Guyana Times, 13 November, 2019.

Former P10 UN envoy appointed new UG Chancellor

…institution’s first envoy extraordinaire selected

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

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Issue No. 4106

WEDNesday, november 13, 2019

PRICE

Claims and Objections ends

Thousands of false objections made against live voters by APNU/AFC – PPP See story on page 3

…some 13,000 objections filed

$80 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Baby dies after falling P10 out of hammock Region 6 fuel shortage

Rice farmers waiting to commence P7 crop ...cash crop farmers watch crops die

Decision to be made on H2H data next week – GECOM Chair Page 11

…Opposition-nominated Commissioner maintains data unreliable

Page 9

Cop, 2 others nabbed after daring gold heist The guns and ammunition which were unearthed by Police, following the arrest of three suspects who allegedly committed the daring daylight heist in Region One (Barima-Waini) on Monday. Inset: Some of the gold which was stolen by the gunmen at the Matthews Ridge Airstrip (GPF photos)

Rising debt-toGDP ratio a matter of concern – financial analyst

3 months later

$31.4M water ambulance yet to ...data shows debt-to-foreign service Baracara assets ratio doubled from 2009 Page 9

See story on page 7

…purchased with defective engine control module

Rice farmers - MMA/ADA dispute

Farmers fearful of Chairman’s bias, conflict of interest – Nandlall P15

Fisherman drowns in P11 canal after drinking spree

Welder to face Judge, jury for P8 shooting vendor

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WEDNesday, november 13, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

news

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WEDNesday, november 13, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

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

Wednesday, November 13 – 05:00h – 06:30h and Thursday, November 14 – 05:00h – 06:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Wednesday, November 13 –16:35h – 18:05h and Thursday, November 14 –05:30h – 07:00h.

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

WEATHER TODAY Sunny conditions are expected throughout the day. There will be clear skies at night.

Temperatures should range between 21 degrees Celsius and 31 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Northerly to North North-Westerly between 1.78 metres and 4.02 metres.

High Tide: 04:44h and 16:54h reaching maximum heights of 2.67 metres and 2.77 metres.

Low Tide: 10:30h and 22:53h reaching minimum heights of 0.57 metre and 0.42 metre.

Claims and Objections ends

Thousands of false objections made against live voters by APNU/AFC – PPP …some 13,000 objections filed

T

he objections component of Claims and Objections has ended. All is not well, however, as the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is raising concerns over the thousands of objections made in two particular areas and fears that they are part of a ploy to disenfranchise thousands.

It was revealed on Tuesday by Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Commissioner Sase Gunraj that approximately 13,000 objections have been made. According to Gunraj, these objections were made primarily at the Fort Wellington GECOM offices in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice).

In an interview with this publication, PPP’s Chief Elections Scrutineer Zulficar Mustapha revealed that for Region Five, over 9000 objections were made at Fort Wellington, while over 3000 were made at the Mahaicony offices.

It is understood that Belladrum and Rosignol Secondary schools are just some of the locations that

some digging and found the persons being objected to.

“And I intend to attend the hearing myself in Region Five, whenever those hearings are held, and I intend to produce those persons. I am hoping that GECOM will report (wrongful objections) to the Police and the necessary action be taken”.

Even with the unusually high number of objections in a particular registration area, the total number of objections is in stark contrast to the often-repeated statement from the Government that the voters’ list was bloated by as many as 200,000 names, thus, necessitating the controversial House-to-House exercise.

The Government side and President David Granger have repeatedly claimed that the existence of 200,000 extra names necessitated House-to-House Registration, an exercise that ended up delaying GECOM’s preparations for elections as both sides struggled for and against the exercise.

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

The Guyana Elections Commission

GECOM used for the Claims and Objections, which ended on November 4 and 11 respectively.

“They made thousands of objections and I can say they were unsubstantiated.

Because the only way someone’s name can be removed from the list is if they’re dead and you have to produce a valid death certificate, or in case of insanity, you have to produce a certificate from a qualified doctor,” Mustapha said.

He added, “Now, in Region six, they made thousands of objections which they had to withdraw because they had no evidence.

In region five, they made close to 13,000 objections.

These people are objecting wildly and they want to take off people’s name from the list”.

Criminal offence

Mustapha noted that it is a criminal offence to object wrongfully to someone’s name on the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE), such as in cases where the objection is that the person is dead, when, in fact, they are alive and well. He explained that the PPP itself has done

PPP Chief Scrutineer Zulficar Mustapha

GECOM court case back in July, Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield, himself, had admitted that he never advised the President that the voters’ list was bloated with 200,000 names, raising questions about where President Granger got such information.

“I have not engaged His Excellency on the numbers game. And I cannot pronounce on that…it’s speculative. I would want to do

an exercise to determine that amount,” Lowenfield said when asked about the President’s comments.

In addition, the very voters’ list which was derived from the National Register of Registrants (NRR) was used for Local Government Elections (LGE) last year.

The elections were held with only minor hiccups, leading many to question whether the advocacy for H2H was nothing more than a delaying tactic.

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wednesday, november 13, 2019

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

State ads withdrawal:

P

Favourability by convenience?

resident David Granger, in a recent interview, sought to defend his Government’s decision to withdraw State advertisements from Stabroek News. Granger, in the interview, strongly hinted to fairness in reportage as a prerequisite for such advertisements to be received. The independent Guyana Times also raised concerns about being side-lined from receiving State advertisements.

Based on public pronouncements, these appear the only two media entities to have State advertisements drastically reduced or completely withdrawn over the months. It’s no coincidence that both, through their reporting, hold the Government accountable for its actions, programmes and policies. In doing so, these entities are performing the most basic journalistic purpose as expected of the fourth estate.

The President’s related comment suggests his displeasure over the reportage of the two media entities not being fair to him and his Government. In other words, not deemed favourable— despite what’s reported was actually fair in the context of the issues, taking into consideration the reality of his policies and the position of all sides.

Further, it is no secret that some of what was reported criticised the President and his Government. Those criticisms would have been based on various fronts, including failure to deliver promises and lack of action in some areas. That basic tenet of journalism to hold the Government accountable in the interest of the people is not guided by a scale of fairness nestled within the realm of the whims and fancies of the administration.

With libel, slander, discrimination and misinformation expunged, governments cannot be oblivious as to the journalistic purpose of the media. Any attempt to claim ignorance would be pathetically dishonest. Media entities must be allowed to do their jobs, more especially when, like Guyana, the Government boasts of it being a democracy. Democracy cannot be cherry-picked for convenience.

It should not be forgotten that the current Government, while in the Opposition, had vehemently opposed the withdrawal of advertisements from the Stabroek News under the previous administration. It should also not be forgotten that this said APNU/ AFC government, also while in the Opposition, firmly boasted of not infringing on freedom of the press and democracy as a whole.

Withholding State advertisements is a direct assault on press freedom and contravenes the Declaration of Chapultepec. That’s an argument APNU/AFC would have used in the past. So, what in that regard has changed since it came into government in 2015?

The December 21, 2018, No-Confidence Motion (NCM) may hold part of the answer.

Following the criticisms from all fronts, both locally and internationally, of his Government’s refusal to respect the Constitution with regard to the successful passage of the NCM, the President took to the forefront and remained adamant that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is independent and must be allowed to do its job without interference.

He reiterated repeatedly that only GECOM can tell him the timeframe for when an election can be held. That was despite GECOM’s position appearing to be in conflict with the Constitution.

Many opined that the President’s firm position on GECOM’s independence on that particular issue may have been premised on convenience to realise an alleged desire for the snap elections not to be held within the three-month timeframe as clearly stipulated in the Constitution. As it is, the elections are now scheduled a year after that period. Some have even alleged that GECOM’s Secretariat may have acted “favourable” to the President’s suspected desire.

From that, it seems in the eyes of the President, “favourability” reaffirms a status of independence which would be defended. That possibly explains why the two newspapers in question may have had their status of independence “revoked”, having reportedly been deemed “unfavourable”.

On the flip side, one is led to believe that if the reportage of the two newspapers was similar to that of the State’s, then the withdrawal of advertisements would have never been contemplated, even though independence would have been compromised. In other words, convenience would have taken precedence.

That said comment from the President says much. In addition to trying to justify the withdrawal of the advertisement premised on “favourability”, it’s an ominous reminder of how the People’s National Congress (PNC), while in government, dealt with media entities deemed unfavourable to it.

Then, not only were journalists harassed and intimidated, with one killed in the execution of his duties, but newsprint for the then Opposition newspaper was banned from being imported. That was clearly a deliberate action to silence the Opposition from exposing the PNC’s atrocities and failures.

Today, the President heads the PNC, which is the dominant one in the APNU/AFC coalition. Technically, it is the Government. Decades after, for him to now defend an action that is seen as trampling on press freedom while alluding, not so subtly, that dissatisfaction on his part is the reason for such, is extremely worrying and grossly hypocritical.

His utterances have cast a dark shadow of the past on the present and possibly, the very near future. Therefore, there could be nothing favourable for the masses.

A watermelon carving displayed at the Carnegie School of Home Economics on Tuesday during the launching of the school’s new programmes (Shaconeil Burnette photo)

Damage done to democracy cannot be so easily repaired Dear Editor, Paragraph 5 of the judgment of the Caribbean Court of Justice delivered on July 12, 2019, on consequential orders flowing from the passage of the NoConfidence Motion passed by the National Assembly on December 21, 2018, stated: “The Judiciary interprets the Constitution. But as we intimated in our earlier judgment, these particular provisions [Article 106 (6) and 106 (7)] require no gloss on the part of the Court in order to render them intelligible and workable. Their meaning is clear and it is the responsibility of the constitutional actors in Guyana to honour them.

Upon the passage of a vote of no confidence, the Article requires the resignation of the Cabinet including the President. The Article goes on to state that notwithstanding such resignation, the Government shall remain in office …. “ Seeming to me to be more a pronouncement than an intimation, paragraph 56 of the judgment on the substantive issues rendered on June 18, 2019, said: “The provisions of Article 106 (6) and (7) are clear on their face. They hardly require further interpretation on the part of the Courts.”

The average person reading paragraph 56 would understand as Justice Roxane George, CJ, in her judgment of January 31, 2019, in the case in the High Court did, “that the provision (regarding the resignation of the Cabinet) requires that the resignation of the Cabinet takes effect with immediate effect on the success of

a NCM.” Yet, having said that no further interpretation was required by the Court, the region’s eminent jurists chose to put not only an unwarranted gloss on the provision but created confusion and undermined a motion of the National Assembly by stating that “Article 106 envisages that the tenure in office of the Cabinet, including the President, after the Government’s defeat, is on a different footing from that which existed prior to the vote of no confidence”.

Except if I buy without question the old, worn and disproved adage “as wise as a judge”, it is a mystery how these five judges could perceive with such a degree of certainty what Article 106 “envisages” without any consideration or analysis.

In so doing, they felt confident enough to overturn by implication the ruling of the Chief Justice without any arguments on the matter. As an officer of the Court but also as a litigant in the matter, I cannot help but hold that the CCJ has taken a provision on which no gloss was needed, created a climate of confusion and showed the Court to be timorous and careless about the consequences of their judgment.

As wise as they are, the five judges collectively could not see the distinction between Article 106 (6) dealing with the Cabinet and Article 106 (7) dealing with the Government, not on something that the Constitution envisages but as a clear distinction which itself needs no gloss.

In my view, that failure alone makes the CCJ large-

ly responsible for the crisis now confronting our country in which the life of the Government has expired but which behaves with gay abandon and total disregard of the CCJ and its ruling.

Having read both judgments of the CCJ more often than ought to be necessary, I state confidently that the timing of the resignation of the Cabinet was not among the questions the CCJ considered or addressed in the ruling of the Court or the separate concurring judgments by three of the judges in the substantive decision delivered on June 18, 2019. Those questions set out in paragraph 12 and the paragraphs of the judgment addressing them are as follows: (a) Does Article 106(6) apply to ‘No Confidence Motions’? Addressed in paragraphs 13 to 22. (b) What is the majority necessary for the passage of a No-Confidence Motion?

Addressed in paragraphs 23 to 27. (c) Does the Court have jurisdiction to inquire into the issue of Mr Persaud’s disqualification from being a member of the National Assembly? Addressed in paragraphs 27 to 45. (d) Was Mr Persaud precluded from voting in the manner he did in light of the anti-defection provisions (Art 156(3) of the Constitution? Addressed in paragraphs 46 to 52. (e) Does Article 165(2) of the Constitution preserve the validity of Mr Persaud’s vote? Addressed in paragraphs 53 to 55. (f) What consequences attend the answers to the

above questions?

On this latter question, all the main judgment stated was that Leading Counsel for both sides had asked, and the Court had agreed to hear further submissions before deciding what consequential orders it should make. The declarations and orders were set out in paragraph [9] of the judgment delivered on July 12, 2019, and all the Court found it necessary to declare in respect of Article 106 was that the motion was properly passed and that the clear provisions of Article 106, which they managed to confuse, “immediately became engaged” – whatever that means.

Many persons have concluded that the consequential orders were of no consequence. I am not even so sanguine. In fact, the Granger Government has used it to legitimise their brazen, unlawful and illegitimate conduct. No wonder, therefore, that the CCJ’s strange ruling has done little to recommend them for acceptance by those countries in the region which have preferred to keep the Privy Council as their highest appellate court. While I find that reluctance most regrettable, I have to be truthful and state that I find it perfectly understandable.

As a consequence of the CCJ’s failure, democracy at the legislative and national level in Guyana has suffered grave damage while at a personal level, I have sympathy for Mr Anil Nandlall, the former Attorney General, the victim of collateral damage. continued on page 5

guyanatimesgy.com

wednesday, november 13, 2019

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

Labour Department unable to Where is our decency adequately fulfil its mandate in this country?

Dear Editor, The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) is very much concerned that the Department of Labour, Ministry of Social Protection, has been unable, in recent times, to adequately fulfil its mandate. The Department, as it were, followed the demotion of the full-fledged Ministry of Labour following the coalition Government taking office in 2015. We hasten to remind that a Labour Ministry graced our national landscape since the 1950s until its unceremonious diminution.

The Department, it is well recognised, plays an important role to ensure that the rights of the nation’s workers are upheld and that they receive adequate protection at work.

While we know that the Department continues to

persevere, at the time same time, it is hamstrung by a shortage of staff and skills.

Over the years, many skilled and experienced staffers have ended their relationship with the Department for varying reasons. This exodus has significantly impacted the Department to be fully able and capable. The Department’s legal skills have been reduced practically to zero following the departure of its legal officers. Moreover, its out-oftown offices are particularly affected as well. It brings into obvious question where could workers turn to at this time.

The FITUG has consulted the 2019 Budget Estimates which indicates that Programme 493 which relates to Labour Administration ought to have some 80 staffers at the various levels. In 2016, according to the Budget

Estimates, the Department had some 85 staffers. The Federation, while not fully aware of the actual complement of staffers, does not believe that the full complement is in place at this time, far from it. Even if the full complement were in place, the departure of many knowledgeable staffers, obviously, has not been helpful.

The shortcomings in the Department have serious implications for the Guyanese working men and women especially those who belong to the unorganised sections. The absence of seemingly critical skills to police the labour market to ensure that workers’ rights and conditions are respected opens the doors to exploitation and unfavourable conditions-of-work. It keeps out of the reach of the nation’s workers, benefitting from their entitle-

ments and receiving protection from unscrupulous employment practices and employers.

The situation, of course, could not have come at a more inopportune time.

With the nation on the threshold of expectedly massive economic structural changes, the need for a robust, strong and fully functional Labour Department cannot be underscored or overemphasised. There is undoubtedly a clear need to proactively address the situation in the interest of the Guyanese workforce. They certainly would look to the Department to protect them and ensure that what was won by them and those who came before them is defended and maintained.

Sincerely, Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana

Fake charges against Dr Ali should be dropped Dear Editor, Does Mr Ganger, who likes to say he is following the Constitution while he is actually trampling on it, understand that in a lame-duck status, the Government cannot give away such large tracts of land to favoured friends?

The CCJ said Government is now on a different footing. But since Parliament has not extended their stay, the PNC is now an illegal Government.

First, they gave away 400 acres in No 19, Corentyne; 700 acres in Wales; other acreages given here and there. What’s going on here? Are we witnessing the last-minute looting of State lands before the PNC is kicked out in

March 2020? Can the PNC explain its actions to the nation and all those people it told that land was not available for house lots? Will the PNC now drop all made up, fictitious charges against Dr Ali, since it is doing the same thing and worse than what they are accusing the Presidential Candidate of doing?

Aren’t these the folks who have come up with trumped-up charges against Dr Ali to demonise him and sully his name, for far less acreages, decided upon by the legal PPP Cabinet? At least the PPP was a legal Government.

Can some good public-spirited person step up to sue and stop this sale and passing of transport?

Damage done to...

Nandlall had approached the High Court for an Order compelling the Cabinet to resign as the Court had ruled several months earlier, a decision which was never fully canvassed by the CCJ but on which it made its most unfortunate statement. Not only did the High Court refuse to entertain what seemed to me to be a reasonable request, but it imposed one of the highest costs ever awarded in such a matter - $500,000 – in favour of the Attorney General, Mr Basil Williams.

Hopefully that award would not have a chilling effect on future constitutional and public interest cases.

Fortunately for Mr Williams, no costs were awarded against him when he and his high-priced team

from page 4

spent so much valuable Court time and taxpayers’ money to make some illogical, unsound and baseless arguments to support their hopelessly perverse claim that the majority of 65 is 34.

My hope is that the Guyana Court of Appeal would recognise its duty to hear Mr Nandlall’s appeal with unusual speed. After all, all our courts need is to regain the confidence of the public, which to varying degrees has been shaken by some of their rulings in the NCM cases. Unfortunately, the damage done to democracy cannot be so easily repaired.

Yours truly, Christopher Ram Attorney-at-Law and litigant

Let’s see if all those Johnny-come-lately “paper” parties will say anything about this new land grab. These parties need to start talking about all these things going on that are not right. While the PPP will never fail to call out these abuses, it’s not just the PPP’s job to do so.

These new so-called parties should make public statements about what they will do, and if they support rescinding these giveaway

deals and other contracts signed during the time of the PNC’s lame-duck status. You now see why the PNC fought hard to extend its time in office to facilitate all these last-minute shenanigans, grabbing what they can on their way out.

And with GECOM’s help, the PNC got 15 months of extra time after its defeat in the no-confidence vote.

Sincerely, Jerry Singh

Dear Editor, It remains a serious concern that Claudette Singh, the GECOM Chairperson plans to integrate the highly flawed and incomplete House-to-House (H-t-H) Registration dataset with the existing voters’ list.

This move will never yield fair and credible elections.

The H-t-H exercise lacks integrity on many fronts.

The Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) was never even invited to scrutinise such an important exercise, even though it was a requirement. The H-t-H Registration exercise was monitored exclusively by the PNC (APNU). How can this ever be fair? On this basis alone, the H-t-H data is deemed defective and should never be used.

To make matters worse, this database is also incomplete. The GECOM Chair invoked fears of rigged elections when she announced plans of merging the flawed H-t-H Registration data into the voters’ list. Why is the GECOM Chair hellbent on merging such an unfair dataset in which the PNC was the only political party monitoring data collection during the H-t-H Registration exercise? How can this ever lead to credible elections? How can Guyanese ever trust GECOM? I urge my fellow Guyanese to speak out against GECOM. GECOM

desperately needs oversight in its data processing department.

Also, the GECOM Chair even announced that she cannot comprehend why the PPP Commissioners wanted early elections. How unfair of the Chairman to take such an unreasonable position.

Like my fellow Guyanese, I completely understand the need for early elections.

GECOM denied this. How cruel of GECOM! I must remind the GECOM Chair that the Constitution demands early elections in response to the successful passage of the No-Confidence Motion in December of last year. Is there any respect for our Constitution? Why is GECOM this biased? Where are our rights in this country?

And because of the lawlessness in GECOM, Guyana is without a legal and constitutional Government.

Today, Mr Granger lingers on in power illegally in hopes that GECOM will deliver an unfair election where he will be victorious. What bullies!

Where is our decency in this country? To this end, I urge my fellow Guyanese to speak out against GECOM, before it is too late. The protest against GECOM and an illegal (APNU/PNC/AFC) Government must continue.

Sincerely, Annie Baliram (PhD)

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Page

Foundation

Continued from Tuesday

T

he doctor will also do a spine check: Your spinal column is a series of bones along the middle of your back.

The spine should be straight. But sometimes, a kid's spine has a curve and some curves are called scoliosis. Small curves usually cause no problems, but for larger curves you may need to get an X-ray or see an orthopaedic doctor who specialises in the treatment of scoliosis.

Do I need a shot?

Remember all those shots you got before kindergarten? Shots (or immunisation vaccines) protect against diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, polio, hepatitis, and measles — just to name a few.

Kids might worry about needing a shot every time they go to the doctor, but the truth is that kids don't need many shots after they're old enough to go to school. You will need a tetanus booster, usually when you are about 12 years old, or sometimes sooner if you get a deep or dirty wound.

An annual flu shot is also recommended, especially for kids who have medical conditions (like asthma) that make them more likely to have health problems if they get the flu.

Question and answer time

A lot of doctors leave time at the end of a checkup for questions. Your mom or dad may want to know how much milk you should be drinking, if it's safe for you to try a certain sport, or when you'll be old enough to stay home alone. These are all important questions and doctors can give parents good advice.

The doctor might have some information to share with you too. For instance, if summer is on the way, the doctor may want to remind you and your parent about safety issues, like wearing bike helmets, swimming only with adult supervision, and wearing sunscreen.

Don't forget that you can ask questions. Even if you feel a little funny or embarrassed, go ahead and ask your question.

Doctors have heard it all before, and you might be surprised to learn that many other kids have asked the same question. By asking questions, you'll learn more about the way your body works and how you can take care of something very important – your health! (Excerpt from kidshealth.org)

H

elp! I'm 15, but my parents still stay in the exam room and answer questions when I'm at the doctor's. I want to ask about STDs, but I can't do it with them sitting there. How can I get them to leave?

– Omar* Most teens don't want to talk to their doctors about topics like sex and STDs with their parents in the room. Many docs talk alone with their teen patients, especially about sensitive topics. But others don't.

Call ahead and ask if your doctor usually talks to the teens alone. If so, you can just follow the doctor's lead. Most doctors will say something like, "I like to talk to my teens alone so they can start taking a role in their health care and be comfortable asking any questions." Most parents agree right away. They may even be relieved that you have a place to get reliable information.

But what if you don't know if your doctor will suggest you talk alone? What can you do to make sure you get the private time you want?

Talk to your parents before the appointment. Tell them you want to start learning how to take charge of your own health care, so you'd like some private time with the doctor.

If you want to be more specific, you could say, "I am embarrassed talking in front of you about how my body is changing." Or, "I have questions about topics that might come up in the future, like sex, and I want to be comfortable asking the doctor." You might be surprised when your parent agrees and sees the request as a sign of your growing independence and responsibility.

Let the doctor know you want some private time. If you didn't call ahead, you can tell the nurse that checks you into a room. This way the doctor knows that you want to have time at the appointment without your parents.

You have the right to ask questions too. In fact, you should: It's your body.

These questions can help you start conversations about common health problems and concerns. You may want to jot down a list and bring it to your doctor's appointment. You don't have to ask all of the questions — or even any of them — but you can use them as a guide.

Questions for establishing open communication with your doctor: Will you keep any information I give you confidential?

If I need to, can I see you without my parents knowing about the visit?

Questions about an illness or symptom: What's wrong with me?

Can you draw me a picture or show me what's wrong?

What causes this type of problem?

Is this serious?

Will there be any long-term effects of this problem?

Can I give this illness to someone else, and if so, how and for how long?

Are there any activities or foods I should avoid until I'm better?

When can I return to school or work?

How can I prevent this from happening again? *Names have been changed to protect persons’ privacy. (kidshealth.org)

NEWS

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WEDNesday, november 13, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Rising debt-to-GDP ratio a matter Region 6 fuel shortage of concern – financial analyst Rice farmers waiting …data shows debt-to-foreign assets ratio doubled from 2009 to commence crop

G

uyana’s debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio has been increasing under the current Administration and according to a financial analyst, Guyana’s rising debt should be cause for concern, when oil money may have to be diverted away from the people to paper the cracks.

In an interview with this publication, analyst and Chartered Accountant Sase Singh noted that the projected increase of debt to 55.5 per cent of GDP, despite years of warnings from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to settle this figure, does not bode well for the future.

A recent report from the IMF had identified Guyana as a country with one of the highest debt-to-GDP ratios in the hemisphere. Singh noted that with debt being added from Bank of Guyana overdrafts to National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) bonds, it’s not surprising.

“It’s an abnormal increase.

It is a problem. What we know is, there has been a rapid increase in our debt over the last few years. And I can name two portions of debt that are really concerning. One is the almost US$300 million in overdrafts at the Bank of Guyana,” Singh told this publication.

The IMF, he added, “had recommended that we urgently settle this. And it’s now 2019 and we haven’t settled it. There is also a public debt of US$145 million for the loan issued to NICIL to restructure Guyana Sugar Corporation

Financial analyst Joel Baghwandin

(GuySuCo).

So between the two of them alone, over US$400 million has been bolted to our debt.”

Singh noted that it will take a lot of oil money to fill these gaps left by debt. This money, he pointed out, already has to compete with Guyana’s infrastructural and social needs and to use it for settling debt can leave little for the people.

“When the oil funds come, it has to go towards paying some of these hefty debts. It has to go towards restructuring some of the underperforming sectors in the economy. It has to go towards bolstering the public infrastructure deficit in the country.”

“So while they’re counting on this oil money for so many things, [little] will be left for the people. Because so much clean-up operations have to be done upon the assumption of office of the new Government, whoever is the new Government. The next two years will basically deny Guyana the policy space it deserves to think expansion.”

By comparing what a coun-

try owes with what it produces, the debt-to-GDP ratio indicates its ability to pay back its debts. A high debt-to-GDP ratio may make it more difficult for a country to pay external debts, and may lead creditors to seek higher interest rates when lending.

The higher the debt-toGDP ratio, the less likely the country will pay back its debt and the higher its risk of default. A specific debt-to-GDP ratio demonstrates an ideal position has not been agreed to, but instead, it is typically focused on the sustainability of certain debt levels.

Previous Administration v Govt

In Guyana’s case, while debt-to-GDP has seen slight increases over the years, this number continues to grow, and local economists have warned that Guyana’s increased debt could complicate things.

According to calculations from financial analyst Joel Baghwandin, the external debt to net foreign asset ratio has doubled from 2009 to now. External debt increased from US$933 million in 2009 to US$1.3 billion in 2018.

Foreign assets, meanwhile, went from US$751 million in 2013 to US$528 million in 2018. Data indicates that when the ratio between these two indicators is calculated, it increased from 163 per cent in 2009 to 247 per cent in 2018.

The recent IMF report shows that compared with most countries in the hemisphere, Guyana’s external debt compared to foreign re-

...cash crop farmers watch crops die

Financial analyst Sase Singh

serves is among the highest. The IMF report in question is the Regional Economic Outlook of 2019 for the Western Hemisphere.

While the report notes that Guyana’s economy will grow when first oil arrives, the country currently does not compare well with others in terms of external debt and its reserves.

Guyana, according to the report, is expected to record a public sector gross debt-toGDP percentage of 55.5 per cent for the year 2019, although the IMF estimates that this will subsequently be reduced to 24.6 per cent.

Out of 22 countries examined by the IMF, it found that Guyana had the second-highest external financing requirements for public and private.

And when compared with Guyana, 17 other countries have more foreign reserves than they do debt.

B

oth rice and cash crop farmers are affected by the current drought in Black Bush Polder, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

Over the weekend, Regional Chairman David Armogan revealed that the regional administration had run out of funds to purchase fuel for the pumps to take water from the Canje River to the farmlands.

He explained that only two of the five pumps were being utilised and the available fuel was likely to last for about 12 more days.

However, rice farmers told this publication that they are in need of water to go into the rice crop and cash crop farmers are watching new plants die.

According to the rice farmers, they need to flood their fields before paddy can be applied to the land. Only a few farmers in the Mibicuri area have since been able to flood their fields, while the majority are sitting, waiting on wa-

ter.

According to some rice farmers, if the water becomes available too late, they will not be able to go into the crop. They say time is running out and they do not want to have to go into the crop in December or they will be forced to harvest during the rainy period.

The Regional Chairman had told this publication that the Government had cut the regional fuel budget by more than $6 million.

Some rice farmers who have been renting land say even if they do not go into the crop, they will still have to pay the rental $20,000 per acre.

On Wednesday, hundreds of acres of land in the Black Bush Polder and the 52-74 areas on the Corentyne coast remained just tilled.

“We can't do anything else. We just have to wait on water,” one farmer told this publication. continued on page 13

8 NEWS

WEDNesday, november 13, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Stabbing in Region 7 lands man in jail

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n Essequibo Coast, Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) resident was hauled before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Tuesday to answer to a wounding charge.

Vivian Christian appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan and denied the charge which stated that on November 7, 2019, at

Stone Hill Backdam, Cuyuni River, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), he unlawfully and maliciously inflicted grievous bodily harm to Rajesh Lall.

According to the prosecution’s case, on November 7, the men had a misunderstanding, which resulted in the 21-year-old arming himself with a beer bottle.

The court heard that

Christian broke the bottle and stabbed the victim several times to his face and throat, which caused him to collapse.

The injured man was picked up and rushed to a medical facility in the area but due to the extent of his injuries, he was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

The prosecutor object-

ed to bail on the grounds of the serious nature of the allegation and the penalty the charge attracts. He further highlighted that the victim is still hospitalised. The Magistrate upheld the prosecution’s submissions and Christian was remanded to prison. The case will continue on November 21 at the Bartica Magistrate’s Court.

Welder to face Judge, jury for shooting vendor

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n Albouystown, Georgetown welder was on Tuesday committed to stand trial in the High Court after a prima facie case was made out against him on a charge of attempted murder at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Naresh Samaroo is accused of attempting to murder Shane Cooper, a dog food vendor, at Stevedore Street, North Ruimveldt, Georgetown in September

2018.

The Preliminary Inquiry was conducted by Magistrate Sherdel IsaacsMarcus, who on Tuesday said that after consideration of the prosecution’s evidence, the court is of the opinion that a case had been made out against the 21-year-old welder.

Cooper, of Bamboo Drive, Meadow Brook Squatting Area, Georgetown, was shot to his abdomen and left

leg during the course of a robbery. Reports are the 26-year-old man was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital after he was shot on Aubrey Barker Road, Georgetown.

Reports at the time were that about 20:40h at Aubrey Barker Road and Stevedore Street, North Ruimveldt, Cooper was selling dog food when Samaroo allegedly robbed him and shot him in the process.

Naresh Samaroo

Minding… …PNC’s business

Trade unions were formed to agitate for workers’ rights at the turn of the century in Europe, responding to the socialist “exploitation” critique of capitalism – especially by Karl Marx. They were a safety valve to stave off the explosion – such as what had taken place in Russia in 1917. Our first trade union was formed just 2 years later by Critchlow and by and large, slowly achieved incremental improvements for their charges.

Since 1979, however, there’s been a kickback by free-market-oriented governments— led by Reagan in the US and Thatcher in the UK – and trade unions started to lose their influence. Now you’d think that trade unionists would be spending their time pressuring the powers-that-be to take care of workers’ travails, wouldn’t you?? After all, they’re paid by those poor slobs. Take this fella, Lincoln Lewis, who’s the General Secretary of one of the two umbrella trade union bodies in Guyana.

In the neo-liberal dispensation that was imposed here, under Lewis’ watch, trade unions were severely decimated. And he did take up cudgels on behalf of some groups of workers – especially against the PPP government – whether they were directly involved or not. Like when the GPSU struck in 1999, or the workers at Rusal during the last five years, or for bauxite workers at Linden and their pension fund. In the latter instance, he accused the PPP of committing ‘economic genocide’ against – not workers – but African Guyanese!!

The trade unionist Lewis had transmuted a “workers’” struggle into a “racial” struggle. It’s not coincidental that all the unions he’d agitated for were all dominated by African Guyanese. But a strange thing happened to Lewis after the PNC took office in 2015. While, to his credit, he criticised the PNC-led government for their callousness for firing 7000 sugar workers — and even pointed out the POLITICAL implications — he’s studiously avoided labelling the firings as ECONOMIC GENOCIDE!!

But yet, from his OWN statements about the PPP and bauxite workers, a far stronger case can be made for so describing the tragedy in the sugar belt. After all, these mostly-Indian workers had absolutely no alternative employment prospects. Isn’t “genocide” for the (Indian-Guyanese) goose the same as “genocide” for (African-Guyanese) gander? But of recent, in the wake of the NCM, his behaviour has become even weirder.

Suddenly, he’s forgotten trade union concerns, even in African-dominated areas – such as the GPSU’s complaint against the PNC Govt for ignoring their salary increase demand.

All his energies are geared to attacking the PPP’ refusal to legitimise to the PNC’s illegal squatting on their office by returning to Parliament.

You’d think he was on their payroll, wouldn’t you??

…a battered reputation

But it’s possible that Lewis might’ve been preoccupied from carrying out his trade union duties, ‘because evidently, he wasn’t just completing MEDICAL studies, but also SPECIALISING in Psychiatry!! Responding to one columnist who’d questioned his stance on the PNC’s obduracy on the NCM – in addition to insisting that the PPP was equally to blame for the present mess, he’d also insisted 33 wasn’t a majority of 65! – Lewis opined categorically: “I’ve always had the inclination to believe he was sick. The content of the instant letter leaves no shadow of a doubt that he is indeed sick; a very sick man. It is obvious that the previous exchange between him and me has left him emotionally battered and psychologically bruised”! And how did he arrive at this diagnosis?? He described the clinical symptoms he detected: “So he (the columnist) comes out in a frenzied flaying of hands, screaming and frothing at the mouth, throwing abuse left, right and centre, thinking he will take his opponent by surprise. But, once again, he enters the ring recklessly”.

Dr Lincoln Lewis?? Later for trade union business!!

…the leftist rout

Another leftist government that supported Maduro bites the dust in South America!! Columbia and Brazil have now been joined by Bolivia after Evo Morales stepped down after massive protests.

A hint to Beneba…

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

news

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WEDNesday, november 13, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Cop, 2 others nabbed $31.4M water ambulance after daring gold heist yet to service Baracara 3 months later

A

Policeman along with two other persons have been arrested for their involvement in a daring robbery where a large quantity of raw gold was stolen at the Matthews Ridge Airstrip, Region One (Barima-Waini).

Reports are that at about 13:30h on Monday, four masked men brandishing handguns pounced on three males at the airstrip and robbed them of a quantity of gold.

Police said that on Tuesday about 09:20h, at the Arakaka village, North West District (NWD), ranks intercepted a vehicle in which two of the suspects were travelling. A search was conducted on the vehicle and several containers of fuel and a quantity of raw gold, believed to be part of Monday’s heist, were found.

According to Police, one of the two suspects is a businessman, while the other is said to have been the mas-

…purchased with defective engine control module

T

The gold which Police found in the suspects’ possession

termind in the daring daylight gold heist.

According to the Police, during interrogation, the two suspects took Police to a location where a number of arms and ammunition, along with other items, were found.

These include two 9mm handguns with magazines, an AK47 Assault Rifle with a magazine, a quanti-

ty of ammunition, a Global Positioning System (GPS) and a camouflage jacket.

A further probe led to the arrest of the Policeman who was implicated in the crime.

He, along with the other two suspects, are currently in Police custody while investigators are on the hunt for the fourth suspect, who, during the robbery, had a rifle.

The guns and ammunition which were unearthed following the robbery

he community of Baracara, East Canje, is yet to benefit from a $31.4 million water ambulance, which was commissioned in August, since it cannot function due to a defective engine control module or computer box which was delivered during purchasing.

The water ambulance was commissioned by Public Health Minister, Volda Lawrence and regional officials have dubbed the project as a “disaster” since it is seen as “another white elephant”.

Guyana Times was informed that during a Regional Democratic Council statutory meeting in October, Regional Health Director Jevaughn Stephens confirmed that the water ambulance is indeed faulty since an engine control module is needed for the engine.

However, it has been three months and residents of Baracara are still awaiting the services that were promised. Questions were raised as to why millions of taxpayers’ money was spent on a faulty project or if it was a corrupted transaction.

“Unfortunately, after three months the people of Baracara is still awaiting the services of the water ambulance, this confirmed the

The water ambulance that was commissioned in August

Government’s incompetence mismanagement and their inability to spend taxpayer’s monies efficiently. The questions is, was there any corruption in this transaction? Why a new water ambulance has a defective computer box?” the official stated.

Baracara is located some 45 miles up the Canje Creek from the township of New Amsterdam, a location where timely medical services are crucial.

In the 2019 budget, the Public Health Ministry was allocated some 11.9 per cent of the $300.7 billion, which amounts to $35.9 billion.

According to the Minister, $524.6 million was budgeted under the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

Nevertheless, health centres and regional hospitals are still suffering from the endem-

ic shortages of medicines and medical supplies, as well as the poor warehousing of medicines.

Former Health Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy had told Guyana Times that these occurrences were as a result of poor management in the public health sector. Dr Ramsammy added that many of the successful initiatives that the former Administration had put in place were quashed when the new administration took Government.

Last August, the Minister claimed that drugs are oftentimes available at the various storage facilities in the respective regions, however, it is the responsibility of the public health sector workers to ensure the supplies are requested before they are depleted.

10 NEWS

WEDNesday, november 13, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Baby dies after falling Former UN envoy appointed new UG Chancellor out of hammock …institution’s first envoy extraordinaire selected

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two-day-old baby is now dead after falling from a hammock in which his mother was rocking him to sleep.

Dead is Lance Douglas of Murabisi Creek, Mouth Island, Issano, Middle Mazaruni River, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

Reports are that on Saturday at about 05:30h, the baby’s mother, 29-yearold Vinese Sutton, gave birth to her bouncing baby boy at their Issano home.

The following day

(Sunday) about 17:00h, she tied a hammock inside of their house, placed her oneday-old son inside, and began rocking the hammock in an attempt to put the baby to sleep.

While she was in the process, one of the ropes attached to the ceiling became loose and this resulted in the child falling from the hammock and onto the ground. This newspaper was told that the new mother did not take her baby to obtain medical attention since

the child appeared uninjured. However, on Monday at about 05:00h, Sutton once again placed her baby inside of the hammock and was attending to him when he suddenly became motionless.

This prompted her to notify her relatives and they rushed the infant to a health facility for medical attention. A community health worker, who is stationed at the Issano Health Post pronounced the child dead on arrival.

According to medical practitioners, the baby boy’s body was examined and it was observed that there was discolouration to his shoulder and his back. The infant’s body is expected to be transported from the Issano Health Post to the Bartica Regional Hospital soon where the post-mortem examination (PME) will be conducted.

Meanwhile, the police have since launched an investigation.

F

ollowing the end of Chancellor Nigel Harris’ tenure at the University of Guyana (UG) in 2018, the institution on Tuesday announced Professor Edward Greene as its new Chancellor, along with British parliamentarian David Lammy as the University’s First Envoy Extraordinaire.

This decision was made at the University’s Council meeting on Saturday, ending the year-long search for a replacement.

Professor Greene, a former United Nations (UN) Special Envoy and Caricom Deputy Secretary General was born in Guyana and attended Queen’s College, and is currently CEO, Global Frontier Development and Advisory Services (GOFAD), a Think Tank.

Additionally, he is a former UN Secretary General Special Envoy for HIV in the Caribbean 2012-2017, and

Chancellor (Elect), Professor John Edward Greene

Envoy Extraordinaire Lammy

David

was previously an Assistant Secretary General for Human and Social Development at the Caribbean Community Secretariat (2000-2010), and Senior Adviser for Public Policy, Health and Human Development at the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO).

Professor’s Greene distinguished academic career at the University of the West Indies (UWI) included: service as Pro Vice Chancellor, Development and Alumni Relations; University Director, Institute of Social and Economic Relations (ISER); Interim Director, Consortium Graduate School for the Social Sciences in the Caribbean (1984-1986); and appointments to the rank of Professor (1988), and Inaugural Professorial Fellow, ISER (1994).

Further, the newest professor is the recipient of numerous awards, including national honours such as the Golden Arrow of Achievement from Guyana and the second-highest honour, the Yellow Star from Suriname. He also received the prestigious PAHO/WHO Award for Administration in Public Health (2011); the Sir Phillip Sherlock Award from the University of the West Indies and University of Technology, Jamaica, for outstanding contribution to Health and Development (2012); the Institute of Caribbean Studies, Caribbean American Heritage Award for Public Service (2016); and the Honorary Doctor of Laws from UWI for outstanding academic and public service (2017).

He is the author of 10 books and over 60 articles in refereed journals, he holds a BSc in Economics (University of London), MSc in Political Economy (Mc

Master University), and a PhD (University of British Columbia) and held visiting professorships at UCLA, University of Havana, and University of British Columbia.

The professor emeritus at the UWI is expected to be installed at a simple ceremony during this year’s Convocation exercise on Saturday, November 16, 2019.

Meanwhile, David Lammy is the University’s First Envoy Extraordinaire.

He was born to Guyanese parents and began serving in the British Parliament in 2000.

Lammy has served as Parliamentary UnderSecretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills and later as Minister of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills. He had continuously maintained active interests in Guyana.

Vice Chancellor controversy

Just in June of this year, former Vice Chancellor Professor Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith’s term ended amid much controversy, which saw the University’s Senior Staff Association (UGSSA) and the University of Guyana’s Workers Union (UGWU) accusing him of mismanaging the institution’s finances.

UG’s administration was accused of wanton spending including hosting several events and standing the expenses of meals and accommodation for guest speakers as well as hiring select individuals and paying them super salaries, and sending large delegations overseas, all on the University’s bill, however, the former Vice Chancellor, Professor Griffith, had denied all allegations.

Professor Griffith opted not to have his contract renewed.

NEws

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WEDNesday, november 13, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Decision to be made on H2H data next week – GECOM Chair …Opposition-nominated Commissioner maintains data unreliable

Q

uestions about how to use the controversial House-to-House (H2H) data, something that has divided the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) for weeks, will finally be settled when the Commission meets again next week.

This was revealed by GECOM Chair Retired Justice Claudette Singh in a brief interaction with the media as she left the Commission’s office on Tuesday. She explained that by next week’s meeting, cross-matching would be complete.

Unreliable data

Meanwhile, Oppositionnominated Commissioner Sase Gunraj explained that they are now getting proposals regarding the committal of the House-toHouse Registration data.

This, he said, is now being examined. For one, Gunraj noted that the Secretariat has proposed committing the House-to-House data to the National Register of Registrants (NRR).

He reiterated his opposition to doing this, noting that while the Secretariat has pointed to the information being posted for public scrutiny, in reality, no clear order was ever made by GECOM to inform the public about what they had to do with the information. He also noted that to his knowledge, no objections were made to the data.

Gunraj also condemned GECOM’s decision to place

Opposition-nominated Commissioner Sase Gunraj

persons on a separate list for special treatment come election day if they don’t collect their ID cards. Gunraj recalled that in the past, presiding officers using discretion has prohibited persons from voting.

“We have had instances where people were given tendered ballots, all kind of nonsense happening on election day, and it’s all chalked up to nervousness, mistake. But if there’s a deliberate ploy come Election Day to disenfranchise those persons, what recourse will be available to them after Election Day when their franchise would have been snatched away?”

“I have a client who has made contact with me, who is a person of public notoriety in Guyana. They have given a series of reasons for why they were prevented from collecting their ID card in the past. And a lot of it has to do with difficulties they encountered in their interactions with GECOM

itself. That person is out of Guyana, as a student and is unable to respond to the notice or collect their ID card”.

M e a n w h i l e , Government-nominated Commissioner Vincent Alexander revealed that GECOM is grappling with issues concerning vacancies for key staff. It is understood that these posts include a Logistics Manager, Assistant Chief Elections Officer and a Research Officer. In addition, GECOM needs someone with responsibility for civic and voter education.

“We still have a problem with the vacancies and the way in which those vacancies are affecting the work of the Secretariat,” Alexander explained to the media. It was proposed that temporary persons be hired for the jobs.

H2H

When H2H started this year, it was without the input of the Opposition. In fact, the only party that scrutinised the enumerators during the exercise was the ruling party, as the PPP was not even invited to participate.

This, together with the surreptitious nature in which the exercise started under the backdated order of the former Chairman James Patterson, and the fact that many people boycotted the exercise, has fuelled suspicion about GECOM’s insistence on using the data.

A decision was taken by GECOM days ago to post

GECOM Chair Retired Justice Claudette Singh

the House-to-House data at its registration office for persons to inspect and then use as a reference to make changes to the PLE. At the time, the Opposition was opposed to this decision since

the H2H data would be inaccurate.

The PPP subsequently complained in a statement to the media a few weeks ago that after checks on the H2H list posted by GECOM, it was found that the list is littered with mistakes and duplicate names.

According to the party, the fact that the registrants’ list contains many errors, confirms the suspicions that the PPP and its Commissioners have been expressing from the start.

The Party noted that it made checks and did its own investigations and made some startling discoveries.

“There are thousands of names duplicated on the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE) and thousands of per-

sons who are under the voting age of 18. Our investigations would have found too, that dozens of persons listed as New Registrants cannot be found at the addresses listed and this is a serious cause for concern – fuelling the worry that there are many non-existent persons on the list published by GECOM”.

The Party further added that the House-to-House registrants’ list is not a supplementary list to the PLE and cannot be used during a Claims and Objections exercise. “There is no provision in the laws of Guyana to authorise the publication of a duplicate list that does not originate from the National Register of Registrants Database”.

However, at about 19:30h, Narine reportedly told his friends that he was leaving to return to his home, and walked out of the bar while his drinking buddies remained.

According to Police Commander of Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara), Assistant Police Commissioner, Simon McBean, investigators were told by eyewitnesses that Narine was walking alone from the bar until he approached the second “fine bridge” in the area.

He was in the process of crossing this bridge but lost his footing and fell overboard.

Commander McBean stated that public-spirited persons ran to the area and jumped into the canal that Narine had fallen into in an attempt to save his life.

However, when they reached Narine’s body in the water, he was unresponsive.

They pulled him out and managed to rush him to a nearby medical facility. He was pronounced dead on arrival.

Fisherman drowns in canal after drinking spree

T

he family of a La Grange, West Bank Demerara (WBD) fisherman is in mourning after learning that he died by drowning in a canal on Sunday night while he was en route home.

Dead is 31-year-old Andy Narine. Reports are that on Sunday afternoon, Narine had visited a bar in Bagotville, WBD, to “hang out” with friends. The group commenced consuming alcoholic beverages and the drinking spree lasted for a few hours.

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WEDNesday, november 13, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

news

13

WEDNesday, november 13, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

CH&PA warns of Rice farmers waiting to... housing scams

T

he Central Housing and Planning Authority is once again advising members of the public that it is the only Government department authorised to allocate housing units and house lots.

“We are therefore asking members of the public to be cautious of con artists attempting to rob them of their hard-earned monies,” the CH&PA said in a statement.

Over the weekend it was brought to the attention of the agency that persons purporting to be working on behalf of the department have been calling unsuspecting citizens about an arrangement between the CH&PA and First Lady Sandra Granger.

The “arrangement” would see persons receiving a housing unit or a house lot if an agreed-upon sum of money is paid.

The CH&PA explained that there is no such arrangement between the department and the First Lady.

Additionally, the agency said it does not have any such arrangements with any agency or individual.

“As such we are asking persons who receive such calls to please contact the Guyana Police Force to report the same.”

All payments for residential (house lot/housing units), residential/commercial, commercial and/or industrial must be paid to the Authority.

Meanwhile, some farmers were seen pumping water onto the rice field on Tuesday.

“The water coming so slow, you have to turn on the pump, turn it off again every few minutes. We wasting fuel,” one of the farmers indicated.

Cash crop farmers, on the other hand, have been abandoning their farms; plants are dying.

Some of the canals in the area have what seems to be adequate water but residents say it is salty as a result of seepage from the sluices. They are now filled with salt water which cannot be used for farming. Chairman of the Black Bush Polder Neighbourhood Democratic Council, Yubraj Matadeen, was reluctant to give an overview of the situation sighting being fearful of victimisation.

The villages on the Corentyne between Numbers 52 and 74 depend on Black Push Polder for water. It will not reach to those villages until all the Polders have sufficient water.

Armogan had also announced that rice farmers face an additional problem: two of the canals being blocked.

However, on Tuesday, he told this publication that the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) started to clear one of the canals, while the regional administration was doing the same with the YS canal.

Meanwhile, the farmers on the Corentyne coast are dependent on the Seaforth Canal to be cleared, which the NDIA has also undertaken. However, Chairman of the 52-74 Water Users Association, Nissim Rajab, told Guyana Times that after two days of work, they were only able to clear one village.

“At this rate, how long will it take one excavator to clear the entire area? If December reaches farmers will not be able to go into the crop,” he said. Some 14,500 acres are under rice cultivation in the 52-74 area.

According to Rajab, the Seaforth Canal should be cleared on a monthly basis.

He noted that the NDIA had hired a contractor to do month-

from page 7

ly maintenance. However, over the last six months, nothing was done.

Rajab noted that at the Board’s quarterly meeting held on October 21, he brought the issue to the attention of the NDIA Board.

“I made a request that we wanted to start the pump by December 1 but the Canal was not cleared and until it is it would be unwise to start the pump”.

Following an inspection of the Seaforth Canal, the contractor was given a 7-day notice and then the contract was terminated.

The NDIA took a machine to clear the canal on Friday and work commenced on Monday.

“After two full day's work, we have about 150 rods, which is about the length of one village”.

Work commenced at Number 65 Village and should go to Number 52 Village, then from Number 65 Village to Number 74 Village.

“By the time this one machine is finished, it will be too late to supply water to go into the crop. There is another problem. We do not have a generator at the Manibisy Pump Station. If we get water until after Christmas, we will end up in a mess; we will end up in the rainy season to reap,” Rajab explained.

The Water Users Association has 20 gallons of fuel to use at the Manibisy Pump station.

However, with no word coming from the regional administration as to whether funds will be made available for fuel to utilise all five pumps, Black Bush Polder farmers were advised to wait.

Rajab said he wants the Regional Chairman or the CEO of NDIA to speak directly to the farmers before they go and invest in the crop.

“They should tell them what the situation is, so let's call off the crop”. (Andrew Carmichael)

14 news offers new courses Banks DIH honours 17 Carnegie to cater for new oil sector long-standing employees C WEDNesday, november 13, 2019| guyanatimesgy.com

Banks DIH Chairman/Managing Director, Clifford Reis and other Directors share a photo moment with the newest members of the “20-Year Club”

S

eventeen employees attached to beverage giant Banks DIH Limited were on Friday honoured for their long service to the company at its annual “20-Year Club” luncheon.

During the event held at Thirst Park, Banks DIH Chairman/Managing Director Clifford Reis presented gold insignia to the honourees in recognition of their 20 years of distinguished service.

Meanwhile, in delivering the feature address, Finance Controller/Assistant

Company Secretary Deonarain Seepaul said that 268 employees are currently members of the “20Year Club”, which is a significant achievement, and encouraged the new inductees to continue to serve with distinction and strive for excellence.

Also, in attendance at the ceremony were Directors Michael Pereira, Andrew Carto, and Shabir Hussein.

The employees honoured were: Thakurdeen Deodat (Accounts); David Carto (Materials Handling);

Garfield Southwell (Security); Alester Cameron (General Workshop); Lakerani Sukram (Special Events); Allan Whyte (Timehri Duty-Free Shop); Dawn James and Aubrey Charles (OMG); Marlyn McPherson (Idiho); James Barry (Berbice Branch); Sandra Roberts and Royfield Henry (Trisco/ Bread Sales); Lee Baptiste (Sales Administration); Amande Murray (Bartica Branch); Wonette Sandy and Karen Daniels (Bakery) and Leona Jacobs (Krystal Dry Cleaners).

arnegie School of Home Economics (CSHE) on Tuesday launched three new programmes to its curriculum. These are Care for the Elderly, Childcare Management, and Housekeeping. The new programmes are intended to provide quality services in Guyana and will be offered as fulltime and evening programmes to new students at the School of Home Economics.

Representative of the Tourism Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG), Mitra Ramkumar, in his remarks, related that housekeeping is highly underestimated. He explained that the housekeeping career has great potential for allowing tourists to revisit our country.

“As we emerge as an oil and gas economy, tourism is going to employ the vulnerable in our society…if we are to look at the value of a housekeeper in the hotel sector, we have a number

Carnegie School of Home Economics

of repeat guests that come to boutique hotels and lodges.

If you ask what is the reason for repeating, it is because of housekeeping and the way they were treated”, he said.

In contrast, he added that the housekeeping duty is of tremendous value and it should not be seen as a job that is less important than any other job. As a matter of fact, he lured that he sees this job as one of the most important jobs in the sector.

“We have said we want our frontline people trained, and the housekeeper is one of those people….it is more important than the jobs be-

hind the scenes,” he explained.

Council of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Director Floyd Scott explained that there is a lack of skills in the programme areas CSHE is offering, and if the country is not fully prepared to provide quality services to tourists, we will not benefit.

Meanwhile, students of the newly-added programmes at CSHE were advised to take full advantage of the programmes offered since they are expected to benefit tremendously as Guyana develops.

a verdict after almost two hours of deliberations.

Mohan is accused of engaging in sexual activity with a 13-year-old girl between November 1 and November 30, 2015, in the county of Demerara, while holding her at knife-point.

The accused was on trial before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall, who during

Tuesday’s proceedings stated that Mohan would have a retrial at the next practical sitting of the Demerara Assizes and would until then remain on bail.

The accused was represented by Attorney-atLaw Satesh Kissoon while the State’s case was presented by Prosecutor Tariq Mohammed.

Trial of accused in 2015 rape case ends in hung jury

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ixty-two-year-old Pritipaul Mohan, also known as Neville, of Kitty, Georgetown, is expected to face another trial at the Demerara High Court after his 2015 rape trial ended in a hung jury on Tuesday.

The mixed 12-member jury in the Sexual Offences Court was unable to present

news

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wednesday, november 13, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Ramsammy’s Ruminations Shocking: Jordan confirms APNU/AFC wants to fire 15,000 public servants

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inston Jordan, Guyana’s worst Finance Minister ever, this week confirmed that, in addition to the 7000 sugar workers who were fired between 2016 and 2018, APNU/AFC wants to fire an additional 15,000 persons from the public service, GPL and GuySuCo. Jordan argued that the combined public service, GPL and GuySuCo have far too many employees and that APNU/AFC will fire 15,000 persons. He was quick to assure that APNU/AFC will be “generous” by not firing 15,000 immediately, but will phase the terminations over a period of time. This is one of the very many reasons why people must ensure APNU/AFC does not have a Dr Leslie Ramsammy chance to implement this wicked plan.

With elections coming up and as public outrage erupts, expect to hear Jordan and his colleagues, including David Granger, deny such a plan exists. But it is déjà vu. It was the same scenario before the 2015 elections. Several months before the 2015 elections, PNC mouthpieces began spouting nonsense that GuySuCo must be closed, preaching the END of SUGAR in Guyana.

Recall, the agriculture spokesman for the PNC at the time, Anthony Viera, at an APNU media conference, chaired by Joe Harmon, called for the closure of GuySuCo and for the sugar fields to be converted to aquaculture for tilapia. Stanley Ming, soon after, repeated the threat. Asked by the media about this before a parliamentary sitting in 2014, Khemraj Ramjattan agreed.

However, with the May 2015 elections approaching at the time, and the outrage among sugar workers and people in the sugar belt, the leaders of APNU and AFC, led by David Granger himself, changed their tune. They denied closure of estates was part of their plan for government. Granger went around Berbice, on public platforms, and promised none of the sugar estates would be closed and none of the sugar workers will lose their jobs, because SUGAR was too big to fail. In fact, he promised sugar workers an annual 20% increase in wages. But the chief spokespersons for the “no estate closure and 20% increase for sugar workers” in that 2015 elections campaign were Moses Nagamootoo and Khemraj Ramjattan. They became APNU/AFC foot soldiers to make empty promises to sugar workers, essentially telling them the PPP was spreading a lie and was fear-mongering.

Some sugar workers and their families, unfortunately, fell for the empty promises of APNU/AFC. Soon after the 2015 elections, the real plan became apparent. In spite of the recommendation that no estate be closed, a recommendation made by the $70M CoI commissioned by Granger, APNU/AFC rapidly moved to close four sugar estates. In the process, 7000 sugar workers lost their jobs. Furthermore, the rest of the 10,000 sugar workers have had to endure a wage freeze since the end of 2014, being told they should be grateful they still have a job.

Public servants, GPL and GuySuCo workers must learn from this most recent experience. Just as they did with sugar workers before, they are now doing with public servants, GPL employees and the remaining GuySuCo workers. Indeed, I have cautioned that their plan, if they remain in government, is to immediately close another sugar estate. Uitvlugt is now on the chopping board and soon after the upcoming March 2020 elections, if APNU/AFC is re-elected, they will move to close this estate. Some of the 15,000 people they intend to fire if they remain in government, will come from this estate.

But some will also come from GPL. The public service will be the main target. Can Jordan and any of his colleagues tell us if there are too many teachers, too many police officers, too many doctors and nurses? Can they tell us if there are too many workers at the various ministries? The truth is that this will be their wicked plan to remove all persons they think might not be politically aligned with them. It is a clear, present and sinister threat— nothing less.

Jordan argues that the “bloated” public service, GuySuCo and GPL is the reason why they had to increase more than 200 taxes. He argued this is the reason why salaries cannot be increased more rapidly in Guyana, because there are too many of us working. This is the stupidest excuse so far for them not keeping their promise to increase salaries by significant amounts each year in their term of government.

They did make that promise in 2015. They gave themselves hefty increases but have been miserly with the public servants. As elections 2020 approach, they need to find an excuse. But their excuse could not be more stupid.

With the elections campaign rolling out, I fully expect them to deny there is any plan to fire public servants. They will come with sugar in their words and promise “milk and honey” to all public servants. But the plan is real. Mouth open, story jump out, Jordan exposed the nasty plan. No amount of denial and promises must prevent us from being vigilant and stop them from this dastardly plan.

Rice farmers-MMA/ADA dispute

Farmers fearful of Chairman’s bias, conflict of interest – Nandlall

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hairman of the Rice Assessment Committee (RAC) of Region Five (MahaicaBerbice), Omadat Chandan, on Tuesday, overruled the legal submissions which were filed on behalf of rice farmers, questioning his appointment and the fact that the said Committee was not properly constituted.

The documents were filed by Attorney-at-Law Anil Nandlall, who moved to challenge that the Chairman was not properly appointed and not qualified to chair the Committee and that he also suffers from institutional bias.

Nandlall on Tuesday said that facts solidifying

and Irrigation Authority (NDIA)— an agency that falls within the purview of the Agriculture Ministry— and so does the Mahaica Mahaicony AbaryDevelopment Authority (MMA-DA)— the agency that sued the farmers.

“Until recently, this Chairman operated out of an office located in the Ministry of Agriculture Head Office, where the Minister’s office is also located.

Further, the Chairman drives a motor vehicle that bears the emblem “Ministry of Agriculture”.

On his Facebook page, it is stated that he is an ‘Employee of the Ministry of Agriculture’,” Nandlall

added.

“So, the Minister of Agriculture appoints either an employee or an associate of his Ministry, who holds a position in an agency within his Ministry to preside over legal proceedings filed by another agency within the same Ministry. Yet, the Chairman feels that he is not afflicted with bias,” the Attorney-at-Law further explained.

After overruling the submissions, Nandlall said that he requested the Chairman to adjourn the proceedings on the basis that the decision would be challenged in the High Court but this was denied.

Last month, some 50

Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) farmers with Attorney-at-Law Anil Nandlall

the improper Constitution of the RAC reflected from the fact that Chandan was appointed on June 27, 2018, a time when there was no Judicial Service Commission (JSC). The last JSC had expired nearly one year before on September 12, 2017.

The Rice Security of Tenure Act provides that the Chairman, once not a Magistrate, must be appointed by the Agriculture Minister upon the advice of the JSC and must possess such qualifications prescribed by the Minister and approved by the JSC. However, in overruling the submissions, Nandlall said that the Chairman has produced no evidence of any interaction between the Minister and the JSC but claims he was properly appointed.

The submissions by Nandlall stated that since the Committee was not established in accordance with the provisions of Section 8 of the Rice Farmers (Security of Tenure) Act, Chapter 69:02, it is unlawful, illegal and has no jurisdiction to hear and determine any application made under the said Act. He added that in addition, Chandan is the corporate secretary of the National Drainage

Chairman of RAC, Omadat Chandan

rice farmers appeared before the Region’s RAC sitting at the Mahaicony Magistrate’s Court to answer claims filed against them by MMA-ADA totalling millions of dollars.

These charge increases were levied in 2017 and purported raised land rent from $1000 to $7000 and $2500 to $8000 for drainage and irrigation, per acre, annually.

At the hearing, Nandlall appeared on behalf of the farmers, along with Attorney-at-Law Javed K Shadick. During the hearing, Nandlall presented preliminary legal submissions, which entailed that the Committee, by virtue of its composition, is illegal and unconstitutional and therefore, has no jurisdiction to hear and determine any of the applications before it. As such, the matters were adjourned to November 12 for a ruling.

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guyanatimesgy.com

wednesday, november 13, 2019

Regional

Bolivia seeks new leader as Churches call for conciliation Evo Morales reaches Mexico as protests continue in Haiti

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olivia's former President Evo Morales has landed in Mexico after being granted asylum following his sudden resignation over the weekend.

Morales's departure came as security forces back home quelled violence over the long-serving left-wing leader's resignation and opponents sought an interim replacement to fill the power vacuum left behind.

Morales, who quit after weeks of protests over a disputed October election, flew in a Mexican Air Force plane from the town of Chimore, a stronghold where Bolivia's first Indigenous President retreated as his 14-year rule imploded.

Upon arrival on Tuesday, he promised to stay in politics, saying "the struggle continues".

Opposition politicians wanted to formally accept Morales's resignation and start planning for a temporary leader ahead of a new

T

Former Bolivian President Evo Morales waves upon landing in Mexico City, where he was granted exile after his resignation [Photo by: Pedro Pardo/AFP]

vote. But their plans looked at risk as Morales's Movement for Socialism (MAS) said it would boycott the meeting.

Residents of the highland capital La Paz, rocked by protests and looting since the October 20 vote, said they hoped politicians would succeed in finally restoring order.

"Democracy has been at risk and hopefully it will be resolved today," resident Isabel Nadia told Reuters

News Agency.

Morales's flight out was far from simple.

Take-off was delayed, with supporters surrounding the airport, then the plane was denied permission to fuel in Peru, Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard told a news conference. So it stopped instead in Paraguay before arriving in Mexico City just after 11:00h local time (17:00 GMT). (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

he Episcopal Conference of Latin America (CELAM) has joined the Roman Catholic community in Haiti in calling on the Government in the French-speaking Caribbean Community country to listen to the voice of wisdom and ensure that violence is not the only means of removing a government from office.

Haitians took to the streets on Sunday as they continued to call on President Jovenel Moïse to step down amid allegations of corruption. Moïse, who came to power in 2017, has denied the claims.

In a letter addressed to the Archbishop of Cap-

Haïtien Monsignor Launay Saturné, and signed by several CELAM executive members, including its president, Monsignor Miguel Cabrejos Vidarte, the organisation said that “The suffering of the men and women of the dear beloved Republic of Haiti is a clamour rising to the sky, but which must also reach the ears of those who have in their hands the power to help that Haitians can find effective ways to overcome all the obstacles that seriously affect their human dignity and to the sons and daughters of God”.

It said that CELAM was joining that call and was, therefore, asking “the episcopate, priests, religious

men and women and all Catholics in Haiti to ask the Haitian leaders for a way out of the crisis”.

Further, the letter notes that the crisis is having a greater impact on the poor, the elderly, women and children.

“We want to fraternally invite the Episcopal Conferences of Latin America and of the Caribbean to join you, first of all, by mobilising the faithful to carry out days of prayers for peace and the exit of the painful situation of the country, as well as for the rest of the soul of those who died during these disturbances. (Excerpt from CMC)

Bahamas PM warns against reconstructing shantytowns

P Union President tells T&T public servants: Don’t vote

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rinidad & Tobago President of the Public Service Association, Watson Duke, is urging public servants who have not received a pay increase since 2013, particularly those who support the ruling People’s National Movement, not to vote in the upcoming Local Government Elections.

At a press conference on Monday, the outgoing PSA President expressed dismay that despite the Government making announcements for pay increases for minimum wage workers, on the job trainees and CEPEP and Unemployment Relief Programme participants,

there had been no increase tabled for public servants.

“The Minister finds it quite comfortable to say On the Job Training persons would be given a 10 per cent increase in salary and they intend to take on an additional 8000 persons. We say happy, we are glad. Take on more persons, pay them more money they deserve to be paid more. OJT they have no union fighting for them, they are oftentimes advantaged so we are happy they are getting something,” said Duke.

He added: “Why is it that this PNM Government cannot get the metric right and

understand the civil servers of this country. The public servers of this country, The Police (Service) the Fire (Service), the WASA, the T&TEC, the Airport Authority, Civil Aviation, Agriculture Development Bank. Every single worker in this country deserves an increase. And you can’t start with just OJT, CEPEP, Minimum, URP and just leave the rest”.

“They are fixing everybody else but the main essential service they are not fixing,” said Duke at the conference at the PSA building in Port-of-Spain. (Excerpt from T&T Guardian)

Chile's Finance Minister calls for return to “normality” as peso slides

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hile’s Finance Minister warned on Tuesday of the “grave consequences” felt by the nation’s economy on account of three weeks of often violent unrest and protests, as the peso slid 4% to hit a historic low against the dollar.

Ignacio Briones said the weakening of the peso was a “sign of worry” that he and his colleagues were watching “very carefully.”

He called on Chileans to help restore “normality” so that businesses could return to proper functioning and people could return to work, after successive weeks of strikes, marches and damage to property and public transport that he has estimated cost the economy $3 billion.

“The peaceful marches have made their point and that message is reflected in the measures that the government and the opposition

rime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis says his administration will not allow any foreigner “to live in any bush” as he insisted that his administration would enforce the migration policies of The Bahamas.

“We are not allowing individuals who just received work permits to just go and set up shanty towns or whatever. It's inhumane and, therefore, you must show evidence or at least assure us that individuals will be living in comfortable environments,” Minnis said.

Last year, the Government said it would demolish shanty towns throughout the country, a move that was seen as moving against Haitian nationals who had been establishing such towns in the country.

But Supreme Court Justice Cheryl GrantThompson in August last year handed down an injunction blocking the demolition of shanty-town structures, a number of which were subsequently destroyed by the passage of Hurricane Dorian

A Bahamian Army officer delivers water to people evacuated prior to boarding a ferry to Nassau at the Port in Marsh Harbour, Abaco Island, Bahamas, Saturday, September 7, 2019, following the passage of Hurricane Dorian

when it swept through the archipelago in September this year.

Following the passage of the category 5 storm, the Government issued an immediate six-month ban on the construction of new buildings in those shantytowns. Prime Minister Minnis last month announced that his administration intended to acquire shantytown property on Abaco through compulsory acquisition.

Human rights advocate, Fred Smith, who represents

shantytown residents, noted that “The injunction covers all shanty townland in New Providence as well as such land on Abaco occupied by specific applicants who are residents of shanty towns in Abaco.

“We stress that recent events do not change the terms of the injunction, which remains in full force and effect unless and until varied by the court,” the Queen's Counsel wrote in a letter to the Office of the Attorney General. (Excerpt from CMC)

cades. It returned to the bad times of the 70s,” Fernandez told a local radio, adding that it was “guaranteeing military interventions against popular, democratically elected governments”.

US President Donald Trump on Monday hailed Morales’ departure as good for democracy, a view that clashed with leftist leaders in the region, including that of Fernandez who has backed Morales and said he was the victim of a coup.

Morales, who was Bolivia’s first Indigenous President, insisted on seeking a fourth term in office, in defiance of term limits and

a 2016 referendum in which Bolivians voted against him being allowed to do that.

He announced his resignation on Sunday after weeks of protests since the October vote, with the OAS report sparking off a dramatic day as allies deserted him and the military eventually urged him to go to help restore calm.

Fernandez is due to take over Latin American’s no.

3 economy in December, taking the reins from business-friendly conservative Mauricio Macri who had a close relationship with Washington and Trump.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Argentine President-elect slams US over Bolivia stance A demonstrator protects himself against a water cannon during a protest against Chile's Government in Valparaiso, Chile

have taken,” he told journalists in Santiago. “All our actions have consequences and they are having grave consequences that are now being seen in the economy and particularly on entrepreneurs and in the most vulnerable sectors.”

The country’s currency plunged to more than 800 pesos per dollar, down more than 10 per cent since mid-October, by midday on Tuesday as state workers and some unionized miners in Chile announced a

nationwide strike, saying they were not yet satisfied following the Government’s decision to rewrite the country’s heavily criticized dictatorship-era constitution.

Demonstrations across the country have sometimes devolved into arson, riots and looting, leaving at least 23 people dead, 2000 civilians hospitalised and more than 1000 complaints of rights abuses, according to human rights groups and prosecutors. (Excerpt from Reuters)

A

rgentine Presidentelect Alberto Fernández on Tuesday criticised the US’ stance on Bolivia’s political upheaval, which saw long-standing leftist leader Evo Morales resign under pressure and seek asylum in Mexico.

Fernandez, a centre-left Peronist, also aimed barbs at the Organization of American States (OAS), which had said in an audit of Bolivia’s October 20 election, won by Morales, that the result should be annulled due to “irregularities”.

“In my opinion, the United States regressed de-

guyanatimesgy.com

wednesday, november 13, 2019

17

Around the World

Trump says China trade deal 'close' Guru Nanak: Sikh but dashes hopes for signing details founder's 550th

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resident Donald Trump on Tuesday dangled the prospect of completing an initial trade deal with China “soon,” but offered no new details on negotiations in a campaign-style speech touting his Administration’s economic record.

Markets had been on edge about Trump’s highly anticipated remarks to The Economic Club of New York, but barely moved after the speech, which contained

no major policy announcements. Rumours early on Tuesday that Trump might announce a venue and date for signing a trade deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping proved unfounded.

Trump said US and Chinese negotiators were “close” to a “phase one” trade deal, but largely repeated well-worn rhetoric about China’s “cheating” on trade.

Trump said he would raise tariffs on Chinese goods “very substantially”

if China does not make a deal with the United States.

“And that’s going to be true for other countries that mistreat us too,” he added.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow later told CNBC that the phase one agreement could include some adjustments to tariffs already in place, but neither side would agree to such steps “until the entire deal is put together.”

“The only thing that’s maybe new is that he did

not announce a date and a time for a signing ceremony,” Greg Anderson, Global Head of Foreign Exchange Strategy at BMO Capital Markets in New York, said of the speech. “Where markets had been hoping for that, those hopes were dashed,” he added, saying that buying of riskier assets faded when it became apparent that no major announcement would be made.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Aoun says Lebanese Government must include politicians, urges protesters to go home

P

resident Michel Aoun said on Tuesday a Government made up purely of technocrats would not be able to run Lebanon and so it must include politicians, adding he had found Saad al-Hariri hesitant about taking the job of Prime Minister again.

In a televised interview, Aoun urged protesters who have taken to the streets across Lebanon for four weeks to go home, warning of a catastrophe if they did not.

As his interview ended, protesters blocked several highways across Lebanon, some with burning tyres.

“If you continue in this way, you will strike Lebanon

and your interests ... I am placing you in front of this choice,” Aoun said. “We are working day and night to get the situation in order.

If they keep going, there is a catastrophe. If they stop,

there is still room for (us) to fix things,” he said.

Hariri quit as Prime Minister on Oct 29 in the face of the unprecedented wave of protests against ruling politicians who are

widely perceived to have overseen rampant state corruption and steered Lebanon into a major economic crisis.

Lebanon was already facing the worst economic crisis since its 1975-90 civil war when the protests erupted on Oct 17, plunging it deeper into turmoil. Lebanon’s banks and schools were shut again on Tuesday in a new wave of disruption.

Indicating no breakthrough in talks over the next Government, Aoun said he was still waiting for answers before calling formal consultations with MPs to designate the next Prime Minister. (Excerpt from Reuters)

killed in the blast that ripped through their home in Gaza City's Shejaiya district before dawn. At least two others were wounded, according to medics.

The group said Abu alAta was killed during "a heroic action", without elaborating, and promised to take revenge.

Hamas, the Palestinian organisation that administers the Gaza Strip, said Israel "bears full responsibility for all consequences of this escalation", and prom-

ised Abu al-Ata's death "will not go unpunished".

Separately on Tuesday, Syrian state media said that Israel launched a missile attack targeting the home of an Islamic Jihad official in the Syrian capital, killing his son and granddaughter.

A Syrian official said Israeli fighter jets fired three missiles towards Damascus one of which was intercepted, while the other two struck the home of Islamic Jihad political

leader Akram al-Ajouri in Mezzah, a western district of the city, according to state news agency SANA. Al-Ajouri's son Muath and granddaughter Batoul were killed, the official was cited as saying, while nine others were wounded.

Islamic Jihad said al-Ajouri survived the attack on his home and blamed the "Zionist criminal enemy".

There was no immediate comment from Israel.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

A supporter of Lebanon's President Michel Aoun holds his poster during a rally in Baabda near Beirut, Lebanon, November 3, 2019

Israeli forces kill top Islamic Jihad Commander in Gaza air raid

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n Israeli airstrike killed a top Commander of the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad in the besieged Gaza Strip on Tuesday and fighters responded by firing a barrage of rockets towards Israel.

Islamic Jihad's armed wing announced the killing of Bahaa Abu al-Ata in a statement after Israel confirmed it targeted the 42-year-old leader.

Islamic Jihad said Abu al-Ata's wife was also

Zimbabwe dollar notes issued for 1st time in a decade

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ueues have formed outside banks in Zimbabwe as people hope to get hold of the country's first Zimbabwe dollar notes to be issued since 2009.

The currency was scrapped a decade ago because of hyperinflation when prices were almost doubling every day.

Zimbabwe's central bank hopes the new notes will ease a severe cash shortage as the country suffers a deepening economic crisis.

The bank has played down fears that the move will fuel further inflation.

Currently, inflation is thought to be about 300 per

People were eager to get hold of the new notes

cent.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe insists that the two- and five-Zimbabwe dollar notes will not increase overall money supply. The cash is supposed to replace money that was stored electronically.

Since the country scrapped its own currency in 2009, Zimbabweans had relied at various times on US dollars, South African rands, as well as other foreign currencies, an electronic currency called the RTGS dollar, and what are called bond

notes.

US dollars and other foreign currencies were banned in June by the central bank, citing the need to return to normality.

The Government said the new notes will ease the cash shortage that has seen most people unable to withdraw their pay and savings.

But the BBC's Shingai Nyoka in Harare said the Government has a chequered past with money management and many people remain convinced that a huge cash injection in the middle of an economic crisis will stoke inflation. (Excerpt from BBC News)

birthday celebrated

Large numbers of devotees, including women, took part in the religious rituals

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elebrations have taken place in India and Pakistan to mark the 550th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak - the founder of Sikhism.

The anniversary comes just a few days after the historic opening of the Kartarpur corridor, which allows Indians access to one of Sikhism's holiest shrines in Pakistan without having to apply for a visa.

On Tuesday, Sikh pilgrims in Pakistan gathered at Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak, which is about 80km (50 miles) from the city of Lahore.

The auspicious day for Sikhs was also marked in India, where Guru Nanak's birth anniversary is an annual public holiday.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the nation on the occasion, saying it was "a day to rededicate ourselves" to Guru

Nanak's "dream of a just, inclusive and harmonious society".

The Golden Temple in Amritsar, in north-western India, is the holiest Gurdwara (where Sikhs worship). On the eve of the anniversary, it was lit up to host processions as Sikh worshippers took part in the three-day celebration of Guru Nanak's birth.

On the first day of the celebrations, Sikhs read the Sikh holy book - the Guru Granth Sahib - from beginning to end.

As is the tradition on the second day, the holy book was paraded through the streets of Amritsar on Monday in a hand-held carriage.

The procession was led by five people representing the original Panj Pyare the Five Beloved Ones - who helped shape the religion.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Hackers hit UK political parties with back-to-back cyberattacks

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ackers hit Britain’s two main political parties with back-to-back cyberattacks on Tuesday, sources told Reuters, attempting to force political websites offline with a flood of malicious traffic just weeks ahead of a national election.

The attacks come after Britain’s security agencies have warned that Russia and other countries may attempt to disrupt the Dec 12 vote with cyberattacks or divisive political messages on social media, a charge Moscow denies.

The Opposition Labour Party said on Tuesday morning it had “experienced a sophisticated and large-scale cyberattack on Labour digital platforms,” but that the attack was repelled and no data was compromised.

Just hours later, the party’s website and other online services came under

a second digital bombardment, followed by a third attack on the website of the governing Conservative Party shortly before 1600 GMT, according to two people with knowledge of the matter and documents seen

by Reuters.

The sources said there was currently nothing to link the attacks on either party to a foreign state.

One of the sources said the attack on the Conservatives was larger and appeared to be conducted by different hackers, but did not take down any party websites.

Asked about the second attack, a Labour spokesman said: “We have ongoing security processes in place to protect our platforms, so users may be experiencing some differences. We are dealing with this quickly and efficiently.” (Excerpt from Reuters)

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guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, november 13, 2019

ARCHIE

ARIES

(March 21April 19)

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

dilbert

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

CANCER (June 21July 22)

Peanuts

Calvin and Hobbes

It’s up to you to enforce change. Look over your options and discuss your plans with someone who may want to participate in them.

Be open to suggestions and learn from your mistakes.

Emotions will surface when dealing with affairs of the heart. Question anything that doesn’t sound legitimate. Avoid letting someone’s bad habits undermine you. Know when to say no.

Take a chance and try something new. Sometimes, a change is exactly what you need to boost your enthusiasm and get you back on track. Listen to suggestions and take action.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Put more thought into how you present yourself to others. When you look and feel your best, it’s easier to drum up support. Romance will enhance your personal life.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Look for the right opportunity. Don’t give in to someone who brings you down instead of lifting you up. Take part in rallies or events that stimulate your mind and promote new prospects.

LIBRA

You’ll feel differently if you are happy with your appearance. Do something to lift your spirits, help you relax and encourage a better relationship with a loved one.

(Sept. 23Oct. 23)

SUDOKU

Decide on a destination and enjoy the ride. Getting out of your regular routine will be uplifting. Romance is in the stars.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21)

Retreat due to uncertainty isn’t wise. Refuse to let someone from your past influence your next move.

Don’t give up what you’ve got just to appease someone undeserving.

Stick to the truth, regardless of what someone else tells you. Offer your services to those who have legitimate needs. If you show your enthusiasm, you’ll get what you want.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

Don’t get angry when you can get moving. If you want something to happen, it’s up to you to make it happen.

Change begins with you.

Reach out and connect with someone from your past.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

Don’t lose sight of your goal. A personal matter can be resolved if you are honest about what you want and what you are willing to do in return.

SOLUTION FOr last published puzzle

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

A financial change is heading your way. Being open and honest will help move paperwork along much faster. Do your part when it comes to community assistance.

WEDNesday, november 13, 2019

L

ou Williams scored 21 points off the bench to help the Los Angeles Clippers post a 98-88 victory over the visiting Toronto Raptors on Monday night.

Kawhi Leonard, who led the Raptors to their first NBA title last June, scored just 12 points on 2-of-11 shooting in his first game against his former club since leaving as a free agent.

Leonard also had 11 rebounds, nine assists and three steals but committed nine turnovers.

Montrezl Harrell contributed 14 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Clippers.

Patrick Patterson scored 12 points, and JaMychal Green had 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Pascal Siakam recorded 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the Raptors.

Norman Powell scored 15 points, Fred VanVleet had 14 points and eight assists, and Chris Boucher added 13 points.

Rockets 122, Pelicans 116 James Harden scored 39 points and Russell Westbrook added 26 as visiting Houston won its fourth consecutive game, beating the injury-depleted New

19

round-up: Leonard, Clippers top Raptors games on the road, the Warriors’ D’Angelo Russell led all scorers with 33 points. Returning from a five-game absence caused by a ligament injury in his left hand, Draymond Green had four points, seven rebounds and four assists in 22 minutes.

LA Clippers guard Lou Williams (23) dribbles the ball against Toronto Raptors forward Rondae HollisJefferson (4) and forward Pascal Siakam (43) during the first half (USA Today)

Orleans.

Harden scored 13 straight points as the Rockets took command midway through the fourth quarter. Eric Gordon came off the bench to add 17 points, and Clint Capela had 11 points

and 20 rebounds.

JJ Redick scored 24 to lead the Pelicans, who played without Brandon Ingram (knee), Lonzo Ball (groin) and Zion Williamson (knee). Josh Hart scored 19 points, and Jrue Holiday added 18 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds.

Jazz 122, Warriors 108 Mike Conley and Donovan

Mitchell combined for six 3-pointers in a five-minute flurry late in the second quarter, helping Utah build a commanding lead en route to a victory over Golden State in San Francisco.

Rudy Gobert recorded 25 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, and Mitchell added 23 points and Conley 22 for Utah, which won its third straight.

Coming off 52- and 30-point

Celtics 116, Mavericks 106 Kemba Walker sank eight 3-pointers and scored 24 of his 29 points in the second half to lead host Boston past Dallas.

Jaylen Brown had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Marcus Smart scored 17 as the Celtics extended their winning streak to eight. Boston played its first game without forward Gordon Hayward, who will miss six weeks after surgery to repair a fracture in his left hand.

Luka Doncic scored 34 points for the Mavericks, who lost for the first time in five road games.

Grizzlies 113, Spurs 109 Jaren Jackson Jr. scored a season-high 24 points and Dillon Brooks added 21 as visiting Memphis outlasted San Antonio on the night the Spurs retired the jersey number of longtime standout Tony Parker.

Jae Crowder’s secondchance 3-pointer with 1:48 to

play gave the Grizzlies a 111108 lead, which it did not relent.

Jonas Valanciunas had 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Brandon Clarke scored 14 points off the bench as the Grizzlies snapped a two-game losing streak.

Aldridge led the Spurs with 19 points, with Rudy Gay hitting for a season-high 18, Derrick White adding 15, Bryn Forbes scoring 14 and DeMar DeRozan contributing 12.

Timberwolves 120, Pistons 114 Andrew Wiggins poured in 33 points, and Minnesota spoiled the return of Blake Griffin with a win at Detroit. Wiggins, who surpassed the 8,000-career-point mark in the first half, added six rebounds and five assists.

Karl-Anthony Towns supplied 25 points, eight rebounds and six assists while Jake Layman contributed 16 points off the Minnesota bench. Treveon Graham added 13 points and six rebounds.

Griffin missed the first 10 games of the season due to hamstring and knee injuries. He had 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists in 24 minutes. Luke Kennard led the Pistons with 25 points and seven rebounds.

(Reuters)

Sterling dropped by England after Gomez clash

T

he Football Association said Sterling had been dropped “as a result of a disturbance in a private team area”.

The Manchester City forward, 24, then took to social media to confirm “a five to 10 second thing” with Liverpool’s Joe Gomez, 22, in the England camp.

But he added the pair were now “good”.

Sterling and Gomez had an on-field argument during the Reds’ 3-1 Premier League victory at Anfield on Sunday.

“Both Joe and I have had words and figured things out and moved on,” Sterling said via his Instagram account on Tuesday.

“We are in a sport where emotions run high and I am man enough to admit when emotions got the better of me.

“This is why we play this sport because of our love for it - me and Joe Gomez are good, we both understand it was a five to 10 second thing... it’s done, we move forward and not make this bigger than it is.

“Let’s get focus on our game on Thursday,” Sterling added.

It is understood Sterling turned on Gomez in the

canteen, and other players pulled them apart.

The Liverpool defender was unhappy about what happened, but Sterling apologised and both now consider the matter to be over.

England boss Gareth Southgate consulted with senior players and they agreed with the plan to drop Sterling.

“Unfortunately the emotions of yesterday’s game were still raw,” said Southgate on Monday.

“One of the great challenges and strengths for us is that we’ve been able to separate club rivalries from the national team.

“We have taken the decision to not consider Raheem for the match against Montenegro on Thursday. My feeling is that the right thing for the team is the action we have taken.

“Now that the decision has been made with the agreement of the entire squad, it’s important that we support the players and focus on Thursday night.”

England play their 1,000th senior men’s international on Thursday and a point at Wembley would book a spot at Euro 2020 with one qualifying game to spare.

The Three Lions are top of Euro 2020 Qualifying Group A, three points clear of the Czech Republic and four ahead of Kosovo with the top two nations advancing.

A win or a draw for Southgate’s side will see them qualify.

England then play their final group match away in Kosovo on Sunday.

Sterling, who joined Manchester City from Liverpool in 2015, has made 55 appearances for England, scoring 12 times, and netted in the 5-1 away win in Podgorica in March, while Gomez has featured seven times for the national side.

However, Gomez has struggled for first-team action for Liverpool this season, starting only one Premier League match.

Sterling has started 11 of City’s league matches in 2019-20 and has scored 14 times in 17 appearances in all competitions for his club, as well as scoring four times for England.

Former England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand said the incident could have been “handled better”. (BBC Sport)

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Federer recovers from opening loss to beat Berrettini R

Roger Federer has competed in 16 ATP Finals events (Getty Images)

oger Federer recovered from his opening roundrobin defeat to beat Italy’s Matteo Berrettini in straight sets at the ATP Finals.

The Swiss 20-time Grand Slam champion, who lost to Dominic Thiem on Sunday,

won 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 to keep alive his hopes of a semi-final place.

Federer, seeded third at the O2 Arena, has failed to qualify for the last four on just one occasion in London.

Novak Djokovic takes on Thiem in the other singles

BCB-Ivan Madray Memorial 100 balls tournament

RHT Namilco Thunderbolt Flour set to meet Albion in final

Rose Hall Town Namilco Thunderbolt team

R

ose Hall Town Namilco Thunderbolt Flour FirstDivision team on Saturday last had to dig deep to defeat a determined Young Warriors Cricket Club in the semi-finals of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) Ivan Madray Memorial 20/20 First-Division Tournament.

Playing at the Area H Ground in brilliant and sunny conditions, national youth allrounder Kevlon Anderson had

to defend 10 runs in the final over and successfully did that by dismissing Amir Khan with his fourth delivery when he had him beautifully caught by Junior Sinclair on the squareleg boundary to spark wild celebrations by his teammates and supporters.

Batting first, Rose Hall Town Thunderbolt Flour lost national junior player Junior Sinclair after he was bowled by left-

arm spinner Kassim Khan for 1, but veteran Khemraj Mahadeo, making a welcome return to First-Division cricket, and West Indies Under-19 player Kevlon Anderson then added 60 for the second wicket before Mahadeo was dismissed for 25, which included two boundaries and two maximums.

Anderson (30); Jason Sinclair (34); Eon Hooper (12); and Jonathan Rampersaud (12 not

out) were the other batsmen to reach double figures as RHT Thunderbolt Flour ended on 135 for 8 from their allotted 100 balls. Bowling for YWCC, Kassim Khan (2 for 28) and Devendra Ramoutar (2 for 17) were the most successful bowlers.

Needing to score 136 to advance to the final, the defending champions lost former national youth player Linden Austin, who was bowled by former senior national player Eon Hooper for 02 in the first over.

Ishwar Singh was then caught off Junior Sinclair for 10 at 20 for 2 in the fourth over while Trevon Stanislaus was bowled by Berbice Under-17 off-spinner Jonathan Rampersaud for 7. Seon Hetmyer, older brother of West Indies player Shimron Hetmyer, survived a confident caught-behind appeal first ball off Rampersaud, but with Alex Algoo, added 47 for the fourth wicket to bring their team back into the game.

Algoo was then brilliantly run out for 28 and then Vishal Mohabir (4) and Kassim Khan fell to leave the visitors at 83 for 6. Hetmyer was then caught by Rampersaud off Junior Sinclair for a well-played 40 at 94 for 7.

Berbice Under-19 wicketkeeper Carl Gilgeous then struck Sinclair for 22 runs to bring the game alive. Sadly for the visitors, Gilgeous was dismissed

by Hooper and they were eventually dismissed for 128 off the 98th delivery of the innings.

Hooper ended with 2 for 20, Kevlon Anderson 2 for 21, Jonathan Rampersaud 2 for 19 while Junior Sinclair and Keith Simpson each took a wicket for RHT Thunderbolt Flour.

match later on Tuesday.

Thiem is the only p l a y e r who can qualify for

Novak Djokovic

the semifinals at this stage, needing a victory against Djokovic.

Federer, 38, will face Serbian world number two Djokovic on Thursday, a repeat of July’s marathon Wimbledon final.

The top two players in each group after the round-robin stage progress to the semifinals on Saturday.

The men’s season-ending event, which is taking place in London for the penultimate year, features the top eight players of the year.

“I did it last year [coming back from an

openingmatch defeat] so I have some experience but I’m happy with how I played today,” Federer said. “ T h e r e ’s n o reason to be down o n yourself. “ There were plenty of ways to get through that loss.

Just hanging out with my kids did it for me. I didn’t think everything was bad in that first match. I was ready and prepared today and that’s what matters the most.

“I hope I can keep it up and hopefully play a bit better in the next match,” he added.

Chase proud of maiden man-ofthe-series award

W

est Indies allrounder Roston Chase spoke to CWI Media after the third and final One-Day International against Afghanistan at the Ekana Cricket Stadium. West Indies won the match by five wickets to take the series 3-0 – their first series win since 2014 and first overseas since 2011. Chase had another memorable match with figures of 10-0-24-1 as West Indies restricted Afghanistan to 2497 off 50 overs.

He them batted well to score 42 not out off just 32 balls as West Indies reached 253-5 to win by five wickets with eight balls remaining.

Chase shared a match-winning stand of 71 with Shai Hope, who made 109 not out – his seventh ODI century. Chase was named Man-of-theSeries – with overall bowling analysis of 30-0-85-6 – making him the leading wicket-taker.

He also scored 145 runs in three innings (average 72.5) and a top score of 94 in the opening match last Wednesday.

Earlier Hope shared in two other crucial partnerships. He added 64 for the third wicket with debutant Brandon King who made an assured 39, with five fours and a six. Hope was then joined by skipper Kieron Pollard, who made 32 off 26 balls in a fifth-wicket stand of 63 in nine overs. “It feels great

being able to perform and do so well. As a team we are extremely happy to win the series and also to win today and make it three-nil is what we wanted.

A series win is something we worked hard for and I must congratulate everyone on this overall team effort,” Chase said. “This is my first Man-ofthe-Series award in any form of cricket for the region so it’s a proud feeling. The pitch was offering me a bit of purchase and with my height it made it a bit uncomfortable for them playing the bounce. Today, walking out to bat, the coach told me to just go at a run-aball and we would be alright.

Hope was quite calm at the crease and that helped to calm my nerves.

So, it was a really good partnership and he batted really well.”

(CWI)

Roston Chase

guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNesday, november 13, 2019

21

Namilco bats on for RHT 1st Division Team

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he Rose Hall Town (RHT) NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour First-Division team on Friday last received the final instalment of its sponsorship deal with its official sponsor, the National Milling Company (Namilco).

Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) Secretary/ Chief Executive Officer Hilbert Foster received the cheque from NAMILCO Operations Manager Ralf Hemsingh. NAMILCO came on board as the sponsor of the team earlier this year.

Foster, who is also the President of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB), stated that the support of the Agricola, Greater Georgetown-based Company has been crucial to the success of the team, who have so far reached the finals of two tournaments in 2019. They defeated Albion in the semi-finals of the Stag Beer 50 overs roundrobin tournament and then got past Young Warriors CC by seven runs to advance to the final of the Ivan Madray Memorial 20/20 tournament.

The team are currently

RHTY&SC Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster receives the sponsorship from Ralf Hemsing of Namilco in the presence of Financial Director Fitzroy Mc Leoud

preparing to participate in the BCB Banks Beer two-day and Busta Champion of Champions 40-over tournaments. The team have three members involved in the ongoing Cricket West Indies (CWI) 50-over tournament – Assad Fudadin, who has scored a century for Jamaica; Clinton Pestano and Kevin Sinclair, who has impressed on debut for the West Indies emerging players’

team. Kevlon Anderson is also a part of the West Indies Under-19 training squad for the World Cup while Sheneta Grimmond, Shemaine Campbelle and Shabika Gajnabi are playing for West Indies female team.

Anderson, Junior Sinclair and Matthew Pottaya also played for Guyana at the junior level.

Additionally, a total of 10 played in the recent GCB franchise

league – Pestano, Junior Sinclair, Anderson, Shawn Pereira, Eon Hooper, Chanderpaul Govindhan, Jonathan Rampersaud, Kevin Sinclair, Jason Sinclair, and Sylus Tyndall.

The long-serving Secretary/ CEO also revealed that the Namilco Thunderbolt Flour Under-21 team have reached the final of the BCB Elizabeth Styles Under-21 tournament.

They were also involved in over 22 personal developmental programmes to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

These include monthly old age pensioners breakfast programme, Say No to Suicide posters, Youth Information booklet, medical outreach, donation to the Port Mourant Hospital, donations to schools and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) among others. Assistant Secretary/CEO Simon Naidu expressed thanks to the management of Namilco, especially Managing Director Bert Sukhai and Financial Director Fitzroy Mc Leoud, for their cooperation.

2019 Busta Champion of Champions…

Albion whip West Berbice by 121 runs in opening round

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Team Albion

A

lbion produced a clinical display in a one-sided 121-run victory over West Berbice in their first-round fixture of the 2019 Busta Champion of Champions 40 Overs First Division Cricket Tournament in Berbice.

Playing at the Bush Lot Ground in West Berbice on Monday last, Albion won the toss and took first strike, rattling up a challenging 276 for 8 from their allotted 40 overs.

Berbice Under-19

batsman Jeetendra Outar led the way with a well-composed 63 and received excellent support from national Under-17 batsman Sarwan Chaitnarine who scored an unbeaten 40, while former Guyana Under-19 wicket-keeper-batsman Adrian Sukhwa scored 36. Stand-in skipper Kandasammy Surujnarine made 35 while pacer Keyron Fraser took 3 for 60 and Christopher Bissoon 2 for 20, bowling for West Berbice.

The home team in reply were rattled out

for 145 in 35.3 overs, with Shamar Angel making 63. National youth left-arm spinner Gourav Ramesh bagged 4 for 35 and was well backed up by fellow left-arm spinner Mahendra Chaitnarine with 2 for 21 and off-spinner Beesham Surujnarine 2 for 36 (all from eight-over spells), for Albion.

In the other fixtures of the day, Young Warriors, Blairmont and Port Mourant recorded wins while Tucber Park advanced to the next round after Upper Corentyne pulled out of the tournament.

Hope in elite company after 1k runs in calendar – consistency was key for Windies

A

fter 69 One Day Internationals (ODI), Shai Hope has a stunning average of 50.63 with the bat and seven centuries and 14 half-centuries. He finished the recently concluded ODI series with 229 runs in three innings and he reached 1,000 runs this year and joined Desmond Haynes (twice), Chris Gayle (twice), Sir Vivian Richards and Brian Lara as other West Indians to achieve this feat.

Speaking to CWI Media after the third and final One-Day International a g a i n s t Afghanistan at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, Hope stated that it was a good feeling to win a series.

“It was a long time coming. As a team, we have been working very hard and fighting hard and we have been waiting for this series win for a long time, so it felt good. Someone had to put his hand up and bat through the innings. It felt quite good to be able to do it. Basically, it came down to just reading the situation, and as long as someone batted through, we were always going to win the game.” He added: “Trying to be aware of each and every situation, that is the key… to make sure I stay there for the team. I have the ability change gears and to bat through the innings so I just want

to be consistent and carry this kind of form into the next series and into other series to come.”

West Indies won the match by five wickets to take the series 3-0 – their first series win since 2014 and first overseas since 2011. Hope opened the batting after keeping wicket and stayed to the end when the victory was achieved with eight balls to spare – West Indies reached 253-5 off 48.4 overs in reply to Afghanistan’s 249-7 off 50 overs. He finished the job on 109 not out – his seventh ODI century – and earned the Man-of-the-Match award. Hope, who celebrated his 26th birthday on Sunday, shared three vital partnerships.

He added 64 for the third wicket with debutant Brandon King who made an assured 39, with five fours and a six.

Hope was then joined by skipper Kieron Pollard, who made 32 off 26 balls in a fifth-wicket stand of 63 in nine overs.

Roston Chase came in after Pollard’s dismissal and made 42 not out off just 32 balls in an unbroken sixth-wicket stand with Hope. Chase himself had an excellent series with six wickets for 83 runs and 145 runs to be named Man-of-theSeries. Hope was the leading batsman in the series with scores of 77 not out in the opening win by seven wickets last Wednesday; 43 in the second victory by 47 runs last Saturday; followed by the century on Monday. (CWI)

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El Dorado at Lusignan on November 16 W

hile many have searched for the Golden land of El Dorado for centuries on end, golf enthusiasts will not have to explore much longer as the El Dorado we know as Guyanese will be found at the Lusignan Golf Course this Saturday.

Lusignan Golf Club President Aleem Hussain received on behalf of LGC a cheque from Demerara Distillers Limited’s El Dorado Brands Manager Maria Munroe and Management Trainee Sara Ramjohn, for the staging of El Dorado golf starting at 11:00h.

Munroe told media operatives that DDL and its El Dorado Rums brand were pleased to extend its partnership with the Lusignan Golf Club to host the 2019 El Dorado Rums Golf Tournament.

“Golf in Guyana has always been supported by El Dorado Rums and we intend to keep the major tournament on our calendar of main events. Our continued partnership is one of great importance, especially since we have seen tremendous growth in the sport,” Munroe stated.

The Brand Manager said that El Dorado Rums was committed to the development and promotion of golf as a healthy form of

DDL’s Maria Munroe hands over the sponsorship cheque to LGC’s Aleem Hussain

entertainment. “Our prestigious tournament has always seen both male and female players compete at a very high level over the course of a day to become the El

Dorado champion. Our team has and will support the development of the game, and we have seen tremendous strides to include women and children in the sport by Mr

$1M 1st-place purse for Rio Futsal

Hussain,” Munroe continued.

LGC President Hussain said DDL has been supporting golf for over 20 years, adding that not only the players but also fans would receive prizes. “Despite the fact that golf has grown to be amongst the top recognised sports in the country, it is our partners’ loyalty that has given us the opportunity to rise to this level and we are committed to ensuring that they retain the top honours they deserve,” Hussain noted.

Many of the award-winning El Dorado Brands will be on display during the tournament, including the El Dorado Toasted Coconut Rum Cream Liqueur, a blend of Demerara aged rums with dairy cream and natural flavours to produce a lightly toasted coconut aroma with a creamy coconut taste and a hint of vanilla custard. It is a limited edition product which will be introduced to the market on November 13.

Long acknowledged as the Caribbean’s premier rum, continuously winning major awards over the past decade, El Dorado 15 Year Old Special Reserve is viewed as a fine, cognac-like rum possessing the most intriguing and complex character in its class.

A combination of specially selected aged rums, some as old as 25 years, from the Enmore and Diamond Coffey stills, the Port Mourant double wooden pot still and the Versailles single wooden pot still, it is blended to perfection and aged in old bourbon oak casks.

The tournament, like many others, will feature three categories: 0-9, 10-18, 19-28 as well as Longest Drive and nearest to pin.

For the first time in LGC history, a best aged golfer award will be given out.

Captain Chen Deo said that the tournament would have a staggered start commencing at 11:00h to accommodate the number of projected players.

Current men’s champion Avinash Persaud is expected to thrill fans along with over 40 of the country’s top players including Dr Joaan Deo, Mike Mangal, Alfred Mentore, Patrick Prasad, Dr London, Shanella London, Troy Cadogan, Guillermo Escarraga, Miguel Oviedo, Jordi Pinol, Brian Hackett, Max Persaud, Robin Tiwari, Pur Persaud, Gavin Todd, Kassim Khan, Munaf Arjune, Avinda Kishore, Richard Hanif, and Aleem Hussain.

…kicks off on Thursday Referees Coordinator Wayne Griffith and Three Peat Promotion’s Rawle Welch

A glimpse of the U-18 action

W

ith it touted as having one of the highest first-prize purses for indoor futsal, the Rio Futsal Tournament will kick off on Thursday evening.

The inaugural tournament, which gives players more than enough incentive to bring their ‘A’ game, was launched on Tuesday afternoon at the Club’s Alberttown location.

The inaugural tournament will see 24 of the best futsal teams clashing at the National Gymnasium. The exhilarating futsal action will span eight days with the grand semi and final being hosted on December 14.

Speaking on behalf of the sponsors and organising team, Three Peat Promotions, was Rawle Welch, who urged fans and spectators alike to “be on their best behaviour” in order to have an incident-free competition.

“I want to implore on the fans to be on their best behaviour, because time and again we’ve been encountering difficulties in terms of getting the embrace of the [Guyana Police Force] GPF for various reasons. But one thing we’re going to ensure is that safety is our priority as well as exciting action over the eight days of competition,” Welch emphasised.

Standard futsal rules will apply with variations in some cases. As per usual, the fifth foul will grant a penalty to the opposing team and eight players will be allowed per team.

In a bid to entice fans, the organisers explained that four fans will have the opportunity to win $5000 each playing night.

When questioned about the rationale behind the $1 million first prize, Welch explained that the sponsors, Rio, are invested in the development of futsal.

“In discussions with the sponsor, let me tell you how far this guy has gone. He’s at the level where he doesn’t want to get back any profit, because he loves the futsal and he wants to be a part of developing this format.

He wanted to exceed anything that was done before,” Welch explained.

The playing dates for the tournament will be November 14, 16, 21, 23, 28, and 30 and December 7 and 14.

Referees Coordinator Wayne Griffith hinted at more tournaments similar to this one, and urged fans to come out and support.

“It’s the biggest and it can only get better.

We have plans for a next tournament three months from now and another three months a next one, going on all the way. We’re hoping for four tournaments during the year. So, guys come out; let it be nice and successful, and we all will have fun,” Griffith said.

The futsal tournament also sees sponsorship from Banks DIH under its Guinness brand and the Rockie’s Hotel, whose proprietor Osneil Azcuy noted that he got on board for the love of the sport.

Guyoil-Tradewind Tankers U-18 League Lodge, PC net 4’s for victories

T

here were a fresh set of faces in the front running for Lodge Secondary School as they registered yet another win in the Guyoil-Tradewind Tankers Under-18 Football League.

For their third-round encounter, Lodge met with St John’s College, who have been having a less-than-stellar run in the tournament. Lodge Secondary, on the other hand, while they have had the ability to win, have had trouble getting their scoring started since the beginning of the 2019 League.

The same happened when they met with St John’s as the first goal came until the 24th minute, off the boots of Nicholas Trotman. In his first game of the tournament, Joshua Denny was able to find the back of the net to register Lodge’s second goal in the 30th. Troyston Louisy joined the scoring party in the 32nd to push the score to 3-0 by the half.

St John’s had a better defensive half in the second as they put a stop to Lodge’s momentum; however, their chances in front of the goal were few and hapless. Louisy returned in the 64th minute to complete his brace. Lodge won the game easily 4-0.

President’s College were the other team to register a third-round win following their clash with Charlestown Secondary.

President’s College have been showing that they are strong contenders and as such added another three points to their tally as they handed Charlestown a 4-1 thumping.

President’s College took a while to get going, but once they did, the goals kept on coming. Allister Henry opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, and Jushawn Bayley followed closely with a goal in the 27th.

With the score at 2-0 at the beginning of the second half, Shalom Chisholm added another in the 48th minute. PC’s scoring was briefly interrupted by Charlestown Secondary’s consolation goal, as Tariq Pryce found the back of the net in the 58th minute. However, any thought of making a comeback was wiped from their minds as PC’s Breon Allicock scored his school’s fourth goal in the 60th.

The Under-18 secondary school football league is being supported through the efforts of Guyoil-Tradewind Tankers and ANSA McAL, and will continue with Round 4 games on Sunday, November 17.

23

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WEDNesday, november 13, 2019

Barnwell, Reifer take Jaguars to 13-run win over USA Yadram, were bowled out for 154 in 38 overs. Only Shane Shillingford (41) and Keron Cottoy offered resistance to

Jonathan Foo

Keon Harding’s 4-45 and Kevin Sinclair’s 3-19 in a dominant effort from the young West Indies Emerging Players.

SCOREBOARD

Leon Johnson

G

uyana Jaguars rebounded from a defeat against Red Force with a 13-run win against United States of America (USA) on Monday at the Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Jaguars recorded their second win of the Colonial Medical Insurance Super50 Cup, compliments of Christopher Barnwell and Raymon Reifer, who were

the standout performers, stroking 80 with the bat and taking 5-35 with the ball respectively.

Batting first, Jaguars scored 226 all out in 50 overs.

Barnwell, batting at number 5, smashed 80 off 63 balls, including seven fours and four sixes. Leon Johnson scored 43 while Tagenarine Chanderpaul hit 40 from 104 balls. The consistent Jonathan Foo scored 39 for Jaguars, batting

at number seven. Karima Gore had 3-38 while Saurab Netravalkar and Ian Holland had two wickets each.

In reply, USA ran into a Reifer roadblock and were restricted to 213-9 when 50 overs expired. Monank Patel top-scored with 43 for the USA while former Guyana Under-19 player Akshay Homraj scored 32.

Reifer ended with 5-35 while Chandrapaul Hemraj had 2-31 in seven overs. Guyana will play their next match on Friday, November 15 against the Windward Islands Volcanoes.

Return of T20 specialists: Windies shift focus to favoured format

Lendl Simmons

Kesrick Williams

Sherfane Rutherford

By Brandon Corlette

series with 229 runs, scoring one half-century and an unbeaten 109*. Chase bowled 30 overs in the three matches and picked up six wickets at a stunning economy rate of 2.83. Both Chase and Hope are seen as longer-format players; Chase has never played a T20I for West Indies while Hope played 12.

Hayden Walsh Jr and Sheldon Cottrell had four wickets each in the series while Guyanese duo Romario Shepherd and Keemo Paul had three wickets each. Despite the many successes in the series, Hetmyer had a dull three-match series, scoring only 37 runs, with a high score of 34. Alzarri Joseph, who returned from injury, had an ordinary series, playing all three matches but picking up only two wickets in one match.

match in December 2018.

Simmons had a dream season in the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and has earned a recall. The Trinidadian last played a T20I in June 2017.

The veteran wicketkeeperbatsman Ramdin last played a T20I in November 2018.

Despite having a fair season in the CPL, the experienced player had a surprise recall since Guyana’s Anthony Bramble was in the last T20I squad. The right-arm medium pacer Williams played the last of 18 T20Is in August 2018.

Simmons may partner Evin Lewis or Brandon King at the top while Hetmyer, if given an opportunity ,will have to make it count at number three.

Pooran and King looked good in the ODI series, and with Captain Kieron Pollard and Rutherford, the batting is filled with firepower.

T20I squad: Kieron Pollard (C); Nicholas Pooran; Evin Lewis; Shimron Hetmyer; Sherfane Rutherford; Brandon King; Fabian Allen; Jason Holder; Hayden Walsh Jr; Lendl Simmons; Khary Pierre; Sheldon Cottrell; Denesh Ramdin; Kesrick Williams and Alzarri Joseph.

T

he T20 International series between West Indies and Afghanistan will commence tomorrow, Thursday, November 14 from 09:30h in Lucknow, India.

T20 has been the preferred format for the Caribbean boys, but after whitewashing Afghanistan 3-0 in the OneDay International (ODI) series, confidence in the Windies camp is at its peak, heading into the shorter format.

The T20 squad will be a newlook set-up from the ODI squad: the likes of Guyanese Sherfane Rutherford, a returning Lendl Simmons, Kesrick Williams and Denesh Ramdin will turn out for the T20 side. West Indies’ and Afghanistan’s last five encounters in T20s favoured the Caribbean team.

Afghanistan lost four of these matches and West Indies lost once, back in the 2016 International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup. Windies’ recent ODI success Roston Chase and Shai Hope were the stars for West Indies in the ODI series, both of whom are not in the T20 squad. Hope finished the

Return of the limitedovers specialists Rutherford, Fabian Allen, Simmons, Ramdin, and Williams are the players who were not selected in the ODI squad; these players will turn out in the T20 team.

Rutherford will return to the marron colour since his last

DaSilva ton hands Windies Emerging Players win over Volcanoes West Indies Emerging Players trounced Windward Islands Volcanoes by 107 runs at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba in the twin-island republic. It was 20-year-old Trinidadian, Joshua DaSilva who chalked up his maiden century, taking the Emerging Players to 261-3 in 50 overs. DaSilva scored an unbeaten 103*, following up his half-century while Gidron Pope scored an even 50 and Roland Cato scored 49*.

In response, Volcanoes, which included Bhaskar

Guyana Jaguars Innings T Chanderpaul lbw b Gore 40 C Hemraj lbw b Netravalkar 1 K Savory † b Stevenson 1 LR Johnson (c) c Holland b Taylor 43 CD Barnwell c Taylor b Holland 80 RA Reifer b Gore 10 JA Foo c Taylor b Netravalkar 39 RA Lewis c Kenjige b Holland 3 V Permaul run out (Akshay Homraj) 1 RR Beaton b Gore 1 N Smith not out 1 Extras (lb 3, w 3) 6 TOTAL 226 all out (50 Overs, RR: 4.52) Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Chandrapaul Hemraj, 2.3 ov), 2-6 (Kemol Savory, 5.1 ov), 3-67 (Leon Johnson, 24.2 ov), 4-133 (Tagenarine Chanderpaul, 34.1 ov), 5-151 (Raymon Reifer, 36.4 ov), 6-191 (Chris Barnwell, 43.3 ov), 7-201 (Ramaal Lewis, 45.4 ov), 8-208 (Veerasammy Permaul, 46.6 ov), 9-211 (Ronsford Beaton, 47.5 ov), 10226 (Jonathan Foo, 49.6 ov) Bowling: SN Netravalkar (104-20-2), CAH Stevenson (100-55-1), IG Holland (10-0-352), SR Taylor (5-0-19-1), K Gore (8-0-38-3), NP Kenjige (2-020-0), TK Patel (5-0-36-0)

United States of America Innings (target: 227 runs from 50 overs) MD Patel † c & b Reifer 43 SP Patel b Reifer 7 SR Taylor lbw b Lewis 23 Aaron Jones b Permaul 9 IG Holland st †Savory b Hemraj 28 Akshay Homraj c Beaton b Hemraj 32 K Gore c Beaton b Reifer 17 CAH Stevenson c Barnwell b Reifer 5 SN Netravalkar (c) not out 16 TK Patel b Reifer 10 NP Kenjige not out 2 Extras (b 1, lb 4, w 16) 21 TOTAL 213/9 (50 Overs, RR: 4.26) Fall of wickets: 1-21 (Sagar Patel, 7.2 ov), 2-59 (Steven Taylor, 15.6 ov), 3-89 (Aaron Jones, 24.3 ov), 4-108 (Monank Patel, 29.4 ov), 5-141 (Ian Holland, 37.5 ov), 6-172 (Akshay Homraj, 43.3 ov), 7-184 (Cameron Stevenson, 46.3 ov), 8-184 (Karima Gore, 46.4 ov), 9-202 (Timil Patel, 48.4 ov) Bowling: RR Beaton (8-1-370), RA Reifer (9-1-35-5), N Smith (8-0-36-0), RA Lewis (8-0-30-1), V Permaul (10-039-1), C Hemraj (7-0-31-2)

#4106

WEDNesday, november 13, 2019

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

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Barnwell, Reifer take Jaguars to 13-run win over USA Page 23

Return of T20 $1M 1stspecialists: Windies shift place purse focus to favoured format Page 23

Page 22

for Rio Futsal …kicks off on Thursday

Team Windies will be aiming to replicate the ODI series performance in the T20

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