Guyana Times, Friday October 08,2019.

Guyana’s oil wealth

GDP will grow but not much will go into treasury P7 – Opposition Leader Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 4101

THE BEACON OF TRUTH friday, november 8, 2019

Uncollected ID cards

Not intention of GECOM to disenfranchise anyone ꟷ GECOM Chair

PRICE

$80 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Serial robber jailed for 1 year P8

Pages 3 & 11

...verify but do not remove 25,000 registrants – Jagdeo

Over 2000 sugar workers strike for wage increase Page 13

3 wanted P2 for Chinese supermarket robbery

Piracy attack

Joint murder charge P15 slapped against fishermen Two nabbed with ecstasy, P2 molly

Over 500 persons search for employment at El Dorado Offshore career fair Page 9

Linden youth found dead in P10 home P8 Farmer charged for beating man with wood, hammer

2 NEWS

friday, november 8, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

3 wanted for Chinese President’s College farm no longer supermarket robbery functional – Deputy Principal

Wanted: Doodnauth Bissoondyal

T

he Guyana Police Force (GPF) has issued wanted bulletins for three persons in connection with the armed robbery of a Chinese supermarket at Canje, Berbice, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne).

Wanted are Jason Isaacs, 30, of 18 Bristol Street, East Canje; Ravindra Punwasie, 36, of Lot 12 Palmyra Street,

Wanted: Jason Issacs

East Canje; and Doodnauth Bissondyal, 22, of Lot 81 Cuburg Street, East Canje.

Reports are on November 2, the business was invaded by four bandits, who were armed with guns and cutlasses. The men demanded cash from the Chinese, but after they hesitated, one of the bandits went into the cash register and took it himself. Police were told that

Wanted: Ravin Punwasie

$300,000 and two cellular phones were taken by the men.

Anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of the suspects is asked to contact the Police on telephone numbers 3335564, 333-2151, 3332152, 226-6978, 225-8196, 2262870, 226-7065, 227-1149, 226-7065, 911 or at the nearest Police Station.

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President’s College students on the farm

resident’s College, founded by the late President of Guyana, Forbes Burnham, in 1985, is now at a disadvantage after its farm, which is supposed to provide food to the school’s food services department, is no longer functional.

This means that the school has to now finance purchases from its annual budget.

This was disclosed at the school’s 34th graduation ceremony by Deputy Principal (acting) Samantha Success, who explained in the principal’s report that the school has its many challenges; however, agriculture is one that they are currently facing.

“During this period, the President’s College farm supplied fruits, vegetables, poultry meat to the food services department. However, supplies were insufficient to meet demand and as a result, outsourcing was done,” she said in her address.

Moreover, she explained that daily, students would assist in various agriculture aspects of the farm to gather knowledge for their School-Based Assessment (SBA), as well as for potential entrepreneur development. However, she believes that much help is needed to enable the farm to become self-efficient once again.

Meanwhile, the school’s Board of Governors Chairman, Clement Corlette, in his remarks said that the Board of Governors were able to resuscitate some farming activities as

part of their programme and he promised that more will be heard about the success story of the agricultural sector within President’s College.

President David Granger, who was at the graduation ceremony, announced in his feature address the donation of a bus to the boarding college.

This year, the College honoured best performers in individual subject areas, overall best performers and performers who would have made the merit list. Among those were Kumar Persaud, who was the best graduating Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) student; Denisha Leitch, the best graduating Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) student and also the valedictorian of the 2019 graduation; Jada David, best Art student for CAPE; Aruna Sukhdeo best Art student for CSEC; Shanice Lancaster, best agriculture student; Surindra Persaud best Caribbean history student; Rovaldo Whyte, best Economic student among others.

2 nabbed with ecstasy, molly

T

wo male suspects are now in Police custody after they were nabbed on Thursday with possession of ecstasy pills and molly.

According to Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), Jairam Ramlakhan, the discovery was made by ranks stationed at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters, Eve Leary.

It was reported that the ranks, acting on intelligence, conducted two separate operations in Alberttown, Georgetown, during which they arrested the two sus-

pects with 261 ecstasy pills and eight grams of suspected Mali/Molly— a type of amphetamine drug.

The suspects are being processed for court and are assisting with further investigations.

Back in June, the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) had disclosed that a total 532.8 grams of ecstasy were seized by agents in 2018.

It was also revealed that anti-drug trafficking ranks also confiscated 304 grams of heroin and 100 hundred grams of crystal methamphetamine during last year.

news

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

Friday, November 8 – 01:30h – 03:00h and 14:30h – 16:00h and Saturday, November 9 – 02:00h - 03:30h and 14:30h – 16:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Berbice – Friday, November 8 – 14:00h – 15:30h and Saturday, November 9 – 14:25h – 15:55h.

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

WEATHER TODAY Light midday rain showers are expected; sunshine with partly cloudy conditions will prevail for the rest of the day. There will be partly cloudy skies at night. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 31 degrees Celsius.

Winds: North-Easterly to South-Easterly between 2.23 metres and 4.02 metres.

High Tide: 01:38h and 14:04h reaching maximum heights of 2.26 metres and 2.35 metres.

Low Tide: 07:34h and 19:59h reaching minimum heights of 0.90 metre and 0.86 metre.

wednesday, november 6, 2019

LOTTERY NUMBERS A

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22 Bonus Ball

Thursday, November 7, 2019

DAILY MILLIONS

03 08 19 25 26 LUCKY 3

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18 SUPER PAY DAY Friday, November 1, 2019

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

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friday, november 8, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Uncollected ID cards

Verify but do not remove 25,000 registrants – Jagdeo O

pposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo said that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is not against the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) verifying the existence of the 25,000+ registrants who failed to pick up their national identification (ID) cards since 2008 but insisted that these persons should not be removed from the Official List Electors (OLE).

GECOM has indicated that some 25,000 persons could be removed from the OLE if they do not uplift their ID cards, which have been available for over a decade now. GECOM will be publishing the names of these persons in the four national newspapers and set a 21-day period in which they will have to uplift their ID cards.

However, Jagdeo pointed out at his weekly press conference on Thursday that while the Opposition is not against the Elections Commission verifying the existence of these persons, they should not lose their right to vote.

“We don’t have a problem verifying – walking around the country visiting and sending letters etc to verify the existence.

But the law and [GECOM Chair Retired Justice Claudette Singh’s] own ruling does not allow any person who doesn’t pick up their ID card, losing their right to vote,” he asserted.

Back in 2001, Justice Singh, a High Court Judge at the time had ruled in the Esther Pereira case that the requirement for voters to have a voter ID card in the 1997 elections was ultra vires Articles 59 and 159 of the Constitution (despite a parliamentary agreement to use the cards). Pereira, a PNC supporter, had petitioned the High Court in 1998 to set aside the results of the 1997 elections.

While Jagdeo remains optimistic that GECOM

Takutu-Essequibo), with a significant number coming from the PPP. In fact, Jagdeo told reporters on Thursday that he was informed that most of these objections were raised in the Annai and Lethem areas. However, he noted that the Party intends to withdraw these objections.

“Now we will have to go and find the death certificate. So, I think those objections will be withdrawn since these are people who died. So, let GECOM get the death certificates and remove them because there is a hearing for every objection and you have to walk with your evidence…,” he explained.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

will not pursue to disenfranchise thousands of persons, he, nevertheless, expressed fear at Thursday’s press conference of People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR)-led A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) – the majority party in the coalition government – setting the stage to bring another elections petitions if they fail at the upcoming polls.

“This matter was debated [at GECOM and] there has been no formal position but I gather that there is a compromise that will ensure enhanced verification but not remove people’s names from the voters’ list. Once it is legal, it cannot be a source of petition. We’re very fearful that…they’re setting the base for petition afterwards, elections petition,”

he contended.

Claims and Objections

GECOM is currently in the process of preparing for next year’s March 2 General and Regional Elections. Earlier this week, the elections body wrapped up the 42-day Claims and Objections exercise. It was revealed that as of November 3, 2019, there were 5636 new registrations, 14,474 transfers, 2639 corrections and 2400 ID card replacements, along with 651 photograph updates during the exercise. The Objections leg of the exercise will run until November 11 but so far, over 500 objections were recorded.

According to reports, the majority of these 500 objections were raised in Region Nine (Upper

H2H Registration

Meanwhile, GECOM has also published the list of data obtained during the scrapped House-toHouse (H2H) Registration for public scrutiny at the various GECOM registration offices.

Persons can check the list of H2H registrants and seek to have changes made at any GECOM office.

It was reported that the GECOM Chair has decided that persons who did not participate in the Houseto-House exercise would not be flagged when they go to vote.

At the time, the controversial exercise was conducted from July 20 to August 31, 2019. Many persons boycotted out of concern about the credibility and legality of the exercise. Turn to page 7

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friday, november 8, 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

Guyana’s tourism profile

O

ver time, there has been much talk about Guyana’s tourism potential, with seeming emphasis on ecotourism, given the country’s geographical makeup. While work is ongoing to build the country’s tourism profile internationally, local tourism may need a bit more focus. This does not suggest there are no related efforts in that regard; however, consistency with added innovativeness may be deemed as challenges.

There is no disputing the beauty of this country, especially in the hinterland areas. The iconic Kaieteur Falls speaks volumes in attesting to its own grandeur and that of tropical Guyana. The Orinduik Falls reminds of the many other cascades nestled in various parts, which demonstrate the magnetism of such wonders of nature within the confines of the country.

Rolling savannahs with mountains as backdrops, dark-water creeks and evergreen jungles, add to the irresistible package the country offers. Those are complemented by the plethora of historical sites scattered from the capital city and outwards throughout the country. Space constrains details of all the relevant places with potential for tourism development.

That said, and given what is currently being offered in the context of local tourism, innovativeness comes in useful to help conjure up a more holistic approach. Guyana is the only English-speaking country in South America, and its history is littered with influences from other colonial masters, including the Spanish, Dutch and French. There are reminders even today through the names of some villages from the latter two.

Remnants of once seemingly impregnable forts are reservoirs of untold stories, while the fabled El Dorado still excites.

Herein lies vast potential to revolutionise the local tourism drive by encapsulating history. While there are efforts in the form of tours to Fort Island and a few other historical places, consistency appears to be absent. National focus comes during November: Tourism Awareness Month.

That is very useful, and is a good boost, but efforts must be channelled for a more structured approach for increased frequency, allowing ideally for weekend tours year-round by the Government’s tourism arm. There are private tour operators that offer packages throughout the year, and more than likely, a major percentage of the tourists would be overseas-based Guyanese and other tourists.

That said, the reality is that the cost factor for local tourism is prohibitive to ordinary Guyanese here. It is no secret that some have stated their preference to visiting a Caribbean Island like Trinidad & Tobago over Kaieteur Falls, given there appears not much difference in costs. Resorts are also costly; however, operators cannot work at a loss. While some local Guyanese are able to afford tourism packages here, a large percentage cannot.

There are instances when special packages were offered to attract more locals. If that can be sustained, then the potential to attract more increases. That, of course, is subject to market forces for local operators in the context of their current clientele. But, can the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) explore the possibility of working with the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) for sustained weekend tours to the Essequibo Islands as a starter?

Aside from the current usual destinations, others can be added, like the historic St Peter’s Anglican Church in Leguan. That structure is over 150 years old. Working in collaboration with the custodians, weekend trips are possible. The approach has to be holistic and national in promoting that and other historical sites. The intention must be to educate and build interest, which can be converted into desire to visit.

The tours do not have to be confined to the Essequibo Islands, but can include other relevant areas which are accessible, if not to ferries, then to other safe vessels. Partnership can also be built for the creation of trinkets and souvenirs for the various destinations. Many visitors to major cities overseas purchase souvenirs, which can include a replica of the Statue of Liberty or the Eiffel Tower, just to cite a few.

What stops locals here from creating souvenirs such as replicas of the St. Peter’s Anglican Church, City Hall, or even Parliament Buildings?

Each town has a rich and intriguing history. A trip to Bartica in the future can possibly see a museum of its history, while trinkets and souvenirs, including related T-Shirts etc, can be sold. This can be replicated in other parts of the country.

With a comprehensive strategic plan and commitment to bolster and revolutionise local tourism, encompassing all the necessary stakeholders, both private and state; and with consideration for justified concessions, it can be done.

There is the strong belief that if necessary, services are provided, and within reasonably cost, they will be accessed. Each region and town can initiate its own plan, with support from the Government. In the end, not only would there be a boost in the potential growth of local economies, but Guyanese would be edified by the opportunity for extensive visits to various parts of their homeland.

When referring to history-based tourism here, Jonestown in Region One cannot be avoided. Despite its macabre ending, it holds tremendous potential for tourism. A re-establishment of the site for that purpose would attract curious tourists. The spinoffs of airtravel, accommodation, food, local transportation and souvenirs remain untapped. Skeptics just need to look at the 911 Memorial and Museum in New York.

Workers harvest saffron flowers in a field in Herat Province, Afghanistan (AFP)

Lip service to agriculture Dear Editor, In one of his rare encounters with the media, the caretaker President, David Granger, spoke glowingly about agriculture and food production.

He was being interviewed on the Kaieteur Radio last Friday, November 1, 2019. This was immediately after “Agricultural Month”— celebrated in October 2019.

There is an old saying that goes something like this: “people should not judge a person or organisation by what he/she/it says about his/her/itself but by the action taken”.

Granger was merely repeating an old axiom about the importance of agriculture. However, if he looks at his actions or the actions of his regime, then we would see that his words and deeds are separated by a wide gulf.

In the first instance, how can he be taken seriously after what he did to the sugar industry immediately after assuming power?

His personal hostility was seen by the fact that he had set up a committee to examine the sugar industry. He assured the nation that he would have been guided by the findings of his committee. The committee met and presented its report to him.

It did not recommend the closure of any of the estates. Lo and behold, the President ignored the report completely and closed four estates.

That act put some seven thousand sugar workers on the road. It also put many communities from which the workers came into a deep depression.

People are actually starving in those communities.

The APNU/AFC regime, instead of taking concessionary credits from India to recapitalise the industry, has begun the process to shut all estates.

This has demonstrated the regime’s hostility not just to sugar but agriculture as a whole.

That decision had other consequences too. It has also dealt a serious blow to the country’s economy, other important businesses, and an important institution— the National Insurance Scheme.

The shortage of foreign currency that we experience has caused the exchange rate to slide. Only recently, it had depreciated to GY$236 to US$1.00.

The regime had to use a lot of the nation’s reserve to stabilise the Guyana dollar. They did this because we are approaching an election and the sliding dollar will push the cost of living even higher.

Moreover, as a result of that colossal blunder, the National Insurance Scheme is in serious trouble. It could find itself in bankruptcy. While demands on the Scheme continue to grow, the contributions have been greatly reduced.

This is really self-inflicted by the regime.

The hasty closure of the estates has impacted other companies in the country as well. The other industry that has suffered much from the vindictive closure was the rum industry.

As is well known, molasses from sugar is the main raw material in the production of rum.

The Demerara Distillers Limited got one hundred

per cent of its molasses from GuySuCo before the closure. Now that company has to import molasses because there is not enough.

This has also impacted the availability of foreign currency in the country as a whole. The company must use foreign currency to get its raw materials. Another reason for the pressure on the Guyana Dollar.

Mr Granger also spoke a lot about the Green Economy. Yet, he is doing everything against the ‘Green Economy’. For instance, alternative energy is big business all over the world.

The sugar industry has proven that generating electricity from bagasse is very viable. The Co-Generation Plant in Berbice worked well, supplying power for the whole of Berbice up to Mahaicony.

This regime had the possibility of establishing more Co-Generation Plants at Albion and Enmore and could have bagasse throughout the year for the plants. This had multiple benefits.

It would have saved a lot of fuel imports and foreign currency in the process. It would have encouraged investments in processing and manufacturing, thereby, creating thousands of high-paying jobs.

Guyana could have established joint ventures to refine sugar and take the Caribbean Market— which is some 220,000 tonnes of refined sugar.

The volume of molasses that was being produced would have made a joint venture for another distillery very viable.

These are but a few of

the negative consequences that the ill-conceived closure has caused. The list is very long and the impact, direct and indirect, is great.

This is not all though.

One wonders how Mr Granger can really talk about promoting agriculture when his regime has jacked up rentals tremendously in the MMA scheme and has imposed hundreds of taxes on small farmers.

In addition, this very man signed orders to seize lands from farmers in the West Berbice area. So callous was the regime that it tried to reap the crops from the farmers. That was only prevented because of the efforts of Anil Nandlall and the PPP, which went to court to stop the seizure.

The regime refused to lift a finger to assist rice farmers whenever they are faced with problems, not of their making. The APNU/ AFC regime, like Pontius Pilate, ‘washed’ its hands and left the farmers to the elements when abandoning its responsibility to them. At one time, in justifying his abandoning of the farmers, he stated that the rice industry is private. To him, that translated into no assistance.

The caretaker President tried to hit the right sound bite but only exposed unwillingness or his inability to deal with real issues.

He was just gaffing.

It is also crystal-clear why the President avoids the press: his real sentiments as being anti-farmers, anti-workers would be easily exposed.

Sincerely, Donald Ramotar Former President

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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

must GECOM’s political posturing Transparency be our watchword

Dear Editor, We are into the election season and I think it is vital and necessary for us to review the basic mechanics of an election. In the first place, we have an electoral body called GECOM, whose sole responsibility is to ensure the conduct of free and fair elections. That is their sole responsibility.

Now, that free and fair process is pretty simple and straightforward; that is, you being born a Guyanese and attaining the age of majority, which is 18 years, you get yourself registered and that’s about it— you are eligible to vote, that is, legally entitled to vote. If you are a commonwealth citizen/resident in Guyana for over the period of one calendar year, then you are also eligible to get yourself registered to vote. If you are a citizen of a non-commonwealth country, for example, Haiti or Venezuela, then you are only eligible to engage in our electoral process either by marriage to a Guyanese or by registration— that is, hav-

ing lived here continuously for over a period of 5 years.

Now that I have dealt with the dos or the things that make for one’s legal entitlement to vote in an election here, I shall go on to explain the don’ts of an electoral process in Guyana. The Constitution of Guyana prohibits a person below the age of 18 years to vote. Secondly, you are shut out of the electoral process if you are a citizen of a non-commonwealth or a country that was not a former colony of Great Britain and living here under five years.

Thirdly, if you are of unsound mind, incarcerated or dead.

In the last-mentioned state, that is, being declared dead, is not at the whims and fancies of anyone, or a “he said-she said” that the person is dead, that information has to be verified by the General Registrar of births and deaths. So, that sums up the voting procedure in Guyana. Now, you would have noticed that I made no specific mention of an identification card being the sole re-

quirement to vote, for the simple reason that it is not a legal requirement, seeing an identification card is not the only voter ID that can be used. There is no nexus between someone being in possession of an identification card and being eligible to vote; none whatsoever!

The registrant is legally entitled to vote with whatever form of ID you, the individual, deem best— that is the law!

So, when GECOM issued that edict that some 28,000 persons must take up their ID Cards and be eligible to vote in the next election, that, in itself, is an illegal order. It contravenes the expressed dictates of our Constitution.

This latest order by GECOM’s Chairwoman is a political decision and must be condemned for all its worth. This is not the Commission’s role, once you have stepped out of that zone of ensuring that every eligible voter becoming registered, to one of being a partisan voice for a party or government, you are treading on illegal and dangerous grounds.

What is even more frightening, is the fact that this Chairwoman is supposed to be a legal person or former Judge who is at the forefront of such stupidity. Justice Claudette Singh is facilitating this illegality which makes the situation preposterous, to say the least!

And, may I add, no commission has any right to track down or harass a voter or use any intimidating tactics against a voter or non-voter. The right to vote or not to vote is the sole, let me repeat, is the sole responsibility of the registrant and not the concern of GECOM. No election commission has the right to debar or disenfranchise a voter on the flimsiest of reasons that someone failed to uplift his/ her ID card, whether overtly or covertly. So, on behalf of all right-thinking, law-abiding citizens, this latest act of GECOM must be rescinded forthwith!

Respectfully, Neil Adams

Upsurge in forest crimes similar to domestic terrorism

Dear Editor, Recently, there seems to be an upsurge in violent crimes in Guyana. But as we grapple with the crime situation, there seems to be another upsurge in forest crimes perpetrated on the forest by rogue elements within the divisional forest monitoring unit and seemingly led by the senior functionaries within the unit.

Recently, in November 2018 to be exact, our representative stakeholders were invited to the signing of the EU-FLEGT Forest Governance Agreement at the Cara Lodge Hotel.

A ceremony attended by Minister Harmon and the EU Ambassador. The purpose of the agreement, I am told, was to strengthen and build on Guyana’s long history of good forest compliance systems and governance. I understand the UK Government, DFID, EU, FAO, Norway and many other international donors have supported this process and there is an expectation for more support.

In little under a year, the GFC Forest Monitoring system has gone seemly completely berserk under the leadership of Madam Chair (JD) and Head of the Forest Monitoring Unit. Seemingly, organised rouge elements planted at

strategic locations have manipulated the system and have created serious, and what one may consider fraudulent, forest criminal activities within the system. There has been a complete breakdown of system and process and this is a very worrying trend.

Stakeholders have complained and written numerous complaints to the authorities but all have been futile. It seems there is a willingness to tolerate this siege on Guyana’s forest or perhaps as some may want to believe those in authorities are benefitting.

While not accusing anyone, a number of board members, including the Head, are also stakeholders/producers and thus, it is the belief that tainted products are being siphoned off to their personal operation.

The forest monitoring unit has created a parallel system to completely bypass the once-strong forest legality system. The forest crimes are overwhelming and they range from: 1. Use of expired documents, tags and permits.

2. Cut and transport of thousands of BM of wood illegally outside your boundary and without a permit.

3. Selling of tags and permits by officers.

4. Delays in inspection to force an outcome.

5. Waiver of penalties for particular individuals.

6. Under-declaration to bypass royalties and fees.

7. Mixing and switching of species to bypass payment of royalties and fees.

8. Exporting more than the declaration.

9. Using fake receipts and documents to transport produce.

10. Operating without a licence.

The list goes on… but

many of the issues have been highlighted in previous articles and need not repeat. All stakeholders want is a fair system and for full cooperation and compliance by all— not selective treatment. But the collusion of the authorities is worrying. Stakeholders are planning to meet and also engage the international community and SOCU on these matters very soon.

Sincerely, E Smith Concerned stakeholder

Dear Editor, Seven million barrels of oil will be lifted before Guyana takes our share, which would be the eighth-millionth produced.

Assuming peak production, our first share can be lifted in March and every sixty-seven days thereafter.

The schedule of collection of shares of oil, referred to as a lifting agreement, by the operator, ExxonMobil, its partners Hess and CNOOC, and Guyana is yet to be negotiated and signed. Given our political situation, it may well be prudent to defer the lifting of Guyana’s share until the third quarter of 2020.

Importantly, Guyana would not lose any oil by deferring lifting; careful monitoring and simple mathematics would keep us abreast of our share volume.

For example, as our share becomes available, we defer and we allow someone else to lift it, say, three times in a row, then we take ours and theirs the next three times.

The current Department of Energy engenders no confidence that they are competent to perform basic tasks required to ensure Guyana gets the most revenue for our share of oil. The caretaker status of the government precludes signing any longterm agreements with any agency at this time.

Dr Bynoe has spent more time outside of his of-

fice talking to schoolchildren than inside it doing the preparatory work for first, second and even last oil. With less than eight weeks before production starts, Bynoe has now engaged a consultant to help with the process of finding the best agent to sell our oil. A few hours of research, coupled with conversations with various oil executives would produce a short-list of the best agencies, a blacklist of known rogues and an outline of desired requisites. Is there anything Bynoe can do without expensive, time-consuming consultants?

Editor, as I have noted previously, no long-term agreement can be entered into with any agency to market our share of oil. I cannot imagine the best agencies would/should not be interested in getting involved with Guyana’s oil under these circumstances.

The operator, ExxonMobil can be contracted to lift and sell at least, our first million barrels in March of 2020, this would give Guyanese a chance to put transparent arrangements in place under a new administration something the Granger administration has neglected to understand. The oil is Guyana’s patrimony; transparency must be our watchword at all times.

Respectfully, Robin Singh

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Foundation

To solve the hidden epidemic of teen hunger, we should listen to teens who experience it through school and other feeding programmes to provide the extra food growing teens need.

The teens also suggested: • Encouraging teens to participate in school sports or afterschool programmes where meals are served.

• Cultivating gardens at schools or in the community through organisations like 4-H clubs, and university extension programmes.

• Developing job training programmes to help teens gain skills to break the cycle of poverty and hunger.

F

or many young people, the toughest choice they will ever have to make about food is what to eat at home or what to choose from a menu.

But for high schoolers Tamiya, Juliana, Trisha, Cara and Kristen, the choices they have to make about food are more difficult. For them, the conversation is less about food and more about how to put food on the table.

“It’s kind of hard because like, I know I’m young, and my momma don’t want me to get a job, but it’s really helping out,” Kristin told us for a 2019 study regarding her decision to work as a waitress at a fast food chain. “Because basically, my check is paying for the food we’re going to eat … the tips I made today are what we ate off of.”

Such stories are part of a hidden epidemic investigated for a recent study about food insecurity among teenagers. Food insecurity, as defined by the US Department of Agriculture, means limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods.

It also means the inability to acquire foods without resorting to socially unacceptable means, such as stealing or transactional dating.

The consequences of food insecurity follow teens into the classroom and even reduce their chances of graduation.

Teens in these households are more likely to skip meals or not eat for a whole day because there was not

Employment desires

Teens like Kristin prefer to work to help put food on the table. While research shows there are benefits of teens working to provide food for their families, it also highlights the tradeoffs such as students abandoning school for work.

Young people who experience food insecurity bring a keen awareness to this challenge. It’s time for people who can do something about the problem to listen to what they have to say. (Adapted from The Conversation)

The next hot tech career? Farming enough money for food.

Some teens drink water, eat junk food or go to sleep instead of eating a meal.

While many teens rely on their parents and guardians well into adulthood, we found that these teens rely on themselves before they even become adults.

Julianna says she started babysitting at about the age of 12 to help put food on the table.

“Whatever money I would get from that, I would give it to my mamma,” Julianna said.

It’s not uncommon for teens to sacrifice to make sure their mother eats.

For instance, Kristin told us that her thinking goes like this: “I know your health is worse than mine.

So mamma make sure you eat. I don’t care … I can

scrounge up some food at school.”

Taking risks to eat

The teens we spoke with shared how peers engage in risky behaviours that have long-term consequences.

Out of desperation, some teens – rarely but still too often – find themselves shoplifting, stealing, transactional dating, “trading sex” for food or selling drugs to access food. “Stealing is the main thing,” said Cara.

Health impact

Teens typically experience a growth spurt and need more food during adolescence. Without adequate nutrition, teens often experience the short-term effects of food insecurity, such as stomach aches, headaches and low energy. Teens in

our study mentioned having a difficult time focusing in class or even staying awake during school.

Food insecurity can result in long-term effects in the following areas: • Physical health conditions, like asthma, anaemia, obesity and diabetes.

• Mental and behavioural health including anxiety, depression, difficulty getting along with peers, substance abuse and even suicidal thoughts.

• Cognitive health such as slower learning rates and lower math and reading scores.

What can be done?

To address the hidden epidemic of teen food insecurity and its consequences, the teens first suggested increasing food benefits

By Karn Manhas

W

ith few young people entering the field, farming is in desperate need of new blood. There’s much more than centuries of tradition at stake. The United Nations estimates that the world population will reach 8.5 billion by 2030, and as high as 9.8 billion by 2050, requiring a 70 per cent increase in global food production. With that many mouths to feed, farming may well be the most important job on the planet.

Misperceptions about what farming is (and isn’t) hold the sector back from attracting younger generations and adopting technological innovations that can improve the lives and livelihoods of farmers.

What’s needed is a rebrand of sorts — a concerted effort to separate myth from fact and promote the potential farming holds for fulfilling, impactful careers.

So, how do we give agriculture an image makeover? I don’t have all the answers, but I do have a few ideas on where to start.

Farming is a tech industry — let’s treat it like one

Twenty years ago, it wasn’t cool to work at a car company, but today companies like Tesla are attracting some of our best and brightest by reframing auto manufacturing as a sophisticated, futuristic field.

Farming has the potential to do the same.

Agriculture might be perceived as old-fashioned and low-tech, but farmers have worked hand-in-hand with technology for generations — whether it’s large machines like tractors and

combines or complex chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides. Right now the field is in the midst of profound change as advanced technologies including green chemistries, robotics, artificial intelligence, IoT, autonomous vehicles, machine learning, regenerative agriculture and biomimetics transform how farms look and function. It might seem like the stuff of science fiction, but autonomous vehicles, indoor farming and drone pollination are becoming more common throughout the sector.

Looking at, and more importantly, talking about farming as a part of the tech revolution has the potential to ignite the curiosity and imagination of the next generation. In fact, it’s already happening in many countries in Africa, where millennials are using apps and other inexpensive technologies to improve profits and elevate the image of farmers from peasants to professionals.

Somewhere along the line we started to devalue farmers and take them for granted, but it’s hard to think of a career that’s more important for our collective survival. Feeding the planet isn’t simplistic or base, it’s multifaceted, complex and sophisticated. Farmers are the original experimenters, hackers, makers and problem-solvers; they’re biologists, chemists, engineers, entrepreneurs and inventors. Perhaps if we talked about them like that, young people would be inspired to continue their legacy, and proudly bring the field into the future. (Excerpted from Thriveglobal.com)

NEWS

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friday, november 8, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Guyana’s oil wealth

GDP will grow but not much will go into treasury – Opposition Leader

D

espite Guyana’s economy projecting to grow by a whopping 86 per cent in 2020 as a result of its budding oil and gas sector, there would not be much to show in the country’s treasury, says Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its September 2019 report, projected that Guyana’s economy will explode from its current 4.4 per cent to 86 per cent. It was previously reported that first oil, which was initially set for early next year but has been confirmed for next month, will see the country’s economic growth tripling in the years to come.

But according to Jagdeo, while the massive Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth may sound good, this is not necessarily the case.

“This oil that is produced – if it’s going to triple the size of our economy, there is an assumption that the revenue to the State will also go up three times. So if we’re collecting a billion dollars now,

Opposition Jagdeo

Leader

Bharrat

maybe we will collect three billion dollars then in revenue because somehow, there is this mistaken view that there is a correlation between this growth and revenue to the treasury,” he told reporters at his weekly press conference on Thursday.

The Opposition Leader went on to bash the coalition government for failing to secure deals with the oil companies that will see Guyana and its people getting more.

“This Government should be ashamed now and it’s highly insensitive of Hess [Corporation] now to say the things they’ve been saying,” he asserted.

Recently, Hess Corp – which, along with US oil giant ExxonMobil and China’s State-owned CNOOC Limited, are operating the oil-rich Stabroek Block where 14 discoveries of over 5 billion barrels of crude were made – recently told their shareholders to watch out for a massive increase of cash flow, since the deal it signed with the Guyana Government will see the Government covering the company’s taxes from its share of profit oil. “‘So we don’t have to pay any tax. The Government will be paying our taxes for us from their share of profit oil, which is a small share already.’ This is what Hess just told their shareholders. So their shareholders will expect a windfall and Guyana will be paying from our share of the oil, a small share that we’re getting, and their tax obligations. So for them, it’s pure cash-flow; that is

Opposition not against...

Despite the passage of the No-Confidence Motion against the coalition government in December 2018, which, according to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), was validly passed and thus, triggering early elections, GECOM went ahead with the H2H Registration.

However, the exercise was carried out with only the ruling party scrutinising the enumerators, as the PPP Opposition was not even invited to participate.

The H2H was then challenged in the High Court and acting Chief Justice Roxane George subsequently ruled GECOM cannot deregister persons

from the voters’ list unless they are dead or otherwise disqualified in accordance with the Constitution.

This brought an abrupt end to the exercise, which had collected over 300,000 registrations.

The seven-member Elections Commission has been at loggerhead over the merging of the H2H data with the voters’ list.

However, Jagdeo contended at his press conference on Thursday that not only is the data obtained during the exercise unverified, but there is also no clarity given as to how it will be used.

“There’s been instruction as to what to do with the House-to-House data.

From page 3

Everybody was going in to check the PLE (Preliminary List of Electors) and do the Claims and Objections…

Even the [GECOM] Commissioners were not told what to do with the House-to-House data. They were just posted up out at the registration centres without any explanation to the Commissioners, to the public, to the staff or no statutory order underpinning their existence and how they can be used…” he pointed out.

The Opposition Leader reiterated that this unverified data should not be used for any merging, otherwise it could contaminate the voters’ list.

why our treasury will get a small amount of money,” the Opposition Leader contended.

According to Jagdeo, people are only talking up the numbers entirely without saying what will actually come to us.

In fact, he noted that not only will the country be losing out financially but its people will also face the same fate with the lack of adequate local content regulations.

“How much money they will spend in our country, buying from our people, creating jobs our people – that has not been defined.

This Government has an obligation to do so and it has not done so. There is no local content legislation.

They’re not looking out for our people… There are things that could be done by us to ensure the revenue flow back to our people and the Government is

sleeping,” he asserted.

The Opposition Leader went on to point out that the oil and gas industry is capital intensive and while there will be massive economic growth, the sector will produce very little direct employment.

“So we could possibly see a steep growth in our Gross Domestic Product and the 30,000 plus jobs we lost already, we’re only gonna get like four or five thousand new jobs. So we will be net worse off in terms of jobs even if the economic growth is high,” Jagdeo stated.

Last week, Hess announced that commercial oil production offshore Guyana will now start in December. The Liza Phase 1 development is expected to produce some 120,000 barrels of oil per day and it is estimated that Guyana will earn some US$300 million annually.

As such, the Opposition Leader reminded on Thursday that none of the monies earned from this sector can be used before next year’s March 2 General and Regional Elections. In fact, he noted that in the absence of critical legislation to guide the petroleum industry, interim arrangements will have to be put in place.

“You can’t stop the production. The resources [coming from oil] have to escrow… All they should be doing now is measuring how much oil is produced and tie up an interim contract. So if our share start flowing say by February/ March, tie a contract for the first three months for Exxon to lift it for us. But we measure how much oil has come out so we know what our share is. That’s all that should be done at this point in time and then when the new Government comes in, then it deals with all these other issues,” he stressed.

Previously, the PPP had outlined plans to have implement policies that will see politicians having an arms-length relationship with the petroleum industry, as well as holding officials accountable for non-disclosures of resources obtained from the sector.

Exploration activities offshore Guyana are also being undertaken in the Orinduik Block with British company, Tullow Oil, striking two discoveries.

8 NEWS Serial robber jailed for 1 year A friday, november 8, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

serial robber, who has faced a string of robbery charges, appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday and was sentenced to one year in prison.

Chris Pollard, of Lot 46 D’Urban Street, Georgetown, appeared before Magistrate Annette Singh, who handed down the sentence.

The 19-year-old had initially denied the latest charge which stated that on September 13, 2019, at Camp Street, Georgetown, while being in the company

of others, he robbed Sachin Narine of a phone valued $45,000.

The prosecution contended that about 17:30h, the Virtual Complainant was walking along Camp Street, Georgetown talking on his phone when Pollard approached him and snatched the phone.

According to the prosecution, Narine followed Pollard, who eventually ended up standing with two others and asked for his phone, but was told “Don’t do nothing before we do you some-

thing”. The victim then raised an alarm and two cops in the vicinity responded and gave chase.

Earlier this year, Pollard was before the court on several robbery charges, including a robbery with violence charge and was released on bail. In March, he faced five robbery charges. Last year, he was also charged with stealing his father’s gun and ammunition, but the charges were dropped after the elder Pollard told the court that he no longer wished to offer evidence.

Chris Pollard

East La Penitence man to face Judge, jury on murder charge

M

atthew Parks, of Lot 214 East La Penitence, Georgetown, was on Thursday committed to stand trial at the High Court for the stabbing death of Roger Allen on September 13, 2018. Allen, 22, was stabbed to death after a dispute over cigarettes.

Parks appeared before Magistrate Faith McGusty, who, following the Preliminary Inquiry (PI), ruled that the court was of the opinion that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against the defendant and committed him to stand trial in the High Court.

According to reports, Allen, a Guyana Water Inc (GWI) employee, was killed when he allegedly attacked the accused at his

Deceased: Roger Allen

place of work at D’Urban and Chapel Streets, Georgetown.

Allen had reportedly visited the minimart where Parks worked and the two had an argument over cigarettes. The security guard of the minimart was called and had Allen escorted from the establishment.

Reports are later that day, Allen allegedly returned to the minimart armed with a knife and a

piece of wood. He reportedly attacked the accused who fought with him, managing to disarm him of the knife. The man then allegedly proceeded to stab Allen to his body, but before doing so, he also received a blow to his body.

Both men fell to the ground and were picked up and rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where Allen succumbed to his injuries.

Matthew Parks

Farmer charged for beating man with wood, hammer

A

farmer who allegedly dealt a man several blows about the body with a piece of wood and

hammer during a scuffle was on Thursday arraigned for the crime at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Ronald John, called “Queen Boy John”, of Moruca, North West District, Region One (Barima-Waini), appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

The charge stated that on November 2, 2019, at Five Miles, Kumaka, North West District, with intent to commit murder, he unlawfully and maliciously wounded Anthony Atkinson.

Police Prosecutor Gordon Mansfield informed the court that on November 2, the men had a misunderstanding and were involved in a scuffle when the 56-year-old dealt the victim several lashes about his body with a piece of wood causing him to collapse.

The court further heard that the accused then armed himself with a hammer and dealt the victim two more blows to his head, further injuring Atkinson. The injured man was then picked up and rushed to the hospital.

According to the Prosecutor, the victim sustained a fractured skull and laceration to his body. The injuries the victim received were listed as life-threatening and can cause disabilities in the future.

The Chief Magistrate released John on $100,000 bail.

As a condition for bail, John has to stay 50 feet away from the VC until the conclusion of the trial. The case will continue on January 7, 2020, at the Aquaro Magistrate’s Court.

Choices… …in racist policies There’s a very important discussion going on in the blogosphere about “racism”. It was precipitated by the circulation of a video showing a UG student conducting an “experiment” to confirm his assumption that another ethnicity would pick up money that was dropped from a passageway. Now there’s no question the student revealed a “racist” attitude towards another ethnicity …because he already stated his belief that they would do something he considered to be negative.

Now your Eyewitness believes that anyone who sees money on the ground and doesn’t pick it up is a fool – but that’s neither here nor there.

The discussion, which has become very heated, has unfortunately missed the distinction between “racist” attitudes and “racism”. The fact of the matter is that, unfortunately, because of deeply embedded premises of our entire western culture, there is a touch of “racist” attitudes in almost everyone about one group or another that’s different from “ours”.

These attitudes coalesce as stereotypes – accompanied by “names” – which we judge the groups when thinking about them. It’s called “prejudice”. And we see these stereotypical attitudes exhibited every second on the blogosphere in Guyana, especially during elections run-ups as in the present.

“Racism” comes in when we translate those beliefs into actions that oppress the members of the disfavoured groups. Like if at a national level, the Government were to act in one way against a particular group that is totally different from another. Such as the coalition government in the agriculture sector, which has traditionally been dominated by one ethnicity.

The Government closed down 4 sugar estates and threw 7000 workers on the breadlines without any safety net or providing alternative employment. On the other hand, they intensified the programmes initiated by the PPP to alleviate unemployment in Region 10.

This practice of “racism”: “The systematic subjugation of one social group by a more powerful social group for the social, economic, and political benefit of the more powerful social group”. …by Granger So Granger says that on the PM candidate, he’ll make the ultimate choice. Like Bobby Brown, Granger insists “It’s my prerogative!!” But why’s 2019 different from 2015 when he accepted the AFC’s choice of Nagamootoo? Wasn’t that his prerogative then?? Granger’s just playing ducks and drakes with Ramjattan— and if the latter doesn’t realise this, then he’s even more delusional than your Eyewitness thinks.

Fact is, Granger and the PNC just don’t trust Ramjattan – and it has nothing to do with him being shifty-eyed! They just don’t trust him to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency and could become the successor in view of Granger’s health challenges. They just don’t believe that Ramjattan will be as honourable as Sam Hinds.

And why should they?? How could you trust a man who’d betray his own supporters in the sugar belt to insist that it was he who suggested the closures!

He who lives by the sword… …by oil companies It was just announced that Exxon will be taking the first oil lift until the end of February/early March.

This is a very mature decision, which precludes the PNC Government from having the advantage of oil revenues during the ongoing elections campaign.

The new PPP Government will have that honour.

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

news

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friday, november 8, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Over 500 persons search for employment at El Dorado Offshore career fair

T

he skyrocketing unemployment rate in Guyana has been the centre of discussion in recent time, as many youths are completing their studies without much opportunity to acquire a lucrative job.

As such, hundreds of persons flocked the El Dorado Offshore career fair on Thursday at Parc Rayne, Rahaman’s Park, which was geared at lowering these statistics and providing human resources to the budding oil sector.

The company would have partnered with other stakeholders in the oil industry to engage Guyanese on the fields that are available, as well as training if they are not satisfactorily qualified.

There was a queue of persons waiting to submit their resumes, records and CVs (curriculum vitae), all with the intention of securing a job. By the end of the morning session, officials calculated that over 350 persons would have been processed after submitting their recruitment documents.

According to Business Development Director of El Dorado Offshore, Mariska Jordan, support is provided through a number of means. SMB Offshore, the Matpal Institute, and the Offshore Training Institute were some of the agencies to forge partnership to extend information about other aspects of the oil and gas industry.

It was noted that some persons were indecisive on the career path which they want to pursue.

“Here, you can have a one-on-one because we have some persons coming in that don’t know what exactly they’re looking for, what offshore positions are available, how to get involved.

We’re directing persons that need a few additional credentials to build up their resume”.

Some of the attention

Scores of youths engaged at the career fair to learn about the available jobs

was also placed on the preparation of a resume and other skills that can assist an individual in securing a job.

“We’re offering locals an opportunity to see how they can get involved in the oil and gas sector. We’re giving tips on how to write resumes depending on the position you need. We have a few clients that are willing to talk to everybody to understand what their needs are in the coming years [and] currently,” Jordan highlighted.

Guyana Times caught up with one of their partners, the Offshore Training Institute, which is known primarily as the operational skills provider. Managing Director Neil Bispat admitted that there is a great demand for training in Guyana.

“We provide training and certification for equipment operators, both for the offshore and onshore industries. We have a very high demand from individuals in Guyana for the particular courses because the oil and gas is a new industry and the safety standards are being lifted,” Bispat pointed out.

He added, “If El Dorado Offshore is looking for employees in whatever skill area, we have persons who would have completed training on a database so we shortlist and bridge that gap”.

Recent figures from

the International Labour Organisation (ILO) have estimated youth unemployment in Guyana to be almost 23 per cent. To further compound this, the Caribbean Community (Caricom) has found that 80 per cent of prosecuted crimes here are committed by youths between the ages of 19 and 29.

However, a new Guyana Labour Force Survey in 2018 had found that the unemployment rate here to be 12 per cent in the third quarter of 2017, with high disproportions of both women and youth.

The survey was first of its kind in Guyana in recent years and highlighted that unemployment during that period was 37,119. This figure includes 15.3 per cent of eligible females against 9.9 per cent of eligible males and 21.6 per cent of youth aged 15 to 24 and 28 per cent of young women.

Finance Minister Winston Jordan had flagged Guyanese for crying foul over the lack of job opportunities when foreign nationals are entering the country and getting jobs.

This statement did not go down well with Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, who later opined that Guyanese are settling for high wages, hence, jobs often go to those foreigners who are willing to accept meagre salaries.

“Is this the Government’s policy that we must allow

immigrants to come in to undercut the labour market.

I hope the TUC (Guyana Trades Union Congress) hears this, that we must undercut Guyanese who are working… He’s saying that bringing in immigrants here, because they work for cheaper, would be beneficial

to the economy so that they can undercut Guyanese labourers because they work for less wages than they do.

So, our people must not get employment or they must lower their wages to match those of the immigrants who are coming in to work,” he stated.

Next week, another 2200 students will be graduating from the University of Guyana, during its 53rd convocation. This amount is far superior to 1700 recorded last year and these persons will also enter the job market in keeping with their majors.

10 NEWS

friday, november 8, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Drugs, improvised weapons found at Mazaruni Prison Ranks of the Guyana Police Force and Prison Service conducted a routine search which led to them unearthing a number of prohibited items at the Mazaruni Prison, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

Some 1404 grams of cannabis, 11 improvised weapons, 59 packs of cigarettes, eight chargers, eight pieces of broken mirrors, eight lighters, 10 cell phones, three sim cards, two smoking utensils, six pairs of scissors and a quantity of bamboo and fronto were found during the search.

Smuggling of contraband has been an unending problem within the prison system in Guyana. As recent as August, a similar exercise was conducted at the Region Seven penitentiary during which a large number of prohibited items were also found.

These included: 11 bottles of pepper sauce, 13 lighters, five cellular phones, two cell phone batteries, 40 razor blades, three pairs of scissors, 17 improvised weap-

ons, seven pieces of sandpaper, 15 nails, 10 mirrors, 15 metal spoons, seven packs of playing cards and 17 smoking utensils.

While, In Berbice, 1032 grams of suspected marijuana and 39 packs of cigarettes were found in the New Amsterdam Prison and a prison officer had admitted to conspiring with inmates to hide the contraband that was thrown over the fence.

During December last year at the Camp Street Prison, the following illicit items were found in the possession of inmates: 13 cellular phones, three cellular phone chargers, eight packs and 10 loose Bristol cigarettes, 21 cigarette lighters, 226 grams of suspected cannabis, small transparent ziplock bags, a quantity of improvised weapons, and three hacksaw blades.

Director of Prisons (acting), Gladwin Samuels had disclosed in September that so far for the year, some 28 prison officers had been dismissed; 11 for facilitating or directly smuggling contra-

inally for trafficking-related activities.

Five other prison officers, who were relieved of their duties back in July after they were fingered in an incident

whereby a parcel containing cannabis, had been thrown into the Lusignan Prison Holding Bay area.

Meanwhile, another prison officer at the

Timehri penitentiary was taken into custody after he was implicated by an inmate regarding the presence of 584 grams of marijuana in the compound.

Linden youth found dead in home

T

Prohibited items unearthed at Mazaruni Prison

band into the prison system.

While the authorities have been struggling to curb the illegal practice, there has been a breakthrough in the apparent network among rogue prison officers. In fact, last year, several prison officers were charged and interdicted from duty; nine of whom have been charged either departmentally or crim-

he lifeless body of a Linden youth was discovered on Wednesday evening at his home.

Dead is 16-year-old De Andray De Jonge, a fourth form student of the Harmony Secondary School, who resided at Lot 262 One Mile, Wismar, Linden. His lifeless body was discovered by relatives at about 21:00h.

It is suspected that the lad may have committed suicide.

The teen resided at the home with his sister, brother and other family members. His brother reported that he last spoke with him at about 19:44h on Wednesday shortly before he left the home. This newspaper was told that De

Jonge returned to the home at 20:47h and shortly after, he was found hanging in his room. He was rushed to the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC) where he was pronounced dead on arrival. De Jonge’s body was examined and no marks of violence were observed, this newspaper was told. The Police went to the house and took statements.

The teen was described as a “quiet person� by family members who indicated that he kept mostly to himself. Relatives have indicated that they are unaware of him having any problems in school or at home.

The body is presently at the LHC mortuary awaiting a Post-Mortem Examination (PME). The Police have

since launched an investigation into the incident.

On October 25, the lifeless body of 20-year-old Oswin Richards was discovered inside his bedroom at his Lot 566 Block 22, Wismar home which he shared with his sister and grandparents.

Reports are that Richards had a misunderstanding with his 16-yearold girlfriend during a telephone call and the teenager threatened to end their relationship.

As a result of her threat, Richards told the girl that if she was going to break up with him, then he would end his life.

A female relative went into his bedroom and discovered the young man dead.

NEws

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friday, november 8, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Not intention of GECOM to disenfranchise anyone – GECOM Chair I

n light of mounting concerns over GECOM’s intention to remove some 25,000 persons from the voters’ list who have not uplifted their national identification (ID) cards for over a decade, Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairperson, Retired Justice Claudette Singh has assured that these persons would still be allowed to vote at next year’s March 2 General and Regional Elections.

During an interview on local radio programme “The Political Show” – her first such engagement since taking the helm of the Elections Commission – Justice Singh explained that the issue was really about the verification of these approximately 25,000 persons, who, since the 2008 House-to-House Registration exercise, have not uplifted their ID cards.

As such, she noted that she took a decision at the level of the seven-member Elections Commission to advertise the names of those persons in the national newspapers – <<<Guyana Times>>>, Stabroek News, Kaieteur News, and the Guyana Chronicle – as well as send, via registered post, a notice to them.

“They’d be given 21 days to come in and just say I’m alive; I don’t want the card or whatever,” she stated.

According to the GECOM Chair, failure to make that verification will result in those persons’ names being removed from the Official List of Electors (OLE) or voters’ list, but they will remain on the National Register of Registrants Database (NRRD), which contains the names of all potential voters from which the voters’ lists are extracted.

“We will remove them from the OLE and place

them on another list supplementary to the OLE …

So, if on Elections Day, one of those persons turn up [to vote], they would be allowed to vote once they come armed with maybe a passport – some form of identification. So, it is not the intention of GECOM to disenfranchise anyone despite what you might have heard,” Justice Singh contended.

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Opposition has expressed concern over the move by GECOM to remove thousands of persons from the voters’ list, saying that it was not only in violation of the law but against Justice Singh’s own ruling in the 1997 Esther Pereira elections petition case.

However, the GECOM Chair was firm that the decision was already made on the way forward regarding this matter and that the Opposition was aware of this.

“A decision was taken to remove the names from the OLE, but in implementing that decision, that is the way we will go forward, because I am very mindful of anybody being disenfranchised,” she stressed.

Despite GECOM moving ahead with the removal of the names of those persons who failed to uplift their ID cards, former GECOM Chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally, had revealed that persons had voted without ID cards in the 2001 and 2006 elections without being disenfranchised.

Speaking at the time about uncollected ID cards, Dr Surujbally noted that there were over 35,000 ID cards still sitting at GECOM that belonged to persons registered since 2008. He had reiterated that persons

would not need ID cards to vote at the May 11, 2015 elections since the requirement to vote is being registered.

In the Esther Pereira case, Justice Singh, while a High Court Judge, had ruled in 2001 that the then requirement for voters to have a voter’s ID card in the 1997 elections was ultra vires Articles 59 and 159 of the Constitution (despite a parliamentary agreement to use the cards).

Pereira, a People’s National Congress (PNC) supporter, had petitioned the High Court to set aside the results of the 1997 elections, which was vitiated.

Moreover, only in August, acting Chief Justice Roxane George had ruled that persons could not be removed from the voters’ list unless certain criteria provided for in the Constitution were met

such as death or disqualification under Article 159 (2), (3) and (4).

Article 159 (2) states: “… a person shall be qualified to be registered as an elector for elections if, and shall not be so qualified unless, on the qualifying date, he or she is of the age of eighteen years or upwards and either – (a) is a citizen of Guyana; or (b) is a Commonwealth citizen who is not a citizen of Guyana and who is domiciled and resident in Guyana and has been so resident for a period of one year immediately preceding the qualifying date; and (c) satisfies such other qualifications as may be prescribed by or under any law.”

Subsection (3) added: “No person shall be qualified to be so registered who on the qualifying date is a person certified to be insane or otherwise adjudged

GECOM Chairperson Retired Justice Claudette Singh

to be of unsound mind under any law in force in Guyana.”

Meanwhile, Subsection (4) of the Article says: “No person shall be qualified to be so registered if during such period (not exceeding five years) preceding the qualifying date as may be prescribed by Parliament, he or she has been convicted by a court of any offence

connected with elections that is so prescribed or has been reported guilty of such an offence by the High Court in proceedings under Article 163: Provided that Parliament may empower the court to exempt a person from disqualification for registration on account of such a conviction or report if the court deems it just so to do.”

12 NEWS

friday, november 8, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

2 days after house burglarised, Police are still to respond

A

Corentyne, Berbice woman is calling on the Public Security Minister to pay closer attention to the functioning of Police Stations in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

The call comes as she has been waiting for two days for the Police to respond to her pleas for help after bandits broke into the Lot 14 Auchlyne Village, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) building.

This newspaper was told that the incident occurred on Tuesday and up to Thursday afternoon, the Police were yet The house that was burglarised to visit her home. she slept at her own home Reports are the building at Lancaster; however, on is owned by 88-year-old Irene Tuesday morning, she reSukoo, who is currently over- turned to the house and disseas for medical treatment. covered that it was ransacked.

However, Bishanie Jaigobin, “When I open the door, also called “Sonita”, 51, is tak- I see the barrel tumble. Her ing care of the building. daughter had sent a barrel Jaigobin said on Monday, and she said nobody is to open

it. When I look by the toilet, I see like the place bright, so, when I go in there I realise that bandits come it”.

The thieves cut a hole in the roof to gain entry. The entire upper flat was also ransacked. Jaigobin said not many valuables were in the

house.

“When I run upstairs, I see that the TV was there,” she disclosed.

According to the woman, an alarm was raised and she was advised to make a report to the Whim Police Station, which is one village away.

She said she asked her husband to make the report and after several hours, he returned stating that he was told that there were no criminal investigators available but later in the day they would visit the scene.

“And up to now, no Police. I called this morning (Thursday) and no Police come as yet,” the woman told this publication on Thursday.

Jaigobin said it is not the first time that she has experienced refusal to respond. She noted that on December 21, 2018, bandits broke into her Lancaster home.

The hole the bandits cut in the roof of the building to gain entry

“Up to this day, the Police did not go and take fingerprints. I don’t know what Police force we have. I don’t know what is happening in this country; like we are going backwards. This is a break and enter. Mr Ramjattan [Public Security Minister]

need to take a look at the Police Force because whenever you need the Police, you don’t have them,” the woman said.

This newspaper’s efforts to reach Regional Commander Calvin Brutus for a comment proved futile.

13 persons arrested with stolen items during raid at Kuru Kururu

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hirteen persons were arrested on Tuesday following an intelligence-led operation conducted by ranks of the Regional Police Division Four (EcclesMoblissa) at different locations in the Kuru Kururu Station District.

According to the Police, several vehicle parts, shells of a pit-bull minibus and a 192-motor car, three motor cars, a 150-elite motorcycle, five generators, and two weeding machines, all suspected to have been stolen or unlawfully obtained, were found.

Police said that some of the items have already been identified by several per-

The shell of a pit-bull bus

sons, and confessions have been attained from suspects as to their criminal involve-

ment with the articles found.

Meanwhile, investigations are ongoing.

One of the motor cars that were discovered

Vehicle parts that were discovered

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friday, november 8, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Over 2000 sugar workers strike for wage increase E

ven before sunrise on Thursday, sugar workers attached to the Albion Sugar Estate were at the picket line. They marched the three-quarter-mile stretch from the Corentyne Highway

All of the 175 factory workers were on strike, along with 1517 of the 1567 cane harvesters. Also on strike were 244 of the 340 cane cultivators, 63 of the 85 field workshop workers and 59 of the 74 mill dock op-

Women are also equally affected by the wage freeze.

According to Sharmila Lilboy, who works with the weeding gang, the treatment that they are receiving is unfair.

“We are working very hard but they only giving us fiveday work. When holiday fall during the week, they na gee abe wuk and plenty of we is single parents,” the woman said in her native Corentyne dialect.

She added that the workload has also increased, making it impossible for them to attain their daily task.

“Some days you carrying home $1300 or $1600. It very hard fo we. We need awe money”.

Urika Marks

to the estate, demanding better pay.

The workers contended that it is far too long that they have been without any rise in pay, while the cost-of-living has risen significantly within the last few years.

The protest was supported by the General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU).

GAWU on Thursday said declines in the real and nominal incomes of sugar workers have been a most difficult pill to swallow for the workers and their families. They have had to really curtail their living standards as they seek to live within their new means.

According to GAWU, the situation for the workers has also had an impact on the communities. The Union said

erators. The strike also saw 24 of the 29 mechanical tillage workers refusing to work.

Michael Inderdat, an executive member of the Union representative of the factory workers, explained that the workers have gone without seeing an increase for more than four years.

He said it is overbearing and threatened that if management does not heed to their demands, their action will intensify. However, he noted that any further action will be a decision made by the Union.

Meanwhile, Inderdat said several sections of the factory are in urgent need of repair while noting that repair work to fix broken parts become a weekly feature.

This, workers said, had re-

Victor McKenzie

it is a stark reminder of the importance of the sugar industry in rural Guyana, where job opportunities are limited and usually concentrated just around one or two endeavours.

“The reduction in incomes has reduced consumption which has affected the shopkeepers, the greens vendors, the fishermen, the bus and taxi operators, and so many more,” the Union said.

The last pay increase was in 2014. Today, some workers said they can no longer continue to work for a declining wage amidst an increase in the cost of living.

“We need wage increase – now,” they chanted.

According to many of the workers, over the past four years, they have been earning less while prices in the market continue to rise.

It is against this backdrop the protest was held.

When the protesting workers arrived at the factory, they called out the factory workers who all joined the strike— shutting down operations.

sulted in them being unable to work all week.

Victor McKenzie, a cane harvester, explained that the wage freeze has been affecting him negatively. He said three of his six children are attending school.

“It is not easy to send them to school. Then you have bills and mortgages”.

To supplement his income against increases in the cost of living, Mackenzie said he would go fishing to provide for his family.

Roopnarine Mahadeo, another cane harvester, told this publication that they are now working without being paid for holidays – a benefit which they enjoyed under the previous administration.

According to Mahadeo, the workers have not been receiving a bonus for attaining their targets because of bad management.

“It is not our fault that we are not making the target; the factory breaking down every week… we are willing to work but we only getting three or four-day work”.

Michael Inderdat

A more reserved Urika Marks, who has been employed with the Estate for the past fourteen years, said her wage is too small.

“When holiday come, we don’t get to work. And the fourday money is lil bit. Sometimes you don’t get enough four-day money. Sometimes you wuk whole week and just draw $6000”.

Regional Representative of the Union, Harvey Tambron told Guyana Times the sugar workers were expressing themselves because the time has expired for GuySuCo to make an offer.

“GuySuCo should engage the Union and the administration should play a meaningful role in getting the sugar workers an increase in wages and salaries for 2019”.

He recalled that from 2015, sugar workers saw no wage increase, while public servants benefited from wage increases and the bonuses.

“Workers are left without anything; hence, this protest is a way for them to express themselves. It is most unfortunate that with the festive season approaching, workers have to take to the streets protesting for increased wages and salaries”.

Tambron appealed to whatever sources might be available to make an appeal to the management of the sugar company in an attempt to persuade it to engage the Union meaningfully so that sugar workers can look forward to an increase in 2019.

He said the Union has been watching as operations are being scaled down and there had been a wage freeze.

But that, he said, is only at the bottom level.

“Jobs are being created for certain people and way above the salary of what many have been working for four years.

The salary for managers re-

Some of the workers protesting for increased wages and salaries

mains a secret. Sugar workers have experienced a steep drop in the earnings for the past three years and this year, their purchasing power has been depleted because the cost of living is on the rise”.

He said it is very difficult for the sugar workers to cope.

“And the records would indicate that many persons from the sugar industry are now leaving seeking other jobs and going to neighbouring countries seeking jobs. Some are leaving and going into the fishing sector because sugar is not paying them. They are not earning enough to support

their families,” he explained.

Tambron called on the management of GuySuCo to pay more attention to its human resource.

“If this is done, then they will want to come out and will also perform; hence, production will improve. And so, we can move GuySuCo forward. They shouldn't be trying to stifle these workers for all these years. It is unfortunate that this action has to be taken just to get the attention of management. How much more can sugar workers take?” Tambron questioned.

(Andrew Carmichael)

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friday, november 8, 2019| guyanatimesgy.com

Govt expresses condolences Energy Department to Dr Carl Hanoman’s family engages private, civil bodies on green agenda P

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hrough the Energy Department, stakeholders from the Private Sector and civil society were privy to the dynamics of the green agenda on Thursday at State House, where discussions were also facilitated on how this framework would roll out and their input when it comes into play.

The coalition Administration is looking at the pending revenue from the oil and gas sector to cushion the execution of its Green State Development Strategy (GSDS), even though the framework has been considered flawed for failing to focus on the Guyanese people.

Stakeholder Managing Coordinator Onika Stellingburg explained to the media that this strategy would consume ‘massive amounts’ of resources, which Government is hoping to cushion with the oil revenues.

“The finding of oil is something that is very significant for a developing country as Guyana to transition into a green state. To develop projects of any sort or kind, massive amounts of resources would be needed. Ideally, what we’re hoping to do is to have the finances and the resources from the oil to go into the development of a green state,” Stellingburg noted.

Meanwhile, Guyana would have to wait 15

years under the GSDS before it could attain 65 per cent renewable energy.

“We’re hoping to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, transition to cleaner energy, but to do all of this, we do need the resources to invest into that. We’re going to strive to achieve up to 65 per cent renewable energy by 2035 and then assess how much we can uptake as we go.”

The Green State Development Strategy: Vision 2040 was handed over to President David Granger earlier this year and just days later, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo labelled the document as ceremonial and promised to have it scrapped when the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) returned to power.

According to Jagdeo, the coalition’s strategy is a flawed approach since it does not focus on Guyanese and tangible returns to them.

“I made it clear that the PPP will scrap this approach. The Green State Strategy, when they launch it in September, it would just be a good photo opportunity for the President and another speech touting the ‘Green Credentials’ of our Government. But in reality, it will mean very little to people in Guyana in terms of jobs, better access to health and education, or anything else,” he stated.

Jagdeo, who was a recipient of a Champion of

the Earth Award back in 2010 while he was still President, had pioneered the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), which was launched under his regime in 2009. As such, the former President on Thursday did a comparison of the two strategies.

“The fundamental thing that is different about our strategies is that one, the LCDS was an economic strategy that sought to move Guyana to prosperity and our people to greater wealth and benefits, using a decarboniser, a cleaner energy and a green pathway. In their case, it is about an environment strategy mainly that they’re hoping to superimpose on the country and, therefore, it requires funding from our sources,” he said.

He pointed out that the LCDS was indigenously developed from more than 1000 engagements and with one foreign consultant who did pro bono work on the theoretical base of the strategy. The GSDS, on the other hand, Jagdeo noted, was developed by external consultants.

Further, the Opposition Leader outlined that unlike the coalition’s strategy which will be funded not only by taxpayers’ money but revenues from the emerging oil and gas sector, the LCDS identified ways of using the country’s strategic assets to make money.

resident David Granger has expressed condolences to the family of renowned doctor Carl Alton Hanoman, CCH, who died on Wednesday at a city hospital following a brief period of illness.

In a statement on Thursday, President Granger said that Dr Hanoman served his profession and fellow Guyanese with distinction. Additionally, the President said that Dr Hanoman served in the National Assembly as a Member of Parliament, on the Guyana Medical Association and at the University of Guyana as the Director of the School of Medicine and played an integral role in its accreditation. He also sat on the Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy and was the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

President Granger expressed sympathy to his wife Leontine; his children Carlin, Harry, Hans, and Carl “Max” Hanoman Junior; other relatives and friends.

Dr Hanoman, who was born and raised in New

Dr Carl Max Hanoman

Amsterdam, Berbice, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), studied medicine in Canada before returning to Guyana to serve at the GPHC. He was instrumental in the University of Guyana’s application to secure international accreditation from the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and other Health Professions (CAAM-HP).

He was elected President of the Guyana Medical Association in 1995. He

served in that capacity for five years.

Meanwhile, People’s Progressive Party Presidential Candidate, Dr Irfaan Ali on Wednesday evening expressed condolences to Dr Hanoman’s family. Ali said that Dr Hanoman served the medical profession with excellence and his death was a great loss to Guyana. He added that Guyanese, as well as regional counterparts, benefited significantly from Dr Hanoman’s expertise.

Cancer patients pampered by Muneshwers

First Lady Sandra Granger shares a photo moment with some of the women at the event

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hirty-one cancer patients and survivors were treated to a tea party and makeover by Muneshwers Limited last week.

The event was organised in collaboration with the Giving Hope Foundation Guyana and HEROC— a New York-based health and education relief organisation.

Themed “Look Good Feel Better”, persons were treated to makeovers, foot and hand massages after which, they all received self-care hampers and bouquets.

First Lady Sandra Granger, who attended the event, shared words of encouragement and served tea to the cancer warriors.

Speaking with Guyana Times, the founder of Giving Hope Foundation, Dr Lotoya Gooding, expressed that it was a day of pampering for cancer patients and cancer survivors since the cancer screening outreach was done on October 19, where persons were screened for breast, cervical and prostate cancer. “…We had breast prosthesis fittings; this is for

the women who lost their breast to breast cancer.

Muneshwer had someone net these special types of bras for the women with the pockets so let’s say their right breast was taken off, they can actually fit in the breast prosthesis in that pocket of the right breast so from the outside it will look like a normal breast,” Dr Gooding said.

She added that this is the first collaboration with Muneshwers Limited and expressed her gratitude and looks forward to more of these events in the future.

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friday, november 8, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Spiraling crime rate

Piracy attack

Top Cop’s “unbothered” Joint murder charge remarks on crime insensitive, slapped against fishermen unbelievable – FITUG R

Nabbed pirate: O’Brian Fraser

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he three accused in the Corentyne piracy attack and murder made their second court appearance at the Whim Magistrate’s Court on Thursday on a charge of killing four fishermen in October.

The Police, however, withdrew separate murder charges against the trio and instituted a joint charge.

Two of the accused were initially charged jointly when they appeared at the Number 51 Magistrate Court a week ago and then the third was placed before the court two days later.

Before the court are 22-year-old Suresh Sundat, called “Chu Chu Bai”, 30-year-old Narine Dhanrajh – both of Belvedere village – who were initially charged; then last Friday, Lennox Grimmond, 38, of Cromarty Village was charged. It is alleged that between October 5 and 13 in the Corentyne

Nabbed Boodrage

pirate:

Anonth

Magisterial District, they murdered Kawal Kissoon, called “Ajai”, of Letter Kenny, Corentyne; Otto Lamar Petrie of Miss Phoebe Village, Port Mourant; Marvin Tamesar, also called “Buddy” and “Bin Laden”, and Vishnu Seeram, called

Lenox Grimond

connection with the killing of four fishermen and were deported from neighbouring Suriname on Wednesday, are not cooperating with local law enforcement officers.

According to one source, one of the men is claiming that he does not understand English.

Nevertheless,

Charged: Suresh Sundat and Narine Dhanrajh

“Kevin”, all of the same village.

Meanwhile, the other two suspects, who were wanted by local Police in

Police are awaiting a response from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on the way forward.

Guyana Society for the Blind benefits from donation

G

Donation to the Guyana Society for the Blind

uyana Girl Guides Association (GGGA) made a generous donation to the Guyana Society for the Blind. Among the items donated were table-

cloths, which were made by individuals from the Society for the Blind in Canada, as well as a wide variety of canned food items.

The items were donat-

ed on behalf of Rajkumarie Narine, who is a legally blind Guyanese and former Guide Leader currently residing in Canada.

ecent remarks by Police Commissioner Leslie James which downplayed the surging crime rate by insisting that he was not “bothered” have raised eyebrows, and have been labelled as incredulous by the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG).

The umbrella trade union body on Thursday said that it was taken aback by the utterances of the Top Cop, which were made Saturday, given the “noticeable” rise in crime across the country. The statement was also deemed as insensitive to persons who were victims of these criminal acts.

“Commissioner of Police, Leslie James being reported as saying that despite a generally noticeable rise in crime he “…is not too concerned about the spike”. The sentiments of the Commissioner, if accurately reported, for us are simply incredulous and most insensitive to the victims of criminality,” FITUG stated.

The trade union body went on to state that any criminal attack presented a degree of trauma, and the apparent dismissal of this psychological effect by the chief law enforcement official was not in the best interest of victims.

“A criminal attack, whether as the victim and even as a witness, is an extremely traumatising and disturbing event in anyone’s life. It has the real possibility of having deep psychological impacts and could well push persons into a state of perpetual fear.

It is not a situation anyone wants for themselves and is

not something that Guyanese go about seeking. Therefore, to have the chief law enforcement officer, seemingly, being dismissive of the trauma that those persons have faced and are facing is for the Federation, and we are sure victims, a most unexpected statement,” FITUG declared.

Reports in various sections of the media have publicised the increase in crime countrywide. When questioned about the glaring spike in criminal activities, the Top Cop referred to statistics of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) which revealed that there was a decrease in the rate of serious crimes when compared to the corresponding period last year.

James was quoted as saying, “Persons are still bent in dealing with crime … We cannot prevent persons from deciding to commit crime, but we are doing our utmost … I am not necessarily bothered, because I am saying there’re a few sensational crimes that are occurring. We have noted that there might have been a spike, but I can say at the moment we have a minus 3.4 per cent in serious crimes generally.”

As such, the Federation responded by saying, “Nowadays, we are aware, many of our people are fearful of being attacked, robbed, or even worse. They go about their daily lives constantly looking behind and around them. They enter their homes and have to rush to the windows instinctively every time there is a strange noise or unusual sound. Today, many workers, at a time when their

Police Commissioner Leslie James

dollars are buying less, have to take their already scarce monies to invest in iron grilles, surveillance systems, security alarms and other measures to deter criminality.”

The Commissioner further went on to say that there were more reports of petty crimes instead of serious crimes such as murder.

“We have petty snatching of persons’ property, cellphones, purses, handbags and things like that, especially in the Stabroek Market area. As you know, the Commander of Division Four A was tasked, along with Crime Chief and other senior officers to deal with this matter,” he noted.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has also flagged the David Grangerled Administration for failing to address the country’s crime situation.

“Whilst crime is ravaging the country, [President Granger] has not outlined any measures to arrest this situation,” Jagdeo said at his weekly press conference.

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guyanatimesgy.com

friday, november 8, 2019

Regional

Bolivia Mayor has hair forcibly Jamaica: $5B in cocaine, cut by crowd of protesters ganja seized at sea

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he Mayor of a small town in Bolivia has been attacked by opposition protesters who dragged her through the streets barefoot, covered her in red paint and forcibly cut her hair.

Patricia Arce of the governing Mas party was handed over to Police in Vinto after several hours.

It is the latest in a series of violent clashes between Government supporters and opponents in the wake of controversial presidential elections.

At least three people have died so far.

A group of anti-government protesters was blocking a bridge in Vinto, a small town in Cochabamba province in central Bolivia, as part of their ongoing demonstrations following the presidential election on 20 October.

Rumours spread that two opposition protesters had been killed nearby in clash-

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Patricia Arce was covered in red paint and had her hair cut off

es with supporters of the incumbent president, Evo Morales, prompting an angry group to march to the town hall.

The protesters accused Mayor Arce of having bussed in supporters of the President to try and break a blockade they had set up and blamed her for the reported deaths, one of which was later confirmed.

Amid shouts of "murderess, murderess" masked

men dragged her through the streets barefoot to the bridge. There, they made her kneel down, cut her hair and doused her in red paint.

They also forced her to sign a resignation letter.

Ms Arce was eventually handed over to the Police who took her to a local health centre.

Her office was set alight and the windows of the town hall were smashed. (Excerpt from BBC News)

US blacklists 3 Nicaraguan officials in bid to pressure Ortega Govt

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he United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on three Nicaraguan Government officials as it seeks to add pressure to the leftist government of President Daniel Ortega over what Washington views as its undermining of democratic institutions and the rule of law.

The officials were targeted under an executive order that allows the US Government to slap sanctions on members of the Nicaraguan Government following a crackdown on anti-government protests.

The sanctions freeze any

US assets held by the targeted officials and prohibit Americans from doing business with them.

Demonstrations began in Nicaragua early last year over planned cuts to welfare benefits that later spread into broader protests against what critics see as Ortega’s increasingly authoritarian-style rule.

The Nicaraguan Government has called previous US sanctions on officials, including Ortega’s wife, a continuation of “imperial” designs on the small Central American country.

The officials targeted by the latest sanctions

were blacklisted for their roles in human rights abuses, election fraud and corruption, the US Treasury Department said in a statement.

They include Lumberto Ignacio Campbell Hooker, the acting President of the Nicaraguan Supreme Electoral Council and brother of the ambassador of Nicaragua to Washington.

The others are Ramon Antonio Avellan Medal, Deputy Director-General of the Nicaraguan National Police, and Roberto Jose Lopez Gomez, the Director of the Nicaraguan Social Security Institute. (Reuters)

Brazil for 1st time votes against UN call for end to US embargo on Cuba

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razil voted for the first time with the United States on Thursday against an annual United Nations resolution condemning and calling for an end to Washington’s economic embargo on Communist-ruled Cuba, while Colombia and Ukraine abstained.

The 193-member General Assembly still overwhelmingly adopted the resolution for the 28th year with 187 votes in favour. US ally Israel also voted no and Moldova did not vote. The UN vote can carry political weight, but only the US Congress can lift the more than 50-year-old embargo.

The policy shift by Brazil represents the latest attempt by President Jair Bolsonaro to draw closer to US President Donald Trump since taking office in January but runs against

Tourists in a vintage car pass by the US Embassy in Havana, Cuba

the interest of some major Brazilian firms.

Brazil’s Souza Cruz Ltda, owned by British American Tobacco PLC has a joint venture in Havana that makes most of the cigarettes in Cuba. Traditionally, Brazil has objected to how the US applied its domestic politics to foreign policy, punishing companies from countries that trade or invest in Cuba.

Colombia’s abstention follows a chill in its relations with Cuba.

Cuba once hosted peace talks between Colombia

and its National Liberation Army (ELN) rebel group, but Havana’s refusal to extradite three guerrilla commanders after negotiations broke down has led to repeated criticism from the government of President Ivan Duque.

Colombia abstained from the vote because of Cuba’s “hostile attitude” toward its extradition requests for the “confessed terrorists” and its support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. (Excerpt from Reuters)

he Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), in collaboration with its international partners, has seized more than $4 billion worth of cocaine and ganja estimated at just under $1 billion at sea since late 2018.

And while the JDF has not seen the expected increase in the seizure of illegal firearms, Chief of Defence Staff Lieutenant General Rocky Meade says the cooperation is making a dent in organised crime, which he identified as the greatest security challenge facing Jamaica at this time. “[It is] much less weapons than we would like to

find, but operations continue as we think they were planning to sell the drugs to purchase weapons, so if we seize the drugs we are stopping the flow of weapons indirectly as well,” General Meade yesterday told a joint media briefing with Admiral Craig Faller, the top US military official in the region.

Faller is the commander of the United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which is responsible for providing contingency planning, operations, and security cooperation in its assigned area of responsibility, including Central America,

South America and the Caribbean.

According to General Meade, the JDF has been working very closely with SOUTHCOM and other international agencies to fight organised crime.

“We share information and we work jointly in trying to counter the illicit trafficking from the organised criminals,” he said.

SOUTHCOM also operates the hospital ship USNS Comfort, which recently docked in Jamaica and provided medical assistance to scores of Jamaicans.

(Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

Harvard Law School traces its origins to an Antiguan slave owner, country wants reparations

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n an urgently worded letter recently sent to Harvard, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne demanded that the university pay his country reparations ‘‘for the gains Harvard enjoyed at the expense’’ of Antiguan slaves.

Browne’s October 30 letter to Harvard University President Lawrence Bacow — reported Tuesday night by the Miami Herald and Harvard Crimson — draws a direct line from Harvard Law School’s success today to the oppression of Antiguans enslaved by a Massachusetts-based plantation owner in the colonial era.

That plantation owner was Isaac Royall Jr — the wealthy benefactor of Harvard’s very first law professorship in 1815, whose name is still attached to Harvard’s distinguished Royall Professor of Law position today.

‘‘We consider Harvard’s failure to acknowledge its obligations to Antigua and the stain it bears from benefiting from the blood of our people as shocking if not immoral,’’ Browne wrote.

Browne’s request for reparations comes as numerous universities across the United States, including Harvard, have sought to reckon with their endur-

ing ties to the chattel slavery economy. Last month, Princeton Theological Seminary pledged $27 million in reparations, in the form of scholarships and other initiatives to assist descendants of slaves; in September the Virginia Theological Seminary also created a $1.7 million reparations fund.

Though the university hasn’t committed to reparations, Harvard also took steps to extensively research and acknowledge its ties to slavery, particularly related to Royall. Under pressure from students, Harvard Corporation decided in 2016 to retire the Harvard Law School shield, which bore the Royall family coat of arms. And in 2017 the university erected a stone memorial and plaque honouring ‘‘the enslaved whose labour created wealth that made possible the founding of Harvard Law School’.’

(Excerpt from Boston Globe)

US$653,916 from the United Nations Development Program to establish the secretariat of the NHI and to undertake initial preparatory work.

The decision of Government to introduce a National Health Insurance plan is in keeping with the Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

The JIPA Network – as the private healthcare company is called is headed by Grenadian-born and USAtrained neurologist, Dr Kester Need.

He promises that the NHI plan will overhaul the system and sustainably address issues of cost and

delivery of healthcare in Grenada.

According to Steele, the contract with JIPA which did not go through a procurement process according to data on the government’s procurement website is a necessary step to overcoming many of the challenges that the healthcare system faces.

“If Grenadians can agree to JIPA’s team-based model, NHI will become a reality in the not too distant future, and as such, the challenges faced by a colonial system of care will finally be addressed, for present and future generations,” he said according to a news release.

(Excerpt from CMC)

Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Alphonso Browne

Grenada signs health agreement with US company

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he Government of Grenada on Wednesday announced that it will be paying a firm based in the United States, between US$800,000 and US$1.5 million to complete the process for implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI) programme.

Health Minister Nickolas Steele said that the contract with the Miami based Joint Independent Provider Association came into effect on October 29 and it builds on the work already started by the University of the West Indies and other stakeholders.

Grenada received

guyanatimesgy.com

friday, november 8, 2019

17

Around the World

Trump administration moves China leaves bitcoin mining out closer to easing gun exports of list of restricted activities

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he Trump administration has passed a key milestone in a long-delayed rule change that would make it easier to sell US firearms outside the United States, including assault rifles and ammunition, people briefed on the matter told Reuters.

The proposed rule changes, which would move oversight of commercial firearm exports from the US Department of State to the Department of Commerce, could be enacted as soon as the end of this year, the sources said late on Wednesday.

The move by President Donald Trump’s administration may generate business for gun makers such as American Outdoor Brands (AOBC.O) and Sturm Ruger & Company (RGR.N) while increasing the sale of deadly weapons abroad. A relaxing of rules could increase foreign gun sales by as much as 20%, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) has estimated.

AR-15 rifles are displayed for sale at the Guntoberfest gun show in Oaks, Pennsylvania

While the State Department is primarily concerned with international threats to stability and maintains tight restrictions on weapons deals, the Commerce Department typically focuses on making it easier for US companies to sell products overseas.

Since taking office, Trump has been a far more outspoken booster of US weapons sales abroad than his recent predecessors, acting almost like a salesman for the US defence industry, analysts have

said. Any move that would boost arms sales is also likely to earn enthusiastic support from the influential National Rifle Association as Trump’s re-election campaign heats up.

Critics, including some lawmakers and arms control advocates, have expressed concern that any easing of export rules could make powerful weapons of the type often used in US mass shootings more accessible to criminal gangs and militant groups that Trump has vowed to fight. (Excerpt from Reuters)

hina, which is among the biggest manufacturers of bitcoin mining gear, has decided not to follow through on a government proposal that it eliminate mining of the cryptocurrency, the state planner has indicated.

China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in April sought public opinion on a revised list of industries it wanted to encourage, restrict or eliminate. Bitcoin mining was among the activities on the list at the time.

However, the final list published by the state planner on Wednesday did not mention bitcoin mining. Its exclusion was reported by industry website CoinDesk.

It was not clear what the NDRC’s reasoning was for this move. The NDRC did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment.

China is the world’s largest market for computer hardware designed to mine bitcoin and other cryptocur-

Nearly half of bitcoin mining pools – groups of miners who team up for economies of scale – are in the Asia-Pacific region, found a University of Cambridge study last year [Photo by: Dado Ruvic/ Illustration/Reuters]

rencies, but such activities have fallen in a regulatory grey area.

While China has been developing its own digital currency, it has in recent years moved to tightly regulate the wider sector.

In 2017, it started to ban initial coin offerings and shut cryptocurrency trading exchanges, and it also began to limit cryptocurrency mining, forcing many firms – among them some of the world’s largest – to find bases elsewhere.

Nearly half of bitcoin mining pools – groups of min-

ers who team up for economies of scale – are in the Asia-Pacific region, found a University of Cambridge study last year.

Chinese companies are also among the biggest manufacturers of bitcoin mining gear.

Last month, Canaan Creative, one of China’s biggest bitcoin mining hardware makers, filed to publicly list on the Nasdaq to raise $400M, its third attempt to do so after previous failed tries in mainland China and Hong Kong. (Al Jazeera)

Bosco Ntaganda sentenced to 30 years for crimes in DR Congo NATO is “brain dead”, France’s Macron says

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former Congolese rebel leader has been sentenced to 30 years for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Bosco Ntaganda, nicknamed “Terminator”, was convicted on 18 counts including murder, rape, sexual slavery and using child soldiers.

Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) found in July that fighters loyal to Ntaganda had carried out gruesome massacres of civilians.

The sentence is the longest the ICC has handed down.

As Ntaganda listened intently, judge Robert Fremr ran through an extensive list of atrocities carried out

by Ntaganda’s men, including rape and sexual enslavement of young children. Judge

Fremr highlighted the case of a 13-year-old rape victim who underwent years of surgery and developed a long-lasting fear that caused her to drop out of school.

He told the defendant there was no real mitigating circumstance in his case but said his crimes, “despite their gravity and his degree of culpability”, did not merit a life sentence. Ntaganda has already appealed against his conviction.

Ntaganda was the first person to be convicted of sexual slavery by the ICC and overall the fourth person the court has convicted since its creation in 2002. The Rwandaborn 46-year-old former rebel was involved in numerous armed conflicts in both Rwanda and the Democratic

F

Bosco Ntaganda looks on in the courtroom of the ICC ahead of his verdict

Republic of Congo. He surrendered at the US Embassy in Rwanda in 2013.

Analysts said it was an act of self-preservation, motivated by the danger he was in after losing a power struggle within his M23 rebel group. (Excerpt from BBC News)

US warns Iran is preparing a “nuclear breakout”

T

he United States has accused Iran of preparing “a rapid nuclear breakout” after it began pumping uranium gas into hundreds of centrifuges, another step that violates the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made the comments on Thursday after Iran stepped up activity at its underground Fordow nuclear plant. He warned against Tehran’s “violence and terror” and urged the international community to take immediate action.

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) confirmed the latest nuclear programme step after 2000kg (4400 pounds) of uranium

hexafluoride was transferred from the Natanz nuclear facility to Fordow. Iran previously announced that 1044 centrifuges were installed at the well-protected facility.

The US - which withdrew from the nuclear accord in May 2018 and reimposed crippling sanctions on Tehran called Iran’s move a “big step in the wrong direction”.

“Iran’s latest nuclear escalations reflect the regime’s intentions all along: to extort the international community into accepting its violence and terror,” said Pompeo.

“Members of the international community who are rightly concerned with Iran’s latest attacks and provocations should imagine how Iran would behave with a nuclear

weapon.

“It is now time for all nations to reject this regime’s nuclear extortion and take serious steps to increase pressure. Iran’s continued and numerous nuclear provocations demand such action,” Pompeo said in a statement.

The nuclear pact bans the production of nuclear material at Fordow, a highly-sensitive site that Iran hid from UN non-proliferation inspectors until its exposure in 2009.

But with feedstock gas entering its centrifuges, the facility - built inside a mountain to withstand any air raids moves from the permitted status of a research plant to being an active nuclear site. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

rance’s President warned fellow European countries on Thursday that NATO is dying because of American unpredictability under President Donald Trump, a view quickly rejected by Germany.

In an interview with British weekly The Economist, Emmanuel Macron expressed doubt about US-led NATO’s security maxim that an attack on one ally is an attack on all, which has underpinned transatlantic ties since the alliance’s 1949 foundation.

“What we are currently experiencing is the brain death of NATO,” Macron said. Asked whether he still believed in the Article Five collective defence guarantee of NATO’s treaty, Macron answered, “I don’t know,” although he said the United States would remain an ally.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in Leipzig

ahead of the 30th anniversary on Saturday of the fall of the Berlin Wall that is seen by many as NATO’s crowning achievement through its four-decade-long role blunting Soviet expansionism, said the alliance was perhaps one of the most important “in all recorded history.”

Macron has said there is a lack of strategic coordination between European allies on the one hand and the United States and Turkey, with NATO’s second-largest military, on the other.

While France has traditionally had an ambivalent role in NATO, taking no part in its strategic military planning from 1966-2009 despite being a founding member, Macron’s comments - a month before NATO’s December 4 summit in London - were unexpected.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and many allies want to project an im-

French President Emmanuel Macron addresses a press conference on the second day of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Brussels, Belgium

age of unity at the summit at a time of rising Chinese military might and what NATO leaders see as Russian attempts to undermine Western democracies through cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns and covert operations.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Italy Holocaust survivor Liliana Segre under guard amid death threats

A

n 89-year-old Holocaust survivor in Italy has been assigned police guards for protection after receiving hundreds of threats on social media.

Liliana Segre, who was sent to the notorious Auschwitz death camp at 13, has been subjected to a barrage of anti-Semitic messages in recent days.

It comes after Segre, an Italian life senator, called for Parliament to establish a committee to combat hate.

The motion passed despite a lack of support by Italy’s right-wing parties.

Members of the nationalist League party, led by Matteo Salvini, the centre-right Forza Italia and the far-right Brothers of Italy all abstained from the vote in Milan last week.

The motion called for the establishment of an extraordinary commission in Italy to combat all forms of racism, anti-Semitism, incitement to hatred and violence on ethnic and religious grounds.

Segre said after the vote that the abstentions made her feel “like a Martian in the Senate”.

“I appealed to the con-

science of everyone and thought that a commission against hatred as a principle would be accepted by all,” she said at the time, Italy’s La Repubblica reported (in Italian).

Since then, she has reported receiving as many as 200 hate messages a day.

Some of the threats have been so serious that the prefect of Milan, Renato Saccone, held a meeting on Wednesday with the committee for security and public order, where it was agreed that Segre needed Police protection. (Excerpt from BBC News )

18

guyanatimesgy.com

friday, november 8, 2019

ARCHIE

ARIES

(March 21April 19)

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

dilbert

Calvin and Hobbes

Talk about your intentions, plans and feelings, and find out where you stand. It’s easier to move forward if you know that you have the approval of a loved one.

CANCER

Be reasonable. If you overreact or become the problem instead of the solution, little will get done.

Think matters through and offer positive suggestions.

Keep the peace.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Find out what it will cost to make a personal improvement you’ve been considering. Looking your best, honing your skills and romancing a loved one should be priorities.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Take part in something that will bring about positive change. Making a difference will bring you in touch with beneficial people.

LIBRA

Spending time with someone who brings out the best in you or signing up for a day of pampering will give you the boost you need.

(Sept. 23Oct. 23)

SUDOKU

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21)

YESTERDAY’S

Before you decide to take part in a joint venture, medical experiment or someone else’s dream, consider the consequences. Make partnerships a priority.

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

(June 21July 22)

Peanuts

Emotional matters will surface if someone you do business with tries to bully you. Protect your rights, integrity and money. Don’t sit back when you should take action.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

SOLUTION FOr last published puzzle AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

An interesting lifestyle change should be on your mind. Consider ways to lower your overhead and decrease stress. A smart, unexpected maneuver will pay off. Invest in you.

An improvement to your home can be made. Ease your stress by avoiding people who tend to meddle in your affairs. Keep your life and plans simple and be precise when sharing information.

Stop being so hard on yourself. You’ve got more going for you than you realize. If there is something you don’t like, change it and keep moving forward. Trust your instincts.

A change to the way you handle your money needs to be looked at carefully before you commit. A fast-cash scheme someone offers to you will end up being a disappointment.

Minimize your intake and maximize the time you spend getting fit and living a healthy lifestyle. Walk away from anyone who tries to pressure you into something that isn’t good for you.

friday, november 8, 2019

19

round-up: 76ers

lose game to Jazz, Simmons to injury D

onovan Mitchell recorded 24 points, eight assists and five rebounds to lead the Utah Jazz to a 106-104 victory over visiting Philadelphia on Wednesday night at Salt Lake City on a night the 76ers lost guard Ben Simmons to a shoulder injury.

Bojan Bogdanovic added 20 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Joe Ingles scored a season-best 16 points off the bench as Utah halted a two-game slide. Mike Conley scored 15 points and Rudy Gobert contributed 14 points, 16 rebounds and three steals.

Simmons had just two points in 10 minutes before departing with 5:20 left in the second quarter with right shoulder soreness. He appeared to hurt the shoulder initially early in the first quarter when he banged it against the body of Utah defender Royce O’Neale. According to reports, Simmons sustained a sprained AC joint and will be re-evaluated Thursday.

Joel Embiid registered 27 points and 16 rebounds but was just 5 of 16 from the field as Philadelphia lost its second straight game. Josh Richardson scored 24 points, Tobias Harris added 16 and Raul Neto had 11 for the 76ers.

Bucks 129, Clippers 124 Giannis Antetokounmpo had 38 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists to lead Milwaukee past host Los Angeles, which played without star forward Kawhi Leonard.

Milwaukee’s George Hill came off the bench to score 24 points, hitting 6 of 7 3-point attempts, while Eric Bledsoe had 20. Kyle Korver added 14 points for the Bucks, Khris Middleton chipped in 13, and Brook Lopez finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Montrezl Harrell, in his first start this season, scored a career-high 34 points to go along with 13 rebounds and five assists. Lou Williams also had 34 points to go with 11 assists, while Patrick Beverley contributed 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Leonard sat out his second contest in eight games because of “load management.” Los Angeles has lost both contests.

Pistons 122, Knicks 102 Andre Drummond had 27 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, and Tony Snell made all nine of his shot attempts while scoring a season-high 24 points as host Detroit cruised past New York.

Markieff Morris supplied 22 points and five assists for the Pistons, who were once again without three of their top players. All-Star forward Blake Griffin remained sidelined due to hamstring and knee injuries. The team’s top point guards, Reggie Jackson (back) and Derrick Rose (hamstring), were also in street clothes.

Julius Randle led the Knicks with 20 points.

Marcus Morris contributed 18 points, while rookie RJ Barrett had 15 points, six rebounds and eight assists for New York, which has lost four straight and seven of eight to start the season.

Pacers 121, Wizards 106 T.J. Warren scored 21 points, and Indiana downed Washington in Indianapolis. Warren shot 9 of 15 from the field, and Doug McDermott connected on four 3-pointers to finish with 19 points as seven Pacers scored in double figures.

Indiana’s Domantas Sabonis collected 13 points and a career-high-tying 17 rebounds before fouling out in his return from a two-game absence caused by a bruised left calf. Aaron Holiday scored 18 points as the Pacers recorded a fourth win in their past five outings.

Washington’s Bradley Beal scored 30 points despite shooting just 1 of 12 from 3-point range.

Thomas Bryant had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and CJ Miles added 15 points for the Wizards,

who have lost four of their past five.

Rockets 129, Warriors 112 James Harden, Clint Capela and P.J. Tucker recorded double-doubles as host Houston breezed past short-handed Golden State.

Harden paired a game-high 36 points with 13 assists to lead the charge. Tucker posted 22 points and 11 rebounds while Capela had 19 points, 16 boards and six blocks. All five Houston starters scored in double figures.

The Warriors, down three starters (Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, D’Angelo Russell) due to injury, mustered an answer to every Rockets run until Harden led a 21-6 surge to close the first half. Alec Burks, instrumental in keeping the Warriors within range in the first half, scored 28 points in 31 minutes off the bench.

Bulls 113, Hawks 93 Tomas Satoransky scored a career-high 27 points, and Chicago ended a two-game losing streak with an easy win in Atlanta.

Satoransky entered the game averaging 6.5 points and had not scored in double figures all season. On Wednesday, he went 10-for-13 from the field, 4-for-5 on 3-pointers, and added seven rebounds and eight assists. Otto Porter Jr. scored 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting but exited in the first half and did not return due to a left foot contusion.

The Hawks struggled without forward John Collins, who was serving the second game of a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s drug policy. Jabari Parker, his replacement in the starting lineup, contributed a team-high 18 points, but Trae Young scored only nine points and was 0-for-8 on 3-point tries.

Mavericks 107, Magic 106 Dorian Finney-Smith put Dallas ahead for good with a 3-pointer with 3:36 remaining, and the Mavericks drew two charging calls on Orlando’s Aaron Gordon in the final seconds to preserve a victory over the visiting Magic.

Luka Doncic capped a 27-point effort with a pair of free throws with 2:31 remaining to give the Mavericks a 107-102 lead. Dallas didn’t score again, including two missed free throws

by Seth Curry with a chance to extend a 107-106 advantage with seven seconds left, but Orlando couldn’t take advantage.

Gordon scored 23 points, and the Magic got 19 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists from Nikola Vucevic. Jonathan Isaac added 13 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, four steals and six blocks.

Raptors 124, Kings 120 Kyle Lowry scored 24 points, Pascal Siakam added 23 points and 13 rebounds, and Toronto defeated visiting Sacramento.

Serge Ibaka scored 21 points, OG Anunoby contributed a season-best 18 points, and Marc Gasol and Fred VanVleet each had 12 for the Raptors.

Harrison Barnes led Sacramento with 26 points. Bogdan Bogdanovic added 22 points off the bench, and Buddy Hield scored 21 for the Kings, who tied a franchise record with 20 made 3-pointers.

Grizzlies 137, Timberwolves 121 Dillon Brooks and Jae Crowder combined to make nine 3-pointers, and Ja Morant helped put the game away in the fourth as host Memphis topped Minnesota.

The Grizzlies snapped a three-game losing skid in a game they led virtually wire to wire. A season-high 37-point first quarter set them on

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) drives against LA Clippers guard Landry Shamet

their way. Brooks scored 31 points, Morant had 26, and Crowder and Brandon Clarke contributed 18 apiece.

The Timberwolves stayed within striking

distance much of the game paced by Andrew Wiggins’ 30 points. Karl-Anthony Towns 25 points and 13 rebounds in his return from a two-game suspension. (Reuters)

Diamond League: IAAF cuts 200m and three other events from 'core' list

D

iamond League meetings will no longer feature the 200m, 3,000m steeplechase, discus or triple jump at all of its events in 2020.

Athletics' governing body the IAAF said it did research on the popularity of events and wished to cut the length of meetings for a "90-minute broadcast".

There will be 12 disciplines staged at each of the 15 Diamond League meetings.

The 3,000m steeplechase and 200m will feature at 10 meetings, while two will stage the discus and triple jump.

None of the four disciplines removed from the 'core' list will form part of the Diamond League Final in Zurich in September.

"Our objective is to create a faster-paced, more exciting global league that will be the showcase for our sport.

A league that broadcasters want to show and fans want to watch," IAAF president and Diamond League chairman Lord Coe said.

"However, we understand the disappointment of those athletes in the disciplines not part of the 2020 Diamond League season."

British sprinter Adam Gemili appeared to show his

The female 200m grid at the 2019 IAAF Diamond League

surprise over the move by tagging the Diamond League Twitter account in a tweet featuring a gif of actor Tom Hanks mouthing "really?".

American world 200m champion Noah Lyles tweeted: "Wow, no 200m."

The 2020 Diamond League begins in Doha on 17 April.

The IAAF said its decision followed research on the popularity of events which was conducted in China, France, South Africa and the USA, while surveys were carried out in Belgium, Great Britain and Switzerland.

Click-throughs on Diamond

League social media videos also helped guide the governing body.

Discus, triple jump and the 3,000m steeplechase ranked lowest in terms of popularity, while the 200m was taken off the core list as organisers felt its inclusion alongside the 100m meant the schedule would be "too congested, particularly in an Olympic Games year".

Former world 400m hurdles champion Dai Greene tweeted: "There's no such thing as a boring event, it's how you present it to the public that's the problem."

(BBC Sport)

20

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

friday, november 8, 2019

GFF lashes out at news publication for Extraordinary Congress claims F

ollowing a controversial statement made in another section of the media, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) have come out in defence of the transparency of their upcoming Extraordinary Congress, in which the elections of their Executive Body will be hosted.

Striking out directly at the Stabroek News, the GFF have issued a media statement in which has been highlighted the multiple times that that Federation have been acting according to the GFF Constitution and FIFA guidelines.

“The GFF would like to state categorically that the GFF Extraordinary Congress has been convened in accordance with the GFF Constitution and with oversight of FIFA and CONCACAF. The notification of Congress, nomination of slates, and preparation for the Election of the Executive Committee (are) being conducted in accordance with the GFF Constitution, the GFF Electoral Code, and with the oversight of the GFF Electoral Committee,” the GFF statement affirmed.

One of the main issues with which the GFF took umbrage in the Stabroek News’ article is the assertion that members have claimed not to have been invited to Saturday’s extraordinary congress. The GFF had much to say in this regard, in the process removing

themselves from the practice of ‘selectively’ inviting federation or club members.

“This administration has been very steadfast in sedulously adhering to our Constitution at all times. A letter from our General Secretary (ag), in accordance with Article 30.5 of the Constitution of the Guyana Football Federation Inc., was sent to all our Honorary Members of the Regional Member Associations, Member Affiliates, Member Clubs, Executive Committee, and Electoral Committee on 10-12-2019, notifying them of the Extra Ordinary Congress.

“It is therefore surprising that, according to the news article, just a single member would claim not to have received any information regarding the Extra Ordinary Congress. The mechanisms that we have in place regarding communication among the membership (are) well established, and a simple check with the office to ascertain why the notification was not received would have revealed that it was sent; the records will substantiate this.

“It does not serve any purpose for the GFF to notify just a few members on any issue; this is just not part of our institutional

Sunshine Snacks/Farfan & Mendes Junior Indoor Hockey Championships…

SHC Silencers, GBTI GCC Spartans win big on opening night T

he sixth Annual Junior Indoor Hockey Championships sponsored

by Sunshine Snacks and Farfan & Mendes Company Limited got off to an exciting start on Wednesday last (November 6th) at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, with the SHC Silencers and the GBTI GCC Spartans being big winners of the night.

In the Farfan & Mendes under-16 girls’ division, the GBTI GCC Spartans trounced the hapless YMCA Old Fort by 10 goals to nil, in process recording the largest margin of victory for the evening.

Prolific goal-scorer Abosaide Cadogan topped the scoring with four goals, and Madison Fernandes and Sarah Klautky scored doubles, while Haley Carpenter and Madison Singh scored one each.

The SHC Supreme outplayed their club counterparts the SHC Sensations by 2-1 in the other U16 girls’ matchup of the evening. Charlia Webb and Mariah Seegobind scored for the Supremes, while Dharanee Meghoo scored for the Sensations.

In the Farfan & Mendes boys’under-16 division, the SHC Silencers tamed the GCC War Dogs with a 3-1 win. Baraka Garnett led the scoring with two goals, while teammate Nkhuma Hutson scored a single. Johnathan Bissoon was the lone scorer for the War Dogs.

The Silencers established their dominance by returning to the floor later the same evening to administer a 4-0 beating on the Joseph Warriors. This time, the scoring was evenly shared between Nkhuma Hutson, Baraka Garnett, Javid Hussain and Jabari Lovell.

The third match in this division, the SHC Shockwave versus the YMCA Old Fort, ended in a 0-0 draw.

The GBTI GCC Spartans began their campaign in the Sunshine Snacks girls’ under-21 tourney in fashion similar to their under-16 counterparts. Sarah Klautky amassed a hat-trick of goals in the Spartans’ 7-0 victory over YMCA Old Fort, including a brilliant solo effort in the 13th minute.

Abosaide Cadogan added two goals, while Madison Fernandes and Kirsten Gomes completed the table with singles each.

The most entertaining match of the evening saw the YMCA Old Fort under-21 boys come from behind to defeat the GCC Pitbulls by 3-2.

After Samuel Woodroffe had put the Pitbulls up in the 7th minute, Old Fort came storming back to score three goals in the following ten minutes through the efforts of Omar Hopkinson, Nandalall Persaud and Luis Adams.

Rahim Oliver managed to draw GCC back with a goal scored in the dying seconds of the match, which saw Old Fort through to the 3-2 win.

Matches continue at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall for the rest of the week, with the finals being scheduled for Sunday, November 10th.

Current GFF President Wayne Forde will be running for a second term

DNA. All relevant information on any mat-

ter that involves all our members are sent to them; and, again, the records will support this,” The GFF have contended.

Going further, the GFF also took a jab at Director of Sport Christopher Jones, based on a comment that was used to boost the Stabroek News’ article.

“It is passing strange (that) the Director of Sport would want to weigh in on this issue. He has admitted that the NSC is not required to be informed by an association whenever it’s having elections. So why then would he intone that the GFF is being discourteous to the NSC by not informing that body? Has such a sentiment been expressed to any other sporting association before? The Director needs to (be) mindful (that) it would be difficult to scotch the perception that by being used as a vassal of the reporter, he is allowing his slips to show,” the GFF stated.

The Football Federation have also taken the opportunity to assure members, fans, players and critics alike that they would continue to ‘walk the straight line’ alongside their constitution.

The GFF would like to assure its members and the larger football fraternity that we will continue to adhere to our Constitution and that this core principle would never be compromised”, the GFF have said.

GMR&SC “Clash of Champions” International Race Meet…

Windjammer, ISG, Survival Supermarket sign on as important sponsors

Lankey Soat Mohamed (right) receiving the sponsorship cheque from Steve Ghisiawan of ISG

T

he Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club’s November 16/17 ‘Clash of Champions’ International Race Meet is anticipated to be one of the most-talked-about events to have occurred in Guyana, because local daredevil drivers would be competing against their counterparts from Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica, USA and England for primacy in a 23-race programme that includes the final round of the SR3 Radical Caribbean Showdown.

Windjammer Hotel and International Restaurant, as have Industrial Supply of Guyana Inc. (ISG), sole distributors of National Petroleum (NP) products in Guyana, and Survival Supermarket, have signed on as important sponsors of this signally important event for the GMR&SC and for

Guyana’s fledgling tourism industry.

During a ceremony held this week to hand over their sponsorship donations, Windjammer’s Managing Director Carey Griffith told the media, “We are really happy to be back on board again with motorsport. We’ve sponsored circuit racing and endurance racing before, and while this isn’t our first drag racing venture, we believe that this event is going to be huge.”

Windjammer had, in the past, provided accommodation for foreign racers who had come to Guyana for various events held by the GMR&SC, including the last International Drag Meet.

“We have always enjoyed a great partnership with them (GMR&SC), and this time it’s no different”, Griffith revealed.

guyanatimesgy.com

friday, november 8, 2019

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21

Hurricanes blow away Marooners in Cup Opener

A

career-best hundred from Devon Thomas followed by a destructive spell from West Indies offspinner Rahkeem Cornwall propelled hosts Leeward Islands Hurricanes to a 198-run victory over defending champions Combined Campuses & Colleges Marooners in the Colonial Medical Insurance Super50 Cup on Wednesday.

Thomas, who celebrates his 30th birthday in nine days’ time, cracked 10 fours and one six in a polished 105 from 94 balls to post the first hundred of this year’s Super50 Cup in the tournament opener, a day/ night, Group “A” contest at Warner Park.

It was Thomas’ second West Indies Super50 hundred and he shared half-century stands with left-hander Amir Jangoo, Akeem Saunders and his captain Jahmar Hamilton that formed the backbone of the Hurricanes’ total of 292 for seven from their allocation of 50 overs.

Cornwall then grabbed 4-21 from 5.3 overs and hometown pacer Sheno Berridge supported

with 3-20 from eight overs to lead the demolition of the Marooners batting for 94 in 31.3 overs.

The result gave the Hurricanes four points and their second largest victory (runs) in West Indies Super50 Cup history.

Cornwall put the Marooners under early pressure when he struck in each of his first three overs, removing Romaine

Devon Thomas

Dharry takes WBA title shot in Australia

Morris bowled for two, Akshaya Persaud caught at forward short leg also for two and Paul Palmer lbw for six, playing defensively forward.

Marooners were 15 for three after six overs and the wickets of Jonathan Drakes, Odaine McCatty and Larry Joseph sunk them to 39 for six.

Drakes was caught at first slip from a top-edged cut off Berridge, McCatty failed to make use of a reprieve on 14 and was caught at slip off the first delivery from left-arm spinner Jason Campbell and Larry Joseph was caught at mid-wicket from a miscued pull at a short delivery from Jeremiah Louis.

Left-hander Jerlarnie Seales arrived to hit the top score of 39 and lead a period of resistance, adding 47 for the seventh wicket with Jordan, whose dismissal, bowled dragging on a short ball from Berridge, signalled the beginning of the end for the Marooners.

With Marooners captain Kyle Corbin unable to bat, due to a finger injury he sustained while fielding during the Hurricanes’ innings, the result was formalised when Jerlanie Seales was caught at mid-wicket to become the final scalp for Cornwall.Earlier, Hurricanes made a steady start after they were sent in to bat on a typically easy-paced pitch, but they laboured to 67 for two in the

3

SCOREBOARD

Leeward Islands Innings (50 Overs Maximum) Montcin Hodge lbw b Shields 16 Kieran Powell c Corbin b Joseph 30 Amir Jangoo c Drakes b Joseph 39 Devon Thomas c Persaud b Seal es 105 Akeem Saunders run out 24 Rahkeem Cornwall b Kantasingh 18 Jahmar Hamilton b Seales 18 Terance Ward not out 20 Jason Campbell not out 7 DNB: Jeremiah Louis, Sheeno Berridge Extras: 15 Total: 292 – 7 (50 overs) Bowling Akeem Jordan (10-0-59-0) Kavesh Kantasingh (8-0-51-1) Ojay Shields (7-0-47-1) Larry Joseph (10-0-26-2) Jalarnie Seales (8-0-71-2) Akshaya Persaud (7-0-37-0)

19th over before Thomas came to the crease and put on 51 for the third wicket with Jangoo.

After Jangoo was caught at deep extra cover from a lofted drive, Thomas shared 54 for the fourth wicket with Akeem Saunders during which he reached his 50.

The dismissals of Saunders and Cornwall in the 38th and 42nd overs respectively, put

CCC Marooners Innings (50 Overs Maximum) Akshaya Persaud c Saunders b Cornwall 2 Romaine Morrison b Cornwall 2 Jonathan Drakes c Cornwall b Berridge 7 Paul Palmer lbw b Cornwall 6 Odain McCatty c Cornwall b Campbell 15 Akeem Jordan b Berridge 11 Larry Joseph c Hodge b Louis 5 Jalarnie Seales c Ward b Cornwall 39 Kavesh Kantasingh c Hamilton b Berridge 0 Ojay Shields not out 0 Kyle Corbin DNB Extras: 7 Total: 94-9 (31.3 overs) Bowling Sheeno Berridge (8-3-20-3) Rahkeem Cornwall (5.3-0-21-4) Jason Campbell (8-0-27-1) Jeremiah Louis (3-1-8-1) Terance Ward (7-2-14-0)

a dent in the plans of the Hurricanes for a strong closing flourish, but their captain Jahmar Hamilton came to the crease and added 56 for the sixth wicket with Thomas to get their plans back on track.

Thomas steered his 91st ball to third man to reach his hundred before he fell in the penultimate over trying to increase the tempo. (CWI)

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Guyanese boxer Elton Dharry

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uyana will, for the second time in 2019, have one of her sons compete for a World Boxing Association (WBA) championship title when Elton Dharry attempts to wrest the World Super Flyweight crown from Australia’s Andrew Moloney, who currently holds the OPBF, Commonwealth and WBA Oceana Super-Flyweight titles; and has, from October 2019, been rated as the world’s eighth best flyweight boxer.

Dharry enters the ring at the Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne, Australia on November 15th (next Friday) to trade punches with this undefeated fighter who boasts a record of 20 wins with 13 knockouts and neither a loss nor draw.

Dharry’s record consists of 24 wins, 14 by knockout, plus five losses and one draw. It is worthy to note that Dharry’s five (5) losses occurred in the very early part of his career. He has not lost a fight since 2010, while he has won his last twenty-one (21) consecutive fights.

The Australian-born Moloney is, at age 28, a natural flyweight who is reputed to be “The Monster”. Dharry, on the other hand, was born at Enterprise, East Coast Demerara, and, at 33 years, prefers not to be called by the alias by which he became known in Guyana – “Coolie Bully”.

This fight will be televised through ESPN Plus app, and if Guyanese boxing enthusiasts are able to download this app, they will have the opportunity to cheer on Dharry as he makes a bid to uplift the WBA Super Flyweight title.

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his year’s semi-final games of the GT Beer/ Keep Your Five Alive futsal competition, already labelled “The Battle of the Ballers”, are expected to be witnessed by a full house of spectators on Saturday at the National Gymnasium, because the finalists would be decided from play in these games.

A very substantial reward awaits the winner of this tournament, and this will be augmented by the winner’s undisputed bragging rights for the next year; thus it is anticipated that each contesting team would be bringing their ‘A Game’ to these semi-final games.

The four semi-finalists, who would be battling for one of only two places in the final game, are this tournament’s defending champions Sparta Boss, Future Stars, Bent Street, and Gold is Money.

According to Promoter Kevin Adonis, all systems are in place for fans to enjoy a riveting night of action between the country’s four best teams in this format of football.

Many pundits are touting Saturday’s games as the most competitive semi-finals to be played in a long time.

The champs, Sparta Boss, are set to tackle a rejuvenated Future Stars unit which has consistently prevailed against the opposition throughout the competition. Nevertheless, many of those same pundits believe the Stars could be attempting to cross ‘a bridge too far’ this time around.

Sparta’s chances of winning would rest on the performances of Gregory Richardson, Sheldon Shepherd, Ryan Hackett and Eusi Phillips; while the future of the Stars would depend on players such as Keiron Solomon, Kevin Cummings and Jamal Cozier continuing to shine to get them to the final.

In the other semi-final, Bent Street -- the team that looked unstoppable throughout this tournament -- go up against a slightly weakened Gold is Money side, which would be without the services of their talismanic captain Hubert Pedro.

However, after a shaky start, Gold is Money had rebounded to beat a stubborn LA Ballers in overtime, and many would know that the Gold experience at this stage of competitions has always proved to be ‘a thorn in the flesh’ for many opponents.

Gold is Money would be led by leading marksman Jermin Junor, who would no doubt receive support from the experienced Phillip Rowley, Solomon Austin and Randolph Wagner.

But Bent Street is a team loaded with national standouts, and they would be aiming to take full advantage of the absence of Pedro to prevail over the Gold and reach the championship game.

The venerable Pernel Schultz, Daniel Wilson and William Europe are in their lineup, and their only focus should be on dominating their opponents.

To add to Saturday’s excitement, two exhibition games would precede these semi-final games.

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friday, november 8, 2019

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

Windies in position to seal ODI season against Afghanistan Sheldon Cottrell

fghanistan were comprehensively beaten in the first one-day international of this series and the seven-wicket loss was largely down to a batting collapse as they moved from 126/2 from 26.2 overs to 194 all out, as the West Indies comfortably chased that down.

The highlight of the batting was a century stand for the third wicket between Rahmat Shah and Ikram Alikhil but other than a knock of 35 from Asghar Afghan,

none of their other batsmen contributed, nor were able to hang around long enough to bat out the 50 overs.

That ultimately left their bowlers with very little to play with and the likes of star spinner and captain Rashid Khan never had an opportunity to apply pressure with the run rate, but they will need a much-improved display all-round and they may decide to keep faith with the team and give them another chance in this second ODI as they seek to stay alive in the series.

Meanwhile, the Windies got off

to a great start under new Head Coach Phil Simmons and new skipper Kieron Pollard as they outplayed the hosts in all facets to beat them by seven wickets and give them an early confidence booster at the start of this tour.

The bowlers laid the foundations for the victory with a superb economical display and, with Alzarri Joseph proving expensive, the fact they had all-rounder Roston Chase to count on to cover some overs proved ideal, though Joseph should get another start

here unless they decide to bring Khary Pierre or Keemo Paul in.

The biggest boost to the confidence to the team will be the way in which Shai Hope (77*) and Roston Chase (94) played against their spinners as they largely played it well and left Rashid Khan wicketless so that should give them a lift for the rest of the series and changes to the batting line-up are highly unlikely.

The manner of defeat in the opening one-day international will dent the confidence of the home side as they were thoroughly outplayed by the West Indies.

Rashid Khan especially will

Lodge, Bishops’, Marian Academy victorious T A

tum, and three more goals were sunk in the QC net in rapid fire.

Nicholas Trotman etched his name on the

thus enabling Lodge to prevail 4-1 against QC. After a close first game, the Bishops’ High School were finally able to bag a win when they faced off

Dorwin George was again instrumental for Lodge Secondary

score sheet in the 51st minute, and his captain Dorwin George followed suit in the 55th and 57th minutes,

against Cummings Lodge Secondary. Bishops had missed out on a victory by just one goal in their first-

be keen to bounce back and make an impact but they will ultimately need their batsmen to do more if they are to compete in this series. Winning the toss and bowling first may be the way forward for them to reduce the pressure on their batsmen.

Barring complacency creeping in for the tourists however, it is hard to see Afghanistan’s route to victory unless their batting improves significantly and they can hit 250+ runs. (statzone)

Mayor Green InterWard kicks off on Sunday at Den Amstel

U-18 Football League…

s if it were ‘deja vu’, Lodge Secondary and Annandale Secondary are head-tohead after the completion of Round Two of the Guyoil/ Tradewind Takers Secondary School league.

These two schools had often battled for the top spot in this league in 2018.

L o d g e Secondary pushed their tally to two wins from as many games after defeating Queen’s College 4-1 on Wednesday evening.

Queen’s College had started the competition on a high, having thumped Charlestown Secondary 3-1, and had seemingly brought the winning momentum to their encounter against Lodge.

And, surprising, Lodge had another slow start, as the Queen’s College’s defense had held off this quick-fire outfit.

The first goal of the encounter came off the boots of Lodge’s Curt Edwards in the 17th minute, and the scores remained at 1-0 for the remainder of the first half. Then a hard-fought equalizer came in the 40th minute when the Queen’s College captain, Diarra Thomas, found the back of the net for what was eventually his team’s only goal.

However, Lodge eventually found their momen-

Shai Hope

round game against defending champions Annandale, and thus sought to control their meeting with Cummings Lodge. The Bishops’ two goals were spread evenly, with one in each half, as they mounted a solid defense to restrict their opponents.

Following a foul committed in the box just before halftime, Bishops’ goalkeeper Makayah Smith took the penalty opportunity, and connected it cleanly for the school’s first goal, and Malachi Richards netted the second from open play in the 53rd minute as Bishops’ recorded a 2-0 win.

Also in winner’s circle was Marian Academy, after edging past St. John’s College in their Round Two game. After playing with deadlocked scores in the first half, Marian got their breakthrough from standout player Ricardo Percival in the 42nd minute. While their defense had weakened in the second half when they lost to Lodge in the first round, the Carifesta Avenue school did well to ‘keep it together’ against St. John’s. Thanks to their goalkeeper, the allwhite clad team managed to hold off the by then frantic St. John’s squad in order to bag the much-needed victory.

The under-18 school league is expected to continue on Sunday, November 10, with Round 3 action.

his year’s 9-a-side Inter-Ward Football Competition to commemorate the 85th Birth Anniversary of former Mayor Hamilton Green is set to kick off this Sunday with twelve matches being played at the Den Amstel Community Centre ground on the West Coast of Demerara.

The annual event will see teams from East Coast Demerara, East Bank Demerara, Georgetown, and West Berbice joining those from the host community in a straight fight for prize monies in excess of $400,000 and bragging rights for the next year.

According to coordinator of the tournament, former national coach Lennox Arthur, this year’s competition is expected to provide riveting action from the start, and teams have begun to intensify their preparation to ensure the fans are given a treat.

Arthur, who has been at the helm of coordinating t h i s

tournament since its inception over the past three decades, has said the inclusion of a team with nationals f r o m

neighbouring Venezuela has added attraction to the event.

He added that a strong request was made by several officials with knowledge of those players’ ability, and he has been convinced that those players’ skills will match those of the locals, thus making the tournament very competitive.

Among the teams invited to participate are: Bourda Blues, Den Amstel Agricola, Uitvlugt, Sophia and Timehri, all very good teams in the format.

Fixtures for the opening day are as follows: Sara Lodge versus Kuru Kururu; Goed Fortuin vs.

Plaisance; Wales vs. Timehri; Bagotville vs. Soesdyke; Bourda Blues vs. Durban Backlands; Charlestown vs. Gaza; Casa Corina FC vs. Hurry Ate; GT Kanaimas vs. Stewartville.

Winner of game 1 vs. winner of game 3; winner of game 2 vs. winner of game 4; winner of game 5 vs. winner of game 7; and winner of game 6 vs. winner of game 8.

The final will be played on Sunday, November 24, at the same venue. The winning team will take home $200,000 and a trophy; while second-, third- and fourthplaced finishers will receive $100,000, $60,000 and $40,000 respectively.

T w e n t y eight teams will participate in the competition.

guyanatimesgy.com

friday, november 8, 2019

ANSA McAL's Dewar Golf Classic on this Saturday T

he Dewar Golf Classic, a tournament being held by distribution giants ANSA McAL under this premier liquor brand, will commence at the Lusignan Golf Course at 11:00hrs on Saturday, November 9th. This is in an effort to ensure that the enormous amount of players who are billed for the annual event get ample time to finish it.

Trophies and prizes will be on offer for winners i n three categories of play, and specialty awards will be up for grabs for such sterling achievements as the ‘longest drive’ and ‘nearest to pin’.

ANSA McAL has been a staunch supporter of the Lusignan Golf Club (LGC), and that company’s Managing Director, Troy Cadogan, has been in the LCG winner's circle several times this year, including for being champion in his flight in the Lusignan Open.

This will be the third event this business conglomerate would be staging at the LGC, having hosted the Suzuki Motors Invitational and cohosted the Lusignan Open.

"We have seen the dramatic improvements in the amount of playing time, quality and condition of the grounds, and feel that with the direction that the LGC is moving,

LGC President Aleem Hussain, Brand Coordinator (Dewar's blended scotch whiskey) Timothy Sammy and Corporate Communications Officer Treiston Joseph

ANSA McAL will be there to assist", Troy Cadogan has said.

"I have seen the transformation of the Club as it has risen to a whole new level, and hope that other members and companies will join in supporting us as we continue to improve", Cadogan has said.

Responding, LGC President Aleem Hussain has said the constant support of its members and sponsors has made it possible for the current conditions to exist, and if past

presidents and executive members had not laid the foundation, the club would not have experienced this explosive growth.

"We had leaders such as past presidents Hilbert Shields, Shyam Ramroop, Jerome Khan, David Mohamed and Brian Hackett, who struggled through the lean times but kept the club functioning so that now we can reap the rewards", Hussain has said.

He noted that many of the ideas he

has implemented were those shared by the previous administrations, and all he has done was to move the dreams into reality.

"At the end of the day, the names and faces will change, but the LGC has to also change to ensure that we deliver the services expected of us", he has opined.

DEWAR’S® 15 Blended Scotch Whisky is the most awarded Blended Scotch Whisky in the world, and is of rare vintage, single malt and

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single grain scotch whiskies which are married in oak casks for a light, velvety finish. Speaking at the launch, of this beverage on June 7, 2018, the Regional Trade Ambassador had said, “The flavour of Dewar’s 15 is exquisite. It includes many notes such as honey, decadent toffee sauce, rich fruit, succulent exotic fruits, hints of coconut and vanilla, complemented with citrus and green apple notes. All these notes give the scotch a smooth and warming finish”.

Brand Coordinator Timothy Sammy has said the company decided to showcase the brand as a standalone (last year it teamed Heineken with Dewar's to host its annual golf tournament), feeling that the premium liquor has made a name of its own and should be recognized accordingly. Dewar's is available at Mattai's, Bounty, Massy and all major supermarkets nationwide.

This event will be the year’s grand finale event for ANSA McAL, and players and the public are urged to come out on Saturday November 9th, as the company will offer great deals and samples of Dewar's and other branded products. The action starts at 11 hrs (11:00am) and will go late into the evening as the turn-out is expected to be one of the largest of the year for the LGC.For more information on the sponsor or the LGC, please visit their Facebook pages or stop by their BV headquarters and the golf course in Lusignan.

Rawle Toney 3x3 Classic…

592 Inter-Village Football Allegiance Corporation, JD Festival launched

ꟷ commences on November 17

F

ootball fanatics can now look forward to more action as the 592 InterVillage Football Festival has officially been launched and will see some of the top football teams battle for supremacy.

This tournament, which commences on November 17, will see the semifinal being played on December 14th and the grand finale on December 18, 2019.

At a simple press conference held at the 704 Sports Bar, it was established that the event is the first ever of its kind, and has seen many sponsors come on board, such as ANSA McAL, under their Rush energy drink brand, and top bakers Bakewell, among many other big names.

Speaking at the event, Brand Coordinator for NonAlcoholic Beverages, Fareez Mohammed, said, “We are delighted to be on board, as this is the sort of event that can connect with East Coast communities. This is a great initiative, as Rush is still new on the market and ICool has always been there. So we are happy to be on board.”

This event is the brainchild of Ian Habakuk, popularly known as Father Moey, who said he got the idea for the tournament from noticing that there are not enough sporting activities for the youths.

He noted that with the inclusion of sports, it would further take the mind of the youths off crime. Moey noted that a rivalry that emanated from ‘back in the day’ can certainly be rekindled.

“To start this tournament, we have decided to go back to the days of village ri-

Promoter Ian Habakuk

valry. The rules are simple: if you live in that village, then you can represent it. Strictly no outside players are allowed, (and) we won’t have guest players as we want to promote that village rivalry.”

Echoing similar sentiments, Director of Sports, Christopher Jones, said, “I must commend them for organising this tournament. As mentioned before, local football has not been played throughout the regions of the country. As such, the opportunity does not provide itself where persons can scout new talents. So these grassroots type of tournaments are commendable, and the NSC will continue to lend support to these tournaments.”

The tournament will see the winner carting off $300,000; while second, third and fourth placers would respectively pocket $150,000, $100,000 and $50,000 together with trophies.

Carn ICT Guyana Inc on board

T

he Rawle Toney 3x3 Classic is set for staging this weekend, and Allegiance Corporation and JD Carn ICT Guyana Incorporated have come on board as sponsors. They handed over jerseys and cash cards to this tournament’s founder at a simple press conference held at the 704 Sports Bar. A total of eight jerseys were handed over

by JD Carn ICT Guyana Inc to be used in the finals. Founder of the tournament, Rawle Toney, has said he is overjoyed that the company has come on board in support of the inaugural event.

Toney has promised to register this tournament on ‘3x3planet’ which can be located on the official FIBA site (https://www.fiba. basketball/3x3planet). This, in turn, would place the tournament on an international spectrum, and if ever there is need to select players for an international matchup, the ‘Rawle Toney 3×3 Classic’ can be looked into.

Company Secretary of Allegiance Corporation, Rhonda Roberts, has also said that the company, while new to the market, is happy to be a part of such an initiative, and will continue to support it in the future.

A purse of $300,000 will be up for grabs for the winner of this round-robin/knockout tournament. The team finishing second would pocket $100,000 while third place winner would get $50,000. The person deemed the ‘Most Valuable Player’ (MVP) in the finals will receive one pair of basketball sneakers of his choice.

Distribution giants ANSA McAL, under their Mackeson brand, are the tournament’s main sponsors, and will be joined by the

Founder of the tournament, Rawle Toney

Guyana Lottery Company’s Let’s Bet Sports, ‘STUFF’, Slingerz Family Entertainment, the National Sports Commission (NSC), and Trophy Stall.

Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) will also be handing over $25,000 to the winner of a three-point shootout.

The tournament will also be held at the Burnham Basketball Court in Georgetown from November 9 to 10, and will commence at 18:00hrs on both days.

friday, november 8, 2019

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

guyanatimesgy.com

ANSA McAL’s Dewar Golf Classic on this Saturday

Page 23

Rawle Toney 3x3 Classic…

Allegiance Corporation,

JD Carn ICT Guyana Inc on board Page 23

Tournament founder Rawle Toney and Allegiance Corporation and JD Carn ICT Guyana Inc representatives

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ꟷ commences on November 17 Director of Sport, Christopher Jones; Promoter Ian Habakuk, aka Father Moey, and captains of the respective squads and sponsors

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