Guyana Times, Wednesday November 20,2019.

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Issue No. 4113

P16

THE BEACON OF TRUTH wednesday, november 20, 2019

Govt claims “surprise” at Troy Resources firing almost 400 workers …even though cash-flow shortfall was highlighted

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Mitigating P16 response to potential oil spill would be immediate — oil exec — says Exxon has comprehensive programme to protect Canje block

Page 3

... ministerial subcommittee to negotiate with mining company

AFC mum as another deadline missed to meet APNU – as larger partner calls smaller party’s bluff Page 7

Mahaica flood aftermath worse than flood – residents

Page 9

P17 Murder convict appeals 100year sentence

Police meet with business community, leaders in P17 Linden – ahead of official release of Holiday Policing Plan

One of the areas in Mahaica, East Coast Demerara that are affected by the recent flooding, which was caused by a breach in the sea defence

Final farewell for former Chief Justice Ian Chang

Page 11

4 charged with Matthews Ridge gold heist Page 7

Caricom reiterates position on Venezuela

P15

Murder accused stabbed in prison during fight P17

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Wednesday, november 20, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

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wednesday, november 20, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

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

Wednesday, November 20 – 10:00h – 11:30h and Thursday, November 21 – 11:00h – 12:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Wednesday, November 20 – 11:05h – 12:35h and Thursday, November 21 – 12:20h – 13:50h.

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

WEATHER TODAY Expect sunshine with light midday showers.

There will be partly cloudy skies at night.

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

Winds: North North-Easterly to North North-Westerly between 1.78 metres and 4.47 metres.

High Tide: 10:55h and 23:24h reaching maximum heights of 2.24 metres and 2.29 metres.

Low Tide: 04:14h and 16:52h reaching minimum heights of 0.89 metre and 1.02 metres.

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Govt claims “surprise” at Troy Resources firing almost 400 workers …even though cash-flow shortfall was highlighted ... ministerial subcommittee to negotiate with mining company

T

roy Resources’ firing of almost 400 workers has attracted the attention of Cabinet, with Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman announcing that Government will be engaging the company in hopes of reversing the decision.

This was explained by Trotman in a video broadcast in which he professed surprise at the company’s decision. According to Trotman, they engaged the company last week and were not told that things would come to this.

“It’s a serious development no doubt. Cabinet has been briefed by myself and Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally this morning. A discussion has ensued; it has been going on, in fact, for several weeks.

We’re most disappointed”.

“I don’t believe we were given sufficient notice of this action. Both Ministers did engage the company’s management last week. And none of us had a sense that this was going to happen. So we are disappointed, to say the least, and will be working with the company to see how quickly we can get them back into full operations”.

The dismissal of some 386 workers was revealed on Monday when a memo from Troy Chief Executive Officer Ken Nilsson began making its rounds to workers.

In the memo, workers were told that they would be dismissed by the company and paid their severance by this weekend.

The Australian mining company has been in the throes of financial problems ever since they shut down parts of their operations after the death of geologist Ryan Taylor. Trotman insisted, however, that the Government has done its best to get the company to resume operations.

“We believe that the action taken by the company, of course, is precipitous.

We believe that every door has been opened for them to resume operations in as short a time as possible.

We’ve made that possible for them,” Trotman said.

“So we will be engaging the company about early restarting, and, of course, bringing all these workers back on. This is not the time of the year that we should see workers going home.

They have homes, it’s close to Christmas. So Cabinet has asked that we have a ministerial subcommittee that would engage this company and all others that may be having issues at this time”.

The People’s United and General Workers Union (PU&GWU) has already come out in criticism of the decision. It is likely that the Union might make an intervention of its own.

When contacted on Tuesday,

Natural Resources Raphael Trotman

Minister

President of the Union, Lincoln Lewis, noted that the matter is still under discussion.

Cash-strapped

Last week, top officials from Troy Resources had revealed that a decision on the future of the company would be made when the Board of Directors meet. This publication was reliably informed that this meeting was held on Sunday and that a decision would have been announced soon.

During an interaction with the media while facilitating a tour, Troy Resources Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ken Nilsson had spoken of the pressure being brought on to his company. Nilsson spoke about the financial cost being incurred to keep the remaining operation functioning.

“In a normal month, our total operating cost is around $4 million, plus we have (arrears to pay). So we need about US$5 million.

About US$3 million goes back into the local economy in the form of wages, purchases and all the suppliers.

So US$3 million is not going

back into the economy. You will see the effect of that next month”.

“So the total loss for us last month, since September, our total cash inflow is roughly US$6 million. So we have no inflows.

For the last month, we lost around that. So it costs us a lot of money. To get the money, we need to produce a minimum of 4000 ounces per month. And we’ve not produced 4000 ounces (in a while). To be comfortable we need US$5 million. We could survive on US$4 million,” he said.

Junior Minister of Social Protection, Keith Scott, had issued an order that suspended Troy’s operations.

That order was subsequently lifted by the substantive Minister, Volda Lawrence.

However, all but its exploration activities remained suspended. And Nilsson had explained that it costs a hefty sum per day to maintain the remaining workers in the downsized operation.

“It would have been very easy for me to say, shut everything down, put it in cold

Troy Resources Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ken Nilsson

storage until things have settled down. But we choose to believe no, we can sort this out. I don’t have issues with governments. Everyone is doing what they have to do,” he had explained.

“Without doing anything, I can last another month.

But I cannot go back to production without having a source of money to back you up. I need to be sure that if anything goes wrong or a mechanical problem, I need to have a piggy bank of money to back me up,” the CEO had said.

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guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, november 20, 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

Disenfranchisement

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ecently, reports in the media revealed that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) dismissed some 13,000 unsubstantiated objections to names appearing on the preliminary voters’ list. Those objections were all from Region 5 and reportedly filed by a political activist closely aligned to A Partnership for National Unity (APNU).

The Claims and Objections period allows for objections, including names of persons who would have actually died. Each objection has to be supported by relevant evidence. There are specific processes to cater for the objections to be filed, heard, supporting evidence provided and relevant actions taken when necessary for a credible final voters’ list to be derived.

During the hearings scheduled by GECOM to try and ascertain the validity of the objections, the APNU activists failed to appear; thereby, removing the opportunity to provide whatever supporting evidence the objections might have been premised on. Reportedly, an appeal has since been filed.

The situation raises questions. Why would the person who filed the objections not turn up to the hearings? What were the reasons to object in the first place?

Concerns are also raised as to what might have been the real objective of making the objections. The Opposition People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP), point-person, branded the objections as mischief deliberately intended to have the names of eligible persons removed from the voters’ list.

From all appearances, had Opposition activists not been effective in their scrutiny and to have affected persons prove their existence, those 13,000 persons could have been disenfranchised from being able to vote at the upcoming March 2, 2020, elections.

What appears even more sinister is that with Region 5 traditionally voting in favour of the PPP, the objections might have been designed to try and have persons sympathetic to that Party removed from the list of electors. This can be seen in the context of the margin of victory for the PPP in 2015.

If disenfranchisement was the desired objective, and if it was premised on false evidence, what actions can then be taken against the perpetrator and assumed intellectual authors to address any possible wrongdoing and to prevent a similar situation for recurring?

GECOM, having dismissed the objections, needs to pronounce definitively on actions that could be taken.

The 2020 election is a most crucial one and GECOM has to consistently work assiduously to ensure that the credibility of the electoral process is not in any way compromised.

In a reverse scenario, disenfranchisement was also used as an excuse by the Government for House-to-House (HtH) Registration following the No-Confidence Motion (NCM). This was on the grounds that persons reaching the eligible age within the requisite timeframe would not have their names appearing on the final voters’ list.

That claim was made despite the fact that there are constitutional provisions to facilitate those attaining the required age. It appears that the claim was used to force a fresh and unnecessary HTH process with the seeming deliberate intention to not have the snap elections within the constitutional three-month period.

Just after the NCM was validly passed in the National Assembly, the President, himself, was among Government officials who claimed that the voters’ list used in the November 2018 Local Government Elections (LGE) was bloated to the extent of some 200,000 names.

In other words, a list that was used just a month prior to the NCM and which was boasted of being credible by the Government was suddenly, and probably conveniently, deemed unacceptable.

What has been reported on the Claims and Objections period thus far does not, in any way, support the list being bloated as claimed by the Government. Therefore, on what grounds was that claim made?

GECOM’s Secretariat appeared to concur with the Government and launched the HtH process despite objections from the Opposition and others. That action also seems to disregard the final ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) for the Constitution to be respected with respect to the holding of the snap elections.

What was reaffirmed is that GECOM’s Secretariat must be prepared for the eventuality of such elections. From what played out, it was not— or so it claimed. That caused allegations to swirl as to whether GECOM’s Secretariat may have allegedly provided tacit support to help bolster the Government’s position for its suspected desire.

That aside, in the context of the credibility of the voters’ list, what occurred at Region 5 begs the question: was the 13,000 objections an attempt to support the claim of a bloated list? If it were, then it’s less than 7% of what was originally claimed as the bloated figure.

Another question that surfaces: was there a calculated effort to strategically make objections in areas supportive of the PPP? In other words, and gauging from the actions of the APNU activist in Region 5, was there a deliberate ploy to try and disenfranchise eligible voters who are believed to be in support of the PPP? It that were the case, then it’s a wanton demonstration in desperation and fodder for electoral chaos. History is irrefutable.

A New South Wales Fire and Rescue Officer protects the Colo Heights Public School, southwest of Sydney, Australia. There are currently more than 100 bushfires raging across the east coast of Australia (AAP Image/Dean Lewins photo)

Lead by example: respect and comply with the Constitution then demand others to do likewise Dear Editor, Guyana is one of the most depressing countries to live in because Guyanese have to battle with the harsh economic conditions, out of control crime spree, and daily insults to their intelligence by some politicians and their minions who dominate the traditional media and social media.

In my humble view, the latter is by far the most painful stressor in our dear land. Like crime and economic hardships, these relentless insults are driving Guyanese almost crazy and, in some cases, six feet under from stress-related illnesses and permanently out of Guyana.

The most recent insult that was hurled at us came from the Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon at his post-Cabinet briefing. At this forum, Harmon conjectured that any move

by Dr Irfaan Ali to make Bharrat Jagdeo his running mate would amount to the violation of Article 90 of the Constitution of Guyana which prohibits a person from serving more than two terms as President.

According to Honourable Harmon, if the PPP were to be successful at the next election and Dr Jagdeo is appointed as vice-President, Dr Jagdeo would be elevated to the position of the President if and when Dr Ali were to leave the jurisdiction. As such, this violates Article 90 of the Constitution since Jagdeo would have already served two terms.

Editor, if this is not a vulgar display of duplicity and insult to our intel-

ligence, then nothing could be classified thus. Here we have Harmon, speaking about ‘possible’ non-compliance with the Constitution while briefing Guyanese about the work of Cabinet that was compelled to resign many months ago but refused to do so in clear violation of Article 106 (6) of the Constitution.

In other words, Harmon is telling Guyanese that we should only be concerned that the PPP/C will ‘probably’ violate the Constitution but ignore the fact that his colleagues are violating the same Constitution by refusing to resign from Cabinet.

This is synonymous with a religious leader telling his followers “do as I say and not as I do”.

Editor, is it not also hypocritical and insulting for Harmon to lecture Guyanese on constitutional compliance and legal ploys when he is part of a Government that consciously employed legal stratagems to circumvent Article 106 (7) of the Constitution?

Harmon indeed forgot that after accepting the NoConfidence Motion that was passed, his colleagues delayed the elections beyond the three-months timeframe set out in Article 106 (7) by using a variety of ploys in and out of the court system. They started with a request to have the Speaker set aside the motion in the National Assembly to appeals that went to the highest court in our judicial hierarchy, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). Even after these ploys failed at the CCJ, Harmon and his colleagues still cling to power

in clear violation of Article 106 (7), which requires that the Government hold elections within three months or such time as determined by 2/3 of the National Assembly.

However, Harmon wants Guyanese to respect the Constitution and ruling of the CCJ regarding the famous “Cedric Richardson” while he and his colleagues flagrantly disregard the CCJ, which instructed that Articles 106 (6) and 106 (7) be observed.

Editor, instead of insulting Guyanese with hypo-

critical utterances, Harmon and colleagues should lead by example and comply with the Constitution.

In this regard, Harmon should do the following: (i) encourage his colleagues to resign from Cabinet, (ii) request the President to dissolve Parliament; and (iii) ensure that elections are held as promised on March 2, 2020. Respect and comply with the Constitution, and then ask others to do likewise.

Regards, Citizen

PPP/C and PNC should have 50% youths on slate Dear Editor, In doing a piece of research I am working on, I had cause to read the Stabroek News of February 5, 1991, and the headline in that newspaper was “Kwayana resigns from Parliament”.

Interestingly enough, at that press conference held by the WPA to make that announcement, Dr Clive Thomas was reported as calling on the PNC manner of extending the life of the Parliament as “an act of repression” and he further stated that “the PNC was incapable of carrying out the reforms need to ensure free and fair elections”.

The article further attributed to Dr Thomas a statement that the PNC Government has “subverted” the Parliament. Another WPA leader, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine, said at that press conference that under the PNC, the Parliament was “idle and underworked”.

What has changed on these issues since 1991?

The methods are the same, only the attitude of mind of the players have changed.

Today, those same WPA actors are now the principal perpetrators of the “acts of repression” that have resulted in a year being stolen from the people after the majority of their representative passed a No-Confidence Motion on the repressive Government with a view of having elections within three months thereafter in compliance with the Constitution.

Since December 2018, Guyana has had the most idle and underworked Parliament ever in all of its post-colonial history but you will not find Dr Roopnaraine issuing a statement today.

Rather, today, these WPA players are dressing up their exploitive acts by calling the repressive coalition “the best continued on page 5

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wednesday, november 20, 2019

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caretaker President cannot GECOM can’t be trusted Aoffer any policy direction

Dear Editor, GECOM can’t be trusted. GECOM is a troubled agency. GECOM is heavily influenced by the ruling APNU/PNC political party.

GECOM will never be able to deliver fair elections without the oversight of electoral observers. Therefore, this is an appeal to the GECOM Chair to protect the rights of Guyanese by immediately allowing the observers from UNDP and various entities into her agency. GECOM needs to be reasonable.

Guyanese know that the UNDP offers to oversee the elections but GECOM is deliberately denying this. This is unfair and cruel.

Guyanese are worried that GECOM is shutting out key electoral observers at a critical time when the voters’ list is being compiled to simply rig the elections on behalf of the PNC. This is clear.

The PNC is desperate to get back into power through rigged elections and GECOM is helping the PNC to accomplish this. This is the reason why GECOM is hell-bent on keeping the observers out.

There is pure lawlessness within GECOM. The elections are being openly rigged. Local observers have also been complaining that GECOM is failing to engage

them.

The PNC is expected to unleash endless rigging mechanisms throughout the electoral process. To this end, the PNC will not only disenfranchise voters perceived to be PPP but it will harass and cruelly abuse them. This is all part of the PNC election ritual.

And on election night, the PNC will culminate the elections by burning the homes of PPP supporters and rioting like lunatics in the streets. I can never understand the PNC cruelty. We can all remember how Forbes Burnham dumped ballot boxes from the PPP strongholds into the Atlantic Ocean. The PNC remains uncivilised up to this day. Electoral observers are needed to oversee the entire electoral process.

And so, the motives driving Mr Lowenfield, the Chief Elections Officer, to allegedly lie about how the UNDP did not offer any help for the general elections is crystal clear to all Guyanese.

GECOM is determined to rig the elections. Guyanese cannot trust GECOM and it is the moral obligation of the GECOM Chairperson to immediately engage the UNDP and others.

During this election season, Guyanese have already

witnessed how the shortsighted PNC representatives have been attempting to disenfranchise voters perceived to be PPP supporters. Just this past week, the PNC has attempted to disenfranchise 13,000 voters from Region Five and elsewhere. Also, the PNC has attempted to disenfranchise nearly all of the voters from the small Amerindian village near the upper Mahaicony River because they traditionally vote PPP. The GECOM Chairperson needs to report the PNC fraudsters who are tampering with the elections to the police. These people are crying out for help. And discipline will force them to understand that it is dumb and reckless to rig the elections.

We will follow this situation to see what actions the GECOM Chair will take in this matter.

The GECOM Chair desperately needs to be in control of her agency. She needs to accept critical help from the UNDP as soon as possible because the elections are about our lives. And the GECOM Chair must understand that rigged elections hurt every citizen.

Sincerely, Dr Annie Baliram

Dear Editor, Hordes of ‘carpetbaggers’ will gather at the Guyana International Petroleum Business Summit and Exhibition” (GIPEX-2019) to feast on Guyana’s oil economy.

On Wednesday, November 20, between 10:25h and 10:40h, they will be welcomed and feted during the opening address by His Excellency Brigadier Ret’d David A Granger, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. Granger will forego the shame of his ‘caretaker’ status to seek to be the centre of attention.

Granger should know that this is not a gathering of benevolent businessmen; this is a gathering of predators who will use every word he utters to their advantage.

A caretaker President cannot offer any policy direction or enter any binding agreements, should Granger offer any loopholes or incentives in his speech or subsequent interaction with GIPEX participants, Guyanese will have to enter massive legal battles to extricate ourselves and no doubt face a hefty legal bill

to so do. Granger’s hubris; his love of pomp, ceremony, and attention will cost us all our future wellbeing.

Granger should be aware by now that GIPEX 2019 has been organised by a shell company with ties to his Minister of Natural Resources, instead of the Department of Events within the Ministry of the Presidency.

Granger cannot claim to ‘not know’ of this instance of corruption as he has with the countless previous incidents. The question of if David Granger comes to this event with clean hands must be asked. Valiant has refused to answer questions of its record prior to hosting this Official Guyanese event.

Despite being dubbed an official Government of Guyana event, GIPEX’s primary purpose is to expose opportunities available for those looking to invest in our oil sector; it should not be organised by a private company.

GIPEX is not an expo, it is a festival of greed with those in attendance all looking out for self-interest. This is a networking love-fest designed to share

the spoils of oil and divvy up the Guyanese patrimony. If you live in Sophia, Port Mourant, Linden or any hinterland village, this event has no meaning to you now, but it will affect your standard of living for generations to come.

Even the biggest critics of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic understand that the PPP would never allow the wholesale exploitation of our patrimony that is taking place before our eyes.

The PPP would not participate in an event inimical to Guyanese interests.

That said, Citizens should not wait on any political party to organise protests of this odious event; we must take back our rights from the Granger cabal, they have already signed away billions in royalties for a mere US$18 million bonus which they then tried to steal. We cannot trust them an inch; Guyanese have to represent themselves. We know the time and place of the transgression; we need to stand up to this sellout of our fledgeling oil economy before it is fully formed.

Respectfully, Robin Singh

Traffic at Vreed-en-Hoop and Harbour Bridge being poorly managed by ranks Dear Editor, For some time now, during rush hour in the mornings and even after, there is a build-up of traffic coming from the West Coast going towards the Vreed-enHoop junction resulting in chaos, confusion and long delays. Almost daily, one would notice a high level of lawlessness among drivers and the police seem incapable of dealing with the situation.

The line of vehicles would end up all the way to New Road, Vreed-en-Hoop, and on average, one could spend approximately half an hour to forty-five minutes waiting to get past that area to go to the West Bank to access the

Demerara Harbour Bridge.

Due to the long lines of vehicles, several drivers come from all directions and cut in front of those who are there waiting for a long time. This is unfair as everyone should wait their turn.

I have noticed that several ranks are present, but they are all at the Junction area, there are no ranks at the back of the lines or specific areas monitoring to ensure that drivers are obeying the rules. It’s a ‘free for all’ some mornings and many persons have expressed how fed-up they are of the situation. Once there is a buildup of traffic, there should be ranks present at specific locations to ensure that driv-

PPP/C and PNC... vehicle for minimal transformation” as did another WPA leader. What hypocrisy from these people.

Today, I call for on both the PPP and PNC to reject these outdated ideas from these outdated people and embrace the future. I am calling on the PPP and PNC to engage in a 50:50 compact with the youths and let us break from the past with these outdated thinkers. In Guyana, 69 per cent of the voters are under the age of 50 and that is why this 50:50 compact is a better deal; it is more representative but it will also bring fresh ideas to the table. My recommendation is

from page 4

that 50 per cent of the slates should be populated by persons who are under 50 years of age. It is time to flush out all those historical failures who have only feathered their personal nest and left the nation with unfulfilled potentials.

While I respect my elders and value their wisdom, there is a time and place for everyone. The year 2020 is a perfect moment to move Guyana forward and to elect more youthful candidates into high office. It is time for these retirees to retire.

Regards, Sasenarine Singh

ers are waiting their turn and are complying with the rules of the road. Persons who are found to be cutting the lines should be sent all the way back to rejoin the line.

The same situation exists at the Demerara Harbour Bridge at the (West Bank side) during rush-hour or when there is a close off of the bridge in the morning hours. While some drivers join the line and wait their turn to cross the Bridge, some come from behind and cut right up in front and the police present there seem as if there is nothing they can do. Also, there is high level

of favouritism and perhaps corruption being practised there with the police officers allowing their friends and family to drive straight up to front of the line using the “express lane”.

People who do not barge and are not friends with the police are made to wait their turn. This should not be.

Everyone, except in cases if a genuine emergency, or vehicles carrying school children, should be made to join the line and wait their turn.

This is unfair and unacceptable and must cease immediately.

I am urging the Traffic Chief and the Commissioner

of Police to take control of the situation immediately and let some order and decency return to our roadways. There is a need to review the entire situation and come up with ways in which everyone will be made

to abide by the rules of the road. This is simply a situation of bullyism by drivers and incompetence on the part of the traffic ranks.

Yours truly, T Federicks

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wednesday, november 20, 2019

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Foundation

Even going alone to a big bathroom – like the kind in school or at the mall – can be scary, according to a few kids.

Health-related matters can be scary, some kids said. In addition to getting shots, they said they were scared of throwing up, wetting the bed, or getting fat.

E

verybody is afraid of something.

That's what more than 1700 kids told us when we asked them about fears and scary stuff. Some don't like the dark. Others hate nightmares and scary movies. And then there are those who want to run away from mean dogs, snakes, and creepy crawly spiders.

Tommy, 11, fears the dark because he worries that someone might break into his house.

Madison, 10, is afraid of shots (immunisations) and was once teased because she said she was afraid of thunderstorms. "I tried to take my words back, but they knew anyway. I was really embarrassed," she said.

The top fears

We gave kids a list of 14 scary things and asked which one frightened them the most. Here are the top five answers from our survey:

scary movies and TV shows nightmares and scary dreams thunderstorms, hurricanes, and other violent weather war and terrorism sounds I hear at night But not everyone is afraid of the same things. And what makes one person scared can be no big deal for someone else. Plenty of kids said their biggest fear wasn't on our list.

Rachel, 11, was one of them. She's most afraid of giant jellyfish that live off the coast of Australia. "I would like to get over them because they're bigger than people and they have huge stingers that can kill someone in three seconds," Rachel said.

Kate, 9, wishes she could get over her "whole back-flip problem. I never do it when I know I can. I am scared I will hurt myself," she said.

A couple kids said funerals scared them. Fireworks frightened other kids.

Morgan wishes she would stop being afraid to ride roller coasters. Why? "Because hey, I'm nine years old, and my whole family loves them." And not just that, Morgan said. "My best friend Kerri said that I was weird for not liking so many things that are fun."

Here's some very supportive advice kids had for other kids:

If you get scared at night, Monique, 10, suggests listening to the radio when you're falling asleep. And Naruto, also 10, recommends writing or drawing what you're afraid of and then ripping it to pieces. Eight-year-old Jessica finds that it helps to take a deep breath when you're scared.

Amanda, 10, thinks kids should talk with a parent or school counsellor.

"They will invent a way to help you get over it," she said.

Bethany, 9, wants kids to hang tough, so we'll let her have the last word: "Try, try again and never give up," she said. "You're not alone!" (Excerpt from kidshealth.org)

F

ear is a feeling that everyone has – it's programmed into all of us – and that's a good thing because fear is there to protect us. We're born with a sense of fear so we can react to something that could be dangerous.

Babies cry when they're afraid, even if that loud noise that startled them is just an older brother banging pots and pans in the kitchen. The baby cries, and mom comes over to soothe him or her, helping the baby feel safe and OK again.

There, that's better! Now, with the help of mom, the baby has just experienced calming down after feeling afraid – something that every person needs to learn as they grow up. (Nice job, baby!) Bigger kids hear that loud clanging and say, "No big deal. It's just my brother making noise again."

Real vs pretend

The best way to get over a fear is to get more information about it. As kids get older, they understand more and start seeing the difference between real and pretend. So when William's imagination leads him to think of witches and werewolves, he can tell himself, "Wait a minute. They're only pretend. I don't need to worry about them."

The same goes for the dark. A kid's imagination can start playing tricks when the lights go out. What's under my bed? Is that a burglar I hear? With the help of a parent, kids can get more comfortable in the dark. Using a nightlight or shining a flashlight under the bed to see that there's nothing there can help fight that fear.

You might say, but burglars can be real, what then?

True, but you can feel safer knowing that the door is locked and a parent is nearby to keep an eye out for any problems.

In other words, get snuggled in and get some sleep!

When fears are ok

Other fears that kids have make sense and do not need to be conquered. If you're afraid to ride your bike on a busy highway, right on! You should be afraid because it's dangerous. There's no need to get over a fear like that, not even if someone dares you. Find a safe place to ride instead.

It's also OK for Rachel to be afraid of that big jellyfish in Australia because it's truly dangerous. But she doesn't have to be afraid of it all the time – or even every time she swims. It lives only in certain ocean waters. So when she's not swimming in one of them, no worries about the big jellyfish.

And it's OK for Kate to be a little fearful about doing the back-flip, because she could get hurt. But Kate also can create safer conditions for trying her back-flip, like having a parent or coach teach her how to do it and help her do it.

Eventually, she will feel ready to try it alone.

Twelve-year-old Nick knows how taking small steps can lead to success. He used to be afraid to play his trumpet in front of people. But over time, he played in front of larger and larger groups. "First, I just played in front of my mom, then my family, then my classmates, then the whole school!" he said.

What to do?

Sometimes the worst thing about feeling afraid is that you don't know what to do. Here are the top three ways that kids who answered our survey try to help themselves feel better: Do something, like playing outside, listening to music, or watching TV. Talk to a parent.

Talk to a friend.

Talking to a friend can help, especially if that person is supportive. About half the kids who took our survey said they'd been teased for being afraid. And even more – 75 per cent – said they've sometimes said they weren't afraid when they really were. So no teasing allowed. Encourage your friend today and maybe he or she will encourage you tomorrow! (Excerpt from kidshealth.org)

NEWS

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AFC mum as another deadline missed to meet APNU – as larger partner calls smaller party’s bluff

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espite its threats to walk away from the coalition if a deal was not worked out, the Alliance For Change (AFC) has gone silent after once again been unable to bring A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) to the negotiating table.

The AFC itself had said recently that Monday would be the final meeting between AFC and APNU. But instead of the smaller party getting a chance to meet its larger partner, APNU postponed the meeting to hold an internal meeting of its own.

At that internal meeting, representatives from all the parties that make up APNU – the Guyana Action Party (GAP), the Justice For All Party (JFAP), the National Front Alliance (NFA), the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and the Working Peoples Alliance (WPA), met to discuss their ‘partnership’ with AFC. “The partners received a brief from the APNU negotiation team examining the Cummingsburg Accord.

Following the brief, the partners examined several proposals and agreed on a post-election formula for the allocation of seats and recommended an approach for the continuation of negotiations with the AFC in accordance with the core principles already agreed,” APNU announced after the meeting.

“The partners further agreed and recommend-

The AFC head table, composed of Treasurer Dominic Gaskin and members Lennox Craig and Sherod Duncan, had given the impression that the party would assert itself if another meeting was postponed

ed that the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana will guide all future discussions. APNU remains committed to ending ‘winner-take-all’ politics in Guyana and to contesting the 2020 elections as a coalition.”

Last week, AFC had made known that if final talks with APNU fail, then the minority party in the governing coalition will be moving ahead with its March 2020 elections campaign on its own.

The two parties are currently revising the Cummingsburg Accord – the deal they signed to contest the 2015 General and Regional Elections, which they eventually won. After weeks of contentious negotiations, the APNU and AFC were expected to wrap up these discussions at a final meeting between the lead-

ers on Monday.

“In the light of the tremendous progress made in completing the revised Cummingsburg Accord and the significant impact that the Accord is likely to have on the outcome of the upcoming General and Regional Elections, the AFC has agreed to a final meeting with APNU on Monday November 18, 2019, at which a single outstanding matter is to be resolved… and that has to do with a formula for the allocation of parliamentary positions, ministerial positions and RDC seats,” AFC executive Dominic Gaskin had stated.

The 2015 Accord had catered for the APNU to get 60 per cent while the AFC gets 40 per cent of the allotments in the three categories.

Currently, the AFC has the Ministries of Agriculture, Business (and Tourism),

4 charged with Matthews Ridge gold heist

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our persons were on Tuesday jointly charged for an armed robbery, where a businessman was relieved of several containers of fuel and a quantity of raw gold at Matthews Ridge Airstrip, North West District, Region One (Barima-Waini).

Baldeo Francis, 37; Ramesh Singh, 45; Leon Campbell, 26 and 27-year-old Kurt Nedd appeared before Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts and were not required to plead to the charges.

It is alleged that the quartet on November 11, 2019, at Matthews Ridge, North West District, being in the company of each other and armed with guns, robbed Jose DeCosta of $95,000 cash and a quantity of raw gold valued at $18M, belonging to Deonarine Sookram, a businessman.

It was further alleged that on the said date at Skull Mountain, Arakaka, North West District, Francis had in his possession one .223 rifle and two 9mm pistols when he was not the owner of a firearm licence at the time.

It was further alleged that on the same day and at the same location, he had in his possession 120 rounds of ammunition when he was not the owner of a firearm li-

The men who carried out the heist

cence enforced at the time.

The men’s attorneys contended that their clients were not part of the robbery nor did any of the men confess to carrying out such an act.

Police Prosecutor Ceon Blackman objected to bail being granted to the men on the grounds of the serious nature and penalty of the offence.

It was reported that the victim and his workers were at the Matthews Ridge Airstrip awaiting a plane to travel to Georgetown when he was pounced upon by the men who were armed with AK47 guns.

The businessman was

relieved of the items mentioned and the men made their good escape.

However, the matter was quickly reported and Police, acting on information, stopped Francis’ vehicle. A search was then conducted in his vehicle and the raw gold was found in a container. He was then arrested and based on the information he provided to the Police, the other men were later arrested.

The Magistrate remanded the men and set November 26 for the next hearing.

Nedd was a Police Constable at the time of the incident.

Natural Resources, Public Infrastructure, and Public Telecommunication, as well as the prime ministerial post.

Whatever formula is agreed upon by the two leaders will determine the divisional proportion of the three categories for next year’s polls. However, Gaskin had expressed a belief that the coalition should keep the “winning formula” used for the 2015 elections.

“We are always flexible [and] we’ve been negotiating in good faith, looking for an outcome that is accept-

able to both parties…and we have a fair idea of what is fair to the AFC,” the party executive stated.

But even as the AFC was confident that Monday’s meeting would have been fruitful, the party had declared that it will be moving ahead without its coalition partner if those final talks were further delayed or failed.

Critical members of the AFC, including AFC General Secretary David Patterson and executive Cathy Hughes, could not be reached for a comment.

Anna Catherina man gets 20 years for raping teen …remains on remand for rape, murder of another

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hilst still on remand for the alleged murder and rape of 60-year-old Bibi Kaneece which occurred in 2016, 33-year-old Jaipaul Hitlall, formerly of Sea View, Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara (WCD), was handed a 20year prison sentence for the rape of another young woman, which occurred in the same year.

A 12-member jury, after some hours of deliberation at the Demerara High Court on Tuesday, returned a unanimous guilty verdict before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall in the sexual offences court.

Hitlall was found guilty of engaging in sexual activity with a young woman on December 29, 2016, at Cornelia Ida, WCD, and was thus handed the sentence by the trial Judge.

Meanwhile, in relation

to the charge he remains on remand for, the now-convicted man was slapped with a murder charge back in 2017. It read that on October 2, 2016, at Cornelia Ida, West Coast Demerara, he murdered Kaneece during the course of a rape.

Previous media reports indicate that on the day in question, the 60-year-old woman, who is reportedly mentally unstable, was found dead at her Cornelia Ida home in a hammock

with multiple stab wounds about her body.

Police had strongly suggested the now dead woman may have been raped before she was brutally murdered since she was discovered with her skirt lifted up and without underwear. This gruesome discovery was made by her son, who reportedly went to drop off food at the address.

Hitlall, who Police managed to arrest, confessed to the heinous crime.

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Toxic…

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…Caribbean masculinities? esterday was “International Day for Men”. Oh…you didn’t know, dear reader? Well, don’t feel too put out about it: your Eyewitness didn’t either – even though a Trini was instrumental in institutionalising the day just 20 years ago!! He only learned about it from a PAHO report issued for the occasion that informed us: “1 in 5 Caribbean men will not reach the age of 50”. Since your Eyewitness has already crossed that threshold, he’s now more convinced that his days are numbered. But it seems he’d been barking up the wrong tree!

According to PAHO, the cause of the early demise of us males in good ole mud land wasn’t just the destruction of the country by the PNC four decades ago – from which we still haven’t recovered. Naaah! It was due to “issues relating to toxic masculinity”!! Yup!! Toxic masculinity!!

Now, your Eyewitness had seen the term floating around in the American gender wars for some years now. He suspects we’re now witnessing another instance of the Americanisation of our neuroses! The last one your Eyewitness had heard about was “cutting” by teenagers who were having family issues.

The American Psychological Association even issued new guidelines for therapists working with men: seems they’ve concluded that certain “traditional” masculine traits are linked to aggression, misogyny, and negative health outcomes. John Wayne was out!! The misogyny, of course, was the sore point for feminists who coined the term back in the 1980s. Since then, the liberal US media has blamed toxic masculinity for rape, murder, mass shootings, gang violence, online trolling, climate change, Brexit, and the election of Donald Trump!! “Conservative” men groups protested that the toll on men – higher rates of suicides, feelings of inadequacy etc – were being ducked.

So what does this mean for us in Guyana? With the reports on that gang-related violence from 1999 to 2008 surfacing, did you wonder why those hundreds of bodies had littered our streets?? Toxic masculinity!! You didn’t see any women running around with AK 47’s in those gangs, did you?? Enough with all the speculation about “intellectual authors” and such like…those are just red herrings to deflect our attention from the fact that these men who did all these dastardly deeds were really sick.

Sick in the head. And we should be worrying about finding money to rehabilitate them – if we ever catch them!!

President Granger was probably aware earlier than most of us about “toxic masculinity” since he started that pardoning programme for incarcerated prisoners since 2015.

Frankly, your Eyewitness feels it’s PAHO that’s barking up the wrong tree. Sure men have pressures on them – but where’s the utopia?

That place where we’ll all be strumming harps?? Or stoking the fire!! …firings David Granger has to be worrying what’s going on the job-front – since he can just see his promise of the “good life” receding further and further away from Guyanese he’s counted on to place their X’s near the Palm Tree!! He never thought sugar workers would ever vote for him – hence firing 7000 of them and freezing the wages of the remaining 10,000. But the workers working in the mines of Troy Resources? That was supposed to be in the bag, baby!!

Ditto for RUSAL downsizing and laying off workers? And now comes news that the Chinese company building the Sheriff St-Mandela Ave bypass will lay off all their urban workers since the IDB put a hold on the disbursement of funds! The RUSAL and Troy decisions were from private companies, but the IDB? That’s a signal that officialdom in the International Financial Institutions is going to clamp down on the illegal Granger government.

They might be “skinning their teeth” for stonewalling the PPP on the NCM. But it’s the latter who is laughing last!! …unions But where was Lincoln Lewis of the TUC when all these threats to the working class – especially in his bailiwick of mining – were hatched??

Oh yes…writing long missives blaming the PPP for not extending the life of the PNC Government!!

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

9 Mahaica flood aftermath worse than flood – residents T news

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he aftermath of the September and October flood that hit Mahaica on the East Coast of Demerara is being considered worse than the actual flood.

Almost two months after several villages were first inundated, persons are still losing livestock and the area is being plagued by mosquitoes.

Both crops and residents have been affected as a result of the floods which hit

villages between Dantzig and Fairfield after the sea defence at Dantzig gave way, leading to flooding. Also affected were Carlton Hall, Harmony Hall, Glaziers Lust, Prospect, Highdam, Rebecccas Rust, Brooms Hall, Bath, Quakers Hall, De Kinderen, Zealand and Planters Hall.

To date, the Government has not reached out with any form of assistance to the affected residents.

Most of the land is brown

where the water has dried off. The salt in the water has made it impossible for vegetation to grow. In fact, experts said that it may take between three to four years before some plants will be able to grow in the flooded areas.

However, this will only be possible if there is a lot of rain over the next three years.

“From September 28, until November 19, we are being affected. We have lost a lot

Marine Ball marks 244th birthday of US Marine Corps

Ambassador Lynch and her husband, Dr Kevin Healey, with the Marine Corps

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he US Marine Security Guards marked the occasion of the 244th anniversary of the forming of the United States Marine Corps at the Guyana Marriott Hotel in Georgetown. Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch was the guest of honour and the

guest speaker was Retired Colonel Brian Chin.

Ambassador Lynch hailed the Marine Security Guards for their dedication to protecting US Embassies around the world and their role in ensuring the safe and secure conduct of US diplomacy. Currently, 182

US Embassies are guarded

by US Marines.

The Ambassador read a greeting from the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, thanking the Marines for their professional integrity and service to their nation.

of things through the flood,” one resident of Harmony Hall told this publication.

Unburnt heaps of garbage made up of damaged household items decorated the back of many yards.

“This is the third heap but we not getting to burn it because the place still wet.”

Some persons have taken up temporary residences at other locations because water surrounds their homes.

“The water is stink, when you go in the house is all of that you taking inside. I can’t live there now; until the water go down. The water is right up to the door,” another resident explained.

Some have lost their small farms and livestock.

Poultry farmers have been reporting up to 30 per cent of dead stocks as a result of the flood.

Another farmer, Nalinie Gayapersaud, claimed that she has lost over one hundred of her ducks and other livestock.

She said 18 of her forty-seven sheep remain alive while six of her thirty-two goats have survived.

“Me use to sell duck and is so ah throwing them out, ten, fifteen, twenty. Ah leff with eight duck and ah had seventy-five.”

Gayapersaud said she also lost geese and other birds. However, of greater concern at this time is the fact that furniture including chairs and mattresses remain wet.

One of the affected areas after the flood

“The water is still around, the mosquitoes, the beds still wet – I can’t put them outside to dry… My livelihood done,” she said with a blank look on her face.

One of the major concerns of persons living in the affected village is the heavy presence of mosquitoes. Most persons contacted by Guyana Times said by 16:00h they have to lock their doors and be inside.

“They never come and fog out and the place is so wet you can’t even get anything dry to make smoke. We using mosquito coil but we can’t control the mosquito at all.

Some residents have been bracing themselves for the long haul even as repair work to the breach is taking place.

“At this time, we know that this will not be over in a hurry. I think that it will cause a tremendous disaster for us seeing that the water is being stagnated and the mosquitoes; we are not see-

ing snakes now but the water is very stink,” one of the residents revealed.

With most of the grass killed with the saltwater, residents have been rearing their animals along the road shoulders where grass grows. However, greedy contractors are driving the last spike into an already bad situation.

“The grass I would cut it and feed the lams because their mother died.

Sometimes I will tie them but not to reach the road.

The men come and cut all the grass and when I tell them not the cut the grass, they say they get a contract from the Government to slash the road shoulder,” a sad Gayapersaud said.

Other residents have criticised the slashing of the grass which they claim will remove the only source of grass in some villages where many are still depending on it for their remaining livestock.

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NEws

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Final farewell for former Chief Justice Ian Chang T

he sun gleamed over the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception on Brickdam, joining hundreds of others paying their final respects to one of

lost his battle with cancer and died at the Dr Balwant Singh Hospital on November 16.

Those among the attendees included Former Prime

Persons gathered at the late former Chief Justice Ian Chang’s funeral

Guyana’s finest legal minds who recently lost his battle with cancer.

Former Chief Justice Ian Chang was laid to rest on Tuesday.

“May the angels lead you into paradise and may you have eternal peace,” were the words of Fr John, who called to order the service for Chief Justice Chang, who

Minister Samuel Hinds, Prime Minister (acting) Khemraj Ramjattan, Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Retired Justice Claudette Singh, Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, among others.

He was labelled as “a man of

honour who lived a life of selfless service to Guyana, who impacted the lives of many persons”.

Those present joined in the singing of hymns and scriptures as they shared one final moment with the former Chief Justice.

In the closing remarks of the priest, he noted that “From dust, you were born brother Chang and dust you shall return”.

The former Judge served in the capacity of acting Chief Justice for 15 years at the Demerara High Court.

Justice Chang went off on annual leave in December 2015 ahead of his February 2016 retirement. Justice Chang presided over some highly-controversial constitutional cases in Guyana.

Additionally, Justice Chang had presided over the presidential term limit case. The constitutional challenge case was led

by Georgetown resident Cedric Richardson in February 2015 and sought the court’s interpretation on the National Assembly’s changes to Article 90 as it related to four restraints on the freedom of choice by citizens at national elections.

In that case, he had ruled that the presidential term limit was unconstitutional since sovereignty resides in the people and not in the Parliament as it does in Britain; as such, certain funda-

The casket bearing the remains of the former acting Chief Justice being brought out of the Brickdam Cathedral on Tuesday

mental clauses in the Constitution that serve to define its substantive nature can only be altered by a referendum of the people.

Another constitutional case over which Justice Chang presided was the challenge filed by four Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) advocates.

The legal challenge arose after four transgender persons were detained, convicted, and fined by a city Magistrate after their February 2009 arrest in Georgetown. The transgender persons filed an appeal of their

conviction.

Another famous and impacting case that Justice Chang was called upon to preside over was the constitutional challenge that persons who were on a political party’s list of national candidates cannot sit in the National Assembly as non-elected members.

In that particular case, Justice Chang’s ruling prevented Citizenship Minister Winston Felix and Minister within the Social Protection Ministry Keith Scott from sitting in the National Assembly as technocrats.

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Ramsammy’s Ruminations APNU/AFC shamelessly boasts about projects inherited from the PPP

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t is jarring listening to David Granger and his shameless APNU/AFC colleagues boast about projects which were started or were designed before May 2015, projects with major PPP footprints. Before May 2015, APNU/AFC denounced these projects as far too costly, not needed and only embarked on to provide PPP-friendly contractors with get-rich-quick opportunities.

In fact, they screamed in Parliament that the PPP was trying to build a first-world airport for a “two-bit” country, that we could build three airports with the $US150M CJIA budget. Soon after May 2015, many of these projects they now boast about and several others were either suspended or thrown in the dumpster simply because APNU/AFC did not want anything with PPP credentials. However, APNU/AFC was forced to resume some of these PPP projDr Leslie Ramsammy ects because they had no plans of their own and because these PPP projects were well thought out and much-needed projects.

The Cheddi Jagan International Airport contract is now more than two years late, there is still no idea when the contract will finally end, the original scope of work significantly reduced and considerable cost overruns. There is no port health facility, no parking lot catered for and, instead of new buildings, there are only renovations. Already, there is disturbing news about overall quality.

Right now, the bathrooms are out of commission, with temporary mobile toilets being used. There is no running water presently. Recently, the air bridges had to be decommissioned, redesigned and reinstalled by different contractors, paid out of additional funds. Shamelessly, APNU/AFC refuses to allow the Auditor General to audit the project, hiding all the documents.

Meanwhile, the road works on the East Coast Demerara Highway expansion continues at snail pace; this too is almost two years late and far above the original cost. The East Bank Berbice Road is still incomplete, even as the completed part is already in need of repairs. The East Bank and West Coast Demerara Highways are already in need of extensive repair work. While people see something happening on the Sheriff Street by-pass and the Ogle to Grove by-pass roads, neither of these seemed to have moved in any meaningful way. With these woeful results, people are asking whatever happened to the Demerara River Bridge project or the Guyana-Suriname Bridge or the Deep Water Harbour. Meanwhile, the GPL woes force people to ask what happened to the Amaila Hydro project.

All of these, no exception, were projects started under a PPP government before 2015. All these were projects for which funds were already procured. Some of these were projects that were already being implemented, although implementation was slowed down because APNU/AFC blocked them in the 2013 and 2014 Budgets in Parliament. For projects not yet started in May 2015, designs were already completed and work poised to begin. Five years later, these and other projects are still to be completed. Not only are they still to be completed, but APNU/AFC’s redesigns also downgraded the initial projects, with major cost over-runs and major construction deficiencies.

Thus, overall, it is jarring to listen to Granger and his APNU/AFC colleagues boast about these projects. They ought to be ashamed. They took perfectly good projects, butchered and spoilt them. What makes their boasting about these projects even more disgraceful is the context in which they boast.

Take Winston Jordan telling public servants there was no fiscal space to pay them a bonus, there were too many public servants and, should APNU/AFC return to Government after March 2, 2020, about 20,000 public servants will have to be fired. Even as he callously “dissed” public servants, he insisted these public servants should be grateful and proud to see the many good things APNU/AFC has achieved. In doing so, he followed in the footsteps of Granger, who, two weeks ago, claimed Guyanese are so happy to see him, they are so grateful for the many “great” things happening in Guyana. The “great” things they refer to are the things above.

Granger and Jordan are out of their perverted minds. They are the main culprits for almost 40,000 people out of jobs presently, including two thousand Amerindian youth employed before 2015 as community development officers, hundreds of persons fired because they were “PPP people” in the various ministries, people who were not “Volda’s friends”. There was the heartless dismissal of more than 7000 sugar workers and the hundreds more in the village economy sustained by the closed sugar estates. As the economy contracted, many more lost their jobs between May 2015 and now. Just this week, Troy Gold Resources announced the dismissal of four hundred workers and the Chinese Contractor for the Sheriff Street By-Pass Project has been issuing termination letters to workers. And if this is not enough, Jordan and his leader promise that another 20,000 in the public service, GuySuCo and GPL will have to go also.

What is it exactly people must be happy about? Losing their jobs? Watching projects started more than five years ago under the PPP still struggling to be completed, with cost overruns and corruption rife? Granger, Jordan and the rest are not just brazen, they are barefaced.

Caricom reiterates position on Venezuela

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he Caribbean C o m m u n i t y (Caricom) grouping has reiterated its commitment to finding a peaceful solution to the political and economic crisis in Venezuela, where Opposition forces have renewed their call for the removal of President Nicolas Maduro from office.

A statement issued by the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Guyana said that a four-member Caricom delegation, including Trinidad and Tobago’s Foreign Affairs Minister Dennis Moses, as well as the Caricom Secretary General Irwin La Rocque, met last weekend in Mexico to discuss the crisis in the South American country.

“We reiterate our commitment to contribute to the efforts of the Venezuelan people to find a peaceful and democratic solution to their differences, in order to achieve peace and stability. We call on all actors to return to the path of a broad, credible and inclusive di-

Secretary General Irwin La Rocque

alogue for that purpose.”

This is according to the declaration issued at the end of the meeting.

The declaration reiterates the commitment of the signatories of the Montevideo Mechanism to contribute to efforts to find a peaceful solution to the problems confronting Venezuela through dialogue.

Caricom has said in the past that the Montevideo Mechanism provides a guide to achieve peaceful resolution. Its core imperatives are dialogue, negotiation, commitment, and implementation.

President Nicolás Maduro

“Further, the signatories reject the invocation of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance in treating with the challenges of Venezuela and recognise the usefulness of confidence-building measures in advancing the dialogue,” the declaration noted.

It said that given that other initiatives have not yet been fruitful, “we underline our position in favour of a dialogue based on impartiality and trust, as proposed by the process by the Kingdom of Norway”.

“We reiterate our concern about the humanitarian situation in Venezuela,

urging all parties to guarantee the protection and respect for human rights,” the declaration added.

The meeting also agreed on a “roadmap for future action”.

Last weekend, Opposition party supporters took to the streets chanting “We are not afraid,” in the largest anti-Government demonstration in months.

Political observers said while the action did not appear to match the anti-Maduro protests earlier this year, it still amounted to a major uptick from the smaller scale protests of recent months.

The demonstrators said they felt inspired by the uprising in Bolivia that saw a divided Opposition unite, win the backing of the military and force the resignation of former President Evo Morales, a staunch ally of Maduro.

Caricom has maintained its non-interference and non-intervention in the internal Turn to page 16

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Mitigating response to potential oil spill would be immediate — oil exec — says Exxon has comprehensive programme to protect Canje block

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HI Associates Incorporated (JHI), the company that has a stake in the Canje oil block, has assured that when it comes to potential oil spills, block operator ExxonMobil has prioritised a system for an immediate response to help mitigate such an accident.

This was explained by Executive Vice President and JHI Co-founder Richard Boyce during a public lecture on Tuesday at Duke Lodge. He noted that Exxon has comprehensive mitigating systems, though he did not go into details about what these systems are.

“If, God forbid, there is an accident offshore, a leak or oil not contained in the pipes comes to the surface, there will be an immediate response by Exxon, who has put in place a comprehensive reaction programme and they drill on that all the time”.

“So they would do the

Executive Vice President and JHI Co-founder, Richard Boyce

very best they can to prevent those kinds of accidents from happening.

That’s why we’re proud to have them as our operator, because of their safety and responsibility to the world.

We’re lucky this oil was found by Exxon”.

Boyce noted that, in fact, they were able to observe Exxon undertaking an oil spill drill at its offices in Houston, Texas, when they last visited. The drill, he ex-

plained, centred on mobilising its staff to respond to such a disaster.

“Exxon takes it very seriously and we hope we never have to face that problem, but if we do, the industry is ready to take care of it,” Boyce explained.

Top insurance officers have opined that companies currently drilling for oil in Guyana’s waters have an obligation to ensure that mitigating oil spills is high on their agenda, while Government has a duty to scrutinise these plans.

Since Exxon announced its oil find in the Liza-1 well in 2015, a pertinent question has been the capacity of the relevant agencies to protect the environment in case of an oil spill. It is a topic that has regularly been raised at public lectures.

An EPA study had found that while an oil spill was possible, factors such as the location of ExxonMobil affiliates’ operations, combined

with the region’s water temperature would minimise the effects.

Work has been ongoing on a National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP), with Civil Defence Commission (CDC) Director, Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig, promising that the plan would be completed by this month. There has been no word since, however.

The draft plan sets out a three-tier system of dealing with oil spills. There is a tier-one level that deals with the local and facility-level response; the tier-two level, which is a national response to the oil spill and the regional and international response to an oil spill.

The company was also asked during the seminar whether they have ever considered how they could raise money for Guyanese as a form of corporate social responsibility. In response, Head of Investor Relations, Scott Young, noted that the money they raise for the oil

A section of the gathering during the public lecture

field itself will ultimately benefit Guyanese.

“When we first started there was no oil in Guyana.

It was incredibly difficult to raise money for this country, for this company and very few people knew about this country. Our group has been in this country for 20 years and has raised hundreds of millions of dollars in various forms that have gone into this country in terms of exploration,” he said.

“So when we raise money, we’re adding value to what we see offshore. And when we add value to offshore Guyana, we add value to the Guyanese people.

Which is why we’re here today. We recognise that we’re visitors in your country. We are people who love your country because of the potential. We want to help you realise the potential. And we’re all going to win in the end”.

Farmer jailed for assisting father to escape from custody Hospitals to use new device to reduce maternal, infant mortality

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21-year-old farmer who helped his father to escape from lawful custody was on Wednesday sentenced to one year in prison.

Samuel Domingo, of South Rupununi, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts and pleaded guilty to the charge which stated that on March 27, 2019, at Katoonarib, South Rupununi, he assisted Eustace Domingo to escape from custody.

At the time, the elder Domingo was being ques-

tioned in relation to the murder of Reginald Thomas.

Police Prosecutor Gordon Mansfield told the court that on the day in question, the defendant went home and found out that his father had been arrested.

This angered the defendant, who armed himself with a knife which he used to free his father from a Rural Constable and the Toshao.

According to the Prosecutor, the father and son quickly escaped through some bushes and fled to Brazil.

The Prosecutor further stated that the defendant was recently arrested for the of-

fence while his father was yet to be found.

It was reported that in March 2019, Eustace Domingo murdered Thompson while imbibing at a shop.

The two men got into a heated argument which resulted in Domingo arming himself with an axe handle, with which he dealt Thompson several lashes to the head.

The injured man was picked up in an unconscious state and rushed to the Lethem Public Hospital. He was later transferred to the Boa Vista Hospital in Brazil, where he succumbed to his injuries.

GTT pumps US$60K into GIPEX 2019 – company deems conference a gateway for networking in oil and gas industry

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TT has tripled its sponsorship of the Guyana Petroleum Business Summit and Exhibition (GIPEX), having deemed the annual event as a crucial forum for the country’s emerging oil and gas sector.

“This high-level, international business summit will allow GTT and other thriving businesses the opportunity to connect with the influential oil and petroleum stakeholders and get insights on the latest developments in the oil and gas sector. GTT witnessed the many benefits of the conference last year and by our repeated and elevated presence, we wish to signal that we are actively supportive, already engaged in meeting the telecom needs of the sector,” Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Justin Nedd noted.

The telecommunications company has pumped US$60,000 into the summit,

GTT CEO Justin Nedd

making it a lead sponsor. In 2018, the company supported the GIPEX conference with a US$20,500 sponsorship investment.

Nedd will speak at the business summit, elaborating on “Why Guyana; the Investment Opportunity of Choice”.

“GTT has invested in Guyana for almost three decades; despite challenges, we have made an impact as one of the largest Foreign

Direct Investment organisations in the country and have adapted with every change,” Nedd reminded.

The CEO explained that the company hoped to strengthen its connections with companies in the oil and gas sector and forge new relations, providing the assurance that Guyana’s telecoms sector can meet international demand.

GIPEX is aimed at facilitating networking and providing investment opportunities for companies across all sectors associated with the petroleum industry in Guyana. In 2018, the summit was deemed a success as it attracted global participation from more than 600 delegates and 200 international and national oil and gas companies.

This is the second annual oil and gas summit to be held in Guyana November 20-22 at the Guyana Marriott Hotel.

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ore than 40 midwives from both the private and public sectors benefited from a training programme hosted by the Public Health Ministry and the Midwives Association.

The programme, which brought together practitioners from the 10 administrative regions of Guyana, was aimed at preparing nurses and midwives for cases of postpartum haemorrhage (bleeding after childbirth).

At the event, held at the Guyana Nurses Association (GNA), facilitator Dr Narine Singh explained that onethird of the country’s maternal deaths were a result of postpartum haemorrhaging, something that the public health sector has been battling for some time.

However, with the aim to equip midwives with the knowledge and skills needed to prevent such deaths by effectively managing a haemorrhage, the health sector has decided to implement a device that is not new to many parts of the world – the pneumatic anti-shock garment.

According to Dr Singh, the Ministry has introduced the use of anti-shock garments.

“This is a specific piece of equipment we can use when the patient is bleeding and helps to stabilise the patient.

This was a piece of equipment donated by [Pan-American Health Organisation] PAHO and given to all of the hospitals’ birthing centres in the country, so that if there is a need to transfer the patient, we can use this anti-shock garment so that the patient can be stabilised until the patient meets where they can be managed more effectively,” he explained.

Likewise, Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) Assistant Director Celeste Gordon, who was also

The pneumatic anti-shock garment

responsible for the maternity unit, explained that this initiative was considered a powerful one since many lives at the GPHC specifically would be saved.

“This knowledge is very important for my midwives at Georgetown Public Hospital, it will improve our practice which we need at this time ... the pneumatic shock garment is very important; recently, we’ve been having a rise in postpartum haemorrhage and I think this is going to really help in our delivery of care.

This will help our mothers to have a safe delivery,” she explained.

Mandy LaFleur, nursing and midwifery consultant within the Public health

Ministry, said the Ministry planned to train all midwives in the health system.

According to her, this is to ensure that the training is effective, as strict monitoring of how maternal cases are dealt with will be done.

“We want to build their capacity [the midwives’] with the knowledge, skills and capacity so that they can go back into their communities and be able to share this information with their colleagues,” LaFleur said.

Meanwhile, she confirmed that this training programme would be conducted monthly to educate nurses across the length and breadth of Guyana, reducing the deaths of infants and mothers in the country.

Caricom reiterates... affairs of states.

Prohibition of threat and use of force, respect for sovereignty, adherence to the rule of law, respect for the constitutional framework and democracy, and the right of people to self-determination are core principles, which should not be violated.

Venezuela’s Opposition Leader, Juan Guaidó, has declared himself the in-

From page 15

terim leader of the South American country and has been promptly recognised by several countries including the United States, Canada and some Latin American states.

But Russia, China and Cuba are among countries that are supporting Maduro, who was sworn into office in January this year for a second consecutive term as President.

news

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wednesday, november 20, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Police meet with business community, leaders in Linden – ahead of official release of Holiday Policing Plan

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s a prelude to the official rollout of its Holiday Policing Plan, senior ranks attached to the Divisional Police Headquarters in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) on Tuesday met with members of the business community and community leaders during a walk around Central Mackenzie, Linden.

The initiative is part of plans recently announced by the Division to enhance community relations as an intended effective means of the fight against crime.

Present were Regional Commander Hugh Winter, Deputy Superintendent Dexter Brown, Assistant Superintendent Jermaine Harper, Chief Inspector of Immigration Pheona Harris, Inspector Colette Evans, Traffic Inspector Sherwin Henry, Sergeant Ronatta Liverpool Sergeant and Police Constable Nicolas Ingram.

The ranks visited numerous business entities around

Linden Mayor Waneka Arrindell raising concerns with the Police at the meeting

Central Mackenzie where they interacted with proprietors in addition to meeting with Linden Mayor Waneka Arrindell and drivers of public transportation.

During the meet with the Mayor, she shared concerns over a number of robberies which have been occurring in the community recently. She also highlighted the prevalence of squibs, which are prohibited items that

are being used in the community even more since the dawning of the Christmas season.

The Mayor also encouraged Police to issue public warnings regarding numerous issues. She noted that she was happy to have the police on board with various initiatives as she pointed to the increased prevalence of roadblocks in Linden.

Arrindell further made

Regional Commander Hugh Winter having a discussion with residents during the walkabout

calls for traffic patrols at the Watooka Day Primary School at Mackenzie, Linden, as Deputy Mayor Wainewright Bethune voiced concerns over heavy-duty trucks traversing the area. Officials during the meeting highlighted that these trucks are expected to utilise a diversion road instead as concerns over safety were raised.

Commander Winter,

during the discourse, asked for support in forming joint patrols with constables attached to the Constabulary.

As a means of enhancing security, ranks also sought the assistance of the Office of the Mayor in having more lights along the Washer Pond Road in Linden. The area is one which is prone to Police roadblocks. The police also made calls for several road barriers to be

reinstated at various points in the community, which the Linden Mayor noted that the office will budget for. Arrindell also sought to have Police present at the Kara Kara toll booth as she outlined plans to have the booth moved, possibly to the Bamia, Soesdyke-Linden Highway.

The Mayor also pointed to the issue of heavy-duty vehicles which are required to pay tolls at the Kara Kara booth location diverting through minor roads to avoid paying.

During the meet with hire car drivers and other drivers of public transport, issues such as coloured vehicular lights, tinted vehicles and improper dress code were highlighted by ranks.

The senior officials made it known that there are penalties for such breaches as they urged the drivers to be compliant. The Regional Division is expected to roll out its Holiday Policing Plan on Friday.

Men have pivotal role in building stronger societies – Dr Lee tells men’s forum

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cores of male employees attached to the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) were on Tuesday admonished to acknowledge and act the role of being the most significant example in today’s societies.

This charge was delivered during the agency’s inaugural symposium for its male employees at the Regency Hotel, Hadfield Street, Georgetown. This was part of its celebration for International Men’s Day 2019, held under the theme “Making a difference for men and boys”.

The day, which is celebrated globally, not only seeks to recognise the work of men but also the importance of their wellbeing, responsibilities and the issues they face.

As such, at Tuesday’s event, GWI’s Board Director, Dr Wilbert Lee

GWI’s Board Director, Dr Wilbert Lee during his address

dedicated his keynote address to the vitality of change among men and how it should be done.

With this being the foundation of his remarks, Dr Lee placed emphasis on the need for a change of mind (the way we think), noting that this is the only way men can truly impact society.

“As this society is about

to change, and it will change overnight. We’re told that next year, 2020, the economy will grow by some 86 per cent, that’s phenomenal. But how are we as men prepared for that….so if we’re really going to make an impact or make a difference as we celebrate International Men’s Day, our thinking has to be affected. Our

thinking has to change, we cannot continue along the same path that we’re travelling.” He stated.

To this he added that such a change is crucial to produce stronger homes, communities and the society in a whole, a responsibility most fathers and husbands especially do not embrace but rather abuse, according to him.

“So we have to build strong homes if we’re going to build a strong nation. And building a strong home has a direct correlation with fathers, husbands being in a home. We can’t build it no other way …we need to find or we need to develop in our societies men with chest. Men who will have strong moral values, men who wouldn’t see the need to sexually molest their daughters, men who would protect their families and men

Murder convict appeals 100-year sentence

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fter being sentenced to a total of 100 years in prison for the murder of Danrasie Ganesh, a Montrose, East Coast Demerara (ECD) pensioner, in February of this year, 26-year-old Collin Allen is now asking the Court of Appeal to reverse the decision made by the High Court to impose the aforementioned sentence on him.

In his appeal, Allen is maintaining that his trial was executed in a biased manner and as such, the number of years given is unreasonable.

However, with the aid of video evidence, State Prosecutors Tuanna Harding, Abigail Gibbs, and Teriq Mohamed had argued that the woman, also known as “Carmen”, lived alone at Lot 121 Montrose, East Coast

Demerara, and on the day in question, Allen invaded the property.

He reportedly entered the house through a window after which he attacked the woman.

CCTV footage obtained from Ganesh’s home was used as evidence during the trial and revealed a male in the woman’s house hitting her on the head with a tyre wrench, kicking, and stomping her.

Allen later escaped but was apprehended three weeks later. According to a caution statement given by Allen shared in court, he was paid some $700,000 to kill the pensioner and steal property documents.

Allen, also called “Bonus”, formerly of Cemetery Road, Timehri, East Bank Demerara, was found guilty

Dead: Danrasie Ganesh

of murdering the 77-year-old woman on August 1, 2015, in her East Coast Demerara home.

Following the verdict, Allen’s lawyer, Rachael Bakker, was reportedly left speechless while the convicted murderer maintained his innocence.

With respect to the

Murder Convict: Colin Allen

100-year sentence, Justice Navindra Singh initially gave 60 years to the accused but added 10 years for premeditation, 10 years for excessive brutality, another 10 for accepting money to kill the woman, and a further 10 years for being brutal to the woman who could have barely walked.

who the society can look up to” Dr Lee asserted.

Meanwhile, in expressing value for GWI’s male workforce, Managing Director of company, Dr Van West-Charles highlighted a countrywide and individual role of ensuring that the younger generations do not repeat past mistakes.

“It is important for us, as a country, as a people to be able to see how best as we move forward to ensure that the young boys coming up do not make the mistakes that many of us would’ve made. We need to also reflect how we can improve our own currency so that our contributions can be valuable.”

Murder accused stabbed in prison during fight

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he Sophia, Greater Georgetown man who allegedly strangled another on Church Street, Georgetown, on October 12, 2019, is reportedly nursing a wound to the lower left abdomen following a fight at the Lusignan Penitentiary.

Twenty-four-year-old Ashaka John is currently receiving medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

According to reports, the injured man and another inmate were involved in a fight at the prison, when he received the injury. However, the details surrounding the incident are unclear.

On October 12, 2019, John was charged and remanded to prison for the murder of Jason Bowen when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

It was reported that on the day in question, Bowen and the accused were involved in a scuffle on Church Street, Georgetown.

During the proceedings, Defence Counsel George Thomas informed the court that his client has a mental problem and is a patient of a doctor at the Psychiatric Unit at the Georgetown Public

Ashaka John

Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

Thomas further told the court that his client was taken to the hospital while in custody.

It was reported that John dealt the victim, who was a security guard, several lashes about his body before wrapping a belt around the man’s neck and proceeded to strangle him.

Public-spirited persons who witnessed the altercation rushed to render assistance to the victim; however, they discovered that the man was dead, while the murder suspect attempted to flee the scene.

Persons managed to grab onto John and restrain him.

The police were called and he was handed over.

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wednesday, november 20, 2019

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Guyana finish 2nd after 1-1 draw with Jamaica Quillian Roberts (with ball) was a hero for the Golden Jaguars

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Guyana’s Samuel Cox (8) hustles Jamaica’s Peter Vassell during the Golden Jaguars’ 1-1 draw with the Reggae Boyz

he Golden Jaguars pulled off a stunning 1-1 draw against regional football powerhouse Jamaica on Monday night, thanks to some impressive work by goalkeeper Quillian Roberts.

The drawn result following the encounter with the Reggae Boyz was a vast improvement on the 4-0 thrashing that the Jamaicans handed the Golden Jaguars in their first CONCACAF Nations League meeting back in September, at the

Leonora Track and Field facility.

The starting XI comprised Captain Samuel Cox, Terence Vancooten, Matthew Briggs, Callum Harriott, Keanu MarshBrown, Clive Nobrega, Daniel Wilson, Daniel Kadell, Trayon Bobb and Emery Welshman. Once again, Head Coach Marcio Maximo opted to go with Quillian Roberts as his custodian for the night, and he turned out to be the hero of the match.

The Group C, League B action went down at the Montego Bay Sports Complex in Montego Bay, Jamaica, where both sides struggled to find the back of the net in the early minutes of the game.

While Jamaica had a handful of trial-and-error attempts, Guyana’s first real shot at the goal was made by Marsh-Brown after an assist from Welshman.

However, the shot was tipped over the crossbar

by Jamaica’s goalkeeper, Akeem Chambers.

Welshman then took matters into his own hands in the 45th minute when he fired a

Beaton reported over suspect bowling action

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uyana Jaguars pacer Ronsford Beaton has been reported for a suspect bowling action during his side’s game against the United States last Monday in the Colonial Medical Insurance Super50 Cup. Cricket West Indies confirmed on Monday that Beaton’s action was cited by match officials after he bowled eight overs for figures of 0-37 during the game at the Queen’s Park Oval, which the Jaguars won by 13 runs.

CWI will now arrange for an independent assessment of the bowling action of the 27-year-old Beaton, but he is permitted to continue bowling until the results of the assessment are known.

Video footage from the game will be sent to Loughborough University in the United Kingdom for an opinion report in accordance with the CWI Regulations for Dealing with Suspected Illegal Bowling Actions.

According to the procedure for

dealing with illegal bowling actions, If the report determines that the action is illegal, then the player shall be suspended from bowling immediately or if currently in a game, at the end of the game; until such time as his/her action is found to be legal, either by an Opinion Report from Loughborough University or by an Independent Analysis from an ICC accredited testing centre.

The player shall remain suspended from bowling until such time as his/her action is found to be legal through remediRonsford Beaton al work. (CWI)

shot past the Jamaican custodian from the edge of the box. Guyana ended the first half in the lead, 1-0.

As expected, the Reggae Boyz fought hard to level the score and did so quickly.

Minutes after the resumption, Javon East found the back of the net with a Bobby Reid assist to equalise.

Thereafter, the Jamaicans had more chances at the goal, but Guyana’s goalkeeper, Roberts, jumped

and dived to prevent the ball and the net from having a meeting. Jamaica’s Ricardo Morris tested Roberts three times, but could not get past his safe pair of hands, resulting in the 1-1 draw.

While Jamaica finished first in the group and will automatically advance to the 2021 Gold Cup, Guyana’s second-place finish has given them the opportunity to play the Gold Cup qualifiers, for the 2021 tournament.

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GUYANATIMESgy.COM

wednesday, november 20, 2019

BCB/Banks DIH Ltd 2-Day 1st Division Tournament…

Albion record outright victory, 3 teams obtain 1st innings points Five-wicket hauls were taken by left-arm spinners Kevin Umroa, Nigel Deodat, and Trevon Stanislaus and offspinner Quacy Mickle, while batsmen had a memorable weekend with Albion’s Kandasammy Surujnarine, and Rajiv Ivan; RHT Thunderbolt Flour’s Eon Hooper; Blairmont’s Kevin Jawahir and Rose Hall Canje’s Kedar Amsterdam registering centuries.

At

Kedar Amsterdam and Trevon Stanislaus had good outings (Brandon Corlette photo)

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or the first time in more than 15 years, First-Division cricketers in the Ancient County of Berbice were able to play a tournament that was not in the format of 20/20, 40 overs, or 50 overs.

On Saturday last, the Berbice Cricket Board’s Banks DIH TwoDay First-Division Tournament was launched at four venues.

For the majority of players, it was a sharp learning experience

as it was their first time playing a longer version of the game, but for others like Delbert Hicks, Devendra Bishoo, and Anthony D’Andrade, it was a welcome return of the tournament, which was last played in 2004.

Albion defeated Port Mourant to register the only outright victory while Rose Hall Town Namilco Thunderbolt Flour, Tucber Park CC and Blairmont were able to obtain first innings points.

wicket.

Facing a deficit of 260 runs on first innings, PMCC crashed to 112 all out with West Indies Under-15 player Ramnauth scoring 63 not out. The highlytalented Ramnauth carried his bat through the innings as he enjoyed the chance to bat long without any limitation.

Devendra Bishoo (3 for 45) and Rajiv Ivan (2 for 32) were Albion’s best bowlers.

Albion

Albion, the home team defeated a youthful Port Mourant Cricket Club by an innings and 148 runs.

PMCC 98 all out – Rampertab Ramnauth (29); Mahendra Boodram (30).

Bowling for Albion, Kevin Umroa had 6 for 45 and Devendra Bishoo, 3 for 32.

Albion, in response, rattled up 358 for 6 with Kandasammy Surujnarine (112); Rajiv Ivan (112); Ramesh Kasinauth (50) and Adrian Sukhwa (36) being the principal scorers.

Demetri Cameron (4 for 116) was PMCC’s best bowler while Madhan Boodram and Salim Khan each took a

Kevin Jawahir slammed 196

Eon Hooper hit a century and was among the wickets

Quacy Mickle picked up a 5-for and scored some runs

Area H At the Area H Ground, Rose Hall Town Thunderbolt Flour, batting first on a pitch with plenty of moisture after overnight rain, were reduced to 10 for 3 against Rose Hall Canje after losing Junior Sinclair (0); Mahendra Gopilall (1) and Kevlon Anderson (9). Veteran Delbert Hicks (89) and Eon Hooper (109) batted well to eventually lead their team to 279. Hooper’s century was his first at the senior level as the former national player continues to establish his credentials as an all-rounder.

Hooper struck 11 boundaries and two sixes while Hicks stroked 12 sweetly-timed boundaries and three huge sixes.

Bowling for the visitors, Zaheer Hussain took 2 for 47 and Boodram Ramsarran, 2 for 60. RH Canje, in response, were bowled out for 159, with Joel Seitaram (42) and the talented Lloyd David (21) being the principal scorers.

H o o p e r returned with the ball to take 4 for 36, Shawn Pereira 3 for 27 and Junior Sinclair 2 for 34. With time running out and the weather unpredictable, RHT Thunderbolt Flour enforced the follow-on, but were unable to obtain an outright victory and Kedar Amsterdam scored his maiden FirstDivision century.

Amsterdam blasted 101 runs, which included eight

boundaries and five huge sixes, and he also received support from Joel Seitaram (49) as the visitors ended on 199 for 5 when stumps were drawn.

Kevlon Anderson took 2 for 41 while Jonathan Rampersaud, Eon Hooper and Doorsammy Mahadeo claimed one wicket apiece.

Blairmont At the Blairmont Ground, rain prevented the home team from achieving an outright victory, with over three hours lost on the final day. Kevin Jawahir showed his class with a superb 196 to lead Blairmont Cricket Club to 421 for 8 declared. Marvan Prashad struck a mature 86 while Seon Glasgow made a quickfire 49. R Persaud took 2 for 33 for West Berbice, who in reply were bowled out for 164, with Karime Mentore (67) and Keyron Fraser (43) being the top batters.

National youth player Deodat took 7 for 62 for the home team.

Blairmont, with a lead of 257, decided to bat again before declaring at 47 for 2, with Javed Karim and Seon Glasgow each unbeaten on 17; West Berbice struggled to 22 for 3 before rain ended the match early.

Cumberland At the Cumberland Ground, Young Warriors Cricket Club scored 191 all out with Trevon Stanislaus making 55 and Suresh Dhanai 29. Off-spinner Quacy Mickle (5 for 64) and Leon Swammy (4 for 42) were Tucber Park’s best bowlers. In response, Tucber Park reached 260 all out, with Mickle completing a fine all-round performance with 42 not out, Anthony D’Andrade securing 41 and Keon De Jesus, 40. Left-arm spinner Stanislaus completed a great all-round match with 5 for 49 from 31 overs while medium pacer Suresh Dhanai took 2 for 38.

YWCC in their second innings reached 51 for 3 with off-spinner Martin Singh taking 2 for 31.

guyanatimesgy.com

wednesday, november 20, 2019

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20th Diamond Mineral Water road race set for Sunday T

he country’s premier riders will want to end positively as the local cycling season will cap off this Sunday with the 20th edition of the Demerara Distillers Limited-sponsored Diamond Mineral Water 46-mile road race in Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara).

The Hassan Mohamed-organised event will see riders pedalling off from 08:30h at Schoonord before heading along the West Bank to Parika, East Bank Essequibo and back to the point of origin.

Among those riders will be Team Cocos’ veteran, Junior Niles, who stormed to the title last year in a time of one hour, 41 minutes and 25 seconds. Niles, a veteran of 33 years, had bested 2017’s time by 33 minutes.

Niles also copped the veterans’ division title, with McKay in second and Alexis Mendes in third whereas

Flashback! The various winners take a photo with DDL’s Assistant Marketing Manager, Sherese Leander (in white, fifth from right) and organiser Hassan Mohamed (fourth from right)

in the mountain bike division, Ozia McAully continued his dominance

Black Pearl, Police B draw 1st blood of the net in the 19th minute for a 2-0 score. The score was not troubled for the rest of the first half and Dynamic FC had become comfortable.

So comfortable that Omari James was able to penetrate the nets for Police B in the 55th minute. Leon Rose then

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with Jamal Chappel and Talim Shaw trailing in second and third

respectively. Adielie Hodge took the juniors’ title ahead of Emanuel Gayral and Briton John in that order.

According to the veteran organiser, this event will be the final one organised by him for the season and he dubbed the year a successful one for cycling while Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) Racing Secretary Malcolm Soonaram confirmed this was the final race of the year.

Mohamed expressed gratitude to DDL for its longstanding commitment to the development of cycling over the past two decades, maintaining that this particular event was one which was highly anticipated.

DDL Assistant Marketing Manager Sherese Leander along with Marketing Manager Larry Wills will be on hand to witness the action and assist with the distribution of prizes.

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Action between Police B and Dynamic FC

B

lack Pearl FC and Police B FC will live to play another round in the 2019 Turbo Knockout Football competition, after winning their opening encounters when the tournament commenced on Sunday night.

The first game of the 2019 tournament was quite an entertaining one, as it ran its full course to decide who would advance to the next round of play.

It was a hard-fought battle Julius Hamilton between GT Panthers and Black opened the scoring in Pearl for the winning goal the sixth minute to vividly, but the goalkeepers give Black Pearl the lead; however, their excite- worked overtime to ensure ment was short-lived as GT that the score would remain Panthers’ Joshua Allicock locked 2-2.

During the subsequent equalised the score two minpenalty shoot-out, Black utes later.

The intensity of the game Pearl prevailed at the mark, built as the first half end- as they connected three goals ed without another goal be- as compared to GT Panthers’ ing scored. Hamilton, how- 2.

The Police B team seemed ever, was determined to give his team the advantage once to follow in the footsteps of again as he scored a second their Elite League outfit, as goal in the 47th minute. Just they registered their first win when Black Pearl thought over Dynamic FC. It was a sad tale for they would win the encounter easily, GT Panthers’ Seon Dynamic FC, who had the Urquhart netted a goal in the lead, but let it slip away in the 75th minute to level the score final moments of the encounter. Kevaun Garnette got the again.

With the game plunged ball rolling early with a goal into extra time, the determi- in the third minute and then nation of both teams showed Paul Collins found the back

scored in the 80th minute to push the score to 2-2.

On this note, Dynamic then tightened their defence in hopes of going to extra time, but Police’s Ozese Halley found the winning goal in the 87th minute.

Given the nature of the

tournament, Dynamic FC and GT Panthers have been knocked out of contention.

The winning team will receive $400,000. Second place will pocket $200,000 while third and fourth will receive $100,000 and $50,000 respectively.

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wednesday, november 20, 2019

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

Windies Women aiming to escape whitewash against India

By Brandon Corlette

W

est Indies Women had their last taste of victory against India Women in T20 Internationals since November 2016.

horns today, Wednesday, November 20 from 18:00h at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence in the fifth and final T20I. After andhana

Smriti M

Prospective debutant Cherry-Ann Fraser

While the West Indies team are seeking a consolation win, India Women are looking to register a T20 series whitewash.

The two teams will lock

suffering a lone d e f e a t i n the One-Day Internationals (ODI) series, India Women have been clinical in the first two T20s in St Lucia and the recent matches played at Providence. The latest victory for India was a thrilling fiverun win in a truncated match which produced nine overs per team. Runs have been scarce this series, but 15-yearold Indian batting sensation Shafali Verma has produced 149 runs in the four innings.

The right-hander has two half-centuries under her belt and a stunning strike rate of 163.7, averaging an impressive 49.6. Despite being rested in the fourth T20I, Smriti Mandhana has exactly 100 runs heading into today’s final

three and two wickets respectively.

This series was seen as the yardstick for the West Indies Women to select the best set of players for the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s World T20 that will be played in Australia in February 2020. With the series done and dusted, newbie in the squad, Cherry-Ann Fraser may get to play her maiden match.

Fraser, a Guyanese fast-bowling all-rounder, has come through the ranks having a fruitful season for Guyana’s Under-19 and a decent tournament for the sea rm nior Guyana feVe i al af Sh old Fifteen-yeare series male team. With th in ns ru t has the mos o) ot ph unpredictable tte le (Brandon Cor weather ongoing in Guyana, the toss will be an immance portant factor as teams look to in the fourth T20I, has 52 sign off the series with a win.

West Indies Women: runs in four innings, with the bat. As with all the other bat- Anisa Mohammed (Captain); ters, Matthews will be aiming Shemaine Campbell; Cherryto finish the series with some Ann Fraser; Aaliyah Alleyne, Fletcher; Shakera runs. Windies Women Vice Afy Captain, Guyanese Shemaine Selman; Hayley Matthews; Campbelle has 40 runs in four Chedean Nation; Chinelle innings, including a best of 33 Henry; Stacy-Ann King; in the ongoing series.

Kyshona Knight; Natasha Spin has been the weap- McLean; Shabika Gajnabi on of destruction in the se- and Sheneta Grimmond. ries. Deepti Sharma leads India Women: the bowling chart with eight Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain); wickets, including the best Smriti Mandhana; Jemimah figures in the series of 4-10. Rodrigues; Shafali Verma; Her spin compatriot, Radha Harleen Deol; Deepti Sharma; Yadav has been effective with Punam Yadav; Radha Yadav; six wickets in her four out- Veda Krishnamurthy; Anjua ings. West Indies off-spinning Patil; Shika Pandey; Pooja all-rounder, Matthews has Vastrakar; Mansi Joshi; five scalps while Afy Fletcher Arundhati Reddy and Taniya and Sheneta Grimmond have Bhatia. encounter. The biggest failure this series has been the batting from the West Indies Women. Chedean Nation, who scored 32 in one match, has 56 runs in four innings, which is the most by a Caribbean batter.

Hayley Matthews, fresh from a Player-of-the-Match perfor-

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wednesday, november 20, 2019

23

59th National Schools’ Championships

Records topple as track and field events commence The teachers’ 4X100m heats was exciting

Story and photos by Jemima Holmes

T

he belief that the annual National Schools Championships is a platform “where stars are born” came to fruition on Tuesday afternoon as several of the nation’s children put on stellar performances to shatter the records that previously stood in place.

With field events’ finals on the cards for the day, the student athletes jumped, leaped and threw their hearts out under the usual blistering Guyanese sunshine. When dusk began to set, the likes of Rupununi’s Delmar Benjamin, Essequibo Coast-Pomeroon’s Anastacia Clarke, Upper DemeraraKwakwani’s Joshua Tappin and Zeryssa Mc Rae, West Coast Berbice’s Okenoko Pascall, N o r t h

Georgetown’s Chenille Bowen and New Amsterdam’s Osafo Dos Santos were beaming brightly after breaking records in their respective disciplines.

The highlight of the record-breaking came when Rupununi’s Delmar Benjamin broke the previous record, which was held by Samuel Welcome at 1.22 metres. The Grade Five student of the Aishalton Primary School leaped 1.27m to set a new record. What was even more exciting about the nine-year-old’s achievement is the fact that the District has never had a record in that discipline. When probed about the training equipment used, Guyana Times Sport was informed that the students do not have a mattress and would usually practise their jumps on sand.

Anastacia Clarke out of District Two threw a distance of 18.58m to set a new record in stone. The Under-12 discus throw record was previously held by Tiona Lewis at 18.30m.

Sean Lam’s 13.43m Under-16 shot-put record was erased by Okenoko Pascall, who threw 14.25m

Nine-year-old Delmar Benjamin

to set a new record.

The teachers refused to be left out of the record breaking as Osafo Dos Santos and Chenille Bowen shattered records. Dos Santos threw the shot-put 13.93m to rewrite his previous record of 13.05m. Bowen did a bit of rewriting of her own as she bettered her old shot-put record of 8.60m. The new record stands at 9.15m.

As expected, District 10 was also part of the history making on Tuesday.

Joshua Tappin wiped away the old Boys’ Under-20 javelin record of 55.88m set by Jermaine Simmons and set the new record at 57.31m.

Zeryssa Mc Rae was quite emotional about her record-breaking feat. In a frenzy of nerves, tears and disbelief, Mc Rae willed herself to keep going even after she had already shattered the Girls’ Under-14 high jump record, which was set at 1.38m by Alice Fraser and Makayla Hilliman in 2017.

Mc Rae set the new record at a whopping 1.48m.

In other results of the day, Tia Azore copped another gold medal as she outran the competition in the 1000m race. Azore was followed by Judy Lannis and

Odiessa George, who copped second and third respectively.

West Coast Berbice’s Morvin Hamilton also pulled off the distance double as he took first place in the 1000m race. District 15’s Calvin Williams was close behind for second while Evander Seceendino crossed the line third.

North Georgetown’s Keliza Smith leaped her way to a gold medal with a jump of 5.24m in the Girls’ 19 and Under long jump e v e n t .

Shevon Peters and D e b o r a h Thorne completed the podium with jumps of 4.91m and 4.87m respectively.

Amy Grant booked another 10 points for North Georgetown as she outclassed the competition in the Girls’ 19 and Under

Discus throw.

While Grant’s throw of 28.62m landed her in f i r s t place,

Sharisse Joseph (District 10) and Shuana Davis (District 15) threw 22.50m and 20.62m respectively for second and third.

The 59th annual National Schools’ Championships will continue today at the Leonora Track and Field facility, where the 800m heats, 1000m heats and finals, among other field events are on the schedu l e .

Admission to the venue is free.

A glimpse of the javelin action

wednesday, november 20, 2019

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

guyanatimesgy.com

59th National Schools’ Championships

Records topple as track and field events commence Page 23

Airborne! This District 10 athlete flew high in the long jump event

Zeryssa Mc Rae makes her record-breaking jump of 1.48m

Delmar Benjamin set the first high jump record for the Rupununi

Windies Women aiming to escape whitewash against India

Vice Captain Shemaine Campbelle (Brandon Corlette photo)

Page 22

Jemimah Rodrigues warming up on the eve of the final match with a football exercise

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