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US calls out Guyana's Govt for undermining democratic principles …misapplication of Constitution, court rulings WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020

ISSUE NO. 484

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Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo along with the Party’s Presidential Candidate, Dr Irfaan Ali and Prime Ministerial Candidate, Retired Brigadier Mark Phillips among other party leaders leading the crowd on Sunday

Elections 2020

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Over 661,000 eligible voters on OLE

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

NEWS 3

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

ELECTIONS 2020

Over 661,000 eligible voters on OLE

GECOM Commissioner Sase Gunraj

T

he Official List of Electors (OLE) has been completed by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and according to the Commissioners, there are some 661,028 eligible voters on the list.

This came out of a statutory meeting at GECOM on Tuesday.

GECOM Chair Retired Justice Claudette Singh

Government-nominated Commissioner Vincent Alexander informed the media that the list was ready, although he noted that 661,028 was an unusually high number.

He explained that the National Register of Registrants (NRR), the database of all eligible and future voters,

GECOM Commissioner Vincent Alexander

had 663,365 persons.

Of this, 646,625 persons were extracted for the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE).

He further related that 6094 persons were removed because of death, while there were 395 objections upheld by GECOM following the Claims and Objections

(C&O) exercise. The Revised List of Electors, meanwhile, had 661,378 persons. Alexander also explained that 368 duplicates were removed.

Normal feature

In an invited com-

ment, Oppositionnominated GECOM Commissioner Sase Gunraj said that this growth in eligible voters is normal in the case of Continuous Registration.

He further noted that attempts to discredit the

list constitute attempts to undermine the process at GECOM. “While I have my own reservations about what happens at GECOM and the procedures, the size of this list is a CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

4 VIEWS

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

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EDITORIAL

Executive’s subversion of our “constitutionalism”

O

ne of the most glaring failures of the PNC-led APNU/ AFC coalition government has been its undermining and weakening the institutions of the State – including several that it launched since 2015. In almost every field of human endeavour, it is recognised that we need “rules of the game” for us to function socially and this is where institutions come in. They are, as a matter of fact, the embodiment of such rules around particular values we seek to guide our lives. Most persons conflate the “organisation” with the “institution”, but the former focuses the persons playing roles to actually transmit the values embodied in the rules that constitute the former.

At the national level, the rules for governing our State are embodied in the Constitution, while statutes passed by the legislature would set out the rules guiding other lower institutions.

As such, we have, for instance, the institutions of the Judiciary and the Police Force for enforcing the laws of our State – the values of peace and security; the Revenue Authority for collecting taxes – the value of sharing the costs of our State services; and the Health Services to deal with the medical needs of our citizens – the value of healthy lives.

Not surprisingly, most of our institutions are copied from the developed countries, since they are the exemplars of what we are attempting to achieve and we have seen the outcomes of their high-quality public sector institutions. However, most citizens of Guyana would agree that while life in Guyana is somewhat above the state of nature described by Hobbes as “nasty, brutish and short”, it remains so in many respects. However, if we are to examine the source of their angst somewhat closer, we would discover that the let-downs invariably stem from a failure of institutions.

Take, for instance, the complaints about the lack of security in Guyana, with the high rate of crime becoming higher with each passing day. As was noted earlier, the institutions responsible for the value of security are the Police and Judiciary. Now these institutions have been examined and re-examined on numerous occasions by foreign and domestic “experts”. There were subsequent tweaking of the “rules” that govern their behaviour to better deliver the value encompassed in their motto “To serve and protect”. The question is: why the failure?

The reason is that this PNC-led government, in every instance, focuses on the “institutional form” – the organisation of the institution, and not on “institutional function” – the ability of the institution to solve the problem of securing the articulated value.

Take the case of what might be seen as the mundane challenge of improving the response of the Police to reports of crimes by the citizenry. Hundreds of vehicles have been procured – cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, all-terrain vehicles, etc— over the past decade, but to no avail.

But this is because the Government has been focusing on the form and not the function of the Police force. It is clear that the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that were crafted to guide the Police response are not being followed, but it is also clear that internally, there is no follow-up to check and correct why there was no follow-up in the first case.

But it is not only a sin of omission that is being committed; there are also sins of commission. Take, for instance, the institutions of State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA) and Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) which were formed to carry out their eponymous anti-corruption functions. Over the last four years, while the forms of these institutions were in place, in their function, they were subverted to go after the political Opposition – while completely ignoring identified instances of corrupt practices with incumbent government officials.

But the greatest subversion of our institutional structure that holds our country together has been at the top: the Executive’s subversion of our meta-institution of “constitutionalism”, which demands that all adhere to the rules of our Constitution.

STANDING TALL: Photographer Subhash Haimraj captures the magnificence of this beautiful Poi tree in the picturesque Amerindian village of – Paruima, Upper Mazaruni, Region 7 (CuyuniMazaruni). Paruima is said to be the only Arecuna speaking community in Guyana

The threat of elections violence

U

nfortunately, for Guyana, our politics is not your ordinary garden variety type, where politicians pitch their plans for the development of the country to an open-minded electorate which make their voting decision based on an assessment of these plans and the parties’ capabilities for executing the same, based on their histories. In Guyana, the genie of ethnically directed political violence was let out of the bottle as far back as February 16, 1962, by the PNC and other forces and has never been put back since.

On that fateful day, subsequently dubbed “Black Friday”, following months of protests in Georgetown by thousands of supporters of the Opposition PNC and UF, ostensibly against the PPP’s budget, after failing to attack that party’s HQ, started to loot and burn business places owned by Indian Guyanese.

They focused on Robb, Regent, Water, High and Camp Streets and Stabroek Market. Before they were finished, fifty-six buildings had been destroyed by fire, twenty-one damaged; sixty-six both damaged and looted; twenty-nine market stalls damaged and five cars burned. Hundreds of Indian Guyanese were beaten, one Police Officer and four looters were killed.

Black Friday 1962 pretty much created the template for all subsequent political riots – confined to Georgetown and executed by the PNC’s support and direction of urban lumpen elements. The Wynn Parry Commission noted in

their sanitised report: “The rioters were not drawn from any one particular race or political party, nor were the victims from one particular class. The looters belonged to the category of irresponsible individuals consisting for the most part of hooligans and criminals, who, in moments of excitement and mass hysteria, throw away the inhibitions of a civilised society and seized the opportunity of preying upon their fellow citizens.”

Because the PNC were to rig all elections between 1964 and 1985, the directed political riots did not rear its head until 1992 with the return of free and fair elections. That does not mean there was no political violence but these were meted out to opponents of the PNC by the state’s coercive apparatus, organised pro-government goons, such as the House of Israel disrupting political meetings.

In 1992, the incipient violent protests were not allowed to spread beyond an attack on the elections HQ after it became apparent that the PNC was losing the elections.

However, President Carter, whose Center was observing the elections, was caught in the mayhem and made a call to the White House.

PNC leader Desmond Hoyte was persuaded to call out the army.

After losing the following 1997 elections, the same Desmond Hoyte reverted to the 1962 template and launched violent protests in Georgetown that resulted in the same arson and lootings accompanied by beatings of

Indian Guyanese perceived to be supporters of the PPP. The PPP’s term of office was truncated by two years and a raft of constitutional changes were enacted to give the opposition PNC a greater input into the political system.

But rather than dampening the violence, Hoyte launched a “slow fyah; mo fyah” strategy that escalated the protests beyond Georgetown and exacerbated both their intensity and volume. This political violence was then ratcheted up to a level never encountered in Guyana: a band of hard-core prison escapees in 2002 ensconced themselves in Buxton, from where they launched attacks on Policemen and neighbouring Indian-dominated villages. They called themselves “Freedom Fighters” for African Guyanese which meant they were pursuing a political agenda by attacking innocent citizens judged to be supporters of the PPP Government. This gang was not eliminated until 2008 by which time, hundreds of persons had been killed by the security forces and armed vigilante gangs, dubbed “Phantom Squads”.

It is against this background that we call upon President Granger and the other leaders of the caretaker coalition to follow the lead of the PPP’s PM Candidate Brigadier (retired) and reject the provocative call of PNC Chair Volda Lawrence for PNC supporters to congregate in front of polling stations to “guard” ballot boxes.

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL’S UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW…

US calls out Guyana's Govt for undermining democratic principles

…misapplication of Constitution, court rulings

T

US representative Sean Mariano Garcia

he United States has rapped the Government of Guyana for undermining democratic principles, including misapplication of the Guyanese Constitution and court rulings.

US representative Sean Mariano Garcia had some tough words for Guyana’s delegation, which was headed by Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador John Deep Ford.

Garcia was referring to the successful passage of the NoConfidence Motion and the subsequent onslaught of Guyana’s

Constitution by the Government, which disregarded the provisions it needed to adhere.

The US representative conveyed the concern of the US, regarding what transpired last year when elections were supposed to have been held in accordance with the Constitution but were not, as well as the possible effect on democracy.

“The United States recommends that Guyana immediately implement reforms to strengthen electoral procedures and enhance the independence of electoral authorities to ensure that the March

Ambassador John Deep Ford

2 elections are free, fair, transparent and credible.”

“The United States is concerned about recent actions by Guyana that may undermine democratic principles, including apparent misapplication of the Guyanese Constitution and certain court rulings,” Garcia also said.

Garcia, in fact, laid out a number of areas that the US would like to see reformed in Guyana. In his response to the comments on elections, Ambassador Ford maintained that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is an independent enti-

ty.

Guyana’s human rights record also came under scrutiny on Wednesday before the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Guyana’s 3rd review was held in Geneva, Switzerland. In his presentation, Ford noted that there have been several challenges to Guyana meeting some of its obligations.

“These are challenges related to Guyana’s geographic dispersion, multicultural population and economic and environmental vulnerability. Guyana is a small country, with a population estimated at

President David Granger

750,000, where 90 per cent of the people live on a strip of coastland that represents 10 per cent of the country’s landmass.”

“The remainder live in what is described as hinterland regions.

Guyana is divided into 10 administrative regions, with several of these being remote and not easily accessible,” Ford said, going on to, nevertheless, cite the strides that the country has made on a cultural front. He used the establishment of the Social Cohesion Ministry to bolster his argument.

Ford also pointed out that Guyana, like other

Caribbean countries, is exposed to the effects of climate change, protectionism and other risks.

Ford also cited the regional financial stipulations that negatively impact the country’s access to capital.

“Regulations that negatively impact (Guyana’s) access to capital resources. More recently, the Government is actively responding to increased migration flows from countries in the region. These economic, social, and natural environment challenges have the tendency to narrow the fiscal space necessary to TURN TO PAGE 7

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

APNU/AFC unable to campaign on achievement

Dear Editor, It is a massive disappointment to listen to the incumbent APNU/ AFC unable to campaign based on its achievement despite being in Government since May 2015. It should have been an easy walkover for them but the fact is, they have little to show for their tenure in Government, ex-

cept an accelerating decline in our social and economic life due mainly to poor monetary and fiscal policies, wasteful spending, astronomical and unprecedented levels of corruption and blatant violations of our Constitution.

Our declining standard of living resulted from over 30,000 job losses, wage freeze in the

sugar industry and massive taxation which emptied the pockets of the people by nearly $100 billion in 2019 alone.

The APNU/AFC coalition not only pauperised the masses but they enriched their friends and families through corrupt contracts and giveaways.

Theirs was the ‘good life’.

The poor people measure their standard of

living by simply assessing the level of their disposable income. Do they have more money in their pockets now than in 2015? The answer is they have a lot less!

Only this morning a student told me that, “money na roll sir”. I asked her what she meant and she told me that money is hard to come by – her mother told her that. Yet Granger has the audacity to come to Berbice and continue his empty rhetoric. Since 2015 he has been singing how Region Six is important and he

will make it the ‘sugar bowl’ and the ‘rice pot’ but has delivered nothing. According to him, the problem is that the PPP controls the Region Six RDC, the NDCs and the municipalities and that’s why the region is underdeveloped. He failed to let the people know that every year he cuts the RDC capital budget by nearly 50 per cent and it is his REO who holds the purse to the region’s money! There can be no empowerment without resources Mr Granger!

Granger always has a

‘plan’ for everything but nothing ever materialises. Now he has a ‘plan’ for New Amsterdam to make it ‘the engine of growth’. According to him, his Government will not shut down the sugar industry but wants to make it work. Just like he did during the 2015 elections campaign trail and then he unconscionably closed down four of those estates thereby prompting the once champion of the sugar workers, Nagamootoo, to announce a few days

Minimising corruption, unethical behaviour in GPF Corruption Perception Index

Dear Editor, Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan hit the nail on its head when he recently called for tougher scrutiny of recruits to weed out corrupt ranks in the Guyana Police Force (GPF). According to a daily newspaper article, the Hon Minister in response to a report that a member of a specialised section of the GPF was fingered in an armed robbery on the West Coast of Demerara, stated,” All rogue elements must be forced out. We must strengthen the vetting system (for recruits) …. but we still have the ones who want to live the illegal life.” Although this is a timely call, the focus must be broadened to reach all levels and ranks in the Force to weed out corrupt and undesirable behaviour.

The recruiting system for regular members of the Force is quite simple. Applicants who passed the entrance examination; are physically fit; satisfy background checks by the Special Branch and Divisional Command; are cleared by the Criminal Records Office and are successful at the Final Interview for Selection, will be well on their way to wear the Police colours – blue and black. For members of the Special Constabulary and other auxiliary, the process is even easier to gain entry in the Force.

No longer can you swear a policeman, give him a badge and a gun and send him in the street to work. No longer can a policeman depend on his brawn and political connections to be effective.

The paradigm has shifted. To be effective, a policeman must understand behaviour. He must not only understand the behaviour of the criminals, the behaviour of his superiors, his peers, his subordinates, his friends, his family and mem-

bers of the public but his own behaviour. Hence, it is apposite to note that the recruitment process must cater for behaviour, more so physiological behaviour. Recently, President Anthony Carmona of Trinidad and Tobago called for members of his police service to be exposed to behavioural psychologists. A good starting point to aid the recruitment process is to set up assessment centres. An assessment centre is a place where the applicants undergo a series of events or activities under the watchful eyes of trained assessors, who are expected to, among other issues, analyse the behaviour of the applicants. According to Tinsley (2002), “The assessment centre was and still is – one of the best methods available for selecting suitable candidates for either employment or advancement in law enforcement agencies.” It is nothing new.

Both Allies and the Axis used it during World War II to train their spies.

During my groundings with my brother officers in Jamaica, I attended several assessment centres for applicants for the Jamaica Constabulary.

I vividly recall one applicant had a degree from the University of the West Indies. He failed the assessment and was not recruited as during the assessment he displayed some amount of psychopathic behaviour.

Francis Forbes, who was in charge of the Jamaica Constabulary Staff College and who later became a Commissioner of the Jamaica Constabulary remarked, “Him can get a degree from UWI, but if him a psycho, him can’t be a police.” Utilising the assessment centres will result in less persons being recruited but a better quality of persons will be enlisted in the Force.

It is not that all members of the GPF are in-

volved in corruption and unethical behaviour.

There are good and bad policemen.

Another entity that can promote good behaviour is a behavioural science unit. Some time ago I made a call for the establishment of such a unit in the GPF. It fell on deaf ears. I hope that this time it will fall on fertile soil. I again make such a clarion call. Since then, the University of Guyana has rushed ahead and established a behavioural science department at its Turkeyen Campus.

Certainly, the police can also utilise that facility while they await the setting up of their own such unit. During my stint at the Federal Bureau of Investigations National Academy in the United States of America, I was exposed to their behavioural science unit.

My interaction with that unit then and subsequently enabled me as a senior law enforcement officer to deal effectively with my superiors, peers, subordinates, members of the public, friends, family and my own behaviour.

Establishing assessment centres, early warning systems and behavioural science unit will enable the police to design, develop, implement and evaluated effective strategies and tactics as they move from incident-driven and reactive approaches to effectively analyse the pattern of crimes and violence in order to create opportunities for them to be more proactive and conduct more intelligence-led policing. These interventions would also promote activities to minimise corruption and unethical behaviour in the GPF. May God bless the Guyana Police Force.

Yours faithfully, Clinton Conway Assistant Commissioner of Police (Retired)

CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

(CPI) does not measure actual corruption and is extremely flawed

Dear Editor, Guyana has made a quantum leap on the Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI). According to the recently released report for 2019, Guyana scored 40 points in 2019, up from 37 in 2019.

Consequently, the ranking of the country has improved from 93 in 2018 to 85 in 2019.

For some Guyanese, the report from Transparency International (TI) certainly offers some respite after the deluge of articles in the independent press (Stabroek News and Guyana Times) regarding irregular or questionable transactions unearthed by the Auditor General in his 2018 report.

Editor, with your kind permission, I would like to take this opportunity to encourage persons interested in the fight against corruption not to salivate too much over the CPI. They need first to recognize that the CPI does not measure ‘actual’ corruption within the public sector but the ‘perception’ of this social ill by a small group of unknown experts.

The CPI, therefore, should not be used as a real measure of the ‘actual’ level of corruption in the public sector at any particular point in time or changes in the level of corruption over time.

While used by some analysts and researchers, it is a well-established fact that the CPI is very flawed. Indeed, academic research has shown that the CPI has many limitations. For example, some academics argue that the CPI attempts to capture corruption, a complex and

elusive issue with a single score. Academics also argue that CPI only measures the perception of corruption, which can vary considerably from the actual level of corruption.

Academics criticize the CPI because it is also possible for the ranking of a country to improve without any significant change in its score.

Guyana is a perfect example. In 2019, Guyana moved eight places with an improvement of just three points in its score.

While the improved ranking would cause many to assume, we are doing well in terms of fighting corruption, it masks the fact that our score for 2019 was 40, which is way below the perfect score of 100 points that represents a corrupt-free country.

Given the many flaws of the CPI, it should be interpreted with extreme caution. To derive a fairer picture of the fight against corruption, it is also essential to supplement the CPI with other publicly available information that speaks to accountability, transparency, and quality of governance that have important implications in the fight against corruption. An excellent source of such information is the Audit Report.

If the Audit Reports for the past four-plus years were examined we would find multiple and increasing examples of deterioration in accountability (e.g., non-submission of vouchers and inadequate accounting of gifts received), reduced transparency (utilization of the least transparent and uncompetitive methods of procurement), and an assault on internal controls and governance

systems within the public sector.

Over the period 20152018, 1,754 vouchers with a total value of $1.9 billion were not submitted for audits, gifts totaling $15.8 billion were received but an undetermined amount not accounted for properly by various agencies, 144 cases of breaches to the Procurement Act that resulted to improper award of contracts, and 379 cases where the Auditor General found inadequate or weak internal controls. Based on these easily verifiable facts, it would be difficult to accept that our fight against corruption was successful, as suggested by the improvements in the CPI. The many examples from the Audit Reports contradict the notion that there is less corruption in the public sector. Apart from Audit Reports, there are also reports published periodically by other international organization that speaks directly to the issue of corruption that must supplement any analysis of the CPI. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), for instance, recently published a report that labels Guyana’s government service as the most corrupt the Caribbean.

In closing, I wish to restate two essential facts. Firstly, the CPI does not measure actual corruption. Secondly, it is flawed and should be supplemented with other data and information when attempting to determine whether our fight against corruption is successful or not.

Regards, S Pasha Senior Lecturer

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

Blatant act of discrimination and victimisation Dear Editor, By sheer accident, I ran into the path of “The Unruly Horse” where it’s rider, Mr Anil Nandlall, eloquently (as usual) established many of the instances by this Government, since 2015, of blatant abuse of power, disregard and disrespect for the rule of law, flagrant and obvious racial discrimination as well as political, where persons were perceived not to be in their “camp” (remember the 2000-plus Amerindians who were summarily dismissed, and the Afro Guyanese farmers on West Coast Berbice, whose leases were terminated, from all appearances, it seems, because they were approved by President Ramotar).

I cannot match Anil’s oratory and written skills and carefully not-

ed his mention of the personages of Minister Ashni Singh, MP Dharamkumar Seeraj and others, but would just like to once again bring to the public’s attention the glaring discriminatory manner in which this Government makes its decisions.

In my case, I had a valid contract, which, contrary to what was peddled, was first signed in 2008 (certainly not months before the 2015 elections). My contract would have expired in February 2016, but I was instructed to return to Guyana at the end of August 2015, which instruction I complied with.

After what amounted to a dismissal, absolutely disregarding the terms and conditions of my contract, I put my case to the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign

Affairs, the Minister of Foreign Affair and finally, Mr David Granger, and after not even an acknowledgement was received, was left with no alternative but to take the Government to court.

To “cut a long story short” I won in the High Court (even though an important element of my entitlement was inadvertently not claimed, and which injustice I still hope to benefit from when the PPP/C again assumes the reigns of Government in March of this year.

The Government has, true to form, unbelievably, appealed the decision. I am now in “holding on mode” to see if my appeal would be heard before the “decade of development” (who believes that, anyway?) ends, and I would be able to enjoy “the good life”, which has so far eluded all, except those in the Government corridors of power.

I remember just about the time I had my problems in getting the

Government to honour my contract, statements made by the number two man in Government (many say he is the number one) that Coby Frimpong had a contract for which performance was sadly lacking (my words) but he was paid, even though the contract was incomplete. I wondered at the time if the treatment of Coby’s contract and mine were different because of any particular reason (Coby is Ghanaian and I am Guyanese).

Going back to the Unruly Horse, while Anil mentioned some names, there are many others whose names were not, because of obvious space constraints, but which are imprinted in the electorate’s collective memories, like the name of Kassim Bacchus, a brilliant Guyanese in the educational field, who was hounded out of a job in the Burnham era, and went overseas to significantly contribute to another society.

In closing, however, I cannot fail to men-

tion the case of former President Ramotat’s three children. The treatment of these young people has significance, not only because of who their father is, but because of the depth to which this Government has sunk our dear Guyana.

Some say we are heading back to the Burnham days (and nights) but I say we are there already.

All three of the Ramotar children were removed from the positions they held, and it seems as if their “sin” was having immediate past President Ramotar as their father, a person who was in the “trenches” to help ensure that democracy returned to Guyana.

If the treatment of Lisavita Ramotar and her siblings (who are all three eminently qualified to do the jobs they were doing) is not the most blatant act of discrimination and victimisation, then I am living on another planet.

It seems to me that since they could not come up with excuses to tarnish

APNU/AFC unable...

US calls out Guyana's...

FROM PAGE 6

ago at Whim that those estates were ‘absolutely useless’. Already, the three remaining estates are so starved for resources that the crop and annual targets are no longer achievable, this is due to low yields and continuous breakdown of the factories due to lack of monies. The SPU spent $17.4 billion in 2019 with nothing tangible to show. Granger should explain this phenomenon to his audience.

A few years back, he told the rice farmers that it is not the Government’s responsibility to help them. Fortunately for him, he was not speaking to sugar workers and rice farmers but his bussed-in loyalists from various parts of Guyana who screamed their approval of his misguided utterances.

Granger should admit that it is his Government which has transformed the four closed estates into ‘museums’ since after closure his Government cannibalised the factories and transformed the cultivation into a part of the Amazon rainforest. Jordan has said that the closed estates will still be operational so that they can have high sale values but that was not to be. The APNU/ AFC Government made sure that no one will ever buy the closed estates. They have ‘rightsized’ the sugar industry and yet there is no

solution in sight, the remaining estates are on the verge of collapsing.

If Granger goes back in Government we can be assured of more ‘museums and historical and heritage sites’. He may even create a brand new Ministry to run these!

Nagamootoo immediately comes to mind!

Furthermore, Granger has the false notion that only if the APNU/AFC controls Region Six can it be able ‘to deliver a good quality of life to the residents…’ This man needs to understand that his Government has been in control of the entire country since 2015 and they have been unable to ‘deliver a good quality of life’ for the masses excepting his ‘fat cats’.

He probably feels that Jagdeo and the PPP have been running the country since he seemed obsessed with attacking them with baseless innuendos and falsehoods.

In conclusion, the voters of Region Six will definitely do the ‘chasing out’ on March 2 but it will not be the PPP/C. On that day, Guyanese will vote for a President who is not ‘missing in action’ but one who will join hands with them in forging the real good life for themselves and their children!

Yours sincerely, Haseef Yusuf

enact reforms and address all the needs of our population”.

According to Ford, Guyana has, nevertheless, tried to provide human development services to all regions.

Guyana is one of the 14 States being reviewed by the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group during its 35th session. A number of human rights issues are usually addressed, including the level of democracy afforded to citizens.

Guyana has previously faced criticism over delayed elections, despite a no-confidence vote being passed. Last year, several countries and organisations expressed concern over the lack of an election date. After much pressure both locally and internationally, President David Granger named March 2 as E-Day. But while Granger did name March 2, 2020, as the date for elections, the Constitution of Guyana stipulates that

elections must be held within three months of the passage of No Confidence Motion.

The No-Confidence Motion was passed against the Government since December 2018.

After failing to overturn the motion at the parliamentary level the next month, the Government then embarked on a series of court cases in which it argued, among other things, that 33 was not the majority of 65 but rather, 34.

Those arguments

the name of Mr Ramotar, they have descended with vengeance on his defenceless offsprings. One can only imagine the extreme trauma these persons are going through as a result of the assassination of their characters and competence.

I only hope that when the PPP/C again assumes the Government in March of this year, that the victimisation/discrimination done against the thousands of Guyanese, would be addressed with immediacy.

The voices of the Guyanese people must, on March 2, reverberate to reverse the acts of victimisation/discrimination, the violent rape of the Constitution, the disregard of the rule of law, the nepotism, the corruption, the decline of the economy and the many more negatives that have been the hallmark of this Government and its disgraceful and unforgettable legacy.

Sincerely, Harry Narine Nawbatt

FROM PAGE 5

too have been thrown out by the Caribbean Court of Justice. The CCJ subsequently ordered that elections be held as stipulated by the Constitution. The CCJ decision was given on June 18, 2019 and paved the way for elections. In keeping with the constitutional three-month provision, this means General and Regional Elections should be held on or before September 18, 2019. That too was not done by the seating caretaker Government.

8 NEWS

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

Granger aims for full control of Reg 2, 6 RDCs …takes large convoy to Berbice, Essequibo Rally

P

resident David Granger on Monday evening told supporters to ensure that the A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition takes control of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) in Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne) at the March 2 polls.

The President and the large convoy left Georgetown for the rally in New Amsterdam where he made the call.

As he addressed the gathering he did not outline any major plans for Region Six but rather launched an attack on former President and Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo.

“For this country to work, the RDC has to cooperate with the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) and with the Central Government.

APNU/AFC supporters

is fighting with the Central Government and fighting with the Neighborhoods.

All

working out with the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). We have to control all of the NDCs

A section of the gathering at the rally

We can’t have a civil war in which the RDC

three of us have to work together. This is not

and municipalities and then all of us will work

together for the good of this country and for the good of this region,” he told the gathering.

At the last Regional Elections in 2015, the coalition only won three of the ten RDCs in the region.

According to Granger, development in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) will only be possible if the coalition controls the RDC. “We have a plan for New Amsterdam and that is to make New Amsterdam an engine of growth. We have a plan to make sure that every child in this region goes to school.”

He said there is also a plan to modernise the waterfront and to make the town of New Amsterdam a commercial hub with a deep-water port, which will have ships coming to take produce.

However, Granger stopped short of making any mention of developing the productive sectors which have all been on the decline under his Administration but said that persons of the region will be able to sell their produce to the Caribbean.

“The town of New Amsterdam is like no other town in Guyana and has 39 Heritage Sites. We will make New Amsterdam Heritage Centre and one for eco-tourism.”

He said his Government has improved medical facilities for all residents of the region.

However, the National Ophthalmology Hospital at Port Mourant, Berbice, has not been conducting cataract surgery since the coalition took office in 2015. Since 2015, there have been several protests staged

Over 661,000 eligible... normal feature of the Continuous Registration system. And as a consequence, the growth of the list is nothing alarming.”

“In addition to which, the parameters that were used to determine the entries to that list are those which were canvassed before the Chief Justice, who made a ruling as to what ought to be included and what ought not to be included. The list, in my humble opinion, follows the dictates of the ruling of the Chief Justice in that Christopher Ram matter.”

In 2015, when GECOM had published the OLE ahead of those

elections, the total number of voters was 570,787.

New registrants

Over 16,000 new registrants were recorded during the House-toHouse (H2H) exercise that ran from July 20 to August 31, 2019. This number was subsequently included on the RLE. However, the Opposition – People’s Progressive Party (PPP) – has always contended that the H2H exercise was largely unsupervised and would produce flawed results.

Indeed, the party subsequently found that many of the persons list-

ed as new registrants are either dead or were previously registered.

It had previously been announced that over 6500 persons of the 16,863 new registrants were not confirmed during the fiveday field verification exercise which concluded on December 22. Figures released to the media the next day had shown that Region Four (DemeraraMahaica) had the highest number of unconfirmed persons, which tallied to 3657.

Some 370,000 registrations obtained during the scrapped $3 billion H2H exercise were sent overseas to

be cross-matched with the National Register of Registrants Database (NRRD) in order to filter out the duplicates.

Attempts to remove names As GECOM continues it elections preparations for the March 2 polls, Attorney General Basil Williams – in the Government’s partial appeal of the House-toHouse Registration – is seeking to introduce an old piece of “mysterious” legislation which speaks to inserting residency into the Constitution of Guyana.

This piece of legislation, Constitution Amendment Number 4,

outside of the New Amsterdam Hospital demanding better health services.

Over the past four years, that hospital has been without basic supplies such as cotton wool and gloves along with basic medical supplies.

Granger also boasted that the East Bank Berbice road was built under his Government.

However, prior to the coalition Government taking office, the PPP Administration had secured funds from the International Development Bank (IDB) for that project and had identified a contractor which the IDB had approved. After the APNU/AFC took office, it did not find favour with the contractor and was seeking to reassign the project, forcing the IDB to withdraw. The road was subsequently built by the coalition.

However, those plans were altered.

During his delivery, the President displayed physical signs of discomfort and seemed uncomfortable as he stood at the podium for close to 30 minutes.

Addressing the issue of sugar, President Granger said the coalition is not shutting down the sugar industry but rather wants to make it work. But those who lost their jobs during the coalition’s current reign were given no reassurance from the Head of State who is seeking a second term in office.

President Granger, at his Essequibo rally on Wednesday repeated his speech made at New Amsterdam with slight changes, tailored to the anticipated needs of Essequibians.

FROM PAGE 3

Act of 1991, was part of the constitutional reform process prior to the 1992 elections. Williams argued before Chancellor Yonnette CummingsEdwards and Justices Dawn Gregory and Rishi Persaud, that the court should consider the Act as applicable.

Former AG Anil Nandlall described the Act as irrelevant to current elections. Nandlall pointed out that elections are already set and it would be inconceivable for the court to undo all the work the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has put into making the elections happen and preparing a

voters’ list.

Williams is contesting most of the major points from Chief Justice Roxane George’s August 14, 2019 ruling. One of the major contestations in the appeal 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. 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.

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

GECOM’s ballot paper production on schedule – Commissioner

…likely to be completed early next month

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he production of the ballot paper that will be used for voting during the March 2 General and Regional Elections is progressing according to schedule.

This is according to

Opposition-nominated Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Commissioner Sase Gunraj.

During an interview with Guyana Times, Gunraj, who is presently in Canada along with

Commissioner Charles Corbin, where the papers are being printed, was asked for an update on the process. Gunraj noted that not only was it on course for completion but gave a rough estimate of when.

GPHC’s Psychiatric Ward damaged by fire

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hat could have been a catastrophic disaster was on Friday averted by staffers of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), who sprang into quick action to put out a fire which erupted in the facility’s psychiatric ward.

According to reports, the fire erupted at the facility at about 09:15h in the female holding area of the ward located on

The area where the fire started

cility were not extensive owing to the staffers at the hospital, who managed to put out the blaze with fire extinguishers before fire tenders arrived.

“So they were able to minimise the damage before the fire service got here to put the fire out.

Our investigators are doing their job…the ceiling was severely damaged; apart from that, the fire did not spread to other departments or areas,”

Employees at GPHC standing outside as firefighters assess the damage

the first floor of the medical block building and was allegedly started by a psychiatric patient.

However, Divisional Officer of the Guyana Fire Service, Gregory Wickham told reporters at the scene that the cause of the fire is yet to be determined. He added that damages to the fa-

he said.

Wickham shared that even though five fire tenders responded to the blaze, they faced immense difficulties accessing the building, noting that drivers chose to ignore the sirens.

Reckless motorists

“I advise that the mo-

torists should adhere to the sirens…our time to get here was impeded very greatly by those motorists who did not heed to the sirens, an institution as this where we have thousands of patients, we cannot afford to have our progress by those stubborn or reckless motorists.”

Patients

Meanwhile, GPHC Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Brigadier George Lewis shared that some 48 patients were evacuated out of the building, but, nevertheless, other patients will be returned to the building while psychiatric patients are expected to be relocated and receive medical care.

“At the time, there would’ve been 6 patients in the psychiatric holding area. All of them were evacuated and there would’ve been 48 patients in total at the medical block….we anticipate that because there are no structural damages to the building. We’ll be able to return patients to the male medical ward. We are doing follow-ups on how we can relocate the current psychiatric patients and continue providing service”.

An investigation has since been launched by the Guyana Fire Service.

“The production of the ballots and other (processes) is progressing according to schedule,” the Commissioner explained to this publication, adding that it should be completed by early February.

It was announced earlier this month that Gunraj and Corbin would be sent to Canada to observe the printing of ballot paper. This is being done by printing firm Canadian Bank Note Company Limited, which first supplied GECOM with elections materials at the 2018 Local Government Elections (LGE).

Canadian Bank Note has a long history with Guyana. It owns the Guyana Lottery Company Limited (GLCL). According to the GLCL website, Canadian Bank Note is a company which supplies printed products and related issuing and control systems in four business areas: lottery systems, identification systems, payment systems, and shareholder services.

In addition to owning GLCL and getting the contract to

GECOM Commissioner Sase Gunraj

print Guyana’s electoral materials, Canadian Bank Note also prints Guyana’s currency notes and recently got a US$12.4 million ($2.5 billion) contract to procure a new border management system to cater for e-passports. This was announced in September last year.

The two Commissioners will be in Canada until the production of the ballots is completed. A total of 11 parties have been approved

by GECOM to contest the upcoming polls, mak-

ing this one of the longest election slates in recent memory.

Apart from the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/ AFC), the other parties contesting are A New and United Guyana (ANUG); The New Movement (TNM); The Citizenship Initiative (TCI); Change Guyana; Fed-Up; Organisation of the Victory of the People (OVP) and the United Republican Party (URP).

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Guyana on high alert as Coronavirus disease already suspected in South America

…ports of entries monitored – health officials

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ith a case of coronavirus already confirmed in the South American nation of Ecuador, authorities in Guyana have begun preparing for a possible outbreak here, but have assured that there is no need to panic.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence stated that finances will not be a problem and that the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) has already established an isolation area for suspected cases.

In the event that the numbers exceed the hospital’s capacity, more such facilities will need to be established.

“So that is being worked on and we will make a presentation to the Minister of Finance.

He is fully aware of what we are doing and how we are moving forward with this process of preparation. So, the Permanent Secretary is taking note of all of the needs by both the GPHC and what we will need in the regions and the local facilities which fall within the ambit of the Ministry of Public Health.”

Meanwhile, according to Dr Tracey Bovell, who operates at the GPHC’s Emergency Room, that hospital is already in preparation mode for suspected and/or confirmed coronavirus cases.

“We have identified our isolation areas and we are working to concretise them to ensure that they [are] safe for the public and for the other patients that will be visiting the hospital for medical care that are not related to this illness as well. The Emergency Room and the Outpatient department will still function as normal. Our aim is to try to get the persons that are suspected cases to a particular area of the hospital so that they can get care.”

From left: Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud; Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence; and PAHO/WHO Resident Representative, Dr William Adu-Krow

Currently, a screening process in the form of a questionnaire is being used by health officers stationed at various ports of entry to help in the detection of suspected cases.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Karen Boyle noted that this will aid in the confirmation of a passenger’s age, sex, seating on planes to determine if other passengers would have been exposed among other information.

“This screening tool, all of our port health officers will have this. And the immigration officers have also been sent this too. They have also been advised that if anybody is coming on the plane that has these signs or symptoms refer them to the port health officers so they could have further questions.”

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud also pointed out that persons with flu-like symptoms should not be stigmatised, and that the screening is not limited to passengers coming from New York to Georgetown or from Panama to Georgetown, but other areas as well.

“In addition to that,

each arriving aircraft is required to complete what is called a health declaration, a declaration form.

The flight attendants would usually indicate if there is anyone on that flight reported sick, vomiting, having fever … in those instances we will identify those persons,

those are made aware to the port health officers on arrival before the aircraft is cleared, those persons will be removed and we will take them through the interview that is in place.”

Dr Persaud noted that the Caribbean Public Health Agency

(CARPHA), which is the designated Influenza centre in the region, has activated its biosafety level 3 services and has the capacity to test for the coronavirus disease.

“What we have to finetune a bit is the system to collect the samples and have them shipped effec-

tively in a timely manner to that centre. Results are promised within three days from the last conversation we have had with CARPHA.” Meanwhile, Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) Resident Representative, Dr William Adu-Krow also noted that 14 countries apart from China have reported cases where coronavirus cases were confirmed.

He stated that 52 of those cases come from countries outside of China.

“In the Americas, we have seven confirmed cases and those seven confirmed cases, five are from the United States of America and two are from Canada. There are six suspected cases in our region. One is from Ecuador and five in Canada, the issue is gradually getting to our shores, and our advice to member states including Guyana is to make sure the index of suspicion is high,” Dr AduKrow added.

NO FUEL, BLOCKED RIVER

RUSAL lays off more employees

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USAL has reportedly moved to lay off more of its workers just a week after laying off over 142 employees. A letter from the company dated January 29, 2020, which was seen by this publication, indicated that the company was forced to further reduce operations and to lay off employees owing to adverse operating circumstances including shipment interruption because of the blockage of the Berbice River. The letter, which listed 146 employees, stated that the lay-off will take effect from today (January 30, 2020) with the employees to be recalled as soon as the situation returns to normalcy. It further indicated that letters would be sent to employees’ home addresses by way of the post office. Following the decision to lay off employees owing to claims of fuel shortages, workers and residents blocked the section of the Berbice River utilised by the Aroaima-based company.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union in a statement to the me-

The blocked Berbice River

dia stated that the decision to lay off the workers is in contravention of the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act. The Union stated that the Government of Guyana is yet to facilitate the process to bring about a resolution.

The Labour Department, on the other hand, said on Wednesday that on January 27, it met with the management of RUSAL and the recognised majority union separately.

It stated that the

Labour Department took the position that the workers were improperly laid off by the company and should, therefore, be recalled immediately.

It added that it has advised the Union that it was illegal to block the river and should, therefore, take steps to unblock it.

“The Department is contemplating convening a meeting with the parties to determine the way forward with outstanding negotiations for a new Collective Labour Agreement (CLA) of

which wages and salaries are a component. The Department will continue to do everything possible within the confines of the known laws and prudent industrial relations practices to have all differences settled,” the statement from the Labour Department said.

The dispute started on January 23, when the company announced its decision to lay off workers after Government ended its duty-free importation of fuel arrangement.

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“No land, no vote” – Sophia squatters threatens Govt

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he residents of Sophia, Greater Georgetown, were full of frustration on Monday as they lashed out at the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government for unkept promises and the slow pace of awarding land.

Angry residents showed members of the media acknowledgement letters from the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) dating back years. They were asked to walk with their letters to a booth set up by the Housing Authority in the area in an effort to appease them.

“This is me land paper boy. Watch what going on here boy! Look how long I apply and can’t get a land boy!

Even if they give we a receipt, we can pay piece, piece. All ah we want land at the back here! Even if its $20,000 or $10,000 a month, we can have a receipt to

show we paying for the land. What they doing for people?” argued one resident.

“No land, no vote!

We ain’t taking that again. No land, no vote!”

Shouted another resident, while another one, this time a woman holding a child, explained that she has been on the dam for seven years. She lamented the Government’s failure to address the needs of Sophia, long perceived as a coalition electoral stronghold.

“You know how long they was to give we land? Every time people come and break down [structures]. People children getting big! What happen to poor people?

And yall [APNU/AFC Government] want go back in [to power]. Yall gotta give people land!” she shouted in visible frustration.

Meanwhile, CH&PA held an emergency press conference on Monday, where the Authority’s Chief Executive Officer

Some Sophia residents expressing displeasure at the long wait for their lands

(CEO), Lelon Saul and Junior Minister with responsibility for housing, Annette Ferguson, attempted to address the issue.

“It was drawn to the

attention of the agency last week that persons have begun to move in on the vacant lands in the Cummings Lodge area. The Authority took the responsibility of go-

ing in there to explain to them that we do not condone or support their actions to squat on the lands,” Ferguson said.

She said that in 2015, the CH&PA engaged

the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) and paid for the land. Ferguson claimed that they have now begun the necessary infrastructural work so that the persons who acquired the land can begin construction.

“We took a decision on how we will treat with them. And this morning (Monday), we did have members of staff out at the Sophia area to address those persons who have applied for house lots some time and have not been allocated. We asked them to submit their acknowledgement letters and we encouraged those who never applied to register.”

Meanwhile, Saul added that there is no land at Cummings Lodge for first-time applicants. He reiterated that the land in that area has already been given out and that the booth is intended to help persons get land in other areas.

GCCI, Jamaica Chamber of Commerce express disappointment in Caricom

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JCC President Lloyd Distant Jr

he Caribbean Community ( C a r i c o m ) Secretariat is not doing enough for its member states in relation to promoting and providing the avenue for trade agreements between countries and their business communities.

This is according to Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Senior Vice President Timothy Tucker, who on Monday during a discussion with representatives of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC), point-

ed out that upcoming investments between the two countries could have been executed earlier if Caricom had been playing an active role.

“I believe that not enough is being done regionally. It is a feeling that maybe Caricom is asleep. Somebody at the top there is sleeping somewhere and not doing enough for regional integration,” Tucker said on Monday.

He expressed dissatisfaction over the situation, stating that Guyana’s Private Sector, like its many counter-

parts in the Region, was being pushed to establish ties and agreements that would benefit their countries.

This, he said, falls within the mandate of Caricom.

“The purpose of Caricom over the years is to bring the Region together. And bringing the Region together not just as a people or at Carnival, but for economic activities, the transfer of skill and labour around the Region and not just in one department…the Chamber has asked the question: is Caricom relevant?

We have to reach out to each other to have events and activities…when it should have been fostered with an open relationship with Caricom.”

Additionally, he noted that the non-tariff barriers, which some Caribbean States have implemented, continue to hamper the Guyanese market. He urged that measures be put in place to have such barriers removed since they affect not only one country but the Region as a whole.

“Too many times, there are non-tariff barriers placed by Member States.

Even some Member States have a way of, for the want of a better word, economical colonialism is being done

by some States. I encourage the rest of them to take example of Guyana and Jamaica’s relationship,” Tucker declared.

Meanwhile, JCC President Lloyd Distant Jr briefly echoed similar sentiments about the need for more regional collaboration and investments in Caricom countries.

“There is much more that we can do together as Caribbean nations to increase trade in this Region.”

GCCI Senior Vice President Timothy Tucker

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Altercation with abusive DPI Head lands NCN Editor-in-Chief in hot water

Leeron - NCN Editor-in-Chief Leeron Brumell

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he management of National Communications Network (NCN) has sent

its Editor-in-Chief on administrative leave to facilitate an investigation into reports of an assault

involving himself and Head of the Department of Public Information (DPI), Imran Khan.

NCN Editor-in-Chief Leeron Brumell was sent on administrative leave after an incident with Khan who allegedly stormed into his office and was abusive to him.

According to reports, the incident stemmed from Brumell’s decision to have Marcey Parker removed from reading the television news while being a candidate of A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC).

This newspaper was told that Brumell, in an official document to the management of the company, stated that it was

Organic waste to business opportunity project begins in Guyana

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Some participants of the workshop on how to create business opportunities from organic waste

uyana is among six Caribbean territories currently benefiting from a waste management pilot project designed to create economic opportunities from organic waste.

The Guyana leg is a partnership between the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

The pilot project is being implemented in two phases and is facilitated by IICA Technical Specialist, Dr Abimbola Abiola.

The first phase of the project is a two-day workshop “Creating Economic Opportunities for the Organic Waste Management Sector through the Adoption of Bio-economic Models in the Caribbean”. which commenced on Monday, NAREI said in a press statement that day.

Participating agencies were selected from both the Private and Public Sectors. They include Demerara Distillers Limited; NAREI; the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) and the Guyana Livestock Development Authority.

At the end of the workshop, participants will be responsible for several projects. They are expected to present their findings in April 2020 when the second phase of the project will commence.

According to NAREI’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Oudho Homenauth, this project, which would assist in eliminating greenhouse gases, complements the Institute’s research in soil management.

“Soil health is important, so we have been doing various research in this regard. While we would have conducted some studies in composting, emphasis is being placed on vermicomposting. We have been able to transfer this technology to the farming communities. Another area we are looking at is the utilisation of coconut waste. We have had successes with the use of coconut coir and cocopeat,” Dr Homenauth said.

IICA Country Representative to

Guyana, Wilmot Garnett encouraged participants to consider the financial aspects of their projects since agriculture was business. He explained that the findings would help to determine whether a project would be financially feasible in one area versus another.

Garnett related that Belize, Jamaica, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and The Bahamas are also beneficiaries of this pilot project. However, the project will be rolled out to other Caribbean territories.

“IICA through its programmes of Bioeconomy and Production Development; and Climate Change, Natural Resources and Management of Production Risks, has identified the potential solution of developing a model based on composting technology (in its first stage). This model promotes the development of complex interlinkages between actors in the value chain, such as those in the renowned industrial symbiosis projects,” Garnett said.

Imran Khan – DPI Head Imran Khan

unethical to have someone on a party’s candidate list read the news.

The decision to have the anchor replaced reportedly angered Khan who stormed Brumell’s office.

Khan has no legal standing over administrative decisions of NCN. When contacted by this publication, NCN’s Chairman Enrico Woolford confirmed that there was an altercation and that after being shown the footage, Brumell voluntarily proceeded on leave to facilitate the investigation.

“The matter is under investigation. There was an incident. There was an altercation between two persons. Our security officials looked at it and thought that it would have been best

for the Editor in Chief to proceed on administrative leave while they investigate the matter.”

Asked if the leave was indefinite, he noted that the duration of the leave depends mainly on the outcome of the investigation.

anymore, he simply said she cannot be involved in the news, even if it’s as simple as reading it,” one media colleague wrote on social media in support of Brumell.

“He (Brumell) even said it’s her constitutional right to be a candidate; however, as a journalist, there are written and unwritten principles that govern the profession and that’s what he’s standing by,” the colleague added.

It was only on Sunday that the necessity of journalists appearing unbiased was emphasised during a two-day

Support for EIC

The incident has seen some employees of NCN taking to social media to express support for their Editor-in-Chief, who they said made an ethical decision in the interest of the core principles of journalism.

“The decision was to remove someone, who’s a candidate at the upcoming Elections, from reading the news. He didn’t say that she shouldn’t be working at the company

Marcey Parker

training on Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) coverage, ahead of the General and Regional Elections.

Meanwhile, the Guyana Press Association has since been engaged on the matter.

Visa free travel to Albania as Guyana, Albania sign visa waiver agreement

Ambassador of Guyana to the United States, Dr Riyad Insanally and Ambassador of Albania to the United States, Floreta Faber, signed on behalf of their governments

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he Governments of Guyana and Albania on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the exemption of visa requirements for holders of diplomatic, service and ordinary passports, at the Embassy of Albania, in Washington, DC. A m b a s s a d o r of Guyana to the

United States, Dr Riyad Insanally, and Ambassador of Albania to the United States, Floreta Faber with their respective delegations following the signing of the MoU The Foreign Affairs Ministry in a statement on Tuesday said that Guyana and Albania established diplomatic re-

lations on May 1, 1985, and it is hoped that the MoU will lead to the enhancement of relations between the two countries. Albania is a country in southern Europe, located in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula on the Strait of Otranto, the southern entrance to the Adriatic Sea.

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Guyana celebrates India’s 70th Republic anniversary

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s Guyana joined in celebrations to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Republic Day of India, the two countries have committed to further strengthen ties in the areas of climate change and environmental issues.

At a reception hosted by the Indian High Commission at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, President David Granger applauded the country on the strides it has made in areas of climate change.

“Guyana applauds India’s leadership in promoting solar energy and technology to bring prosperity, energy security and sustainable development to the peoples of solar-rich countries – the solar belt – of tropical states particularly in Africa, the Americas and Asia.”

ture. India is very happy to strengthen the collaboration with Guyana that is where we all need to work together and think about ways and means for furthering the collaboration between the two countries.”

To this end, he high-

opment of the “Green State” initiative which is based on the Low Carbon Development Strategy initiated by the former Government.

It is a framework that is supposed to incorporate economic development programmes with

“India is now tackling climate change. As part of an International Solar Alliance, we are a partnership with Guyana to improve on technologies, sharing of new and improved technologies.”

The event featured cultural programmes including dance and music presentations by the High Commission’s Cultural Centre, Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre (SVCC), and presentation of skits based on patriotic themes by the students of Texila American University and Lincoln American University in Georgetown. The event also included prize distribution to the winners of an essay/drawing competition conducted by the High Commission on the topic “Swachhata Pakhwada” (Clean India Campaign).

India’s Republic Day is observed on January 26 each year and serves as a reminder of the day when that nation’s Constitution came into force in 1950, complet-

lighted the fact that India will lend its support towards the devel-

strategies to promote the fight against global warming.

ing the country’s transition toward becoming an independent republic.

President David Granger addressing the gathering at the 70th anniversary of the Republic Day of India.

Also in photo are India’s High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr KJ Srinivasa and Mrs Srinivasa

change. India has been a leader in its commitment to working towards mitigating the impact of

“Guyana and India shares friendly and cordial relations between the Governments

Tassa drummers performing at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre

The Head of State posited that Guyana will be intensifying its work in order to advance in its Green State Development agenda.

“We are collaborating, today, as advocates for combating the adverse effects of climate

climate change at the international level,” he remarked.

Meanwhile, the High Commissioner of India to Guyana, Dr KJ Srinivasa pledged his country’s support in strengthening already strong ties.

and its people both the Government support each other in the international fora, we collaborate in various fields and the one thing in this relationship is it continues to grow and we expect it to reach new heights in the near fu-

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Thousands sign petition calling for end of GTT monopoly

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nding the telecommunications monopoly was one of the David Granger-led Administration’s earliest promises when the APNU/AFC Government took office. However, five years later, the monopoly has not budged and Digicel is putting pressure on the Government to do so.

A petition has been started calling on the Government to end the monopoly, which grants the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T), a virtual monopoly on services.

“Not only is the #LiberalisationNOW Change.org petition racking up new signatures daily, the accompanying campaign video on YouTube has gained over 52,000 views and the campaign, Facebook page has 2086 followers with campaign posts having a reach of 654,990 since the start of campaign,” a statement from Digicel’s communications Manager Vidya Sanichara states.

“Likewise, there are 16,725 engagements on the Facebook page with people actively com-

menting and sharing posts to show their support for breaking the monopoly and liberalising the telecom industry.

Calling this change “long overdue”, Sanichara noted that after three decades, Guyanese suffer from limited choices, poor broadband coverage, poor quality of service and poor response time.

She also noted that despite the legislation that was supposed to pave the way for ending the telephone monopoly being passed in Parliament since July 2016 and assented to by the President, there is still no progress.

“This requires the issuance of a commencement order by the Minister. With Guyana stuck in the telecoms dark ages, liberalisation must happen immediately to give Guyana the internet it deserves.”

“The stakes couldn’t be higher.

Bringing Guyana’s communications into the 21st century won’t just improve lives; it’s essential to developing the economy – especially now that oil

production has begun with the first million barrels recently sold. As things stand, Guyana’s communication services are nowhere near ready to take full advantage of this development.”

A quote from CEO of Digicel Guyana, Gregory Dean was also included.

In the statement, Dean welcomed the petition and commented that “The response to the petition clearly shows that Guyanese are sick of being left behind and missing out on the opportunities that come with a digital economy.”

“Guyanese are calling on all our leaders to

mated his total losses to be $45 million.

“I was home and I got a call saying that the inside is no fire, I didn’t know to what extent or what magnitude…I was in total shock when I went in to see that it was completely damaged.

There’s no salvaging anything there and obviously, we’re disappointed,” Major noted.

Major further added that his next step is deciding whether to rebuild or move on. But according to the businessman, the fire was not electrical.

“Me and my partner will sit down [and decide] what we want going forward, if we’re just [going to] let it go and maybe rebuild…this has

the proprietor of Giftland Mall, Roy Beepat, who told reporters that the fire was contained very early by the mall’s personnel and firefighters, who arrived at the scene on time.

Beepat shared that there are a number of fire security measures in place at the mall to guarantee customers’ safety.

“Once again, our teams responded very quickly, the fire alarm went off, all the firefighting equipment was there, our personnel from iBet was very quick and they put the fire out in record time…the fire was put [out] in five to seven minutes after it started. There’s fire hoses, fire escapes, there’s firearm alarm and a very

GTT’s Corporate Office

take the necessary steps to eliminate the monopoly immediately and liberalise our telecommunications market so that other companies can roll out the services that Guyanese have waited far too long for. I encourage everyone to get on board with this movement by signing the petition before February 8th and show that the will of the people cannot be denied.”

In January of 2018, it was reported that negotiations with GTT and the Ministry to address the lifting of the monopoly were effective.

These negotiations be-

gan in 2016, where the intention of ending the 26-year-old monopoly on the fixed-line market was discussed. The liberalisation, once in place, would ensure there is fair competition and regulation among all enterprises in the business sector.

The liberalisation of the sector is heavily dependent on the settlement of a US$44 million tax claim against GTT. Atlantic Tele Network, GTT’s parent company, makes mention of this in its quarterly filings to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission -including

a sum of US$5 million for an adverse decision against the telecoms giant.

“GT&T is also involved in several legal claims regarding its tax filings with the Guyana Revenue Authority dating back to 1991 regarding the deductibility of intercompany advisory fees as well as other tax assessments,” the report states.

“The company maintains that any liability GTT might be found to have with respect to the disputed tax assessments, totalling $44.1 million, would be offset in part by the amounts necessary to ensure that GTT’s return on investment was no less than 15 per cent per annum for the relevant periods.

The company believes that some adverse outcome is probable and has accordingly accrued $5.0 million as of June 30, 2018, for these matters.”

Efforts to contact Public Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes for an explanation for the delay and silence from the Government was futile.

Fire guts District Ultra Lounge at Giftland Mall

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illions of dollars went up in flames on Tuesday after a fire of unknown origin completely gutted the pop-

Owner of the District Ultra Lounge, Sean Major

ular party spot, District Ultra-Lounge, located at the Giftland Mall, Pattensen, Greater Georgetown.

The blaze reportedly started at about 13:25h inside the nightclub which caused an emergency evacuation of the area which is known as “The Strip”.

When Times International arrived at the scene, patrons and business owners were seen assembled in the parking area as firefighters contained the blaze.

Owner of the entertainment spot, Sean Major during an interview with the media explained that nothing was salvageable as he esti-

Firefighters at the scene on Tuesday

nothing to do with electrical based on a few fire officers I spoke to. They checked the panel, everything is in tack”.

Also at the scene was

alert and well-trained security. In fact, we have regular fire drills so in events like this the place is evacuated very quickly.”

Inside the destroyed District Ultra Lounge

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

Court of Appeal defers H2H ruling until after Feb 6 …after AG resurrects “mysterious” 1991 legislation

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he Court of Appeal has deferred its ruling on the Houseto-House Registration partial appeal until after a February 6 hearing, after efforts by Attorney General Basil Williams to introduce an old piece of “mysterious” legislation into the arguments caught the court by surprise and resulted in the parties requesting more time to review.

It was expected that the Court of Appeal would rule on Monday on the State’s partial appeal of the High Court’s decision on the Houseto-House Registration case. However, much to the surprise of everyone, Williams informed the court that he had found a piece of legislation which speaks to inserting residency into the Constitution of Guyana.

This piece of legislation, Constitution Amendment Number 4, Act of 1991, was part of the constitutional reform process prior to the 1992 elections. Williams argued before Chancellor Yonnette CummingsEdwards and Justices Dawn Gregory and Rishi Persaud, that the court

Attorney General Basil Williams

should consider the Act as applicable.

However, the Chancellor questioned whether the Act was valid considering the 29-year interval. She also pointed out to the AG that the question appeared not to have been settled even with subsequent elections being held.

Resurrected Act

Former AG Anil Nandlall, who appeared for the first-named respondent, Christopher Ram, argued that this resurrected Act should not be considered as it was not included in the Constitution in the first place.

Casting doubt on whether it was even a lawful document, Nandlall requested time to peruse it. A similar request was made by the other parties, such as Guyana Bar Association President Teni Housty and recently appointed Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde.

Despite some protest from the AG, the court acquiesced to the request. The court granted all sides until Monday, February 3, 2020, to make written submissions and Wednesday, February 5, to respond.

They are to return for a hearing on Thursday, February 6 at 10:30h.

Irrelevant After the hearing, Nandlall described the Act as irrelevant to current elections, but rather pertains to electoral reforms made in 1991 for elections the next year.

According to him, his successor’s argument is a vexatious one.

“The AG is relying on a piece of legislation that was part of the reforms that took place in 1991 as we were preparing for the 1992 general elections.

During that period there were widespread reforms at the level of the legislature and the electoral system. So laws had to be passed to capture the agreements arrived at by politicians at the time.”

“For example the reform of GECOM, we had to specifically keep that and put it in the Constitution, before it became a permanent part of the legislature of the country. But those other aspects of the legislation were never kept. They were like sunset legislature that fell away after the 1992 elections came and went. So it’s unfortunate, at this late hour, that the AG has come up with this time-wasting

Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall

exercise.”

Nandlall pointed out that elections are already set and it would be inconceivable for the court to undo all the work the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has put into making the elections happen and preparing a voters’ list.

Efforts to contact the AG were futile.

Despite calling it a partial appeal, Attorney General Basil Williams is contesting most of the major points from Chief Justice Roxane George’s August 14, 2019 ruling.

One of the major contestations in the appeal 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.

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Jagdeo takes Govt to task over abysmal record in Indigenous communities

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he People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) held its rally in Lethem, where a mammoth crowd of residents from the Rupununi district on Sunday turned up to listen to the Party’s plans as outlined in its manifesto.

Among the Party speakers were General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo.

He told the gathering of thousands that the PPP is “no fair-weather friend” but rather, a Party that would fight for their rights and support them, no matter what. He noted that the Party’s track record of investing in Indigenous communities differed sharply from that of A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC).

“I recall one time when we got some kids from the hinterland to go

to President’s College, in Parliament (someone) said we’d lower the standards of President’s College. Guess what, three years later a child from the hinterland topped President’s College.

Simply because people were not getting opportunities over those years.

“It was a slow, tortuous path to development,” Jagdeo recalled. “And we had to do this with very little money. In 1992, when we took office, we were bankrupt, totally bankrupt. We were using 153 per cent revenue to service debt. We had very little to start with. And over the years, we were able to spend more. The Presidential Grant started building things in the villages, helping people.”

According to Jagdeo, the Government’s mantra has been about “bullyism”.

A section of the gathering at the Lethem, Region Nine rally

He told the crowd that the coalition’s primary motivation in coming into their villages was because there was an election approaching.

However, Jagdeo reminded the residents of Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) that the Government dropped the ball for years

when it comes to titling Indigenous land, despite money being available for it from the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) that the PPP left behind.

“What did they do in the last four years? We left them US$10.2 million, under the LCDS Norwegian fund for land titling for the Amerindian people.

Because under the PPP, it moved from six per cent of Guyana to 14 per cent.

And we were continuing this. They promised this in the last elections.

“And they did not a single village until (recently), they hurriedly did two of them. They broke every single promise. In fact, a Keith Scott, one of their Ministers in Parliament, stood up and

they all listened to him say Amerindians are greedy people: if they get more land, they must not benefit from oil and gas money.”

It was only in September 2019, days after it was heavily criticised over its handling of land titles and extensions within Guyana’s Indigenous community by the Opposition, that Government announced that eight communities will be receiving either their title certificates or extensions. Again after heavy criticism by the Opposition, Cabinet recently approved the absolute grants under the Amerindian Land Titling (ALT) Project, which is funded by the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF) to the tune of US$10.7 million.

In May 2018, Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock had told the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Natural Resources at the National Assembly that some $500 million has been spent on the Project.

The ALT Project was extended by the coalition Government from 2016 to 2018 and then again from 2019 to 2021.

The Amerindian Act of 2006 states that a village may apply in writing to the Minister (of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs), in order to receive a grant of State lands as an extension to its village lands.

Further, Indigenous communities can apply in writing to the subject Minister provided that they have been in existence for over 25 years at the time of application and for the immediately preceding five years, they comprised at least 150 persons.

However, the Act does not require a Village Improvement Plan for the processing or granting of land extensions to any Indigenous village or community. This is in contradiction of the excuse proffered by the Government for the slow progress in land titling over the years.

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020| GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

DPP advices further probe in Linden student stabbing …suspect released after court refuses extension altercation.

In the video seen by this publication, the knife was left protruding from the child’s back as she bled profusely. She can be seen in the video begging for help to be taken to the hospital but no one immediately assisted. In the video, per-

T

The injured Linden Foundation Secondary School student

he Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has advised the Police to conduct further investigations into the stabbing of a 15-yearold Linden, Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice) student of the Linden Foundation Secondary School.

The teen was stabbed to her back with a Rambo knife by a schoolmate during a fight on Thursday last.

Regional Commander Hugh Winter confirmed that the 12-year-old sister of the suspect was released from Police custody on Saturday.

However, the 14-year-old old main suspect was re-

leased from Police custody on Tuesday.

The Commander added that the Police moved to the court to have an additional 72 hours period extension to keep the teen in custody. However, this request was denied by the court. As such, she was released.

A hospital official had confirmed that the student, who was stabbed to her lower back with a 12 inch “Rambo” knife, underwent five hours of emergency surgery and was transported to the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) early on Friday morning.

According to the official, the student suf-

fered extensive injuries to her muscles, tendons and several of her internal organs including her lungs, spleen, diaphragm and stomach. She was being closely monitored while in the ICU over a 24-hour period.

The stabbing occurred at about 15:00h at Third Corner, Central Amelia’s Ward and was caught on camera and shared on social media.

Based on reports received, the injured student was involved in a physical altercation with another female student of the said school when she was stabbed. The suspect is the older sister of the student with whom the victim had the

sons can be seen passing by but did not render assistance. Students from the school who were cheering on when the fight started were seen running away when the teen was stabbed. She was eventually assisted after she rushed into the moving traffic.

Meanwhile, the injured student’s mother is calling for justice for her

child.

“This incident could have been avoided by passers-by, by students, the teachers, the guard and I don’t know what happened. They leave my child lying on the road with a knife in her back and I can’t take it like that I need justice,” the clearly distraught mother had said.

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020| GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

EITI calls for mineral agreements to be made public

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he Extractive I n d u s t r i e s Transparency Initiative (EITI) has flagged the Natural Resources Ministry for not making public the recent mineral contracts that were initiated.

In its 2017 report, EITI suggested that Guyana must comply with requirement 2.4 (a) of its 2019 Standard, which states that implementing countries are required to disclose any contracts and licenses that provide the terms attached to the exploitation of oil, gas, and minerals.

However, National Coordinator of EITI Guyana, Dr Rudy Jadoopat stated that

National Coordinator of EITI Guyana, Dr Rudy Jadoopat

these agreements are yet to be published for public scrutiny.

“The Minerals agreements have not yet been published. The Government made an announcement that it is going to publish the mineral agreements and they are

going to make [it] publicly available,” he outlined.

Dr Jadoopat made it clear that the Secretariat will be working with the Natural Resources Ministry to ensure that these contracts are made public as it is a requirement by the EITI

Standard.

“That has not been done so far as of now [publishing of the minerals agreements], so we are looking forward for more work to be done to allow the mineral agreements to be made public.”

When asked about when these agreements are likely to be published, the National Coordinate had this to say.

“I would not be able to say when, but the Government promise, but the Natural Resources Minister is on record for announcing that the minerals agreements will be published. We will be asking the same question you are asking when this will be done and we are looking forward for it to

LHC performs 1st successful surgery on patient with complex disorders

tient was cared for by registered nurse Yildra Napoles and certified microbiologist Madelyn Martinez.

There was also special participation from the nursing department of the female ward of the LHC, who provided close care which allowed the patient to have an immediate post-operative period free of complications.

D

The medical team that performed the successful surgery

octors and medical personnel attached to the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC) in Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice) recently performed successful surgery for three “complex” medical conditions on a patient.

The team of medical personnel which consisted of Chinese medical officials as well as local and Cuban doctors performed a total vaginal hysterectomy for Uterine Cervical Elongation, uterine prolapse, and uterine fibroids.

These conditions, according to members of the team, are considered three of the most woeful gynaecological issues which create worry and discomfort in women. It was noted that when all three of these conditions occur at the same time in the same patient, it is an even more tragic situation for the patient.

The symptoms include abnormal, abun-

dant uterine bleeding; frequent urination in small amounts; sensation of a foreign object lodged in the vagina; lower abdominal pain and severe pain during sexual intercourse. Such was the case with the 46-year-old patient with an obstetric history of several vaginal births, and past medical history of hypothyroidism (condition where the thyroid gland produces insufficient hormones).

Members of the team indicated that the patient started to present symptoms almost four years ago. These symptoms reportedly worsened over time, leading to several episodes of anaemia and urinary incontinence.

The patient was evaluated by a Cuban gynaecologist attached to the hospital, who decided that surgical management was the best solution. As such, the surgery was performed on January 7, under spi-

nal anaesthesia and mild sedation. The team reported that a total vaginal hysterectomy was performed over a period of two hours and was satisfactory.

Presently, the patient is at home recovering with an excellent evolution and is extremely grateful to have been treated by the medical staff who have now returned to her a better quality of life.

The surgery was performed by Dr Marlenis Esteris Plutin and Dr Yanara Salas, with assistance from Guyanese Government Medical Officer (GMO) of the same department, Dr Faith London.

The case anaesthesiologist was Marliuvys E Naranjo Chavez, with support from nurses, Anaesthetists and operating theatre staff, as well as the rest of the LHC Obstetrics/ Gynaecology team.

During the post-operative period, the pa-

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman

be done as soon as possible.”

In April last year, the Natural Resources Ministry had moved to engage a number of companies for the release of mining and forestry contracts but this is yet to materialise due to concerns being raised by stakeholders.

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman stated that the companies were written to, but the majority of them objected to the publication of such documents. According to him, they are against their competitors viewing sections of the contracts that provide valuable information. On the other hand, others have asked for an extended period to grant permission.

“We have written the other concessionaries for mining and for forest-

ry. Some of them have expressed their objections to the publications.

Some of them have said that they need further clarifications from their head offices. While they may not have given precise reasons on why they might have objected or asked for further time, a lot of it has to do with ‘if I have this, I don’t want my competitors to know’.

That is what is proprietary,” he said.

As part of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), all contracts from the oil and mineral resources must be publicised to ensure transparency.

But Trotman stated that while Guyana has gained membership, they are now working to establish a framework to adopt and implement the requirements.

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

Guyana must have strong Local Content Policies – Jagdeo tells Bartica

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uyana has already begun oil production, even without critical pieces of legislation being put in place. One such piece of legislation is the Local Content Policy – which would guarantee the locals a fair fight for services in the oil and gas sector.

According to the Leader of the Opposition and General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Bharrat Jagdeo, under a PPP/C Government, those critical pieces of legislation would be given prominence. He was at the time addressing a large gathering of supporters at Dino Square, Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

“Exxon came here under the PPP. They were exploring for oil under the PPP. They found oil before the last elections (2015) and these people came into office with a gift there. All they had to do was to protect our interests and they failed absolutely,” he said.

“The oil belongs to the people of Guyana, all 800,000 of us and it must benefit our people.

The young people must have jobs, our people must get more business.

There must be a strong Local Content Policy to force the oil companies to send business our way,” Jagdeo added.

He noted that Guyanese businesses have no protection under the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government. Under a PPP/C Government, Jagdeo noted that every Guyanese would see

Leader of the Opposition and General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Bharrat Jagdeo, addressing the gathering

their wealth and prosperity grow because of the oil resources.

“We have to spend the money wisely. We have to ensure that the money is not stolen.

That is why we said we will criminalise non-disclosures. Any minister, even under the PPP, who does not reveal the sums of money we receive under the oil companies, that person can go to jail for 10 years. We will pass laws to do that so we can avoid what happened,” Jagdeo said.

Jagdeo – a former Finance Minister himself— also took a jab at the current Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, who claimed that the Government thought the US$18 million signing bonus was a gift from ExxonMobil. He accused

the Government of being incompetent when it comes to managing the natural resources of the country.

The seasoned politician told supporters that they are grateful for the level of support the campaign has received as they continue to present their plans to take Guyana forward. He noted that everywhere the Party has been, there have been complaints of doom under the current administration.

Destructive policies Likening the APNU/ AFC coalition government to that of the Forbes Burnham-led People’s National Congress (PNC) Government, Jagdeo told supporters that all the signs are there for disaster should the coalition remain in office af-

ter March 2, 2020.

He noted that the destructive policies of the APNU/AFC were not started when they took office in 2015 but rather, it all began some three years prior when they had a majority in the National Assembly.

The two parties would have teamed up to shoot down a number of developmental projects as well as significantly reduce budgetary allocation to a number of state agencies in moves that the PPP/C has described as vindictive.

He informed supporters that despite being at the helm of the country’s leadership, the David Granger-led Government cannot campaign on their achievements.

running after five years in office, it wants to come to the people and talk about all the good it has done in the five years but this bunch can’t do that because they don’t have many achievements.

They can’t talk about their plans for the future because they have none,” Jagdeo said as he roused supporters.

He reminded that the APNU/AFC continues to flout the Constitution while alluding to the Government’s actions following the passage of the No-Confidence Motion on December 21, 2018, that was passed in the National Assembly.

He explained that had the PPP/C not protested the Government’s non-compliance and had the international com-

He accused President Granger of threading the path of dictatorship and urged supporters to reject this when they go to the ballots on March 2. He reminded that Granger promised to remove the no-confidence provision in the Constitution so that no Government is removed before its allotted five years.

The former President reminded supporters that under the PPP/C Government in the past, the party has never once flouted the rule of law.

He said that it is hypocritical for the President to talk about honesty and decency when the present administration lacks every definition of that terminology.

Jagdeo urged their

A section of the crowd at the Bartica rally

“We have seen 8 years of destructive policies of this Government.

Their entire campaign is not about their achievements. When a party is

munity not call out the Government’s actions, then the constitutionally mandated elections would have been further delayed.

supporters to mobilise and come out in their numbers on Election Day and vote early so that a PPP/C victory could be ensured.

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020| GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

ELECTION DAY PROTOCOL

GECOM to discuss provocative utterances by APNU/AFC leaders

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he Guyana E l e c t i o n s Commission (GECOM) is expected to discuss the recent utterances on the campaign trail by the A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) candidates, where they called on supporters to “protect their ballots”.

The issue was raised with GECOM via a letter written by former Attorney General and People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) candidate, Anil Nandlall.

Former Attorney General, Anil Nandlall

On Wednesday, GECOM Chair Retired Justice Claudette Singh wrote to Nandlall and informed him that the issue would be discussed when the

Lawrence, Finance Minister Winston Jordan, Attorney General Basil Williams and former Guyana Defence Force Chief of Staff, Gary Best.

derstand what I am saying, comrades? This is not a time for sleeping…They must not catch us sleeping on the job. Comrades, at 6 o’clock, you return to

GECOM Chair Retired Justice Claudette Singh

elections body meets on February 4.

Disturbed at utterances In his letter, Nandlall outlined that the PPP/C is gravely disturbed at the utterances of several of the candidates on the coalition government’s list.

He explained that they have been utilising their political platforms to encourage the assembly of their supporters at polling places after the polls close.

He singled out a number of candidates who have been encouraging supporters to “protect their ballot”, and among those names are People’s National Congress (PNC) Chairperson Volda

The PNC Chairperson, at a public meeting in Kitty, Georgetown, on January 19, told supporters: “When 6 o’clock hit, comrades, you supposed to already have your bath and put on your nightshift clothing…You un-

work at the places of polling and you will remain out there and let our staff inside know that you’re out there…And then our nice strong men will be mobilised to follow that ballot box until it goes into that container and

the APNU/AFC padlock and chain is placed on that container…”

In his letter, Nandlall reminded that violence and riotous behaviours are commonly associated with the conduct of elections of Guyana. He reminded Justice Singh of such instances during the conduct of the 2015 General and Regional Elections when the car of PPP/C candidate Joseph Hamilton was torched, as well as a polling place in

Sophia.

“Even senior APNU/ AFC leaders who appeared on the scene could not quell this assembly of coalition supporters which was quickly transformed into a mob. Statements of the type, which reference is made above, are, therefore, a sure recipe for disaster. GECOM and the security forces are quite competent to secure and convey the ballots to its requisite locations and no political party ought to be CONTINUED ON PAGE 25

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

Financing hinterland community development projects under PPP/C – Irfaan Ali P e o p l e ’ s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Presidential Candidate, Dr Irfaan Ali told a massive crowd in Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takatu-Upper Essequibo) that the party has committed to providing resources for hinterland communities to implement development plans that will see the

from the residents.

He posited that the PPP regime is motivated and committed to returning hinterland villages and the region to prosperity.

Prepare to return to work

The PPP/C Presidential Candidate added that the 2000 young people who lost their jobs as Community

scholarships that Ali plans to grant.

“For [the] first time, we will make UG [University of Guyana] education accessible to everyone in Region Nine through online and distant learning so that they can have university education without leaving the region. And we are going to connect the output of the education system with the economy so that jobs will be created for them when they graduate,” the presidential hopeful promised.

Expansion of the school uniform programme is also another initiative the PPP/C regime will ensure. He noted that they will train women in the communities and equip them with sewing machines so that they can supply uniforms. This way, the money from the pro-

cal economy. He noted that agricultural products will be used in that programme to build village economies and keep the wealth of the region within.

Transportation system

Additionally, he promised a better transportation system in the hinterland so that children can have easier access to schools.

“We are going to invest in roads, airstrips and water supply to bring down the cost of transportation. And in doing that, we are going to bring down the cost of living, the cost of food and we will be able to put back more money into your pockets,” he stated.

Ali also assured the Region Nine residents that his Administration will link their commu-

PPP/C Presidential Candidate, Dr Irfaan Ali

maximise services to the residents.

Another PPP project, he said the incumbent administration failed at implementing is the solar power programme.

“This Government did nothing but maintain the batteries. So not only are we going to re-

PPP/C Prime Ministerial Candidate, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips shares a light moment with supporters in Region Nine

region progress.

He was at the time addressing residents of Lethem and surrounding communities as the party held another successful rally on Sunday.

Development conference Ali pointed out that should the party win the upcoming polls then within the first month, the new Government will convene a development conference for hinterland and riverine communities. He noted that during that conference, they will work with leaders of hinterland villages and communities to devise plans.

“But much more than this, we are going to commit the resources to finance and implement those plans to bring benefit to your communities,” he assured.

The presidential hopeful pointed out that these development plans will aim at improving livelihoods of residents and ultimately, the region.

“It must support village economy. It must support community tourism. It must support social services. You deserve better health care, you deserve better education. You deserve better water supply. You deserve more jobs. You deserve more scholarships. You deserve a better transportation system. You deserve a better Government and that Government is coming on March 2 and will bring these things,” Ali declared to loud cheers

Support Officers (CSOs) under the incumbent coalition Government should prepare to return to work when his party gets into office.

“Those nurses, teachers, health workers, medics, who when I visit the community, complain about the conditions under which they work and about the treatment from the RDC [Regional Democratic Council] and REO [Regional Executive Officer] who complain about the mistreatment, after March 2 your freedom, right and protection will return; and you will be treated with dignity, honour and pride under PPP Government,” he stated.

According to Ali, when the PPP left office in 2015, it left resources to improve the lives of hinterland communities but these were all taken away by the coalition Government. He said they took away the money in the Basic Needs Trust Fund as well as the computers under the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) programme and the solar panels that were set aside for hinterland communities.

Education

He pointed out that a PPP/C regime will ensure that every child has access to not only primary but secondary education. In addition, he noted that they are also going to increase the hinterland scholarship programme. Hinterland residents will also benefit from the 20,000 new

PPP/C supporters at the Lethem Rally

gramme will remain within the villages and communities.

In keeping with that theme, Ali outlined that they will also expand the school feeding programme and ensure it is connected to the lo-

nities to the future and give them better internet access. He pointed out that the current WiFi programme being implemented by the coalition is a PPP initiative. But he said that this means nothing if the right equipment is not used to

place the batteries to ensure that the solar power is working, but we are not going to stop until every single family, every single village will have access to solar power. That is what your Government will bring

Alleged cutlass-wielding remanded

back,” he promised.

Govt failures

Meanwhile, his running mate, PPP/C Prime Ministerial Candidate (ret’d) Brigadier Mark Phillips told the residents of Region Nine that while the coalition stole plans that the PPP left and passed it off as their own, they have failed to properly implement them.

Recognising the potential of the region, he posited that the PPP/C will reverse all the mistakes and wrongs of the incumbent Administration. But he noted that the only way this can be done is if the thousands of them that gathered there for the rally, show up at the polls on March 2 and cast their votes next to the cup – PPP/C’s party symbol.

“This is not a war with weapons, this is a war that we going to win by putting our ‘x’ next to the cup. The 2nd [of] March, just like we marched down the road, we going to march to the polling stations in every village, in every town and put your ‘x’ next to the cup. That is victory,” he declared.

bandit

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wenty-one-year-old Joshua Perreira, of Charlestown, Georgetown, was on Wednesday remanded to prison for allegedly robbing a woman while waving a cutlass at her.

Perreira appeared before Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts and denied the charge which stated that on January 17, 2020, at Saffon Street, La Penitence, Georgetown, while being in the company of others and armed with a cutlass, he robbed Patricia Abrahams of a phone valued $65,000, several gold rings and cash totalling $331,000, property of Abrahams.

The prosecution objected to bail on the grounds of the serious nature of the offence. The case will continue on February 15, 2020.

On January 24, 19-year-old

Mark Gravesande, of Lot 2194 Dairy, West Bank Demerara (WBD), was also charged for the same offence. He is currently on remand.

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3-year-old leukaemia patient to receive overseas treatment

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hree-year-old Chayanne Parboo, who was diagnosed with leukaemia in December of last year, has been accepted to receive medical treatment overseas according to local charitable organisation Saving Hands Emergency Aid (SHEA).

SHEA in a post on Monday shared that it has secured medical treatment for the child and is currently raising funds for her immediate transportation since young Parboo’s blood platelet counts continue to be critically low.

The three-yearold is hospitalised at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), where she was required to have a bone marrow test done to diagnose her condition, but due to her low blood count, doctors were prevented from performing the test, thus placing her in the line to urgently obtain blood platelets.

The child fell ill and was admitted to the Suddie Public Hospital but was later transferred to the GPHC where doctors made the health discovery.

Young Parboo’s platelet count was recorded to

Three-year-old Chayanne Parboo

be 6000 and will need at least 50,000 to conduct the test since a normal platelet count ranges from 150,000 to 450,000 platelets. But even so, the treatment the child

needs is not available in Guyana.

SHEA is publicly urging persons to donate funds to transport the young child for immediate medical care.

GECOM to discuss... involved in this process, except as authorised by the Representation of the People’s Act,” Nandlall outlined in his letter to Justice Singh.

He reminded that Section 78(A) of the Representation of the People’s Act Cap 1:03 makes it a criminal offence for any unauthorised person to obstruct or interfere with the conveyance of election materials, ballot boxes, and ballot papers.

Nandlall, therefore, pleaded with GECOM to publicly denounce the statements, as well as reassure the electorate that such activities would not be tolerated.

In her response to Nandlall, Justice Singh informed that the matter would be placed on the Commission’s agenda when they meet next Tuesday.

Just over the weekend, Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield reminded that it is the responsibility of the Police and not supporters to secure ballot boxes.

The CEO made it clear that the only time parties have a role in securing ballot boxes is when disciplined services go out and vote. He noted that on Election Day, when the entire population votes, no such arrangement exists.

“Let’s start with the disciplined services. For disciplined services balloting 10 days before elections, we have ballot stations in Police and army localities. When I go to Timehri, for instance, and the day is ended, I facilitate the movement of those votes back to the centre to be secured,” Lowenfield said.

“Each location will have a (party) agent. So the Commission has approved the movement of agents from the respective parties to accompany. We can only take X amount in the bus we have. So yes, there is accompaniment of the votes from the disciplined services, so they arrive at the destination at GECOM. And they will observe us placing the boxes in a container. For general and regional, there is no such arrangement.”

According to Lowenfield, he will be meeting with the various election parties to brief them on these and other issues.

No voting with ‘pink slips’ Nandlall also wrote the GECOM Chair expressing concerns over statements she purportedly made to the Guyana Chronicle.

The State’s newspaper quoted Justice Singh as saying, “Why should

FROM PAGE 23

I take off people? Come elections day, should these people come up with their pink slip, indicating that they were registered, what are we going to do?

The people will demand that they have a right to vote because they were registered,” during an interview.

However, Nandlall said that the PPP/C is concerned with the statement and asked for clarifications.

“Our understanding is that the law and the Constitution only permit persons whose names are on the Official List of Electors (OLE) to vote. Unfortunately, your statement appears inconsistent with this legal reality. You must appreciate that this is a matter of crucial importance and unless this inconsistency is resolved, it can result in public disorder, confusion and chaos on the day of poll,” the letter stated.

In her response, Justice Singh clarified: “I have to inform you that there was no indication in my statement that persons should vote with ‘pink slips’. The reference to ‘pink slips’ attested only to the fact that they would have been registered”.

GECOM will be hosting General and Regional Elections on March 2, 2020.

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e quite often take our teachers for granted because of the fact that they are always there for us. It is because they would rush to help us whenever we need it and they nurture us the way our parents do. Some teachers would go the extra mile to ensure that we have the necessary tools required to make us the best at everything we do.

Quite often we do not appreciate everything a teacher does for us because most of the times they never let us in. They never allow us to see or know the level of sacrifice they make so that we can become the doctors, lawyers, engineers or embrace whatever path we choose.

The saying that teaching is a selfless profession is indeed one of the truest, and teachers are very noble people.

To get an insight into the life of a teacher, the Sunday Times Magazine caught up with 31-year-old English teacher, Noreema Azaad-Ledra who shared a rare glimpse into her journey.

Here is what she wrote:

“Being the youngest of six, I, somewhat, grew up alone. The age gap between my siblings and I were one of the reasons for this. In my single-parent family, my mother worked arduously to make ends meet, my sisters were married and the boys were pretty much busy with their own lives, and I was left to experiment with the rights and wrongs of life.

As a child growing, one definite thing that I wanted out of life was to complete my high school education. Only one of my sibling was able to complete high school and I watched my mother strug-

FEATURE 29

gle to be both my mother and father and I knew that my education was a sure thing out of the challenges my family faced.

As a teenager, the distractions were plenty and I struggled to stay focused on the goal.

Nevertheless, I graduated with nine subjects and started my teaching career at age seventeen. The following year, I began my journey at the Cyril Potter College of Education, Vreed-enHoop Branch. There were many obstacles, I contemplated dropping out many times, but the light in me kept me going even when the odds were against me. In June 2010, I graduated from CPCE and started the University of Guyana in September of that same year. To say it was challenging would be an understatement. I juggled with my family, work and studies and made some life-changing decisions during this period.

Through it all, I knew that I am not a quitter and like a survivor, I pulled through and graduated in 2014 with a BA in English. In continuing with my quest for knowledge, I joined the National School of Theatre Arts and Drama that same year and graduated with a Diploma in 2015. During this time, I climbed the professional ladder to the current designation of Graduate Senior Assistant Mistress at the St Rose’s High School.

As a child, I remember beating up on the posts around the house, telling them to ‘pay attention’, imitating my teachers at school. I would also, steal chalk from school and take it home to write on anything with a flat surface. Looking back, I have never thought of being anything else and I felt that this was the easiest thing, as I urgently needed a job.

However, I do not still agree that it is the easiest job.

Teaching takes patience, dedication and commitment to get through each day with children and teenagers whose lives you mould into young adults.

I have had some influential teachers who have positively impacted upon my life and somewhat influenced my life’s choice and I strive to emulate the values that they imparted.

Being a teacher for almost 14 years, I can say that I feel tremendous joy when I see my students graduate. This feeling comes from knowing that I have contributed one way or another into shaping their young minds, helping them learn and guiding them every step of the way. Teaching is not for the faint at heart; it doesn’t end when school dismisses.

I have taken students to the hospital. I have cried bitterly when one of my students passed, and I have been deeply connected with those under my care, and try my utmost to help them get through their challenges, most times beyond the call of duty. What else would you call it, if not love for the job?

To upcoming teachers, do not be discouraged by the issues faced by teachers in present-day society, look beyond the surface and if this is your passion, then go for it. There is satisfaction and glory in knowing that in this job, you mould minds and shape lives.

It is sad that many persons are taking the job teachers do, for granted. However, this does not diminish the merits of teachers. We are not be measured against the salaries we collect, in fact, our value far surpassed that meagre amount we take home on a monthly basis.”

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Silence…

U

…is Granger’s consent nlike David Granger, PNC’s Chairwoman, Volda Lawrence, came through the party’s ranks— more specifically, the Georgetown PNC ranks.

While Granger boasted of being a “member” of the PNC since the sixties, he was a key cog in another of the triumvirate institutions on which the Burnhamite dictatorship was built – the Armed Forces. The third leg, of course, was the Public Service, which Burnham straightened out during stints at Hope Coconut Estate!!

Volda Lawrence isn’t called “Vulga” Lawrence just because her name is easily corruptible to that form. She’s been in the trenches for donkey years and knows how to use the strategic advantage of “owning” Georgetown to the party’s benefit. That advantage was shown as far back as 1905 when lumpen elements from the poorer sections of the city were mobilised by demagogues to loot and burn whole sections of Georgetown in protests. They were called “centipedes” from their penchant of running in crowds along the streets as if coordinated by one mind!

Burnham and foreign elements were to use these elements in the Black Friday Riots of 1962 to prove to the incumbent PPP regime: might be in office, but not in power!! The centipede elements were brought out with predictable regularity whenever the PNC wanted to remind its opponents that their politics weren’t waged only in Parliament – but in the streets. The 1997-98 PNC protests and riots were the fin de siècle events which signalled that the PNC was going to continue its centipede tradition into the new millennium!

Granger was made leader of the PNC since 2011— his accepting of rigging the party elections to hand him that role proved he accepted that corrupt act as mere “blooding”! He’s perfectly comfortable with all the dirty and bloody tricks the PNC will use to stay in power and the “clean” church-going image he cultivates is nothing more than that: an image. While his virtue signals at the drop of a hat, with carefullyscripted kneeling in churches and such like, Volda Lawrence does the “vulgar” PNC signalling to the centipede mob!

But you’ll notice Granger never, ever disavows Lawrence’s vulgarities – much less censuring her: they’ve worked out their good cop, bad cop routine to a “T”!! He never uttered a word about Lawrence’s declaration about giving “wuk” only to PNC people?

Or that the centipedes should come out in front of the polling stations after polling closes?? This is patently and blatantly illegal and shouldn’t be countenanced in a democracy!

Granger should remember Burnham’s quote: Qui tacet consentire videtur, ubi loqui debuit ac potuit: “He who is silent when he ought to have spoken and was able to, is taken to agree”!!

Where’s the “integrity”?? …and fools Over the years, the wisdom of Mark Twain’s quip, “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt” has been proven beyond even a quibble. But it’s clear that Moses Nagamootoo – the man still fighting to be Prime Minister! – feels compelled to ignore the advice.

His latest foray in removing doubts that he’s a fool was his utterances on the sugar estates’ closure, at a meeting (certainly NOT “rally” as he claimed!) at his home village of Whim. He claimed the PPP wanted “to show that this Government spite … Indo Guyanese” and were “racist”!! So his party hadn’t promised the estates wouldn’t be closed during the 2015 campaign? As did his Govt’s CoI! So the PPP shouldn’t point out the hypocrisy?

Nagamootoo also repeated assertions he’d made after the sugar closures that workers would get land to farm.

But after doling out lands to every PNC supporter in sight, why are sugar workers still landless??

Fool!! …on sugar, not bauxite Referring to Rusal’s temporary layoff of 142 workers, Labour Minister Keith Scott bemoaned, “We do not support the workers being laid off. They have families to care for and bills to pay.”

And sugar workers didn’t?

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FEATURE 33

I have always had a knack for teaching others – Sir André Ramon Ramaldo

By Lakhram Bhagirat

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eaching takes patience and one of the major driving forces behind one’s decision to take up the profession is the mere fact that they love doing it. A teacher who truly loves their job would exude a certain level of passion every time they stand before the classroom.

They make the best use of the very limited resources available to them and they go above and way beyond the call of duty to ensure that those in their care are afforded the best opportunities. They are the substitute for our parents and quite often become our role models because of their level of drive and passion.

A great teacher is one who can be patient even in the most challenging situations. Love for the profession cannot be taught, rather, it is something one has to develop. It makes no sense going before a classroom full of impressionable minds and not love what you are doing.

The love for teaching has been engrained in the being of André Ramon Ramaldo despite the profession not being his first choice— although it could be considered as his first job. Romaldo comes from a long line of successful teachers whose impact and contributions are immeasurable.

Some would say it was destined for him to become a teacher because of the fact that it was the ‘family business’ but for him, it has been a beautiful journey of selfrealisation.

It is said that a teacher never stops learning because of the fact that they encounter children from all walks of life with their unique stories. That, for Romaldo, makes the job all more interesting.

The 29-year-old English teacher hails from the ancient county of Berbice where he received his education. As we have established before, teachers are quite a few in his family and it meant that emphasis was placed on attaining a quality education. There was no such thing as skipping school or refusing to do homework.

While he said that his childhood was ordinary, it is quite evident that it produced an extraordinary individual.

“My parents and grandfather ensured my siblings and I were educated both academically and spiritually. Going to school was a must, I don't ever remember being kept home from school and church. From a very young age, I was thrust into the world of public speaking. I represented my nursery school, at a science fair and presented my project on wind turbines,” he recounts.

Romaldo would, throughout his school life, represent the various institution in public speaking competitions, thus, instilling in him a level of bravado and love for the art. Those experiences are what he credits as his driving force and the sole reason he is such an outspoken person today.

As a Grade Six student, Romaldo’s interest was piqued when everyone began urging him to become a lawyer since he was so exceptional at public speaking. It went from a casual suggestion to his main goal as he entered into his secondary life. The goal was to become a lawyer and he worked to position himself on the path to accomplishing that. He took comfort in the fact that as a lawyer, he would be equipped to address the needs of those that required his services but most importantly, he would be positioned to help underprivileged children.

“Of course this never happened; instead, in 2011, after a teacher colleague sat me down and talked sense into me, pointing out how well I worked with my students. Her exact words were 'André you are no lawyer, you are a teacher, and we need you, the students need you'. Around that same time I was reading a biographical account of my great grandfather, the section about his life as an educator and headmaster inspired me to pursue a career in education and teaching.

So, in September of 2011, I commenced training at Cyril Potter College of Education. I originally wanted to get trained as a Social Studies teacher but the Vice Principal at the time talked me into pursuing English. I have always had a knack for teaching others. Coming from a family of educators, it was in my blood as people would say. I have had good role models growing up.

My mother would tell me stories about my grandmother, who was herself a teacher, and how she would take great care to ensure her pupils learn, even if it meant hold- ing their hands as they learned to write. My great aunt, who was a formidable figure during her days as a teacher, always inspired me to be effective and efficient and ‘prepared’. She somehow has set the standard,” he noted.

As you would have figured, Romaldo started teaching when he came out of Secondary School but in addition to teaching, he also mentored youth in the Line Path, Skeldon community. He became involved in Youth Can Move the World, a programme focused on personal and community transformation, and engaged

many youths in the process of contributing to the development of their community. So far, he has taught at Tagore Memorial Secondary, St Rose’s High and is now at the Bishops’ High.

For him, much of the knowledge he now possesses, particularly in working with children, was developed during that time. A stringent follower of the Bahai Faith, Romaldo allowed his service to his community to play a big part in his teaching style.

“When I started my teaching career in 2009, I was immersed in the teachings of the Bahai Faith. I had experienced a personal transformation having just learned about the principles of the Faith. I was particularly impressed and inspired by the Faith's teaching on the purpose and importance of education. Thus, a lot of my own epistemology about education had been inspired by the Faith and I went about doing my job with just that in mind. I commenced teaching knowing the importance of academic education but also knowing that without moral education, an individual amounts to nothing.”

When he joined the profession, Romaldo was particularly rudely awakened by the poor treatment of students followed by the utilisation of corporal punishment as a means of discipline. Those were two things that made him feel powerless but he decided that change had to start with him; so he began swimming against the proverbial current.

Being a new teacher came with some amount of fear because of the fact that students became observant and from the moment they smelled fear they would pounce. He recalled one student that was on the bad list of every teacher and the warnings he received before entering that student’s class. However, he treated the student as he would any other and never had an issue with him behaving unmannerly in class.

It is his treatment of every student as equals that sets him apart and has contributed to motivating them to aim for the stars but reach beyond. He empowers his student to believe that there is no unachievable task so that they can tap into parts of them that they did not know existed.

“Over the years, I learned that many students come from broken homes and communities and I saw the need to be compassionate and open-minded to the various realities of students. The board chairman of the school always encouraged teachers to be the 'significant other' for our students. This is taken to heart as I realised many students needed such a person.”

When asked about what advice he would give to young teachers, this is what Romaldo had to say: “Teaching will not make you a fortune, it's a noble profession, a calling some would say. As teachers, you have an opportunity to awaken and animate the innate qualities of your students. You help bring to life their talents and their varied abilities. A successful teacher is one who is compassionate and takes time to connect with each student, I know this can be a challenge when our classrooms are overflowing but work out a strategy where you have time to have a one-toone with each student.

“Be prepared, students sense when a teacher is not prepared and they take advantage of that. Be s e v eral steps ahead of your students, like them, y o u must also know about the latest piece of technology, students appreciate when teachers are relevant.

Set out your expectations for your students, let them know that you are there to guide and assist them, let them know you expect them to be respectful and responsible.

Encourage students to express themselves, cultivate a culture in your classroom where every student has a voice, an opinion.

Teach your students people skills. Promote inclusivity, be aware of those who have special educational needs. Let the hidden curriculum you reveal to your students be seen to be positive. They are looking at you when you interact with your seniors and your equals. They are looking at you when you are out of the classroom. Yes, you have to live your life but do not bring ill repute to the profession. Never be afraid to say ' I don't know', it's better to say this than lie. Be the kind of teacher you would want. Be a light, an inspiration to your students.

I would like to see the removal of corporal punishment from the system.

Schools should be safe spaces. We have to move away from the slavish mentality of flogging as a deterrent to wrongdoing or indiscipline. As such, all schools should be equipped with school counsellors or psychologists. Values education should be given the same degree of importance as academic education. Schools should be more inclusive.”

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By Lakhram Bhagirat

A

t the end of the day, goals is one that befeeling of mere satconfronted with the results fices is one which becomes For the past four plus been living his dreams evhis classroom. The question reer is one that comes up evhas settled into a particular For Thomas, the queser what he wanted to er it was when he begin doing it. The for him has albeen to enter the ing profession because it is a crative field, because he his purpose served there.

So when ished school, only right take up a teacher.

“I alwanted teacher. rememchildd a y s ing up primary teachers saying in my mind be like them.’ I begiving back to sowhat better way I doing something I service to my comold said.

Service to othupbringing from a ing up with his lage of Tapakuma Coast. He rememquiet one which he in books.

“I grew up in a peaceful comin the care of my grandparents. from the town of Anna Regina. at its best and connecting to try my best to live a ful for everything,” he Because of his

the feeling of achieving our comes indescribable. The isfaction every time we are of our hard work and sacriincomparable. years, Keanu Thomas has ery day that he steps into of a person’s intended caery so often, even after one field. tion was nevdo, rathwould dream ways teachn o t l u but believes is better he finit was that he job as a w a y s to be a I could ber my hood lookto my school a n d ‘I wanna lieve in ciety and could’ve find by love and giving back munity,” the 21-yearers was instilled in his tender age while growgrandparents in the vilon the Essequibo bers his childhood as a spent mostly engrossed munity named Tapakuma It’s about 18 kilometres In this paradise, nature is with nature has taught me peaceful life and to be gratesaid.

dedication to achieving the best possible education he could have, Thomas made it his prerogative to always maintain a high performance. He was

the top student of the Tapakuma Lake Primary School when he sat the National Grade Six Assessment Examination.

This earned him a place at President’s College on the East Coast of Demerara but he had no desire of moving away from his village, so he took up residence at the Anna Regina Multilateral School where he completed his secondary education.

“Now I didn’t want to stay at the dormitory so I had to wake at, I'd say about 6 o’clock every morning for 5 years, to go with the one bus that used to transport passengers from home to Anna Regina. I had a wonderful secondary school experience. Challenging, but I overcame obstacles with support from family.

“I started teaching in October 2015 and started college (Cyril Potter College of Education) in 2016. I remember saying that I would like to finish college by 19 (years old).

However, I failed a course in the second year. This came as a surprise since I was doing exceptionally well. Maybe I misinterpreted the questions and it still puzzles me today but I graduated in 2019,” he said.

He said attending CPCE and teaching was no walk in the park

for him but he made it work. He persevered and when morale was low, he would remind himself of why he joined the profession. Ever since he joined the teaching profession, he has been placed at Tapakuma Lake Primary School, where he remains.

“I love every bit of teaching. Not just being in the class with your wonderful pupils but also involving in different co-curricular activities. Our school is the reigning Road March Champion for the Primary Division, three years now and secured second for a dance last year at the National Schools’ Mashramani Competition,” Thomas boasted.

“Always remember that the pupils are like your children. Not all pupils learn at the same rate. Be patient and kind. Keep reminding the pupils that they have value and teach to the best of your ability so that we can have a brighter future. Teach pupils to be grateful for what they have while working for what they want,” he advised.

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

By Lakhram Bhagirat

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eachers have, perhaps, the most important job in this world. They have the ability to shape the view of the world through their teachings and quite often they do just that. The power teachers have, over their subjects, is unmatched because they are the ones who teach us to think critically and how to analyse situations.

Teachers are the ones who inspire us or they beat our spirits down. But most of the time, they inspire us to achieve the greatest things because, for them, their students are the best. Every achievement of a student is quite often dubbed as a reflection of the teacher and it is a responsibility they take seriously.

Naheem Mohamed has been taking that responsibility seriously for a number of years as he continues to mould the impressionable minds of the younger generation.

Though still young, the 28-year-old has been teaching for over a decade now.

Mohamed’s journey as a teacher has been one that was shaped by past experiences which he shared with the Sunday Times Magazine during a recent interview.

Going back to his formative years, the English teacher at the Johanna Cecilia Secondary School said he grew up on the Essequibo Coast with his very large family. Back then, for him, those were simple days as his rice farmer father ensured he was equipped with the relevant tools needed for him to get a proper education.

“During the early days of school, we hadn’t electricity nor portable water in our yard. Because of this, we used to find the littlest of chore to be exciting. We bathed whilst fetching water from a standpipe and did homework in front of a batterypowered television where only one channel showed.

“At the earliest of age, I admired the respect a teacher was given and wanted to gain that same respect.

During my school days, I was very fortunate to be moulded by some of the best names in this profession. But special tribute must be made to my now deceased mother. She was and still serves as my driving power to achieve great things. She was a housewife, who, in her days, was not allowed to go throughout secondary because of her family constraints and who made taking care of her husband and children her priority. Every single homework and assignment she was there checking and making sure that whatever is done is completed with neatness and accuracy. Whatever I am today I owe every single bit of it to her,” he remembered.

For Mohamed, education was integral to getting himself developed and he never lapsed in making sure that his homework was completed and time was dedicated to reading.

He recalled that growing up, he was never an avid reader but because of his shyness in class, he was forced to read in order to keep up.

When he sat the then Common Entrance Examinations, he was awarded a place at President’s

College but because of the distance coupled with the fact that he could not be apart from his family, Mohamed eventually attended Anna Regina Multilateral School (ARMS).

“At ARMS, I was encouraged by all of the teachers and my peers to pursue and achieve.

In Fourth Form, I lost a best friend to suicide. This was life-changing but with the support of my family, teachers and peers I was able to graduate with 11 subjects at the CSEC examinations. At this stage, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to become or what direction to go. My mom advised me to give back to my community and from there I will decide to my next step.”

By giving back, he became a teacher at a private institution.

During his stay at the Islamic School, he crossed paths with students from all backgrounds and knew that it was in that field he belonged.

However, one of the shocking things he discovered was that there were children who could not read.

It was from that point that he decided to become an advocate for his students. He began to advocate for better learning situations for them as well as basic resources. He also knew that he would have been of more help to them if he became qualified so he set out on the path to the Cyril Potter College of Education.

However, life had other plans and he was forced to drop out of CPCE after a period of illness. This also forced him to reconsider his career path and he eventually went into the accounting field.

“I realised being confined to an office space was not my calling. I left and restarted my training at college. At CPCE I was very

lucky to receive training from the best of lecturers.

I was a resident student and took part in most of the activities. I graduated the college and moved to

FEATURE 35

Wakapao Secondary then to 8th of May Secondary then North Georgetown Secondary where I was attached to whilst studying at the University of Guyana.

“Attending the University, I was teaching and engaged in part-time jobs to ensure that my rent was paid and I was comfortable. Battling with a second job and studies, mentally, I had to adjust.

There were many times I wanted to give up and return home but my mom always encouraged me to go on and keep fighting. My mom passed away just a few days before I completed my studies at the University. Coming home has always been difficult since the day I lost her. Eventually, I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Education, majoring in English. I returned to 8th of May Secondary and was later promoted to Johanna Cecilia Secondary,” Mohamed noted.

Though there is a heightened level of violence against teachers, Mohamed said he is not deterred. He is in the profession to stay and will continue moulding the minds of future generations.

He noted that it is not just a job for him now rather it is part of who he is.

“We as teachers learn so much as each day passes by. We make differences to kids every day. We are in charge of what our country will become because we get to guide and motivate the future generations. All profession has its challenges but in this line of duty, we only gain. No matter the situation at our school we always tend to activate our creative side and come up with a solution. We gain every day because at the end of the day at least one child would’ve learnt something new. We would’ve made an impact on someone’s future for the better. To those of you out there who are wondering whether to join this profession, I would like to say joining this profession would never bring about regrets,” he advised.

“I have been in this profession from the age of 16 up until now and have grown day by day to love the profession I am in. I am an educator who moulds the future minds of our country. I am a parent figure to most kids who don’t have anyone to look up to. I am an advocate for those kids who needs a voice to stand up for themselves.”

36 NEWS

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

ExxonMobil makes another discover, takes Guyana to 8 billion barrels recoverable

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ith a 16th discovery offshore Guyana, US oil giant ExxonMobil has boosted its estimated recoverable resource base to more than eight billion oil-equivalent barrels.

Northeast of the producing Liza field lies the Uaru exploration well, the company’s latest discovery on the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana.

In its announcement on Monday, the supermajor revealed that the well, its first for the year 2020, encountered approximately 94 feet of high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoir.

Uaru, drilled in 6342 feet (1933 metres) of water, is located approximately 10 miles (16 kilometres) Northeast of the Liza field, which began producing in December 2019.

In addition to this latest discovery, ExxonMobil announced that it also upped its estimated recoverable resource base to more than eight billion oil-equivalent barrels.

This new estimate includes the 15 discoveries offshore Guyana

ExxonMobil makes 16th discovery offshore Guyana

through year-end 2019.

The previous estimate was six billion oil-equivalent barrels.

“With recent highquality finds at Tripletail and Mako contributing to our recoverable resources, our investments will continue to provide benefits for the people of Guyana,” said Senior Vice President of Exploration and New Ventures at ExxonMobil, Mike Cousins.

“The Uaru discovery is another positive step as we begin a new decade with the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and our co-venturers,” he is quoted as saying in a press statement.

Production from the Liza Phase 1 development is currently ramping up and will produce up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day in the coming months, utilising

the Liza Destiny floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO).

The Liza Unity

Energy, Dr Mark Bynoe in a statement said this latest development is testimony to the level of economic transforma-

Sharing Agreement (PSA) governing the Stabroek Block, the Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana will be receiving at a minimum, 2 per cent royalty on all oil produced in the Block plus 12.5 per cent profit oil.

In the meantime, four drillships in Guyana continue to explore and appraise new resources.

A fifth drillship is expected to be deployed later this year.

The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometres). ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is the operator and holds 45 per cent interest in the Stabroek Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Limited holds 30 per cent interest and CNOOC Petroleum

Duo freed of 2011 murder charge

The Uaru discovery on the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana

Lowell Hope and his co-accused Sherlund Joseph at the High Court on Tuesday

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fter being locked away for almost 10 years, 37-yearold Lowell Hope and his co-accused, Sherlund Joseph, were freed of a murder indictment, after a submission for the charge to be withdrawn was upheld by Justice Sandil Kissoon at the Demerara High Court.

When the duo appeared at the High Court, they pleaded not guilty to the offence which read that on August 9, 2011, at Monosse Backdam, Port Kaituma, Region

One (Barima-Waini), they murdered 19-yearold Kenny Creame.

Defence Attorney Maxwell McKay during the court hearings submitted to the court that the prosecution had no evidence against his clients and as such, made an application for the charge to be withdrawn.

In response to the application, State Prosecutor Tuanna Hardy made no objections and admitted that the prosecution had no evidence that would war-

rant a conviction. As such, Justice Kissoon cancelled the indictment and freed both men.

According to previous reports, the now dead teen, formerly of Port Kaituma, North West District, was beaten to death with pieces of wood, during an argument with the men.

A post-mortem examination conducted on Creame’s remains revealed that he died as a result of blunt trauma to the head.

FPSO, which will be employed for the second phase of Liza development and will have a production capacity of 220,000 barrels of oil per day, is under construction and expected to start production by mid2022.

Pending Government approvals and project sanctioning of a third development, production from the Payara field north of the Liza discoveries could start as early as 2023, reaching an estimated 220,000 barrels of oil per day.

Guyana’s Director of

tion it is about to undergo.

He is quoted as saying: “All Guyanese should welcome this new discovery and should begin to appreciate that the nation is on the cusp of major economic transformation and sustained development. The Department of Energy remains committed to working with its partners and ecosystem of agencies, to ensure that the benefits from the sector, both direct and indirect, redound to every Guyanese.”

Under the Production

Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds 25 per cent interest.

Guyana’s other explorer, British-owned Tullow Oil, has made three oil finds to date at its Joe-1 exploration well, the Jethro-Lobe and the Carapa-1.

However, the quality of the oil finds might not be commercially viable.

A report from Norwegian research company Rystad Energy revealed that for 2019, Guyana was able to overtake Russia as the world’s highest oil producer.

NEWS 37

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

MoPH to commence coronavirus detection training T

he Public Health Ministry is putting measures in place to prevent any outbreak of the coronavirus in Guyana. This is according to Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO) Dr Karen Gordon-Boyle.

The coronavirus out-

Moreover, symptoms of the ailment include runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat fever and a general sense of being unwell. Patients can develop pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and in severe cases, even

Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr Karen Gordon-Boyle

break started in Wuhan, China, late last year and would have infected thousands to date.

Speaking with Guyana Times, Dr Gordon-Boyle said the country’s port health officials have been alerted and are sensitised as to how to detect “signs and symptoms” of the malady.

As such, a screening tool and a questionnaire will be used to gather information on the onset and natural course of illnesses of persons suspected of having the virus.

Gordon-Boyle disclosed that in the new week, training programmes targeting key staff including port health officers, immigration officers and customs officers will be conducted by the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) in collaboration with Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and World Health Organisation (WHO).

In addition, the DCMO stated that the Infection Control and Prevention Committee of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) is ensuring that the medical institution is in a state of readiness to care for any infected person.

“Any person experiencing fever or flu-like symptoms should visit the GPHC or the nearest regional hospital,” Dr Gordon-Boyle urged.

death.

While the incubation period for affected persons is still not known, it is advised that patients be isolated from the healthy population for some 10 to 14 days.

In the event that a person shows up with the coronavirus, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) are being asked to support with the testing of samples, Dr Gordon-Boyle said.

Globally, there have been 440 confirmed cases of patients with pneumonia blamed on the new strain of coronavirus.

The authorities said that many of the patients are residents of Wuhan or visitors who recently went to the city.

Thailand and Japan have also confirmed at least one case among tourists who visited Wuhan. Early last week, the US CDC announced the first case in the USA. The outbreak of the virus has been linked to Wuhan South China Seafood City, also called the South China Seafood Wholesales Market and the Hua Nan Seafood Market. Chickens, bats, cats, marmots, and other wild animals are also available for sale in that market, suggesting a possible zoonotic origin to the outbreak.

So far, the WHO has been counselling hospitals around the world on

infection, prevention and control. However, the global body has “advised against travel or trade restrictions at this time based on available information,” a statement said.

Other international public health institutions such as the US CDC, China CDC, and European CDC are working on the design and eventual distribution of diagnostic kits to other countries. “In any case, it is expected that a consensus test will potentially be available at least some weeks from now,” the release said.

CARPHA in a prepared statement said it “does not recommend at this time to conduct entrance screening (temperature screening) at ports of entry. Passengers would already have been screened when exiting the Wuhan area and upon arrival in the US,” the regional body said in a release.

“Member States are recommended to capture information on travel history using the Passenger Arrival Card or surveys, for all new arrivals. Arrivals that have recently travelled to China, especially to the Wuhan area, should be questioned for symptoms and advised to be vigilant for onset of those symptoms and to seek immediate medical attention at a public health facil-

About the Coronavirus [Source: Aljazeera]

ity. Passengers should be advised to seek medical care as soon as symptoms arise,” CARPHA counselled.

Only last week, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo urged authorities to put systems in place to ensure the population is protected.

“This virus has the potential of reaching epidemic proportions and we should be ready as a country to address this

situation,” Jagdeo lamented.

“We have to be ready for any possibility of an outbreak here in Guyana,” he reaffirmed.

With cases of the virus confirmed in the Americas and a suspected case in neighbouring Brazil, Public Health Minister, Volda Lawrence has not yet addressed the nation on the issue.

The coronavirus originated in Wuhan, China,

last year and at least 56 people have died and more than 2000 are presently receiving treatment for the disease.

Chinese authorities have imposed lockdown measures on five cities in an unprecedented effort to contain the outbreak, which has already been reported in at least eight other countries including the United States.

Discounted airfare for Mash 2020 – CAL Melissa Tucker told the media that Caribbean Airlines, a major sponsor of the historic event, will be offering a discount to visitors during the celebrations.

“In celebration and recognition of this historic event, Caribbean

18,” Tucker stated.

H o w e v e r , Mashramani 2020 is expected to be bigger and better this year, since Guyana will be celebrating its 50th Republic Anniversary.

In preparation for the day, 50 events that in-

clude the traditional Chutney, Calypso and Soca singing competitions, Panorama along with new events during the Golden Jubilee celebrations.

All ten of Guyana’s administrative regions are expected to partici-

Permanent Secretary of the Social Cohesion Ministry, Department of Culture, Youth and Sport, Melissa Tucker Caribbean Airlines

G

uyana’s most celebrated events, C a r i b b e a n Airlines has committed to give a five per cent discount off all airfare for persons travelling to Guyana to celebrate Mashramani 2020.

Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Social Cohesion, Department of Culture, Youth and Sport

One of Caribbean Airlines’ planes

Airlines is offering a 5 per cent discount on their North American and Caribbean Airlines destination for persons coming home to celebrate with us during the period January 22-February

clude music and art competitions, concerts, sporting events, and festivals will be held in January and February Themed “Reflect, Celebrate Transform,” the celebrations will in-

pate, and according to officials, the events will not be a platform used for political campaigns leading up to the March 2 General and Regional Elections.

38 NEWS

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Mother of 4 underwent successful surgery for brain aneurysms

F

orty-three-yearold Parbattie “Ravina” Austin, a mother of four, who was diagnosed with brain aneurysms in 2019, is now walking, talking and moving around on her own.

Just a few days after the surgery, the woman seemed to be in full spirits and very satisfied with her results.

Before the surgery, Austin could not have participated in any physical activity, had to be free of stress, noise, excessively bright lights, and high scented odours.

The procedure was done on Thursday at the Caribbean Heart Institute (CHI) at the

Parbattie “Ravina” Austin before being discharged from the CHI

Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) by Guyana’s lone neurosurgeon, Dr Amarnauth Dukhi.

“My surgery is finished and I thank God for my success, my confidence in Dr Dukhi which I never give up on and my faith in God took me through”, the patient stated.

The woman, before being discharged on Saturday, said that she feels like herself again and she is experiencing no pain or side effects thus far.

“I feel like me, I am ready to go home and play with my puppies and see my kids and be me, I know it will take some time for it to be the real me,” she said.

Dr Dukhi, however, explained that MRA scans done on Austin showed one aneurysm, but during the surgery, they discovered another one. The doctor said that the endovascular coiling was used to successfully treat both of the aneurysms.

“A ruptured aneurysm carries a high fatality; a high percentage of patients die in the first rupture, also a high percentage of them also have neurological defi-

cits after the first rupture”, he said.

Meanwhile, he further added that with the struggle Austin and her family would have faced acquiring finances for the surgery, the Ministry of Public Health would have stepped in to support. He pointed out that treating brain aneurysms is a new initiative to Guyana’s health system.

“No other Guyanese should die from a brain aneurysm that was captured and diagnosed early; we have means and ways of treating them and so the fatality rate should go down,” Dr Dukhi said.

Based on his explanation, Austin will be required to make some lifestyle changes, but her risk of further bleeding is minimal and she should be able to live a normal life. He said that she was further advised not to overwork herself.

“I am very keen on seeing Ms Parbattie go back to what she used to do”, he said Nevertheless, when asked how much the procedure cost, Dr Dukhi said he could not remember the amount offhand, but it is costly.

Carpenter who knocked out Police Officer’s teeth gets bail

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22-year-old carpenter was on Tuesday arraigned for allegedly cuffing a police officer, thus causing him to lose three teeth.

Shem Wilkie of Lot 111 Miles Mahdia, Region Eight (PotaroSiparuni), appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates Courts before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan He denied the charge which stated that on January 11, 2020, at 111 Miles Mahdia, he inflicted grievous bodily harm on Mohamed Kadeer, a police officer.

Wilkie was represented by Attorney-at-Law Ronald Daniels, who asked that his client be released on bail.

The police prosecutor told the court that on the day in question, Kadeer and a party of policemen were on patrol duty in Mahdia when they stopped at a popular nightclub.

The defendant and his brother were reportedly behaving in a disorderly manner outside of the club when Kadeer

Bailed: Shem Wilkie

asked them to desist from doing so.

Nevertheless, as Kadeer attempted to arrest the defendant’s brother, he dealt the officer several blows to the mouth, resulting in him losing the teeth.

The duo made good their escape but Wilkie was subsequently arrested and charged for the offence. Bail was granted in the sum of $70,000 and Wilkie was ordered to report every Monday to the Mahdia Police Station.

NEWS 39

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

Bygeval Secondary student collapses, dies while preparing for school

Signalling…

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…violence ne of the positives of the “cell phone” age is the capturing and posting on the Internet of random events that might’ve otherwise passed under our radars. Saw that one with the teacher and parents kick-boxing? Haven’t the videos of the knifing of one schoolgirl by another, using a “Rambo” knife, shaken you to your core?? If it didn’t, you need to check your psychopathic score!! Empathy sure ain’t your strong point!!

Another set of videos – seemingly unrelated to the above – were the ones on citizens chasing PPP campaigners out of their streets. What struck your Eyewitness were two features: the intensity of the anger displayed by the generally lumpen-looking elements and the number of children running along gleefully hurling epithets and generally imitating their seniors. And that’s the point, ain’t it?

In the past, we might’ve read in books about children inculcating their behaviour from the adults around them. But today, it’s there in living colour on our cell phones!! In every case of the now daily reports of men hacking their wives/girlfriends to death and then committing suicide, there are kids who would’ve witnessed the violence preceding – and including – the final blow. And we teach our kids that violence is the way to “solve” their problems.

In the political realm, didn’t the bandits holed up in Buxton, Agricola and elsewhere use kids as their lookouts? Did anybody ever wonder why those villages have now become synonymous with violence and crime?? Does anyone remember that Jan Carew (who?) came from Agricola or that Buxton produced more scholars than you could throw a stick at? Who cares?!

Point is, we need to start somewhere to address the challenge of our most violent society: if we’re not killing and hacking away at each other, we’re killing ourselves with abandon. Topping the world and all that!! Your Eyewitness believes that we can do no better than insisting that our political leaders – who set behavioural patterns in so many ways – declare in this election period that they’re committed to using the strategy of non-violence to settle whatever political differences they may have. During or after the campaign.

And look at the fortuitous heritage of non-violence they’re presented with!! The technique was pioneered in the political realm by Gandhi in India and by Martin Luther King in the USA. Both these men loom large in the collective psyches of the two major groups in Guyana – Indian and African Guyanese.

Your Eyewitness suggests that rather than blowing more hot air about “power sharing”, why don’t some of our big ones draft a “non-violence accord” and have everyone sign onto it??

After all, isn’t power sharing just a way station to peace? …Pompeo and the US We just learnt that PM Holness of Jamaica said that all any Caricom leader had to do to attend the conclave with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was to “signal” they wanted in!! Imagine that!!So what’s all this sturm and drang by Mottley and Rowley about the US “dividing” Caricom?? But your Eyewitness is more concerned why Granger didn’t so “signal” the US??

We know he was in Cuba cosying up with Raul Castro – but we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that he was a captive audience, because of his medical check-up there. But he could’ve sent Carl Greenidge, couldn’t he?? So, what’s his point? He’s against the US lobbying their choice for OAS Gen Secretary?? So why not tell Pompeo to his face?

Wasn’t he implicitly doing this in any case when he committed to spending US$1 million to have Guyana chair “G77 and China”, whose pastime is cussing out Uncle Sam?? After Jamaica passed!!

Like his hero Burnham, will next host the NonAligned Movement? …he means business Hope the GAWU bosses are looking as to how Lincoln Lewis is dealing with his membership’s tussle with RUSAL. They’ve blocked the Berbice River, preventing any bauxite from being shipped out.

He didn’t just write letters to the press!!

A

student attached to the Bygeval Secondary School, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara (ECD) collapsed and died on Tuesday morning as he was preparing for school.

Dead is 15-yearold Triston Assaye of Mahaica, ECD. He reportedly died as a result of a raptured artery in his brain.

Based on reports received, the teenager was already dressed in his school uniform when he complained to his mother of feeling unwell.

The mother, who is a nurse and works at a clinic close to their home, advised him to see a doctor before heading to school. This was the last time she had a conversa-

Dead: Triston Assaye

tion with her son.

The teen’s aunt, Sandra Henry, told Times International that the teenager was walking out the house and suddenly fainted. After regaining consciousness, the lad was taken to the Mahaicony Cottage Hospital. However, while receiving medical treat-

ment, he lost consciousness for a second time.

Shortly after, the 15-year-old succumbed.

Henry stated that a PostMortem Examination (PME) was done on the same day and it proved that he died as a result of a rupture inside of his brain.

She explained that

prior to Assaye fainting, he never complained of any ailments, and was never diagnosed with any illnesses.

The woman said that the youth was an athlete at his school and would usually participate in sports such as long jump and football.

The lad’s relatives are in a state of shock as they attempt to cope with his demise. Assaye leaves to mourn his parents and his eight-yearold brother.

Meanwhile, Police Commander of Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), Superintendent, Yonette Stephen, when contacted by this publication on Monday confirmed that the lad had died from natural causes.

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

Grandfather accused of raping granddaughter charged

T

he man who allegedly raped his six-year-old granddaughter while watching pornographic videos is expected to make his court appearance during the week after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) recommended that charges be instituted.

According to Police Commander of Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), Superintendent Yonette Stephen, the file which was sent to the DPP’s office for advice was returned with the recommendation.

The 54-year-old man was released on station bail after the matter was reported to the police by the child’s mother earlier this month.

Based on reports received, the child and her younger brother were left with their grandparent at Mahaicony, Region Five, after their father died about a year ago.

It was reported that the man was looking at pornographic videos as he allegedly sexually assaulted the child.

Further, it was reported that it was a neigh-

Police Commander of Region Five (MahaicaBerbice), Superintendent Yonette Stephen

bour who heard the child pleading with her grandfather to stop that went to investigate.

The woman, upon peeking through a window, caught the man in the act as the child cried bitterly. The neighbour, according to reports, contacted the police and the man was arrested.

The mother of the sixyear-old, who lives away from her children, reportedly received a telephone

call from her mother notifying her that something was wrong with her child. She went to the house and the child reportedly told her mother that the man had interfered with her multiple times.

This publication understands that a medical examination was conducted on the sixyear-old which proved that the child was molested.

NEWS 41

42 NEWS

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

Minibus Association mulls training for drivers

I

n light of hundreds of drivers being charged for danger-

Association, Eon Andrews believes that by bringing all drivers un-

they are willing to work along with the Guyana Police Force to put a

Some buses on the East Coast Minibus Park

ous driving in the past six months, President of the United Minibus

der the umbrella, it will ensure discipline.

Andrews said that

dent to reckless driving by bus drivers. He further added that the

Business Ministry along with stakeholders will be holding several courses for safe driving.

“Some of these persons would have been in it whereby you will be taught safe driving, courtesy, first aid, tire safety…. they are going to be issued with a certificate”, he said.

Commenting on the issue of the driver who was sentenced to six months for allowing students to jump from a moving bus, the President said, “I cannot say that I agree with the punishment, I may feel he should get 10 years instead, somebody may feel he should get five years. According to the Magistrates’ Court, they have stipulated sentenc-

President of the United Minibus Association, Eon Andrews

es for certain offences so he would not have gotten off. What should happen, they should increase these fines or punishments”.

Andrew also told the media that the drivers on the West Bank of Demerara will be dressed in uniforms with almost immediate effect.

Chairman of the La Parfaite Harmonie

Union, Patricia Smith said that she fully supports the initiative and believes that it will bring structure to their jobs.

“Being here as a minibus driver, a lot of recklessness going, happening on the road. If we join with the Minibus Association as we do and get uniformed, everything would be at a standard”, she said.

Troy Resources recommences operations at Karouni

The gold processing plant at Troy Resources’ Karouni goldmine operations

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ollowing several challenges last year, Australianbased Troy Resources has announced that it has resumed operations at its Karouni goldmine in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

The gold mining company says it began operations in the second week of January and it intends to resume full production by the end of next month.

Last year, the future of Troy Resources was put in question following the death of a geologist at the mines site.

After the geologist’s death, the company was issued a cease order.

The loss of production

days coupled with existing financial constraints resulted in the company operating at a loss and sending home hundreds of employees.

However, in a statement last night, the company said they have complied with all requirements and received the requisite approvals for the resumption of activities.

Some employees were rehired and work is moving apace to have the processing plant operate on a full-time basis.

The company said it was able to restart operations after a successful fundraising event which secured approximately US$10.3 million.

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

NEWS 43

Man confesses to torturing, killing hotel owner, worker

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resident of N u m b e r 65 Village, Corentyne, Berbice, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), has confessed to the torturing and killing of the owner of the Sun Splash Beach Resort and his handyman while implicating another man.

The confession was made over the weekend and ranks of the Major Crimes Unit are on the hunt for the accomplice.

On December 27, 2019, the badly decomposed bodies of 59-yearold Harry Prashad, a handyman of Number 65 Village, Corentyne, and 68-year old Vivekanand Brijbassi were discovered in the balcony of Sun Splash Beach Resort located on the Number 63 Beach.

Narpatty was found lying on the back with two toes severed – one was next to his body and the other was not located.

Prashad was found about fifteen feet away with both hands tied to a post on the balcony, one foot was also tied to

Murdered: Harry Persaud Prashad

the post and was severed at the ankle. Both bodies were in an advanced state of decomposition with maggots feasting.

Meanwhile, a source close to the investigation revealed that approval was granted by the High Court to further detain the self-confessed murderer. The source noted that it was related that the man in custody ex-

40 per cent increase in Bahamas vacation home rentals since Airbnb MOU

N A S S A U , BAHAMASThe Bahamas has seen a 40 per cent increase in vacation home rentals since signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Airbnb back in 2017.

Tourism Director General Joy Jibrilu made the revelation at a press conference to announce the launch the Bahamas Sabbatical experience on Tuesday.

Jibrilu said: “Just over two years ago, on August 9, 2017, The Ministry of Tourism and Aviation solidified its partnership with Airbnb, through a signing of a memorandum of understanding to legitimize vacation rentals in The Bahamas.

“Since the signing of that MOU, we have witnessed an increase in excess of 40 per cent in vacation home rent-

als in our destination.

By all measures, the Ministry’s two year partnership with Airbnb can be deemed a resounding success.”

Jibrilu said the vacation home rental segment has allowed more Bahamians to be involved in the tourism sector.

“I think for all of us the idea is to see more Bahamians become involved in the tourism sector, not just looking from the outside in but being a participant and the benefits that arise from that,” she said.

“This provides Bahamians a way to get in. We have seen Bahamians involved with Airbnb very successfully. We have seen phenomenal growth with Airbnb in The Bahamas.

Bahamians generally are loving it.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 46

plained that he and his accomplice attacked and

beat Brijbassi in the lower flat of the resort. He detailed that the injured man was taken to the balcony where Prasad was sitting.

Once there, both men were tortured and left to die. The source also stated that they are following all major leads with respect to the double murder and more so, they are on the hunt for the accomplice who is also from No 65 Village.

It was reported that there was a high level of violence with the dismembering of some parts of the body.

Commander Calvin Brutus had stated that the police are aware that there is an ongoing dispute for the property between the deceased and other family members.

Murdered: Vivekanand Brijbassi

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

Health Ministry says no Coronavirus case in Jamaica

D

espite the rumours, Jamaican health authorities say there is no case of the coronavirus in the island.

Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton made the announcement at an emergency press conference on Tuesday amid concerns that there was a suspected case of the illness at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI).

"Out of an abundance of caution, we wanted to make sure that was considered but certainly it does not fit the case definition," Tufton said.

“Based on advice, there is no truth to reports that there is a case of coronavirus in the island,” Tufton confirmed, speaking at the press conference held at the Ministry of Health

headquarters in New Kingston.

The minister said the meeting was called as concerns were raised when a patient was transferred to the UWHI and checks were made and found that the patient had a travel history to China.

However, Dr Carl Bruce, Medical Chief of Staff at UHWI, says the patient did not have a fever over 38 degrees or the respiratory symptoms associated with the illness.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Wellness issued a travel advisory for persons wishing to come to Jamaica from China and those planning to leave the island to visit the Asian country.

Portfolio Minister, Dr Tufton, made the an-

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton

nouncement at an emergency meeting held at the ministry in St Andrew on Tuesday. ”Given the traffic between China and Jamaica, which is usual high especially at this time of year..., coming in from China and going into China at this time should be avoided,” said Tufton.

“Persons in China who were planning to travel to the island are being asked to defer those plans,” he indicated.

“For those in Jamaica who had planned on travelling to China, we are asking that they also defer their plans,” the minister added.

The emergency meet-

ing was called after rumours began to circulate on Tuesday that a Jamaican who had recently travelled to China and back to Jamaica, had a suspected case of the deadly Coronavirus.

Further checks, however, showed that the person, while having travelled to China, did not display symptoms that would normally accompany the virus.

In relation to public concerns about the readiness to handle the virus locally, the Health Ministry issued the following additional information on measures that are or will be in place.

For persons in transit to Jamaica, quarantine protocols will be put in place where persons (suspected of having the virus) will either be quarantined in a health facility or at home, depending on the risk assessment that is done.

For families who are concerns about their relatives and friends in

China who are there for work or study, conversations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicate that plans have been put in place to facilitate their needs. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will speak more broadly to those plans.

Based on those discussions, the Government of Jamaica will continue its surveillance protocols, which are in alignment with international health regulations.

Active surveillance will continue at local ports of entry.

Tuifton said the health authorities had a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Ambassador before the decisions on matters relative to China were made.

In relation to testing for the Coronavirus, the minister said samples will have to be sent overseas for testing. (Loop Jamaica)

590 charges for crimes against children in T&T for 2019

Sgt Valarie Hospedales of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service’s Child Protection Unit

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lmost 600 people were brought before the courts in 2019 for crimes against children in 2019.

The startling figures were revealed by Sgt Valarie Hospedales of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service’s Child Protection Unit during their press briefing on Wednesday.

Reporting a 137 per cent increase in criminal acts against children, Hospedales said the figure includes a 45% increase in violent offences like cruelty to children between 2017 and 2019.

According to the CPU, 90 per cent of crimes against children are committed by adults.

As bleak as the figures are, Hospedales says the charges reflect an increase in the number of reports of child abuse coming to the TTPS and their ability to

deal with them.

In 2020 alone, the CPU reported that 44 charges have been laid for offences against children.

The Child Protection Unit is calling on parents and guardians to take better care of the children in their care.

They’re suggesting that parents stay away from corporal punishment and are encouraging them to find more creative measures to discipline their children.

In addition, the CPU is also advising those who intend to take children out for the Carnival season to take measures to ensure their safety, including maintaining a fair child to adult ratio, putting name tags and contact information on children and taking caution on those who they trust to babysit their children. (LoopTT)

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

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Barbados Government begins preparations for 2020 hurricane season

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Although the six-month Atlantic hurricane season won’t officially begin until June 1, Government is not leaving anything to chance and has started its preparations.

And Minister of Home Affairs Edmund Hinkson has urged all residents to follow suit with their personal plans and those for their communities, in an effort to strengthen the island’s resilience to natural hazards.

He said Government was already seeking to ensure that the island had greater water and energy capacity post disaster, and that vehicles were available to respond to those who might be affected.

“We have entered into a memorandum of understanding with the private sector [so] that we could command their vehicles, equipment, tractors….We also entered a memorandum of understanding with food distributors, so that we can ensure a supply of food in the aftermath of a disaster. And, we have also made arrangements [that in the event] parts of Barbados are cut off

urged people not to consider it “too soon” to begin their hurricane preparedness, but rather to get prepared as Barbados was within one of the most vulnerable parts of the world in terms of natural disasters.

He also appealed to homeowners to insure

their homes, noting that Government was committed to finding a platform to assist the most vulnerable who were financially unable to do so.

“It has been a challenge of Barbados governments for at least 40 years to be able to comprehensively insure all houses in Barbados, we

have to ensure that all houses are sustainable,” Hinkson emphasized.

The Home Affairs Minister reminded residents that everyone had a responsibility to prepare for the hurricane season and for natural disasters, as Government could not do it all. (Caribbean 360)

Sinkholes appear in Cayman Islands, buildings damaged in Jamaica during 7.7 magnitude earthquake Minister of Home Affairs Edmund Hinkson

that food will be distributed pre-event into those parts as well as equipment,” Hinkson said.

“These are the kinds of strategies that we as a Government have sought to employ within the context of our economic and financial constraints at present. We need to ensure that Barbados is as ready as possible to face and manage a disaster and be resilient.”

In addition, the Minister said, Cabinet agreed to employ 360 people, 12 from each of the island’s 30 con-

stituencies, to clean up Barbados through an arrangement between the National Conservation Commission and the Ministry of Transport, Works and Maintenance, under a three-month programme. Once completed, Hinkson said it would be reviewed to see if it could be continued.

Meanwhile, he called on residents in communities to join together and clean-up their surrounding as – task which would need to be repeated in another six months.

Minister Hinkson

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here were no injuries but plenty of panic in Jamaica and Cayman Islands and some damage to buildings and roads as a 7.7 magnitude quake struck the northern Caribbean Tuesday afternoon, triggering tsunami fears.

The quake occurred around 2:10 a.m., in the strait between Jamaica and Cuba. The location of the epicentre was 72 miles northwest of Lucea, Hanover in Jamaica and 80 miles east southeast of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.

The tremor was also felt in The Bahamas, Haiti, Honduras, and Cuba. It was followed by more than a dozen aftershocks, the strongest of which registered at 6.1 magnitude.

In Jamaica, panic ensued when residents felt the first quake which many said lasted for well over a minute.

People evacuated buildings as the shaking occurred and some government offices closed early.

There were also reports

of some students having panic attacks.

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (OPDEM) said one school in western Jamaica, at which structural weaknesses were detected in previous inspections, was closed early as a precautionary measure.

“At least two parishes in western Jamaica have reported structural damage to buildings,” OPDEM also reported.

Over in the Cayman Islands, several sinkholes opened up in Grand Cayman and in Cayman Brac and residents were warned to keep away from them as further opening up was possible. There were also a few reports of structural damage to buildings. Two shelters were opened.

The Water Authority also shut down its distribution system to check for leaks, but late into the night was restoring service.

About two and half hours after the quake, Premier Alden

40 per cent...

Jibrilu noted that through the Airbnb platform, taxes are also levied which levels the playing field with the hotel sector.

“Now that that has come to fruition, Airbnb has been submitting payment of taxes which do not impact Bahamians,” she said.

“That’s a cost on the the guest’s bill. If you

McLaughlin confirmed in a televised broadcast that no one had been injured, although buildings and roads had been damaged.

“I know people are very concerned and alarmed and there has been some structural damage, including at my own house. It is with a deep sense of gratitude that I say it doesn’t appear as if anyone has been hurt and we have been spared the worst of what could have been a truly devastating ordeal,” he said.

Schools had been closed in the immediate aftermath of the quake, and a statement issued later in the day advised that all government schools will remain closed today while structural assessments of school buildings are carried out.

In both Jamaica and the Cayman Islands there were tsunami warnings issued, but by late yesterday disaster officials in both countries said the threat had passed. (Caribbean 360)

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charge $100 you still get $100. I think that has appeased many hoteliers and the fact that they have seen an increase in their business in 2019 and not a decrease speaks to the fact that we need every room we can get.”

In the 2019/2020 budget the government required online marketplaces that advertise

and facilitate vacation rentals in The Bahamas will now be required to pay VAT on their rental and related sales in The Bahamas.

Thus, companies such as Airbnb, HomeAway, and all such marketplaces with short-term rentals in The Bahamas will be required to pay VAT. (Eyewitness News)

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

The memory war

The campaign…

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…heats up ell, we’re just a tad over a month away from what’s being billed as “the mother of all elections” in the history of Guyana.

Is this because it’ll be the biggest turnout ever? But Granger’s been calling for an 80 per cent turnout…so that means he’s expecting it to be lower than that.

What to do?? He knows if there’s a low turnout, it would mean he and the PNC are in some serious trouble.

Traditionally, it’s his PNC constituency that has proven to be reluctant to come out on Election Day – -contraposed to an always more efficient PPP mobilisational machinery and committed supporters.

While in 2011 and 2015 the numbers improved because of exploiting dissatisfaction with the PPP’s long incumbency, that has waned precipitously over the last five years. The PNC has been unable to match the PPP’s stimulation of business – especially at the grassroot level – which puts money into the hands of those same PNC supporters. No matter how they bob and weave, the PNC can’t dislodge that experienced truth of deprivation from that critical demographic.

But as a historian, Granger would know that in 1964, the turnout was 97 per cent and it wasn’t because of any good times delivered by either the PPP or PNC. The reason for that phenomenal figure was because of the extreme polarisation in the populace after the violent ethnic “disturbances” between 1962 and 1964. In fact, Granger constantly evokes that sordid period of our history and refers to it as “the troubles”.

And now we can begin to understand the method behind the madness of the PNC campaign as they single-mindedly evoke the purported “killing of 400 black youths” not DURING the PPP regime, but BY the PPP regime!! So, who cares that this number has been conclusively disproved? Didn’t you read that SN disaggregation of the actual data?? Or that these were tit-for-tat reprisals precipitated by bandits taking on the Guyanese State? So, who cares that innocent civilians’ lives were snuffed out like flies?

So, using the anger generated by evoking their outrageous claims of the PNC constituency being under threat of returning to that violent period if the PPP were voted back into office, they use coded dog whistling language – a la Volda Lawrence’s “strong young men nightshift” call – to prepare for violence!!

And of course, a larger turnout of their base! It doesn’t get more cynical and callous than that – but then, it’s the PNC we’re dealing with!

This tactic serves two purposes – apart from getting out the PNC vote: it intimidates PPP supporters by scaring them away from showing up at polling stations, and secondly, allows ballot boxes to be stuffed during the storming of the Polling Stations

by Volda’s “night shift””! …rallies and class Thanks to the miracle of social media, your Eyewitness has seen all the PPP Rallies. He’s chuffed they’ve been treating Guyanese with the respect they deserve. After all, they’re the ones who’ve been facing the heat during the last five years under the PNC, and they certainly don’t need anyone pandering to them. That would make a mockery of their angst!

Unlike the PNC, they haven’t been throwing bacchanalian fetes with imported SOCA artistes under the guise of “political rallies” which are supposedly meant to inform voters as to their plans for the country. It’s clear the PNC is contemptuous of their base and see them incapable of rising above “wine, women and song”!! On the PPP stage also, they’ve stuck to explaining their vision for the country, buttressed by the “how” and “when”!

Sadly, their record was marred by a painfully vulgar, misogynistic and illiterate outing at a street meeting by Clement Rohee.

Get him off!! …and small parties The “joined-up” small parties must’ve figured they’d have a built-in crowd of commuters, touts, and riff-raff when they scheduled their meeting at the Big Market on a Saturday afternoon.

Sadly, their 11 members were an (absolute) majority of the “crowd”!

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bserving the rhetoric deployed in the blogosphere, social media, and the letter pages of the newspapers, I have been struck by the ubiquitous invocation of the trope of “400 Black youths killed during the PPP years” to argue that no matter how badly the PNC-led coalition performed during the last five years, they should be returned to office. In an effort to examine this claim factually, the Stabroek News went back to its archives and laboriously listed the 420 persons murdered between Feb 23, 2002, and Sept 2006.

They found that “151 had been murdered by bandits; 239 killed during confrontations with Police and in unexplained circumstances and 30 security officers murdered.” But what was most revealing was that there were 105 Indian Guyanese listed among the 420 killed overall and all were killed by the bandits: this is never mentioned by the polemists.

Also never mentioned is the killing wave that immediately preceded the prison breakout and following the 1997 elections.

As I wrote at the time, “In the wake of violent urban protests by the PNC in Georgetown after that party claimed that the December 1997 general elections were rigged, anti-Indian riots erupted in Georgetown on Jan 12, 1998. Throughout 1998, the kick-down-the-door banditry against Indians intensified to such an extent that one Magistrate called it “guerrilla warfare against Indians”.

In this new round of violence in which thirty-one Indian and one African-Guyanese were murdered, Indian businessmen were the targets. The attacks and murders – primarily on Indians – continued in tandem with regular protest-related violence in Georgetown during 1999 and 2000.”

The point I wish to make is if we are ever to even begin addressing our political quagmire, we have to question the one-sided narratives that are being deployed in the present and which only serve to widen the chasms between our two major groups. But this slanted, toxic version of our history started

even as the events were still unfolding. In 2004, I spoke at the Square of the Revolution at a “People’s Movement for Justice (PMJ) Rally”, to support calls for a Commission of Inquiry into the killing wave sweeping Georgetown and the East Coast.

In the Indian community, this was seen as supporting the PNC, but I felt that Guyana needed a professional Police Force to deal with criminality and resorting to vigilante groups was exacerbating our crisis. But at the beginning of the event, to a roll of drums, the names of only the persons killed by the Police were announced in commemoration and mourning: it was the be-

ginning of the lopsided accounting of our millennium political history. I warned: “We cannot have the lives of our sisters and brothers snuffled out with impunity. And I would like to say that when I listened to the litany of deaths when this meeting began, I was saddened because – and again I speak my truth to you – not only those who were gunned by the arms of the state we should mourn, but we should also mourn every individual, every innocent individual, who was killed by others. So it means that that litany should include the Indians also who were killed by bandits, the Africans who were killed

by bandits, the Chinese or whoever were killed by bandits. They also suffered the ultimate denial of their human rights – the right to life.”

What we are witnessing in Guyana, with its one-sided narrative, is not unusual in areas with ethnic conflict and in fact, the phenomenon has been described as “memory wars”. A distinction is made between “history” and “collective memory” in that while even the former’s authors may be selective in their recordings and silencing, the latter is even more distorted being what is “memorised” and “memorialised” by groups.

As one author suggests, “it might be useful to think in terms of different ‘memory communities’ within a given society. It is important to ask the question, who wants whom to remember what and why?”

There are the “mnemonic warriors” who insist that only their narrative of history and memory are “the truth” and must determine our actions into the future.

I have a “mnemonic perspective” and believe that the positions of the different “histories” and “memory communities” must be integrated to create a vision of a future that delivers justice, dignity and respect to all of us in Guyana.

48 BOLLYWOOD

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horeographerturned-director Remo D’Souza feels Bollywood’s apathy to the dance genre is finally changing. “I feel there are a lot of changes now. After ABCD: Any Body Can Dance (2013), this genre has opened up and people are making these kind of movies,” says the director of the recently released Street Dancer 3D. As a choreographer, Remo has films such as 36 China Town (2006), Singh Is Kinng (2008), London Dreams (2009) and Pyaar Ka Punchnama (2011) to his credit, among others. And the 46-year-old feels “dance has changed big time in Bollywood”. “I think the transition happened about a decade ago when dance reality shows

D

started. Now, we have every actor doing some amazing dance steps,” he says.

Katrina Kaif was initially roped in for Street Dancer 3D, but had to quit due to Bharat (2019). Remo says Shraddha Kapoor was the next choice.

“Since Katrina had to opt out, we didn’t think of anyone else but Shraddha. In 15 minutes she came on board,” he shares.

Ask if it’s more comfortable to direct dancethemed films and Remo says, “It has more to do with the script. In F.A.L.T.U (2011), ABCD, ABCD 2 (2015) and Flying Jatt (2016), I was a part of the screenplay.

The only movie I was not a part of writing was

eepika Padukone’s first production, Chhapaak, not only found its target audience but also made money for those involved. After Deepika Padukone’s visit to the Jawaharlal Nehru University where she stood in solidarity with the students, social media trends such as #BoycottChhapaak started going viral. Deepika and her film also got support with many tweeting #ISupportDeepikaPadukone.

However, the social media noise failed to affect the film’s box office fortunes which collected Rs 34.03 crore net and Rs 40 crore gross in two weeks at the domestic box office and Rs 13.03 crore in the overseas market. According to a report on Quint, the film was made on a budget of around Rs 35 crore, including the cost of prints and publicity. It had reportedly sold its music rights for Rs 3 crore and its digital + satellite rights for Rs 23 crore.

On being asked if Chhapaak has recovered its budget, film trade analyst Girish Johar told Hindustan Times, “Yes from all the rights, it seems that Chhapaak actually is not a losing venture. Also,

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33-year-old woman has filed a complaint against choreographer Ganesh Acharya for allegedly depriving her of work and forcing her to watch ‘adult videos’. ANI reports that the woman filed the complaint at the Women’s Commission and the Amboli police station in Maharashtra.

On Friday, Acharya fended off allegations made against him by veteran choreographer Saroj Khan, who’d accused Acharya of exploiting his dancers and using his position to malign the Cine Dancers

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

Race 3 (2018). It’s not like I wasn’t comfortable directing it. I am a little more comfortable with a script that I’m part of. I’m willing to direct different genres going ahead.”

Remo, who had directed the Salman Khanstarrer, feels “it wasn’t a failure”. “People used to talk about films being a hit, flop or a blockbuster.

Now, the focus is on how much it made in its first

s i n c e Deepika herself produced t h e FILM, her acting fee charged for this film will not be considerable.

This, I feel, is one of those passion projects that actors like to do.”

He asserted that the film did reach its target audience. “I personally believe that the kind of film it is or the kind of story it is, it appeals to a very limited audience and that audience watched the film. It is not an entertaining film. It has been seen by those for whom it was made and they have also responded to the film.”

Film exhibitor Akshay Rathi is also confident that the makers haven’t lost money. He said, “The film is backed by Fox Star Studios.

Star TV and Hotstar fall under the Star Network. They have a

Association (CDA).

Acharya had previously been involved in actor Tanushree Dutta’s complaints against Nana Patekar, which began the #MeToo movement in India in 2018. Tanushree had filed a police complaint against both men, and had accused Patekar of physically and sexually harassing her during the shoot of the 2008 film Horn ‘Ok’ Pleassss, choreographed by Acharya.

He has denied both Saroj Khan and Tanushree’s allegations.

“He’s a bloody liar and a two-faced person.

He’s going to say all that.

weekend. As a director, I feel ₹180 crore is not a bad number. Baaki sab ki films ₹120130 crore karti hai toh it’s a blockbuster, but people felt my film didn’t do well at the box office,” he observes.

And the director, who has a cheating and extortion case against him, claims it’s “false”. Told to hand over his passport to the police and not to travel abroad without the court’s nod, he says, “As far as my passport is concerned, my lawyers are taking care of it. Whatever the case is, it is false,” Remo adds.

(Hindustan Times)

very good digital and satellite cloud to recover the costs.

It was also not made on a very high budget.”

On being asked if the JNU controversy affected the performance of the film, Akshay said, “I don’t think so. There were people who decided to not go for the film because of what Deepika Padukone stood for. There were also a lot of people who were supporting her and rooting for the film because she went there.”

Deepika plays the role of an acid attack survivor Malti in the film. It is inspired from the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. It also stars Vikrant Massey as the male lead opposite Deepika. (Hindustan Times)

And 10 years ago, he was one of those people who were equally complicit in the harassment. He won’t admit it,” Tanushree had said about the choreographer, in an interview to ANI. Defending himself against Saroj Khan’s comments, Acharya had told ANI, “Saroj ji is speaking wrong. When the CDA was closed why did not she came to help us to open it. Five coordinators were appointed for CDA by taking Rs

15 lakh from them. 217 masters have signed a letter that they do not need coordinators. Do the Federation people know dancing? Do they know who is a good dancer? Saroj ji should come forward to help dancers. There is a need of re-election for the CDA.” (Hindustan Times)

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ith the kind of cinematic sensibilities he possesses — dark, deep and deranged — it doesn’t take much for him to stand out from his contemporaries. Take, for instance, his films Black Friday (2007), Dev D (2009), Gulaal (2009), Gangs of Wasseypur (2012), Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016) — filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has always explored a world that’s not too easy to fit in.

Even in the recent horror anthology Ghost Stories, Anurag’s film was the most layered with multiple interpretations.

In a candid conversation, the filmmaker talks about experimenting with the genre, collaborating with fellow filmmakers, the future of the web, and if it can coexist with theatres.

HT: You’ve made some really dark movies. So in what sense was Ghost Stories a different experience?

AK: Ghost Stories gave me an opportunity to make horror that I always wanted to make.

It was hard for me to tell anyone how I look at horror, because the kind of horror that I really like are [films such as] The Witch (2015), Hereditary (2018), the more psychological ones. They’re not really boo-kind of horror.

I really love the genre now and after this anthology, I have a reference point that this is how I want to approach things.

HT: Would you direct a horror comedy anytime soon?

AK: It always depends. I respond to subject matter. If I get a great subject, I’d definitely do it.

HT: Do you feel restricted when you’re teaming up with three different filmmakers? Is it tough to reach a consensus?

AK: It’s not tough. I actually don’t think of it and look at it very differently in this sense.

They’re very generous, there’s no pressure… nobody says that I have to adapt to what the other person feels or think should be done. All of us (Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee, Karan Johar) are very different from each other. We’re just ourselves and that reflects in our stories, too.

HT: What’s the future of anthology films?

AK: This is ongoing,

continuous, and consistent. This will always happen. This is something we look forward to.

It’s like an annual holiday you take. Now that Ghost Stories is out on Netflix, we’ll soon meet and decide the next subject. The excitement is so much to come together and do this.

HT: With a spurt of OTT platforms, do you feel that web and theatre can coexist?

AK: They will, conveniently, because you’re talking to a whole new generation.

For me, even before OTT platforms were launched, I was always in the web space. My audience was always downloading my films illegally and watching them (laughs). A few years ago, Gangs of Wasseypur was picked up and serialised in the US as a six-part series.

That was my first connect with the web.

HT: So, are you saying your films do better online than in cinemas?

I was always told that people watch my films. But then at the box office, why do we just about break even?

Why don’t we make humongous profits? Even films like Dev D – they’re quite a hit, but financially, they just cross the budget and the investments, but don’t become like other massive blockbusters. That’s when I realised that I have an audience but it’s very working, educated audience that doesn’t line up on Fridays outside cinema. They want to watch movies at their own convenience, probably on holidays, weekends or late nights. So, OTT platforms have made my work available to them at their convenience. I still remember, after The Girl in Yellow Boots’ (2010) release on the web... the number of mails and messages I got on this film, I didn’t get them on its original release. And it’s not like just twice the number or thrice the number; I am talking about 10 times the number. So, with that kind of visibility and accessibility, suddenly my films got life back. (Hindustan Times)

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

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he helicopter carrying basketball superstar Kobe Bryant and eight others crashed into a Calabasas, California, hillside with a "high energy impact," the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday.

As federal investigators wrapped up operations at the crash site, the NTSB's Jennifer Homendy said preliminary information suggests the helicopter descended rapidly and was likely in one piece before it slammed into the hill.

"The descent rate for the helicopter was over 2,000 feet a minute, so we know that this was a high energy impact crash," Homendy said. "This is a pretty steep descent at high speed. So it wouldn't be a normal landing speed."

The crash occurred about 1,085 feet above sea level, missing the top of the hill by 20 to 30 feet, investigators said. Parts of the helicopter were found scattered around a crash site that stretched 500 to 600 feet, the NTSB said.

The NTSB will release its preliminary report on the crash in 10 days, Homendy said.

"It's not going to contain our findings, our analysis, it's not going to contain any safety recommendations or probable cause but it's going to provide some factual information -- more than we have now, but just the facts."

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he drama over Taylor Swift’s decision to bail on a surprise performance at the Grammys is intertwined with her all-out war with Scooter Braun, Page Six has learned.

Last week, we reported that Swift was planning to perform her feminist anthem “The Man” at Sunday’s awards show. But she decided not to perform, after a former executive alleged that there had been serious sexual misconduct inside the Recording Academy, which runs the Grammys.

One of the allegations that caused Swift to not perform was made against the Recording Academy’s general counsel, Joel Katz.

In fact, we’re told that Katz drafted the legal papers that Swift claims have prevented her from performing her own songs live. Big Machine disputed those claims and said, “At no point did we say Taylor could not perform on the AMAs or block her

A final report will be out in about 12-18 months, she said.

NTSB recommended a safety system On Tuesday, NTSB turned over the accident site back to local authorities after recovering pieces of the wreckage, an iPad, cellphone and documents including maintenance records, the helicopter's registration and the airworthiness certificate.

The helicopter did not have a terrain awareness and warning system -- a safety feature which provides the pilot with information about the terrain, Homendy said.

The NTSB recommended that similar helicopters be equipped with the system after a fatal Texas crash in 2004 that killed 10 people. The Federal Aviation Administration failed to implement the recommendation, Homendy said.

In his last communication with air traffic control, the helicopter's pilot said he was climbing to avoid a cloud layer, the NTSB previously said.

But when air traffic control asked him what he planned to do, there was no response.

Radar data indicated the helicopter climbed 2,300 feet and began a left descending turn,

Netflix special. In fact, we do not have the right to keep her from performing live anywhere.”

At the time, Swift called Braun an “inces-

sant, manipulative bully.” “[Katz] is at the forefront of sexual-harassment allegations,” says a music insider. “There is no way she was going to support that. Taylor is about supporting women.”

Katz negotiated the sale of Swift’s music catalog and of her former re-

Homendy said.

That last contact was around 9:45 a.m. The first 911 call about the crash came in two minutes later, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said.

Weather experts are studying that morning The morning of the crash had been particularly foggy.

Visibility was so low Sunday morning that the Los Angeles Police Department had decided to ground its helicopters.

But comparing the police helicopters with the one Bryant was flying in -- a Sikorsky S-76B -isn't accurate, Homendy said.

"It's an apples to oranges comparison. It's a different helicopter, different operations, they have 4-person helicopters, this is outfitted for more than that," she said.

"We have to look at this specific crash, this specific helicopter."

The S-76 line serves as offshore oil and gas transportation, air ambulances, executive trans-

cord label, Big Machine Label Group, to Braun in June.

Ousted Recording Academy CEO Deborah Dugan mentioned Katz in a legal filing she submitted last week, claiming he had sexually harassed her and attempted to kiss her at a dinner. Katz has denied the incident.

Meanwhile, Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich confirmed in a new interview with Variety that Swift was interested in performing at the show.

“She had called us and said, ‘I really want to do the show’ … One of her representatives called and said, specifically, that she wanted to do the show for me. And then it was not confirmed,” he said. “She was never booked. I had her in a rundown. There was a placeholder if it did confirm. But she was never confirmed.” Ehrlich added he wasn’t allowed to say why she didn’t confirm, “but I understood her reasoning, let’s just say that.” Swift’s rep did not comment. (Page Six)

port and search-and-rescue aircraft. One aviation expert calls it a "workhorse."

Homendy said a weather expert on staff is studying the weather that day and the decision-making behind flying Sunday.

Moments before the crash, air traffic control approved pilot Ara Zobayan's request to fly with SVFR clearance -special visual flight rules clearance -- which allows pilots to fly in weather conditions worse than those allowed for regular visual flight rules.

And while she said that clearance is very common and nothing out of the ordinary, Homendy said investigators will look into whether Zobayan should have been granted that special permission.

Families mourn moth-

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ers, daughters, siblings Meanwhile, families are mourning the nine people who died Sunday -- including 41-yearold Bryant and his 13-yearold daughter, Gianna.

"The first day was brutal," Matt Mauser, whose wife was killed, said. "I woke up this morning and I said, 'I'm OK,' and then I walked out and I started to cry.

And then I saw my kids and I started to cry."

Christina Mauser was an assistant girls basketball coach, former teacher and mother of three.

Her youngest daughter is turning four years old next week. Mauser had been recruited by Bryant himself, her husband said, to help coach a team in his basketball academy.

Christina Mauser, killed in crash with Kobe Bryant, would have celebrated her daughter's 4th birthday next week Christina Mauser, killed in crash with Kobe Bryant, would have celebrated her daughter's 4th birthday next week Three young girls on

the helicopter -- including Gianna -- were on their way to a basketball game in Thousand Oaks.

One of them, Alyssa Altobelli, was flying with her parents, John and Keri.

Another, Payton Chester, was flying with her mother, Sarah Chester.

They all were killed in the crash.

"While the world mourns the loss of a dynamic athlete and humanitarian, I mourn the loss of two people just as important ... their impact was just as meaningful, their loss will be just as keenly felt, and our hearts are just as broken," Todd Schmidt, a former principal at the elementary school Payton once attended, wrote in a Facebook post.

Zobayan, who also died, had more than 8,200 hours of flight time, Homendy said, and had been working with Island Express Helicopters, which owned the Sikorsky S-76B. The LA County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner announced all nine bodies had been recovered -- four of which were officially identified through the use of fingerprints.

(CNN)

this point,” Nikki continued. “I just want to do this by myself. When I came back in, and it said pregnant, I had to sit down for a second.”

Meanwhile, Brie said she and Bryan had been trying to get pregnant again for about seven or eight months. They share 2-year-old daughter Birdie Joe. The former WWE superstar said she thought because she hadn’t gotten pregnant that it was a “sign from God,” so she stopped trying.

“When we were in France meeting Artem’s family, I felt a little off,” Brie said. “I was irritated and uncomfortable in my body. When we got home, I took a test two days before Thanksgiving, and when I saw the positive sign, I was like, ‘Oh, s—!’”

Nikki and Brie said they share the same symptoms and are both “super nauseous.”

“I feel like I literally have a hangover every day and it’s crazy because I’m not going out and partying,” Nikki added. “I’m not hitting up my usual hap-

py hours. There’s no wine in my life. It’s like having a hangover. I think what’s been the hardest part on me is feeling this hangover every day.”

Despite the morning sickness, the new mom-tobe said, “I can’t believe I’m going to be a mom soon.”

When Nikki dated her ex-fiancé, John Cena, the couple often disagreed on whether or not to have kids. However, Cena, 42, appeared to change his mind, but right before their split.

“When I thought it was going to be taken, for me, it was really difficult,” Nikki told People. “I was just like, gosh, I can’t imagine life without being a mom and experiencing the miracle of life and raising a child. I’m just so family-oriented that I couldn’t imagine not having that family life.”

She added, “I’m going to have this person to take care of for the rest of their life and help them do the right things and just show them the way of the world.

That’s amazing! It’s something I’ve dreamed of my whole life.” (Page Six)

N

ikki Bella and Brie Bella are both pregnant and their due dates are less than two weeks apart, they announced Wednesday.

“Wait, twins being pregnant at the same time?” Brie, 36, told People magazine. “People are going to think that’s a joke.

We both are shocked.

People are going to think we planned it, but you can’t really plan pregnancy!”

Nikki, 36, agreed that it was a “total surprise,” adding, “It took even me a good week to come to terms with like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m pregnant.’ I’m not ready for it.”

This will be the “Total Bellas” star’s first child with fiancé Artem Chigvintsev. The couple got engaged in November in France.

Nikki said she started “getting this feeling” that she needed to take a pregnancy test while taking a yoga class one day.

“And so I’m like, ‘Why do I keep having this feeling? Am I getting twin vibes from her? Because she just told me she’s pregnant?” she said, referring to her sister, Brie, who had just found out she was pregnant with her second child with husband Daniel Bryan.

“I didn’t tell Artem at

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

NATIONAL JUNIOR TT CHAMPIONSHIPS…

Van Lange retains U-15 and U-18 titles

-Melville, Thomas are U-18 and U-15 champs

By Timothy Jaikarran

T

he National J u n i o r s Table Tennis Championships concluded in grand fashion as fans witnessed from the pavilion the unveiling of the champions in the 18-years-and-under women, U15 women’s singles, 15-years-andunder boys, and U18 men’s singles.

These four finals were all dominated by members of the Titans Table Tennis Club (Jonathan Van

Kaysan Ninvalle

Lange, Crystal Melville, Thuraia Thomas) orig-

Jonathan Van Lange

inates out of the Red Cross Building.

The Finale (U-18 Women) The afternoon’s action commenced with the U18 women’s final kicking off. Crystal Melville and Thuraia Thomas were pitted against each other after hard fought preliminary matches. In the end, the better woman was Melville, who won the finals 3-2.

Her first set saw her losing to Thomas 11-9, but she bounced back 11-8 to tie that match at 1-1. Nerves got to Melville as she lost the third game 11-2, but after composing herself, she left Thomas staring at a trail of dust while she won the last two matches 11-6 and 11-7.

Earlier, in the semifinal, Thomas defeated Nkechi McRae 3-1 to book her spot in the final; but she lost the first set 11-0, then came back to win the other three sets with ease. It was the same for Melville, who lost her first set to Jasmine Billingy 11-9, but was able to win the last three games with ease.

U-15 Women

In the U15 women’s category, Melville and Thomas met again, but this time the story had a different ending, as Thomas triumphed.

Thomas won her category 3-2 after many thought she would have given up her fight she had lost the first two rounds 11-8, 12-10, but returned to surprise Melville and win the last three matches 1210, 11-8, 12-10.

Thomas was also able to book her spot in the final when she defeated Billingy 3-2, losing the first two sets but taking the last three by storm. It wasn’t the same for the McRaeMelville showdown, as Thomas defeated McRae-Melville with ease 3-0.

U-18 and U-15 Men (Van Lange dominates) It was expected that Van Lange and Kaysan Ninvalle would have each booked their spot in the finale of both events. These two talented youngsters were dominant in all their matchups. In the U 18 category, Van Lange flew past Ninvalle with much ease, and was able to win the first two rounds 11-8, 11-5.

Despite losing 11-8 in the third set, Van Lange returned strong to win the last game 11-6. The U15 finale was nothing like its under-18 counterpart, as Van Lange did not al-

Crystal Melville and Thuraia Thomas, U-18 and U-15 Champions

low Ninvalle to breath, cramping him and constantly applying the pressure with every serves. He was able to win all three matches 11-9, 11-8, 11-8, to reclaim both U18 and U15 titles.

What’s next?

The tournament served as a key component for establishing a ranking and selection system, among other benefits. With the continental qualification event for Games of the XXXII Olympiad scheduled for April 15– 19, 2020 and the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics scheduled for August 2020, many of the events

scheduled on the regional and international calendar of activities have been advanced.

This will see the Caribbean Junior and Cadet Championships being scheduled for March 2020, the Caribbean Senior Championships being scheduled for April 2-8 in Havana, Cuba — which is being used as the qualification event for the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships in Houston Texas, USA; and the Continental Olympic qualification event being held early in 2020. These are expected to provide greater impetus to the national championships.

Guyanese cricket legend...

Achievers, East Bank Blazers, Paradise, Bush Lot United, Blairmont, Tucber Park, Mt. Sinai, Edinburgh, Rose Hall Canje, Albion, Rose Hall Town Bakewell, Port Mourant and No73.

Players like Leon Cecil, Isai Thorne, Rampertab, Jonathan Rampersaud, Mahendra Gopilall, Jeremy Sandia, Tameshwar Mohabir, Zeynul Ramsammy, Rashaad Gafoor and Salim Khan are expected to play in the 50-over format event.

The teams would be divided into four zones, with the top two zones advancing to the quarterfinals. Foster has said that the Lewison General Store Under-15 Tournament has already commenced, and another under-15 tournament would start after the national elections in March.

As part of a comprehensive developmental programme, the BCB

would also be hosting Under-13, Under-19, Under-21 and Under-23 tournaments in 2020.

Foster reminded clubs that only Berbicians would be allowed to play, while a walkover would be granted half an hour after the scheduled start of play. Clubs who lose by walkover would be banned from playing at the junior level for the rest of the year.

Captains who are not present at the venue fifteen minutes before the start of play would lose their rights to the toss.

The BCB would select a 30-man squad, based on performance in the tournament, to participate in several trial matches.

Sarwan has donated a coaching kit worth $100,000 to the BCB as the board strives to develop its coaching department. The donation, Foster stated, would be used by the coaching staff headed by Level

FROM PAGE 53

Three Coach Winston Smith in the upcoming inter-county tournaments and in the BCB coaching programmes during the year.

One of the BCB’s main objectives is to make sure that every promising talent in Berbice is unearthed and allowed to be fulfilled.

Later in the year, the BCB is also expected to receive another coaching set from another former Guyana senior player.

The BCB President has expressed gratitude to Sarwan, and has called on other former cricketers to give back to the game which made them household names.

Sarwan, in brief remarks, said he was very impressed with the BCB under the leadership of Foster. He urged the board to always strive for excellence, and noted that he was satisfied with the hosting of the first two tournaments.

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

BCB/RHTY&SC Busta 40 Overs Champion of Champions tourney…

RHT Thunderbolt clinch title in nail-biter – as Foo’s brilliance fails to save Albion

By Brandon Corlette

T

he Rose Hall Town (RHT) Thunderbolt Flour team have defeated arch-rivals Albion by three runs in an exciting 40-over encounter that was the final match in the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) Busta 40-overs Champion of Champions tournament.

Watched by a capacity crowd at the Port Mourant Community Centre Ground on Sunday last, Albion, in pursuit of 182 for victory over RHT, fell short by three runs, ending on 178-8 when their 40 overs had expired.

Guyana Jaguars batsman Jonathan Foo played a masterful innings of 76, but it proved insufficient for the Albion team.

The match came down to the proverbial wire, with 17 runs required from the final over, and fast-bowler Keon Sinclair on strike.

With Foo at the crease, the crowd had fancied Albion’s chances of pulling off the win, but the final over yielded 13 runs,

with Foo smashing a six before being run out four balls into the over.

After Foo’s departure, Albion found themselves needing 8 runs from only two deliveries. A fortunate boundary from the penultimate ball changed the dynamics of t h e game to 4 runs being required off the final ball; but RHT prevailed, taking a

32-run opening partnership featuring veteran Delbert Hicks and former Guyana U-19 batsman Junior Sinclair.

Hicks departed for nine off the bowling of Foo, and two runs later, Jason Sinclair was run out for one.

The right-handed Crandon, batting at number four, played a mature innings, although he lost partners at regular intervals.

He was supported by the Sinclair brothers: Junior, who made 25 from 32 balls, including three fours; and Keon, who chipped wicket off that in with 16 from 11 final ball. balls.

Bowling for Crandon’s Albion, promis71 leads RHT ing Berbice leftto 181 all out arm youth spinF r e s h from a stint in ner Gourav Canada, forR a m e s h Jonathan mer Guyana grabbed 3-22 Foo goes Jaguars in eight big, hitting one over player and overs, while long-off in his W e s t S a r w a n impressive knock Indies Chaitnarine O D I took 2-9. player Royston Crandon Foo, David Latchya played a brilliant knock and Kandasammy of 71 from 69 balls, in- Surajnarine each took cluding three sixes, to one wicket. lead RHT to 181 all out Foo controls the chase in 39.2 overs.

In 10.2 overs, Albion RHT began with a lost three wickets

The victorious RHT Thunderbolt Flour First Division team

with the score on 55.

Surajnarine fell to captain and off-spinner Eon Hooper, who made a mess of the right-hander’s stumps after he had scored only four.

Adrian Sukwa was bowled by paceman Keon Sinclair for three, while Sharaz Ramcharran made a 30-ball 31 that was decorated with four boundaries.

He was eventually bowled by Sinclair.

Batting at number four, Foo was partnered

by Rajiv Ivan, a former Guyana Jaguars batsman, whose stay at the crease was brief, as offspinner Crandon rattled his stumps for five.

Foo and Latchaya added 61 runs for the fifth wicket partnership, rotating the strike and hitting the odd boundary. Latchaya departed for a boundary-less 26 from 58 balls, after hitting a Hooper delivery to cover and being caught.

At that point, Foo remained in control, with Albion on 125-5, but he lacked capable partners in the lower order. On a fairly large outfield, and with a pitch that had invariable bounce, Foo managed to clear the boundary twice, besides hitting three fours in a crafty innings that ended with a run out through the efforts of a

calm Hooper and a sharp glovesman in Jason Sinclair.

Hooper ended with figures of 2-28 in seven overs, while Keon Sinclair had 2-44 as Albion’s 40 overs expired on 178-8.

When Foo was dismissed four balls into the over, the game was decided: RHT won the championship trophy and $100,000, while Albion received $50,000 and the runners-up trophy.

This final was described by BCB President Hilbert Foster as one of the best contested in the ancient county.

Dr Puran Singh National Players Financial Scheme…

Sponsorship renewed ahead of cricket season’s climax

J

unior and female cricketers in Berbice would continue to benefit from the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) in 2020, as that entity has renewed its sponsorship package with overseas-based Guyanese physician Dr. Puran Singh for the hosting of the 3rd Annual National Players Scheme.

The main objective of the scheme is to financially assist Berbice cricketers who fall in the under-15, under-17 and under-19 brackets, as well as female cricketers, once they gain selection at the national level.

Dr. Singh’s sponsorship of this scheme started in 2019, the BCB having used its own funds to launch this ambitious project in 2018.

BCB President Hilbert Foster, MS, whose idea it was was to establish the scheme, hailed the renewal of the sponsorship as another red-letter day in the rapid development of Berbice Cricket. Foster noted that on his election to the Presidency of the BCB, in February 2018, a parent approached him for assistance to purchase a pair of uniforms for her child, who was going to play for Berbice at the under-15 level.

In tears, that parent told him that she was unable to purchase the uniform because she was unemployed, but she

didn’t want to shatter her cricket tournaments at the ceive $10,000. each to assist the BCB to sponsor county child’s dream of playing crick- Under 13, Under 15, Under them to prepare for the differ- wide coaching, annual crick17, Under 19, Under 21, Under ent tournaments. et for Berbice. et academy, restoration of the The idea for this scheme 23, Primary School, Secondary Dr Puran Singh, based in BCB office, preparation of inwas birthed at that moment, School and female levels in ter-county teams. foster stated, as Dr Singh has said poverty should it was with pride not be the reathat he agreed to son why a child renew the sponsorshould not fulfill ship, as he is totalhis/her dreams. ly pleased with the The other obwork of the Hilbert jectives of the Foster-led adminisscheme are: to tration. He praised encourage playthe BCB for its acers to be propcountability of his er role models, funds — regular reto represent the ports with photos Berbice flag with — and providing pride, and to act media coverage of as an investment the activities of the in the player’s cascheme. reer.

Dr Singh has The BCB boss, committed to sponFoster, has said soring this scheme he is very comin the future, and mitted to making expressed confisure that all of dence that Berbice the BCB players would continue to with bats have equal opporproduce players them ng enti pres r afte th Smi lair and Nial Dr Singh poses with Kevin Sinc tunities to develop of excellence at all their talents. The levels. financial scheme On Sunday is just one of the an ag- Barbados and the younger last, Dr Singh hosted the programmes directed at assist- gressive effort to unearth and brother of BCB main sponsor Guyana Senior Cricket Team ing youths, with the BCB plan- develop talents across Berbice. Dr Tulsi Dyal Singh, last year at his Barbados home, and ning to host numerous coachSince establishment of the contributed $300,000 to this presented Berbicians Kevin ing programmes, educational scheme in 2018, the BCB has scheme, and would in 2020 be Sinclair and Nial Smith with sessions, cricket academy and handed out close to $700,000 investing $320,000. bats. Dr Singh is a recipient social/etiquette programmes. to its players and officials.

The elder Doctor Singh of the BCB’s highest award, Additionally, the BCB Under the scheme, players has, since 2018, donated over Tribute to Hero. would be hosting numerous and team officials would re- $4million of his own funds to

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

RHTY&SC, Farfan and Mendes Ltd renew cricket sponsorship for 24th year S

ecretary/CEO of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) MS, Hilbert Foster on Friday last described the long-term sponsorship of business entity Farfan and Mendes Ltd as one of the main foundations of the RHTY&SC’s success story over the years.

The Farfan and Mendes Limited, located at Providence, East Bank Demerara, has been an official sponsor of Guyana’s most vibrant youth and sports organisation since 1997.

Foster has said that relationship actually started in 1996, when the company, through its then General Manager, June Mendes, donated a grass cutter towards the upkeep of the Area H Ground.

In February 1997, this company became the official sponsor of the RHTY&SC, MS, Under-15 Team, and over the years, the team has won several Berbice Championship matches and produced dozens of Berbice and Guyana under- 15 players.

Among the players produced by the

Farfan and Mendes Customer Service Representative Okachi Dennis handing over sponsorship cheque to Marissa Foster of the RHTY&SC

club under sponsorship are Assad Fudadin, Shemaine Campbelle, Sheneta Grimmond, Shabika Gajnabi, Royston Crandon and Kevlon Anderson, who all went on to play for the West Indies. Others, who played for Guyana, include Abdel Fudadin, Delbert Hicks, Khemraj Mahadeo, Murphy La Rose, Dominic Rikhi, Shevon Marks, Shawn Pereira, Naresh

Mahadeo, Parmanand Narine, Arif Chan, Junior Sinclair, Sylus Tyndall, Matthew Pottaya, Jonathan Rampersaud, Jeremy Sandia and Mahendra Gopilall.

Foster has hailed the relationship between the club and the company as one that has touched and changed the lives of countless youths in a positive way. He said youths from his small hometown

and across Berbice have benefited from the company’s sponsorship and from other forms of support.

The RHT Farfan and Mendes Ltd Under-15

Team has, since 1997, successfully hosted over one thousand self-developmental activities under this sponsorship.

These include: Senior Citizens Breakfast Programme, Say No/Say Yes Programme, Tribute to Mothers, Tribute to Fathers, Children’s Mash Parade, Tribute to Heroes, Summer Camp, Medical Outreaches, Feeding of the Poor, Construction of Play field, Career Fair, Youth Information Booklet, Posters, Educational Competitions, Youth Inspirational Forum, Tribute to Teachers, and Top Ten Students’ Awards.

Over the years, the company has also supported the club by sponsoring its annual review magazine, charity programmes, cricket academy, summer camp, and annual Christmas village, among other ini-

tiatives. The club’s Asst Secretary/CEO, Simon Naidu, has reassured the company that its support is appreciated, as sponsorship is hard to obtain in Guyana, much less for sponsorship to last for almost a quarter of a century.

Naidu has pledged that under the leadership of Captain Matthew Pottaya, the team would continue to maintain the high standard of the club.

Marketing Executive of the company, Onai Vasconcellous, has said that Farfan and Mendes Ltd is pleased to be associated with the RHTY&SC, MS, and that the club has an excellence record of promoting the company’s brand. He expressed confidence that the relationship would continue to expand in the future.

The sponsorship for 2020 is worth $250,000.

Jaguars again top points’ table

V

eerasammy Permaul propelled the Guyana Jaguars to a commanding 219-run victory over previous tournament leaders Trinidad & Tobago Red Force in a match of the WICB PCL 4-Day Championships played on Sunday at the National Stadium at Providence in Guyana.

Barbados Pride, who have defeated Jamaica Scorpions to record their second consecutive win, after opening their campaign with a loss. The Pride are on 44.4 points.

In the all-islands derby, a career-best spell from Sheeno Berridge undermined hosts Windward Islands Volcanoes and set

loss to their account.

The Hurricanes’ win means they have broken the spell of two successive losses, and have jumped out of the cellar to land on 26.6 points.

The Scorpions occupy the cellar with 21.2 points after two draws and a loss.

Round 4 commences on Thursday, February

In the process, he recorded his 500th firstclass wicket and returned the Jaguars to the top of the points’ standings.

Round 3 having been concluded, Jaguars now lead the points’ standings with 44.6 points; marginally ahead of the

up Leeward Islands Hurricanes for their first win of the season — by 165 runs. Volcanoes sit third on 32.8 points, after recording a win, a loss and a draw.

Trinidad and Tobago Red Force are fourth on 32.6 points. They also have a win, a draw and a

5, when current leaders and five-time defending champions, Guyana Jaguars, face the dwindling Scorpions team at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence, while the Pride would battle the Hurricanes and Red Force would tackle the Volcanoes.

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

P&P Insurance Brokers and Consultants to open GSSF shooting calendar

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ocal sport shooters will be given opportunity to participate in a match sponsored annually by P&P Insurance Brokers and Consultants Limited.

That match has, for the fifth consecutive year, marked the start of the year’s shooting calendar for matches hosted by the Guyana Sport Shooting Foundation (GSSF).

Chairman of the Steel Challenge Shooting

Committee, Dr Pravesh Harry, noted that shooters will be competing under two divisions: Production and Limited.

The match will consist of four stages, with each stage being contested five times. Times would be recorded, and the worst time discarded, leaving the shooter with four recorded times, the total of which is their score for the stage.

At the end of the match, the scores would

Guyanese cricket legend Sarwan renews BCB Under-17 tournament sponsorship

– donates $100,000 coaching kit

Ramnaresh Sarwan, handing over sponsorship to BCB President Hilbert Foster

W

hen BCB President Hilbert Foster met with former West Indies ODI legend Ramnaresh Sarwan — to launch the third edition of the Ramnaresh Sarwan Under-17 Berbice Cricket Tournament — at the fitness 53 Gym recently, Foster reminisced on the relationship between the BCB and Sarwan as follows: “You were the first person to call me after my election as President of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) in February 2018, and you were the first sponsor to come on board, just two hours after election. My presidency has been very successful because of persons like you, who have invested heavily into our cricket. Berbice Cricket would forever be grateful to Ramnaresh Sarwan.”

In under one month, the vibrant BCB raised $8M in cash and kind for Berbice Cricket in 2020.

The first edition of the Ramnaresh Sarwan Under-17 Tournament was won by Rose Hall Town Bakewell, while the defending champions and arch rivals Albion Community Centre have clashed in the 2019 finals, which were recently played.

Foster has said that with the Guyana Cricket Board’s Inter- County Under-17 Tournament coming up in the near future, the BCB, being proactive, would like to start early preparation. The under-17 tournaments normally attract about 20 teams, and involve players born on or after September 1st, 2003.

Among the teams expected to participate in this tournament are: CONTINUED ON PAGE 50

Jaya Panday, Senior Representative of P&P Insurance Brokers and Consultants Ltd, handing over sponsorship funds to GSSF Director Dr Pravesh Harry

be tallied, and prizes would be awarded for the top three performers in each division.

Dr Harry has already met with representatives of P&P Insurance Brokers and Consultants Limited for the handover of sponsorship funds.

The GSSF would like to thank P&P Insurance Brokers and Consultants Limited for their continued support and dedication to the shooting sport.

At the handing over ceremony for the sponsorship funds, held at P&P Insurance Brokers and Consultants Ltd.’s office located at Lots

272-273 Lamaha Street, North Cummingsburg, Georgetown, Dr Harry, in accepting the kind sponsorship, conveyed thanks to the Executive Director of P&P, Vikash Panday.

The Foundation would again like to express its gratitude to Chief Executive Officer Bishwa Panday and P&P Insurance, who unhesitatingly came on board to support the sport shooting fraternity.

For more information on the GSSF, interested persons are invited to visit www.guyanasportshooting.com.

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

Relay Festival added to calendar of activities Republic Jubilee celebrations

T

he celebrations for Guyana’s 50th Republican Anniversary will have the added flare of sporting activities, as the 50th Jubilee Relay Festival was launched on Tuesday morning at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport’s Main Street office.

With Guyana’s 50th Republic Anniversary being fully prepared for, the Ministry of Social Cohesion and the body whose job it is to coordinate the celebration for the upcoming Republic milestone have thought it fitting to include sports in the calendar of activities. That is how the idea of a track event was birthed.

Festival Committee Director Stanley Lancaster, sharing the committee’s rationale for venturing into the track-and-field realm, said: “The events that have been planned for the 50th Anniversary of the Republic are many.

I think we have in excess of 50 events that are going to celebrate this occasion, but we did think that all aspects of

Events Director Mark Scott, AAG VP Sheryl Hermonstine, Festival Director Stanley Lancaster, Festival Administrator Desiree Wyles-Ogle and Director of Culture Tamika Boatswain take a photo opportunity following the event’s launch

our culture and our life should be celebrated, and as such, sport plays an integral role,” Lancaster disclosed.

“What is critical about the sporting aspect is that it speaks to a healthy nation and it speaks to a nation who is physically capable of dealing with building where we are going as a country. So we want healthy Guyanese, and sport speaks clearly to this aspect of ourselves,” the renowned broadcaster went on to say.

The highly-anticipat-

ed relay event, which will be hosted at the Leonora Track and Field facility on the West Coast of Demerara on February 16, will cater to athletes of all ages in three categories, namely: Open, Under-20, and Under-16.

Some of the events that would be featured in the relay festival are 4x100M, 4x200M, 2400M medleys, 1500M medleys, 800M medley and 4×4 mixed relays.

No field events will be contested at the event.

According to events Director Mark Scott, in-

vitations to athletes in Regions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 10, and to all clubs affiliated with the Athletics Association of Guyana, have already been sent out, with entries expected to close on Friday, February 7, at 4pm.

Scot also disclosed the variety of prizes that will be up for grabs, and shared how the 50th Jubilee will tie in with them.

“For the senior category, they will be receiving cash prizes of $35,000, $25,000 and

$15,000 as first, second and third place. For the Under-20 and Under-16, they will be receiving medals — a special medal being made with the Golden Jubilee logo on it,” Scott revealed.

Speaking on the AAG’s behalf, First Vice-President Sheryl Hermonstine assured that the meet will be conducted in accordance with the World Athletics guidelines, and the highest standards would apply.

“The birth of this

Complete list of events: Open

Male • 4X100M • 4X200M • 2400M medley

Female • 4X100M • 4X200M • 800M Medley • 4X400M (Mixed)

Under-20

Male • 4X100M • 4X200M • 1500M Medley

event took place at the National Schools Athletics Championships between the Minister, the Guyana Overseas-Based Sports Association Inc (GOBSA), and the AAG President. However, I want to assure you that the Athletics Association will ensure that this event is run under the guidelines of the IAAF (World Athletics), and that all the officials will be certified and ready for the event,” Hermonstine informed.

Female • 4X100M • 4X200M • 800M Medley • 4X400M

Medley Under-16

Male • 4X100M • 4X200M • 1500M Medley Female • 4X100M • 4X200M • 800M Medley

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 2, 2020 | GUYANATIMESINTERNATIONAL.COM

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