecasters to pick up the 23 seats in the House, but opinion polls showed they had slimmer hopes in the Senate. All 435 seats in the House, 35 seats in the 100-member Senate and 36 of the 50 state governorships were up for grabs.

The volatile midterm campaign was marked by clashes over race, immigration and trade. In the final stretch, Trump hardened his rhetoric on issues that appealed to his conservative core supporters, issuing warnings about a caravan of Latin American migrants headed to the border with Mexico and condemnations of what he called U.S. liberal “mobs.”

Many Democrats, already benefiting from anti-Trump enthusiasm, focused on bread-and-butter issues like maintaining health insurance protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions and safeguarding the Social Security retirement and Medicare healthcare programs for the elderly.

If Democrats capture the House, they could launch congressional investigations into Trump’s administration, including his tax returns, possible business conflicts of interest and the nature of his 2016 campaign’s ties to Russia.

A Republican victory in both chambers of Congress would be a validation for Trump’s polarising style, a month after he solidified a conservative majority on the Supreme Court when the Senate confirmed his nominee Brett Kavanaugh after a fight over sexual misconduct accusations against the jurist.

Striking a dark tone at a rally in Indiana on Monday evening, Trump accused Democrats without offering any evidence of “openly encouraging millions of illegal aliens to break our laws, violate our borders and overrun our country.”

Ahead of the results, US stocks closed higher, with the benchmark S&P 500 Index ending the day at a two-week high. US Treasury securities prices fell, and the 10-year yield closed at its highest level since 2011. The dollar was unchanged.

Some voting problems reported

Problems with voting machines prevented Americans from casting ballots in a dozen states, US rights advocates said, following complaints about registration problems,

Matthews Ridge...

From page 10

Investigation

Only last week, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo had expressed deep concern over the construction of major road projects in Regions One and Four.

He simultaneously called for the Auditor General’s Office to investigate them, as the contracts may contain requirements to enable acts of corruption.

Jagdeo said these projects included road works taking place along Port Kaituma and Mabaruma roads in Region One. Some $213.2 million was awarded to KP Thomas and Sons in May 2017 for repairs to the Citrus Grove Main Road, Port Kaituma, Region One. Meanwhile, a $110.2 million

contract for the Mabaruma road project was awarded to Mohammed Ramzanalli Khan Construction. This project entails the installation of approximately 3500 feet of concrete road or rigid pavements and drains within the community.

“We believe that the tender process was tampered with so as to inflate the contracts by hundreds of thousands of dollars in these road projects,” the Opposition Leader said.

However, the Opposition Leader explained that these sums are hidden through a different form of corruption involving the layer of the asphalt. According to him, some forms of corruption are enabled through contracts and others through the force account.

Most of the races that will decide the balance of power in Congress and shape the future of Donald Trump’s presidency were still too close to call faulty equipment and intimidation received during early balloting.

A US Department of Homeland Security official said the reports of voting technology failures appeared so far to have had no significant impact in preventing people from voting.

Voter turnout, normally lower when the presidency is not at stake, could be the highest for a midterm election in 50

years, experts predicted. About 40 million early votes were likely cast, said Michael McDonald, a professor at the University of Florida who tracks the figures.

In the last such congressional elections in 2014, there were 27.5 million early votes.

“I have worked at this poll the last three elections and this is the biggest turnout ever,” said Bev Heidgerken, 67, a volunteer at a polling place in

Davenport, Iowa.

At least 64 House races remain competitive, according to a Reuters analysis of the three top non-partisan forecasters, and Senate control was expected to come down to a half dozen close contests in Arizona, Nevada, Missouri, North Dakota, Indiana and Florida.

In his time in office, Trump has pushed tax cuts through Congress and overseen a period of economic and jobs growth, but has failed so far to deliver on presidential campaign promises to replace the Obamacare healthcare law and build a wall on the Mexican border that he has said is needed to battle illegal immigration.

Democratic pushback

A Democratic victory in the House would further hinder the border wall plan and complicate congressional approval of a deal to update the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Trump also could face more pushback from Democrats on trade tariffs he has introduced, especially in farm states hard hit by retaliatory measures from China or manufacturing states hit by higher steel and aluminium prices.

A debate about whether Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric encouraged extremists erupted in the campaign’s final weeks after pipe bombs were mailed to his top political rivals allegedly by a Trump supporter who was arrested and charged, and 11 people were killed in a shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue.

It was the first national election in the United States since the 2016 race in which Russia interfered, according to U.S. intelligence agencies, with a campaign of hacking and propaganda to sow discord, harm the Democratic presidential candidate and boost Trump’s chances. Russia denies meddling. (Reuters)

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wednesdAY, november 7, 2018

ARCHIE

ARIES (March 21April 19)

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

dilbert

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

CANCER (June 21July 22)

Peanuts

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Calvin and Hobbes

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Think matters through before you do something you may regret. Concentrate on self-improvement instead of trying to change the people around you. A physical fitness challenge will help ease stress.

Consider the best way to move forward with your plans. A steady pace and plenty of attention to detail will help you excel. Don’t underestimate anyone intent on competing with you.

The best changes you can make will be focused on yourself. If you are happy with who you are, how you look and what you accomplish, that’s what matters.

Romance is highlighted.

Explore the possibilities.

Don’t walk away from something unfamiliar. Participate in events that will bring you in contact with people from different backgrounds. Observe and proceed to do your own thing.

Engage in playful action and use your charm and wit to grab attention. You won’t please everyone, but the people who gravitate to you will change your life.

Participate in events that will allow you to view what others are doing and how they think. What you learn will help you decide what’s best for you.

A money matter should LIBRA (Sept. 23- be investigated. A personal Oct. 23) purchase should be justified before you move forward.

Don’t exceed your budget.

Complaints and criticism can be expected.

WORD GAME

SUDOKU

TODAY’S WORD — LEAGUES

Can you find 22 or more words in LEAGUES? The list will be published tomorrow.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

YESTERDAY’S WORD — GARGANTUAN gang

guar

rung

agar

runt

gaur

aunt

tang

gnar

aura

tarn

gnat

rag

tuna

grant

tag

turn

grunt

rang

guan

rant

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

Copyright 2015, Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

Overreacting is a waste of time. Look inward and you’ll discover what you should be doing. Don’t let the actions of others bog you down. Turn your dream into a reality.

Get your information SAGITTARIUS straight before you share (Nov. 23- with others. Protect your Dec. 21) reputation and your personal information. A personal change will give you a new lease on life.

(LEAGUES: LEEGS: Associations of persons or groups united by common interests or activities.)

Average mark 16 words Time limit 30 minutes

gaunt

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

solution for MONDAY’s puzzle AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

Take pride in what you do. Refuse to let others downplay your input, take charge or hog the credit.

Express your thoughts openly and get the praise you deserve.

You know what you want, so don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Move forward on your own and implement changes that will make you happy, healthy and less stressed.

Trust in yourself and your attributes. Set the standard and strive to reach your goal. Your actions will pay off and bring you the recognition you deserve.

WednesdAY, november 7, 2018

19

2018 GCB Female Franchise U-17 Secondary Schools T20 League…

Teams looking to keep momentum ahead of round 7 G

CB U-17 T20 Female cricket continues today (Wednesday) with a number of exciting matches set for round seven.

Essequibo are seeking to maintain their red-hot form from the previous round when they battle West Berbice, while East Bank will face West Demerara at Wales Ground. Enterprise Ground will be venue for the encounter between Lower Corentyne and Georgetown, while East Coast will face Upper Corentyne in the last match.

Round six saw strong performances coming from Essequibo and West Demerara, who won their respective matches; Essequibo

Ashmini Munisar and Lalitha Patterson were among the top performers in round 6

handing Georgetown a massive 121-run defeat, while West Demerara emerged

victors from their encounter with Upper Corentyne by a decent margin of 47 runs.

Annual National Draughts Championships commence…

Jairam dethroned as Persaud climbs rankings

T

he annual National Draughts Championships took place at the National Gymnasium with ten of the country’s top players contesting in the A and B categories as they all vied for glory.

When all the proceedings were finished, few were left standing. Khemraj Pooranmall emerged winner in the senior division, ending with 27 points. Pooranmall, who had been out of the competition for over one year, came in with proverbial guns blazing to beat every opponent he faced and surprise the packed audience.

Coming in at second place was Godfrey George with 23 points, while defending champion Jairam had to settle for third palce and third in the rankings.

Ulric Brathwaite from Kuru Kururu was defeated in a tie-breaker with Jiaram to earn the fourth spot.

With the senior category being completed, the junior category began, and Devanand Persaud was able to defend his championship, winning by 20 points to become the two-time cham-

Participants from the successfully staged National Draughts Championships 2018

pion. This being the second consecutive win for Devanand in his division, he has now moved up to the senior level.

Esan Anderson, with 14 points, emerged second, while Lyndon Heywood came in third with 12 points and Dexter Johnson from Linden took the fourth posi-

tion with 8 points.

All four players from each category were awarded with trophies, while the top three were given an additional small incentive.

The Championship, which would be played on the International 100 square boards, concludes next Sunday.

MVP from the last game, Lalitha Paterson; Marrisa Anthony and Nevika Narine are the match-winners and players to watch for today.

Bowlers Emalissa Whyte and Neha Singh were among the shining stars for Georgetown, and they will desperately need to show their skills again,

should their team rebound against table-leaders Lower Corentyne, especially since Georgetown has had a poor batting outing.

West Demerara will be heading into their match full of confidence, after winning their last game by a decent margin of 47 runs.

Despite not having that

much star power, West Dem have so far shown their courage in the tournament, and could use it to overcome the mighty Essequibo.

Upper Corentyne will be a shaken side, judging from their last round, when they failed to beat the aforementioned West Dem, who posted 90-odd in a reduced game.

The Berbice team were kept to 53; and should they repeat similar batting errors, they could likely face another drubbing.

Other teams that could spring surprises are the East Coast Demerara and West Berbice sides, who faced each other in the last round, but will have different opponents in round 7. Both sides showed gritty determination to triumph, the young girls playing out of their skins to help take their side’s confidence through the roof with the rounds winding down.

Today’s action bowls off at 9:00h.

20

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WednesdAY, november 7, 2018

CONCACAF Men’s U-20 Championship…

Turbo Knockout Football Tournament…

Cayman Islands upset Pele, Western Tigers Jaguars in thriller take early exit G

uyana Jaguars suffered their second loss in the CONCACAF Under-20 Men’s Championships when they battled Cayman Islands at the IMG Academy in Florida on Tuesday.

The Jaguars were not able to prevent the Cayman Islands’ come-from-behind win, and they lost the lost the Group F encounter 3-2.

The Jaguars had claimed the lead early when Kelsey Benjamin scored in the fifth minute; and they kept that lead until the brink of halftime, when Cayman Islands were gifted a penalty attempt, which was success-

fully taken by Albertini Holmes.

When play resumed, Cayman Islands gained the lead for the first time with a Kareem Foster goal scored in the 58th minute. Two minutes later, Guyana’s half-time sub Chris Macey

drew the equaliser to keep the Jaguars’ hopes alive.

However, the aggressive Jabari Campbell scored the decider for the Cayman Islands just seven minutes after the battle had been engaged.

With that win, Cayman

Islands have finally put themselves on the board with three points, and are now slotted at third, while Curacao and Guyana remain at the bottom with no points.

Pushing on from their opening win against Guyana, Guatemala also defeated Curacao, to lead the group with six points. They have the same amount of points as the El Salvador team, which is undefeated in their two matches.

Guyana Jaguars continue their bid to seek qualification into the second round when they take on Curacao on Thursday.

P

ele and Western Tigers football clubs have been the first two teams to taste the axe when they lost their respective encounters on the opening night of the Petraorganised Turbo Knockout Football Tournament at the Ministry of Education (MoE) Ground on Monday evening.

Conversely, Riddim Squad and Northern Rangers have progressed, after each defeated their respective opponents 3-1 in the double-header.

The second edition of the tournament commenced with Riddim Squad’s Kevin Agard conjuring a hat-trick to lead his team to victory. Pele had opened the scoring in the 20th minute when Abosi Jarvis found the back of the net, but Agard scored the equaliser in the 33rd minute. After the halftime break, Agard gave the Mocha-based side the lead when he doubled in the 60th minute.

With a one-possession lead in the bag, Pele were under pressure as time ticked away; and were stunned by the finisher, which saw Agard complete his hat-trick seconds before the regulation time whistle.

The feature match was a huge upset, as Northern

Kevin Agard

Rangers brushed ahead GFF Elite League front runners Western Tigers, outplaying them in every respect.

Steven Sankar drew first blood as early as the 11th minute; then a timely brace from Adolph George, who scored in the 30th and 69th minutes, was enough to neutralise the Tigers, whose lone goal was scored by Joshua Britton in the 47th minute.

The tournament continues at the same venue from 18:30 hrs this evening, and Santos will take on Buxton United before Police and Beacon United battle it out in the feature from 20:30 hrs.

LeBron James defends Luke Walton amid Lakers speculation

L

eBron James came to the defence of Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton after his team earned a big 114-110 road victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday.

Walton has been at the centre of reports indicating president Magic Johnson reprimanded him for the Lakers’ slow start after losing five of the first seven games, though the coach later said he was not concerned about his job security and has meetings with management on a regular basis.

When asked about how it feels to win amid drama surrounding Walton, James said the 38-year-old always puts the team, who are now 4-5 after back-to-back victories, in a position to be successful.

“I mean, it’s great to win, period,” James told reporters, via ESPN. “Listen, coaching staff put us in a position to win, and it’s up to us to go up and execute.

“Luke can care less about what’s going on outside. We could as well. I’m the last person to ask about scrutiny or anything of that nature. So none of that stuff matters to me. The only thing that matters to me is what goes on inside this locker room, both home and away.”

The Lakers are under pressure after signing James during the offseason, but they are still trying to figure out

their starting line-up and how to mesh on the court with the veterans and young core.

Based on how the Lakers played against the Blazers, Walton is optimistic the team is growing and developing in the right direction.

“It just shows that what we’re doing is working,” Walton said of beating the Blazers for the first time since March 2014 on the back of 28 points and seven assists from James.

“It’s tough to get a win in Portland [even] when they don’t have a good team. When they got the team that they have right now, it’s even more challenging. So you don’t just come up here and get hot and beat Portland.

“You have to play a solid, solid game that starts with defense, and I thought we did that and got ourselves a big enough lead that even when Dame [Lillard] and CJ [McCollum] got cooking at the end, we were able to hold them off. And then, obviously, having LeBron there at the end to kind of close down those final few minutes was big, as well.”

James added: “Great to snap that [16-game losing streak against Portland]. They’re a very good team, obviously. To beat Portland, you can’t just come in and win without playing really hard and really well.”

The Lakers are at home to the Toronto Raptors (8-1) on Sunday. (Sportsmax)

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Persaud etches name in local golf history books

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Stooping, from left, are: Parmanad Persaud, Patanhalee Persaud, Richard Haniff, and Ayube Subhan. Standing, from left, are: Captain Chatterpaul Deo; Apti Shaw; Jalem Raman; Joaan Deo; Aasrodeen Shaw; Christine Sukhram; Esau Shamshudin (partially hidden); Mahendra Bhagwandin (also partially hidden); another winner; Troy Cadogan; John Somwar, winner and 9-time champ, Avinash Persaud; a supporter; Avinda Kishore; Kevin Dinanauth, and President Aleem Hussain

T

he star golfer, now 9-time Guyana Open Cup champ Avinash Persaud, has stormed his way into the local history books with his record number of title wins coupled with his ingame feats. He has achieved what has hitherto never been achieved locally.

Persaud walked away as retainer of the title he’s been defending for some time now after he finessed his way across the Greens this past weekend to outplay a number of local and international pros.

This is especially remarkable

considering that some 89 of the registered 100 golfers from Canada, USA, Suriname and other countries had participated in the biggest Guyana Open tournament yet.

In addition to winning the title and Best Gross, Persaud created even more history by returning a gross of 1 under-par for the 1st day of the Guyana Open -- a feat never before achieved in local golf.

The “caddy turned arguably the best golfer in Guyana” told this newspaper recently that he was confident of retaining his title, and was merely fo-

cused on working on his chipping and putting.

Commenting on his momentous win on Sunday evening, especially remarkable because he was playing with an injured ankle, Persaud said, “Since the Guyana Open last year, I was confident that I would win this year again. I determined that no foreigner or local player would better me”.

At the awards ceremony held after the tournament, club president Aleem Hussain expressed gratitude to the large number of sponsors who contributed towards mak-

ing the Guyana Open a success. Hussain also urged the Government to back Persaud, as well as female champ Christine Sukhram who also retained her title.

He noted that the two golfers, especially Persaud, are at the peak of their careers, and opined that with golf being an Olympic sport, it is crucial to keep athletes such as Persaud, Sukhram and others -- who play a role in putting Guyana on the international sports map -- at the forefront of the agenda in regard to sports development. (Clifton Ross)

GMRSC “Ignite”…

Group Three title race wide open J ust under a week remains as the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMRSC) prepares to stage its Ignite race meet which has Group Three title wide open for the taking.

Defending champion Vishok Persaud scored no points during the local first round of action at the South Dakota circuit last March, and this will make it difficult for him to retain this title.

At the moment the leader is Danny Persaud, who has amassed 50 points after the first round, and looks set to cop that championship. His nearest competitor is Syed Hassan, who has 30 points and is being chased

by Rameez Mohamed and Motilall Deodass, who are tied for third with 18 points each.

This battle is not an easy one, taking into consideration the large field that is expected to feature in this class. Besides Vishok Persaud, there is the unruly Stefan Jeffrey, whose Civic car has undergone considerable work in order to be ready for the meet. Testing done during last month’s

race programme are on sale, costing $2500 for adults and $1000 for children. They are obtainable at B.M. Soat Auto Sales on Croal Street in Georgetown.

Time trials in all the classes will begin at 10:00hrs on Saturday, November 10th, followed by official races from 13:20hrs in the Street Cross 125cc Motorcycle; Street Tuner;

Danny Persaud

“test and tune” event has shown that he would be a more-than-capable competitor when the action gets underway.

GMR&SC’s Ignite, which forms the basis for the Seaboard Marine Caribbean Motor Racing Championships, is billed for November 10 and 11.

Overseas competition in this meet will come from Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), Jamaica and Canada, as well as from out of Europe.

Tickets for the packed 27-

Choke Starlet Cup, and Sports Tuner, which would each be 10 laps. The feature race on Saturday will see 20 gruelling laps in the first anticipated clash in the SR3 Radicals Cup. On Sunday, racing fans’ thirst for scorching action will be satiated with a packed 19-race programme set for the November 11th.

22

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

WednesdAY, november 7, 2018

Stand-alone ICC Women’s World T20 tournament….

Will West Indies women win consecutive World T20 titles?

By Brandon Corlette

T

he Caribbean will host the first ever standalone ICC Women’s World T20 tournament, and a total of twenty-three matches will be played from November 9 to November 24 across the Caribbean (Guyana, St. Lucia and Antigua). The West Indies women will have an advantage playing in home conditions in this tournament.

In the 2016 Women’s T20 Tournament, played in India, the Stafanie Taylor-led West Indies Team were crowned champions.

West Indies will kick-start their 2018 World T20 campaign against Bangladesh at the National Stadium at Providence in Demerara, Guyana in a day-night affair. After this lone match in Guyana, the Caribbean ladies will play their second match in St. Lucia, against South Africa.

Stafanie Taylor, the World number two T20 batter, with a rating of 671, will continue to lead the West Indies Team. Besides Taylor, the West Indies’ batting department would include explosive 20-year-old opener Haley Matthews, who is currently ranked number 12 in MRF ICC T20 batting rankings; and the dangerous Deandra Dottin, who is ranked number 5 in MRF ICC T20 batting rankings with a rating of 616. The lone Guyanese in the squad, Shemaine Campbell,

West Indies women at a practice session at Everest (Brandon Corlette photos)

will also be a major asset with the bat, since her batting has been a revelation in the 2018 Regional Super 50 tournament. Sheneta Grimmond was the other Guyanese selected, but she was ruled out of the tournament after sustaining an injury.

In the bowling department, the West Indies will look to steaming right-arm fast bowler Shamilia Connell and left-arm quickies Chinelle Henry and Qiana Joseph to produce early wickets.

The spin-ace Anisa Mohammed will once more lead the spin attack. The vastly experienced Mohammed has played 98 T20 Internationals and has 113 wickets to her name, gathered at an economy rate of 5.50. With three five-wicket hauls in the shortest format of the game, her

best figures are 5 for 10.

Haley Matthews, the World number 3 ranked T20 bowler, has also been effective with the ball in T20 cricket.

The 31-year-old leg-spinner Afy Fletcher would, moreover, be a wicket-taking option. In a world where leg-spinners have troubled the batters, Fletcher is currently ranked number 13 with a rating of 569.

In the recently concluded T20 Series between West Indies and South Africa, the maroon ladies drew the fivematch series 2-2. That series brought out some positives for the West Indies women, in that Natasha McLean performed consistently with the bat, scoring 160 runs from four innings at an average of 80; and Deandra Dottin was the most successful West Indies bowler, taking nine wickets in

that Series.

In this stand-alone World

T20 Tournament, West Indies women are in Group A with

England, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The West Indies squad reads: Stafanie Taylor (capt), Merissa Aguilleira (wk), Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Britney Cooper, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Chinelle Henry, Kycia Knight, Hayley Matthews, Natasha McLean, Anisa Mohammed, Chedean Nation and Shakera Selman.

West Indies group matches are slated as follows: November 9: West Indies v Bangladesh, Guyana; November 14: West Indies v South Africa, St Lucia; November 16: West Indies v Sri Lanka, St Lucia; November 18: West Indies v England, St Lucia.

Hussain lauds MACORP for golf’s success in 2018 – says course condition is main factor

MACORP has been playing an integral role in the refurbishment of the Lusignan Golf Course since the latter part of 2017

L

usignan Golf Club (LGC) President Aleem Hussain has said it was the undying support coming from MACORP which enabled the club to host the biggest Guyana Open Cup ever, as well as a record number of tournaments throughout the year.

Hussain told Guyana Times Sport on Tuesday that were it not for the commitment of former Head of the Machinery Corporation of Guyana, LGC Honorary Life Member Jorge Medina, who selflessly donated millions worth in machinery equipment towards the rehabilitation of the club, he doubts the course would have been in shape and able to withstand the weather.

“The machinery MACORP gave the LGC helped to fully restore the golf course. Mr Medina donated 15 million in machinery for over two months, without even asking.

Because of them (MACORP), the course is where it is today”, Hussain confessed.

He explained that dating back into history, the LGC had had a loyal base, but was

not getting the exposure it needed because the weather often deteriorated most of the course to an unplayable state over recent years. As a result, the LGC has could manage to churn out only a handful, or a little more worth, in weekly or monthly Open tournaments.

The LGC head declared that because of the loyalty and the drive to bring golf to the forefront of Guyana, MACORP, through Medina, who recently returned home following his retirement, have done a timeless job on restoring the course to a state in which golfers can play freely seven days a week with or without rain.

With Medina back home, one of Guyana’s leading golfers in Guillermo Escarraga will now guide the machinery giant forward as the new head.

Hussain confirmed that Escarraga, an avid golfer and winner of a number of tournaments in 2018, has confirmed that the partnership between the two entities would continue until the Lusignan Course has reached its full potential.

Hussain further pointed out that the restoration project has not only paid off on the course, with golfers having ample practice time as well as weekly tournaments , but 2018 has seen a 30 per cent increase in new members. He also said that with the course in excellent shape, golfers can look forward to more competition in the weeks to come.

With the MACORP annual Open set for this Saturday, Hussain noted that it was usually the last competition on the calendar, but he confirmed that this weekend’s yearly tournament will be followed by the three other tournaments, including Banks DIH and Massy- sponsored events.

Hussain has said that should he be re-elected at year-end when the club hosts its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Elections, he would be seeking to carry the momentum forward into the new year with even bigger plans to centralise the sport.

He has reassured golfers of weekly competitions until the foreseeable future. (Clifton Ross)

guyanatimesgy.com

WednesdAY, november 7, 2018

23

Sharma's 4th T20I hundred gives India series win

R

Shikhar Dhawan

ohit Sharma scored his fourth T20 international century - the highest by anybody - to seal the series win for India. A festive crowd on the eve of Diwali sold out the debuting Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, and were treated to fabulous T20 batting. Rohit had to suss out an unknown pitch, overcome its slowness, and compensate for a scratchy effort from Shikhar Dhawan at the other end. Rohit cleared the massive boundaries - all over 75m - seven times, and almost always effortlessly. He faced exactly half the balls in India's innings, but scored 57% of the runs.

Missing their best players once again, West Indies made it worse for themselves, dropping two catches, bowling two no-balls, seven wides and conceding overthrows.

They made big tactical errors too, bowling two overs of spin inside the Powerplay, thus giving up the advantage of the massive boundaries. Here without any openers in the squad, they were always going to struggle to chase 196.

Slow start

A sold-out stadium had waited patiently for the 7pm start. What's one more over to them? For the first time in his T20 career, Rohit played out a maiden at the top of an innings. The crowd got impatient, chanting Rohit's name, but he knew what he

was doing. He was assessing the conditions, and refusing to play a low percentage shot against the form bowler, the quick Oshane Thomas. Despite a no-ball from Keemo Paul in the second over, India hadn't hit a single boundary in the first three overs and had scored only 11.

Spin breaks shackles

Usually the second half of Powerplay are pressure overs for bowlers because that's when batsmen look to cash in after a steady start.

On a pitch with no turn, Carlos Brathwaite was putting left-arm spinner Khary Pierre in the line of fire. Rohit lofted him first ball over midoff. When mid-off went back, he hit Pierre for a six over mid-on. Thomas at the other end bowled a no-ball, and India were up and running.

What was shaping up to be a lean Powerplay gave them 49 runs. Then Paul dropped Dhawan, Brathwaite dropped short once too often, and India reached 78 in nine overs.

Brief quiet but then explosion

Fabien Allen and Paul managed to bowl the next four overs for 29 runs, which featured Dhawan struggling to force the pace. The harder he tried to hit, the worse he timed the ball. In the 14th over, though, Rohit took matters in his own hands. He was 59 off 42 when he began

3

SCOREBOARD

India Innings (20 overs maximum) RG Sharma (c) not out 111 S Dhawan c Pooran b Allen 43 RR Pant c Hetmyer b Pierre 5 KL Rahul not out 26 Extras (nb 2, w 8) 10 TOTAL: (2 wickets, 20 Overs, RR: 9.75) 195 Did not bat: MK Pandey, KD Karthik †, KH Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, JJ Bumrah, KK Ahmed, B Kumar Fall of wickets: 1-123 (S Dhawan, 13.6 ov), 2-133 (RR Pant, 15.2 ov) BOWLING: O Thomas (4-1-270), KMA Paul (4-0-30-0), K Pierre (4-0-49-1), CR Brathwaite (40-56-0), FA Allen (4-0-33-1)

West Indies Innings (target: 196 runs from 20 overs) SD Hope b Ahmed 6 SO Hetmyer c Dhawan b Ahmed 15

DM Bravo c Sharma b Kuldeep Yadav 23 D Ramdin †c Sharma b Kumar 10 N Pooran b Kuldeep Yadav 4 KA Pollard c & b Bumrah 6 CR Brathwaite (c) not out 15 FA Allen run out (Pandya) 0 KMA Paul c Sharma b Kumar 20 K Pierre c & b Bumrah 1 O Thomas not out 8 Extras (b 4, lb 3, w 9) 16 TOTAL (9 wickets, 20 Overs, RR: 6.2) 124 Fall of wickets: 1-7 (SD Hope, 1.3 ov), 2-33 (SO Hetmyer, 5.2 ov), 3-48 (DM Bravo, 7.3 ov), 4-52 (N Pooran, 7.6 ov), 5-68 (KA Pollard, 10.4 ov), 6-81 (D Ramdin, 13.4 ov), 7-81 (FA Allen, 13.5 ov), 8-114 (KMA Paul, 18.4 ov), 9-116 (K Pierre, 19.2 ov) BOWLING: B Kumar (4-0-122), KK Ahmed (4-0-30-2), JJ Bumrah (4-0-20-2), KH Pandya (4-0-23-0), K Yadav (4-0-32-2)

to slog-sweep Allen. Until now he had played mostly down the ground, but he had also realised there was no turn that he would be hitting against. Successive sixes put West Indies under pressure, and even with the fall of Dhawan and Rishabh Pant there was no stopping Rohit.

Brathwaite and Perry were treated the worst by Rohit and KL Rahul, who dominated strike early on in their 28-ball partnership. A single off the last ball of the 19th over - with Rohit on 92 left Rahul Frustrated, but Rohit put him at ease and asked him to keep going for it and not worry about the hundred. However, the strike came back to Rohit with five balls to go in the innings. A wide full toss went straight of short third man, and then a straight one was ramped over short fine to bring up the

hundred. When Brathwaite managed to get a dot in, he undid it with four overthrows. Rohit them smacked Brathwaite over long-off to take the West Indies captain's tally past 50.

Khaleel causes early damage

With Bhuvneshwar Kumar back, Rohit held back Jasprit Bumrah for the second half of the Powerplay and then the second half of the innings. Khaleel Ahmed got the new ball, and quickly accounted for West Indies' two best batsmen from the ODI series. Batting out of position, both Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer fell trying to force the pace against accurate bowling. West Indies 33 for 2 in the sixth over.

Kuldeep, Bumrah seal the win West Indies' familiar nemesis then came back to quell any fight that might have been left. Kuldeep

Yadav rem o v e d Darren Bravo and Nicholas Pooran in the

same over, Bravo off the outside edge and another sensational slip catch by Rohit, and Pooran bowled through the gate with a wrong'un. Bumrah was then brought back to get rid of Kieron Pollard. Bumrah got rid of

Pollard with a short ball.

From 68 for 5 in the 11th over, the rest of the innings was all about finding out what ends first: West Indies' wickets or overs. It went close, with No. 11 Thomas nearly run out off the last ball of the innings. (ESPNcricinfo) Rohit Sharma

wednesdAY, november 7, 2018

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

guyanatimesgy.com

Stand-alone ICC Women’s World T20 tournament….

Will West Indies women win consecutive World T20 titles?

Page 22

Page 23

Sharma's 4th T20I hundred gives India series win

CONCACAF Men’s U20 Championship…

Cayman Islands upset Jaguars in thriller Page 20

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