Guyana Times International 01 March 2019

INTERNATIONAL

NY Mayor, Governor announce 10-point plan to transform and fund MTA Page 7

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

‘No elections date, no meeting’

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You can also read Guyana Times daily edition online at www.guyanatimesgy.com

ISSUE NO. 438

WEEK ENDING March 3, 2019

…Jagdeo slams Govt over ‘fraudulent behavior’

See story on page 3

Former British soldier, Richard Allen, journeyed some 3000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean to raise awareness about the Commonwealth, an international association of 53 countries, nearly all of them former colonies of the British Empire.

He ended his journey on Wednesday evening when he landed on the shores of Guyana. His solo voyage around the world lasted about three months and he visited countries like France, Spain, Morocco, Italy, Egypt, Jordon, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, and Trinidad and Upon his arrival, Allen was welcomed by Supriya Singh-Bodden of the Guyana Foundation, United Kingdom High Commissioner to Guyana Gregg Quinn and British Security Advisor to President David Granger, Retired Col. Russ Combe.

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WEEK ENDING MARCH 3 , 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

NEWS 3

WEEK ENDING MARCH 3 , 2019| guyanatimeSinternational.com

‘No elections date, no meeting’ O

…Jagdeo slams Govt over ‘fraudulent behavior’

pposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, on Thursday, said that he would not be accepting an invitation to meet with President David Granger to discuss the current political situation unless he abides by the provisions of the Constitution and call a date for General and Regional Elections constitutionally due by March 19.

Speaking at a Press Conference at his office,

File photo: Presiddent David Granger and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo during a previous engagement

Jagdeo related that he would no longer be writing the President regarding additional agenda items he wished to discuss at the meeting as there is no need to do so. “There is no merit to meet on the two issues that he has asked me to meet on because they are provided for in Constitution”.

“Unless there is a time for election on the agenda, there will be no meeting,” the Opposition

Leader said.

“I am not going to be showing up for a PR opportunity with the President while they act as if everything is normal”, Jagdeo added.

Jagdeo also lashed out at the APNU/AFC Government for engaging in what he referred to as “fraudulent behaviour”, after it altered the letter instructing the Guyana Elections continued on page 7

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WEEK ENDING MARCH 3 , 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com The Golden Arrowhead flutters on Republic Day in Georgetown Guyana (DPI photo)

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EDITORIAL

Government’s role in business

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he ongoing three-way contretemps between RUSAL, its workers and trade union, and the Government has once again brought to the fore the vexed question of the PNC-led Government’s position on the now dominant neo-liberal “nightwatchman” state. This model did not just shrink the Government’s role in the economy, but rejected it taking any responsibility for alleviating the condition of the poorer elements of society. Unions were demobilized, and workers reverted to dealing directly with employers.

The PNC stuck doggedly to this position when it shut down four of the seven sugar estates and ignored its “social responsibility” to the 7000 workers that were fired and the over 100,000 affected in the rural communities that depended on the monies injected by those workers. This retreat from social responsibility was even more callous, since it was undertaken with an unabashed Marxist, Clive Thomas, at the head of GuySuCo, after he has spent his previous 50 years railing against the “capitalist” reliance on markets for making decisions.

Even in the US, the Government had rediscovered its “social responsibility” and intervened in the market to save General Motors, and indeed several banks, which were all declared as “too big to fail” in 2008; but not the PNC/APNU Government in Guyana with the sugar industry in 2016. Government insisted that the subsidies were too onerous, and even rejected its own CoI recommendation that the subsidies continue for another three years while the company be brought to a point of sale.

However, from its stance on RUSAL’s firing of 61 bauxite workers, the PNC/APNU Government appears to have rediscovered its “social responsibility” from its socialist days. It dragged the bauxite company to the table, and demanded that the fired workers be rehired forthwith, and presumably they be paid for the days they were on strike, as demanded.

RUSAL is yet to respond to this interjection of the state into its relations with its workers; but, for sure, the multinational corporations (MNCs) that are expected to flock to our shores after first oil will be looking on with great interest at the Government’s stance on its role in the economy.

The neo-liberal, hands-off ethos for the state was articulated a half-century ago by the influential thinker Ayn Rand, and summarised in her novel “Atlas Shrugged”, which still sells 150 thousand copies annually. Basically, Rand derided altruism (“breeds immorality and evil”) and trumpeted selfishness (“the highest virtue”). She lionised the human ego, rejected God as an artifice for the expiation of human failures, extolled the separation of state and the economy, and promoted governmental deregulation.

Basically, the flaw with this model goes to the very core of its central premise – the exaltation of selfishness. Its adherents miscalculated the power of its corollary, greed, which had been kept in check — however tenuously — by the old regulatory framework. In practical terms, the model raises what is known in economics and related fields as the issue of “moral hazard”. It identifies the ever-present dilemma posed when people who are “back-stopped” become more inclined to take risks. Where does one then draw the line?

Business and entrepreneurial behaviour is at the bottom, a matter of taking risks; and society is willing to have those who take risks receive the rewards – if, on the whole, the entire society benefits. And this last point was the motive behind governmental regulation. For instance, early on, when the corporation was invented as a “legal body” to encourage investments without threatening personal assets, there were laws enacted to ensure that the facility was not flagrantly abused. Closer home to the present crisis, banks should be heavily regulated to ensure that depositors’ money is secure, because the state had given them a virtual and literal power to create money. They were forced to be conservative but steady.

The state therefore has a responsibility to both workers and businesses, and it is hoped that this PNC-led Government would not just opportunistically intervene, but pronounce where it would draw the line.

Guyana Govt was well aware of negative impacts of closure of sugar industry, yet it proceeded Dear Editor, Once again, the GAWU cannot allow the patent falsehoods of Vice President and Minister of Public Security and AFC Chairman, Khemraj Ramjattan to be left unanswered lest his remarks related to sugar be considered truthful.

The Public Security Minister, a known lighting-rod of controversy, appearing on an online programme titled “Is there a constitutional crisis looming?” that was broadcasted on the internet on February 23, 2019, made, from our point-of-view, a number of incorrect statements regarding the sugar industry.

The Minister, on the matter, said that the Administration had spent G$36 billion during the first three years of its life.

But what the Minister didn’t tell the audience was that the sum represented 3.7 per cent of aggregate expenditure. He also didn’t say that those monies supported the lives of nearly 70,000 Guyanese or 9.3 per cent of the population or that some of those monies were used for consumption and, therefore, helped to support the lives of thousands more Guyanese.

Undoubtedly, the Minister was disingenuous in what he was saying and clearly was speaking from one side of his mouth.

The Vice President went on to say Government’s support of sugar was dragging the economy down. Well, now the support has stopped and what we have is the significant curtailment of consumption of thousands of Guyanese who were linked to the nowclosed Skeldon, Rose Hall, East Demerara and Wales Estates.

In fact, the workers are experiencing such hard times, they have resorted to catching fish and picking wildly grown vegetables in the backlands to feed their families.

The NIS has also lost thousands of contributors which must be taking a toll on the Scheme. The GRA also has lost

many, many millions in income and value-added taxes associated with the workers. And the economy has lost several million US dollars in export earnings. In fact, for us, it was not unsurprising to read about the increased costs for foreign currency and to learn about shortages in the country as well. So we ask, isn’t the vacuum created by the closure of the estates dragging not only the economy but communities down too?

Then Minister Ramjattan boldly said that about 4000 workers lost their jobs. This, again, is completely a figment of the Minister’s imagination.

Contrary to the Minister’s bold assertion, it was approximately 7000 workers who lost their jobs. First, 1700 were pushed onto the breadline when Wales Estate was closed at the end of 2016. Then nearly 5000 were sent home when the Skeldon, Rose Hall and East Demerara Estates closed at the end of 2017. The Minister’s sordid attempt to downplay the reality cannot stand scrutiny whatsoever.

Regarding the payment of severance to the thousands of displaced workers, the Minister said that the Government hadn’t enough monies to offset the payments. This excuse has been used so many times that its repetition is now laughable. The fact remains that the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act required that the workers be paid their monies in full.

The Government was well aware of this, yet it persisted to act contrary to the law.

Eventually, as the public well knows, the matter was addressed by the High Court which found the Government in breach and awarded the workers interests on their outstanding payments. The argument about having insufficient monies, in our view, is irrelevant, as the Government was well aware that thousands of work-

ers had to be paid their severance payments since it decided, in the first place, to make them jobless. GuySuCo even informed the GAWU in the latter part of 2017 that it shared with the Administration an estimated cost for those payments. To then turn around and argue that monies were not available could only be seen as a futile attempt to pull the wool over the Guyanese peoples’ eyes. The fact is, when one considers the extravagance that permeates the Government nowadays, monies could have been found but it is our view that the withholding was yet another means of punishment.

The Minister told the programme that Barbados had taken its sugar lands and converted them to golf courses, seemingly to insinuate that the island had ceased sugar production. Though the island-State may have put some sugar lands into alternative use, it didn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater as the country still maintains its sugar industry.

The Minister, in making the Barbados inference, pointed to the need for diversification. But we ask, what the Government has done in this regard? We should not forget that G$30 billion has been borrowed towards diversifying the currently operable estates but that sum has largely remained locked away.

Moreover, the GAWU strongly advocates that the industry’s sustainability was rooted in its diversification and the Union in its presentation on February 17, 2017, to the Government, which incidentally, was led by Minister Ramjattan, outlined how the diversification trust should be pursued.

The Minister also accepted that the decisions on sugar had a socioeconomic impact.

But when the necessity of a socioeconomic impact assessment was brought to his attention continued on page 6

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NEWS 5

Guyana’s trade unions stand in solidarity with bauxite workers

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number of trade unionists took to the streets in Georgetown on Thursday, standing in solidarity with the workers who were arbitrarily dismissed by the Russian-controlled bauxite company.

The union representatives are calling for the government to stand firm against the bauxite

Guyanese employees.

Mr. Lewis related that leaders of other Unions are cognizant of the fact that RUSAL seems to be operating with impunity in Guyana and that citizens are the ones suffering.

General Secretary of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), Coretta McDonald, stated that the policies in place for

Komal Chand noted that RUSAL needs to re-engage the approximately 90 workers that it sent packing, and let them resume their duties, without any deductions to their pay and benefits.

He added that RUSAL cannot claim to be operating at a loss in Guyana.

As the issues intensify, residents of

company which is refusing to reinstate the employees.

President of the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GBGWU), Lincoln Lewis has said that this protest outside of RUSAL’s Headquarters in Queenstown, is only the beginning and similar actions will continue to ensure that the Russian owned company adheres to the laws of Guyana and corrects its actions against its

foreign companies operating in Guyana need to be reviewed and revamped to ensure that Guyanese employees are not taken advantage of.

She explained that stipulations must be laid out and that would be the only way to ensure that Guyanese employees are protected from foreign companies which exploit them.

Furthermore, President of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU),

Kwakwani, Region 10 – where RUSAL operates – retaliated against the company blocking the access road which leads to its operations.

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman has already instructed the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to commence a technical review of the company’s operations in light of these developments.

Teachers hoping for swift action in 2019 wages negotiations

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he Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) has already submitted to Government its 2019 proposal for benefits and salaries.

The union’s General Secretary Coretta McDonald said she is hoping that decisions can be made and implemented swiftly, so as to avoid more strike actions.

The Union is already warning Government that it is prepared to strike again if talks about teachers’ benefits and salaries do not make any significant progress.

She explained that the proposal submitted, unlike previous years, caters for a longer period than 12 months.

McDonald pointed out that the GTU’s proposal is not only focused on the financial benefits for teachers but also to ensure that while the teaching staff have the relevant equipment and tools to deliver quality education in classrooms, the students can utilize them as well, especially in the area of technology.

General Secretary Coretta McDonald

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CARICOM should play a more meaningful role in Guyana’s current political crisis Dear Editor, The tension in Guyana continues to be heightened as the deadline for the NCM (No-Confidence Motion) that was successfully passed on December 21, 2018, is closely approaching. While the Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo publicly ventilated his argument on the NCM, President David Granger refused to comment on the issue of the NCM. As Guyanese, we should urge Caricom to start playing a more meaningful role in the current political crisis that is developing in Guyana and must not allow the current situation to escalate to what transpired post-election December 15, 1997, with an election unrest.

The then intervention by Caricom successfully facilitated and support mechanisms to lubricate the process of sustained dialogue to foster harmony and confidence between political parties.

External pressure must be enforced immediately on the President in order to derail this constitutional crisis that is already evident in Guyana. President David Granger’s refusal to respect the parliamentary sovereignty or legislative supremacy is an erosion of parliamentary democracy in Guyana. There is no constitutional court or Supreme Court that can have an explicit right to declare a law unconstitutional.

The Constitution of Guyana did not give President David Granger the power, privilege or authority to violate the supreme laws of Guyana but empowered him by the oath of office to be the President of Guyana.

Therefore, if we examine the oath of office, "I ..... Do hereby solemnly declare that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the people of Guyana, that I will execute the office of President

without fear or favour affection or ill will and that in the execution of the functions of that office I will honour, uphold and preserve the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana ". It confirmed that the oath is a binding contractual agreement between the President and the people of Guyana, to ensure that the Constitution is being upheld, respected and protected.

The President must also be cautious since Article 9 of the Guyana Constitution, which deals with sovereignty, indicates that, "Sovereignty belongs to the people, who exercise it through their representatives and the democratic organs established by or under the Constitution".

What this Article is telling us, is that the people as a whole are supreme in relation to any actions taken by any elected officials. President David Granger must remember that he serves as a representative of the people and not a supreme leader of the people since the President has taken an oath of office to respect the Constitution. As such, he is subject to the laws and is duty-bound to obey them.

We must remember that the President and GECOM are creatures of the Constitution, the Constitution is not a creature of the President nor GECOM. This definitely means that the office-holders must not operate above this supreme instrument, but strictly within the confines of the Constitution.

The media, which is considered a vital institution to democracy and participates in the process of sharing information, ideas etc should continue to stand in protection of the supreme laws of our country.

Regards, Zamal Hussain

More empty promises from APNU/AFC Ministers Dear Editor, As I watch the news and read the daily newspapers, I can't help but smile and curse at the same time when I see the coalition Government Ministers going all over the country to meet, greet and share out goodies to the ordinary people in their villages while making more promises that if the people re-elect them in the upcoming elections they will enjoy more good life.

Editor, it makes me very angry to see that these Ministers still believe that the people are gullible and will forget all the promises that were made to them in 2015. Well, I have some news for these Ministers, don't insult the intelligence of the Guyanese people, they are smarter than all of you and I guarantee, you are in for a rude awakening in the upcoming elections.

Editor, I would like to focus this missive on the AFC Ministers because it is the votes that they garner that caused the coalition to win the elections and as everyone knows, most of those votes were from disgruntled PPP supporters. Leader of the AFC, Raphael Trotman in the Sunday Stabroek News of February 3, 2019, whilst addressing the National Executive Council of the party, acknowledged that the party did make some missteps in Government and the leaders forgot the masses and he

knows they are hurt but promised that they will work fervently to make things right.

Editor, for the enlightenment of Trotman, Nagamootoo, Ramjattan, Patterson and all the leaders of the AFC, let me share a classic example of their betrayal of the people.

Before the 2015 elections, all of them were readily available and accessible. You could talk, call or text them anytime and you would get a reply. Lo and behold, after the elections, they were all missing in action. It was as if they did not exist anymore. On the rare occasions that they came to Berbice and held call-in programmes on local television stations, I tried to implore, nay beg, Ramjattan and Patterson to do something about my street which is in a deplorable state, but it was like throwing water on a duck's back.

They just brushed you off with all kinds of excuse and went along their merry way. During those times, they didn't care a hang about the people but now they are running back to the people, begging them for their votes.

Well, I want to tell them, “boat done gone a fall" and in the meantime, we the residents are repairing our street with our own money. You will hear from us in the upcoming elections.

Yours faithfully, Imtiaz Baccus

Govt must do what the Constitution prescribes

Dear Editor, As the anti-democratic chalice of the PNC/R-led coalition burns, President David Granger’s unilateral appointed Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) adds fuel and fans the flames. Under his stewardship, the Commission tends to invalidate its own constitutional mandate, that of the Legislature and the Judiciary. The implications would be deep, sacrificial, and revolutionary for all citizens of our dear land.

Obviously, under the directed political mandate of the PNC/R, the stooge Chairman Justice (ret’d) James Patterson continues to lean impulsively in favour of the fallen coalition while obliterating all semblance of democratic norms. Patterson has teamed up with his septuagenarian and octogenarian directorate to cast his deciding vote on every single occasion against a proposition of balance and transparency.

The rule of law, the future of our youths and country do not seem to matter as this PNC/R-led APNU/AFC coalition Government demonstrates a hell-bent power-at-any-cost agenda, premised on taking our country into a constitutional crisis. It is indeed most shameful and unacceptable that this wicked cabal is now showing that they are willing to risk taking our citizens for granted again as they had prior to the carried No-Confidence Motion.

Mr Granger, Patterson and the APNU Commissioners lead the subversion of the Guyana Constitution, as the fallen Government continues to flaunt and fleece the treasury. In the face of international condemnation, Guyana now faces its biggest threats at the wanton fantasy of the APNU/AFC cabal and its tainted GECOM faction.

The baseless diversions and excuses emerging from GECOM are most shameful and abominable. From the apparent trumped-up sick leave of Patterson to his refusal to commence election preparations since the passing of the December 21, 2018, No-Confidence Motion is both sickening and sad. GECOM’s Secretariat, led by CEO Lowenfield has also contradictorily moved to complement the delaying posture of trampling on citizen’s rights.

Lowenfield has paradoxically synchronised his knowledge and revelations that the List of Electors is sufficiently clean to proceed with the elections, with deliberately extended timelines as another farcical excuse. The issue of funds

being budgeted for house-to-house registrations is also most absurd. It is a fact that GECOM as a constitutional agency, receives appropriated funds as a full package to use as necessary.

It is also important to recognise that whenever any other law and the Constitution conflictingly collide, the Constitution takes precedence and all agencies and administrators of the Acts must make the necessary adjustments.

So, realistically, there is really no basis for excuses, and steps must be taken to hold all and sundry accountable for their roles in this sick semantical dance. This column calls for a Commission of Inquiry as soon as the elections are over, to hold these players accountable for their damning assault on the Constitution and citizens.

It is a fact that very serious and incomparable levels of corruption are taking place at all points in the APNU/AFC Government. As for GECOM, the honest and loyal staff are sparing no efforts to expose all the illegal and comprising transactions that are taking place. The Information Officer of GECOM and the Chief Executive Officer already said that they are ready for Regional and National Elections.

Lowenfield’s pronouncements on the List as ready and authentic means that it could be simply updated under one legitimate Continuous Registration Cycle.

GECOM has money and they must utilise the money in the best interest of the country and prevent a constitutional crisis. A less than civil and lawful society would not benefit anyone; neither would the APNU/AFC’s bondage.

After March 19, 2019, there will be no legitimate Government without David Granger and GECOM properly addressing the National Elections. All hell can break loose should the illegal APNU/ AFC try to force their will on citizens as the ultimate police state looms. However, we cannot, at any cost, encourage a dictatorship in Guyana and the Guyanese people must deal with this malignant cancer in a truly revolutionary spirit.

It is of note that due process has been followed thus far and that the warnings of the international community are unmistakably pellucid. That the Legislature duly passed the No-Confidence Motion and the eminent Chief Justice refused to grant an order for a stay of the constitutional period for election.

Sincerely, Neil Kumar

Guyana Govt was well aware of negative impacts...

from page 4

during a meeting with the trade unions and the Opposition – PPP/C – on February 03, 2017, he unambiguously told those present that the Government would not pursue such a study but the trade unions and Opposition could do so if they so desire.

To now turn around and admit there was an impact but failing beforehand to ascertain what that impact would be, gives rise to the view of whether the Government really had the people in mind and in heart before it took the decisions it ultimately did.

Today, while the Minister seeks to offer a defence to the situation and conduct which clearly is indefensible, the GAWU see its worthwhile to recall what Finance Minister Winston Jordan said about the sugar industry in his 2015 budget address “[t]he economic well-being of the sugar industry is critical to the protection of jobs and growth

of the economy as well as the contribution it makes to GDP, exports and foreign exchange”.

We wonder what happened to such sentiments when the Administration resorted to its approach to the industry especially recognising that its own sugar Commission of Inquiry told it that closure was not an option that should be considered. So, today, while Minister Ramjattan seeks to obviously justify the Administration’s approach, the reality is thousands of Guyanese men, women and children are the hapless victims, living in miserable circumstances and difficult times. Even more disconcerting is that the State, rather than lending a helpful hand, has instead turned its back on them.

Yours faithfully, Seepaul Narine General Secretary GAWU

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WEEK ENDING MARCH 3 , 2019| guyanatimeSinternational.com

‘No elections date, no meeting’... from page 3

Commission (GECOM) to prepare for national elections.

On February 25, President David Granger dispatched a letter to GECOM Chairman, Justice (rtd) James Patterson, instructing that the Commission begin preparing for elections.

The letter reads: “The Government of Guyana is committed to doing everything possible to ensure that the commission is provided with the financial resources and has sufficient time to conduct credible elections. I urge the Commission, therefore,

“This is fraudulent behaviour. Obviously after the first letter went off, there was some internal problem…and they then changed the letter and put this letter up,” the Opposition Leader suggested.

“I don’t think we can even move forward as a country if you have a government operating fraudulently. This is fraudulent on the part of the Granger Administration,” Jagdeo added.

“He has to say why he issued two letters to the Chairman of GECOM which contradicts each other,” said Jagdeo as

should not be the case.

GECOM’s mandate, as stipulated by the Constitution, clearly states in Article 162 (1) of the Constitution that: “The Elections Commission shall have such functions connected with or relating to the registration of electors or the conduct of elections as are conferred upon it by or under this Constitution or, subject thereto, any Act of Parliament.”

Jagdeo had said: “GECOM has a moral and ethical responsibility to get elections done before March 19. What is before the Commission

to commence preparations for the conduct of GRE.” It added, “The Government of Guyana will initiate measures to provide funds required and to seek the approval of the National Assembly to ensure that an agreement can be reached given both the Constitutional requirements and GECOM’s capability.”

However, an altered letter released by the Ministry of the Presidency to the public, contradicts what was stated in the original correspondence.

The altered letter reads: “I have noted also, GECOM as a constitutional agency would require a new appropriation of funds approved by the National Assembly for the conduct of General and Regional Elections. I now write you in that context for us to initiate consultations on the readiness of GECOM for the conduct of General and Regional Elections in 2019.”

The letter makes no mention of the Headof-State’s instruction to begin preparing for the elections, which are constitutionally due by March 19, 2019 – following the passage of the no confidence motion which saw the toppling of the Coalition Government on December 21, 2018.

he repeatedly accused the Guyanese leader of engaging in “fraudulent behaviour”. He said the election commissioners received one letter.

The Opposition Leader suggested that the President came under internal political pressure after the first letter had been dispatched and he sent a second letter. “If there are two letters, which is the one that we will use?” he asked.

The Opposition has accused the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and the Government of deliberately trying to delay the holding of the General and Regional Elections constitutionally due by March.

Although the Opposition has been calling for elections within the constitutional time frame, the Government claimed that it was up to GECOM’s readiness to host same.

The PPP had said that the situation at GECOM would certainly guarantee that Guyana is pushed towards a constitutional crisis.

It said that GECOM in its refusal to hold elections demonstrated its illogical willingness to toe the Government’s line. In so doing, it has made the Constitution of Guyana subservient to the will of the Commission and this

now is to come up with actions to ensure this. So, I don’t know where this thing about July is coming in. There is only one way that date can be extended. And Opposition and Government have to agree by a two-thirds majority.”

GECOM had given July as a timeline for the hosting of elections, but at the same time, it stated that the present voters’ list would expire on April 30.

NY Mayor, Governor announce 10-point plan to transform and fund MTA

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EW YORK—Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew M. Cuomo have announced a proposal to transform the MTA and create dedicated and sustained funding streams for the agency. The proposal includes the joint endorsement of congestion pricing and a plan to reorganize the MTA. 1. MTA will develop a reorganization plan to make the agency more efficient and effective. The antiquated structure will be fundamentally changed to centralize common functions among the 6 existing entities.

Currently – NYCTA, LIRR, MetroNorth, MTA Capital Construction, MTA Bus, SI Railway – operate as 6 separate entities. This 1968-designed “holding company” structure makes coordination more difficult and expensive. All common functions such as construction management, legal, engineering, procurement, human resources, advertising etc. will be consolidated and streamlined in a central operation. The individual divisions will focus on day-to-day management of their primary operation. The restructuring plan will be completed by June of this year. The restructuring plan must be coupled with a change in culture, which will generate fresh ideas and new perspective from new and recently appointed senior and mid-level management recruited from the private sector and other cities and states.

2. The MTA Transformation Plan would include a congestion pricing financing model. Electronic tolling devices would be installed on the perimeter of the Central Business District

(CBD) defined as streets south of 61st St. in Manhattan. The FDR Drive will not be included in the Central Business District. The electronic tolling system will account for tolls previously paid by drivers entering Manhattan from designated crossings. The system will be installed and operated pursuant to an MOU between the City of New York and the MTA for the purposes of ensuring the timely completion of the installation of congestion infrastructure in order to effectuate a congestion pricing plan, and recognizing the expertise of the TBTA for purposes of running and operating cashless tolling systems and City agencies for purposes of the use and impact of infrastructure installation on City streets. Tolls would be variable providing discounts for offpeak hour travel. Emergency vehicles will be exempt from congestion pricing tolls. Other exemptions or discounts will be provided to a limited group of vehicles entering the CBD including vehicles operated by or transporting people with disabilities and individuals who have an identifiable hardship or limited ability to access medical facilities in the CBD. Congestion pricing tolls would be supplemented with State and City revenue from a fixed amount of the new internet sales tax derived from sales in New York City, with a growth factor, and a percentage of the State and City revenue from the cannabis excise tax. Congestion pricing revenue and these two taxes will be placed in a ‘lockbox’ to provide a funding source necessary to ensure the capcontinued on page 10

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WEEK ENDING MARCH 3 , 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

GECOM’s CEO at Caribbean Over 164.9kg of cocaine, 889 kilos of cannabis seized last year Heart Institute

…following suspected heart attack

Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield

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n the heels of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) being ordered to start preparations for the holding of General and Regional Elections this year, Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield has been hospitalised.

According to reports, he was admitted on Tuesday at the Caribbean Heart Institute located in the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) compound.

Doctors believe Lowenfield suffered a heart attack as a result of high blood pressure.

GECOM’s Public Relations Officer Yolanda Warde confirmed that the Chief Elections Officer was taken to the hospital. She disclosed that Lowenfield is currently on seven days medical leave.

While she could not say what the nature of his illness is, Warde did relate, however, that Lowenfield is said to be in a stable condition and is currently undergoing a series of routine tests.

The Chief Elections Officer’s hospitalisation comes at a time when GECOM had been instructed to start preparations for polls sometime this year.

Over the past week, Lowenfield has been leading the elections secretariat at GECOM to ascertain the body’s preparedness to host elections within the constitutional 90-day deadline, which

was effected following the December 21, 2018 passage of the No-confidence Motion.

However, after much deliberations, which were a stalemate at most times, the seven-member Commission last week decided that elections cannot be held by the March deadline due to insufficient funds and subsequently indicated same to President David Granger.

However, in a response letter to GECOM’s Chairman, retired Justice James Patterson, dated February 25, 2019, the Head of State ordered the body to commence elections preparations.

“The Government of Guyana is committed to doing everything possible to ensure that the Commission is provided with the financial resources and has sufficient time to conduct credible elections,” the missive from the Head of State to the GECOM Chairman states.

To this end, President Granger indicated that Government will approach the National Assembly for funding to host the upcoming polls.

Lowenfield was appointed Chief Elections Officer and Commissioner of National Registration back in 2014.

The CEO plays the key leadership role in the secretariat of GECOM, with responsibility for implementing all aspects of its operations, particularly the conduct of elections, and ensuring that results achieved are consistent with the laws of Guyana and the policies determined by the Commission.

The CEO will be the Commission’s primary point of contact for the staff of the secretariat, whose activities include the registration of registrants, the distribution of identification cards; the provision of information and guidance on electoral operational matters to community organisations and other stakeholders.

The CEO will also be required to represent the Commission’s policies and activities in interactions with stakeholders and other interest groups, including political parties, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), donor and international agencies, in matters relating directly to the operations of GECOM.

- US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires

US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Terry Steers-Gonzalez

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etween the months of January and September last year, drug enforcement units have managed to seize 164.9 kilograms of cocaine and 889 kilograms of cannabis.

This was disclosed by Chargé d’Affaires of the United States Embassy in Guyana, Terry Steers-Gonzalez on Wednesday during his address at a forum at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.

He said that on one hand, the figures ought to be applauded since the authorities did their part to seize the illegal drugs.

He reminded that such drugs as they pass through countries seep into communities and expose vulnerable populations, especially youths, to drug use.

This can be confirmed with the recent hike in reports coming out of schools regarding students using ecstasy pills among others.

In fact, it was only last September that the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) announced a “worrying” trend whereby ecstasy was being sold to students in at least five schools across Regions Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara) and Region Four

(Demerara-Mahaica).

“Supply and more importantly, the growth of demand of hard drugs is becoming a significant problem around the world. Globally, optimum production increased by 65 per cent between 2016 and 2017,” Steers-Gonzalez pointed out.

CANU told Guyana Times International earlier this year that billions of dollars in marijuana and cocaine was destroyed during last year’s eradication exercises throughout the country.

CANU Head, Major (retired) Michael Atherly added that more than 300 persons were convicted for various drug crimes in 2018.

Statistics from the Guyana Drug Information Network (GUYDIN) – an inter-agency body comprising law enforcement agencies – revealed that during 2018 (as of November), a total of 132 kilos of cocaine and 440 kilos of cannabis were destroyed by the Police, while 45 kilos of cocaine and 554 kilos of cannabis were also destroyed by CANU in other areas.

The combined street value of the narcotics amounted to G$513,310,940.

The drugs were reportedly tested by staff of the Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory before being destroyed by way of fire.

Meanwhile, the 2017 report highlighted that law enforcement agencies seized a total of 55,139 kilos of narcotics, which included substances such as marijuana, heroin, cocaine, and ecstasy, and have eradicated over 117,000 kilos of marijuana plants.

Further, the executive summary of the GUYDIN report noted that there were 124 drug seizures during that period.

The narcotics branch of the Guyana Police Force made 72 per cent of the seizures, and CANU the remainder.

The report stated that marijuana plants were eradicated from 34 acres of land, spanning 20 fields in 15 operations. Some 204,400 plants were eradicated, the report added, and a total of 117,531.67 kilos of marijuana taken off the market.

Guyana’s First Lady emphasises need for HFLE to be taught in schools F

irst Lady, Sandra Granger has emphasised the need for Health and Family Life Education (HFLE) to be taught as a subject in schools throughout the country.

Speaking at the recent Information Communication Technology (ICT) graduation for adolescents and out-of-school youths in Linden, the Frist Lady spoke about social health issues affecting the youths and stressed on the importance of sexual health education in schools.

The First Lady also stated her belief that HFLE helps students to understand who they are and how they can protect themselves.

“One of the things that I wanted to point out, was my continuing concern...the lack of across the board Health and Family Life Education in our schools. And I know there are many teachers who refuse to teach it because they believe you are teaching the children about sex and we are going to have these orgies throughout the school.

We are teaching children to protect themselves, and I'm telling you that this is not a problem that we have only in Guyana.

I was at the conference last year when I heard about young men using icicle bags as condoms... that is dangerous,” she stated.

She also recalled working at Caricom

First Lady Sandra Granger

Secretariat years ago and being involved in the Caricom Health and Family Life Education project. The ICT training, which was organised through her office, also

saw the participants being taught ‘Soft Skills’ and included sexual and reproductive health.

The topic is said to have received a positive response and during

the graduation ceremony, participants showed much appreciation for the sexual reproductive health lecturer, Grace Andrews.

Mrs Granger made calls for this to be introduced into the school system, noting that caution should be taken to make modules age appropriate for every level to promote proper decision making and good practices amongst students.

"And I’m saying, ‘why are we still quarrelling about this and why do people still feel that HFLE should not be taught in schools?’ But when you see the dangers, when you know that there is a uptake in AIDS (Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome)

among the young population in the Caribbean and that we have the second highest rate of infections after sub-Saharan Africa in the world- think about it, HFLE (not only) helps our young people to understand who they are but how they can protect themselves and lead full lives," she explained.

The First Lady urged the youths to try to understand how their bodies work and how they can make it work for them in order to make better decisions. The aim, she noted, is to make knowledge widely available to reduce experimental incidence. Granger indicated that she would also like to see a considerate and tolerant group of young people.

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WEEK ENDING MARCH 3 , 2019| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Guyana seeking reputable int’l companies in oil and gas sector – Gaskin tells Rice University forum

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uyana’s oil industry is attracting a significant amount of international interest, and according to Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, the country is seeking to partner with reputable foreign companies and wants an arrangement that benefits the country in the short, medium and long term.

According to the Department of Public Information (DPI), Minister Gaskin was at the time speaking at the Baker Institute’s forum on Oil and Gas Development in Guyana

Guyana Government Ministers and other officials at the forum in Texas

at Rice University in Houston, Texas held on Tuesday.

He was among a panel of speakers which included: Minister of

MoU to assist Guyana in meeting int’l commitments inked

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Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman and Calvin Brutus of Conservation International-Guyana during the signing of the MoU

he Natural Resources Ministry and Conservation International Guyana (CI) on Tuesday inked a two-year memorandum, which will allow for heightened sustainable efforts to develop Guyana’s economy, thus meeting some international commitments.

The agreement was signed by Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman and Calvin Brutus of Conservation International at Cara Lodge after brief discussions on the dynamics of the document.

Brutus explained that the country’s natural heritage must be sustained and his organisation has been significantly integrated in finding solutions for such issues.

“For us to secure and sustain development for Guyanese now and in the future, we must secure our natural heritage, the cornerstone of our development and wellbeing. For more than two decades, CI-Guyana through diverse partnerships, has helped design and implement solutions to secure Guyana’s natural heritage,” he said.

He added that projects will roll out in the near future, to ensure that Guyana’s natural resources are extracted in ways which it can benefit the total earnings of the country.

Discussions will also be held with miners on eradicating harmful mining practices, while replacing them with sustainable resolutions.

“CI-Guyana’s partnership with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the agencies under its purview is critical to ensuring that Guyana’s natural resources are exploited responsi-

bly and contributes to growth in the total wealth of Guyana. Our partnerships have resulted in continued operation of Guyana’s state-of-the-art MRVS system, and more recently, working towards responsible mining for Guyana through the El Dorado Gold initiative,” Brutus explained.

Meanwhile, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman stated that the memorandum provides an opportunity for further collaboration in assistance in the natural resources, water management and mining sectors.

“This MoU which aims towards the enablement of Guyana’s green economic growth and development represents another step in a level of exchange between the Ministry and CI-Guyana that will bode well for progress on a range of natural resources sector development initiatives,” said Trotman.

He added, “We realise that it is more effective to work together with those who share our common interests relating to sustainable management of our natural resources and Guyana’s overall sustainable development. In this sense, it is recognised by both my Ministry and CI that an ideal green economy is built on the principles of increasing human wellbeing and social equity, while reducing ecological scarcities and environmental risks and it is only fitting that we formally collaborate to achieve those.”

This partnership will allow for Guyana to meet international commitments such as the Minamata Convention and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) Head, Newell Dennison, Schlumberger’s Managing Director of the Caribbean, Sean Herrera, and Senior Director of FTI Consulting, Jamie McInerney.

The event was organised by the university’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and was aimed at exploring the oil and gas prospects in Guyana.

During his keynote address, Minister Gaskin emphasised that: “Guyana remains open for business, and we welcome all the interest and investments, we want your business but our people have needs, and

their needs are our priority, so we want to work with you, and we want you to work with us.”

He added: "while we recognise that there is a lot that our country can gain from this sudden exposure to international oil companies, we also recognise that there is a lot that we can lose if we do not manage this sector responsibly.”

According to DPI, Minister Gaskin noted that Guyana is not seeking to become to the new ‘Singapore’ or ‘Norway’, but aims to become the ‘new Guyana’, a country that is relevant to the Guyanese people, one that they want to be a part of; a Guyana in which young Guyanese can see a bright future.

“As an oil producer, Guyana has arrived on the scene quite late… We are also fortunate to be starting at a time when there is a wealth of information available on every aspect on the oil and gas sector and its impact on various economies at different stages of their development.”

The proper management of this sector, the Business Minister said, is important.

The Government of Guyana is in the process of finalising its local content policy for the sector, which focuses on three key areas; employment and workforce development; supplier opportunities and business development and the transfer of knowledge and technology. “We believe that there is mutual interest in these three areas between international oil companies and our government,” Gaskin said.

The Baker Institute’s forum on Oil and Gas Development in Guyana at Rice University in Houston, Texas was co-sponsored by the Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Guyanese law firm, Hughes, Fields & Stoby and TOTALTEC Oilfield Services.

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WEEK ENDING MARCH 3 , 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

President Granger instructs GECOM to prepare for polls Chairman of GECOM, retired Justice James Patterson

President David Granger

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resident David Granger has urged the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to begin preparations for General and Regional Elections, while promising to make the financial resources necessary, available.

In a letter dated February 25, 2019, and addressed to Chairman of GECOM, retired Justice James Patterson, the President laid out these promises and urged GECOM to start its work.

“The Government of Guyana is committed to doing everything possible to ensure that the Commission is provided with the financial resources and has sufficient time to conduct credible elections,” he said.

The information from the missive was shared with Commissioners during a meeting held on Tuesday. It was in response to an earlier letter sent to the President from GECOM. That letter was to inform the President that a motion was passed to indicate to him that new elections could not be held in 90 days as constitutionally mandated, and the need for additional funding.

The President has also promised, “To seek the approval of the National Assembly to ensure that an agreement can be reached given both the constitu-

tional requirement and GECOM’s capability.”

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon has written Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, on the President’s behalf, inviting the Opposition Leader to consultations for elections.

The letter stated that, “The President wishes to consult with you on the following matters: The National Assembly’s constitutional role in the present situation and the Guyana Elections Commission’s readiness and requirement for funding to enable it to conduct General and Regional Elections.”

The latter had previously indicated that he expects GECOM to follow the dictate of the Constitution and hold elections on March 19, 2019, since the term of the present Government would have come to an end at that time, following the mandated resignation of the President and Cabinet immediately following the successful passage of the no-confidence motion and GECOM could use funds already budgeted.

Aside from that, Commissioners representing Government and the Opposition have been presented with options to decide on the next way forward regarding registration for General and Regional Elections.

Motorcyclist killed after colliding with car

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Dead: Nial Persaud

motorcyclist was, in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, killed after he collided with a motorcar along the Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara (WCD) Public Road. Dead is

Nial Persaud of Lot 635 Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara.

Based on reports received, Persaud was proceeding along the Vreeden-Hoop Public Road when he collided with the rear of motorcar HC 7218 which was attempting to make a turn.

The driver of the car reported that he indicated that he was about to make the turn, however, whilst in the process of doing so, he felt the impact.

Upon inspections, Persaud was found lying on the roadway with injuries to his head and body. He was quick-

The car that was involved in the accident

The motorbike Persaud was riding at the time of his demise

ly picked up and rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.

The car driver, identified as a resident of Windsor Forest, WCD, was taken into Police custody where a breathalyser test was conducted but showed no trace of alcohol.

He is said to be assisting with investigations.

Man gets 100 years for killing ‘granny’

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Convicted murderer: Colin Allen

Murdered: Danrasie Ganesh

wenty-six-year-old Colin Allen was on Tuesday sentenced to 100 years imprisonment for the murder of Montrose, East Coast Demerara pensioner, Danrasie Ganesh. The sentence was handed down by Justice Navindra Singh after a 12-member jury found him guilty of the heinous crime.

Allen, also called “Bonus”, formerly of Cemetery Road, Timehri, East Bank Demerara, was accused of murdering the 77-year-old woman on August 1, 2015, in her East Coast Demerara home.

The State was represented by Tuanna Harding, Abigail Gibbs, and Teriq Mohamed who argued that the woman, also known as “Carmen” lived alone at Lot 121 Montrose, East Coast Demerara and on the day in question, Allen invaded the property.

He reportedly entered that house though a window after which he at-

tacked the woman. During the trial, CCTV footage from Ganesh’s home was tendered into evidence. In the footage, a man was seen in the woman’s house hitting her on the head with a tyre wrench, kicking, and stomping her.

Allen later escaped but was apprehended three weeks later. According to a caution statement given by Allen to detectives, he was paid G$700,000 to kill the elderly woman and steal documents pertaining to her property.

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

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

NY Mayor, Governor announce...

from page 7

ital needs of the MTA can be met, with priority given to the subway system, new signaling, new subway cars, track and car repair, accessibility, buses and bus system improvements and further investments in expanding transit availability to areas in the outer boroughs that have limited mass transit options. Tolls will be set once the electronic infrastructure is in place and a Capital Plan is finalized but will in no event be set later than December 2020.

3.The MTA fares for public mass transportation must be controlled in future years through cost containment actions and improved management. The MTA should be able to operate with mass transit fare increases limited to inflationary increases of 2% per year.

4. All MTA Board appointments will be modified so that all terms end with the appointing elected official’s tenure.

5. Partnership between the State and City is necessary to combat fare evasion. We cannot have a voluntary fare system and still maintain a system that ensures operational stability. The State will work with the MTA, City and District Attorneys to develop an enforcement strategy, with both personnel and station design modifications that do not criminalize fare evasion but instead prevent fare evasion, sanction violators and increase enforcement.

6. The MTA will undergo an independent audit to determine their actual assets and liabilities. The initial audit should be completed no later than January of 2020. The forecasts, projections and capital plans they have put forth strain financial credibility.

7. The Capital Plan shall be reviewed by a committee of transportation, engineering and government experts who have no existing finan-

cial relationship with the MTA (The Regional Transit Committee, “RTC”).

The Committee will have appointees by the Governor, Mayor, State Assembly and Senate, and organizations representing subway riders and driving commuters. The RTC will also review the toll and fare increases proposed by the MTA as necessary to fund the Capital Plan.

8. The MTA will have all major construction projects and planned projects pursued as “design build.” The MTA will do preliminary drawings only to the point necessary for bidding the project in a private sector competition based primarily on cost and timing of the project. Selections will be made with incentives and sanctions for performance. All major construction projects will be reviewed by construction and engineering experts who are not affiliated with the MTA or its consultants. The construction review team will be headed by the Deans of Cornell School of Engineering and Columbia School of Engineering to assure state of the art design and technology is being deployed. This group will also review the plans for signal system upgrade methodology and decide the best system to use, specifically comparing Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) to Ultra-Wide-Band (UWB) technology for safety, timeliness and cost. The MTA will be more aggressive in debarring failed contractors.

9. The MTA will immediately expedite the completion of the Subway Action Plan including: signal repair; water management; station enhancements; rail welding; friction pad installation; increased refurbishment efforts; and other service improvements.

10. The Governor and Mayor will work closely with the Legislature to effectuate provisions in this framework.

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Mother of 5 fatally stabbed by stalker Dead: Nadina Kalamadeen

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34-year-old mother of five was on Wednesday evening stabbed to death in North Sophia, Greater Georgetown, by a man who was reportedly obsessed with her.

Nadina Kalamdeen of North Sophia, was stabbed several times about the body by the suspect who was later apprehended and taken into Police custody.

Based on information received, the woman had been avoiding the suspect for quite sometime now. He reportedly made several advances to the woman who rebuffed him every time. However, he would visit the woman’s house with the hope of her taking him seriously.

However, the suspect, who is referred to as “Goodie Man” reportedly turned up at the woman’s house but at that time, she was asleep. Her relatives refused to wake her and the suspect reportedly left but returned later in the afternoon.

Guyana Times International understands that the woman had left the house to purchase an item and she was followed by the man. Persons reportedly recalled seeing the woman walking in front and the man behind her.

After the woman refused to accept his advances, he reportedly whipped out a knife and dealt her several blows to her back. After the woman collapsed on the roadway, he attempted to run but an alarm was raised and he was apprehended by persons in the neighbourhood who later handed him over to the Police.

The injured woman was picked up and rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival. The murder weapon was found in possession of the suspect.

He is expected to be charged with the capital offence of murder later in the week.

Death of US citizen in Berbice seems suspicious – relatives

Bibi Raseea Amin, a sister of the now dead man, told Guyana Dead: Kamaladeen Times International that she received reports of her brother’s Abrahim condition and visited him.

She explained that Abrahim was in tremendous pain. He was taken to the Port Mourant Hospital, but was subsequently transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital.

On February 5, the day before he died, he reportedly also told a US-based sister what transpired. The sister in the US recalled that her brother telephoned her and related that he was in a lot of pain owing to a beating he received from a relative of his wife.

Amin also claimed she was told the same story. However, Abrahim died on February 6 and was buried on February 10 without a post-mortem being done after the hospital claimed the pathologist was out of the country for three weeks. Given his reliays before a former factory gion, Abrahim had to be quickly burworker took his last breath, he ied. reportedly told his sister that His sisters are of the belief that his he was beaten by one of his wife’s relwife is hiding something. atives.

This publication understands that Sixty-two-year-old Kamaladeen the man who allegedly assaulted the Abrahim, also called “Rahim”, of Whim elderly man has since left the country.

Village, Corentyne, Region Six (East The aggrieved sister has since visitBerbice-Corentyne) died while reed the Regional Representative of the ceiving medical attention at the New Office of the Prime Minister, Gobin Amsterdam Hospital.

Harbhajan and related her suspicions.

According to reports, Abrahim, a US The Police were informed of the citizen arrived in Guyana in November allegation and an investigation was for a brief stay and returned again in launched. Meanwhile, this newspaper January. understands that the doctor who isOn the first visit, he reportedly sued the death certificate to the now claimed that he was robbed by a reldead man’s wife gave the cause of ative and on the second visit, he was death as poisoning as a result of bleach reportedly injured by the said relative. and kerosene.

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WEEK ENDING MARCH 3 , 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Cops granted bail for Central Bank still in the robbing Brazilian national dark over acquisition plans – Finance Minister T Scotiabank’s sale

wo police officers were on Tuesday arraigned with armed robbery committed on a Brazilian national when they appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

21-year-old Sherwayne Spiers of Parika, East Bank Essequibo, and 25-year-old Daniel Kellman of

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lose to three months after it was announced that Republic Financial Holdings Limited (RFHL) had plans to acquire Scotiabank’s banking operations in Guyana, that process is yet to commence.

As such, the Bank of Guyana (BoG) has also been left in the dark as it relates to the RFHL’s plans in this regard, as it is still to submit certain documents to start the acquisition process.

This is according to Finance Minister Winston Jordan, who told the media at the sidelines of an event on Monday that the status quo ante remained at the moment.

“They (RFHL) are still to submit the relevant information to the BoG. The last time I spoke with the Governor (Gobind Ganga,) he said that process is still ongoing,” Jordan explained.

Asked whether there was a deadline for these submissions, the Finance Minister said a deadline could not be given, because Government was not the buyer, and they could also change their mind.

“Once they submit the relevant information that is being requested, the Bank will do what it is required to do under the (Bank of Guyana) Act. I think they’ll probably make a recommendation to Government,” he said.

In early December 2018, the Trinidadbased RFHL said it had entered into an agreement to acquire Scotiabank’s banking operations in nine

Caribbean countries.

It said banks being acquired were located in Guyana, St Maarten, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Following the announcement, the Antigua and Barbuda Government said it was “deeply disappointed” that Scotiabank would decide to sell its operations “without any form of consultation” with the regulators or the Finance Minister of that island nation.

The Guyana Government, on the other hand, had said the agreement “raises a number of issues for the banking sector in Guyana and for the public which the Finance Ministry, the Bank of Guyana and the Government of Guyana will need to carefully consider”.

Concerns

The Ministry in a statement said that “this move is not Guyana-specific and is part of a region-wide refocusing

by Scotiabank” and it has also taken note of the statement by RFHL that the agreement was “subject to all regulatory approvals”.

It posited that the Financial Institutions Act (FIA) has clear stipulations regarding “acquisition of control” and requires approval of the BoG following the submission of an application and due diligence being conducted.

“Further, the FIA addresses as well the issue of ‘fundamental

changes’ as it relates to mergers and transfer of assets or liabilities,” the Finance Ministry said.

The Ministry stated that among the issues raised by the planned acquisition was the fact Republic Bank currently held 35.4 per cent of the banking system’s assets and 36.8 per cent of deposits, which the acquisition would increase to 51 per cent of both assets and deposits.

“This raises concerns about an over-concentration of banking services, market domination, and the ‘too big to fail’ risks,” the Ministry said.

It added that it would also have to take into consideration “the effect on competition and the potential for Republic Bank to have too much influence on pricing of banking products and rates”.

Former Presidential Advisor, economist Ramon Gaskin said he believed that the sale to Republic Bank would only allow that banking institution to dominate the local banking sector in Guyana, which could be unhealthy for the financial sector.

While on the other hand, Washington DC-based financial analyst Sasenarine Singh said there was a possibility that if Republic Bank did acquire Scotiabank, it would indeed have negative implications for the local financial sector.

Singh agreed that the bigger risk in this issue were allowing one bank to have too great a market share of the banking sector.

area he claimed is dangerous. His clients, he told the court, informed him that they conducted a search on the victim during which they found a quantity of narcotics in his possession.

On the other hand, Police Prosecutor Gordon Mansfield stated that on the day in question, the police ranks

Sherwayne Spiers and Daniel Kellman

McKenzie, Linden, pleaded not guilty after the charge was read to them by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

Police stated that on February 20, 2019, at the Takutu Bridge, Central Lethem, Region Nine (Upper TakutuUpper Essequibo), the accused relieved Ronaldo Ferreira of a cellphone and a small sum of Brazilian currency. At the time of the robbery, they were carrying weapons.

The duo was represented by Attorney-at-law Jerome Khan who stated that both of his clients were stationed at the Lethem Police Station and posted at the Takutu Bridge - an

were issued with service weapons and were posted at the Lethem Municipal Compound but later left their post and went to the Takutu Bridge.

It was there that they allegedly held the victim at gunpoint and relieved him of the aforementioned items.

However, Ferreira subsequently reported the matter to the Lethem Police Station. Mansfield added that a search was conducted on the person of the two ranks and the stolen items were found in their possession.

They were placed on G$100,000 bail each and the matter will resume on March 5, 2019.

Guyanese charged with killing doubles vendor in T&T; nabbed while boarding flight to Guyana

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20-year-old Guyanese man has been charged in Trinidad with murdering Chaguanas doubles vendor Dhroop “Pie” Jagessar.

According to a report in the Trinidad Newsday, the murder suspect was arrested by police at the Piarco Airport in Trinidad last week when he, along with a woman, tried boarding a flight that was bound for for Guyana.

Police from the Homicide Bureau Region III, however, released the 52-year-old Guyanese woman who was held with the suspect. She is a close relative of Jagessar who was chopped to death last Monday at Susheela Drive, Chase Village in Chaguanas,

the Newsday reported.

At about 2 am on Tuesday, security personnel at the Piarco airport arrested them while trying to get on a plane to Guyana. Police learnt that hours earlier, between 8 pm and 10 pm, Jagessar was chopped and killed.

A few days ago, legal officer PC Kyrn Lewis from the bureau, submitted a file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. On Friday evening Deputy DPP Joan Honore-Paul advised police to charge the man and release the woman.

The suspect is expected to appear in the Chaguanas Magistrates’ Court today (Monday), the Newsday reported.

36-year-old charged for raping 9-year-old girl A 36-year-old man was on Monday released on G$250,000 bail by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan on a rape charge.

Mario Heywood appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts where the charge was read to him. It is alleged that between October 1 and November 20, 2018, he raped a nine-year-old girl.

The court heard that the child was left in his care when he committed the act.

The child reportedly told her mother what had transpired and the matter was reported to the police. The suspect was recently arrested and charged for the offence. The case will continue on March 7, 2019.

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Guyana Govt to set up Drug treatment Court for petty offenders

“W

e do not want necessarily to jail our juveniles and to make this a jailhouse nation, we want to have alternatives, we want to have diversionary measures and I see this Drug Treatment Court as an aspect of that.”

Those were the sentiments shared by Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan on Wednesday as a twoday workshop kicked off at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre in Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown for stakeholders who will be involved in the new arm of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

The court has come at a time when statistics have proven that there has been an increased number of drug offenders in the court system. The new system will provide rehabilitative services to offenders rather than have them incarcerated.

Ramjattan noted that the idea of a Drug Treatment Court was first spoken of 30 years ago in the United States and has proven to be a successful measure as too many people are being imprisoned because of the said matter.

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan sharing remarks at the opening ceremony of Wednesday’s workshop

He said, “For very many offenders in relation to matters to drugs, jail is not the best place but treatment and that is why it has kicked off since then to a number of countries that have implemented the Drug Treatment Court to the extent that it is saving a generation”.

Ramjattan further added that his experience in the law system has taught him that jailing offenders does not help them, but rather pushes them to graduate into “bigger things”.

“They get to learn the tricks of the trade while serving their three years for possession of narcotics and they come out back being with a higher degree of criminality,” he noted.

It was on this note that the Minister made mention of the over-

fenders will allow for benefits to sprout. In fact, almost 90 per cent of persons who went through the treatment, he said, managed to turn over new leaves.

The Minister added that he is fully aware that with the opening of such a court there may very well be a flood of persons, however strives will be made to ensure that eligible offenders are identified early.

Moreover, it was pointed out that drug offenders will be given a choice to go to jail

tion over jail time, one of those include the person’s history of drug use.

He said he hopes that the pilot programme can be extended to the Corentyne, Bartica and other places where drug offenders are rife.

Meanwhile, a representative from the United States Embassy, Terry Steers-Gonzalez said the Government is committed to such efforts through programming support from the US State Department’s International Narcotics and Law Enforcement

programme for drug and violence prevention.

Another representative from the Organisation of American States (OAS), Jean Dormeus posited that he is happy Guyana has taken such a step as it has already proven to be successful in other countries.

Guyana’s laws currently provide for a mandatory three-year jail sentence for anyone found in possession of small amounts of marijuana and other illicit drugs.

A section of the gathering

crowding of prisons, another issue the Drug Treatment Court would tackle. According to him, as opposed to incarceration, the rehabilitative programme for such of-

or through the rehabilitative system. Certain criterions, he however, pointed out will have to be met before a person is granted rehabilita-

Bureau (INL).

Since 2011 INL has trained and certified drug abuse treatment personnel and even supported a certification

This has led to the incarceration of petty offenders, leading to an overcrowding of the country’s prisons.

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WEEK ENDING MARCH 3 , 2019| guyanatimeSinternational.com

‘No discrimination’

Ecstasy pills convict a former …Guyana Police trained to interact with student – School LGBTQ persons of the Nations M

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John Adams

he School of the Nations on Monday said that 20-year-old John Adams, who was sentenced to three years in prison for possession of ecstasy pills, is a former student of the institution and not presently attending classes there as was reported by the local media.

According to the school, Adams was transferred from the educational facility in 2012 to another city school.

“According to our re-

cords, Mr Adams exited School of the Nations in 2012 after completing Form One and was transferred by his parents to another school,” Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the school, Dr Dexter Phillips said in a statement on Monday.

Adams appeared before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Friday last and pleaded guilty to a charge that on February 20, 2019, at Princes Street, Georgetown, he had in his possession eight ecstasy pills, which amounted to five grams.

Adams was intercepted about 21:00h while he was riding his motorcycle along Princes Street.

A search was conducted on his person and the illegal drug was found.

The Chief Magistrate jailed him for three years and fined him G$30,000.

arking World Day of Social Justice on Wednesday, Guyana’s Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD Guyana) and Guyana Trans United (GTU) celebrated a milestone in their collaboration with the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Public Security Ministry with a closing ceremony of the first phase of training workshops on Gender, Sexuality and Human Rights.

The ceremony was held at the Guyana Police Force’s Officers Training Centre which saw the Manager of the Citizens Security Strengthening Programme at the Public Security Ministry, Clement Henry, delivering the feature address.

He discussed the necessity of this type of training to address pervasive discrimination in Guyana at its core. The first series of the two-day workshop entitled “Gender, Sexuality, and Human Rights” facilitated by SASOD Guyana and GTU began on January 21, 2019, and sensitised 143 officers from all the Divisions across the country.

The training was designed to educate officers on basic human rights and sensitise them to the unique needs of vulnerable populations including gender and sexual minorities. The pre/post-test results from the first phase of the training have shown a marked improvement of the police officers’ knowledge and understanding of

Members of the LGBTQ movement and senior Police ranks at the training programme

diversity issues.

Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Williams, DSM, spoke on behalf of the Commissioner of Police and reiterated the Force’s is commitment to continuous education for the eradication of discrimination and the protection of human rights.

Williams also sees the need for collaboration and trainings for collective progress and endorsed subsequent phases of this collaborative training programme.

He voiced optimism for an inclusive and respectful Police Force and stated that, “there must be no discrimination”.

The Deputy Commissioner told the gathering that the GPF would welcome posters on LGBTQ+ human rights for display at every

police station in the country that would remind the officers of their commitment to equality and respect for gender and sexual diversity based on this training intervention.

With ongoing support from the Public Security Ministry and the Guyana Police Force, this training programme will be extended to more members of the GPF on a broader scale in the coming months.

Also in attendance were Lead Training Officer, Senior Superintendent Fizal Karimbash, United Nations Resident Coordinator Mikiko Tanaka, members of the diplomatic corps, public officials, officers of the GPF, civil society representatives and sexual and gender minorities.

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G$105M aid for displaced Venezuelan migrants in Guyana

Emergency Officer of UNICEF Guyana, Ian Jones

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humanitarian action for children, through the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and its Guyana office, has received Gy$105 million (US$500,000) to fund the provision of water and sanitation hardware, assist the Education Ministry to build schools’ capacity, and promote hygiene for Venezuelan migrants.

To combat issues such as child abuse and child labour among the Venezuelan migrants, Emergency Officer of UNICEF Guyana, Ian Jones is quoted by the Department of Public Information as saying, “We are supporting the Ministry of Social Protection with surge capacity so that they can develop their human resources in these areas; and with the NGO Blossoms, we are looking to have one-stop shops for reporting on child abuse.

So it’s a case where we are looking to build up the capacity, and then the incidents will be reported through the regular systems.”

Jones added that a spike in the number of incidents reported would be noticed when the capacity is built with the number of child abuse or child labour reported;

but it is not necessarily an increase in such cases, just that a facility is now available for these issues to be reported.

He added that the focus is on 12,000 migrants, 4,800 of which are children living in Regions 1 through 7.

Although data-tracking metric-surveys are in place to know how many migrants have been registered, they are unable to give a figure of how many migrants are living in Guyana at this time. This, he said, is because all the migrants are not coming through the main points of entry at Charity, Essequibo.

Venezuelan migrants are coming to Guyana mainly from Delta Amacuro and the Bolivar state.

This information was shared at the 2018 annual review of the joint annual work between the Guyana Government and UNICEF on Thursday last, where Jones said the agency’s main focus is on capacity building for all agencies involved in addressing the issue of Venezuelan migration to Guyana.

Through this initiative, one of UNICEF’s focus is to improve host communities in light of the influx of Venezuelan migrants.

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South Africa offers help to Guyana to develop natural resources sector

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman meets with Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources Godfrey Oliphant

G

uyana’s mining and natural resources sector is expected to be enhanced following discussions with its South African counterpart on ways to develop the sector and eliminate challenges faced in obtaining resources.

South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources, Godfrey Oliphant, would have met with Natural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman, during a meeting on Monday, which also featured officials from the Guyana Gold Board, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission and the Guyana Forestry Commission.

The two countries are looking at ways to strengthen their bilateral relationship, especially in the area of mining and during the five-day visit, Oliphant is slated to interact with various officials to come up with ways through which both countries can deepen their relationship through the mining industry.

Both Ministers were briefed on how resources are extracted in each other’s country. This exchange of information was considered vital, given the fact that South Africa was once the largest gold producer in the continued on page 22

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Reg 10 Chairman urges Guyanese to invest in region’s agri sector

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Regional Chairman Renis Morian

egion 10 Chairman Renis Morian, has issued a passionate call for persons at home or abroad to invest within the Region saying that the region is open for business especially in the agricultural sector.

He said that the opportunities were significant and noted the importance of persons grabbing the opportunities immediately. He noted that while Region 10 has traditionally been, and continues to be, viewed as a mining community, there were opportunities within the agricultural sector to aid in food production and reduce the cost for food.

“This is critically important as it would help in reducing our food bill, thus bettering the community,” the Regional Chairman said.

“We at the Region are inviting persons who may be reading about this to come forward as we are prepared and ready to have people investing in this initiative,” Morian said.

He disclosed that the land that has been made available is 4500 acres stressing that there is adequate land for all those who have an interest.

He noted that there were a number of persons who live overseas that have expressed interest in investing in Guyana and for this reason, he said he has been pushing Region 10, noting that given the vast available land, he was inviting them to invest.

“I want everyone to know that

Region 10 is open to invest in agriculture; therefore, all can apply as we have adequate land for persons to develop the region,” the Regional Chairman said.

He revealed that the Lands and Surveys Commission has already surveyed the land, stressing that everything has been put in place so that the Region can begin distribution.

“We have 4500 acres available so what I am advising persons to [do is] apply and while the application is being made to Lands and Surveys department, the approval is granted from the Regional Chairman’s office in Region 10,” Morian stated.

He, however, expressed grave concerns over the questionable processing of applications. The Regional Chairman said that a number of applications are coming to his office for his approval and signature, but these applications only have the amount of land and location.

This, he explained, is cause for concern, stressing that one person can have several pieces, because there is no way of identifying who the lands would have been given to.

“These applications have no name just the location and amount, and I have refused to sign those because what I have discovered often times coming from Lands and Surveys is that there is duplicity, as there are times when one person’s name appeared thrice and we have had to send it back to them,” he added.

He noted that the current system allowed for mismanagement and corruption, declaring that under his stewardship, these acts would not be entertained.

“I am not putting my signature to those applications like that without the critical details as I don’t want trouble and nobody will cause me to get into any trouble,” the evidently frustrated Regional Chairman said.

The Regional Chairman in reiterating his invitation urged all who may be interested to contact his office or the Lands and Surveys department, noting that irrespective of the crop or size of land desired, they would be considered.

PI into murder of WBD pensioner continues next month

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everal months after 72-year-old Jerry Rambeer met his demise reportedly via a beating with a rolling pin, the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into his unnatural death is still before the courts.

INews understands that the case is set to continue at the Wales Magistrate’s Court on March 7, 2019.

The accused youth, Joseph Rameshwar, of Belle Vue, West Bank Demerara (WBD), is on trial for allegedly murdering the elderly man with a rolling pin between July 1 and 3, 2018.

Testimony was scheduled to continue earlier this month, but the matter saw an adjournment. Police claimed that the teen confessed to the elderly man’s savage beating at Back Street, Good Intent, WBD. Originally, Rameshwar’s father was implicated, but Police had only instituted charges against the son based on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Rambeer, of Sisters Village, WBD, was found lying in an unconscious state on July 1, 2018, and took his last breath on July 3 when he was receiving medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital. It was two days after

Jerry Rambeer shortly before he succumbed

the beating that Rameshwar was arrested and reportedly confessed to hitting Rambeer to the head with the rolling pin during an argument.

Reports were that on July 1, 2018, the pensioner attended a wedding at La Retraite, WBD, with several of his friends. Sometime later that night, the man was reportedly found lying in a pool of blood in an area known as “Gaza Street”.

The now deceased father of three reportedly suffered severe internal injuries, a punctured intestine, and broken ribs.

Guyana’s Oil and gas sector

“No need to repeat mistakes Trinidad made” – safety advisor

…as Strategic Recruitment Solutions launched

By Davina Ramdass

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s the Strategic Recruitment Solutions Inc officially launched its services at the Marriott Hotel last Friday evening, Safety Consulting Adviser of the company, Allister Taylor told the gathering that there is no need for Guyana to repeat the mistakes Trinidad made in the oil and gas sector.

Taylor, who has Trinidadian roots, noted that Guyana can safeguard itself and not repeat the mistakes the twin-island republic made while referring to local content.

“We have been in oil and gas for well over a century. There is no need to repeat the mistakes that we would have made and it is time to quantum leap and to ensure that things get done and get done right…there is going to be a need for capacity building. No one should come and attempt to stay,” Taylor said.

The safety consulting adviser explained that trainees in the sector should be given the opportunity to grow and even become superiors if they manage to grasp all concepts well.

Trinidad recently moved from producing over one million barrels of oil per year to no longer having largescale production. Last year, the country’s oil refinery company’s production came to a screeching halt leaving about 1700 persons jobless.

Reports are that Trinidad and Tobago is seeking to get the Guyana Government to take a stake in the Petrotrin refinery, and in this way, acquire a strategic asset.

The proposal, according to media reports, is to ensure that Guyana gets its share of oil from ExxonMobil closer to home, and in this way, employment would be provided to people of both countries. This was one of the areas that were discussed prior to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This caused the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) to publicly ask the Government to hold off on signing the MoU with Trinidad and Tobago. The GCCI added that its members should be consulted first, as they fear that this could possibly open the floodgates for foreign companies to take over the oil industry at the disadvantage to locals.

President of the GCCI, Deodat Indar said Guyanese businesses are already being sidestepped and instead, contracts have been awarded to foreign-based companies to benefit from the local oil sector. But the GCCI wants the local Private Sector to get its “piece of the pie”.

In this regard, it was pointed out that Strategic Recruitment Solutions (SRS) will be training interested Guyanese in entering the oil and gas sector. The agency will be hunting for persons who have some sort of experience in the field, or even have a pas-

Allister Taylor

sion to contribute to local content development and helping other locals to become part of the sector.

Chief Executive Officer of SRS, Kerri Gravesande-Bart said so far 26 persons have been trained during more than 3000 hours of hard work. She noted that SRS is aiming to achieve the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) certificate, among others.

Speaking on the importance of the company, Rig Manager of Stena Carron, Callum Balfour said when he first came to Guyana, they were quite cognisant of the importance of utilising local labour, however, no drilling recruits were in the country as oil and gas was still fresh to country.

Balfour said although they wanted to hire Guyanese, they were unable to because of safety concerns. “Safety is paramount and you can’t put people into a situation where they could potentially hurt themselves”.

Despite beginning its operations only last year, SRS has already expanded its brand to the United States.

Directing Shareholder of SRS-US, Deon Vigilance explained, “In an effort to expand the SRS pool of talent, we’ve established a subsidiary in Texas, SRS-US. This extension of SRS-GY will concentrate on attracting individuals with skillsets and knowledge base that are currently unavailable in Guyana”.

According to him, unlike other companies which were birthed overseas and subsequently partnered with local Guyanese companies, SRS represents a Guyanese company which has extended its operations overseas for the sole purpose of talent acquisition, training and for the advancement of the local economy.

He added that this initiative will afford Guyanese with rapid knowledge transfer.

The President of the GCCI lauded the local company for being one of a kind and making bold steps as he reflected on the first time he met with the CEO of SRS as she threw her business idea at him.

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Young mother clings to life after brutally chopped by partner

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22-year-old woman is battling for her life at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) after she was chopped several times about her body on Sunday when she informed her 35-year-old reputed husband that she wanted nothing more to do with him.

Injured is Vashti Mahase of Good Hope, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

Speaking with Guyana Times International on Monday, the injured woman’s mother, Zorina Mahase, said her daughter, Vashti Mahase, was involved in an abusive relationship with the assailant for about six months now.

She related that her daughter grew tired of her abuser’s ways and wanted to leave the relationship, however, the 35-year-old farmer of Lima Dam, Mahaica, was determined to spend the rest of his life with Mahase. The worried mother said that things took a turn for the worst when her daughter recently learnt that she was pregnant and did not want to keep the child because of the abusive relationship with the farmer.

According to Zorina Mahase, her daughter’s partner had threatened to chop her head off if she tried to have an abortion.

Fearful for her life, Mahase left the abusive home and went to her mother’s residence. She returned a few days later, accompanied by her relatives to collect her belongings. This, according to Zorina Mahase, angered the farmer even more which led to a confrontation.

Zorina Mahase related that the

Injured: Vashti Mahase

reputed husband subsequently went to the police station and reported that his reputed wife stole his money when she was moving out. This led to Vashti Mahase being arrested and placed in the lockups for a few days.

Zorina Mahase recalled begging the police to let her daughter out and arrest the farmer. She said that the farmer subsequently went to the family and informed them that he will drop the allegation if Mahase would take him back.

Days later, when her daughter was released, Mahase was threatened again and she, in turn, reported the matter. The woman was sent to the suspect’s home with a rural constable to serve a restraining order but when he saw her, he whipped out his cut-

lass and dealt the woman several chops to her face, hand, back and about the body. As the attack was launched on the woman, the rural constable ran away.

After the rural constable ran away, the bleeding woman was picked up and rushed to the GPHC. According to the mother, her daughter was told that it was compulsory for her to be present when the restraining order was served since she needed to identify him.

The distraught mother said she is pleading for justice for her daughter even as she fears for her own life.

She explained that after regaining consciousness, her daughter informed her that during the chopping, the suspect kept saying “it wasn’t over”.

The young woman has two kids from a previous relationship and they too felt the hands of the abusive man who himself is a father of six. Her children are currently with their father, who resides in Good Hope as well.

The ECD Divisional Commander, Calvin Brutus, confirmed on Monday that the suspect is wanted for questioning in relation to the matter. He added that he was not certain why young Mahase had to be present during the serving of the restraining order.

The Commander said he was told that the two were involved in an argument before the farmer charged out with his cutlass in pursuit of the woman.

South Africa...

from page 20

world.

After initial discussions with his South African counterpart, Minister Trotman told media operatives that there are many ways in which Guyana can benefit from this relationship. First, the country can provide information on how to tackle some challenges which it faced.

Additionally, the possibility looms for persons associated with this sector to be exposed to “first world” training.

“There are three areas which we wish to benefit from it. South Africa is a very large, complex and exciting place but it brings experiences of how they have overcome some of the challenges we’re facing so we hope to expose our staff at the GGMC, the Gold Board and at the policy level to experience first world training.”

He also noted that the mindset is to strengthen overall ties between the nations whereby agencies can strike a relationship to assist each other and investments can surface.

“We hope to deepen the exchanges between the two countries at a Government

to Government level, and at the institutional level, the counterpart in the GGMC would be able to relate to its counterpart in South Africa. Thirdly, we would want to invite investments from South Africa to Guyana. We believe that financially, South Africa has experience in mining gold and diamonds in particular,” said Trotman.

Apart from the mining industry, the Minister is of the belief that assistance can be provided in a number of other areas, including education.

“A number of areas are being looked at in terms of education, culture, industry.

I know that those will be pursued.”

Throughout the engagement, ideas surfaced for the possibility of offshore diamond mining and other advanced techniques for mining resources.

While one of Guyana’s challenges is illegal mining, the African country is being faced with a significantly high depth of its resources, sometimes kilometres deep.

Guyana and South Africa established diplomatic relations on November 4, 1994.

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Pilot details moments before plane crash-landed at Canal Number 2 D

ays after a Cessna 182 aircraft with registration number N8704T crashed at Canal Number Two Polder, West Bank Demerara, the pilot, Lincoln Gomez, who is recuperating from his injuries stated that he declared an emergency as the aircraft descended to 2000 feet.

As the plane continued to descend, he noted that it was a full moon and the clouds covered the sky thus making visibility difficult.

In a post on social media, the pilot recalled the horrific accident that occurred on the evening of February 18. He explained that on the day in question, plans were already made for him to fly to Paramakatoi from Ogle to take building materials for Monkey Mountain.

He noted that as he was on his way to the Ogle Airport from Georgetown in a taxi, a member of the church received a telephone call from one of his colleagues instructing him to fly to Arau instead. At that time, he was told that he had to pick up a patient who was involved in an accident.

“I made up my mind to fuel the aeroplane and fly to Arau instead of Paramakatoi. A few minutes later, we received the sad news that our fellow missionary from the US who was involved in the accident, died.

I just could not believe the news. It was so shocking,” he added.

Lincoln Gomez after he was discharged from the hospital

He, however, decided to continue his journey to Paramakatoi after fuelling and loading the plane.

“I landed there (Paramakaroi) after noon and spent some time there.

Eighteen minutes after taking off from there I received news from the control tower that I should fly to Kaikan, pick up a policeman, and continue to Arau to pick up the corpse and fly it to Georgetown. So I diverted my flight and soared to 8500 to Mean Sea Level (MSL) to fly to Kaikan”.

On his way to Kaikan, he again received instructions to make another diversion to pick up someone to take to Kaikan.

After following orders, he flew to Arau and about a minute after he landed, the corpse arrived at the airstrip.

“I was told that Police would arrive “just now”. I waited for more than an hour,

I guess, for the policemen to arrive. Finally, they arrived and one of them was to fly with me as an escort to accompany the corpse” Gomez stated.

At that time, the pilot recalled, he told them it was late and that he would fly to Paruima and spend the night there but as he entered that aircraft, the corpse had already created a stench so he decided to fly to Georgetown.

He thought that more delays would result in the corpse decaying.

“I had already measured the fuel in the plane and had enough to fly to town according to the fuel burn measuring instrument and calculations.”

They took off for Ogle but after some time, he requested from the control tower if he could fly Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) and after getting the confirmation, he agreed, not knowing the implications.

In clarifying the Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), a source explained that after visibility becomes impossible, the pilot can request to switch to IFR where the plane is now navigated by instruments.

Nevertheless, Gomez stated “at some point, I was asked to descend to 2000 from 7000ft MSL. So I descended. I looked at the fuel indicator from time to time as usual and it was getting lower but I trusted that I had enough knowing how much the indicator usually in-

dicates fuel burn”.

He noted that they had already crossed the Essequibo River when the engine began to idle. He recalled that the place was dark and he attempted to troubleshoot an engine failure.

He attempted to troubleshoot an engine failure but nothing worked hence, he immediately declared an emergency. During this time, he recalled the policeman who was later identified as Mark Grimmond panicked.

“I did not want to be distracted by him. As I was busy reporting our position… the aeroplane touched the trees and I lost consciousness”.

When he regained consciousness, he was outside of the plane. He was pulled from the wreckage by the police-

man who also made sure that other items from the aircraft were taken out along with the corpse from Arau.

“All I could have done was to maintain glide speed until touchdown,” the pilot added while noting that Grimmond was able to make calls using his mobile phone and handle the flares.

After some time, he related, an aeroplane and a helicopter flew over the location. “They were able to spot us with the help of flares and other means.

About four hours after we went down, the soldiers rescued us by land and we were able to walk slowly through the jungle for about an hour to the helicopter. Afterwards, we were flown to Army base and then driven to the hospital”, he recalled.

An injured Gomez upon arrival in the city after the accident

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Guyanese man stabbed to death in St Lucia

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suspect is assisting St Lucia’s police with investigations into the fatal stabbing of Guyanese national, Michael Pooran at Bagatelle, Castries.

Neville Atille, a friend of the deceased, told St Lucia Times that Pooran, 27, was a very good person who was outgoing and liked to dress.

He disclosed that about 05:00h on Sunday, neighbours informed him about the fatal stabbing.

According to St Lucia Times, Atille said he and the deceased were acquainted with the suspect in the fatal stabbing.

“The last time I built my step, he asked for a job. We said ‘We don’t have any job doing – it’s for free. If you want rum and food,’ he said ‘Yeah’ he will do anything. And now he is saying that Michael owes him money.”

Atille said that according to reports he received, Pooran went to a

…7 cars reportedly stolen, houses burglarised

Dead: Michael Pooran

party in the neighbourhood and the suspect started “troubling” the deceased and following him around.

“That’s what I heard.

People were saying ‘Leave the guy alone’,” Atille told St Lucia Times.

He said based on his information, the two started fighting.

“Eyewitness did not see Michael stab the assailant. Michael never walks with a weapon because he is a big tough

guy,” Atille stated.

He explained that a mutual friend advised Pooran to leave the scene but as he held the Guyanese, he realised that he was bleeding.

Atille said the mutual friend heard footsteps and thinking that the assailant was after him as well, he left Pooran, who had by that time collapsed, and ran.

He said Pooran went to St Lucia from Guyana in 2014.

Guyana to be marketed as popular tourist spot in German-speaking countries

The team of German media personnel and tour operators: Ulf Von Rauchhaupt, Frank Heuer, Sabine Luwig, Stefanie Kendlinger, Christian Deutschländer, Thomas Vogler, Waldyke Prince, and Thomas Noga

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Teen bandits creating havoc in Berbice

ith the aim of marketing Guyana as a divergent tourist destination, the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) hosted its first Familiarisation Trip (FAM Trip) for 2019, which saw members of the German media and officials exploring various parts of the country.

This was revealed at a recent press conference at the tourism’s agency office in Sophia, Greater Georgetown.

The GTA together with its contracted marketing representation firm, Fast-Forward Marketing, are industriously working to raise awareness and to further establish Guyana’s presence as a tourist destination mainly in the travel markets of German-speaking countries.

To achieve this, the GTA intends to increase the demand for travel and strengthen the direct connections between international airlines, tour operators, and travellers moving between Guyana and Germany, while also catering for other German-speaking countries like Switzerland and Austria.

GTA Director Brian Mullis said since Guyana was not well-known in most travel markets, the agency planned to change that through media worldwide.

“So it’s always wonderful, particularly in a destination that’s not wellknown in certain markets like the German market … we have to raise awareness, and the best way we can

raise that awareness is bringing out media who are connected with the market of travellers we are trying to reach,” he asserted.

The FAM Trip is specifically geared towards educating the foreign media on Guyana as a tourist destination.

The German tourist market has been selected since it has one of the highest rankings of well-travelled tourists who are seeking out authentic nature, culture and adventure experiences that Guyana offers in abundance.

Fast-Forward Marketing representative Thomas Vogler said the marketing agency was working with the GTA in seeking the best way to promote Guyana’s incomparable beauty.

“We wanted to make sure that the money the GTA, and the tourism ministry, is spending in Germany is wellspent and that we can really find the best solution for Guyana for the promotion of Guyana in the German market …. One of our goals is to work with our partners on getting those visitors to spend longer exploring Guyana and another is to increase awareness of those who have never visited and entice them to come to Guyana,” Thomas stated.

The group GTA just hosted consisted of five media personnel and two tour operators – all German nationals. Among the sites visited were the Kaieteur Falls and other eco-tourist destinations.

The motor car belonging to Jacob Hikel that crashed into the utility pole

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t least seven motorcars were stolen while a few others were broken into and a few houses burglarised over the past few days in New Amsterdam, Berbice.

D i v i s i o n a l Commander Assistant Commissioner Paul Langevine, DSM, said that he was unaware of several cars being stolen.

More alarming, is the fact that teenagers are being used to carry out these criminal acts. One of the perpetrators has been identified as a student who attends a special needs school in New Amsterdam.

There have been concerns over the police’s apparent slothfulness in responding to the reports and more so, there are no systems in place to prevent a reoccurrence.

One of the car owners reportedly caught a teenager in his car red-handed and gave him a good flogging but the police are now threatening to charge him with assault.

Another car owner reported that he woke up and found his car broken into. Upon checking, $12,000 was removed and the ignition wires had been cut which is evidence that the perpetrator was trying to steal the car.

One businessman, Jacob Hikel, recalled that he was injured when a teenager attacked him with an ice pick during a home invasion. His car was also stolen.

Hikel said that he heard footsteps in the house and thought it was a relative but in the wee hours of Friday morning, he heard his car engine start and as he looked through his bedroom window, he saw his car being driven out of the

yard.

According to Hikel, he dashed out of the bedroom and went to the first floor where he was greeted by an open door.

When he got outside, he was attacked by a teenager with an ice pick.

The young man then jumped the fence and escaped.

Meanwhile, the grill work to one of the windows was cut at his Lot 63-64 Vrymens Ervin home. It appears as though someone jumped into the verandah and cut the grill to gain entry to the building.

The lock on the front

items including a vacuum cleaner and a headphone as well as documents.

Meanwhile, several other persons have reported that their homes were burglarised – one such house is owned by Denise Brutus of Lot 72 Errol’s Ville.

According to Brutus, she woke up and found the back door open and her 55-inch flat screen television missing. An electronic tablet and three flash drives were also taken by the perpetrators.

She explained that several louvre panes were removed from a window to gain access into the building.

The woman noted that on the following night, more louvre panes were removed from another window but the bandits could not gain entry due to the bars.

However, the bandits went to the upper flat where Merissa Brutus lives. She said she looked through her bedroom door and saw the front door rocking and got up and armed herself but the perpetrators aborted their attack.

In addition, on Monday last, Denise was having a conversation with a friend and based on the features of

The window with the missing louvre panes

door was also wrenched off. The perpetrators reportedly removed a computer and a music box along with alcoholic beverages and grocery from the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, as the car drove away, Hikel gave chase on foot for about 200 meters but eventually gave up.

Surveillance footage captured the car, PPP 7796, crashing into a utility pole. The pole broke and fell onto the vehicle but the occupants managed to escape unhurt with a number of

a 13-year-old boy, suspicions were raised. He was cornered and upon questioning, admitted that he helped the others to take out the louvre panes but did not go in the house.

He was handed over to the police where $200,000 was allegedly found in his possession.

He reportedly told investigators that he broke into the New Amsterdam Central Islamic Mosque at Main and King Streets, where he stole the money.

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Guyana Govt distressed over turn of events regarding RUSAL matter

…GGMC asked to carry out technical assessment of company’s operations

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s the issues regarding aluminium company RUSAL and its workers intensifies, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman has now instructed the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to commence a technical review of the company’s operations.

In addition to that, Trotman said a team from his Ministry will be travelling to the company’s interior operation to make an assessment because Government has received credible news from workers that RUSAL has been dismantling its equipment.

“Is it telling us that they are shutting down their operations? Or is it telling us that we have to prepare to suspend their operations? So, I have asked for a technical assessment to be done and that is being done as of today (Wednesday),” he told Guyana Times International.

Trotman noted that Government is disappointed, distressed and disturbed by the turn of events regarding the RUSAL matter. While he acknowledged that Government has been unsuccessful in its attempts to resolve the issue, he noted that good sense must prevail. The Minister noted that while Government would like to see its citizens earn a liveable wage and have a dignified working environment within which to operate, it is their objective to see investors come to Guyana and get a fair rate of return on those investments.

However, he asserted that each of these companies must operate within the confines of the law that define the relationship they have with workers and the State. “The Government believes that it has done its part and the workers’ rights are paramount and must be respected. And Government prepares to stand with the workers or

Some disgruntled workers attached to the bauxite company

convince RUSAL that better can prevail.”

Meanwhile, President of the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GBGWU), Lincoln Lewis, said the situation has become one of national importance and would require all trade unions, Government and the Opposition to work together towards bringing an end to this issue.

“And for it to be a national response, we have to see President David Granger and Opposition Leader Mr (Bharrat) Jagdeo together sitting down with the unions to make a decision on this.”

While RUSAL has threatened to close its operations in Guyana, Lewis said it is their right to do so, but noted that as long as they are here, they will have to respect the country’s laws and respect workers’ rights.

Sixty striking workers were dismissed by bauxite company – Russian Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI) – which is owed

by RUSAL, for downing tools in protest of an arbitrary one per cent salary increase.

On Tuesday, residents of Kwakwani, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) in disagreement with the dismissal of the striking employees attached to the company retaliate by blocking the access road which leads to the company located at Aroaima.

During initial deliberations, representatives of the company stated that they do not recognise GBGWU, which has been advocating for the affected workers.

A meeting was later held with Minister of State Joseph Harmon; Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman; Social Protection Minister Amna Ally; and Junior Social Protection Minister with responsibility for Labour, Keith Scott; along with RUSAL’s representative Vladimir Permyakov and Director of Alumina and Bauxite Department at RUSAL,

Sergey Kostyuk; met to discuss ways in which the issue can be resolved in an amicable manner.

And after assurances by Government that the fired bauxite workers will be reinstated, RUSAL has refused to do so, signalling their intentions of having the 61 workers replaced by the end of the week.

According to RUSAL, those who are not on the job have not received any payments and they have moved towards inviting persons who have a desire to join the company to do so.

However, notices were issued to an additional 30 workers, informing them that they are not to turn up for work until further notice. According to the company, the company reserves are not as lucrative to investors as they were in the past.

These statements were met with strong opposition from Minister Ally, who labelled RUSAL’s actions as unreasonable and unthinkable.

Guyana’s private sector reports significant decline in business due to political uncertainty

T

he Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) said it has conducted a study following the passage of the December 21, 2018 no-confidence motion and has found that the looming political uncertainty has caused some 64 per cent of businesses to register some sort of decline.

The Chamber on Monday said it was concerned about the effect of the impact of the associated uncertainty on the business community, adding that it was that level of uncertainty which prompted the survey, to gauge the effect of the political environment on business performance.

“From the results, 64 per cent of respondents (or about two in every three businesses) experienced some form of decline due to uncertainty over the state of political affairs in Guyana. For those businesses which registered a decline in activity, approximately 85 per cent experienced a 25 to 50 per cent drop in the level of commercial activity. The remaining 15 per cent experienced 75 to 100 per cent decline in busi-

ness,” the GCCI said.

The Private Sector body noted that the significant decline in commercial activity was worrying to itself and its membership. According to the Chamber, the continued state of political uncertainty can result in further decline in economic activity.

“From a national development perspective, the climate of uncertainty does not bode well for investors’ confidence, both local and foreign, as well as business planning, budgeting, and other key features of business management and administration. The Chamber

remains hopeful that an environment which encourages investment prevails,” the statement revealed.

GCCI’s membership numbers over 240 business organisations from micro to enterprise level, located throughout the country and in the Caricom Region.

The Chamber emphasised the need for national leaders to expediently resolve political issues that exist in order to restore and boost investors’ confidence, which would result in Guyana’s economy growing comfortably.

The passage of the December 21, 2018 no-confidence motion saw the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government being toppled.

The motion was moved by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo and carried in a 33-32 vote, with AFC MP Charrandas Persaud defecting in a vote of conscience in favour of the motion.

It has been over 65 days since the resolution was carried and no move has been made by the Government to have elections held within the constitutionally mandated 90 days.

Additionally, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has since indicated that it will require at least five months to prepare. This move has been condemned by many,

with observers accusing GECOM of ignoring its constitutional mandate to buy time for the Government.

On Saturday, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan admitted that Guyana would enter into a period of constitutional crisis if come March 19, the constitutionally-mandated Regional and General Elections are not held.

“Well then, you will certainly have what is internationally regarded as a constitutional crisis and I must admit that for the purposes of this dialogue that we are going to presume that the 90 days have passed and we still do not have the two-third majority in Parliament, we are going to enter some uncharted waters,” Ramjattan admitted.

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Poll shows majority of Guyanese want elections by March A

n opinion survey conducted by the North American Caribbean Teachers Association (NACTA) over the past week has found that a large majority of voters and almost the entire business community are worried about the political uncertainty prevailing in Guyana following the passage of the NoConfidence Motion last December.

The poll began over a week ago and is being conducted by social scientist, Dr Vishnu Bisram, who has been conducting opinion polls internationally for almost 30 years. The poll has been interviewing potential voters (502 thus far) at random to represent the demographics (41 per cent Indians, 30 per cent Africans, 18 per cent Mixed, 10 per cent Amerindians, 1 per cent other) of the population.

This large majority of voters and the business community are of the view that the Government lost the NoConfidence Motion and that it should resign and hold elections as mandated by the Constitution.

According to the findings, people are dis-

Voters in a queue waiting to cast their ballots at the previous elections

appointed that the Government is not adhering to the laws as specified in the Constitution and worldwide democratic conventions that a Government resigns and holds elections when it loses a No-Confidence Motion.

People, NACTA poll said, believe the NoConfidence Motion was successfully passed. As such, a majority of voters would like to see an early election within the constitutional March 19 deadline to settle the issue of the no-confidence vote and to avoid an impending constitutional crisis. The population also indicated their con-

cerns over Government’s refusal to resign and hold elections which threaten democracy.

Based on the findings of the still ongoing poll (through Friday, February 22), 65 per cent of the population are concerned, as opposed to 28 per cent who are not and 7 per cent offering no opinion about the political situation in which the Government has refused to accept the outcome of the no-confidence vote. Many said it sets the stage for authoritarianism.

Asked if they feel the Government lost the no-confidence vote, 62 per cent said yes, 23

per cent said no and 15 per cent did not offer an opinion or are not sure.

In short, the polls show that the majority feels that 33 constitutes a majority out of 65 members of Parliament.

The majority of voters said the Government should resign and immediately set a date to hold snap General and Regional Elections within the stipulated timeframe – within 90 days as stated in the Constitution – in order to settle the political uncertainty that has hit the nation over the last two months. Asked if the Government should resign, 61 per cent said yes

with 30 per cent saying no and 9 per cent not expressing an opinion.

Further, asked if Government should call an election now, 67 per cent said yes, 25 per cent said no and 8 per cent was not sure (or offered no opinion). Many said the Government should not be afraid to call an election and that it is in its advantage to adhere to democratic principles.

The December 21 passage of the Motion activated Article 106 (6) and (7) of the Constitution which states, respectively: “The Cabinet including the President shall resign if the Government is defeated by the vote of a majority of all the elected members of the National Assembly on a vote of confidence.” And “Notwithstanding its defeat, the Government shall remain in office and shall hold an election within three months, or such longer period as the National Assembly shall by resolution supported by not less than twothirds of the votes of all the elected members of the National Assembly determine, and shall resign after the President takes the oath of office following the election”.

However, the Government is challenging the validity of the resolution owing to the fact that Persaud holds dual citizenship and further going on to say that a total of 34 votes were needed to have it validly passed. Acting Chief Justice Roxane George has since ruled that while Persaud is a dual citizen, his vote remains valid as a result of the doctrine of necessity as well as the resolution was validly carried having garnered the majority of the votes of the elected Members of the House.

It has been 66 days since the resolution was carried and no move has been made by the Government to have elections held within the constitutionally mandated 90 days. In fact, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) last week indicated that it will require at least five months to prepare for polls.

This move has been condemned by many with observers accusing GECOM of ignoring its constitutional mandate to buy time for the Government.

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Jamaicans tight-lipped on confiscated rice shipped from Guyana T

he Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) is apparently being sidelined by Jamaican authorities with regard to obtaining information about recent reports surfacing that a shipment of 70 metric tonnes of White Cinderella rice from Guyana had been confiscated in Jamaica after it was found unsuitable for human consumption.

General Manager of the GRDB, Nizam Hassan, told the media on Tuesday that such allegations have reached the public domain already and if such information is in the hands of the Jamaican authorities then it would augur well that such issues be communicated to the exporting country, which in this case, is Guyana.

“There are so many things that we have thought of but let’s not speculate here. Let’s wait for the Jamaicans to tell us but I think that we need to know.

Because let’s say that there is an issue from the sending country that needs to be looked at that needs to be improved, that needs to be corrected, that information would help the process.”

He explained that since the allegation was made known to the GRDB after be-

rice informed us that the buyer, that he has been speaking to a number of buyers and none of his buyers have said to him anything with regards to supply. In fact, the supplier informed us that he has been fully paid for the supplies of his rice,” he added.

He explained that more articles about the allegations were being publicised by various media hous-

General Manager of GRDB Nizam Hassan

ing publicised by local media attempts by the GRDB to verify the facts about this situation have proved futile.

“We immediately contacted the agency, the Jamaica Food Storage and Prevention of Infestation Division.

We contacted them, they reported that they could not give us any information… they have not provided us with any infor-

mation as I speak to you,” said Hassan.

Although the GRDB came up empty-handed in this case, the only other immediate alternative, after this failed attempt to seek an answer or clarification into the matter, was to speak with the local supplier of the rice in question.

“We then contacted the supplier of the rice, because we knew who the supplier was.

The supplier of the

es and as such, the GRDB attempted to make direct contact with the international buyer of the rice.

However, to date, the buyer in question has not divulged any information to the GRDB. “We learnt through that article who the buyer with alleged confiscation was. We then contacted that buyer, that buyer did not also provide us with any informa-

tion. So, as we speak to you we have no additional information with regards to the issues surrounding the alleged confiscation of rice that was exported to Jamaica.”

Hassan added that the GRDB has turned to the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Guyana to help seek the relevant information from Jamaican authorities about this matter.

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End game…

W

…in Venezuela?

e know the end game in Venezuela’s been taking some time. But “this time na lang time” – even for the lone superpower standing. Time there was when the Marines would’ve long been dispatched after President Trump did a Henry II and exclaimed “Will no one rid me of this meddlesome Maduro?” Maduro, after all — like Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket — just didn’t get it that the old order had to go.

It’s not just a clash of ideologies any longer – socialism versus capitalism — that argument had long been settled after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. Trouble was, Maduro’s mentor Hugo Chavez didn’t look next door to Guyana, where Burnham, another leader on horseback (literally!), decided he’d “mould” Guyana’s destiny along “socialist” lines. Hey!! Burnham might’ve been well intentioned and all that, but fact of the matter is he completely destroyed his country and scattered his people like a rice farmer broadcasting paddy for the next crop!!

Every country in the vicinity, including Venezuela – but mostly the US and Canada — was invaded by hordes of Guyanese refugees. It’s a good thing our population was small, or the fallout would’ve been catastrophic. But that isn’t the case in the ongoing Chavez/Maduro socialist experiment that is careening towards its inevitable collapse. The international community has to do something before the present 3 million who’ve fled Venezuela become 30 million!!

The 40,000 Guyanese who ended up in Venezuela was a drop in their bucket – but can you imagine if the 3,000 presently in Reg 1 swells to 30,000? For one, they won’t remain in Reg 1!! Anyhow, Maduro gave Trump the opening he needed when he called snap elections last year – which the Carter Center, the UN and OAS etc refused to observe. After concededly the lowest turnout in Venezuelan history, Maduro was declared the winner by the Maduro-controlled National Electoral Council (CNE). The US refused to recognise the elections, and declared Maduro persona non grata.

After Maduro’s inauguration last month, US VP Mike Pence made a call to the President of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Juan Guaido, who constitutionally becomes the interim president in the event the office is vacant. He assured Guaido that if he declared himself president, the US would recognise him. So said, so done, and the endgame was in sight.

Since then, most European and Latin American states have followed the US lead. Guaido has promised “free and fair elections” once Maduro departs.

Mike Pence informed the Lima Group of SA states – in the presence of Guaido – of the final US moves.

The lesson is that the US is still ready to defend democratic practices!! …in Guyana?

And the above recitation obviously is relevant for us in Guyana, where the PNC-led Government has been playing ducks and drakes with democracy in general and our constitution in particular. Specifically, as it relates to the stipulation that the President and his Cabinet SHALL resign immediately after the NCM of Dec 21 and elections should have been scheduled

by March 19.

With the PNC Government working in tandem with GECOM, which it controls with the “unilateralised” James Patterson, who is refusing to hold the constitutionally mandated elections, comes March 19, when a new president should have been declared and the incumbent will have to go! What then? According to Art 95, “During any period when the Office of the president is vacant, the office shall be assumed by (1) (a) the PM; and if there’s none, according to (b), another Minister elected by Cabinet”.

But Art 95 (c) says if there’s no PM or Cabinet – as is the case — then the Chancellor of the Judiciary becomes the interim President!!

We hope the visiting US War College Professor passed on the message to the PNC!! …for East Bank highway The humongous 3-hour traffic pile-up occasioned by the toppled flatbed transporting an oil-related rig is a warning of what lies ahead with oil-support companies soon to be lining the entire Demerara River bank!!

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Trinidad: Soca O dancing family goes viral

Holness urges Heads to deliver on commitments made

A

(Trinidad Guardian)

T&T-born woman and her British hus­band are mak­ing waves on so­ cial me­ dia as a video of them danc­ ing to Kees Di­ ef­fen­thaller’s So­ca hit Sa­van­nah Grass has now been viewed more than two mil­lion times.

On Feb­ru­ary 9, Jamie Lau­rence Park­er up­loaded a video of his wife Nik­ isha Wat­son-Park­er win­ing to Sa­van­nah Grass while chop­ping up some veg­eta­bles on their kitchen counter.

Park­er even­tu­ al­ly ap­proached his wife from be­ hind and start­ ed to wine on her while hold­ ing their four-monthold daugh­ter Ye­le­ na. He up­ loaded the video with the cap­

tion: “Cook­ ing with love with Thi­sis­real­ Ma­ ma! I wish my wife nev­er at­tempt­ ed to teach me the bi­ cy­cle (laugh­ing emo­ ji). Have an amaz­ing week­end.”

Thi­sis­real­Ma­ma is the name of Wat­sonPark­er’s par­ent­ing blog.

Wat­son-Park­er is the daugh­ ter of for­ mer Gov­ern­ment sen­ a­tor and Pro­fes­sor Emer­i­tus of the Uni­ ver­si­ty of the West In­ dies’ Patrick Wat­son.

“I saw her danc­ ing in the kitchen and me be­ing me de­cid­ed to get on a bit stu­pid in the back­ ground,” Park­er said dur­ing an in­ter­view on CNC3’s The Morn­ing Brew on Wednes­day. ple met The cou­ when Park­er vis­it­ed Trinidad for Car­ni­val.

W a t­s o n - P a r k­e r

continued on page 44

u t g o i n g Chairman of the Caricom Conference of Heads of Government, Honourable Andrew Holness is encouraging his fellow leaders to deliver on the bold steps and strong joint recommitment to the regional process that they made during his tenure.

Holness, who is also Prime Minister of Jamaica, was speaking on Tuesday morning at the opening of the 30th Intersessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of Caricom which was held in St Kitts and Nevis between February 26 and 27, 2019.

He gave a quick overview of some of the achievements and commitments made during his time as Chairman of the Conference, speaking first of hosting the 39th Regular Meeting of the Conference which was held in Montego Bay, Jamaica, in July 2018.

Holness said that during the Conference, a “giant leap forward” was made in response to the concerns of Caricom Member States with regard to being treated with fairness, respect and dignity. He explained that procedures on the refusal of entry were adopted with an agreement to implement them by August 2018.

He further outlined that during the same meeting, Heads of Member States demonstrated their commitment to ensure that the free movement of skills provisions in the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) re-

Prime Minister of Jamaica Andrew Holness delivers his address as outgoing Chairman of the Caricom Conference of Heads of Government at the 30th Intersessional Meeting of the Caricom Conference

gime not only worked for the principal beneficiaries, but also for their families through the signing of the Protocol on Contingent Rights.

Following the 39th Conference, the Heads of Government met in September in a prime ministerial sub-committee Chaired by Prime Minister of Barbados, Honourable Mia Mottley, and again in a special session in December 2018 where they had further discussions regarding the report of the Commission to Review Jamaica's relations within the Caricom and CARIFORUM frameworks (CRCC) and implementation of the CSME. "The meeting was graciously hosted by Prime Minister Rowley in Port-of-Spain and delivered the St Ann’s

Declaration, which cemented our resolve that we must give impetus to the CSME. Among other decisions accordingly, we reclaimed the objective of economic growth and development and emphasised the central role of the Private Sector and labour in assisting the region on this path," the Outgoing Chairman said.

Other achievements outlined by PM Holness included a decision to add agricultural workers and security guards to the agreed categories of skilled nationals who will be entitled to move freely and seek employment within the Community. He also confirmed that Beauty Service Practitioners and Barbers can move and work as artistes.

Strategic engagements with external

partners was another area of focus, and, according to Holness, that was the reason much of his attention was geared towards strengthening relations with bilateral, regional and international development partners.

This, he said, included engagements with the Presidents of Chile and Cuba during the 39th Heads of Government Meeting, as well as representing the Community at the BRICS Plus Summit in Johannesburg, and at the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, both of which he described as fruitful engagements.

In concluding, he said that Jamaica was honoured to have been entrusted to serve as Chair and gave his commitment to continue working to deliver prosperity for the region.

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Dominican charged for overstaying in Guyana

A

Dominican man on Monday appeared before Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts charged for overstaying in Guyana.

Eric Guante admitted that between January 5, 2019 and February 24, 2019 at Georgetown, he failed to comply with conditions under which he was permitted to stay in Guyana.

According to immigration records, Guante was granted permission to stay in Guyana from December 6, 2018 to January 5, 2019.

On Monday, in a plea of mitigation, the foreign national told the Magistrate that he was informed that as long as he has a Guyanese child, he could remain in Guyana. With the aid of a translator, Guante further explained that he pleaded guilty, since he did not want to waste the court’s time.

However, Police Prosecutor Richard Harris contended that records did not reveal any information about him having a child in Guyana.

Magistrate Daly fined Guante G$30,000. Failure to pay the fine will result in him having to serve six months in prison.

Preserving our literary heritage

by

Petamber Persaud

The Song of the Republic (words - Cleveland Hamilton) (music - Frank Daniels) From Pakaraima’s peaks of pow’r To Corentyne’s lush sands, Her children pledge each faithful hour To guard Guyana’s lands To foil the shock of rude invaders Who’d violate her earth To cherish and defend forever The state that gave them birth We’ll forge a nation’s mighty soul Construct a nation’s frame Freedom our everlasting goal Courage and truth our aim Unyielding in our quest for peace Like ancient heroes brave To strive and strive and never cease With strength beyond the slave Guyana climb that glorious perch To fame prosperity Join in the universal search For world wide comity Your people whatsoe’er their breed Their hue or quality With one firm never changing creed The nation’s unity Fined: Eric Guante

A

nd to think such a song almost never made it to the public let alone national acceptance. Here is that story.

Almost four decades ago – sometime in late 1960s, a competition was set in train to select an appropriate anthem to celebrate Guyana’s attainment of Republic status.

The story goes that the writer of ‘Song of the Republic’ was at the time in the ‘black book’ of the government of the day because a civil issue from which the writer was to benefit was determined politically against him. It is said the man’s outspokenness landed him many times in hot water and true to form, he wrote about this slight in his newspaper column. Afraid his

entry may be treated with political discharge, he submitted the words to the competition using a nom de plume, Thomas Theophilus Halley, his father’s name. That entry won from 135 submissions.

That entry won from 135 submissions. The judges were A. J. Seymour, Mrs. Stella Merriman and Milton Drepaul; the ‘judges made certain amendments to the entry so as to accord it greater suitability and make it eminently sing able’. It was long after the announcement that his entry had won that he went forward to accept the glory by which time the song had gained acceptance. That writer was Cleveland Hamilton whose death anniversary is marked around this period.

Cleveland Hamilton also a sedate yet busy legal practitioner that ever so often escaped the straightjacket to don the mantle of a poet, letting his imagination go as he immortalised people, places and events. Some of his popular pieces include ‘Requiem for Walter Rodney’, ‘Requiem for Father Bernard Darke’, ‘For Soweto’, ‘For Steve Biko’, ‘To Nazism’, and ‘Leningrad’.

It is useful to note that Hamilton came into contact and under the influence other writers whose poetry was also put to music. Some of those writers include J. W. Chinapen, R. C. G. Potter (who wrote the music for the National Anthem) and A. J. Seymour, all patriotic kindred spirits. The writers of the time were imbrued with a patriotic spirit and it was manifested in their work; it was a new theme, new impulse in which to dabble, it was post-colonial writing but still influenced by ‘colonial’ form and structure.

Cleveland Hamilton died on February 22, 1991, on the eve of another republic celebration which was to be marked by the song he wrote for the Republic, the song that almost never was.

Responses to this author please telephone 226-0065 of email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)

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Protecting what matters

A

s the world looks to observe World Wildlife Day on March 3rd, WWF Guianas, along with partnering organizations, will join forces to spread awareness on the theme for 2019 - “Life below water: for people and planet", which aligns with goal 14 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and our area of focus for Earth Hour 2019 “Water”. This is the first World Wildlife Day to place emphasis on marine life.

WWF Guianas – Guyana Office believes this is a great opportunity to raise awareness among Guyanese about the importance of marine ecosystems to human development and how each can play their part in ensuring future generations benefit from these services. Coastal and marine ecosystems play a key role in the sustenance of human well-being, particularly indigenous peoples, vulnerable groups and poor people who have high dependence on the resources and services that are garnered.

Marine species are injured and killed as a result of plastic pollution, many would ingest, suffocate, drown, starve,

become entangled and or develop infection as a result of plastics in the ocean. Oceans provide numerous goods and services and we should do our part in ensuring health Oceans; plastics we use takes decades to degrade. Let’s start now and reduce the use of single use plastics and use biodegradable and reusable materials.

WWF Guianas Guyana Office has been supporting research and projects around the conservation of marine life in Guyana for several years. Since 2000 WWF Guianas has been supporting the monitoring and protection of nesting sea turtles, including the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), the olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), the hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and the giant leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), which are all on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) endangered species list, along the Shell Beach Protected Area.

Threats affecting sea turtles exist both on land and in water. In the Ocean they are in danger of being caught in fishing nets or may eat polluted items for foods. On land they are at risk of being hunted for meat, shells

WWF Guianas – Guyana Office has been working on providing hands on training/ building of capacities on the identification and reduction of Endangered, Threatened and Protected species caught during fishing activities and assisted with the onboard observer programme for the seabob trawl fishery which is currently under assessment for the Marine

Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), as UN World Wildlife Day to celebrate and raise awareness of the world’s wild animals and plants.

About WWF Guiana – Guyana Country Office

WWF-Guianas is part of one of the world’s leading conservation organizations with a mission to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.

T h e

and leather and their eggs are poached.

There have been many efforts by WWF and other national and international conservation organizations to protect these endangered species and their critical nesting habitats. In 2011, Shell Beach was established as a protected area by the Government of Guyana. Protected areas are critically important for conserving the services these ecosystems offer for the biodiversity which inhabit the area and for future generations.

To date, the Protected Areas Commission, Department of Fisheries and WWF Guianas – Guyana Office have been collaborating and raising awareness to the public around conservation measures, engaging particularly fishermen on the ‘No Netting Zones’.

The presence of Rangers of the Protected Areas

Commission on the beaches has reduced the number of turtles and eggs poached and predated by both humans and animals, such as dogs.

Additionally, WWF Guianas – Guyana Office has been collaborating with the Department of Fisheries in ensuring that fishing is done in a sustainable manner. Fisheries play a pivotal role in Guyana’s development, as it contributes to food, livelihood, employment and revenue generation.

In Guyana, there is room for more work to be done to ensure the sustainability of the fisheries resources. There is the lack of updated data that would be useful to help inform decision making, and insufficient enforcement at sea.

Stewardship Council (MSC) Certification.

About World Wildlife Day On 20 December 2013, at its 68th session, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) proclaimed 3 March, the day of signature of the Convention on International Trade in

Guyana office is involved in a plurality of site specific objectives, often in partnership with civil society organizations and government institutions.

These range from the protection and management of ecological landscapes, to educational and awareness campaigns on climate change and conservation.

(WWFGuyana) (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)

36 FEATURE

By Odeon Ishmael

(I

t is more than ironic that when labour disturbances roiled the Caribbean during the 1930s’ Great Depression, from Jamaica to British Guiana, the Commission of Inquiry (the Moyne Commission)’ which the British reflexively sent down, was actually taking evidence in Guiana when the events outlined below, occurred.

The Commission's Report eventually led to the enlarged franchise and the election of Dr Cheddi Jagan to the Legislature when it was released after WWII.) The pressing economic conditions continued throughout the 1930s, and from time to time workers went on strike to

protest their working conditions. The sugar workers in various parts of the country were most active in their strike actions.

On February 13, 1939, the firemen at the Leonora sugar factory called a half-day strike to demand a shorter working day. Their working day was eleven and a half hours. At that time, other factory workers usually worked between 9 to 12 hours a day.

The news of the firemen’s strike encouraged field workers of the shovel gang to strike over insufficient pay. After efforts by the manager and the District Commissioner to encourage them to resume work failed, the workers asked for the Man Power Citizens' Association (MPCA) President Ayube

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Edun to intervene on their behalf.

Meanwhile, the strike spread to other sections of Leonora Estate, and

by February 15, all the workers, including the cane-cutters who make up the great majority of the workers, were on strike.

A large group of workers, armed with their agricultural tools, attempted to join the train to travel to Georgetown to meet with Edun, but the Police prevented them from boarding. These workers then decided to walk along the railway line to Vreed-enHoop where they were stopped by the Police from boarding the ferry boat to cross them over to Georgetown.

However, a smaller group of field workers travelled separately

to Georgetown and discussed their grievances with Edun, who then sent them to meet with the Commissioner of Labour. But this meeting between the workers and the Commissioner failed to bring about an agreement.

While that meeting was taking place, Charles Jacob, another leader of the MPCA, crossed over the Demerara River from Georgetown and ad-

dressed the large group of workers who had walked from Leonora. He listened to their grievances after which they travelled back to Leonora on the train late in the afternoon.

Jacob and Edun, that same afternoon, presented a list of the issues affecting the workers to the Sugar Producers' Association, and demanded that the MPCA should be granted official recognition to represent the sugar workers.

All factory workers joined the strike on February 16, and in the morning, many of them gathered in the vicinity of the factory and made a noisy protest. A police contingent under the command of Superintendent Weber arrived on the scene later in the morning.

The Policemen, armed with rifles and long, heavy greenheart batons, attempted to arrest a leader of the strikers, but were pelted with bottles and bricks by sections of the crowd. A clash between the crowd and the Police followed, and some persons were injured. The Police arrested five workers, but after protests outside of the police station by a crowd of other workers, they were later released on bail.

Meanwhile, the large group of workers protesting outside the factory, moved away and gathered outside the manager's home. The manager attempted to speak to them, but was pelted with bottles and bricks and he hurriedly retreated into his house. As the situation worsened, the District Commissioner sent an appeal to the MPCA President to intervene. However, Edun refused to go to Leonora unless the estate management granted recognition to the union.

Shortly after the manager was attacked, the crowd surrounded a police car and assaulted the two persons in it.

Superintendent Weber threatened to shoot at the unruly strikers, but they still refused to disperse and threatened to burn down the factory. A policeman, in attempting to take away a stick from a striker, was then set upon by the crowd. He managed to escape, but was chased

by the mob, and he ran inside a nearby house. Some of the strikers ran behind him and severely attacked him with sticks. Three other Policemen moved into the house to rescue their injured companion, and as another section of the crowd moved towards the house, the other Policemen opened fire.

The crowd then hastily dispersed and scattered in all directions. As a result of the shooting, four workers were killed and 12 others were injured. Some Policemen received minor injuries.

A few days after the shooting, the Governor appointed a three-man commission of inquiry to investigate the causes of the disturbances. The commission heard evidence from 58 witnesses and lawyers representing the interests of the deceased, the management of Leonora Estate, the Police and the British Guiana East Indian Association.

The MPCA did not participate in the proceedings.

During March 1939, while the commission was preparing its report, the Sugar Producers' Association granted official recognition to the MPCA when it signed an agreement with the union for the peaceful settlement of disputes.

The commission of inquiry issued its report later in the month. It pointed to the fact that the workers had no other way open to them for settling their grievances except by going to the manager of the Estate. The commission also was of the view that the union was unable to effectively represent the workers since its representatives were not given jobs on the Estate. The report blamed the Sugar Producers' Association for not recognising the union as the bargaining agent, but it also felt that the union should have sought permission to enter the Estate to control the crowd. The commission felt that a stronger force of Police should have been dispatched earlier to Leonora to disperse the crowd and to prevent any further build-up of strikers.

The Police were cleared of all blame for the shooting. (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)

FEATURE 37

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Arapaima Arapaima gigas Known as the pirarucu in Brazil and the paiche in Peru, this South America giant is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world. Some reach lengths of more than 10 feet (3 meters) and weigh upward of 400 pounds (180 kilograms). The arapaima is the focus of several conservation projects in the Guianas.

The arapaima is an air-breathing fish that plies the rain forest rivers, lakes and swamps. They have a wide, scaly, gray body and a tapered head. Though arapaimas can stay underwater for 10 to 20 minutes, they tend to remain near the water’s surface, where they hunt and emerge often to breathe with a distinctive coughing noise. They survive mainly on fish but are known to occasionally grab birds close to the water’s surface.

The Amazon’s seasonal floods have become part of the arapaima’s reproductive cycle. During low-water months (February to April) arapaimas construct bottom nests and females lay eggs. Young begin to hatch as rising water levels provide them with flood conditions in which to flourish. Adult males play an unusual reproductive role by incubating tens of thousands of eggs in their mouths, guarding them aggressively and moving them when necessary.

Giant River Otter

Pteronura brasiliensis Guyana’s Giant River Otter is the largest of the world’s 13 otter species (although sea otters may weigh more). Giant otter males attain an overall length of 1.5 to 1.8m and a weight of between 26 and 32 kg. The otter’s throat and chest are usually marked with irregular cream-coloured patches or spots which help to identify individuals. Long and numerous facial whiskers protrude from the muzzle, forehead and temples and are believed to be highly sensitive in order to facilitate prey location in turbid waters.

Historically giant otters ranged throughout the tropical lowland rain forests and wetlands of South America but is considered extinct in Argentina and Uruguay.

The giant river otter is an IUCN red-listed species and is considered endangered.

Accelerating habitat destruction and degradation, poaching, and unmanaged tourism are ongoing threats to this vulnearble species.

Black Caiman

Melanosuchus niger

Jaguar

Panthera onca The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere.

This spotted cat resembles the leopard although it is usually larger and sturdier and its behavioral characteristics are closer to those of the tiger. While dense rainforest is its preferred habitat, the jaguar will range across a variety of forested and open terrain. It is notable as a feline that enjoys swimming. The jaguar is a solitary, opportunistic, stalk-and-ambush predator at the top of the food chain. It is a keystone species, playing an important role in stabilizing ecosystems and regulating the populations of the animals it hunts. The jaguar is a near threatened species and its numbers are declining. Threats include habitat loss and fragmentation.

While international trade in jaguars or their parts is prohibited, the cat is still frequently killed by humans, particularly in conflicts with ranchers and farmers in South America.

The Black caiman is a a carnivorous reptile that lives along slow-moving rivers and lakes and in seasonally flooded savannas. It was hunted to near extinction primarily for its commercially valuable hide and is now listed as “conservation dependent.” They are commonly seen in Guyana’s Rupununi and Rewa rivers and are the subject of an intensive research project at Yupukari village.

The Black caiman is the largest predator in the Amazon basin measuring 3 to 4m (9 –12 ft) in length, with old males growing larger than 5m (15 ft). It is the third largest crocodilian in South America behind the American Crocodile and Orinoco Crocodile.

At the end of the dry season, females build a nest of soil and vegetation abd lay up to 60 eggs at the beginning of the wet season when newly-flooded marshes provide ideal habitat for the juveniles. Unguarded clutches are quickly devoured by a wide range of animals. As with other crocodilians, caimans frequently move their young in their mouths, creating a mistaken impression that they eat their young. Mothers will assist chirping, unhatched young to break out of the leathery eggs by delicately breaking the eggs between her teeth. The female only breeds once every 2 to 3 years.

False Vampire Bat

Panthera Vampyrum spectrum This species is the largest bat (Chiroptera) in the New World and the largest carnivorous bat in the world, having a wingspan of 80 centimeters (almost 3 feet) and a body length 13-14 cm (about 5 inches).

Some alternate names for this species are the False Vampire Bat, Linnaeus’s False Vampire Bat and the Spectral Vampire Bat. Confusingly, they are not related to the Old World family of large carnivorous bats that are also called false vampires.

The fur on the upper parts of the bat is normally dark brown, chestnut brown or rust-orange and quite short. The ears are very long and rounded. There is no discernible tail. The large feet are robust, with long curved claws. The muzzle is long and narrow, and the teeth are strong. The noseleaf is mediumsized and lance-shaped, resembling a horseshoe and spear with a continuous rim forming a hollow cup around the nostrils.

A formidable aerial night hunter, this large predatory species takes a huge range of relatively large vertebrate prey including amphibians, reptiles, small birds and small mammals (including other species of bats) in addition to insects such as large crickets and cicadas. (Wilderness Explorer)

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Scenes from 2019 Mash Celebrations in Guyana

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Scenes from 2019 Mash Celebrations in Guyana

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Probe launched into alleged ‘trophy hunting’ of jaguar

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he recent killing of a jaguar, Guyana’s national animal, has gone viral on social media and has grabbed the attention of Government which has launched an investigation into the incident.

A photo of the dead jaguar began circulating on social media earlier this week and has since sparked debates and awareness about the need to protect this endangered species of animal.

From all indications, based on the post, the animal was killed during a hunting trip. But it is against the law to hunt and kill an animal which falls under the protection of the law.

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman said on Wednesday that he is extremely disturbed by the issue and has since advised that an investigation be launched into the matter.

“Even though wildlife management comes under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Wildlife Authority, I have sent the photograph to the head of our Compliance Division and asked him to investigate because I am very disturbed by it,” he explained.

Trotman said he is totally against any form of trophy hunting. “If you hunt to eat I can accept that but when it comes to killing so that you can feel good, I am very bothered about it,” while explaining that the animal also holds a very major importance to the country.

The jaguar, Guyana‘s national animal, is protected by the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act 2016.

According to the legislation, collecting, holding in captivity, hunting, killing, or otherwise molesting ‘protected’ species is prohibited.

Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Panthera Corporation, aimed at

The jaguar that was allegedly the victim of trophy hunting

conserving the Jaguar.

Founded in 2006, Panthera is an organisation devoted exclusively to preserving wild cats and their critical role in the world’s ecosystems.

Panthera’s team of leading biologists, law enforcement experts and wild cat advocates develop innovative strategies based on the best available science to protect cheetahs, jaguars, lions, leopards, pumas, snow leopards and tigers and their vast landscapes.

Panthera first started work in Guyana in 2011 through the jaguar conservation studies in the Rupununi where it was established that the connectivity of the Amazon Rainforest throughout the Rupununi, Iwokrama and other adjacent areas in the northern habitat of the jaguar is important for the long-term conservation of Guyana’s natural heritage.

In 2018, Minister of State Joseph Harmon attended a high-level conference on jaguars that was held at the UN Head Quarters in New York.

The forum saw representations from 14 jaguar countries, international and national partner organisations.

The forum launched the Jaguar 2030 New York Statement. The statement recognises that investing in the conservation of jaguars and their habitats can improve broader efforts to manage natural resources, and strengthen community livelihoods, among others.

The jaguar is the third-largest feline in the world, and the largest in the Western hemisphere.

In Guyana, these creatures are often spotted along trails or gaps along the forest edge where roads or rivers run. Sightings are most common in the Iwokrama Forest, especially along the main roadway.

Globally, jaguar populations are on the decline mainly due to the loss of habitat and conflict with people. As a result, these animals are listed as a

‘near threatened’ species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

NEWS 41

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travel & tourism 43

Rewa village is a small Amerindian community located at the confluence of the Rewa and Rupununi Rivers in the North Rupununi of Central Guyana. Home to about 300 villagers, mostly from the Makushi tribe, the Rewa area is renowned for its abundance of wildlife and ecological diversity. In 2005, in an effort to protect their land for generations to come, we, the Rewa community, founded the eco-lodge with a community grant provided by Conservation International.

Rewa is unique because of its remoteness.

Most visitors access the village by taking a boat ride from Kwatamang Landing near Bina Hill. The voyage can last as long as six hours depending on the water levels in the Rupununi River. It is advisable that you take the boat ride because you will be amazed by the variety of wildlife you will encounter on the journey.

Be prepared to see the black and spectacled caiman, giant river otters, capybara, tapir, river stingrays, piranha, and countless birds, large and small and many more other species as you make your way to Rewa Village.

So grab your crew and take a trip and we guarantee that you will not regret it. (Photos by Paula Gomes and Rewa Eco Lodge) (Guyana

Times Sunday Magazine)

44 NEWS

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Trinidad: Soca dancing...

from page 33

Jamie and Nikisha Parker

played Car­ ni­ val last year while preg­nant with Ye­le­na.

She said she plays so­ca all the time at their home in the Unit­ed King­dom.

“It’s quite im­por­tant to me they know their roots and they un­der­ stand my roots and Car­ni­val is a big part of be­ ing from Trinidad and To­ba­go,” she said.

Wat­son-Park­er said she plays so­ca not on­ly to cure her cur­rent Car­ni­val ta­ban­ca but al­so to help put Ye­le­na to sleep.

Park­er said his favourite song this year is Ker­win Du Bois’ Right for Some­body.

The fam­il­y has made oth­er vid­ eos fea­tur­ing pop­u­lar so­ca songs this year.

Wat­son-Park­er said she is glad ting so­ ca to play her part in get­ mu­sic, “which does not get much air­play as it should in­ter­na­tion­ al­ly” to a glob­al au­di­ence through so­cial me­dia.

Unity…

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…not even for a day

t the flag raising ceremony to usher in Republic Day, President Granger said, “Everyone wins when the nation is united.”

Of course, this is true…but what does it have to do with the price of psidium??!! This is the kind of banal homilies that Granger’s been spewing since he took over the Presidency almost four years ago, even as his actions have led to the most intense polarisation of our land of “six peoples” in decades!!

Take the theme for Mashramani that was to follow his flag raising: “Celebrate Mash 49 with Victory in Mind”. How does this relate to “unity” when PNC green banners matched every Guyana flag on the Mash route — reminding all and sundry that the “victory” was for the PNC at the upcoming elections?? So yes, for the day of the pageantry and jump-up, there were Guyanese of all stripes and colours out on the streets. But is this the “unity” that will make the “nation win”??

Certainly not!! People may have “mixed and mingled” on the streets of Georgetown, but did this bring them together in a unity that would make them see Guyana as a “common venture”??

How could there be “unity” when Granger gave his Ministers a 50 per cent salary bump and the Government workers a measly 10 per cent at best??

How could there be “unity” when he fired 7000 sugar workers with no plans for their alternative employment?? How could there be unity when he continually breached the Constitution with impunity?? Is the symbolism of raising the national flag more important than upholding the constitution?

There will be real unity in Guyana only when all Guyanese see themselves being treated equally by the government of their land — regardless of which party wins the election. In their campaign Manifesto of 2015, the PNC/APNU and AFC coalition promised to involve the PPP in governance to bring “unity” into the land. Heck…the PNC didn’t even bring in the AFC into the Government!! They were just used as window dressing, and the spoils of office all went to one section of the country. How can that bring “unity”??

The problem with the PNC and “unity” is that they were born out of disunity, when Burnham split off from the original PPP and took his constituency with him. That original PPP represented the only time when Guyanese saw real unity — since each of the six peoples had seen themselves represented in the exercise of power. But that unity was smashed into shards because of the overweening ambition of one man.

Guyana will experience unity again only when the PNC quit acting as if Guyana is its transported property! …on corruption SARU, which begat SARA, was formed by the PNC/APNU Government to join SOCU in fighting the “rampant” corruption during the PPP regime, which they claimed had “siphoned off billions and billions” from the treasury. The two organisations would return these billions to the Government – and this money would be used to fund any number of virtuous activities!!

Well, we’re approaching four years of their mission, but there hasn’t been a single asset recovered (SARA) nor a single “organised crime” operation busted (SOCU)!! Instead, in an ironic dénouement, both organisations have become mired in accusations of corruption!! With SOCU, the two seconded British “corruption experts” have left in a swirling miasma of corrupt practices, and the head of the unit is being investigated for unaccounted spending!!

And now we hear that after spending more than G$200 million annually for four years, not only has SARA not recovered a single asset, but hasn’t paid its consultants for work done.

Will SURU be now launched to clean up DURU? …in awards Calvin Benn — the former Dep CEO at GECOM, who fell on his sword to allow the incumbent to be ushered in by Patterson’s casting vote — and Vincent Alexander, the veteran PNC Commissioner, have both received national awards.

All for the (PNC) cause!!

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Being Guyanese: unity with many roots

By Ravi Dev

Between the lines…

T

…of Trump’s message

he Government rag boasted that President Trump “congratulated” President Granger and Guyana on our 49th Republic Anniversary. But Burnham once castigated his followers during their 1979 Biennial Congress, “Comrades, the problem with you is you only read what’s on TOP of the lines! You have to also read BETWEEN the lines.”

So, taking that prompt, let’s read between the lines of the statement: “As your government and the people of Guyana assess the future direction of your country, know that the US recognises and honours Guyana’s respect for the principles and integrity of democratic governance and institutions.” OK…let’s concede that Trump didn’t personally pen that message! He sticks to Twitter’s 280 character limit!!

It was crafted by folks in the State Department who’ve been watching developments in Guyana like a hawk. From being a shith*le country not worth the bother after the fall of the Iron Curtain, we suddenly jumped into their radar screens with Exxon’s mega oil find and the end-game in sight over in neighbouring Venezuela. For both of those reasons, the US wants a STABLE Guyana that won’t rock (Exxon’s) boat, and will encircle Venezuela with stable proUS regimes.

So the first thing that jumped out to your Eyewitness was – out of the cornucopia of values the US pushes – Pres Trump chose to hone in on: “respect for the principles and integrity of democratic governance and institutions”.

And that, dear readers, is not a coincidence!! As the State Department declares on its website: “Democratically governed nations are more likely to secure the peace, deter aggression, expand open markets, promote economic development, protect American citizens, combat international terrorism and crime, uphold human and worker rights, avoid humanitarian crises and refugee flows, improve the global environment, and protect human health.”

So, between the lines, we can see that the US is quite concerned about President Granger and his PNC-led Government showing ABOSLUTELY NO “respect for the principles and integrity of democratic governance and institutions” since they came into office in 2015. After giving them their “seal of approval” then for their “multiracial” commitment, the US had to’ve been disappointed by the racially skewed employment practices; their militarisation of Government institutions; the gross disrespect for the judiciary (“perceptions” not definitive “judgements”!!); unilateral appointment of the GECOM Chair (against the Carter Center inspired Art 106 (6)); and for the coup d’ grace – refusal to respect the Legislative-approved NCM!!

We all understand that, in international relations, foreign governments – even lone superpowers standing – have to be diplomatic in their reprimand of governments straying from the democratic path.

But the steel fist will come out when their strategic interests are threatened!! …on remembering Burnham Robert Corbin uncharacteristically came out from the shadows — where he was shrouded since passing the PNC leadership baton to David Granger – to extol the virtues of their founder leader Forbes Burnham. Some had wondered why Granger? But after Granger admitted he’d been a faithful member of the PNC ever since he joined the army in 1965 – that cleared up matters. The then youthful Corbin – who’d earned his spurs in the Wismar outrages – had to have encountered Granger since that time, because the YSM members had to get army training, in addition to G-3 rifles!!

Now back to Burnham’s “virtues”. Your Eyewitness wouldn’t doubt that Burnham might’ve had excellent hopes for Guyana. But it is truly said: “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”!! So when PNC types like Corbin and Granger mention his “accomplishments”, shouldn’t they also mention the denouement of the hell into which he plunged all Guyana? Including his partisans??

But the more intriguing question is: why Corbin’s emergence? Could it be he’s tossing his hat into the ring if there’s need for a new PNC candidate?

After all, he’s younger than Granger!! …on GECOM’s PNC partisanship Newly minted AA, Vincent Alexander, candidly explained GECOM’s 4-3 vote: “[Now] people are looking after interest. There’s no principle involved here…It’s what suits your purpose…”

By Ravi Dev

I

n “Gardening in the Tropics”, the mixed heritage Jamaican poet Olive Senior uses the activity of “gardening” as an extended trope to analyse the brutal colonisation of the Caribbean by the Europeans, and their influence in the formation of our identity. Gardening, after all, does involve “rooting out”, discarding” “cultivating”, “nurturing”, “grafting”, “hybridity”, and so many activities which are also at work in cultures and relationships in the construction of identities. All of us have been — and continue to be — “cultivated”, whether we like it or not.

Even when we were uprooted from homelands in Asia, Africa and Europe, we were all already “hybrids” that had been variously constituted. The North Indians of the Bhojpuri belt, for instance, were the consequences of continuous invasions for thousands of years, of which the Moghul invasion and its Islamic world view was only the most extensive. The music and the religions of the people were dramatically “cross fertilised”. The British presence in the century before the end of Indentureship had already begun to have its impact, not only for the famines that made millions hungry and homeless and willing to seek their fortunes across the “Kala Pani”, but shaping their worldviews on the relationship between race/colour and power.

In the Caribbean, the Indian, Portuguese and Chinese indentureds would encounter the Africans, who had been subjected to hundreds of years of European imposition of culture and religion – forcibly and not so forcibly. While, against all odds, the Africans retained elements of their cultures in Africa, –they were drawn from all across West Africa – it was into their “creolised” AfroEuropean culture that the new arrivals would be exposed in the Caribbean.

The Africans were expected to inculcate “English culture”, even though their humanity was denied and by definition they could never be “English”. This was interesting, since most of the overseers they interacted with were Irish and Scottish. The indentured servants inevitably imbibed much of their new culture from the African creoles, who preceded them in the plantation, and who were expected to “season” them into the new dispensation.

We all adopted the stereotypes of the Europeans, who judged us on our utility to serve their ends on the plantations as the criteria to evaluate our self and group worth. We were lazy/hardworking; wasteful/thrifty; licentious/pagan/saved; civilised/savage etc; and based on these evaluations, contested to

hierarchically rank ourselves, but with the Europeans always on top.

Out of this experience with independence, we were yet told we were “One people; One Nation; One Destiny”. However, in Guyana and the rest of the Caribbean, people of African origin sought to counter the European hegemonic cultural imposition with the ideologies of “Black Power”, “Negritude” and “Pan Africanism”, all of which privileged the African culture as the “root” of the tree of “national culture”.

But reviewing the broad sweep of Caribbean history, Senior sought to make the point that there is no “pure” origins and no “one root” that we can discover on which to construct our Caribbean identity. She borrowed from the Martiniquean Edouard Glissant the metaphor of the “rhizome” –

like the ginger plant, for instance – with its multiplicity of roots that privilege no one root for Caribbean identity. He was consciously reacting against the construct of “negritude” and of “hybridity” that had been proposed to describe French Antillean identity. The first excluded all others, such as people of Indian origin and the French, and the latter that still privileged the “African root”.

Glissant himself had adapted the image from the French philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, who introduced the rhizome as a metaphor for “multiplicity” rather than a “multiple”. In a more abstract plane than Glissant and Senior, Deleuze and Guattari emphasised “there are no points or positions in a rhizome, such as those found in a structure, tree, or root. There are only lines.” They also emphasised that we need to stop focusing on sameness, since what holds all existence together is difference, not resemblance.

Last Saturday, we commemorated Republic Day, and aspired to a necessary “unity” for our progress. But while we need to cultivate a “Guyanese” identity, we should recall the imagery of the rhizome, with its multiple roots.

We need to uproot the presumed inevitable binary of “African” versus “Indian, to nurture a more fluid, permeable conception of self in which “Guyanese” of all origins can become a rhizomatic edifice rather than hierarchical strata of dominator and dominated.

48 Bollywood

With Stree, Rooh-Afza and Munja, I am building my own horror comedy universe: Dinesh Vijan

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roducer Dinesh Vijan on Wednesday revealed that he is building a horror comedy universe in Bollywood, with Rooh-Afza being the second film in the trilogy. The first movie, Stree, starring Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor, emerged as one of the biggest hits of 2018. And Dinesh is reuniting with Rajkummar in Rooh-Afza.

On the sidelines of promoting his next production Luka Chuppi in New Delhi, Dinesh exclusively shared with indianexpress.com, “Rooh-Afza is a complete departure from Stree. It is a horror comedy, but it’s different officially. It’s mad. With every film, you have to pump it up. If I had immediately gone for a Stree 2, it would have been too early. What I am trying to do is I am trying to build my own horror comedy universe. So there is a team that developed Stree. There is a team which has developed Rooh-Afza.

And then there is going to be a third one called Munja. There are three different characters. In Munja, the ghost is male. This is after Rooh-Afza. It is the third part (in the horror comedy universe). So when Stree was ready, Rooh-Afza’s script was being worked on. Now, Rooh-Afza goes on floors and Munja’s script is ready. Munja has not been cast as yet.”

Dinesh Vijan further revealed that all his three horror comedies will cross paths at some point of time. “The idea

is that all these three films will go in their part twos, where they all meet each other for a bit and then they will all come together for a finale. So that was the intent from the very beginning. So there were three different teams which were working on them,” the producer said.

On Wednesday, Dinesh’s team officially announced Rooh-Afza starring Rajkummar and Varun Sharma. Its female lead is yet to be finalised. While Stree was loosely based on the legend of Nale Ba, Dinesh agreed that RoofAfza was also inspired from a folklore.

“The legend of Rooh-Afza is crazy that in the fictional town of Moradabad on the day of the wedding, the groom is not allowed to sleep. People pinch and disturb him so that he doesn’t sleep, and at the same time a chudail comes and sings a lullaby in his ears. And in case he sleeps, the chudail (witch) enters the body of his wife. So, basically after the wedding, the wife becomes a chudail. That’s the basic idea. But there’s a lot more to it. There’s a crime plot too. In Munja, it is the reverse.

There, Munja, the ghost, is looking for his bride. It is the other way around.

So, these are the three film which I am dappling with,” Dinesh added.

Rooh-Afza will be co-produced by Dinesh and Fukrey franchise fame Mrighdeep Lamba. It will go on floors soon (Indian Express)

fter Priyanka Chopra’s lavish wedding, now it is her brother Siddharth Chopra’s turn to tie the knot. Priyanka shared the news of Siddharth’s engagement on Instagram.

Siddharth got engaged to Ishittaa Kumar on Wednesday. Priyanka shared some photos from the function with the caption, “So proud of my baby brother. Ishita welcome to the famiy.. you r so beautiful together.. I wish you both the best for the future ! Happy Roka!! @ishittaakumar @siddharthchopra89 Priyanka Chopra had recently posted that she was in New Delhi with her husband Nick Jonas. After attending

the Vanity Fair Oscar party, PC flew to India for this family function.

Priyanka tied the knot with Nick Jonas in Jodhpur in December 2018.

She got engaged in a roka ceremony in the month of August. The roka ceremony was a low key affair which was only attended by close friends and family.

Her wedding was a lavish but intimate affair. PC has said in numerous interviews that they only invited 200 people to the wedding.

On the work front, Priyanka Chopra will next be seen in The Sky Is Pink where she stars alongside Farhan Akhtar and Zaira Wasim. (Indian Express)

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1970’s Chambal. Girls back then went about doing their household chores barefoot.

They used to walk several miles to go to the market.

They used to walk for hours to get water and they did all of this barefoot. Abhishek wanted Bhumi to showcase this and Bhumi was relishing the prospect of a great challenge as an actor.”

The source also informed that Bhumi Pednekar actually started walking barefoot for about two months before the shoot started.

Bhumi said, “Yes, it was a difficult preparation process. Perhaps, the most difficult one to date but I absolutely loved becoming my character. It was really tough to walk barefoot, but it had to be done for the authenticity that Abhishek wanted to bring to the movie. You will understand how much these small nuances have added to the film when you see Sonchiriya.”

Sonchiriya, also starring Sushant Singh Rajput, Manoj Bajpayee, Ranvir Shorey and Ashutosh Rana, is set to release on March 1. (Indian Express)

humi Pednekar is all set to play Indumati Tomar in this week’s big release, Sonchiriya. The Abhishek Chaubey directorial revolves around dacoits in Chambal, and for her role in the film, Bhumi left no stones unturned.

In the film, Bhumi plays a girl from 1970s Chambal valley, and she walked barefoot on the streets of Mumbai to train herself for the film.

A source revealed, “Abhishek is a director who always stresses on authenticity and he etches out characters that reflect the society and the times in which they are set. In Sonchiriya, Bhumi plays a girl from

K

umar’s directorial Total Dhamaal has been performing exceedingly well at the ticket counters. The film, within five days of its release, has added Rs 81 crore to its kitty. It is expected to soon enter the Rs 100 crore club. Total Dhamaal has already become the 2019 film with the highest opening weekend collection (Rs 62.40 crore). “#TotalDhamaal shows a solid hold on weekdays… Emerges a big favourite in mass circuits/single screens… Set for a healthy, successful run in those circuits… Fri 16.50 cr, Sat 20.40 cr, Sun 25.50 cr, Mon 9.85 cr, Tue 8.75 cr. Total: 81 cr. India biz,” film trade analyst Taran Adarsh shared on Twitter.

He also mentioned that the film will earn around Rs 92 crore by the end of its first week. He tweeted, “#TotalDhamaal benchmarks…Crossed 50 cr: Day 3 75 cr: Day 5 Will comfortably cross 92 cr in Week 1… Will cruise past cr in Weekend

2… Has already emerged the highest grossing film in #Dhamaal series. India biz.”

The third film in the Dhamaal franchise, Total Dhamaal sees a fresh star cast of actors like Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Boman Irani, Sanjay Mishra and Johnny Lever along with returning cast members Riteish Deshmukh, Arshad Warsi and Javed Jaffrey. The film is a non-holiday release and has still set the cash registers ringing.

While the audience is liking the comedy film, it has failed to impress critics.

The Indian Express’ film critic Shubhra Gupta, in her review of the film, has written, “Brainless comedies can be a lot of fun (brain, stop smirking), but they need to be written with smarts. Here, the CGI animals (the climactic chunk of the film is set in a zoo) have more effect than the humans.” (Indian Express)

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P

T

he second trailer of Pokémon Detective Pikachu is out and it further proves that Ryan Reynolds is indeed the best choice to voice the lead character.

Ryan Reynolds voices Pikachu who is suffering from a case of amnesia but all he has is the address of Harry Goodman and so he goes looking for him. Pikachu is addicted to caffeine.

Pikachu’s journey in the film revolves around finding answers until he finds Harry. He meets Harry’s son and together they embark on this investigative yet humourous journey.

Justice Smith plays Tim. The film also stars Kathryn Newton, Suki Waterhouse and Omar Chaparro

among others.

The film is based on a video game franchise that has fascinated people all over the world. There have been anime series and films based on the characters of Pokémon, but this Ryan Reynolds starrer is the first live-action film being made on the video game.

Ryan Reynolds recently shared a hilarious video which was a dig at making featurettes released by other movie studios. Here, Ryan shared that he immersed into the character completely to become the ‘yellow little guy.”

Directed by Rob Letterman, Pokémon Detective Pikachu releases in May 2019. (Indian Express)

op diva Lady Gaga took home her maiden Oscar as she clinched her first Best Original Song Academy Award for “Shallow” from her feature debut A Star is Born.

Gaga shared the victory for the track, which did not come as a surprise, with co-writers Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt and Anthony Rossomando.

In the initial moments of her acceptance speech, an emotional Gaga spoke with a staccato with tears streaming down her face and thanked the Academy, Ronson and Wyatt, her sister and her family.

She singled out the film’s director and co-star Bradley Cooper for believing in her and their song. “There is not a single person on the planet that could have sang this song with me but you. Thank you for believing in us,” the singer-actor said.

Gaga went on to say that her golden moment at the Oscars was the result of years of “discipline for passion”.

“If you’re watching this right now, all I have to say that this is hard work done

Is Captain Marvel more powerful than Thanos? Kevin Feige has an answer

M S

ony has booked a 2021 Christmas release date for the fourth chapter in the Hotel Transylvania According to The Hollywood Reporter, the CG-animated picture has been green-lit and will open on December 22, 2021.

This is the first time the studio has gone for a date in the year-end holidays.

Hotel Transylvania 4 will clash

with Universal’s Wicked and releases less than a week after Avatar 3 hits the screens on December 17.

Featuring Adam Sandler as Count Dracula, the last installment, Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation, grossed USD 528.6 million following its release last July.

The series consists of an ensemble cast, led by the voices of Andy Samberg and Selena Gomez. (Indian Express)

Oscars 2019: Complete winners list

H

ere is the list of winners at the 91st Academy Awards held at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

BEST PICTURE – Green Book ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE – Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE – Olivia Colman, The Favourite DIRECTING – Alfonso Cuarón, Roma ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – Mahershala Ali, Green Book Advertising ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY) – BlacKkKlansman | Written by Charlie Wachtel & David

Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY) – Green Book | Written by Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly FILM EDITING – Bohemian Rhapsody, John Ottman CINEMATOGRAPHY – Roma, Alfonso Cuarón PRODUCTION DESIGN – Black Panther | Hannah Beachler (Production Design); Jay Hart (Set Decoration) VISUAL EFFECTS – First Man | Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and J.D. Schwalm COSTUME DESIGN – Black Panther, Ruth Carter

for a long time. It’s not about winning but what it’s about is not giving up on your dream. It’s the discipline for passion, it’s not about how many times you get rejected or fall down when you’re beaten up. But it’s about how many times you stand up and keep on going,” she said.

Ronson gave a hat tip to fellow collaborator Gaga for her being the onewoman army that she is.

“I think when you’re in the room with this person, you don’t have to do too much. She acts, writes and sings.

Lady Gaga, thank you,” he said.

Multiple Grammy winner and hitmaker of several chartbusters, Gaga is only the second person to be nominated in both Best Original Song and Best Actress categories. She lost the Best Actress trophy to Olivia Colman (The Favourite). (Indian Express)

arvel Studios president and the architect of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Kevin Feige has spoken about the power levels of Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel.

The superhero is soon going to debut in the MCU with her own movie directed

by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.

According to Feige, Carol Danvers, which is the superhero’s real-name, “will be” the most powerful character in the MCU. While speaking to Cosmicbook. news, he said, “Captain Marvel is a character in our comics and in a mythology whose got one foot on Earth, one foot in the cosmic arena. And now that we have made a number of movies that take place on Earth, and now a number of the cosmic adventures with Avengers, and with Guardians of the Galaxy and with Thor, we thought it was the right time to finally introduce Captain Marvel to the world.”

He added, “She’s one of the most popular characters in our comics. She’s MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING – Vice | Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia Dehaney FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM – Roma | Mexico; Alfonso Cuarón ANIMATED FEATURE FILM – Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE) – Black Panther, Ludwig Goransson MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG) – “Shallow” | Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt SOUND EDITING – Bohemian Rhapsody | John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone

one of the most powerful characters in the comics and will be the most powerful character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”

The keyword is “will be,” which means she might not have reached her most powerful level yet.

Feige also said one of the highlights of his career at Marvel was introducing Captain Marvel to the audience. He went on to make it clear she is the future leader of the Avengers after characters like Tony Stark and Captain America die or retire.

“And one of the highlights at my career at Marvel was introducing her at Comic-Con and having her coming out on stage and stand there with literally almost everything else from our universe, and there she was at the forefront, and it was a great foreshadowing of not just for how audiences are going to embrace Brie as this character, but also for how Captain Marvel is about to take the lead and be at the forefront of the entire Cinematic Universe,” he said.

It was the Thor films that introduced the cosmic world to the MCU. Before that, the action had only been limited to earth with Iron Man, Captain America and The Incredible Hulk films. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1, released in 2014, took it further with new extraterrestrial races, planets and so on.

With Captain Marvel, enter the Kree and the Skrulls, two alien races who are perpetually at war with each other and their conflict in lore is one of Marvel Comics’ famous stories.

Captain Marvel releases on March 8. (Indian Express) SOUND MIXING – Bohemian Rhapsody | Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin and John Casali SHORT FILM (ANIMATED) – Bao | Domee Shi and Becky Neiman-Cobb SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION) – Skin | Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE) – Free Solo | Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Evan Hayes and Shannon Dill DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT) – Period. End Of Sentence. | Rayka Zehtabchi and Melissa Berton (Indian Express)

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West Indies ready to spring World Cup surprise, say coaches

W

est Indies can cause a shock - and perhaps even win - the World Cup, according to the England and West Indies coaches.

While West Indies' recent record is not promising - they have not won a bilateral ODI series since 2014, have won only two of their last seven completed ODIs and are currently ranked No. 9 in the world - the coaches of both sides in the current series in the Caribbean believe they are a fast-improving, dangerous side who could beat "anyone on their day".

"I know the right West Indies combination with a fully focussed side can beat anyone on their day," Richard Pybus, West Indies' interim coach, said. "I wasn't at the World Cup qualifiers but, with the group of guys we have now, we feel confident could take down anyone on their day."

Key to West Indies' im-

proved confidence is the return of several high-profile players. Darren Bravo returned in December, Chris Gayle returned for this series - and has responded with a century and half-century - while Andre Russell is expected to return

for the fourth ODI in Grenada on Wednesday. As a result, West Indies look as if they have the firepower to damage more opponents.

"The West Indies have been playing some decent cricket over the last 18 months,"

Seven make it over the line in CARIFTA qualification meet

Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, agreed. "With the size of their batters and the way some of them hit the ball they can be a chance of winning that World Cup." While he was unable to confirm whether Gayle had done

enough to cement his place as opener at the World Cup, Pybus did say he had made a "very resounding case" and defended his somewhat careful starts in each of the first two ODIs. "I can't speak on behalf of the selectors but I think Chris has put forward a very resounding case," Pybus said.

"He's just class really. It's always great having guys in your side who are a bit scary for the opposition who know full well what they can deliver.

"In those first two games, Chris was getting a feel for a spongy wicket batting first. It can be a game of two halves in Barbados. He was playing himself through. But, as we have all seen in T20, he can attack that first powerplay brutally. On good wickets he'll be going hard pretty early."

(ESPNCricinfo)

CONCACAF Nations League qualifier

Jags set to face off with Belize Director Ian Alves

S

even of Guyana’s most promising athletes will have the opportunity to test their skills on a larger stage when the CARIFTA Games are hosted from the 20-22 April in Grand Cayman.

Droves of local athletes from over ten clubs gathered at the Police Sports Club Ground on Sunday, not only to participate in their event of choice, but to take a shot at their CARIFTA dreams.

When the dust settled on the track late on Sunday afternoon, seven athletes were the ones rejoicing after hitting the mark in the second phase of CARIFTA trials.

Keliza Smith was the first to complete the feat in the Girls

Under-17 400M event.

The Running Brave athlete clocked 56.90s.

The Under-17 800M girls’ event saw two athletes — Adriel Austin and Shaquka Tyrell — qualifying.

Hailing from Running Brave athletics club and Christianburg Wismar Secondary respectively, they clocked 2.17.01s and 2.18.01s to put two Guyanese in contention over the Easter weekend.

Tyrell later returned in the 1500M event to cop her second qualification of the day.

The Lindener clocked a time of 4.55.73 to qualify, while Austin failed to do so with a time of 5.06. 45.

The lone field event qualification of the day came to Anisha Gibbons in the Girls

Under-17 Javelin event. The teen threw a distance of 42.45 metres.

Lionel Marks of Hopetown Flames was also on fire on Sunday, qualifying for the sprint double.

Marks clocked 10.55 in the Under-20 100 metres and 21.46 in the Under-20 200 metres to book his CARIFTA spot. He was joined by sprint sensation Daniel Williams in the 200 metre event.

Williams, of Upper Demerara Schools, clocked 21.48 to book his spot.

The last successful athlete was Matthew Gordon of Hopetown Flames. The youngster clocked 9.13.31 in the Under-17 3000 metres to seal his qualification.

F

ollowing much deliberation on a factor that could heavily impact the amount of crowd support that the Guyana Jaguars receive during their most important game to date, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) on Wednesday afternoon announced that the CONCACAF Nations League final qualifier match pitting Guyana against Belize will be held at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora on Saturday, March 23 from 18:30h. The match will see Guyana playing one of the most critical matches in its football history, which can enable the country to gain a chance to qualify for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. In an invited comment, GFF Competitions Director Ian Alves said efforts were made to utilise the National Stadium, Providence: “Due to the significance of the match, serious efforts were made to have the use of the National Stadium, Providence.

However, these did not find the kind of favour that the Federation was hoping for and, as a result, we will host at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora. Notwithstanding, we are still encouraging the Guyanese public

to come to Leonora in support of the Golden Jaguars. Special transportation arrangements will be put in place, the details of which will be shared with the media in the coming days.”

Meanwhile, the Senior Men’s National Team, known as the Golden Jaguars, continued their preparations for the match with a training fixture against a select team from the Upper Demerara Football Association.

According to Assistant Coach Charles Pollard, it was another successful outing for the team. “I’m happy with the performance of the team but there is still room for improvement. We need to continue to work and we need more repetitions that will get us better.

We have the next three weeks and I’m confident the players will come up to speed by then. We were generally good tactically, but we need to be consistent.

Tactical discipline is a big factor in the game,” he noted. That training match was held on Monday, February 25 at the GFF National Training Centre, Providence. The third training match is scheduled against the West Demerara Football Federation at a date to be announced.

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'Wrong to say Test Chris Gayle hints at 'uncricket is dying' - retirement' after six-laden 162 David Richardson

I

CC chairman Shashank Manohar might feel Test cricket is dying, but David Richardson, the global cricket body's chief executive, says he has numbers to show that view is incorrect.

According to Richardson, based on a survey the ICC carried out last year, Test cricket has a strong and commit-

ESPNcricinfo in London recently, during the 100day countdown for the World Cup. "Yes, there are some iconic contests that take place from time to time, but really, unless you are a part of or a fan of the participating teams that particular series had no real interest (to fans globally). " A n d

David Richardson

ted fan base of about 700 million, which is close to 68% of the global fan pool of over a billion.

Without countering his boss, Richardson said Manohar was only suggesting that Test cricket, with the exponential growth of T20, was dying for a context, and the forthcoming World Test Championship would provide that context.

"We are trying to see whether Test championship can generate interest," Manohar had said during his visit to Bangaladesh earlier this month. "Because Test cricket is actually dying to be honest."

Manohar also said fans were finding it difficult to find "five days" to go and watch Test cricket at a venue; instead they preferred three-and-ahalf-hours of T20 cricket, a format that has also generated a strong interest from the broadcasters based on the peaking television rating points (TRP).

Manohar's comments seemed a bit misplaced considering Test cricket was in the middle of a period full of thrilling contests and significant results. First there was India's historic Test series win in Australia. Then came West Indies' shock 2-1 win at home against a fancied England side, and most recently Sri Lanka became the first Asian team to win a Test series in South Africa.

Still, according to Richardson, the format lacks the kind of context that could make audiences sit up and take notice of matches not involving their teams - context that the WTC could provide.

"What he [Manohar] was meaning to say is Test cricket was calling out for more context," Richardson told

with the introduction of the World Test Championship, that adds interest and helps to promote the Test game worldwide no matter who is playing. That is what he was saying: Test cricket needed just that added boost, it needed to be promoted and the World Test Championship hopefully is the answer to that."

To understand the pulse of the global cricket fan the ICC conducted a market-research survey last year which threw up some compelling numbers that told the game's administrators that the T20 format was clearly the driver for the game's growth globally. The survey revealed that cricket enjoys a fanbase of over Richardson said the survey also highlighted why Test cricket was alive as two-thirds of the global fan base still had time to support the longer format.

"In many countries Test cricket is still very closely followed," he said.

"We have got more than a billion fans that follow cricket - 68% of them are fans of all three formats of the game, which means that close to 700 million people are fans of Test cricket. So it is wrong to say that Test cricket is dying. It is harder for people to go to five days of a Test match, spend every day sitting there for six hours.

"Maybe the way that people are following Test cricket is different to what it was say 10, 20 years ago. But I don't think it is dying. The [World] Test Championship, though, will provide more context and more interest and just be an extra hat peg that we can hang our hats on."a billon globally across all three formats.

(ESPNCricinfo)

C

Chris Gayle (ICC photo)

hris Gayle never was the retiring sort, really. And so much did he enjoy the run-soaked fourth ODI in Grenada that he confessed afterwards he just might be rethinking his decision to retire from the format at the end of the World Cup. Gayle struck 14 sixes in his innings of 162 - the second-highest score of his ODI career - on the way to leading West Indies to their highest total in this form of the game. It was his second century of a series in which he has now amassed 347 runs from three innings at an average of 115.66 and a strike rate of 120.06. During the innings, he became the 14th man, and second from the Caribbean after Brian Lara, to reach the milestone of 10,000 ODI runs.

As a consequence, he has proved to himself he still has the ability to contribute at this level. So while it is only ten days since Gayle announced he intended to retire after the tournament, he has suggested that, if he were able to regain some fitness, he might decide to extend his career.

"I think this is one of the most entertaining games I've ever played in," Gayle said. "It was a fantastic game of cricket. I've been playing a lot of T20 cricket so it's always going to be a difficult coming back into 50-over cricket. But eventually the body gets accustomed to the 50-over format.

"I just have to work on the body and then maybe you can see a bit more Chris Gayle, maybe. Things change quickly. Hopefully the body can change in the next couple of months and we can see what happens.

"To get the 10,000-run milestone is a great feeling.

I've done it in T20 as well. It's a fantastic achievement from my point of view. Doing it for West Indies as well, that makes it even more superb.

"What's the matter with the body? I'm nearly 40.

But could I un-retire? We'll see. We'll take it slowly."

While Gayle enjoyed the game, he felt West Indies could have won if they had played "a bit smarter".

They allowed England to put on a century opening stand and then plunder 154 from the final ten overs, then fell away with the bat from a position of strength at 220 for two.

"We didn't utilise that new ball well," Gayle said, referring to England's opening stand of 100 within 14 overs. "If we had, we would have been chasing 380.

"I'm sure the team are all disappointed. I can see the expression on their faces. It's a learning process for the young players. If they do things differently they could have won. So it's good to see that body language when you lose. When that situation comes again I'm sure it will be totally different."

(ESPNCricinfo)

Beckles hailed as one of the most gifted Guyanese fighters

F

ollowing the recent passing of Lennox Beckles, many boxing organisations have come forward to express their condolences to the family and reminisce on his career.

The most recent to do so was the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC), which fondly reflected on the life of the great Guyanese champion in the following statement: “The Guyana Boxing Board of Control deeply mourns the loss of arguably, one of the most gifted fighters that have ever graced our land. Lennox Beckles was a prolific Super Lightweight champion of Guyana.

“His career spanned a period from 1960, where he debuted against David Ralph on 26th September at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) Ground to his final fight on 27th May 1979 against Brian Muller, an overseas Guyanese fighting out of the US. It spanned 19 years and a total of 45 fights, including 34 wins with 7 knockouts.

“Not known for his punching

power, Beckles’ ring craft was similar in style to those of Sugar Ray Leonard, Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whittaker and Floyd “Money” Mayweather and had in common with these famous fighters, blistering hand speed and arguably the best footwork ever seen from a Guyanese fighter.

Beckles epitomised boxing’s nickname “the sweet science”. His mastery of the craft attracted hundreds of spectators every time he fought and he was truly “poetry in emotion”.

His extraordinary skill was a source of great national pride to Guyanese boxing enthusiasts and his exploits left an indelible legacy which helped to lay the foundation for the champions that followed.

“The Board deeply regrets the passing of this extraordinary talent and son of the soil who passed quietly in Trinidad where he was residing.

“He will be remembered as an honoured and cherished member of the Guyanese boxing fraternity.”

Lennox Beckles in his youthful days

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2018-2019 CWI Regional 4-Day Tournament…

Lewis, Persaud among new faces in Jaguars squad – Captain Johnson calls for batsmen to take more responsibility

By Brandon Corlette

G

uyana Jaguars are locked and loaded to play their ninth-round match this season against Barbados Pride. In the match that will commence at the National Stadium Providence from 09:30h from today (Thursday), off-spinner Ramaal Lewis and left-handed batsman Akshaya Persaud are newcomers to the 13man squad. Lewis and Persaud will replace the injured Clinton Pestano and fellow Berbician Keon Joseph.

Speaking on the eve of the clash, Jaguars Captain Leon Johnson highlighte d that t h e batsm e n lacked application in the previous matche s ,

Ramaal Lewis during the nets session

where the defending champs failed to reach 200, in Trinidad and Jamaica.

“The guys are good enough to show that application with the bat, especially at home,” Johnson explained.

The Jaguars Captain further added that his

Barbados Pride

team are aiming to play good cricket and come out victorious against the inexperienced Barbados team.

After suffering three defeats this season, Johnson and his men are eager for a victory, since the final two rounds are essential.

“Every game is important but we need to win; other teams have an extra game, s o we have to play well,” Johnson disclosed.

Jaguars will play without Pestano, who has been an important asset but the replacements are capable enough to perform.

Furthermore, Johnson added that Lewis has

been a successful player representing Guyana Jaguars in the Super50 tournaments in the past and he has been impressive in the nets.

Heading into the ninth round, Anthony Bramble is Guyana Jaguars’ leading run scorer with 475 runs at an average of 52.77.

Bramble has two centuries this season with a high score of 168.

Tagenarine Chanderpaul is second on the runs chart with 464 runs at an average of 35.69 while Captain Johnson has shown promise this season with 383 runs, averaging 31.91 with three half-centuries.

Vishaul Singh (303); Romario Shepherd (288); Chandrapaul Hemraj (286) and Christopher Barnwell (250) are the batters among the runs.

In the bowling department, Veerasammy

Rashid No. 1, Nabi No. 3, Zazai No. 7 - Afghanistan rule T20I rankings

H

azratullah Zazai, Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi have not only been helping Afghanistan win T20Is left and right, they've also now ensured the team representation among the world's top 10 batsmen, bowlers and allrounders.

The latest ICC rankings update had Rashid as the No. 1 bowler. He consolidated his place at the top by picking up four wickets in four balls during the final game against Ireland on Sunday. In the previous game, Hazratullah smashed a record-breaking 162 not out, the second-highest score in T20I history.

That innings helped him rise 31 places up the batsmen's rankings to occupy seventh place. Nabi also had a good time against the Irish, scoring 147 runs at a strike-rate of 181 while also picking up two wickets at an economy rate of 7.3. He keeps his No. 3 spot

Permaul has 34 wickets while the impressive Shepherd has 28 wickets as the leading fast bowler in the Caribbean this season.

Jaguars will miss Pestano, who has a tally of 22 wickets this season.

The likely addition to the starting XI, Gudakesh Motie, has played four matches this season and has 14 wickets at a bowling average of 15.50. Barbadian Raymon Reifer, who will be an important asset to the team, has 14 wickets this season in the four matches he played.

Meanwhile, the Barbados Pride team are an inexperienced team, but they are well led by Jonathan Carter, who has 532 runs this season at an average of 44.43, including one century and four half-centuries.

Speaking to the media,

Barbados Assistant C o a c h Emmerson Trotman and his unit are confident despite the fact that the Jaguars de-

inspected the Providence pitch, which is covered with “dead grass”, stated that the Barbados Pride team are equipped with the necessary spinner, in Jomel Warrican.

Barbados Pride are looking forward to the challenge the defending champions bring to the table. Trotman revealed that the team would be announced once the conditions are analysed.

Speaking on Carter’s red hot form this season, Trotman stated that he was a vital asset to the team.

Pride’s bowling will be led by their leading wicket-taker, Test spinner Warrican, who has 24 wickets, and feature Miguel Cummins, who is also hungry for Windies selection. He has 17 wickets this season, including a hattrick in the last round against Windward Islands Volcanoes.

G u y a n a Jaguars full squad reads: Tagenarine Chanderpaul ; Chandrapaul H e m r a j ; Raymon Jonathan Carter has 532 runs thus far (Brandon Corlette photos)

feated Pride earlier this season.

“The mood is very good in the Barbados camp; we wanted to leave Windwards on a high and we did that with a victory,” Trotman explained.

He and his team that

Reifer; Leon Johnson (Captain); Vishaul Singh; Anthony Bramble (wicket-keeper/Vice Captain); Christopher Barnwell; Romario Shepherd; Veerasammy Permaul; Gudakesh Motie; Akshaya Persaud; Sherfane Rutherford; and Ramaal Lewis.

Rashid Khan (ESPNCricinfo photo)

on the allrounders table.

Glenn Maxwell's runspree this week has enabled him to climb to third place on the batsmen's rankings. The Australia allrounder struck 56 and 113 to help his side win the two-match T20I series against India.

There were some gains for the Indians as well with opener KL Rahul returning to form with 97 runs in two innings. He moved into sixth place while his captain Virat Kohli occupies 17th. Among the bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah,

who nearly rewrote the script during the first T20I when he picked up two wickets in the 19th over of the chase, shot up 12 places to stand No. 15 among the world's best T20I bowlers. (ESPNCricinfo)

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NSC/ Magnum Mash Cup

Bragging rights and pride! Monumental games slated for this weekend

O

n the heels of their clinical annihilation of pretournament favourites ‘Gold is Money’ the question now is whether East Ruimveldt-based Back Circle possess enough firepower to stop the insatiable hunger for success of Sparta Boss. In a little less than 48 hours, this question will be answered when the two teams meet in the final of this year’s National Sports Commission (NSC)/ Magnum Mash Cup, at the National Gymnasium.

The futsal kings as all would know have an imposing record whenever they reach the latter stages of competitions and no doubt will start as clear favourites to claim the ultimate prize against a team that have shown enough resilience to earn respect.

Sparta Boss’s undeniable statement against ‘Gold is Money’ in their semi-final clash demonstrated their seriousness to go all the way, while Back Circle’s come- from-behind victory to eliminate defending champions Bent Street

presented a similar declaration.

The Bosses have enjoyed far more success than Back Circle, but admirers of the format know that both teams are worthy opponents and display similar attacking styles combined with strong backlines. It sets up nicely to be one of the most enthralling finals for some time which makes it a must see encounter.

The teams’ leading marksmen’ Sparta’s Jermin Junor and Back Circle’s Stephon McLean performed outstandingly in their respective semifinal appearances and they will be aiming to duplicate those feats.

However, where Sparta hold the edge is in their supporting cast which include the recently acquired Ryan Hackett, who slammed in a hat- trick in the semis,

while the experience of Gregory Richardson, Eusi Phillips and Sheldon Shepherd may prove too much for Back Circle. Selwyn Williams and Jermin Beckles are the other players with some amount of quality and they will have to play out of their skins to stop the rampaging juggernauts Sparta Boss.

The third-place playoff could also provide the fans with the perfect

start for what is being touted as a night of excitement.

Former champs Bent Street no doubt will have added motivation to win this encounter to assure their supporters that a penalty shootout could go either way and their loss was just unfortunate.

Daniel Wilson, Sheldon Holder, Solomon Austin, Pernel Schultz, Clive Nobrega

and Sheldon Profitt will spearhead their pursuit for the win. On the other hand, how well ‘Gold is Money’ recover from their humiliating loss in the semis will be the talking point of the evening.

Colin Nelson, siblings Hubert Pedro and Randolph Wagner, Phillip Rowley, Cleon Forrester as well as brothers Michael and Jamal Pedro will be looking to reclaim their status as one of the top exponents in the format, so fans should expect a hungry and angry side.

Exhibition games will precede the two official engagements.

The winner of the tournament will pocket G$600,000, with the second and third place receiving G$300,000 and G$200,000 respectively. The fourth-place side will collect G$100,000.

Meanwhile, the promoters are asking fans to continue to cooperate with security personnel as they’ve done throughout the tournament.

Other sponsors include Trophy Stall, Insurance Brokers and Nigel Hinds.

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WEEK ENDING MARCH 3 , 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

WEEK ENDING MARCH 3 , 2019| guyanatimeSinternational.com

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