Guyana Times International 27-Sep-2019

Page 54

INTERNATIONAL THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Guyana Amazon Warriors stay top of Points Table

Granger confirms March 2 is E-Day for FRee distribution guyanatimesinternational.com

You can also read Guyana Times daily edition online at www.guyanatimesgy.com WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 29, 2019

ISSUE NO. 467

See stories inside

…PPP says will not return to Parliament to extend life of “illegal gov’t”

Jagdeo concerned President may flip-flop on elections date

The Peoples Progressive Party/ Civic participated in a candle light vigil, organised by the Association for Democracy and Human Rights (Guyana) at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre during an event hosted by the People’s Republic of China which had President David Granger as its chief guest. The President is facing mounting pressure from both local and international stakeholders for ignoring the provisions in the Constitution following the passage of the no-confidence motion on December 21, 2018

Guyanese family in US mourns after recently graduated daughter shot dead Page 15

6 female Guyanese Cops in Alaska for major conference Page 16

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NEWS 3

WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 29, 2019| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Granger confirms March 2 is E-Day …PPP says will not return to Parliament to extend life of “illegal gov’t”

A

fter mounting pressure for him to clear up the confusion surrounding the elections date, caretaker President David Granger on Thursday confirmed that March 2, 2020, will be the date for general and regional for elections.

However the President has not yet issued a proclamation to this effect.

In an address to the nation on Wednesday, Granger said that March 2, 2020 was arrived at following consultations with his Cabinet and a meeting on Wednesday afternoon with Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chair retired Justice Claudette Singh.

“Justice Claudette Singh wrote me last Thursday, 19thSeptember, 2019, indicating that ‘the Guyana Elections Commission

will be able to deliver credible elections by the end of February 2020’.

I convened a meeting of available Cabinet ministers that very day, within hours of receiving her advice, to discuss the timeline provided to me by the Chairman”.

He added that a second meeting of the full ‘Cabinet’ (which according to the Caribbean Court of Justice, stands resigned) was held on September 24 when all members accepted the advice provided by the Chair of the Elections Commission.

According to Granger, the ‘Cabinet’ also “benefitted” from the advice of Attorney General Basil Williams.

He explained that during Wednesday’s meeting with Justice Singh, they discussed the statutory timelines for

President David Granger

the upcoming General and Regional Elections.

Granger also noted that there will be a return to the National Assembly in order to seek an extension of time for his gov-

ernment in office.

Blaming the Elections Commission again, the President said that the extension of a period beyond three months for the holding of an election is

related to the GECOM’s readiness to hold the elections. “The Government of Guyana must, as a consequence, return to the National Assembly to request an extension. The National Assembly reconvenes on 10th October 2019. The President is required to both dissolve Parliament as provided for in the Constitution at Article 70 (2) and the ten Regional Democratic Councils as provided for in the Constitution at Article 73 (2),” Granger also said in his address.

Granger cited Article 61 of the Constitution, which states: “An election of members of the National Assembly under Article 60 (2) shall be held on such day within three months after every dissolution of Parliament as the President shall appoint by proclamation”.

He went on to reference Article 70 (2), which states further that: “The President may at any time by proclamation dissolve Parliament”, while Article 73 (2) provides that: “Elections of members of regional democratic councils shall be held and the councils shall be dissolved at such times as subject to paragraph (3), the President may appoint by proclamation”.

Blackmail

But Granger’s insistence on returning to Parliament to seek an extension is not finding favour with Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, who has said repeatedly that he and the Opposition parliamentarians would not be returning to the house to extend the Government’s life. turn to page 9

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EDITORIAL

Guyana’s constitutional crisis

T

he refusal of erstwhile President David Granger to obey the pellucid command of the Constitution to proclaim an elections date by Sept 18, three months after the NCM had been ruled as validly passed on June 18 by the CCJ, has triggered a constitutional crisis in our country. The US introduced the norm of a written constitution in 1897 and since that time they have faced several constitutional crises, including one brewing in the present. As such, their perspective might be useful to our much younger republic to handle our present crisis.

In May of this year, the media group Vox solicited the opinion of several constitutional experts on the nature of constitutional crises and we offer them as background for discussion here.

Peter Shane, law professor, Ohio State University explained: “The purpose of a constitution is to structure legitimate government, so that the exercise of power over an entire citizenry by a relatively small handful of elected and appointed officials is morally justified. In a democracy, that moral justification depends on several things: the protection of human rights; adherence to the rule of law; structures and practices that help assure, in public policymaking, genuine consideration for the interests of everyone who is subject to the government’s authority; and opportunities for all citizens to participate as meaningful political actors in the processes of collective self-determination.

“I define a constitutional crisis as a situation in which existing constitutional arrangements no longer realistically promise to serve the foundational values of democratic constitutionalism.”

Under this test, Granger has definitely precipitated a constitutional crisis. In parting he noted the foundational value that Granger lacks: “A 19th-century British prime minister once said, “Every political constitution in which different bodies share the supreme power is only enabled to exist by the forbearance of those among whom this power is distributed.” Granger has shown he lacks this restraint with the power he was conferred.

A second pertinent and analytical perspective was offered by Keith Whittington, politics professor, Princeton University: “I think a constitutional crisis is best understood to be moments when the constitutional system itself seems to be breaking down. This can happen in two ways: a crisis of operation and a crisis of fidelity.

“A crisis of operation occurs when important political disputes cannot be resolved within the existing constitutional framework.

An effective constitution is one that provides a structure for contesting and resolving political disputes. When a constitution can no longer do that and our disputes spill outside the constitutional framework, then the constitution itself is in crisis.

A crisis of fidelity occurs when important political actors are simply unwilling to adhere to the constitutional commitments as they understand them. If consequential political actors determined that a constitutional rule or a prescribed constitutional outcome should be ignored because some other political priority than following the constitution is more important, then the Constitution’s ability to guide and constrain political behavior has, to that degree, been cast into doubt.”

Granger is ignoring the dictates of Art 106 (6) and (7) because he prioritises the fortunes of the PNC over that of the country.

Finally, Jessica Silbey, law professor, Northeastern University pointed out: “All members of government swear an oath to uphold the US Constitution, which provides rules for governing as well as for debating changes to those rules. Refusing to follow these rules is one feature of a constitutional crisis.” Here Granger swore an oath to protect our constitution but now traduces it by seeking to influence the elections process.

Sibley warns of the consequences of this move: “But if the enforcers are cheating, and the rules for electing new government are constrained by the existing ruling party — constraints such as … limiting access to the ballot — the people cannot solve the crisis within our democratic and constitutional norms. This kind of constitutional crisis can lead to revolution because of the profound inequality, the constraints on liberty the consolidation of power creates, and the feeling of hopelessness both produce.”

Making cassava bread: A contestant of the Miss Indigenous Challenge demonstrates how to make cassava bread during Heritage Celebrations in Guyana last week (DPI photo)

Breast cancer: All women are at risk J

ust being a woman is the biggest risk factor for developing breast cancer.

In a published article some years ago, US-based Oncology Surgeon, Dr Theophilus Lewis pointed out that all women are at risk for breast cancer, since the risks associated with contracting the disease are not controllable.

This worrying pronouncement was made during a seminar held in Guyana, which was spearheaded by US-based NonGovernmental Organisation (NGO) Organisation for Social and Health Advancement in Guyana (OSHAG).

Most notably, it was revealed that age and family history are among the biggest risk factors for contracting the disease. According to the Surgeon, where the incidence of a young woman contracting the disease in her 30s is very small – 0.4 per cent— he is currently treating five patients, all under 30 years, for the disease. A rather unusual occurrence, according to the Oncologist.

This grabs the attention since the focus on breast cancer usually starts when a woman turns 40; it was explained too that after this age, the incidence of contracting breast cancer doubles, going from 0.41.46. With each passing decade, the risk factor increases; hence, age is one of the primary risk factors for breast cancer.

One of the other important points highlighted was that oestrogen is a driver for breast cancer and what this means is that once a woman has a long exposure to oestrogen, which is not interrupted by pregnancies, then the risk factor for developing breast cancer becomes greater.

Oestrogen can be defined as a female steroid hormone that is produced by the ovaries and, in lesser amounts, by the adrenal cortex, placenta, and male

testes. Oestrogen helps control and guide sexual development, including the physical changes associated with puberty.

This risk is especially pronounced in women who have menstruated very early (9 or 10 years old) and who menstruate into their 50s, and would have been exposed to oestrogen for many years. If, however, the years of exposure are broken up by pregnancies, this increased risk is considerably reduced, Dr Lewis said, even as he pointed out that a pregnancy is regarded as a protective period.

It was also explained that a woman who conceives and gives birth after the age of 34 or 35 will likely lose the protection from oestrogen by that age, and will also be at high risk of developing cancer.

It is not usual for young women to develop breast cancer at a young age; when a woman is young, oestrogen stores in the fat. The more obese a woman is, the more fat she is likely to be able to store.

But although a woman stops making oestrogen when she is older and begins menopause, the oestrogen already stored in the fat makes them more at risk for developing cancer.

For this reason, Dr Lewis noted that developing breast cancer is not necessarily im-

pacted by what you eat, but due to the amount of oestrogen you are able to store because of being overweight. Other risk factors include family history.

Women with close relatives who’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer have a higher risk of developing the disease.

If you’ve had one first-degree female relative (sister, mother, daughter) diagnosed with breast cancer, your risk is doubled.

Among the other risk factors, research suggests that women with low levels of vitamin D have a higher risk of breast cancer. Vitamin D may play a role in controlling normal breast cell growth and may be able to stop breast cancer cells from growing.

Every woman wants to know what she can do to lower her risk of breast cancer. Some of the factors associated with breast cancer –being a woman, your age, and your genetics, for example – can’t be changed.

Other factors –being overweight, lack of exercise, smoking cigarettes, and eating unhealthy food – can be changed by making choices. By choosing the healthiest lifestyle options possible, you can empower yourself and make sure your breast cancer risk is as low as possible.

NEWS 5

WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 29, 2019| guyanatimeSinternational.com

GECOM to begin Claims & Objections on October 1

By Jarryl Bryan

F

ollowing a meeting of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on Tuesday, it has been announced that Claims and Objections will start on October 1— a necessary move towards having an Official List of Electors (OLE) to conduct elections.

This was confirmed by Opposition Commissioner Bibi Shadick after she exited the meeting. According to Shadick, the meeting also resulted in a decision to hold Claims and Objections for 35 days, with the qualifying date to be eligible to vote being December 31.

M e a n w h i l e , Government-nominated Commissioner Vincent Alexander explained that the meeting also resulted in another decision, that is, for GECOM to engage the United States and the Commonwealth in order to seek clarity on what observer teams they will be sending.

“Two (decisions) were unanimous, and one saw a dissenting voice. We didn’t have an update on (encoding of House-toHouse data). We’ve kind of put that as a parallel. What we understand is that that process will conclude in a sufficient time for the information

to be available for use in cross matching and some claims and objections”.

“We are working towards the timetable set in the communicate decision of the Chairman, for the Commission to be ready by the end of February (2020),” Alexander added when asked if GECOM is on track to meet the timeframe GECOM Chair retired Justice Claudette Singh gave to President David Granger last week.

When asked about the court action filed

by Attorney General Basil Williams, seeking to overturn the High Court decision that persons cannot be removed from the Register of Registrants for residency purposes, Alexander not-

ed that they would cross that bridge when they get there.

“For the time being, we’re not focusing on that. We’re focusing on getting on with our work… (the printing of ballots) are in the timeframe. Things like ballots are on the critical path which lead us to the end of February. You don’t print ballots before nomination date”.

In his appeal, Williams is contesting most of the major points from the Chief Justice’s August 14 ruling. One of the major contestations in the Notice of Appeal (NOA) is the residency requirement for being registered.

The Chief Justice had

ruled that persons, once registered, could not be removed by enumerators without just cause.

In the AG’s appeal, however, the Chief Justice is accused of being misconceived in law by not properly considering Section 6 of the National Registration Act. According to the AG, Section 6 of the Act makes residency a requirement for registration during the qualifying date period. The AG is also alleging that the Chief Justice, somehow, breached the separation of powers doctrine by ruling that GECOM could not remove registrants who were alive and well.

In fact, there are more than 15 points in the

NOA in which the AG claims the CJ misinterpreted the law or misdirected herself. In that NOA, the AG had asked

for the Chief Justice’s judgement to be set aside and for costs to be paid to him.

According to the summons taken out by Solicitor General Nigel Hawke on Williams’ behalf on September 20, the AG is also seeking an interim stay of part of the judgements from the CJ, until the hearing to determine the merits of the substantive appeal.

The original appellant, anti-corruption advocate Christopher Ram, as well as Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, the Commissioner of National Registration and GECOM itself were named as the respondents.

The Bar Association was also summoned to appear Amicus Curiae.

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WEEK ENDING september 29, 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Granger using strongman politics to trample on the rights of Guyanese Dear Editor, The world recently witnessed how Mr David Granger unpatriotically pushed Guyana into a constitutional crisis when he used strongman politics to disrespect and deny the constitutional rights of Guyanese. In keeping with his strongman attitude, he refused to call elections within the constitutional timeframe required by the successful passage of the No-Confidence Motion on December 21, 2018.

Mr Granger’s behaviour does not surprise us at all. He is addicted to bullying others. This is exactly how the PNC operates. We can all remember how we were forced to live through the Grangerstyle bullying under the Forbes Burnham

Administration for decades. Also, we can all remember the infamous Red House saga where Mr Granger bullied his way to gain illegal occupancy of the Red House instead of resolving matters in the courts. This kind of PNC strongman tactic sends the wrong message to our people and it drives the sky-high incarceration rate in Guyana. The Guyanese people need to stop Mr Granger in his tracks by drawing awareness to his antics.

At the moment, Mr Granger squats in office as an illegal President who is determined to remain in power through illegal and immoral means. Entities with strong PNC influence like GECOM have also flagrantly tram-

pled Guyanese to help Mr Granger evade the elections. To this end, GECOM cannot be trusted. GEOM needs to explain how it arrived at the February timeline for elections. The people of Guyana deserve to know. We deserve respect.

And to my fellow Guyanese, let us see how long Mr Granger will continue to squat in office. Mr Granger needs to be reminded that dictators are never tolerated in this world. To this end, foreign diplomats have established that the Guyanese Government has violated the Constitution. This is important because the world will now interact with Mr Granger according to standard protocols reserved for handling

dictators. And of course, international sanctions will soon bite him. He will not like it.

But within Guyana, Mr Granger goes unpunished for breaking the laws and he is even supported by his fellow unpatriotic PNC comrades. To this end, men like Mr Lincoln Lewis and Dr David Hinds resort to profound lawlessness to defend Guyana’s dictator. The political situation is downright disgraceful. Mr Lewis comically demanded that Parliament must reconvene to extend the life of Government in spite that Mr Granger trampled the constitutional rights of Guyanese. Mr Lewis and Dr Hinds must know that bullies and dictators are never rewarded and tolerated in this

world. Life is very painful because of these men.

These men must come to their senses. They must know that morality is important. Guyana needs to move forward.

Also, the world must know that Dr Hinds spews raw dysfunction because of his instincts in protecting his daughter’s welfare. Dr Hinds has got to be shortsighted. He has even failed to see how his destructive actions will hurt his daughter along with every Guyanese in the long run. Guyana is powered by bad behaviours that keep it under-developed.

And the much-anticipated oil wealth will do nothing for Guyana. Our behaviour stinks in this country.

Dysfunction is overt within the PNC. Mr

Granger shamelessly fights tooth and nail for his rights but trample the rights of others.

Currently, he is threatening peaceful protesters who draw attention to his lawlessness. Mr Granger remains highly uncivilised. And I agree with my fellow Guyanese that he is a law breaker, a dictator and a bully. Guyana does not need a President with such qualities.

Given who Mr Granger is, it is clear that if he loses the upcoming elections, he will never give up power. And so the Guyanese people need to be prepared for this.

Sincerely, Dr Annie Baliram

Moses has forgotten all about those virtues GECOM Chair explain why and great ideals he learnt from Cheddi Jagan should the sudden change

Dear Editor, For the first time in many years, I felt like I wanted to puke. So what could have brought on this sudden feeling of nausea and outrage? Well, I made the mistake of listening to Moses Nagamootoo, the usurper Prime Minister, as he was being interviewed on the NCN programme, InSight, last Wednesday, September 18.

Now, this is the same man who, while campaigning in Whim, Berbice, on April 2, 2015, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k013CAcuJbk) tried to convince his supporters of his virtues by claiming he was the first Minister to refuse a salary increase unless the salaries of nurses and teachers were also increased. “I have never, as a Minister, stayed at a hotel, 5-star; 3-star; 4-star, any hotel at the expense of the Government of Guyana.

I have never travelled first class in an aeroplane while I was a Minister” he added.

So what has caused Nagamootoo to change, or did he?

Moses Nagamootoo, a former “Jaganite” who withdrew his membership from the PPP just before the 2011 General and Regional Elections because he believed he was being “bulldozed” out of the leadership of the party, a position he claimed was bequeathed upon him by the late

Cheddi Jagan during some private discussion.

But these were all lies, made up to satisfy his massive ego. He was annoyed with the PPP because he was not elected the PPP/C Presidential Candidate in 2011.

Moses Nagamootoo is an opportunist who will say and do anything as long as it benefits Nagamootoo.

This is the same man who was quoted in an October 21, 2011 article in the Kaieteur News as saying, “I hold dearly his (Dr Jagan’s) great ideals for a free and democratic Guyana where leaders ought to be judged by character, integrity and honesty.”

But now that he is enjoying “the good life” under the APNU/AFC coalition, Nagamootoo has forgotten all about those virtues and great ideals he learnt from Cheddi Jagan and has morphed into the biggest apologist and defender of a dictator who now squats in Government. How low can Moses go?

During his InSight interview, the usurper was asked about the significance of the date, September 18. Here is his shameless response in part: “To me, it was a wrong, a false interpretation of the Constitution following a No-Confidence Motion…

But our situation here was quite different. The 90 days came and pass.

The issue of the NoConfidence Motion was

engaging the attention of the courts. And so the 90 days lapsed. So when the courts (CCJ) pronounced eventually on June 18th that the No-Confidence Motion was valid, was properly passed, there was an interpretation by the political Opposition that the 90 days begin to run all over again.

But as I wrote in my article, there is no second 90 days… for me [it is] a fiction, it’s a figment of the imagination of persons who, for their own reason, would want to see elections held and the intention is to see the back of this Government. “ As a lawyer, Nagamootoo is familiar with our Constitution and the 3-month limitation within which elections must be called following the successful passage of a NoConfidence Motion. But like Basil Williams, he chooses to ignore that.

It is obvious that the once outspoken defender of the Guyana Constitution is now prepared to disregard its continuous abuse and to hang on to power for the sole purpose of protecting the super-rich Cadillac lifestyle he now enjoys: A monthly salary of over G$1.7 million, plus another million or so in perks per month; the brand new G$22 million customised luxury Land Cruiser he drives with sirens and police escorts, and the fleet of 20 more vehicles

at his disposal.

He spent over G$19 million of taxpayers’ money on overseas travel from October 2015 to July 2017; and can now import unlimited vehicles which will be exempted from Value Added Tax (VAT). In addition, his wife, Seeta, whom he takes on all his overseas travels, gets to see the world in all its fine glory at taxpayers’ expense. Did I mention that they both travel first class, reside in 5-star luxury hotels and don’t have to give account for the thousands of US$ in taxpayers’ money they spend upon return from these trips?

Interestingly, it was Nagamootoo who often referred to the former PPP/C Cabinet Ministers as “fat cat” and condemned the living of a “Cadillac lifestyle in a donkey-cart economy” when he was sitting on the Opposition benches before May 2015.

Moses Nagamootoo may have once championed the cause of cane cutters and rice farmers and ordinary Guyanese, but in the end, greed and personal ambition have overcome any decency he had left, and have now reduced him to a mere rubber stamp.

Again, I ask, how low can Moses go?

Regards, Harry Gill PPP/C Member of Parliament

in elections timeline

Dear Editor, It is refreshing to finally read the joint statement issued by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, which unequivocally denounced Guyana’s illegal Government for being “in breach of the Constitution following its failure to adhere to the decisions of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on June 18 and its subsequent orders.”

Kindly permit two comments. First, the de facto President, arguably, admitted to having “breached” the Constitution.

On one hand, he rejected the tripartite joint statement and stated: “My only response is that the Government is abiding by the Constitution in the sense it has allowed the Election Commission, an autonomous agency, to do its work.”

But he also said: “I would be in more grievous breach of the Constitution if I try to intrude or interfere in the work” of GECOM. There is a clear use of the word “more” in his statement. This coverage may be found online in numerous places, for example, at the website for Capitol News, for news aired for Thursday, September 19.

The second comment pertains to the role, if any, of the Opposition

in fixing an election date now that the three months’ timeframe has passed. Persons are calling for Mr David Granger to set an elections date.

Can he do so without the help of the Opposition and National Assembly?

The electorate should abide by the Constitution and Article 106 and ask their political leaders to do the same, and not simply accept any proposed GECOM February date without reasoning.

It may well be that now, more than ever given the presence of a rogue Administration at the helm of the State, the Opposition has a role to play in calling elections post-NCM, and indeed, a duty to inquire what has changed within a matter of days to cause the GECOM Chairperson to shift from seeking to deliver elections before year-end (December) to now late February 2020?

This is a legitimate enquiry.

In calling for an elections date that is “in full compliance with Guyana’s Constitution,” the US, UK, and the European Union seem to be saying this: that Mr Granger has to refer to Article 106 and meet with the Opposition as a way to get to a date and also possibly cure for GECOM’s late February state of readiness.

Sincerely, Rakesh Rampertab

news 7

WEEK ENDING september 29, 2019| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Another pregnant woman severely beaten by husband …as domestic violence spirals out of control in Guyana

By Andrew Carmichael

A

21-year-old pregnant woman is now nursing injuries about her body, becoming the latest victim of domestic abuse in Guyana.

Seema Bisnauth, of Rampoor, Corriverton, Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice – Corentyne), said that she was severely beaten on Saturday evening while at home.

According to her sister Latoya, she visited her sister at her home on Sunday but after calling out for her several times without response, she realised that something was amiss.

She said that she was eventually allowed into the house by her brother-in-law and found her sister lying on the bed.

“When I see her laying down in the bed, her eyes were closed and she couldn’t see and he was right there. She told me that it is two girls from the market beat her up,” the 22-year-old Latoya told this publication.

She said that she volun-

teered to take her sister to the hospital and while on the way to the medical institution, her sister finally confided in her that it was her husband that beat her.

She said that her poultry farmer husband went home on Saturday afternoon annoyed and started hitting her, causing her to lose consciousness. She related that when she regained consciousness, she was lying on the bed and could not see.

After telling her story, Bisnauth was taken to the Springlands Police Station, where a report was made.

She was then taken to the Skeldon Hospital and subsequently transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital.

Police later arrested the poultry farmer. The couple have been married for three months.

They have a three-yearold child and Bisnauth is eight months pregnant.

According to Latoya, this is the third time her sister has been beaten by her husband.

Seema Bisnauth

She said the couple’s three-year-old child had to be removed from the home and now lives with a grandparent.

This is the second woman in Berbice that has come forward to tell

her story of domestic violence.

On Monday, another woman was injured at the hands of her reputed husband but she refused to offer evidence against him. Swaswattie

Etwaru, 33, who was severely beaten by her 24-year-old husband last week, which resulted in her being hospitalised, told this publication that she has refused to press charges against her husband. She said that her decision was influenced by the fact that she already has a child with her husband and is five months pregnant.

On Tuesday, six months after Derrick Solomon, a taxi driver, was charged with attempting to kill his common-law wife, he walked out of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts a free man after she refused to testify against him.

The 60-year-old man of Lot 10 Block F North Sophia, Greater Georgetown, was charged for the attempted murder of Carol London on March 2, 2019 at their North Sophia, Greater Georgetown residence, where the couple shared a common-law relationship for over 10 years.

When the matter was

called before Magistrate Sherdel Marcus-Isaacs, London informed the court that she does not wish to proceed with the matter and will not offer evidence.

The prosecution was contending that on March 2, Solomon and London had an argument and he left their home, when he returned sometime later, armed himself with a knife and dealt the woman several stabs about her body.

The injured woman was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where she was admitted as a patient.

The victim had received injuries to her hands and face.

Just recently, Acting Police Commissioner Nigel Hoppie noted that statistics revealed that there were 2080 reports of domestic violence reports made in 2017 to the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and as a result of those reports, there were 1171 cases made by law enforcement authorities.

For the year 2018, there were 1491 reports, which led to 837 cases made by the Police.

All stakeholders should work towards peaceful and credible elections in Guyana Dear Editor, I have full confidence that a date for the upcoming elections will be released soon and a return to calm will ensue.

There is no need for anyone to be portrayed as uncivilised or uncouth and less need for aggression and revenge. We must avoid the potential for violence and the insulting of each other.

We the people of Guyana are all looking for a transparent and trustworthy election process free of violence, disorder and corruption.

Once a date is provided, which will be soon, the key issue left outstanding is to ensure we as a nation have a very successful election process supported by our confidence in the list of voters. GECOM should have been working in parallel to the judicial process, but that is now water under the bridge.

A partial House-toHouse Registration process is concerning and the rationalisation of the lists should not be a complicated process. Data processing in this day and age is not in need of supercomputers for such a small data set. The lack of ongoing registration throughout the years is

the possible root cause of today’s problems and has allowed for the current list to be seen as obsolete. I do not disagree that GECOM is an independent body, but the current Administration of President Granger should be supplying additional resources to ensure the acceleration of the election process to meet the required constitutional timeline. Given the level of anxiety within the populace, we must ensure that a thorough job is done to provide a result free of the perspective of corruption.

Increase the size of the House-to-House Registration team and utilise the Local Government resources to speed up the process. It is now also in the Opposition’s best interest to participate to ensure a transparent and trustworthy list is finalised.

The aim of this should be a completion date of one month max and should be reflected in the election project plan. The question the Executive should ask is what will it take to make this possible? Then it is the Executive’s responsibility to provide the team with what they need to be successful.

The consolidation

and finalisation objective should reflect a similar timeline. While training and preparation of polling stations are completed simultaneously.

The final month should be used to fine-tune the list, printing of ballots, and the correction of any minor errors while absorbing potential de-

lays. GECOM at a minimum should be providing weekly updates on progress to ensure that if additional resources are needed, they can be provided by the Executive branch in a matter of days. As the date for elections draws near the end of the 3-month timeline, a progress report should

be provided at least twice a week and in the final weeks, this should be daily so as to mobilise resources quickly, and jointly resolve any issues that may arise.

Instead of continually worrying and extending the time to get things done, we need to shift to getting busy at resolving the issues. There should be no need to request an extension from the National

Assembly at this late juncture, this will only add to the controversy, and for this election season, such a request should only be made in the case of a national disaster or an act of God (force majeure). It is time for all hands on deck to get the job done correctly, quickly and peacefully.

Best regards, Mr Jamil Changlee

8 news

WEEK ENDING september 29, 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Pouderoyen girl, 13, found dead in bedroom A n eight-year-old boy has been left traumatised after discovering the lifeless body of his teenaged sister hanging by a bedsheet in the back room of their home.

Dead is a 13-yearold Ashrani Persaud of Lot 46 South Half, Bella Dam, Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara (WBD).

According to information received, the teenager was a student of Vreed-en-Hoop Secondary School but recently dropped out of classes for reasons unknown. However, the teen was planning on recommencing studies in the coming weeks.

Reports are that around 15:45h on Wednesday, the young boy ventured into the back room of their home, when he made the grue-

some discovery. He immediately raised an alarm and family members rushed to the scene.

“Me leff she home in she room this morning and she was good. She was sleeping but when she lil brother come home from school and he call out for she, he nah hear she. So he does normally check up pon she so when he go in the room he see she sling up on the rook,” a relative said amidst sobs.

Police ranks were summoned and upon their arrival they did not observe any visible marks of violence on the now dead teen’s body. They subsequently removed Persaud’s body from her home to transport to the West Demerara Regional Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Persaud’s body was

then escorted to the Ezekiel Funeral Home where it awaits a PostMortem Examination.

According to reports, the 13-year-old resided with her grandparents, her mother, and her younger brother.

She was last seen alive around 11:45h on Wednesday by a neighbour while she (the teen) was sitting on the verandah of her home.

If you or anyone you know is considering suicide, please call Guyana Inter Agency Suicide Prevention Helpline Telephone numbers (+592) 223-0001, 2230009, 600-7896, 6234444, Email: guyagency@ yahoo.com, Twitter: guyanaagency; WhatsApp: +592-600-7896, 592- 6234444; Facebook: Guyana Inter-agency Suicide Prevention Help Line.

City driver slapped with causing death by dangerous driving charge …released on G$300,000 bail

Ashrani Persaud

A

29-year-old Kitty, Georgetown resident was on Wednesday slapped with a causing death by dangerous driving charge.

Joel Thomas, of Lot 205 Thomas Street, Kitty, appeared before Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. The charge detailed that on July 8, 2019, at Vlissengen Road, Georgetown, he drove motor car PTT 2510 in a manner dangerous to the public thereby causing the death of motorcyclist Stephon Beckles.

Thomas was represented by Attorney-atLaw Siand Dhurjon, who requested that his client be released on reasonable bail.

Reports are Thomas was proceeding north along the western lane of Vlissengen Road, Georgetown, while the motorcyclist was proceeding south along the eastern lane of the said road at a fast pace, when the motorcycle ended up in the path of Thomas’ motor car, which resulted in a head-on collision.

It was reported Beckles and his pillion rider, Kevin Andy, were thrown from the motorcycle, which resulted in both men receiving severe head and other injuries. They were picked up and rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where Beckles was pronounced dead on arrival.

Joel Thomas

On Wednesday, Police Prosecutor Adduni Inniss did not object to bail; however, she requested that conditions be attached.

The Magistrate released Thomas on $300,000 bail. The defendant has to report to the Brickdam Police Station every Friday until the completion of the trial, as a condition of bail.

In July, Thomas was charged for driving under the influence of alcohol and driving without a tint permit and appeared before City Magistrate Clive Nurse. He was fined $7500 for driving without a tint permit, and he was released on $10,000 bail on the driving under the influence charge.

NEWS 9

WEEK ENDING september 29, 2019| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Caretaker Govt accused of suppressing rights of citizens …as roads leading to President’s office blocked off

I

t was chaos in the capital city on Tuesday, after all roads leading to the Ministry of the Presidency were blocked off by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) – which said it was instructed to do so to prevent any protests against the Government.

“The Office of the President is being cordoned off due to anticipated protest action by whatever political party or nongovernmental organisation,” a Police source informed Guyana Times International.

The Police Force blocked Vlissengen Road between North Road and Homestretch Avenue, South Road between Oronoque and Vlissengen Road, Charlotte Street between Oronoque St and Shiv Chanderpaul Drive and Regent Road between Shiv Chanderpaul Drive and Vlissengen Road, Georgetown.

While no protest actions were planned, the Police source said the roads were blocked “just in case”.

Abuse of authority Customarily, during protests against the Government, persons

Some of the roads and bridges which were blocked by the Guyana Police Force

would assemble on Vlissengen Road outside of the Ministry of the Presidency.

It is unclear why instructions would be given to the GPF to restrict citizens from exercising their democratic right to freedom of expression.

The blocking off of the roads ignited the ire of many road users who took to social media to

complain bitterly about how the alleged abuse of authority has inconvenienced them.

The current coalition Government has been recognised by the international community as operating outside of international standards of democracy – following its failure to hold elections in accordance with the country’s

Granger confirms March...

Jagdeo also said that the President may flipflop on the elections date.

During an interview on radio show on Tuesday, Jagdeo had expressed his belief that the real motive for the Government seeking an extension is to cover actions taken outside of the scope of a caretaker government, during the months after it lost the no confidence vote.

“The greed behind this all, they have been engaged in a rape of the treasury and handing out assets. The moment we go back to Parliament and extend the life of the government, we clothe them with constitutional legitimacy,” Jagdeo said.

“Then we would give some legal coverage to all the monies stolen, the lands transferred, so we may not be able to investigate these acts of corruption in the last year, when they should not have been done because they had no powers to do so… they’re worried about (themselves), because they’re going to be investigated.

This tiny cabal”.

On Wednesday evening, in a stinging statement following the caretaker President’s address

to the nation, the PPP said that the “illegal President” ended yet another address to the nation with the Guyanese people being no clearer than they were before. According to the party, his address has not given a definitive date for General and Regional Elections; rather, he says: “…the earliest possible date for the holding of General and Regional Elections will be on Monday, 2nd March 2020”.

The party said it remains convinced that Granger’s call for a return to the National Assembly is an attempt to blackmail the parliamentary Opposition into extending the life of his illegal Government, so that he can secure some legal cover for the many illegal acts, including the approval of billions in contracts, which have been committed since the passage of the No-Confidence Motion on December 21, 2019.

“All of this is taking place as he grasps for some level of respectability. Granger’s comment that ‘…we are on the right path to preserve

from page 3

our precious parliamentary democracy’ could not be further from the truth.

His actions have not only undermined our standing as a democracy, but has caused Guyana to come in for international condemnation. To date, the illegal President remains the biggest threat to our democracy. He has failed to comply with the Constitution of Guyana and pushed our nation into unconstitutional rule without hesitation,” the party said.

GECOM

After Granger was briefed by Justice Singh that GECOM would be able to hold elections at the end of February, the President came under increasing pressure to name an election date; something he had promised to do after he was advised by GECOM. It was only on Monday that the Commonwealth became the latest in a line of organisations to urge the President to call elections immediately.

Similar calls also came from the United States, British and European Union diplomatic representatives.

Constitution.

The roads were blocked off at a time when caretaker President David Granger was meeting with his Cabinet to discuss a possible date for elections, given that the Chairperson of

the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) had last week informed that the entity would be ready for the polls by the end of February 2020.

The blocking off of the roads also comes after there was a massive candlelight vigil on the

Railway Embankment Road Monday night outside of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre – where caretaker President David Granger delivered the feature address at Chinese Government event.

That incident resulted in the Police riot squad being called out to stand-off with peaceful protesters and the blocking off of the road, causing a major traffic build-up during the evening rush hour.

The protesters, comprising of civil society and supporters of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) expressed concerns about the legitimacy of the current Government.

The protesters were also calling on the Head of State to announce a date for elections.

Already, the Commonwealth, as well as the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Guyana’s private sector and members of civil society have recognised the current Government as being in breach of the country’s Constitution.

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Guyana’s public servants being paid “grossly inadequate” wages – Union head

Attendees at the event at the Baridi Benab, State House (DPI photo)

T

he Guyana Public Service Commission (GPSU) on Wednesday facilitated its 23rd biennial conference at State House, which was declared open by caretaker President David Granger.

In the presence of

on small wages. This, he noted, is grossly inadequate.

“The reality is that many public servants are living in abject poverty…Whoever is responsible for advising the Government about the adequacy of pay is not merely only out of

that are grossly inadequate,” Yarde asserted.

The conference was organised to address topical issues which have affected public servants in Guyana. In the past, there have been many calls for increased wages and other benefits.

Meanwhile, the president sought to recognise the evolution of public service during his address, noting that it has become more competitive and complex. The prevalence of unemployment among youths was also acknowledged.

“The Public Service has changed since those slow, sluggish days. It has become a more complex network of agencies, departments and Ministries offering a va-

riety of services to wider urban, rural, hinterland and even international communities in terms of the Foreign Service.

It has also become more competitive and the people who acquire new skills can perform better than their colleagues, will move further, faster… It is a fact that too many young people, between the ages of 15-24, are not in education, employment or training”.

Changes in the public sector, he said, have resulted in their survival for many decades. But public servants must be educated and trained to meet the demands of other sectors which will come in the future.

“A study of trade unionism in Guyana over

the past century will indicate how many have disappeared because they failed to change with the times. Change, also, is taking place at a rapid pace and is transforming the nature of the workplace. Workers who are not prepared for the continuous changes in the field and office could find their careers retarded and their service redundant,” Granger insisted.

He stated that if persons are not educated, they will lose opportunities and employment.

As such, the Head of State encouraged partnerships between trade unions and other agencies.

“Workers will be unable to adapt to this

new workplace environment unless they receive constant training.

Education is essential to preparing employees to enter the labour market and once in the labour market, to adapt continuously to the changing nature of work. It means that education must be continuous”.

Granger added that workers require better training to be able to adapt to this environment. “Unions, particularly the Public Service Union, must play a part in helping its members to adapt to these changes and to ensure that the workforce is better educated in order to play a meaningful role in the delivery of these services”.

the purpose of trafficking.

Defence Attorney Patrice Henry, in a bail application, told the court that his client was the sole breadwinner of his family. He said that his client has denied knowledge of the illicit substance.

Police Prosecutor Ceon Blackman told the court that on September 22, 2019, Police, who were acting on information, approached Grant, who was standing on a bridge with a milk tin in his hands. According to the Prosecutor, the ranks conducted a

search of the man and the tin, and found cannabis in the container.

As such, Grant was arrested.

The Prosecutor ob-

jected to bail; however, Magistrate McGusty released the father of eight on G$150,000 bail.

The case will continue on October 16, 2019.

Father of 8 charged for ganja in milk tin

A

GPSU President Patrick Yarde (DPI Photo)

stakeholders from the public sector, GPSU President Patrick Yarde highlighted the current situation of public servants, explaining that some of them are living

touch with the needs of workers, but I would say, unconscionable…I have often wondered why is there a lack of addressing the human needs of life and living

delivery truck driver, who was allegedly caught with cannabis in a milk tin, was on Wednesday charged for the offence and appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

F o r t y - t h r e e year-old Troy Grant of Wortmanville, Georgetown, appeared before Magistrate Faith McGusty and denied the charge.

It is alleged that on September 22, 2019 at Hardina Street, Georgetown, he had in his possession 156 grams of cannabis for

WEEK ENDING september 29, 2019| guyanatimeSinternational.com

news 11

Republic Bank “disappointed” plans to buy Scotiabank in Guyana not approved

R

epublic Bank’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nigel Baptiste has expressed disappointment over the fact that it’s plans to acquire Scotiabank’s assets in Guyana was not approved by the authorities.

“While this development is disappointing, we do not dwell on disappointment,” he is quoted as saying in an article published by Trinidadian media entity, Newsday.

“As a group, we remain fully engaged and committed to supporting the nation of Guyana through our operations there, as well as toward ensuring the success of all activities for which we have received the requisite regulatory approvals, under the proposed BNS acquisition,” he further stated.

Guyana’s Central Bank recently denied Republic Bank Guyana’s application to buyout Canadian multinational bank, Scotiabank’s operations in Guyana.

Last November, Republic Bank had announced its interest in acquiring Scotiabank’s operations in several countries including Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Maarten and St Vincent and

Republic Bank CEO, Nigel Baptiste

the Grenadines.

This is following Scotiabank’s decision to leave these Caribbean nations.

At the time, the local financial institutions were not informed of the decision.

Finance Minister Winston Jordan had expressed concerns that the sale might result in Republic Bank owning more than 50% of the total banking assets in Guyana.

In denying the application, Central Bank Governor Dr Gobind Ganga said decision makers took into consideration concerns about concentration and competition which would have negative impacts on the country’s financial system.

Guyana’s Finance Ministry had revealed that Republic Bank’s share of the banking system assets in Guyana stood at 35.4 percent and its deposits, 36.8 percent. The purchase of Scotiabank’s operations would see that grow to 51 percent.

Nonetheless, the Republic Bank CEO said “We appreciate the Bank of Guyana’s acknowledgement of the value of our longstanding role in the development of Guyana’s financial landscape and our continued contribution to the financial sector.”

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WEEK ENDING september 29, 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Teixeira roasts President Granger over claims of ‘hooliganism’ P eople’s Progressive Party (PPP) Executive Gail Teixeira has called out the Police and President David Granger, for their utterances against peaceful protesters, coupled with the disregard for the Constitution.

During a programme “Over the Red Line”, Teixeira noted that if one examined footage from last Thursday’s protest in front of the Pegasus Hotel, it would show that PPP supporters were not violent during the protest. Teixeira denied claims that attempts were made to tip over a Minister’s vehicle.

“Let’s look at the Police. From all the footage from the protest, this was a noisy but peaceful protest. When they talk about the Minister and overturning the vehicle, all the footage shows that the people were far away, several feet away from the car.

“These are manufactured lies,” Teixeira stressed. “They have tried to create a situation that the Ministers’ lives were threatened, which is totally fallacious. We’re not interested in that. We believe the person accountable is Granger.”

Teixeira then pointed to intimidatory tactics and statements from Congress Place, in which the protesters were described as hooligans. She also expressed her concern at the veiled threats contained in the Guyana Police Force’s press release on the protests.

“We have seen

PPP Executive Gail Teixeira

the backlash by the Government, (with President Granger) saying that the intellectual authors of these protests, he hopes they know how to stop it. So these intimidatory tactics are totally unacceptable and an indication that this government is going to move more and more in a direction to a road (of trampling

on) human rights in our country: the right to assembly, expression of our views, etc.

“What is good is we have seen the Bar Association come out, the Chamber of Commerce, FITUG, CIOG, Dharmic Sabha and, of course, the international community – the United States, Britain, the EU. Teixeira noted that

once a government took the Constitution and violated it, the country was in a state whereby whoever was holding the

democratic rights are going to be vulnerable.

“The first indication we had of that is at the picketing, where per-

life, Teixeira made it clear that the time for that had passed. She noted that when the PPP wrote Granger offering to give him the necessary two-thirds majority, its overture was completely ignored.

“We wrote him saying that 1) we would give our two-thirds in Parliament for elections on or before April 30, when the life of the voters’ list would expire. We put conditions; that is no new contracts, no procurement, no bilateral sale of our resources. Mr Granger ignored it completely. He did not even have the decency, and he’s always concerned with etiquette, to write a letter saying he acknowledged our letter.”

The constitutional deadline for holding elections, as set out by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), had expired as of September 18. When it made its June 18, 2019 ruling on the no-confidence cases, the CCJ had said that the effect of the NoConfidence Motion was on pause while the cases were being litigated.

That process, CCJ President Adrian Saunders had clearly said, was no longer on pause following the court’s ruling, which upheld the validity of the

CCJ President Adrian Saunders

reins of government was illegally and unconstitutionally squatting in office.

“That is the definition of a dictatorship.

One of the things we had warned was that when any government overthrows the Constitution, it is not just an issue of elections and no confidence motion. Other

sons were exercising their right to protest and show their anger and frustration at a government that is violating the Constitution and is illegal.”

When it comes to the PPP returning to Parliament and providing the necessary twothirds majority to legally extend the Government’s

no confidence motion, thus triggering the need for fresh elections.

In keeping with the constitutional three months’ provision once a No-Confidence Motion is passed, this would mean that General and Regional Elections should be held on or before September 18, 2019.

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WEEK ENDING september 29, 2019| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Former Guyana presidents boycott Chinese commemoration of 70th anniversary

M

o n d a y night’s 70th Anniversary ceremony at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre for the People’s Republic of China was boycotted by three former Presidents of Guyana after it emerged that caretaker President David Granger would be the chief guest even as he is in breach of the Constitution.

Former Presidents Bharrat Jagdeo, Donald Ramotar and Samuel Hinds indicated in a joint letter to Chinese Ambassador Cui Jianchun and his wife Liang Huili that they would not be attending the ceremony when the President and Government have lost their legitimacy.

“We three former Presidents hereby express our deep regrets that in the current circumstances in Guyana, where the Constitution has been breached and the coalition Government has lost all legitimacy, we could not

attend your ceremony of commemoration…where Mr David Granger, is the chief guest representing Guyana, as he is doing so as a usurper.”

The event on Monday evening was overshadowed by a vigil, organised by the Association for Democracy and Human Rights (Guyana) along the road leading up to the convention centre.

People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Presidential candidate Irfaan Ali, who attended the vigil, lamented the heavy Police presence compared to that of ordinary citizens holding candles and protesting for the Constitution of Guyana to be honoured.

“This is an NGO that we saw advertise that they were holding a candlelight vigil. We’re standing up in defence of democracy, calling on the

Government to name a date for elections. We’re standing up against dictatorship. Standing up for the rule of law. We’re standing up for funda-

mental rights.”

corrupt cabal can continue to prosper.”

“Today we saw a brutal statement coming from the Commonwealth.

That follows statements made by the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and many others have been making statements. All pointing out that this has gone beyond constitutional rule and it would affect our country.”

Jagdeo made it clear that Granger must call an election date that does not exceed February month-end, noting that the PPP is prepared to keep up its protest action until the President does so. In fact, he warned that protests would only intensify.

“Every single day that passes, where he doesn’t call elections at an early date, the protests will intensify. We will point out how we are currently un-

mental rights to movement and rights to assembly.

“They have blocked Guyanese at every single point from exercising that right, lead-

ing to this venue. So

democratic rights. And look how many police they brought out against people holding candles.

Is there any aggression here?”

ports that Granger is likely to name a date this week, Ali made it clear that a date should already have been named by the caretaker President in accordance with the law and calls from local organisations and the international community.

Turning a deaf ear

He added that Guyanese have funda-

persons are kept away from exercising their

When it comes to re-

M e a n w h i l e , Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, who was also present at the protest, lambasted the caretaker President for turning a deaf ear to the Constitution and to calls for him to immediately set an election date, after he would have been advised by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

“I think the whole country has seen who Granger is. He’s prepared to defy the Constitution, he’s prepared to discomfort all of Guyana, just to retain power at all costs, in spite of calls from the international community, just so that he and his

der a dictatorship, so we no longer have constitutional rule in Guyana.”

Protest in Essequibo Coast

Meanwhile, Granger was also subjected to protests outside of Region Four, when hundreds of citizens on the Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroom-Supenaam), picketed him on Monday as he made his way from the Hampton Court Airstrip to attend a function in Queenstown Village.

The protesters called for the Government to resign and for the caretaker President to set a date for General and Regional Elections.

Some of the protesters also picketed State House, in Anna Regina calling for Granger to respect the Constitution.

The peaceful gathering included PPP executives Leslie Ramsammy, Vishnu Samaroo, Regional Chairman Davanand Ramdatt and Peter Ramsaroop.

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news 15

Guyanese family in US mourns after recently graduated daughter shot dead N EW WINDSOR, N .

Y .

(CBSNewYork) — Police in suburban Orange County are looking for two men who burst into an apartment, opened fire, and killed a recent college graduate.

At a home in Walden, a tight-knit family with roots in Guyana was receiving visitors Monday, and mourning a terrible loss.

Chelsea Debidin, a 21-year-old dean’s list student and recent grad from SUNY-Orange County, was shot and killed while visiting her boyfriend at his family’s Knox Village apartment.

“They kicked in the front door and basically opened fire on the residents there, in the apartment,” New Windsor Police Deputy Chief Michael Farbent said.

The local police are being assisted by state police and the FBI in the search for the two men.

A neighbour told CBS2’s Tony Aiello off-camera, he heard a

Shot dead: Chelsea Debidin

bang, the sound of glass breaking and then three rapid gunshots just after midnight early Saturday morning.

At the site of the broken window on Monday, a bouquet of flowers was left in memory of the victim.

“No criminal record, a college student, a good girl by all accounts,” Farbent said. “As far as the motive right now, we’re not 100 percent certain.”

Friends are posting social media tributes to Debidin, including the following ones: “My heart is so heavy. Not only did your beauty amaze so many, but your generosity and compassion changed many lives,” and “I’ll always remember that beautiful smile of yours.”

Police want to hear from anyone with information, or who may have seen the gunmen fleeing the scene.

Police said the victim’s boyfriend also was shot. He’s hospitalized and is expected to recover.

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WEEK ENDING september 29, 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

6 female Guyanese Cops in Alaska for major conference

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ix female officers of the Guyana Police Force/ Guyana Association of Women Police led by Deputy Commissioner Maxine Graham, DSM and assisted by Superintendent Grace Davis last Friday, 2019, departed Guyana to Anchorage, Alaska, United States of America to attend the International Association of Women Police 57th Annual Training Conference being held from September 23-27, 2019.

The Conference, which is being hosted in Anchorage for the third time and being held under the theme "Mentoring the Next Generation� attracted the attendance of over 800 delegates from 43

countries.

The opening ceremony was held on Monday September 23, 2019, at the Dena'ina

Civic and Convention Centre, followed by the parade of the nations through the downtown area of Alaska.

During the Conference delegates will benefit from training in areas; such as Leadership, the origins of Sexual Violence, Gender Equality in Law Enforcement and Human Trafficking among others.

The GAWP on an annual basis, during its outreach programmes, encourages female officers and other ranks to attend and benefit from this training which will enhance their capacity and help them to perform more efficiently and effectively, something which has been successful over the years.

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Some HIV patients not receiving treatment in Guyana – NAPS

Deputy Programme Manager (ag) at the National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS), Dr Nicolette Boatswain

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lthough Guyana has been able to reap some successes in combatting challenges associated with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), there are cases where persons diagnosed with this disease have refrained or dropped out of the Public Health Ministry’s treatment plan.

Presently, there are 5,706 persons receiving treatment.

According to the Acting Deputy Programme Manager at the National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS), Dr Nicolette Boatswain, some of those are not on the treatment plan and work is ongoing by public officials to ensure that persons diagnosed with HIV are receiving the necessary treatment.

During a ceremony to commemorate World AIDS Day 2019 on Monday, it was revealed that many HIV infected persons have refrained or dropped out of the Public Health Ministry’s treatment plan.

Yet, statistics show that some 100 persons who required treatment are not getting it.

“What we need to strengthen are our efforts are having persons linked into care after they are diagnosed but we find that once we get persons into care they usually are retained

and those we have lost we have programmes in place…the lost and follow up initiatives where we go out and look for persons and bring them in back, to find out what the challenges are, find out what the barriers are, and we try to work with them”.

Dr Boatswain related that there is an effective tracking system in place and with the introduction of an e-register of HIV patients, those persons can rest assured that confidentiality is present and taken into all accounts at all stages of the treatment processes.

“The initiatives that we have existing in terms of lost to follow up have shown successful, we have social workers working with us who go out and find the patients, we use the information that they would have provided to us. When we track them, we do not just push them back into the system but we try to understand what the barriers are. As we continue to speak on the enabling environment, what are the barriers and challenges that that patient may be experiencing”.

She added that presently, the “lost and follow up” initiative has been 82 per cent successful in locating and reintegrating HIV patients into the treatment plans that are available.

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WEEK ENDING september 29, 2019| guyanatimeSinternational.com

World Court to begin hearing GuyanaVenezuela border case in March 2020

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lmost one year after the Government of Guyana approached the International Court of Justice for a resolution in relation to territorial claims made by its western neighbour Venezuela, the hearing is expected to begin in March of next year.

According to a statement from the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the oral hearing will be held in The Hague, Netherlands from March 23 to 27 2020. It also explained that the hearing will determine whether the Court has the jurisdiction to take the case forward.

“This hearing will determine whether the Court has jurisdiction over the case filed

by Guyana on March 29, 2018. By that case, Guyana seeks to obtain from the Court a final and binding judgement that the 1899 Arbitral Award, which established the location of the land boundary between then-British Guiana and Venezuela, remains valid and binding, and that Guyana’s Essequibo region belongs to Guyana, and not Venezuela,” the statement read.

Guyana brought its case to the Court following the decision by the Secretary General of the United Nations in January 2018, that the controversy between Guyana and Venezuela should be decided by the International Court of Justice.

The International Court of Justice

Back in March 2018, Guyana went to The Netherlandsbased World Court to confirm the validity of the Arbitral Award of October 3, 1899, which fixed the land boundary between the two neighbouring countries.

However, Venezuela has claimed, in a letter to the Court, that the Secretary General exceeded his authority under the 1966 Geneva Agreement, and that the Court therefore lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate Guyana’s lawsuit.

Because of that stance, Venezuela informed the Court that it would not be participating in the proceedings.

On November 19,

2018, Guyana submitted its Memorial to the Court refuting Venezuela’s arguments and demonstrating that the Court has jurisdiction.

Under well-established judicial precedent, the Court will proceed to decide if it has jurisdiction over Guyana’s claims, irrespective of whether or not Venezuela participates in the proceedings. If it decides that it has jurisdiction, the Court will proceed to rule on the merits of those claims and decide whether the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award and the border between the two States should be confirmed.

Under the United Nations Charter and the Court’s own rules, its final judgements both on jurisdiction and the merits will be legally binding on Guyana and Venezuela, whether or not Venezuela participates in the proceedings.

“Nevertheless, Guyana expresses the hope that Venezuela will participate, to indicate respect for the Court

and the international rule of law, the peaceful settlement of disputes, and the promotion of friendly relations between both States. The Government of Guyana welcomes the prospect of a final and binding decision by the Court that will definitively resolve this longstanding controversy, and allow Guyana and Venezuela to proceed to develop

excellent and close relations as neighbouring states,” the statement concluded.

Venezuela had, for more than 60 years, consistently recognised and respected the validity and binding force of the 1899 Award and the 1905 map agreed by both sides.

Venezuela had changed its position formally in 1962 as the United Kingdom was making final preparations for the independence of British Guiana and had threatened not to recognise the new state, or its boundaries, unless the United Kingdom agreed to set aside the 1899 Award and cede to Venezuela all of the territory west of the Essequibo River, amounting to some twothirds of Guyana’s territory.

However, Venezuela has never produced any evidence to substantiate its belated repudiation of the 1899 Award that the country has used it as an excuse to occupy territory awarded to Guyana in 1899, to inhibit Guyana’s economic development and to violate Guyana’s sovereignty and sovereign rights.

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PM Modi invites Caricom parliamentary delegation to visit India ...during meeting with leaders in New York

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the 14 leaders of the Caricom group he met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly

ndia’s historic and warm relations with the countries of the Caribbean witnessed a new momentum with the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with 14 leaders of the Caricom group of countries on the sidelines of the United Nations

General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday in New York.

Current Caricom Chairman, St Lucia PM Allen Chastenet cochaired the meeting.

The meeting was attended by the Heads of Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados,

Dominica, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago; the Vice President of Suriname, and the Foreign Ministers of the Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Haiti and Guyana.

It was the first-ever meeting of PM Modi with Caricom leaders in a regional format and highlighted the steadily intensifying and deepening relations between India and partner countries of the Caribbean, not only in the bilateral, but

also in the regional context. PM Modi reiterated India’s firm commitment to strengthen its political, economic and cultural engagement with Caricom. He noted the presence of more than a million-strong Indian Diaspora as a vibrant and enduring link of friendship with the Caribbean.

The meeting deliberated on strengthening the political and institutional dialogue processes, boosting economic cooperation, increasing trade and investment and fostering greater and more robust people- to- people relations.

PM Modi also laid emphasis on partnering with Caricom countries in capacity building, development assistance and cooperation in disaster management and resilience. He invited Caricom countries to join the International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.

The PM then expressed his condolences on the destruction caused by Hurricane Dorian in the region and the worsthit island of Bahamas to which India has provided immediate financial assistance of US$ 1 million.

PM Modi announced a US$14 million grant

for community development projects in Caricom and another US$150 million line of credit for solar, renewable energy and climate- change related projects. He also announced the setting-up of the Regional Centre for Excellence in Information Technology in Georgetown, Guyana and the Regional Vocational Training Centre in Belize by upgrading the existing India-funded centres in these countries.

The Indian PM also expressed support for specialised capacity-building courses, training and deputation of Indian experts based on the needs and requirements of the Caricom countries. He invited a parliamentary delegation from Caricom to visit India in the near future.

Caricom leaders welcomed the initiatives proposed by PM Modi to strengthen engagement and cooperation between the two sides, and reassured him of full support from their respective Governments.

It was decided that a Joint Task Force would be set up to expeditiously look into possible areas of cooperation and identify the way forward.

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Another family returns from hurricane-ravaged Bahamas A

nother family of five, who was affected by Hurricane Dorian in The Bahamas returned to Guyana on Sunday evening.

The Cooper family arrived in Guyana at about 22:00h at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) at Timehri, East Bank Demerara.

Stevie Cooper, who is originally from The Bahamas, and his reputed wife, Vanessa Taite, a Guyanese, and their three children, Stevie Cooper Jnr, Steven Cooper and Steve Cooper, who were all born on the island, were welcomed to Guyana by Citizenship Minister Winston Felix.

The Minister told reporters at the airport that the family’s trip was made possible

by Caribbean Airlines.

“The issues with respect to citizenship would be sorted out. As you are aware the husband is Bahamian and the children are born to a Guyanese mother outside of Guyana so these are issues we would have to walk them through the process to regularisation,” he added.

The family will be staying with relatives in Georgetown. Next week two more persons are expected to return home.

The family, who

The Cooper family

briefly spoke with the media, described their experience as “horrible”.

Vanessa Taite said, “It’s nothing that no one actually live through like speaking about it you would get an impression but actually going through it is an absolute difference”.

She said it was quite frightening to watch her friends and family die in the disaster but even

more frightening for her was when her roof came off, leaving her young children exposed.

“It’s like literally going through a scary movie,” she added.

Taite, who was away from Guyana for six years, said she is glad to be home.

On September 15, a family of five also returned to Guyana from the hurricane-ravaged

Fruit vendor charged for sexually assaulting 10-yr-old A fruit vendor was on Monday hauled before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts after he was charged for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old child.

Thirty-five-year-old Devon Mohamed was not required to plead to the indictable charge when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

It is alleged that between August 1, 2019 and August 31, 2019, at Wortmanville, Georgetown, he engaged in sexual activity with a child, that is he touched the child’s genitals.

The matter was held in-camera.

Reports are the 10-year-old child was left in Mohamed’s care when he allegedly reached under her dress and touched her genitals. Following the incident, the child told her parents what had transpired and the matter was reported to the Police.

The vendor was released on G$100,000 bail.

Devon Mohamed

island.

Thirty-five-year-old Orin Grimmond and his wife, 35-year-old Sholme Grimmond, arrived at the CJIA with their

three children sevenyear-old Seraphine, twoyear-old Angeline and two-month-old Kemuel.

They were accommodated at the Marriott

Hotel before they left for Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), to meet their family members.

On September 1, Dorian, a category five hurricane, ripped through the small Caribbean archipelago with winds near 240 kilometres per hour (150 miles per hour), the US National Hurricane Center said.

A BBC report stated that Dorian was the most powerful storm to hit The Bahamas.

Bahamians are now facing severe health threats as they are trying to cope with the lack of access to toilets, clean water, and medication.

The Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) has set up an account here for persons who would like to make contributions towards assisting persons in The Bahamas.

Persons desirous of contributing financial donations are asked to make those contributions to the account named GBTI Hurricane Relief Fund-Bahamas # 011802963011.

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NY governor announces statewide relief efforts for Bahamas N ew York G o v e r n o r Andrew M Cuomo yesterday announced a statewide donation drive to help the people of the Bahamas recover and rebuild following Hurricane Dorian.

To help with the effort, the governor said he will work with the Bahamian Consulate in New York to expand the number of drop sites for priority donations of food, dry goods and personal hygiene.

Cuomo is urging New Yorkers to donate these “desperately-needed items” to the nearest drop site and is encouraging people to donate money to UNICEF and nonprofit partner organiations recommended by the Consulate.

“We understand all too well how devastating and difficult it is to recover from a hurricane,” he said. “In New York, we have a long and proud history of helping those in need; and, with thousands of Bahamians still suffering in the wake of Hurricane Dorian, we will do everything in our power to help this community rebuild.”

The governor noted that the Bahamas is an “important economic partner” with the United States and New York specifically.

As of July 2019, he said the US imported

New York Governor Andrew M Cuomo

US$239 million and exported US$1.97 billion worth of goods from the Bahamas.

The value of contain-

er cargo imported into the Port of New York from the Bahamas has previously been about 14 per cent of all ves-

sel imports, the governor said.

“Severe weather events are impacting areas around the

world and devastating countless lives,” said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. “We all know the impact these

storms can have, and how challenging the recovery process can be.

This has been especially true for the Bahamas.

“This statewide donation drive is part of our efforts to help businesses and families recover and rebuild after the devastation,” she added. “We encourage all New Yorkers to donate to help ensure people in the Bahamas have the essential supplies they need as the recovery process continues.”

Dr Roy A Hastick, Sr, the Grenadian-born president, chief executive officer and founder of the Brooklyn-based Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry said New Yorkers have “experienced the devastation wrought by a hurricane first hand, and we will always be ready to help those in their time of need.

“As the people in the Bahamas struggle to rebuild after Hurricane Dorian, these supplies will provide individuals and families the support and care they need to get back on their feet,” he said.

“I thank the governor for expanding the number of supply dropoff locations across the state, and I encourage all New Yorkers to lend a helping hand and make donations.” (CMC)

Broadcast authority takes legal action against errant broadcasters

A

fter months of issuing threats, the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) has finally taken legal action against three broadcasters who failed to honour their financial obligations.

Among the three broadcasters who were served plaints for legal proceedings, the GNBA said one has since decided to pay all outstanding licence fees.

As a consequence of this act of compliance, the GNBA withdrew its lawsuit against this broadcaster.

However, the two remaining broadcasters— Atlantic Cable Network Inc and Bartica Communications Network Inc— are ordered to appear before the court to answer proceedings on September 30, 2019.

In a press statement issued on Friday, the GNBA reminded that it has been urging broad-

casters to pay their broadcast licence fees for months.

“The GNBA takes this opportunity to urge non-compliant broadcasters to bring themselves in conformity with the law and to honour their obligations,” the Broadcasting Authority stated.

In May 2019, the GNBA had issued a warning to broadcasters who still refused to honour their financial obligations to the Authority.

In its statement, the GNBA had said: “Those broadcasters who never had a broadcasting licence and are broadcasting; whose licences have expired and have not renewed their licences but are still broadcasting, and those who owe the Authority millions of dollars and are refusing or failing to pay, are the ones that will be brought before the court”.

Subsequently, in June 2019, the Authority

released a list of all broadcasters who were in full compliance – yet another step to coerce errant broadcasting entities to pay up.

According to the GNBA, the legal cable broadcasters are: Premium Communications Inc, E-Networks Inc, Infinity Telecommunications Inc, Go-Tech Inc, Movie Star Inc, and Northwest Television Inc. The authorised radio broadcasters are: Freedom Radio Inc, Little Rock Radio Inc, Pinnacle Com Inc-Radio, Radio Guyana Inc, Hits & Jams Entertainment Inc, NTN-Radio Inc, I

Radio Inc, CNS Radio Inc, Multi-Cultural Communications Inc, News-Talk Guyana Inc, JREM, Keystone Solutions Inc, and National Communications Network (NCN).

Meanwhile, CNS Inc, Countryside Broadcasting Inc Ch 19, Community Broadcasting Network, Dave’s Television Ch 8 Inc, Little Rock Television Inc-TV, Pinnacle Com IncTelevision, STVS Ch 4/21 Inc, Television Guyana Inc, Washington Channel 2 Inc, MTV Inc, NTN IncTelevision, and National

Communications Network (NCN) have been listed as legal television broadcasters.

Apart from ensuring broadcasters are up to date when it comes to their financial obligations, the GNBA has been clamping down on broadcasters who broadcast unacceptable content.

To this end, the GNBA has talked about institutionalising the concept of “Citizen Monitoring” and this goes in tandem with the development of a research department that will be tasked with surveying listenership as well as the quality of programmes and conducting content analysis.

Currently, there is the Monitoring and Compliance Department which monitors the airwaves and when certain infractions are identified, those infractions are forwarded to the Special Investigative Committee for further examination.

According to the Authority, if it is decided that a fundamental breach was committed against the Broadcasting Act, then that broadcaster is summoned for a preliminary interview, where an opportunity is given for the broadcaster to refute or acknowledge the charge brought against his/her station.

Following that preliminary interview with the Special Investigative Committee, recommendations are made as to whether the broadcaster should be brought before the Hearing Committee or the Board.

Earlier this year, Reporters Without Borders for Freedom of Information (RSF) said that journalists in Guyana still face hurdles in executing their duties and some of the present laws that the country has implemented can land a journalist in jail despite the Constitution guaranteeing free speech and the right to information.

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Guyana: A long-term investment in early childhood education T

raditionally, Guyana’s hinterland regions faced several disadvantages in early childhood education compared to coastal areas.

These remote regions suffered from a lack of appropriate learning materials in schools. Teachers were required to improvise using what was donated by parents, community groups and NGOs or make

their own.

Therefore, learning materials were frequently not aligned with the curriculum, nor available when needed.

The lack of trained teachers also posed a challenge: in 2011-2012, 53% of early childhood education (ECE) teachers in hinterland areas were untrained. Even among trained teachers, their instructional methods didn’t follow best practices; many of them were unaware of how play can stimulate cognitive thinking and develop social and motor skills just as much as learning letters and numbers.

Moreover, these regions had the highest poverty rates in the country. While quality Early Childhood Education (ECE) is essential to all children, the most disadvantaged and vulnerable children benefit the most.

The combination of poverty, inadequate teaching practices and the lack

of appropriate learning materials had a negative effect on learning outcomes.

In 2013, the Ministry of Education (MoE) administered a diagnostic assessment to more than 700 children entering Grade 1 in hinterland areas. The findings were alarming: approximately 60% of children had not mastered prerequisite skills for reading, and less than 10% could demonstrate any understanding of text. Additionally, 40% showed very little or no ability to identify any numbers from 1 to 10.

A commitment to improve early childhood education

Based on evidence of the clear benefits of investing in students’ early years, the Go vernment of Guyana decided to prioritize investments in early learning.

Global Partnership for Education (GPE) supported the government’s objective and provided a US$1.7 million grant for the period 2015-2018. The goal of the program was to improve literacy and numeracy skills for children

living in hinterland regions and remote riverine areas, from preschool to Grade 1.

To achieve this goal, the GPEsupported program promoted an integrated intervention that focused on three pillars: providing capacity building for teachers; improving the supply of teaching and learning mate-

ly available resources that are culturally specific to the learning environment.

“In some schools, the kit has now become a whole school resource. It’s not just for the early childhood level. You have grade 2, 4, and 6 teachers asking to borrow the kits, so that they can give a more actionoriented approach to the children’s learning. That says there is a mental shift in how we treat education, Quenita Walrond, Nursery Technical Coordinator, Guyana’s Ministry of Education

Training programs for primary caregivers

rials; and providing training to primary caregivers.

Strengthening the teaching force

To improve teacher effectiveness, 526 teachers participated in a compulsory, annual training program which covered pedagogy, phonemic awareness, phonics instruction, and the use of resource toolkits. The training was delivered by master trainers, the best and brightest teachers across the different regions, whose role was to not just to train, but also monitor and mentor early childhood education teachers.

This training was vital for many teachers. Most of them had weak or no academic background. The training helped them acquire new techniques for teaching in the classroom, while putting them in a better position to deliver the content of the curriculum.

“Overall, the program has been very successful. I talked to many teachers…I particularly observed one teacher during the training workshop that when she came the first year she was so shy and hardly spoke on public, but after two years of attending the program she became a strong leader,” Hongyu Yang, Senior Education Specialist, World Bank.

Monitoring and evaluation was one of the key elements of the program’s success. Master trainers visited the teachers up to twice per semester to observe and support the implementation of instructional methods and learning activities, as well as provide support on the spot.

Providing effective learning materials

Along with improving teacher training, GPE supported the distribution of 750 early childhood education resource kits to schools as well as teachers’ manuals explaining their use. These included 30+ learning resources such as stackable cubes, numeracy flash cards, mega blocks building bags, alphabet and numbers foam puzzles, among others.

Aiming to promote more experiential and inquiry-based learning activities for children, the learning materials helped students learn independently and in small groups through play.

The teachers’ manual helped teachers develop learning materials from local-

In Guyana, few parents are exposed to methods to support their children’s learning and are unaware of the behaviors that can help their children succeed.

Recognizing that parents and caregivers play a key role in reinforcing lessons from school at home, the ministry of Education, with support from GPE, decided to make primary caregiver education a critical area of intervention.

The program supported face-to-face training sessions for primary caregivers at school and during parent-teachers associations meetings, parentteacher conferences, learning resource centers; and home visits, to name a few.

To reinforce these messages, GPE funded the “Read. Play. Love.” campaign, the first (and internationally award-winning) literacy and numeracy mass media campaign for parents and caregivers of children under 5 that encourages them to start modelling pro-

educational behaviors at home.

As a result, parents learned about their role in supporting their child’s development while acquiring the necessary skills to support their children’s’ learning more effectively.

A sustainable investment in learning and equity

Ensuring sustainability after the GPE-supported program ended was a key priority for the Ministry of Education. To achieve this, teachers and master trainers will continue to receive training as part of the ministry’s continuous professional development program. In addition, the re-

plenishment of the learning materials toolkits is already budgeted in the next financial plans.

Thanks to the program, according to the Ministry of Education, more than 8,000 school children living in hinterland and riverine areas improved their literacy skills by 139% and their numeracy skills by 133% (compared to 90% and 75% respectively in coastal areas).

“When I looked at the data to see the percentage in terms of success and growth that we have seen in the Hinterland, it certainly tells a very good story. A story of growth, a story of hope, and a story of encouragement, particularly for our most vulnerable and disadvantaged population,” Nicolette Henry, Minister of Education.

GPE’ support to Guyana has gone beyond financial resources. With GPE’s support, Guyana developed an education sector plan for 2014-2018 that was robust and evidence-based.

Additionally, the GPE program helped the government take a more holistic approach to ECE, moving away from fragmented interventions in the past.

“I think GPE has set the course for us to understand that there is need for partnership in moving education forward. Education cannot be confined to the chief education officer alone, or

to the classroom, it has to be a partnership approach. Because when we come together, there will be a collective impact, and that is what we’re constantly searching for in education… collective impact,” Marcel Hutson, Chief Education Officer, ministry of Education.

GPE has supported the Government of Guyana in making a long-term investment in ensuring that future generations of children have equal learning opportunities. These children, who will be tomorrow’s workforce and the nation’s future leaders, are now better prepared to undertake any challenge.

(Global Partnership for Education – 2018)

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Piercing T

…the constitutional crisis he Constitution of a country is supposed to address its political questions – those that have to do ultimately with power, that is, which crop up as the people go about their business. The Constitution is like a contract where the citizens of the country set up the terms that’ll govern the institutions running the state. The state has the ultimate sanction of using force, if necessary, to ensure that it’s laws – as encompassed by the Constitution or emanating from it – are upheld.

A citizen breaks the law about not bashing fellow citizens over the head, and the forces of law (the courts) and order (the Police) will deal with him/ her condignly. But what happens when the Head of State refuses to obey the Constitution itself?? Who deals with him condignly?? You have a full blown “constitutional crisis”, that’s what – and this is what we’re confronting in Guyana today.

What does the Constitution say about this situation? Well, Art 106 (6) says the President and Cabinet should’ve resigned by now. And Art 95 says if there isn’t a President, then the Prime Minister takes over. But since, in this case, the PM was a member of the Cabinet, he doesn’t exist. Who’s next in line? The same article says a designated Minister – but since all of these have been vaporised by the NCM vote, then according to the Art we’re down to the Chancellor.

The question, however, is exactly how do we bell the cat, when the ex-President insists on squatting on the presidency? Can we remove him for violating the Constitution? Well, Art 180 speaks to that… but assumes there’s a Parliament the speaker can summon to consider such a motion and if 2/3 of the members agree, then a tribunal will be set up to do the dirty. But we know this ain’t gonna happen and we’re back to the constitutional crisis of an irresistible force meeting an immovable object!!

The situation over in Venezuela suggests a way out. There, the 2018 re-election of President Maduro was disputed, and their National Assembly declared that the presidency should be filled in an interim way by the Assembly’s leader, Juan Guaidó. Maduro’s handpicked Supreme Court, however, ruled the National Assembly declaration unconstitutional and confirmed Maduro as President. Constitutional crisis, like ours!!

But the US took a stand— imposed sanctions and built national democratic coalitions to support Guaidó. This showed that the old rule of “noninterference” in the domestic affairs of states is breaking down after the international community realised how much suffering can be unleased on a populace by a rogue government.

Most of the world – including the US – have already condemned Granger.

Next step sanctions!!

…Granger’s smirk Over the last five years, Granger has cultivated an image of avuncular unflappability combined with anodyne platitudes that helped mask (pun intended) the brutal actions he unleashed on perceived Opposition supporters. Shutting down 4 estates and firing 7000 sugar workers?? Not to worry, that was “right sizing” the industry!! Spending billions and billions on pageantry and monuments while starvation became endemic in Opposition enclaves??

No problem…men didn’t live by bread alone!!

But while he might’ve won the battle over the NCM by dragging it out in the courts, he hasn’t only lost the war, but also his aura of imperturbability.

Like most bullies who thought he held all the cards, he just didn’t know when to stop. He overplayed his hand when he refused to proclaim elections even though he’d gotten all his demands met.

He’s been so rattled by the Opposition’s “in your face” protests and the foreign community condemnations, he exposed the fangs that were always there.

Burnham boasted about his “sharper steel”; Granger brought out the Riot Squad in full battle gear. …Venezuela’s bombast Next March, the World Court will be taking arguments on the jurisdictional issues in the Venezuelan-instigated border controversy.

Looks like the new government will have that albatross off their necks, in addition to the oil bonanza!!

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feature 33

Vaping – a dangerous fashion statement “I started to vape at 22 because of social trends and the -cigarettes are supfun on perceived coolness atposed to be replacetached to it. Before vaping I nevments for tobacco er had a cigarette or anything packed cigarettes in an effort in my life other than vape and to reduce the dependency on whilst vaping I only used nicothe harmful chemicals in totine-free liquids,” Junior Basant bacco but they are now provsaid. ing to be a danger.

Basant vaped for about 2.5 Over the recent weeks, years on a social level. For him, much has come to the fore he saw nothing wrong with vapabout the effects of e-cigaing and as a matter of fact, he rettes and there have even recommended it. been some deaths as a direct “It was enjoyable and fun.

Cloud thickness is an accomplished feat effect of vaping. E-cigarettes We did tricks and often competfor all vapers, according to Basant are devices powered by bated with others to measure cloud teries which have the abilithickness, amount and those ty to convert liquid nicotine stuff. I would recommend it in the vape I used. When you’re out and vaping along into vapour or a mist. Hence with a few drinks but not for everyday usage. I'm aware of the effects since I did a lot the terminology, vaping. of research on it before actually getting one. I think those affected or experience diffiThe United States’ culties because of vaping isn't because of the ingredients but more so because of overCenters for Disease Control use,” the young man said. and Prevention has reportMeanwhile, Vinod Harry told the ed that there have been six Sunday Times Magazine that he was deaths and some 380 cases introduced to e-cigarettes while out Basant demonstrates how he vapes of confirmed and probable with his friends. He was 20 at that lung disease across the US. time and prior to using the e-cigarette, The CDC noted that these deaths are as a result of vaping and have since Harry had smoked a handful of times. launched a probe in into the practice.

“I would say like 4-5 times a month In Guyana, vaping has become a popular fad, particularly among I would vape. Vaping is different from youths, with very little regulations to curb the practice. There are no age smoking, it's a lot lighter than smoking restrictions as to who can purchase an e-cigarette since they do not contain is, the chemicals have nicotine inside tobacco – which is a controlled substance. which makes it relaxing, and at the Currently, Guyana has one of the most complete tobacco control laws in same time safe. I would recommend the Americas according to the Pan American Health Organisation/World people to vape especially people that Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO). The passage of the 2017 National are addicted to cigarettes. However, Tobacco Act reiterates Guyana’s commitment as a signatory to the World vaping at a young age has serious reHealth Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). percussions to the brain. Plus certain The FCTC is an international public health treaty which provides a chemicals have been known to have guideline on how to address the global tobacco epidemic that claims almost metallic particles inside, hence only John Cannaday 7 million deaths per year. safe chemicals should be used to vape.

Tobacco is not only dangerous to those who use it, rather it affects everyAvoid vaping juices that have Diacetyl one around the user. The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported that more than (a chemical used for flavouring but has also been linked as a cause for lung disease),” 1.2 million non-smokers lose their lives as a result of second-hand smoking. Second- Harry told the Sunday Times Magazine. hand smoking is very dangerous and constant exposure to tobacco smoke leads to a Both Harry and Basant said despite the known effects of nicotine, they would recplethora of lung-related issues since tobacco contains over 5000 toxic substances with ommend vaping as opposed to smoking. However, on a different note, Basant recomthe most dangerous being nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar. mended the nicotine-free “smoke juices” because they are less addictive.

These substances, along with the others, cause Non-Communicable Diseases Rehanna Ali, a 26-year-old female who smoked a pack of cigarette per day, related (NCDs) like ischemic heart diseases, cancers, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseas- that she turned to e-cigarettes because she wanted to quit smoking. However, for her, es, which are the leading causes vaping just meant savof death globally and are associing a little money since ated with tobacco use. Statistics she became hooked on from the WHO demonstrate that her e-cigarette because 38 million people die each year of its cleaner doses of from NCDs, of which nearly 85 nicotine. per cent of NCD deaths occur in “I wanted to quit but low- and middle-income counthis thing got me hooked tries. more. I have been smokEven in its natural form, toing secretly since I was bacco is toxic and contains sub15 because of the stress stances that are capable of causof dealing with a broken ing cancer. family and abusive relaAs a substitute for tobacco tives. It was my way of cigarettes, the e-cigarette was escaping the stress but invented to help reduce the efas someone who wantfects of traditional smoking. ed to get into the mediThough fairly new on the marcal field, I knew of the ket, the e-cigarettes have berisks. I tried to quit sevcome the latest fashion trend eral times but I failed. because of the incorporation of I vaped for three years exotic flavourings and the rebefore I started to use moval of the tobacco taste. those nicotine patchThe e-cigarettes utilise es and gums and those “smoke juice” which contains, as helped me more than a base, propylene glycol, vegetavaping. It is two years ble glycerol, water, nicotine and now I have stopped other exotic flavourings. The and I feel as healthy as “smoke juice” is usually depos- One of the many “Smoke Juices” A classic E-Cigarette One of the more elaborate E-Cigarettes ever,” she explained. ited into a cylinder attached to For John Cannaday, the power unit of the e-cigarette which vaporises when heated, thus producing the smoking almost two packets of cigarettes per day was not how he envisioned spendsmoke effect. ing almost a decade of his life. It not only took away a huge chunk of his earning but it The WHO said that these Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs) produce aerosols con- also took away time from his life. He knew that changes had to be made if he wanted taining nicotine and other harmful chemicals which are inhaled by users when they to lead a long and healthy life. suck or imitate the action of smoking while using an e-cigarette.

“I had been smoking a pack to a pack and a half for about 10 years. It’s difficult to “Despite claims of ‘risk reduction’, there is no evidence to demonstrate that HTPs quantify how much I vaped. I did start at 6 mg, which I am told is lower than most are less harmful than conventional tobacco products. HTPs contain chemicals not people who smoked as much as I did. The challenge with vaping is that you can do it found in cigarette smoke and may have associated health effects. Independent as- almost nonstop. Plus, you can do it and many more places than cigarettes. So I became sessment of industry data shows that more than 20 harmful and potentially harmful even more addicted to the nicotine in vaping than I was when I was smoking. chemicals are significantly higher than in reference to cigarette smoke. Additionally, “I felt I was doing it too much and wasn’t sure it was as safe as I had been led to bethese products are highly variable and some of the toxicants found in the emissions lieve. I switched to nicotine lozenges for a few months so I could lower my dependence of these products are carcinogens. Currently, there is also insufficient evidence on the on the nicotine. But I have since stopped that as well. Nicotine is super addictive and effects of second-hand emissions produced by HTPs, though the emissions from these I do not advise smoking or vaping at all,” Cannaday said. products contain harmful and potentially harmful chemicals,” the WHO said.

Because of its relative newness, there are not much studies and research on the In Guyana, not many e-cigarette users have a comprehensive understanding of effects of vaping but because of the nicotine component, vaping is being treated the what the device is really about. It has turned more into a fashion statement or a popu- same as smoking. Which means “it is injurious to health and not advised by a compelar trend with users, particularly youths, not fully grasping the potential dangers as- tent medical professional”. sociated with vaping.

Meanwhile, a number of countries have banned vaping because of its perceived The Sunday Times Magazine recently spoke to a number of local youths who vape health risks. However, at the local level the Public Health Ministry has not indicated on a regular basis and the common thread was that it is being done as a fashion state- whether it is concerned about the possible health risks associated with vaping. ment. Many of the youths who vape, do so either because their friends are doing it or Efforts to contact both Public Health Minister, Volada Lawrence, and Chief because they wish to impress the masses.

Medical Officer, Shamdeo Persaud proved futile.

By Lakhram Bhagirat

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S

ome books have a knack (yes, books have a life of their own; books are alive and have the capacity) of surfacing at the most appropriate time. ‘Come Lehwe Reason: A Journey of 50 years with Walter Rodney’ written and compiled by Eric Huntley and published Bogle L’Ouverture Publications, is one such book, surfacing at a time when Guyana, transfixed by elections implosion and by monstrous economic explosion, may need to ‘reason’ one with the other.

‘Come Lehwe Reason’ is a tiny, yes, yet another tiny book pregnant with meaning, that will turn over in the minds of readers for as long as it takes Guyana to rid itself of the baggage of the past.

This tiny book effectively makes use of space starting with the cover design.

The picture on the front cover shows Walter Rodney and Jessica Huntley reasoning in the front room of Huntleys’ home in Colderhaw Road where the Huntleys’ book shop first started. Bordering the four sides of the front cover are the words in bold print: ‘Gems of the Diaspora’. This border sets into train a series of books in the making, namely ‘African and Indian Identities in colonial Guyana in the 1930s’ by Clem Seecharan; ‘Thomas Clarkson, My Saint’ by Joyce Trotman; CLR James’ Contribution to the Caribbean 1950-1980’ by Natalie Coppin; ‘Andrew Salkey: 40 years of Creative Writing’ by Beverly Cuffy; and ‘From Windermere Road to Coldershaw Road’ by Eric Huntley.

50 years of the journey with Walter Rodney is de-

Jagan election to the Legislative Council, aware of his own father’s role as a ‘founder member’ of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and his mother attending political meetings.

Rodney’s life and work unfolded in the following chapters, namely, ‘Jamaica Sojourn’, ‘Africa to the Rescue’, ‘The Spark has been lit’, ‘Diary of Events of 16th October, 1968’, ‘Reaction to the ban’, and ‘Poetic Tributes’ in which one significant development must be mentioned and that is the banning of Rodney by Jamaica led to the formation of the Bogle L’Ouverture Publications and its first publication, ‘Groundings with My Brothers’.

In ‘Return to Guyana’, the reader will see how Rodney, against all advice and despite the fact that he was refused employment at University of Guyana twice in 1958 and in 1974, returned to his homeland to be assassinated not far from where he was born; he was killed in nobody’s backyard but his own.

But that was not the end of Walter Rodney as related by Eric Huntley who reported on the response to the assassination.

The title, ‘Come Lehwe Reason’ is as grassroots as it can get; this is groundings.

Responses to this author telephone (592) 226-0065 or email: oraltradition2002@ yahoo.com

Uncle Eric

tailed in fifteen chapters with a ‘publisher’s note’ at the beginning, numerous photographs within and a list of books by Rodney at the end, all coming together to make this book more than just a collector’s item.

Many bits of information are new, others well established facts, both arranged in a new setting and from a new perspective. In ‘Rodney Speaks’, the following words show the academic and the humanity of the man at work leading to such seminal publications like ‘A History of the Guyanese Working People, 1881-1905’.

I was brought up …in a typical range yard. And, there, amidst the poverty, looking back now, I can see…ordinary black people who were worth everything, who were human beings who had strength, who had character…some were miracle workers, because it’s a miracle how they used to bring up families on what they earned’.

Chapter after chapter, this is the trend – significant bits of information piecing together a picture of the life and times of Walter Rodney.

So in the chapters, ‘Walter’s Early Years’ and ‘Coming of Age’, the reader will get a better feel of his formative days during which time he shared in the ‘spectacle of Christmas festivities such as ‘Mother Sally’, the ‘Centipede and masquerade Bands’, learned about the ‘backoo’, partook in backdam escapades, witnessed improved health conditions due to the use of D. D. T., witnessed the burgeoning of Friendly and Burial Societies, Fraternal Lodges, bookshops including ‘one at the Railway Station’, high schools, Correspondence Courses, heard about the how the people reacted to the Moyne Commission’s deliberations been broadcast ‘over the public address system at the Bourda Green’, knew about the strikes affecting bauxite, sugar, railway and transportation, aware of politics of the day with Cheddi

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Replaying a riff four times perfectly One missed fret and the entire day ends disastrously Replaying moments of kindness and warmth To overcome the feverish idea that I hold no heart Every fourth step, threes end in Maimed images constantly creep This subconscious ludovico technique These thoughts come and go in no particular order A seat at the table and a serviette on my lap What if I leapt out my chair and suddenly attacked?

What if I aimed the knife towards my hand?

I constantly question if that’s who I am I will have a picnic with her today, all joy and cheer When these intrusive thoughts will inexplicably get near And terrorize my attitude as well as my image Disassociating with a perplexed and horrified visage I’m so incredibly tired of existing A cruel and ironic fate I’ve missed out on so many opportunities All because of this miserable headspace

By Miguel

WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 29, 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

FEATURE 35

“Social work is a profession that requires integrity compromise, sacrifices and wholehearted effort”–

By Lakhram Bhagirat

B

eing a social worker is a very challenging profession.

It requires tremendous sacrifices from persons are dedicated to helping their clients and willing to make a change in those individuals’ lives.

Some would say that most people choose the profession, because it is easy, but they underestimate the sacrifices and hardship social workers make and undergo, respectively.

Social workers must be willing to work with everyone, or anyone despite their social, ethical, educational or cultural background. The top priority of every social worker is to improve the quality of life for their client.

Social workers take their jobs very seriously, because they are trying to help persons who are vulnerable and in need of help. Social workers have to spend most of their time working and quite often sacrifice their personal lives for the advancement of their clients.

Despite it being an extremely demanding career, Tena Rigby-Leitch would not have chosen any other. She is currently employed at the Social Protection Ministry as a Probation and Social Services Officer at the Fort Wellington Office doing what she loves.

Tena grew up in the humble and historic village of Ithaca, West Bank Berbice.

“Fond memories of my childhood days include climbing fruit trees, fishing trips to the backdam, learning to ride, and bush cooks. These came with the privileges of enjoying clean fun in open spaces, on streets and ball fields of the coun-

tryside. Despite not being able to enjoy the pleasures of being glued to the television and electrical gadgets. I can honestly attest to the fact that my childhood days were filled with memories to last a lifetime and experiences I wouldn’t trade for another such as how to bait a hook, how to feel for fish, how to ride a bike, etc,” she shared.

Tena’s academic history began at Blairmont Nursery School before she moved on to the Ithaca Primary School which was just a few blocks away from her home.

At the primary level, Tena was recognised as a neat, polite and outstanding student so when she gained a position at the Berbice High School, it was no surprise to her parents and teachers. Despite the daily commute by boat and a twenty minutes’ walk to school, Tena completed her secondary education and gained nine subjects at the Caribbean Examinations Council’s examinations. Not satisfied with just a secondary education, she enrolled at the University of Guyana in 2013.

“Social work wasn’t my first career option, but I grew to love it and the benefits of helping individuals has been rewarding,” she shared.

The challenge that Tena faced to get into this field of work was the perception of some persons that she was too young to be a social worker. Persons perceive social work as an easy field and it’s not much work that has to be done in the profession.

“I did not let that damper my spirit. I was determined to become a social worker and here I am today. Social work is the best noble profession one can join; it gives you the joy in helping others and knowing that you would have impacted individuals’ lives is the best feeling ever,” Tena stated.

For Tena, being out in the field and observing the living conditions of the people around her makes her job more interesting. It aids in shaping her thoughts as well as her outlook on life.

To personally deal with the heaviness of her workload, she would resort to self-care which is beneficial and essential to one’s life. Tena claims that her end goals as a social worker are knowing that she can help her clients move from point A to point B and seeing the results is one of the great joys of being a social worker.

Knowing that she can be of tremendous help to persons and that they benefit from the help she has provided gives her the drive to push ahead every day.

“To persons desirous of joining the social work profession. Social work is not just another job to help individuals to just put food on their table or to make ends meet. It’s more than just a job. It’s a profession that requires integrity, compromise, sacrifices, and wholehearted effort. As a social worker, you must be willing to work with everyone or anyone despite their social, ethical, educational, or cultural diversity. That’s the only way you can be truly satisfied as a social worker and enable changes, thus, allowing individuals to be a better version of themselves and in reality, a happier and safer community and country.”

36 NEWS

WEEK ENDING september 29, 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

GTT still in talks with GRA over millions in owed taxes – as 45% corporate tax cited as exorbitant

T

he Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GTT) company is currently in talks with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) over millions of dollars in taxes its reportedly owes the Authority.

When asked during a press conference on Tuesday, GTT Chief Executive Officer Justin Nedd noted that such matters are still under discussion.

However, Nedd pointed to the company’s track record of paying taxes. In fact, Nedd described the company as one of Guyana’s largest tax payers.

“GRA has a position, we also have a position. That’s something that we continue to discuss. What I can tell you is if you look at our remittances to the GRA, we’re one of the biggest taxpayers in the country”.

“Publicly traded companies, things like fraud can have a very significant, damaging effect. We are a strong corporate citizen, we’re here for the long haul. We’ve been here for 30 years and we fully intend to continue (our presence)”.

This is against the backdrop of a 45 per cent corporate tax rate, which Nedd

complained about during the press conference. According to the CEO, GTT operates on a very uneven playing field that sees persons paying as little as 27 per cent corporate tax, thus, boosting their net profits.

“There’s some challenges that we still face, 45 per cent corporate tax is still a tough one. But it’s been that way since 1991, when GTT started. And come liberalisation, it is my hope that (it reduces). Cause some of our competitors have declared that they’re paying 27 per cent tax”.

It was reported last year that GTT and its parent company, Atlantic TeleNetwork owed over US$44M in taxes to GRA. At the time, GRA Commissioner General Godfrey Statia had said that his agency would be adhering to taxation principles during negotiations.

The liberalisation of the sector is said to be dependent on the settlement of the US$44 million tax claim against GTT. However, the company continues to enjoy the monopoly in international voice and data services until 2030.

The company has said previously that should it be held liable for any of

GTT CEO Justin Nedd

the disputed tax assessments totalling US$41.1 million; it is of the view that the Government would then be obligated to reimburse it for any amounts necessary to ensure a not-less-than 15 per cent return on investment.

Earlier this year, the Government, through Public Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes and GTT had reached an agreement to fast track liberalisation.

60-yr-old man charged for attempting to kill wife walks free

…after woman refuses to give evidence

S

ix months after Derrick Solomon, a taxi driver, was charged with attempting to kill his common-law wife, he walked out of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts a free man on

Tuesday after she refused to testify against him.

The 60-year-old man of Lot 10 Block F North Sophia, Georgetown, was charged for the attempted murder

Derrick Solomon

of Carol London on March 2, 2019, at their North Sophia, Georgetown residence, where the couple shared a common-law relationship for over 10 years.

When the matter was called before Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus, London informed the court that she did not wish to proceed with the matter and would not offer evidence. As such, the case was discharged. The taxi driver was represented by Attorney-at-Law Dexter Todd.

Previously, Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan had instructed that Solomon undergo a psychiatric evaluation, after his attorney had mentioned

that Solomon had suffered from a memory lapse and was on medication, and for a period of time, he stopped taking his medicine.

The results of the psychiatric evaluation later revealed that Solomon’s violent behaviour stems from a delusional disorder.

The prosecution was contending that on March 2, Solomon and London had an argument and he left their home. When he returned sometime later, he armed himself with a knife and dealt the woman several stabs about her body. turn to page 42

NEWS 37

WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 29, 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

8200 persons living with HIV in Guyana …500 new cases recorded in 2018

S

ome 8200 persons are living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Guyana.

This was revealed by Public Health Minister, Volda Lawrence on Monday at the launch of World Aids Day 2019, which is to be observed on December 1.

“Our statistics re-

veal that there are 8200 children, adolescents, youths, women and men living with HIV. In 2018, about 500 new infections occurred in Guyana mainly from key populations and young people.”

The Minister was keen to note that of the 8200 persons living with the virus, 93 per cent of them know their sta-

Miner charged for fatally stabbing drinking partner

McNee Edwards

A

miner who allegedly stabbed his buddy to death during a drinking spree appeared yesterday before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Thirty-two-yearold McNee Edwards of Waramadong Village in the Upper Mazaruni district of Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) was read a charge alleging that on September 15, at Waramadong Village, Upper Mazaruni, he murdered Dorian Brown.

Police Prosecutor Gordon Mansfield told the court that Edwards and Brown were imbibing on September 15 at a shop in Waramadong

Village when an argument ensued, and Edwards pulled out a knife from the waist of his pants and stabbed Brown about his body.

Brown was rushed to a medical facility in the community, but was pronounced dead on arrival. The matter was then reported, and Edwards was later arrested.

Prosecutor Mansfield informed the court that the accused had, in a caution statement, admitted that he stabbed Brown about the body during the argument.

The Chief Magistrate has remanded Edwards to prison, and the case has been set to continue on December 16 before the Kamarang Magistrate.

tus, making Guyana the only Caribbean country to achieve the first 90 of the United Nation Aids (UNAIDS) 90-90-90 target ahead of the 2020 timeline.

The 90-90-90 target aims to diagnose 90 per cent of all HIV positive persons, provide antiretroviral therapy for 90 per cent of those diagnosed, and achieve viral suppression for 90 per cent of those treated by 2020.

When it comes to the other targets, 73 per cent of infected persons are presently on treatment and 81 per cent have so far achieved viral suppression so they can no longer transmit the infection to their partners.

Going forward, the

Minister announced a few plans in tackling HIV, which was classified as a chronic disease.

One of the methods includes “social contracting” with civil society organisations.

She added that the Government has provided G$10.9 million for 2019 and “is the first in the Caribbean to implement this approach in funding the work of civil society as a means of sustaining the HIV response while faced

with shrinking donor funding,” Lawrence explained.

Stigma and discrimination The role of the community in ending the transmission of HIV was underscored by the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud, who highlighted that stigma and discrimination are areas that still require much attention.

“This year UNAIDS and all the UN agencies along with member

countries are focusing on the role that communities have to play in the fight against HIV and AIDS. As most of you would know, this has been a long fight for Guyana and we have made significant gain but without the support of the communities, we are unable to move forward at a pace we would like to move to achieve the targets that we have set,” he pointed out.

Meanwhile, the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) Country Representative, Dr William Adu Krow noted that Guyana is well positioned to treat HIV, irrespective of who crosses its borders.

This year, World AIDS Day is themed, “Communities make the difference”.

38 NEWS

WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 29, 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Report on Linden-Lethem road being finalised – Jordan

T

he final report on the LindenLethem road, which will contain details coming out of consultations with the Indigenous communities and other important matters, is being

The deplorable condition of the road

finalised, even as construction is expected to start next month.

During a recent interview with the media, Finance Minister Winston Jordan revealed that he recently re-

ceived a progress report on the project. He noted that experts from the United Kingdom and the Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund (CIF) were here last week.

“The UK, CIF people were here last week. And they were giving us a progress report on the grant funding they’re supposed to make available for a part of the road and the bridge across the Essequibo River at Kurupukari”.

The Caribbean Development Bank is the implementing agency for UKCIF programme, which was launched with £300 million. As such, Jordan reminded of the role the Caribbean Development Bank is playing in the process.

Jordan also referenced the recent announcement from Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson that the project would start on October 1, although he was unsure exactly what form that start would take.

“As you know, they have been holding consultations with Indigenous communities and so on. What they did was, together with the Caribbean Development Bank, give me a progress report on how far they’re at, some of the challenges and some of the concerns. The consultants are working on finalising the report and after that is the tender stage and so on”.

“I know some monies are in the budget. So the start is from mile zero. I don’t know if it’s clearing, surveying or what. But start could mean anything, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll see graders. There’s money in the budget to start the project though,” he added.

Patterson had announced last week during a public engagement that the project would get off the ground on October 1. Phase One of the project covers approximately 125 kilometres of the road and also includes a bridge across the Kurupukari Crossing.

State of the road For some time, drivers utilising the Linden-Lethem Road have been calling on the Public Infrastructure Ministry and the other relevant authorities to

quickly rehabilitate a section of the roadway from Mabura Police Station to Kurupukari Crossing, since it is rapidly deteriorating.

The drivers have said that the road is almost impassable, resulting in them taking double the amount of time to traverse the area as well as costing them more money in repairs and maintenance of their vehicles.

They have noted that several complaints have been made to the Public Infrastructure Ministry but with very little results. Additionally, several persons using the roadway as transportation from Lethem to either Georgetown or Linden for various Government services or even medical treatment have registered their dissatisfaction with the condition of the road.

The residents, particularly those of remote Amerindian communities in the Rupununi, would have to use the road as their only means of transportation to travel to the city for medical treatment that is not available within the region, since it is too costly for them to take a flight out.

Over the last two years, with the increased use of social media and access to the internet, the road users have taken to various social media platforms to post videos and photos to highlight the struggles of accessing one of Guyana’s newest township.

They have been calling on the authorities to have the issues addressed and the road upgraded but to date, there has been very little action in that regard.

Last year, Government said that the Linden-Lethem road may be realised under the Belt and Road initiative with the Chinese Government.

In late July 2018, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) within the framework of China’s Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road was signed between the Governments of Guyana and China.

NEWS 39

WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 29, 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Essequibo Coast man dies in accident after visiting newborn grandchild child for the first time – who was born Tuesday night.

Police said that the minibus BPP 2790 was proceeding east along the southern carriageway, when the driver of motorcycle CJ 3626, which was proceeding

I

t was an exciting time for 55-year-old Briganands Rup, who had just visited his first grandchild for the first time.

However, tragedy struck when he was knocked down by a minibus along the Somerset and Berks Public Road, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).

Rup, a carpenter of David James Access Road, was riding a motorcycle at the time of the incident, which occurred around 07:30h on Wednesday in the vicinity of the Somerset and Berks Nursery School.

Reports are that the man was just returning from the Suddie Hospital, where he visited his first grand-

The scene of the accident

Briganand Rup

in the opposite direction, allegedly lost control and collided with the minibus.

Rup was taken to Charity Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival, Police said.

A breathalyser

test was conducted on the minibus driver, a 55-year-old resident of Devonshire Castle, Essequibo Coast, and no trace of alcohol was found.

He is in custody assisting with this investigation.

40 NEWS

WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 29, 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

PPP supporters during a protest outside the Arthur Chung Conference Centre earlier this week protesting what they term the APNU/AFC ‘illegal’ government

Qatar Airways to begin Guyana flights

The agreement was signed by Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Chairman Abdulla bin Nasser Turki Al Subaey and Director General of GCAA Egbert Field

W

ith the oil and gas sector about to take off, several international airlines have expressed interest in joining the Guyana market by offering passenger and cargo flights.

Guyana and Qatar have signed an agreement that will see Qatar Airways operating the Guyana route.

According to a statement, the agreement was signed by Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Chairman Abdulla bin Nasser Turki Al Subaey and Director General of GCAA Egbert Field.

The agreement will permit Qatar’s national carrier Qatar Airways to operate any number of passenger and cargo flights as well as cooperation between the carriers concerned.

It will also permit Qatar Airways to have an operation center in Guyana to fly to any country in the region and other regions as well, according to the statement.

Qatar has already expressed an interest in entering Guyana’s oil market, a move which is expected to bring a number of benefits to the country’s oil sector.

WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 29, 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

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Hospitality institute to be built in Guyana

The PNC playbook…

I

T

Business Minister Haimraj Rajkumar

he Business Ministry plans to construct a hospitality institute to ensure hotel personnel, in particular, are equipped with the skills they need to make visitors comfortable in Guyana.

With the oil and gas sector preparing for production in a few months’ time, visitors to Guyana have already increased.

To be sure that they have a memorable experience, Business Minister Haimraj Rajkumar said the facility is crucial.

Rajkumar was quoted by the Department of Public Information (DPI) as saying he expects 500,000 visitors in the country by 2025.

The Minister, according to DPI, made these pronouncements on Saturday evening while he was a guest on the programme “INSIGHT”, aired on a local radio station.

With a huge influx of tourists expected, he noted that plans are in the pipeline to expand accommodations on the coastland and hinterland areas.

Rajkumar said that while Guyana is well-known for its rich flora and fauna, there is still much to be discovered by the rest of the world.

On this note, he pointed out, “The Ministry of Business is also working to establish a hospitality institute in the future. This institute will serve to extensively train hotel owners and their staff, as well as staff at every port of entry and even the small man plying their trade. We aim to prepare our people to welcome visitors and at the same time, properly dis-

play Guyana’s products and services”.

In addition, he said tour companies will also be provided with unique opportunities to maximise the national efforts being taken to appraise and bolster the industry.

Tourism, the second-largest export sector in Guyana, has provided jobs for 22,000 persons last year according to him.

“I believe that tourism is in a trajectory and we have been improving. We have a target of 500,000 visitors coming to Guyana’s shores by 2025. In 2018, about 183,000 persons visited Guyana with the average spending of G$222,000 per visitor,” the Minister explained.

Based on an analysis of the Visitor Expenditure and Motivation Survey (VEMS) conducted by the Bureau of Statistics, the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) estimated that travel and tourism injected approximately G$62.6 billion directly into Guyana’s economy last year.

In July, the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) recorded a 14.38 per cent increase in visitors with a total of 24,899 for the month of June when compared to the same period last year— which was 21,769.

This announcement was made following the compilation of figures from Guyana’s main port of entries: Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Eugene F Correia International Airport (EFCIA), Lethem, and Moleson Creek.

60-yr-old man charged...

The injured woman was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where she was admitted as a patient.

The victim had received injuries to her hands and face. A report was made to the police and Solomon was arrested and charged.

Only on Monday another woman, who was injured at the hand of her reputed husband, also refused to offer evidence against him. Swaswattie Etwaru, 33, who was severely beaten by her 24-year-old husband last week, which resulted in her being hospitalised, told this publication that she has refused to press charges against her husband.

Just recently, Acting (ag) Police Commissioner, Nigel Hoppie noted that statistics revealed that there were 2080 reports of domestic violence made in 2017

from page 39

to the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and as a result of those reports, there were 1171 cases made by law enforcement authorities.

For the year 2018, there were 1491 reports, which led to 837 cases made by the police.

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

…on power n case anyone had any doubts about the veracity of David Granger’s claim to the PNC-faithful in Atlanta that he’d been “always PNC”, they should’ve been dissipated by now like morning mist in this equinox sun we’re sweltering under! Behind that vacuous, simpering expression he cultivates, the man does not deviate from the PNC playbook, compiled by Forbes Burnham – and passed on directly to him when he was just a junior officer in the GDF. Imagine Burnham entrusting a junior officer with his indoctrination programme for the armed forces (Wilfred Mc David was responsible for the Public service) at a time when army coups were as common as the common cold. Burnham knew young Granger had bought his Machiavellian line on power, hook, line and sinker. Granger was, and has remained, a “true believer” of Burnhamism and it shouldn’t have surprised anyone he’s turned over his home to the “Burnham Foundation”.

Burnham’s central Machiavellian idea was “… in the actions of men, and especially of princes, the end justifies the means”. The “end”, of course, being holding on to power. And it’s because of this maxim that Granger can utter all the barefaced lies he does with such fervour, faith and aplomb. How else could he justify this whopper: “My government has complied with the orders of the courts at all times. It has acted correctly, in good faith, and in accordance with the guidelines laid down by constitutional conventions”.

This from a man who still hasn’t “proclaimed” an election date nine months after an NCM which constitutionally demands he does so within THREE months?!! Machiavelli also proposed, “…experience shows that nowadays those princes who have accomplished great things have had little respect for keeping their word and have known how to confuse men’s minds with cunning”. Moses Nagamootoo is still waiting to Chair Cabinet meetings – as promised

by Granger in the Cummingsburg Accord!! And once again, the AFC is negotiating with Granger and expects him to keep his word!! That fella who was disappointed that Granger hasn’t kept his word as an “officer” and a “gentleman” shouldn’t hold his breath.

After calling the peaceful protest of his appearance as an illegal President at the GMSA lunch “hooliganism”, Granger also told the press, “There is no political unrest in Guyana”. This, of course, is reminiscent of Burnham boasting after he was eased into office, he’d brought “Peace, not conflict”!!

The man could even say, “The Elections Commission is responsible explicitly and exclusively for the CONDUCT of elections”. And pretend that means GECOM sets the DATE for elections!!

Or take 6 ministers with him to Mabaruma and say it’s not campaigning!!

…on Amerindians Last week, the Amerindian Peoples’ Association (APA), which no one can say is aligned with the Opposition, issued a Report: “Ina Nono, Ina Uko’manto’ Eina Pata, Eina Komantok or Our Land, Our Life”. It followed 16 months of investigations in 20 Indigenous villages in Region 7. Land titling was a major problem with 5 villages untouched completely and the others having less than full titles.

But inter alia, they found: “Police officers and army soldiers have entered the village supposedly to do patrols and provide security for the airstrip.

However, villagers report that these Police and army soldiers have assaulted women and stolen from the village…the village has complained over the years that women in the community have been sexually assaulted and that army soldiers have had relationships with married women, causing strife”.

The Police Commander replied, baldly: “The villagers have never reported these things to us. They have not. I have not, we have never gotten a report from them or anyone about such allegations”.

After the Police Inquiry absolved Alves, this is surprising?? …and Caricom After the US, Britain and the EU came out and outrightly condemned the PNC Government for its “constitutional breach” on elections, some are expecting Caricom to sally forth with something similar.

Don’t hold your breath, dear readers.

WEEK ENDING september 29, 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

NEWS 43

Taxi driver charged for rape of schoolgirl

Playing… A

W

…the race card hen you’re a two-bit, wannabe, tin-pot, Third-World dictator and you’ve run out of options to defend your illegal hold on power, what do you do?? Well, if you’re David Granger trying doggedly to walk in the footsteps of your dictator-mentor Forbes Burnham, you play the race card!! If patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel, race is the last refuge of the ersatz dictator!!

Stung by the Ambassadors of the US, UK, and the EU observing that his government was in “breach” of the Constitution for not proclaiming elections

by September 18, and unless he does so pronto, they might just stop helping, he lashed out at them last Sunday. He’s skipped Church to address some core supporters gathered under the banner of the “International Decade for People of African Descent”.

Said he: “Some of the authors of that crime against humanity have never apologised, have never paid reparations. They can pick up every comma and every semicolon, but they have never apologised for the crime they committed for four hundred years.

Any of you know of whom I speak, you know who brought you here; never apologised but now they try to correct other people.”

So, let your Eyewitness get this straight. Just because some Europeans once enslaved Africans to work on our plantations, this means they have to be quiet about the PNC – which is supported predominantly by African Guyanese – when they are violating the Constitution? So it was OK for those same Europeans to chastise the PPP Government of Donald Ramotar – whose supporters are mostly Indian Guyanese – when he dared to use a prerogative of the Constitution to stave off a NCM? It had to’ve been, since Granger and his PNC cheered lustily when the then British Ambassador did the chastising!!

But what does he now say to the latest condemnation of Mr Granger’s constitutional indiscretions: “The Commonwealth SecretaryGeneral, Patricia Scotland, urges the President of Guyana and all relevant stakeholders and institutions to restore constitutional rule in Guyana by immediately setting an early election date in consonance with its constitution, enabling elections to be held without further delay… In this regard, and in accordance with the ruling of the CCJ, a general election in Guyana is now constitutionally overdue.

A general election should be held in accordance with the unambiguous constitutional imperative to do so.”

Baroness Scotland is originally from Dominica and has proudly identified with the Caribbean. For what it’s worth she also evidently shares a common racial ancestry with Granger. Is she also disqualified to chastise Granger’s constitutional trespass?

And for what it’s worth…the US fought its bloodiest war to abolish slavery, and sent none here.

They get no credit? …the fool David Granger is really contemptuous of his supporters. He keeps regurgitating the patent falsehood about why he didn’t call elections by Sept 18. Said he: “This decision is not whimsical. I must be advised that the Elections Commission is in a state of readiness to conduct elections. It would be reckless of me to name a date for the holding of elections without ascertaining the Commission’s readiness to do so.”

Now the US, UK, EU, Commonwealth, Christian Churches, Hindu Mandirs, Muslim Mosques, and the Opposition have all condemned Granger’s outlaw behaviour…so his only redoubt has to be the PNC faithful! But they also have to know that in our parliamentary democracy, the party in power can call “snap elections”…meaning without any prior warning to anyone. All he has to do – according to Art 61 – is dissolve the National Assembly and set a date three months hence.

GECOM can THEN only balk (Art 162(2) and set a new date if they can show “hardship” or “danger”.

driver attached to a popular city taxi service, who allegedly raped a 12-year-old girl at a hotel in Diamond, East Bank Demerara, was on Tuesday hauled before at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Thirty-two-year-old Neville Thomas of North Ruimveldt, Georgetown appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan and was not required to answer to the indictable charge.

It is alleged that between April 1 and 30, 2019, at Diamond, East Bank Demerara, he engaged in sexual penetration with a 12-year-old child.

The matter was held in-camera.

According to information, Thomas and the 12-year-old are known to each other, since he was hired to transport her to and from school.

It was reported that on the day in question, the accused picked up the child from school and took her to a hotel in Diamond, where he had sexual intercourse with her.

However, sometime later, the 12-yearold complained to her parents and a report was made to the Police.

The unrepresented man was remanded to prison. The case will continue on October 4.

Neville Thomas being escorted by Police

44 news

WEEK ENDING september 29, 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Former GCAA Chair found with hands, feet bound in Sophia home

…dies hours later at GPHC

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ormer Chairman of the Board of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and engineer, Hugh Denbow, was found with his feet and hands bound in an apparent home invasion at his Sophia, Greater Georgetown home.

The 63-year-old man was discovered with his hands and feet bound at his Lot 1 Area D North Sophia, Greater Georgetown, home on Tuesday by a work colleague.

This newspaper was told that Denbow was employed at Orinduik Development Inc. However, after several

calls from his employers went unanswered, a report was made to the Prashad Nagar Police Outpost. This newspaper was told that a manager of the company became suspicious since calls to Denbow’s phone went unanswered for three consecutive days.

As a result of the report, Police ranks ventured to Denbow’s residence, accompanied by the manager and found the door to the man’s home open.

This newspaper was told that the southern door to the building was open and upon entry, the Policemen found Denbow lying face up in an unconscious state in the

kitchen area.

His hands, feet and neck had been tied together. An ambulance was summoned and Denbow was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where he later died.

According to a Police source, further checks by

Police revealed that the entire house was ransacked but there was no sign of forced entry. The Police source said that it is believed that Denbow was bound sometime between Friday and Saturday.

An investigation has been launched.

PNCR accuses GMSA of plotting protest against President …AFC disagrees

Hugh Denbow

T

he People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) has accused the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) of orchestrating the protest against President David Granger during his feature address on Thursday.

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) staged a massive protest in front of the Pegasus Hotel during the GMSA business luncheon at which President David Granger was scheduled to address the gathering.

As he was about to deliver his speech, several members of the PPP/C held placards and reiterated calls for elections to be held soon.

During a press conference on Friday, Executive Member Gary Best accused the private sector body of playing an integral role in a ploy to ‘embarrass’ the President.

“The party’s position is that the President was invited to the GMSA’s event and the outcomes suggest to us in the clearest of terms that this was something orchestrated by the GMSA to embarrass the President.

The proof is in the evidence of what occurred.

If the GMSA is holding an event where the President will be attending, one would think that the GMSA would also contact the security services and security forces…In our opinion, the GMSA foisted this event upon the President so that he can be embarrassed,” Best claimed.

On the other hand, the Alliance for Change (AFC) differed in their reasoning of the GMSA’s involvement.

During its press conference, Executive Member and Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson said he was present at the event.

As such, he asserted, “I don’t think the GMSA was involved…It wasn’t

PNCR Executive Gary Best

unexpected but it is a democracy. I indicated to the GMSA early that these guys are going to do that”.

Protest During the protest– led by Presidential candidate Irfaan Ali – citizens flocked outside the Kingston hotel.

The protest came after the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairperson, (retired) Justice Claudette Singh, advised the Head of State that the Commission will be ready for elections by the end of February 2020 – more than a year after the Government was defeated by a NoConfidence Motion.

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

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

Moments after the incident, GMSA Executive Ramesh Dookhoo told media operatives that they were unaware that such an incident would occur.

WEEK ENDING September 29, 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

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46 NEWS

WEEK ENDING september 29, 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Commonwealth calls for restoration of constitutional rule in Guyana

T

he Commonwealth has become the latest organisation to criticise the Government for operating outside of the norms of constitutional rule, urging caretaker President David Granger to call elections immediately.

In the statement, which was issued on Monday, Secretary General Baroness Patricia Scotland urged the President to immediately set an early election date. Scotland noted that this must be done in accordance with the Constitution of Guyana, so that constitutional rule can be restored.

The Secretary General referenced the Caribbean Court of Justice’s ruling, which had clearly set out the timeframe for an election after a No-Confidence Motion. As such, Scotland said in her statement that elections were constitutionally overdue in Guyana.

“The CCJ’s ruling was clear that the Guyana Constitution sets out certain requirements for the time of an election after the valid passing of a NoConfidence Motion. The rule of law and constitutional governance are fundamental Commonwealth values to which Guyana has subscribed,” Scotland said.

She added that a general election should be held in accordance with the unambiguous constitutional imperative to do so.

The Secretary General has spoken with the Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and discussed Commonwealth support to GECOM, the statement added.

Guyana is one of 53 member coun-

tries of the Commonwealth, which comprises almost entirely of former British colonies. The commonwealth has been known to suspend member countries for violating democratic principles, including Nigeria, Zimbabwe

and Pakistan.

Even today, Zimbabwe still has a membership application pending before the Commonwealth, with Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa meeting Baroness Scotland on the side-

Assistant Commissioner of Police, Simon McBean

Senior Superintendent and Head of Immigration, Ewart Wray

Assistant Commissioner of Police, Commander of F Division, Kevin Adonis

he Police Service Commission (PSC) has recently promoted four members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to senior positions and it is expected that their dedication over the years will be the same as they execute their duties in their new portfolios.

Guyana Times International understands that Commander of F Division (Interior locations), Senior Superintendent Kevin Adonis, along with recently reinstated Superintendent of Police, Simon McBean, have both been elevated to the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), following deliberations and a decision made by the Police Service Commission a few days ago.

According to the new ACP, Commander Adonis, he spent over 35

years dedicating his time and energies towards serving the GPF, and is thankful for being recognised for this.

“I am elated. First, I must thank God for bringing me this far in the GPF and to have achieved this rank and at the same time I am encouraging others to be dedicated, because dedication pays off. It shows clearly that once you have discipline in the GPF and you have goals, set your goals and work towards it, it will pay off, the Almighty knows that I deserve it and that was it,” he told Guyana Times International on Saturday.

When contacted on Saturday, ACP McBean told this newspaper that he is presently out of the jurisdiction and was yet to receive any formal notification about his recent promotion.

Meanwhile, Head of Immigration,

Superintendent Ewart Wray has been promoted to Senior Superintendent and former Best Cop, Cadet Officer Jermaine Dufu, has had his rank elevated to Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP).

The newly promoted Senior Superintendent Wray related that to have been appointed to such a position is “quite humbling” and that this promotion comes at a time when his office has been reaping successes.

“It’s indeed an honour! I believe that this appointment is a recognition of my performance by the Force’s administration…the Immigration Department in recent times has been receiving positive feedbacks from the public; local and in the diaspora, regarding the efficient service we provide, passport service in particular…

Commonwealth Secretary General Baroness Patricia Scotland

lines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Monday to discuss it.

Unconstitutional rule It has been over nine months since a No-Confidence Motion was passed against the David Grangerled Government. The Constitution of Guyana stipulates that elections must be held within three months of the passage of such a motion.

The constitutional deadline for holding elections, as set out by the CCJ, expired as of September 18. When it made its June 18 ruling on the noconfidence cases, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) had said that the effect of the No-Confidence Motion was on pause while the cases were being litigated.

That process, CCJ President Adrian Saunders had clearly said, was no longer on pause following the Court’s June 18, 2019 ruling, which upheld the validity of the No-Confidence Motion and thus triggered the need for fresh elections.

In keeping with the constitutional three months’ provision once a NoConfidence Motion is passed, General and Regional Elections should have been held on or before September 18, 2019.

Despite Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman, retired Justice Claudette Singh informing the President that GECOM will be in a position to hold elections by February 2020, President Granger is yet to name an election date.

Police Service Commission promotes 4 ranks

T

Assistant Superintendent, Jermaine Dufu

that could not have occurred though, without a committed and dedicated team of Immigration officers whom I lead, therefore, I must say thanks to them at this juncture,” he stated.

According to Wray, hard work pays off, and ranks of the GPF in their various Units and Departments should ensure that they remain committed to their jobs.

“I would also use this opportunity to encourage all ranks throughout the divisions and branches of the Force to strive to contribute to the mandate of the organisation which is to serve and protect.”

Meanwhile, attempts to contact ASP Dufu for a comment on his recent promotion proved futile.

NEWS 47

WEEK ENDING september 29, 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

New Lesotho High Commissioner pledges to strengthen relationship in energy and trade

The horror…

I

…of barbaric reversion n Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”, the protagonist Kurtz emerges from the jungle where he’d been trying to impart “civilisation” to the natives. So shocked at what he’d become, he could only mumble, “The horror!! The horror!!” As a Polish refugee in 19th Century Britain, Conrad was a keen observer of the striving of “outsiders” to join the world of civilised manners and mores. He couldn’t miss the sometimes-grotesque efforts of some who imitated the forms, but missed the substance of what it took to rise above their innate barbarism.

As your Eyewitness observes the PNC’s trampling on our Constitution – which was supposed to establish the rules of civilised governance in our neck of the former empire on which the sun never set – all he can do is mumble, “The horror!! The horror!!” Since December 21, 2018, he’s witnessed the mask of civilised behaviour slowly corroding from Granger and his myrmidons’ faces to see at last what was always there: the mark of the depraved drive for power at any cost. And it’s made even uglier by their insistence that those who oppose their descent into depravity are “vulgarians”!!

One of the institutions the British passed on to us to imbibe the rules of civilised behaviour is the game of cricket. We learnt on the playing fields of our schools that the rules of cricket are sacrosanct and the decisions of the umpire, who enforces those rules, aren’t to be questioned. It’s just “not cricket!” For instance, the rule of being “out” if you inadvertently back into your stumps may not be “fair”, but that’s the rule and you walk back to the pavilion. We in the West Indies became noted for walking in all sorts of circumstances even when the umpire hadn’t noticed our error. WE KNEW, and that’s what mattered for us to keep our honour.

Running a country is serious business, but ultimately it comes back to the morality that our leaders were supposed to have imbibed on the cricket fields and in their homes to “do the right thing” and “walk” when the rules say so. But this is where the PNC under Burnham started the precedent of bending and breaking the rules of the game of running the country just to stay in power. He made a mockery of the foundational rule that it’s the people who vote their government in and out of office, by rigging elections. He made us a Banana Republic.

And that’s the morality his protégé David Granger is living by. The umpire of the Constitution – the Judiciary – determined his government ended on September 18.

But he refuses to walk. The horror!! The horror!! …of the Police State Even before the PNC under Granger acceded to office with the help of the AFC, your Eyewitness raised concerns about the number of ex-Disciplined Forces officers who’d been recruited into the PNC/ APNU apparatus. And lo and behold, when those exofficers were all placed into strategic positions in every Government department and Ministry, the alarm bells went off even louder.

And it’s not, as some apologists complained, that military officers weren’t educated and well trained for jobs. The question was, what were they educated and trained for!! First of all, not about democracy: they’re trained to do whatever the fella above them says.

Remember those officers who killed civilians who were simply trying to ensure ballot boxes were secure??

Granger complimented those officers: just following orders, man!! As a matter of fact, Granger was the young officer Burnham picked to indoctrinate the Officer Corps of the Disciplined Forces into his ideology of “Burnhamism”.

From that, Granger sees the armed forces as a “modernising force” that will lead Guyana “for their own good”.

In the Police State! …of intimidation What kind of mind would think businessmen would plot to have politicians embarrass Granger? The “trained” military, security mind of former Head of the Disciplined Forces, Gary Best would!!

To a hammer, everything’s a nail!

C

High Commissioner of Lesotho to Guyana, H.E Ralechate Mokose greets President David Granger. Also in photo are: Minister of Natural Resources, Hon. Raphael Trotman and Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ms. Audrey Waddell.

aretaker President David Granger on Wednesday accepted the letters of credence from Ralechate Lincoln Mokose, accrediting him as the first High Commissioner of the Kingdom of Lesotho to Guyana.

In his remarks at the Ministry of the Presidency, the new envoy said his country is interested in forging bilateral relations in a number of developmental areas, including trade and energy.

Perched in the continent of Africa, the country has promised cooperation in “a wide range of areas, including but not limited to water, environment, education, agriculture, energy, trade and investment, transport and tourism”.

Lesotho and Guyana

are two small, geographically distant countries.

Being the first ever High Commissioner of Lesotho to Guyana since our established relations, “I feel it’s a great privilege to me to be accorded an opportunity to kick-start our bilateral cooperation,” he added.

M e a n w h i l e , President Granger said that he noted that both nations are inclined towards global issues and mitigating climate change.

“We have worked to develop our countries and improve the lives of our people. Our countries share common views and are consistent advocates on various global issues such as maintaining international peace and security and adapting to the threat of climate change.

We have worked closely at the multilateral level under the auspices of the Commonwealth, the United Nations and the Non- Aligned Movement,” Granger said.

The caretaker President noted that additional emphasis will be placed on preservation of natural resources, protection of the environment, and renewable energy.

“We look forward to sharing experiences in building climate-resilient economies and collaborating on important developmental issues such as education, the environment, the economy, the eradication of poverty and the improvement of the livelihood of our people,” Granger said.

Guyana and Lesotho

Kingdom established bilateral relations in 1979.

Last week, Ambassadors from the European Union (EU) and Mexico were accredited.

At that time, Guyana said it is seeking to lean on Mexico’s support in building a more robust agriculture sector and learning from the country’s experience in disaster management.

On the other hand, Guyana has been supported by the EU to maintain and rehabilitate its sea defences, which become more relevant as the harsh effects of climate change take its course.

Some other countries which have deployed ambassadors to Guyana for 2019 include Suriname, Japan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Ireland and Finland.

Association of Concerned Guyanese calls for elections date

See full statement below: The Association of Concerned GuyaneseUSA (ACG-USA) stands with the PPP and calls upon Mr David Granger to pronounce on a date for elections now, with-

out any further delays.

The ACG-USA reminds Mr Granger that his time is up. He and his cohorts are now illegally occupying the offices of the government, since the Guyana Elections Commission

(GECOM) is ready but he continues to disregard the Constitution and continues to refuse to set a date for the elections. It is not a choice; it is required by the Constitution of Guyana.

Set the date now.

The ACG-USA joins with the ABE countries and other democratic forces and demand an immediate announcement on the date for the elections. We condemn the delaying tactics of the illegal regime and call upon other democratic nations and organisations to join with us in the demanding an immediate statement on the date for the elections.

The ACG-USA joins with the PPP in engaging in all peaceful means necessary to ensure that the people of Guyana are allowed the opportunity to exercise their constitutional right to elect a government of their choice without any further excuses or delays.

48 Bollywood

WEEK ENDING september 29, 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

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ctor Kajol has penned the foreword of the muchawaited book on the life and times of cinema legend Sridevi, announced Penguin Random House on Wednesday.

The book, “Sridevi: The Eternal Screen Goddess”, written by author-screenwriter Satyarth Nayak and approved by the late actor’s producer husband Boney Kapoor.

Kajol said she hopes Sridevi fans across the world will embrace the book which charts her five-decade-long journey from child star to megastar.

“I have grown up watching Sridevi’s superstardom on film-sets and her magic on the big screen. She is an institution of acting and will forever remain my most favourite icon. So happy Penguin gave me this opportunity to write this foreword,” said Kajol

said in a statement.

Nayak said Kajol is the perfect choice to write the foreword.

“Kajol is an indus-

B

ollywood actor Salman Khan has been threatened by a member of Punjab University’s student union SOPU’s (Student Organisation of Punjab University) Facebook group. In a post dated September 16, a person named Garry Shooter has threatened to kill Salman.

The post, written in Hindi, reads, “Salman you may think that you can escape from the Indian law, but the Bishnoi community and Sopu party have given you a death sentence. You are guilty in Sopu court.

Salaam sahid da nu; Respect girls; Save animals; Avoid drugs & help poors; Sukha kahlon Garry.” A pho-

try kid and has had first-hand experience of Sridevi’s glory in the 80s and 90s. Also as one of our finest artistes, Kajol

been offered the film.

However, I am yet to receive a script. I will decide if I want to play the character only after reading the script.”

Hrishikesh Mondal, who started his career as an assistant director with late acclaimed filmmaker Bappaditya Bandyopadhyay, feels

(Indian Express)

to of the Dabangg actor has also been attached with the post.

Salman Khan is due to appear in court on Friday for hearing in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case.

After the post went viral, the police said it is investigating the matter. “The police are on alert. We also gave proper security to the celebrity when he came here for hearing previously. An investigation has been initiated,” DCP Dharmendra Yadav told IANS. (Indian Express)

R

anu Mandol’s life is all set to get the big-screen treatment as independent filmmaker Hrishikesh Mondal is planning to helm a biopic on the internet sensation and singer.

According to an IANS report, National Awardwinning Bengali actress Sudipta Chakraborty has been approached to essay the role of the singer in the biopic titled Platform Singer Ranu Mondal. The film will showcase Ranu’s journey from singing at the Ranaghat railway station to singing Bollywood songs with Himesh Reshammiya.

Confirming the development, Sudipta told IANS: “Yes, I have

has keenly observed and emulated Sridevi over the years.

“All this gets beautifully reflected in her Foreword. It’s a truly heartfelt piece, symbolic of a generation of actresses who were inspired by the legendary aura of Sridevi,” he added.

Charting five decades of Sridevi’s largerthan-life magic, Nayak, with the exclusive access to the late actor’s family, friends and costars in the film fraternity, tracks her journey from child star to prima donna who redefined the heroine to be regarded as a legend of Indian cinema.

Earlier titled “Sridevi: Girl Woman Superstar”, the book is expected to hit the stands in November.

Sridevi passed away at the age of 54 in February 2018 in Dubai.

it is the perfect time to helm a film on Ranu Mandol. He said, “People are curious to know about Ranu Mandol’s life. She became a singing sensation overnight thanks to social media, so people are very interested to know more about her. Also, the film will highlight the pow-

er of social media in the present times, which has turned roadside singer Ranu into a star.”

The filmmaker has met the “Teri Meri Kahani” singer who has told him not to include the parts of her life that would hurt her. He has also met her daughter while writing the script to know the singer closely. Since music plays a crucial role in the biopic, singer-composer Sidhu (Cactus Band) has been signed to compose music for the film.

The biopic will be shot in Ranu Mandol’s hometown Ranaghat, Mumbai, and Kolkata. Bankrolled

by Shubhojeet Mondal, the film is expected to release in February next year. (Indian Express)

E

ven as the Word to Screen market of Mumbai Film Festival on Monday afternoon saw authors pitching their stories to filmmakers, streaming giants and content creators, film journalists had only one name on their mind – the woman of the moment – filmmaker Zoya Akhtar.

Scribes and camerapersons waited patiently for more than three hours to speak to the directorwriter whose big-screen outing Gully Boy has been selected as India’s entry for Oscars 2020.

Gully Boy starred Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Vijay Verma, Vijay Raaz and Amruta Subhash. The drama tells the story of the rise of an aspiring underground rapper.

Actor-filmmaker Aparna Sen, who was the head of the jury for this year’s selection committee, said Gully Boy’s energy was infectious and would speak to the audience. When asked if while writing or shooting Gully Boy, she was aware of its global reach, the filmmaker replied, “Not at all! I wasn’t even aware of its local appeal.

You just make the film you want to. I wasn’t aware of any such thing.”

The Gully Boy nomination came days after anthology series Lust Stories, which featured a segment co-written and directed by Zoya Akhtar, was announced as one of the entries in the TV Movie/Mini-Series category at the International Emmy Awards. Zoya’s segment starred Bhumi Pednekar and Neel Bhoopalam in the lead roles. Earlier this year, Zoya, along with three other women filmmakers, directed and produced Indian original

series Made in Heaven, which was lauded by critics and the audience.

Zoya Akhtar’s next is Ghost Stories, another anthology series for Netflix. For the series, she will reunite with her Lust Stories team of directors – Karan Johar, Anurag Kashyap and Dibakar Banerjee.

Zoya’s segment stars Vijay Verma and Janhvi Kapoor.

Meanwhile, at the MAMI Word to Screen Market, Zoya was seen listening to pitches from various authors and publishing houses. The filmmaker said she was interested in adapting written work for the screen.

Zoya Akhtar added a director will have to be conscious of retaining the essence of a book so that his or her version leaves the audience with the same experience as that of the book.

She said, “As a screenwriter or a director if you have decided to adapt, means you have liked that book. Of course, there is pressure to do justice to that book and if that book is successful or popular, then you owe the audience of that book a very honest version of it. So, there is pressure to deliver to the fans of that book.”

“The most important thing would be to retain the essence. It can’t be the same thing because you are using a completely different medium so you have to adapt to that medium. There will be changes. You will be cutting things out.

You will be shortening things. Things will shift but if you retain the essence and you make the person feel the way they felt while reading the book, then that will be good,” Zoya concluded.

(Indian Express)

HOLLYWOOD 49

WEEK ENDING september 29, 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

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om Hanks became one of Hollywood’s beloved actors through an array of likable roles, from Big to Forrest Gump, and now his decorated career has earned him one of the highest honors at the Golden Globes next year.

Hanks will receive the Cecil B DeMille Award at the Golden Globe Awards on January 5, 2020, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced Tuesday. The actor has won praise for a string of compelling characters in movies including Saving Private Ryan, the Toy Story films, and the Golden Globe-winning Cast Away, for which he lost 55 pounds to play a man stranded on a desert island.

HFPA President Lorenzo Soria said in a statement that Hanks captivated audiences with “rich and playful characters.” He said the actor was also a force behind the camera as writer, producer and director.

The DeMille Award is given annually to an “individual who has made an incredible impact on the world of entertainment.”

Past recipients include Jeff Bridges, Oprah Winfrey, Morgan Freeman, Meryl Streep, Jodie Foster, Barbra Streisand, Sidney Poitier and Lucille Ball.

Hanks, 63, is a four-time Golden Globe winner who broke through with his role in the 1984 film Splash, in which he played a man who falls in love with a mermaid. He claimed his first Globe in 1988 for Big, in which he portrayed a 13-year-old boy whose body turned into a 35-year-old man

overnight after making a wish.

The actor won a couple Globes for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, two films that earned him Academy Awards. He was also lauded for his directing work in HBO’s 2001 miniseries Band of Brothers, which won an Emmy.

In 2014, Hanks received an award at the Kennedy Center Honors. He also was given a lifetime achievement award by the American Film Institute in 2009.

Hanks will star as Mister Rogers in the biopic A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood in November. His other upcoming projects include the WWII drama Greyhound, which he wrote; the post-apocalyptic BIOS; and the postCivil War film News of the World. (Indian Express)

F

ilmmaker-actor Carmen Chaplin is set to direct a theatrical documentary feature on her grandfather, screen legend Charlie Chaplin.

Titled Charlie Chaplin, a Man of the World, the film will shed light on a barely explored new facet to Chaplin, his Romani roots and heritage, reported Variety.

This is the first time that the Chaplin family is involved at a deep creative and industrial level in a movie about the creator of the Tramp.

Carmen Chaplin is also attached to co-write the screenplay with Amaia Remirez, a co-writer on Another Day of Life, a European Film Awards best animated feature winner.

It is produced by Madrid-based Wave of Humanity’s Stany Coppet, Dolores Chaplin and Ashim Balla, Remirez at San Sebastian’s Kanaki Films and Nano Arrieta and Silvia Martnez at Madrid’s Atlantic Pictures.

The documentary “radically reinterprets Chaplin’s oeuvre from a Romani perspective and examines the persecution of gypsies through his lens”.

“Determined to subvert audience expectations of a documentary on the silent film master, the storytellers envisage a dynamic fusion of animation, film excerpts, interviews with artists and Chaplin’s children, and cinema verite footage of Roma life today coming together to a soundtrack of new interpretations of Chaplin’s original compositions,” the filmmakers said.

Chaplin revealed in his autobiography that his parents were half-Romani.

He did not have a birth certificate. He kept a letter, discovered in 2012 by

Hollywood actor Demi Moore recently opened up about being raped when she was only 15 years old.

Demi made the revelation on the show Good Morning America.

The actor said that the incident took place with her mother’s knowledge, adding that her mother was offered 500 dollars for giving her consent to the act.

Demi Moore has also mentioned the incident in her memoir titled Inside Out. “It was rape. And a devastating betrayal, revealed by the man’s cruel question: how does it feel to be whored by your mother for $500?” Demi has written in the book.

According to Demi Moore, her mother was an alcoholic who would routinely take her to bars in order to get noticed by men. She passed away in 1998.

When asked if she really believed the man’s words, Demi answered, “I think, in my deep heart no. I don’t think it was a straightforward transaction. But she still did give him the access, and put me in harm’s way.”

Demi Moore was a successful actor in the 1990s and is primarily known for her work in films such as Ghost, A Few Good Men among others. (Indian Express)

V

eteran action star Jackie Chan has revealed that during the filming on Enter the Dragon he pretended to be in pain to be close to legendary martial artiste Bruce Lee. In a video shared by Lee’s daughter Shannon Lee on Instagram, Chan remembered him as a dedicated and concerned co-actor.

“I was young doing ‘Enter the Dragon’ fighting with Bruce Lee. I was behind the camera and I would just see Bruce Lee… Then I ran

and suddenly it was all black in front of my eyes.

He had hit just one stick right on my head. I felt dizzy and I looked at Bruce Lee he kept acting

until the director said cut,” Chan said.

“He then threw his stick, turned around and said ‘Oh my God’ and ran to me and lifted me up and said sorry. I was not in pain anymore. I was a young guy and very tough. But I pretended to be in pain so that Bruce Lee holds me for as long as he can. I kept pretending the whole day,” he added.

Chan worked as a stuntman on Enter the Dragon, which released in 1973 a month after his death. (Indian Express)

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daughter Victoria Chaplin, locked in his bedside table which he received late in life claiming that he was born in a Gypsy caravan at Black Patch Park in Smethwick, Staffordshire in the UK. The film will be made in association with France’s MK2 which owns rights to Chaplin’s movies.

Production starts in early 2020.

(Indian Express)

egan Fox says being constantly viewed as a sex symbol in Hollywood led her to have a “psychological breakdown”.

Best known for films such as Jennifer’s Body and Transformers series, the actor said the typecasting created a “fraught relationship” with the media so much so that she developed a fear of public appearances.

“It wasn’t just that movie, it was everyday of my life, all the time, with every project I worked on and every producer I worked with. It preceded a breaking point for me. I think I had a genuine psychological breakdown where I wanted just nothing to do.

“I didn’t want to be seen, I didn’t want to have to take a photo, do a magazine, walk a carpet, I didn’t want to be seen in public at all because of the fear, and the belief, and the absolute certainty that I was going to be mocked, or spat at, or someone was going to yell at me, or people would stone me or savage me for just being out… so I went through a very dark moment after that,” Fox told Entertainment Tonight.

Horror movie Jennifer’s Body is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month and the actor said the industry might have listened to her if she spoke

out about being sexualised today in the wake of the #MeToo movement.

The actor’s latest release was Zeroville and will next be seen in Think Like a Dog and Big Gold Brick. (Indian Express)

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WEEK ENDING september 29, 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Nagamootoo, Lambert, Deonarine, Derick Kallicharran inducted into BCB Hall of Fame T

he Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) chaired the programme informed the large on Friday last celebrated its 80th gathering that the BCB Cricket Hall of Fame was founded in 2009 with Anniversary by hosting a Gala the main aim of honouring outCeremony at the Albion Community standing Berbice Cricketers.

Centre Training Hall. The venue was full to capacity as the BCB celebrated Those honoured to date inthe Anniversary in grand style by honcludes John Trim, Rohan Kanhai, Basil Butcher, Joseph ouring heroes, assisting young cricketers and clubs along with looking back at Solomon, Roy Fredericks, Alvin Kallicharran, Milton the rich legacy of Berbice Cricket over Pydana, Sew Shivnarine. the last eight decades.

The Board hosted its Tribute Berbice, he stated to Heroes, Tribute to Retired was very proud of its heroes and stressed Cricketers, honoured its the importance of two new West Indies honouring them as Debutants, donatthis would motied G$300 000.00 worth of crickvate the younger et gears to junior generation to follow in their footcricketers and insteps. The BCB ducted Berbice every five years Heroes to its selected inductCricket Hall of Fame, Cricket ed players into Administrators the Hall of Fame after careful and Hall of Fame. comprehenAdditionally, sive research. the BCB unveiled Foster hailed its greatest cricketers at the Junior, the five Female and Senior levawardees els, handed over prizes as perf e c t for three Educational ambasCompetitions and dosadors, nated water coolers/ cricket stumps to numerpositive ous clubs. The highlight of role modMahendra Nagamootoo the packed afternoon proels and outstanding grammes was the induction cricketers who made Berbice of five outstanding cricketers into the Berbice Cricket Hall of Fame. Those a household name across the cricketing inducted were Clayton Lambert, Leslaine world.

Lambert, Derick Kallicharran, Narsingh Clayton Lambert, a member of the Bermine Cricket Club represented Guyana Deonarine and Mahendra Nagamootoo.

BCB President Hilbert Foster who and the West Indies at the senior levels

while Leslaine Lambert represented Guyana and West Indies ‘B’Teams.

Lambert, a proud product of the Albion Community Centre Cricket Club career was cut short due to injury.

Derick Kallicharran of the historic Port Mourant Cricket Club, the younger brother of former West Indies Captain Alvin Kallicharran and represented Guyana and West Indies as a leg spinner, solid low order batsman.

Foster told the attentive audience that if they were playing today, both Leslaine Lambert and Derick Kallicharran would have played Test Cricket. Narsingh Deonarine and Mahendra Nagamootoo both represented Berbice, Guyana and the West Indies at the Junior, Senior levels and also captained their county and country. Deonarine of the Albion Community Centre Cricket Club was known as the batsman who hit the winning six in the historic Stanford 20/20 Tournament while Port Mourant Nagamootoo held Guyana’s First Class bowling record for a long time.

Portraits of each of the players along with their cricketing records would be placed on the Dr. Tulsi Dyal Singh Wall of Fame, located n the BCB Office. Sister of Derick Kallicharran, Mrs. Nagamootoo and Ms. Nathalie Nagamootoo the daughter of Mahendra Nagamootoo unveiled the portraits of the five inductees to loud applause from the gathering.

Archery Guyana has successful outing at Heritage Games 2019

By Timothy Jaikarran

O

nce again Archery Guyana’s collaboration with the Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Ministry concluded with a very successful archery competition at this year’s Indigenous Heritage Games at the Everest Cricket Club Ground.

The competition followed the usual traditional archery format, with the archers (both male and female) coming from the various regions using their own equipment, together with those provided by Archery Guyana.

Speaking to Guyana Times International Sport, Archery Guyana’s Head Coach, Nicholas Hing said, “This year we had more competition in terms of the enthusiasm; we had a lot of people competing to win, but the scores were higher last year.

In terms of bettering the score, what we had hoped to do this year

Archery Guyana’s Head Coach, Nicholas Hing lays down the rules before the commencement of the competition

is to have each region do their own regional

competition, whereby each region would send

down their best to the Heritage Games and we

would have a good competition as is done with

the cricket, volleyball, etc.”

Hing also went on to state that the organisation tried to involve everyone in archery, “but if you want better results, we would need a higher quality of shooting, if the competitions are done regionally”.

He noted that from next year he was hopeful that this format could be used before the commencing of the Heritage Games, so each region could compete and there was quality shooting. Hing added that the next step for Archery Guyana is an outdoor competition at Carifesta Ground and while the date has not been confirmed, he was optimistic about the tournament.

Archery Guyana is happy to have been a part of the Indigenous Heritage Games for the fifth year and looks forward to working with the Ministry in the coming years and in the future development of this most exciting sport.

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Guyana’s Priyanna Ramdhani awarded badminton scholarship in Canada P

r i y a n n a Ramdhani, arguably Guyana’s best female badminton player currently, has achieved every studentathlete’s dream: the opportunity to play and study simultaneously through a scholarship.

The 17-year-old badminton sensation has gained a badminton scholarship at the Olds College, Alberta, Canada and will represent her new college badminton team, the Broncos. When she is not on the badminton courts, the teenager will be reading for a Diploma in Business and Sports Management.

Ramdhani will join her older brother, Narayan Ramdhani in Canada, where he studies and competes for the Kings University in Edmonton, Alberta.

The Guyana Badminton Association (GBA) in a media release cited the Olympics as one of the teenager’s goals while expressing elation at being able to play a part in her development.

“The Guyana Badminton Association is quite pleased that this opportunity came at a time when Priyanna can develop her game further and is only heading in one di-

rection, which is playing in the Olympics which we know with all her great performances that her ambition will one day materialise,” the body said.

Just a few months ago, the teen copped the Caribbean Regional Badminton C o n f e d e r a t i o n (CAREBACO) Junior Triple Crown, in Barbados. She also medalled in the Under-17, Under-19 and Senior CAREBACO championships in 2018.

Speaking on the achievements of the 2018 Junior Sportswoman of the Year, the Head Coach of Ramdhani’s soon to be team, the Broncos, Mary Smith placed emphasis on her stellar achievements and upbringing on the badminton courts.

“Priyanna is a force on the courts, winning a triple crown at the Caribbean games this past year, and ranked one in Guyana.

Priyanna has grown up with badminton since she was a young girl, having her father as her coach and her brother as a team-mate.

Priyanna has a champion’s heart on and off the court,” Smith said.

The Head Coach went on to share that

King leads dominant...

she was confident about the 17-year-old’s abilities and was eager to have her play the team.

“Her positive attitude, determination, commitment to her studies, and support of her team-mates exemplify what it is to be a Bronco-student athlete.

Priyanna also has her sights on the Olympics and we are here to help her achieve her dream. Olds College Broncos badminton team is thrilled to have Priyanna join the team this season,” the Head Coach added.

Priyanna Ramdhani

POINTS TABLE TEAM

MATCHES

WON

LOST

POINTS

NET RUN RATE

7

7

0

14

1.693

6

4

1

9

0.970

9

4

5

8

-0.172

8

2

5

5

-0.865

6

2

4

4

0.081

8

2

6

4

-1.270

GUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS

TRINBAGO KNIGH RIDERS

from page 54

Andre Fletcher was first to go, skying one miles into the St Lucia sky and being well held by Ben Laughlin to give Tahir the first of his two wickets. The second was a bad moment for Rahkeem Cornwall, run out having failed to run his bat in yet being so far over the crease that he almost made his ground with his foot.

From 21-0 after three overs, the Zouks found themselves 24-2 in the sixth.

The Colins Ingram and de Grandhomme set about repairing the damage. De Grandhomme ended the runless streak by depositing Green onto the grass banks at midwicket.

Ingram contributed 25 from 14 balls to a 56-run stand before drilling Tahir low, hard and flat to longoff where Green held a stinging running catch.

De Grandhomme carried on, though, and reached an excellent half-century – his first in the Hero CPL – from just 27 balls with four Hero Maximums.

What he lacked, though, was further Ingramstyle support. Jahmar Hamilton and Darren Sammy each made 9 off 10 and 15 balls respectively, and the pressure to accelerate the scoring began to tell on de Grandhomme, who duly holed out for 65 when there were still three overs left where he could have caused some damage.

Barnwell did give the Zouks one final lift by taking Shepherd for three successive sixes in the 19th over, but the 20th from Laughlin was superb. He picked up two wickets while conceding just three singles to finish with eye-catching figures of 3-12 from three overs and leave the Zouks well short of where they needed to be. (CPL)

ST KITTS & NEVIS PATRIOTS

ST LUCIA ZOUKS

BARBADOS TRIDENTS

JAMAICA TALLAWAHS

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F

requent and longer tours of Bangladesh, and more matches against stronger sides like England, New Zealand and Australia, are on Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan's wishlist as his side seeks to improve in all three formats.

Afghanistan ended their tour of Bangladesh by sharing the T20I triseries trophy with the home side following a washed-out final in Dhaka.

The next bilateral series between Bangladesh and Afghanistan is scheduled for March 2022, and comprises only three ODIs and two T20Is. In the current FTP, Afghanistan do not have a bilateral series against England, and will play two Tests and three ODIs against Australia over the next three years. Their only bilateral games against New Zealand will be in the form of an ODI series just before the 2023 50-over World Cup. Against Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka, the bilateral contests are all limited-overs matches.

"We should have longer series against Bangladesh, like have the main focus on 50 overs and Test matches," Rashid said at a press conference.

"Cricket boards should think about it.

There should be a three-match Test series. There's more room to learn and have different experiences. More 50 overs and Tests would be better for both nations."

Rashid said Afghanistan hardly got chances to play quality fast bowling against sides like Ireland and

Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan's

Scotland, and the lack of experience had hurt Afghanistan's chances at the World Cup. He also urged the respective boards to schedule more Tests and ODIs against Bangladesh, rather than T20Is. "We have played only twice against Australia, New Zealand and England in the last five years [all in World Cups].

If we played more against them, we could have known their strengths and weaknesses. It should be looked into.

The best example is Bangladesh. They played a lot against South Africa and ended up having the best result against them in the World Cup. If we want to be a good side, we should play more against the top sides. Not one match in four years. These teams have four fast bowlers who bowl 140-plus. We play

against Scotland and Ireland, and they hardly have a 140-plus bowler."

Rashid wants Afghanistan to improve and be good enough to eventually play in the World Test Championship.

"We are quite sad not to be part of the World Test Championship, but I think all we can do right now is play good Test cricket, to prove that decision wrong. But at the same time, you can't put a side in the championship who have played only three Tests," he said.

Rashid enjoyed a good tour of Bangladesh, his first series since his appointment as Afghanistan captain in all three formats. He took 11 wickets in Afghanistan's first away Test win in Chattogram, where he also scored a crucial half-century, and followed that up with six wickets in the T20I tri-se-

ries. With Afghanistan now scheduled to play a 'home' series against West Indies in November, Rashid said he would continue to bowl the same way in all three formats, remaining mindful of not putting himself under undue pressure by expecting wickets too often in the longest format.

"I never brought any difference in my bowling in any format. I try to do what I am capable of," he said. "I don't want to bring any changes to my bowling. If I bring a bit of change, I think it will affect my bowling.

"I always had one thing in mind in the Test match, that there will be a time when I won't get a wicket for 25 overs. There will be a time when I get three wickets in one over. Rather than putting extra pressure on myself, I should be mentally ready for this sort of thing."

Rashid revealed that spin-bowling greats Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne had advised him not to bowl slower and not to bring any major changes to his bowling, as it is his pace that deceives batsmen.

"I asked Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne, superstars of Test cricket, what should my mindset be in a Test match. They both told me that I shouldn't change myself, and be cool and calm in every situation," he said. "[They said that I should] just focus on bowling in the right line and length, rather than bring down my speed. They said that the quicker you bowl, it deceives the batsmen." (ESPNCricinfo)

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Zouks jump to fourth with big win over Patriots

S

t Lucia Z o u k s jumped from last place in the 2019 Hero Caribbean P r e m i e r League (CPL) table to a playoff spot with a fine 20-run victory over St Kitts & Nevis Patriots at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground.

The win lifts the Zouks to five points and above both Jamaica Tallawahs and Barbados Tridents into fourth place, while for their part the Patriots remain on eight points having missed a chance to go second in the table and also guarantee a top-four finish.

While there was a good start and decent finish with the bat, the Zouks’ win owed much to a fine all-round bowling performance that allowed them to defend a total of 165/6 that felt no better than par at the halfway stage.

The Patriots’ dangerous openers Evin Lewis and Devon Thomas both fell in the Powerplay – Hardus Viljoen getting Lewis well caught

by Chris Barnwell off a skied pull shot in a rare T20 wicket maiden – before some tight bowling kept a firm lid on the scoring rate even as Laurie Evans and Mohammad Hafeez were adding 49 for the third wicket.

The Zouks already appeared to have the upper hand when rain forced a short delay with the Patriots 77/2 in the 12th over but really hammered home the advantage after it.

Kesrick Williams struck twice in the 13th over, deceiving Evans with a slower ball to earn a simple caught and bowled before pinning Fabian Allen lbw for just 1, and Carlos Brathwaite fell in the next after skying Fawad A h m e d to sub fielder Kavem Andre Fletcher Hodge.

Shamarh

down t h e l e g side and smartly taken by Thomas, who promptly removed the bails and then two of the stumps for good measure to send his opposite number packing.

It seemed a big moment, with Fletcher looking back to something like his very best in his 23-ball 36 with four fours and two huge Hero Maximums.

For Ingram, the ball was pushed wide of the off stump but the result was the same. Hafeez added a third big wicket when de Grandhomme picked out Evans at deep midwicket.

Joseph was impressive at the top and tail of the innings, bowling Rahkeem Cornwall just as the big man was cutting loose and then having Sammy caught for a crucial and cool-headed 30 by Evans late on. Those wickets came at a cost of just 20 runs.

Barnwell finished unbeaten on 27 from 23 balls having helped Sammy dig the Zouks out of a hole.

(Story and photo by CPL)

Brooks was Viljoen’s second victim, bowled the ball after clubbing what was by now a rare boundary, and when Hafeez was deceived in the flight and offered a return catch that Fawad accepted at the second attempt, the Patriots had lost five wickets for 26 since the resumption.

Rayad Emrit launched back-toback Hero Maximums over the legside off Williams and the Zouks briefly lost their composure with a couple of chances going down. Keron Cottoy joined in with a slogsweep over the ropes off Fawad but even though the partnership Zouks Innings brought 27 runs in 20 balls it never re- ADS Fletcher † st †Thomas b 36 ally got the Patriots within striking distance Mohammad Hafeez 13 of victory. When Emrit was caught at long-on RRS Cornwall b Joseph to give Viljoen a deserved third wicket in a spell CA Ingram st †Thomas 21 that cost just 14 runs, the required rate had al- b Mohammad Hafeez C de Grandhomme c Allen b ready climbed to four per ball.

17 Williams picked up his third wicket of the Mohammad Hafeez 6 AM McCarthy b Cottoy night, Alzarri Joseph hitting another slower 27 ball to Colin de Grandhome at midwicket and CD Barnwell not out despite Cottoy smashing the last ball of the DJG Sammy (c) c Evans night for a huge six the Zouks ran out com- b Joseph 30 GC Viljoen not out 2 fortable and deserved winners.

13 (lb 6, w 7) Extras They had earlier failed to fully capitalise on a fine Powerplay with TOTAL 165/6 (20 Overs, RR: 8.25) the bat, in the end needing a Did not bat: KOK Williams, 56-run partnership between Fawad Ahmed, J Royal Sammy and Barnwell for the Fall of wickets: 1-34 (Rahkeem sixth wicket to lift them to Cornwall, 3.4 ov), 2-72 (Andre Fletcher, 7.1 ov), 3-87 (Colin 165/6 having been 72/1 af- Ingram, 9.2 ov), 4-98 (Colin de ter seven overs with Andre Grandhomme, 11.5 ov), 5-101 Fletcher and Colin Ingram (Andre McCarthy, 12.4 ov), 6-157 (Darren Sammy, 18.3 ov) looking good for a huge total.

The Zouks’ slump from that position to 101/5 was largely BOWLING : down to Hafeez and Thomas, who JS Louis 2-0-23-0 combined superbly to have both AS Joseph 4-0-20-2 set batsmen stumped off wides.

RR Emrit 3-0-40-0 Both batsmen were guilty of Mohammad Hafeez 4-0-2-3 setting off a touch early, giving KJ Cottoy 4-0-28-1 Hafeez time to make the adjust- CR Brathwaite 3-0-26-0 ments, which he duly did. For Fletcher, the ball was pushed

SCOREBOARD St Kitts and Nevis Patriots Innings

DC Thomas † b Royal 9 E Lewis c Barnwell b Viljoen 10 28 LJ Evans c & b Williams Mohammad Hafeez c & b 29 Fawad Ahmed FA Allen lbw b Williams 1 CR Brathwaite (c) c sub (KAR Hodge) b Fawad Ahmed 2 7 SSJ Brooks b Viljoen 0 KJ Cottoy not out 4 RR Emrit not out Extras 17 (lb 8, w 9) TOTAL 107/7 (16.1 Overs, RR: 6.61) Did to bat: AS Joseph, JS Louis Fall of wickets: 1-28 (Evin Lewis, 3.4 ov), 2-31 (Devon Thomas, 4.5 ov), 3-80 (Laurie Evans, 12.1 ov), 4-89 (Fabian Allen, 12.6 ov), 5-94 (Carlos Brathwaite, 13.6 ov), 6-103 (Shamarh Brooks, 14.6 ov), 7-103 (Mohammad Hafeez, 15.1 ov) BOWLING CD Barnwell RRS Cornwall KOK Williams GC Viljoen J Royal Fawad Ahmed C de Grandhomme

1-0-7-0 1-0-6-0 2.1-0-21-2 3-1-11-2 4-0-30-1 3-0-11-2 2-0-3-0

54 SPORT

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King leads dominant Amazon Warriors to 7th straight win

B

randon King’s unbeaten 81 helped Guyana Amazon Warriors make it a magnificent seven wins out of seven in their 2019 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) campaign with a comfortable eight-wicket victory over St Lucia Zouks at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground.

The Warriors are assured of a top-two finish and with it a place in the first qualifier for a place in the final with the safety net of a second chance should they lose that one.

Winning moment! King is being congratulated

by Jahmar Hamilton

The Zouks remain fourth, but may need to win both their remaining games to have a decent chance of staying there, given the Tridents are just a point behind with two games in hand.

No such concerns for the Warriors, though, who were given the ideal start to their pursuit of 162 for victory by Chandrapaul Hemraj, who smashed two fours and three Hero Maximums in a 20-ball 33 that put Guyana ahead of the eight-anover required

Brandon King

rate at the outset.

When he fell, skying a sweep shot off Fawad Ahmed, King took up the charge having been relatively quiet while Hemraj was doing his thing. All but one of King’s six sixes came after Hemraj had been dismissed and, despite the loss of Shimron Hetmyer for just five to a caught-behind decision that displeased him, the Warriors reached the 10-over mark exactly halfway to their target at 81-2 with plenty of batting options still to come. They didn’t need it, King and Shoaib Malik, who finished on 30, easing the Warriors past the target with almost two overs to spare with an unbroken 92-run stand for the third wicket.

After 12 overs, that required rate of 8.1 from the last 10 had come down to barely a run a ball thanks to King.

He took Chris Barnwell’s first three balls for two sixes and a four, with Malik striking another four through backward point to round off an over that put 21 on t h e board. Along the way, King reached another classy half-century and the W a r r i o r s passed 100.

Suddenly, the tarJumping for joy! Ben get was Laughlin celebrates a wicket a routine 49 from 48 and from there it was a cruise for the table-toppers, Malik stroking the winning single down the ground with 10 balls to spare.

Earlier, there was another masterclass in spin bowling from the Warriors.

All six overs of the Powerplay were bowled by spinners, with Chris Green and Imran Tahir particularly impressive. Their five overs under the fielding restrictions gave up just 20 runs. At one point, the pair between them bowled 10 successive deliveries without conceding a run while the Zouks lost their first two wickets. turn to page 51

WEEK ENDING september 29, 2019 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

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