Guyana Times Monday December 30, 2019

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THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Issue No. 4151

monday, december 30, 2019

PRICE

Unverified names cannot be allowed on OLE – PPP's Chief Scrutineer

$80 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Govt seeks consultant for Flood Risk Management P9 Project

See story on page 3

…calls for stern action against GECOM staff who registered fictitious persons

Nothing wrong with MMAADA Chair’s 10,000 acres of land – Agriculture Minister

– to help craft initiatives against flooding, determine drainage options

Page 7

...says Chairman has always owned large tracts of land

Berbice man escapes Early-morning fire guts after setting wife’s D’Edward Village home house on fire Page 7

Page 9

Cutlass- P15 wielding bandits nabbed after robbing foreigners

DPP disposed of 212 P10 criminal cases in 2019

Youth shot during robbery along Cemetery P15 Road

Masked bandits Jagdeo storm mining camp, details plans relieve miner of to tackle cash, gold See story on page 5

See story on page 2

– duo nabbed on way to Parika

corruption

Shotgun P2 recovered after being tossed out of vehicle

2 news

monday, DECEMBER 30, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Cops closer to solving Coach’s murder – investigators “tying up loose ends” – Commander Thomas

A

lmost two weeks ago, the body of 28-year-old Seon Anthony Burry, also called “Cenestro”, was discovered with multiple stab wounds to the neck and throat at D’Urban Park, Georgetown, and from reports received, detectives are one step closer to arresting the real culprits.

This is according to Georgetown Commander, Assistant Police Commissioner Edgar Thomas, who told Guyana Times on Sunday that the police had initially arrested several persons for questioning.

He explained that those individuals are no longer in

Twenty-eight-year-old Anthony Burry, also “Cenestro”

Seon called

Police custody, however, investigators have been able to narrow down the list and are expected to make an arrest soon.

The Commander added that although there were CCTV cameras in the area, they were too far from the crime scene to capture the perpetrator(s).

However, he maintained that his ranks are “very close to solving the crime” and there are “just a few ends that need to be tied” before the guilty party is apprehended.

The Rural Constable (RC) was found stabbed to death on December 17.

Shotgun recovered after being tossed out of vehicle

– Police on the hunt for getaway vehicle

P

olice ranks are on the hunt for a white 4Runner after the occupants allegedly discharged a firearm before dumping the weapon in a clump of bushes as they made good their escape.

Reports are that around 05:35h on Saturday, Police ranks attached to the 70 KM police outpost, located in Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni), were on duty when they heard the sound of a gunshot in close proxim-

ity.

This prompted a number of police ranks to leave their post and investigate.

As the police approached the Number 68KM junction, which is a short distance away from the police outpost, the ranks observed a white pick-up parked some100 yards away from them.

However, upon seeing that the police were closing in on them, the occupants quickly threw an object out

of the windows and the vehicle sped away.

As the police ranks arrived at that location, they conducted a search during which they found a 16-gauge single barrel shotgun bearing the serial number 1303108-01.

The firearm was taken back to the police station where it has been lodged.

Meanwhile, the police are continuing the search for the white vehicle as they continue their investigations.

He was found at about 05:45h laying there less than two hours after he had left his Lot 194 Section A, Field 7, South Sophia, Greater

Georgetown home, to train athletes.

Burry was a RC attached to the Police Force Sports Club.

The now dead man, who was enlisted as an RC in the Force on July 17, 2015, leaves to mourn his mother, a child, and siblings.

Masked bandits storm mining camp, relieve miner of cash, gold – duo nabbed on way to Parika

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50-year-old miner is now traumatised after two masked bandits armed with cutlasses stormed his mining camp and relieved him of cash and other valuables.

However, quick action by the police led to the apprehension of the two suspects, who were attempting to leave the jurisdiction with their loot less than 24 hours after they had committed the crime.

The stolen items along with $400,000 cash were also recovered in their possession at the time of their arrests.

Based on reports received, the robbery took place at about 23:30h on Friday evening at the Takutu Backdam, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

At the time, the miner, Joao Dsostristinto, his cook and a worker, were sound asleep in their mining camp.

The two suspects, each with a cutlass, stormed the camp and threatened to kill the miner if he did not hand over the cash he had in the camp, gold and other valuables. After putting up a resistance, the cutlass-wielding bandits bound Dsostristinto and proceed to ransack the camp. The cook and the worker were reportedly in their respective quarters as the men executed the robbery.

Dsostristinto reportedly told Police that the masked bandits relieved him of $850,000 cash that he had on his person and then robbed him of two mobile phones.

They also collected four bottles of brand name colognes and 14 pennyweights of raw gold before they made good their escape.

Shortly after the robbery, the worker and cook employed by Dsostristinto became aware that something

was amiss and went to the man’s aid. The miner was then untied and he immediately contacted the police to report the matter.

Investigators began their probe and the hunt for the two suspects intensified after they received information that the men were leaving the region.

However, on Saturday around 15:00h, a team of policemen who were deployed at the Bartica Ferry Stelling observed two men acting in a suspicious manner as they were on board a vessel destined for Parika, East Bank Essequibo.

The duo was taken off the boat and taken to the Bartica Police Station where they were searched, during which the money and other items were discovered.

As such, they were arrested and are expected to make their court appearance in the new week.

news

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monday, DECEMBER 30, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

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

Monday, December 30 – 05:00h-06:30h and Tuesday, December 31– 08:30h-10:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Monday, December 30 – 06:45h-08:15h and Tuesday, December 31– 07:15h-08:45h.

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

Unverified names cannot be allowed on OLE – PPP's Chief Scrutineer

…calls for stern action against GECOM staff who registered fictitious persons

T

he Guyana Elections C o m m i s s i o n (GECOM) is yet to make a final decision on what to do about the persons it could not verify during the recent field verification.

According to one chief scru-

to go on the list.”

Section 20 (b) of the National Registration Act states that every officer who “willfully or without reasonable excuse enters in any register established under Section 9 the registration

WEATHER TODAY Sunny intervals will prevail during the day.

Partly cloudy skies are expected in the evening. Temperatures should range between 21 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: North-Easterly to Easterly between 1.78 metres and 4.47 metres.

High Tide: 06:57h and 19:10h reaching maximum heights of 2.41 metres and 2.49 metres.

Low Tide: 12:43h minimum height of

reaching a 0.82 metre.

saturday, DECember 28, 2019

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tineer who played an integral part in the exercise, these persons cannot be allowed on the voters' list.

In an interview with Guyana Times, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Chief Scrutineer Zulfikar Mustapha had questioned the reasons for enumerators registering persons with addresses that are in reality, empty lots.

“Those are serious concerns. Those persons who cannot be found and are at empty lots, those people are not living there. So, in the first place, why did GECOM staff who conducted the registration register empty lots? They have to answer for that. GECOM has to take stock of those things.

“You cannot put people on a list that you cannot verify, because that was the whole point of the verification exercise. The point was to verify those persons. I agree that those persons who were found and GECOM was able to verify, those persons can be added to the list. But you can’t put persons you cannot account for, it would defeat the whole purpose,” Mustapha said.

He recalled the issues of fraud that had arisen during last year’s Local Government Elections (LGE). At the time, there had been accusations that persons’ signatures were forged as backers for certain candidates. This time the stakes are higher, as the names that make it on the Revised List of Electors (RLE) will be used for elections in March.

“They had issues like that in the Whim area, where persons said their signatures were forged. And the matter went to the High Court. So, they should be very stern with people… for forging persons’ information

card of any person who is not eligible to be registered or the registration card of any fictitious or non-existent person… shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of five thousand dollars and to imprisonment for six months.”

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 (Demerara-Mahaica) had the highest number of unconfirmed persons – 3657.

According to GECOM,

there were 16,863 ‘new’ registrants, but only 10,329 were confirmed.

Opposition-nominated Commissioner Robeson Benn told this publication last week that field officers who conducted the verification exercise of “new registrants” captured during the scrapped House-to-House (H2H) Registration process found empty lots at the addresses on record for those persons.

He also told this newspaper that they were informed by the Party’s scrutineers who worked along with the GECOM staff during the exercise that there were instances where they went to the addresses to verify the names and were met with empty lots.

Some 370,000 registrations obtained during the scrapped $3 billion H2H exercise, which ran from July 20 to August and was objected to by the Opposition, were

PPP Chief Scrutineer Zulfikar Mustapha

to filter out the duplicates.

However, it was recently reported that international digital security company Gemalto indicated that some 37,300 were new registrants who are eligible for voting, that is, they are above the age of 18. But an internal check conducted by GECOM showed that approximately 17,000 of those

The Guyana Elections Commission

sent overseas to be crossmatched with the National Register of Registrants Database (NRRD) in order

“new registrants” were already on the voters’ list and some even voted in the past.

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guyanatimesgy.com

monday, DECEMBER 30, 2019

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

Promises, promises

A

t the beginning of the month, the Director-General in the Ministry of the Presidency indicated that the PNC, as the largest force in the governing coalition, had embarked on a four-stage process in preparation for the general elections. This the party’s leader, David Granger, had dragged out to March 2, 2020 in flagrant disregard of the noconfidence motion that had been passed on Dec 21, 2018.

The adumbrations of the process expose the opportunistic nature of the APNU/AFC coalition, which is focused on simply retaining power under the skirts of the PNC. The process began with the signing of “core principles” in September, which made a mockery of the word “principle”. The major “principle” - to allocate the divvying up of seats in the National Assembly and Ministries – would have been better described as “horse trading”. Another, which forbade the coalition partners from expressing opinions contrary to the “majority’s – read PNC’s - views”, effectively destroys the foundational principle of coalition government: diversity of views.

The second stage was the agreement on a revised Cummingsburg Accord between the APNU and AFC, which occurred on Christmas Eve. This could have been settled in the “core principle” on allocation of spoils mentioned above, but it became clear that the biggest carrot to the AFC – selection of the PM candidate -- was proving to be a nettlesome issue. The sticking point was whether the PNC would accept the AFC’s decision to have their leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, occupy the spot, or their preferred candidate Moses Nagamootoo, dubbed as “royalty” by a high PNC official.

It appears that to most in the PNC’s hierarchy, Ramjattan, like Cassius of yore, “has a mean and hungry look”. Sources have signalled that the nod was given to Ramjattan, but conditioned on accepting a morganatic arrangement. As of this date, even though the new Acord has been signed, there has still not been a definitive announcement on the choice.

The third stage of the process was the preparation of the APNU/AFC Manifesto, which is presumably being completed now, since the final stage - the launch of their elections campaign – is on January 3rd. Rather intriguingly, in light of the uncertainty over their PM slot, the launch’s publicity posters have only PNC leader David Granger’s picture.

With their eyes firmly fixed on the oil revenues which will start flowing into Guyana’s coffers right after the elections, David Granger has declared that their fourth stage, their manifesto, will focus on a “Decade of Development”. This will be undergirded by policies and programmes in twelve broad fields: constitutional reform; good governance; economic growth and development; education improvement; energy sector; environmental protection; indigenous peoples; infrastructural development; international relations; social protection and social cohesion; security and human safety; women, gender equality and youth.

It is said that the past is a prolegomena to the future, and while the PNC would want us to forget about its abysmal record on executing the promises made in its manifesto that got it elected in 2015 – the “Decade of Development”, after all, begins in 2020 – it should give us an inkling on how seriously we should consider the promises in the new manifesto.

That document began with the Cummingsburg Accord between the APNU and AFC. In this, the most salient promise to the citizens that voted it into office, was the promise of “Shared Executive Governance”. The entire premise of the coalition as the answer to Guyana’s ethnically fractured polity was contained in this promise, since the Presidency was going to be occupied by the PNC’s candidate, while the PM -- as explained above -- would be from the AFC, and would be responsible for bringing in Indian-Guyanese from outside the PNC’s traditional African-Guyanese constituency.

Among other roles, the Manifesto declared: “The PM shall have responsibility for Domestic Affairs and Chairing Cabinet… and Domestic Security”. But immediately upon assuming office, David Granger said, “Ooops! The Constitution does not permit this!”

If the PNC would lie to their partner that delivered victory, why even elaborate on their other broken promises to the electorate?

As the sun set on Sunday, Jews across Israel marked the last night of the Hanukkah festival of lights. Hanukkah, Hebrew for “dedication”, commemorates the second century BC victory of Judah Maccabee and his followers in a revolt in Judea against armies of the Seleucid Empire and the ensuing restoration of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem (Reuters/Nir Elias)

Will Guyanese be fooled again?

Dear Editor, Hopefully, we will be having General and Regional Elections in a little over 2 months but during this time we will be bombarded once again with parties indulging in skillful marketing of their manifestos and in some cases the selling of not only illusive dreams but also manipulating the masses through outright lies and deceptions.

Immediately the APNU/ AFC Coalition comes to mind!

We have witnessed that during the last 2015 Elections the APNU/AFC Coalition made numerous promises and bold statements of what it can achieve within 100 days of assuming office. In addition, they campaigned heavily on the ‘massive corruption’ of the PPP/C government and made promises to jail the ‘corruptors’. One year after the Coalition was unable to even fulfill its ‘100 days promise’ and are yet to do so to date and those that it has fulfilled were far below expectations. For instance, the reduction in Bridge Toll was supposed to be by 50%.

This was what Nagamootoo told the Coalition supporters at Whim but he probably had meant that the Coalition boys will be given 50% increase in salaries. In addition, they had promised ‘significant’ increases in wage and salaries to ‘government workers, including nurses, teachers from primary to tertiary education, security personnel and civil servants on the traditional payroll’ but this also did not materialized ‘significantly’.

Sugar workers were never promised a ‘wage freeze’

but a 20% increase and the sugar industry was promised a ‘turnaround’ after the 52 million dollars Commission of Inquiry with no closure! We know what they did to sugar and the sugar workers!

Moreover, the old age pensioners have been deprived of their subsidies on water and electricity and are yet to receive any ‘significant’ increases. On the other hand, the Coalition had promised to reduce the presidents’ pension and other benefits. The Coalition had said that the lifestyle of the former President Bharrat Jagdeo placed an onerous burden on the Treasury.

However, that has been relegated to a non-issue status since it is now common knowledge that even the rubberstamp PM is getting far more than Jagdeo. This just goes to show the cunningly deceitfulness of this Coalition. They are now the fattest cats around!

Then the Coalition had lustily sang about the corrupt nature of the PPP/C Government in high crescendo which reverberated even internationally. But again this was simply massive lies and propaganda just to deceive the people.

In terms of corruption, the investigative Dobermans of the Coalition, SARU and SOCU have failed to prove by way of conviction in the Courts that the PPP/C was guilty of any form of corruption during their 23 years in Office.

In fact, these two PNC controlled arms carried out a massive witch hunting exercise to smear and tarnish the characters of former PPP/C government officials.

Ironically the PNC appoint-

ed head of SOCU himself became the center of allegations of fraud and corruption and was sent on ‘leave’ indefinitely! Again this nation has seen the massive increase in cronyism and corruption pervading every strata of government which resulted in the successful passing of the NCM more than a year ago.

They have exposed their true nature and innate propensity for fraud and corruption and squandered more than $1.3 trillion with nothing tangible to show for except some arches, roundabouts, inaugurations and pomp and ceremony! In fact the social and economic gains made under the previous PPP/C Government have been severely eroded.

But the above are not the only reasons why the Coalition should never be re-elected to Office again.

The squandering of our oil patrimony from the signing of the Oil production sharing agreement have presented to this nation an unassailable argument that the APNU/AFC are not only incompetent to govern an oil producing nation but no tangible benefit will ever trickle down to the common man! The failings in this regard are too numerous to mention. It makes us wonder if the $15 billion per year projected GDP growth will actually transform the Guyanese economy when $1.3 trillion have so far failed to satiate the greed of this Coalition.

The greed of the Coalition was evident when they failed to negotiate a substantial signing bonus and settled for a paltry US$18 million. It is anyone’s guess why the PSA

omitted any ‘ring-fencing’ provision thereby negatively affecting oil revenues, accepted a meagre 2% royalty, agreed to pay Exxon’s income taxes, agreed to self-insurance and not a comprehensive one called for by the World Bank, an opaque local content policy which does not augur well for Guyanese and the list goes.

Even negotiator Mr Trotman has now accepted that his Government could have done better with the Exxon deal. Is this an apology for the re-election of the Coalition? But lo and behold the ‘raw deal’ continues even after Trotman’s apology. On December 20th Oil producing country and the entire country should have been exceedingly happy but even the sale of the first three oil lifts is highly questionable since it not only breaches our Procurement Laws but the purchasing Company’s public image and dealing is questionable. It seems that from stern to bow we have been royally screwed!

In conclusion, to put the icing on the cake Guyana is now categorized as the country with the highest bribery in the Caribbean. It is unbelievable that after just over 4 years in Government our country has descended to a bottomless cesspit of bribery and corruption. How can the Coalition dare to ask Guyanese to vote for them again? Will Guyanese forgive the Coalition for the incompetence and corruption they have unleashed on this nation? I heard ‘NEVER’ being reverberated in every nook and cranny!

Yours sincerely, Haseef Yusuf

news

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MONDAY, december 30, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Jagdeo details plans to tackle corruption A

s parties gear up to contest next year’s General and Regional Elections in about two months’ time, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has outlined plans that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) will implement to tackle corruption in Government if it wins the upcoming polls.

Jagdeo pointed out that leading up to the 2015 elections, which ousted the PPP from office after 23 years, the APNU/AFC coalition played on the perception that the then Government was corrupt.

However, he pointed out that after nearly five years in office, the governing coalition has failed to present any concrete evidence to prove this.

As such, going into the March 2, 2020 polls, the

Opposition Leader said the PPP has to tackle such issues frontally. This includes outlining a clear plan of how it intends to uphold transparency and accountability in office.

Among these efforts, he noted, is full reinstatement of the Integrity Commission. Jagdeo explained that despite persons in high public office being obligated to submit their declarations to the Commission, the coalition stopped this for three years.

“We made it clear that we will ensure that we not only make submissions going forward but that [the coalition] also submit for those three years. So resumption of the Integrity Commission and strengthening the body,” he posited.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

Jagdeo, a former President, went on to outline too that the incumbent Administration has also managed to violate the country’s procurement laws – something they will have to correct as well.

“I’ve given one example where the law is explicit on approval of contract.

[They] moved away from that explicit position that Cabinet should not approve contract, must only give a ‘no objection’ and if it withholds the ‘no objection’, it has to why and write the Tender Board.

This Government has violated all of the procurement laws. We intend to

Words take on a life of their own Dear Editor, Words matter, and often can and do take on a life of their own.

Thus The Caribbean Voice (TCV) is happy that so many were critical of the words of the Minister of Education, Dr Nicolette Henry, who implied that violence is “normal” in schools countrywide with her comment: “Well, usually students fight. It’s nothing unusual, as you would know; you’ve gone to school yourselves and we all would’ve seen…”

The reality is that no matter how often it happens, violence cannot be normalised by anyone, much less by a minister whose portfolio includes addressing the increasing violence and bullying in the nation’s schools. Worse yet was that this was a case of gender-based violence, since it was a male student abusing a female student. No amount of subsequent ‘damage control’ and actions to address the situation will have nullified the effect of the Minister’s words.

TCV also really does

hope that an investigation is launched into the recent case presided over

by Justice Jo-Ann Barlow, who took off one third of a sentence after a guilty plea by an abuser was accepted, because the abuser “didn’t waste the court’s time”.

Justice Barlow also said she took into consideration that the abuser was younger than the woman, and therefore the woman would be more aggressive.

To reduce the sentence of an abuser because the abuser pleaded guilty insults all victims of abuse and waters down the seriousness of gender-based violence, which is fast becoming an epidemic in Guyana and globally. As well, it sends a message to abusers that, once they plead guilty, they will receive less than the maximum sentence. In fact, one wonders whether there is any legal basis for such an action.

Furthermore, to base that reduction partly on an assertion that is baseless is astounding. Surely,

Honouring of cricket legends Dear Editor The news that two former Windies’ cricketing legends - Clive Lloyd (now to be referred to as Sir Clive) and Gordon Greenidge - were honoured in Her Majesty the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List is just fantastic!

With West Indies on an upward swing, as apparent by the just concluded ODI and T20 tournaments in India, the honouring of these gentlemen might just be the impetus needed

to get Cricket West Indies moving again.

Heartiest congratulations to Sir Clive Lloyd and Sir Gordon Greenidge!

You have made our cricket proud by your respective honour, which you richly deserve. May your honour be an inspiration to our young and upcoming cricketers.

Long live West Indies Cricket!

Sincerely, Shamshun Mohamed

the learned judge is supposed to have ensured that assertions are evidence-based, since courts should be dealing with evidence, and not suppositions.

The fact is that aggression in a relationship has nothing to do with age.

Gender-based violence (GBV) is the result of the abuser’s need to assert power and control.

The third instance of words being used with little consideration given to their impact has to do with a statement made by the Director of Public Prosecutions, in which she disclosed that the most popular sexual offences her chamber is faced with is rape of a child under sixteen years, whereby there is penetration and sexual activity…”. To use the

term ‘popular’ to refer to an act of rape is to awfully sanitize the act.

No matter how often rape is committed, it is never ever, and never can be, popular; and someone of the calibre of the Director of Public Prosecutions must be absolutely circumspect with the way she uses words.

Our appeal therefore is that those whose words can and often do shape views and opinions -- especially when they are policy-makers or tasked with dispensing justice -- must ensure that they use the right words in the right contexts, and assert evidence-based conclusions at all times.

Sincerely, The Caribbean Voice

return to upholding the procurement laws,” he stressed.

The Opposition Leader further noted that another area that the PPP will have to work on reversing doings of the governing coalition is the processing of duty-free concessions.

“This Government has resumed ministerial processing of duty-free concessions. In the last budget, [Finance Minister Winston] Jordan passed a legislation that says you can now go to him and he can wavier the VAT or penalty associated with VAT – that never happened under the PPP. We removed the right the process concessions. When I was Finance Minister at that time, we inherited a system where the Minister used to sign the duty-free letter. We changed that and we said GRA (Guyana Revenue Authority) must process it.”

According to Jagdeo, this is all enshrined in the laws. “… They wanted ministerial processing but we will return to technical processing,” he contended.

He continued to point out that the PPP had published every privatisation done between 1992 and 2011 in a booklet, outlining details of those transactions, but under the coalition, many state assets are being privatised even without a Privatisation Board.

“We had the [Privatisation] Unit and then it goes to the Board, which used to have three members from civil society

– labour, Private Sector and consumer affairs…

Now NICIL (National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited) makes all the decision. We used to use Unit-BoardCabinet… we have to return to that with oversight of privatisation and publication of these transactions,” Jagdeo stated.

As Guyana is now on the cusp of transformational development from its budding oil and gas industry, the Opposition Leader underscored the importance, now more than ever, of ensuring transparency and accountability in the sector. To this end, he reiterated plans by the PPP to ensure that all Guyanese are made aware of every dollar that comes in from the sector as well as the party’s intention to criminalise non-disclosure of oil money.

According to the PPP plans, its Finance Minister can be jailed for up to 10 years if he or she fails to reveal information of monies collected from oil companies within a short period and gazette.

Moreover, also among the plans on PPP’s anti-corruption list are the passage of campaign financing legislation as well as making access to information easier for the Guyanese public.

“There are hundreds of things that we need to do or we can do to strength or even go back to what we had before… Those are just some of the ways you can strengthen accountability,” Jagdeo asserted.

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monday, DECEMBER 30, 2019

Page

Foundation

By Laura Lewis Brown

F

or many of us, the New Year means it’s time to take stock of our lives and fix what we don’t like. Whether it’s our diet, exercise routine or tendency to procrastinate, there is always room for improvement in the coming year. We not only benefit from New Year’s resolutions; our children can also learn a lot about self-discipline and the value of making goals. Here are some tips on how to help your kids benefit from making resolutions.

Make it a family activity

The best way to teach your children the importance of New Year’s resolutions is by making them part of the family tradition. Sit down each December month-end and reflect on the past year, discussing your accomplishments and goals, as individuals and as a family. In your resolution conversation you can each talk about what worked this year and what didn’t.

Dr Benjamin Siegel, professor of paediatrics and psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine, suggests saying, “Each one of us is going to state a few things that we want to continue to do and things we’d like to change that would make us feel better about ourselves and how our family works.”

Each family member gets a turn sharing something they are proud of and something they want to improve. It may help for parents to go first, to give children a model. If your child is old enough to write, he or she should write down their accomplishments and goals, and you can help your younger child by writing theirs down.

Resolutions for the entire family might include taking a monthly hike, playing board g a m e s twice a month or committing to more volunteering activities. Try to limit the number so they are more doable and more meaningful.

“A list of 100 things is impossible,” Dr Siegel says.

“It should be based on things that are doable without economic hardship.”

You can make a master list to hang in a public spot, like a bulletin board in the kitchen. Dr Kathleen Clarke-Pearson, a clinical assistant professor of paediatrics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, suggests making a resolution box, in which each family member can drop in his or her resolutions, then pull them out at a later date to review them.

Different resolutions for different ages

What each child needs to work on depends on the particular child. If you are concerned about his diet, then encourage healthier eating habits for him as well as the whole family. If your daughter’s room is a mess, try to help her commit 10 min-

utes a day to cleaning it. As your child ages, he can be more active in coming up with goals, which will mean more to him when he achieves them.

For preschool-aged children, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends resolutions that focus on cleaning up toys, brushing teeth and washing hands and being kind to pets. However, parents who consider these behaviours part of their regular expectations may want to provide resolutions that focus on higher goals.

Dr Clarke-Pearson suggests pre-schoolers be encouraged to work on listening and helping skills. A resolution could be “I will be a better listener when Mommy or Daddy asks me to do something” or “I will help out more when Mommy or Daddy asks me.”

If you keep it simple, your child is more likely to understand the concept as well as succeed.

As a child reaches age five and up to age 12, he or she is more able to comprehend a resolution and participate more in the process of picking one. The AAP suggests this age group commit to drinking more milk and water on a daily basis, wearing a seat belt and being friendly to all children. What your child needs to work on is very personal, so work with your child to come up with areas for improvement. Is she having trouble with a certain subject at school that needs more attention? Is he oversleeping and nearly missing the bus most mornings?

When your child gets into adolescence, the AAP recommendations focus more on the child taking more responsibility for his actions, including taking care of his body, dealing with stress in a healthy way, talking through conflict, resisting drugs and alcohol and helping others through community service.

Serve as a role model

No matter what age your child is, he or she is more likely to understand the value of goal setting if you take the lead. Just as with everything else you do, your child is watching. “Parents should be reflective about how they wish to be in the coming year,” Dr Siegel says. “It’s a good opportunity to promote good mental and physical health.”

Think of how you can include your child in your resolution. “I’m going to drink more water this year, because water is good for me. Do you want to join me?” If you are finding yourself checking your e-mail when you should be spending time as a family, consider incorporating that into a goal. “I’m going to turn off my phone when I get home. Can you remind me and also remember to keep your computer in your room until after dinnertime?”

Rewards are long lasting

We all know the feeling of meeting a goal, whether it be los-

ing five pounds, quitting smoking or putting in extra hours to earn a promotion. Children also relish that thrill of accomplishment, especially when their parents are acknowledging it.

As you go over the family list of resolutions each month or quarter, take time to acknowledge the successes, along with reinforcing the resolutions that need more attention. “Children will benefit by having the parent praise them, which will improve their self-esteem,” Dr Siegel says. “This will help them with self-regulatory behaviours that they can integrate into being a healthy adult.”

When you sit down to review resolutions, this is not time for punishment, however. It’s important to be flexible and understanding, especially if the child is making the effort. “You don’t penalise if you don’t fulfil a resolution,” Dr Clarke-Pearson says. “The resolution is not written in stone. It’s a guide.”

However your family arrives at resolutions, the best part is that you’re doing it together and learning how to manage your role not only in the family but also in the larger world. (pbs.org)

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By Scott Brown

he New Year is almost here, which means it’s time to start thinking about resolutions. When it comes to children, achieving goals (or resolutions) can play a critical role in developing healthy self-esteem and confidence.

But achieving a goal isn’t simply a matter of hard work and determination; it starts with the goal-setting process itself. Try using the SMART method to successfully fulfil your resolutions.

S = Specific

Let’s say you want to get better grades this year. While that’s a great goal to aim for – it’s very broad and open to interpretation – make this goal more specific by narrowing it down to certain subjects.

For instance, if you struggle in Maths and science, focus on improving in those areas. Narrowing in on specific subjects will help keep you from getting overwhelmed.

M = Motivating

Are you excited or interested in accomplishing this goal? If not, your work rate will reflect that. If you don’t enjoy Maths or science, try relating the goal to something that interests you.

For example, if your dream is to become a professional athlete, understand the importance of performing well enough in school to be eligible for a college scholarship. Accomplishing any goal is easier when you have the proper motivation.

A = Attainable

Being unrealistic with your resolution can be a recipe for disappointment. You don’t want to get overwhelmed because you feel like your resolution is impossible to achieve, so make sure the goal is attainable.

Using the Maths and science example, if you currently have a D in each class, bringing home A+’s at the end of the year is setting yourself up for failure. A more attainable goal would be to raise each subject to a passing grade.

R = Relevant

Is this goal going to help your growth and development, or is it relatively pointless? Resolving to eat the three-pounder from your local burger joint is all good and fun, but it’s not accomplishing anything meaningful.

Make sure you are taking this opportunity to really accomplish something.

T = Trackable

Make sure the progress of your resolution can be measured.

Seeing evidence of progress as you work towards your goal will only give you more confidence. Conversely, if you hit a bump in the road, it’s important to see what you did wrong so you can adjust your strategy if needed.

Trackability is easy if you are trying to improve grades in Maths and science. Keep an eye on homework, quiz and test results throughout the school year.

By making sure your New Year’s resolution is specific, motivating, attainable, relevant and trackable, you’ll help set yourself up for success in the coming year and beyond. (activekids.com)

NEWS

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monday, DECEMBER 30, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Berbice man escapes after setting wife’s house on fire – Police hunting suspect

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fire believed to be an act of arson destroyed a two-story building at Number 29 Village, West Coast Berbice, on Saturday leaving four persons homeless.

The building was owned by retired teacher and community worker Marsha Gouveia but at the time of the fire, she was not at home.

However, she noted that prior to the house going up in flames, her husband had threatened to burn it down.

According to Gouveia, on the day in question, she had to officiate a wedding and as such, she asked her husband, Errol Adams, if he wanted to go but he replied in the negative.

“While I was officiating, the waitresses came to me and said ‘Teacher Marsh, your husband is molesting us’. When I looked out, I saw him in a short pants and a jersey whining up and down the place. As soon as I was finished, I went to him and the said ‘Errol, how could you do this to me’.”

Gouveia noted that as soon as she was finished her part at the wedding, she went outside to her husband and told him that she was leaving.

“When I reach home, he come and accused me, saying that I don’t want to walk with him when I see my men on the road.”

According to her, it was at that time, he threatened

Marsha Gouveia speaking with Guyana Times on Sunday

to burn the house down.

She noted that her husband had given her $15,000 and asked for her to return same.

“With that, I grabbed the little boy and put him on my shoulder and run out of the house and come to my

friends who are here from overseas”, the woman stated.

Moments later, her husband arrived at the house, demanding his money but the upset woman promised to return the money the following morning.

He, nevertheless, left in a rage and soon after, flames were seen emanating from her home. Adams was seen running away from the scene.

According to Gouveia, Adams vowed several times to burn the building down.

She added that she has been conducting free lessons for children in the community in spelling, reading and Mathematics.

She lived with a daughter who is a primary school

The building at Number 29 Village which was destroyed by fire on Saturday

teacher and a great-nephew along with Adams. The woman estimated her losses at $15 million.

Meanwhile, Police are on the hunt for Adams. The couple has been together for the past nine years.

MMA-ADA Chair Kelvin Saul

Agriculture Holder

Nothing wrong with MMA-ADA Chair’s 10,000 acres of land – Agriculture Minister

– says Chairman has always owned large tracts of land

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elvin Saul, the Chairman of the Mahaica Mahaicony Abary-Agricultural Development Authority (MMA-ADA), has been prominently featured in the press owing to his company’s acquisition of 10,000 acres of land. According to his subject Minister, however, there is nothing wrong with owning such a large amount of land.

When contacted by this publication, Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder noted that there is nothing “sinister” about the situation.

According to Holder, while Sealy is a large landowner, this was before he became a member of the MMA-ADA Board of Directors.

“First of all, he’s on the Board of the MMA because many people on the Board

really should come from the MMA, Region Five area.

And Saul himself had land for years. On that merit, he came on the Board years ago.”

“In terms of this situation, he had applied at Forestry for 10,000 acres forestry lease way up the Mahaica river in the intermediate area. It’s not riceland or anything of the sort.

Not part of the MMA system. Apparently, he applied to covert it, because he wanted to do agriculture.”

Concern had been raised that while Sealy would have benefitted from thousands of acres of land, farmers are waiting to get their land.

Holder said, however, that due to the location of the land, it would not be considered viable for farming crops such as rice.

“He got permission from the Forestry Commission because he still had a forestry lease and applied to the MMA seeking permission.

And MMA gave permission.

I don’t see anything sinister about it. You think any farmer will want to have land in a white sand area, up to the Mahaica river?”

The documents detailing the transaction was first released to the public earlier this month and it had shown that Sealy had over 10,000 acres of land, through a company called Mc Agriculture Trading and Investment Services (MATIS). Questions were then raised in another section of the media about a potential conflict of interest.

In his response to the issue, Saul had said that in August 2014 himself and

three other persons registered under the name Mc Agriculture Trading and Investment Services (MATIS) were granted a Forestry Permission SFP DEM 21/14 from the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC).

The SFP DEM 21/14 is a block of approximately 10,609 acres of state lands lying on either side of Captain Creek in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice).

“This land was essentially Forest Land in the Hinterland and Intermediate Savannahs and MATIS focused on husbandry and harvesting of forestry products with charcoal production through systematic and sustained tree felling and land clearing.

In January 2016 (MATIS) took a conscious decision

to diversify into other related agricultural activities (Crops). The conversion from Forestry to Crops required the intervention/permission of the MMA-ADA and to this end, an application was submitted to the MMA in January 2016 to lease the said block of land for agricultural purposes,” Saul said in his defence.

He claimed that subsequently, the GFC which had granted the SFP in 2014, informed the Agriculture Ministry and the MMA-

Minister

Noel

ADA on August 8, 2019, that it had no objection to the conversion and to the granting of a lease for the said land to MATIS by the MMA-ADA. “I recused myself from the MMA-ADA discussions in 2016 on the conversion and in any event, I was not a member of that Committee that deliberated, nor was I the Chairman of MMA-ADA at the time. The MMA-ADA subsequently approved the conversion,” he claimed.

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monday, DECEMBER 30, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Rape of 9-year-old

DPP recommends suspect be charged for crime

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man who allegedly sexually molested a 9-year-old relative over three months ago in the mining town of Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), is expected to make his court appearance in the new week.

This is according to Police Commander of Region 10, Superintendent Hugh Winter, who told Guyana Times on Sunday that the file was recently returned from the Office of the Director of Public

Prosecutions (DPP).

It was explained that the advice given by the DPP is that the man be charged with sexual activity with a child under the age of 16.

However, he stated that although the recommendation came just before the Christmas holidays, the relevant authorities will have to wait for the new year for the Judicial system to commence new cases.

Commander Winter noted that in the interim, investigators will contact the

Police Commander of Region 10, Superintendent Hugh Winter

suspect and notify him of the development.

Presently, the man, who is in his 60s, is on station bail ever since the matter was reported to the police.

The male relative reportedly sexually molested the child twice in September.

Reports are that the child left her mother’s residence on September 27,

2019, to spend the weekend with relatives in the mining town and returned home on September 29 in a withdrawn state.

The little girl then told an aunt and other relatives of the incidents and the police were contacted.

The child’s grandmother had told Guyana Times that the middle-aged perpetrator took her granddaughter along with his two grandchildren to “Blue Water Lake” and a creek in “Buck Town” under the pretence of teaching them to swim.

However, he allegedly touched the 9-year-old’s private parts inappropriately despite her asking him to stop.

“She said the other children were playing by themselves in the water and he took her way from them.

According to what she told her mother, he started touching her butt and vagina in the water and even though she told him to stop he ignored her pleas and continued. He took his penis and rubbed it by her butt and inserted his finger inside of her vagina while she kept crying for her mother and crying for him to stop until he was ready to stop,” the grandmother related.

However, following the police report, the suspect was arrested and told of the allegation, which he denied.

He was released on a small amount of station bail.

The furious grandmother further explained that the child underwent a medical examination which proved that she had been sexually violated.

It was reported that relatives of the suspect contacted the relatives of the child offering to settle the matter in the form of financial compensation.

“I don’t want any money from them or anyone because I won’t sin my soul.

We need justice for this innocent child and therefore we want to go to the court and let him face the consequences for what he did to this little child. Justice delayed is justice denied,” the distraught grandmother added.

Credible…

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…elections? aretaker President Granger says he wants “credible” elections. We’ll see. That he had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to accept every electoral decision that had been straightforward for decades – like selecting a GECOM Chair – doesn’t give folks much hope.

With Granger, he only “agrees” when he’s already gotten what he wanted in the first place. So, when he’s going along with the voters’ list - which has actually ADDED more names to the one he claimed was BLOATED BY 200,000 names - your Eyewitness just knows that something ain’t kosher.

The fix is in…it’s just the PNC’s so experienced with rigging, you’re never sure exactly which one of the old tricks they’ll pick out of their hats this go-around. We just got some names that were registered by GECOM in empty lots in which cows were grazing. Back in 1968, it was horses over in England, where the overseas “votes” would put Burnham’s PNC “over the top”. At that time, the first NRR – created by the PNC to extract the voters’ list -- was also fiddled with to have “PNC” kids under 18 years old vote.

With Felix in charge of issuing birth certificates today, who’d know??

Your Eyewitness doesn’t think that, on this go-around, the PNC will have the GDF collect ballot boxes and count the votes at Camp Ayanganna, like they did back in 1973.

They’re aware the breeze is blowing from a different direction nowadays, and they can’t be as bold and brassy as that!! Count on them to have some burly “voters” with authentic-looking ID cards rush polling places in their stronghold areas (garrisons?) right around the time the polls are supposed to close. Will all those foreign “observers” for “credible elections” be there to stem the stampede?? Do they want to be accused of preventing Guyanese from exercising their franchise??

Then there’s the pivotal role of the Presiding Officers - all chosen by your PNC-friendly GECOM Secretariat officials. They have opportunities for throwing quite a few wrenches into the elections works when those returns have to be combined and forwarded to GECOM. Not to mention GECOM’s IT Department – which is a Black Box to most Observers, even if they were allowed into that area – which they’re not!!

But even outside the elections’ preparations, look how Caretaker Granger’s breaking all Caretaker Convention Rules by doling out goodies to his base in a manner that puts Santa to shame!! That $700M Bartica power plant just commissioned? On top of raising their regional allocation from $226M in 2015 to $1.9Bln in 2019!! Reg 10?? Don’t even talk about the Passport Office; street lights; new asphalted roads; TV station; $178M state-of-the-art, eightlane synthetic track. Plus the $3 billion electricity subsidy!! …campaigning?

Parliament’s dissolved today, and your Eyewitness can now shout, “Let the games begin!!” And believe him, dear reader, it’s going to be all games –not necessarily fun!! All skin-teeth nah laff!! Way back in the day, Roman Emperors invented what one acerbic critic called “bread and circuses” - to ensure the citizens keep them in power.

The “bread” was actually wheat, which was distributed to the masses much like all the goodies the PNC are handing out as described above.

The circus? These were games organised in stadiums to entertain the masses to take their minds off their daily trials and tribulations. In Guyana, the politicians have come up with the music-filled rallies. Granger, for instance, will kick-off the PNC’s campaign with a huge rally at the $1.5 billion corruption-riddled Durban Park. It’ll be headlined by Soca singer Farmer Nappy, and supported by a welter of locals, all from the PNC’s base.

But Granger didn’t just pluck that March 2 date out of the air: Mash will be on Feb 23, so expect a month of bacchanal!! …ERC??

The ERC had tele-pastor Kester Deane apologise to Hindus for maligning their religion. They then had that Indian UG student who’d posted a racist video apologise a second time.

Now that Deane has recanted, what will the ERC do?

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

news

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monday, DECEMBER 30, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Govt seeks consultant for Flood Risk Management Project – to help craft initiatives against flooding, determine drainage options

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ack in 2016, the Ministry of Agriculture had announced that it would be constructing pump stations under the Flood Risk Management Project. Fast forward to 2019 and with floods being a prevalent issue, the Government is now seeking a consultant to provide support to the project.

This is according to a notice released by the Ministry of Agriculture, in which it invited tenders from suitably qualified consulting firms to help design initiatives to reduce the risk of flooding in selected areas along the East Coast of Demerara (ECD).

“The principal objectives of this assignment are, based on the completed detailed hydraulic study, determine the best options for drainage interventions to reduce flood risk within the Liliendaal and Ogle drainage areas and the recommended pumping capacities for the pump stations and produce final designs for selected drainage interventions, engineer’s estimates, specifications etc,” the Ministry explained.

“Consultants may associate with other firms in the form of a joint venture or a sub consultancy to enhance their qualifications.

Consultants should indicate the form of the association (joint venture or sub consultancy, member in charge, other members or sub-consultants,” the Ministry further explained, adding that joint ventures should submit letters of intent.

According to the Ministry, the firms interested in applying must provide information to show they have the qualifications and experience to perform the service. This includes information on previous

assignments similar to the FRMP, as well as its technical capacity.

Since the project, which costs US$11.8 million, is being financed by the World Bank, the Ministry also cited the Bank’s guidelines: Selection and employment of consultants under IBRD loans and IDA credits and grants, which deals with their policy on conflicts of interest.

“Bank policy requires that consultants provide professional, objective, and impartial advice and at all times hold the client’s interests paramount, without any consideration for future work, and that in providing advice they avoid conflicts with other assignments and their own corporate interests.”

“Consultants shall not be hired for any assignment that would be in conflict with their prior or current obligations to other clients, or that may place them in a position of being unable to carry out the assignment in the best interest of the Borrower.”

According to the project document, there are several components to the project.

One involves priority infrastructural works to ensure flood risk reduction, inclusive of upgrades to the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC).

The other component involves institutional strengthening. This includes implementing a quality assurance and safety system for the EDWC and emergency preparedness plans. It also involves training and data management.

A few years ago, when heavy rainfall had inundated Georgetown and its outskirts with flooding, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo had called on Government to implement the necessary

Recent flooding in Mahaica

measures to bring immediate relief to those affected, by ensuring that steps were taken to minimise damage

to and losses of property, livestock and crops.

He had also urged the Government to pay special

attention to the rising water level in the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) which was reported to be above 57 GD level, as well as the Boerasirie Conservancy.

The Opposition Leader had also noted that the Mahaica and Mahaicony Creeks, Pomeroon River and other inland areas, should receive attention as backwater flows could result in downstream flooding, which is the predominant trend in riverine areas.

Jagdeo had also advised that defective sluices and

silted outfall channels in areas such as Capoey, Cozier, Three Friends, Letter Kenny and Borlam must be urgently addressed and operationalised, as well as those on the East Coast of Demerara, Georgetown and other areas, as necessary.

Recent flooding in Mahaica saw more than 300 acres of rice being destroyed and hundreds of acres more being put under threat of destruction by saltwater.

In addition, livestock was destroyed and properties sustained damages.

Early-morning fire guts D’Edward Village home

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wo persons are now homeless after an early morning fire on Sunday completely razed a three-bedroom house at D’Edward Village, West Bank Berbice, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice).

Due to the blaze, 16-yearold Osborne Spencer, who was completing his SchoolBased Assessment (SBA) projects has lost his textbooks, notebooks and a laptop among other school items.

asleep when his son alerted him of the fire.

“When I get up, I see the fire in the middle of the house and all I could have do is run outside.”

The teenager, relating the ordeal, said the bright light from the flames in the building woke him up.

“I don’t sleep deep and with the light and the heat I wake up and I see the flames reaching almost the roof and so I called my father and we The aftermath of the fire on Sunday morning

The owner of the house and his teenage son

His father, 58-year-old Alvin Spencer, who occupied the house with his 16-yearold son, told this publication that the fire was first spotted at about 03:00h.

He recalled that he was

try to throw water but we had to run outside.”

According to his father, when he got up, he was able to make it out of his bedroom without being trapped by the flames. He said he was un-

able to save anything.

Alvin Spencer, who resides in Barbados with his wife and two other children and works as a painter, returned to Guyana in September to assist his son with his Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations preparations.

“This is a critical time for him and he will need his father next to him. So, I came home to assist him.”

At the time of the blaze, there was no electricity connected to the building since the meter was disconnected.

“I was hoping to renovate the house while here,” the father said.

The washroom area had already been reconstructed and there was a pile of construction blocks in the yard.

The flat building was completely gutted. In addition, a shop in front of the building was also destroyed. However, it was not functioning at the time of the fire.

The father and his son are now staying with a friend in the neighbouring village of Rosignol until the house is reconstructed.

The man told Guyana Times that he would like to rebuild as soon as possible and as such, has reached out to the public for assistance.

He can be contacted on telephone number 671-5476.

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monday, DECEMBER 30, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

DPP disposed of 212 criminal cases in 2019

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he backlog of criminal cases within the Supreme Court of Judicature has been reduced by 212 cases after they were disposed of by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Chambers in 2019.

In its annual report, the DPP said of the 212 cases, 178 received attention in High Courts across the country while 34 matters were nolle prosequi (not prosecuted) by the DPP. Of the 178 cases, 110 were presented at the Demerara Assizes, 25 at the Berbice Assizes and 43 at the Essequibo Assizes.

There were 86 cases for murder, 84 sexual offences, two cases for the offence of manslaughter, five cases of attempt to commit murder and one case for accessory after the fact to murder. These cases resulted in 36 convictions, 56 guilty pleas, 32 formal verdicts of not guilty, 28 not guilty verdicts by jury, five hung juries, four aborted trials and 51 cases were nolle prose-

qui, 16 of which were done in Court.

During 2019, the DPP also appeared in 30 matters in the Court of Appeal.

The State was represented

by Assistant DPP Dionne McCammon, Assistant DPP Teshana Lake, Assistant DPP Diana O'Brien, Assistant DPP Natasha Backer, Senior State Counsel Mercedes Glasford, State Counsel Narissa Leander and State Counsel Orinthia Schmidt in those matters.

Of these 30 appeals, 12 were for sexual offences, three for the offence of manslaughter, eight for murder appeals, two for wounding with intent, another two for possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking and one each for felonious wounding, causing death by dangerous driving and uttering a forged document.

The Court of Appeal dismissed and denied eight of these applications to appeal against conviction and sen-

The Director of Public Prosecutions Chambers

tence; while six other appellants’ applications were allowed in part, that is, the appeals against conviction were dismissed but the appeals against sentence were allowed. The sentences were varied which included commutation of two death sentences to life imprisonment.

In addition, the Court of Appeal reserved one decision while one other application was withdrawn. There were eight applications for extension of time to file and serve notices of appeal of

which six were granted and two were denied. Five appellants made applications for bail pending their appeal, three of these were denied while one application was granted and one other application was withdrawn.

The Court of Appeal also allowed an appeal by the State against an acquittal.

During this year, the Demerara Full Court dealt with 15 matters for the offences of break and enter and larceny, possession of firearm without license,

murder, possession of cannabis, possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking, assault causing actual bodily harm and rape of a girl under 16 years.

Four applications were withdrawn, one application was struck out after the Full Court ruled it had no jurisdiction to hear the matter, five appellants were denied their applications while five others were granted their applications to appeal.

Meanwhile, the Berbice Full Court heard an application to appeal against sentence for the offence of possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking. The appellant did not attend court and the application was dismissed. The Berbice Civil Court also heard an application to quash a committal for the offence of murder and the application was granted.

In 2019, the DPP appeared at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in an application for leave to appeal against a decision of the Court of Appeal, where the conviction and sentence for the offence of manslaughter was dismissed. The CCJ dismissed the application.

The Chambers are also engaged in another case before the Trinidad-based regional court, where the applicant applied for leave to appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal to dismiss an appeal against conviction and sentence for the offence of rape of a child under 16 years. The CCJ has denied the application for leave to appeal against the conviction but has granted leave to hear the appeal against sentence in January 2020.

During 2019, the DPP’s office received 318 depositions, of which 174 indictments were proffered, 16 were returned to Magistrates’ Courts for reopening of cases, 13 matters were discontinued, two were nolle prosequi while 113 matters are receiving attention. The Chambers also gave legal advice in

3725 files received from the Guyana Police Force and other law enforcement agencies.

The last criminal session of 2019 in Demerara came to an end on December 20, when the goal delivery was done by Justice Sandil Kissoon. The Demerara October 2019 Criminal Assizes was presided over by Justice Kissoon along with Justices Jo-Ann Barlow and Simone Morris-Ramlall.

During this session, 49 of 322 cases were disposed of with 36 having received attention in the Demerara High Court while 12 were nolle prosequi by the DPP via letter.

Of the 36 matters that were presented, 20 were for the offence of murder while 16 others were for sexual offences. These resulted in 13 guilty pleas, nine guilty verdicts by jury, three not guilty verdicts, six formal verdicts of not guilty, two hung juries and three aborted trials.

The January 2020 Criminal Assizes in Demerara will open on January 14, 2020, with a total of 318 cases listed to be heard. Justices Barlow, Kissoon and Brassington Reynolds have been rostered to sit during this session.

Meanwhile, the Berbice Criminal Assizes which opened on October 15, 2019, is ongoing until February 3, 2020. State Prosecutor Seeta Bishundial presented six matters thus far before Justice Brassington Reynolds during this assizes. The February 2020 Berbice Criminal Assizes will commence on February 4.

Additionally, the October 2019 Essequibo Criminal Assizes also remains in progress. During this session thus far, State Counsel Lisa Cave has presented seven matters before Justice Gino Persaud. The Essequibo February 2020 Criminal Assizes will commence on February 18.

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monday, DECEMBER 30, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

MoPH’s Mental Health Unit lacks Garbage pile-up on Wellington Street overbearing – vendors psychologists – Dr Hamilton

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raduates from the American University of Peace Studies were on Friday urged by Director of Primary Health Care, Dr Ertenisa Hamilton, to join the Ministry of Public Health’s team to strengthen its capacity to tackle mental health.

This statement was made at the university’s 2019 convocation ceremony held at Pegasus Hotel, Georgetown.

She noted that after recognising their human resource capacity was very limited, the Mental Health Unit was set up within the Public Health Ministry.

“That Unit is still functioning, and have gained some amount of capacity but it is still lacking. For the ten regions of Guyana,

Dr Ertenisa Hamilton addressing the students

the amount of staff that we have in not adequate”, she explained.

The Director challenged the students to be a part of the team so that the situation can have a positive overturn.

“I am hoping that at the end of this conversation, we would have convinced some of you to come and join us”, she pleaded.

In addition, Chief Justice Roxane George reminded the students that their skill in psychology is very much needed in the local Judicial system.

“I hope that some of you will seek to partner with the supreme court to enhance the court services we provide to the public and importantly to ourselves”, she vocalised.

Nevertheless, American University of Peace Studies is expected to offer new courses and programmes in the new year including Research, Guidance and Counselling, Conflict Management and Peace in Conflict studies.

S

everal vendors who operate along Wellington and Robb Streets, Georgetown, are now complaining of the foul scent emanating from a huge garbage pile-up.

Several vendors complained to Guyana Times about the unsightly amount of garbage that causes flies and maggots.

“Everybody puts their garbage there daily and the garbage truck would pass and pick it up, but the smell is horrible. I sell food that people have to eat and if they pass here and see it like this what do you think will happen,” one concerned vendor said.

“To tell you the truth, I don’t know where the garbage coming from when I leave here in the afternoon

The garbage pile-up on Wellington Street

the garbage truck would pick it up, but when I come back in the morning the pile would be there. No matter how they clean it, it would build up back”, another seller explained.

In addition, a vendor identified as “Golyn”, said that persons are not only throwing their garbage there, but they are also seizing the opportunity to uri-

nate and defecate in the vicinity.

“There is a place that sells fry fish there and the smell will affect them more because they are closer.

Chetsons had to make a gate there because they use to go there to defecate and urinate there. Now they do it there. When you pass, it stinks,” she told this publication.

Home of political activist robbed

The area that is believed to be where the suspects gained entry into the house

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rominent activist Don Singh is now traumatised after robbers invaded his Lot 133 Church Street home last Monday.

The incident is believed to have occurred sometime after 01:30h. In an interview with this publication, the activist explained that on the day in question, he secured his premises and retired to bed.

However, upon waking up, at about 08:00h the following morning, he observed that his home was ransacked.

Singh said after inspecting the property, it was discovered that the louvre panes of one of the windows on the second flat of the building were removed.

From all indications, the

bandits might have gained entry into the house from that window.

Furthermore, Singh noted that the perpetrators escaped with a laptop, his wallet which had about $50,000 cash and his daughter’s purse which also had cash and other personal items including her identification card.

He, nevertheless, did not report the matter to the police since he claimed that he has lost trust in the Guyana Police Force.

He recalled a similar incident back in August 2015 when bandits broke into his home and carted off several items.

The police are yet to arrest anyone for questioning in connection with that incident.

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14 NEWS

monday, DECEMBER 30, 2019| guyanatimesgy.com

Re-opening of sugar estates has many positives – GAWU

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By Shemar Alleyne

hough the future of the country’s sugar industry remains unclear, there is a lot of positives with regards to their re-opening.

This is according to General Secretary of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), Seepaul Narine in an exclusive interview with this publication.

The union representative stated that viewing the industry through an economic lens, the argument for sugar’s minimisation becomes even weaker, but noted that the estates were more than just producers of sugar and molasses but rather they were the hive of activities and represented a beacon of sustenance and hope.

“Sugar when it was doing well it had contributed a lot sum $2 billion at the US exchange rate, but apart from its direct contribution to the treasury, you also had the fact that it employed so many people and their families who have been depen-

The Wales Sugar Estate, West Bank Demerara (WBD), which was the first to be closed by the APNU/AFC coalition Government, putting thousands of workers and their families on the breadline

dent on sugar and those businesses and so on that depends on sugar workers’ wages and you also have the drainage of the entire coastal system was more or less done by sugar and the sugar estates has been up keeping that,” Narine stated.

The closure of the four sugar estates at Rose HallCanje, Skeldon, (both in Berbice), East Demerara

(Enmore to Ogle) and Wales (West Bank Demerara) tossed close to 7500 workers into a financial crisis.

“There has been no Christmas, there has not been any increase by this Government for the past five years and the sugar workers had nothing for Christmas, not even an increase, not a cent,” he remarked.

Moreover, the GAWU ex-

ecutive related that it is clear that the entire sugar policy of the collation Government was done with one intention – that is to punish the sugar workers, their families, and their villages.

“In the state paper, it is said that sugar workers were supporters of the PPP which is absolutely not so because you have so many people working in sugar from different political parties and across the spectrum. If you see the state paper you will see the spitefulness they have against sugar workers,” he cited.

However, despite the plethora of plans that the GuySuCo signalled, the Corporation has repeatedly cried out about lack of financing, resulting in the GAWU also questioning the source of financing for the abovementioned ambitious projects.

In the last four years, the coalition Government, insisting that the sugar industry is bleeding the trea-

GAWU General Seepaul Narine

Secretary

sury, has closed four sugar estates, sending home over 7000 workers.

To date, thousands of those fired workers are still struggling to find a job. Many of them often tell of the hardship they face to feed their families. At Wales, West Bank Demerara, children of some of the fired workers are forced to find part-time jobs

to help their parents with school expenses.

In May of this year, the Government was preparing to sell off huge swathes of land owned by GuySuCo as part of moves to sell off several loss-making estates. This was being executed even as the Administration prepared to revive interest in the ‘for sale’ assets by local and foreign investors.

The downsizing of the sugar industry has been fiercely resisted by the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), the parliamentary Opposition and a number of other agencies.

The operations of the La Bonne Intention Estate were amalgamated with those of the Enmore Estate; those at Wales were amalgamated with Uitvlugt and there are plans to privatise Skeldon.

But the closure of the estates and the sacking of workers are having an effect on the economy.

NGO to offer tertiary scholarships in 2020

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Founder of Give Another Chance Foundation, Miranda Thakurdeen

he founder of local non-profit, non-governmental organisation Give another Chance Foundation (GACF) stays focused on providing basic education from pre-school to university, and healthcare to underprivileged children in rural and urban communities.

As such, the NGO is taking another step towards providing greater education opportunities to tertiary level students.

In the New Year, the organization, through a collaboration with an overseas university, will offer scholarships for three students entering into the tertiary education level. They will be selected from Demerara, Essequibo and Berbice.

In a recent interview with the GACF founder, Miranda Thakurdeen, it was explained that the new initiative is set to hand out three scholarships per year.

According to Thakurdeen, with the basic cost to kick start the initiative already worked out, students will now be selected by a team from the organisation once they fit the criteria set out by the NGO. “It’s more like we’re starting off back with some bursaries, we’re working with an organisation overseas that will grant a scholarship. We

are trying to offer three scholarships per year for students from Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice…We are going to have a team selecting these persons for the three counties. Specifically, students who are going into tertiary education because we want to assist them, and were hoping to start off in January…even though it’s free you know we will have to pay the basic cost, so we worked out what we will have to pay here in Guyana to get that done, ” the founder stated.

Nevertheless, it was noted that students can pursue any study field once the scholarship is granted.

“We will have to set a Board to decide but you will have to be qualified first. It doesn’t entail religion, bias or race….what I can tell you is that it’s not just medicine they can study but also management etc so based on that [qualifications] we will be selecting,” she said.

After being founded seven years ago, the GACF to date has extended its services through the provision of education materials and lessons from Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) to Regions One (Barima-Waini), Four (Demerara-Mahaica) and Five (Mahaica-Berbice), assisting scores of children.

news

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monday, DECEMBER 30, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Regions 2&3 floods

Full probe into flooding needed – RDC Chair

I

n light of the recent flooding that occurred in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) and Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Chairman of the Region Two Democratic Council, Devanand Ramdatt, is calling for a full probe to determine the reasons for the flooding.

“It is always recommended, wherever there is weakness, that an investigation or some fact-findings be done,” he explained.

According to Ramdatt, initial reports pointed to the lack of fuel for the pump station, and more so, the lateness of the pump attendant in reporting for duty.

These two reasons, he stated, are unacceptable.

He has declared that anything that lends to uncovering the full truth behind the situation he would fully support. Besides, he stated that the probe would ensure there is not a recurrence of the flooding. “[The probe] would cre-

Chairman of the Region Two Democratic Council, Devanand Ramdatt

ate a situation or assistance to eliminate all weakness to prevent any further devastation,” the Regional Chairman noted.

The APNU+AFC administration has spent millions of dollars to purchase and install pumps at strategic locations countrywide, but with all these monies being spent, residents are still affected by flooding.

Due to heavy and continuous rainfall earlier this month, several villages within the two regions had

the robbery.

According to the police, during the pursuit, one of the suspects aggressively attacked an armed rank with the cutlass he had in

his possession.

The suspect reportedly fired several chops in the policeman’s direction but was unsuccessful in harming the cop. As a result, the officer who had repeatedly warned the man to put down his weapon discharged a warning shot in the air from his service revolver.

The two men were taken to the police station where they remain in Police custody pending investigations. The cutlasses have also been retrieved and were lodged at the police station as well.

Meanwhile, the stolen items were not recovered.

suffered tremendous losses as a result of flooding.

In Region Two, the highest rainfall -- of more than nine inches -- was recorded at Supenaam; and at Hibernia, where approximately eight inches of water had accumulated.

Among the other areas affected were Charity, in the Pomeroon, where approximately four inches of rainfall was recorded; Wakapao,

where more than two inches were recorded, and at Better Hope, where more than four inches were recorded.

As at this date, no assessment of the flooding was done. The RDC and the people of Region Two are concerned about the continued negligence and delayed response from the Agriculture Ministry on such key matters. (Shemar Alleyne)

Youth shot during robbery Cutlass-wielding bandits nabbed after robbing foreigners along Cemetery Road

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oments after attacking and robbing two foreign nationals in Georgetown on Sunday morning, two perpetrators were nabbed by Police who gave chase.

The cutlass-wielding duo had relieved the Spanishspeaking nationals of their cellular phones along with important documents.

However, while trying to escape, the two suspects were pursued by ranks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), who were on bicycles and foot. After a lengthy chase, the two men were eventually apprehended.

Reports are that around 09:50h at Longden Street, Georgetown, the two foreigners were walking when they were confronted by the bandits who executed

Over 350 residents of Eteringbang without birth certificates

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ith general elections looming, residents of Eteringbang in Region Seven, Cuyuni-Mazaruni, are contending that the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) is refusing to issue birth certificates to more than 350 persons.

Guyana Times was reliably informed that persons have registered several times over the past years, but have not been issued with their birth certificates.

According to a source, GPOC is disputing the birth claims of residents from the small mining community, since it is believed that they are from neighbouring Venezuela. Some two years ago, the community benefited from a local Health

Centre; however, persons are not taking advantage of the facility.

It was revealed that a majority of the applicants were born at home, but the issue was only recently raised since parents are required to provide birth certificates for their children to enroll in school.

One frustrated resident stated that she registered her six-year-old daughter several times, and to date has not received the birth certificate. The woman stated that, in November, she journeyed to Georgetown to enquire, but was informed

by GPOC that the document cannot be issued, since more information is required. It was only then that she was asked to provide evidence of her daughter’s birthplace in

the form of a clinic card.

However, she was unable to provide such proof since the child was delivered at home with the assistance of her mother, who acted as midwife.

The woman further explained that the health facility in the area was commissioned about two years ago, hence, at the time of the child’s birth, there was nowhere to facilitate the registration.

The worried mother has stated that the new school year is fast approaching, and without the birth certificate, her daughter would not be permitted to attend school.

As such, she is calling on the relevant authorities to intervene.

Other residents in the area were not too vocal on the issue, but have endorsed the claims of the resident who spoke on their behalf.

Wisroc benefits from road improvements

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esidents of Wisroc Phase Two in Wismar, Linden, Region Ten (Upper Demerara–Berbice) are now breathing a sigh of relief after the main access road to their community, which was virtually destroyed by erosion, has been repaired.

Residents had been complaining about the state of the road for several months.

According to the Regional Democratic Council of Region 10, the repair project commenced some time ago, and was completed in a short amount of time.

Residents of the area have expressed their appreciation for repairs done to the road, as their daily livelihoods were affected by the deplorable condition of this roadway.

It was related that the erosion had started during the dry season in April 2019, when there reportedly was a high percentage of bush fires. One of those fires had been a threat to buildings in the area, and residents had been forced to open a main pipeline in the now eroded area to put out the inferno.

The gushing water from

the pipeline had been responsible for the initial erosion in the area, and the situation worsened when onset of the May/June rainy season.

Region 10 Executive Officer Orrin Gordon declared he is grateful that the road has been repaired because the residents were suffering tremendously. He is also pleased with the engineering solution that was used to ensure that water-flow into the gully will be significantly decreased and the sediments would be trapped.

The project was spearheaded by engineers who

used concrete to rebuild the entire section of the road that was eroded. They reinstated the road-base and subbase, and then constructed a concrete roadside drain and soak-away outlet system to drain the storm water down into the gully.

They also installed a series of culvert tubes to channel the water into the gully. Concrete boxes were also constructed as sedimentation chambers to allow the sediments to be trapped as the water flows down. These are expected to be cleaned intermittently.

A

22-year-old man is now nursing a gunshot wound to his knee after being attacked, robbed and shot by an armed bicycle bandit and his accomplice at Cemetery Road, Georgetown, on Saturday afternoon.

Reports are that the young man had been walking along the roadway when two men on a pedal cycle approached him from behind.

One of the bandits attempted to snatch his mobile phone and demanded that he hand over his valuables.

However, the young man reportedly put up a fight and a scuffle ensued.

One of the men then whipped out a gun and fired a single shot, hitting the victim’s knee and causing him to fall to the ground.

The two perpetrators

then quickly snatched the cellular phone, cash, and other valuables belonging to the young man and escaped on their bicycle.

Commander of Region Four (DemeraraMahaica) Sub-division A (Georgetown), Assistant Police Commissioner Edgar Thomas when contacted by Guyana Times on Sunday said that the probe into the robbery is ongoing.

It was explained that investigators will be reviewing footage from the CCTV cameras that are closest to where the crime occurred.

He also stated that the injured young man is currently admitted at the hospital and recently underwent an “emergency surgery” to have the bullet removed from his knee.

The victim is said to be in a stable condition.

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Regional

Bolivia says Spain “tried to extract” Venezuela's ongoing crisis children caught wanted aide from Mexico Embassy leaves in life or death battle

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olivia on Saturday accused Spain of an abortive attempt to extract a wanted former Government aide from Mexico's Embassy in La Paz, prompting a sharp denial from Madrid.

It was the latest twist in a murky incident Friday involving embassy personnel in the Bolivian capital that has sparked a bitter diplomatic spat.

Several hours later, Bolivia's top diplomat accused Spanish Embassy staff of trying to infiltrate the Mexican mission with a group of masked men in what it said was a violation of Bolivian sovereignty.

"We believe it was aimed at extracting the criminal Juan Ramon Quintana," said Interior Minister Arturo Murillo on Saturday, referring to a former aide to oust-

ed Bolivian President Evo Morales who stands accused of sedition and terrorism.

"It failed."

The Embassy in La Paz became the centre of the diplomatic row after it sheltered nine or more officials from Morales's former Government, some of them

charged by the interim government in Bolivia with "sedition" or "terrorism" over the deaths of 36 people in violently quashed protests.

Both Spain and Mexico said the incident occurred on Friday when Spain's chargé d'affaires Cristina Borreguero paid a brief vis-

it to Mexican Ambassador Maria Teresa Mercado.

But Madrid issued a strongly worded denial.

"The Ministry wishes to clarify that the chargé d'affaires was purely making a courtesy visit and vehemently denies there was any aim to facilitate the exit of people holed up inside the building," a Foreign Ministry statement said.

Madrid said it would send a team of investigators to La Paz "in coming days".

It would not confirm or deny reports an official had already left for Bolivia.

Murillo said he would ask interim Bolivian President Jeanine Anez and Foreign Minister Karen Longaric to order the expulsion of Spanish diplomats. "They cannot do whatever they want," he said. (Excerpt from AFP)

British Empire (MBE) for services to music.

MBE is the third highest-ranking Order of the British Empire award, behind Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) which is first and then Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Walker has been upgraded to CBE, the highest-ranking Order of the British Empire award, 13 years after receiving an OBE for his services to drama. This latest award is in recognition of his foundation helping dis-

advantaged children become actors.

Benjamin, already a baroness, has also been upgraded from OBE to Damehood for services to charity. She gets Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE).

The two senior ranks of the Order of the British Empire are Knight or Dame Grand Cross, and Knight or Dame Commander.

Mendes, byname of Samuel Alexander Mendes, can soon be called Sir Sam, as he is to be Knighted for his

contribution to drama. This senior honour is awarded to members who have made major contributions to any activity, usually at national level.

Per tradition, knighthoods and damehoods are presented with a touch of a sword by the Queen (or King).

Ocean, who was born in Fyzabad in 1950, is best known for his 1980s hits such as Caribbean Queen (1985) for which he won a Grammy Award, When the Going Gets Tough (1986), and Get Outta My Dreams (1988). (Excerpt from Newsday)

will help to minimise the damage of disasters, reduce the loss of life and enhance response efforts in the Caribbean,” Green said.

“Under the USCaribbean 2020 Strategy

for Engagement and the US-Caribbean Resilience Partnership, the United States remains committed to assisting the people of the Caribbean to prepare for, recover from, and build resistance to natural disasters as part of their Journey to SelfReliance,” he added.

“As neighbours, we all realize that communities across the Caribbean are still coping with the aftermath of Irma and Maria.

“In the Bahamas, we all know that residents still face a lengthy recovery from Hurricane Dorian,” Green continued. “It's reasonable to hope that storms of this intensity never strike again.

But it's also reasonable and prudent to plan as though they will.” (Excerpt from CMC)

Bolivia says the incident occurred on December 27, 2019, when unauthorised Spanish Embassy staff tried to enter the Mexican Embassy

4 Trinis on Queen’s Honours List

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hree Trini showbusiness figures and a film director with Trini roots have been recognised

by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth in her 2020 New Year's Honours List.

They are singer Billy Ocean, actor Rudolph Walker, actress and television presenter turned Lib Dem peer Floella Benjamin, and film director Sam Mendes.

Ocean, born Leslie Sebastian Charles, has been appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the

Zabdiel Camacho has spent much of his life at a hospital in Caracas, Venezuela (Courtesy Ani Camacho)

A

ni Camacho has watched her fiveyear-old son, Zabdiel, battle cancer for years.

The despair briefly turned to hope when she learnt last December that Zabdiel was going to get a potentially life-saving bone marrow transplant in Italy, a complex medical procedure he could not receive in Venezuela.

“We were super happy,” Camacho said. All the family had left to do was buy plane tickets and get visas, she said.

But she and Zabdiel never left Venezuela because the programme that would have allowed him to travel became enmeshed in the country’s economic chaos and was put on hold. They remain in Caracas, travelling back and forth between an apartment lent by a family member and JM de los Ríos Children’s Hospital, where Zabdiel has spent much of his life and made most of his friends.

“It’s so much anguish, desperation, impotence,” Camacho, 40, said as she

waited for her husband to bring her son home from the hospital, where the boy was getting a spinal tap.

“We are out of options,” she said.

With Venezuela in the grip of a severe economic crisis spanning several years, children like Zabdiel have been caught in the centre as the humanitarian toll worsens, with no immediate end in sight.

Aid workers and doctors told NBC News the boy’s struggle for medical care was emblematic of a broader crisis that was causing a generational toll as children continue to languish at key points in their mental and physical development.

Janeth Márquez, director of the Catholic aid organisation Cáritas in Venezuela, said the three biggest problems facing Venezuela’s children are an inability to get medical care or supplies, malnutrition and the effect of families being separated as parents leave the country to find work to be able to send money back home.

(Excerpt from NBC News)

USAID gives US$10M to improve Chile plans to be disaster resilience in C'bean carbon neutral by 2050

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he United States Agency for International Development (USAID) says Washington is providing US$10 million to improve local resilience to disasters in priority countries in the Caribbean.

“With this new funding, USAID will support community-level organisations, host-country governments, regional institutions, and the Private Sector to strengthen local, national, and regional planning and preparation for hurricanes, earthquakes and other calamities,” said USAID Administrator Mark Green in making the announcement.

For example, he said USAID will finance training for local first-respond-

USAID Administrator Mark Green

ers, harmonise disaster-preparedness standards, and coordinate and facilitate information-sharing among the governments of the region and civil society.

“These new activities

Minor earthquake hits Haiti

A

n earthquake with a magnitude of 3.1, rocked sections of Haiti, early Saturday.

The US Geological Survey reports that short-

ly after 05:00h (local time), the tremor was recorded 23 kilometres to the southeast of the community of Kenscoff – located at the south of here.

The epicentre of the earthquake was located at 18.33 latitude north and -72.104 longitude west, at a depth of 22.1 kilometres.

According to the

Directorate of Civil Protection, there were no reports of damage or loss of life. (CMC)

D

espite battling economic and social unrest, Chile's Government remains committed to becoming the first developing country to go carbon neutral by 2050.

It is being hailed by ex-

perts as one of the most ambitious goals yet for a coal-dependent economy.

But for those who live in the most polluted cities, it is too early to celebrate.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Marshall urges Bajans to speak up

“S

ee something, say something.”

A t t o r n e y General Dale Marshall said this message was as important heading into 2020 as it ever was.

Marshall said the prevailing code of silence among Barbadians was hampering the work of the Police and needed to stop as the New Year approached.

“We have to support the Police. It is so common these days for some individuals to see something happen and then clam up and pretend they did not see anything and that makes it impossible for the Police to conduct a proper investigation,” said Marshall Sunday after a ser-

Attorney General Dale Marshall

vice at the Berea SeventhDay Adventist Church, St Elizabeth Village, St Joseph in honour of acting Judge Laurie-Ann SmithBovell’s community work.

(Nationnews)

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17

Around the World

Missile hits military parade in Yemen, killing at least 7

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missile fired by the Iran-aligned Houthi group struck a military parade in Yemen’s town of al-Dhalea, killing at least seven people and wounding several, Government-allied southern separatist forces who control the area said on Sunday.

No claim of responsibility was made and Houthi media did not immediately comment on the blast or the accusation.

The missile struck a parade ground where a military graduation for Security Belt forces had just finished, statements from the Security Belt group and the al-Dhalea southern separatist forces said.

The Security Belt forces are part of a Governmentaligned southern separatist front in south Yemen which favours the creation of an in-

Government in late 2014.

The coup drew military intervention in 2015 by a Saudi-led coalition, which includes the United Arab Emirates, trying to restore

People inspect the scene of a blast which struck a military graduation parade in the town of al-Dhalea, Yemen, December 29, 2019

dependent state.

They are also backed by the United Arab Emirates in a fight against Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group.

Witnesses told Reuters that the blast occurred near a guest platform during the parade, causing injuries and deaths. They reported see-

ing bodies.

Seven people died, among them, four children, and 25 were injured, according to the local forces’ spokesman.

Yemen has suffered from almost five years of conflict since the Houthi movement ousted President AbdRabbu Mansour Hadi’s

T

More than 100 fires continue to burn across Australia

An estimated 30,000 people are currently holidaying in the threatened area, according to ABC News.

Crisp, Victoria’s state Emergency Management Commissioner, said anyone in the area to the east of Bairnsdale - about 280km (175 miles) east of Melbourne - should move.

It was no longer possible to provide assistance to all the visitors in the East Gippsland region, emergency authorities said.

Temperatures are also

expected to pass 40C in other bushfire-affected states including New South Wales and South Australia.

New South Wales is the worst-affected state, with nearly 100 fires burning. Conditions there were expected to worsen into Tuesday.

The fires have destroyed 4m hectares (9.9m acres) in five states since September.

At least eight deaths have been linked to the fires.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists exchange prisoners

P

ro-Russian separatists and Ukraine have concluded a long-awaited prisoner exchange of 200 prisoners, the office of the Ukrainian President said.

Ukraine’s Government received 76 captives, with the pro-Russian separatists reportedly taking 124.

Russian and Ukrainian authorities agreed to the swap - which is aimed at improving ties - at talks in December.

Relations between the two countries deteriorated in 2014, when Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula.

Russian-backed rebels then began an insurgency

of the internationally recognised Government, killing around 36 people including a prominent commander.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Guinea-Bissau tallies votes from run-off to choose new President

Australia fires: Thousands told to evacuate in Victoria ens of thousands of residents and holidaymakers in the Australian state of Victoria have been told to evacuate amid worsening bushfire conditions.

Temperatures of over 40C (104F), strong winds, thunderstorms and a change of wind direction meant today would be a day of extreme danger, officials said.

Emergencies chief Andrew Crisp said those in the East Gippsland area should leave no later than this morning.

More than 100 fires are continuing to burn across Australia.

The biggest are raging near the city of Sydney in New South Wales, where more than a quarter of a million people have signed a petition calling for the New Year’s Eve fireworks to be cancelled and the money spent on fighting fires.

Hadi’s internationally recognised Government.

In August, the Houthis claimed responsibility for a missile and drone attack on a parade in Aden, the seat

in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine.

More than 13,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

This is the second prisoner exchange involving Russia and Ukraine. In September, 24 sailors seized by Russia in the Kerch Strait off Crimea in November 2018 were released and - controversially - a “person of interest” over the downing of flight MH17 which killed 298 people was handed to Russia.

The pro-rebel Luhansk Information Centre quoted a local official saying the exchange had been completed and that nine people would remain in mainland Ukraine

after refusing to take part in the swap.

Ukrainian activists opposed to the swap blockaded the exit to the prison in the capital Kyiv where some of the pro-Russian prisoners were being held.

They objected to the release of former members of the Berkut - the Ukrainian riot police accused of killing 48 people during pro-democracy demonstrations in February 2014.

In a statement on Saturday, Ukraine’s Prosecutor-General’s office said that defendants facing trial would still have to appear in court. (Excerpt from BBC News)

G

uinea-Bissau began counting ballots on Sunday after a calm day of voting in a run-off presidential election between two former Prime Ministers who both promise to bring stability to the turbulent West African nation.

African observers said voting went smoothly in the election to succeed incumbent President Jose Mario Vaz, though one of the candidates accused authorities of stuffing ballot boxes, without providing evidence.

Poll workers began tallying votes in the capital Bissau soon after 1700 GMT. The electoral commission is expected to announce the provisional result on Wednesday.

The ruling PAIGC party’s Domingos Simoes Pereira, 56, is seen as the front-runner after winning the first round on Nov 24 with 40 per cent of the vote.

His opponent, Umaro Cissoko Embalo, 47, is a Brigadier General who came second with 28 per cent, and political analysts say the re-

Guinea Bissau’s former Prime Minister Domingos Simoes Pereira walks with his wife after voting in the second round of Guinea Bissau’s presidential election at a polling station in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau December 29, 2019

sult could be close.

Both candidates say that if elected they will work to overcome a long-running political impasse and modernise the country of 1.6 million people, which has suffered nine coups or attempted coups since independence from Portugal in 1974.

Embalo’s candidacy has won support from the main contenders who failed to reach the run-off, including Vaz. Embalo questioned the

first-round result, saying the final tally between him and Pereira was much closer than official figures had shown.

After voting in the town of Gabu on Sunday, he accused the Interior Ministry of stuffing ballot boxes, but did not provide any evidence to support his claim.

Muniro Conte, the Prime Minister’s Communications Director, said Embalo’s allegations were “totally false”.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

US ‘strikes’ target pro-Iran militia bases in Iraq, Syria

T

he US military has carried out “defensive strikes” in Iraq and Syria against the Kataib Hezbollah armed group, the Pentagon said, two days after a US civilian contractor was killed in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base.

“In response to repeated Kata’ib Hizbollah (KH) attacks on Iraqi bases that host Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) coalition forces, US forces have conducted precision defensive strikes against five KH facilities in Iraq and Syria that will degrade KH’s ability to conduct future attacks

against OIR coalition forces,” chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement on Sunday.

The targets - three in Iraq and two in Syria - included weapons storage facilities and command locations used to plan and execute attacks, the statement added.

The US had accused the group of a rocket attack on Friday that killed a US civilian contractor and injured four US service members and two members of the Iraqi Security Forces near the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.

Hoffman said the raids carried out by the US would

limit the group’s ability to carry out future attacks on Americans and their Iraqi Government allies.

The Defence Department gave no details immediately on how the strikes were conducted.

Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed Iranianbacked forces for a series of attacks on bases in Iraq and warned Iran that any attacks by Tehran or proxies that harmed Americans or allies would be “answered with a decisive US response.” (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Putin thanks Trump for tip Russia says foiled attacks

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ussia said on Sunday it had thwarted terrorism attacks reportedly planned in St Petersburg thanks to a tip from Washington, bringing personal thanks again from President Vladimir Putin to his US counterpart Donald Trump.

Russian news agencies cited the Federal Security Service (FSB) as saying that thanks to the information, two Russians were detained on Dec 27 on suspicion of plot-

ting attacks during New Year festivities in St Petersburg.

The Kremlin said Putin passed on his gratitude to Trump during a phone call on Sunday for the tip from US special services. It gave no more details.

Diplomatic ties between Washington and Moscow are fraught over disagreements from Ukraine to Syria and allegations of Russian meddling in the US presidential election, but Trump and Putin have managed to keep person-

al lines open.

Two years ago, the Russian leader also phoned Trump to thank him for a tip that Russia said helped prevent a bomb attack on a cathedral in St Petersburg. Russia has repeatedly been the target of attacks by militant groups including Islamic State.

Sunday’s Kremlin statement said Putin and Trump agreed to continue bilateral cooperation to tackle terrorism. (Excerpt from Reuters)

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ARCHIE

ARIES (March 21April 19)

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

dilbert

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

CANCER (June 21July 22)

Peanuts

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Calvin and Hobbes

SUDOKU

Try to get along with everyone. What you contribute will make a difference. Don’t dismiss a proposal.

Do your own thing.

Interference will slow you down and lead you astray.

Don’t be tempted to make a change just because someone else does so. Invest in you, not in someone else.

Mull over your options before moving forward.

Don’t be afraid to make a change. There is money to be made if you use your skills and attributes innovatively.

Use your imagination.

Stick to what’s familiar and what puts your mind at ease. You don’t have to make a move or decision just because someone else does.

Personal gain will result if you do what feels right.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Spend time with peers, youngsters or elders. Insight and information will help you choose a path that will make your life better. An unusual partnership shows promise and positive alternatives.

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Proceed with caution.

Listen, but don’t retort. Take time to figure out what’s best for you. Personal improvements and relaxation, along with romance, will ease stress.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

Take part in informative conversations. The more you learn about what others are thinking and doing, the easier it will be to put your plans in motion.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21)

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

saturday’s

You’ll be feeling lucky, and if you decide you want to get out and have some fun, you will meet people who are exciting and just as eager as you to embrace new experiences. Have fun.

SOLUTION FOr LAST PUBLISHED puzzle AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

Tie up unfinished business. Look over your financial records, figure out where you stand and set up a budget that will help lower your overhead.

Don’t leave anything to chance. Look at your financial situation and make changes.

Mixing emotions and money will not turn out well. Avoid joint ventures and paying for other people’s mistakes.

Refuse to argue over inaccurate information.

Spend more time on personal growth, self-improvement and pampering. Don’t share your feelings with someone who cannot keep a secret.

Take a fresh look at something you thought about doing in the past. Make a couple of adjustments and get moving.

Recycling, selling or giving away things you no longer use is favored.

monday, DECEMBER 30, 2019

19

NBA round-up:

J

Heat’s Butler bests former team in OT

immy Butler made the goahead free throw with 2.3 seconds remaining in overtime against his former team, as the host Miami Heat recorded a 117-116 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.

After Ben Simmons converted an alley-oop dunk to forge a tie at 116 with 18.3 seconds left in overtime, Butler was fouled on a jumper on the next possession. Butler misfired on the first attempt before sinking the second, and Tobias Harris failed to convert a 3-point attempt as Miami improved to 6-0 in overtime and an NBA-best 15-1 at home this season.

Butler finished with 25 points, nine assists and nine rebounds. He was playing in his third game against his former team after inking a four-year, $142 million deal with Miami in a sign-and-trade deal that brought Josh Richardson to Philadelphia.

Joel Embiid collected 35 points and 11 rebounds for the 76ers, who have dropped the first two contests of their fourgame road trip.

Dallas Mavericks 141 Golden State Warriors 121 Luka Doncic recorded 31 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds for his ninth tripledouble of the season to lead Dallas past host Golden State in San Francisco.

Doncic and tied the franchise record for tripledoubles in a season set by Jason Kidd in 1995-96. Doncic also made five 3-pointers as Dallas set a franchise record by making 24 from behind the arc (out of 51 attempts). The Mavericks won for the 15th time in the last 20 games.

Tim Hardaway Jr. made six 3-pointers and scored 25 points, and Kristaps Porzingis made four treys while adding 18 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots. D’Angelo Russell scored 35 points and matched his career best of nine 3-pointers for the Warriors, who had a four-game winning streak halted.

Los Angeles Lakers 128 Portland Trail Blazers 120 LeBron James scored 21 points, matched his season best of 16 assists and also collected seven rebounds while playing through a groin injury to lead Los Angeles past host Portland.

Kyle Kuzma scored a teamhigh 24 points, and Anthony Davis added 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists as the Lakers halted a season-

worst, four-game losing streak.

Rajon Rondo tallied 15 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 13 and Dwight Howard had 11 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots.

Damian Lillard recorded 31 points and nine assists for the Trail Blazers, who lost their third straight game. Hassan Whiteside recorded 19 points and 16 rebounds, CJ McCollum scored 18 points, Anfernee Simons added 14, Carmelo Anthony had 13 and Anthony Tolliver tallied 12.

Utah Jazz 120 - Los Angeles Clippers 107 Donovan Mitchell had 30 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, leading visiting Utah over Los Angeles.

Jordan Clarkson scored 19 points, Bojan Bogdanovic added 17 and Joe Ingles chipped in 15 for the Jazz, who captured their seventh win in their last eight games.

Paul George had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Kawhi Leonard scored 19 points for the Clippers. Center Ivica Zubac finished with 15 points and 12 boards, nine of those on the offensive end. Two free throws by Zubac cut the Jazz’s lead to 109-107 with 3:35 left, but Utah scored the final 11 points to clinch the win.

Denver Nuggets 119 Memphis Grizzlies 110 Nikola Jokic had a season-high 31 points to go with 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his seventh triple-double of the season, Will Barton scored 20 points and had seven assists, and host Denver beat Memphis.

Jamal Murray and Mason Plumlee had 15 points each for the Nuggets, who had seven players reach double figures in scoring to rebound from Wednesday’s 112-100 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.

Jaren Jackson Jr. had 20 points, De’Anthony Melton had 17, Ja Morant scored 16 and Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies. Brandon Clarke finished with 15 points.

Houston Rockets 108 - Brooklyn Nets 98 James Harden delivered 44 points and 10 rebounds, and host Houston survived unsightly 3-point shooting in its victory over Brooklyn.

Russell Westbrook added

23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists prior to his ejection inside the final minute. Austin Rivers tallied 14 points off the bench on 4-for9 shooting on 3-pointers. But Houston shot just 13 of 42 from deep, perimeter struggles that enabled Brooklyn to remain close.

Spencer Dinwiddie paced five Nets in double figures with 17 points while adding a game-high 11 assists. Taurean Prince and Jarrett Allen scored 16 apiece for the Nets, who shot 40.2 percent.

Milwaukee Bucks 111 Orlando Magic 100 A dominant fourth quarter powered host Milwaukee to its second win without star Giannis Antetokounmpo in as many nights,

which never trailed as it gained a measure of revenge for its Christmas Day loss to Boston.

Serge Ibaka finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Raptors ended a two-game losing streak in their first game since falling to the Celtics 118102 in Toronto on Wednesday.

It was the first Christmas Day game played in Canada.

Patrick McCaw had 18 points, seven rebounds and a game-high eight assists for the Raptors, while Fred VanVleet also scored 18 points. Kemba Walker scored 30 points for the Celtics, who had their fivegame winning streak snapped.

Jaylen Brown finished with 17 points, followed by Gordon Hayward (13), Jayson Tatum (12) and Enes Kanter (11).

New Orleans Pelicans 120 - Indiana Pacers 98 Brandon Ingram scored 24 points, and six teammates also scored in double figures as host New Orleans routed Indiana for its fourth win in five games and its first home victory since Nov. 19.

Jrue Holiday added 20 points, JJ Redick scored 15, Lonzo Ball had 13, E’Twaun Moore and Josh Hart came off the bench to score 11 each, and Derrick Favors had 10 points and 16 rebounds.

Ingram and Holiday each added seven assists.

Aaron Holiday scored 25 points, T.J. Warren added 20 and Domantas Sabonis had 15 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Pacers.

According to the E l i a s Sports B u re a u , J r u e , Justin, a n d Aaron Holiday

Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell e controls th st ball again rs LA Clippe awhi K rd a rw fo SA Leonard (U rts) Today Spo

as it downed Orlando.

Antetokounmpo missed his second game with a back injury, but Milwaukee started and finished strong in his absence. Khris Middleton led the Bucks in scoring Saturday, as he did Friday at Atlanta, posting 21 points.

Orlando was paced by 23 points from Evan Fournier and 21 points from Nikola Vucevic.

Jonathan Isaac scored 19 points and made seven steals, a big chunk of Milwaukee’s 24 turnovers.

Toronto Raptors 113 Boston Celtics 97 Kyle Lowry scored 30 points and registered seven assists for visiting Toronto,

Chicago Bulls 116 - Atlanta Hawks 81 Lauri Markkanen scored 25 points on 8-for-14 shooting, and Chicago cruised to a win over visiting Atlanta.

Zach LaVine added 19 points on 7-for-15 shooting for the Bulls, who won for the third time in their past four games. Coby White scored 18 points off the bench, Wendell Carter Jr. had 13 points and Tomas Satoransky finished with 11 points to go along with eight rebounds and six assists.

John Collins scored 34 points on 14-for-26 shooting in a losing effort for the Hawks, who played without top scorer Trae Young because of a sprained ankle. Atlanta lost its 10th game in a row and fell to 3-15 on the road.

became the first trio of brothers to play in an NBA game when Justin checked in for the Pacers with 5:13 left in the first quarter.

Cleveland Cavaliers 94 Minnesota Timberwolves 88 Collin Sexton and Darius Garland scored 18 points each as Cleveland won for the fourth time in five games by beating Minnesota in Minneapolis.

In a game that was missing much of its star power, Kevin Love did not start for the Cavaliers because of hip and back soreness. The Timberwolves were without Karl-Anthony Towns for a sixth consecutive game because of a sprained left knee and also were without Andrew Wiggins because of the flu.

Tristan Thompson grabbed 15 boards while scoring 12

points for the Cavaliers, and Kevin Porter Jr. added 10 points. For the Timberwolves, Jeff Teague scored 18 points, while Kelan Martin added 17.

Minnesota lost for the 12th time in its last 13 games after ending an 11-game losing streak Thursday.

New York Knicks 107 Washington Wizards 100 Julius Randle had 30 points and 16 rebounds, and New York defeated host Washington to win two games in a row for only the second time this season.

Reserve Bobby Portis scored 17 points, RJ Barrett added 14 and Marcus Morris contributed 10.

Washington’s Isaiah Thomas scored 20 points in his return from a two-game league suspension. Jordan McRae also had 20 points, and Gary Payton II scored 15 points for the Wizards, who have lost two straight and five of six.

San Antonio Spurs 136 - Detroit Pistons 109 DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points on 13-of-16 shooting, and LaMarcus Aldridge added 25 points and 12 rebounds as host San Antonio flattened Detroit to avenge a 34-point loss to the Pistons on Dec. 1.

After a contentious first half that ended with the Spurs up four, San Antonio broke open the game by outscoring the Pistons 42-25 in the third quarter and waltzed to the win.

Bryn Forbes added 18 points for San Antonio, with Rudy Gay hitting for 16 and Dejounte Murray scoring 13 in the win. Derrick Rose paced Detroit with 24 points off the bench, with Andre Drummond scoring 21 points and grabbing 18 rebounds.

Phoenix Suns 112 Sacramento Kings 110 Devin Booker had 32 points and 10 assists, and Kelly Oubre had 20 points and a career-high 16 rebounds as Phoenix broke an eight-game losing streak with a victory at Sacramento.

Ricky Rubio had 21 points and eight assists, and Aron Baynes had 17 points and six rebounds for the Suns, who had lost 13 of 16.

Buddy Hield had 23 points and four 3-pointers, Bogdan Bogdanovic had 22 points and five 3-pointers off the bench and Harrison Barnes had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Kings, who have lost six in a row. Barnes’ 26-footer to potentially win it missed with two seconds left. (Reuters)

20

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

monday, DECEMBER 30, 2019

Liverpool restore 13-point lead at top

L

iverpool finish the year with a 13-point lead at the top of the Premier League table following victory over Wolves amidst more Video Assistant Referee controversy at Anfield.

Sadio Mane scored the winner in the first half, slotting it past keeper Rui Patricio after it bounced off Adam Lallana’s shoulder in the box.

There was a lengthy VAR review for handball from Lallana before referee Anthony Taylor eventually confirmed the goal.

Wolves then had a goal disallowed by VAR for a marginal offside by Jonny after Pedro Neto had drilled his shot into the bottom left corner on the stroke of half-time.

Sadio Mané points his finger to the heavens after scoring Liverpool’s winner in their 1-0 win over Wolves (Photograph: Nick Potts/PA)

Liverpool had chances to extend their lead - Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino coming close either side of the break, but Wolves were also bright.

Diogo Jota had two big chances in the second half - the first a shot from a tight angle in the box which flew wide of the right post, the second a festive gift from a Virgil van Dijk mistake which he hit straight at Liverpool keeper Alisson.

Liverpool finish the year as resounding favourites to win their first league title in 30 years, while Wolves end 2019 in good form despite defeat at Anfield.

Chelsea stage late comeback to stun Arsenal

Chelsea overcame an “awful” start, said boss Frank Lampard, as they staged a stunning late comeback to snatch victory and wreck Mikel Arteta’s return to Emirates

Stadium as Arsenal manager.

Arteta, taking charge of his first home game since succeeding the sacked Unai Emery, looked on course for three important points after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s early header put the Gunners in front.

Chelsea, with Lampard making a first-half tactical switch when he introduced Jorginho for the struggling Emerson, were gifted an equaliser seven minutes from time when goalkeeper Bernd Leno hopelessly misjudged Mason Mount’s free-kick to leave the substitute with a simple finish.

Arsenal were doubly frustrated because Jorginho was fortunate to escape a second yellow card earlier for a cynical foul on Lucas Torreira - but Arteta’s home bow was to get even more painful.

Chelsea struck again with three minutes of normal time left, Tammy Abraham turning Arsenal

substitute Shkodran Mustafi far too easily in the area to beat Leno and complete the smash-and-grab raid.

Arsenal, who lost defender Calum Chambers to injury in the first half, will start 2020 11 points behind fourth-placed Chelsea and without a Premier League home win since 6 October.

It is the first time they have lost four consecutive home matches in all competitions since December 1959.

City beat Sheff Utd to bounce back…

Manchester City will start 2020 14 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool after returning to winning ways against Sheffield United at Etihad Stadium.

City were lacklustre before scoring with their first shot on target in the 53rd minute, Sergio Aguero’s fine finish finding the top

corner after a Kevin de Bruyne assist.

United were upset the goal was allowed to stand as referee Chris Kavanagh appeared to get in the way of John Fleck who miscontrolled the ball which allowed De Bruyne to set up Aguero.

De Bruyne added the second with a clinical finish from Riyad Mahrez’s pass before Sheffield United substitute Billy Sharp headed against a post in the closing moments.

Earlier, Lys Mousset wasted a glorious chance for the visitors when he fired into the side netting.

French forward Mousset also had a goal disallowed for a marginal offside when the game was goalless - the fifth time this season United have a goal ruled out by the video assistant referee (VAR) in the Premier League, the most of any team. (BBC Sport)

Serena named AP Female Athlete of Decade

T

ennis superstar Serena Williams was named Female Athlete of the Decade by The Associated Press, as voted on by AP member sports editors and beat writers.

Williams, winner of 23 Grand Slam singles titles, won 12 of those majors over the past decade — no female player has won more than three over the same span — including a run of four in a row from the U.S. Open in 2014 through Wimbledon in 2015, for her second self-named “Serena Slam.” She also was the runner-up another seven times at major tournaments over the past decade, including four of the seven she has entered since returning to action after having a baby in 2017.

Finishing second among voters was gymnast Simone Biles, the 2019 AP Female Athlete of the Year, followed by swimmer Katie Ledecky in third, and skiers Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

“When the history books are written, it could be that the great Serena Williams is the greatest athlete of all time. ... I like to call it the ‘Serena Superpowers’ — that champion’s mindset. Irrespective of the adversity and the odds that are facing her, she always believes in herself,” said Stacey Allaster, USTA chief executive and former WTA CEO, via the Associated Press.

“Whether it was health issues; coming back; having a child; almost dying from that — she has endured it all and she is still in championship form. Her records speak for themselves.”

Williams, 38, spent three and a half years straight at No. 1 in the WTA rankings. She also became the oldest No. 1 player in WTA history and tied Steffi Graf’s record for most consecutive weeks at the top.

In all, Williams reached the finals at 19 of the 33 majors she competed in and collected 37 singles titles over the past decade (she boasts a career total of 72 singles titles) — 11 more than anyone else.

Off the court, her celebrity status has given her a platform to champion women’s rights and call attention to health care inequality for black women in the United States.

Williams is currently No. 10 in the WTA rankings. She last played in the finals of the U.S. Open in September where she lost to 19-year-old Canadian Bianca Andreescu.

(Reuters)

guyanatimesgy.com

monday, DECEMBER 30, 2019

21

BCB hosted 32 tournaments in another successful year

W

hile the rest of Guyana continues to suffer from turmoil in their cricket, the Ancient County of Berbice has hailed 2019 as a very successful year, with progress being made at all levels.

After a two-year period of being dormant, the Berbice Cricket Board, under the current administration of Hilbert Foster, MS, has spearheaded a revival of cricket across Berbice.

BCB Public Relations Officer Simon Naidu, in a review, has described 2019 as a year in which expectations on and off the cricket field were surpassed. He disclosed that 32 tournaments were launched at all levels, and numerous programmes -- including developmental ones -- were hosted, while young cricketers and cricket clubs continued to receive assistance on an unmatched level.

Naidu and Foster have hailed the 80th Anniversary celebrations of the BCB; restoration of the BCB’s New Amsterdam Office; the long-overdue return of inter-county cricket to Berbice, and the hosting of a two-day first division tournament as highlights of the year.

The BCB hosted 32 tournaments at U-13, U-15, U-17, U-19, U-21, Intermediate, Internal Zone, Inter-Village,

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RHT Poonai Pharmacy Under-13 team, champions of the Trophy Stall Under 13 tournament

Second Division, Secondary Schools, Primary Schools and First Division levels. The BCB has been able to successfully complete most of these tournaments despite a fourmonth-long rainy season that lasted up to the beginning of September.

After an absence of 15 years, the BCB was also able to obtain a $2M sponsorship for a two-day tournament, which is currently being played by eight teams.

Among the tournaments the BCB has already staged are: the Trophy Stall Under 13, Mike’s Pharmacy Under 15, Ramnaresh Sarwan Under 17, New York Business Group Under 19, Elizabeth Styles Under 21, NBS Second Division, Berbice Riverain 30 overs, Let’s Bet Sports 20/20, Goosai Memorial 100 balls, Stag Beer 50 Overs, Ivan Madray 20/20 Memorial, Busta 40 Overs, GBTI InterSecondary, Shimron Hetmyer Intermediate, UCCA InterPrimary, and Friends of Cricket 100 balls.

At the inter-county level, Berbice won both the female title and the two-day Under 19 tournaments. Over forty-five Berbicians represented Guyana or other Caribbean teams in Cricket West Indies tournaments.

They include players like Kevlon Anderson, Junior

Sinclair, Kevin Umroa, Seon Glasgow, Marvon Prashad, Sarwan Chaitnarine, Tameshwar Mohabir, Isiah Thorne, Zeynul Ramsammy, Veersammy Permaul,

in the 2019 CPL, while Shimron Hetmyer played in the IPL. Off the cricket field, the BCB hosted numerous developmental programmes and activities. They included Dr. Tulsi Dyal Singh Coaching Programme, Dr. Tulsi Dyal Singh Cricket Academy, Brian Ramphal Annual Awards Ceremony, Inter-County Cap System, Inter-County MVP, InterCounty Player of the Match, Dr. Puran Singh National Players Financial Scheme, Honouring of Inter- County Champions, Tribute to Heroes, Tribute to Retired Players, Youth Information Booklet, Dare to Dream, Educational Posters, Television Programmes, Mother of the Year, Father of the Year, UCCA Cricket Academy, A 256-page 80th Anniversary Book, School Educational Competitions,

school bags and bottled water.

The BCB, moreover, raised one hundred thousand dollars to assist Ms. Ruthel Henry to construct her own home, while President Hilbert Foster spearheaded a highly successful 80th Anniversary celebration during the month of September.

Restoration works done at the BCB office included repainting of the building, sealing of the roof, titling of the floor, obtaining more than $400,000 worth of furniture; and acquiring a television set, DVD Player, electric fans, desktop computer, water dispenser, kitchen utensils, facsimile machine and cordless telephone, among other things.

The publication of the first ever Youth Information Booklet for youth cricketers in the Caribbean was also an-

Puran Singh during the year, while it has been named the Berbice Sports Organisation of the Year by the Gregory Gaskin Memorial Berbice Committee.

The hard work of the BCB President also saw the return of inter-county cricket to Berbice after an absence of over a decade. Isiah Thorne and Rampertab Ramnauth were also presented with a cricket bat as the BCB honoured them on their selection to the West Indies Under 15.

To round off a successful year for Berbice Cricket, Lower Corentyne won the Guyana Cricket Board Franchise league at the 50 overs level.

President Foster, who was returned for another term of two years in a 31-0 vote at the BCB AGM on December 22nd, has unveiled some major plans for the 2020-2021

BCB Cricketers Hall of Fame, BCB Administrators Hall of Fame, Berbice Greatest Cricketers, and Dr. Tulsi Dyal Singh Wall of Fame, among others.

The BCB also assisted clubs, youth players and schools with over $5M worth of stumps, water pitchers cricket gear, raincoats, bicycles, trophies, medals, educational materials, scorebooks,

other major achievement for the anniversary.

The BCB, via an aggressive marketing drive led by its hardworking President, was able to raise close to $12M in 2019 alone, and has already acquired some major sponsorship for 2020.

The board also presented its highest award, Tribute to a Hero, to Dr. Tulsi Dyal Singh, Brian Ramphal and Dr.

period. They include construction of an all-weather practice centre, setting up of a professional league

by December 2021, holding at least 20 tournaments per year, expanded coaching programmes, acquiring covers for BCB, to assist deserving clubs with gear, balls, scorebooks; and to lobby Cricket West Indies for the return of first-class cricket to Berbice.

Albion Under-19 team, champions of the New York Business Group 50 Overs title

Devendra Bishoo and Clinton Pestano.

At the female level, Sheneta Grimmond and Shabika Gajnabi joined Shemaine Campbelle on the West Indies Female Senior team as the massive investment into female cricket by the RHTY&SC continues to bear fruits for the Ancient County.

Five Berbicians played

BCB, RHTY&SC cricket teams launch Guyana’s inaugural youth cricketer’s booklet

T

wo of Guyana’s most vibrant and dynamic organisations, the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) and the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC), MS, on Sunday last launched the first ever youth cricketer’s educational booklet in Guyana.

This 40-page booklet, production of which was sponsored by the NonAlcoholic Brand of ANSA McAL and by 10 cricket teams of the RHTY&SC, MS, is one of the main achievements of the proactive Berbice Cricket Board for 2019.

BCB President Hilbert Foster has said that publication of this historic booklet was a red-letter day for the board. Foster, who co-authored the booklet with BCB Public Relations Officer Simon Naidu, described its main objectives as: to educate youths on their roles as role models/ambassadors of Berbice, and to provide facts on Guyana and the numerous social ills that would affect them in life.

The booklet covers such topics as: suicide, teenage pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, importance of discipline, importance of religion, importance of education, public speaking, how to handle a job interview, manners in the classroom, respect for the elderly, personal hygiene and appearance,

Copies of the BCB/RHTY&SC Youth Information booklet

how to behave during a public ceremony, table manners, importance of reading, general store etiquette, and the sportsman as an ambassador.

It also includes facts about Guyana, facts you should know about your country,

facts about Berbice Cricket, the National Pledge, the National Anthem, Do’s and Don’ts on Facebook messages from Foster in his capacity as BCB President/RHTY&SC CEO; and from Errol Nelson, Business Unit Head of ANSA McAL’s Non-Alcoholic

Beverage Division.

The very informative booklet also includes diagrams of fielding positions, ways of dismissals in cricket, umpires’ signals, and photos of Berbicians who played test cricket, among other cricketrelated articles.

The BCB President has said that every youth player in Berbice would receive a copy of the booklet as the board strives to make every one of them educated about the game.

Noting that not every player would go on to represent Guyana or the West Indies, Foster has said that the BCB wants them to succeed off the field.

Foster has also disclosed that the BCB is open to assisting clubs from outside of Berbice with a copy of the historic booklet, if they request same.

The BCB and RHTY&SC would like to express gratitude to Mr. Eroll Nelson of ANSA McAL for his cooperation in making the project possible. The ten teams of the RHTY&SC, MS, involved in the project were: Poonai’s Pharmacy Under 13; Farfan and Mendes Under 15; Bakewell Under 17 and Second Division; Pepsi Under 19 and Intermediate; Metro Female; and Namilco Thunderbolt Flour U-21 and First Division.

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monday, DECEMBER 30, 2019

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

Linden: 4X4 U-18 B-ball Tournament…

Royals shoot their way past Kwakwani to capture title

B

rilliant shooting and aggression were hallmarks of the National 3x3 Under-18 Basketball Champions Victory Valley Royals as they crowned themselves the inaugural winners of the novelty 4x4 Under-18 championship over Kwakwani ‘A’ on Saturday night.

The finale ended 18-14 at the Mackenzie Sports Club hard court, in a tournament which was staged by United States-based Lindener Gary Stephens in association with the Kings Basketball Club and the Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA).

The Royals showed their Royalty once more, as their combination of the National champions Emmanuel LaRose, Kobe Tappin, Omar Green and Delroy Belle, in addition to the female players who had to be on the court according to the rules of this special tournament, in Cliffana Hunter and Reshaba Carroll, proved a winning unit.

In the thrilling final, they held off a surging Kwakwani ‘A’ side comprised of YBG Under-16 Titan Bowl Most

Valuable Player Hosea Conway, Elijah David, Hansel John, Huon Bethune and female players Shakeila Sampson and K e n n e s h a Leacock.

It was a superb final, and Kwakwani were in with a chance as they pressed hard for second chances and possession at times, but the will of the Royals proved superior in the end, and justifiably handed them their second crown of the year at this level.

The Royals’ Emmanuel LaRose and Omar Green were awesome close to the basket, while Tappin showed poise in shooting and Belle added variety and steadiness with the female players Hunter and Carroll, who hustled

The successful Victory Valley Royals team

their way into positions throughout the encounter.

In the end, LaRose finished with eight points and Tappin six, to lead the Royals to that win.

For the Kwawkani team,

Skerritt pays tribute to honourees Lloyd and Greenidge

C

ricket West Indies (CWI) congratulates West Indies Cricket Legends Clive Lloyd and Gordon Greenidge on their recent awards as announced on the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list on Friday.

The 75-year-old Lloyd – the most successful captain in West Indies history – received a Knighthood. The 68-year-old Greenidge – one of the most successful opening batsmen in the game’s history – was awarded the Order of St Michael and St George Knight Commander on the overseas list.

Commenting on behalf of CWI, President Ricky Skerritt said, “All West Indians everywhere should welcome such high level recognition for the outstanding contributions to the development and promotion of the game of cricket by both former stars, and we should all be proud of their much deserved accolades.”

Skerritt also expressed congratulations on behalf of CWI to Condé Riley, the President of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) and a Director of CWI, who was also honoured b y Buckingham

Palace for “services in the field of sport and in particular cricket administration”.

Skerritt said: “Messrs Lloyd and Greenidge were two of the finest cricketers ever to represent the West Indies on the global stage, and they will join the distinguished list of former West Indian greats who have been previously knighted for giving so much towards the global success of West Indies cricket.”

“Clive Hubert Lloyd was a tremendous leader who represented everything that is great about us as a West Indian people. He lifted the ICC World Cup on two occasions – the symbol that we were the true kings of the world. He changed the way the game was played and set a standard so high, the world had to follow.”

“Cuthbert Gordon Greenidge, a true master batsman, who was the embodiment of strength and courage, will go down in history as one of the greatest opening batsmen to step on the cricket field – with a special batting talent that he perfected into an art by virtue of hard work and dedication.”

(CWI)

Bethune and David each had four points in a losing cause, as their players came up short.

After the final, Stephens, a former coach and current president of the Kings

Basketball Club, told the gathering: “Myself, the Kings Organisation and the LABA made this possible.

There were a few hiccups, we ironed it out and I must compliment Mr. Gravesande and his official team.

There were (possibly) a few bad calls on both sides.”

He was particularly happy that parents came it to support their kids.

Stephens was very serious about discipline in the game, and he accosted a player who was unwilling to adhere to one of his teammates, saying: “If needs be, the tournament could go lower to under-15, or lower to ensure that players understand the serious-

ness of being disciplined.”

He noted that players also have to “respect the referees and teammates always.”

He said that once the LABA is on board again, they want to have another tournament targeting the female players’ involvement once more, this time with two male and two female players.

This tournament, unlike the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation’s (GABF) recent National Under 18 3x3 qualifiers to select a team to represent Guyana next year in a regional tournament in Guadeloupe, which was won

by Victory Valley Royals, was specially arranged for Under 18 Boys, but was open to any age category among the female players, to ensure more participation by clubs.

To reach the final, Kwakwani ‘A’ eliminated their ‘B’ side 12-5, upturning an earlier loss to them in the preliminary round of play; while the Royals again shot their way past Kings 17-14, who had handed them their lone loss in the preliminary round of the competition.

New Trend Auto & Food Town Year-End Golf Tourney…

Tiwari, Walker and Dinanauth are top performers In picture from left to right: William Walker, Anasha Ally, Mohanlall Dinanauth, Kalyan Tiwari, and Club President Aleem Hussain

W

ith all the fairways being prepared

by Club President Aleem Hussain himself, after the rains and due year-end light work of grounds staff, the Lusignan Golf Course was in refreshingly great condition; and returning veteran Kalyan Tiwari stamped his authority in taking top honours from the golfers who sought to drive their way to the finish in the New Trend Auto’s exciting year-end tourney on Saturday.

CEO and owner of New Trend Auto, Rudy Ramalingum, whose first golf tournament sponsorship was under the Food Town banner in June 2018, also sponsored the New Trend Auto golf tournament in March 2019, and has again stepped in to readily support development of golfing in Guyana and the Lusignan Golf Club with this year-end tournament.

Played under the Medal Play system without Flights, the winners returned great

performances: Kalyan Tiwari (67/16) – 1st; William Walker (68/12) – 2nd, in the process beating Mohanlall Dinanauth (68/6) into 3rd for the second-place tie.

The fourth-place tie between 3 golfers: Patrick Prashad (72/8), Shanella London (72/15) and Rabindranauth Persaud (72/16), was indication of the keenness and excitement of the tournament. (Prizes were only awarded to the first 3 Best Net scores.)

Member Anasha Ally, who had been away from the course for a little while, also participated in the tournament, and presented the prizes on behalf of New Trend Auto.

New Trend Auto is located at 65 David Street, Subryanville, and can be contacted on Tel: 223-5401, 226-7003, and 621-7250.

This entity is a leader in new and used auto parts, and has a state-of-the-art repair shop that caters to all types of vehicles, besides specializing in pick-up trucks.

guyanatimesgy.com

monday, DECEMBER 30, 2019

Guyana Jaguars 3-Day Practice match…

23

Bishoo’s 5-for, Sinclair’s fifty, Smith’s 4-for highlight 21-wicket day Bails flying! Nial Smith bowled Chandrapaul Hemraj for a golden duck

Story and Photos by Brandon Corlette

T

he second day of the first three-day practice match at the National Stadium at Providence was an eventful encounter. Anthony Adams’ XI are in control on 76-3, enjoying a lead of 122 runs against Leon Johnson’s XI, who folded for 127 all out on a day that produced 21 wickets.

Resuming the second day on 80-2 after 34 overs, Anthony Adams’ XI were bundled out for 174 after 68.3 overs on the stroke of lunch.

Adams’ XI lost Tevin Imlach five runs into the day, with the score on 85-3. The right-handed Imlach added five runs to his overnight score, ending his patient knock on 28. He was trapped in front by Gudakesh Motie.

Night watchman Nial Smith continued to survive, but lost partners in Akshya Persaud (03) and Jonathan Foo (11). Both batsmen were dismissed by Chris Barnwell, leaving Adams’ XI on 122-5 after 52.1 overs.

Bishoo continued to make the ball proverbially talk as he removed Smith for 27. Smith stepped on his stumps and hit a four simultaneously, but was out hit wicket. Before his unusual dismissal, Smith had faced 70 deliveries and had hit two fours.

Bishoo enjoyed the spin on offer at Providence. He removed Ricardo Adams for 17 and Ramaal Lewis for seven. The Jamaican Lewis had slammed Bishoo for a six over long-off, but the leg-spinner had the final say when he accounted for Lewis’s wicket as

his fifth victim.

Former West Indies Under-19 all-rounder Renaldo Ali Mohamed looked promising in his 46-ball 25, which was decorated with four boundaries and one six, until he was run-out by Motie.

After Verasammy Permaul had bowled 17 overs for 39 runs and was wicket-less, Kevin Sinclair replaced him from the Media Centre end, and immediately wrapped the innings up, trapping Qumar Torrington in front for one.

Bishoo, who made his return to competitive cricket in the Berbice Cricket Board Banks Beer 2-Day first Division, ended with 5-45 in 18 overs, including five maidens.

Barnwell impressed with 2-19 in 10 overs, while Motie and Sinclair accounted for one wicket each.

Sinclair hit fifty, but Johnson’s XI bundled out for 127

In the Johnson XI response with the bat, they lost Trevon Griffith in the first over to a steaming train named Nial Smith. In the eventful first over, Griffith clipped one to fine leg, then guided one to third man for boundaries, but the moment Smith pitched it up, Griffith was trapped at the crease when the ball jagged back into the left-hander.

The Smith lad from Tucber Park continued to pitch the ball in the right areas, and was quickly rewarded with

Devendra Bishoo gathered with teammates after his 5-for

the big wicket of Chandrapaul Hemraj. The left-handed Hemraj had his stumps destroyed by Smith, and he departed for a golden duck.

Smith then removed captain Leon Johnson for two; he edged one to the gloves man Imlach. At the Player’s Pavilion end, Qumar Torrington was up to the task as he operated in tandem with Smith. Torrington removed Vishaul Singh for six, as Singh edged one to Lewis at second slip.

After 12 overs of testy fast bowling, Johnson’s XI were reduced to 40-4. Barnwell looked to counterattack, but his blooming innings was cut short when he pulled a Torrington delivery to short mid-wicket after a run-a-ball 25. Perez had earlier dropped Barnwell on 10, and kicked the ball for four.

Anthony Bramble made

only eight, and was the sixth wicket from Johnson’s XI to fall. He hit a sharp return catch to Anthony Adams.

Smith returned for a second spell, and sent Permaul back to the pavilion for dragging one on to his stumps. Permaul was sent packing for a duck.

Sinclair and Motie took Johnson’s XI to 94-7 after 23 overs at the tea interval.

Sinclair, who looked in good touch, remained unbeaten on 30 from 27 balls, while Motie was on eight at the tea interval.

At resumption of the final session, both Motie (16) and Bishoo (02) fell to Lewis, but Sinclair continued to look busy at the crease. He reached his fifty in 57 balls, having hit eight fours and one six in battling for 76 minutes. The Johnson XI innings ended on 127 all out after 34.5 overs when Sinclair edged Adams to

Foo at first slip.

The Adams XI resumed their second innings with a lead of 47. Imlach began with a touch of class, stroking Keon Joseph to extra cover boundary, but with the next ball, Imlach was bowled by the West Berbice lad Joseph. Sinclair then trapped Savory in front for a duck, and Persaud (01) edged a Joseph delivery to Johnson at slip.

Perez was partnered by Foo, and the duo safely negotiated to stumps with the score on 76-3 after 21 overs.

Perez, who was dropped by Sinclair on 39, ended the day on 40 from 55 balls, including six fours; while Foo is unbeaten on 27. Joseph has 2-19 and Sinclair has 1-10 for Johnson’s XI. The third and final day will commence today from 9:00h, with Adam’s XI leading by 122 runs and having seven wickets in hand.

Dragon Stout Community Cup…

Bent Street secure inaugural title

Rush Energy Drink Brand Manager Treiston Freeman (left) presenting the second-place trophy to the Manager of Leopold Street

P

erennial heavyweights Bent Street were on Saturday crowned the inaugural Dragon Stout Community Cup Champions, dismissing Leopold Street by a 6-1 score at the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue.

In a post-final comment, tournament coordinator Jamal Baird, Brand Manager of Dragon Stout, said: “I didn’t

expect this type of crowd at the final, due to the brand being relatively unknown; but I am very elated with the turnout, and very satisfied with the overall outcome of the tournament.”

He further revealed, “Expect big things from the brand in the future. We envision and aim to expand the brand and the tournament to other regions; Georgetown

was simply just the start.”

Bent Street stalwart Colin Nelson praised the organizers for staging the event, adding: “It was a well-coordinated tournament, and we need more events like this and for more companies to come on board, given the current football situation in Guyana.

These competitions give players the opportunity to compete on a consistent basis.”

Before a massive crowd, the star-studded Bent Street produced a clinical offensive as they smashed three first half goals to effectively seal the title and their status as Kings of Streetball.

Pernell Schultz opened the scoring in the third minute with a powerful shot into the right corner. This was followed by a Sheldon Holder goal that was bundled into the right side in the 11th minute from inside the penalty area.

The third goal came in the 14th minute, as Jermaine Beckles uncorked a left foot shot from outside centre of area into the right side.

Rio All-Stars Coach Troy Lambert (right) receiving the third-place trophy from Rush Energy Drink Brand Manager Treiston Freeman

The carnage continued in the second period as Beckles grabbed his second in the 18th minute, placing his effort into the lower right side.

Schultz followed suit to complete his brace in the 23rd minute to make it 5-0, slotting home from the right side of the penalty area.

Rafael Edwards eventually pulled one back for Leopold Street with a placed shot from

the left side into the lower right corner in the 24th minute.

The aforesaid conversion was merely a blemish on the Bent Street performance, as William Europe completed the scoreline in the 27th with a shot from the centre into the right side.

With the win, Bent Street pocketed $300,000 and the championship trophy, while runners-up, Leopold Street,

collected $150,000 and a trophy.

Rio All-Stars defeated Sparta Boss 2-1 on penalty kicks after regulation time ended 1-1 in the third-place playoff.

With the win, Rio All-Stars walked away with $75,000 and the respective trophy, while Sparta Boss walked away with $50,000 and a trophy.

Meanwhile, the third and fourth-place finishers would respectively receive $75,000 and $50,000 and the corresponding accolade.

In the earlier semifinal round, Bent Street came from two goals down to defeat Rio All-Stars 4-2. Schultz copped a double in the 17th and 25th minutes, while Holder and Wilson netted in the 20th and 28th minutes respectively.

On target in the loss was Trayon Bobb in the 13th and 14th minutes. Also, Leopold Street bested Sparta Boss 2-1, Edwards and Okeeny Fraser scoring in the 12th and 34th minutes respectively. On target in the loss was Ryan Hackett in the 22nd minute.

monday, DECEMBER 30, 2019

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

guyanatimesgy.com

Guyana Jaguars 3-Day Practice Match…

Bishoo’s 5-for, Sinclair’s fifty, Smith’s 4-for highlight 21-wicket day

Nial Smith bowled with venom during his 4-for

Page 23

Kevin Sinclair hit a fluent fifty

Dragon Stout Community Cup…

Bent Street secure inaugural title Page 23

Adrian Aaron of Bent Street collecting the championship trophy from Dragon Stout Brand Manager and tournament coordinator Jamal Baird (right) in the presence of his teammates

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