Guyana Times Friday, 20 September,2019

166 cops trained to handle domestic violence reports

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THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Govt in breach of Guyana’s Constitution guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 4052

friday, september 20, 2019

See stories on pages 3, 9 and 10

– ABE diplomats

…hint at withholding funding

…caretaker President rejects diplomats’ conclusion …protesters call out Granger over illegal Govt at GMSA luncheon

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

“Proclaim a date” – GCCI to Granger

P12

Cop charged for slapping, threatening son’s mother P8

Manufacturing continues to suffer from high energy costs – GMSA

…calls for agreement to benefit from Guyana’s crude oil P11

GECOM will be ready for elections in February 2020 …Opposition expresses disappointment with timeline See story on page 7

…Jagdeo reiterates confidence in GECOM Chair

P15 Bosai strike ends: agreement reached for 7% wage increase

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friDAY, september 20, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

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friDAY, september 20, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

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

Friday, September 20 – 09:00h – 10:30h and Saturday, September 21 – 10:00h – 11:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Friday, September 20 – 07:45h – 09:15h and Saturday, September 21 – 08:40h – 10:10h.

Govt in breach of Guyana’s Constitution – ABE diplomats …hint at withholding funding …caretaker President rejects diplomats’ conclusion

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

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

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Winds: East North-Easterly to South SouthWesterly between 1.78 metres and 4.91 metres.

High Tide: 08:04h and 20:19h reaching maximum heights of 2.43 metres and 2.44 metres.

Low Tide: 01:34h and 13:52h reaching minimum heights of 0.66 metre and 0.85 metre.

wednesday, SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

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United States Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch

British High Commissioner Greg Quinn

European Union Ambassador Fernando Ponz Cantó

Caretaker President David Granger

fter the APNU/ AFC coalition Government’s failure to honour Guyana’s constitutional provisions – which state that General and Regional Elections ought to be called within three months of the successful passage of a NoConfidence Motion (NCM) unless other determined by a two thirds Parliamentary majority— the American, British and European (ABE) Union missions have now deemed the Government to be in breach of the Constitution.

The United States of America Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch; British High Commissioner, Greg Quinn and the European Union Ambassador, Fernando Ponz Cantó in a joint statement on Thursday said, “that by surpassing September 18, the Government is currently in breach of the Constitution following its failure to adhere to the decisions of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on 18 June and its subsequent orders”.

The statement was issued moments after Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), retired Justice Claudette Singh dispatched a letter to President David Granger informing him that the electoral body would be ready to hold credible elections by the end of February 2020.

The Diplomatic Missions expressed appreciation of the work of the Commission, but noted that it still puts the country way behind the timeline as outlined in Article 106 of the Constitution.

“This situation comes at great cost to the people of Guyana. The prevailing political uncertainty undermines Guyanese institutions, compromises economic opportunities and delays development across all areas including infrastructure, education, health, and social services.

It also hinders our ability to support Guyana’s development needs. We there-

fore call upon the President to set an elections date immediately in full compliance with Guyana’s Constitution,” the statement read.

However, the strongly worded statement did not go down too well with caretaker President Granger, who told reporters that the ABE Missions should allow the Government to resolve its issues.

“My only response is that the Government is abiding by the Constitution in the sense that it has allowed the Elections Commission, an autonomous agency, to do its work. I have received a letter from the Elections Commission Chairman and I should be meeting my Cabinet to discuss that. The Constitution is very clear in the functions of the Commission. I would be in more grievous breach of the Constitution if I try to intrude or in-

terfere in the work of the Commission, so I advise the foreign delegations to allow the Government of Guyana to resolve the issues,” President Granger said on the sidelines of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) business luncheon.

The President expressed confidence in the advice he received from Justice Singh as it relates to the readiness of GECOM, noting that she would have only concluded the timeframe after considering all the facts before her. He noted that elections could not be called if GECOM is not ready since it may lead to cancellation at the last minute.

Granger said that the advice will be discussed with his Cabinet and they, as a collective, will decide on a way forward.

When directly asked whether he feels that his Government is in breach

of the very Constitution they took an oath to uphold, the President said, “I am not in breach of the Constitution. As far as I am concerned, Guyana and the Government of Guyana is complying with the Constitution. I’ve said what I’ve said about the receipt of advice from the Chairman of the Commission. It is impossible for the Executive to run the elections. I will not allow the executive to intrude”.

Granger ignored Art 61 of the Constitution which stipulates that he has to set the date for elections and GECOM can only object as per Art 162(2) if it can show “hardship” or “danger”.

Questions are now being raised about the state of Guyana since the Government is now acting outside the realms of the Constitution and can be deemed “illegal”.

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guyanatimesgy.com

friday, september 20, 2019

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

Unchartered territory: Illegal Govt

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t would appear that at long last, there is a glimmer of light at the end of a long tunnel of darkness created by the refusal of the PNC-led coalition government to obey instructions of our Constitution that were so pellucid, the CCJ declared it needed “no gloss” or explanation. This was Art 106 (6), (7) declaring that with the passage of a No-Confidence Motion (NCM) in the National Assembly, the “President and Cabinet shall resign” and that “the Government shall hold an election within three months”.

In his desperate rear-guard battle to stave off those elections, President Granger resorted to a variety of cynical stratagems, the last of which has finally run out. Even though Art 61 gives him the sole authority to “proclaim” a date for elections, Granger insidiously foisted that responsibility onto GECOM, which is merely responsible, via Art 162 (1) for “registration of electors or conduct of elections”.

GECOM is funded annually so that it should be in a state of perpetual readiness to conduct elections three months after the President has dissolved the National Assembly and declared a date for elections. This is the tradition of the “snap” elections that is part and parcel of parliamentary democracy. According to Art 162 (2), the only time GECOM can become involved with the date of an election is if “on the day appointed therefore would be attended, either generally or in a particular area, by danger or serious hardship”.

But Granger placed the cart before the horse and insisted that GECOM must “declare its readiness for a credible elections” before he would announce a date. This was a most transparent ploy since he had already connived with his illegally, and unilaterally appointed first Chairman to order a time-consuming H2H Registration as part of the “readiness” regimen. In all of this foot-dragging, the Opposition PPP showed superhuman restraint as one red herring after another – such as “merging of lists” – were dragged along the path to elections. But finally, the new GECOM Chair, who has the casting vote, announced on September 19 that GECOM would be ready to conduct elections by “end February 2020”.

Granger, however, had overplayed his hand. In his resort to the Courts as part of his rear-guard battle, the CCJ had determined on June 18 that the clock on the three-month timetable for elections which was on “pause” has started to run on that date. Consequently, elections should have been scheduled by September 18, 2019 or the Government thereafter becomes illegal, being violative of the Constitution.

In fact, this point was so obvious that the western diplomats of the US, UK and EU – the three most important allies of Guyana – eschewed the usual diplomatese and issued a most pointed statement on the PNC-government’s illegality: “…we deeply regret that, by surpassing September 18, the Government is currently in breach of the Constitution following its failure to adhere to the decisions of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on 18 June and its subsequent orders.

This situation comes at great cost to the people of Guyana. The prevailing political uncertainty undermines Guyanese institutions, compromises economic opportunities and delays development across all areas including infrastructure, education, health, and social services. It also hinders our ability to support Guyana’s development needs.

We therefore call upon the President to set an elections date immediately in full compliance with Guyana’s Constitution”.

Guyana is now in unchartered waters constitutionally dealing with a de facto but not de jure Head of State. The Opposition PPP has continued to show tremendous restraint and political maturity to accept the attenuated elections date suggested by the parameter set by the GECOM Chair.

As was once said in an analogous context, Granger can run but he can no longer hide. He must set a date for elections immediately and face the democratic verdict of the Guyanese people.

Until then, he should be guided at a minimum by the “Caretaker Conventions” extant in other parliamentary democracies for “lame duck” administrations.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo was among the hundreds of People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) supporters and members of civil society who were outside the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown to protest caretaker President David Granger, as he was delivering an address to the business community on Thursday morning

Venezuela’s rival factions take power struggle to UN after talks fail

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enezuela’s rival political factions will take their power struggle to New York next week, where representatives of President Nicolás Maduro and Opposition Chief Juan Guaidó will each try to convince a gathering of world leaders at the United Nations that their boss is the country’s legitimate head of state.

The United States and more than 50 other countries recognise Guaidó, the Leader of the Opposition-controlled National Assembly, as the rightful president. Guaidó in January invoked the Constitution to assume a rival presidency to Maduro, arguing the socialist President’s May 2018 re-election was a sham.

But the 193-member UN General Assembly still recognises Maduro, who retains the support of the UN Security Council’s veto-wielding permanent members Russia and China, setting the stage for the two sides to air their public grievances as they battle for international backing.

A round of negotiations brokered by Norway in recent months, aimed at peacefully resolving the crisis, has failed.

Guaidó is seeking to get more countries, especially the European Union, to implement sanctions on Venezuela, as the United States has done.

Maduro, who has overseen a collapse of the OPEC nation’s once-prosperous economy and has been accused by the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights of rights violations, wants to heap pressure on the United States to lift sanctions on state oil company PDVSA and members of his inner circle.

Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro takes part in a rally against the US sanctions on Venezuela, in Caracas

Critics say his Government’s decisions this week to free a jailed Opposition lawmaker and reform Venezuela’s electoral body, long accused of bias, were aimed at improving Maduro’s image before the UN gathering.

“They want to use the UN meeting to wash their face, because they are not reaching any real solutions for the Venezuelan people,” Carlos Valero, an Opposition lawmaker who sits on the National Assembly’s foreign affairs committee, said in an interview on Wednesday.

Maduro calls Guaidó a US puppet seeking to oust him in a coup, and blames Washington’s sanctions for Venezuela’s economic woes.

Maduro himself said he will not attend the UN gathering, but he tasked two cabinet members with presenting a petition condemning the sanctions to Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

“The UN Secretary General and all the UN agencies should raise their voice to condemn the aggression Venezuela is being subjected to, to condemn the illegal blockade,” Foreign Minister

Jorge Arreaza told reporters in Geneva last Friday.

“We believe that a lot more can be done from the United Nations.”

Until Maduro is gone

Guaidó has not yet decided whether he will attend, according to his US envoy Carlos Vecchio. Julio Borges, an exiled Opposition lawmaker recently named Guaidó’s chief diplomat, will be in New York for side events aimed at spotlighting Venezuela’s humanitarian crisis and Maduro’s alleged support for armed rebels in Colombia.

The events include a likely meeting of the signatories of the Rio Treaty, invoked earlier this month by a dozen members of the Organization of American States (OAS), including the United States.

The treaty is a Cold War-era mutual defence pact that the countries said they had invoked in response to what they called Maduro’s threat to regional stability. The OAS, unlike the U.N., recognises Guaidó as Venezuela’s rightful leader.

Maduro’s Government denies supporting the Colombian rebels and says

the Rio Treaty is a precursor to military intervention.

In April, US Vice President Mike Pence called on the UN to revoke the credentials of Maduro’s Government and recognise Guaidó, but Washington has taken no action to push the measure at the General Assembly.

Diplomats said it was unlikely Washington would get the support needed.

Both Washington and Venezuela’s Opposition are seeking to counter perceptions that their efforts to oust Maduro have stalled.

Though differences over Iran and Afghanistan policy were the main reasons for US President Donald Trump’s firing of his hawkish national security adviser John Bolton last week, Trump had also grown increasingly impatient with the failure of sanctions and diplomatic pressure to push Maduro from power.

Despite Trump’s vows that all options were on the table, he had resisted Bolton’s push for more military planning, according to a person familiar with the matter. Trump’s aides have made clear that he is likely to impose further sanctions but the economic weapons at Washington’s disposal appear to be dwindling.

US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement on Tuesday that the United States continued to stand with Guaidó and that sanctions “will not be lifted until Maduro is gone”.

“We look forward to coming together with regional partners to discuss the multilateral economic and political options we can employ to the threat to the security of the region that Maduro represents,” she said. (Reuters)

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friday, september 20, 2019

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Giving protesters credit for knowing when enough is enough

Dear Editor, I attended the Guyana Manufacturers and Services Association (GM&SA) lunch at the Pegasus Hotel. There was a protest by some 200 or so people outside, which was quite noisy when I arrived but not violent. I was told later that Minister David Patterson was harassed by the protestors as he arrived.

As a result of the heavy rainfall and some flooding of the Pegasus entrances and driveways, coupled with the security arrangements, many attendees had to park and walk past the protestors to find dry ground through which they could get into the Pegasus premises. So Minister Patterson could have been exposed to a little “roughing up”, but nothing like what could or would have happened in some other countries. Because the protestors were able to get close to him is testimony to the fact that we are not really too scared of one another.

Inside the event, I had a close view of all that was taking place, including the protest by a table of PPPC supporters with makeshift placards which obviously had to be cleverly concealed on entry to the event. At the end of it all, I was confused for a while. Should I be embarrassed at the behaviour of some of our political leaders and embarrassed for Guyana? Or should I see it as democracy in action?

The optimist that I am, I always prefer to see the glass half-full than half-empty.

And President Granger’s response to the interruption— which was nothing but graceful— helped me to conclude that democracy is alive and well in Guyana and that the Opposition, whose role it is to oppose and protest, know when to bring their actions to an uneventful close.

I give the protestors credit for knowing when enough is enough.

I am a dual-citizen and in my other place of abode,

the current President might have told the Police to “lock them up” or encourage some of his supporters to slap them. There was none of that. Before the protest, I focused on the table of PPP supporters when the President was introduced and made his way to the podium. All but one of the persons at the table stood up, though some hesitatingly. I was encouraged. I said to myself, the political culture is changing, not knowing what was soon to come.

But even after the protest, I am encouraged that we are a people who must be proud of each other. Protest is a legitimate tool, once done peacefully and without any threat of violence and harm.

The protestors got their five minutes of attention and after being persuaded by the Police to leave, did just that.

This is not the kind of treatment that should be meted out to a President in a decent and lawful society, but these are not normal times in Guyana. The President, like I said earlier, never responded to the protestors, but continued his address until it was clear that his remarks could not be heard by the audience.

He stopped. He remained standing patiently at the podium for quite a few minutes while the protestors went on.

In some other countries, the protesters might have been removed at gun point and arrested. Not so in Guyana.

The Police acted quite professionally and the protesters knew quite clearly that after about five minutes, their time was up. They had made their point and gotten the attention they desired.

For me, I am encouraged. No Police brutality. No leaving the event on the part of the President, no condemnation of his hosts— the Guyana Manufacturers and Services Association (GM&SA)— notwithstanding that the audience was encouraged to give a round

of applause to the protestors as they left...and the audience did.

President Granger too got a hearty round of applause at the end of his very detailed presentation which covered his Government’s response to the No-Confidence Motion (NCM) and the legal justification for its actions thereafter; the process for his naming a date for elections and a quite long overdue expression of commitment to the role of the private sector and recognition of it as the engine of growth and development. He also fielded questions.

I had earlier joked with Bishop Juan Edghill that he had defected from the protestors outside and told him I understood he was there to offer prayers and to bless the proceedings. Perhaps it was indeed a blessing in disguise, that we can disagree, protest, and disrupt temporarily the President of the country....and then we all go home to live normal lives until another day and another protest, which hopefully will play out just as this one did.

On the question of elections, I would have preferred a November election at the latest. GECOM’s Cchairperson has advised otherwise. It is apparently her and her Commission’s call about when it is ready to hold credible and verifiable elections, and it is the Constitution, not Granger that mandates this. That is why we need constitutional reform.

In the meantime, let the protests be peaceful. Let the Government function as an interim or caretaker government and let all of us be responsible in our actions so as to ensure we don’t blow our first and last chance (combined) to enjoy the prosperity for which we have longed, for so long.

Regards, Wesley Kirton

Guyana has descended into anarchy

Dear Editor, The announcement made by the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission retired Justice Claudette Singh that her Commission and Secretariat would be ready to hold elections by February monthend 2020 must not only be rejected by all right-thinking Guyanese but those within the diaspora and further afield that believe in the supremacy of our Constitution.

Sadly, by making this announcement, Justice Singh has now proven by her actions on Tuesday (I doubt deliberately) that partisan politics, political rhetoric and political gamesmanship are all superior to the spirit and letter of the Constitution.

In fact, by adopting the diabolic plan of the Government Commissioners to further delay these elections, GECOM has now thrown any hope of Constitutional Compliance following the impact of the No-Confidence Motion, which was successfully passed in the National Assembly, out the door.

GECOM, and the stubborn A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance for Change coalition Government have now placed themselves above the law and Constitution of Guyana.

But if the APNU/AFC coalition and their political as well as public relations pundits see this as a huge victory, they are gravely mistaken. History has shown that any Government that holds on to power by trampling on the rights and fundamental democratic freedoms of its people usually suffer embarrassing defeats at any free and fair elections where there are International Observers and third-party safeguards with checks and balances in place to avoid the manipulation of results or the electoral system.

The truth is, Mr Granger has now become a lesser filtered version of Venezuela’s

Nicholas Maduro. He has played every trick in the books to govern for a full five years despite the will of the people as demonstrated through their representatives in Parliament.

Make no mistake about it, on September 18, 2019, Mr Granger’s status as a cCaretaker President expired and any mandate that he was given back in 2015 to govern was also thrown out the door once the December 21, 2018 NCM took effect. He is now an illegal President and usurper. He, nor his illegally-constituted Cabinet, possess the legal or Constitutional authority to govern this country until February next year, especially when a sober-minded Opposition PPP has made it clear it will not return to Parliament to grant any extension.

These conclusions should not be seen as a direct attack on the person or performance of Justice Singh, as she inherited this nasty and toxic situation from her illegally appointed predecessor and three Commissioners who were only executing political mandates above the electoral oaths of office which they took. My frustration is high because I expected better from her.

As a Guyanese youth and Journalist, this is a most disheartening situation. I feel that our political leaders have failed us and have set a dangerous precedent following the passage of the NCM. But I feel now, more than ever, that Mr Granger is single-handedly responsible for the levels of uncertainty and confusion that are permeating all sections of our society. While many are surprised, I am not. He did say that he believes in

the legacy and ideology of Forbes Burnham and he comes from a party with a history of noncompliance with the Constitution as far as the conduct and outcome of elections are concerned.

Even though the dark days have returned, it cannot be business as usual. Guyanese youths must sound their voices and boycott all events attended by Mr Granger and his team of ministerial usurpers.

Business owners must distance themselves and safeguard their financial interests as the current Govt can offer them no guarantee of protection of their investments.

Permanent Secretaries and other public office holders have no duty to follow any instructions from these usurpers. And the media, are not duty bound to provide any meaningful coverage to Government events.

Granger has lost all integrity and decency in the eyes of right-thinking youths and young professionals.

Every time he has breached the Constitution or is about to do so, he claims he is following advice and upholding the Constitution. His leadership has become cancerous and toxic, he must step down or step aside.

Elections ought to be held this year, because if he can refuse to follow the Constitution, the ordinary man may be tempted to follow suit. I urge, however, that good sense prevails and Mr Granger understands sooner or later than he will have to face the same folks he has been running from since last year.

He acted too foolishly and desperately when he underestimated the power of our ballots. Power truly corrupts ‘good’ men.

Regards, Michael Younge Concerned Guyanese youth

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friday, september 20, 2019

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Foundation

…8 reasons why I’m worried, and hopeful, about the next generation Part 2 ½ billion+ children live in areas with extremely high flood occurrence

These challenges will only be compounded by the impact of air pollution, toxic waste and groundwater pollution damaging children’s health. In 2017 approximately 300 million children were living in areas with the most toxic levels of outdoor air pollution – six or more times higher than international guidelines, and it contributes to the deaths of around 600,000 children under the age of 5. Even more will suffer lasting damage to their developing brains and lungs.

And, by 2040, one in four children will live in areas of extreme water stress and thousands will be made sick by polluted water. The management and protection of clean, plentiful, accessible groundwater supplies, and the management of plastic waste are very fast becoming defining child health issues for our time.

Why there is hope:

To mitigate climate change, governments and business must work together to tackle the root causes by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.

Meanwhile, we must give the highest priority to efforts to find adaptations that reduce environmental impacts on children.

UNICEF works to curb the impact of extreme weather events including by designing water systems that can withstand cyclones and saltwater contamination; strengthening school structures and supporting preparedness drills; and supporting community health systems. Innovations such as Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) schemes – if deployed

at scale – could preserve reservoirs of clean water to protect millions of children from the dangers of water scarcity and disease.

Even in complex environments like the Sahel, there is hope – it has a young population, hungry for work and opportunity, and the climate offers vast potential for harnessing renewable, sustainable energy sources. With investment in education and employment opportunities, improved security and governance, there is every reason to feel optimism for the region’s ability to develop climate change resilience and adaptation.

To turn the tide on air pollution, governments and business must work hand in hand to reduce fossil fuel consumption, develop cleaner agricultural, industrial and transport systems and invest in scaling renewable energy sources. Many governments have taken action to curb pollution from power plants, industrial facilities and road vehicles with strict regulations. A 2011 study by the United States Environmental Protection Agency found that the country’s 1990 Clean Air Act had delivered US$30 of health benefits to citizens for every US$1 spent. Such policies hold the key to protecting little lungs and babies’ brains from damaging airborne pollutants and particulate matter.

“To mitigate climate change, governments and business must work together to tackle the root causes by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.”

In the meantime, it is vital that we search for solutions that can ameliorate the worst effects of air pollution on child health. Mongolia’s

capital city Ulaanbaatar has among the most polluted air in the world during winter.

The biggest source of pollution comes from coal-burning used by 60 per cent of Ulaanbaatar’s population.

UNICEF innovation experts together with the community, Government, academia and the Private Sector have begun to design and implement energy efficiency solutions for traditional homes to reduce coal consumption and improve air quality, including by designing “the 21st Century Ger”.

And we are finding ways to recycle and reuse plastics in innovative ways as well, reducing toxic waste and putting rubbish to good use. Conceptos Plasticos, a Colombian social enterprise, has developed a technique to make bricks out of nonPVC plastics that are cheaper, lighter and more durable than conventional bricks – and is using them to build classrooms. Africa’s first recycled plastic classroom was built earlier this year in Côte d’Ivoire, in just a few weeks.

It cost 30 per cent less than traditional classrooms.

This innovative approach of transforming plastic waste into construction bricks has the potential to turn a plastic waste management challenge into an opportunity, by addressing the right to an education with the construction of schools, empowering these communities and cleaning up the environment at the same time.

One in four of you are likely to live, and learn, in conflict and disaster zones.

Why I’m worried:

Children have always been the first victims of war.

Today, the number of countries experiencing conflict is the highest it has ever been

Henrietta H Fore since the adoption of the Child Rights Convention in 1989. One in four children now live in countries affected by violent fighting or disaster, with 28 million children driven from their homes by wars and insecurity. Many lose several years of school – as well as records of achievements and qualifications for future learning and careers.

Conflicts and natural disasters have already disrupted learning for 75 million children and young people, many of whom have migrated across borders or been displaced. That is a personal tragedy for every single child. To abandon the aspirations of a whole generation is a terrible waste of human potential. Worse, creating a lost, disillusioned and angry generation of uneducated children is a dangerous risk that could cost us all.

Why there is hope:

Some States have demonstrated effective policies to keep refugees learning.

When large numbers of children escaping the war in the Syrian Arab Republic arrived in Lebanon, the Government faced the challenge of accommodating hundreds of thousands of children in a public-school system already under strain.

With the support of interna-

tional partners, they turned that challenge into an opportunity and integrated refugee children into schools while strengthening the education system for Lebanese students at the same time.

And digital innovations can help us do more.

UNICEF is collaborating with Microsoft and the University of Cambridge to develop a ‘learning passport’ – a digital platform that will facilitate learning opportunities for children and young people within and across borders. The learning passport

is being tested and piloted in countries hosting refugees, migrants and internally displaced persons. A digitally inclusive world should allow young people, no matter their situation, to get access to education. Scaling up solutions like the digital learning passport could help millions of displaced children gain the skills they need to thrive.

Henrietta H Fore UNICEF Executive Director (Excerpt from UNICEF)

To be continued

Y

ou may have heard the old saying "oil and water don't mix", and while that may be true, when you combine the two, some pretty and interesting images can be the result. In a wildlife setting, oil spills can upset the natural balance of an environment and cause a lot of trouble for the animals and plants that call a habitat home. So it's probably best that the combination of the two should stay on the crafts table— and out of nature!

Materials you need

White construction paper Aluminium roasting pan (like the ones they sell in grocery stores) A fork Measuring spoons 3 plastic cups Cooking oil Food colouring An apron or old shirt to protect your clothing Newspaper

Method

1. Measure one tablespoon of cooking oil into each plastic cup. Choose three different colours of food colouring, and measure one teaspoon of each colour into its own cup (each cup will have one colour in it). Stir the mixture in each cup with the fork (wipe it off between colours) until the food colouring is well mixed.

2. Put layers of newspaper under the aluminium pan to catch any water that splashes. Fill the pan with water, but not all the way to the top. Pour a little bit of one coloured oil mixture onto one area of the pan. Then repeat this with the other two colours, on different areas of the pan. What happens? Why do you think this occurs?

To make your own artwork, lay a piece of construction paper on top of the water. After 30 seconds, carefully lift it off and see the effect of the colours on the paper.

3. Carefully remove your artwork from the mixture in the pan. Lay the wet paper flat on some newspaper, so the colours won't run, and allow it to dry overnight. You can then use your artwork as a greeting card, wrapping paper, or to decorate your walls. (kids.sandiegozoo.org)

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friDAY, september 20, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

GECOM will be ready for elections in February 2020 …Opposition expresses disappointment with timeline …Jagdeo reiterates confidence in GECOM Chair

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

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fter weeks of deliberation, Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), retired Justice Claudette Singh, has finally advised President David Granger that the Commission will be ready to host General and Regional Elections in February 2020.

This was indicated via a letter sent to the Head of State on Thursday.

“Given all the objective factors, in addition to the deliberations of the Commission and my most recent consultations with our Secretariat, I have concluded, and take this opportunity to officially inform you that the Guyana Elections Commission will be able to deliver credible elections by the end of February 2020,” the GECOM Chair detailed in the three paragraph letter.

Disappointment

While President Granger indicated to reporters that he will first have to discuss the letter with his ‘Cabinet’ before commenting on the advice he received from the GECOM Chair, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has expressed his surprise and disappointment with the date.

This, he noted, is especially so since only last week, Justice Singh gave assurances to both Opposition and Government delegations that they are working toward an elections timeline before the end of the year.

“We’re extremely disappointed with the date, but happy that the excuse has been taken away from the caretaker President. So, he no longer can blame GECOM for his unconstitutional acts of staying in office illegally,” he stated.

Nevertheless, the Opposition Leader contended that while the party does not agree with her timeline, it still has faith and confidence in the GECOM Chair’s ability to deliver credible elections.

“I have great faith in the fairness and in the impartiality of the Chair of GECOM and I don’t think she will do anything to rig the elections,” the Opposition Leader said.

Distrusts Secretariat’s staff

At the same time, however, he expressed reservations about other actors within the elections body, whom, he said, have been working to sabotage the hosting of early elections.

“I sympathise with the Chair of GECOM, who has to deal with three Government Commissioners whose efforts at every single meeting are to raise extraneous issues – ID preparations, merging of [House-to-House Registration] data – and then the Secretariat issuing press releases that seem to be written at Congress Place, and some of the key officials absenting themselves from meetings, falling sick conveniently. All in an effort to delay preparations for elections,” Jagdeo noted.

According to the Opposition Leader, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP)-nominated

The letter sent by GECOM Chair, Retired Justice Claudette Singh to President David Granger on Thursday

Commissioners at GECOM had a proposal with a timeline for elections to be held on December 16, 2019, but this was not submitted to the Commission.

He explained that had they gone ahead and submitted the proposal, the Government Commissioners would have asked for time to review it and further delay the process of GECOM finally advising the President on its readiness for the hosting of polls.

“There are individuals in that [Elections] Secretariat that we don’t trust. We’ve already spoken to the international community because having seen their per-

formance in the last several months about how their timelines have all been extended and how they match APNU and how they disappear, we don’t believe they will fully support the Chairperson or give her proper advice. In fact, that is a big concern of

ours,” he posited.

Nevertheless, Jagdeo noted that while they are disappointed in the advice given by the GECOM Chair, the PPP is going to work hard to ensure that elections are held by the end of February 2020 and not anytime later.

On this note, the Opposition Leader stated that one good thing coming out of this extended timeline is the additional time that observers, both oversees and local, will have to scrutinise the preparation process for the hosting of elections.

“More international observers will come and they will get here early to look at the quality of the voters’ list, polling day logistics, as well as elections day activities. So you not gonna have people only coming in on Elections day. So that’s a good thing coming out of this [situation]… And local observers may have enough time to prepare for elections”.

Furthermore, Jagdeo noted that while the coalition will have another two months more to squat and enjoy the perks of the office, the PPP will use this time to ensure Guyanese on the ground across the country are educated about their transgressions and their lack of respect for the Constitution.

“So we’re a bit disappointed [about the timeline] but we’re patient too,” he asserted.

The February 2020 timeline submitted by GECOM will take elections to more

GECOM Chair, Retired Justice Claudette Singh

than one year after the December 2018 passage of the No-Confidence Motion (NCM) against the APNU/ AFC coalition government.

It will also be one month shy of one year when early elections were constitutionally due, that is, March 21, 2019.

According to Article 106 (6) and (7) of the Constitution of Guyana, upon the passage of a motion of no confidence, the Cabinet, including the President, shall resign and call elections within three months. However, with the legal challenges which ensued, that timeline was on pause but was subsequently reinstated after the July 18, 2019 Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) ruling, which validated the passage of the motion.

Noting that Article 106 is clear, the Trinidad-based regional court also stated that both the Government and GECOM have the responsibility to abide by the constitutional provisions regarding the hosting of early elections.

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friDAY, september 20, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Miner’s murder

Wanted bulletin issued for another suspect

Wanted: Jamal Bazillio

Wanted: Farouk Khan

wanted bulletin was issued on Thursday for another suspect in the April murder of Bartica miner Perion Bobb at Kurubrang, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni).

Wanted is Jamal Bazillio, also known as “Jammings”.

Anyone with information that may lead to Bazillio’s arrest is asked to contact the Police on telephone numbers 225-3650, 225-8196, 2262870, 226-6978, 455-2238,

911 or to make a report to the nearest Police Station.

All information will be treated with the strictest confidence.

In August, Police had issued a bulletin for 25-yearold Farouk Khan, whose last known address is Byderabo Road, Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), who is also wanted for the said murder, which occurred on April 21.

Bobb was killed after he

A

was confronted by a group of men, who he reportedly saw stripping a miner’s vehicle.

The vehicle’s owner and the Police were subsequently informed.

Guyana Times previously reported that Bobb and a co-worker identified as 60-year-old Emmanuel Jeffrey of Good Hope, East Coast Demerara (ECD) were at the time of the murder transporting dredging equipment from Kuribrong to the backdam.

Jeffrey told Police that while proceeding through the trail, they were passed by a truck which was reportedly proceeding at a slow rate from the opposite direction.

Bobb, who was reportedly driving the pick-up, stopped in order for the truck to pass. As the truck passed, two loud explosions were heard.

Jeffrey relayed that he exited the vehicle and lay on the ground. However, by that time, Bobb had already been shot once to his stom-

G

Dead: Perion Bobb

ach.

Jeffrey reported that he was abducted by eight men who were in the truck, but later managed to escape by jumping off the lorry.

After allegedly escaping, Jeffrey returned to the scene of the shooting, where he discovered Bobb’s motionless body slumped over the steering wheel of the pick-up.

The Police were called and the matter was reported.

Ex-cop charged for discharging illegal firearm

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former cop, who was wanted by the Police for allegedly trying to kill two women, was charged for discharging a firearm with intent to commit murder on Wednesday and appeared at the Linden Magistrates’ Court.

Teon Allen, also known as “Spoil Child”, appeared before Magistrate Wonda Fortune.

Allen was charged for the offence after video footage surfaced showing him carrying out the act.

However, the former cop is contending that he is not the person in the video and submitted a video as an alibi, which showed him at an-

Teon Allen

other location, at the time of the incident.

Allen was released on $50,000 bail and is expected to make his next to court appearance on October 7.

Allen turned himself in after a wanted bulletin was issued by the Guyana Police Force, in connection with the attempted murder of Denise Grant and Tiffany McDeth, in Amelia’s Ward, Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), on September 2, 2019.

Meanwhile, Allen’s car was reportedly torched by a bystander who witnessed the ordeal with the women.

The act was suspected to be carried out by members of

a Cayenne-based Guyanese gang.

In August 2017, Allen was charged with harbouring wanted men Mark Royden Williams and Uree Varswyck – who had escaped from the Camp Street Prison on July 9, 2017.

Also in January 2017, Allen was charged along with three others for possession of an AK-47, along with matching ammunition. The men were arrested during a Police raid at a John Street, Campbellville, Georgetown house. Allen was also previously charged for a number of other offences including robbery under arms.

Cop charged for slapping, threatening son’s mother

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Policeman, who allegedly told his son’s mother, “I will kill you and send you where your father is in the burial ground, your mother will come home and bury you,” was on Thursday charged and appeared at the Providence Magistrates’ Courts.

Enoch Jacobs, also called “Doggie”, of Middle Road, La Penitence, Georgetown, appeared before Magistrate Judy Latchman and denied the three charges when they were read to him.

The first two charges alleged that on September 19, 2019 at Hutsonville, East Bank Demerara, he used threatening and abusive language towards Annastatia Lewis.

It was further alleged

Enoch Jacobs

that on the same day at the same location, he assaulted Annastatia Lewis.

According to the prosecution’s case, the Virtual Complainant (VC) was at home with her son, when

Jacobs called and indicated he was coming to take the child for a haircut.

The prosecution is contending that upon arriving, Jacob told the VC that he wanted her to accompany him; however, the woman refused. It was then, the prosecution’s case stated that Jacobs, realising the gates of the victim’s premises were locked, began to hurl explicit language towards her.

The man allegedly became annoyed and jumped the woman’s gate and ran up the stairs. The court heard that the VC ran to safety and locked the doors, when the defendant allegedly proceeded to tell the woman that “I will kill you and send you where your father is in the burial ground, your

Wrong and strong…

mother will come home and bury you”.

The woman’s cousin, who was at home, called the Police. The Police patrol arrived and the ranks instructed the man to leave the premises; however, as the victim was exiting the yard to enter the patrol vehicle, the man allegedly dealt her a slap.

The man was subsequently arrested.

The Magistrate, after listening to the facts, placed the father of four on $100,000 bail. The case will continue on October 15.

The cop was previously charged in May for assaulting and threatening his wife at the Carnival Day parade on Vlissengen Road, Kitty, Georgetown.

…PNC bullyism ECOM Chair Justice (retired) Claudette Singh finally ended her Hamlet-like agonising (“to announce or not to announce”) elections timelines! And allowed that GECOM will be ready to hold elections at the end of February 2020. To continue with the analogy from yesterday, she didn’t have to cut the baby of elections into two but only because the PPP, which returned democracy to Guyana in 1992, decided that democracy was more important than coming out into the streets like the PNC to protest the traducing of the Constitution by Granger and Co. Does anyone out there believe the PNC would’ve been as patient with the patently ridiculous manoeuvres they deployed to delay the 3-month NCM elections date by a full year, if it were the PPP?? We saw the PNC in 1997 unleash violence in the streets when they only CLAIMED the elections were rigged – and forced the PPP to truncate their term of office by 2 years. Now once again, the PPP has gotten the short end of the stick for observing the norms of parliamentary democracy and not resorting to PNC-type actions.

This PNC Government life has now ended…but don’t expect them to act in any way different than if they had just gotten a new mandate to govern. And that’s exactly how they’ll view the GECOM Chair’s date: as a licence for Granger to go even beyond the end of Feb date and be brazen enough to proclaim elections in May 2020. Imitating Burnham’s brazen post-1968 riggings.

But today is a new day, where the US and western interests are now economic with the discovery of oil. They can’t afford to encourage an undemocratic government – especially when they’ve pulled out all the stops against one usurper next door in Venezuela. So, to their credit, the US, UK and the EU finally broken their silence. They fired the following broadside against the PNC Government: “However, we deeply regret that by surpassing September 18, the Government is currently in breach of the Constitution following its failure to adhere to the decisions of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on 18 June and its subsequent orders”.

This situation comes at great cost to the people of Guyana. The prevailing political uncertainty undermines Guyanese institutions, compromises economic opportunities and delays development across all areas— including infrastructure, education, health, and social services. It also hinders our ability to support Guyana’s development needs.

We therefore call upon the President to set an elections date immediately in full compliance with Guyana’s constitution”.

But that can’t be any old date. “Full compliance” means elections by Sept 18. But, of course, that’s impossible. The PPP Commissioners suggested November.

Nothing later will do!! …and what now??

The PNC Executive – the President and Cabinet – is now illegal. The “Government” – which isn’t coterminous with the Executive— continues since there are governmental functions which must be maintained for the nation’s business to continue. In Guyana, the Executive has unfortunately has dominated the Government like a colossus – ever since Burnham created the “Executive Presidency” to pander to his megalomania – and folks conflate the two.

Guyanese must look at the model at Westminster where Permanent Secretaries take care of the minutiae of quotidian governance. In any case, all of this is handled through explicit “Caretaker Conventions”, which Granger and company should get familiar with. What it means for sure is that all the so-called “outreaches” must cease forthwith. And all those high-priced fancy SUVs purchased since June 18, must be returned immediately.

ExxonMobil would be well advised to delay first oil until AFTER the elections, so as not to be seen as giving any advantage to the caretaker Government.

Caretakers can only MAINTAIN the property – not collect rentals to be used!! … Granger Granger has ceased to be a "de jure" President, that is, existing as a result of law, and has become a "de facto" President – i.e. as a result of fact other than law.

In his case, the fact of shamelessness!!

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

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friDAY, september 20, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Protesters call out Granger over illegal Govt at GMSA luncheon

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rotesters rose from their seats as caretaker President David Granger attempted to deliver his feature address during the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) luncheon on Thursday, voicing concerns over his illegal Government.

The event at the Pegasus Hotel was met by protesters waving placards and chanting for democracy to prevail in Guyana, which stumbled into an illegality on Thursday following the expiration of the constitutionally-mandated period for elections to be held after the passage of a NoConfidence Motion.

After being greeted by a firm opposition, Granger was forced to discontinue his speech until the situation was tamed. This continued for several minutes as persons strongly rejected the non-adherence to constitutional deadlines as directed by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), which ruled that the Constitution of Guyana must be upheld. That ruling was made on June 18, 2019 which meant elections should have been held on or before September 18.

The Police were called in and asked to escort the group of protesters from the room. However, another group of individuals were waiting in the lobby area of the hotel, voicing similar calls.

Cognisant that protest actions were in progress outside the hotel as well, the President commented, “Apparently, the hooliganism has

Protest action inside the Pegasus Hotel, where President David Granger was delivering his speech

migrated from outside to inside.”

However, moments later, Opposition Leader Jagdeo posited at his weekly press conference that the President would have been accorded the respect deserving of his position had he upheld the Constitution and not been in breach.

Jagdeo admitted it was his party – the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) – which was behind the protest at the event, noting that they have nothing to hide.

According to the Opposition Leader, such actions will continue to follow the Head of State until he complies with the Constitution and announces a date for elections.

“We will target the person; he’s acting illegally and so Granger, wherever he shows up and wherever he goes, is going to be met with protests and disruptions that will say to him that we’re not gonna tolerate a dictatorship in this country… So Granger will get all

the attention from us because he is the one who has to make the decisions. He will get all the love from the PPP side,” Jagdeo said.

The Opposition Leader went on to reassure that these protest actions would not become violent or harm innocent people.

To this end while being mindful of the responsibility of the Guyana Police Force, he said that the Police should in turn be cognisant of people’s right to peacefully protest.

Meanwhile, Granger was then allowed to continue his speech, where he highlighted the importance of political stability in the business environment. According to him, apart from the protest action, there is no unrest in the country.

“Political stability promotes increased investments, reduces risks and the cost of doing business, and boosts investor confidence in the economy. My Government will

not condone violations of the law which endanger public order and public security. There is not political unrest in Guyana …The business community need not fear political violence and social unrest,” Granger indicated.

Further, he attempted to reassure the business community that Guyana would head to the polls in the shortest possible time.

This has been reiterated at several engagements with civil society and the Private Sector since the CCJ court ruling that the NoConfidence Motion was validly passed, but no concrete measures were announced by him about early elections.

“My Government assures the business community of its resolve to ensuring credible elections at the earliest time possible. In terms of the economy, the manufacturing and services sector has been making significant contributions to national development,” he posited.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo recently reminded the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) of its responsibility to prepare for conducting elections, noting that President Granger has been using its preparedness “as an excuse” to delay the hosting of early polls.

Apart from the Opposition’s numerous calls, civil society has also taken to the streets in peaceful picketing exercises, calling on the A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/ AFC) coalition Government to resign. The Mass Action People’s Movement (MAPM) is one such organisation which had slammed the caretaker Government for what it believes is a violation of the Constitution. The group had said last month that it was ready to keep up the protests until the Government resigned.

Turn to page 13

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friDAY, september 20, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Guyanese protest Guyana’s illegal Govt

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Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo stands in front of TSU ranks among protesters

undreds of People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) supporters and civil society members – led by Presidential Candidate Irfaan Ali – flocked outside the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown, where caretaker President David Granger was slated to deliver an address to the business community on Thursday morning.

The protest comes after the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM)

Chairperson, retired Justice Claudette Singh, advised

“We out here peacefully protesting, protesting for democracy and constitutional rule and this is how we’re being treated by this coalition Government. Police come out here with big shields and barricades blocking off the streets but yesterday (Wednesday) when people were burning tyres on the road and blocking off it and damage a fire truck, they were nowhere to be seen. This is how this Government operates” – protester

the Head of State that the Commission will be ready for elections by the end of

February 2020 – more than a year after the Government was defeated by a NoConfidence Motion.

Although the protest was peaceful, scores of Police officers and members of the Tactical Service Unit (TSU), commonly called the “Riot Squad”, were deployed to the scene with protective shields, placing barricades at strategic points to block off and guard the entrance of the hotel, where several high profile officials and Government ministers were in attendance.

This, however, did not deter the protesters, who used microphones to highlight the fact that the Government is illegal and in breach of the Constitution of Guyana.

“We want elections now!

Who must go, Granger! Who sell out Guyana, Granger!

Granger is a waste!” were among the slogans being chanted.

Speaking with Guyana Times, one protestor called President Granger “shameful”, since according to her, he is disrespectful to the oath he took upon assuming office.

“Mr Granger does not respect the pledge which he took, the pledge in part says ‘to be obedient to the laws of Guyana’ where is the respect and obedience?” the woman questioned.

Another protestor pointed out the fact that heavily

equipped Police were called out to the peaceful protest when just the day before the same was not done when residents of Leopold Street, Georgetown, blocked off the street with burning tyres and debris and damaged a

PPP/C Presidential Candidate Irfaan Ali on the protest line

fire tender.

“We out here peacefully protesting, protesting for democracy and constitutional rule and this is how we’re being treated by this coalition Government. Police come out here with big shields and barricades blocking off

the streets, but yesterday when people were burning tyres on the road and blocking off it, they were nowhere to be seen. This is how this Government operates,” he contended.

Nevertheless, the pro-

testers were adamant that they will continue these protest actions to highlight the transgressions of the coalition Administration.

Also braving the heat to stand strong with his party, General Secretary of the PPPC, Bharrat Jagdeo in-

formed that his party and supporters intend to protest President Granger at every public forum he attends until he complies with the Constitution as is mandated.

Turn to page 14

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friDAY, september 20, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Manufacturing continues to suffer from high energy costs – GMSA …calls for agreement to benefit from Guyana’s crude oil Williams positioned.

Earlier this year, Private Sector Commission (PSC) Executive Ramesh Dookhoo noted that price fluctuations and the high cost of fuel prohibit Guyana from being competitive with other countries.

“We still have a huge challenge as a manufacturing country, with the cost for electricity. I would urge the Government to continue to look for sustainable supplies and initiatives in energy. Fluctuations that govern the price of oil affect us and put Guyana in a place where GMSA President Clinton Williams

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he manufacturing sector has long suffered the high costs of electricity which skyrocket production costs and result in higher prices for locally-made products.

Guyana Marketing and Services Association (GMSA) President Clinton Williams on Thursday acknowledged that this trend still continues and until the issue of unreliable power is wiped away, the operations of manufacturers will be stymied, creating a ripple effect.

He shared these remarks during their luncheon at the Pegasus Hotel, in the presence of their executives, manufacturers, and caretaker President David Granger.

“Many of the longstanding jeopardies facing us are inextricably linked to the high cost on reliability of electrical power. We must reiterate this stranglehold will continue until we slay the beast of expensive non-reliable power. The private sector, and particularly the manufacturing sec-

tor, would continue to bellow way below potential, resulting in a serious knock-on effects on jobs and of course, on our economy,” he said.

For this, the Association’s President suggested a deal that would alleviate this setback by providing fuel at a lower price. He insisted that more needs to be done on Government’s end to make waves on the local and foreign markets.

“We are suggesting that we must quickly enter into an arrangement that allows the utilisation of part of our current and future crude oil export receipts for refined oil at prices that are considerably cheaper than those obtained at the moment.

While Government’s recent initiatives to introduce some measures to reduce electricity costs across the board is a step in the right direction, much more needs to be done if we are to realise any significant improvements in our cost of production and of course, computable advantage on the local, regional and international markets,”

Taxi driver slapped with illegal gun charge

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taxi driver was on Thursday remanded to prison when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts slapped with an illegal gun possession charge.

Leon Anthony Welcome of Lot 794 Pattensen, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, denied the charge which stated that on September 17 at Mandela Avenue, Georgetown, he had in his possession one Taurus revolver, when he was not the holder of a firearm licence.

Welcome was represented by Attorney-at-Law Steven Roberts, who told the court during his bail application that at the time of the search, his client had just collected his vehicle from a man named Alfred Gray.

The lawyer proceeded to request for bail to be granted in a reasonable sum to his client.

Police Prosecutor Gordon

Mansfield told the court that on September 17, ranks from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), acting on information, went to KC Taxi Service, where the 44-year-old is employed as a taxi driver.

The ranks, the Prosecutor said, conducted a search of the car, HC 1647, and the firearm was found under the driver’s seat. According to the Prosecutor, the defendant was then told of the offence, in which he replied, “Alfred left the gun in my car the night before”.

The Prosecutor objected to bail on the grounds of the prevalence of the offence and the penalty the charge attracts. He then pointed out that the defendant had clear knowledge and constructive possession of the firearm.

The Chief Magistrate, after listening to the facts, remanded Welcome to prison and the case was adjourned to October 11.

we’re not competitive to export and compete with countries that have cheaper energy,” Dookhoo had told this publication.

In Guyana, the Guyana Power and Light’s (GPL) Demerara interconnected system is fed with power by the Power Producers and Distributors Inc (PPDI), which replaced Wartsila, a company from Finland which maintained over a dozen engines for the utility company for two decades.

Meanwhile, the GMSA called for enhancements to the high cost and time asso-

ciated with trades since consumers are suffering from the inflated import bills.

“GMSA would wish to see improvements in both the high cost and time consuming nature of our trade transaction procedures.

These onerous costs ultimately are passed down to the end user of imported items. Our consumers suffer the same fate with locally manufactured products that derive from imported raw materials”.

On the topic of finances, Williams mentioned their vision to have growing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures and for Guyana to be recognised for ease of doing

business.

“We would like to see Guyana’s GDP and per capita statistics skyrocket because we know that they can. It would be an enormous achievement if Guyana could be listed in the top 10 in the world’s ranking for ease of doing business…The GMSA firmly believes that our country’s development strategies must be remain underpinned by axiom that includes food security, energy security…and the pursuit of economic drivers such as ICT, renewable energy and the new and emerging oil and gas sector,” he mentioned.

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friDAY, september 20, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

“Proclaim a date” – GCCI to Granger T

he Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) is calling on President David Granger to issue an election proclamation in keeping with the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.

“We call on the President to proclaim a date, not later than the earliest date suggested by the GECOM Chair, for the General Elections in accordance with his powers stipulated in Article 61 of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana,” the GCCI said in a statement.

The statement came after Guyana Elections Commission Chairperson, Retired Justice Claudette Singh informed the President that the Commission would be ready to execute elections by the end of February 2020.

The GCCI re-emphasised its call for the preservation of democracy and constitutional compliance through the holding of free and fair elections following the passage of the No-Confidence Motion of December 21, 2018. The Private Sector body said that the glaring absence of a date for elections has placed Guyana’s democratic system

in jeopardy, noting that the Guyanese people deserve transparency and accountability from institutions at

all levels of government.

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), GCCI said, in its June 2019 consequen-

tial orders, had stipulated that elections be held within a three-month timeline, which after factoring the delays owing to legal challenges would have placed the deadline at yesterday, September 18, 2019.

“Given the GECOM Chair’s recent announcement that elections could be held as early as February 2020, more than one year and two months after the No-Confidence Motion; the GCCI notes, with utmost concern that the country cannot continue to function without a Cabinet and Parliament. Business can-

not continue as usual under a caretaker Government with limited legal authority,” the statement noted.

The body reminded that a No-Confidence Motion is an important tool used in a representative democracy which serves the purpose of ensuring that Members of Parliament are accountable to the electorate. It also noted that while the Government has accepted its caretaker status, its continuance in office beyond the September 18 date signifies a departure from democratic accountability and political order.

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friDAY, september 20, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

166 cops trained to handle domestic violence reports …issue continues to be a serious social threat – acting Top Cop

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ne hundred and sixty-six Police officers from seven policing divisions across the country are now better equipped to handle domestic violence reports after successfully completing a Domestic Violence Scenario Training Workshop.

The training sessions were part of the Public Security Ministry’s Security Sector Reform Programme and were spearheaded by Novelette Grant, consultant and former Deputy Police Commissioner of the Jamaican Police Force.

She stated that the aim of the training workshop was to advance the skills of mid-career Policemen and Policewomen so that they would be in better positions to deal with domestic violence issues and impart that knowledge to their peers at the various Police stations

Police ranks who were trained to handle domestic violence cases share a photo moment with Jamaican consultant Novelette Grant and Khemraj Ramjattan, along with senior members of the GPF

throughout the country.

Acting Police Commissioner Nigel Hoppie emphasised that domestic violence continues to be a serious social threat, and is everybody’s business— since it affects everyone at all levels of society.

Meanwhile, Project Manager of the Citizen Security Strategy Programme (CSSP), Dr

Clement Henry reiterated that the CSSP focuses heavily on violence and crime reduction in Guyana.

The cost of violence, he said, is tremendous, since, when calculated for the year 2017, it amounted to over a billion Guyana dollars. As a result, “programmes are being put in place to eliminate risk factors in the home, community and at societal

Protesters call out Granger...

The Constitution of Guyana states that following the passage of a NoConfidence Motion, the President and Cabinet must resign and elections be held within three months.

But Government had spent much of this time in court seeking to overturn the motion, rather than ensuring elections were held.

After delivering its ruling on June 18, 2019, the CCJ issued consequential orders stipulating that the Cabinet must resign and call

elections in keeping with the constitutional deadline, that is, three months. Since this deadline had already elapsed from the passage of the No-Confidence Motion on December 21, the countdown had commenced on June 18, putting the deadline on September 18 of this year.

This was backed by the Chief Justice Roxane George’s clarifications later that, indeed, a threemonth deadline should be upheld when she corrected

From page 9

reports in the media. This was the basis of the picketing urging the President to make an early call for elections. December 21, 2019 will mark one year since the No-Confidence Motion was passed in the National Assembly after the historic ‘yes’ vote by Charrandas Persaud on the Government’s side.

After that, GECOM had embarked on a House-toHouse Registration exercise, which has since been halted.

levels in a whole”.

He stated that currently, under construction are domestic violence interview rooms and child-friendly spaces at Police stations— another initiative by the CSSP to work together with

the Guyana Police Force in combatting domestic violence in Guyana.

Additionally, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan commended the planning team and Director of the Training Workshop

for executing a programme of such calibre and lauded the participants for ensuring that they were a part of this necessary training programme.

He expressed his concerns for the issue of domestic violence to be addressed, since statistics reveal that Guyanese women are suffering at the hands of men both physically, emotionally, and economically.

Meanwhile, certificates were presented to all 166 officers for completing the programme, as they were challenged and admonished to return to the fields with better knowledge and competence to help combat domestic violence within their divisions.

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friDAY, september 20, 2019| guyanatimesgy.com

22% women between ages 15 and 64 victims of partner violence – study

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he scourge of domestic violence continues to rear its ugly head in Guyana as millions of dollars continue to be spent with the hope of minimising and eventually eradicating occurrences of this nature in society. However, although some successes were reaped in combatting this prevalent issue, there is still a long way to go.

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan on Thursday revealed that a recent study in Guyana on partner violence revealed that 22 per cent of women between the ages of 15 and 64 were victims of partner violence at least once in their lifetime.

“That statistic bespeaks something about our men and we must appreciate that, we have some very violent men around the place. This statistic does not include the other forms of abusive behaviour that women are exposed to— including psychological and

economic— again, generally experienced by women at the hands of men. Because of the serious consequences of domestic violence, it is both a family and community problem”.

He explained that domestic violence is a global issue that continues to plague and affect development and progress of individuals and countries on a daily basis with some one in three women worldwide experiencing either physical or sexual violence under the category of domestic abuse/violence.

Domestic violence reports

Meanwhile, Acting Police Commissioner Nigel Hoppie noted that statistics from the year 2017 revealed that there were 2080 reports of domestic violence reports made to the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and as a result of those reports, there were 1,171 cases made by law enforcement au-

thorities.

For the year 2018, there were 1,491 reports, which led to 837 cases made by the Police.

“The 2018 to 2017 statistics in reports reveal there that it was 28.2 per cent decrease when the comparison was made. While the cases made it was 28.5 per cent (decrease),” the Police Commissioner (ag) stated on Thursday at the closing ceremony of a Domestic Violence Scenario Training event.

However, a decrease in reports does not necessarily mean that the occurrence of domestic violence is on the

low in Guyana, but that victims could still be reluctant in making reports of such incidents at the Police stations.

“We are all aware that domestic violence continues to be a serious social threat and it is everybody’s business because it does not only affect victims at their homes, it affects individuals at the workplace, and it affects every other family, it can also affect us at schools. Turning a blind eye to these occurrences can further threaten among other things, our culture…we can still hear insistent clammer by family members of victims for legal intervention”.

Public Management Sector Specialist of the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB), Dr Jason Wilks stated that the United Nations pointed out that in 2017, Guyana recorded 34 deaths attributed to intimate partner “femicide”. He explained that the issue of domestic violence and its after effects in Guyana as well as other parts of the world is a major concern.

“In Latin American and the Caribbean, somewhere, nine women are killed every day due to domestic violence.

That is a very stark statistic; we often refer to it as the silent epidemic because people do not really understand the gravity and the volume of the issue…solutions are not easy to find”.

As a result, he urged that all stakeholders get on board and work towards helping communities to become more aware and prepared to battle instances of domestic violence in their environments.

Additionally, Project Manager of the Citizens’ Security Strengthening

Programme, Dr Clement Henry elaborated on the impacts that domestic violence have on the progress of a country like Guyana, and the many negative effects it has on communities and families.

According to Dr Henry, each year, a lot of money is spent on various initiatives and projects targeting the elimination of domestic violence in Guyana, and in 2017, when numerous deaths were recorded in this regard, a large sum was expended.

“Information coming from the Policy Research Unit and Crime Observatory for 2017—when we looked at reports and we did a rough calculation of the cost of domestic violence in Guyana for that year it came up to over $1B. This cost included direct medical care and rehabilitation, loss of income, legal cost and damage to property among others…we have taken an approach and are focusing on eliminating risk factors in the home, community and societal level”. (Kristen Macklingam)

Guyanese protest Guyana’s...

“I just saw a statement from the international community, and they spoke about them being unconstitutional and they say that it comes at a great cost to Guyana and clearly everyone sees this except this corrupt cabal that we have headed by Granger. We will have to go wherever Granger is and the protest will move to all the venues where he attends to impress upon him that he is in breach of the Constitution and we are not going to tolerate that,” Jagdeo asserted.

No Government

Meanwhile, Presidential

PPP’s Candidate

Irfaan Ali contended that Guyana is presently without a government.

“We have a set of people occupying the space of a government. We have a dictatorship occupying the space of government, and we have a dictator occupying the space of the presidency. There is no president. Democracy has been trampled upon, the rule of law has been kicked aside, the Constitution has been thrown out of the window. That is what has happened to our country,” Ali stated.

Every Guyanese, the PPP Presidential Candidate went on to say, has a moral and ethical responsibil-

ity to stand up against the Government’s dictatorship.

Adding to this, Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Priya Manickchand, who also joined the protest action, stated that President Granger has no legitimate mandate to govern Guyana.

She maintained that he is “unlawful”.

“Anybody who derives power from his office – so Ministers, the First Lady, Advisors and anybody who got their power from him – is also equally illegitimate and unlawful, and the people of this country will not have it,” the MP informed.

Article 106 of the Constitution states that fol-

from page 10

lowing the passage of the No-Confidence Motion, the Cabinet including the President must resign and elections held within three months.

That deadline elapsed since March 21, 2019, with Government having spent much of this time in court seeking to overturn the motion, rather than ensuring elections were held.

GECOM had also began the holding of Houseto-House Registration, also in a bid to delay the holding of Regional and General Elections.

However, this was halted

by GECOM’s newly-elected Chair, retired Justice Singh.

news

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friDAY, september 20, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Bosai strike ends: agreement reached for 7% wage increase

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day after employees attached to bauxite mining company Bosai Minerals Group Guyana Incorporated in Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) downed tools over disagreements stemming from a proposed wage increase, the company and the workers’ union have agreed to a seven per cent across the board increase for two years.

More than 60 employees, mainly operators attached to the East Montgomery Mines location, downed tools on Wednesday, as they joined others at the north gate of the company in peaceful protest over the previously proposed 6 and 6.5 per cent increase.

According to the disgruntled employees, based on the offer, they would have been paid a six per cent increase if they agreed to this amount for one year, or a 6.5 per cent increase if they agreed to it for a period of two years.

This, the employees had contended, was totally unacceptable. They noted that they were seeking an increase of eight or nine per cent.

However, Guyana Times understands that the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) Union met with the company on Thursday, and an agreement was reached. This was confirmed

by Bosai Senior Personnel

Some of the workers who were on strike on Wednesday at Bosai, Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice)

Officer Truedel Marks, who said that a full complement of staff is expected back today.

“We have reached agree-

ment. The strike has ended; we expect full resumption tomorrow (Friday) at 7.

We have decided to pay seven per cent across the board.

There were some increase in their shift allowance, shift premiums and sick leave benefits,” Marks told this publication on Thursday.

She added that the company and the union were also expected to sign an agreement at the Labour Department.

It is understood that a majority of the workers have agreed to the decision; however, several employees told this publication that the decision was not an easy one.

According to an employee, they were informed by the company that if an eight per cent increase was granted, it would have to retrench all of its casual workers and apprentices to accommodate the nine per cent being sought.

Meanwhile, Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU) Divisional Chairman Whitney Graham said the majority of the workers and the Union agreed to the decision. “We agree with it and before the end of the month,

the workers would be paid.

For the most part, the majority of the workers agreed and the Union agreed with it,” he stated.

Some of the employees who were in disagreement spoke to this newspaper.

“It wasn’t my heart’s desire because truly speaking, I personally think the company could make it ... they’re reaping the sweet of this country and don’t want to do anything for workers as far as I’m concerned and I think somebody in the Government needs to stand up for the working class in this country,” the employee contended.

Back in 2016, the employees had also protested an across-the-board increase of 4.5 per cent while the offer was at the negotiations stage, as they aimed for a nine per cent increase.

16

guyanatimesgy.com

friDAY, september 20, 2019

Around The World

Austria blocks EU-Mercosur trade deal with South America

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Ps in Austria have dealt a blow to the EU’s landmark trade deal with South America’s economic bloc, by demanding a government veto on the deal.

The draft free trade agreement took 20 years to complete and the EU has described it as its biggest so far.

France and Ireland have already warned they will re-

ject the deal if Brazil does not do more to curb fires in the Amazon rainforest.

Austrian groups say the deal must do more to tackle environment issues.

All but one of Austria’s main parties rejected the deal in a parliamentary sub-committee, from the far right to the centre left.

Mercosur includes four South American economies –

Agriculture groups were among the first to object to the EU deal, before fires in the Amazon rainforest drew global attention

Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. A fifth member, Venezuela, is currently suspended.

Without backing from every government in the EU, the Mercosur deal cannot go through.

Jörg Leichtfried of the centre-left SPÖ hailed the decision as a “great success for consumers, the environment and animal welfare as

well as human rights”, warning that it would have been bad for climate protection and labour rights in South America.

Austria’s trade union federation ÖGB had campaigned against the deal, arguing it had not sought binding rules on workers and the environment but focused on the interests of industry rather than people. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Bermuda avoids major damage from Hurricane Mexico missing students: Humberto, clean-up crews get to work New investigation ordered

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lean-up crews in Bermuda were busy at work on Thursday after Hurricane Humberto grazed the island, which escaped major harm despite winds that reached around 100 miles per hour (161 kph) snapping power poles and lifting off roofs.

Debris, including power lines, littered roads, and dozens of homes lost parts of their roofs, a Reuters witness

said.

“We have come through a really, really challenging night. Our country was resilient,” National Security Minister Wayne Caines said in a radio message.

The Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service said it attended to three structural fires and 17 hurricane-related fires and also helped with 20 damaged roofs and prevented a boat from sinking.

One fire service vehicle was rendered unusable after a tree fell on it.

As of noon local time some 25,000 of the island’s 38,000 customers remained without power, while 5,000 customers have already had their electricity restored, said Caines.

The airport was reopened and flights are resuming, and a bridge to the airport was also opened after an assessment showed there was

no structural damage.

Schools will remain closed on Thursday and Friday, while Government office are scheduled to reopen on Friday.

Humberto was 415 miles (665 kilometres) northeast of Bermuda and packing maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph) on Thursday, the Miami-based US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Trump denies promise that led to formal complaint from US spy

D

onald Trump has rubbished a report alleging he made a promise to a foreign leader, something that sparked a whistleblower’s formal complaint.

The Washington Post said the intelligence official found the comment “so troubling” they went to the department’s inspector general.

In a tweet, Trump dismissed the claims as “fake news”.

Democrats are trying to get the complaint turned over to Congress, with the details still unknown.

It is not yet known who

Trump says he would only do what's "good for the USA"

made the complaint, which foreign leader Trump was speaking to, what promise – if any – was made and whether Trump took any action as a result.

Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, said the complaint consists of a “serious or flagrant problem, abuse or violation of the law” that involves classified information, a letter to lawmakers revealed.

The complaint was filed on 12 August, while Trump was at his golf resort in New Jersey, according to the Post,

which noted five foreign leaders with whom Trump had interactions in the preceding five weeks.

During that time he phoned Russia’s Vladimir Putin, received at least two letters from North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, and met at the White House the leaders of Pakistan, the Netherlands and Qatar.

In his tweet Mr Trump wrote “is anybody dumb enough to believe that I would say something inappropriate with a foreign leader”. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Brazil Senate Leader offers to resign leadership post after Police raid

T

he leader of the Brazilian Government in the Senate offered to resign his leadership position on Thursday after being targeted in a Police raid into possible corruption, a move that could weaken the sway of President Jair Bolsonaro in the upper house.

Speaking to journalists in capital Brasilia, Senator Fernando Bezerra Coelho offered to resign his leadership position, while staying in the Senate, after federal Police officers raided his congressional offices on Thursday morning as part of a brib-

ery investigation.

Shortly after, Onyx Lorenzoni, Bolsonaro’s chief of staff, said he would talk to the President about the matter over the weekend.

Bezerra Coelho is a key figure in pushing through a proposed overhaul of Brazil’s tax system, and he is in charge of ushering a sweeping pension reform bill through the Senate.

Police allege he received 5.5 million reais ($1.33 million) in bribes to favour certain contractors in a river dredging project as well as various other construction contracts.

“I took the initiative of offering to resign from the position of government leader so that the government can, in the coming days, evaluate whether it’s the right moment to proceed with a new choice or not,” Bezerra Coelho told reporters in Brasilia.

Bezerra Coelho and a legal representative denied that the senator committed any irregularities. They also criticised the police search, saying that while the action was supported by the federal Police and authorised by the Supreme Court, the Prosecutor Ggeneral’s office opposed the move.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

US issues visas for Iran’s Rouhani, Zarif to travel to UNGA

T

he United States has issued visas allowing Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to travel to New York for the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations next week, Iran’s UN mission said on Thursday.

Iran’s foreign minister spokesman said in a tweet that Zarif was set to leave for New York on Friday.

Zarif said earlier on Thursday that

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was trying to delay issuing visas for the Iranian delegation to the upcoming United Nations General Assembly. “@SecPompeo tries to dodge US obligation to issue visas for UN delegates by resorting to self-arrogated designation,” Zarif tweeted.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had declined to comment specifically on the case on Wednesday,

saying “We don’t talk about granting or absence of granting of visas.”

“If you’re connected to a foreign terrorist organisation, I don’t know,” he added. “Seems to me it would be a reason to think about whether they have to be permitted to attend a meeting which is about peace”.

As the host government, the US generally is obliged to issue visas to diplomats who serve at UN headquarters. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

M

exico will open a new investigation into the 2014 disappearance of 43 trainee teachers in Guerrero state.

The Attorney General’s office said it would reinvestigate “almost from scratch” what happened to the 43 after they clashed with local Police on September 26, 2014.

The case and the subsequent bungled investigation caused outrage in Mexico.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López

Obrador said it was “an open wound” for Mexico.

Opening a fresh investigation into the disappearance of the students from the teacher training college in Ayotzinapa was a key campaign pledge by López Obrador.

On Wednesday, 10 months into his presidency, he told the parents of the disappeared there would be completely new probe.

“This is about justice, about humanism and also about Mexico’s reputation,” he said. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Canadian PM Trudeau vows to continue campaign amid blackface scandal

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with his face and hands painted brown, poses with others during an “Arabian Nights” party when he was a 29-year-old teacher at the West Point Grey Academy in Vancouver, Canada

C

anadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed to continue his re-election campaign and asked for forgiveness on Thursday after pictures of him in blackface emerged less than five weeks before the national vote.

The Liberal Party leader’s campaign has been upended since Time magazine on Wednesday published an image of the Prime Minister, who is known to be strong advocate for multiculturalism, with his face blackened at a 2001 “Arabian Nights” party when he was a 29-year-old teacher at a Vancouver private school.

Other images have since emerged, and Trudeau said he was “wary” of ruling out the existence of even more because he could not remember those that had already come to light.

Answering questions

from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Trudeau said that his privilege as the white son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau had come with a “blind spot.”

“I come from a place of privilege and I have endeavoured in my life to put the advantages and opportunities I’ve been given to serve this country, to fight for people’s rights,” he said.

“I’ve let a lot of people down ... and I stand here today to reflect on that and to ask forgiveness”.

Earlier, Trudeau held a conference call for all his 338 candidates in the election for Canada’s Parliament.

“He said this is the moment for us to continue to work together to understand the pain of people who are on the receiving end of racism and stereotypes,” one Liberal on the call said. (Excerpt from Reuters)

guyanatimesgy.com

friDAY, september 20, 2019

Miss Earth Guyana Organisation launches eco-magazine G

uyana Premier and the Miss Earth Guyana Organisation on Monday, September 16, launched an eco-focused magazine called Bloom at the Umana Yana, Kingston, Georgetown.

The Organisation embarked on this journey to bring a unique taste to the world’s largest environmental event – Miss Earth. Guyana will be the first competing country to make this submission as part of its “Beauties for a Cause”.

“Beauties for a Cause” is the environmental platform under which each Miss Earth delegate is expected to develop projects to help with environmental protection and conservation.

Bloom is a digital experience with the benefits of reaching a broad range of readers beyond geographical boundaries; it will afford readers animated, hyperlinked, audio and videography likeness, and most importantly, it will help to create a green environment since it is 100 per cent digital and utilises no paper.

This digital magazine, written, edited, compiled, and designed by Guyana Premier, will be an annual edition, which will see the face of the reigning Miss Earth Guyana on its cover, spreading environmental protection and conservation tips. It will be an added value benefit for green sponsors through advertising spots and, of course, afford young Guyanese earth warriors a space to contribute to help better our planet.

Food fest and curry competition for Leonora on Sunday

T

he West Coast of Demerara will come alive on Sunday, September 22 as the Guyanese of Indian Ancestry Association (GIAA) hosts its first-ever food fest and curry competition at the Leonora stadium.

The GIAA has been the driving force behind the Annual Indian Heritage Exposition at the said venue for the past three years.

This year’s event is being held under the theme “Regaining Cultural Identity … Embracing Our History”.

It is the intention of the organisers to enhance inter-religious relationships by “promoting Indian culture through food”.

The GIAA team has vowed to promote and develop the cultural values of the Indian nation and to highlight all aspects of Indian culture so that the youths can embrace our history and rich culture.

Because of the fast deterioration of these values across the country, the organisation recently completed a youth development session on Time management, one of four that have been planned for the year.

However, owing to inclement weather in the month of May, the GIAA team had to reschedule the event.

This curry competition is one of a kind because the team decided to include mutton, snapper, paneer and kolounji variants instead of the normal duck curry competition.

The uniqueness is because they have opted to cater for vegetarians as well, hence the paneer curry and kolounji.

Apart from the curry competition, there will be lots of other snacks, dishes on sale which originated from India like seven curry, sweet rice, gulab jamoon, pulao, Sirni, bindi (ochro) masala, paneer paratha, potato roti, chicken curry, dhal puri and channa curry, samosa, chidwa, and peanut punch ladoo, etc.

This event is 100 per cent family friendly as all GIAA events are alcohol-free with clean and sober entertainment. There will be lots of games for adults and kids.

In addition to the entertainment, a movie will be viewed at 18:30h on big screen followed by karaoke at the interval.

The judging of the curry competition begins at 15:00h and the winners will be announced on the spot and have a chance to win over $750,000 in cash and other prizes.

Gates will be opened at 12:00h and admission to the venue is absolutely free.

Should anyone be interested in taking part in the competition or showcasing their culinary skills, they can contact any of the numbers 660-2865, 653-4745 or 647-8499.

Music for the event will be provided by Sugha and Tassa Guru.

T

he momentum is rising as the date draws near to one of the most anticipated parties titled “40 Shades of Gayle” billed for October 5, 2019 on the lawns of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown.

The party is expected to be explosive with several Guyanese and international artistes, including Kes The Band; Guyana’s Soca Monarch, Brandon Harding and Guyana’s Chutney Monarch, Steven Ramphal and a few others to be added.

In addition, there will be some of the best DJs in the house who will ensure the patrons have a blast all night long. Listed to be on the console are DJ Energy, Worldwide Seen Up, Father Moey, Gully Ras, Selector Diamond, Cash Money, and Garwin.

It will be a night to remember. General admission to the event cost $3000, stage front $10,000 and the all-exclusive VVIP section is $25,000 Ticket locations in Georgetown include That Look Boutique, Gizmos and Gadgets, The Hibiscus Restaurant, Exclusive Styles, Bistro Café and Bar, The Wine Vault and Urban Life, Giftland Mall. Tickets could be purchased at Candy Boss, New Amsterdam in Berbice, and Coleen’s Closet, Vreed-en-Hoop on the West Side.

This is one event that you cannot miss.

guyanatimesgy.com

friDAY, september 20, 2019

National Costume M

iss Earth Guyana is set to display the Queen Amazonica National Costume on October 26 at the international pageant, where Guyana will be represented by Faydeha King.

During the National Costume Competition, King will be wearing a Dexter Gardener design depicting Queen Amazonica.

This is in line with the theme for the competition this year, “Celebrating Flora.”

The Victoria Regia Lily, our national flower, is a species of flowering plant considered one of the largest of the water lilies. Its leaves can reach an amazing eight feet plus in diameter, and the plant is native to the Amazon as well as surrounding areas in South America.

The flower was discovered for the second time and given its official name in the year 1836 by explorer Richard Schomburgk in honour of Queen Victoria.

A

The costume features the placement of multiple miniature replicas of the Victoria Regia, and a butterfly execution style (representing the relationship between the gentle creatures and the flower itself). Regal and majestic like the flower, Queen Amazonica sprouts a pair of golden wings with a span of 70 inches dotted with multi-coloured stones.

From her back rise, eight replica lilies filled with “pixie dust” that is released on “flight” leaving a shimmering, almost magical trail behind her. Her majesty, Queen Amazonica is crowned by a headdress standing 17” high with gold buds, lily petals, two replica lilies, and hundreds of floral broken jewels and stones.

On her body is a suit made of sparkling silver and white lace, with an abdomen and breast exposure. It is embellished with white stones and green crystal beads on the lower thigh.

18

Every queen needs her sceptre and every enchantress needs her wand, so Queen Amazonica carries her sceptre wand. This symbol of power is made of broken crystalline stones, flowershaped jewels and white flower petals covered in silver glitter.

A replica lily adorns the top of the wand and is filled with pixie dust as well as multi-coloured or plain white lights to add a magical effect. Her knee-length footwear is covered with over 300 white bridal flowers with centre stones and broken flower-shaped jewels. In total, the boots carry a thousand hand- applied embellishments.

Last year, Miss Earth Guyana Xamiera Kippins won gold in the costume competition as she depicted the Ole Higue.

Teen, Miss & Mrs India Guyana create gateway to Bollywood

t the recently-concluded Miss, Mrs & Teen India Worldwide 2019 Pageant in Mumbai, India, Guyana was exceptionally well represented while creating a gateway for locals in Bollywood.

Miss Teen India Worldwide 2019 Yashmini Sarjoo represented Guyana with distinction. She was a crowd favourite from the inception and did not disappoint when she was awarded the title of “Miss Popularity”.

She displayed grace, poise and elegance within the different segments, but offered the truly spectacular during her talent round. This saw her ending up in the top four.

Miss India Guyana Worldwide Rashena Sara Hanif will be a name that would forever be in the hearts of many.

She was the epitome of strength and courage as she conquered the odds.

Known for her killer pose and unique modelling techniques, she copped the title of “Miss Catwalk” to no one’s surprise, flaunting her curves in her signature evening gown and the fashionable combination of her ethnic wear.

The 18-year-old achieved stardom finishing in the top 10 and

Guyana franchise holders of the Miss India Guyana Pageant, Hashim and Mel Ali along with the three beauties in India

was chosen to join hands with the legendary Bollywood superhero Dharmendra Deol on set for the iconic Sony TV show “The Kapil Sharma Show”.

This also allowed her to meet the ever-popular Sunny Deol and his son, newcomer Karan Deol at the launching of his new movie “Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas”.

However, Mrs India Guyana Diva Kristal Inshan was the darling of the media from television interviews to newspapers.

Kristal gave an exceptional performance in all of the rounds while bringing her fashionable style to life.

She was also featured on the “The Kapil Sharma Show” where they talked about the new film “Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas”. This was not the first call for Bollywood Kristal heeded.

Today Kristal has her own manager with over 60 feature articles in Bollywood and is awaiting her next big call.

The organisers said they wished her all the best in her quest as she continues to represent our beautiful land exceptionally.

The Miss, Mrs & Teen India Guyana Organisation would like to thank everyone for their continuous support, encouragement, and belief.

Guyanese sizzled by “All White Affair” by Carte Blanche T he executive of Carte Blanche celebrated with the pioneering patrons who participated in the inaugural incarnation of a Caribbean concept of communing with the arts and nature. The event was imaginative and breath-taking and seems to have hit the white.

The concept was borne out of the notion to appreciate our regional creatives in an open-air experience which was set against a backdrop of pure elegance, represented by white textures.

Georgetown was chosen to initiate this unique experience owing to the novel composition of the Eucalyptus Gardens, situated at the Theatre Guild, rich with historical significance and ordained by the distinctive presence of the therapeutic magnificence of Eucalyptus trees.

This spearhead initiative, the brainchild of dynamic philanthropist Dr Sonia Noel and renowned regional production designer Richard Young commenced its jaunt through the Region and the Diaspora applauding and appreciating our Caribbean aesthetic, by showcasing a compendium of performing, visual, culinary, decorative, and fashion arts

at the extraordinary venue.

One feature of the exposition was an auction of visual art, which was executed, live on location, by the legendary Merlene Ellis and speed performance visual artist Winston Alexander.

Performing at the event were singers Hyomi Carty and Petal Bourne as well as pan ambassador Ras Camo. Decorative arts for the space were coordinated by Shonta Noel (at Crafted by Chey); Nelsion Nurse (at Nandre’s Kreations) and the creative director himself.

Fashions were presented by Vanda Allicock and Natasha David, in honour of Indigenous Heritage Month, with milliner and recycle/ upcycle artist Melba La Gadoue and Dr Noel, bringing up in the finale, in fine style.

In the interest of fostering youth empowerment initiatives, Carte Blanche introduced youth advocate, feminist, and social activist Sadiya Yahya, to shed light on her social work and volunteerism.

Ron Robinson led the auction, invigorating the patrons to appreciate the artistes and contribute to the promotion of the “Living with Intention” mission, facilitated by Dr Noel, throughout the country and beyond.

Partners for this innovative enterprise include Tower Suites, DeSinco Trading for Lipton’s Tea, Spotlight Productions, Theatre Guild, Star Party Rentals, Le Treat Bakery, Pearl’s Bakery, Oasis Cafe, Ann’s Coconut Biscuits, Metro Office and Computer Supplies, Crafted by Chey, Impressions Branding, Nandre’s Kreations, and Pizza Hut. Carte Blanche seized the opportunity to take permission to craft our style and brand it for the world to acknowledge.

guyanatimesgy.com

friday, september 20, 2019

19

ARCHIE

ARIES

(March 21April 19)

dilbert

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

Get started and don’t stop until you reach your destination. Hard work will pay off, and the rewards will be worth your while. Personal change is encouraged.

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

Don’t let your emotions take over and lead you into a spat with someone you love. Focus on getting along and putting your energy into something you enjoy doing.

CANCER (June 21July 22)

Peanuts

Calvin and Hobbes

SUDOKU

You need to get out more.

What you experience when interacting with others or challenging yourself mentally or physically will encourage you to try something new. Romance is featured.

Stop talking and start doing. You’ll get a much better response from others if you are proactive instead of lazy. Nurture relationships instead of provoking trouble.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Look at what you can do to improve how you look and what you have to offer.

If you get together with people who share your sentiments, new possibilities will manifest.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Don’t put up with manipulative people trying to meddle in your life. Take control and do what works best for you. Surround yourself with people who share your beliefs instead of those who oppose them.

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Don’t lose time over something you cannot change. If you concentrate on what you can do, you will deter others from meddling in your affairs and slowing down your progress.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

Feeling the need to help others is fine, but take care of your personal business first. You will resent someone if you feel you wasted your time.

SAGITTARIUS Embrace positive people (Nov. 23and those who offer truth, Dec. 21) fairness and equality. If something sounds too good to be true, you should probably take a pass. Choose your associates wisely.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

solution for LAST PUBLISHED puzzle AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

Don’t let an outsider meddle in your personal affairs.

If change is required, implement what needs to be done and move on. Refuse to let anyone play with your emotions.

Make positive changes at home or to your lifestyle.

Implement a plan that will encourage good health and greater prosperity. Handle your money and health with moderation.

Look at your prospects and take on only what you know you can handle. Too much of anything will lead to your downfall. Refuse to let an emotional incident lead to indulgence.

20

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

friday, september 20, 2019

Australia Women make it 3 in 3 against West Indies A

ustralia Women completed their tour of the West Indies in domineering style, cantering to a nine-wicket victory in the final T20I with more than 12 overs to spare.

West Indies Women were bowled out for 81, with only Britney Cooper’s 29 offering any resistance as Jess Jonassen picked up a career-best 4 for 7, the fourth best T20I figures for Australia, and Georgia Wareham nabbed 3 for 14.

The chase thereafter was a mere formality, with Alyssa Healy cracking 38 off 16 balls to round off her prolific tour in style. The 75 balls remaining were both the most for an Australia victory and a West Indies defeat.

“It was always going to be a test tonight,” coach Matthew Mott said. “It’s been a long trip away, combined with the Ashes; so I was really pleased with the effort, particularly in the field, to bowl them out; then it was a clinical chase. It was a real challenge for the group, and they spoke about

3

SCOREBOARD

Jess Jonassen took four wickets as Australia restricted the West Indies to 81 in the third Twenty20I

it this morning. We like to finish off in style and close the book on things, so that was the most pleasing thing.

Can’t ask for much more.”

As has been the case throughout the trip, Australia made early inroads, with Megan Schutt striking in the third over and wickets falling steadily throughout as the West Indies were unable to build any momentum.

Wareham struck with her fourth delivery to remove captain Stafanie Taylor, who was playing her 100th T20I, and returned to grab two more. West Indies’ last six wickets fell for six runs, including three wickets in six deliveries in the 18th over, with Jonassen, the seventh bowler used by Meg Lanning, helping to scythe through the lower order.

Chesney Cricket Club hosts charity programme to mark BCB’s 80th anniversary

T

he Chesney Cricket Club, a member club of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB), in a collaborative action with the BCB as part of the 80th anniversary celebrations of that latter organisation, hosted 30 orphans of the Camal Children’s Home to a special luncheon.

This development came about in response to the suggestion that BCB President Hilbert Foster had made to all BCB-affiliated cricket clubs in the Ancient County: undertake a programme as part of the historic anniversary.

The clubs were encouraged to either host a charity programme or assist students to fulfill their educational ambitions in schools. Clubs have been asked to submit to the Berbice Cricket Board a photograph of the event they had undertaken, and at the culmination of activities to celebrate the 80th anniversary -- on September 30th, 2019 -- the BCB would select the best project and reward the winning club with a special prize.

Foster has hailed both the hard work of the Chesney Club and their cooperation with his administration. He has also encouraged them to continue their hard work, and has committed himself to working along with every club to fulfill their respective mandates.

Chesney Club Secretary Ricky Amoi has said the club is pleased to be involved in the 80th Anniversary Celebrations of the BCB;

Members of the Chesney Cricket Club serving lunch to children at the Camal Children’s Home

that its members pooled their own funds to undertake the project, and that similar programmes would be done in the future.

The BCB President is further encouraging clubs across Berbice to move away from being mere cricketing organisations to becoming agents of change in their communities.

Chesney had, in the past, a very active First Division Team, but now plays in all BCB Second Division tournaments. The Club had, in

2019, benefited from the following donations from the Berbice Cricket Board: a water pitcher, scorebook, educational materials, cricket balls, bicycle, and finance to effect its fencing programme; while it had also hosted the Dhieranidranauth Somwaru Tribute Tournament.

Players Sudesh Dhaniram, Sunil Dhaniram, Faizal Sattaur, Naresh Manbodhe, Shabika Gajbani and Imran Khan are all products of the Chesney club.

Australia’s chase was off to a blistering start, the opening over from Sheneta Grimmond going for 16; and it appeared that Healy would knock off the target herself, before cutting to short third man.

Victory was sealed by Beth Mooney and Ellyse Perry, the winning boundary coming from an elegant lofted cover drive by Mooney to leave no one in any doubt

West Indies Women Innings (20 overs maximum) Kyshona A Knight c Lanning b Schutt 2 B Cooper lbw b Wareham 29 SR Taylor (c) c Jonassen b Wareham 6 SACA King b Jonassen 6 NY McLean c Wareham b Schutt 15 SS Grimmond c Mooney b Jonassen 13 S Gajnabi run out (†Healy/ Haynes) 2 R Boyce † c Wareham b Jonassen 2 ASS Fletcher c & b Jonassen 0 A Mohammed c Kimmince b Wareham 0 K Ramharack not out 1 Extras 5 (lb 2, w 3) TOTAL 81 all out (20 Overs, RR: 4.05) Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Kyshona Knight, 2.1 ov), 2-23 (Stafanie Taylor, 6.4 ov), 3-42 (Stacy-Ann King, 11.5 ov), 4-55 (Britney Cooper, 13.4 ov), 5-75 (Natasha McLean, 15.6 ov), 6-77 (Sheneta Grimmond, 17.1 ov), 7-78 (Shabika Gajnabi, 17.4 ov), 8-78 (Afy Fletcher, 17.6 ov), 9-79 (Anisa Mohammed, 18.5 ov), 10-81 (Reniece Boyce, 19.6 ov)

about Australia’s superiori-

BOWLING M Schutt EA Perry DM Kimmince TJ Vlaeminck G Wareham EA Burns JL Jonassen

O M R W 3 0 14 2 2 0 4 0 1 0 8 0 4 0 23 0 4 0 14 3 2 1 9 0 4 0 7 4

Australia Women Innings (target: 82 runs from 20 overs) AJ Healy † c Ramharack b Fletcher 38 BL Mooney not out 24 EA Perry not out 17 Extras 4 (lb 1, w 3) TOTAL 83/1 (7.3 Overs, RR: 11.06) Did not bat: RL Haynes, MM Lanning (c), EA Burns, JL Jonassen, DM Kimmince, G Wareham, M Schutt, TJ Vlaeminck Fall of wickets: 1-45 (Alyssa Healy, 3.4 ov) BOWLING O M R W SS Grimmond 1 0 16 0 SR Taylor 1 0 11 0 A Mohammed 1 0 13 0 ASS Fletcher 2 0 20 1 SACA King 2 0 16 0 K Ramharack 0.3 0 6 0

ty. (Excerpted from Cricinfo)

Footballer Kelvin Maynard shot dead in Amsterdam F

ormer Burton Albion defender Kelvin Maynard has been shot and killed in Amsterdam, Dutch Police have confirmed.

The 32-year-old was shot in his car, and police are appealing for witnesses to come forward as they search for two suspects whom they say escaped on a black scooter.

Officers from a nearby fire station tried to help Maynard, but he later died of his injuries. The Dutch-Surinamese player, who had also had a spell at Royal Antwerp, had been at non-league Dutch club Alphense Boys when the incident occurred.

“Everyone at Burton Albion is saddened to learn of the tragic death of our former player Kelvin Maynard,” the club said in a statement. “Our sympathies go out to all his family and friends at this difficult time.”

Maynard had joined Burton in November

2014 following Dutchman Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s appointment as manager.

Speaking at the time, he had said it was “a dream” to play in England.

Injury had restricted him to 10 appearances as the Brewers won the 2014-15 League Two title, before he had been ruled out for the following campaign after suffering a knee injury in a pre-season game.

He had left Burton in January 2017 to join Dutch side Spakenburg.

In a statement, Alphense Boys said: “Last night, we received the terrible news of the death of Kelvin Maynard.

Our deepest condolences go to his wife and children, his family and friends.”

The club’s next fixture, due to be played on Saturday against Hollandia, has been postponed, and training was cancelled on Thursday. (Excerpted from BBCNews)

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BCB 80th anniversary celebrations…

Deonarine, Campbelle and Kanhai to be honoured “W

e strongly believe in honouring our heroes, and we want to do so while they are alive. Berbice Cricket has been successful over the last eighty years due to the outstanding contributions of countless workers and performances of countless individuals. Honouring them is just the Berbice Cricket Board’s way of saying, ‘Thank you your services, and for putting the Ancient County on the world cricketing map’.”

Those were the words of BCB Public Relations Officer Simon Naidu as he unveiled the Board’s plans to honour several outstanding Berbicians as part of its 80th Anniversary Celebrations.

West Indies players Narsingh Deonarine, Shemaine Campbelle and the Legendary Rohan Kanhai will be honoured as Berbice Greatest Cricketers at the Junior, Female and

Senior levels respectively.

Narsingh Deonarine represented Albion, Berbice, Guyana, and the West Indies at the Under-15 and Under-19 levels with great success while serving as captain as well.

Campbelle is the only Guyanese female cricketer to have scored centuries at the Club, County, Regional and International levels, and has represented the West Indies at the 20/20 and ODI levels for close to a decade.

Rohan Babulall Kanhai has been widely regarded as the Greatest Cricketer Berbice has produced, and he holds the record for the most Test

runs, Test appearances and most Test centuries made by any Berbician. Kanhai had also captained the West Indies in winning the 1975 World Cup. A portrait of each of these three players would be unveiled in the Berbice Cricket Board Office on the Dr. Tulsi Dyal Singh Wall of Fame.

Former outstanding cricketers Leslaine Lambert, Clayton Lambert, Mahendra Nagamootoo, N a r s i n g h Deonarine and Derick Kallicharran would also be Shemaine Campbelle

Narsingh Deonarine

inducted into the Berbice Hall of Fame; while outstanding Administrators Keith Foster, Anil Beharry, Malcolm Peters, Manohar Pooran and Carl Moore would also be inducted into the BCB Hall of Fame for Administrators.

The contribution of former Players Sudesh Dhaniram, Orvin Mangru, Deonarine Persaud, Andre Percival and Zaheer Moakan will be recognised under the

Tribute to Retired Cricketers programme; while Angela Haniff, Joseph Simon, Dennis D’Andrade and Esuan Crandon would each receive the BCB highest individual award, The Tribute to a Hero Award of Excellence.

BCB President Hilbert Foster has said that, every year, the Board under his leadership will strive to honour outstanding heroes.

Noting that clubs in Berbice were suffering from the lack of visionary and dedicated leadership displayed in officials, the BCB boss has said it is important for positive role model cricket executives to be honoured.

The awards have been made possible via sponsorship from Metro Office Supplies; Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, MS; Spready’s Snackette; Republic Bank (Guy) Ltd; J’s Printery; and Sentinel Security.

Boys’ Pee Wee tournament Silica Sands Golf Tournament tees off set to kick off tomorrow

tomorrow at the LGC

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A glimpse of last year’s action

H

undreds of young football hopefuls will tomorrow begin their quest to lift the coveted Courts Pee Wee Under 11 championship title as the 2019 edition of this tournament commences.

This grassroots’ level tournament, now in its eighth year, affords opportunity to primary school players to begin or develop their skills. With stakeholders such as Courts Guyana, and Banks DIH under their Rainforest Waters and Malta Supreme brands, over 4 million has been invested in the tournament, which is expected to run for about 7 weeks.

Twenty-four teams will be participating, namely: Ann’s Grove, Beterverwagting, Craig, Enterprise, FE Pollard, Genesis, JE Burnham, Marian Academy, Mocha, Mae’s, North Georgetown, Redeemer, St Agnes, St Ambrose, St Margaret, St Pius, St Stephen’s, Smith Memorial, Soesdyke, South Ruimveldt, Timehri, Tucville, Uitvlugt and West Ruimveldt Primary schools.

When the action begins tomorrow, the teams will begin their round robin stage, hoping to finish on top of their group. The knockout stages will begin soon after with round-of-sixteen, quarterfinals, semifinals, and the much anticipated final. 2018 Champions St. Pius Primary will be looking to successfully defend their title.

While the tournament will bring out a high level of competitiveness from the youngsters, they will have something more to play for, as the GFF Youth Development Officer has explained that the games will be

scouted closely for an upcoming Under-13 tournament,” “We’re going to send representatives there to scout the games, have a look at the players that we can bring forward,” Joseph has explained. “For the very first time, we’re going to have the National Under-13 group that is going to start preparing from January next year; so I’m quite sure that from within these players that are going to participate we’re going to find a few that will be eligible for that,” the Youth Development Officer went on to say.

The ‘Pee Wee’ Under-11 action is expected to commence at 13:00hrs on Saturday afternoon. The times were pushed back to accommodate students who attend the Ministry of Education’s Math Camp on Saturday mornings.

he third annual Silica Sands Golf Tournament in celebration of the academic achievements of Kayshav and Shreveda, son and daughter of Pandit Haresh Tiwari, will tee off today at 12:30h, and will feature Best Gross and Best Net, along with first and second places in Categories A, B and C. At the simple handover ceremony, the young Tiwaris expressed their support for the game, and declared how much they and their dad enjoy the sport. Shreveda was especially happy that young women are offered opportunities to participate.

This year Shreveda, a psychology first year student, joins her brother as they pursue their respective degrees of advanced studies.

Defending Guyana Open 9-time Champion, Avinash Persaud, will demonstrate his skills, along with top contenders Guillermo Escarraga, Mahesh Shivraj, Patrick Prasad, Mike Mangal, William Walker, Pur Persaud, Richard Hanif, Max Persaud and Aleem Hussain.

Female champions Joann Deo and Shanella London will tune up for the Suriname Open, scheduled for October 4-6.

Silica Sands is a local company created sixteen years ago by Pandit Haresh Tiwari, who rose from simple Lusignan roots to become one of the largest exporters of sand to the Caribbean and other countries. The company has a private wharf, mining areas, and the complete logistical facilities to export sand from Guyana to the world market.

Its monthly operational capacity is over 100,000 metric tons of the finest quality sand for the manufacture of glass, for construction purposes, and for the top golf courses in any port the customer desires.

Pandit Haresh has taken an especially deep interest in the LGC, having donated loads of special sand for the greens in an effort to raise the standards of the course and hopefully repeat his victory from the last year when Silica Sands sponsored a tournament.

As always, fans are welcome to visit the course and learn the game absolutely free, with a newly constructed lighted driving range donated by MACORP now fully operational. For more information, interested persons are invited to call 220-5660 or visit the Facebook page lusignan golf club.

Tomorrow’s Fixtures:

13:00 hrs - Timerhi vs St Ambrose 13:00 hrs - St Agnes vs Beterverwagting 13:50 hrs - Uitivlugt vs Anns grove 13:50 hrs - Soesdyke vs FE Pollard 14:40 hrs - Mocha vs Tucville 14:40 hrs - South RuImveldt vs Genesis 15:30hrs - St Pius vs Maes 15:30hrs - West Riumveldt vs Craig 16:20hrs - Marian Academy vs St Margaret 16:20hrs - Enterprise vs Smith memorial 17:10 hrs - St Stephens vs JE Burnham 17:10 hrs - North Riumveldt vs Redeemer

Shreveda Tiwari, Kayshav Tiwari and Aleem Hussain at the cheque handing over for Silica Sands Golf Tournament

22

friday, september 20, 2019

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

Heritage Games 2019 kick-off…

Allicock urges sportsmen to be disciplined

By Timothy Jaikarran

H

eld under the theme “Maintaining our Traditional Practices while promoting a Green Economy”, the 2019 edition of the Heritage Games kicked off in grand style.

The opening saw hundreds of people gathered last evening at the Everest Cricket Club ground under the moonlight to witness the opening of three days of action, featuring sports such as cricket, football, volleyball and archery.

The night opened with the Guyana Defence Force leading the march past as competing villages followed close in unison to every step of the beat. Also present at the ceremony were: Director of Sport, Christopher Jones; Minister of Indigenous Peoples Affairs, Hon. Sydney C. Allicock; and Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Hon. Valerie Garrido-Lowe.

In an address to the large gathering, the Hon. Valerie Garrido-Lowe said, “I welcome you this evening to the Heritage Games 2019.

The Heritage Games are growing, changes will have to come, as things will not always remain the same. For us, it is wonderful, as we are proud of the level that this sport has taken. I believe that soon we will have matches being played on an international level, as persons from overseas will visit and compete alongside us.

“We have seen an increase in our Guyanese brothers and sisters from all ethnic races coming out to celebrate with us in our culture, and it feels as though we are one. These Heritage Games have become a Guyanese Heritage for us. It can be compared to our motto, which states: ‘One People, One Nation, One Destiny’, we have changed for the better. So I welcome you all

Valerie Garrido-Lowe

to the Heritage Games, and I hope you enjoy what it has to offer.”

Also echoing the same remarks was Hon. Sydney C. Allicock, who urged the sportsmen and women to work hard towards their goals, and do so in all honesty and fairness.

He also said that, over the three days of the Games, competing athletes should carry themselves with discipline and show sportsmanship.

“Sports is what we can term a universal language, where there is no ethnic group, age, country; nothing but happiness, as long as you are an honest sportsman.

“The Ministry of Indigenous Peoples Affairs, and the Government by extension, is aware of this, that is why we continue to be bigger and better every year. I must urge the teams that, after these three days, whatever the results be, that the teams must plan ahead for 2020, to avoid hiccups.

Sydney C Allicock addressing the audience

“I urge you to be good sportsmen.

Everybody (is a) winner in their re-

gions, but we are looking for champions; but we must celebrate nevertheless. We are expecting high quality performance from everyone when they step out on to the field.”

The action will commence today at 09:30 hrs. The Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs is expecting that more than 600 sportsmen and women hailing from Indigenous villages across Guyana’s ten regions will be competing in the Games, and several cash prizes and trophies will be up for the taking.

In addition to the headline sports, the weekend’s activities would offer a number of novelty sports, such as: piwari-drinking, hot tuma pot-eating, firewood bursting competition, lime-and-spoon race, and other traditional novelty games.

‘Not in My House’ boxing card…

Keevin Allicock to face special fighter, says Steve Ninvalle ꟷ $100M+ in tickets slated to be given away T

he international boxing card “Not in My House”, slated for staging at the Durban Park in Georgetown on Saturday, September 28, has been subjected to two interesting twists of fortune, which are stated below.

In the first twist of fortune, in giving all Guyanese an opportunity to celebrate the return of boxing in a manner that was never previously done, the holders of the card, NexGen Global Marketing/Caribbean Knockouts and HJ Entertainment, are making a historic gesture of generosity, and their lead will be followed by the New Trend Auto, NCN, and Cloud 9 among a host of local businesses.

Thus more than $100 million in free tickets will be given away as follows: 30,000 General Admission tickets and 4,000 VIP Ringside tickets will be given away to members of the public, but only through the sponsors of this event; and at the same time, armed services’ personnel of Guyana will be rewarded with free admission to the event.

Durban Park is a place that has tremendous potential for entertainment, and it is slated to host this, the largest boxing and music festival in Guyana's history.

The other interesting twist to this international event, in which fighters from Colombia, USA and Trinidad will square off against the best that Guyana has to offer under sanction of the Guyana Boxing Board, is best described in the words of Steve Ninvalle, President of the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association, who had this to say: "We have an incredible amateur boxing team that won more gold medals at the Caribbean Games, and nothing was done to honour them. So, in a way, this is their homecoming moment of glory, and we

have brought in a special fighter to face Mr. Allicock, who is returning from training and fighting in Russia".

After more than 45 rounds of top quality boxing, the main event of this night will see Dexter "The Kid" Marques square off against the dangerous Colombian fighter Jose Antonio Jimenez.

Speaking for the promotional team of this event, Aleem Hussain said, "With attention focused on oil discoveries by Exxon and Tullow, it is easy to forget the little man in the street, who will not see the benefits from those discoveries for a while; and it’s time that the people of Guyana get a major entertainment event without a huge cost attached.

“Unlike other events, such as cricket, where entry is as much as $6,000, this event is totally FREE through sponsors' ticket distribution, and we expect that the thousands of persons in attendance will in turn purchase over $50 million in food and drinks from small local vendors, who will be able to sell their items without charge!

“We believe that by giving back to the community, we are accomplishing several things: creating a way for everyone to earn some money, stimulating the economy, and most of all, showcasing the talent that Guyanese have to the world.

“We wish to thank Minister Norton, who without hesitation offered the use of the facility to host this event; and the exceptional professionalism of Mr. Trevor Williams, who responded immediately to our request."

The event is scheduled to be broadcast live locally on NCN, and streamed to the rest of the world to see what Guyana has to offer.

Top Guyanese-born Chef Bernard James is returning from Los Angeles to serve up spe-

Keevin Allicock throws a punch in his Pan-Am Games bout

cial cuisine at this event, which is expected to attract more than 12,000 patrons.

HJ Entertainment's Kerwin Bollers has said he's excited about the possibilities, and hopes that this will show Guyanese that anything is possible, and that the biggest dreams can be realised.

"Who would have thought that Durban Park would be home to the biggest boxing and music festival in Guyana's history? We are seriously looking at making this a regular feature for our company and the Guyana Carnival calendar of events," he declared.

President of the GBBC, Peter Abdool, has enthused about the possibilities, and has declared that as long as this incredible model proves successful, "Guyana will become as Aleem said, the Mecca of boxing

in the region; and we will host major championships here on a regular basis, possibly even a world title event soon."

Partnering with the promotions team are local entrepreneurs/businessmen Aditka Persaud and Rudy Ramalingum of New Trend Auto. Both men are enthusiastic about the upcoming event, and are looking forward to seeing sports lead the way in development of tourism, job creation, and promotion of Guyana on the world stage.

"This is only the beginning of great things the extraordinary team we have put together will accomplish in the months ahead," Rudy Ramalingum has said.

After the boxing, HJ Entertainment/ Guyana Carnival Music Festival will be hosting a free concert for all patrons.

guyanatimesgy.com

friday, september 20, 2019

23

Limacol Football Tournament…

GT Panthers edge Beacons for 1st win

…Northern Rangers, Buxton Stars settle for draw

W

hile the GT Panthers enjoyed their first win of the Limacol Football Tournament, Northern Rangers and Buxton Stars had to settle for shared points after Wednesday evening’s action.

Two late goals on both sides of the field brought excitement to the Ministry of Education Ground on Carifesta Avenue when GT Panthers faced off with Beacons FC in their round 2 encounter.

Vincent Thomas got the score sheet ticking in the 7th minute when he gave GT Panthers the early advantage; and the GT Panthers in turn worked tirelessly to hold on to the lead, and did so well into the second half.

But just when it seemed as though the encounter would end with the 1-0 score, Beacons’ Rawle Adams slipped one past the Panthers’ goalkeeper to level the scores in the 85th minute.

However, with GT Panthers intent on bagging the full points, Anson Lynch hit one on target in the 90th minute for a 2-1 win.

The back-and-forth scoring in the following game greatly entertained the sizable crowd, but when the final whistle blew, neither side was able to walk away with the victory.

The excitement in the GT Panthers v Beacons game came in the final minutes

Buxton Stars’ Captain Jumali Major opened the scoring for the East Coast team in the 14th minute, but the scores were equalised by Keith Caines in the 29th minute.

Soon after, Akeel Pinheiro netted another for Northern Rangers in the 32nd minute, and Anthony Sancho found the back of the net in the 42nd, just before the half, for a 3-1 score.

But the Buxton Stars would not go quietly into the night. Their second goal came off the boots of Neil Hutson in the 56th minute, and Shemar Scott levelled the scores in the 67th minute.

Thereafter, neither side could summon enough reserves of strength and skill to strike another goal, resulting in the 3-3 draw.

The New GPC-sponsored tournament is now heading into its third round of games, after which the knockouts will commence.

Eight teams will advance to the quarterfinals before those are chopped down to the semis, and eventually the final showdown.

This tournament, also supported by WJ Enterprise, will see the winner walking away with $400,000. Second place will receive $200,000, while third place gets $100,000.

Fourth place will receive $50,000.

Barcelona ahead Tridents & Zouks in uphill battle ꟷ teams evenly matched of schedule …in bid to surpass

T

he Caribbean Premier League 2019 Tournament may seem to have been ongoing for a long time, and while some teams have played a lot more matches than others, the Barbados Tridents, which have so far played just three matches, have a busy couple of weeks ahead of them.

They are going to be taking on the St. Lucia Zouks as both sides try to move up the points table. The fight for the third spot looks likely to be close, as both contending teams are right in the thick of things. St. Lucia Zouks vs the Barbados Tridents in CPL 2019 is going to be played at the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet, St. Lucia today, September 20, and it is therefore apposite to examine both teams.

St Lucia Zouks A very poor batting performance in their most recent match let the St. Lucia Zouks down. Batting first, the Zouks could manage only 138 against a decent St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots side. Considering the scores that have been registered in CPL 2019, a mere 138 was never going to be enough, and the Zouks ended up conceding that total in less than 15 overs.

After that match, the Zouks will hope for a resurgence in their fortunes playing at home. They will be looking to Rahkeem Cornwall and Andre Fletcher to provide them with the blistering start to which they have become accustomed, and both these batsmen play high-risk cricket, which is very exciting to watch. They are either going to score at a phenomenal rate or they are going to get out in the first few overs of the game.

The Barbados Tridents have some exciting spinners in their ranks, and it would not be

€1B in turnover

B

surprising to see one of them take up the new ball; but the St. Lucia Zouks have some good allrounders in their middle order, although their overall batting appears to be a bit thin.

Colin de Grandhomme, Thisara Perera and Darren Sammy provide depth to the lineup, but it would be disappointing to see them come in to bat early. The role of Kavem Hodge and Roland Cato in the top order is therefore crucial. The St. Lucia Zouks’ bowling lineup is quite good.

Fawad Ahmed has so far been brilliant in CPL 2019, and he is going to be the biggest threat to the Barbados Tridents.

Obed McCoy, Kesrick Williams, Hardus Viljoen, and Rakheem Cornwall give the Zouks plenty of good bowling options from which to choose.

Barbados Tridents The Barbados Tridents are likely to be without Englishman Alex Hales for this match, as he returns to Nottinghamshire to participate in the T20 Blast Finals Day. Which team Hales is going to be playing for is

unclear, but he is very unlikely to remain for the CPL 2019.

The loss of their best batsman is going to hit the Tridents hard, but they still have Johnson Charles, JP Duminy and the impressive Leniko Boucher to call upon, although replacing Hales is not easy. Jason Holder and Jonathan Carter will each probably have to play a larger role in the batting.

The depth of the Tridents’ batting lineup is also considered shallow, and a lot will depend on how JP Duminy fares. Ashley Nurse was the highest scorer for the Barbados Tridents in the previous match, and he actually helped them achieve a somewhat respectable total, but that is not a situation the Tridents would want to have repeated.

Jason Holder, Sandeep Lamichhane, and Hayden Walsh were the best bowlers for the Barbados Tridents in the previous match, and seeing Lamichhane against some of

the St. Lucia big-hitters is an interesting prospect, as his four overs could be crucial to the outcome of the match.

The Barbados Tridents are considered to be looking a bit thin on talent and a bit too dependent on Duminy. Not having Hales could severely diminish the prospects of the team, and make it difficult for them to compete.

Pitch and conditions In this highly anticipated match-up, there is a 20% chance of rain intervening on match day, but getting a full match is highly likely. The pitch at this Darren Sammy Stadium has been quite lively of recent.

There is a good amount of pace in the wicket, and that should translate to plenty of runs being scored. The spinners are probably going to have to work harder here for their wickets than at any other venue in the CPL. It is expected that the team that wins the toss is going to want to bat first and take advantage of the batting conditions.

arcelona expect to announce an eye-watering turnover in excess of €1billion ahead of schedule in 2020.

The forecast is claimed to be “a new record in the world of sport”, and is on course to be reached before the club’s stated target of 2021.

La Liga champions in four of the past five seasons, Barca’s revenue climbed by €76 million to a club-record €990m for the 2018-19 season.

The Camp Nou outfit spent large sums on Frenkie de Jong and Antoine Griezmann ahead of the 2019-20 campaign, but project a three per cent reduction in “sporting salaries” and nine per cent increase in income for player transfers and loans after parting with Andre Gomes, Malcom and Jasper Cillessen among other fringe members of Ernesto Valverde’s squad.

Barca’s finances might look less robust if the club succeeds in its attempts to sign Neymar from Paris SaintGermain. The Brazil international moved between the teams for €222m in August 2017, but wants to return to his former employers, who investigated the possibility of a deal during the last transfer window.

On the pitch, head coach Valverde’s hopes of retaining his job appear to hinge heavily on delivering victory in the Champions League.

Lionel Messi made the competition a priority when he spoke of being committed to Barca on the condition of sustained success.

“For me, money or a clause don’t mean anything. Other things motivate me, and the most important thing is having a winning team,” he told SPORT this month. (Sportsmax)

friday, september 20, 2019

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

guyanatimesgy.com

Page 23

Tridents & Zouks in uphill battle ꟷ teams evenly matched

Limacol Football Tournament

GT Panthers edge Beacons for 1st win …Northern Rangers, Buxton Stars settle for draw

Page 23

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