Guyana Times Saturday May 10, 2019

Harmony Village set to be hosted in Reg 6 P15

Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 3919

THE BEACON OF TRUTH friday, may 10, 2019

PRICE

Govt must follow letter, spirit of Constitution if court rules against it – CCJ President

...as Court Judge frowns upon Guyana’s slothful judicial, elections system despite urgent circumstances ...despite urgency of preparing for elections in 3 Page 7 months after no-confidence vote

Exclusion of commercial, office space from CJIA contract

$80 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Strong P9 interest in Guyana at Houston oil conference

US criminals in Guyana have a right to appeal P11 extradition

Page 3

...intended to encourage local content – Jagdeo – says Govt responsible for CHEC violating contract

Former PM’s son slapped with assault, disorderly behaviour P8 charges

The Guyana People’s Militia has partnered with the Linden Mayor and Town Council to offer skills training to municipal Constables at various levels. In photo are Linden Mayor Waneka Arrindell (centre seated), Town Clerk Orleena Obermuller (seated second from left), along with the Constables who will be trained and representatives of the Guyana People’s Militia

Chinese Landing calls on Govt to cancel businessman’s mining licence Page 12

Armed bandits beat, rob Corentyne pensioners Page 2

Son of Page 10 businessman gunned down at Bagotstown

Alberttown P8 man jailed for 4 years for narcotics trafficking

2 news

friday, may 10, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Armed bandits beat, rob Corentyne pensioners

An injured Kaymeah Goodchild

The window from which the men gained entry into the house

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wo pensioners were on Thursday morning beaten and robbed after two armed bandits broke into their Alness Village, Corentyne home.

One of the victims was forced to undergo emergency surgery at the New Amsterdam Hospital following the attack.

The attack, according to information received, occurred at about 03:30h at the Lot 53 Alness home, while the nine occupants were at home.

The two masked men reportedly cut the grill work

to a window in the lower flat of the building to gain entry.

The men then went into one of the bedrooms in the upper flat occupied by the two pensioners; Guildford Goodchild, 76; and his wife, Kaymeah, 71.

“They push open the door and put two lights in my face so I couldn’t see anything and then they take something and hit my head,” the former hospital matron told Guyana Times.

According to Goodchild, the bandits demanded cash and jewellery but she told them that she did not have

any.

“They keep asking me and then my husband get up and hold on one of them and they start to lash him all over.”

Her husband, a former Transport and Harbour worker, was hit in his head and abdomen. The bandits took away a gold ring he was wearing.

Meanwhile, the woman’s grandson, Erwin Scarville, said he was in another bedroom and heard his grandmother screaming.

According to the 20-yearold, he came out of his bedroom to investigate but as soon as he opened the bedroom door, he was confronted by one of the bandits who

was carrying a gun.

“He tell me to go on the ground so I go on the ground and I hear they still beating my grandfather but I couldn’t do anything. Then one of them come and stamp me on my back and put his foot on my neck and shortly after they start asking me where the money is...”

Scarville recalled telling the intruders that he had no money. However, he told them where he had a $5000 bill. “They went and took the money and picked up my phone and left with it.”

At the time of the robbery, all of the other persons on the upper flat were females. After the men left, the Police were summoned.

Guyana Times understands that Scarville’s mother, who was holidaying in Guyana, left the country on Monday after a fourweek vacation. She was using the said bedroom which the bandits initially entered.

Meanwhile, a granddaughter of the elderly couple was questioned and several persons were detained

by Police as investigations continue.

2 in custody for murder of Karasabai resident

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wo men are presently in Police custody for questioning in connection with the murder of 23-year-old Elton Leonard at Karasabai, Region Nine.

A third man, who is believed to be the prime suspect, remains on the run.

This was confirmed by Commander of “F” Division, Kevin Adonis, who related that the two men who were arrested were actually handed over to the Police by the village toshao.

Adonis said the three suspects, who hail from Karasabai, had gone into hiding moments after Leonard was knifed to death.

However, after a few days had elapsed, the two men now in custody returned to their village, but the toshao quickly notified the Police in the area, and the men were arrested.

From information received, the Commander believes that the prime suspect is trying to flee the country into neighbouring Brazil. The Police, he added have been on high alert.

On Friday, last, Leonard was stabbed to death by his friends after an argument had broken out among them

F Division Commander Kevin Adonis

while they were out at a bar consuming alcohol.

It was reported that Leonard had left his home while under the influence of alcohol, and, some five hours later, had been engaged in a heated row with the three men.

It was revealed that during the argument, Leonard was stabbed to his left side chest.

He reportedly collapsed and died almost immediately. The three men then made good their escape as the man lay on the ground in a pool of blood.

Probe deepens into murder of overseasbased Guyanese

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The house belonging to the pensioners

Woman swims to shore after falling off Tumatumari waterfall

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woman escaped the jaws of death on Wednesday morning when the boat in which she was travelling capsized and ultimately fell off the Tumatumari waterfall in Region Eight (Region 8).

The incident is said to have occurred around 06:00h.

As the male managed to make it to shore safely, the woman was submerged in the water, and then disappeared. A report was subsequently made to the Police for assistance in locating the

woman’s body after many hours had passed and it was feared that she had drowned.

However, to many persons’ surprise, the woman was seen by villagers walking back through the path on Wednesday evening.

According to Commander of “F” Division, Kevin Adonis, the woman claimed that she swam to safety and made her way home on foot.

She was subsequently taken to the Mahdia Hospital, where she was treatment for minor injuries she sustained.

olice in Berbice on Thursday questioned a neighbour in connection with the murder of National Insurance Scheme (NIS) ex-manager, Godfrey Branch, whose body was found at his Springlands, Corriverton, Berbice home.

When the body of the 74-year-old man was discovered, his feet were bound and there were stab wounds to his neck, chest and abdomen. He was also bleeding from the head.

Investigators initially stated that Branch had reportedly withdrawn $500,000 from his bank account one day prior to his demise, and it was suspected that the motive for the man’s murder was robbery. It is believed Branch knew his attackers.

The surveillance recordings were also removed from the building when the body was discovered. Police later arrested a suspect but he was subsequently released.

There are reports that Branch had reported to the Regional Office of the Prime Minister that someone had made threats against him.

When contacted, the PM’s Representative, Gobin Harbhajan, confirmed that Branch visited his office several times and made the accusation.

Guyana Times understands that Branch visited the office in March 2017 complaining that someone had coveted two feet of land on his property and had

Dead: Godfrey Branch

threatened to kill him if he took the matter further.

Harbhajan said he advised him to make a report to the Police while noting that he had assisted Branch in getting a land surveyor.

Branch later took his concerns to the President after not receiving the response he was expecting from the Police and the Prime Minister’s Office.

According to Harbhajan, he has advised that the former NIS Manager to speak with the officer in-charge of the Sub-division at Whim if he was not satisfied with the response he was getting from the Springlands Police Station.

Last year, according to Harbhajan, Branch had expressed fear of going to his home where he lived alone.

Police are continuing their investigations.

news

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friday, may 10, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS

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

Friday, May 10 – 09:00h-10:30h and Saturday, May 11 – 09:30h-12:30h (no marine traffic).

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Friday, May 10 – 07:35h-09:05h and Saturday, May 11 – 08:40h-10:10h.

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

WEATHER TODAY Thundery to heavy rain showers are expected throughout most of the day, followed by clear to partly cloudy skies in the evening. Temperatures should range between 23 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-easterly between 2.23 metres and 4.47 metres.

High Tide: 08:11h and 20:58h reaching maximum heights of 2.48 metres and 2.30 metres respectively.

Exclusion of commercial, office space from CJIA contract ...intended to encourage local content – Jagdeo – says Govt responsible for CHEC violating contract

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pposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has clarified that while the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) expansion project contract did not initially cater for certain amenities; this was a deliberate strategy in order to create opportunities for local contractors.

At his press conference on Thursday, Jagdeo explained why the original CJIA contract did not contain provisions for commercial, office and cargo areas. According to the former President, the reason they took those things out is because they could have been done by locals.

icism that maybe we didn’t put in office space. But why aren’t we holding this Government accountable for ensuring that the contractor delivers what we put in the contract.”

With only two air bridges catered for under the coa-

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

Low Tide: 01:42h and 14:22h reaching minimum heights of 0.87 metre and 0.73 metre respectively.

A model of the works on the terminal initially proposed

wednesday, may 8, 2019

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“These were things being done by the Government, separate from the contract. We deliberately took those out.

The idea was these could be done by local contractors. They shouldn’t be part of the contract.”

Jagdeo expounded that while things were not included in the contract, the Government should have implemented those that were.

And according to Jagdeo, the Government ought to be held accountable for not doing its part to ensure that contractor, China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) delivered what it was contracted to deliver.

“Now we’re getting criticised for what’s not in the contract, rather than what was in the contract that this Government has changed, so we now have a rehabilitated terminal rather than a new terminal. And they reduced the size of the apron,” Jagdoe said. “And we get criticised for what we didn’t put in the contract, but they’re not even achieving what we put in the contract.”

“An entirely new airport, pulling down the (terminal) building and building a new terminal and a huge apron for eight aircraft and eight air bridges… I can accept the crit-

lition Government’s modified agreement, they went to the National Assembly last year to request $346.5 million in supplementary funds towards the purchase and installation of two additional air bridges.

Turn to page 9

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guyanatimesgy.com

friday, may 10, 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

Observe traffic rules

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here is always an element of risk whenever someone uses the roadways be it a motorist, passenger, cyclist or pedestrian.

This is somewhat inherent since it is believed that accidents will happen. Often the fault is not with the one being cautious.

The risks may manifest in various forms, such as a lack of street lighting while driving at nights; potholes, which when swerved from, could place a vehicle in the direct path of another; absence of or non-functioning traffic lights which can create uncertainty among drivers; roaming animals; speeding; drinking and driving; narrow streets and lack of traffic signage. In addition, disobedience of basic traffic etiquette and other rules exacerbate the risks.

Seemingly common now is the disrespect for designated major roads. Many drivers, including some within the public transportation system, refuse to adhere to what is mandatory. As a result, a number of accidents occur frequently at some of those points.

Similarly, the practice of running red lights and the green signal that allows pedestrians to cross continues unabated, predominantly by minibus drivers. The danger that poses needs no explanation.

While there is a plethora of traffic violations on a daily basis, some appear more prominent. Undertaking and cutting in front of a vehicle and the sticking out of a minibus conductor’s arm to do likewise from the other side, seem the new norm of driving. Aside from the obvious danger, especially to young and inexperienced drivers and being an irritant, it is blatant bullyism and a potent source for road rage.

It appears that those who engage in such practices do not see themselves as being errant or what they do as a traffic violation.

Lanes that allow for turning-on-red are abused and used as if it’s the right-of-way. In the city, many roads, other than what are authorised for minibus routes, are used as thoroughfares.

Speeding is foremost, causing areas that are supposed to be free of minibuses to become dangerous.

In addition, some drivers seemingly take pride in having an alcoholic beverage in their possession while transporting passengers. Adding to the woes of those who abide by traffic rules, they are verbally abused when trying to stave off a potential transgressor. These practices are not unknown to the Police and while they cannot be at all points where violations occur, there is the expectation for more and sustained intervention in the interest of safety to all road users.

This does not take away from the valiant efforts of a few dedicated traffic officers who do their best to curb the situation; one which has reached alarming proportions. Reportedly many minibuses are owned by some Police ranks and the drivers are of the view that they have a free pass to break traffic rules. It is believed that traffic ranks turn a blind eye when they see violations firsthand by minibuses owned by members of the Force.

That obviously empowers those errant drivers and causes others to do likewise. Recently, a senior traffic officer, speaking at a road safety fair, boldly proclaimed that no one is above the law when asked specifically about reports of violation by Police ranks.

That is heartening to hear and he must be commended. However, the follow-up question should have been how effective his action could be in the context of minibuses being owned by some of his colleagues.

In fairness to the Police, the Force did clamp down on tinted vehicles owned by some ranks. That shows that the Force seems willing to hold its own responsible. While that offers some level of optimism, it begs the question why the unbridled traffic violations by some minibuses continue unchecked.

From all reposts, some traffic ranks can easily pinpoint a particular minibus based upon design and route when a complaint is lodged. That probably suggests that traffic violation is not unique to that vehicle. Again, it must be asked, how is it allowed to continue? One can assume that alleged pressure from within is responsible. Seemingly gone is the expectation of the example being set by those entrusted to ensure safety on the roadways.

What is desperately needed is a sustained national campaign to reduce traffic violations and let the law take its course on the errant ones regardless of who they are. The carelessness exhibited puts all road users at risk. This is where the National Road Safety Council would need to be supported and probably empowered to have a more visible presence and increased influence all year round.

It must be noted that drivers are not the only violators of traffic rules, for some pedestrians are equally guilty. Aside from the common jaywalking, they cross busy intersections when not authorised and refuse to use the overhead pedestrian walkways thereby bringing danger to themselves and others. Like errant drivers, they seem empowered to not observe basic traffic rules.

This will only change when there is a constant stream of violators up the stairs of the courts across the country. There is a hope that that is not wishful thinking.

The Avenue of Honours is a Guyanese monumental site that will be located on Main Street, in the heart of the capital city Georgetown.

This site will showcase the names of Guyanese, both locally and internationally, who have made significant contributions to the development of Guyana. In photo is the artistic impression done by JL Adams

Venezuela crisis: Juan Guaidó deputy arrested in Caracas

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he deputy of Venezuelan Opposition Leader Juan Guaidó has been detained by the country’s intelligence services. Edgar Zambrano, Vice President of the National Assembly, refused to leave his car when approached, and as a result he and his car were towed to prison.

It is the first arrest of a senior Opposition figure since attempts to spark a military rebellion against President Nicolás Maduro last week.

Guaidó is recognised as “interim President” by more than 50 nations.

What happened?

Democratic Action party leader Carlos Prosperi told reporters that he had been at a party meeting with Zambrano in the capital Caracas moments before the latter was arrested by agents from Venezuela’s Bolivarian Intelligence Service (Sebin).

“The vehicle was surrounded,” he said. “They [Sebin agents] wouldn’t allow us to get to him. They brought a tow truck and his vehicle was towed away.”

Venezuelan online television channel VPI posted footage of the moment Zambrano was towed on Twitter. Prosperi said that he believes Zambrano was taken to El Helicoide, a notorious prison in the centre of the city.

“We don’t know anything about what physical condition he’s in and we don’t know what is happening at El Helicoide at the moment,” he said.

What’s the background?

The arrest comes a day after Venezuela’s Supreme Court ordered that Zambrano and six other

A view of Venezuelan National Assembly Vice President Edgar Zambrano (left) being towed away in his car after his arrest on May 8, 2019

National Assembly deputies be charged with treason for their alleged participation in the failed military uprising.

The court asked the National Constituent Assembly (ANC), a body convened by President Maduro and made up exclusively of his supporters, to lift the parliamentary immunity of the lawmakers, which the ANC promptly did.

Since then, three more Opposition lawmakers have been charged and their immunity is expected to be lifted within days. They are: Freddy Superlano of the Democratic Action party, Sergio Vergara and Juan Andrés Mejía, who both represent the Popular Will party.

What reaction has there been?

Guaidó called Zambrano’s arrest – in particular the towing of his car – “absurd” in a tweet he posted shortly after the incident. There was also swift reaction from the officials from the US, a country which has been one of the strongest supporters of Guaidó.

On the Twitter account of its “virtual” embassy in Caracas – the embassy closed in March amid growing ten-

sions – the US called the detention “illegal and inexcusable” and warned that if he was not released immediately, there would be consequences. However, the tweet did not spell out what those consequences would be.

The EU said Zambrano’s arrest was “another fragrant violation” of Venezuela’s Constitution and described it as “a politically motivated action aimed at silencing the National Assembly”.

Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru have also called for Zambrano’s release.

Meanwhile, the head of the National Constituent Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, boasted about the arrest on his TV show.

To the applause and loud cheers of government supporters, he mocked the lawmaker, saying that he would have to pay for the towing of his vehicle.

Earlier Cabello called Zambrano “one of the principal conspirators of the coup” and said that he and his “co-conspirators” would have to “pay before the courts for the failed coup that they have attempted”.

How did it come to this?

Guaidó declared him-

self Venezuela’s acting leader in January. As the head of the Oppositioncontrolled National Assembly, he invoked the Constitution to assume as the position of interim President, arguing that Maduro’s re-election last year was illegitimate.

Since then, tension between those who support Guaidó and those who back Maduro has increased. The military is seen as holding the key to the balance of power.

On April 30, 2019, in a video recorded near an air force base in Caracas, Guaidó called on the military to help him oust President Maduro.

Zambrano was one of the lawmakers seen in later footage talking to Guaidó on a flyover near the air force base. Cabello said that was “enough to prove his involvement”.

While a small group of uniformed men joined Guaidó, the top brass of the military quickly declared its loyalty to President Maduro and the status quo was maintained.

Guaidó has since told the BBC he would consider asking the US to stage a military intervention. (BBC News)

guyanatimesgy.com

friday, may 10, 2019

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You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com

What is the point A national shame of the amendment?

Dear Editor, With regard to President David Granger unilaterally selecting Justice (rtd) James Patterson as GECOM Chairman without furnishing reasons for rejecting three lists submitted by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, questions need to be asked as to what criteria President David Granger used in rejecting the three lists.

Without furnishing reason/s for rejecting the lists, how is anyone going to be able to know whether the President

acted rationally or irrationally?

The whole point of the Amendment (Article 161) from what existed before was to prevent the President from unilaterally selecting the GECOM Chairman, which the President has done anyway.

What, then, is the point of the Amendment, other than for decorative purposes?

Yours faithfully Sean Ori

Dear Editor, I have been a very regular visitor to your country, in excess of 30 years; and have had truly wonderful times experiencing all aspects of this land: people, flora and fauna.

But all is never perfect. On three occasions within the last 14 years, I have witnessed instances in which Policemen, representing the state, demanded bribes from registered taxi drivers, all for spurious misdemeanours.

One that really raised my ire occurred on May 8th, during a 5-minute drive before Parika Stelling. The officer (name and regulation number stated), without any densitometer or other means of verification, deemed the car in which I was a passenger as having a tinted glass that was not legally acceptable. He then instructed the driver to meet him at Lance Bar in Parika, where the issue would be resolved.

We did, in fact, wait at the

stated bar, but left to return to Georgetown 25 minutes after.

This officer was still on duty, proudly dressed in national wear.

This man, and others like him, are a national disgrace and should be penalised immediately. An example needs to be made of his type. Enough is enough.

Yours truly, Concerned commuter

Roll out a massive emotional intelligence awareness campaign geared to support all Dear Editor, Some of us are born in this country, we grow and live therein, and have never heard of the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA).

That is because our parents gave us stability and safety in our homes, and teachers provided support through the school system.

I am one such individual, and I remain eternally grateful to my parents and grandparents for exemplifying what stability in family life looks and feels like.

However, I recently had cause to interact with this Agency on behalf of a single parent family (father in care of his children) in need of support, and I am in shock to see the level of incapacity at the Agency.

Functional literacy is a problem in Guyana; so basic reading, report writing, comprehension, listening and organising skills are in short supply at this Agency.

Forget any expectation of common sense, and please don’t even think about such maturity as impartiality, objectivity, truth, fairness and wisdom. Visit any Police station and you find the same problem.

If a citizen wants to access intelligence in this society, that citizen is forced to go to the Court System, where they will find profes-

sionals with a higher level education and greater capacity for problem-solving.

The insight that I gained from my recent interaction with the Guyana Police Force and the Child Care and Protection Agency, which I wish to share with the general public, is the shocking absence and complete disregard and lack of support for the mental health of males in our society.

Our agencies are experts at persecuting males; morning, noon and night they know how to do this. They breathe and sleep persecution. Is there one existing agency where men are even heard? They first need to be heard and understood, before they can be supported.

This deafness to supporting -- rather than persecuting -- poor male members of our society is a policy gap that screams across the nation, and it pushes men into a corner to find solace in drowning sorrows.

How many men and children in our society deal with verbal and psychological abuse from mothers and female spouses on a daily basis? Yet such women find ready comfort and a sympathetic ear with the gullible authorities. Why is female persecution of slander, lies and threats against men not an issue of concern to any

of our agencies? Why are females not given the help that they also need to learn to communicate more effectively?

For the creation of a just society, we must engage in systems thinking, do deeper analysis, and provide the mental health support needed by ALL members of our society.

Are our agencies aware that people in this country are hungry, with a day-today struggle to find food for their children? From their regular, salaried positions and air-conditioned offices (with visitors often left to wait in the sun and rain), are Government officials capable of understanding the support needed by poor families?

How do we ease the desperation in society?

From my experience with the Child Care and Protection Agency, I have come to realise that there exists a lack of understanding of the living conditions of the poor, and the support be-

ing provided to poor families struggling to raise children is way short of inadequate.

With a paucity of analytical skills, the right problems will not be solved, because they are not being diagnosed.

There are, in this nation, many single-parent families in which men, fathers, are the single-parent struggling to raise their children.

Male single-parent families need support as much as families with mothers as the single-parent. The psychological mindset at our agencies, however, is that fathers must work, and mothers must be supported. Mothers can be abusive, drunkards, liars, prostitutes, and guilty of child neglect; frequenting bars with their girl children, who are often prostituted, raped, and made to become mere teenage pregnancy statistics. However, they are mothers, and an agency incapable of proper investigation but is biased against fatherhood cannot act in the interest of fathers and their

children.

We don’t only celebrate Mother’s Day in this country and around the world; we also observe Father’s Day. As a nation, and part of the Western World now waking up to mental health issues, I urge our agencies and policy makers to remember that men are people too, and that the hard-working, stressedout fathers are as much in need of support as the destitute mothers.

On a recent visit to the Office of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Social Protection, my attention was drawn to an apparently humble notice inviting members of staff to ‘Emotional Intelligence’ training. My heart skipped a beat as I saw the silver lining. If there is a single policy initiative that can have resounding impact on our mental evolution and our nation’s human development and capacity building efforts, it is the development of our collective emotional awareness.

As they say in Trinidad, we can all ‘make nice’; first with ourselves, and then with others.

Men and women in Guyana cannot improve their coping strategies for dealing with life’s frustrations without a deeper understanding of their emotions. The lot of the emotionally hijacked - the torrent of emotional abuse, impoverished communication skills, and the murders and suicides - would improve only with knowledge of how to manage the many frustrations of life. As a Rastafarian recently said to me, “We all must learn to bring the ‘I’ over the ‘E’.

I wish to encourage our policy makers to roll out a massive Emotional Intelligence Awareness Campaign across the length and breadth of this nation.

It must be geared to supporting the needs of ALL in our society.

Sincerely, Concerned citizen

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friday, may 10, 2019

Page

Foundation

Texting

on the move

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exi bumped into someone at the mall. Curtis slammed into a parking meter. Ryan tripped over a bag at the airport.

You’ve probably seen it, and maybe you’ve even laughed: People can end up in some pretty goofy situations when they text and walk at the same time.

Believe it or not, people can also get hurt.

The American College of Emergency Physicians warns people about texting on the move.

ER docs who treat people like Curtis (he cracked his ribs in his encounter with the parking meter) say that we need to be more cautious about when and where we text.

What’s the big deal?

The problem is multitasking.

No matter how young and agile we are, the human brain just isn’t capable of doing several things at once and giving full attention to all of them. So you can get into some major danger if you try to text in situations that require your full focus.

When you text you’re

thinking about what to say, concentrating on what your thumbs are doing, and reading constantly incoming messages rather than paying attention to what you’re doing or where you’re going.

And that significantly ups your risk of getting hurt or injuring others.

It doesn’t matter if you can text without looking at the keypad. Even if texting feels like second nature, your brain is still trying to do t w o

things at once – and one of them is bound to get less attention.

Texting also prevents you from paying close attention to what’s going on around you, something that’s especially important in situations where you need to have your guard up, like walking home after dark. Your reaction time is also likely to be much slower if you’re texting. If you’re

about to run into someone or something else, you may not have time to act before it’s too late.

When texting turns tragic

Texting while walking can even be fatal. One woman in San Francisco was killed when she walked right into the path of a pickup truck. That’s rare, of course. But texting is more likely to contribute to car crashes. We know this because Police and other authorities sometimes use a driver’s phone records to check for phone and text activity in the seconds and minutes before a fatal crash.

When people text while behind the wheel, they’re focusing their attention – and often their eyes – on something other than the road. In fact, driving while texting (DWT) can be more dangerous than driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Texting from behind the wheel is against the law in 41 states and the District of Columbia. And 6 more

states ban texting by new drivers. Many more states are trying to put DWT regulations into action. Even in states without specific laws, if you swerve all over the place, cut off cars, or bring on a collision because of texting, you could still be charged with reckless driving. That may mean a ticket, a lost license, or even jail time if you cause a fatal crash.

Tips for texting

It’s hard to live without texting.

So the best thing to do is manage how and when we text, choosing the right time and place.

Here are three ways to make sure your messaging doesn’t interfere with your focus — or your life: Always put your phone in an easily accessible place, like a specific pouch or pocket in your backpack or purse so it’s easy to find.

If you need to text right away, stop what you’re doing or pull off the road.

Turn off your phone completely when you’re doing anything that requires your full attention. That way there’s less

temptation to answer calls or texts.

To avoid an injury — whether it’s a cut on your face or a bruise to your ego — or a horrible tragedy, try to use your best judgment.

Text only when you’re not putting yourself or others in harm’s way. And if you’re riding in a car with a driver who is texting, ask him or her to stop or try not to ride with that person again. (kidshealth.org)

Questions and Answers

Does the light from a phone or computer make it hard to sleep?

M

y mom says I need to stop using my phone and laptop before bed because the light makes it harder to sleep. Is that really true?

– Ash* Yes, it’s true: The light from a phone or laptop confuses the brain into thinking it’s time to wake up instead of fall asleep.

Light from electronic screens comes in all colours, but the blues are the worst. Blue light fools the brain into thinking it’s daytime. When that happens, the body stops releasing a sleep hormone called melatonin. Melatonin is nature’s way of helping us wind down and prepare for bed. The body starts releasing it a couple of hours before bedtime. Darkness helps trigger the release of melatonin; blue light delays it.

That’s bad enough, but it gets worse: Teens are more sensitive to the effects of blue light than adults are. So you’re more likely to be tossing and turning hours past your usual bedtime. Add that to the other things that make it harder to sleep – like body clocks that make us feel awake at night, more homework and distractions, and early school start times – and it’s a recipe for feeling sleep deprived.

Some people try to get around the blue-light problem by dimming their screens or wearing special glasses. But there’s no proof that these work.

The best way to be sure your brain is at its best for tests, sports, and other things that require focus is to follow your mom’s advice: Don’t use computers and other screens for an hour or two before bedtime.

How do you fill that time? Call a friend instead of texting. Hang out with family. Play with a pet. Or try some breathing exercises.

Blue light is just one of the ways tech devices can interfere with sleep. It’s best to shut off alerts when you go to sleep and keep devices that emit light out of your bedroom. (kidshealth.org) *Names have been changed to protect user privacy.

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friday, may 10, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Govt must follow letter, spirit of Constitution if court rules against it – CCJ President

– as Court Judge frowns upon Guyana’s slothful judicial, elections system despite urgent circumstances – despite urgency of preparing for elections in 3 months after no-confidence vote credible.

Sloth

CCJ Judge Winston Anderson

A

s the actions of Guyana’s Judiciary and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) were discussed at the Caribbean Court of Justice on Thursday, the court frowned upon the slothfulness of these systems in Guyana despite the urgency necessary after a no-confidence motion (NCM) is passed.

This was as action got underway on day one of hearing the three consolidated court cases which relate to the NCM. As he wrapped up the session, CCJ President, Justice Adrian Saunders, informed the Government team that if they rule against them, they have to follow both the letter and spirit of Guyana’s Constitution.

“You have the Constitution. You have the courts. You have the President and the Cabinet and you have the National Assembly. We have to make this thing work. And we have to make it work according to the letter and spirit of the Constitution,” Justice Saunders stated.

Attorney General Basil Williams had argued for time for the Elections Commission, noting that without a credible list, any elections could prove difficult.

However, the CCJ President noted that since the vote was held in December, it has been known that from that date there may be a need for fresh elections.

But Justice Saunders noted that it will therefore be very disappointing if GECOM is unable to hold elections, “if the appellants succeeded” and the political parties are unable to have a two-thirds majority in National Assembly.

The Judge stated there must be some reconciliation between the call for credible elections and having those elections within a particular time. When asked if he had any final words, Williams went on to allude to elections violence if a voters list is seen as not

Meanwhile, Justice Winston Anderson remarked that the judicial system in Guyana should have deployed all resources to ensure the cases were heard in a timelier manner. Local lawyer Sanjeev Datadin, who is in Trinidad representing former Alliance For Change (AFC) parliamentarian Charrandas Persaud, agreed that the Judiciary should have taken such steps.

And Datadin noted to the CCJ that GECOM should have held elections

by March 21, as set out by

Attorney Sanjeev Datadin

months,” the CCJ Judge stated.

Anderson noted that if Guyana’s courts ruled the NCM not validly passed,

“Should not the judicial resources be used to ensure that the Constitution is followed? Obviously the President (David Granger) must obey the Constitution… and so must the court. And the Constitution ordained that in circumstances a NCM is carried, elections must be held in three months” – CCJ Judge Winston Anderson the Constitution. He pointed out that the Court of Appeal decision that allowed Government its reprieve in office came after that constitutional deadline had elapsed.

“Until there’s an order to stop a proceeding, you should proceed. That would apply to the Guyana Elections Commission,” Datadin told the court.

“Being well aware that there is a challenge that can go one of two ways, they should be getting themselves ready and being on the ready, so they can fulfill the mandate of the people.”

“I understand,” Justice Anderson replied. “And I’m curious. If the final decision is that the No-confidence Motion was carried, then the logical implication is that elections ought to have been held by March 21 (2019).”

“Should not the judicial resources be used in such a way to ensure that the Constitution is followed?

Obviously the President (David Granger) must obey the Constitution… and so must the court. And the Constitution ordained that in these circumstances, a NCM is carried, elections must be held in three

then this would have been no problem. But describing himself as “astonished”, the legal luminaire made it clear that in the absence of such a ruling, all efforts should have been made to have elections held in those three months.

Charrandas Persaud

had voted in favour the Opposition-sponsored No-confidence Motion on December 21, 2018. The vote, according to some interpretations, would have seen the Government being ousted from power.

But the coalition has since challenged the validity of the Motion, suffering defeat at the High Court before being thrown a lifeline by the Appeals Court.

If the CCJ finds that the Motion was indeed validly passed, the parliamentary Opposition has argued that this would mean an illegal Government has been in place since March 21, 2019.

This is why Trinidadian Senior Counsel Douglas Mendes, one of a battery of lawyers representing Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo in the proceedings, requested that the court issue an order for general elections to be held in the shortest possible time, should it be determined that the no-confidence motion was validly passed.

He also warned that the Government is trying to create an environment to deter party members from ever crossing the floor and voting against it again.

Mendes noted that if every Member of Parliament who votes against the Government is then required to give up his seat and have his vote invalidated, it therefore means the Government can never be defeated on a vote of noconfidence.

According to Mendes, the coalition Government is trying to implement an “anti-crossing the floor” measure to ensure it cannot be brought down when mem-

Senior Counsel Douglas Mendes

CCJ President, Justice Adrian Saunders

bers of its party lose confidence in them.

Mendes noted that if the Government is to have its way, then Article 106 (6) of the Constitution would be pointless, as the Government would always be able to defeat any no-confidence motion. And CCJ President, Justice Adrian Saunders remarked that it went beyond this, as it meant voting on anything requiring a majority in Parliament would become a charade.

Article 106 (6) and (7) of the Constitution states, respectively: “The Cabinet including the President shall resign if the Government is defeated by the vote of a majority of all the elected members of the National Assembly on a vote of confidence.”

And “Notwithstanding its defeat, the Government shall remain in office and shall hold an election within three months, or such lon-

ger period as the National Assembly shall by resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of the votes of all the elected members of the National Assembly determine, and shall resign after the President takes the oath of office following the election.”

The three No-confidence Motion cases deal with Christopher Ram v the Attorney General of Guyana, the Leader of the Opposition and Joseph Harmon; Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo v the Attorney General of Guyana, Dr Barton Scotland and Joseph Harmon; and Charrandas Persaud v Compton Herbert Reid, Dr Barton Scotland, Bharrat Jagdeo and Joseph Harmon; the last of which deals with Persaud’s eligibility to vote in the House.

The oral arguments will conclude today, after which a ruling will be expected.

8 News

friday, may 10, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Former PM’s son slapped with assault/disorderly behaviour charges

S

amuel Hinds Jr, the son of former Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday, slapped with several traffic and disorderly behaviour charges.

The 38-year-old who resides at Agricola, Greater Georgetown man is accused of assaulting a peace officer and refusing to take a breathalyser test.

The first charge stated that on May 9, 2019, at Main Street, Georgetown, he resisted arrest by Police Constable Canterbury, who was executing his duties.

The second charge alleged that on the same day and location, he behaved disorderly. The third charge

Sam Hinds Jr

stated on the same day and location, Hinds drove motor vehicle PMM 4446 when the identification mark on the vehicle was not visible. He

was also accused of assaulted Constable Canterbury and more so, refused to take a breathalyser test.

Hinds plead not guilty to the charges when it was read to him by Magistrate Clive Nurse.

The court heard that on the day in question, Police ranks stopped Hinds who was the driver of the said motor vehicle, to conduct a search and administer a breathalyser test, to which Hinds Jr refused.

He was asked to step out of the vehicle but again refused. The ranks then made efforts to detain and escort him to the Brickdam Police Station, but Hinds reported whipped out a firearm and pointed it at the ranks.

The ranks then called for back-up and Hinds was later arrested and escorted to the Brickdam Police Station, where his firearm was confiscated and lodged.

The breathalyser test was administered and the man was found to be under the influence of alcohol.

Attorney Latchmi Rahamat who presented Hinds, told the court that her client is a businessman and requested bail to be granted since her client is not a flight risk.

As such, Police Prosecutor Arvin Moore did not object to bail and the accused was released on $50,000 bail.

Hinds Jr is slated to make his next court appearance on June 12.

No arrest in Parika businessman’s murder

D Division Commander Edmond Cooper

I

nvestigations continue into the murder of Parika, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) businessman Somdat Ramgobin, but the Police are yet to make a breakthrough in the case.

This is according to “D” Division Commander Edmond Cooper, who has said that the three youths who were detained by law enforcement officials did not provide any substantial information that could have helped with a breakthrough in the case.

They were eventually released after questioning.

However, Commander

Cooper has said the efforts of the Police in his division will not cease, and this case will not be swept under the rug.

“I am also personally involved in trying to solve this case. I am with my ranks, I am questioning persons and neighbours. We do not have any new leads or any leads at this point to follow, and therefore we are going to follow every single angle possible. We are all over (the place), asking if the deceased may have had a problem with someone prior to his death; if there are any old grievances, family disputes; (we are asking) any and everything.”

Cooper said family members of Ramgobin strongly believe that the man’s death and the circumstances surrounding it had nothing to do with a robbery.

“They are saying this is not associated with a robbery. I myself do not believe that it was just a robbery here. I would rule it out because, from information so far (culled), it does not point in the direction of a robbery,” the Commander explained.

The 36-year-old Ramgobin, who had also been known as “Rakesh”, was killed

Dead: Somdat Ramgobin

on April 30th when suspected bandits invaded his Parika Backdam home. According to his sister, her brother had just closed his business place when it was reported that men had entered therein. One of the perpetrators, who was brandishing a gun, inquired from Ramgobin’s friend about Ramgobin’s whereabouts. At

Alberttown man jailed for 4 years for narco trafficking

Body found in Soesdyke house still unidentified

The Police are yet to positively identify this man, only known as “Derick” and “Black Boy”

T

he body of a Rastafarian which was discovered late last month in a Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara (EBD)

house is yet to be identified.

The man whose only name has been given as “Derick” and “Black Boy” was discovered on April 26, 2019, at around 09:00h.

According to the Police, the man who resides alone, was last seen at around 18:30h the previous day by a neighbour as she was leaving for work.

However, the following day, the woman discovered the man’s lifeless body. At the time, the deceased was cladded in only dark blue pants. He is described as being five feet, nine inches tall and dark in complexion.

Presently, the body remains at the Lyken Funeral Home awaiting proper identification.

the time of the shooting, this friend was at Ramgobin’s home.

The men ordered the friend to lie on the ground, and instructed him not to raise an alarm. Then they proceeded to call out to Ramgobin, who responded. He was immediately attacked with a glass bottle and beaten to his head and body. The duo then demanded cash, and was given some $600,000 by the now dead man.

Unsatisfied, the men then demanded jewellery, and after being told that there was none, they took Ramgobin to a bedroom in his house, where they shot him to his chest.

The bandits then quickly made good their escape in a white motorcar which was said to be parked outside.

After the men left, the friend reportedly ran out of the house and raised an alarm.

Convicted drug trafficker, Tishawn Haywood

T

ishawn Haywood of Third Street, A l b e r t t o w n , Georgetown, was on Thursday sentenced to four years in prison by Magistrate Leroy Daly after he was found with 56 kilograms of cannabis in his possession for the purpose of trafficking.

The charge that was brought against him stated that on December 6, 2018, at

Alberttown, he had 56.7 kilograms of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking.

Police Prosecutor Richard Harris told the court that there was sufficient evidence to substantiate the charge that was brought against Haywood.

Harris also revealed that Haywood had been under Police surveillance for some time, and on the day in question, he was seen by ranks unloading the said drugs with the help of another, storing same in a pen in the yard where he was apprehended, the court was told.

Before handing down the sentence, Magistrate Daly told the man that he wasted the court’s time. The accused pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to him at his first appearance and was subsequently remanded to prison but was later released on $100,000 bail.

During the trial several witnesses testified.

The King…

I

…loses his clothes n the oral presentations before the CCJ on the unilateral appointment of Justice James Patterson to the post of Chairman of GECOM by President David Granger, the question was raised as to whether the latter was the “Monarch” or “President” of Guyana. It’s a very reasonable question, in light of the arguments his attorneys’ – “Queens Counsels” all – implicit insistence that Granger is above the Constitution!!

In the days of yore, of course, Monarchs ruled by “Divine Right” and were answerable to no one but themselves. But perhaps the (foreign) Counsels didn’t realise we in Guyana followed the British in matters of governance? They’d lopped off the head of Charles I to institute the “rule of law” via constitutional principles that insisted absolutely NO ONE was above the law!

The case, of course, rested on the issue whether Granger should’ve consulted the Opposition Leader (OL) when he appointed Patterson. The President of the CCJ, not unreasonably, asked Granger’s Attorney – as your Eyewitness has been asking in this space for months – as to why the Herdmanston Accord insisted on changing Article 161 (2) to do away with the unilateral appointment that had been practiced by Burnham – after he customdesigned the 1980 Constitution? Wasn’t it the clear intent of the amendment in 2000 –unanimously affirmed by the PNC – that the selection of the GECOM Chair should involve “meaningful consultations” between the President and the OL? “Matters not!” said the Bajan Queens Counsel (BCQ)!

Granger’s subjective judgement must be “unfettered!! So shouldn’t the Opposition Leader have an inkling of the objective criteria Granger was using to reject the lists he was submitting – since the former wasn’t possessed of clairvoyance? “Naah!” replied the BCQ, “any consultation” would come AFTER the list was submitted – and be known by the latter’s rejection since no reasons were needed to be stated for the said rejection! And in any case, even if there were stated criteria, and one or more names satisfied them, the President could still reject the list in toto!! Even the CCJ couldn’t inquire into the arbitrary decision of Granger – unless, the BQC allowed, he acted “illegally, irrationally, or with procedural impropriety”!!

Now, one knows that Bajans puff up their chest and insist they live in “little England” but the BQC’s were really pushing the royal line to such an extent that the CCJ’s justices literally lost their cool! Wasn’t the case all about whether Granger acted ““illegally, irrationally, or with procedural impropriety” vis a vis the Constitution in general and Article 161 (2) in particular??

Well looks like the King lost his clothes and will be roasted! …and SOCU From the very beginning of the PNC/AFC term, something stunk about the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) which had been formed by the PPP Administration to go after criminals suspected of money laundering. The PNC/AFC immediately sicked the unit onto the ex-PPP Administration for “stolen” State assets – which is SARA’s job!!. One Army Special Services officer, who wasn’t even part of the Unit, was deployed to stalk a house supposedly owned by the Brassington Chair of NICIL in Kingston. When a car left the premises, the Officer went into hot pursuit and got himself killed in the process!

At that point, the mission of SOCU should’ve been straightened out, since Brassington had never been even accused of money laundering. But nothing was done and SOCU continued to act as a rogue unit of the Government to harass the PPP. Their second “operation” was to raid the NDC at Enmore to seize some used computers!! They still haven’t brought a successful case against ANYONE. But have been proven to be so bent, they corrupted the seconded Brits!! Yet the King’s gonna keep them intact!! …and Foreign Affairs As your Eyewitness predicted, Carl Greenidge has been retained at the Foreign Affairs Ministry – to buttress the newbie, Dr Cummings.

Will Greenidge be paid by the British, since he’s their citizen, and Sittlington’s gone and his salary’s available?

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

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friday, may 10, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Strong interest in Guyana at Houston oil conference

The various booths at the conference in Houston, Texas

T

he Guyanese delegation to this year’s Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) has been piquing the interest of a large number of major players in the oil and gas industry worldwide.

Greg Clarke of the HFS Corporate Services Inc., in an interview with the local media outlet, explained that a tremendous amount of interest is being shown in Guyana by visitors and participants of the conference.

“There is a lot of interest at this OTC on Guyana.

Guyana is leading the world in oil discoveries as of 2018, so there (are) a lot of compa-

nies that are coming by expressing interest and asking the question, ‘How do we get in?’ Or, ‘How do we find a partner that can collaborate with us in this field?’

So Guyana is attracting a lot of interest at this event,” Clarke revealed.

Nigel Hughes, Chairman of HFS Corporate Services Inc, said that the contacts made by the Guyanese delegation will no doubt translate to good business.

“It has been very good from our company’s point of view. Not only have we met some very interesting people, (but) we have made some very useful contacts

that I’m pretty confident will translate into good business,” Hughes assured.

President of the Georgetown Chambers of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Nicholas Boyer, related that a lot of participants have already approached Guyana with interest in networking.

According to Boyer, he is hopeful for a favourable response following the conference.

“We have a lot of people talking, networking, learning, visiting our booth and finding out a lot more about Guyana. This new frontier for the oil industry…we are very excited about the energy that is happening here,” Boyer expressed.

GO-Invest Chief

Executive Officer Owen Verwey explained that the experience at the conference allowed Guyana to gain needed knowledge and exposure.

As an emerging oil and gas nation, Verwey noted, it is important for Guyana to capitalise on opportunities provided through the conference.

“We have little or no experience in this area. The opportunity to come here is largely to bring businesses from Guyana to get exposure for knowledge awareness and for a better understanding of what happens in the industry -- what is the value change, and who are the major players in the industry,” Verwey stated.

The Offshore Technology

Exclusion of commercial...

In 2019, taxpayers are likely to hand out even more funds as the project remains in an incomplete state.

Former Minister within the Public Infrastructure Ministry, Annette Ferguson, had told the media in January that additional works are still to be carried out on the multibillion-Guyana dollar facility.

In mid-December 2018, Minister Ferguson had revealed that $65 million was approved to be spent on the Airport’s upgrade of its technology which was geared to be able to track the weather, among other aspects.

She had also explained that the new technology will assist pilots in tracking the weather patterns to make

better landing decisions as the airport was making the transition from manual to digital. This $65 million was in addition to the $346 million which had been sought earlier in 2018.

According to documents seen by Guyana Times, as of January this year, outstanding works to be completed include the South West runway extension pavement works and sections of the Departure Terminal; namely Immigration, Security Screening, and Duty-Free concessions areas.

Meanwhile, as of January, CHEC has been paid US$132 million. When payments to the consultant and local contractors are also factored in, that sum rises to US$142 million.

Conference (OTC) is where energy professionals meet to exchange ideas and opinions to advance scientific and technical knowledge for offshore resources and environmental matters.

The conference, which concluded on Thursday, was held at Houston’s NRG Park from May 4th. The Government of Guyana, through GO-Invest, collaborated with GCCI to facilitate the participation of representatives from approximately 24 private sector companies and several state agencies.

Guyana’s participation at OTC is being funded by private sector sponsorship, along with approximately 20 per cent funding from the Government.

From page 3

Government’s contract with CHEC expired in December of last year.

In 2012, under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration, Guyana secured a US$138 million loan from the China Exim (Export-Import) Bank to fund the expansion and modernisation project, for which the Guyana Government was slated to inject some US$12 million.

Upon completion, the Airport is expected to have four air passenger boarding bridges for arrivals and departures; a 450-seat departure area, escalators and elevators in addition to an extended runway catering for larger categories of aircraft.

10 news

friday, may 10, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

DIPCON moves to court for money owned by Guyana Government

...AG’s Chambers will deal with the matter – Minister Jordan

T

he Guyana Government was, in 2015, ordered to pay Trinidad construction company DIPCON a sum in excess of US$2.2 million; but, to date, the money has not been paid, and as such, DIPCON has now moved to the courts.

This time, DIPCON is filing legal proceedings against Guyana’s Finance Minister Winston Jordan, for failing to adhere to a 2015 order which compelled the State to pay some US$2.2 million to the Trinidadian company.

However, according to Minister Jordan, the company will receive the mon-

ey it is legally due, but the Government needs some time. “…but the judgement is a huge judgement. Our lawyers, the Attorney General’s (AG’s) Chambers, will deal with the matter. The Government, through the AG Chambers, will start examining the matter to pay them (DIPCON)…we will provide a response shortly,” Jordan told Guyana Times in an invited comment on Thursday.

Justice Rishi Persaud had handed down the judgement in the company’s favour on October 21, 2015, but DIPCON has claimed that

company’s lawyers have applied to the Court for an administrative order to compel the Minister to pay.

Justice Persaud had ruled in 2017 that DIPCON recover from the Government of Guyana the sum of US$665,032.17 as money due to the engineering company for road-building and construction works

Finance Minister Winston Jordan

Minister Jordan has failed to take steps to effect payment.

As a result, the Trinidadian

undertaken for and at the request of the Government, along with the sum of US$1,563,368.50 for increased costs incurred by DIPCON at the request of the Government in the course of undertaking the aforementioned work.

The engineering company had also requested interest at six per cent per

annum from February 10, 2009 to October 21, 2015, and thereafter at a rate of four per cent per annum until fully paid. It was also ordered that the Government pay DIPCON costs to the tune of $1,200,000, along with a stay of execution for six weeks from the date of the ruling. (Kristen Macklingam)

Son of businessman gunned down at Bagotstown

T

he son of the owner of C&F Meat Centre was on Thursday evening shot and killed at Norton Street Bagotstown, East Bank Demerara.

Dead is 23-year-old Patrick Matthew Fraser.

While information remains sketchy, Guyana Times understands that the young man was shot twice to his body in the yard of a burnt house.

He was picked up and rushed to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, where he succumbed while receiving medical attention.

At the scene, persons were tightlipped and did not reveal any information.

However, it is believed that the now dead young man

Dead: Patrick Matthew Fraser

was liming with a group of friends when an argument broke out.

It was during this time that one of his drinking bud-

dies whipped out a gun and discharged two rounds, hitting Fraser. At the scene, a blood stained hat belonging to the young man was seen along with a piece of cloth and a pair of slippers.

From reports gathered, the young man had frequented the area, and had been seen liming at the location on numerous occasions.

Persons have confirmed that they heard the sound of the gunshots, and as they rushed to the scene, they saw the young man lying on the ground with blood oozing from his stomach.

At the hospital, the relatives did not speak with the media. The Police are continuing their investigations.

S RAIGHT

news

US criminals in Guyana have a right to appeal extradition

M.Sc. - Finance, ACCA

Rewiring the airport contract for collaboration

By Sase Singh; MSc – Finance, ACCA

L

et us be frank here, both the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic and the People’s National Congress Reform/Alliance For Change/A Partnership for National Unity underserved the nation on this Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) Expansion Project while in power. But pointing fingers at this stage will only be counterproductive, since it will not serve the national need. There is a time to cast blame, but now is not that time since Guyana’s hand is in the contractor’s mouth, and in such a situation, we have to act as one people if we are ever to come out of this one intact. Failure to collaborate and unite will leave us badly exposed financially; so much so, that I will not be surprised if we have to hand over the Airport to the Chinese to manage using their personnel and their technicians. So it is time we all pause and refocus our collective mind on the prize.

What is the prize? What is it that all patriotic Guyanese want? We want a complete and well functional international airport with a 10,800-foot runway that can easily accommodate a Jumbo Jet? We want the CJIA well placed to be an aviation hub. Why can’t there be a South African Airlines flight from New York to Georgetown to Johannesburg? Why can’t that be a vision? But on top of this international recognition of our airport, the reality points to the fact that this airport expansion project will permanently help expand the economy. Any project that permanently creates new assets and new wealth for the people demands that we all embrace it.

The World Bank estimated that a 10 per cent rise in infrastructure assets of this sort directly increase Gross Domestic Product between one to two percentage points. Thus, if this project fails, all Guyanese will be seen as failures and that will redound to economic suffering for all. So while we must admit the project started with much haste and with inadequate conceptual designs, the national intent must be celebrated. What is key and critical now is that the project-management model must work and that requires President David Granger creating more room for more people at the table when it comes to the management of this contractor. This project must be one where all Guyanese eyes are watching this contractor on behalf of the nation.

That is why I want to celebrate the youths who have used their iPhones to upload some pictures on social media of the sand washing away from the runaway when the rain fell, all because the Chinese did a “six-fuh-nine” embankment. It is unfortunate that these youths did not have a more formal conduit to channel their information with the Steering Committee supervising this project.

I am calling on the Public Infrastructure Ministry to adopt a life-cycle approach, which gives the owners (the people) more information of what should be expected by when so that we all can use this information to measure the contractor’s performance against a benchmark and then use the opportunity to share information when they are falling behind. Thus, there should be a channel where all videos and messages from the public can be uploaded to a Ministry portal so that the Ministry’s engineers can check it out as a means to documenting and logging what is happening in order to investigate and track progress. If we have 100,000 pairs of eyes (trained and untrained) watching this project and sharing information rather than a dozen trained eyes, the outcome will only strengthen the Government’s hands.

By creating an opportunity for the owners of the Airport – the people – to be more involved in whistleblowing on the contractor, the Chinese will know that we are united on this national project and we will pay more attention to details.

Guyana’s development has always been constrained by a few things – expensive and unreliable electricity, an inefficient transportation link to northern Brazil, the lack of a deep-water port and not having an international airport that can serve as an air transportation hub. So irrespective of how weak the implementation remains on this airport project, it is the time we stop this situation of charges and counter-charges about who was right and recalibrate our minds to taking this project to the end and securing the best outcome for the people.

In summary, at this stage of the game, let us work together to monitor any mismanagement by the contractor and I encourage more journalists, youths and those living in the nearby area to continue to take videos of this project and upload it on social media, write letters to the press and cause publications on your discoveries. Let us keep this process alive of exposing project skullduggery so that we can help the people of Guyana mitigate their risks and enhance their ability to get what they are paying for. No more, no less, let us get our people a US$150 million expanded airport terminal and runway where those big jumbo jets can finally land.

Please share your thoughts at sasesin1@yahoo.com.

11

friday, may 10, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan

Former GPF member, Shawn Neblett

ormer member of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), Shawn Neblett, has the right to appeal his extradition to the United States.

This is according to Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, who told Guyana Times in an interview on Thursday that for any extradition request coming from another country, the individual has the right to seek the court, to challenge that course of action.

Neblett earlier this year appeared before Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts in relation to cocaine trafficking.

However, the extradition of Neblett at this point, is not a done deal, the Minister stated.

“I don’t know, because he has a right to carry it to the court. Then he has a right to appeal… I rather

suspect however, he is going to fail in all of that, just like Troy Thomas did and we get (them) over so that justice can be done in the country for where they committed these offences, I am going to be very supportive of the Americans in relation to these matters,” said Minister Ramjattan.

Neblett was recently nabbed by local authorities while attempting to flee to neighbouring Suriname.

He is implicated in the discovery of 4178 grams of cocaine that was found at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) in January 2017.

Stacy Gooding, a representative of the US Government, had told the

F

court that proceedings have commenced for the wanted man in the United States.

She further stated that Neblett should be remanded to prison until the extradition process is complete.

Neblett told the court he was travelling legally. The man said he had no knowledge that he was blacklisted until he was nabbed by local authorities. He further denied trying to flee the country. However, he was remanded to prison by Magistrate McGusty and

the matter is adjourned for June 6.

If Neblett does not appeal his matter of extradition, he would become the second person to be extradited within a short time, with the first being Troy Thomas who was sent to New York to face a murder charge.

Thomas’ extradition was the first to occur for over a decade and Minister Ramjattan had previously stated that more persons were lined up for extradition.

12 news

friday, may 10, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Chinese Landing calls on Govt to cancel Vieira’s mining licence

The delegation at the press conference on Thursday

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he Chinese Landing Village Council has said it was not represented at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) when businessman Wayne Vieira sought approval in obtaining mining blocks which cover a major acreage of its land at Tassawini in Region One, Barima Waini.

The Council and residents of the village, along with toshaos from neighbouring villages, hosted a press conference on Thursday at the Regency Suites, wherein they called on the Government to cancel mining licences that were issued to Wayne Vieira, who is using same to give mining rights to a large-scale mining company, Vangold Mining.

The Council feels this act is a blatant disregard for its rights to the traditional land, and is more so a direct breach of the Amerindian Act, which services to protect the right of the Amerindians.

Speaking at the press

briefing, Chinese Landing Toshao Orin Fernandes told the media on Thursday, “We would like the Government to stop issuing mining licences to Wayne Vieira. It is unfair for him to be able to conduct mining on our lands, and we can’t.”

Fernandes explained that the Council had neither representation nor involvement in the court case. He said these matters were raised at the National Toshaos Conference in 2018, and discussions were also held with Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).

However, the Council is still to receive any intervention from those entities.

At the NTC in 2018, Minister Trotman was quoted as saying, “At the end of the day, mining cannot take place without permission of the community, and it is the duty of the miner to approach the community for permission, and

to settle appropriate terms.

So that right remains.” Yet the Government now claims it is removing “illegal miners”, the Council has argued.

The Council has said it received title for those lands in 1976, while Wayne Vieira received mining li-

al lands,” Nikita Miller, a councillor from the village, said.

Fernandes has said that should the Government fail to cancel Vieira’s mining permits, Vieira’s investment in large scale mining at Chinese Landing would take those lands completely

cence almost 20 years later. Fernandes noted that claims are being made that the Council has no title for the land, which he said is a total mistruth.

“We want the Government to respect the fact that we are traditional owners of these lands and resources, also acknowledge that we have title to show our ownership of the lands; and we call on them to honour our right to free, prior and informed consent before they issue mining concessions on our tradition-

out of the hands of the village miners, and there will be major negative economic and social impacts on the residents of the village.

“They are clearing us out of our own lands. And Vieira is planning to recommence mining there through a large-scale mining company. He presently has security in the village as we speak,” Fernandes said.

According to Fernandes, a helicopter landed in their village a few weeks ago with officials of the com-

pany to which Vieira has leased those lands, and this he believes is in disrespect to the Indigenous peoples of Chinese Landing, since the Amerindian Act stipulates that it is unlawful for mining permits to be issued to individuals without the knowledge of the village.

Sharon Atkinson, Vice Chairman of the Moruca Sub-District, who stood in support of the Chinese Landing Village Council, reiterated calls for the Government to execute proper investigation and halt the issuing of mining permits to Vieira.

“Those in Moruca strongly support the Chinese Landing Village and other Amerindian Villages that are also being negatively affected by this issue,” she said.

Atkinson explained that the Chinese Landing Village Council received ti-

tle for the land in 1976; and in 1991, it received an absolute grant reaffirming its title recorded in October 1991, but with effect from April 1976.

She said that, in 1995, Wayne Vieira purchased prospecting permits to areas of lands on Chinese Landing title through an auction sale (lottery) held by the GGMC without the knowledge of the village; and between 1998 and 2001, GGMC converted those prospecting permits to mining permits, again without the knowledge of the village, thus violating their right to free, prior and informed consent.

According to Atkinson, in 1998, the village sought an amicable solution to the issue with Vieira via an agreement wherein he committed to paying a percentage to the village. However, by 2004, this agreement came to an end as Vieira did not honour his obligations, and manipulated, co-

Chinese Landing Toshao, Orin Fernandes

erced and terrorised villagers of Chinese Landing.

The Council has since sought intervention of various Government agencies and ministries to stop Vieira from mining on its lands. In 2010, his works were ceased, and this was challenged by him at the Caribbean Court of Justice.

Meanwhile, the Caribbean Court of Justice, (CCJ) in December 2017 delivered a ruling in favour of Wayne Vieira, who challenged the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC)’s authority to close down his operations for breaching regulations of the Amerindian Act. Vieira, a gold miner, had challenged the decision of the Court of Appeal to reverse the decision of the High Court which had quashed a Cease Work Order (CWO) issued against him by the GGMC. It was reported that Vieira had contended that the order was not validly issued nor was it retroactively validated by the Amerindian (Validation Commencement) Act 2010.

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), however, determined that the GGMC had no authority to issue a CWO directing Vieira to cease all work under his mining permits because he had no agreement with the Chinese Landing/Tassawini Village Council.

According to the ruling, the CWO was issued on November 26, 2010 under the Mining Regulations because of the absence of an agreement with the Village Council, as was required under the Amerindian law.

However unknown to the Commission, Vieira had made several attempts since 2009 to secure a new agreement with the Village Council.

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Residents of Chinese Landing accuse GGMC of breaching Amerindians’ rights

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he Chinese Landing Village Council on Thursday said the recent removal of miners from Chinese Landing at Tassawini in Region One (Barima-Waini) is unlawful, and breaches their right as Amerindians in accordance with the Amerindian Act. The Council, along with residents of the village, Vice Chairman of the Moruca Sub-District, Sharon Atkinson, and toshaos from neighbouring villages, condemned the recent enforcement exercise undertaken by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Police.

These enforcement officials have been accused of go-

ing into the mines and dismantling camps and closing business; but, more so, of destroying properties belonging to those village miners without notice or consideration.

The Toshao of Chinese Landing, Orin Fernandes, at a press conference held on Thursday, said that on Wednesday last, the GGMC, headed by Michael Howard and escorted by heavily armed members of the Guyana Police Force, descended upon their community with no advanced notification or written justification for entering village lands.

“They showed us no written order or basis for acting. They claimed they were acting on instructions

Linden municipality Constables receive training to use weapons

Linden Mayor Waneka Arrindell, Town Clerk Orleena Obermuller (seated at front), along with Constables and representatives of the Guyana People’s Militia

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he Guyana People’s Militia has partnered with the Linden Mayor and Town Council (LM&TC) to offer skills training to municipal Constables at various levels.

The 20-week initiative, which is the first of its kind, was launched at the municipality on Tuesday and commenced on Thursday. The skill terms and foot drill exercise will see the Constables being trained on the effective usage of weapons.

Lieutenant Rohan Marshall told Guyana Times that the training is aimed at improving weapon handling skills, knowledge and the ability to use arms effectively, in accordance with the Guyana Defence Force Small Arms Manual.

“What we’ll be mostly focusing on in this training is the skill-at-arms aspect, working proficiency and the foot drills aspect; how they move about from point A to point B in a professional manner... we are teaching them how to use the revolver, the Beretta pistol and the 16-gauge shotgun. How to operate the weapons and how to overall fire through the weapon effectively,” he noted.

Marshall added that it is the hope that at the end of the training, participants

will be able to operate effectively and manage their weapon proficiency.

He said the participants will be tested at various periods throughout the training and will be presented with certificates upon completion.

Linden Mayor Waneka Arrindell noted that this is a great venture, while noting that the Council will also incorporate training in Communication And Conflict Management.

“It is a wonderful initiative. We’re happy to have the Guyana People’s Militia on board with us...

The Constabulary department needs a lot of building in every aspect and we’re grateful to have this first intervention by the Guyana People’s Militia. We, from the Council’s aspect will continue to support throughout the 20 weeks of training in whatever way we can and I know that our staff will be better equipped to manage the activities that they have happening...,” the Mayor said.

Just recently, Arrindell urged members of the Linden Town Constabulary to understand their roles and to be gatekeepers of the town, as the Constabulary celebrated 51 years in existence.

of the Minister of Natural Resources and GGMC based on a CCJ ruling in 2017,” he said.

Fernandes explained that in addition to their traditional farming, fishing and hunting, residents had begun to engage in mining as an added source of income to maintain families and develop themselves and community, where economic opportunities are limited and there is no subvention from Government for

development of the village.

“Mining, as a livelihood, supports our health and education systems that were in such a declined state (that) we could not continue to allow that. We needed to find money to send our children to school. We needed to invest in our teachers’ quarters, as many teachers did not want to work in our village. We had to make decisions and (take) steps to support our systems of development,” he said.

Toshao from the neighbouring Waikrebi Village, Rymple Williams, who stood in support of the Chinese Landing villager Council, said the court system in Guyana does not adequately protect the rights of Amerindians, but seeks to criminalise them on their own lands.

“Our people are scared, because the Government brought in weapons and heavily armed Police to our village,” he said.

Sharon Atkinson, vice Chairman of the Moruca Sub-District, who also stood in support of the Chinese Landing Village Council, highlighted that the Government has never offered any support or paid any interest in that village, and, as such, the community depends heavily on mining to support its developmental mechanisms.

She said the village has constructed quarters for teachers, and subsidis-

es meals for those teachers who work for a meagre salary, which is not sufficient to maintain them in the community.

Further, she said the community conducts its very own river clearing exercise, all without any assistance from Government, and to halt the residents’ mining rights would severely impact on their wellbeing. She added that there is no health services’ access for those residents, and they have to travel to neighbouring villages hundreds of miles away to seek medical attention.

The mining by villagers in Chinese Landing not only provides employment and livelihood for those residents, but also for those residing in the Moruca Sub-District and in other neighbouring villages where economic activities are minimal.

They are calling on the administration to intervene and bring a speedy resolution to the matter.

14 News

friday, may 10, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

THAG to undergo complete restructuring of foreign earnings while also providing opportunities for young Guyanese.

However, Gaskin recently admitted that there was a grave need for more training

in the hospitality sector in order to bring more tourists to the country.

Gaskin told Guyana Times during a recent interview that although efforts

were being made to increase the number of airlines serving the country, persons who make direct contact with visitors should be properly trained.

Wismar Hospital gravely affected by dysfunctional X-ray, lack of ultrasound and ECG machines Director of Tourism Brian Mullis (left) displaying the Best of Ecotourism Award in the Guyana booth in Berlin last month

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he Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) has announced a complete restructuring of its operations, in order to increase engagements with stakeholders and partnerships within the tourism industry.

According to a statement, the organisation stated that efforts are in the pipeline to “help the tourism industry realise its potential”. It was indicated that the first step includes the establishment of task teams in the organisational structure, business model, membership, partnerships and collaborations, advocacy, communications, fundraising and tourism development fund.

Three task teams were already created, and THAG has also moved forward to advocate for a state-of-theart hospitality institute in Guyana, which will be executed through the Education Ministry.

It was indicated that a plot of land was identified and they are awaiting confirmation from the Government.

Back in April, a contractual agreement was signed

with designing firms – Deen and Partners Architects, Consultant Engineers Partnership Limited and Leverage Consulting Incorporated – to produce a design for the building. This would then be put forward to the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) for funding.

“This institute will create a pool of people that the industry can pull from that will be well trained in different areas of tourism, such as serving, tour guiding, reservations and more,” the THAG statement stated.

The organisation has also forged a partnership with the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) to promote sport tourism in Guyana.

In promotion and marketing, THAG and the GFF are expected to explore local events that can be promoted to football audiences to keep this market engaged during the off season. They will also publicise international and regional games.

Guyana was recently named the number one “Best of Ecotourism” destination in the world. The award was presented to Guyana at the

Internationale TourismusBörse (ITB) global travel trade fair in Berlin, Germany – the world’s largest tourism trade fair.

The second annual “Best of Top 100” Awards is a selection of the finest top 100 destinations selected by a panel of experts, who reviewed sustainability success stories submitted by destinations worldwide.

The newly-created “Best of Ecotourism” category was added in 2019 and puts Guyana up against very wellknown and long-established ecotourism destinations, such as Sierra Gorda in Mexico, Tmatboey in Cambodia, and the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador.

Back in December last year during budgetary debates, former Business Minister Dominic Gaskin boasted of a 17 per cent increase in visitor arrivals up to September, when compared with figures for the same period last year.

He had pointed out that apart from the two major agricultural products which are rice and sugar, tourism brings in the highest amount

S

taff attached to the Upper Demerara Hospital (UDH) at Wismar have renewed their complaints about the absence of an ultrasound and electrocardiogram (ECG) machine and the presence of a dysfunctional X-ray machine, which makes attending to patients more difficult and frustrating.

The hospital which recently rebranded itself by re-commissioning several of its units, is currently making strides towards the advancement of health-care delivery in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), but it has not been without its share of issues.

In an invited comment on some of the issues affecting the staff, Medical Superintendent (MS) of the hospital, Dr Steve Mark highlighted several challenges faced by the hospital, as he pleaded with the relevant authorities to work towards having the issues resolved.

“The X-ray machine is down probably about two months... since about March and I’m not hearing anything much. Nobody is saying anything, patients are suffering. People don’t have money to cross over (to the Linden Hospital Complex on the Mackenzie shore). There are poor people, people are struggling and they got a functioning hospital. All they’re doing is building a roof, painting and doing some minor things but what about the other structures? What about what is going on in the hospital?

Medical Superintendent (MS) of the hospital, Dr Steve Mark

What about the service? You can’t get a simple ECG (test)...

Wismar hospital is urgently in need of an ECG machine, it’s urgently in need of an ultrasound machine. Currently the X-ray machine is broken...”, the doctor pointed out.

Mark said he has been informed that three parts are broken from the hospital’s X-Ray machine, however, he said he does not think that the machine should be down for such a long time, since patients are majorly affected.

“The Government should have spare parts or have somebody to fix these machines very quickly. If the Operating Machine is down, what we gonna do? Stop doing surgery? They need to have systems in place to rectify these problems in a shortest possible time, not two months, three months, four months and these things,” a clearly frustrated Mark told this publication.

He also pointed to other issues which he noted have been affecting the hospital such as, the need for supervisory staff and work equipment.

“There’s an urgent need for a supervisor on the 4 to 12 shift and the 12 to 8- Nursing Supervisor, because what has been happening is that when myself and the Supervisor goes home there is nobody to watch the hospital. And the nurses locking the hospital up,” he explained.

Mark said he has been at the hospital for 14 months and has since not acquired an office chair and what he termed as “simple items” such as a printer, noting that these items were budgeted for.

According to Mark, there are a lot of loopholes within the hospital system in the region.

“Right now I’m getting burned out in trying to fight for the hospitals; both Mackenzie and Wismar... For instance, between the regional administration and the Wismar Hospital administration, they don’t even see eye to eye. They don’t even communicate; a lot of crazy things are happening. Who is really running the hospital? Who is in charge? Who is doing this?

Who is doing that? But everybody wants the region to look good. It’s not really good.

Maybe because of its political nature that people are keeping things under the wrap... and I think that is one of the major reasons why the issues for Region 10 don’t be highlighted,” he stated.

15 Harmony Village set 74th anniversary of victory to be hosted in Reg 6 over fascism celebrated I news

friday, may 10, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

The various ethnicities being depicted

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he Ministry of the Presidency’s Department of Social Cohesion, Culture, Youth and Sport’s much anticipated Harmony Village 2019 is set to take centre stage in Region 6 (East BerbiceCorentyne).

The decision to host one of the department’s significant event in the Upper Corentyne district is to promote inclusivity, according to the Department of Public Information (DPI).

“Harmony Village is known as another significant event for the Department; and while it is well-received, we recognise its central location is in Georgetown; and so, with that in mind, we needed to move away from Region Four,” Acting Programme Coordinator Natasha Singh-Lewis explained during an interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI).

Harmony Village, she added, reflects the unity that is the footprint of our ancestors who have creat-

Department of Social Cohesion, Culture, Youth and Sport, acting Programme Coordinator Natasha Singh-Lewis

ed Guyana, and so this direction taken will allow all to celebrate in keeping with the Department’s vision.

While the date of this event is still under wraps, the acting programme coordinator said residents of Region 6 should expect it to be bigger and better than last year. She hopes that they will come out in numbers to support the initia-

tive.

Launched in 2017 with just 46 tents, the Harmony Village has grown quite significantly, attracting 103 tents and 98 organisations represented in 2018.

According to SinghLewis, Harmony Village will also be taken to Region 7 (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) from 2020.

n celebration of the 74th anniversary since the victory over fascism, which ended the sufferings of many and ceased the killing of millions of people, the Russian Embassy on Thursday commemorated this milestone with the Guyanese community.

During World War Two, the Soviets were the first to reach the German capital of Berlin, which caused Germany to surrender in May of 1945, shortly after the suicide of Adolf Hitler.

As a result of this, the Russians attained victory over fascism, which ceased the suffering of all.

Shortly after Germany surrendered, the Nazi regime was systematically dismantled through the allied powers. From 1945 to 1949, many Nazi leaders were convicted of war crimes for which they received the death penalty. This restored peace among many countries which were fighting for freedom.

At the Theatre Guild, Russian Ambassador to Guyana, Alexander Kurmaz, briefly explained that this day is seen as a medium to pay respect to the ancestors, martyrs and heroes who sacrificed their lives to fight fascism.

“Our task, personal and historic at the same time,

Russian Ambassador to Guyana, Alexander Kurmaz

(is) not only to hold in remembrance that incredible feat, but also to tell people the truth about the real events of those years, about the role of the Soviet people and the Red Army in the victory over fascism.”

The ambassador said the Soviet Union had experienced a great deal of adversity, and there was mass destruction across the nation.

“None of the peoples experienced such a scale of horror of war as our country, the Soviet Union. The enemy rushed on our earth, for years killed our family, burned our houses; and in no mercy, destroyed our schools, museums, temples, monuments, plants, factories, hospitals…In this war, the question was raised ambiguously, ‘to die or win?’

And the Soviet people not only resisted, but also made a decisive contribution to a common victory over fascism,” the ambassador said.

World War Two lasted for 2,195 days, and 61 countries participated. It is said that the Soviet Union lost 26.6 million people during the war. China lost some 11.3 million, Germany lost over seven million, Japan lost 1.8 million, and Poland lost 6.85 million.

Great Britain, the United States of America and the French and Dutch empires also suffered losses.

Last year, the Russian Embassy commemorated this day with a photographic exhibition held at the National Library, wherein was captured images before, during and after the war.

friDAY, may 10, 2019

guyanatimesgy.com

Karen McAllister & Hamakaiya

Jenel Cox-Greaves & Trinity

Abelard Archer

t & Tahara

Patricia Herber

& Careoka

h

ngh & Zakiya Lashaunna Si

Amanda Monro & Emma

O

Yulisa Dougl

as & Gabrielle

Tramayne Britton

n Saturday, May 11, the National Cultural Centre will be transformed into a red-carpet affair when the 28th edition of the Mother and Daughter Pageant is hosted.

The pageant is held under the theme “The superpower of love” and as such, the event will be celebrating and tailored around “love”.

Twenty-two pairs of mothers and daughters will be competing in three categories: The Senior, the Middle and the Junior categories.

The aim of this year’s pageant is to incorporate public interest in pulling off a successful event.

“We always like to orient our show around the theme of love.

This year, I see through MovieTowne, a lot of adults are into the superheroes, Avengers and all these other things, so I have decided to talk to the people in the language they know because even though these superheroes, everybody has their own strengths, if you demonstrate love, it will be the best strength ever demonstrated.

So the superpower of love is definitely the thing that we want to celebrate,” Dr Sulan Fung-Browne explained.

Dr Fung-Browne noted that Guyanese will finally have that Oscar/Grammy’s type of experience with the event the Mother and Daughter Pageant is hoping to pull off.

The new red carpet event and show will be hosted by popular radio and television personalities Feliz Robertson and Gordon Moseley. The welcoming and red carpet will be hosted between 18:00h and 20:00h.

Meanwhile, the New Nigel’s Supermarket, another partner, will be handing out massive prizes not only to the contestants, but also to the attendees. Additionally, Nigel’s “Mommy and Me” promotion is allowing the Guyanese public to win prizes for their mothers on Mother’s Day.

& Unique

Lashaunna Singh & Zakiyah

Nicola Marcus & Akeelah

Alana Beresford & Nyah

Cedil Burgess & Kiara

Ilissa Jones & McCalssia

Winette Bayley & Shavanna

Subbrina Marcus & Nashavia

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friDAY, MAY 10, 2019

Mother and Daughter Pageant 2019 From page 16

Senior

Alicia Brown-Deeges & Aleria

Colleen Roberts Collymore & Krystal

Ilissa Jones & Oclintia

Angaleena Odle & Quissieana

Donna Eastman & Shemeka

Lisa Nicholas & Breana

Alana Beresford & Nianna

“Friends with Benefits” for May 24 @ DCC

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reedom Family Entertainment presents a party called “Friends with Benefits” which is slated for the Demerara Cricket Club Ground, Lance Gibbs Street, Queenstown, on Friday, May 24.

This is one of many concept parties held by Marlon “Freedom Boss” Jacobs in the past.

The event is expected to be a J’Ouvert experience in time for the Independence celebrations, hence there will be an abundance of paint and powder.

For the partyholics, you can get your branded T-shirts with the entertainment group’s logo, FWB, to attend the party. It will be a night of frolic and excitement, as some of the best deejays are all lined up to prove the ultimate party experience with the best soca and other genre of music.

In addition, the Freedom Family will introduce a drink special all night where patrons can

purchase one bottle of Hennessey, Ciroc, JW Black Label or Grey Goose and get a second bottle at half price.

General admission will cost $3000 or patrons can pay $10,000 for the VIP experience. With the purchase of any ticket, the ticket holder can bring along a friend absolutely free.

Ticket can be picked up at Digicel, Stabroek Market; Wacky Clothing, Arcade Mall; Short Boss Boutique, Orange Walk; Cheese Please, Kitty; and Grill Kings on Mandela Avenue.

The action gets underway at 19:00h. This is one event you must not miss!

“Soak in Hennessy” for Tower poolside on May 16 I t will be music, vibes, and a unique experience that goes beyond liquor which will combine sweet soca, dance hall, hip hop, and reggae music for “Soak in Hennessy” party, set for Thursday, May 16, at the Tower Hotel poolside.

This event is the essence of a wet atmosphere. Soak in Hennessy is quickly becoming a Soca/Dancehall filled event that many Guyanese are anticipate.

Regardless of your love for Hennessy, water and music, everyone’s desire will meet a new taste at the end of the night.

The event is not only for drinkers or lovers of Hennessy, as there will be a variety of other beverages.

This highly anticipated event is being done by 6Vibes which is an entertainment, visual production, management and marketing and live streaming company operated by Jermine “Adept” Hodge and Kareem “King” Thomas.

The promoters have done events both in the United States and Guyana and some of the events in Guyana included the silent headphone party; Boss Lady Fri at club Privilege, which was a weekly event; Colours Ignite, which is an annual event that started last year at District; and a few others that were done as collaborations.

For events held in the US, the team held its annual Spring Fest which featured Love and Hip Hop star, Safaree in 2018; All Black Eclipse, NYE Gala; All White and Glow party, among several others.

Some of the featured entertainers are

Guyana’s top deejays, including DJ Energy, Gully Ras, Diamond, Mix Master Tony, Seen Up and Akemo.

The event is sponsored by Gt Shop, Fireside Grill and Chill, Latoya House of Fashion, Luxe Walk in Closet, District Ultra Lounge, Star Party Rental and Cloud 9 stage and lighting.

Early-bird tickets cost $2000 and are available at Gtshop (71 Winter Place Between Croal and Brickdam); Latoya House of Fashion (51 Albert and Robb Streets, Bourda); and Fireside Grill and Chill (139 Garnett Street, Newtown, Kitty).

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guyanatimesgy.com

friday, may 10, 2019

Around the World

Iran nuclear deal: European IDB approves grant for powers reject 'ultimatums' Caribbean countries receiving migrants E uropean powers have said they remain committed to the Iran nuclear deal but that they “reject any ultimatums” from Tehran to prevent its collapse. Iran announced on Wednesday that it had suspended two commitments under the 2015 accord in response to the economic sanctions the US reimposed last year.

It also threatened to step up uranium enrichment if it was not shielded from the sanctions’ effects within 60 days. The EU, UK, France and Germany noted “with great concern” Iran’s move.

Under the nuclear deal, which is known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran agreed to limit its nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief.

But a year ago US President Donald Trump abandoned the deal, saying it was “horribly one-sided” and needed to be renegotiated, and began reinstating sanctions. In November, those targeting Iran’s oil and financial sectors took effect.

Iran’s economy is now sliding towards a deep recession, the value of its currency has dropped to record lows, and its annual inflation rate has quadrupled.

T

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani (second right) says it is not pulling out of the nuclear deal

Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to limit its enrichment of uranium, which can be used to make reactor fuel but also nuclear weapons, and to sell surplus stocks.

It also said it would redesign a heavy-water nuclear reactor at Arak, whose spent fuel would contain plutonium suitable for a bomb, and sell any surplus heavy water.

President Hassan Rouhani said on

Wednesday that Iran would stop immediately sales of enriched uranium and heavy water, allowing it to build up its stockpiles.

The sales would resume if the remaining parties to the JCPOA – the UK, France, Germany, Russia and China – met their commitments to protect Iran’s banking and oil sectors within 60 days, he added. (Excerpt from BBC

News)

South Africa election: ANC leads as votes counted

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An election official empties a ballot box as counting begins in Durban

otes are being counted in South Africa’s election, with President Cyril Ramaphosa hoping to prevent a slide in support for the governing African National Congress (ANC).

With results declared in some 70 per cent of districts, it has won about 57 per cent of the ballot, well ahead of the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) on 22 per cent.

The ANC took 62 per cent at the

last general election in 2014.

Anger over the economy and corruption may have eroded its appeal. The radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), is in third place with 10 per cent, based on the official early results.

Casting his vote in the country’s sixth democratic national election since apartheid ended 25 years ago, President Ramaphosa acknowledged the “rampant corruption” of recent

years. “We have made mistakes but we have been sorry about those mistakes and we are saying our people should reinvest their confidence in us,” he said.

“Corruption got into the way, patronage got into the way and not focusing on the needs of our people got in the way.” The ANC, which led the fight against apartheid, has governed the country since 1994.

Young people queuing to vote spoke of their difficulties in finding jobs, with unemployment at 27 per cent. One young voter said her future employment prospects were on her mind. “I don’t feel confident about getting the job I want,” she said.

“I’m a member of the ANC but I didn’t vote for them this time,” construction worker Thabo Makhene told Reuters news agency. “They need to catch a wake-up. The way they run the State, mishandling State funds, they’ve lost their morals.”

However, many voters stayed loyal to the ANC. (Excerpt from Reuters)

he Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a multimillion-dollar special grant facility to support operations that help countries in Latin America and the Caribbean integrate migrants into local communities and contribute to their development.

It said the initiative is in response to “unprecedented and sudden intraregional migration flows” impacting countries in the region.

The IDB said it will use the grant facility in combination with economic and social development loan operations to help receiving countries provide better access to health, education, housing, security, and other services in communities struggling to integrate new arrivals.

Under the initiative which was approved by the Board of Governors yesterday, the IDB said it will provide US$100 million

from its facility, with additional resources expected to be provided by the donor community. Those grant funds will be combined with regular IDB loan operations of US$800 million.

Antoni Estevadeordal, the Special Advisor at the IDB who coordinates the initiative, said it will help local and national governments implement comprehensive development programmes that facilitate the social integration of migrants into communities, so that they can actively contribute to their overall well-being.

“In a nutshell, the Bank wants to help turn this challenge into an inclusive development opportunity for our region,” he said. “Latin America has welcomed migrants throughout its history, and indeed many communities have shown great generosity and solidarity in receiving families who often arrive in desperate conditions. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

Venezuela's Opposition appeals for global support

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embers of the V e n e z u e l a n Opposition overseas are calling for the international community to condemn the arrest of a top lawmaker in the crisis-wracked nation.

Antonio Ecarri is Opposition Leader Juan Guaidó’s envoy to Spain. He said Thursday that the arrest of National Assembly Vice President Edgar Zambrano and probes against several other lawmakers are an attempt to “silence the voice of Venezuelans.”

“Indifference is not an option,” Ecarri said in Madrid.

He was accompanied by Eudoro. González, an exiled Venezuelan lawmaker who said that the European Union-led International Contact Group “needs to take Venezuela seriously.”

Although the group shares the Opposition’s goal for a free and fair election in Venezuela as soon as possible, it considers the Government of Nicolás Maduro a necessary stakeholder to achieve a peaceful transition. (MSN)

Belizeans vote to ask UN court to US seizes North Korean coal settle Guatemala border dispute ship for violating sanctions

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elizeans have voted to ask the United Nations world court to decide Guatemala’s claim that it is the rightful owner of half of Belize’s territory, setting the scene for a resolution to a dispute that has rumbled on for centuries.

In a referendum held on Wednesday, 55.4 per cent of voters opted to send the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, according to results published by Belize’s elections and boundaries department on Thursday.

The remaining 44.6 per cent of voters in the former British colony in Central America opposed the motion to ask the court.

Guatemalans in April 2018 voted by an overwhelming majority to have the ICJ rule on the dispute, which stretches back to the dawn of the colonial era in the Americas.

In a statement, Guatemala’s Government applauded the result and said it would immediately contact the foreign ministry of Belize to agree the next steps in the process. “The final resolution of the dispute will

broaden and deepen the good relations that exist between Guatemala and Belize,” the Guatemalan Foreign Ministry said. Marta Larra, a spokeswoman for the Ministry, estimated it could be around four years before a final court decision.

Guatemala recognised the independence of Belize at the beginning of the 1990s. But it never accepted the borders and continues to claim about 11,000 square km (4250 square miles) of Belize, about half of its territory.

In December 2008, both countries signed a deal that its inhabitants could vote to decide whether the territorial claim, which includes various islands, should be decided by the ICJ. An English-speaking country of around 375,000 people, Belize became independent in 1981.

Inhabited by Maya before the arrival of Europeans, the territory was claimed

by Spain and settled by British buccaneers during the 17th century. Belize later became a British possession surrounded by countries that Spain had colonised. (Excerpt from Reuters)

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he US says it has seized a North Korean cargo ship, accusing it of violating international sanctions. The Justice Department said the ship was used to transport coal, North Korea’s largest export but subject to a UN export ban.

The vessel was initially impounded in Indonesia in April 2018. It is the first time the US has seized a North Korean ship for breaching sanctions and comes amid worsening relations between the two.

A meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump ended without agreement in February with the US insisting North Korea give up its nuclear programme and Pyongyang demanding sanctions relief.

North Korea has carried out two weapons tests in the space of the past week in what is widely seen as an attempt to increase pressure on the US over its failure to make concessions. The vessel, the Wise Honest, was first seized last year and the US filed a seizure warrant in July 2018. Indonesia has

handed over the ship, and it is now on its way to the US. US officials stressed that the announcement had nothing to do with the North Korean tests. “Our office uncovered North Korea’s scheme to export tons of high-grade coal to foreign buyers by concealing the origin of their ship, the Wise Honest,” said US prosecutor Geoffrey S Berman.

“This scheme not only allowed North Korea to evade sanctions, but the Wise Honest was also used to import heavy machinery to North Korea, helping expand North Korea’s capabilities and continuing the cycle of sanctions evasion.”

Payments for the maintenance of the Wise Honest were allegedly made in US dollars through unsuspecting US banks – giving the US authorities the opportunity to mount an unusual civil forfeiture legal action.

North Korea has been the subject of a series of US and international sanctions over Pyongyang’s development of nuclear weapons and missile tests. (Excerpt from BBC News)

friday, MAY 10, 2019

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VIVO Indian Premier League – Edition 12…

Delhi chase history, face CSK in bid to reach maiden final

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elhi Capitals (DC) registered their first-ever win in an Indian Premier League (IPL) knockout match in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. After stunning SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in a last-over thriller, Delhi Capitals will look to carry forward the victory momentum when they take on defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Qualifier 2 at the same venue on Friday. The winner of the Qualifier 2 will lock horns with Mumbai Indians, who defeated CSK by six wickets in the Qualifier 1, in the IPL 2019 final in Hyderabad on Sunday. Delhi Capitals are chasing history as they are the only side to have never played an IPL final.

It was CSK who denied Delhi a top-two spot in the league standings with an emphatic 80-run win at Chepauk and the MS Dhoni-led side stands in their way again.

The tense win in the Eliminator, set up by their star player Rishabh Pant, is bound to provide an extra dose of motivation going into the knock-out game at Vizag.

Pant’s 21-ball 49 in a high-pressure game reignited the debate on social media over his non-selection in India’s World Cup squad with former England captain Michael Vaughan saying it was “bonkers” to not have the young-wicketkeeper batsman in the mega event starting May 30.

Another young gun Prithvi Shaw too played an important innings of 56 and was happy to be back among the runs after low-scores in the previous three innings.

Delhi, having already played a game in Visakhapatnam, will have the advantage of knowing the conditions better. Their fast bowlers, Trent Boult and Ishant Sharma, did a decent job in the absence of Kagiso Rabada and were well supported by Keemo Paul, who picked up three wickets.

Veteran spinner Amit Mishra was frugal again and also

MS Dhoni and Shreyas Iyer share a light moment before one of their encounters this season

picked up an important wicket.

The batsmen would be rather relieved that they would not

have to face the spin threat of Imran Tahir and Harbhajan Singh on a turner in Chennai but it would be a challenge nonetheless.

Another thing Delhi would have to be wary of is stage fright though the Eliminator surely prepared them for the tougher battles ahead. CSK, on the other hand, are used to playing the big matches, having won three titles besides being runners-up four times.

CSK were hammered by Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 1 but expect to bounce back in style. Dhoni will be expecting an improved performance from his batsmen after the disappointment against Mumbai Indians.

Opener Shane Watson has not been among the runs ever since smashing a 53-ball 96 against Sunrisers on April 23.

The match starts at 10:00 hrs. <<Squads>> Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Murali Vijay, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Shorey, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Rituraj Gaikwad, Dwayne Bravo, Karn Sharma, Imran Tahir, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Sharma, K M Asif, Deepak Chahar, N Jagadeesan, Scott Kuggeleijn.

Delhi Capitals: Shreyas Iyer (capt), Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Colin Ingram, Keemo Paul, Axar Patel, Rahul Tewatia, Amit Mishra, Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma, Hanuma Vihari, Ankush Bains, J Suchith, Manjot Kalra, Chris Morris, Sherfane Rutherford, Jalaj Saxena, Sandeep Lamichhane, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Nathu Singh, Bandaru Ayyappa, Colin Munro.

Chelsea, Arsenal set up Farah ends return to track speculation by opting for Chicago Marathon Europa League final

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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hattrick helped Arsenal into the final of the Europa League as they won in Valencia for a 7-3 aggregate victory.

The Gunners are now just one win away from Champions League qualification, while manager Unai Emery can make history by winning a record fourth Europa League crown.

Trailing 3-1 from the first leg in London, Kevin Gameiro’s close-range effort had given the hosts the early impetus.

However, Aubameyang’s right-foot volley from 20 yards levelled matters before Alexandre Lacazette put Arsenal ahead with a placed effort into the right corner.

Gameiro, a four-time winner of the competition at Sevilla and Atletico Madrid, tapped in Valencia’s second of the night before Aubameyang rounded off the scoring.

The Gabon forward slid in from Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ cross and then blasted emphatically into the top corner late on to complete his hat-trick and a 4-2 win.

It means Arsenal, whose first away game of this Europa League campaign was in Azerbaijan against FK Qarabag, will return to the country for the final on Wednesday

tween English clubs this season - the first time all four finalists in Europe’s top two competitions have come from one nation.

With the score 1-1 after the first leg, Chelsea took lead in the second when Ruben Loftus-Cheek coolly stroked into the far corner in the 28th minute, but the night was far from straight-forward.

Frankfurt levelled the tie four minutes after half-time when Luka Jovic slotted past Arrizabalaga after being played in by Mijat Gacinovic.

Jovic’s goal punished Chelsea for a sloppy start to the second half and the Blues continued to be wasteful as Stamford Bridge became increasingly restless.

In extra-time the Germans twice had efforts cleared off the line with David Luiz first denying Sebastian Haller and then Davide Zappacosta clearing Haller again at a corner.

Chelsea thought they had won it late in extra-time but Cesar Azpilicueta, who later missed first in the penalty shootout, had a goal ruled out when the referee deemed he had bundled the ball out of Frankfurt keeper Kevin Trapp’s hands. (BBC Sport)

Hazard slots the winner

Eden Hazard scored the winning penalty as Chelsea edged past Eintracht Frankfurt 4-3 on penalties to set up an all-English Europa League final against Arsenal.

Hazard, who could have played his final game for the Blues at Stamford Bridge, converted after Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga had saved from both Martin Hinteregger and Goncalo Paciencia.

Chelsea will now meet Arsenal in the final in Baku on 29 May and the result means both the Champions League and Europa League final will be played be-

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his first goal away from home in this season’s Europa League to draw Arsenal level

M

o Farah appears to have ended his lengthy flirtation with a return to the track at this year’s world championships after announcing that he will instead defend his Chicago marathon title on 13 October.

That surely rules him out of competing in the 10,000m in Doha, given the final at the world championships takes place just seven days’ beforehand on 6 October.

Although there has been no official confirmation from Farah’s camp, there seems little chance of the 36-year-old flying halfway around the globe to compete over 26.2 miles on tired legs just days after a major championships.

Instead he will return to Chicago, where he ran 2hr 05min 11sec to break the European record over 26.2 miles and record his first marathon victory.

“Winning the Chicago Marathon last year was very special for me,” said Farah.

“It was my first time to win a world marathon major and my time was a European and British record. I am looking forward to returning in 2019 to defend my title on the streets of Chicago. It is a fast course with good organisation. I expect they will recruit a strong field to make it a great race.”

Farah who ran 2:05:39 in finishing fifth at the London marathon last month, had hinted for months that he was considering returning to the track for the first time since 2017 to defend his world championship title over 10,000m, fuelling speculation that he would do that and then attempt the New York marathon in November.

However, a frustrating showing at the London marathon seems to have altered his plans and he will instead return to Chicago to face his former Nike Oregon Project teammate and best friend Galen Rupp. “After undergoing achilles tendon

Mo Farah celebrates after winning the 2018 Chicago Marathon

surgery following last year’s race, I have been pouring all of my energy into my recovery and returning strong in 2019,” said Rupp. “I look forward to being at my best again and giving it all I have in October.”

Meanwhile, Chicago Marathon executive race director Carey Pinkowski said he was delighted that Farah had decided to return.

“Mo is an Olympic champion and he put on quite a show here last year, and we are excited that Galen has chosen the Chicago marathon as his comeback race. I’m confident we are going to see great races up front on 13 October.” (The Guardian)

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friday, may 10, 2019

Rodrigues 77*, Velocity and Supernovas in final SCOREBOARD A picture perfect 48ball 77 not out from Jemimah Rodrigues took Supernovas to 142 for 3 and consigned Velocity to a 12-run defeat, setting up a rematch between the two sides in the final. Though all three teams finished with a win each, Trailblazers, who had come to the stadium to watch proceedings, were knocked out due to a poorer net run-rate.

Chasing 143, Velocity knew that getting to 117 would ensure that they got through along with Supernovas, even if they ended up losing this game.

They briefly threatened going for the win, with Danielle Wyatt going great guns, but after Poonam Yadav ended her cameo on 43, they shut shop and crawled past the qualification target of 117 in the 19th over, with Mithali Raj finding the extra cover boundary off her counterpart Harmanpreet Kaur.

Raj remained unbeaten on 40 off 42, and steered her team to safety in the company of Veda Krishnamurthy, who was unbeaten on a 29ball 30.

The star of the match, however, was Rodrigues.

She came in when opener Priya Punia fell in the fifth over and batted through to the end. She was ably supported by Chamari Atapattu, who struggled for timing and rode her luck, but hung around to forge a 55-run second wicket stand at seven runs per over. That partnership set the foundation for a respectable total, which was put beyond Velocity’s reach by legspinner Poonam’s middle overs squeeze.

First ball at the crease, she leaned into it and caressed it through extra cover. You would have thought that’d be the shot of the match. But she accumulated an assortment of boundaries, each seemingly better than the last, through the course of her knock. Her second boundary, for instance, was the perfect illustration of a straight drive. At other times, particularly against spin, Rodrigues toyed with the bowling. She came down the wicket and went inside out or over the bowler’s head, and when the bowlers shorted their length, she used the depth of the crease and the late cut to great effect. And even when the ball was fired

into the pads, she wasn’t to be tied down, as she swept, both to the short fine-leg’s right and left. Finding back to back boundaries was another feature of her innings; she did that thrice, in the sixth, 14th and 15th overs.

tra bounce. Rodrigues was on 52 at the time and added another 25 runs. Sophie Devine was also giv-

Shoddy fielding costs Velocity

Poor fielding reared it’s ugly head in Jaipur again as Velocity dropped as many as five chances, arguably costing them the match.

Atapattu was the first beneficiary, put down by Wyatt diving to her right at midwicket. A sharp chance, but not impossible by any stretch. The left-hander was on four at the time but she was offered another life on 10, this time by Raj, who circled around a steepler at mid-off, before grassing it.

Rodrigues was largely flawless in her strokeplay but there was a period of play when she seemed to lose her concentration. She miscued a slog sweep off Amelia Kerr, which was put down at deep square leg, and the next ball, deceived in the flight, she was coaxed out of her crease but wicketkeeper Sushma Verma failed to collect it cleanly due to the ex-

Jemimah Rodrigues drives through the off side

en a life at long-off but that didn’t prove as costly.

Poonam Yadav’s middle overs squeeze

When she was brought into the attack, Velocity were undoubtedly going for

3

Supernovas Innings (20 overs maximum) PS Punia c Krishnamurthy b Pandey 16 AC Jayangani st †Verma b Kerr 31 JI Rodrigues not out 77 SFM Devine c Raj b Kerr 9 H Kaur (c) not out 1 Extras (b 1, lb 1, nb 1, w 5) 8 TOTAL (20 Overs, RR: 7.1) 142-3 Did not bat: NR Sciver, LMM Tahuhu, T Bhatia †, AA Patil, Poonam Yadav, RP Yadav Fall of wickets: 1-29 (PS Punia, 4.4 ov), 2-84 (AC Jayangani, 12.3 ov), 3-134 (SFM Devine, 18.3 ov) BOWLING S Pandey (4-0-17-1) J Alam (4-0-34-0) KR Zanzad (3-0-29-0) HK Matthews (1-0-8-0) E Bisht (4-0-31-0) AC Kerr (4-0-21-2)

the win, with Wyatt finding the boundary with great regularity and Raj rotating the strike nicely. The required run-rate was under seven when she came on in the 10th over. She bowled a tight first over which went for just one. On the third ball of her second over, after a misfield brought Wyatt

Velocity Innings (target: 143 runs from 20 overs) HK Matthews lbw b Patil 11 Shafali Verma b Yadav 2 DN Wyatt b Poonam Yadav

43 M Raj (c) not out 40 V Krishnamurthy not out 30 Extras (w 4) 4 TOTAL (20 Overs, RR: 6.5) 130-3 Yet to bat: S Verma †, S Pandey, AC Kerr, Jahanara Alam, KR Zanzad, E Bisht Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Shafali Verma, 2.1 ov), 2-21 (HK Matthews, 3.3 ov), 3-77 (DN Wyatt, 11.3 ov) BOWLING RP Yadav (4-0-30-1) AA Patil (4-0-28-1) NR Sciver (2-0-18-0) SFM Devine (4-0-25-0) P Yadav (4-0-13-1) H Kaur (2-0-16-0)

back on strike, she tossed one up on middle stump and went through Wyatt, who had swung way too early.

Poonam conceded just 13 in her four overs, choked the scoring with 12 dot balls, and by the time she finished her spell, the required runrate had shot up to 15.50.

(ESPNcricinfo)

Madrid Open: Osaka loses to Bucks beat Boston Celtics to Bencic; Halep through make Eastern final

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saka reached the semi-finals of the Stuttgart Open in April but pulled out with an abdominal injury Naomi Osaka says thinking about retaining her number one world ranking hindered her in her Madrid Open quarter-final loss to Belinda Bencic.

Osaka led by a break in the final set and served for the match, but Bencic fought back to win 3-6 6-2 7-5.

Romania’s Simona Halep could replace Osaka at the top of the rankings if she wins the title in Madrid.

“People have been telling me if I get to the semis I can stay number one, so I wanted to do that,” Osaka said.

“I wanted to do that and I was thinking about that while I was playing, which wasn’t necessarily a good thing.”

Osaka secured the number one ranking when she won her second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January.

“I play the best when I’m calm and today I wasn’t calm, so that is the biggest thing I can learn,” she said.

Bencic, who ended Osaka’s Indian Wells title defence in March, produced some fine returns to come through a tight final set.

Top seed Osaka broke in the fifth game of the deciding set and held off two break points in her next service game to retain her advantage.

However, she faltered as she served for the match at 5-4 and Bencic broke to love to level the set at 5-5.

The Swiss, who won the Dubai Championships in February, then won the next two games to close out an impressive win.

The 21-year-old said she had “so much drama in my head” during the three-set defeat.

“I wanted to win this match more because she beat me already before and I just didn’t want to lose twice in a row,” Osaka added.

French Open champion Halep earlier beat Australian ninth seed Ashleigh Barty 7-5 7-5 to set up a meeting with Bencic.

America’s Sloane Stephens, who lost to Halep at Roland Garros last year, overcame Croatia’s Petra Martic 6-4 6-3.

Kiki Bertens also secured a semifinal spot with her straight sets win over Petra Kvitova which ended 6-0 6 – 3.

Federer and Novak into quarter-finals

Roger Federer saved two match points before claiming a hard-fought victory over Gael Monfils to reach the Madrid Open quarter-finals.

The Swiss fourth seed came from a break down in the deciding set to beat the Frenchman 6-0 4-6 7-6 (7-3).

Federer will face fifth seed Dominic Thiem - who he lost the Indian Wells final to in March - in the semi-finals.

The victory was Federer’s 1,200th career win and secured his place in a first claycourt quarter-final since the French Open in 2015.

Earlier, world number one Novak Djokovic breezed past France’s Jeremy Chardy 6-1 7-6 (7-2).

Rafael Nadal continued his pursuit of a sixth title by beating American Frances Tiafoe 6-3 6-4.

World number three Federer needed just 19 minutes to take the first set over Monfils, dropping just four points on his serve.

However, world number 18 Monfils rallied in the second set, taking advantage as Federer’s first serve faded to force a decider.

Monfils raced to a 4-1 lead in the third set before Federer could force the match back on serve.

The Frenchman brought up two match points on Federer’s serve but the 20-time Grand Slam champion saved them both with a serve and volley.

Federer was the stronger of the two in the tie-break, with Monfils saving two match points before a forehand error secured victory for the Swiss.

He will play Barcelona Open champion Thiem on Friday after the Austrian’s 6-4 7-5 win over Italy’s Fabio Fognini. (BBC Sport)

T

he Milwaukee Bucks became the first team to reach the NBA’s Eastern Conference final as they earned a 4-1 series victory over the Boston Celtics.

Giannis Antetokounmpo top-scored with 20 points as the Bucks won 116-91 on Wednesday to make the final four for the first time since 2001.

They face the winner of the Toronto Raptors versus the Philadelphia 76ers, with the Raptors currently 3-2 ahead. Game six was contested on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors are one win from the Western final.

Milwaukee, who had not won a play-off series against the Celtics since 1983, dominated games by nullifying the threat of Kyrie Irving.

Irving, who shot one-for-seven from the three-point range and finished with just one assist, will become a free agent this summer.

Golden State took a 3-2 series lead against the Houston Rockets thanks to a 104-99 win in game five of the semi-final.

The Warriors lost Kevin Durant to a calf injury in the third quarter but saw Klay Thompson finish with 27 points and Stephen Curry make 25.

The defending champions could set up a sixth successive appearance in the Western finals when they face Houston in game six on Friday.

They would then face the winner of the other Western semi-final between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Denver Nuggets, with the Nuggets holding a 3-2 lead. Trail Blazers and Nuggets were scheduled to battle on Thursday night in Game six. (BBC Sport)

Giannis Antetokounmpo was one of seven Milwaukee players who scored in double figures

guyanatimesgy.com

friday, may 10, 2019

21

Guinness “Greatest of the Streets” Linden…

Preliminary round wraps up tonight

T

he destiny of several teams will be known tonight when the curtains come down on the group round in the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Linden Championships being played at the Silver City HardCourt Tarmac.

Several upsets have to date occurred at the venue; and in the process, several high-profile must-win matches have been set up as teams strive to earn a place in the business round of the tournament.

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In the night’s first match, Assassa Ballers will oppose Amazings from 19:30hrs, then NK Ballers will battle Capital Storm from 20:00hrs.

The third fixture will pit High Rollers against Retrieve Unknowns from 20:30hrs, before Amelia’s Ward Russians lock horns with Coomacka from 21:00hrs.

In the final two matches, home side Swag Entertainment battle Wisroc at 21:30hrs, while fellow community team and defending champion Silver Bullets tackle Barsenal from 22:00hrs.

According to an official release from the coordinators, “Despite the

weather, which has hindered the play, we have experienced quality football; and with several teams needing to win on the night, we are expecting nothing short of excitement for the fans, who are expected to descend on the venue.”

The release further said, “The dates for the tournament have also been shifted, with the quarterfinal and semifinal pegged for tomorrow [Saturday]. This move will ensure a faster conclusion of the event and force the teams to prepare and execute better as they aim to seal a place in the championship match. The grand finale is slated for May 18th.”

LGC to host inaugural “The love for the sport ISS Golf Tournament hasn’t died,” says Angus on Saturday

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olf action will be featured on Saturday at the Lusignan Golf Club (LGC) when Integrated Security Services Inc (ISS), one of Guyana’s largest security firms, hosts its highly anticipated inaugural Golf Tournament, which tees off at 12:30 hrs.

In discussion with LGC President Aleem Hussain, the ISS management noted that the precision required in the game of golf may be compared and likened to the precision required in the high level of security and other services that ISS provides, wherein no margin for error is contemplated.

ISS plans to use the LGC and golf to help in team-building activities for its staff.

The ISS is located at Lot 21 Peter Rose St, Queenstown, Georgetown. It provides to hundreds of businesses, homes and individuals a complete list of security services, including baton and armed security officers; CCTV monitoring and response; alarm monitoring and response; protection of cash in transit; Executive protection; 24-hour mobile patrol; maritime,

aviation and cyber security; and domestic investigations.

Management of this large security service has indicated that the company has, for a long time, had high interest in golf since being introduced to the LGC by top Fashion Designer Sonia Noel.

For more information on the services offered by this dynamic security company, interested individuals can contact the ISS on 223-4033 or 223-4039, or via web page www.issgy.com.

In other news, the lit driving range being developed by LGC partner MACORP is expected to be soon completed, and will help to raise the standard of Guyana’s golf, as it would then be open to golfers and learners for practice.

Meanwhile, Saturday’s tournament is open to all golfers in Guyana, and members of the public are invited to be spectators and at the same time enjoy the ambience of the LGC Course.

For registration to play in this and any other tournament at the LGC, or for an opportunity for free lessons to learn the game, please call 220-5660 or 645-0944.

H

aving lost to Guadeloupe 195, the Green Machine must now regroup, as they will now have to focus their attention on the RAN 7, to be held in the Cayman Islands during the first week of July, 2019.

The side played lacklustre rugby, allowing the Guadeloupe side -- who were at a climatic disadvantage -- to dominate the entire game.

Speaking with Guyana Times Sport, Guyana Rugby 15s captain Jamal Angus said, “We weren’t sticking to the plays enough. We, as the players, have to take that on our shoulders. We could have done a lot more work sticking to our game plan and adjusting to what was in front of us. We need to be adaptable and very much strong and united as a team.”

Angus also said that in terms of the ball not being passed to the wing on many occasions, it was merely ‘a bad day at the office’. He noted that in a game of 15s there are moments that the wing rarely sees the ball.

He, moreover, said that although

the Green Machine have tallied many consecutive defeats under their belt, they still continue to play the sport because of the burning passion they have as a unit. Angus noted that the love for the sport hasn’t died, but more preparation is needed for the upcoming games.

Head Coach Kenneth GrantStuart said the team was match ready, but the defeat came about because of poor decisions made at crucial moments in the game. He hinted that personnel changes will be considered for future engagements, but as of now, it is time for the Green Machine to go back to the drawing board and see where they had gone wrong.

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Hand-in-Hand 3-Day Inter-County tournament…

Umrao, Spooner, Nedd star on 25-wicket day – Demerara 12-5 at stumps

By Brandon Corlette

A

n epic second day was played yesterday in the Hand-in-Hand 3-Day Inter-County tournament between Demerara and defending champions Berbice at the Lusignan Community Centre ground on the Demerara East Coast.

Batting first, Demerara scored 60 all out as a result of some poor batting coming up against some brilliant bowling from Kelvin Umrao and company on a fair cricket pitch.

Berbice then showed some poor judgment with the bat, as Demerara bowled on point to restrict the defending champions to 54 all out; with Joel Spooner and Ashmead Nedd leading the fight back.

But in the second innings, Berbice bowled 11 testing overs to restrict Demerara to 12-5 at stumps.

This match commenced at 12:40 hours because of moisture in the pitch, and saw Berbice captain Kevlon Anderson winning the toss and electing to field first under clear afternoon skies.

Demerara openers Robin Williams and Adrian Hinds went out to face the proverbial music supplied by Berbice, and Anderson produced the perfect start in his first over by removing Robin Williams, caught behind for a duck.

He followed up that beautiful line-and-length delivery with a swinging Yorker that so bamboozled his West Indies Under-19 team mate Sachin Singh that the ‘solid’ left-hander had no ability to produce an answer, and had to depart for a golden duck.

At 0-2, Demerara were battling the perfect Anderson storm, then entered Leon Swamy and Kelvin Umrao into the mix. With the city side reeling at 18-2, the third wicket fell when Alphius Bookie was trapped in front for seven, after surviving opening salvoes from bowlers Anderson and Chris Harry.

Andrew Samaroo lasted five balls for his duck, which came as he hit a ranked longhop off Umrao to Nigel Deodat at mid-on three runs later.

Adrian Hinds kept on

fighting, even as he watched his skipper Ashmead Nedd play an irresponsible swipe that resulted in him being cleaned up by Umrao for five.

At 44-6, Hinds’s painstaking innings ended when he played a loose drive to cover-point off the bowling of Umroa, only to deliver same into the safe hands of Swamy.

The final four wickets fell for 16 runs when Nigel Deodat got into the act, varying his pace and getting his deserved wickets. Deodat removed Guyana U-15 captain Zachary Jodah for a duck, and beautifully bowled Pradesh Balkishun for one.

Umrao closed off the innings with his fifth wicket when Dequan Bamfield edged one to Anderson at gully, and Demerara were condemned to 60 all out in 31.3 overs.

Umrao got his third fivewicket haul in as many matches this inter-county season, ending with 5-21 in 9.3 overs that included three maidens.

Anderson took 2-3 in six overs, while Nigel Deodat had 2-8 in a splendid bowling effort.

Ashmead Nedd

Kevlon Anderson is bowled all ends up by Qumar Torrington

In reply, Demerara conjured up a fiercer fighting spirit to produce a better bowling effort, wherein Berbice lost their first wicket with the score on 11, after Junior Sinclair and Alex Algoo had taken some runs off Qumar Torrington.

Algoo was the first to be dismissed, leg-before by leftarm seamer Bamfield for five.

Windies U-19 selectee and Berbice class act Kevlon Anderson then dragged on a Torrington delivery that caused him to be bowled for a duck.

From that point onwards it

was a display of poor judgment from the Berbice batsmen, with only Junior Sinclair reaching double figures. But at the first delivery bowled by Spooner in the match, Sinclair played a poor shot, an ugly swipe, and was out caught by Zacahary Jodah at backward point for 27, which included five boundaries.

In the brilliant Demerara bowling effort, off-spinner Joel Spooner had 4-9 in 5.1 overs, while skipper Ashmead Nedd had 3-7 in six overs.

Guyana U-19 paceman Qumar

Torrington had 2-23, while Bamfield had one wicket in an all-round bowling effort that saw Berbice slump to 54 all out in 22.1 overs.

Demerara had taken a first innings lead of six runs, but in the second innings were reeling at 12-5, with Kelvin Umrao continuing to wreak havoc, having taken three wickets at stumps. Nigel Deodat and Junior Sinclair has one wicket each in a spirited effort.

The third and final day of play will commence at 9:30h, and Demerara would be aiming to score big with the likes of Sachin Singh and Ashmead Need yet to bat.

Corona MVP to ride away on Hero motorcycle

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ith a half-million-dollar first prize and monetary incentives for topping the group stage, the 2019 Corona Futsal tournament has become more lucrative; and there is also an eyecatching prize now up for grabs by the tournament’s most valuable player (MVP).

A stylish Hero Dawn 125cc motorcycle is being provided by Rose Ramdehol Auto Sales, the Guyana distributors of Hero vehicles, to be awarded to the tournament’s most outstanding player.

Speaking at a simple ceremony at the Rose Ramdehol Auto Sales South Road Showroom in Georgetown, Troy Mendonca, on behalf of the Petra organisation, spoke at length on Rose Ramdehol’s continued contributions towards the Corona tournament, and expressed gratitude for that company’s generosity.

“The Petra organisation is pleased to collaborate with Rose Ramdehol Auto Sales, through their Hero brand, once again to present this special prize of one motorcycle to the MVP of this year’s Corona Futsal tournament. So we went to express our gratitude on behalf of the football fraternity,” Mendonca said.

Joshua Ramdehol spoke to the values of the tournament in creating an avenue for unity among youths.

“They’re a lot of corporate Guyana that should be happy to be on board such a tournament that helps to promote unity among youths, as well as camaraderie and keeping them out of trouble in general. It’s more than just a tournament,” Ramdehol stated.

The Corona Futsal tournament will continue on Saturday, May 11, with six more exciting games in the round-robin segment. In the first match of the night, Tucville will square off with North East La Penitence at 19:30hrs. The second game will be a clash of the Titans, as Bent Street meets with Mocha at 20:15hrs. A battle between Leopold Street and Future Stars will follow at 21:00hrs. At 21:45hrs, Sparta Boss will take on Beacons; and at 22:30hrs, West Front Road will come up against Tiger Bay. The final game on Saturday night will see Back Circle and California Square vying for top honours.

The team that wins the Petra-organised Corona Futsal tournament will walk away with $500,000.

The second placed team will pocket $250,000 while the third placed team will receive $125,000.

The fourth place finisher will cop $75,000, while the MVP of the tournament will receive the most eye catching prize of all, a Hero Dawn 125cc motorcycle.

BCB partners with Let’s Bet to launch 100-ball cricket tournament – Players under 18 years debarred

T

he vibrant Hilbert Foster-led Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) continues to move in the right direction with cricket. On Thursday last, the BCB partnered with Guyana Lottery Company under its Let’s Bet Sports Brand, to launch a 100ball cricket tournament.

The launching event took place at the Board Room of the Guyana Chronicle’s Head Office where the BCB President, Hilbert Foster graced his presence with representatives of Let’s Bet. It was a new beginning of cricket in Berbice when the Hilbert Foster-led BCB organization took over administration in February 2018. At that point, the BCB was on a low; a bank account of $42,000 and cricket was not playing for some two years. This saw players dropping out of cricket and cricket clubs closing down.

Prior to that period, the Hilbert Foster-led organization has shown immense progress raising 17 million dollars in cash, and some 43 cricket tournaments were played at all levels. In addition to cricket on the field, the BCB has continued to host developmental programs and assist various cricket clubs in the ancient county.

That successful journey continued when the BCB came on board with Guyana Lottery Company under its Let’s Bet Sports Brand. Berbice cricketers will expect this Second Division 100 ball tournament played in four internal zones. This will be followed by an overall Berbice Championship Tournaments involving the four zone champions.

The four zones are New Amsterdam Canje, Upper Corentyne, Lower Corentyne and West Berbice. Each zone finals will see cash prizes and trophies given to outstanding teams. Among the 90 teams expected to participate in the tournament are: Blairmont Community Centre, D’Edward Cricket Club, Cotton Tree Die Hard, Rose Hall Canje, Young Warriors, Tucber Park, Guymine Cricket Club, Mt Sinai, Mental Hospital, Albion Community Centre, Rose Hall Town Bakewell, Kildonan, Fyrish, Courtland, Port Mournant, Scottsburg, Skeldon Titans, No 72 All Stars Dukestown, and No 64 Fighting Marines.

With all players under the age of 18 debarred due to the nature of the tournament, only three first division players are allowed who are not debarred. At the launching ceremony, the BCB boss stated that the Berbice public enjoys this exciting format. The main objective of this tournament is to promote the game at the grassroots levels, to develop Inter-Village rivalry and to allow older players the opportunity for older players to play.

Foster reassured the management of the Lotto Company that this tournament would achieve all of its objectives and the Lotto Company will be promoted in both Region 5 and 6. The BCB President expressed his gratitude to the management and staff of the Lotto/Let’s Bet Sports for coming on board to aid in the continuous development of cricket in Berbice.

(Brandon Corlette)

guyanatimesgy.com

friday, may 10, 2019

23

ExxonMobil fuels up Pure Racing Team

A

head of the GT Motorsports Grand Prix this weekend, oil and gas giants ExxonMobil have put some fuel into the tanks of members of the Pure Racing Team as they prepare to take to the track.

With the go-karting 2019 season opener just two days away, the Pure Racing Team is getting into gear to ensure that it walks away with top honours come this weekend. Part of its preparations, however, is to ensure it is adequately sponsored, and that is where ExxonMobil comes in.

Speaking at a simple ceremony at the company’s New Market Street office on Thursday afternoon, Community Relations and Communications Manager Nicholas Yearwood, while pledging the company’s commitment to sport in Guyana, encouraged the go-karters to have fun and bring home gold medals.

“Last year was a lot of fun, a lot of wins and a lot of excitement,” Yearwood declared. “We’re committed to the development of sport locally, and we want to continue working with activities that develop youth and discipline. We just want to wish them the best in the upcoming race meet.

We want them to have fun and be safe,” Yearwood stated.

The Pure Racing Team features young Ben Phang in the Baby Cup; Sunburst 60cc Kids Cup participant Justin Ten-Pow; Jeremy Ten-Pow and Paige Mendonca in the 125cc x30 Juniors; and Jhon Phang in the 125cc X30 Seniors categories.

On the receiving end of ExxonMobil’s generosity was Annalisa Phang, who was filled with gratitude towards the entity, and hinted at improved performances from the team’s drivers come Saturday.

“Thank you, Exxon! Thank you, Nick, for again sponsoring our young drivers. I know they’re appreciative of your support and Exxon’s support. Their skill certainly surpassed our expectations, it has resulted in the good results we got at the end of the year, and we’re very thankful for your continued support,” Phang stated.

Sprite greases the wheels In addition to ExxonMobil’s fuel, Banks DIH, under their Sprite brand, have also lent a hand to ensure that the Pure Racing Team is ready for the track on Saturday. The beverage company on Wednesday handed over sponsorship to several members of the karting team ahead of Saturday’s races.

On Banks’ behalf, Non-Alcholic Brand Manager Jennifer Khan disclosed that Banks are in the process of fulfilling a new vision for the company.

“It’s an area where it’s new for us, so this is just testing the waters and see what happens. It falls under the Coca-Cola umbrella, and this is our first venture into this. We hope it bears fruit,” Khan said.

Banks DIH’s Jennifer Khan handing over the sponsorship cheque to the Pure Racing Team

Once again doing the speaking on Pure Racing’s behalf, Annalisa Phang promised to make the company proud of the investment.

“Pure Racing is delighted to have Banks DIH and Sprite on board finally. We’ve been working very hard to get them on board with us, and we will certainly make you proud,” Phang said.

The Grand Prix will drive off on Saturday, May 11, at the GT Motorsports Complex in Thomas Lands, and is expected to feature divers from Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica. This weekend’s GT Motorsports Georgetown Grand Prix is expected to include drivers from Trinidad and Tobago as well as Jamaica.

Jamaica’s Collin Daley will take to the track in the 125cc X30 senior class, while his countryman Tommi Gore is expected in the 125cc X30 junior class. Kristian Boodoosingh and Zachary Boodram of Trinidad and Tobago are expected to drive in the 125cc X30 senior class, along with Jamaica’s Daley.

2020 CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championships…

Guyana drawn in Group D for qualification stage Group ‘D’ along with Bahamas, Curacao and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Group ‘A’ consists of Honduras, St Lucia, Anguilla and Bonaire; while Group ‘B’ has Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Cayman Islands and Martinique.

Group ‘C’ will see Barbados, St. Kitts and Nevis, US Virgin Islands and Belize; while Group ‘D’ has been mentioned above.

Guyana’s female U-17 squad which participated in the 2017 CONCACAF Qualifiers

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he Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) has conducted the official draw for the 2020 CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championships at its headquarters.

The draw, which sorted into

eight groups the 32 teams that would be participating in the Championships’ qualification stage, set to take place between August 17 and 25, 2019, was conducted by CONCACAF Head of National Competitions, Carlos Fernandez.

Guyana has been drawn in

Group ‘E’ will see Mexico Trinidad & Tobago, Bermuda and Dominican Republic; while Group ‘F’ has Canada, Costa Rica Panama and Cuba.

Group ‘G’ includes USA, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Nicaragua; while Group ‘H’ has Haiti, Guatemala, El Salvador and Grenada.

The complete schedule for the qualification stage, including the host countries, will be published at a later date.

After round-robin play,

the top finisher in each group will advance directly to the knockout stage of the competition.

After round-robin play, the top three finishers in each of the groups will qualify for the knockout stage, joining the four group winners of the Qualification Stage in the

Round of 16. The complete schedule for the group stage, including the host country, will be published at a later date.

The knockout stage of the competition will be played in its entirety in a single match elimination format, with the finalists and third place finisher automatically qualifying for the

FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2020.

In the previous edition of the CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championships, played in 2018, the United States won its fourth title with a 3-2 win over Mexico in the Final.

Rain washes out Ireland-Bangladesh match in Dublin

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he ODI between Ireland and Bangladesh the third of the tri-nation series, involving West Indies as the other team - was called off due to heavy rain in Malahide. The match officials waited till 2.15pm local time before making the decision as the rain didn’t stop for much of the morning and afternoon.

The toss also didn’t take place as the rain began soon after the teams arrived at the venue.

There was also a lot of rain on Wednesday evening as well. Today’s game would have been the first meeting between Bangladesh and Ireland in two

years.

The two teams now split points which takes Bangladesh to the top of the points table with six points, followed by West Indies who are now on five points from two games. They beat Ireland by 196 runs before getting trounced by eight wickets

by Bangladesh.

Ireland now take on West Indies in the fourth game of the tri-series, also in Malahide, on Saturday. The weather forecast is much better for that game. (ESPN cricinfo)

friday, MAY 10, 2019

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

guyanatimesgy.com

Page 23

ExxonMobil fuels up Pure Racing Team

The Pure Racing Team receiving sponsorship from ExxonMobil

Hand-in-Hand 3-Day InterCounty tournament…

Page 22

Corona MVP to ride away on Hero motorcycle

Umrao, Spooner, Nedd star on 25-wicket day Page 22

– Demerara 12-5 at stumps

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