Guyana times daily december 16, 2017

33 aeronautical engineers added to aviation sector P11 Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Issue No. 3424

Saturday, December 16, 2017

PRICE

US$18M signing bonus

$80 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Speaker rejects PPP motion to amend budget

Granger: No "intention" to rig 2020 elections P10

Page 3

…Jagdeo accuses Speaker of shielding Govt from scrutiny

Gunmen storm Soesdyke Post Office Page 10

Forestry sector

P9

Guyana records “huge” economic decline – GCCI

Nominees selected for top judicial P9 posts …need Opposition Leader’s blessing

Parking meter fiasco First Lady Sandra Granger and President David Granger hosted a Christmas luncheon for senior citizens as a way of honouring them for their service to Guyana during their working years. The event was held at the Baridi Benab at State House. In photo, the First Lady serves lunch to senior citizens

Police “ought not” to have entered Parliament – Top Cop

…says Chambers still safe …despite “Santa”, singing Page 5 woman breaches

$267.1B Budget passed

NBS wins P13 case as High Court quashes by-laws

Page 7

…despite US$18M signing bonus exclusion …PPP to file legal challenge

Taxi driver P8 beaten, car hijacked at Diamond

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saturDAY, december 16, 2017 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS

US$18M signing bonus

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

Saturday, December 16 – a night-time retraction of 03:30h and a daytime retraction of 14:30h-16:00h and Sunday, December 17 – a night-time retraction of 04:30h and a daytime retraction of 14:30h-16:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Speaker rejects PPP motion to amend budget

…Jagdeo accuses Speaker of shielding Govt from scrutiny

Saturday, December 16 – 15:25h-16:55h and Sunday, December 17 – 16:00h-17:30h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Light to heavy rain showers with sunny intervals can be expected throughout the day, with thundery showers expected in the evening. Temperatures should range between 24 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Ranging from North-easterly to East North Easterly between 3.12 metres and 4.47 metres.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

High Tide: 03:06h and 15:19h reaching maximum heights of 2.43 metres and 2.56 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 08:54h and 21:19h reaching minimum heights of 0.77 metre and 0.64 metre respectively.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2017

LOTTERY NUMBERS O

2

9

13 16 18 26 14 Bonus Ball

FREE TICKET

friday, DECEMBER 15, 2017

DAILY MILLIONS 3 4 15 21 25 LUCKY 3 2 0 4 Afternoon Draw

8

2

6

Evening Draw

DRAW DE LINE 02

07

09 13

16 19 21

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

By Lakhram Bhagirat

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he Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Barton Scotland, on Friday denied an Opposition People's Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) motion calling for the 2018 Estimates to be amended to reflect the US$18 million signing bonus Government received from US oil giant ExxonMobil.

The motion read: “Be it resolved that this Honourable Assembly directs the Minister of Finance to amend the Financial Estimates of Revenues and Expenditures of Guyana to reflect Guyana’s receipt of US$18 (million), and (he be directed) to deposit the said sum of money into the Consolidated Fund, in compliance with the Constitution and laws of Guyana.”

The motion was submitted on Thursday night in the name of Opposition Parliamentarian Irfaan Ali, and was seconded by PPP/C Chief Whip Gail Teixeira.

The PPP/C motion stated that the Financial Estimates of the Revenues and Expenditures do not reflect Guyana’s receipt of the said sum of US$18 million whatsoever, and the Estimates are therefore understated by the said sum, in violation of the Constitution and the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act; and the Estimates are accordingly unlawful, illegal, unconstitutional, null, void, and of no effect.

Consolidated Fund shortchanged In presenting the motion to the House, the Opposition Leader -- who was given responsibility for piloting the motion after Ali was unavoidably absent -- said

Government admitted to receiving the US$18 million only about seven days ago, after months of denying its existence.

“When we examined the Estimates for 2016, 2017 and 2018, those public monies that should have been paid into the Consolidated Fund were not reflected in the Estimates. We therefore ask that the Minister of Finance be directed to amend the Estimates before us to reflect the receipt of US$18 million, which was received and not deposited in the Consolidated Fund, in contravention of the Constitution and the financial laws of Guyana,” Jagdeo said.

He told the House that it is the hope of the Opposition that the ruling be favourable, so that the matter can be debated at length, thus providing the public with the necessary information they so deserve.

Motion denied However, the Speaker, in his ruling, noted that for the sitting to be adjourned to consider another issue – in this case, the amendment the 2018 Financial Estimates and a call for the Finance Minister to deposit the US$18 million in the Consolidated Fund -- the matter must be definite, urgent and of public importance.

The Speaker noted that the issue is indeed definite and of great public importance, but he questioned the urgency, since he noted that the issue had come to the fore some seven days prior to the motion. It was on this ground that the Speaker denied the request.

Predictable outcome At a press conference convened immediately after

the denial of the motion, the Opposition Leader deemed the outcome predictable, since, he said, the Speaker is known to shield the Government from a deserving level of scrutiny.

“The Standing Orders of Parliament provide for this approach, and we felt that this matter -- the matter that has engaged the entire nation’s attention over the last seven days, and has caused much worry to the people; the blatant breaches of our Financial Laws and the Constitution of Guyana -- that the Speaker would have been more respectful of the con-

monies are clear, and public monies cannot be handled in a discretionary manner.

He reiterated that if the Estimates are approved in their current state, the House would be knowingly aiding an illegality.

A statement read by Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge in the National Assembly on Thursday claimed the US$18 million signing bonus was placed in a Deposit Fund.

However, the Opposition Leader said the monies were not placed in a Deposit Fund, but rather in

Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Barton Scotland,

cerns of our people and allow a full debate on this motion, which would have exposed the many inconsistences and illegalities of this Government regarding the signing bonus,” Jagdeo said.

Jagdeo added that the motion would have allowed the House, including the Speaker, to have the Estimates amended to reflect “what is legal and Constitutional, so that the Estimates for 2018, when passed, would reflect the true financial picture of Guyana.”

Improper handling The Opposition Leader stressed that the rules governing the handling of public

a Special Account, as indicated by both the Finance and Natural Resources ministers. In relation to the Deposit Fund, Jagdeo noted that the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act (FMAA) stipulates that the National Assembly ought to be informed of the source of the funds, the purpose, and the intended investment strategy. He indicated that neither was provided to the House in this case.

He also said that no PPP/C MP would have opposed the allocation of the US$15 million required to pay the legal fees to defend Guyana’s territorial integrity.

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

Culture and education

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e do not editorialise much about race and racism, as such writings in the political milieu of Guyana could easily be interpreted as pejorative and aimed at keeping the racial pot boiling. That said, however, in the interest of wanting to see a more cohesive and progressive society, recent political developments demand that we comment on two highly controversial expressions made by two public service officers, one of whom is a senior Government minister.

First, the President's press officer, Lloyda Nicholas-Garrett, in a social media chat sometime ago, referred to Indians as "coolies". Bishop Edghill, with whom Ms Nicholas-Garrett once worked, and who knew her quite well, suggested that she contritely admit her mistake and make a public apology. The Social Cohesion Minister, Dr George Norton, a senior minister in the Cabinet, whose portfolio is to bring about racial cohesion and understanding in Guyana, also appealed to Ms NicholasGarrett to do the same as Bishop Edgehill had advised. Ms Nicholas-Garrett, however, held her ground, and apologized only to the staff at the Ministry of the Presidency; and in this position, she had some high-level political support in the Government.

Her position and attitude, together with the political support she has received, have provided full license for others to use similar terms, which could easily be offensive to other ethnic groups. Had Ms Nicholas-Garrett heeded the advice proffered to her, all would have been forgiven and forgotten, and social cohesiveness would have been a bit closer.

The other expression is Education Minister Nicolette Henry's now famous Parliamentary statement made during the recent Budget Debate: "I am not a Chatree, so I may not know when there is Diwali or Phagwa; but I do know what it takes to improve the Education sector". It should be pointed out, too, that some months ago, this minister embarrassingly and surprisingly made a public statement confusing the two main Hindu festivals of Diwali and Phagwah. Though she was taken to task for this unacceptable ignorance, she offered no excuse or apology.

Her statement in Parliament recently was in reference to the same absurd mistake she had made some months ago, and was a reiteration of it. The statement was widely regarded by many as manifesting an insensitive ignorance and contempt of a most important religious and cultural strand in Guyanese society.

The minister’s statement evoked a great deal of comment, which pointed out its racist nature and the racial stain on the APNU/AFC Government which had condoned it. Little or no comment was made on her questionable statement: "I do know what it takes to improve the Education Sector".

Culture and Education are inextricably bound up. In essence, it would be impossible for one to be a successful and effective educationist, either as practitioner, administrator or policy maker, except one has a full grasp of the Culture of the country one is responsible for educating.

We will give a simple example to illustrate the absolute necessity for an educationist to be fully knowledgeable of the culture of those he/she is trying to educate: In North America, some years ago, an educationist was giving IQ tests to a group of Amerindian children and a group of Caucasians. In other ways, the children were observed to be not much different in intelligence, but in the IQ tests, the Amerindian children scored much lower marks than the Caucasians. The strange results of the IQ tests were found to be the result of cultural differences.

The Amerindian children came from a cultural norm which was based on cooperative assumptions, and so the brighter children waited on the less capable ones. The Caucasian children came from a competitive society, with everyone trying to do better than the others.

We believe that the minister, like Ms Nicholas-Garrett, could have saved herself the stain of being a racist or an inadequate education policy maker if she had gracefully admitted her mistake, and apologised and pledged herself to learn more of the cultures in the plural society in which she has to function. Had she done so, and had her political supporters in the Government refrained from being the cheerleaders of unacceptable racial manifestations, licence would not have been given to those of the same ilk to throw back the same kind of racial riposte and to keep the racial pot boiling.

Further, this would have been viewed as an important and necessary step in helping to build social cohesion in Guyana, which the Government says it is working diligently to achieve.

Winner in the Behaviour category was Antonia Doncila for this shot of a polar bear gazing into water near the eastern Greenland coast (BBC)

Let common sense prevail Dear Editor, Did President David Granger break the law in regard to the US$18 million ExxonMobil signing bonus being placed into a bank account at the Bank of Guyana, as opposed to the money being placed into The Consolidated Fund?

Laws, rules and regulations are there to uphold our moral and ethical standards.

Some of our Laws

stem from The Ten Commandments.

The Jews take The Ten Commandments seriously, including the one that says you should not perform work on the Sabbath Day. Yet, in trying to decipher what actually construe work, they made for themselves a lot of rules and regulations that caused a lot of confusion.

They had to do away with some of those rules and regulations and let common

sense prevail.

The President did break the law in not placing the US$18 million ExxonMobil signing bonus into The Consolidated Fund. Yet, his approach was the common sense way to do it, even if it was not legal. The legal way to do it would be to place the money into The Consolidated Fund, then withdraw it for national security emergencies.

Nothing elaborates how

our rules and regulations are entrapping and confusing us more than the controversy surrounding NICIL. Common sense says that NICIL can keep the money it gets from the sale of assets, unless it pays a dividend, which would then need to be paid into The Consolidated Fund.

Yours faithfully, Sean Ori

Location of the Indian Immigration Memorial Monument Dear Editor, There has been some controversy about the appropriate location for the Indian Immigration Memorial Monument, which the Indian Government has already kindly donated to Guyana. So far, an attempt has been made to locate the said monument at Palmyra, which surprised and disappointed many, including yours truly and such luminaries like the iconic Mr Yesu Persaud and other Guyanese descendants of Indian immigrants.

There is no obvious, or historical, or moral, or sensible justification for siting

the Monument at Palmyra.

On the other hand, there is abundant rationale for locating the Monument at Highbury. It is historically incontrovertible that the first Indian immigrants arrived at Highbury, on the East Bank of the Berbice River. It is also common knowledge that while there has never been at Palmyra any anniversary celebration of the arrival of Indian immigrants in Guyana, there has been unfailing annual celebrations at Palmyra, attended by Guyana’s presidents and ministers, India’s high commissioners, scholars, dignitaries and rank &

file Guyanese in large numbers for the longest while.

While the access public road on the East Bank of Berbice has not been of the best recently, the Guyana Government is on record as being determined to upgrade the said road soon, so that access is not a consideration. As a matter of fact, it has never been a deterrent, as can be gauged from the annually increasing numbers that have faithfully attended the annual celebrations so far.

Now, it is noted that the Government of Guyana has recently taken the decision to allow the Indian

Government, thru its High Commission in Guyana, to finally decide on the location of the Indian Immigration Memorial Monument, which they have already generously delivered to Guyana.

Therefore, I wish to take this opportunity to appeal to His Excellency, the High Commissioner of India, to please decide on the existing Highbury site as the preferred location for the Monument. I have every reason to believe that practically all Guyanese would welcome such a decision.

Sincerely, Nowrang Persaud

Killing of Guyanese women

Dear Editor, Whether one is male or female is not only a biological fact, it assigns one to membership in one of two social groups, known as “gender”. Social, economic and political consequences flow from this membership.

Women and men, boys and girls, are treated different-

ly; have different experiences at school, home and work; do different things, and different things are expected of them. There is, in men, a universal fear of the power of women, and this results in attempts to justify the denigration and control of women and their sexuality. Thus women are often punished,

reduced to servitude, and mutilated because of this fear. I recently read an article wherein an Indonesian group amputates the fingers of women when a loved one dies. The men remain intact.

There is an African group in which, during an initiation ritual, the young men have to jump over five cows with-

out falling; the women in attendance are beaten with whips and scarred for life.

In Muslim societies, both men and women cover their heads as a sign of modesty, but a woman also uses her headcloth as a veil to hide her shame and her modesty about her sexuality in front turn to page 5 of men.

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Guyana’s Decent Work Country Brooklyn man convicted Programme 2017-2021 launches of killing Guyanese girl

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he Guyana Decent Work Country Programme was on Friday launched at the Marriott Hotel.

The Decent Work Country Programme aims to address the employment and labour issues locally. This is in keeping with the four strategic objectives of the Decent Work Agenda which include, Employment Creation through Sustainable Enterprises, Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, Social Protection and Social Dialogue.

Stakeholders of the Private and Public Labour Forces at the launch of the Decent Work Country Programme for Guyana 2017-2021 Keith Scott, Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection with responsibility of Labour giving remarks at the launch of the Decent Work Country Programme for Guyana 2017-2021 Claudia Coenjaerts, Director of International Labour Organisation giving remarks at the launch of the Decent Work Country Programme for Guyana 2017-2021 According to ILO Director Claudia Coenjaerts, the communiqués of the Decent Work Country Programme are for the benefit of both the public and private sectors. The “information is important for both local and foreign business and we are convinced that by realising the action plan, sig-

ILO Director Claudia Coenjaerts

nificant progress will be made,” Coenjaerts is quoted by the Department of Public Information as saying.

Minister within the Social Protection Minsitry, with responsibly of Labour, Keith Scott explained the programme is an updated version of the first Decent Work Country programme launch in 2012. He highlighted that the two-year gap between the two programmes was as a result of the shortcomings in the initial programme. However, he noted the new launch of the programme aims to cover the faults in the 2012 reports. The minister further commended the ILO team for channelling efforts to ensuring the Decent Work Country programme 20172021 is realised.

Following the remarks, there was an official signing of the Decent Work Country Programme and an action plan was presented to public

and private stakeholders of the labour forces.

The Decent Work Country Programme 2017-2021 is a collaboration between the of Social Protection Minsitry, Labour Department and the International Labour Organisation.

Brooklyn man was convicted of manslaughter Friday for shooting a high school girl who authorities said he wanted to date.

Taariq Stephens, 26, quietly listened as he heard the late afternoon verdict on the 2016 death of 16-year-old Shemel Mercurius.

Mercurius used her dying breaths to tell Police that Stephens was the attacker. He shot her with a submachine rifle while she was babysitting her threeyear-old cousin.

Trial testimony painted a chilling crime scene.

Police kicked down the East Flatbush apartment door to find a blood-spattered boy crying, next to the dying teen.

After three days of deliberations, Brooklyn Supreme Court jurors acquitted

Taariq Stephens and dead Shemel Mercurius

Stephens of the top charge of murder but found him guilty of manslaughter, criminal possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child.

He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 16.

Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said Stephens' "sinister act cut

short the life of a promising young girl and undoubtedly traumatized her toddler cousin. His deadly actions destroyed lives, left her family heartbroken and deeply hurt our community."

Stephens' lawyer, Jay Cohen, said "it was a sad case all the way around." (NY

Daily News)

Killing of Guyanese....

from page 4

In the Western tradition, it is Eve who disobeyed God, and is thus responsible for the loss of immortality for all humans.

I was travelling in a taxi recently and heard the song “Blow” playing on the radio.

I was stunned by the lyrics.

By stating that all women give “blow” (whether they go to church or not, or where they come from, or their shade of skin colour) could never be true – it is a song based on stereotypes, which is a simplistic, but quick and convenient way of classifying the world. The uneasiness of the song is that it verbalizes not only the fear that Guyanese men have of a woman’s sexuality, but it expresses the truth that

many women are using their sexuality to be able to survive in our society, which for decades has had a high level of poverty.

The fundamental problem, then, is that Guyanese men are no longer able to control the bodies of women.

The lack of control over the sexuality of women seems to be reversing the power structure in the society, and women are beaten and mutilated as a consequence.

Women must know their place in the power structure.

There is not only sexual activity in women’s natural interest in self-preservation, but there is also “hand-fare” – that is, just simply asking men for money. The fact that there is a word for the

activity means that it is an important means of survival for some Guyanese women. However, the devices that some women have adopted for survival in the society have driven more fear of female sexuality into men -- (hence the content of the song “Blow”) -- and thus there is fear of the power of women.

The apparent reversal of the power structure may have also played a role in the perceived rise in the sexual assault of children. Some men feel that they no longer have power over women, so they turn to the group over whom they have control -that is, children.

To reduce the threat that a woman’s sexuality pos-

es for men, and the consequent abuse and mutilation of women, more is needed from the Government in job creation, training, and other economic opportunities for women in the society.

I am not only observing the spreading and deepening of poverty in Guyana, but I note the President is showing his power by renovating Government buildings that he may or may not be occupying in colours that are similar to those of his political party. The people of Guyana need more than a show of the President’s power.

Sincerely, Professor Kean Gibson

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F

or many teachers, the end of the first term means a welcome conclusion to a first-quarter sprint filled with busy schedules, establishing processes of class collaboration and student dynamics, and preparing students for a successful school year. The end of the first term is a welcome break and a chance for teachers to reflect on what worked well within the classroom, what needs improvement, and ways to continue driving student growth and success.

But before teachers contemplate their own work, they must stop and reflect on their students’ progress in the ever-important report cards that are communicated with both students and their parents. First term report cards are a key opportunity to engage students and parents beyond assessing the measurement of grades, assignment scores, and attendance. By the end of the first term, teachers have worked intimately with students on a consistent, daily basis and should have an excellent sense of each students’ strengths, weaknesses, and key areas to work on.

For report cards, teachers need to include thoughtful, insightful comments that accurately assess their academic progress and communicate to both the student and parent any positives to acknowledge and celebrate, negatives to discuss and work on, and ideas on progressing into the second term and beyond. When looking at a class roster of 30 to 40 students per class, these goals may seem too comprehensive and labourintensive, so the most important goal of teacher comments to remember is to help improve the student’s educational experience. Coming up with unique, personal comments can be overwhelming when faced with the combination of final exam grading, accumulative grading, and a large class roster, so here are some basic

guyanatimesgy.com

Foundation

tips to help inspire and guide teachers.

Start the process well before the end of the term. Starting around the midway point of the term, take a few minutes at the end of each week to reflect and take notes on each student; writing down adjectives to describe each student’s strengths, weaknesses, social activity, and class participation. A few minutes here and there will make a big difference in completing thoughtful and effective comments on each student. It will also help better engage parents who will appreciate relevant information on their own child.

Use examples. Along with the above idea, you can also note one sample of a student’s representative work per week or every couple of weeks. Keep ongoing files of this work for easy access. Also take note of specific examples of positive and negative intangibles: skills, abilities, strengths and weaknesses.

Stay positive, professional, and informative. While not every teacher comment will be – or should be – glowing, do write in a positive, informative manner as much as possible. Focus on what students do well so that they – along with the parents – can build on these strengths.

Try to phrase negative comments into more positive statements when possible. For example, instead of describing someone as a poor reader, comment that the student “would benefit from practicing their reading and comprehension skills.”

Stay consistent in format. Start with all the positive statements, followed by areas that need work, and finish with a positive comment.

Be real. Try to avoid using gratuitous, superfluous, or generic words alone such as “wonderful,” “amazing,” “good” or “great.” Also, when a student is struggling in specific areas or having difficulties,

parents need to know. Don’t be afraid to be open and honest. Remember that the ultimate goal is to help improve the student’s educational experience.

Be efficient. If you find yourself stuck finishing the comments on a student who has several areas needing work, move on to other students and come back to that student periodically or when the right words come to you.

Engage parents. Involve parents as much as possible in suggestions for their participation. In addition to highlighting weaknesses and areas for the students to work on, try to include practical ways parents can help out.

Avoid repetition. Your students and their parents will probably not be comparing their report card to others, but you should still make each unique and not rely on generic comments. Challenge yourself to use relevant adjectives and other remarks to ensure you are giving each student distinct, quality thought personalised to them. Again, this will help improve engagement and relationships with parents who will recognise thoughtful observations on their student.

Utilise communication tools your school has such as email to communicate with parents – when needed – before report card time. That way parents will be better prepared, and not surprised, when report cards come after the term is up.

This is especially important when there is a class crisis, such as cheating or chronic disruptions that affect other students.

Examples of positive adjectives to use: * Responsible * Fair * Friendly * Thoughtful * Thorough * Self-confident

* Intelligent * Cooperative * Helpful * Respectful * Efficient * Talented * Self-disciplined * Sincere * Hard-working * Dependable * Creative * Generous * Kindhearted * Mature * Curious * Artistic * Enthusiastic Examples of describing students’ strengths: * Has a comprehensive knowledge of… * Exhibits superior work in … * Participates regularly and enthusiastically in … * Shows pride in their work * Comprehends quickly * Takes initiative * Follows directions well and helps lead others * Follows through on tasks * Expresses ideas clearly * Is well organised * Performs concise,

R

eport card day can often be a stressful time for both parents and students.

Parents facing a child’s poor report card may find themselves feeling disappointed by the results or apprehensive about the best way to discuss failing grades with their child’s teacher.

Students can feel discouraged if they’ve been struggling to do better for a while, but they are just not able to make the grades.

Below are some simple tips parents can use to empower their child to bring home a report card that will make everyone proud of progress and accomplishments.

Communicate with your child Don’t wait until report cards are issued to talk to your child — by then, it’s too late. From the first day of school, make sure your child knows there will be a real conversation about school every evening — not just a halfhearted attempt at discussion and one-word answers.

Get help immediately if you see a problem Don’t fall prey to your child’s promise to do better. They may not be able to correct certain issues without help from the adults in their life.

Establish a study plan with your child Your child needs to develop regular study habits and to spend an adequate amount of time every day on doing homework

thorough work * Has shown steady progress/improvement in… * Works well independently and/or in small group settings Examples of comments intended to highlight areas needing attention and improvement * Would benefit from increasing academic skills, such as … * Has shown a need for more effort and motivation in … * Demonstrates a need for help with organisational skills, such as … * Could benefit from improved social interaction skills, such as … * Shows room for growth in developing the following work habits: * Needs reminders for listening and paying attention * Needs improvement in understanding and following directions * Needs encouragement in focusing to work more accurately * Would benefit from supervision of homework in the following subjects. (www.

powerschool.com)

and studying for tests. Be aware of your child’s assignments, and observe whether your student is using time effectively to tackle homework and study. Encourage him to put forth his best effort and to persevere.

Stay in touch with your child’s school counsellor The link between home and school is vital. The school counsellor can request periodic progress reports between grading periods, and set up conferences with teachers, parents and students when necessary.

Meet with your child’s teachers Keep an open line of communication with your child’s teacher. Explore other resources offered by the school such as tutors, homework centres, classes outside the normal school day or online subject support. The link between school and home is vital.

Be sure to keep report cards in perspective Remember that a report card is just one measure of how your child is doing at one particular time. While a report card is important, make sure you continue to motivate and encourage your child if they are doing well in other areas.

Positive motivation from parents is a great way to build your child’s self-esteem and can lead to successful grades down the road. (www.sylvanlearning.com)

7 Cops’ private vehicles stripped of tint A news

saturDAY, december 16, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

$267.1B Budget passed …despite US$18M signing bonus exclusion ……PPP to file legal challenge

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Members of Parliment during the budget debates in the National Assembly

he National Assembly late Friday afternoon approved the $267.1billion budget despite concerns from the Opposition Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) about the exclusion of the US$18 million signing bonus from the estimates.

The Opposition Leader has since indicated that the Opposition would be moving to the Courts to have the Estimates amended to reflect the signing bonus.

Budget 2018 was presented to the National Assembly on November 27 with the theme “The Journey to the Good Life Continues.”

Finance Minister Winston Jordan, in his budget presentation, said the $267.1 billion budget seeks to introduce several measures to support Government’s green agenda and improve various key economic sectors.

As Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo on Friday sought to suspend the Standing Orders of the National Assembly to deal with Appropriations Bill No 15 of 2017, Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira registered her party’s concerns with the exclusion of the US$18 million signing bonus paid by ExxonMobil in 2016.

“We believe that there is time for us to amend and correct the Estimates,” she said.

However, Finance Minister Winston Jordan moved a motion to have the Bill read, and it was done, followed by the passage of the 2018 Estimates.

Legal challenge Earlier in the day, the PPP/C submitted a motion to have the final consideration by the Committee of Supply suspended to deal with the motion calling for the Finance Minister to amend the Estimates to reflect the signing bonus, but House Speaker Dr Barton Scotland disallowed the motion.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, at an earlier press conference, said the next move would be to engage the Courts to have the Government comply with the financial rules and reg-

ulations.

Signing bonus

The ExxonMobil US$18 million signing bonus was paid to the Government, but Government officials had not publicized its receipt until Chartered Accountant Christopher Ram raised the matter a few months ago.

Last Friday, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman was forced to reveal that the bonus had indeed been received. He noted that the money was paid to cover the legal fees in the GuyanaVenezuela border controversy. It took a leaked letter published in the Guyana Times to force Government to admit receipt of the signing bonus. A missive dated September 20, 2016 and addressed to the Governor of the Bank of Guyana has this subject: “Signing bonus granted by ExxonMobil – Request to open bank account”. It shows that Finance Secretary at the Finance Ministry, Hector Butts, had requested that a foreign currency account be opened at the Bank in order to receive a deposit in the form of a “signing bonus” to be given by ExxonMobil.

The letter stated, “This account should not be treated as part of the Bank’s reserves. Instead, the proceeds should be held in the currency of the deposit, that is United States dollars, and invested in secured interest-bearing securities.”

Since that revelation, several transparency watchdogs have called on Government to transfer the money to the Consolidated Fund, noting that the Constitution and several financial regulations had been breached.

2018 Budget

The 2018 Budget would see the removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) on private education, which will take effect from January 1, 2018.

It would also see tributors’ tax on gold miners being slashed from 20 per cent to 10 per cent, but miners would still be required to file annual tax returns.

Jordan said this decision

was made following representation by the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA), whose representatives had also met with the Opposition to raise their concerns.

Additionally, the Government announced plans to conduct a countrywide valuation exercise to bring all property values up to date. This could mean that rates and taxes may be increased.

Budget 2018 contained very few benefits, one being the increase of old age pension from $19,000 to $19,500, representing an almost 49 per cent rise in old age pension in just two and a half years.

Pensioners are also relieved from the payment of departure tax, driver’s licence and passport. Public assistance will be increased to $8,000, which represents an approximately 36 per cent growth over the period of two and a half years.

Teachers who work in interior locations will also benefit from the new measures to be implemented from Budget 2018, and this includes an 80 percent increase in remote area incentives. The remote area incentive would be increased from $5,000 to $7,000 and from $9,000 to $12,000.

Meanwhile, companies and individuals would be granted an amnesty to file outstanding tax returns in 2018.

In the 2018 Budget, the Ministry of the Presidency would receive $9.4 billion; Finance Ministry would receive $28.2 billion; Foreign Affairs Ministry $5.5 billion; Indigenous Peoples Affairs Ministry $2.2 billion; Agriculture Ministry $16.8 billion; Business Ministry $2.1 billion; Natural Resources Ministry $1.1 billion; Public Telecommunications Ministry $4.6 billion; Public Infrastructure Ministry $32.06 billion; Education Ministry $19.9 billion; Communities Ministry $6.5 billion; Public Health $23.4 billion; Social Protection $16.9 billion; Public Security $18.7 billion; and Legal Affairs $1.06 billion.

s the Guyana Police Force continues with efforts to lead by example in its traffic enforcement activities, it has since stripped the tint off of 65 privately owned motorcars of ranks.

This was revealed by Traffic Chief Dion Moore at the Department’s year-end press conference on Friday.

According to Moore, the Force has been zeroing in on misbehaviours by ranks, and among the trend that was noticed is the increased number of tinted vehicles owned by members of the Force. To this end, the Traffic Chief said, the tint campaign has since been extended to Police officers.

“Sometime earlier in the year, we would have started with ourselves… with regards to having tints on their vehicles. We embarked on removing tints from those vehicles, and 65 police privately-owned vehicles that (were) tinted (were stripped),” he stated.

The Traffic Chief went on to disclose that some 23 vehicles belonging to the Police Force but used for patrol exercises were also stripped of tint.

“The Force’s administration has issued a directive for no Police patrol vehicle to be tinted,” he added.

Traffic Chief Dion Moore

The announcement of the Force clamping down on its own was made back in August. At the time, the Traffic Chief had stated that the Police must set an example to the public.

“If we are to address the issue of the general public, then we must first look at ourselves; and that is exactly what we are doing. The public must not see us doing the same wrong things that we are punishing them for.”

Furthermore, acting Top Cop David Ramnarine had also warned officers that unless they have been granted special exemption for tint on their private vehicles, they would equally be subjected to what the law stipulates.

“There is a law for tint.

The law is not for some. The only law I know is when the chief licensing authority grants an exemption, and in a few other cases,” he said.

“Some three weeks ago, a message was circulated for tint to be removed from Police patrol vehicles, but it was disregarded by some. And therefore, to (ensure) the compliance that we want, a combined course of action was taken,” Ramnarine had said.

Last year, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan said Government would be moving to review the existing policy regarding tint on motor vehicles as one of the components of the national crime fighting strategy.

It was announced that tint meters would be used to determine the density of the tint on vehicle windows.

To this end, Moore said on Friday that Traffic ranks were being trained to operate the equipment.

As it currently stands, only certain vehicles are permitted to have tints without the expressed permission of the Public Security Minister. These include diplomatic vehicles and those belonging to senior Government and high-ranking military officials.

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saturDAY, december 16, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Man remanded for robbing male sex workers

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f the four men who allegedly had robbed two male sex workers on Wednesday last, one was on Friday remanded for robbery under arms.

Michael Macy appeared before Georgetown Magistrate Leron Daly to answer a charge detailing that on December 12, 2017 at Croal Street, Georgetown, while being together with others armed with guns, he robbed Denzil Benjamin of a cell

phone valued $45,600.

It is also alleged that on the same day and at

the same location, being in the company of the same men and also while being

armed, he robbed Kevin McLean of a motorcycle valued a $178,000.

Macy denied both charges.

Police Prosecutor Richard Harris objected to the defendant being placed on bail on grounds that a firearm was used and that the other three accused are yet to be charged.

As such, Magistrate Daly remanded Macy, and the case will continue on January 26.

Trio remanded for minibus robbery

E

on Trotman, Kevin Abrams and Anthony Damon who were apprehended in a house at Agricola, Greater Georgetown after they allegedly had robbed a number of minibus passengers, were on Friday arraigned before Georgetown Magistrate Leron Daly, all jointly charged on four counts of robbery under arms.

The first charge alleges that on December 13, 2017 at Mc Doom Public Road, East Bank Demerara, while being in the compa-

The gun and ammunition recovered following the capture of the trio

ny of each other, the three men robbed Winnet Francis

of valuables amounting to $6,500.

Another charge detailed that on the same day and at the same location, the men robbed Ryan Thomas of $4,000; Shidea Aziez of items valuing $43,000, and Liloutie Persaud of $55,000 worth of items.

Damon was additionally charged for being in possession of a .38 revolver and 4 live rounds of ammunition without being licensed to carry arms.

Magistrate Daly has remanded the three men to prison, and they will return to court on January 26.

Taxi driver beaten, car hijacked at Diamond

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olice are on the hunt for two men and a woman who relieved taxi driver Dellon Skellekie of his motorcar, PVV 9742, in the wee hours of Friday at Diamond, East Bank Demerara.

Skellekie, of Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara, was also beaten to his face during the ordeal.

Skellekie’s vehicle had reportedly been parked at the Diamond Car Park when he was approached by the three persons with a request to be taken to Third Avenue, Diamond New Housing Scheme, EBD. One of the men reportedly sat in the front seat while the woman and the other man were seated at the

back.

Upon reaching the requested destination, the front seat passenger whipped out a gun from his waist and dealt the taxi driver one blow to his face.

The trio then ordered the man out of his motorcar, and without hesitation, he complied.

The carjackers made

good their escape with Skellekie’s Toyota motorcar valued at $2.5 million, and with $12,000 in cash along with his driver’s licence and National Identification Card. The matter was reported, and the Police are currently reviewing CCTV footage taken from a nearby property as investigations continue.

Gunman robs customer at drinking bar

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wenty-four-year-old Ray Samaroo of 36 New Hope, East Bank Demerara was on Thursday evening imbibing at a bar at Friendship, Public Road, East Bank Demerara with

his friend Safraz Intizam when a lone gunman whipped out a handgun and threatened to shoot Samaroo if he did not hand over his valuables.

Guyana Times under-

stands that Samaroo took off a gold chain he was wearing and handed it over to the armed man, but the bandit grabbed Samaroo’s wallet -- containing his ID card, Scotia Bank card, driver’s

licence and $20,000 in cash -- and made good his escape on a motorcycle. The matter was reported to the Police and an investigation has been launched. No arrest has as yet been made.

Driver dies after complaining to Cops of feeling unwell

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axi driver Gloyd Montrose of Lot 92 Golden Grove, East Coast Demerara (ECD) was on Friday morning operating his taxi in the ECD village of Haslington when he reportedly sought assistance of a mobile Police patrol to take him to the hospital, because he was not feeling well.

The compliant ranks rushed Montrose to the Dead: Gloyd Montrose

Mahaicony Cottage Hospital; but, unfortunately, he was pronounced dead on arrival at that medical facility.

Family members, when contacted, told the Police that the 39-year-old taxi driver had been suffering from heart complications.

His body is presently at the Georgetown Public Hospital Mortuary awaiting a post mortem to determine the cause of his death.

Stifling…

Y

…debate in Parliament our Eyewitness is sorry he’s got to begin with a tedious lesson in history. But we’re entering treacherous waters with the Parliamentary brouhaha, and you, dear reader, will have to make some sacrifices.

Parliament, you see, is one of the key institutions of democracy in any country. It evolved in England over the centuries, after some Barons forced the King to sign the Magna Carta in 1215 to share some of his powers.

The representatives of the Barons became the House of Lords, as a new chamber, the House of Commons, was created for the representatives of the “common” people who elected by them.

The party system developed to accommodate the various interests of “the people”, with the majority party forming the government being opposed by the others that had different takes on the issues. Because of the real possibility the governing party could always lose its majority and become “the opposition”, they were always observant of the convention that developed: “the other side must be heard”. They didn’t want to become doormats!!

And we arrive at our own Parliament’s descent into Dante’s Inferno, with the Speaker having to use his Mace like a Trident to stoke the always simmering fires for the two and a half years he’s been there! That’s right! The latest draconian action -- in this case, against Edgehill -is only the latest in an obviously calculated move by this PNC government to not only have the PPP “not be heard”, but to do so in the most humiliating manner possible.

This started from the Speaker’s refusal to allow the PPP’s request for Parliament to have its November session, so that the obscene, unilateral 50% increase in Ministerial Salaries could be debated. The session had been cancelled by the Government because their Ministers “had to travel”!! They could now visit foreign climes, of course, because of the aforementioned fattened salaries!

In early 2016, the PPP complained about the Speaker’s high-handedness during that budget debate; and later, during the passage of the tax Amendment Bill, when the PPP had the same number of MPs as the Government with the absence of Roopnaraine. A few months later, even Ralph Ramkarran, a previous Speaker, had to point out that he was flummoxed as to the reasons Scotland denied PPP’s Nandall’s questions on the identities of Granger’s pardoned prisoners. And so on and on and on…

When the “other side” is not allowed to be heard -- as is the case with the PPP Opposition -- the essence of democracy is being denied. Justice will be sought by other means.

But, more immediately, it means the PNC isn’t worried about being put into the Opposition. One wonders why?! …consciences The lies on the “bonus” keeps piling up. The latest comes out of the mouth of Foreign Minister Carl Greenidge, who says he advised President Granger to break Article 216 of the Constitution - which mandates all moneys for the Government be deposited in the Consolidated Fund. He claims this was because the Venezuela Border controversy would be sent to the ICJ after a year, and Guyana would need to have money available to pay the high-priced international lawyers.

The only problem was the account was set up in Sept 2016, but outgoing UN Secty General only made his declaration on Dec 15, 2016!!! Passing on the Fairy’s advice on lies to Pinnochio: “There are lies that have short legs, and lies that have long noses”, your Eyewitness had noted the crucial distinction – one that the PNC should remember.

The “long-nose” lies are immediately obvious, while the “short legs” ones will fool folks for a little while, and take them a little distance. But the truth will soon catch up with them.

The consequences can be a bitch!! …political investments?

After swearing that the lease for the Sussex St bottom-house warehouse would be cancelled, the Health Minister admitted the full $150 million was budgeted for 2018!!

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

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saturDAY, december 16, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Nominees selected for top judicial posts …need Opposition Leader’s blessing

By Jarryl Bryan

A

fter months of acting in their respective positions, the current acting Chancellor and Chief Justice may soon find themselves being passed over for appointment to the posts, as President David Granger himself has confirmed that a replacement nominee has been found.

Granger made this disclosure on Friday during his first press conference in two years. Describing the substantive appointments as a matter of concern to him, he related that, as President, he revisited a formula for filling the positions that former President Donald Ramotar had rejected. That formula, according to Granger, was to advertise both locally and in the Caribbean.

“The nominations were made, and contact has been made with the person who has been nominated. That person has accepted. We are now looking at the modali-

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

ties… the termination of the work he is doing now in the country of residence. I am aware of the concerns of the Caribbean Court of Justice.

I am working to have this matter resolved as soon as possible,” he disclosed.

Granger revealed that the person chosen for either of the top judicial posts is currently in Guyana. According to the Constitution, however, the President must hold con-

President David Granger

sultations with Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo.

But according to Granger, he is prepared to meet with Jagdeo.

CCJ

Just recently, President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Sir Dennis Byron, zeroed in on the trend of persons being appointed to top positions in Guyana’s judiciary, but being forced to act for years while their con-

firmation remains in limbo.

In a recent address to the Guyana Bar Association, he condemned the fact that since former Chancellor Desiree Bernard demitted office, agreement has not been reached for the substantive appointment of a Chancellor.

“This situation has moved well beyond what ought to be acceptable in a modern democracy, where respect for the rule of law is maintained.

The Constitution envisages the Judiciary of Guyana to be headed by officials who are substantively appointed and enjoy all the legal and institutional mechanisms to secure their tenure,” he continued.

Referring to Article 122 A(1), which states that “All courts and all persons presiding over the courts shall exercise their functions independently of the control and direction of any person or authority; and shall be free and independent from political, executive and other form of discretion and control.” Byron bluntly stated that the delay is a breach of the spirit and intent of the

Forestry sector

Guyana records “huge” economic decline – GCCI

T

he President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Deodat Indar, has reiterated the body’s call for removing the inclusion of Value Added Tax (VAT) on forestry products.

He repeated the call during the 128th Annual Awards and Dinner at the Marriott Hotel.

The business community, especially those in the lumber industry, are still at odds with Government’s move in implementing VAT on timber products.

Indar, during his address, highlighted the wide-reaching effects of the tax measure, reminding a gathering of business owners and stakeholders that the forestry sector continues to see reduced prospects.

“We have made representation in March 2017 via the Minister of Finance for the removal of VAT on all and sundry timber products; this has hurt the sector that is in a constant decline,” Indar noted.

The GCCI, the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association Ltd (GMSA), and other civil society organ-

isations have been engaging Government to remove the VAT from all the timber products. Indar indicated that 2016 and 2017 have seen steep decline for the sector.

“This sector, at half year June 2017, declined by 18.2% from a worst single year decline in year 2016, when the industry declined by 27%. So there is huge decline in economic activity in this sector,” observed the GCCI President.

Industry members have pointed out that the tax is affecting competitiveness.

They note that imported substitutes have added to the challenges facing the wood processing sector.

Since February 1, 2017, forest products attracting VAT have included logs, shingles, staves, lumber (rough and dressed), piles, poles, posts, spars, veneers, plywood, charcoal, firewood, wattles and manicole palm.

Government, however, gave some reprieve in the 2018 budget with exemption of VAT on logs and rough lumber.

It was only last week that

GMSA President Shyam Nokta echoed sentiments similar to those of Indar where he observed that some measures from the 2017 budget impacted the country’s manufacturing sector by causing a reduction in cash flow for businesses. Nokta pointed out that measures such as the re-categorising of zero and standard rated items and the inclusion of VAT on forestry products and electricity have overall affected growth of the sector.

United Kingdom High Commissioner to Guyana, Greg Quinn, who commented on Guyana dropping two places on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index, suggested that less red tape is needed to facilitate smoother business operations.

Last month, it was reported that The World Bank highlighted a decline for conducting business in Guyana.

The report for World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business ranking for 2018 showed that Guyana slipped two places – from 124 in 2017 to 126 for 2018. Doing Business measures regulations that affect

GCCI President, Deodat Indar

various areas regarding the life of a business, or in setting up new businesses. Some of the categories considered to determine ‘the ease of doing businesses were “starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, and trading across borders. The assessment uses various indicators to analyse economic outcomes and identify the appropriate reforms for business regulation.

Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Yonnette Cummings-Edwards and acting Chief Justice, Roxane George

Constitution.

Article 127 (2) of the Constitution states that, “If the office of Chancellor is vacant … then until a person has been appointed to, and has assumed the functions of, such office…the functions shall be performed by such other of the judges as shall be appointed by the President after meaningful consultation with the Leader of the Opposition.”

Commenting on this, Byron noted that the language of the Act suggests that the appointment was to be a short term one before a substantive appointment.

He noted that even from a subjective analysis, the Constitution never intended for the years it has taken to fill the substantive positions to have elapsed.

Byron noted that the delay in complying with Section 127(1) of the Constitution has long (breached) a level of justifiability, and the most appropriate authority for resolving this situation is the court system.”

Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards was appointed by President Granger in May of this year as acting Chancellor of the Judiciary. Prior to that position, she acted as the Chief Justice from December 2015.

She was never confirmed to the substantive position.

Edwards replaced Justice Carl Singh, who retired after acting as Chancellor since 2005. The current Acting Chief Justice, Justice Roxane George, was also appointed to her position on the same day as Edwards.

10 news

saturDAY, december 16, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Granger: No “intention” Estimates for AG’s Chambers to rig 2020 elections Nandlall accuses Govt of stashing $305M I n a bid to curb fears that rigged elections may return, President David Granger confronted the issue on Friday, during his first press conference in two years, saying that he has never rigged an election in his life.

Granger was at the time responding to questions from the local press as to whether he would follow in the ideals of the late President Forbes Burnham, who is accused of rigging elections. Granger said whenever he talks about the late President, he would place emphasis on the work he did to improve education and other areas.

“I’ve never rigged an election in my life. I have no intention of ever doing so. Whenever I spoke of Burnham, I spoke of the ideas which he implanted in the party that he founded, the People’s National Congress.”

He noted that a comparison of Guyana in 1964 with Guyana in 1974 would show that “enormous strides” were made. The President said that rigging elections have no bearing on anything he has said or intends to do.

It is being widely discussed that the move made

by President David Granger, which brings back memories of the Burnham era,

President David Granger

was the unilateral appointment of a Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) chairman, Justice James Patterson.

There have also been widespread criticisms over Government forming an entire ministry to deal specifically with the registration of births and deaths. The Opposition has vehemently claimed this may be a strategy to pad the voters list at the next General Elections, which is due to take place in 2020.

During a press conference, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo told media operatives that what had transpired over the appointment of the GECOM

Chairman has lead the party to now have distrust for the list of voters.

According to Jagdeo, the PPP harbours concerns about the database at GECOM. The Opposition Leader, in pointing to his party’s belief that Government is setting the stage to rig the 2020 elections, pointed to fears over the potential tampering of birth certificates at the Ministry of Citizenship, headed by Minister Winston Felix.

“We are training our polling agents already,” he disclosed, as the party prepares to ensure that votes cannot be stolen at the level of the polling place.

Speaking to media operatives on the matter, the former President had pointed out the furor that has been sparked across the country’s civil society organisations, the private sector, religious leaders and individuals, who spoke out against the appointment.

In addition to all this, Granger has long been accused by the PPP of having participated in vote rigging during the Burnham era.

Retiring with the rank of Brigadier General, Granger commanded the Guyana Defence Force from 1979, and was a top military figure during the Burnham Presidency.

G

overnment has been accused of stashing under the line item ‘other’ a staggering sum of $305 million, which is listed in the estimates and expenditure for the Attorney General’s Chambers and the Legal Affairs Ministry.

Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Anil Nandlall claims that the term ‘other’ appears on the budgetary programme of every budget agency in the chart of accounts of the national estimates.

“As the term suggests, under this rubric, monies are budgeted for expenditures which can be classified as miscellaneous. Under this head of the Ministry of Legal Affairs’ budget, Attorney-General Basil Williams stashes the staggering sum of $305 million.

This is unprecedented,” he opined.

Nandall, a former Attorney General, questioned the minister as to what these monies would be used for, and was told that the sum is set aside to pay legal fees for lawyers and prosecutors the AG intends to retain.

The services of these legal professionals, the AG said, are to allow him the

Gunmen storm Soesdyke Post Office

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wo gunmen on Friday afternoon stormed the Soesdyke Post Office, held the post mistress at gunpoint, and made off with an undisclosed sum of cash from the vault.

The incident occurred at about 14:05h, while the Post Mistress was reportedly sitting alone at the facility checking off the mail. She saw a man clad in a pair of camouflage pants and a shirt enter the building, and thinking it was a customer, she went to render assistance.

The man, however, whipped out a gun and pointed it at her, demanding

that she open the door to give him access into the recesses of the building.

Out of fear for her life, the post mistress complied with the request.

As the man made his way into the building, another armed man followed suit. Upon entry, the two armed men demanded that she hand over the money that was kept at the postal facility.

She opened a drawer, took out an undisclosed sum of cash, and handed it over to the men. Not satisfied, the gunmen instructed the woman to show them to the vault, and demanded that she open it. The men then removed the

$135,000 that was kept in the secure area.

While the terrified woman was placed to lie on the ground and ordered not to raise an alarm, the men further ransacked the Post Office, collecting her mobile phone -- valued $21,000 -- and another $60,000 from another drawer before running out of the building and entering a blue motor vehicle which was parked a short distance away. They then sped away from the scene.

The Police were summoned, and an investigation has been launched.

Former Attorney General Anil Nandall

Attorney General Basil Williams

support as he functions as Chairman of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF). The money would also be used to subsidise the economic costs of students at the Hugh Wooding Law School.

The Opposition MP described this as a slush fund, stating that he is compelled to let taxpayers know that the AG has at the Chambers a staff of lawyers under his supervision who are already paid by the State.

“Unlike any other AG in the history of Guyana, he has three former justices and two professors as his advisers. While AGs in the past retained external counsel, this was done in exceptional cases or when there are shortages of staff at the AG Chambers. The staff at present appear to be at its full complement, or close to it,” he explained.

Nandlall further stated that prosecution of criminal matters is the sole and exclusive responsibility of the Director of Public Prosecutions, or those authorised by her by virtue of the Constitution. He also noted that the AG has no role in the prosecution of criminal offences, and the

DPP’s budget is merely $274 million.

According to the former AG, the Chairmanship of CFATF is a rotational post shared among member states. “It is simply Guyana's turn now. The expenses in relation to this post are fully paid for by the permanent secretariat of this organization, located in Port of Spain,” And the $18 million which is said to be used to subsidize Guyanese students at the Hugh Wooding Law School appears to be the only justifiable expenditure under the AG’s head.

“Having regard to the foregoing, the question which must be asked is if we have to spend such humongous sums of money to pay external counsel, why don’t we close down the AG and the DPP Chambers?”

Nandall said it is therefore clear that these offices are both considered useless by the AG, and possibly the Government.

Nandlall said, “The truth is that most of this $305 million would become a reservoir for corruption, nepotism and persecution. It is nothing but slush fund for the AG.”

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saturDAY, december 16, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

33 aeronautical engineers GAWU, SPU share common ground added to aviation sector …re-hiring of displaced workers in pipeline for 2018

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Some of the newly licensed aeronautical engineers

T

he local aviation industry has been boosted with the addition of 27 aeronautical engineers as the Art Williams and Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School on Friday hosted its 19th graduation ceremony.

Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, Egbert Fields welcomed the 33 technical officers to the aviation sector.

This is as the local industry continues to expand, resulting in more persons becoming interested in pursuing the field of aeronautical engineering.

While 33 young aviators graduated from the institution housed at the Eugene F Correia International Airport, only 27 are licensed.

Of the 33 students graduating the Aeronautical Engineering School, 29 applied to the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority for their licences to commence operations. From this total, 27 of the graduates were approved and granted the necessary authorisation.

Delivering the feature address at the graduation ceremony was Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, Egbert Fields, who outlined the significance of the aviation sector, while reiterating the responsibilities now entrusted on each of the graduating students.

“Aviation is the key for development and that is where you fit in as young engineers. You are the ones who will be there to prepare the aircraft, to maintain the aircraft, to ensure that the aircraft flies safely.”

The GCAA Director General congratulated both the graduating class of 2017 and the institution for their landmark achievement recorded for the first time this year.

Emerging at the forefront of the graduating class for 2017 was Raphel Roger, who secured all distinctions.

In light of the several ills to befall the aviation sector in recent months, Fields charged the newly certified technical officers to comply with the regulations gov-

erning their practices as they kick off their careers as aeronautical engineers.

“You cannot allow lawless or disorder to get into aviation. You cannot allow not sticking to the right practices and not adhering to the regulations to come into aviation,” insisted the Director General.

The Art Williams and Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School was commissioned in 1997, with the first year seeing an enrollment on seven students.

Twenty years later, the institution this year registered 28 new students and has thus far produced a total of 394 aeronautical engineers.

The school has over the years established itself as a top of the notch aviation academy, having being certified by several authorities, both locally and internationally. In fact, the Harry Wendt School Aeronautical Engineer School is the only of its kind to receive the much sought after ISO 9001 certification across the region.

he Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) is fighting to keep the sugar industry alive, even as Government and the Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc (GuySuCo) continue to hold out that terminating sugar production at several hubs across the country and dismantling the estates for parts are in the best interest of the country’s economy.

On Thursday, just days after more than 1500 sugar workers were issued termination letters, a team from GAWU met with officials attached to the Special Purpose Unit (SPU), and the two bodies have come to a consensus that the sugar operations are indeed viable, especially when measured against closing the estates and leaving hundreds jobless.

This deliberation was the result of a request by GAWU to meet with the SPU -- which falls under the jurisdiction of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) -- regarding plans to assume managerial responsibility for Skeldon, Rose Hall, East Demerara and Wales by the beginning of next year.

During that meeting, SPU Head, Colvin HeathLondon, informed the GAWU delegation that following his assessment of the estates identified for closure and sellout, he is of the opinion that they are viable.

He outlined that that when certain costs are excluded from the estates’ overall expenditure, the overheads of their production are generally in keeping with international norms.

The SPU Head has sin-

GAWU representatives meeting with officials of the Special Purpose Unit

gled out the Skeldon sugar estate, dubbing it a ‘gold mine’ – a term different from those used by GuySuCo to describe the facility.

The SPU has embarked on a series of initiatives aimed at resuming operations at the estate under its management from the second crop (July) of next year, a release from GAWU on the meeting stated.

First on this list of initiatives is the re-instatement of a portion of the displaced workers. There is hope that this initiative would commence early in 2018.

In the early stages, the SPU would be concentrating on improving functioning of the factories and rehabilitating the cultivations in preparation for the 2018 second crop. GAWU has pointed out that at some estates it is possible to have a 2018 first crop, and the SPU has promised to look into this.

It was disclosed that the two parties have submitted a budget to the Government to sustain operation of the Skeldon estate.

Also discussed was an impending agreement with Pricewaterhouse Coopers to be engaged in conducting a valuation of the assets of the estates and preparing a prospectus for investors who may be willing to invest in

the operations.

GAWU has underlined that with rehabilitation works ongoing, the value of the estates could very well improve, and the SPU has concurred with that observation. The Unit then advised that it would continue to operate the estates until such time that suitable buyers could be found.

Meanwhile, directing attention to the Wales Sugar Estate, the SPU has indicated that the factory was largely cannibalized, and therefore diversification into non-sugar crops would have to be pursued; while investors would be sought after in this regard as well. In terms of the Wales cane farmers, it was indicated that the Unit is working along with them to find ways, to continue in cane production and to transport their canes to Uitvlugt Estate.

With these agreements in place, both parties are convinced that the meeting was fruitful, given that they now possess a clearly mapped out plan as they forge ahead into the future of the sugar industry. However, the proposals are still threatened

by Government intervention, given that newly approved Budget 2018 makes no provision for such grand plans.

12 news

saturDAY, december 16, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Losing streak

President expresses confidence in AG

Destruction of GPF vehicles

Over 100 ranks trained to drive – Traffic Chief

…blames former Govt, staff for losing cases

P

resident David Granger on Friday threw his support behind his Attorney General, Basil Williams, who has lost a number of the State’s cases since coming to office.

Granger, who was hosting one of his first press conferences in two years, instead laid the blame for the Attorney General’s performance at the feet of the former Government.

According to Granger, “you can’t win everything.”

“No one wants to lose cases,” Granger said. “As far as I can see, he is a very experienced lawyer and once you go to the courts, you expect that the outcomes may not necessarily be in your favour. But you can’t win everything and I think that he has worked hard (but) you have to look at the team which he has to work with.”

He added that there are other cases which are pending, and the AG, like some other Ministers, has to make internal changes in the Ministry in order to get the best quality legal representation. “I do not feel that in the past we had the best representation. Some of the cases which we inherited were lost before we started, because the representation was inadequate.”

But he noted that if the Government had had better representation over the years, they would not have lost so much money because of claims against the State.

“So I wouldn’t blame the Minister of Legal Affairs.

I think that within that Ministry there were some persons who were not necessarily doing the best for the Government of Guyana,” he said.

Land leases

Attorney General Basil Williams, SC

Red House

Last year, President Granger gave the occupants of the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre (CJRC) 48 hours to vacate the premises; a directive which Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo had described as “unconscionable and vindictive”.

On August 9, the Opposition People’s Progress Party secured two conservatory High Court orders blocking the State from ejecting the CJRC from the property, once the official residence of former President, the late Dr Cheddi Jagan.

Acting Chief Justice Roxane George, SC, overruled every submission made by Attorney General Basil Williams, and refused his request that the CJRC case be dismissed.

The Chief Justice upheld submissions made

by Attorney and former Attorney General Anil Nandlall on behalf of the CJRC: that there are serious issues to be tried, and those cannot be determined at the interlocutory stage.

In 2014, a number of farmers were granted 50year leases for State land, located in the rear of Number 40 Village, West Coast Berbice, by then President Donald Ramotar.

In March of 2016, however, they received letters from the Mahaica Maichony Abary/Agriculture Development Authority (MMA/ADA) informing them that President David Granger cancelled their leases and they must cease occupation and return the land to the MMA/ADA. The applicants; Brian George and Tiffany Hubbard, Joylyn Nicholson, Gratien Nicholson, Vaughn Aaron and Herman Nicholson, sought justice in the courts.

They were represented by Attorneys Nandlall and Manoj Narayan among others, while the State and the MMA–ADA was represented by Attorney General Basil Williams.

On the same day as the Red House judgement, the Chief Justice ruled against the President’s revocation of rice farmers land leases, deeming it unconstitutional.

She also ruled that the farmers are entitled to compensation from the State, amounting to the sum of $300,000.

GECOM chairmanship

Since the retirement of former Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally, the Commission has been headless. As the Constitution requires the Opposition Leader to nominate persons to the post, Jagdeo submitted his first list of names in December 2016.

However, the list was re-

jected by President Granger on the grounds that Article 161 (2) of the Constitution prescribes that nominees must either be qualified to be a Judge or be fit and proper.

A second list submitted by the former President in April 2017 was treated similarly.

But in March, local businessman Marcel Gaskin moved to the High Court to challenge the constitutionality of the President’s reasoning. That judgement was handed down last month.

While she acknowledged that the President can determine who fits the bill of “fit and proper”, the Chief Justice overruled the President’s interpretation of the Constitution by finding that there is no particular preference for the appointment of persons within the Judiciary.

Other cases

The AG’s track record in office as the State’s representative also includes a $1.5 billion settlement with Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) over taxes. It was a case which was over a decade old.

Following the settlement, Jagdeo had said that the out of court settlement sets the wrong precedence and could open the gate for other companies to seek tax refunds.

And indeed, another company followed suit with a claim against the State.

Despite appealing the court’s decision to quash the Government’s termination notice to a Haags Bosch contractor, Williams also drew criticism when a huge settlement was negotiated with the Joint Venture contractors. This is despite previous criticisms of the shoddy work done.

High Court orders Government to operationalise Judicial Review Act

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n order has been granted compelling, among other things, the Government to bring into operation the Judicial Review Act, long seen as an oversight on the Administration's part.

It is understood that Chief Justice Roxane George granted an Order Nisi of Mandamus on Friday. The order compels Attorney General (AG) and Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams to issue a ministerial order that will operationalise the Judicial Review Act, Chapter 3:06.

The AG was further ordered to show cause why this Order Nisi of Mandamus should not be made absolute. The matter has been adjourned to January 29, 2018.

The action was filed by former Attorney General

Anil Nandlall, who as the Applicant, was represented by Manoj Narayan and Rajendra Jaigobin, Attorneys-at-law.

The Judicial Review Act serves a vital purpose, being intended to provide an avenue for relief if litigants question a decision.

When it was first passed, then Attorney General

Charles Ramson, SC, had referred to the bill as a groundbreaking piece of legislation.

“We have chosen to bring the judicial process into the 21st century," he had said, adding that there are reasons why the legislation needed to be placed on the statute books.

He had said that the pur-

pose of the Judicial Review Act is to ensure that the law is observed.

Ramson said the court itself, because it is supposed to be independent of the Executive, needs to pay attention to the exercise of power.

He said too that what the bill is attempting to do, as expressed in the Explanatory Memorandum, is to provide for the application to the High Court for relief by way of the review.

Despite being supported by the two main Opposition parties – the Alliance For Change and the People’s National Congress – that enthusiasm seemed to almost wane.

For some time, there had been criticisms that there was a deliberate delay.

I

The brand-new pick up vehicle that was crashed in Berbice

n light of the recent increase in road accidents involving ranks of the Guyana Police Force, Traffic Chief Dion Moore has disclosed that over 100 ranks have received training on various driving courses.

Speaking at a year-end press conference on Friday, Superintendent Moore disclosed that as part of continuous capacity building within the traffic department, ranks were trained to operate the various types of vehicles within the Force.

He noted that 27 ranks benefited from four-wheel drive courses, while 66 ranks underwent a two-wheel drive course.

“Having recognised the huge amount of vehicles that we have and the kind of vehicles we acquired lately through the Chinese grant – these vehicles are manual vehicles – so we recognised there was need for additional training in terms of our drivers. In that regard, we have trained 185 drivers… aimed at reducing accidents on our roads involving Police vehicles,” he stated.

According to the Traffic Chief, the ranks also underwent a specialised training to develop their skills and capability in the care, maintenance and use of those vehicles. He added too that only this week, another training course commenced on the use of ATVs in rough terrains.

It was reported that a total of 23 accidents involving Police vehicles were recorded to date.

Only last Thursday, a rank from B Division (Berbice), which covers the entire Berbice, crashed a brand-new pick up vehicle while attempting to overtake another vehicle on the Canje Public Road, resulting in damages to the front of the vehicle which ended up in a nearby drain.

That vehicle was amongst the US$2.6 million fleet of vehicles donated by the Chinese Government to aid in the Force’s crime fighting activities. Upon the handing over the vehicles to the various Policing divisions, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan had cautioned that if any of the vehicles are wrecked, then the responsible ranks would be held accountable and be made to pay for the damages.

After Thursday’s crash of the new vehicle, another Police vehicle, an older one this time, was damaged in Linden when the rank was reportedly driving at a fast rate and slammed into the back of another vehicle.

On the issue of accidents,

the Police Force has nevertheless recorded a declining trend in traffic related cases, with a 15 per cent decrease in accidents overall.

Road fatalities In fact, the Traffic Chief disclosed that to date, road fatalities have decreased by 22 this year. For the year thus far, there has been 89 fatal accidents, resulting in 104 deaths compared to 115 fatal accidents with 126 deaths last year. This reflects a 23 per cent decrease in fatal accidents and a 17 per cent decrease in deaths.

Serious accidents for this year were recorded at 268 against 299, showing a 10 per cent decrease; while minor accidents were at 376 against 409 with an eight per cent decrease, and damage accidents at 598 against 737, reflecting a 90 per cent decrease.

According to Moore, while 12 children would have been killed on the country’s roadways last year, only two such deaths were recorded during the corresponding period this year. He added too that speeding has once again contributed to the majority of the accidents followed by drunk driving and then inattentiveness.

The Traffic Chief further revealed that pedestrians topped the category of road users who were killed with 33.

This was followed by motorcyclists with 20 and occupants of private vehicles with 18.

According to Moore, the Force’s administration has recognised the need for additional ranks and has since assigned 71 more ranks to the traffic department along with five more motorcars and 35 motorcycles to aid in its traffic enforcement activities.

Furthermore, with the festive seasons upon us, the Traffic Chief is imploring roadusers to be responsible and desist from acts such as drunk driving. In fact, he went on to to point out that within a week’s time (last week’s Thursday to this past Thursday) some 788 breathalyser tests were conducted during the nights.

Of those tested, 98 were found to be above the legal limit in terms of alcohol consumption and 53 paid fines and had their licences endorsed. The remaining matters are pending in court.

Friday’s press conference, which was held at the Traffic Headquarters, was a collaboration between the Police, the Guyana National Road Safety Council, the Public Infrastructure Ministry and several Private Sector organisations.

news

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saturDAY, december 14, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Parking meter fiasco

NBS wins case as High Court quashes by-laws T

he New Building Society Limited (NBS) has been successful in its bid to have two by-laws governing the controversial parking meter project rolled out by the Mayor and City Councillors of Georgetown quashed in the High Court.

On Friday, Justice Naresh Harnanan ruled that the procedure used to bring into effect the by-laws was breached, resulting in them being invalid.

The case, filed in February by the NBS, sought to challenge the legality of the city’s metered parking by-laws. On January 23, Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan signed the by-laws that were approved at the December 13, 2016 Statutory Meeting of the Council.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NBS, Anil Kishun, noted in an affidavit that the approval granted was unlawful “in that it was done in breach of the Municipal and

Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan

District Councils Act” and is therefore “null and void and of no legal effect.”

He outlined that the notice of intention to apply for the approval of the minister in regard to any by-law must be published in the Official Gazette not less than 14 days before the application is made.

Kishun, in his affidavit, stated that this was not done, and that the provisions of Section 305 of the Act were not followed, and the minister’s approval was granted unlawfully, unreasonably, without or in excess of jurisdiction, and in breach of the statute.

“The approval of the bylaws has put into operation a Parking Meter System which restrains and prevents our employees and customers from gaining access to our establishment without incurring large fees, which in some cases are prohibitive, or being guilty of a criminal offence which attracts a prison term upon summary conviction,” the affidavit stated.

This ruling comes after a new committee was formed to renegotiate the contract with Smart City Solutions (SCS), and was at a point of inking a new agreement.

Under the proposal, persons would be entitled to

City Hall

pay $100 per hour and could park in any space, as opposed to the initial system where they paid for space and time.

The new committee is being chaired by Councillor Akeem Peter and consists of Councillors Noelle Chow-Chee (VC), Oscar Clark, Jameel Rasul, James Samuels, Heston Bostwick and Ivor Henry.

The Mayor mandated that two members of the public also sit on the committee, and Civil Engineer Owen Godfrey Edwards and Accountant Robin Hunte were selected.

The new committee, according to the draft TORs, would be tasked with engaging Smart City Solution with a view to renegotiating the terms of the agreement entered into between the parties, and more specifically to seek to take into account the concerns raised and addressed in the reports of the Special Committee in relation to costs, fines, enforcement, profit-sharing, areas, times and other factors identified in relation to the project, and any other relevant actions as the committee may, in its discretion, determine, or as may be suggested by the general council. Upon completion of the negotiation period, the new committee would have to prepare a report and present it to Council at a meeting called for that purpose, setting out the proposals and/or agreements arrived at.

The M&CC had entered into a contract with Smart City Solutions Inc on May 13, 2016 for parking meters to be implemented in Georgetown.

High Dependency Unit for GPHC’s pediatric ward in 2018

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he Georgetown Public Corporation’s (GPHC) pediatric ward is slated to be upgraded to a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Included in the upgrade is a High Dependency Unit (HDU) which is expected to be completed within the first quarter of next year and will be able to accommodate at least ten children.

Public Health Minister, Volda Lawrence during a visit of the pediatric ward on Friday, disclosed that most of the requisite equipment has already been acquired.

“Very expensive equipment that was donated by Baby Heart surgery and we’re trying to upscale it so that it will become one of the first Pediatric ICU in the country for our children.

Also attached will be a High Dependency Unit so as the children begin to feel better, they can be moved to that section,” Minister Lawrence is quoted by the Department of Public Information as saying.

Public Health Minister, Volda Lawrence meets a child at the pediatric ward

A section in pediatric ward is being managed by the Baby Heart Foundation (BHF) which collaborates with the Government to provide heart related surgeries to children diagnosed with severe heart diseases.

Members of this team visit two to three times annually to perform the operations.

Minister Lawrence noted that the Government has made a good investment and is committed to supporting

the foundation. She added that the nurses stationed there are from Georgetown, Linden, New Amsterdam and Region Two among others.

“So, at the end of the day, they can go back to their hospitals and be able to share those skills they have learnt here. On this particular mission, they (BHF) have performed operations on 13 children. They’re just three now here. One is going

home today and we have one child in the ICU, and we’re told he will be coming out of the ICU today”, the Public Health Minister underlined.

Pediatric Cardiologist of BHF, Dr Rodrigo Soto said that apart from surgeries, the foundation is extensively focusing on building staff’s capacity in the unit.

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer, GPHC, Brigadier George Lewis expressed his satisfaction with the work done thus far by the foundation. He said, “The cooperation between the government and Baby Heart is a wonderful initiative. Any cardiac type operation is very expensive and calls for skilled personnel, because any mistake and the person would die. So, them coming here reduces the cost for the surgeries, and patients don’t have to go overseas.”

By 2019, the ICU will be fully upgraded. The youngest patient to undergo surgery on this most recent mission was one month old.

New Building Society

Union secures 6.5% salary increase for GPL staff

Chief Labour Officer, Charles Ogle hands over the agreement to General Secretary of NAACIE, Dawchan Nagasar

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fter about six months, negotiations between the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) and management of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) concluded on Friday with the parties signing off on salary increases for the power company’s staff who come under the purview of the union.

The salary increase will be retroactive to January 1, 2017. General Secretary of NAACIE, Dawchan Nagasar told the Department of Public Information (DPI) that apart from increases on the actual salaries, there are a number of other incentives that will boost staffers’ finances paid.

“The company and the union has agreed to a 3 percent in scale increments and a 3.5 percent across the board which total 6.5…

(There are also increases in) meal allowances, commuters’ allowance for meter readers, night shift premiums and other incentives for persons climbing poles, towers … Also increases and over-time for those working the sick shift and also an agreement for annual performance incentive”, the General Secretary is quoted by the Department of Public Information as saying.

It was disclosed that an-

other cycle of negotiations will commence soon. Chief Labour Officer of the Social Protection Ministry, Charles Ogle said, “Don’t let us sign one-year agreements because as you are signing here now, it’s time to start the negotiations. We should look at two years or probably three years. Most people have been going that way, even five years is considered.”

He added that salary negotiations for the GPL staff should begin “the latest, in the second quarter.”

Further, it has been noted that throughout the negotiations there has been much back and forth amidst disagreements however both sides were satisfied with the outcome.

Chief Executive Officer (ag) of GPL, Renford Homer added that the level of professionalism that was maintained throughout the negotiations has resulted in both parties coming to an agreement, with hopes of improvement in the coming year.

“With the recognition that we needed to be quite prudent in our deliberation as to what we considered to be a reasonable increase in salaries, and I think that level of maturity and understanding came out of these engagements,” Homer said.

14 news

saturDAY, december 16, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Police “ought not” to have entered Parliament – Top Cop …says Chambers still safe …despite “Santa”, singing woman breaches

The undercover Police Officers in the National Assembly on Wednesday

The woman who invaded the National Assembly dressed as Santa

D

ays after approximately one dozen ranks of the Guyana Police Force had barged into the Parliament Chambers to remove Opposition Parliamentarian Juan Edghill, acting Police Commission David Ramnarine has stated that the ranks “ought not” to have been in the Chambers.

In a statement on the recent events at Parliament, which has raised security concerns among Parliamentarians, the acting Top Cop assured that security around the Public Buildings remains intact.

In an attempt to physically remove Edghill from the Parliament Chambers, several of his colleague Opposition MPs were assaulted by the Policemen.

A huge scuffle subsequently ensued between the ranks and the Opposition Parliamentarians, during which a few of the latter, including former Education and Human Services Minister Priya Manickchand, were punched and manhandled by male officers. Other female MPs were also manhandled.

The ranks were then removed from the Chambers and, to date, it is unclear who had summoned the members of the GPF into the Chambers. Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Barton Scotland, during a press conference on Monday evening, denied calling in the police to remove the Opposition Parliamentarian.

Moreover, the acting Top

66% increase for CPCE trainees in 2018

F

ollowing constant outcries from those within the teaching profession regarding poor remuneration packages, President David Granger on Thursday announced that a 66 per cent increase in stipend is in store for trainees attached to the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) come next year.

The Head of State was at the time speaking at the 83rd Graduation Exercises of the CPCE. While applauding the efforts of those taking up the responsibility of moulding the minds of the nation’s youths, Granger indicated that improving teacher’s profile has been at the forefront of his Government’s agenda.

As such, he indicated that the Administration has listened to the distresses of the College’s teachers in training and outlined the increases which are to take effect come 2018.

“We have been very concerned about the low level of stipends and from financial year 2018, resident

trainees will have an increase in their stipends by 66 per cent,” he told The President detailed that, “resident stipends will be moving from $5500 to $9160 and for non-resident students, from $7500 to $11,440.”

It was just weeks ago that teachers came out in their numbers to protest the poor returns they have been receiving for their services to the country.

Stemming from their continuous public demonstrations, the Government had approved a six to eight per cent retroactive increase for teachers countrywide.

In recent years, the Guyana Teacher’s Union has managed to secure a five per cent increase for teachers countrywide.

However, they were this year hoping to see implementation of 45 per cent increase with 50 per cent hike up for all categories of teachers to follow over the next three years.

Cop has posited that while the presence of the Police ranks in the Chambers should not have happened, important lessons have been learnt from the incident. “(The) Police’s presence in the Chambers of Parliament, which ought not to have occurred, but it did, and important lessons have been learnt from such an unfortunate situation,” he noted.

Ramnarine went onto say, “It would be good for as to contemplate that, in certain circumstances, necessity knows no law.”

Cop, the action of the two ranks further aggravated concerns of security breaches at Parliament.

He said “…the two young plainclothes Policemen were not properly nor thoroughly briefed, and also did not follow the specific instructions given; for if they had, they would not have found themselves in the Chambers of Parliament.”

To this end, the seniors of these two ranks have been “admonished and reprimanded,” Ramnarine said.

Clerk of the National

cers in the public gallery at every Sitting of the House.

However, he noted that in addition to the officers not being permitted to sit at the press table, they were also improperly attired.

Santa invasion

Meanwhile, in regard to the Santa invasion incident, Ramnarine opined that it was nothing “more than just a prank”. He explained that the incident could not have been a security breach when enquires have found that the woman’s entry, regard-

Cops at media desk

This incident was followed by the presence of two plainclothes ranks sitting among journalists at the media desk in the Parliament Chambers on Wednesday.

Their presence caused much anxiety not only amongst reporters, but parliamentarians as well.

The acting Police Commissioner pointed out that those officers who found themselves “enjoying elite company” gave the distinct impression that the Police had not learnt anything from the previous incident, whereby a female dressed as Santa Claus invaded the Chambers while Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo was making his contribution to the 2018 Budget Debates on last Friday.

According to the Top

The singing woman being escorted out of the Parliament Chambers by security

Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs, had told reporters on Wednesday that permission was given to have two undercover officers from the Special Branch along with two uniformed female offi-

less in whatever shape or form, was authorised.

It was reported that the female is the personal assistant of a Government Minister.

Singing woman

Furthermore, the acting Top Cop asserted that Thursday’s incident, in which an attendee in the Chamber began singing immediately after the House Speaker announced the lunch break, was really nothing near a security breach, since the woman in question was permitted to enter the Public Viewing Gallery by security officials of Parliament Office Security.

The woman, who gave her name as Natalie McLennan, was seated in the Parliamentary Chambers behind the Government Ministers. After Speaker Dr Barton Scotland had ended the morning’s session of consideration of the budget estimates, the woman started to sing “God is watching us”.

She was immediately escorted out of the Chambers by security. The echo of her voice could be heard as she continued to sing the said song while being escorted out.

Nevertheless, Ramnarine said the Police Force, in collaboration with Senior colleagues in Sister Services, has reviewed and enhanced security arrangements in and around Parliament, and is satisfied that the security of Parliament in these times is assured.

However, he noted that law enforcement officials sometimes find themselves between a rock and a hard place; and in those situations, they have to contemplate, in a matter of seconds, the ‘dammed if you do and dammed if you don’t’ philosophy of preventive policing.

16 Guyanese arrested during T&T immigration crackdown

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ixteen Guyanese have, over the past few weeks, been arrested in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago after officials there mounted several anti-crime raids.

The Guyanese had either overstayed their time in the twin-island republic, or did not have the requisite working papers and documentation to be considered legal

immigrants.

The illegal Guyanese are being processed, including being charged, after which it is likely that they would be deported.

Trinidad & Tobago’s Senior Police Superintendent, Dale A. Black, has said that over 96 illegal immigrants have been detained during the immigration crackdown, which

he described as a well-coordinated exercise involving other agencies.

Ten Jamaicans, 47 Venezuelans, 1 Vincentian, 9 Chinese, 3 Colombians and 1 Dominican were among others detained.

Guyana’s Crime Chief, Assistant Commissioner Paul Williams, has said he was not aware of the crackdown, but he explained that

once it was an immigration issue, the necessary documentation would be sent to Guyana to start the deportation process of the illegal immigrants.

Over the past years, scores of Guyanese have been deported from various Caribbean countries in which they had been caught staying illegally.

saturDAY, december 16, 2017

guyanatimesgy.com

News

P&P Insurance spreads Christmas cheer to 10 NGOs

Varsha Panday (far left) flanked by representatives from all 10 organisations after receiving their cheques

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&P Insurance Brokers on Friday donated $1 million to 10 non-governmental organisations that house the less fortunate.

This activity has become an annual tradition for P&P Insurance for the past six years and the company sees it as a way of demonstrating the true spirit of giving during the Christmas sea-

son.

Each of the charitable homes received a $100,000 cheque from Varsha Panday, daughter of the CEO, Bish Panday, at a presentation held at the P&P Insurance Brokers and Consultants office, King Street, Georgetown.

According to the Director of P&P Insurance Brokers and Consultants Limited,

Vikash Panday, this has impacted the lives of the less fortunate and they are happy to contribute to the cause and hope that their modest contribution will assist, especially at this time of the year when they would like to give a little more. “…We know a lot of these organisations do a lot of good and we are happy to associate with them… It is not

easy to get finances now and we feel this contribution will go a far way towards helping the organisations.”

The recipients were Bless the Children Home, Uncle Eddie’s Home, David Rose School for the Handicapped, Bright Horizon Family, the Dharm Shala, the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre, Canaan Children’s Home, Friends of the Archer’s Home, Cheshire Homes Guyana and Hauraruni Girls Home.

A representative of the Canaan Children’s Home welcomed the donation while stating that it will go a long way towards helping the organisation. “On behalf of the Canaan Children’s Home, we would like to say a heartfelt thank you to the Panday’s, we know that you have been doing this over the years and I pray that God continues to bless your business so that you can continue to give to these children.”

Thousands of children need assistance three months after Caribbean hurricanes – UNICEF

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hree months after two Category-5 hurricanes tore through the Caribbean, thousands of children across the region still need support, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said.

“Even before the hurricanes hit, UNICEF was on the ground, working with Governments and local partners to prepare communities and preposition humanitarian supplies for the areas at highest risk” said Maria Cristina Perceval, UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.

“These included life-saving supplies that were most needed during the immediate response when access to clean water, shelter and basic social services were scarce,” she added.

Irma, the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, caused extensive damage to the islands of the Eastern Caribbean, Haiti and Cuba.

Hurricane Maria then wrought additional damage across the region, with UNICEF estimating that together, they left 350,000 children in need of humanitarian assistance.

“Three months on, UNICEF is still on the ground in these countries and territories, working on programmes to support children and families in rebuilding their lives and returning to a sense of normalcy,” she added.

However, challenges remain, with many of the most vulnerable families still feeling the effects of the storms.

Over 35 per cent of Dominica’s children – particularly those in shelters – are still not enrolled in education activities, while in Antigua and Barbuda many families remain in shelters, unable to return home.

Working in collaboration with governments and non-governmental organisations, UNICEF has been

C

The revised terms of the EU’s fourth anti-money laundering directive include: * A requirement for companies to disclose their beneficial, or true, owners in a publicly available register. * Data on the beneficial owners of trusts to be available to tax and law enforcement authorities, as well as sectors with an obligation to follow anti-money laundering rules, such as lawyers.

Deaths of Canada billionaire Barry Sherman and wife ‘suspicious’

Honey and Barry Sherman were renowned for their charity fundraising

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Canadian billionaire and his wife have been found dead at their home in Toronto in circumstances that police described as “suspicious”. The bodies of Barry Sherman and his wife Honey were found in the basement, reports said.

Sherman was the founder and chairman of pharmaceutical giant Apotex, which sells generic medicines around the world. He was one of Canada’s richest men and a prominent philanthropist.

Police gave few details and did not confirm the identities of the deceased.

However, they were named locally by friends and by officials who reacted with shock at the news.

“I am beyond words right now,” Ontario’s Health Minister Eric Hoskins said on Twitter. “My dear friends Barry and Honey

Sherman have been found dead. Wonderful human beings, incredible philanthropists, great leaders in health care.”

A Police spokesman said emergency services were called to the house just before noon on Friday. “The circumstances of their death appear suspicious and we are treating it that way,” said Constable David Hopkinson.

Apotex said in a statement: “All of us at Apotex are deeply shocked and saddened by this news and our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time.” The couple had four children.

Sherman founded Apotex Inc in 1974 and the firm says it is now the seventh biggest drug maker in the world. Forbes magazine puts Sherman’s personal net worth at US$3.2 billion (£2.4 billion). (BBC News)

US tax bill: Republicans agree sweeping changes A young boy and his brother sit on a sofa outside their home, which was severely damaged by Hurricane Irma in Grand Turks, Turks and Caicos Islands

providing immediate humanitarian relief and working to ensure longer term recovery and resilience.

“While life is returning to normal for many, children and families who have lived through these storms will need committed, sustained support to get their homes, communities and lives back

on track,” maintained Ms. Perceval.

UNICEF and its partners are supporting communities through programmes focused on recovery and resilience in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Dominica and Haiti. (UN News Centre)

EU to force firms to reveal true owners in wake of Panama Papers ompanies across the EU will be forced to disclose their true owners under new legislation prompted by the release of the Panama Papers.

Anti-corruption campaigners applauded the agreement as a major step in the fight against tax evasion and money laundering, but expressed disappointment that trusts will mostly escape scrutiny.

15

* A requirement for member states to verify beneficial ownership information submitted to their registers. * Extending anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism regulations to apply to virtual currencies, provision of tax services and those dealing in works of art.

EU member states will have 18 months to transpose the new directive into domestic legislation. As a cur-

rent member of the EU, the UK will implement the legislation.

“This is a big breakthrough and confirms that full transparency of corporate ownership is now the global standard against which other countries will be judged,” said Laure Brillaud, the anti-money laundering policy officer at Transparency International EU. (The Guardian)

U

S Republicans from both houses of Congress have revealed their joint bill for the biggest overhaul of the country’s tax system in 30 years.

The plan brings the US corporate tax rate down to 21 per cent from the current 35 per cent.

The top individual income tax drops to 37 per cent from 39.6 per cent.

President Donald Trump campaigned on a pledge to cut taxes, and passing the legislation marks a significant victory. He has said he wants the bill signed into law before Christmas.

Democrats have argued that the tax cuts will favour only the rich and offer little to the middle class. The non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation said on Friday the measures would add as much as US$1.4 trillion (£1 trillion) to the $20tn national debt over 10 years.

The Senate and the House of Representatives – which both have Republican majorities – are due to vote on the measures next week.

Friday’s agreement came after hours of talks in which the bill’s supporters

sought to win over wavering Republicans.

Senator Marco Rubio added his support following changes to child tax credit, reports said. Fellow Senator Bob Corker, who had opposed the original bill, also said he would back the draft bill despite reservations.

Kevin Brady, Republican chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said he was “very excited about this moment”.

“It’s been 31 years in the making and took a lot of hard work,” he told reporters. The proposed new measures ran into opposition from a senior UN official on Friday, who said they could worsen social inequality in the US. Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty who has been on a two-week fact-finding visit to US States, said the tax bill threatened to “blow apart” social welfare provision.

“The US Congress is trying desperately to pass a tax bill that, if adopted, would represent the single most dramatic increase in inequality that could be imagined,” he said. (BBC News)

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guyanatimesgy.com

friDAY, december 16, 2017

Regional

Peru Odebrecht scandal: President Kuczynski faces impeachment

P

olitical parties in Peru’s Congress have submitted an impeachment motion against President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski. He has been accused of receiving illegal payments by the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.

The motion, which was signed by politicians from most parties, says Kuczynski lacks the “moral capacity” to lead the country. He has denied the allegations and rejected calls for his resignation.

The President of Congress, Luis Galarreta, told Reuters news agency the president might be removed from office within a week.

The Congress has 130 members and Kuczynski’s centre-right party, Peruvians for Change (PPK), has only 18 elected congressmen.

Kuczynski made a televised statement on Thursday night to reject the accusations

Eighty-seven members of Congress would have to vote against the president to oust him. Odebrecht had previously admitted paying bribes to officials in Brazil, Peru and many other countries to secure lucrative building contracts.

Kuczynski, 79, initially denied receiving any money from Odebrecht. He now

denies receiving any illegal payments but admits working on an advisory basis for the firm.

This week, however, Odebrecht sent a letter to a congressional anti-corruption committee saying it had paid US$5 million (£3.7 million) in advisory fees when he was in a previous Government role. (Excerpt from

BBC News)

CDB provides US$29M for Irma damage in Antigua & Barbuda

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he Barbadosbased Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) says it has approved US$29 million in funding to the Antigua and Barbuda government to assist with recovery efforts after the passage of Hurricane Irma in September.

The bank said the funds will be used to rehabilitate and reconstruct critical infrastructure in the transportation, education, water and sanitation, and agriculture

sectors. Hurricane Irma impacted the twin-island nation on September 6, making landfall in Barbuda as a Category 5 hurricane, destroying housing, crops, livestock and fishing vessels, and also severely impacted the island’s water supply.

The bank said the project has several components including reconstruction of 11km of road as well as the reconstruction and rehabilitation of education institutions in both Antigua and

Barbuda and construction of teacher accommodation in Barbuda.

CDB said it had previously provided a US$200,000 Emergency Relief Grant and an Immediate Response Loan in the amount of US$750,000 in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.

In addition, the bank has approved a loan of US$11.8 million to assist the government in meeting its financial obligations to external partners. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

Grenada revising laptop initiative for schools T

he Grenada Government says it has learnt from the mistakes made by other Caribbean countries in the implementation of laptops and tablet to students.

Education Minister Simon Stiell told the Senate during the debate on the EC$1.1 billion (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) 2018 national budget that the Keith Mitchell Government has been reviewing the “Tablet for all initiative” that has been the subjection of opposition inspired criticism. But Stiell told legislators that Grenada will not jump into the implementation of the programme, without first doing significant ground work.

“St Vincent (and the Grenadines) saw the errors of their ways, Trinidad (and Tobago) did, when they rushed out, provided everybody with a tablet then realised that without the correct training, without the correct

environment it was just a waste of resource and had to recall,” said the Education Minister.

“There is a programme, EC$600,000 has been allocated to it in 2018 to upgrade and ensure that as many of our schools as possible have full broadband access etc, to be able to access those technologies,” he added.

He said in addition, over 100 teachers are being trained in information, com-

Protesters block roads in Honduras as electoral crisis rumbles on

Trinidadian doctor charged months after dead baby found in office freezer

A

doctor in Trinidad and Tobago has been charged with manslaughter in the death of a newborn baby – five months after the infant’s corpse was found in a freezer at his office.

Dr Ronald Budhooram was denied bail when he appeared in the Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, but his attorneys later applied to the High Court and secured TT$250,000 (US$37,121) bail for their 60-year-old client. Dr Budhooram is accused of the July 1, 2017 death of the child deliv-

Dr Ronald Budhooram

ered by 22-year-old Cindy Sooknanan. According to a release from the Trinidad

and Tobago Police Service, the woman was seven months pregnant when she visited Dr Budhooram’s office on June 30 and “medicine was allegedly administered to her”.

The following day, Sooknanan began having labour pains at home and delivered the baby which was subsequently discovered dead at Dr Budhooram’s office on July 10.

Dr Budhooram, who has been in medical practice for 35 years, returns to court on January 11 next year. (Excerpt

from Caribbean360)

munication and technology (ICT) to assist in the smooth transition of the program in schools. “It’s no good swamping everybody with tablets and our teachers cannot teach or students cannot learn,” Stiell said, adding “ Mr President, in 2018 more efforts to ensure that more teachers are developing and delivering lessons with heavy emphasis on the use of ICT tools will be a main focus”. (Jamaica Observer)

Military Police remove a rock from a barricade settled by Opposition supporters to block a road during a protest over a disputed presidential election in Tegucigalpa, Honduras December 15, 2017

H

onduran security forces fired tear gas on Friday at opposition protesters who had blocked major roads, and demanded a full recount of last month’s contentious election that pitched the Central American nation into crisis.

Supporters of the centre-left Opposition Alliance

Against the Dictatorship, led by TV star Salvador Nasralla, set fire to tires across the country, blocking major thoroughfares in the capital, Tegucigalpa, and the second city of San Pedro Sula.

Police and soldiers responded with tear gas to rock-throwing protest-

ers who set fire to a vehicle for carrying soldiers in Tegucigalpa. In San Pedro Sula, security forces sought to move protesters who blocked a road leading to the key Puerto Cortes port, which exports manufacturing and agricultural goods.

Honduras has been roiled by political instability in the wake of the November 26 vote, which remains unresolved.

Nasralla trails conservative President Juan Orlando Hernandez by 1.6 percentage points according to the official count, which has been questioned by the two main Opposition parties and a wide swathe of the diplomatic corps.

Honduras’ electoral tribunal said on Sunday that a partial recount of votes showed broadly the same result as previously, maintaining Hernandez’s lead.

It has until December 26 to declare a winner. Last week, Honduras’ two main Opposition parties presented formal requests to annul the results of the election.

(Reuters)

Mexican senate votes to keep troops in Police role despite outcry from rights groups

M

exico’s senate has approved controversial legislation enshrining the role of the military in law enforcement, despite soaring violence and repeated allegations that the country’s security forces have committed human rights abuses.

Lawmakers pushed through the “interior security law” early on Friday amid heavy security to stop protesters who allege the measure will militarise the country and cement a failed strategy of using soldiers to combat drug cartels.

The bill now returns to

the lower house of congress, where its passage is expected to be a formality. Human rights organisations have also warned that the law could turn over public security and policing duties to untrained soldiers under the command of unaccountable army brass, while reducing

civilian oversight and relegating human rights to an afterthought. “[It] does this in the absence of solid control mechanisms to ensure that operations are carried out with full respect for human rights.” Shortly after taking office in December

2006, then President Felipe Calderón announced a crackdown on drug cartels, deploying troops in his home state of Michoacán and then across the country. More than a decade later, soldiers still patrol the streets, but violence has soared, the rule of law remains elusive and

corrupt Police Forces still operate with widespread incompetence.

The law arrives as Mexico suffers its most murderous year on record in 2017. The country registered 2371 homicides in October, more than any month since 1997.

(Excerpt from The Guardian)

saturDAY, december 16, 2017

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17

Around the World

Myanmar faces mounting Israeli troops kill 4 Palestinians, wound 160 in protests over Jerusalem calls for release of Reuters journalists

I

sraeli troops shot dead four Palestinians and wounded 150 others with live fire on Friday, medical officials said, as protests over US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital entered a second week.

Most of the casualties were on the Gaza Strip border, where thousands of Palestinians gathered to hurl rocks at Israeli soldiers beyond the fortified fence. Medics said two protesters, one of them wheelchair-bound, were killed and 150 wounded.

In the occupied West Bank, another area where Palestinians are seeking statehood along with adjacent East Jerusalem, medics said two protesters were killed and 10 wounded by Israeli gunfire.

One of the dead was a man who Israeli police troopers said was shot after he stabbed a member of their unit. Reuters witnesses said the Palestinian held a knife

U

A Palestinian man lies on the ground after being shot by Israeli border policemen near the Jewish settlement of Beit El, near the West Bank city of Ramallah December 15, 2017

and wore what looked like a bomb belt. A Palestinian medic who helped evacuate the man for treatment said the belt was fake.

Palestinians – and the wider Arab and Muslim world – were incensed at Trump’s December 6 an-

nouncement, which reversed decades of US policy reticence on Jerusalem, a city where both Israel and the Palestinians want sovereignty.

Washington’s European allies and Russia have also voiced worries about

Trump’s decision. Gaza’s dominant Hamas Islamists, which reject coexistence with Israel, called last week for a new Palestinian uprising, but any such mass-mobilisation has yet to be seen in the West Bank or East Jerusalem. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Austrian conservatives Deadly earthquake strikes reach coalition deal Indonesian island of Java with far right: source

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ustrian conservatives led by Sebastian Kurz have reached a coalition deal with the anti-immigration Freedom Party, a source said on Friday, paving the way for Austria to become the only western European country with a far-right party in Government.

The deal, in the wake of an October 15 parliamentary election dominated

by Europe’s migration crisis, brings the Freedom Party back into Government for the first time in more than a decade.

A person familiar with the talks confirmed that a deal had been reached shortly after it was initially reported by Austrian news agency APA. (Reuters)

A

strong earthquake has struck the Indonesian capital and other cities on the country’s most populous island, Java, killing an unknown number of people.

There were reports of collapsed buildings, and authorities issued a tsunami warning for parts of Java’s coastline after the quake struck just before midnight (1700 GMT) on Friday. People ran into the street in panic in many areas and Indonesian television showed heavy traffic on roads as people fled coastal areas.

A 62-year-old man was confirmed dead in the Ciamis region of western Java and there were reports of more deaths and of injuries in the same region, said a National Disaster

Mitigation Agency spokesman, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

He also said there were reports that buildings had collapsed in the city of Tasikmalaya in western Java and in several western Java districts. Nugroho said strong tremors had been felt for about 20 seconds in Jakarta and in cities and villages in western and central Java.

The US Geological Survey said the earthquake had a magnitude of 6.5 and that its centre was about 91 kilometres (56 miles) deep and located inland.

Indonesian authorities reported a quake of similar magnitude off the shores of Java. Indonesia sits on the Pacific “ring of fire” and has frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. (Excerpt from The Guardian)

Ethiopia 'Red Terror' aide Alemu jailed for war crimes

Eshetu Alemu is accused of ordering the execution of 75 people during Ethiopia's "Red Terror"

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Dutch court has sentenced an aide to Ethiopia's former communist ruler to life imprisonment for war crimes. Eshetu Alemu, 63, was found guilty of crimes including the execution of 75 people during Ethiopia's "Red Terror" purges in the late 1970s.

The dual Ethiopian-Dutch national and former aide to then-ruler Mengistu Haile Mariam denied all the charges against him. More than 300 victims were named in four war crimes charges.

Ethiopia has already sentenced him to death in absentia. Prosecutors said that Alemu was a henchman for

Mengistu in the north-west Gojjam province.

The case was tried under Dutch universal jurisdiction laws at the district court in The Hague.

Presiding judge Mariette Renckens told the court that Alemu was "guilty of war crimes and treated his fellow citizens in a cold and calculating manner... including robbing them of their right to life".

Families of victims applauded the sentence, but neither Alemu nor his lawyers were present in court. Marxist strongman Mengistu Haile Mariam ruled Ethiopia between 1977 and 1991 following the overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974.

There was significant repression under his communist regime. This became known as the "Red Terror".

Mengistu was ousted in 1991 after a series of revolts by insurgent groups. He then fled to Zimbabwe, where he still resides.

In 2007, Mengistu was found guilty in absentia at an Ethiopian court of genocide. (BBC News)

S Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Friday that the United States was demanding “the immediate release” of two Reuters reporters arrested in Myanmar “or information as to the circumstances around their disappearance.”

The United States joined mounting demands for the reporters to be freed. The United Nations, United Kingdom, Sweden and Bangladesh, among others, have denounced the arrests.

The journalists, Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, went missing on Tuesday after being invited to meet Police officials over dinner on the northern outskirts of the city of Yangon.

They had worked on stories about a military crackdown in Rakhine state, which has triggered the flight of more than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims to Bangladesh since late August.

As of Friday, Reuters had not been formally contacted by officials about the detention of the reporters. The Ministry of Information has said that Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo “illegally acquired information with the intention to share it with foreign media,” and released a photo of the pair in handcuffs.

Reuters President and Editor-in-Chief Stephen J. Adler has called for the immediate release of the journalists, saying in a statement on Wednesday that the global news organisation was “outraged by this blatant attack on press freedom.”

A court official in the northern district of Yangon where they were detained said that no paperwork had been filed relating to either journalist. The official said that usually cases are lodged 20-30 days after an arrest as suspects can be held in custody for up to 28 days without being charged. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Sonia Gandhi retires as India Congress party President

Mrs Gandhi, 71, has been the party president since 1998

T

he leader of India's main Opposition Congress party, Sonia Gandhi, has retired from her post, the party confirmed on Thursday. Her son, Rahul Gandhi, has been elected unopposed as the new President and will officially take charge on Saturday.

Mrs Gandhi, 71, has been the party president since 1998. She was elected to parliament in 1999. She is, however, not retiring from politics and will continue as a member of Parliament, the party said.

Mrs Gandhi entered politics in 1994 , three years after her husband, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, was assassinated.

Her power derived from being the head of the NehruGandhi dynasty, which has led the Congress party and has ruled India for most of the years since it became an independent nation in 1947.

After distancing her-

self from politics following her husband's death, Mrs Gandhi was initially seen as a reluctant and almost reclusive politician. Under her leadership, the party turned in its second-worst performance since independence in the 1999 elections, but won the general elections in 2004 and 2009.

Mrs Gandhi, an Italianborn Catholic, would have been the first foreigner to become Indian prime minister had she not surprised everyone by turning down the post after her general election success in 2004. Yet, many considered her the de facto head of the Congress government.

In recent years Mrs Gandhi has faced health issues. In 2011, she had surgery in the US for an undisclosed medical condition and in 2013 she was taken to hospital from parliament after falling ill. (BBC News)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

saturDAY, december 16, 2017

ARCHIE

Don’t stew over a situation at work or school that (March 21you cannot change. Make a April 19) point to get along with the people you deal with daily to avoid future mishaps.

ARIES

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

dilbert

Make plans to do something with youngsters or a loved one or to help a cause that concerns you. A selfless gesture will make you feel good and boost your reputation.

You’ll face an emotional GEMINI problem if you haven’t been (May 21up-front with someone you June 20) care about. You are best off coming clean and making amends before the situation gets blown out of proportion.

Stick close to home and family. Problems will arise (June 21- if you take on too much or July 22) let conflicts at work or with friends filter into your domestic life.

CANCER

Peanuts

You’ll face emotional difLEO ficulties with children or par(July 23- ents. Be prepared to make Aug. 22) your voice heard and your decision clear. You may not please everyone, but it’s important to do what’s right.

Self-deception will lead to VIRGO uncertainty. You are best off (Aug. 23facing facts and making adjustSept. 22) ments before someone takes advantage of you. Don’t put up with emotional manipulation or unreasonable demands.

Calvin and Hobbes

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

WORD GAME

SUDOKU

Keep your facts straight and be honest about your feelings.

Communication will be necessary if you want to avoid a mishap. Ulterior motives are apparent.

Keep your plans simSCORPIO ple and focus on home, fam(Oct. 24ily and friends. What you do Nov. 22) to help your loved ones will ward off tension that could result in a serious feud.

Expect an emotional inciSAGITTARIUS dent to raise questions regard(Nov. 23- ing your feelings and your reDec. 21) lationship with someone who has let you down. Don’t allow self-deception to lead to vulnerability. Be open to change.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

solution for LAST PUBLISHED Puzzle

Added stress due to someone else’s mistake or shortcoming is apparent.

Don’t hesitate to make your position clear. Think big, be innovative and stick to a set budget.

Be careful how you exAQUARIUS press your likes and dislikes.

(Jan. 20- Someone will be offended if Feb. 19) you are too critical or ask for too much. Be truthful, but keep your demands simple.

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

Copyright 2015, Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

When having conversations with friends, in-laws or people who can boost you up or bring you down, you must manage your emotions with care. Don’t blame or criticize others.

saturDAY, december 16, 2017

19

The Ashes 2017-18, Australia

Captain Smith leading Aussies fightback J

…Bairstow hits maiden Ashes ton

onny Bairstow kept his head with a fine century for England but Steve Smith showed a captain’s poise to guide Australia to 203 for three at the close of day two of the third Ashes test on Friday.

Smith was on 92 at stumps, with Shaun Marsh on seven, and the home side, already 2-0 up in the five-match series, having trimmed England’s first innings lead to 200 runs at the WACA. Bairstow marked his first Ashes ton before lunch with a cheeky celebration, nudging his head against his helmet in a nod to his infamous ‘headbutt’ of Australia opener Cameron Bancroft.

The wicketkeeper’s sparkling 119 helped push England to 403, their highest innings total in Australia since the fifth test of the 2010/11 series.

England’s joy was tempered, however, by the runs that went begging. They lost six wickets for 35 in a sudden collapse late in the morning session, leaving the door open for Australia.

Smith opened it wider with an innings of typical poise, anchoring a 124-run partnership with Usman Khawaja (50) after seamer Craig Overton removed openers David Warner (25) and Cameron Bancroft (22).

“I think the game is evenly poised at the moment. Tomorrow’s a big day,” Khawaja told reporters

Craig Overton had Cameron Bancroft lbw on review leaving the hosts 55 for 2

after his 10th test half-century.

“We talk about it in golf a lot third day, moving day.”

England may need to contain Smith and Australia with an injury cloud over third seamer Overton.

The Devon bowler clutched his chest following a delivery after tea

and came off the ground after receiving attention on the field.

England also rued some poor fielding, with Khawaja reprieved on 39 after he nicked Chris Woakes behind. The ball sailed harmlessly past the shoulder of Joe Root in the slips, the captain seeming to have completely missed its flight.

Two overs later, Smith struck a sumptuous cover drive for four to bring up his half-century and stepped up a gear to make Root pay.

Woakes saved Root further agony by trapping Khawaja lbw for 50 and the number three squandered Australia’s third review for the match seeking to overturn the dismissal.

Western Australian Marsh played watchfully to stumps, and Australia remain well-positioned to eat into England’s lead on day three, with the WACA pitch famous for its endurance.

Promoted up the order to six, Bairstow shared in a 237run stand with centurion Dawid Malan, the highest by an England pair at the WACA and the team’s best fifth-wicket partnership ever in Australia.

It took a stunning catch by substitute fielder Peter Handscomb to break the stand, as he dived fullstretch at backward point to remove Malan for 140, with spinner Nathan Lyon forcing the miscued shot.

Malan’s dismissal triggered

a breathtaking collapse, as Bairstow’s batting partners fell quickly around him.

Pat Cummins (2-84) had Moeen Ali caught by Smith at first slip for a duck, and all-rounder Woakes was snaffled in the deep for eight off Josh Hazlewood (3-92).

Starc (4-91) ended Bairstow’s 215-ball innings by ripping out his middle stump with a sizzling ball and combined with Hazlewood to clean up the tail. (Reuters)

Steven Smith put the hosts back on track with his exquisite strokeplay

SCOREBOARD

England 1st innings (Overnight: 305-4) A Cooklbw b Starc 7 M Stonemanc Paine b Starc 56 J Vincec Paine b Hazlewood 25 J Rootc Paine b Cummins 20 D Malanc sub b Lyon 140 J Bairstowb Starc 119 M Alic Smith b Cummins 0 C Woakesc Cummins b Hazlewood 8 C Overtonc Bancroft b Hazlewood 2 S Broadc Bancroft b Starc 12 J Andersonnot out 0 Extras (b-10 lb-2 nb-1 w-1) 14 Total (All out, 115.1 overs) 403 Fall of wickets: 1-26 A. Cook,289 J. Vince,3-115 J. Root,4131 M. Stoneman,5-368 D. Malan,6-372 M. Ali,7-389 C. Woakes,8-389 J. Bairstow,9-393 C. Overton,10-403 S. Broad

Bowling Starc 25.1-5-91-4, Hazlewood 28-9-92-3 (nb-1), Cummins 288-84-2 (w-1), Lyon 22-4-73-1, Marsh 9-1-43-0, Smith 3-1-8-0 Australia 1st innings C Bancroftlbw b Overton 25 D Warnerc Bairstow b Overton 22 U Khawajalbw b Woakes 50 S Smithnot out 92 S Marshnot out 7 Extras (b-2 lb-4 w-1) 7 Total (For 3 wickets, 62 overs) 203 Fall of wickets: 1-44 D. Warner,2-55 C. Bancroft,3-179 U. Khawaja To bat: M. Marsh, T. Paine, M. Starc, P. Cummins, N. Lyon, J. Hazlewood Bowling Anderson 14-6-31-0, Broad 12-2-50-0, Woakes 15-3-42-1 (w-1), Overton 10-1-46-2, Ali 11-3-28-0 Position: Australia trail by 200 runs with 7 wickets remaining in the 1st innings

Manchester City will not go unbeaten in Premier League – Guardiola

P

ep Guardiola is adamant his record-breaking Manchester City side will lose games this Premier League season.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola insists his team's stunning start to the Premier League campaign is an exception to the norm and cannot be sustained.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola insists his team's stunning start to the Premier League campaign is an exception to the norm and cannot be sustained.

Guardiola's side set a new English league record of 15 consecutive victories in Wednesday's 4-0 win at Swansea City, a result that left them 11 points clear of second-place Manchester United.

It was the latest in a string of achievements already racked up by Guardiola's side, with a visit from Tottenham on Saturday their next obstacle to remaining unbeaten in the league.

But the City boss is adamant they will not be able

Pep Guardiola

to match Arsenal's famous 'Invincibles' of 2003-04.

"That is not going to happen," Guardiola said at his pre-match press conference.

"That belongs to Arsene Wenger and his amazing Arsenal in 2004. We are going to lose games.

"Today is completely different with the intensity and a lot of games. Now, [our run] is an exception. It is not normal what we have done.

"We are so happy and we are going to fight to maintain it as long as possible. But people, teams lose games

and that is going to happen."

Meanwhile, Guardiola revealed captain Vincent Kompany was unlikely to be fit to face Spurs at Etihad Stadium.

The defender is closing in on a return after missing the Huddersfield clash, but is likely to be handled with caution. "He is much better.

It is a little, little problem," Guardiola said.

"I do not know if tomorrow he will be fit but hopefully in the next days, in the next fixtures, he will be ready."(Sportsmax)

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saturDAY, december 16, 2017

Guinness “Greatest of the Streets” Georgetown Zone

Will Sparta’s reign continue? …or will ‘Gold is Money’ stop the juggernaut

A

fter winning the Georgetown Zone of the Guinness “Greatest of the Streets” for two consecutive years; Sparta Boss will be looking to further cement their legacy when they face Gold is Money in this year’s final tonight at “Demerara Park.”

The fans of both sides could not ask for a better final between two teams that has a history of fierce rivalry and tonight’s clash promises to be no different.

Based on form, “Gold is Money” has been imperious and could easily be tipped as favourites to win the title, however the defending champs and the most decorated team in the history of the competition, have shown a fondness for finals and usually is well prepared for the battle.

Sparta Boss’s reputation in this tournament is well known and documented, and while their opponents will go into the showdown in ominous form, their superior experience at this stage of the competition will be critical.

They are unbeaten in finals and this imposing record will definitely be in the back of the minds of ‘Gold is

Alfred, undoubtedly the most skillful player in their line-up, while Jamal and Michael Pedro and the experienced Philip Rowley round out a lethal combination.

The stakes are high; the incentive for winning is $500,000 and a spot in the national finals, while the losing team gets $250,000 and a trophy.

Meanwhile, the third place playoff between Leopold Street and Bent Street is anticipated to be a fitting prelude to the final.

Sparta Boss will be coming out firing on all cylinders as they look to make a three-peat of titles at Demerara Park tonight

Money’.

Another advantage that Sparta Boss holds is that they are accustomed to playing in front of large crowds and seem to relish the love, hate relationship with the fans which seem to serve as a boost to them.

Both teams have been playing without their best players in Sparta’s Devon Millington and West Front Road’s Hubert Pedro, both overseas, but there has been whispers of them being present for the final and if this is

true then what a spectacular final is in the making.

Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson has held the fort well for Sparta, while Randolph Wagner has stepped in and has performed with similar effect for West Front Road.

Richardson has had superb support from players such as the determined Sheldon Shepherd, Eusi Phillips and Cleon Forrester.

Wagner has been in rich form, but so too is Deon

Gold is Money’s Jamal Pedro (right) will be integral to his side’s chances of dethroning Sparta Boss tonight

Farfan & Mendes Junior skill level Squash Tournament 2017…

Mekdeci trumps Persaud in 5-set thriller D ay three action on Thursday evening at the Georgetown Club took an intriguing turn as the Farfan and Mendes Junior Skill Level Tournament continued.

The highlight of the night came courtesy of Zachary Persaud and James Mekdeci who took on each other in a breath-taking battle.

It was evident from the get go that each player came looking for a win and they traded point for point in the first two sets; each earning an 11-9 win over the other.

However, the third set saw Mekdeci buckle down to stake his claim in run of six points after a two all draw, before conceding one point and then taking the set at 11-3.

Persaud started the

These two teams possess players with the caliber to maintain the kind of excitement that has typified the entire tournament.

In the other game of interest, Kingston go up against North East La Penitence for a winner-takeall prize of $60,000 and this encounter is another one that could see end to end action.

There will be three exhibition games and play starts at 20:00h.

fourth set shakily perhaps due to the loss in the third set and allowed James a four point start; Persaud did well to counter and take a massive seven points of his own; rounding the set up eventually in his favour at 11-9. At two sets apiece, Mekdeci came out to dominate in the fifth, storming to an 11-3 final score.

Every set of this match saw displays of long rallies, surprising determination and great skill from both players, with Mekdeci certainly earning his victory.

Also treating onlookers to a level of squash far beyond expected in category C were Jason Gomes and Louis Da Silva. Power house Gomes met a calm determined DaSilva in a four set clash that shifted in each players favour in the first two setss with

Results of the matches played Thursday evening were as follows: Category B Michael Alphonso beat Abosaide Cadogan 11-6, 11-0, 11-3 Demetrius DeAbreu beat Lucas Jonas 11-7, 11-9, 11-6 Category C Mohryan Baksh beat Nicholas Verwey 11-6, 11-4, 14-12 James Mekdeci beat Zachary Persaud 119, 9-11, 11-3, 9-11, 11-3 Jason Gomes beat Louis DaSilva 13-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-6 Category D Jahcinta Adams beat Teija Edwards 9-11, 11-2, 9-11, 11-2, 11-4 Beau Fernandes beat Aishani Persuad 1210, 4-11, 11-6, 5-11, 11-5 Chad DeAbreu beat Dhiren Persaud 11-6, 7-11, 11-9, 11-3

Intense action in the Farfan & Mendes Junior Skill Level Squash Tournament is expected daily until the final day on Sunday

Jason securing the wins, but saw Louis step up in the third and Jason bring it home in the fourth to end 13-11, 12,-10, 8-11, 11-6.

Category D provided further excitement with most of the matches going to five sets, but Chad DeAbreu secured his win conceding only one set to

Dhiren Persuad with a display of measured serves, killer drop shots and good length drives.

Certainly after the display on Thursday, spectators will be anticipating continuing thrillers in the remaining days of the tournament which concludes on Sunday.

Category E Rayad Boyce beat Grant Fernandes 11-6, 11-13, 11-9 Joshua Verwey beat Arvin Seelall 11-8, 11-8 Noah Rahaman beat Angel Rahim 4-11, 12-10, 12-10 Lajuan Munroe beat Jared Saul 11-2, 11-7 Category F Brenno DaSilva beat Thandi Dean 11-6, 11-3 Matthew Spooner Jehan Singh 6-11, 11-6, 11-3 Leshaunte Berkley beat Tiana Gomes 11-5, 11-5 Kayden Pynaendy beat Rylee Rodrigues 11-2, 11-8 Category G Shriya Persaud beat Matthew Daby 11-4, 11-1 Jnae Singh beat Nicholas Sawh 11-6, 11-4 Safirah Summer beat Mya Dean 11-6, 11-2

sports

SATURDAY, december 16, 2017 | www.guyanatimesgy.com

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21

NOW!

T

he four Guyanese boxers representing their homeland in St Lucia have booked their places in the finals of their respective categories all by way of knockouts in the Caribbean Boxing Championships.

Despite being few in numbers, the Guyanese pugilistic juggernauts have trampled their opponents thus far and look favourites to claim gold.

Fighting first on Thursday evening, lightweight Joel “Stone” Williamson stopped his opponent Kareem Boyce (St Lucia) in the second round after the referee decided that Williamson’s beleaguered rival could take no more punishment.

Up next on Thursday was Light Welterweight Colin “Superman” Lewis who also recorded a round two TKO (Technical Knock-out) en route to the final is his weight class.

Joel Williamson and his St Lucian opponent Kareem Boyce pose before their fight on Thursday night

In the third fight of the night Middleweight boxer Desmond ‘Dynamite’ Amsterdam made quick work of his Trinidadian rival stopping him in the first round.

The four Guyanese will be hunting gold in the finals on Saturday Night as Commonwealth Youth Games Silver medalist Keevin Allicock will fight Ajayi Jones of Barbados while Colin Lewis will battle Jessie Jones of Barbados and Joel Williamson will clash with Michael Alexander of Trinidad and Tobago. Williamson’s clash will be a tough one as Alexander is a 2014 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist.

At least one hundred and forty boxers from fourteen countries are participating in the 2017 Caribbean Development Boxing Championship which got underway at the Beausejour Indoor Facility in St Lucia on Wednesday. According to the organisers, there is expected to be a total of ninety bouts by the time the championships comes to an end on Sunday.

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GUYANATIMESgy.COM

saturDAY, december 16, 2017

Daley out to rule Grand Prix

“Final Showdown” R

anked as the best karter in the Caribbean, Jamaican Collin Daley Jr. sent out a friendly yet fierce warning to his competitors ahead of this weekend’s Georgetown Grand Prix “Final Showdown”.

The GT Motorsports circuit will come alive when some of the best racers in the Region assemble in Guyana from Saturday and the highly-touted Daley Jr. said during the event’s launching on Friday at the GT Motor Sports club, that he was looking to compete against the very best and was anxious to get on the track.

Guyana Times Sport caught up with the young racer who has been travelling the world and making a name for his self behind the wheels at the GT Motor Sports club and the Jamaican seemed pretty hyped about the upcoming challenges.

“I’m expecting to win of course but it’s going to take some time because it’s my first time at the track. I have to learn it and getting the set up right; but it’s going to take some time,” said Daley.

Unlike some of his competition the likes of; Barbados’ Orry Hunte, Canadian Darryl Timmers and Trinidad & Tobago’s Kristian Boodoosingh; Daley is a complete stranger to competing in Guyana

Shifter Kart drivers threw out the challenge to each other for fierce and clean rivalry tonight. From left: Orry Hunte, Darryl Timmers, Caribbean ranked Colin Daley Jr, Kristian Jeffery and Stefan Jeffery

but nevertheless was backing his skills to help him prevail. “I mean a track is attack it has corners and it has its difficulties so I have to didn’t where in strong and capitalize on that, so let’s see.”

Guyanese record holder

Kristian Jeffery recently proclaimed Daley to be the best in the sport at this time and the Jamaican was happy to be regarded highly by his teammates and as such said he was looking forward to a competitive, clean race.

“I’m really excited, because he’s (Jeffery) a very good driver and I think it will be good racing for the spectators and get more people involved in motorsport in Guyana so I just hope we have a good clean race,” Daley added.

Concluding his interview, the 20 year-old who recently returned from Las Vegas where his team finished second in the Super Nationals, said breaking new ground by racing in Guyana was a good experience for him and one he’s seeking to take full advantage of.

“I just want to achieve a win here, it will make a really good mark, m meeting new people and I just hope it’s a good weekend for everyone”, closing off by telling his rivals “Have fun and watch out because I won’t be taking it easy!”.

Meanwhile, Daley’s overseas opponents mainly; Bajan Orry Hunte, Trinidadian Kristian Boodoosingh and Canadian Darryl Timmers have all raced on Guyana’s soil in the past, thus entering the race with much momentum.

Jeffery, the current record holder at GT Motorsports was also upbeat ahead of the showdown, citing Daley as well as the other overseas drivers as stiff competition but confessed that he will be entering the race with all cylinders firing.

The Georgetown Grand Prix Final Showdown gets underway from 18:00h at GT Motorsports circuit.

Sanasie pleased with dominant Jaguars

By Clifton Ross

C

hief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cricket Guyana Inc. (CGI) Anand Sanasie said he’s content with the progress of the Guyana Jaguars following their near-perfect run in the first half of the ongoing Cricket West Indies (CWI)/ Digicel Regional 4-Day Championships.

Guyana Times Sport caught up with the CGI executive following the first ever tied match between the Jaguars and the Windward Volcanoes in round six played at the Providence National Stadium, where he opened up about thoughts regarding his franchise’s run to date, as well as their historical tie which he witnessed first-hand.

The round six match ended in a dramatic tie after Guyana requiring just one run to win with Anthony Bramble and Keon Joseph the last pair at the crease.

Windwards off-spinner and Man of the Match, Shane Shillingford turned the match on its head when he trapped Joseph lbw to ring in the first tie of the Professional Cricket League.

Sanasie stated that while the tied result made for a piece of Regional 4-Day history, he still believed that Guyana should have won the encounter easily and as such expects them to tighten their games going forward.

“This is a historical result in that it is a tie, but we (Guyana) have not lost in the tournament so far and while the last edition we won the

Sobhai blasts Betsy Ground to big win …D'Edward SC & Guyana Eagles also victors

B

etsy Ground, D'Edward Sports Club and Guyana Eagles were the latest to record wins when 2nd Division action continued in Berbice this past weekend, as teams battle to qualify for the next round.

In the East Canje Area at the Goed Banana Land Ground, fans were treated to a fine display of batting from the Betsy Ground Team as the battled with the Kendall’s Union Team in a match which was reduced to 20 over due to early morning rainfall.

W. Sobhai struck a magnificent 121 with 10 sixes and 9 fours while M. Rampersaud scored 53 as Betsy Ground made 214-4 wickets. Bowling for Kendalls Union was led by A. Ramnarine with 3-17.

In their reply, Kendalls Union managed 158 all out in 17 overs with S. Baker and M. Baker making 44 and 30 respectively. Sobhai returned with the ball to bag an impressive 4-11 while K. Gangaram took 3-46 and M. Rampersaud 2-31 as Betsy Ground completed a 56-run win.

At the Sisters Ground in East Bank, Berbice, a keenly contested battle between Sisters Cricket Club and Guyana Eagles led to Guyana Eagles winning the match by 1 wicket.

Batting first, Sisters Cricket Club scored 173 for 8 with Leon Andrews top scoring with 68 runs as Martin Singh and N. De Jonge grabbed 2 wickets each, for the Guyana Eagles who reached 176 for 9 in reply with Winston Mingo leading the way with an unbeaten 48. T. Wilson with figures of 2-33 and N. Nowel with 2-26, were the pick of the bowlers.

In Western Berbice, D'Edward sports Club defeated Bath Settlement Cricket Club by 63 runs in their match which was held at the Bath Community Center Ground. Batting First, De Edward Sports Club scored 180 runs; K. Fraser 46, J. Heralall 51 and C. Lall 30. Bowling for Bath Settlement, H. Singh took 3-38 in 6 overs, M. Persaud 3-8, while A. Dennis and M Ramnauth took 2 wickets each.

In Bath's reply, R. Ramnauth top scored with 37, while A. Dennis and A. Sewkarran scored 20 and 23 respectively.. D. Phillips of de Edward Sports Club took 4-29 in 6 overs while H. Harilall took 2-11 in 6.

CGI CEO Anand Sanasie

tournament after losing two games. So we had a tie, four wins and a draw so far and we’re ahead of the table so when I look at the results of the other game then we will know our position,” explained the CGI CEO. “The fact that the Jaguars are way ahead on the points table, clearly indicates that they have been doing better than the other teams,” stated the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Secretary who further added that Guyana’s overall run has been very impressive, as they managed to avoid losing games.

While the GCB secretary has made little excuse for the Jags in their game versus Windwards,

he remained firm on the notion that Guyana, the super team of Regional 4-Day cricket over the past three years; should have won their fifth match regardless.

“In my estimation, that (Guyana v Windwards) should have been one of our easier encounters and a win would have been better than a tie but this is the game of cricket and you have to accept your result and the end of the day while looking to correct mistakes going into the next game,” he ended.

The table leaders Guyana and Leewards Hurricanes commenced play at Providence from Thursday as the final round before the Christmas break got underway.

guyanatimesgy.com

saturDAY, december 16, 2017

23

CWI/Digicel Regional 4-Day Championships 2017-18…

Jaguars large and in charge

By John Ramsingh

A

t stumps after an extended day two, the Leeward Islands Hurricanes are tottering at 114 for 9 replying to 417 made by the Guyana Jaguars in their first innings in round seven of the Digicel Regional four day tournament at Providence.

Veerasammy Permaul is once again the chief tormentor with his 25th First Class five-wicket haul as the Hurricanes trail by 303 runs heading into day three.

Permaul came into the attack after the opening spells from Romario Shepherd and Keemo Paul where three wickets fell and took matters into his own hands by picking up the remaining six wickets.

After spending a full day and more than a session in the field, the Hurricanes looked a sea to good bowling from the home team.

Only Shane Burton with a patient innings and Devon Thomas with an attacking

knock got to 20 as wickets tumbled in quick succession bwfore stumps were drawn

– Bramble, Motie put on record partnership; Permaul takes 6 and Bramble took the attack to the Hurricanes.

When the rains came, Bramble had taken his overnight score of 116 to 152 while Motie was on 11 and the hosts 333-9. When play resumed, the visitors’ bowling lacked penetration and the partnership was blossoming nicely under the night sky in cool conditions.

Along the way they passed 350 to give the Jaguars their fourth batting bonus point then 400 and eventually 407 to complete the 100-run partnership for the last wicket.

Both batsmen were approaching milestones when Motie, who was playing

converting his maiden century into a double was left a little disappointed but can take comfort in his effort which allowed the last six batsmen to score 376 and give his team the ascendency. In their total stay at the crease, the Albion Cricket Club pair faced 165 balls with Motie hitting six fours from 91 balls while Bramble’s herculean effort spanned 292 balls with 23 fours and five sixes which took the wind out of the Hurricanes that was evident when they batted.

Once the Jaguars can prize out the remaining Hurricanes wicket they may enforce the follow-on

Gudakesh Motie squeezes one down to third man

with Jeremiah Louis on one and Mervin Mathew yet to score at the crease.

Earlier, the opening session which began in beau-

tiful sunshine was curtailed after 72 minutes due to a heavy down pour that brought an early end to the session. During that period, the only casual-

ty was overnight batsman Veerasammy Permaul who was given out to the nagging and persistent Mervin Mathew to end a 44-run partnership before Motie

Hetmyer joins Windies ODI squad …Walton, Cottrell also called in

M

Shimron Hetmyer will look to grab the opportunity with both hands

arlon Samuels, Sunil Narine and Alzarri Joseph have been ruled out of West Indies' limited-overs leg of New Zealand. While Samuels was pulled out due to an injured right hand and Joseph a back strain, Narine - only in the T20 squad - made himself unavailable for personal reasons.

Sunil Ambris, who took a blow to his left arm in the second Test against New Zealand in Hamilton, has also been replaced by Shimron Hetmyer in the ODI squad.

Left-arm seamer Sheldon Cottrell and wicketkeeper-batsman Chadwick Walton, who is part of the T20 squad, were named as replacements for Samuels and Joseph for the ODIs. Cottrell had a productive 2017 CPL season, taking 11 wickets in six games at an average of 12.54 and an economy rate of 6.57.

Shai Hope will stay on after the ODIs, replacing Samuels in the T20 squad, while Narine's spot has been taken by offspinner Ashley Nurse, who was initially dropped for the three-

match T20 series.

The limited-overs matches begin on December 20, with the first ODI in Nelson. The T20s will begin from December 29. Updated ODI squad: Jason Holder (capt), Jason Mohammed, Shimron Hetmyer, Ronsford Beaton, Shannon Gabriel, Chris Gayle, Kyle Hope, Shai Hope (wk), Sheldon Cottrell, Evin Lewis, Nikita Miller, Ashley Nurse, Rovman Powell, Chadwick Walton, Kesrick Williams Updated T20 squad: Carlos Brathwaite (capt), Samuel Badree, Ronsford Beaton, Rayad Emrit, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Jason Mohammed, Ashley Nurse, Kieron Pollard, Rovman Powell, Shai Hope, Jerome Taylor, Chadwick Walton, Kesrick Williams. (ESPN Cricinfo)

Itinerary

Wed December 20: 1st ODI – Cobham Oval, Whangerei Sat December 23: 2nd ODI – Hagley Oval, Christchurch Tue December 26: 3rd ODI – Hagley Oval, Christchurch Fri December 29: 1st T20I – Saxton Oval, Nelson Mon January 1: 2nd T20I – Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui Wed January 3: 3rd T20I – Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui

The communication between Bramble and Motie was spot on

each ball on its merit, ran out of his crease to off-spinner Ward for wicketkeeper Jahmar Hamilton to complete the stumping and end the 110-run partnership.

Bramble who had hopes of

and look to push for an innings victory to have a Merry Christmas knowing that they have the title almost wrapped up while the visitors may want to be the Grinch.

SCOREBOARD

Guyana Jaguars 1st Innings (Overnight: 276-8) T Chanderpaul c wkpr Hamilton b Louis 6 C Hemraj c Thomas b Cornwall 25 L Johnson* lbw b Cornwall 0 V Singh c Thomas b Mathew 5 S Chanderpaul lbw b Thomas 51 A Bramble+ not out 116 K Paul c Thomas b Hughes 5 S Rutherford lbw b Cornwall 23 R Shepherd b Tonge 22 V Permaul lbw b Mathew 11 G Motie stp wkpr Hamilton+ b Extras (b-0, lb-6, w-1, nb-15) 22 Total (All out, 124.5 Overs) 417 FOW: 1-16, 2-21, 3-36, 4-41, 5-159, 6-165, 7-228, 8-263, 9-307, 10-417 Bowling Tonge 18-3-74-1, Mathew 22-10-31-2, Louis 22-7-60-1, Cornwall 30-2117-3, Ward 13.5-2-48-1, Thomas 9-0-31-1, Hughes 4-0-22-1, Burton 6-0-25-0

Leeward Islands Hurricanes 1st Innings M Hodge b Shepherd 9 C Hughes b Paul 10 S Burton c & b Permaul 20 D Thomas lbw b Shepherd 20 A Saunders c Johnson b Permaul 18 J Hamilton+ c wkpr Bramble+ b Permaul 0 T Ward lbw b Permaul 8 R Cornwall*c wkpr Bramble+ b Permaul 13 J Louis not out 1 G Tonge lbw b Permaul 2 M Mathew not out 0 Extras (b-8, lb-0, w-0, nb-5) 13 Total (For 9 wickets, 40 Overs) 114 FOW: 1-24, 2-26, 3-51, 4-77, 5-77, 6-90, 7-107, 8-112, 9-114 Bowling Shepherd 8-1-292, Paul 9-0-35-1, Permaul 12-6-21-6, Rutherford 6-219-0, Motie 5-3-2-0 Position: Hurricanes trail by 303 runs with 1 wicket in hand

saturDAY, december 16, 2017

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

guyanatimesgy.com

CWI/Digicel Regional 4-Day Championships 2017-18…

Jaguars large and in charge

Pg 23

Bramble, Motie put on record partnership; Permaul takes 6

Veerasammy Permaul is surrounded by his Jaguars teammates after picking up the wickets of Devon Thomas and Jahmar Hamilton in three balls

Daley out to rule Grand Prix

“Final Showdown”

The calm before the storm. The best of the best will suit up and take to the track tonight for bumper to bumper thrills at GT Motor Sport circuit at Thomas Lands

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