Guyana Times, Saturday 3, 2019

P10

Gold declarations for 1st half of 2019 surpass target Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 4004

THE BEACON OF TRUTH saturday, august 3, 2019

PRICE

PNC will support decision to scrap H2H Registration – Vice Chair Norton

$80 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE:

5 homeless after fire guts Berbice P9 house

Page 9

Wanted bulletin issued for rape, murder P8 suspects

“Massive” people smuggling racket exists in Guyana – PPP Page 7

…calls out Govt for refusal to address situation Legal challenges to H2H Registration

Chief Justice grills GECOM’s lawyer on disenfranchisement of Guyanese

Page 3

Minibus driver killed in EBD smash-up

See story on page 2

Teen held P2 at gunpoint, relieved of motorcycle Region 1 P10 Chairman concerned about procurement breaches

Police hunting suspects in P12 North Ruimveldt drive-by shooting

Motorcyclist killed, daughter-inlaw critical after Berbice accident

Page 7

2 news

saturday, august 3, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Minibus driver killed in EBD smash-up

T

he driver of a Route 42 minibus is now dead following a horrific two-vehicle smash-up along the New Hope Public Road, East Bank Demerara (EBD) early Friday morning.

Dead is 59-year-old Oswald Roberts of Lot 489 Kuru Kururu, Soesdyke-Linden Highway. Roberts was the driver of minibus BWW 2940.

Guyana Times understands that at about 06:45h, a motor pick-up truck, which was driven by a 45-year-old, Lusignan, East Coast Demerara (ECD) resident with passenger, Ashley Persaud, was proceeding at a fast rate when it reportedly lost control on the New Hope Public Road.

As a result, the vehicle began to swerve from east to west across the road and ended up into the path of the minibus, which was said to be proceeding north along the western side of the said road. The two vehicles collided head-on, causing extensive damages.

The occupants of the minibus, including the driver and driver of the pick-up, were all rushed to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where Roberts was pronounced dead on ar-

A woman trapped in the minibus that was involved in the accident

rival.

Passengers of the minibus: Andre King, 48; Dave Taylor, 22; Sheena Chin, 23 and Gina Chin 24; Candacie Vickerrie, 32; Glixman Adams, 69; John Cheddie, 28 and Murrissa Mc Pherson 29; Tatema Murray, 35; Cherryan Millington, 30; and T. Deolall,

The pick-up that allegedly crashed head-on into the minibus

42, all of Kuru Kururu, Soesdyke-Linden Highway were all treated and later transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where they are being treated for various serious injuries.

The driver of the pick-up was transferred and admitted to the Mercy Hospital where

he is being treated for abdominal trauma, while his passenger, Persaud, is being treated at the same hospital for a fractured right arm.

Speaking with Guyana Times, the dead man’s wife, June Roberts, said that she last saw her husband when he left for work at about 06:00h. The grieving woman explained that at about 07:00h, she received a call from a friend who informed her that Roberts was involved in an accident.

The woman revealed that she rushed to the scene of the accident and later to the hospital.

“When I got there, the hospital was packed with the other accident victims so they did not let me go in right away to see my husband. But after they send the other people them away to Georgetown Hospital, then I got to go in and see he. He did just lay down on the bed,” the woman painfully explained.

The now dead man, who is described as a jolly person, leaves to mourn his wife along with four children, relatives, and friends.

The matter is being investigated. (Kizzy Coleman)

Teen held at gunpoint, relieved of motorcycle

A

teenager of Boerasirie, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), was on Wednesday evening attacked and robbed of his motorcycle. The traumatised teen was identified as 18-year-old Kurt Amsterdam.

Based on reports received, the teenager stopped his motorcycle in front of a car wash in the village and entered a shop at the same establishment.

As he was in the process of parking the vehicle, a white motorcar pulled up alongside him and two men exited. One of them was brandishing a handgun. As the teenager raised an alarm, the man carrying the weapon pointed same to his head and ordered him

to “shut up”.

At this time, persons from the business establishment who heard the screams made inquiries but no one went to the teen’s assistance.

The teen, when contacted, told Guyana Times that he was told to hand over the keys to the motorcycle and out of fear, he complied.

He stood helplessly as the other man mounted the motorcycle and rode off the scene. The man carrying the gun then entered the car and followed his accomplice.

The matter was immediately reported to the police and an investigation was launched.

Up to late Thursday evening, no arrests were made.

Meanwhile, just days ago, a Tuschen, EBE man was attacked and robbed of his motorcycle.

The man, Keoma McAlmont, 21, said that he was riding from Tuschen, EBE, when it started to rain and as such, he stopped to take shelter at De Kinderen, West Coast Demerara (WCD).

He recalled taking a telephone call and while having a conversation, he saw a white motorcar pass by. Soon after, he noticed the car, which was heading in the direction of Vreed-en-Hoop, reversing and stop in front

of the bus shed in which he was standing.

McAlmont related that two men exited the car and approached him. He said that one of the men pulled out a firearm from the waist of his pants and pointed it to his head.

He then demanded that he hand over the keys to the motorcycle.

“The man seh ‘bai you got to give me this bike’, so I became afraid because they had the gun to my head and I give them it,” the traumatised man revealed. The men then escaped with the bike and the car sped away.

That matter was also reported to the police in D Division. In that case also, no arrest was made.

news

3

saturday, august 3, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

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

Saturday, August 3 – 05:30h-07:00h and Sunday, August 4 – 05:30h-07:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Saturday, August 3 – 05:35h-07:05h and Sunday, August 4 – 06:20h-07:50h.

Legal challenges to H2H Registration

Chief Justice grills GECOM’s lawyer on disenfranchisement of Guyanese

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

WEATHER TODAY Thundery showers will prevail for most of the morning, leading into light rain showers in the late afternoon hours. This condition continues into the evening hours followed by partly cloudy skies. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-easterly to Southerly between 1.79 metres and 3.58 metres.

High Tide: 06:05h and 18:33h reaching maximum heights of 2.84 metres and 2.73 metres.

Low Tide: 12:05h reaching a minimum height of 0.39 metre.

WEDNESday, JULY 31, 2019

LOTTERY NUMBERS n

04 07 16

18 19 24

FREE TICKET

02 Bonus Ball

FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 2019

DAILY MILLIONS

07 08 13 16 18 LUCKY 3

7

1

1

1

Afternoon Draw

2

3

Evening Draw

DRAW DE LINE

02

03

06

07

PAY DAY

03 04 07 10 17

08 09 21 SUPER PAY DAY

03 05 08 09 12

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

Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George

Attorney Anil Nandlall

C

hief Justice (ag) Roxane George on Friday commenced the hearing of submissions from the five parties on the three consolidated cases relating to the Guyana Elections Commissions (GECOM).

These cases stem from proceedings filed by chartered accountant and Attorney Christopher Ram challenging the conduction of House-to-House Registration.

Attorney General (AG) Basil Williams subsequently filed an application seeking to have the High Court dismiss Ram’s challenge, while a case was filed on behalf of GECOM’s Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield for the Chief Justice to recuse herself from hearing the case.

At Friday’s hearing of the substantive matter challenging the registration exercise, Justice George grilled GECOM’s lawyer, Roysdale Forde, over the conduct of the exercise and how it will affect citizens.

Prior to this, however, Attorney-at-Law Anil Nandlall— a leading member of the legal team representing Ram— argued that the conduct of Houseto-House Registration will jeopardise the holding of early elections within the timeframe contemplated by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and provisions of Articles 106 (6) and (7) of the Constitution which state that the Cabinet including the President, shall resign and call elections within three months – which the Opposition contends is September 18— that is, three months from the CCJ’s June 18 ruling validating the December passage of the No-Confidence Motion.

In response, however, Attorney Forde argued that the application to stop the ongoing House-to-House exercise is “unconstitutional”.

He pointed out that there is nothing in Ram’s application to show that the registration is “unreasonable” and further, nothing to indicate the unconstitutionality of the exercise in relation to what the CCJ ruled.

But Nandlall, a former Attorney General, pointed out to the Court that the new registration exercise would disenfranchise Guyanese.

This, he noted, is so since the Constitution does not provide residency as a qualification to vote, meaning that if persons are not home – whether out of the country or in another part of the country – when the registration is going on, then they will be taken off the new voters’ list, and thus, un-

the time of the registration.

She noted that in addition to persons who may be out of the jurisdiction, there are Guyanese who leave their official residence to work in another part of the country, such as the hinterland; questioning the GECOM lawyer whether these persons will have to come out to the coastland just to register and then return to work.

Noting that there is nowhere to get around the letter of the Constitution,

Attorney Roysdale Forde

able to vote at the upcoming elections. Added to this, he highlighted the fact that the current National Register of Registrants Database (NNRD) would be discarded upon the conclusion of the House-to-House exercise and a new database would be created when there are no provisions for this.

According to Nandlall, it is illegal to whimsically take persons off of the voters’ list and unconstitutional to deny them their right to vote.

In his submissions on behalf of the Elections Commission, the Chief Justice questioned Forde on the removal of persons from the voters’ list. She warned that they need to be “very careful” when taking someone off the list in light of provisions of the National Registration Act (NRA), since the law says GECOM cannot remove citizens from the list on an ad hoc basis. In fact, she agreed with Nandlall that there is no such provision for the scrapping of the NRRD. Justice George went on to ask what will become of citizens who are not at home at

Forde told the Court that these persons can have their names included in the list during the Claims and Objections period that is catered for at the end of the House-to-House exercise.

But the Chief Justice pointed out that the Houseto-House Registration was established because persons were not going to the GECOM offices to get registered, something which the AG’s legal team highlighted in their affidavit. She further stated that those persons may not even know that they were left off the list.

However, speaking with reporters in the corridors of the High Court on Friday, Nandlall posited that there are a lot of misconceptions about the matters.

“The lawyers are speaking about House-to-House verification, lawyers are quoting from sections of the law that deal with preparation of an electoral register and how you get people on the OLE (Official List of Electors) and PLE (Preliminary List of Electors), but we are not dealing with that here. We

are dealing, basically here, with the registration process,” he stated.

“Significantly, that registration process cannot be completed for the holding of elections within the timeframe. We are already on borrowed time… the time for holding elections was 21st of March 2019 – that has long gone and the Leader of the Opposition has signalled repeatedly that we are not going to go back to Parliament to get an extension. So that option is not available,” Nandlall noted, adding that “A court of law must do that which is necessary to bring back Guyana to constitutional track, to constitutional rule.”

According to the former AG, the Court can do this by ordering that elections be held within the earliest possible time and GECOM must be prepared for those polls.

Meanwhile, earlier during Friday’s hearing, the Solicitor General, Nigel Hawke, argued the case filed

by AG Williams asking the court to throw out Ram’s challenge since it raises issues already ventilated by the CCJ. But in response, Nandlall told the Court that the issues are “radically different”. He added that the application filed by the AG is without merit and as such, the court should dismiss it.

With regard to the application to have the Chief Justice recuse herself from the matters, which were filed by Trinidadian Senior Counsel Stanley Marcus on behalf of Lowenfield, President of the Guyana Bar Association (GBA) Teni Housty argued that there was no evidence to show that the Court is biased.

Adding to this, Nandlall told the Court that the application makes “reckless allegations” against the court.

He added that the case is “frivolous” and “vexatious”, and should be thrown out.

The matter was adjourned to Monday for submissions by the Attorney General, but not before the Court heard from GECOM’s lawyer, SC Marcus.

4

guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, august 3, 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

Opportunities for women

A

ccording to the United Nations, investing in women’s economic empowerment sets a direct path towards gender equality, poverty eradication and inclusive economic growth. Women make enormous contributions to economies, whether in businesses, on farms, as entrepreneurs, or employees, or by doing unpaid care work at home. But, according to the UN, women also remain disproportionately affected by poverty, discrimination and exploitation. Gender discrimination means women often end up in insecure, lowwage jobs, and constitute a small minority of those in senior positions. It curtails access to economic assets such as land and loans. It also limits participation in shaping economic and social policies.

Here in Guyana, there has always been much talk by policy makers and political parties about creating opportunities for women’s empowerment. There have indeed been some steps taken to ensure that women are better off, but by and large, most would agree that there is still a far way to go— both in terms of policy-making and actual implementation of programmes to ensure that women have full access to resources and opportunities that would enable them to develop themselves. For example, our single-parent mothers have over the years found it very difficult to make ends meet.

Many of them have found themselves in a position where they work from month to month and there seems to be no end to the financial hardships they experience. In some cases, they lack the necessary skills and qualifications required to get suitable, well-paid jobs so that they can earn enough to provide for themselves and their children.

For some who would like to venture out into establishing their own small business, etc, the strict criteria set by banks and other lending institutions makes it difficult to access the necessary loans. There are a few institutions which give grants and other forms of support, but they are on a limited scale and most of them are Georgetown-based, making it a bit difficult for rural women to have easy access.

The previous administration had recognised that singleparent women are a vulnerable group and had created several mechanisms for them to be lifted out of poverty and elevate themselves so that they would be better off. For example, the then PPP Government had collaborated with the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) to introduce the Women of Worth (WOW) project. Under this programme, single-parent women could have access to as much as $250,000 to start up a business or expand an already established business. This facility was of tremendous help to women as they were able to establish their own small business and, hence, some of them were able to improve their financial situations. In addition, they were able to build their self-esteem and learn new business skills.

The WOW programme was in addition to other initiatives which were implemented towards improving the living conditions of women across the country. For example, in 2008, a national exercise was carried out in order to finalise a Single Parent Register, which the authorities had used to provide financial and other forms of support to single parents, most of them being women. Hundreds of single parents were registered and benefitted from different forms of assistance— including technical and vocational training.

There is need for more similar programmes to be replicated in communities across Guyana. Such initiatives cannot be oneoff, they must be year-round and carried out with the support of the private sector and other community and civil society groups.

Regarding the upcoming elections, voters – especially females— should closely examine the policies and programmes of the various political parties to see which one of them offers the most attractive ‘package’ in terms of women’s economic empowerment; meaning better paid jobs, better access to and control over resources, and greater security, including protection from domestic and other forms of violence.

Many international commitments support women’s economic empowerment, including the Beijing Platform for Action, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and a series of International Labour Organisation conventions on gender equality.

Whichever government is in power, therefore, has an obligation to ensure that policies are designed and implemented geared towards ensuring the economic and social advancement of women all across Guyana.

Renowned Guyanese artiste Eddy Grant performed on NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Eddy was approached by Fallon’s team on his behalf to have the Guyanese perform his massive US and worldwide hit “Electric Avenue”, which topped the USA Billboard Hot 100 charts at #2 in 1983, and also was nominated for a Grammy Award (Best R&B Song of 1983)

Objections to Houseto-House Registration Dear Editor, The apparent unending cycle of judicial encounters, vehement dialogue among the masses concerning the No-Confidence Motion (NCM) and its consequences are having a new manifestation. Some have chosen to ignore the obvious and have mastered the art of sprouting alternative facts.

However, the truth will always win and the person of integrity will always stand out and be distinguished among pretenders.

So, we have had seven months and eleven days since the December 21 successful passage of the NCM. It has been 1 month and 14 days since the definitive ruling of the CCJ. Further, it has been 20 days since the consequential orders of the CCJ were given and the same old rhetoric of a desperate, undemocratic and insincere Government continues. This time, it is not “34 is the majority”, it is “House-to-House Registration”; a transparent ploy to buy themselves more time. The judicial system is being burdened because of the unwillingness of this Granger-led Administration to abide by the provisions of Articles 106 (6) and 106 (7) of the Constitution.

Emphasis here, a caretaker Government must hold elections in three months. There is no evidence that suggests the President and his team will obey the Constitution,

actions speak louder than words.

Now, let’s examine GECOM and its work programme towards elections.

Documentation emanating from the Secretariat indicates that the pathway using Claims and Objections to get to a certified Official List of Electors (OLE) will take 119 days ie 29 days beyond the three-month timeframe as constitutionally mandated. We believe this can be shortened by way of using the list which validity expired on April 30, 2019, have a Claims and Objections exercise lasting no more than three to four weeks, nominations day is usually 32 days before election day. In good faith, this is the pathway for “sanitising and removal” promulgating the facilitation of timely credible elections, giving an opportunity for all eligible voters to be on the list.

The same document further outlines that House-toHouse Registration requires 290 days to get to a National Register of Registrants database (NRRDB).

After this, you still have to facilitate Claims and Objections, which as stated above requires 119 days to get to an Official List of Electors (OLE); a total of 409 days – almost a period of 14 months. This is totally unacceptable. We in the PPP/C believe this cry of “no Houseto-House Registration, no

elections” by the APNU/AFC Government and GECOM in the absence of a constitutionally appointed Chairperson commencing this ongoing House-to-House exercise is a recipe for delay, disaster and damage to our constitutional democracy.

Having spent 25 billion dollars and counting on a House-to-House exercise in 2008 followed by 11 cycles of Continuous Registration, the last being October 2018, GECOM’s current move to create a new database which will essentially serve as a de-registration exercise as against a registration exercise is toxic, senseless and pandering to political forces, this must be stopped.

The database that currently exists was used for the 4 recent elections – (i) 2011 where the APNU and AFC lost but garnered a oneseat majority in the National Assembly, (ii) 2015 General and Regional Elections where the APNU/AFC coalition came to Government with a one-seat majority, (iii) 2016 Local Government Elections and (iv) 2018 Local Government Elections where the PPP/C achieved more than 63 per cent of the popular vote.

At no time before the successful passage of the no-confidence vote did this Granger-led Administration or anyone have a problem with the credibility of the list or the database. Every

cry should now be seen as crocodile tears, a farce, lacking in justification.

The courts and GECOM itself must assert its independence and reject the connivance and threats emanating from operatives within and closely connected to the Government. It is expected that the current House-toHouse Registration should be stopped by the courts and GECOM itself.

To continue would mean, using GECOM’s timelines as previously outlined – elections would be held sometime in June 2020, giving this Government a full fiveyear term, totally ignoring the consequences of the successful passage of a no-confidence vote. The Caribbean Court of Justice clearly stated when it ruled on June 18, 2019, that the provisions of the Constitution contained in Articles 106 (6) and 106 (7) were immediately engaged.

As such, elections are due by September 18, 2019. A House-to-House Registration to get an OLE is unconstitutional, a delay tactic and meant to satisfy the narrow-minded political agenda of Granger and his Administration.

Justice and righteousness are required on this matter.

Yours sincerely, Bishop Juan A Edghill PPP/C MP

guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, august 3, 2019

5

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

Why are Haitians coming in droves?

Dear Editor, The Haitians are coming. In droves. In an election year. Why? What for? What are they doing?

Where are they going? All simple questions which the Minister responsible for citizenship has a public

duty and responsibility to answer. If he won’t or cannot answer, then, perhaps, our President will put the matter to rest.

Yours sincerely, Kit Nascimento

Undocumented exit phenomenon points to organised migrant smuggling

Dear Editor, During the period when members of the Muslimeen were incarcerated for the insurrection in Trinidad and Tobago, a story was told of seven Haitians being placed in the cells with the Muslim brothers, that same evening, the Haitians started drawing frantically on a wall of the cell, they were drawing a picture of a large sailing ship “we are leaving tonight, do any of you wish to come with us?” they asked.

One man laughingly said, “yes, anything to get out of here”. The next morning, the Haitians were gone, the picture of the ship along with them, and the one man who said he would accompany them…found dead on the floor, no cause of his death ever determined. Guyana’s Haitian visitors are also vanishing without a trace, and have become a cause for national concern.

In September 2015, after it was revealed that the (then) new APNU/AFC Administration had introduced a policy that Haitians must show cash and return tickets before they could enter Guyana, I wrote that “What pains me, however, is to see Guyana join that line of oppressors; we should be embracing our Caribbean brethren, treating them with respect and dignity, and dare I say it, some preference. Instead, I see a denigration of a proud people by hollow men, new to power, devoid of consciousness, the nouveau riche of the Caribbean; how soon we forget” – (SN 29.9.2015). It would seem that on that occasion my plea did not fall on deaf ears and our Haitian brethren have been accorded more humane treatment since.

We are, however, now faced with mounting evidence that Guyana has become a transit point for Haitian people; this migration in itself is not problematic or cause for worry, what is, however, is the lack of documented exit from Guyana. This undocumented exit phenomenon points to organised migrant smuggling.

Migrant smuggling is “a crime involving the procurement for financial or other material benefit of illegal entry of a person into a State of which that person is not a national or resident”. Migrant smuggling affects almost every country in the world. It undermines the integrity of countries and communities, and costs thousands of people their lives every year. UNODC, as the guardian the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (UNTOC) and the protocols thereto, assists states in their efforts to implement the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air (Migrants Protocol)”.

Guyana is a signatory to this protocol.

Minister of Citizenship Winston Felix is unconcerned and stated that Guyana is being used as a stepping stone by the Haitians for greener pastures. Of the 8600 Haitian arrivals in 2019, 13 have left Guyana legally. The Minister also said “We have found that their intention is to get to relatives in Suriname, Cayenne, Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela. We have traced legal departures but there is a number we cannot account for, and those we suspect left illegally (backtrack)”.

Guyana will probably be placed on some sort of blacklist and sanctions will be applied unless the attitudes in Government change quickly.

There is no doubt that the Haitians are willing participants in the smuggling, however, the Government must investigate why exits are not being documented; if any abuse of persons is occurring during their stay in Guyana; if false documents of any kind are being produced and issued to these persons during their time in Guyana. Protection of our Haitian brethren during their time on our shores is a duty that should not be taken lightly.

Respectfully, Robin Singh

Pushing lower-waged foreigners to replace Guyanese workers Dear Editor, As Guyanese proudly prepared for Emancipation Day 2019, the caretaker Finance Minister heartlessly warned workers that they will be replaced by foreigners willing to work for less.

Bewildered, the Guyanese people wondered where the caretaker President is, where the caretaker Prime Minister is, where are the political parties which swear they exist because of the working class. It surely cannot be only Bharrat Jagdeo and the PPP who must rebuke Jordan.

This week, just before Emancipation Day, the caretaker Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, who never admitted he is a dual citizen, as has been alleged, stated, unapologetically, that he prefers foreign workers who would work for less pay than Guyanese workers. His statement is as outrageous as it is unequivocally reckless. It is utterly despicable and disgraceful. In fact, under normal circumstances, by itself, it is reason enough for a Government Minister to immediately resign or be fired. Except, this Minister was already fired on December 21, 2018, and he is presently squatting in his position.

While his statement is shocking, sadly, few Guyanese are shocked, expecting nothing but recklessness from the APNU/ AFC and their Ministers.

But the dismay is real and nothing can diminish how repugnant Jordan’s posture is. The dismay is compounded and there is genuine shock that the trade unions are still silent.

Where is Lincoln Lewis of

the Guyana Trades Union Congress? Cat cut his tongue?

For a Government to endorse foreigners coming and taking jobs from Guyanese, on the basis that their wages are lower, is disgraceful and unforgivable. The time has long past for the leadership of the APNU/AFC to reject the statement from Jordan. It is now almost a week, total silence. David Granger as the caretaker President and the Leader of the PNC is silent. Moses Nagamootoo, the caretaker Prime Minister, who still has nothing to do, who often boasts he is the champion of the working class, is totally silent. His AFC colleagues are in “la la land”, not a word of rebuke. The WPA, which has disowned Walter Rodney and which has become totally subsumed as a regular PNC group, is busy ensuring they remain in the warm embrace of the PNC, cannot even be bothered.

When the Private Sector in Guyana decides to hire foreigners because they can pay them less than Guyanese workers, they have legitimacy since the Government endorses this shameless practice. In fact, the Private Sector has already done so. Many security guards today in Guyana are foreigners. More shameful and totally unacceptable, many of the foreign security guards are employed at Government facilities. These foreigners are not only working as security guards, but they also work in the stores and restaurants and other service entities. They work in the mines and in the forestry sector.

What makes this prac-

Applaud GECOM Chair appointment Dear Editor, Plaudits have been showered on Judge Claudette Singh for agreeing to accept the appointment as Chair of GECOM. President Granger and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo ought to be applauded for their gentleman agreement that led to the nomination and appointment of an acceptable Chair. Jagdeo acted like a statesman in reviewing the recommendations of President Granger. And Granger is praised for bringing closure to the process fulfilling one order of the CCJ ruling.

It is reminded that the two men were not able to reach consensus on an appointee (from 18 nominees) some two years ago following the resignation of Dr Steve Surujbally.

Following the CCJ’s ruling on June 18 and consequential order on July 2, it took some four weeks for this nomination and appointment. After many hours of meetings, former President and Opposition Leader Jagdeo submitted a list of outstanding nominees from which Justice Claudette was plucked as the President’s choice.

It is hoped that a similar gentleman agreement can be reached in the selection of a date for election. As a reminder, the CCJ ruled that elections must be held by September 18 unless there is an agreement in Parliament (by a twothirds majority) between the

Government and Opposition to extend the deadline.

An election is not possible within the six weeks that remain before September 18.

GECOM will need an additional month, if not longer, to prepare for an election. The election is being delayed by the obstinate positions taken by both sides and time is going. A compromise is urgently needed.

The coalition insists it wants House-to-House Registration to make sure all eligible voters are on the list.

The Opposition has boycotted House-to-House Registration.

This means not every eligible voter will be on the list. The Opposition wants elections now using the list that was utilised for the November local elections. A compromise is needed. The list should be updated to be sure all eligible voters are registered.

President Granger and Opposition Leader Jagdeo should meet and compromise on a workable date for elections that gives GECOM the extra time needed to prepare for free and fair elections under international supervision.

Failing this, Guyana will enter into a constitutional quagmire after September 18 and can face serious consequences from the Commonwealth and Caricom.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

tice unholy and repugnant is that it is happening amidst high unemployment. More than 30,000 people have lost their jobs through closure of businesses, including the closure of four sugar estates, and through the slowing down of the economy which has forced certain businesses to reduce staffing. In addition to lost jobs, the Government has failed to create employment. Now unemployment among the Guyanese workers is skyrocketing because available jobs are being taken by foreigners, just because they can be paid less, and the Government, if we are to accept Jordan’s pronouncement, is jumping for joy.

It is the height of irresponsibility and Jordan and the APNU/AFC must not escape the people’s wrath.

It is behaviour and attitude like this which caused the APNU/AFC to lose the no-confidence vote in Parliament on December 21, 2018. That was not an accident, no fluke, it was the reflection of the loss of confidence among the majority of the Guyanese people. David Granger and the APNU/AFC know this. It is the reason they are so morbidly afraid of the election which was due on March 21 and which is again due on September 18. They will do everything within their deceitful best to avoid the elections. What is most egregious is they still insist on their reckless behaviour, hoping to buy votes by handouts and hoping to use some of the foreign workers to vote for them, illegally of course.

While this practice began with jobs like sales persons, security guards, restaurant workers, mining and forestry workers, home workers, in the farms, etc, it is only a matter of time before these workers flood the country competing for other jobs, such as teachers, nurses, in the oil and gas industry etc. This must give us pause because we must now develop a cohesive policy to guide the influx of people from other

countries into Guyana. It is not that Guyana cannot accommodate others. Guyana can benefit from an increase in population. But clear policies must guide the influx.

When the only rationale is it is better to pay foreigners cheaper, it is a clueless way forward, it is reckless, it is even criminal.

Guyanese workers are still the lowest-paid workers in Caricom, outside of Haiti.

Now we have a Government which promotes as sound economic sense for foreigners to compete with Guyanese workers by offering their services cheaper. What is unforgiveable is that the APNU/AFC took the reins of Government on the backs of Guyanese workers who they promised dramatic wage and salary increases and significant improvement in other benefits. Guyanese sugar workers, after four years, have received not a cent in wage increases and they have lost significant associated benefits. The public servants are no better off and, after four years, they are still told their increases are coming. Weeks after the APNU/AFC became the Government, they increased their own salaries and benefits between 50 and more than 100 per cent.

At the time, they told public servants the Cabinet had to take their own increases first because it will make them more competent and less corrupt and the public servants must be patient and await their turn. Now, workers are told foreigners will take their jobs for less pay.

They are utterly shameless in telling the Guyanese workers their jobs are in jeopardy because foreigners are welcomed to come take those jobs if they are willing to work for less. It is high time we punish the APNU/ AFC by voting them out.

But these shameful people have decided they will not permit any election to fire them.

Sincerely, Dr Leslie Ramsammy

6

saturday, august 3, 2019

Page

By Arash Emamzadeh

H

ere’s a short history of the concept of resilience.

As I noted in a previous blog post on the subject, resilience has been conceptualised in five different ways: As good mental health, as adapting and adjusting to a new situation, as the ability to rise above one’s problems, as the strength to bounce back, and as “ordinary magic” (ie resilience being an ability that we all have and routinely demonstrate). In this post, I’ll discuss the origins of resilience.

According to Fox Vernon, “Resilience science was initially brought forth into psychology as the serendipitous progeny of two parents, child psychiatry and developmental psychology” (p14)2.

In child psychiatry, it had been assumed that negative experiences early in life give rise to mental illness during adulthood. John Bowlby’s work (on mother-child bond) marked the beginning of the systematic exploration of childhood adversity.

“Bowlby’s work had materialised from the earlier roots of child psychiatry, which were planted in the mental hygiene [ie mental health] and child guidance movements of the early 20th century” (p 14)2. Starting in the early 1900s and peaking a couple of decades later, these movements attempted to prevent mental illness in adults by addressing behaviour problems in children.

In the 1970s, child

Foundation

psychiatry began to gather data (eg, Rutter’s study of mother-child separation) on how childhood traumas influence development.

Research also began to identify other stressors and risk factors (eg, poverty) associated with adult mental health issues.

Schizophrenia and competence At this point in our story, researchers came across an unexpected finding. To learn more about this finding, we must turn to Norman Garmezy, who is recognised as the pioneer of the psychological study of resilience.

Garmezy and his

term relationships.

After examining both groups’ backgrounds, Garmezy concluded that those patients who did better often displayed a pattern of competency in many areas of their lives. He then conducted a study of children whose parents had schizophrenia. He found that many of these children were doing surprisingly well given their circumstances.

Garmezy wrote, “In the study of high-risk and vulnerable children, we have come across another group of children w h o s e

prognosis could be viewed as unfavourable,” but “who upset our prediction tables and in childhood bear the visible indices that are hallmarks of competence: good peer relations, academic achievement, commitment to education and to purposive life goals” (p. 114)4. He called these children “invulnerables”.

To explore how competency develops, Garmezy studied other children who showed competence despite living in stressful situations and poverty. This line of research eventually began exploring qualities which today we call resilience.

O t h e r investigators studying resilience in children h a v e found t h a t

children can be quite resilient.

For instance, that “even when exposed to the most horrific conditions—including war, incarceration in concentration camps, sexual and physical abuse, and parental drug abuse—50% to 70% of affected children survived, going on to lead developmentally normal lives.” Because of findings like these, investigators “began to focus not just on risk factors and stressors, but on what came to be termed protective factors, the hypothesised building blocks of resilience” (p 16) 2.

Competence or resilience?

Before concluding my short history of resilience, let me briefly explain the difference between resilience and competence, given that competence is often studied in research on resilience.

When asked about

the difference between competence and resilience, Garmezy noted that competence is a label for behaviours considered adaptive, while resilience is “manifest competence despite exposure to significant stressors” (p 7)3. One cannot discuss resilience if there is no stress.

He also noted that while resilience is often studied in people who have been exposed to great stressors (e.g., war and bombings), resilience is also relevant to the study of people living in poverty because for these people, the summation of the stressful experiences associated with poverty points to maladaptation and dysfunction. A person who grew up poor but managed to become competent in many areas in life has shown considerable resilience. (psychologytoday.com)

collaborator Eliot Rodnick were conducting research on schizophrenia, and they noted that while some patients with schizophrenia stayed in the hospital for many years and could barely function, others did much better –they were able to recover quickly, to hold jobs, and to maintain long-

What do you need

A sunny day A pencil A compass A print-out of the Sun Clock Diagram

Using the sun clock

What do I do?

Ask a grown-up to help you with this experiment.

On a sunny day, go outside with a compass, pencil, and print-out of the Sun Clock Diagram. Put your compass on the ground and turn it so that the arrow and the “N” (for “North”) line up.

Tips for home scientists

If none of the cities on the list are close to you, you can still use your sun clock. See the “What’s Going On?” section below to find out how. follow the directions on the sun clock diagram to find out how to line up the sun clock with your compass. once you have the sun clock pointed in the right direction, you can figure out what time it is. (exploratorium.edu)

news

7

saturday, august 3, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

“Massive” people smuggling racket exists in Guyana – PPP …calls out Govt for refusal to address situation

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

T

he unaccounted figures for thousands of immigrants entering Guyana and failing to leave have led the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) to call out Government on a smuggling racket, which it has failed to address.

The accusation was made on Friday after statistics revealed that thousands of immigrants, especially Haitians, are unaccounted for when the arrival and departure figures are examined.

“The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) believes that there is a massive people-smuggling racket and inaction cannot be the order of the day. This is an issue that was raised a year ago and the APNU/AFC coalition has refused to address it,” the party said in a statement.

The issue surfaced around the departure of foreign nationals, which indicated a smaller number of persons leaving the country than the initial arrival figure.

The Parliamentary Committee, the party noted, examined statistics provided

by Minister Winston Felix himself for the period of 2015 to April 30, 2018. The immigration figures showed that a total of 93,374 Cubans arrived in Guyana, but only 76,663 were recorded to have left. “This meant that 16,711 Cubans were unaccounted for and probably still in Guyana. With regards to the Haitians, for the same period, a total of 6245 arrived in Guyana, but only 963 were recorded to have left. Again like the Cubans, a large

President David Granger

number of 5282 Haitians were also unaccounted for and probably in Guyana.”

According to the party, the more recent exposés – detailing the arrival of over 8600 Haitians in the last seven months – have focused on one group of foreign nationals, but the issue at hand involves other nationals, including Cubans. This may just be the tip of the iceberg.

Two Government Ministers – Felix and then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge –were called out for this worrying issue and over unacceptable state-

Citizenship Minister Winston Felix

ments that were recently made by the Citizenship Minister.

Felix had remarked that these persons are using Guyana to visit other countries but the PPP reminded of other correlated issues such as human trafficking which are embedded in these errors.

“Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix, has been quoted as saying that he believes that the Haitians are using Guyana as a stepping-stone to other countries, including Brazil, Suriname and

Motorcyclist killed, daughter-in-law critical after Berbice accident

Dead: Ramdat Yadram

A

motorcyclist was killed on Thursday, while his daughter-in-law is battling for her life after the motorcycle on which they were riding collided with a motorcar at Clifton Public Road, Corentyne, Berbice.

The dead man has been identified as 47-year-old Ramdat Yadram of Lot 165 Block 14, Tain Settlement, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

His 20-year-old daughterin-law, Nicola Mangar, remains a patient at the New Amsterdam Hospital.

Based on information received, on the day in

question at about 21:15h, Yadram and Mangar were riding along the roadway when they came into contact with a motorcar bearing registration number HC 5547 that was being driven by a 61-year-old resident of Canefield, East Canje, Berbice.

Initial investigations by the Police revealed that Yadram failed to stop at an intersection before making his way onto the main access road. It was at that time he came into contact with the motorcar, which was travelling along the roadway, allegedly at a fast rate.

As a result of the collision, both Yadram and Mangar fell on the roadway and sustained injuries. They were picked up in an unconscious state and taken to

Injured: Nicola Mangar

the Port Mourant Hospital where Yadram succumbed to his injuries while receiving treatment. Mangar, on the other hand, was treated and later transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital where she was admitted as a patient in a critical condi-

tion.

When Guyana Times arrived at the scene, eyewitnesses related that after the accident, the driver of the motorcar brought the car to a halt and fled the scene.

Reports are that he refused to render assistance to the two injured people.

He was later arrested and is in Police custody assisting with investigations.

According to Vehram, son of the dead man, his father and wife were heading home when the accident occurred.

He claimed he was riding behind them on his pedal cycle.

He described his father as a loving and kind individual who always takes care of the family. His body is at the Port Mourant Hospital Mortuary awaiting a PostMortem.

French Guiana. It is alarming that this is the position of a Minister who should be concerned with the correlated issues of national security and human trafficking,” the statement read.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister, Winston Jordan was quoted as saying that foreigners are more attractive workers than locals, as they work for less. The party stated that Guyanese will be affected even more in the employment network if such issues persist. Already, thousands of jobs have been lost and youths continue to face difficulties in gaining employment.

“That this is the position of Guyana’s Finance Minister – effectively supporting the displacement of Guyanese from the job market, at a time when Guyana has recorded 30,000 jobs lost in the last four years – is unacceptable.”

The party called on the relevant authorities to treat this trend with the importance it commands.

Concerns were also raised about reports that foreign nationals are being issued with Guyanese documents, allowing them to be registered as eligible Guyanese voters in the ongoing Houseto-House Registration.

The PPP’s document added, “Further, the party is primarily worried that these foreign nationals are being issued with Guyanese documents, which would allow them to be registered as eligible Guyanese voters in the ongoing House-to-House Registration being done by the Guyana Elections

Commission (GECOM). The plan afoot seems to be one that envisages the padding of the voters’ list with fictitious persons.”

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has demonstrated worry over these issues repeatedly. The party reiterated calls for President David Granger to address the matter as one of importance and urgency, holding responsible agencies into account.

“The People’s Progressive Party firmly believes that Minister Felix is neck-deep in this matter and is complicit by his refusal to investigate this matter. One may wonder why this Minister is so vociferous in denying this racket, which is so patently obvious. The PPP is not convinced that the Minister is so obtuse. We believe that he knows who the facilitators are, including those in his Department of Citizenship.

Minister Felix must be held accountable for what is happening,” the party said in a strongly-worded statement.

The party reiterated its call for a full-fledged investigation into the matter and also called on President David Granger to abandon his usual posture of silence in the face of the scandals embroiling his Administration and address this matter with urgency. “…The magnitude of this operation has to involve the Guyana Revenue Authority, the Immigration Department, the Guyana Registrar’s Office and the airline; these must come clean on the worrying state of affairs,” the party said.

8 News

saturday, august 3, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Wanted bulletin issued for rape, murder suspects

Emancipation…

T

Winston Rodney

Carlos Hackett

Farouk Khan

Dillon Fitzgerald

he Guyana Police Force (GPF) is now seeking the help of the public to arrest four men, who are wanted in connection to murder and rape investigations.

Wanted are Farouk Khan of Byderabo Road, Bartica, Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni); Dillon Fitzgerald of Lot 2793 Central Ward, Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice); Carlos Hackett; Winston Rodney called “Skinny”, 35, of Pomeroon, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).

Khan, 25, is wanted for the murder of Perion Boob, which occurred on April 21, 2019, in Kuribrang, Potaro, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni). Bobb was killed after he was confronted by the group of men, after reporting to the police that persons were stripping a vehicle. His friend, Emmanuel Jeffrey, who was allegedly abducted following the shooting but later escaped reported to Police that the murder occurred while he and Bobb were transporting dredging equipment from Kuribrong trail to Kuribrong

Backdam. Bobb was shot once to his stomach. His body was later found slumped over the steering wheel of the pick-up he was driving. Meanwhile, 27-year-old Fitzgerald is being sought for a rape he allegedly committed in 2018.

Additionally, Hackett is also wanted for rape committed on a child under the age of 16 which occurred between June 1 and 30, 2017, at Wismar Scheme, Linden.

Rodney called “Skinny”, 35, of Pomeroon is wanted for the said offence which occurred between July 1 and 31, 2019, at Lamp Island, Kwakwani.

Reports are Rodney sexually assaulted a five-year-old.

Reports are that between July 1 and July 31, the village of Kwakwani was hit by flooding and the suspect along with the little boy were alone in a boat traversing the community when the child was sexually assaulted. A senior officer told this publication that the child told his mother what had occurred and she made a report to the police.

“The suspect was immediately arrested and inter-

viewed and was held for the 72-hour period but when the time elapsed he had to be let go,” the senior police source told Guyana Times on Friday.

According to the officer, the file had been sent for legal advice, but by the time it was returned to the police to take action, Rodney had gone into hiding.

Meanwhile, Commander of E Division, Linden Lord, when contacted by this publication on Friday said the child who was sexually assaulted would be receiving counselling and other forms of care that is provided when such incidents occur.

He also confirmed that although the suspect was arrested for the alleged crime, when the file was eventually returned with the instructions to charge the suspect, that mandatory 72-hour holding period had already expired.

According to Commander Lord, a wanted bulletin has been issued for Rodney, who is at large and ranks of his Division will continue to search for the alleged paedo-

phile who has gone into hiding since he was released from Police custody.

Just recently, the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA) revealed that sexual abuse of children remains high in the country. The number of reported cases is as follows: 801 in 2018, 392 in 2017 and 616 in 2016. Similarly, cases reported for boy children were 179 in 2018, 442 in 2017 and 118 in 2016.

Meanwhile, just last week, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack stated that sexual offence cases continue to dominate the courtrooms across the country but that there are notable increases in convictions nationwide.

Anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of the suspects is asked to contact the police on telephone numbers 226-6978, 225-8196, 226-2870, 226-7065, 2271149, 226-7065, 911 or the nearest police station.

All information will be treated with the strictest confidence.

W

…and betrayers ell, your Eyewitness didn’t have much hope the Emancipation Day celebrations would offer a respite from the divisive politics in our nation – which inevitably boils down to ethnic mobilisation and ethnic fragmentation. After all, he couldn’t possibly have missed the intensification of the linkages by the supposedly cultural institutions in the African Guyanese constituency and the PNC. With its admission that it needed Indian Guyanese votes in 2015 to carry it over the electoral line, the PNC finally admitted it had been unable to break out of the straitjacket created by Forbes Burnham when he broke from the PPP in 1955. Ethnic identity was created in Guyana after the freed slaved tried to assert their humanity in the face of hundreds of years of being told they were nobody.

The Christian Churches that were placed in charge of the “schools” in the post-slavery era pretty much tried to create an identity of “Black” White men.

But there always survived an underground stream of African practices that could be later nourished. It wasn’t a coincidence that the Independence movement after WWII coincided with the Black Power Movement and provided the impetus for peoples of African origin to seek their roots and give meaning to the “Emancipation” which, by then, hadn’t done much for them. But Walter Rodney offered a biting critique of most of the political leaders who arose during that time: he called them “briefcase revolutionaries”.

That is, they had no real connection and identification with the African masses who still formed the bulk of the community. Rather than initiating fundamental changes to improving their lot – including their view of themselves – they were simply used as voting cannon fodder to deliver the “briefcases” signalling “power” from the departed colonial power. When the briefcase revolutionary Burnham tried to ingratiate himself with the real revolutionary African leadership in Africa, Walter Rodney unmasked him. He exposed Burnham’s opportunism to go along with the imperialist divisions of the working masses in the nationalist PPP on ethnic lines, and made him a pariah.

David Granger and the present leaders in the PNC are all cut from the same cloth as Burnham: they see the African masses as means to their ends of securing power for their own self-aggrandisement. The few surviving members of Rodney’s WPA, who joined the PNC in coalition, have betrayed the great man’s principled stance that nontokenestic multiracialism is non-negotiable in Guyanese politics.

As such, the PNC and its camp followers from the African organisations used the Emancipation Day celebrations to preach ethnic supremacy.

Listening to them, you’d never suspect Emancipation led to a mosaic of Guyana as a land of six equal peoples. …and Dutch Disease One wonders why the PNC insists on keeping Winston Jordan as Finance Minister. They really believe a career number cruncher from the Budget Office can articulate a vision for an economy on the cusp of an oil revolution??

Every time the man opens his mouth, he slips his size 12 shoes into it!! He recently castigated Guyanese workers for being too “high priced”, and welcomed the news of Venezuelans, Haitians and Cubans pouring into the country to undercut their wages!! This in the face of historically high unemployment – with the youth component above 40 per cent – and poverty rates still in the 30 per cent range!!

Following hard on the heels of that chunk of idiocy, he just announced that “Dutch Disease” has already infected Guyana even though we haven’t even seen first oil. He, of course, was completely oblivious of the fact that the phenomenon has been publicised for decades so that Ministries like his could’ve unrolled strategic measures to head off the “Disease”. …and voting Slavery made human beings “chattel”— just like pieces of furniture. If Emancipation meant anything, it was that we could chart our destiny.

Yet today, the Constitution we forged to guide us there is being trampled into the mud!!

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

news

9

saturday, august 3, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

PNC will support decision to scrap H2H Registration – Vice Chair Norton

T

he People’s National Congress Reform, which holds the larger fraction of the coalition Government, has indicated that it is willing to scrap its call for House-to-House Registration if the newly appointed Chairperson, retired Justice Claudette Singh, decides that it cannot go forward.

This was revealed by the party’s Vice Chairman, Dr George Norton, who at a press conference on Friday said that the coalition Government will “certainly take into consideration, decisions that is made by the Commission

[and] Chairman of the Commission that we support”.

GECOM commenced House-to-House registration in July despite concerns from civil society, the Private Sector and parliamentary Opposition that it would delay the constitutionally mandated elections due in September.

The exercise was also rejected on the grounds that it violates the Constitution and the ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). In a move to prevent the violation of Guyana’s Constitution, attorney-at-law and anti-corrup-

tion activist, Christopher Ram had filed a case before the High Court in which he sought an injunction against the exercise. That challenge is still engaging the High Court.

While Government has supported this process to produce what it described as a “clean” list, a large number of persons have boycotted the process. Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has said that the current H2H is “illegal” and asserted that a clean list of electors cannot be produced if thousands refuse to register.

“The PPP made a decision not to participate, not

to be complicit in an illegality. It is illegal, for the way it is being conducted. Any list created on the basis of this House-to-House would have no credibility. Because people are refusing to be registered. The registration of people is being done in a manner not scrutinised,” Jagdeo was quoted as saying.

The decision to proceed with H2H Registration was made by Retired Justice James Patterson, who has since been declared by the CCJ as unconstitutionally appointed and thus had to step down from the position.

Given the appoint-

ment of the new GECOM Chairperson earlier this week, it is expected that a decision will soon be made regarding the continuance of the registration exercise.

Justice Singh, who finds favour with both President David Granger and the Opposition Leader, had maintained that all her decisions will be in accordance with the law and the Constitution.

In an interview following her swearing-in last Monday, Singh stated, “My priorities are endeavouring to have free, fair and transparent elections. I am also looking forward

to having meetings with each set of Commissioners.

And I will have them separately. The meeting with Government and Opposition Commissioners. Then I will bring all of them together…I believe in inclusivity and I will speak with everybody.

And I don’t believe in people walking out when there is a disagreement. I believe in sitting down and resolving whatever the problem is.”

Meanwhile, Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield had revealed recently that enumerators have been met by non-cooperation from some citizens.

5 homeless after fire guts Berbice house call inexperience resulted in the complete destruction of the building.

The firefighters were also hampered in their ability to adequately carry out their job since there was no water source to tap into. By the time they could have accessed water, the house was already engulfed in flames.

An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the fire.

The aftermath of the fire on Friday

F

ive persons were on Friday afternoon rendered homeless after a fire suspected to be electrical in origin completely razed their home at Clifton Settlement, Corentyne, Berbice.

According to reports received, the fire started at

202 Clifton Settlement home for the past three years.

At the time of the fire, the man’s wife and three children – aged 3 to 8 months old – were at home.

When Guyana Times arrived at the scene, the entire wooden one-storey structure was already completely gut-

A devastated Troy Elias speaking to the media after the fire

about 11:30h just above the Guyana Power and Light meter that is installed at the house that is being rented by a taxi driver/mechanic and his family.

Troy Elias and his family have been occupying the Lot

ted.

The distressed mechanic explained that only recently they experienced power shortages and as such, he would instruct his wife to unplug all electrical appliances when they are not in

use. At the time of the fire, he noted that nothing was plugged into any electrical outlet.

According to the taxi driver, when he arrived at the scene, the building was engulfed. Reports are that after the fire was initially seen, it quickly spread into the building; firstly, igniting the curtains.

Elias explained that he was unable to save any household items. For the taxi driver, the days ahead will be difficult since his daughter is expected to start school at the beginning of the new school term.

“I already purchased school things for her but everything gone there. It will very hard; we have lost everything. We have to start back fresh and it is not easy to start back fresh with how going in Guyana right now. I don’t know what is the next step,” the father of three cried.

Meanwhile, residents have expressed disappointment over the Guyana Fire Service’s inability to prevent total destruction. Their slow response and what residents

10 news

saturday, august 3, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Gold declarations for 1st half of 2019 surpass target

G

old declarations by the Guyana Gold Board (GGB) for 2019 are expected to be surpassed by the end of this year in light of the records for the past six months which are higher than expected.

This is according to Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman, who at the 40th anniversary celebrations of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) this week revealed that although gold declarations decreased last year (613,072.96 oz compared to 653,754.41 in 2017), there is a “steady and pleasing” upward trend for 2019. “…being higher than projected for the period Jan-June (300,673.80 oz).

As at the end of July, we are almost at the 400,000 oz mark, which represents an approximate average of 55,000 oz per month.”

He stated that earlier this week, latest reports by the Aurora Gold Mine (AGM), revealed that the company was able to produce some 74,000 oz and that this is a testimony

to the AGM being able to overcome the difficulties that threatened its gold production and declaration figures during 2018.

Additionally, the Minister acknowledged other successes in the mining and mineral sector.

“It [AGM] has shaken off its internal issues dogged it for many months and is returning to full strength and viability…we have three bauxite operations at Linden, Aroaima and Bonasika in Region Three, having welcomed First Bauxite to the fold.

In addition, in the petroleum sector, the Petroleum Division should be proud of its achievements as it prepares the nation for first oil in a few months’ time.”

In January, the GGB had projected that for 2019, declarations and exportations are to be pegged at 651,000 ounces. This estimation was established in retrospect to the outcome from 2018, which turned out to be an “encouraging year” for the organisation.

At that time, the Gold Board had stated that plans

were on stream to manage and enhance existing emission control mechanisms, obtain a permanent operation base and fulfil the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force and National Risk Assessment Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism standards and reduce legacy deficit on the Bank of Guyana and the Finance Ministry.

It also announced that pending capital projects are expected to be completed during 2019 as well as continued training for staffers of the facility.

However, while the Minister spoke of the success of the sector for large

miners, small and medium scale miners have constantly decried the hardships they have had to face in the sector. Some small scale miners in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) were forced to suspend their operations at various intervals owing to, among other things, the nearly impassable roads in the area.

Meanwhile, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Presidential Candidate, Irfaan Ali recently signalled a widespread overhaul of the gold industry if elected.

Ali recently said that many players in the field have been complaining not only about the deteriorating conditions of the roads but also of increasing taxes. He noted that under his Government, he will remove the Value Added Tax (VAT) on hinterland travel and freight to benefit not only the mining sector but residents and communities.

“We have intention to remove the fees imposed by this Government to sell gold and remove the sliding scale imposed and replace with a simple two per cent final tax…per-

haps one of the biggest issues we want to address, based on the complaints, will be better roads. That is why we support easier transport for the mining, forestry and communities by reducing travel time and cost. We will do this by investing a minimum of $2 billion annually to support hinterland roads.”

He noted that the mining sector is in a state of decline as a result of poor Government policies.

“The burdensome taxes have negatively affected recapitalisation and have increased transactional cost. The removal of incentives that brought cost savings to miners and hinterland communities has served to further erode the strides our Administrations would have made.”

Region 1 Chairman concerned about procurement breaches

A

fter being flagged for the past three years for audit reports which revealed that Region One (Barima-Waini) has been in breach of laws governing the manner in which monies were spent, along with the awarding of contracts, Region One could be repeating the same mistakes.

According to Region One Regional Chairman Brentnol Ashley, in previous years, a number of projects within that Region had not been managed or monitored properly, and this resulted in overpayments as well as substandard works being done there.

He told this publication in a recent telephone interview that it appears as if this trend will continue for this year’s audit report.

“There may be some breaches of the procurement laws and the financial laws that are governing how monies are spent, how contracts are awarded. We believe that is actually happening here and that is opening up a recipe of corruption for the region.

Even to now, the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) is still seeing projects that should have been complet-

ed in 2018 still being done in 2019 and not yet finished,” he told this publication.

He explained that some of these projects that rolled over from 2018 are just about 50 per cent completed presently, but they should have been completed since last year.

“We were told at an RDC meeting in October, last year, that there will be no rolled over projects for 2018. There are several rolled over projects across the region which we want to believe that cheques may have been cut for those projects and which is a total breach of the financial regulations Act…in terms of the final payments of projects, I would want to believe that they may have a lot of monies idling there in cut cheques for projects in 2018,” the Regional Chairman stated.

Last year, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman, Irfaan Ali, had once again called on the Regional Administrations to pay closer attention to matters which lead to overpayment of contracts.

The PAC had expressed disappointment that accounting officers were not adhering to the recommendations by the Committee to address repetitive challenges.

Further, the Committee stated that it believed that the culture where certain

Regional Chairman of Region One, Brentnol Ashley

officials believe that it is simply acceptable to engage in unbecoming financial practices must come to an end.

At that time, PAC Chairman Ali had said that it was disheartening to examine the Auditor General’s report, which showed the same financial transgressions were being repeated year after year.

To bring an end to this behaviour, he and his fellow committee members put forward a number of recommendations.

Among them, the PAC called for the Finance Secretary to be empowered to surcharge defaulting accounting officers.

It was also suggested that accounting officers and/or engineering staff that knowingly wait until the end of December to sign off on incomplete projects be removed from the system.

news

11

saturday, august 3, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Restructuring of GGMC

Consultancy contract to be awarded in coming weeks – Trotman

GGMC Deputy Commissioner Dianne McDonald; GGMC Board Chairman Stanley Ming; Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman and GGMC Commissioner Dennison

G

overnment is forging ahead with plans to restructure the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the consultancy contract for this major move will be awarded in the upcoming week.

This was confirmed by Natural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman, while addressing the gathering at the entity’s 40th anniversary celebrations on Wednesday evening.

He stated that the restructuring initiative is to “realign” the Commission with its core functions while preparing it for a future where the environment, conservation and sustainable extraction of the country’s mineral resources have to be “carefully balanced”.

The decision to restructure the GGMC is a deci-

sion that was made by the Cabinet sometime last year and is now being implemented.

It is expected that the person/agency that is awarded the consultancy contract will examine the functionality of the GGMC in view of its evolving role, particularly in the area of the green agenda, complaints about mining, and because of the emerging petroleum sector.

Last month, when asked about staff changes, the Minister said he could not preempt the outcome of the review.

“This is why we have called for proposals to advise us. This is not about personnel; it’s about the vision for the entity in the future. I believe once we get the vision then the second step would be the personali-

ties or the personnel to fulfil that vision. It has to do with the role of the Minister, the role of the Board, the role of the management and average worker,” Trotman had earlier explained.

Shortly before the 2015 General Elections, GGMC announced a revamp of its systems in the mining sector following numerous complaints, particularly as it relates to mining claims which were secured by Chinese firm, Bai Shan Lin. The Minister had explained that GGMC has faced numerous challenges and obstacles in executing its duties and authorities are still grappling with strengthening the “internal” efficiency at the Commission.

According to Trotman, through the utilisation of Information Technology

The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission

(IT), tools will aid in the Commission’s continued progress through digitising the process of making applications and managing the grant prospecting and mining permits.

“This will make for a more efficient and transparent process of land management…these contributions

have not materialised without challenges and obstacles but, we have seen, the GGMC overcame them and we remain confident that it will continue to do so… I believe that the gains we have made so far are important pillars that ensure that a firm foundation is set for the growth and development

we envision in the industry over the next forty years.”

Additionally, he noted in light of a request by the GGMC Commissioner, Newell Dennison, staffers attached to the GGMC will be receiving an increase in their salaries retroactive to January 1, 2019.

12 news

saturday, august 3, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Police hunting suspects in North Ruimveldt drive-by shooting

A

s investigations continue into the gunning down of former murder accused Leon Duncan also called “Whistle”, the police are yet to make an arrest but have indicated that they are hunting for persons of interest.

Duncan along with his brother and two friends were gambling at Williamstaad Road, Festival City, North Ruimveldt when they were shot at.

During a telephone interview on Friday, acting Crime Chief Michael Kingston ex-

plained that detectives are currently hunting for specific individuals who they believe are either involved or connected directly to the fatal shooting.

“There are no arrests in this matter as yet. But there are some persons of interests that we are looking for right now,” he stated.

Twenty-nine-year-old “Whistle” was killed in a drive-by while his brother, Shaquile, and two others, Orande Gordon and Lance Simon, were injured.

Based on information re-

ceived, the four men were at the corner of the street, engrossed in their card game, when an unmarked car pulled up alongside them and the occupants opened fire.

It was reported that the men exited the car, stood over “Whistle” and opened fire. He was reportedly shot several times. He, along with others, was picked up and rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

His brother, who was

Former murder accused: Leon Duncan also called “Whistle”

reportedly shot to his leg, along with Simon and Gordon, were admitted to the medical facility. The police are on the hunt for the car as they launched an investigation.

Back in 2017, “Whistle” was charged for the attempted murder of Ceon Nedd and Geoffrey Farrell. He reportedly discharged a loaded firearm at the men with intent to commit murder.

He had also been shot in Leopold and Breda Streets in 2018 after he was traced by an off-duty police rank

who reportedly witnessed him robbing and gun-butting a woman.

Last year, he was slapped with several armed robbery charges. He was accused of robbing Shezeena Hoosein and Nikel Pikerson. He was also charged for assaulting two peace officers who were executing their duties.

Among other charges faced, he was remanded to prison for the shooting incident that took place in the Privilege Nightclub, injuring two persons back in 2017.

Waramadong to establish Region 8 REO to focus on women, youth empowerment Community Policing Group

R

egion Eight ( P o t a r o - S ipar u n i) new Regional Executive Officer (REO) Mitzy Campbell is aiming to empower women and youths in her region.

Campbell posited that though the region is wellknown for its mining and forestry bases, there are many opportunities available in the region which can be tapped into, thereby, maximising skill and talent among the population.

Campbell was speaking to the Department of Public Information (DPI) during the latest government outreach that was held in the mining town of Mahdia.

When asked about some of the target areas in the Region she is seeking to improve, Campbell said, “I’d like to see the education system improved. I’d like to see the health system improved and also I

Newly-appointed Region 8 REO Mitzy Campbell

would like to see the social services improved, particularly in the area of gender equality”.

Further, she noted that collaboration with the central Government in these specific areas will aid in fulfilling the vision she has. Campbell, who has been REO less than a month, has already been engaging residents.

“A woman met me this

morning and she said she is unemployed. So, can we empower them, they can maybe do catering or sewing since those trades are still in demand. … We can bring the trades back here because this is the interior and we can do really good work here,” the REO noted Campbell said it is important that the young people in the region are empowered so that they can contribute to the country’s development. She noted that it is vital that they be equipped with the necessary skills that will help them to make wise choices and be role models in their communities. “… I’d like to see young people grow and utilise opportunities. I’d like to see them grow and take advantage of different options in their life. I’d also like to see women empowered,” Campbell concluded.

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan addressing residents during the community meeting

R

esidents of Waramadong, in Region Seven, will soon establish a Community Policing Group (CPG). The decision was taken during an interactive meeting between Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan and residents.

The issue of illegal activities in the community was raised by residents.

Residents of Waramadong during the community meeting

Following discussions, Minister Ramjattan assured that assistance will be provided to the villagers who decided to form the CPG. Villager Bendrel Thomas noted that the CPG would be able to curtail any negative behaviour that may be attempted by young persons exposed to negative influences. He was supported by another resident, Curtis Isaacs, who point-

ed to the fact that while the community is not affected by serious crime, there still needs to be regulation of any acts of vandalism among others.

According to the Department of Public Information, Ramjattan further gave his assurance that within a week, an official will visit the community to organise the group. He also urged young people to get involved and be a part of the policing group.

“We will have to send down the administrator for the Community Policing Group and we will form one… I want you to get some of the young men that you have here, and women too, that may wish to join the Police Force,” the Minister encouraged.

Earlier this year, at the rollout of activities for the 43rd anniversary of the establishment of CPGs in Guyana, Minister Ramjattan said the country’s borders are now strengthened with the formation of CPGs in the hinterland regions. These include Regions One, Seven, and Nine.

In Region One, there is a total of 189 CPGs with 62 in Region Seven and an additional 15 in Region Nine. The Public Security Minister also highlighted that the CPGs have been receiving assistance from international bodies which have proven to be fruitful.

news

13

saturday, august 3, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

CJIA buys $6M in baggage carts GPHC restocks on malaria treatment – PRO

O

ne day after the Guyana Times published that there was a shortage of malaria drugs at the Georgetown Public Hospital, the medical facility has confirmed that it has restocked on specific drugs to treat the illness.

The institution’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Terrance Esseboom explained that in the specific case that was reported, the patient might have needed a specific type of malaria drug which the pharmacy did not have at the time, but such was uplifted the following day from Vector Control Services.

“The hospital is not out of stock of malaria drugs but this guy apparently had to have a specific drug which I understand targets all classes of malaria. The pharmacy has three other kinds of malaria drugs but they didn’t have that one yesterday, they have it today. They collected it this morning I would assume that he would have gotten his dosage,” he explained.

On Tuesday last, the unavailability of the drug at GPHC’s main pharmacy was confirmed by Esseboom.

The confirmation of the shortage of malaria medication was made after this newspaper contacted the Ministry regarding a patient who was diagnosed with malaria but was not

GPHC’s PRO, Esseboom

Terrence

given any medication at the health facility.

When this publication visited the health institution, the patient, who has been shivering with high fever for the past four days, revealed that the doctors informed him that the hospital does not have any medication to treat him for malaria.

The male patient said he is being treated with injections to control his fever; however, he does not know when he will be able to leave the hospital. The man added that he longs to be at home, reunited with his family. Guyana Times observed that the patient’s lips were cracked and pale as he complained of feeling weak.

In this regard, Esseboom informed this publication that he was in shock after

learning that the Hospital was without this drug, given that the Vector Control Services, which is a mere stone’s throw away from the Hospital is equipped with the medication.

In an almost annoyed tone, the Public Health PR said, “They collected the drugs from Vector Control (on Wednesday) if they had asked yesterday (Tuesday) they would have gotten it because it is there”.

GPHC has been accused many times of not only offering bad service, but delivering slow and inefficient ones as well.

This latest case highlights one of the Hospital’s flaws in treating patients.

Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease which can lead to death. The disease is transmitted through the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito.

Due to the fact that the malaria parasite is found in red blood cells of an infected person, malaria can also be transmitted through blood transfusion, organ transplant, or the shared use of needles or syringes contaminated with blood.

Malaria can be cured once treated with the right drugs. Affected persons will experience shaking, high fever, profuse sweating, headaches, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea among others.

T

he Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri (CIJA) will be adding new baggage carts for the convenience of passengers using the daily terminals in light of the high influx of tourist arriving at the main port of entry.

The Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) in a release to the media earlier this week stated that it has procured

and put into service seventy-five (75) galvanized steel baggage carts for free use by passengers in the new Arrivals Terminal.

The carts, ‘Travel 300’, were procured at the cost of over $6 million from Europe’s largest manufacturers of airport luggage carts, Wanzl.

Chief Executive Officer of CJIA, Ramesh Ghir, stated “We are pleased to introduce this new conve-

nient service to our passengers.”

Ghir added “These trolleys will make the arrivals process a lot smoother, which will add to an overall improved and comfortable experience at the airport. This new acquisition is of a part of a one billion 2019 capital programme aimed at improving customer service and enhancing airport operation efficiencies”, Ghir added.

14 News

saturday, august 3, 2019| guyanatimesgy.com

Moco Moco gets new well

GWI officials in conversation with a contractor, Mr Franklin, whose company drilled the well in Moco Moco

A

600-foot well has been drilled in the village of Moco Moco, Region Nine, just one week after a promise was made to the residents by officials of the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI).

Managing Director of GWI, Dr Richard Van WestCharles told the residents of Moco Moco recently that the initiative forms part of the company’s commitment to ensure equity countrywide.

“Following assessments in the region, we’ve found a number of non-functional systems but with new technology at our disposal, we can now make better provi-

sions for improved water access”, Dr Van West-Charles posited.

The newly drilled well will be accompanied by a pump, photovoltaic system and four-inch transmission mains that will be laid close to residents’ homes so that they can connect to same.

Additionally, GWI will be sending an excavator to assist the community with digging for the laying of pipelines as well as to dig the extension of the community pool, at the request of the Toshao. He noted that the pool serves as a facility to encourage practice and competition in swimming.

Upon completion of the distribution system, water will be pumped from the well, directly to the transmission lines. A trestle and storage tank will be constructed in the future as a backup system.

The community will assist with the laying of the lines and the provision of timber for the construction of fencing around the well.

Executive Director of Hinterland Services, Ramchand Jailal called on Moco Moco Toshao, James George to identify persons within the community who can be trained as servicemen.

Dr Van West-Charles points to a map which was designed by a Moco Moco villager and printed through GWI, as he highlights that it will help in the laying of pipelines

On the other hand, Dr Van West-Charles committed to working with the Region Nine Democratic Council (RDC) to repair the nonfunctional sanitary blocks that exist at the nursery and primary schools.

He further explained that even as works continue, additional communities will be added and catered for under the utility company’s 2020 budget.

The Toshao and residents expressed their gratitude to the team for its timely interventions.

Meanwhile, water improvement works are ongoing in Yupukari and

Kaicumbay and follow-up visits were made by Dr Van West-Charles and a technical team on Monday, July 29, to assess the progress to date.

In Yupukari, the photovoltaic system was installed and connected to the wells in the community. While pipelines have been laid to install 25 service connections in the western part of the community, more lengths of pipe are being laid to serve the rest of the community.

Contact was also made with the regional office to ensure the sanitary blocks at the school and the health

centre are functional.

Meanwhile, assessments at the health centre have revealed that there is need for two trestles to be further elevated in order to ensure water is available in the shower at the facility.

GWI has also committed to providing four additional tanks to the school’s sanitary block and two at the health centre, in addition to a water heating system.

In Kaicumbay, GWI has plans to build a well head, install a discharge, photovoltaic system and connect the water distribution network.

NGOs distribute wheelchairs to several institutions

T

he Rotary Club of Georgetown in collaboration with the Mohani Thani Foundation distributed 55 wheelchairs to several organisations in Guyana.

This donation was made on the heels that hospitals, rehabilitation centres and homes for senior citizens are affected with challenges that limit and/or prevent mobility. Wheelchairs are just one way of assisting caregivers in daily routines and helping the individual regain some independence.

Representatives of the organisations which include West Demerara Regional Hospital, Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre,

Father Packiraj of the St Theresa Church receiving the donation from members of the NGOs

A member of the organisation makes a presentation to Dr Duncan at the West Demerara Regional Hospital

Georgetown Public Hospital

Corporation,

Gentlemen

Outreach and Ladies of Charity expressed their appreciation to the Club and the Mohan Thani Foundation for the gesture.

One representative was

moved with the receipt of the paediatric wheelchairs as it personally affects her when she sees an eight-year-old who is unable to walk being carried by her parents.

As the Club celebrates its 60th year of dedicated service to varying communities in Guyana in six main areas - peace and conflict prevention/resolution; disease prevention and treatment; water and sanitation; maternal and child health; basic education and literacy; economic and community development - it continues to offer assistance.

The Rotary Club will continue to partner with the Mohani Thani Foundation and other organisations offering “Service above Self” and through these small gestures, the Club will work to see the vision where “Rotary Connects the World”.

news

15

saturday, august 3, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

They survived colonisation and war, but Venezuela’s collapse was too much Part 2

J

Continued from Friday

osé Manuel Pana, another putchipu’u, lay down his cane, straightened his hat and said he was not convinced.

“They come to Colombia and it’s all a struggle for land to them: They build their home, and they build a problem for another family,” said Pana. “What have they brought here from Venezuela? They’ve brought an infection.”

Vangrieken, the 72-yearold leader in Parenstu, recalls the day when a group of Venezuelan Wayuu first came to her land with a small box containing the bones of their relatives.

Under Wayuu tradition, two decades after a person dies, the family members return to the cemetery for what’s called the “second wake.” They break open the tomb, clean the bones and rebury them at a site they believe their ancestors came from.

But the custom dictates something else as well: Relatives of the deceased may also claim the land where the remains are reburied and build homes nearby.

Vangrieken said the possibility of a mass migration

hadn’t even crossed her mind at the time. It was 2009 and Venezuela was still prosperous. Only a few people were asking to build homes near the remains, and it seemed absurd to her that anyone would claim Parenstu as their own.

But last year, newcomers began to show up, as hyperinflation cut off countless Venezuelans from food and Maduro sealed his grip over the nation in a widely condemned re-election vote.

In January, the political crisis intensified as the United States and dozens of other countries recognised the leader of Venezuela’s Opposition as the legitimate president. American sanctions on Venezuela’s most vital industry – oil – followed, taking a serious toll on the nation, including in Wayuu areas, which sit outside one of the country’s main oil hubs.

The Wayuu in Parenstu sometimes found it hard to recognise the new arrivals as kin. Some had come from cities and didn’t speak Wayuunaiki, the native language. They constructed improvised houses out of poles and plastic, rather than out of adobe like the homes in

Parenstu.

But there was one Wayuu tradition the Venezuelans seemed to know well: The cemetery gave them the right to stay.

“My mother always said we should give them space, that they might eventually leave,” said Yomeilia Vangrieken, one of Vangrieken’s daughters.

“She made a big mistake.”

Not long after the newcomers began settling on Vangrieken’s land, her family woke up to an angry crowd of several hundred people.

They were from another Colombian Wayuu clan, and said they had come to avenge the beating of a young man who had been struck by a Venezuelan Wayuu on their land.

They had followed his footprints in the sand back to Parenstu, Vangrieken recalled, and now demanded a payment of around $1500, holding her responsible as the traditional leader.

“I didn’t have that amount, and neither did the Venezuelans,” said Vangrieken, who offered the clan 10 of her own sheep instead, nearly all the livestock she owned.

Even as tensions grew,

Vangrieken continued to ask for patience from her clan, arguing that, as Wayuu, the new arrivals had to be treated as equals.

M a l n o u r i s h e d Venezuelan children were enrolled in school and offered meals, though it meant less for Colombians. In one case, a Venezuelan Wayuu woman arrived sick and was given an identification card of a Colombian Wayuu woman so she could be treated at a public hospital. But the sick woman died in the hospital. Vangrieken fears that the Colombian Wayuu who offered the ID card is now registered as dead.

Milcidi Palmar, a 32-yearold Venezuelan Wayuu refugee who fled to Parenstu, said shortages of medicine had led to the deaths of four members of her extended family.

Then last year, her youngest child, Mayerli, fell ill. Palmar wasted the little money she had on bus rides to a Venezuelan hospital, which sent her away with nothing to control the fever.

Mayerli died.

Shortly after, Palmar’s other daughter, Wendy, got sick, too. Palmar said she returned to the hospital, insist-

ing on treatment. She said Wendi got an injection, but her skin turned purple in the days that followed. Wendy stopped breathing.

“There was nothing I could do but watch them both die,” she said of her daughters.

The story weighs heavily on Yadira Martínez, the daughter of Parenstu’s leader, who often takes over some of the responsibilities running the village.

She was with Palmar at the three-acre plot in Parenstu that Palmar and her husband had encircled with a wooden fence after they occupied it last year.

Palmar had been making charcoal to sell — using trees considered sacred to the Wayuu in Parenstu.

Yadira Martínez recalled how she had played as a child among the trees Palmar was now cutting down. Yet she was split between nostalgia for that time and sympathy for a fellow mother with mouths to feed.

“Want to buy some charcoal?” Palmar asked, cracking a joke to break the tension. The two women shared an uneasy laugh.

Between the drought and the new arrivals, there is lit-

tle water in Parenstu. A reservoir has run nearly dry, only a silted grey pool in a vast desert.

Toward sundown, Celinda Vangrieken and Yadira Martínez walked to the edge of town, to check a well hidden away under scrub brush. It was dry, but it reminded Celinda of a girl who had fallen inside and drowned decades before.

“How could anyone say this land is not ours?”

Yadira said after her mother finished the story. “This is where we shed our blood.”

Their clan had settled in Parenstu, according to family legend, after a dispute that began over a pot of necklaces and quickly escalated into a blood feud over territory — the kind everyone here seemed eager to avoid.

A short ride from the well stood the cemetery of the Venezuelan Wayuu, bordered by fence of cactuses.

Celinda Vangrieken thought for a moment. The fate of her village seemed tied to Venezuela in a way she felt she could not control.

“I just don’t want a war with them,” she said. (Excerpt from New York Times)

US withdraws from Soviet-era nuclear missile accord with Russia

T

he United States formally withdrew from a landmark 1987 nuclear missile pact with Russia on Friday after determining that Moscow was violating the treaty, an accusation the Kremlin has denied.

Washington signalled it would pull out of the arms control treaty six months ago unless Moscow stuck to the accord. Russia called the move a ploy to exit a pact that the United States wanted to leave anyway in order to develop new missiles.

President Donald Trump told reporters he would like to seal a new arms deal with Russia reducing all nucle-

ar forces, and possibly with China as well.

“If we could get a pact where they reduce and we reduce nuclear, that would be a good thing for the world. I do believe that will happen,” Trump said.

The Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) was negotiated by then-US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. It banned land-based missiles with a range of between 310 and 3,400 miles (500-5,500 km), reducing the ability of both countries to launch a nuclear strike on short notice.

The dispute is aggravating the worst US-Russia

The dispute is aggravating the worst US-Russia friction since the Cold War ended in 1991

friction since the Cold War ended in 1991. Some experts believe the treaty’s collapse could undermine other arms control agreements and speed an erosion of the global system de-

signed to block the spread of nuclear arms.

“The United States will not remain party to a treaty that is deliberately violated by Russia,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in

a statement.

“Russia’s non-compliance under the treaty jeopardises US supreme interests as Russia’s development and fielding of a treaty-violating missile system represents a direct threat to the United States and our allies and partners,” Pompeo said.

Senior Trump Administration officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Russia had deployed “multiple battalions” of a cruise missile throughout Russia in violation of the pact, including in western Russia, “with the ability to strike critical European targets.”

Russia denies the alle-

gation, saying the missile’s range puts it outside the treaty. It rejected a US demand to destroy the new missile, the Novator 9M729, known as the SSC-8 by the NATO Western military alliance.

Moscow has told Washington the US decision to quit the pact undermines global security and removes a key pillar of international arms control.

China’s new Ambassador to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, said China regretted that the United States was withdrawing from the treaty and expressed doubt about joining the United States and Russia in a nuclear deal.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Congo races to contain Ebola after R Kelly denied bail in sex gold miner infects several in Goma crime case in New York

C

ongolese authorities were racing to contain an Ebola epidemic on Thursday, after a gold miner with a large family several people in the east’s main city of Goma before dying of the hemorrhagic fever, officials said.

The Government’s Ebola response coordinator Jean-Jacques Muyembe said an estimated half of cases of Ebola - -which has killed at least 1800 since the outbreak started a year ago – were going unidentified.

“If we continue on that basis, this epidemic could

last two or three years,” he told a news conference in Goma.

This is the second worst Ebola outbreak on record, after a 2013-16 West African epidemic infected 28,000 people and killed 11,300, mostly in Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.

On Friday the Government said the wife of the miner had tested positive for the disease – the fourth case confirmed in Goma, more than 350 kilometres (220 miles) south of where the outbreak was first detected, raising fears of an acceleration in infections close to the border

with Rwanda.

“The gold miner ... will have contaminated several people, but for the moment it is only his wife and one of his 10 children who are sick,” Muyembe said.

The man himself had died of the virus earlier this week and only sought treatment more than a week after starting to show symptoms.

Health workers are technologically better equipped than ever to fight Ebola, which causes vomiting, diarrhoea, and bleeding, and kills more than half its victims (Excerpt from BBC News)

R

&B star R Kelly has pleaded not guilty in New York’s Brooklyn courtroom on charges of recruiting and sexually exploiting women and underage girls.

The singer, 52, was denied bail on the grounds that he was a flight risk.

He will be kept in custody pending trial.

The musician is already awaiting trial for more than 20 other alleged sexual crimes – all of which he denies.

For two decades, R Kelly, real name Robert Kelly, has been accused of different sexual abuse allegations.

He has consistently denied the claims.

R Kelly

The musician was arrested last month, and two separate federal indictments were later filed against him in Chicago and Brooklyn.

Prosecutors allege that

the star and his associates recruited and transported underage girls over state lines for illegal sexual purposes, including the production of child pornography.

They also accuse him of conspiracy to obstruct justice by destroying evidence and bribing or threatening witnesses.

The current cases against him were triggered by the six-part documentary, “Surviving R Kelly”, which was broadcast in the US at the start of 2019.

R Kelly has stood trial on sexual offences once, being acquitted of child pornography charges by a jury in 2008. (Excerpt from Reuters)

16

guyanatimesgy.com

sATURday, AUGUST 3, 2019

Regional

US to outline plans to help Venezuela Brazil deforestation row: after Maduro leaves – US official Space Research Head out

U

S Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will outline Washington’s plans to help rebuild Venezuela in the event President Nicolás Maduro leaves – at a conference in Lima next week, a senior US Administration official said on Friday.

The official declined to give any details about US President Donald Trump’s vague warning on Thursday of a blockade for Venezuela, but said that Maduro should

T

Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro waits for Enrique Iglesias, a Special Adviser of the European Union for Venezuela, before their meeting at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, July 9, 2019

view Trump’s comments as a sign he should take advantage of ongoing talks in

Barbados to come up with an “exit plan”, the official said. (Reuters)

PAHO wants maternity protection laws implemented in the Caribbean

T

he Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) is urging Caribbean countries to implement laws to ensure that working women are given the time and support needed to breastfeed.

PAHO, in a message marking International Breastfeeding Week that ends on Wednesday next week, said this includes adequate paid maternity leave and sufficient breastfeeding breaks upon return to work.

I n t e r n a t i o n a l Breastfeeding Week is being observed under the theme “Protect breastfeeding in the workplace” and PAHO said this was in-

tended “to raise awareness of the need to support parents and create an enabling environment where mothers can breastfeed optimally”.

PAHO said in order to ensure that working mothers were adequately protected, it is calling for regional countries to implement the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No 183 and the Maternity Protection Recommendation, 2000 (R191), “and to enshrine this in national law”.

“This states that women should be given at least 14 weeks paid maternity leave, and that Governments should endeavour to ex-

tend this leave to at least 18 weeks. It also stipulates that working mothers should be provided with two 30-minute nursing breaks each day upon her return to work, as well as facilities for breastfeeding at or near the workplace.”

PAHO's Director of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health, Dr Anselm Hennis, said “maternity is a particularly vulnerable time for working women and their families,” adding that it is also “vital that expectant and nursing mothers are protected by law, so that they have adequate time to give birth, recover and nurse their children”. (Excerpt from CMC)

2 senior T&T cops on sexual misconduct charges

T

wo senior Police Officers are to appear in the Chaguanas Magistrates’ Court charged for sexual misconduct.

The officers, who are both 58 years old and have a combined 77 years of service in the Police Service, were charged on Thursday, following advice from Director of Public Prosecutions, Roger Gaspard, SC. Acting Senior Superintendent Samuel Seepersad, who is attached to the Central Division and has 39 years of service, was arrested at the Central Division Headquarters on Wednesday.

He was charged with harassment.

The charge was laid following a report of Seepersad

N

departure, although it is not clear whether he had quit or been fired.

Bolsonaro, who took office in January, has accused Mr Galvão's organisation of trying to undermine the Government.

However, the National Space Research Institute (Inpe) says its data is 95% accurate.

Scientists say the Amazon has suffered losses at an accelerated rate under Bolsonaro's Government, with policies that favour development over conservation.

As the largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon is a vital carbon store that slows down the

pace of global warming.

Official figures suggest that the biggest reason to fell trees there is to create new pastures for cattle.

Over the past decade, previous Governments had managed to reduce deforestation with concerted action by federal agencies and a system of fines.

But Bolsonaro and his Ministers have criticised the penalties and overseen a dramatic fall in confiscations of timber and convictions for environmental crimes.

Several scientific institutions, including the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, have defended Inpe and the accuracy of its data. (Excerpt from BBC News)

VAT ease unfair, says DLP

Democratic Labour Party President Verla De Peiza

D

emocratic Labour Party (DLP) President Verla De Peiza is calling for the Mia Mottley Administration to live up to its word, and be

more transparent and forthcoming with the public.

De Peiza wants Government to reveal who would be the “lucky” recipients of VAT waivers while

other members of the public were being burdened with more taxes and increased bus fares.

“How else is any fair-minded person to classify the most recent action by this Barbados Labour Party (BLP) Administration to unilaterally waive potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in VAT owed predominantly by certain businesses in Barbados, while at the same time punishing ordinary citizens in the country with increased bus fare, excruciating land taxes, and new sewerage, petroleum and health taxes/levies?” the DLP leader asked in a press statement released yesterday. (Nation News)

Mexican Journalist shot and killed in violent Guerrero state

A Senior Superintendent Samuel Seepersad (left) and acting Superintendent Rohan Pardasie have been charged with sexual misconduct

allegedly engaging in inappropriate physical conduct at the Chaguanas Police Station, between March and June 2019.

The second officer, Acting Superintendent Rohan Pardasie, who has 38 years of service, and was most recently attached to the Southern

Division, was also arrested on Wednesday at Southern Division Headquarters.

Pardasie was charged with indecent assault, arising from an incident which allegedly occurred at the Chaguanas Police Station in 2014, while he was attached to the Central Division. (Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

Mexico gas pipeline leak forces evacuation of about 2000 – media early 2000 people were evacuated from a rural community north of Mexico City owing to a gas leak, the Associated Press reported.

he Head of Brazil's National Space Research Institute says he will be sacked after a public row with President Jair Bolsonaro over the scale of deforestation in the Amazon.

Ricardo Galvão had accused the far-right President of "cowardice" for questioning the Institute's data.

It showed an 88 per cent increase in deforestation in June compared with the same month a year ago.

Bolsonaro said the Institute was smearing Brazil's reputation.

Brazil's Ministry of Science and Technology has confirmed Galvão's

The leak was caused by an illegal tap drilled by fuel thieves, the report said. The State-run Pemex oil company said the flow of LP gas into the pipeline had been shut off.

A highway that runs just 150 metres away from the leak was closed to traffic, as was a train line nearby, according to the Associated Press.

(Reuters)

Mexican reporter in Guerrero state who also served as a municipal official was shot and killed on Friday in a beachside resort, authorities said, the second Journalist from the state murdered in less than a week as Mexico’s endemic bloodletting reaches new heights.

Edgar Alberto Nava,

who published news stories about the coastal resort city of Zihuatanejo on a Facebook page called La Verdad de Zihuatanejo, died after being shot several times, the Guerrero Prosecutor’s office said.

Nava also worked as Zijuatanejo’s regulations director. It was not clear if the attack, in a Zihuatanejo restaurant, was related to

Nava’s journalism work.

Murders in Mexico jumped in the first half of the year to the highest on record, according to official data, underscoring the challenges President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has faced since taking office in December with a vow to reduce violence in the country ravaged by notorious drug cartels. (Excerpt from Reuters)

guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, AUGUST 3, 2019

17

Around the World

Thousands of Hong Kong civil servants Panic in Kashmir after India asks tourists defy Government to join protests

Members of Hong Kong’s medical sector attend a rally to support the anti-extradition bill protest in Hong Kong, China, August 2, 2019

T

housands of civil servants joined in the anti-Government protests in Hong Kong on Friday for the first time since they started two months ago, defying a warning from the authorities to remain politically neutral.

Protests against a proposed bill

that would allow people to be extradited to stand trial in mainland China have grown increasingly violent, with Police accused of excessive use of force and failing to protect protesters from suspected gang attacks.

Chanting encouragement, crowds turned out to support the civil servants

at their rally on Friday evening which halted traffic on major roads in the heart of the city’s business district.

The rally on Friday came after an open letter penned anonymously and published on Facebook set out a series of demands to the Hong Kong Government by a group which said it represented civil servants.

The group also listed five demands: complete withdrawal of the extradition bill; a halt to descriptions of the protests as ‘rioting’; a waiver of charges against those arrested; an independent inquiry and resumption of political reform.

The protests against a now suspended extradition bill have widened to demand greater democracy and the resignation of Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam, and have become one of the gravest populist challenges to Communist Party rulers in Beijing.

On Thursday the Government said Hong Kong’s 180,000 civil servants must remain politically neutral as the city braced for another wave of protests over the weekend and a mass strike on Monday across sectors such as transport, schools and corporates. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Sudan detains 9 RSF members over killing of protesters

A

s p o k e s m a n for Sudan’s ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) has said nine members of a paramilitary group have been dismissed and detained over the recent killing of protesters in the cities of Omdurman and ElObeid.

Speaking to reporters on Friday after a night of negotiations between Sudan’s ruling generals and protest leaders, Lieutenant General Shams al-Din Kabashi said those arrested belonged to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a feared group blamed by pro-democracy demonstrators for a bloody crackdown in June at a protest camp in the capital, Khartoum.

The spokesman added

that the governor of North Kordofan state and its security council will be held accountable for the killing of six people, including four schoolchildren in the state capital, El-Obeid, on Monday.

On Thursday, a doctors’ committee linked to the protest movement said four people were killed in Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum, as hundreds of thousands took to the streets to demand justice for Monday’s killings.

In Khartoum, protesters marched in the Burri and Bahri districts, sites of regular anti-Government demonstrations since December.

Many carried Sudanese flags along with photographs of some of those

People rallied in Khartoum to protest against the killings of demonstrators [Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/Reuters]

killed in months of protests - initially against long-time President Omar al-Bashir, and subsequently against the TMC which seized power from him on April 11.

The protesters’ main demand has been the estab-

lishment of civilian rule, but talks between the generals and protest leaders from the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) alliance have been suspended several times following violence against demonstrators. (Excerpt

from Al Jazeera)

Saudi Arabia lifts travel Turkey laments exclusion restrictions on women, from US training on F-35 jets grants them greater control

S

audi Arabia has allowed adult women to travel without permission and granted them more control over family matters, further eroding a heavily criticised male guardianship system at a time of heightened scrutiny over its human rights record.

A series of royal decrees published by the official gazette on Friday stipulated that a Saudi passport should be issued to any citizen who applies for it and that any person above the age of 21 does not need permission to travel.

The amendments to regulations also grant women for the first time the right to register childbirth, marriage or divorce and to be issued official family documents and be eligible as a guardian to children who are minors.

Riyadh has long endured international censure over the status of women, who rights groups say are often treated as second-class citizens under rules requiring them to get the consent of a male guardian for important decisions throughout their entire lives, regardless of age.

Several high-profile cases of young women seeking asylum abroad on claims of gender-based repression have added further pressure on Riyadh over the male guardian system.

Guardianship’s status between law and custom makes it a thorny issue for Prince Mohammed, who indicated last year he favoured ending the system but stopped short of endorsing its annulment.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

T

urkey has hit back at its exclusion from the US F-35 stealth fighter programme, saying it had been kicked out without justification.

Turkish Air Force personnel, who had been training on the next-generation jet, were required to have left the United States earlier this week following the arrival of the Russianmade S-400 missile system in Turkey last month.

Turkish companies have been closely involved in the programme since its inception in 2001 and the country has invested $1.4 billion into the development of the fighter with NATO allies.

Washington has objected to Turkey buying the S-400 system, saying that operating it alongside the F-35 would compromise the fighter’s hi-tech secrets. It said it will not allow F-35s to operate in airspace where the Russian system is ac-

tive.

In turn, Moscow has offered to sell Turkey its most advanced fighter, the Su-35.

Although about 40 Turkish air and ground crew are no longer involved in F-35 training - and another 20 Turkish staff have been cut from a joint office in Washington, DC - Turkish companies continue to be involved in providing more than 950 F-35 parts.

This has led to many observers seeing a sliver of a chance that Turkey could rejoin the programme.

Last week, LockheedMartin, the US company overseeing F-35 production, said the involvement of Turkish companies would end completely by March 2020.

The S-400 system, according to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, would be operational the following month.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

and pilgrims to leave

Indian Army’s Lieutenant General KJS Dhillon speaks during a news conference in Srinagar on Friday [Reuters]

F

ear and confusion have gripped residents in Indiaadministered Kashmir after authorities issued an unprecedented order, cancelling a Hindu pilgrimage and asking tourists to leave the disputed region.

The order, issued on Friday by the Jammu and Kashmir state’s Government, said that because of “intelligence inputs of terror threats” against the “Amarnath Yatra” (pilgrimage) and “the prevailing security situation”, pilgrims and tourists should leave the region “immediately”.

For 45 days every year, thousands of devout Hindus from across India trek to the region’s holy Amarnath cave, located among the Himalayan mountains in southern Kashmir.

The order, which came days after India deployed 10,000 additional troops in the disputed region, triggered panic among the residents, who began to stockpile essential supplies,

including food, medicines and fuel in anticipation that the situation may turn critical.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Vijay Kumar, who is an adviser to Jammu and Kashmir governor, refused to elaborate on the order, saying, “Everything is explained in it.”

A senior police official, on condition of anonymity, told Al Jazeera they have been told to remain prepared for the “massive law and order situation”. “And we are ready,” he said.

Tension in Indiaadministered Kashmir increased last week after the Indian Government sent an additional 10,000 paramilitary troops to the region.

In recent days, a series of official orders - including one issued by the Indian railways warning of a “crisis situation” - has triggered rumours that the Indian Government is planning to abrogate Kashmir’s special status guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Skripal case: US slaps new sanctions on Russia

U

S President Donald Trump has imposed new sanctions against Russia over the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in the UK in March 2018.

US banks are now banned from providing loans to Russia, and Washington will also be opposing any loan extension to Moscow by international institutions.

Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with the Russian nerve agent Novichok in Salisbury, though they have now recovered.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it regretted the latest US move, Russia’s Ria news agency reports.

Trump signed an executive order to impose the second set of sanctions on Thursday.

The sanctions include opposing “the extension of any loan or financial or technical assistance... by international financial institutions”.

The new measures would also “prohibit any United

States bank from making any loan or providing any credit... except for loans or credits for the purpose of purchasing food or other agricultural commodities or products”.

The sanctions were imposed under America’s Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act adopted in 1991.

The act mandates the imposition of new sanctions within 90 days if Russia fails to give reliable assurance that it will no longer use chemical weapons.

The first set of US sanctions against Russia was imposed last August. They covered exports of sensitive electronic components and other technologies that could have military applications. Restrictions were also placed on Russian access to US financial services.

In recent months, the US Congress has been pressing President Trump to act again, saying that the 90day deadline had long expired. (Excerpt from BBC News)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, august 3, 2019

ARCHIE

ARIES (March 21April 19)

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

dilbert

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

CANCER (June 21July 22)

Peanuts

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Calvin and Hobbes

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

SCORPIO

SUDOKU

(Oct. 24Nov. 22)

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21)

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

THURSDAY’S WORD

solution for THURSDAY’S puzzle AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

Expand your interests, try something new and enjoy life. You are in control of your destiny. Take charge and turn any negative you encounter into something positive.

Take better care of your health and well-being. Refuse to let the little things get to you. Think matters through and be meticulous about the way you do things.

Trust only in what you know to be factual.

If someone wants to play games, you should recognize the rules and maneuver your way to personal and emotional safety.

Listen to what others have to say and consider your options. It’s OK to head in a different direction. Personal growth will result from the experiences you have.

Take a systematic approach to what it is you want to do. Think big, but when it comes to executing your plans, stick to a sized-down version and an affordable budget.

It’s up to you to bring about change. Don’t sit on the sidelines, waiting for someone to make a choice for you. Consider what you want and make it happen.

Put greater emphasis on personal gain, self-improvement and hanging out with people who bring you up, not down. Walk away from controversy and criticism.

Spend time with people who appreciate you.

The way you feel and what you know will conflict. Don’t let your emotions interfere with what’s best for you and the people you care about. Do what’s right.

Emotions will lead you astray. Someone will plant assumptions in your head, causing confusion. When in doubt, go directly to the source. Concentrate on personal gains, not on someone else’s drama.

A change at home will be useful for you. Don’t let what someone else decides to do ruin your plans. Do your own thing and revel in the joy it brings you.

Put some energy behind whatever it is you are trying to achieve. If you do the work, you’ll get the glory and respect you deserve for a job well done.

Romance is highlighted.

Be realistic. Refuse to let anyone set you off or play with your emotions.

Look for the truth and use your intelligence and intuition when dealing with manipulative people.

saturday, august 3, 2019

19

Rory Burns’ maiden hundred puts England in control 3

SCOREBOARD

Australia 1st Innings – 284 England 1st Innings RJ Burns not out 125 JJ Roy c Smith b Pattinson 10 JE Root (c) c & b Siddle 57 JL Denly lbw b Pattinson

18 JC Buttler c Bancroft b Cummins 5 BA Stokes not out 38 Extras (b 5, lb 7, w 2) 14 TOTAL (90 Overs, RR: 2.96) 267-4 Yet to bat: JM Bairstow †, MM Ali, CR Woakes, SCJ Broad, JM Anderson

I

Rory Burns walks off at the close of play after batting all day for his unbeaten 125 (Tom Jenkins/The Guardian photograph)

t didn’t quite have the backstory of Steven Smith’s century, but for the second day running the opening Ashes Test witnessed a hugely significant hundred as Rory Burns showed tremendous resilience to score his first for England. He finished unbeaten on 125, forming a substantial partnership with Joe Root of 132 and another steadying stand with Ben Stokes, which carried England to 267 for 4 and within sight of what could be a critical lead.

Burns endured a lean Test against Ireland last week with twin scores of 6, his technique, which is unorthodox anyway, appearing out of sync. Before that his Test experience was six games overseas against Sri Lanka and West Indies on tough surfaces, but already the pressure was growing.

However, plenty of work between matches and the mental strength that he is renowned for by those who know him well brought rich dividends in what has been a hugely troublesome spot for England.

If Australia had reviewed an lbw appeal against Nathan Lyon he would have gone for 22 and if Usman Khawaja had produced a direct hit he was short on 75. Then he spent more than half an hour in the 90s and sweated nine balls on 99 before scampering a single to mid-on from his 224th delivery. Burns celebrated as soon as he crossed the crease, but had to wait a few moments for the official verdict as it went to third umpire. All was fine and he could soak up the applause of a raucous Edgbaston crowd. Given the emotion of the moment, it was to his immense credit that he kept his focus throughout the rest of the day.

Australia started the day well, picking up the early suc-

cess of Jason Roy - James Pattinson’s first Test wicket for three-and-a-half years - and hit back strongly after tea when a ball change produced one which swung significantly to dent the middle order. They didn’t have much luck, either, regularly beating the bat or finding the inside edge, but a long day in the field early in the series will fuel the debate about the balance of the side, particularly with Pattinson managed in reasonably short spells. There was considerable help for Nathan Lyon, to suggest batting last will be tough, so it will have been a disappointment that he went wicketless through 28 overs.

After facing a couple of overs on the first evening, in the aftermath of Smith’s astonishing innings, Burns and Roy resumed in slightly less febrile conditions - if facing Pattinson and Pat Cummins can be put in such terms. Roy fell in the sixth over of the morning, edging Pattinson low to Smith at second slip, but that would be Australia’s only success for the first half of the day.

In contrast to the often frenetic nature of England’s Test batting, Burns and Root bided their time during an opening session that brought 61 runs in 27 overs. Lyon’s first delivery of the day forced people to sit up and take notice as it spun back sharply to nearly take Root’s off stump. Root also had an extraordinary left-off on 9 when he was given caught behind against Pattinson - Joel Wilson going by a woody click - only for replays to show the ball had clipped off stump but not dislodged the bail.

It took Root 70 balls to score his first boundary - he had also been saved by the DRS when given lbw on 12 despite a

M

fender.

The 26-year-old is expected to complete a medical at the club at the weekend.

He will become United’s third summer signing following Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James, who arrived from Crystal Palace and Swansea respectively.

“The clubs have agreed [a fee] and there’s still some work for it to go through,” said Brendan Rodgers.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the Leicester boss added: “There’s still a bit to go in terms of Harry’s medical and whatever personal things to sort out, but it is what it is.

“He’s a special player, he’s not a player that of course we would want to lose.

“He’s a top-class player, he’s a good man as well, and everything about Harry over the course of this pre-season, he knows there has been interest over the summer and he’s been super professional.”

Maguire made 69 Premier League appearances for

Leicester after joining from Hull City in 2017.

The deal means Maguire becomes the world’s most expensive defender, eclipsing the £75 million Liverpool paid Southampton for Virgil van Dijk in January 2018.

United had a long-standing interest in Maguire but they backed away from a deal 12 months ago because they felt the £70m that would be needed for a transfer to be concluded was too high.

He signed a five-year contract at Leicester last September and manager Brendan Rodgers made it clear at the end of the season he felt Maguire could develop even more if he remained at the club.

Maguire began his career at Sheffield United in 2011, making 139 league appearances for the Blades before joining Hull in 2014.

He was part of the Hull side that earned promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs in 2016 but left for Leicester in a £17m deal following the Tigers’ relegation 12 months later.

The defender made his England debut in August 2017 and was part of the side that reached the semi-finals of the

JL Pattinson (17-2-54-2) PM Siddle (21-5-43-1) NM Lyon (28-4-79-0) MS Wade (1-0-7-0) TM Head (2-1-7-0)

thin inside edge - but his and England’s rate lifted during the afternoon. Burns kept Australia’s slip cordon interested with a collection of edges along the ground and in the air which eventually persuaded Tim Paine to plug the gap and go without a fine leg for a brief period, but also drove strongly and nudged through his favoured on side.

Just when Australia were beginning to look flat, Root bunted a return to catch Peter Siddle who stuck out his right hand. Having converted fifties into hundreds against India, Sri Lanka and West Indies this was a missed opportunity for the captain. He thumbed the staircase of the dressing room in frustration.

Either side of tea Joe Denly produced a couple of pleasing drives, but at the end of the 60th over the umpires changed the ball and the first delivery with the replacement - albeit a big full toss - swung miles for Pattinson. Suddenly he and Cummins had a spring in their step. Denly was trapped lbw by a full delivery and Jos Buttler squared up by Cummins, sending a low catch to third slip, as England lost 3 for 40.

The latter two fell with Burns stuck in the 90s, his scoring dried up as Australia pushed the ball outside off coupled with the pressure of the looming milestone.

With the century bagged, and having focused on not giving things away to the part-time offerings of Matthew Wade and Travis Head, attention turned to seeing off the second new ball. Stokes was one of the players to miss the Ireland Test but looked to have brought his World Cup batting form with him. The strains of the day showed with Cummins and Pattinson given just two overs apiece with the new ball in the final half hour. They will need to be refreshed in the morning if Australia are to keep any deficit to acceptable levels. (ESPNcricinfo)

Man Utd agree £80M deal for Leicester defender Harry Maguire anchester United have reached an agreement to sign England centre-back Harry Maguire from Leicester for £80m - a world record fee for a de-

Fall of wickets: 1-22 (Jason Roy, 7.2 ov), 2-154 (Joe Root, 49.6 ov), 3-189 (Joe Denly, 62.1 ov), 4-194 (Jos Buttler, 65.4 ov) BOWLING PJ Cummins (21-6-65-1)

2018 World Cup in Russia.

He becomes one of seven central defenders on the books at United, joining Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo and Axel Tuanzebe.

(BBC Sport)

Harry Maguire

20

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

saturday, august 3, 2019

Hussain appointed BCCCC President T

he Blairmont Community Centre Cricket Club (BCCCC) has appointed an Interim Management Committee (IMC) to manage its affairs until its next Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Appointed on July 31, 2019, the IMC is led by Mohamed Hussain, currently Manager of Harvesting at the Blairmont Estate.

He had served as secretary of the BCCCC in the late 1990s, and was a key member of the Youth and First Division teams. No stranger to leadership, Hussain is currently president of the Blairmont Masjid and of the PTA of the Sapodilla Primary School.

Shabeer Baksh, who has for nine years served as president of the BCCCC, is now deputy to Hussain; while retired Head Teacher Bibi Ishak has been appointed secretary, and long-serving BCCCC member Anil Sukra has been appointed treasurer.

Ameer Rahim and Omeshwari Prashad are the respective assistants.

Amir Khan has been appointed BCCCC Public Relations Officer (PRO), while other members of the

IMC are: Estate Community Development Officer (CDO) Adrian Singh, Ramdatt Gobin, Shizad Ali (Green’s Massive), Govindaraj Khan, Jerry Karim, Radesha Dookharan, Vejai Farhad, Selena Sibchand and Mohamed Samad.

The BCCCC was, in 2018, voted the Guyana Cricket Board’s (GCB’s) Cricket Club of the Year.

It was also recipient of the West Berbice Cricket Club/ Team of the Year award at the Berbice Cricket Board’s (BCB’s) Annual Awards Ceremony.

The BCCCC will this year host its cricket academy from August 12th to August 25th within the time period 14:00 hours to 17:00hrs. This academy will seek assistance from both the GCB and BCB in the form of experienced coaches. Individuals who are interested in matters concerning this academy are invited to contact Academy Coordinator Shabeer Baksh on 628-6767.

The BCCC will also host a field trip for its players to the National Stadium at Providence when the first One Day International match between the West

Executive members of the Blairmont Community Centre Cricket Club (BCCCC)

Indies and the Virat Kohliled India team is to be played.

The BCCCC academy aims to expose more youths to the intricacies of the game

Commonwealth Cricket League…

Dhaniram propels Warriors to 11th consecutive win

of cricket, and keep the players active during the summer break.

Located on the West Bank of Berbice in Region Five, the BCCCC is looking

to regroup in all categories from the under-13 level upwards.

The BCCCC IMC is scheduled to meet on Sunday August 4, 2019 to do

the following: discuss who will represent the club at the various boards; create sub-committees; and plan for the remaining period of its life.

Indian chess prodigy, 13, is youngest to win major tournament

I

ndia’s chess prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, who became the youngest ever international master at 11 and narrowly missed being the youngest ever grandmaster at 12, has set another landmark by winning the traditional Xtracon Open at Helsingor, Denmark, at 13 years 11 months. The Chennai boy scored an unbeaten 8.5/10 for a performance rating of 2741, the level of the world top 20.

Unlike the record book for youngest grandmaster, which is well documented, there is no recognised list for the youngest winner of a major tournament. Judit Polgar won in London 1988 at 12 and Henrique Mecking was Brazilian champion at 13, but their opposition was far weaker than for “Pragg”.

The nearest previous comparison is Bobby Fischer, who won the US Open and the US championship, both high class tour-

naments, at 14, so this is a new record for the Indian teen.

Pragg’s fastest victory, 23 moves to win a piece and the game, was in the style of Anatoly Karpov, simple play where his opponent was always on the back foot. His favourite style often leads to endgames where he grinds to victory a la Carlsen.

He also had the luck which tournament winners need in the final round when Samuel Sevian, one of a trio of young US grandmasters groomed for the top, was a pawn up in a marathon queen endgame and missed more than one winning chance. In that same final round, the Norwegian champion Aryan Tari missed a simple tactic which would also have won the tournament.

Pragg’s sister Vaishali, 18, also had the result of her life, scoring her first GM norm and defeating Sevian in a major upset by an imaginative attack. (The Guardian)

Peru swimmer withdraws from Pan Am Games after failed test Vickash Dhaniram scored an unbeaten 99 and bagged two wickets

Rajin Rahaman snagged 3 for 20 from his six overs bowled

hen action continued in the Commonwealth Cricket League in New York, Vickash Dhaniram, a Guyanese batsman of Zeeburg Sports Club and resident of Cornelia Ida, WCD, stepped up to the plate and led his side -- Warriors Cricket Club (WCC) -- to a comprehensive victory over the Legends Cricket Club in a recent match played at the Kissena Park in Queens, New York.

Under prevalent sunny conditions, the Legends won the toss and elected to bat, aiming to post a mammoth total and end the Warriors’ unbeaten streak. They, however, were unable to accomplish this objective, as the Warriors drew first blood, capitalised on the ‘powerplay’ overs, and picked up wickets almost at will.

Forced on the defensive, the Legends found the going too tough for their liking; as, whenever a partnership was budding, the Warriors would dent their hopes of achieving a challenging total. The Warriors could therefore muster only 140 all out in 26.1

overs, with Harris Farook top-scoring with 31, and Kashif Khan chipping in with 24.

Bowling for WCC, medium-pacer Rajin Rahaman grabbed 3 for 20, with support from off-spinners Vickash Dhaniram and Rajendra Khan, who each took 2 wickets.

Needing a simple target of 141 for victory off 30 overs, at a net run rate of 4.6 runs per over, the WCC got off to a flying start. After the first wicket fell, Dhaniram continued his aerial assault, blasting consecutive balls to the boundary to frustrate the bowlers.

Despite losing important wickets at key moments, Dhaniram continued to play his shots and frustrate the Legends’ bowling attack. Thus the Warriors ended their innings on 145-3 in 22.3 overs, with Dhaniram contributing an unbeaten 91, inclusive of 13 boundaries and 2 maximums.

While the Warriors remain unbeaten in this tournament, they had, some time ago, registered their first tie of the competition when they faced off against a strong Demolition CC.

W

P

eruvian swimmer Mauricio Fiol has pulled out of the Pan Am Games after failing two drugs tests in the run up to the multi-sport event which is being staged in his home city.

For the second successive Pan Am Games, Fiol has been caught up in doping controversy as four years ago he lost the silver medal he won in the 200 metres butterfly race after testing positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol. He served a four-year suspension.

Fiol, who holds several Peruvian national records, said in a statement on Facebook that he tested positive for the same banned substances in two of his last four FINA doping tests in the lead up to the Pan Am Games.

The 25-year-old denies taking any banned substance but now faces an eight-year ban which would effectively end his career.

“My first responsibility is to publicise this information that has baffled me, since I have never consumed that substance,” said Fiol, who was expected to swim in three relay events.

“I would be really disrespectful to my family and all the people who love me if I did it after all that I had to suffer these four years.

“I would have to be a self-destructive patient to get a substance for which I was already unfairly suspended.”

Neither the Peru Olympic Committee or Lima Games officials immediately responded to a request for comment.

It is the second positive test to be announced in the first week of the Pan Am Games.

Earlier Chilean equestrian athlete Mauricio Gonzalez was disqualified and sent home after testing positive for marijuana.

“The sample from Chilean equestrian athlete Mauricio Gonzalez was taken at a dressage competition in Chile, not at the Pan American Games Lima,” FEI, world equestrian’s governing body, said in a statement.

“The process is managed by the Chilean NADO (national doping organization) and the NADO has results management authority to deal with the matter. The FEI will then implement the decision.” (Reuters)

guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, august 3, 2019

Emancipation Day Meet…

CLASSIFIED ADS ARACARI ARACARI HOTEL, WBD (NEAR HARBOUR BRIDGE) ALL MODERN AMENITIES- RATES FROM US$25.

TEL #264-2946-8

21

"Cherish Me" outsprints "The Republican" in feature race ─ Ross crowned Champion Jockey

CONFERENCE & RETREATS- FULL SERVICE: HOTEL, CATERING & FACILITES. ARACARI RESORT, WBD. ALEX WAYNE: 264-2946.

WEDDINGS & ANNIVERSARIES. RENTAL OR FULL SERVICE: BANQUET HALL & CATERING, ARACARI RESORT. ALEX WAYNE: 264-2946.

SALON: COSMETOLOGY-FULL COURSE $100,000. TECHNICIAN $40,000. ARACARI SALON & SPA, WBD 264-3312, 600-3927.

FOR SALE MIX BREED PUPS, ROTWEILER WITH RICHBACK CONTACT 253-3114 / 692-0126 400 BM / 0.94m3 Rough-sawn Locust Lumber. Size: 2” x 6” x 20'. Grade: GR04. Selling Price: US$700.00 per m3. Location: Ex. Bamboo Landing, Upper Berbice River. Contact: Variety Woods & Greenheart Ltd. Tel No: 592-226-8556 / 225-7507

LAND for sale TRANSPORTED LAND 11.6 ACRES. LOT 15 PUBLIC ROAD, No2 VILLAGE, WCB. 5 MINUTES AWAY FROM THE BERBICE RIVER BRIDGE. CONTACT # 686-4818, 648-7109

property for sale HOUSE FOR SALE: Unfurnished Executive 2-flat concrete Building, 5 Bedrooms. Gated Community/ Versailles WBD. Land- 10,285 sq ft (123x84). 4,764 sq ft living space/ fully grilled. Bedrooms self contained (Hot & Cold with AC & Fans).

Open concept Kitchen/dining & living space, water purification system & solar water heater. Priced to sell (G$70M). For further details: Email casii@networksgy.com or call 6234383/624-8704.

spirituality & ASTROLOGY

"Catch a Glimpse" and "Gold Again" go neck-to-neck past the pole at the end of the J and K 4-year-old race

By Andrew Carmichael

T

op-ranked race horse ‘Cherish Me’, piloted by jockey Colin Ross, outsprinted its top-of-the-line rival ‘The Republican’ to win the feature 1300-metre race for 3-year -old Guyana-bred horses and pocket the winner’s prize of $300,000.

This was the most anticipated race of Thursday’s 6-race Emancipation Day meet promoted by the 4-Horse Man Promotions Group in collaboration with the Crawford Memorial Turf Club & Sports Facility (CMTC&SF), and held in commemoration of the centenary observance of the Port Mourant Turf Club on the Corentyne Coast in East Berbice.

‘Awesome Banner’ came in third to lay claim to the $150,000 prize, while ‘TP 360’ came in fourth and was rewarded with $55,000.

Jockey Colin Ross piloting "Silver and Things" to a win

Jockey Colin Ross was also successful in piloting ‘Silver and Things’ over a distance of 1300 metres to win the race for animals classified H1 and Lower and claim the winner’s prize of $220,000. ‘Not dis Time’, piloted by jockey Richmond, ran a close second, while ‘Red Rocket’ and ‘Kentucky Woman’ finished in that respective order some distance behind.

In the race for animals classified J and K Lower, over a distance of 1300 metres, ‘Catch a Glimpse,’ piloted by Jockey R. Appadu, took the first prize of $180,000 while ‘Gold Again’ took second prize.

Ross, piloting ‘Mariam’, had to settle for third, while ‘Massapequea Doctor’ brought up the rear.

Ross, however, returned to pilot ‘Uprising King’ ahead of the competition from gate to pole in the race for Guyana-bred horses two years old and over, and cart off the winner’s prize of $140,000.

Also having a good outing was Jockey Kevin Paul, who piloted ‘Justify the Heat’ to win the race for 2-year-

Guyana bag 66 gold medals at GSA Mohammed Undiscovered martial arts championships replaces Russell in

Windies T20 squad

C

OM SHAKTI ASTROLOGY. MEET PANDIT ONCE AND GET PERMANENT SOLUTIONS FOR ALL YOUR PROBLEMS, PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. JOB, LOVE, HEALTH AND DOMESTIC PROBLEMS 100% GUARTANTEED. CALL OR WHATSAPP 692-9449. LOCATED – ECCLES EAST BANK DEMERARA.

ricket West Indies (CWI) interim selection panel has named Jason Mohammed as the replacement for Andre Russell in the first and second matches of the MyTeam11 Twenty20 International Series, co-sponsored by Skoda and Fena.

Mohammed, the experienced 32-year-old, has so far played nine T20 Internationals and also captained the West Indies in T20

VACANCY PUMP ATTENDANT – RUBIS BELAIR -680-3863 DRIVER FOR WATER CANTER- 680-3863

DELIVERY

PORTER FOR WATER CANTER- 680-3863

DELIVERY

CUSTOMER SERVICE CASHIER – 624-0033

ASSISTANT/

SKILLED MECHANIC VACANCY EXISTS. MUST HAVE EXPERIENCE IN DIAGNOSTIC AND REPAIR OF SUSPENSION, ENGINE AND UNDERCARRIAGE. CONTACT JIFFY LUBES 225-5273

VEHICLES FOR SALE TOYOTA COROLLA LEFT HAND DRIVE- GOOD CONDITION $380,000 NEGOTIABLE – 680-3863

wanted SEAMSTRESS CONTACT: 601-9855, 253-3070

223-7230-1 (Ext 55)

old Guyana-bred horses and take home the hefty prize of $220,000.

Paul was also responsible for ‘RT Heat’ winning the race for animals classified L1 and Lower, as he made the mount gallop away from ‘Touch the Class’, ‘Delilah’ and ‘Stolen Diamond’ to take home the prize of $140,000.

The L Class Open race was however won by ‘Delilah’, piloted by jockey Richmond, to capture the first prize of $160,000. Second place went to ‘Touch of Class,’ piloted by jockey A. Mohabir; while ‘The Rock’, piloted by jockey Blakes, placed third, ahead of ‘Flo Jo,’ piloted by jockey Paul Delph. This race culminated the day’s action.

Some of the entities that came on board to sponsor this Emancipation meet were: Poonai’s Pharmacy; 4Horse Man Promotions; Mural Logistics Agency (Chowmein); R.N Poonai, SC, Attorney-at-Law; Banks DIH; Jumbo Jet Racing Stables; Dequan Shipping & Trading; Delmur Company Limited; and Boy & Sunil Tickaram.

The team that participated in Berbice

T

he Guyana Police Force (GPF), in collaboration with the Harpy Eagle Martial Arts Academy, recently concluded the White Tiger Open Martial Arts Championship under the name, “Rumble in Berbice”.

They also competed in the 4th Annual Guyana South America Undiscovered martial arts championships hosted by the Korean International Martial Arts Guyana.

Rumble in Berbice was held on Sunday July 14, 2019 at the New Amsterdam Town Hall. A total of (30) competitors comprising both members of the Guyana Police Force and the Harpy Eagle Martial Arts Club attended.

The competition continued on July 28, 2019 at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH). The tournament held on July 14 saw the achievement of 48 gold medals, 10 silver medals and 4 bronze medals being won; while the tournament held on Sunday July 28 at the CASH resulted in the achievement of 10 gold medals, 8 silver medals along with 2 bronze medals.

The tournament saw participation from countries such as Suriname, Trinidad, Barbados, USA, Canada and India. The students participated in categories of Empty Hand kata, Weapons Kata, Point Sparring, Submission Grappling, Team Sparring, Team Kata.

The GPF was part of the Guyanese contingent that walked away with a total of 66 gold medals, 72 silver and 33 bronze medals.

According to Sensei Troy Bobb, an instructor at both the GPF and Harpy Eagle, he is extremely happy with the results, which have always been good, as every year there is an increase in the amount of participants. Bobb declared he is very proud of the GPF, who continues to improve in their every outing.

This event was sponsored by the National Sports Commission, Farfan and Mendes, Mines Services Ltd., Greg Trucking Services, Urling Shipping, and Modern Optical.

Internationals and in the 50over format.

Russell was named in the original 14-member squad for the first and second matches T20s subject to him passing a fitn e s s a s sess-

ment prior to the series.

The allrounder experienced some discomfort while at the GT20 tournament in Canada and informed the interim selection panel of his unavailability for the upcoming series.

The reigning ICC World T20 Champions will face India at the Broward County Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Saturday and Sunday. The final match will be played at the Guyana National Stadium next Tuesday.

First ball daily is 10:30am (9:30am Jamaica Time).

“We welcome Jason Mohammed into the squad for the first two T20 matches here in Florida. He is a player with lots of experience in all three formats and – having done well for Trinidad & Tobago as well as Guyana Amazon Warriors,” said Floyd Reifer, West Indies interim head coach.

“It’s difficult to the fill the shoes of someone like Andre Russell, who has dominated T20 cricket all over the world – and won the ICC T20 World Cup for the West Indies on two occasions, but we believed Jason is capable of good performances and we back him to perform at this level and help us win games a well.” (CWI)

Jason Mohammed

22

saturday, august 3, 2019

Carlos Brathwaite

T

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

Brathwaite steps up to captaincy role left vacant

by Gayle at Patriots

here have been a lot of changes in the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots team for 2019, Robin Singh as the new coach, Chris Gayle leaving for the Jamaica Tallawahs, and a very differently looking squad lining up for the new season which gets underway on 4 September. One of the players who has been with the Patriots from when the franchise was formed in 2015 is Carlos Brathwaite, who will be back in Patriots colours for the upcoming season, and this year he will be captaining the side. He says he cannot wait to get the season underway.

“I’m very excited! I think we had a good last couple of years where we challenged really well on the field, we went to the final and then we made it to the playoffs as well. So, this year is about trying to continue that same thought process, that same set of game plan and try to be as attacking as we could potentially be. Obviously, we had Chris [Gayle] and Evin [Lewis] at the top, “Chris is now gone so we need to find a replacement for Chris, probably not in the same style that he would play, but with the results that he would normally bring to the team. Obviously, that’s another big character gone in the dressing room as well, so we have to manoeuvre slightly differently, but we need the same results where we challenge for the top four and then once we get to the top four, we challenge for the title.” Gayle was a big part of the

recent success the Patriots have achieved, but he has now moved back to his native Jamaica Tallawahs. Brathwaite says he had a huge impact in the Patriots dressing room, and on him as a player. “I think people look for the shouting and the ‘hurrah’ and Chris is not necessarily that. He’s more calm, collective, cool. He leads by example. He has the respect of everyone in the dressing room, so whenever he speaks you know his words are worth the weight in gold. I think a lot of people take his coolness and his calm persona for granted but there’s very much a whole heap of respect in all the dressing rooms I’ve been fortunate enough to play alongside him in, everyone in the dressing room gives him maximum respect.” Even without Gayle, the Patriots have a very strong and experienced squad for the 2019 season.

They have six players who took part in the recently concluded cricket World Cup, including Brathwaite. With the likes of Sri Lankan all-rounder Isuru Udana, Pakistani stalwart Mohammad Hafeez and West Indian talent like Lewis and Fabian Allen, the Patriots will be looking to make it to the knockout stages for a third successive year. Brathwaite says that mix of international and local talent is such a huge part of the CPL for players, with the tournament allowing Caribbean players to develop their game as well as leaving a lasting impression on overseas stars. “CPL gives you the chance to perform on a big stage. As a local it’s kind of different travelling around and there’s only four spots available for overseas players and you always have to try to be one of the four as opposed to being one of the seven. So firstly, it gives you the opportunity to play in franchise cricket as one of seven, and then it gives you the opportunity to learn from

Chris Gayle

four or five other guys in the dressing room coming from a different background; different culture; different ways of training; different ways of living life. “It helps to mature one as a person and then on the field it’s good to get ideas and get different ways of thinking and playing the game. So, I think as a person, it’s helped massively, and I rate it right up there with some of the best leagues in the world that I’ve played with.” “What I really like about the dressing rooms in the past is that the overseas players leave with two or three favourite local songs, so we more than impart our culture on them which is very important as well because we need people to see the side of the Caribbean that is not always seen, the side away from cricket. So, I think it’s very good for the different islands to spread our culture as best as we can through cricket. “You also meet up with players that you would’ve played and shared a dressing room with in CPL, in other franchise tournaments as well. And that makes it easier to gel. So CPL has been massive, not only for me and not only for a lot of boys in the Caribbean but for the region as a whole.” Carlos Braithwaite will be playing for the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots at the 2019 Hero Caribbean Premier League. The tournament runs from 4 September to 12 October 2019.

Guyana U-19s aiming India A scenting victory after openers’, Gowtam’s heroics to extend victory run in I 4th round

Qumar Torrington in action earlier in the tournament

H

aving opened their 2019 Cricket West Indies Regional Under-19 campaign with a rained out fixture against the Windward Islands and a defeat against Barbados, Guyana registered a 119-run win against Leeward Islands in the latest fixture played in Park Hill, St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Guyana posted 176 all out inside their 50th over, with West Indies U-19 batsman Sachin Singh scoring a solid 51, which was decorated with five fours and two sixes. His West Indies team mate Kevlon Anderson missed out on his half-century, scoring 42, which included three fours.

Number three batsman, the regular opener Junior Sinclair, chipped in with 28, while Ashmead Nedd scored 12.

Uri Smith grabbed 5-19 for the Leeward Islands.

In reply, Guyana played to an ear-

ly day, bowling out their opponents for 57 in 27.5 overs. Fast bowler Qumar Torrington grabbed 3-18, while Anderson had an all-round game, returning figures of 3-18, like Torrington.

Nedd grabbed 2-6 with his left-arm spin.

Guyana will next meet Jamaica on Sunday August 4, 2019 at Arnos Vale from 9:30 hours. The Ashmead Nedd-led team is in third position with 8.2 points, while Barbados are sitting ahead with 13.8 points, and the Windward Islands have 12.8 points.

The five-round tournament will conclude on August 6, 2019. Fivetime defending champions Guyana will sign off against Trinidad and Tobago at the familiar venue in Arnos Vale.

ndia ‘A’ are sitting ‘ahead of the match’ on 185-3 in 50 overs in their second innings, requiring 93 runs to win this fourday match at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad and Tobago.

India ‘A’ openers Mayank Agarwal and Priyank Panchal set the tone in the chase of 278, after Krishnappa Gowtam had grabbed five-wickets.

Resuming the third day on 12-4, West Indies ‘A’ were bowled out for 149 in 39.5 overs, setting India ‘A’ a target of 278.

Discarded West Indies batsman Sunil Ambris was the mainstay in the second innings for West Indies ‘A’, top-scoring with a classy 71 from 93 balls.

Ambris’s innings included 10 elegant boundaries, but he lacked support from his fellow batsmen.

Only Jamaican Jermaine Blackwood showed some fight, with his 31 from 41 balls decorated with two fours and one six; and

Sunil Ambris

only Kraigg Brathwaite (10) and Romario Shepherd (16) could reach double figures after Ambris and Blackwood.

Off-spinner Gowtam did the damage for India ‘A’ with 5-17 in 7.5 overs, including three maidens.

Sandeep Warrier grabbed 3-43, while Mohammed Siraj and Shivam Dube had one wicket each.

In India’s chase of 278, they got off to the best of starts, with the openers adding 150 vital runs.

Priyank Panchal was the first dismissed, for 68 from 121 balls, including nine fours and one six.

Test opener Mayank Agarwal missed out on a well-deserved century when he edged one down the leg-side and was caught behind for 81 from 134 balls.

Agarwal’s half-century was the seventh time a batsman reached the 50-run mark but failed to convert into a century.

Chemar Holder, who followed up his five-wicket haul in the first innings, finished the second day with 2-34 in 14 overs, while Guyana Jaguars player Raymon Reifer picked up one wicket.

India ‘A’ ended the day in a comfortable position: on 185-3 in 50 overs, requiring 93 more runs to win on the fourth and final day.

India ‘A’ are eyeing the series win after completing a win in the first unofficial Test in Antigua.

guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, august 3, 2019

23

2019 India tour of the West Indies…

Series a testing ground for bigger campaigns O

ne of the things Virat Kohli spoke about in his press conference before leaving India was the opportunity the cricket calendar - with three forms of the game - afforded in getting over defeats that sting. India have had almost a month to lick their wounds after the loss against New Zealand in the World Cup 2019 semi-final. Now, with the World Test Championship getting underway and the T20 World Cup in 14 months, there are already fresh challenges to prepare for. Their tour of the Caribbean begins with the three-match T20I series, with the first two matches in Lauderhill.

The last time these teams played at Lauderhill, one match was rained out, and the other ended in a thrilling manner, with West Indies winning by just one run. Three years on, the current series forms an interesting clash of cricketing ethos. While India have often brought an ODI approach to 20-overs cricket, West Indies played large tracts of the World Cup as if in T20 mode. These games could be the first ones in which each team begins putting together pieces for the T20 World Cup next year. India have an influx of younger players, with some changes enforced by absence and injury. West Indies are without Chris Gayle, whose international future even in the medium term seems uncertain at best. That could be a blessing, because it will allows West Indies to try out a replacement, keep- Sunil Narine has been explosive opening the ing the T20 World Cup in mind. batting in the IPL You could argue that there is never a moment when Virat Kohli is not under the spotlight, but there are a couple of factors that could intensify the focus on him. The rumblings about a rift with vice-captain Rohit Sharma had kept swirling, until Kohli emphatically denied them. Whether there is a rift or not, or a bromance, or a normal disagreement between colleagues that is commonplace and transient - there will be extra meaning attached every time Kohli and Rohit come within each other’s radius. India are without MS Dhoni for this tour. Ever since Kohli became the full-time limited-overs captain in early 2017, he has played just four T20Is and three ODIs without Dhoni in the team. But with Dhoni’s future uncertain, the Indian think-

tank might need to get used to life without the senior pro, and that puts greater onus on Kohli, the captain. The last time Sunil Narine played for West Indies was back in September 2017. Since then Narine has been part of various T20 leagues the Indian Premier League, Pakistan Super League, the Bangladesh Premier League and the Caribbean Premier League - but hasn’t played

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are the pillars of the Indian batting line-up

an international match. He’s even played List A matches in the Super50 Cup in the Caribbean. He opted outof selection for the World Cup, citing concerns about his fitness to last 50 overs and bowl his full quota of 10, but he’s back in national colours for his favourite format. Narine has also evolved as a potent batting force, though he’s unlikely to get to bat in the Powerplay, where his hitting has been at its most effective.

India have some new faces in the squad, but there’s still an abundance of options who are most at home batting in the top three. Regular openers Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan are back together with Dhawan having recov-

ered from his broken finger, and there’s Kohli. In addition, they have KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey. At least two of those three seem certain to bat out of position, which can be a distinct contrast in a 20-overs game.

The wrist spinning duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have been rested, which should give the team management the option to try a number of exciting options.

India XI (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 KL Rahul, 5 Manish Pandey/ Shreyas Iyer, 6 Rishabh Pant (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Deepak Chahar/Navdeep Saini, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Khaleel Ahmed, 11 Rahul Chahar Andre Russell was expected to be one of the players igniting West Indies’ World Cup campaign, but the only things that flared up were his knees. He has since had surgery and was named in the T20I squad, subject to a fitness test. On the eve of the first T20I, Cricket West Indies said the allrounder experienced some discomfort during the GLT20 Canada, and has been replaced by Jason Mohammed. Even without Russell, captain Shimron Carlos Brathwaite has plenty of power - hitHetmyer ting and bowling - at his disposal.

West Indies XI (probable): 1 John Campbell, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 4 Shimron Hetmyer, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Carlos Brathwaite (capt), 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Khary Pierre, 10 Sheldon Cottrell, 11 Keemo Paul/Oshane Thomas Pitch and conditions Overnight rain meant the covers had been on all through the morning on the eve of the match, forcing India to cancel their practice session. They did train on Thursday even though they couldn’t on Friday. There is a general threat of rain, but usually, thunderstorms in south Florida come near the evening, and both T20Is here are scheduled for 10.30 am. The pitch is expect. (Cricinfo)

Jamaul John wins 3rd edition of LonLam Classic in Linden

T

he 2019 National Cycling Champion Jamaul John continued his winning ways when he outsprinted Michael Anthony to win the 25-lap LonLam Classic in the Amelia’s Ward Circuit in Linden on Thursday August 1.

Team Coco rider Jamaul John completed the 25-mile race in approximately one hour 20 minutes. Linden Bauxite Flyers’ Anthony, who

has been in supreme touch, completed the race in second position, while Briton John, who won the race in Berbice a few weeks ago, rode in third position. Team Evolution’s duo of Christopher Griffith and Christopher Comellus came in fourth and fifth respectively to complete the Seniors (Open) category.

Jamaul John was awarded $20,000 and trophy, while

The top five wheelsmen receiving awards at the presentation ceremony

Anthony was awarded $15,000 and a trophy. Briton John bagged $10,000 for third position. In the veterans’ category, Linden’s very own Nigel London dominated the 10-lap affair, while 2019 National Veteran Champion of the Roadways Andy Spencer came in second position.

Desmond Patterson rode in third position in the ‘senior statesmen’ category.

In the Junior category, Elisha Rutherford of Linden Bauxite Flyers rode in first positon, while Anphany Munroe and Julian Gordon finished their 10-lap affair in second and third respectively. In the female category, Cilvecia Spencer was unstoppable in the 5-lap encounter, while Bionka Barker and Abigail Jeffery were the other top female

All outstanding riders gathered after the racing event

cyclists on show.

The Juveniles category saw the talented Mark Lewis being the first to complete his 10-lap race, ahead of Jahame Henry and Kevin Stephens.

This LonLam Classic race was run under the motto ‘Riding with Integrity, Investing in Passion’. Some 30 starters took centre stage, since it was promoted as a ‘Linden only’ race, but the

sponsors declared on Tuesday last that it should be open to cyclists countrywide.

Linden Bauxite Flyers Cycle Club (LBFCC) collaborated with LonLam Classic Committee in efforts to bring back the passion of cycling to Linden. The cycling season will continue on Sunday August 4 in West Demerara with a race being run from Schoonard to Bushy Park.

saturday, august 3, 2019

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

guyanatimesgy.com

2019 India tour of the West Indies…

Page 23

Series a testing ground for bigger campaigns Page 21

Guyana bag 66 gold medals at GSA Undiscovered martial arts championships GUYANA TIMES - www.guyanatimesgy.com, email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, NEWS HOTLINE: 231-8063 EDITORIAL: 223-7230, 223-7231, 231-0544, 225-7761 SPORT: sport@guyanatimesgy.com SALES AND MARKETING: 231-8064 - marketing@guyanatimesgy.com - PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY GUYANA TIMES INC.