Guyana Times Saturday November 23, 2019

Exhibitors P12 laud networking opportunities as GIPEX concludes Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 4116

THE BEACON OF TRUTH SATURday, november 23, 2019

Jagdeo warns oil companies of underhand land acquisitions, arrangements See story on page 3

AFC buckles: Ramjattan admits to accepting reduced role to guarantee coalition deal Page 7

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Another woman dies after allegedly taking filaria P10 pills

P13 Local companies urged to fill gaps in oil and gas sector

Narrow escape “Justice P11 delayed is justice denied” – grandmother of molested 9-year-old …alleged perpetrator on station bail 2 months later

Occupants of motorcar PPP 2207 managed to escape without serious injuries when the car turned turtle after being hit by another speeding car on Homestretch Avenue, Georgetown on Friday evening

Woman Court orders Wales dies in workers finally 2-vehicle collect severance from GuySuCo smash-up …over $7.5M in interest to be handed to GAWU 3 years after shutdown

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Page 9

Man who P7 “died” in Agricola gang war still alive – Police GBTI’s art competition places oil and gas sector at frontline P14 …as 2020 calendar launched

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SATURday, november 23, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

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SATURday, november 23, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

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

Saturday, November 23 – 02:00h – 03:30h and 14:30h – 16:00h and Sunday, November 24 – 03:00h – 04:30h and 14:30h – 16:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Saturday, November 23 – 14:00h – 15:30h and Sunday, November 24 – 14:45h – 16:15h.

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

WEATHER TODAY Sunny conditions with midday showers are expected. There will also be partly cloudy skies at night. Temperatures should range between 21 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: North North-Easterly to East SouthEasterly between 1.78 metres and 4.02 metres.

High Tide: 01:41h and 14:06h reaching maximum heights of 2.50 metres and 2.62 metres.

Low Tide: 07:36h and 20:05h reaching minimum heights of 0.67 metre and 0.58 metre.

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DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS IN PUBLICATION. PLEASE CALL THE HOTLINE FOR CONFIRMATION - TEL: 225-8902

Jagdeo warns oil companies of underhand land acquisitions, arrangements

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pposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has cautioned the companies currently exploring Guyana’s oil and gas industry not to get involved in underhand deals or illegal purchasing of lands, stating that it will be exposed.

At his weekly press conference on Thursday, the Opposition Leader indicated that under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government, such acts will not be condoned or overlooked by any extent.

“I want to urge the oil companies who are here, that any purchase of land or assets that are illegally transferred, we will not allow it to stand. They will be exposed. Deals that are tied up with people who are using lands in dispute or lands that have been illegally transferred to tie up joint venture arrangements with the foreigners. They have no guarantee from a PPP Government that we will respect any of the arrangements they tie up…I want to make that clear to all the oil companies that are here,” Jagdeo said.

Back in August, Jagdeo had alleged that there are many investors coming to Guyana to take advantage of underhand deals and are benefitting from land giveaways, during a time when the Government should be in a caretaker mode.

This, he signalled, was even more worrying for Guyana with the absence of a Local Content Policy to protect the interests of Guyanese.

“Let me tell you something about local content.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

Before the Government changes, almost all of the opportunities that are going [to] be available for our people are gonna be gone… There is no Local Content Policy. We will become second class citizens in this country because this Government doesn’t care, and is not looking out for Guyanese and is part of these deals,” he stressed.

According to Jagdeo, while Guyana can benefit from the expertise of its neighbours, he believes Guyanese should be able to broker the same benefits as foreigners.

“When are you gonna protect our people; when you gonna have the courage to protect our people through a solid Local Content Policy… I don’t have a problem with people coming here. I believe they have a lot of expertise in the oil and gas sector, we need skilled people but they must come in transparently and Guyanese

must have the opportunity to access the same resources they are getting now at this rate,” he contended.

He went on to say that under a PPP Administration, the establishment of such a policy could materialise within a matter of one month.

Oil discoveries

Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL, Exxon’s local subsidiary) has made 14 oil finds in the Stabroek block over 100 miles offshore Guyana, including four for this year.

Last year, the company made five discoveries.

These finds have pushed the total estimated recoverable barrels of oil equivalent to over six billion. In addition, Exxon is moving ahead with its Liza Phase Two project, which will contain approximately 30 wells.

The Liza Destiny, Guyana’s first Floating

Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, arrived in Guyana’s waters at the end of August. The vessel will play a key role in oil production, scheduled to begin in the first quarter of next year.

Meanwhile, Tullow has made two oil finds in its Jethro and Joe wells. On September 16, the same day that ExxonMobil announced its 14th oil find, Tullow also revealed that it had made its second oil find in just a matter of weeks – the discovery of 14 metres of oil reservoirs at the Joe well. However, the oil found

by Tullow is now under question after tests found that the heavy crude has a high sulphur content and, thus, is not commercially viable. Crude with high sulphur content is a variety of oil that is less economically viable than the light, sweet crudes found in the United States and Saudi Arabia, or even the oil found by ExxonMobil right offshore Guyana in the neighbouring Stabroek Block.

Both the Jethro and Joe wells were drilled in the Orinduik Block, which is located just a few kilometres from ExxonMobil’s discoveries. Despite the close proximity of the blocks, however, Exxon has not had the same issues with oil impurities.

In light of the latest analysis, Tullow said that it would weigh “the commercial viability of these discoveries considering the quality of the oil, alongside the high-quality reservoir sands and strong overpressure”.

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guyanatimesgy.com

SATURday, november 23, 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

Protecting Guyana’s wildlife

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ll over the world, especially in countries with a huge wildlife population, the call is being made for the authorities to take more proactive steps in halting the illegal trade in wildlife and to manage wildlife in a more sustainable manner.

Earlier this week, the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG), through its President Mitra Ramkumar, called for a ban on wildlife trade and commercial hunting in Guyana in order to preserve the country’s biodiversity.

Ramkumar was on point when he said that we cannot proudly call ourselves the number one eco-tourism destination if we involve ourselves in unsustainable practices and immorality.

It must also be noted that in addition to THAG, quite a few other organisations had previously made similar calls.

The experts have said time and again that the animals and plants that live in the wild have an intrinsic value and contributes to the ecological, genetic, social, economic, scientific, educational, cultural, recreational and aesthetic aspects of human well-being and sustainable development.

It is, therefore, to our benefit when systems are put in place to protect our wildlife population.

Some countries are way advanced in terms of legislative mechanisms to protect all forms of wildlife, while other countries are now in the developmental stages of such legislation. In Guyana’s case, in an effort to strengthen the regulation and management of the international wildlife trade, regulations were put in place to make provisions for, among other things, penalising the harvesting of prohibited species of wildlife, exporting, re-exporting or importing wildlife without permits and the use of prohibited devices and methods to hunt wildlife.

Over the years, several persons were charged and successfully prosecuted before the courts for attempting to smuggle birds and other small animals out of Guyana through our airports to be sold abroad. However, there are still some challenges as it relates to the implementation of the legislation as the practice still continues with some of the culprits even passing through our ports here undetected only to be caught at their final destination.

It could also be recalled that some months ago, there were reports in the media of the killing of a jaguar. A photo of the dead jaguar began circulating on social media and sparked debates about the need to protect this endangered species of animal. From all indications, based on the social media post, the animal was killed during a hunting trip.

This is illegal, as the jaguar is known as Guyana’s national animal and is protected by the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act 2016. According to the legislation, collecting, holding in captivity, hunting, killing, or otherwise molesting ‘protected’ species is prohibited.

The jaguar is the third-largest feline in the world and the largest in the Western hemisphere. Globally, jaguar populations are on the decline mainly due to the loss of habitat and conflict with people. As a result, these animals are listed as a “near threatened” species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

And just recently, following public outrage, the authorities had cause to launch a probe into what appeared to be the abuse and mistreatment of a flamingo, which was on sale at the Port Mourant Market in Berbice. In a viral video on social media, the flamingo was seen strung upside down, in clear distress.

At the moment, there seems to be a lack of awareness by citizens here on the need to protect our wildlife population.

Hence, there is a need for more sensitisation sessions for miners, and for residents of communities, especially where persons are more likely to come into contact with wild animals. The public must also be sensitised about the legislation governing the protection of wildlife in Guyana; for example, the hefty fines and possible jail time that one could face if he/she is found guilty of breaking the law.

The Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission (GWCMC) had begun working on developing a 10-year strategic plan as it relates to hunting, trapping, trade, protection, conservation, management and sustainable use of wildlife. This is indeed a step in the right direction, but in addition to this, as alluded to earlier, there is the need for more stringent efforts by the authorities to ensure that such policies are effectively and efficiently implemented.

Brazil’s Bolsonaro calls Amazon deforestation “cultural”, says it “will never end”

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razilian President Jair Bolsonaro shrugged off a government report that deforestation in the Amazon reached an 11-year high on his watch, saying Wednesday he expects the destruction of the world’s largest tropical rainforest to continue.

“Deforestation and fires will never end,” the pro-development President told reporters in Brasilia. “It’s cultural.”

The comments were quickly condemned by environmentalists, who fear that the Amazon is approaching a tipping point at which large swathes of the rainforest will be irrevocably lost.

“About 90 per cent of the destruction of the forest occurs illegally,” said Marcio Astrini, public policy coordinator at Greenpeace Brazil. “Therefore, the only cultural aspect of deforestation in the Amazon is the culture of forest crime, which the government does not seem to want to confront.”

The Brazilian Amazon lost 3769 square miles of rainforest between August 2018 and July 2019, Brazil’s National Space Research Institute reported this week, an area almost 1½ times the size of Delaware. That was up 30 per cent from the previous year.

Brazil’s deforestation rate spiked in the 1990s, but began to drop as the country’s environmental protection agency, called IBAMA for its initials in Portuguese, cracked down on illegal logging and mining. The rate began climbing again in 2012; the increase has accelerated under Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro campaigned for President last year on promises to open up the Amazon to more agriculture and mining; he took office in January pledging to end IBAMA’s “industry of fines”.

Critics accuse him of weakening environmental protections and enforcement. His policies drew international scrutiny this summer as fires in the rainforest spiked. Most of the fires are set by ranchers to clear land for pasture.

Environmental Minister Ricardo Salles blamed the region’s “illegal economy” for the spike. He called a meeting next week to discuss ways to stem deforestation, including transferring teams that monitor the forest from Brasilia to the Amazon region.

Brazilian ranchers have long used fires to clear land. But analysts say Bolsonaro’s permissive rhetoric and lax enforcement have inspired more such ac-

Deforestation in the Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo Biological Reserve in Altamira, Brazil, seen in August (Joao Laet/AFP/Getty Images)

tivity.

This has been a year of environmental catastrophes for the country. In January, a tailings dam at an iron ore mine collapsed, burying hundreds of people under toxic waste. In August, 25,000 fires spread throughout the Amazon, a nine-year high. Since September, a mysterious oil spill has sullied hundreds of miles of pristine beaches along the country’s northeast coast. And this month, fires ravaged the country’s wetlands, destroying 50,000 hectares of vegetation.

Still, IBAMA issued its lowest number of fines from January through September since 2000, and 22 per cent less than last year, according to news site Poder360.

Thousands of barrels of oil are contaminating Brazil’s pristine coastline.

Authorities don’t know where it’s coming from.

Bolsonaro’s approach to the environment has isolated him internationally.

Germany and Norway froze millions of dollars in aid to the Amazon over his policies in August, and French President Emmanuel Macron threatened to pull out of a long-sought trade deal between Europe and South America.

In September, a group of 200 investment funds called on companies to reduce their reliance on deforestation, saying Brazil’s policies were exposing businesses to compliance risk. Several

companies have called for boycotts of Brazilian beef and leather.

Bolsonaro has accused the National Space Research Institute of manipulating its data and had its chief fired.

He has dismissed concerns about the Amazon as overblown and characterised international interest in the rainforest as an assault on Brazil’s sovereignty.

Bolsonaro’s Government is now proposing a plan to legalise mining activity in Indigenous territories and issue Government permits to people who move onto and take over land, fulfilling one of his top campaign promises.

Tension in the region is increasing as emboldened miners and loggers venture further into Indigenous territory.

A well-known Indigenous “Guardian of the Forest” in north-eastern Brazil was shot dead this month by five armed men, allegedly loggers, in the forest he spent years protecting. The killing of Paulo Paulino Guajajara sent shock waves throughout the country.

“Our lands are being invaded; our leaders murdered, attacked and criminalised, and the Brazilian State is abandoning Indigenous peoples to their fate with the ongoing dismantling of environmental and Indigenous policies,” the association of Brazilian indigenous peoples said after Guajajara’s death. “The Bolsonaro Government has indigenous blood on their hands.” (Washington Post)

guyanatimesgy.com

SATURday, november 23, 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

Taxes per person up from $180,000 in 2014 to $300,000 now Dear Editor, The Federation of Independent Trade Unions (FITUG) of Guyana was most dismayed to see Finance Minister, Winston Jordan flippantly dismissing concerns regarding increased taxation burden in our country. The Minister, according to the November 21, Guyana Chronicle, in response to statements by the Private Sector on the matter, labelled such sentiments as a “ruse”. The FITUG, also during several public statements, had

shared its concern regarding a much heavier tax burden which is impacting on all Guyanese standards of life and well-being.

According to the Chronicle, the Minister said the noticeably higher tax revenues have “…come from an expanded base and not new taxes…”. We find the Minister’s explanations scurrilous and unconvincing. We agree there is an expanded tax base. Indeed, our people were not required to pay taxes on electricity, water, medicines,

private healthcare and so many other essential goods and services. Nor, were we required to pay the magnificent fees imposed for Government services.

It should not be forgotten that these reforms, as the Minister puts it, were imposed when the nation’s population has really not changed. So, with the avenues to collect taxes widened, or expanded, using the Minister’s term, it, therefore, means on a per capita basis our people have to pay more taxes. Using

the Budget estimates, taxes per person have risen from $181,088 in 2014 to an estimated $300,809 in 2019. In other words, taxes per person have gone up by over 66 per cent in just five (5) years. This is yet a clear demonstration of the hardship that has now befallen our people.

Jordan also said, “…the reform of the tax system has even put the public sector under tax”. Again, the Minister, as a learned gentleman, well knows that it is the taxpayers who fund

How dishonest are they?

Dear Editor, For quite a while now, there’s been allegations circling about places selling expired products, which are mostly for human consumption and over years, despite complaints, only recently Guyanese were pleased to hear about the containers being refused entry into Guyana because of questionable documents and discoveries of the products being restamped.

Despite the announcement of criminal charges being laid soon, I am still waiting in anticipation to hear that. Despite all that happening, I didn’t cross my fingers too tightly because containers still disappear under their eyes without a trace.

My guess is that somebody didn’t get enough bribe, thus the big cry. What boggles my mind is that the importer claims to be importing products for a number of years and now, having been caught with these suspicious

activities, he is still free to continue business as usual. He cannot be the only importer of expired products in Guyana, I am quite sure they are many more doing the same. In previous letters, I’ve mentioned how information is readily available and stated how it is easy to find importers who are bringing expired edibles to Guyana.

Editor, not all expired products are imported expired, many of them last their time on the shelves after not being sold. Many of the sellers stand to lose huge amounts and in order to recover losses, they re-stamp or tamper with the expiry dates.

Speaking with many staff that work at Chinese supermarkets, none can say what becomes of the expired products that are taken off the shelves.

Now, apart from the Chinese, many other supermarkets/distributors, especially the popular ones, are indulging in the practice of

tampering with the expiry date on edible products that are expired. In some places, staff are given the task to do that.

At Zeelugt, there’s one distributor who is forced to dump huge amounts of expired products at the Zeelugt seawall at nights after the products turn extra bad/ spoil. Residents there could confirm that they see when and who takes the products to dump them.

Finally, Editor, in order to make an extra dollar, everyone seems to be going to the extreme, thus products are being tampered with. Water is being added to products like chicken, fish and when frozen, you do not know that you are being scammed a few ounces until they thaw off.

Similarly, the same is being done to liquid products, they are skillfully being extracted from bottles! Repeatedly you are hearing about the responsible agencies not being staffed enough. With the

the public sector. Thus, the increased expenditure brought about by the surcharging on the public sector will ultimately be picked up by the taxpayers whether now for locally financed expenditure or later for expenditures related to borrowings whether local or abroad.

We find the Minister’s explanations disingenuous and hardly having any semblance to the reality.

Certainly, it again epitomises the disconnect between the Government,

elections being around the corner, many politicians are talking about brain drain.

If there was a job readily available, we wouldn’t be talking/hearing about that. It doesn’t matter what you say, most of the supermarkets/ distributors of edible products in Guyana need constant monitoring, a random check of weights, expiry dates, and quantities.

With Christmas around the corner, I am quite sure that all over will be flooded with questionable products, and in most cases, they are in a language that Guyanese don’t know. How can that be stopped? Create more employment in the agencies responsible. Why spend so much money on drones to monitor the borders when you are paying and feeding soldiers to do the same and inside the country, we are being poisoned?

Sincerely, Sahadeo Bates

who are perched high up, and the situation that confronts the masses on the ground. While the Minister has assigned labels to the concerns of stakeholders, it was really him and his Administration that are engaging in a ruse. It reminds us though that you really cannot fool all the people all the time.

Sincerely, Federation of Independent Trade Unions (FITUG)

Unscrutinised H2H data has potential to do more harm than good Dear Editor, What happens if there is a merger of the Houseto-House data and my name gets deleted from the list or ends up misspelt? Would Rodin Singh of Sophia be allowed to vote for Robin Singh of the same address? Would I be allowed to vote as Rodin and Robin? What if after checking and verifying my name on the Preliminary Voters’ List during the period of Claims and Objections (I did), I find I am not on the Revised Voters’ List (RVL). How would I get my name on the Official Voters’ List?

The merger of improperly gathered, unscrutinised H2H data has the poten-

tial to do more harm than good. To attempt to do so after the period of Claim and Objections has been concluded is foolhardy.

I would suggest we seek to do the good bit of H2H, that is, find all the ‘first-time’ registrants on the H2H list, whatever the number, 1 or 10,000 and conduct verified registration of these individuals. Gather their data in the presence of all party scrutineers and then add them to the Official Voters’ List. This is the remit of the Guyana Elections Commission. All else is noise.

Respectfully, Robin Singh

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SATURDay, november 23, 2019

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Foundation

Stop sabotaging

your child’s success …how to help kids feel competent and resourceful

By Marilyn Price-Mitchell, PhD

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arents often ask, “Why aren’t my kids more like me?” “Why aren’t they organised, motivated, or better at accomplishing goals?” The answer may be simpler that you think.

By the time many adults are parents of middle or high schoolers, they’ve mastered skills like planning, problem-solving, and organising. With more life and work experience, it becomes obvious these skills are necessary for success.

But success as a parent is different than success in the workplace. In a career, these skills help you stand out from co-workers.

They help you climb the ladder of success.

At home, the same skills can sabotage your child’s success. How? In my parent coaching practice, I talk with many successful parents who struggle to understand why their pre-teens and adolescents are not motivated and don’t know how to accomplish even the smallest of goals.

The reality is that some parents are so good at being resourceful that they have inadvertently taken over that role in the family. As a result, children don’t learn to become planners, organisers, and problemsolvers. Instead, they become dependent on their parent’s strengths to do these tasks for them.

Many researchers refer to this problem as “helicopter parenting”. A recent study published in the Journal of Child and Family Studies found that this type of parenting was linked to a child’s low mastery skills, poor self-regulation, feelings of social incompetence, and depression.

What is resourcefulness? Why is it vital to your child’s success?

Resourcefulness is our ability to find and use available resources to achieve goals, problem-solve, and shape the future.

Research shows that our ability to be resourceful individuals determines and shapes our futures. What parent doesn’t want their children to be conscientious creators of their own lives –to achieve desired goals?

Children learn to use and apply knowledge as they gain experience in planning, organising, decision-making, and problem-solving. Together, these skills are the building blocks of resourcefulness. When children can imagine multiple outcomes, set their own objectives, experiment with new approaches, and negotiate challenges, they make important connections between knowledge and goal achievement.

High grades and test scores are not reliable indicators of resourcefulness.

In fact, most of us know bright college graduates who struggle to resolve everyday problems. Being resourceful takes more than cognitive skill. It takes the ability to process information emotionally as well as intellectually.

Research shows that resourceful students are not only better at achieving goals, but also respond better under stress.

A study published in Educational Psychology showed that academic stress adversely impacted the grades of students who were not resourceful, but had no impact on the grades of highly resourceful students.

As parents, we help children become resourceful when we walk beside them through the everyday practice of being goaldirected rather than setting objectives and problem-solving for them. When we provide home environments that encourage children to plan, strategise, prioritise, set goals, seek resources, and monitor their progress, we teach them to be resourceful.

6 ways to help your kids feel competent and resourceful

Model principles of problem-solving When children understand four simple principles of solving problems, they learn to apply them in all aspects of their lives.

Teach your child how to: 1) Understand a problem; 2) Devise a plan; 3) Carry out a plan, and 4) Look back to evaluate your efforts. Mathematics educator George Polya developed these simple principles in 1945 and they are still considered the basis of problem-solving today.

Let go of perfectionism

Studies show that perfectionist attitudes

can interfere with a child’s ability to achieve goals. Parents help children avoid the pitfalls of perfectionism by focusing on the learning process, not just the result, and by helping kids set realistic goals. Learn about the signs of perfectionism and ways to support a perfectionist child.

Being resourceful means developing the ability to look at multiple solutions to a single problem. It also requires a dose of scepticism.

When we teach kids to be sceptics – to require additional evidence before accepting someone’s claims as true—we also teach them to be curious and resourceful problem-solvers. Parents can model positive scepticism at home, teaching children to think like Galileo and Steve Jobs. (psychologytoday.com)

Involve children in decision-making

When kids are actively involved in making family decisions, like menu-planning, where to go on vacation, what movies to watch, what service activities to support, how to divide family chores, and the myriad of other choices families make, they learn about decision-making processes, improve skills, and increase self-confidence. They gain experience in debating, negotiating, and communicating thoughts and feelings to others – all aspects of resourcefulness.

Families that have regular family meetings help strengthen their abilities to collaborate and accomplish goals.

Encourage the use of technology

There is an abundance of technology available that helps children become more resourceful and productive. For example, mind-mapping can help kids better understand problems and devise plans by visualising connections, outlining different sides of issues, and determining next steps. Electronic planners, note-taking programmes, and timeline software can help children carry out their plans to completion.

Promote independence and collaboration

While independence and collaboration may seem like opposites, both are necessary to become resourceful. Children need to be able to decide what tasks are best accomplished alone and which benefit from teamwork. As your child tackles his next school or home project, ask him what aspects of the project might require collaboration with you or others. Why? When children lead the planning of their own projects, so often managed by parents, they experience firsthand what produces good outcomes and how they learn from their mistakes.

Teach the art of positive scepticism

E

verybody can benefit from having good problem-solving skills as we all encounter problems on a daily basis.

Some of these problems are obviously more severe or complex than others.

It would be wonderful to have the ability to solve all problems efficiently and in a timely fashion without difficulty, unfortunately though there is no one way in which all problems can be solved.

However well prepared we are for problem-solving, there is always an element of the unknown. Although planning and structuring will help make the problem-solving process more likely to be successful, good judgement, and an element of good luck will ultimately determine whether problem-solving was a success.

Interpersonal relationships fail and businesses fail because of poor problem-solving.

This is often owing to either problems not being recognised or being recognised but not being dealt with appropriately.

A lot of the work in problem-solving involves understanding what the underlying issues of the problem really are – not the symptoms.

In order to be effective at problem-solving you are likely to need several key skills, which include: Creativity. Problems are usually solved either intuitively or systematically. Intuition is used when no new knowledge is needed – you know enough to be able to make a quick decision and solve the problem, or you use common sense or experience to solve the problem. More complex problems or problems that you have not experienced before will likely require a more systematic and logical approach to solve.

Research skills. Defining and solving problems often requires you to do some research: this may be a simple Google search or a more rigorous research project.

Team work. Many problems are best defined and solved with the input of other people. Team working may sound like a ‘work thing’ but it is just as important at home and school as well as in the workplace.

Emotional intelligence. It is worth considering the impact that a problem and/or its solution has on you and other people. Emotional intelligence: the ability to recognise the emotions of yourself and others, will help guide you to an appropriate solution.

Risk management. Solving a problem involves a certain amount of risk – this risk needs to be weighed up against not solving the problem.

Decision-making. Problem-solving and decision-making are closely-related skills, and making a decision is an important part of the problem-solving process as you will often be faced with various options and alternatives. (skillsyouneed.com)

NEWS

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SATURday, november 23, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

AFC buckles: Ramjattan admits to accepting reduced role to guarantee coalition deal T

he A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) and Alliance For Change (AFC) have agreed on a coalition deal which will see them entering the 2020 elections together for a second time with the minority party holding a smaller role.

Leader of the AFC, Khemraj Ramjattan, on Friday, admitted that his party was willing to accept the significant reduction because they did not want to jeopardise entering the elections with their coali-

tion counterpart.

Following a high-level meeting on Thursday, the two parties would have agreed that the AFC is responsible for filling the post of Prime Minister along with four Cabinet positions.

As it relates to their role in National Assembly, the fraction is 30/70, which amounts to 10 parliamentary seats for the AFC when compared to a precious 12 during the first accord.

This decrease is 25 per cent less than their previ-

ous share of a 40/60 presence in Parliament.

During a press conference on Friday, Ramjattan stated that the “come down” was to ensure that the coalition deal was locked.

“The 40/60 arrangement had amounted to just above 12 seats. This arrangement at 70/30… you’ll be getting 10 seats.

It is what we may call a come down from 12 to 10…

Because I want a coalition arrangement here. I would not get into our arguments for, against and all of that.

Man who “died” in Agricola gang war still alive – Police

T

he young man who was reportedly beaten to death by “gang members” in Agricola, Greater Georgetown, is alive and currently receiving medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

Twenty-three-year-old O’Neil Jeffery of Lot 97 Second Street, Agricola, was reported as dead in a publication by another local media house but according to the police, he is very much alive in a city hospital. According to Police, Jeffery is said to have been a member of a “crew” in his village and when news spread that he had died as a result of a beating he received from a rival crew in Agricola, his friends turned up at a location where the other crew would usually be found and fired shots at the business place.

The gunmen reportedly issued threats that the members of the “crew” were responsible for Jeffery’s ‘death’.

But on Friday morning, villagers began to receive news that Jeffery was never killed; he had, in fact, received a thrashing from two men and had to be rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.

Some residents were told on Friday that Jeffery’s family was discussing raising funds or obtaining monies to pay for specialised tests to be conducted on the injured man.

When contacted by this publication, senior police officials confirmed that Jeffery was alive and a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

On Friday, a report about Jeffery’s alleged death because of a “gang war” in Agricola was

published in one media house.

Jeffery’s mother, Hyacinth Morris, reportedly told that publication that her son died after sustaining a punctured organ from broken ribs, which he received while two men in Agricola beat him on Tuesday morning.

She allegedly told the media that she witnessed the two men armed with handguns approach her son and take him into the First Street of Agricola where they commenced beating him.

According to Morris, she was unable to stop the men, and fainted when she saw them assaulting her son.

Meanwhile, the police are investigating the alleged beating of Jeffery and the “gang war” shooting that took place after villagers believed that the young man had died.

Up to press time, no one was arrested.

Khemraj Ramjattan and President David Granger (Photo by Demerara waves)

Appreciate that a coalition agreement has been reached…I don’t feel dejected at all. I wanted an accord,” he said.

Ramjattan, who is also the prime ministerial hopeful, confirmed the posts in Cabinet which were listed for his party as part of the new agreement – a document which is yet to be signed.

“It’s Public Infrastructure, Natural Resources, Public Security and Public Telecommunications plus the Prime Minister…I want to confirm that indeed those are the five. At this point in time, I went through the process in my party and I am literally the designated person for the prime ministerial can-

didate”.

While Ramjattan’s candidateship seemed to have been accepted by the APNU, reports coming out of Thursday’s meeting revealed that he will not be assuming the presidential post should it become available.

The APNU/AFC administration was toppled by a No-Confidence Motion (NCM) in December 2018 when AFC parliamentarian Charrandas Persaud broke ranks and voted in favour of the Oppositiontabled motion. This, coupled with the AFC’s poor performance at the November 2018 Local Government Elections (LGE), did not give the party much to collect to the negotiations table.

Another contentious issue the two parties have been battling out is the selection of a Prime Ministerial candidate. The 2015 agreement saw the APNU getting the Presidential post while the PM candidacy went to the AFC. As such, the AFC went ahead and selected its leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, to run alongside Presidential Candidate David Granger.

Last week, the AFC had threatened that if the negotiations are further delayed then it will move ahead with launching its 2020 elections campaign on its own. However, the threat did not sit lightly with the APNU leader, who stated that the agreement is determined by negotiations, not by deadlines.

During an engagement on Wednesday, President David Granger reminded, “The most important principle is that any agreement should be in accordance with the Constitution of Guyana. That is not subject to deadlines or threats. We will abide by the Constitution… I am very confident that were we to sit without noise, sit down soberly and quietly, we will arrive at an outcome which is the best for Guyana”.

8 NEWS

SATURday, november 23, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Ganja in spare wheel

Linden minibus driver to lead defence

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42-year-old minibus driver of Wismar, Linden, who is accused of transporting narcotics inside the spare wheels of his minibus, is set to lead his defence on Monday.

Seon Bakker has been on remand since June in connection to the case. He made another appearance before Magistrate Wanda Fortune at the Linden Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.

It is alleged that the route 72 minibus driver, also called “Akbar”, had 28.148 kilograms of cannabis Sativa in his possession for the purpose of trafficking at Mabura on Saturday,

Fiddling…

I

Seon Bakker

June 15, 2019.

He is represented by Attorney Yondessa Welcome-Mercurious.

Several witnesses have since testified in relation to the case, including a Police Lance Corporal.

Investigations had revealed that Police ranks attached to the Mabura Police outpost, after intercepting the minibus BNN7872 at about 17:00h, conducted a search of the vehicle and discovered two wheels strapped to the top of the vehicle. Upon cutting open the wheels, the ranks reportedly unearthed a total of 29 transparent plastic bags which contained a quantity of leaves, seeds and stems of the prohibited drugs. The driver allegedly informed ranks that he was given the wheels to transport to Mahdia by someone called “Country”. At the time of the incident, there were two female passengers in the minibus who were also arrested and questioned. Ranks also later arrested “Country” but he, along with the two women, were released following the probe. The case will continue on Monday.

…while Guyana burns f there was any need for the PNC to prove to those companies trying to get a piece of our oil action that they were still crooked like barbed wire – and would be willing to sell out our birthright – their shenanigans after the NCM did the trick. So, you’d notice that while they threw all their efforts – and resources – to “prove” such ridiculous claims such as “33 isn’t a majority of 65”, Guyana’s been overrun by carpetbaggers licking their chops as they grab all the opportunities flowing from whatever oil revenues might become Guyana’s way.

The term “carpetbaggers” arose in the wake of the US Civil War when Northern hustlers and grifters figured the South would have to be rebuilt from scratch after Sherman’s scorched-earth policy. And who best to do the rebuilding, on their terms. “Carpetbags” were the cheap suitcases they arrived with, made from carpet materials!

In Guyana, the carpetbaggers didn’t wait for the “cold” war between the PNC and PPP to be over – and “politics is war by other means” baby! Especially at elections time! They parachuted right in!!

Now, Guyana isn’t the first third world country to deal with massive oil discoveries. The oil companies even had a name for them – “frontier countries”, which could be raped. But in this modern, globalised world, countries don’t have to experience every stage of the development process in any new field they enter. There’s the experience of those that preceded them, allowing them to “leapfrog” the initial painful steps. It’s like if a new company wants to computerise his business, he doesn’t have to hire computers programmers to write his accounting programmes!! It’s out there!

“Frontier” oil countries – such a Ghana, for instance – have all enacted “local content” legislation specifying how local businesses and citizens can benefit from the coming oil action. For instance, since the fabrication of metal components was going to be necessary on oil rigs, top quality welders and lathe operators could’ve been trained since 2015. Even in those areas where locals had no experience, local content legislation could’ve demanded foreign companies hire a certain percentage of locals.

Interestingly enough, the local content programme for Ghana was written by a Trini fella named Paul, who wrote 2 drafts for the PNC Government – but they weren’t accepted. Our local genius at the Energy Department— who’s incidentally qualified in Environmentalism rather than Energy production!! – decided to hire a fella associated with one of the oil companies!! And even his submission hasn’t been submitted to Parliament!! Politics trumps all!!

So we had an oil development conference organised here by Trinis where locals weren’t invited…and another, GIPEX, organised with the involvement of Trotman’s daughter.

And Granger fiddles!! …while being shafted After drawing any number of lines in the sand – which the PNC promptly kicked into their faces! – as predicted in this space, Ramjattan and the AFC placed their tail between their legs and meekly accepted the crumbs the PNC dropped on the floor!! What was announced was the AFC would be getting a 25% cut in the number of MPs and just 6 ministries out of 31! Now all of this would be humiliating enough – but imagine Ramjattan emerging from the meeting skinning his teeth with no word mentioned about the elephant in the room – and supposedly sitting on the negotiating table!!

This, of course, was who’d be the PM Candidate for the PNC/AFC coalition. One newspaper quoted “sources” to the effect that Ramjattan had been offered the PM nomination – but no accession to the presidency in case Granger can’t continue in office for whatever reason. Your Eyewitness thinks this is a travesty and for Ramjattan to accept the silence just damages him further.

He should rub blackpot on his face?? …on the OLE So here we are…in the stretch to the elections and we still have the Sword of Damocles of the H2H anomalies hanging over hopes of free and fair elections.

And the Chair used to deliver justice??

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

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SATURday, november 23, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

3 years after shutdown

Court orders Wales workers finally collect severance from GuySuCo

…over $7.5M in interest to be handed to GAWU

D

emerara Bank Limited has been ordered by the High Court to withdraw monies from Guyana Sugar Corporation’s (GuySuCo) bank account and hand it over to the Guyana Agriculture and General Workers Union (GAWU) as outstanding severance payments to sugar workers who have been fired from Wales Estate, West Bank Demerara (WBD).

The court ordered that $7.5 million plus four per cent interest from December 7, 2018, until the debt is settled be deducted from the account.

Chief Justice (acting), Roxane George approved the

Acting Chief Justice Roxane George

garnishment order in favour of the GAWU, which was rep-

resented by lawyers Devindra Kissoon and Natasha Vieira of London House Chambers.

The attorneys had sought the order to offset outstanding severance payments, which were withheld from 107 cane cutters of the nowclosed Wales Sugar Estate.

GAWU said on Friday that the workers, reluctantly, took up work at Uivlugt Estate, West Coast Demerara (WCD), following the closure of Wales Estate at the end of 2016.

Those workers and the Union had contended that the demand by the GuySuCo for the workers to commence work at the Uitvlugt loca-

Woman dies in 2-vehicle smash-up

A

woman is now dead while several minors are injured following a two-vehicle collision on Friday morning along the De Kinderen Public Road, West Coast Demerara (WCD).

Dead is 31-year-old Reshma Ramotar of Tuschen Housing Scheme, East Bank Essequibo.

Those injured are sixyear-old Romel Duke; eightyear-old, Rahul Duke; 16-month-old Halley Duke and 36-year-old Ravin Duke, all of Tuschen Housing Scheme, EBE. Reports received are that the now dead woman and the injured persons were travel-

ling along the De Kendren Public Road in a minibus bearing registration number PEE 1243, which was driven by a relative. According to Police, they were driving at a fast rate behind another minibus bearing registration plates BGG 8917.

However, as the driver attempted to overtake the minibus, he collided with the right-side rear of the vehicle.

As a result of the collision, the minibus with the occupants toppled several times before coming to a halt on the grass parapet.

The injured passengers were pulled from the

wreckage and taken to the Leonora Cottage Hospital.

At the time, Ramotar was in an unconscious state. She sustained several injuries to her head. She was treated and transferred to the West Demerara Regional Hospital where she died while receiving medical attention. The other occupants, who sustained minor injuries were treated and admitted for observation.

Ramotar’s body was taken to the Ezekiel Funeral Home awaiting a post-mortem examination.

Both drivers are in custody and are assisting with the investigation.

The closed Wales Estate

tion was contrary to the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act (TESPA).

This Act obligates an employer to provide severance if they are unable to provide similar work to redundant workers within a 10-mile radius.

“Uitvlugt is some 22 miles away from Wales and thus the section of the Act ought to have been applied. The Corporation, despite the unambiguity, refused to honour the workers’ rights. That situation forced the Union to initiate legal proceedings in March 2017 and the courts

ruled in the workers’ favour in December 2018,” the Union said.

Meanwhile, regarding those persons who started working at Uitvlugt, the Court ordered that the workers be paid their severance as well as one month’s pay in lieu of notice.

According to the Union, the State-owned sugar company, however, only abided with the severance pay aspect of the order. It added that attempts by the GAWU to have the GuySuCo fully comply with the order were greeted with “negative responses”.

This prompted another legal

showdown with the GAWU seeking an order to retrieve the outstanding monies.

“Following submissions from the Union and the GuySuCo, the Chief Justice must have recognised the obvious injustice to the workers and approved the order the Union was seeking through its attorneys,” the Union stated.

GAWU added that while it is hopeful that the GuySoCo will abide by this latest court order, it is “saddened, at the same time, to know that what we considered a simple, straight-forward, matter has had to endure such legal gymnastics.”

10 NEWS

SATURday, november 23, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Another woman dies after allegedly taking filaria pills

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Vergenoegen, West Coast Demerara (WCD) family is calling for an investigation after a relative collapsed in her bathroom after taking the filaria pills. She subsequently died on her way to the hospital on Thursday morning.

Dead is 55-yearold Chanmoonie “Vida” Rampaul of Shirax Gas Station Street, Vergenoegen, West Coast Demerara (WCD).

Based on the information provided, the elderly woman was visited during the national Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Campaign and was provided with nine tablets by health workers.

A relative, who contacted this newspaper, indicated that shortly after taking the prescribed dosage, Rampaul complained of feeling unwell, experiencing headaches and stomach pain. He said that the woman went and rested but on Thursday morning at about 05:00h, she collapsed in her bathroom. She was immediately rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WRDH) but died en route.

“The individuals visited her home, gave her nine tablets and provided water to her for her to take the tablets right in front of them. About an hour after taking the tablets, she started feeling drowsy and some other symptoms developed. It prolonged and it got worse. Yesterday morning (Thursday), she went to take a shower and collapsed in the

and spent one week in a medical facility before succumbing.

“She spent like one week in the hospital and then she passed away,” her daughter, Aretha Meusa explained.

It was stated during the launch that Guyanese will be given three types

of tablets; Ivermectin, Diethylcarbamazine (DEC) and Albendazole.

The combination of pills is referred to as the IDA. Side effects of the drug are said to include: headaches, dizziness, muscle pain, nausea, diarrhoea, swelling of hands, ankles or feet,

swelling or tenderness of lymph nodes and/or itching.

Filariasis is a parasitic disease caused by an infection with roundworms of the Filarioidea type. These are spread by blood-feeding Diptera such as black flies and mosquitoes.

Filaria pills

Health Ministry awaiting PME results of woman who died

T Dead: Chanmoonie Rampaul

bathroom. They got a vehicle and were on their way to the hospital in Vreed-en-Hoop but on her way to the hospital, she passed away,” he recalled.

This is the second woman to have died due to the alleged ingestion of the pills. On Friday, 57-year-old Domattie Mannie, also called “Sister”, of Richmond Housing Scheme, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam), collapsed and later died after allegedly drinking filariasis tablets.

The woman’s daughter, Jeevanie, explained that her mother was scheduled to do an eye surgery at the end of this month. She stat-

ed that her mother was resting at home when three females showed up claiming to be workers attached to the Health Ministry and as such, requested that she take the tablets in their presence.

Although the woman reportedly told them that she is diabetic, they insisted that she consume the nine tablets.

According to the daughter, her mother was forced to drink the tablets on Sunday at about 11:30h, after which she collapsed. She died on Thursday morning at about 04:00h.

This story is comparable to a case back in October 2018, where a diabetic patient, Patricia Nurse, ingested the pills

he Public Health Ministry said it is awaiting the post-mortem results of the woman who died after she was forced to ingest filaria pills.

Guyana Times reported on Friday that Domattie Mannie, 57, of Richmond Housing Scheme, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), died some four days after taking nine filaria pills.

Reports are that the woman, who is diabetic, was forced to take the pills in front of the distribution officers.

The woman’s daughter, Jeevanie, told this newspaper that her mother informed the officials that she is diabetic and inquired whether taking the pills will affect her, to which the workers replied in the negative.

Sometime after ingesting the pill, the woman fell ill and died on Thursday morning at about 04:00h.

The dead woman’s children believe that their mother was too weak to take the tablets.

Dead: Domattie Mannie

In response to the article, the MoPH said the filaria pills are completely safe.

The Ministry noted that based on the woman’s death certificate, the “direct cause of death was a heart attack (Myocardial Infarction)”.

“While the MoPH is awaiting report of the post-mortem examination (PME), the opportunity is taken to remind the population that the filaria pills being distributed are safe,” the statement noted.

In fact, the Ministry said so far this year, 454,073 persons have received the filaria pills in all targeted administrative regions of Guyana; 30,295 in Region Two. “It is worth noting that no serious adverse event has been reported in this massive campaign.”

The countrywide distribution of the filaria pills is part of a Mass Drug Administration campaign

which is being conducted by the Ministry of Public Health in collaboration with the Pan-American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO).

Lymphatic Filariasis is a debilitating disease that can cause swelling in the extremities and genitals that, once it has manifested, cannot be reversed. Around 60,000 people in Guyana are already affected by LF, and approximately 500,000 live in endemic areas, at the risk of contracting the disease.

Lymphatic Filariasis is a mosquito-borne, parasitic disease. While it is not fatal, it affects the lymphatic system, leading to a variety of permanent, debilitating symptoms including severe swelling of the genitals (hydrocele) and lower extremities (elephantiasis, or “big foot” as it is commonly known in Guyana).

11 “Justice delayed is justice denied” – grandmother of molested 9-year-old NEws

SATURday, november 23, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

…alleged perpetrator on station bail 2 months later

“I don’t want any money from them or anyone because I won’t sin my soul. We need justice for this innocent child and, therefore, we want to go to the Court and let him face the consequences for what he did to this little child. Justice delayed is justice denied,” the distraught grandmother added.

Meanwhile, Police

By Kristen Macklingam

A

weekend visit to her paternal relatives in the mining town of Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), has left a nine-year-old girl traumatised and withdrawn from her family after a male relative in his 60s reportedly sexually molested her twice.

The child, who had been excited to spend a few days with her great-aunt, with whom she previously lived, now no longer wants to be in the presence of her paternal relatives.

According to her maternal grandmother, her daughter and granddaughter reside with her at their home in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) but sometime late September, the child was scheduled to visit her father’s family that lives in Linden.

The child left their residence on September 27 (Friday) to spend the weekend with those relatives in the mining town and returned home on September 29 (Sunday) in a withdrawn state.

The little girl then told her maternal aunt and other relatives about what transpired during her brief vacation.

“She said that she loves her aunty but that she cannot go back there (at their home).

She said that the uncle (her aunt’s husband), is a wicked man, she kept saying he is a wicked man when we asked

Commander of Region 10, Superintendent Hugh Winter, when contacted by this publication, confirmed that the matter was still a priority for his investigators.

He explained that ranks wanted to ensure that a complete investigation was concluded before sending the file to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

This, he said, would prevent a delay in the process if more work had to be done to complete the file.

According to Commander Winter, the file was officially dispatched to the office of the DPP on Friday, with the hopes that the advice on the way forward be communicated to the Police as soon as possible.

Furniture store robbery suspect nabbed in Agricola raid her why she did not want to go back. Then she started telling us one by one what happened to her,” the grandmother told Guyana Times on Friday.

The elderly woman explained to this publication that the man, who is in his 60s, took her granddaughter along with two of his grandchildren to “Blue Water Lake” and a creek in “Buck Town” between Friday afternoon to Sunday (September 28 and 29) afternoon under the pretence of teaching the young children to swim.

However, the nine-yearold alleged that during the outing, the man kept touching her private parts with his penis despite her telling him to stop.

According to the child’s maternal grandmother, a report was made to the Police in Linden about the matter and although the suspect was ar-

rested, he was released on a small amount of station bail.

“It is almost two months now and yet we cannot hear anything about justice being served for what my grandchild experienced. This is something she will have to live with for the rest of her life, she is a changed person, her behaviour and everything you can see she is so different in a negative way”.

She further explained that when the report was made and a physical examination was conducted on the nine-year-old, the results revealed that she had been sexually violated.

A report was also made to the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA).

Relatives of the child related that there have been correspondences from the perpetrator’s family requesting that a “settlement” be facilitated to “end the matter”.

A

suspect who is believed to have been the lone gunman that stormed into Pradeep’s Furniture Store located at Better Hope, East Coast Demerara (ECD), last month and then exited without any loot after realising that the business place had no cash, is presently in Police custody.

On Thursday cops nabbed him after they found illegal firearms, ammunition and cannabis at an Agricola, East Bank Demerara (EBD) home that he was in when they swooped down on the

The gunman inside Pradeep’s Furniture Store on October 14, 2019

premises.

He allegedly fired shots at the police when they arrived at the location to conduct the raid. He is facing charges for that as well.

However, at the time of his arrest, law enforce-

ment officials were unaware that the man was the suspect that was caught on CCTV footage attempting to rob a cashier at Pradeep Furniture Store on October 14. turn to page 13

12 news

SATURday, november 23, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Exhibitors laud networking opportunities as GIPEX concludes

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s the curtain came down on the second annual Guyana International Petroleum Business Summit and Exhibition (GIPEX), exhibitors, both local and overseas, are pleased with the feedback they have received during the three-day forum.

GIPEX was organised by Valiant Business Media in partnership with the Government of Guyana through the Department of Energy, Ministry of the Presidency with support from the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest).

An estimated 200 participants from around the world attended the three-day event, which concluded on Friday.

The exhibition leg of the forum was open to the public on the last day and saw hundreds flocking the site on the lawns of the Marriott Hotel in Kingston.

Speaking with Guyana Times, many of the companies that participated in the exhibition lauded the networking opportunities.

One exhibitor, the Chief Executive Officer of Japarts/ Source One Supply, Terry Singh, related that from last year’s inaugural GIPEX, his company had acquired six new clients including Halliburton Company, Nobel and Schlumberger.

“We’re supplying those companies with tremendous amount of their consumables, a lot of their protective gears and chemicals, etc…When a

Persons at the summit and exhibition on Friday at Marriott Hotel, Georgetown

new company comes, there’s a vetting process on both sides.

They have to vet us – we have to reach the requirements of what is required by the company, and we have to vet them,” he explained.

According to Singh, a platform such as GIPEX not only allows for that vetting process to be easier but also bring attention to new companies and even services within the sector.

Nevertheless, Singh, who expanded his heavy-duty supply company to tap into the opportunities from the oil and gas industry, is urging other local companies to also get their affairs in order to benefit from the opportunities available.

“We need to spend a lot more money on our workforce and getting them one track by ensuring they under-

stand the sector…Get yourselves prepared, make sure your documents are correct.

Start putting your company in line with record keeping, try to get ISO certification, try to get involved in training staff on how to deal with these big clients because they are [what] those companies are looking for. They are looking for companies that can actually deliver a premium service,” Singh stressed, adding that his company has already undertaken the job training for its employees.

Meanwhile, such training can be sought from Strategic Recruitment Solutions Inc, a solely Guyanese company.

Talent Acquisition and Policy Implementation Manager at SRS, Holly RoberstonPersaud explained that they recruit personnel at all levels for companies not only within

the petroleum sector but other industries as well.

Additionally, they also provide training for persons within the oil sector.

Roberston-Persaud noted that in just over a year since the establishment of the company, they have been able to find placements for some 93 persons.

She too lauded the benefits of the exhibition, noting that apart from networking, it also provides a platform for the public to understand what is going on in Guyana’s budding petroleum industry.

“It is a fruitful initiative.

It’s been an incredible opportunity for anyone wanting to get into the business and learn about the oil and gas sector. Persons without a clue [about the sector] can come and learn because there are misconceptions and this can

actually clarify it for them,” she stated.

The exhibition leg of GIPEX, much like the summit, saw participation from mainly foreign companies – most of which have already set up here in Guyana.

One such company is Tower Cranes of Guyana, which also has a branch in Trinidad.

Managing Director Roland Baboolall explained that they offer heavy equipment training including the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) certification, which allows holders to work anywhere in the region.

Since operating in Guyana over the past two years, the company has trained just over 30 persons between a six-seven month period.

“I got a really good feedback because they tell me that there’s really nobody in-

volved in this type of training. So lots of the companies require our training services because they need manpower… There is an abundance of labour in Guyana. But like in the different Caribbean islands, they have a lot of practical experience but not necessarily certified…,” he explained.

However, Baboolall went on to point out that these training services are not only needed by the petroleum sector but also the mining industry.

Meanwhile, Head of Department of Energy, Dr Mark Bynoe had told reporters that the number of investments coming out of this event augurs well for Guyana especially since there has been an increase in the participants from last year’s inaugural GIPEX.

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SATURday, november 23, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Local companies urged to fill gaps in oil and gas sector

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ith Guyana yet to finalise a Local Content Policy for its budding oil and gas sector, local companies are being urged to take advantage of the opportunities that are available in the petroleum industry and capitalise on them.

This call was made by the Managing Director of Suriname’s national oil company, Staatsolie, Rudolf Elias.

He was at the time speaking during a panel discussion at the 2nd annual Guyana International Petroleum Business Summit and Exhibition (GIPEX).

The discussion focused on “Strategies to ensure successful transition (from non-producer to oil producer) during the ‘big boom’”.

Suriname is currently producing crude from three onshore oilfields and despite several exploration exercises, it is yet to strike oil offshore.

However, inspired by Guyana’s offshore fortunes, the Dutch-speaking nation continues to test its basin for oil prospectivity. But, according to Elias, Suriname is not waiting until it finds oil offshore to put the necessary mechanisms in place.

In fact, the State-owned Staatsolie, which is also the country’s regulator for its petroleum industry, has already started working on a local content strategy to prepare domestic companies for the future – something which he says Guyana can learn from.

“We looked at how we can manage our business society in such a way that they start to understand what they have to do in order to be a partner of choice for the foreign companies that come in if they want to start doing business in the offshore oil industry. We’re trying to bring our business society up to a certain level so they understand what the gaps

are that they have to fill…” he stated.

The Head of the Surinamese State-owned oil company further outlined that they did an industrial-based study, where they looked at all the local companies with the potential to work the offshore oil and gas industry. They then we went out for performer tender, kind of like a prequalification, so that they can identify what the gaps are and where they have to work on.

“We give the industrial gap analysis from the [foreign] companies to the [local] companies so they know exactly where to work on and then we made a portal, where they can come to us to ask questions or we can put them on to the IOCs (international oil companies). And this works the other way around. If a company wants to know what is there in Suriname, we send them to the portal and we try to connect them to the right com-

Furniture store robbery...

On Friday, investigators attached to the Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) Police Sub-Division A (Georgetown) were contacted by their counterparts in Region Four Police Sub-Division C (East Coast Demerara) and made aware that one of the suspects arrested in the Agricola police raid was a “Person of Interest” in relation to the attempted robbery at the Pradeep Furniture Store.

As such, law enforcement officials promptly sought to have an extension granted to keep the man in Police custody even before the legal 72hour holding period for investigations into a crime had expired.

The relevant authorities granted this extension after the police produced enough evidence to support their request to investigate the man for the attempted robbery crime.

Region Four Police Commander of Sub-Division C, Assistant Commissioner

of Police, Royston AndriesJunor, when contacted on Friday afternoon confirmed that his ranks are working along with investigators stationed in Georgetown to question the suspect about his alleged involvement in the attempted robbery last month.

He noted that he was in receipt of information that the suspect is indeed the person whose image was caught on CCTV footage.

Reports are around 12:20h on October 14, the suspect entered the furniture store which had only been open for a short period and approached the sales clerk.

He whipped out a handgun from the waist of his pants and brandished the firearm while demanding that she hand over the cash that was in the register.

However, the terrified female related to the gunman that there was no money in the drawer since no sales transactions had been done

from page 11

for the day up to that period. He reportedly got upset but did not fire any shots as he quickly exited the building and jumped onto a motorcycle outside of the establishment. The suspect then made good his escape without any loot.

Commander AndriesJunor, at that time, had told Guyana Times that Police were on the hunt for the armed man.

He stated that the CCTV footage from the business place would have to be reviewed by investigating ranks and also any other footage that may be available that will help locate the suspect or identify the licence plates of the motorcycle he was riding.

According to the Police Commander, although the suspect’s identity was not available at this time, it was hoped that the security cameras in the area would have assisted the police in finding him.

Head of Surinamese Stateowned Staatsolie, Rudolf Elias

panies to try to work with us so that they can fill the gaps and they can form partnerships in order to have a better, quicker local content in our industry,” he stated.

Elias went on to note that this was not done only for the business society but also in the education sector, particularly at the technical institutes.

However, he noted that it is critical that the expectation of country be managed, adding that not everyone will benefit from the sector and those who would,

will first have to fill the gaps in order to get in.

Moreover, Elias pointed out that pushing local content up to IOCs often works counterproductive.

He noted that while foreign companies would prefer to have domestic partners, Governments need to be cautious about pushing too hard.

“Every IOC would like to have a high local content as practically possible because IOC wants to make money for its shareholders and local content must be cheaper than international local.

So I think it’s also a driver for an IOC to go to local content but if you push that too much as a Government and you push it over the edge, then suddenly it will work against you. So it’s a very volatile subject to discuss,” he asserted.

Nevertheless, Elias said Suriname is fortunate to have the opportunity now to grow step-by-step in developing its local content and not have to do it simultaneously with the “big boom”.

He noted that Suriname has taken an approach whereby it discusses with IOCs to see how they plan to develop their own local content. But this, according

to Elias, works because his country is not already in the “big boom” unlike Guyana, which commences oil production next month.

However, even as the US oil giant, ExxonMobil and its partners gear up for first oil in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, where 14 discoveries have been made thus far, concerns are mounting about the lack of the adequate infrastructure to manage the budding industry.

Guyana is still in the process of creating a Local Content Policy with a third draft released by the Department of Energy.

There were several consultations held on the document; however, some private sector bodies felt that the policy is inadequate and further complained that their recommendations are being ignored by policymakers.

One such suggestion is to include penalties for companies who are found in breach of the policy. However, Director of the Department of Energy, Dr Mark Bynoe, had explained that penalties and sanctions are not in the policy but the legislation governing the budding oil and gas sector.

14 news

SATURday, november 23, 2019| guyanatimesgy.com

GBTI’s art competition places 11 months later oil and gas sector at frontline Police arrest accomplice of

murder suspect during raid O

…as 2020 calendar launched

T

he Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI), with an aim of allowing young Guyanese to express what they visualise the country becoming in 2020 and the coming years, placed the oil and gas sector at the frontline of this year’s art competition.

Themed “Guyana 2020 and beyond”, seven ideal artistic creations were selected from this year’s overwhelming entries to be featured in the financial institution’s 2020 calendar. These were all revealed on Friday at the official calendar launch, held at its High and Young Streets, Kingston headquarters.

In opening remarks, Marketing and Public Relations Manager of the

13-year-old Bernard Persaud being awarded by GBTI’s Chief Executive Officer, Richard Isava

Some of the featured art pieces on display

company, Pamela Binda said that the bank opted to focus its art competition on the most popular topics across the country, referencing the budding oil sector.

“We decided to have seven winners this year and they were adjudged by the Guyana Women Artist Association…we decided our

theme this year to be around the noise which is the oil and gas explosion, which will see GBTI making its mark in the oil and gas sector for the year 2020,” She noted.

According to her, the annual competition is the bank’s way of showing its continuous support to developing the country’s youthful population.

Meanwhile, in his address, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Richard Isava highlighted that the artistic work of the students proves Guyana’s rich future even without oil. He encouraged the winning students to pursue these creative careers.

“It has often been said that the future of any country lies in the schoolbags of our children and if this quality of work is any example of what is to come, the Guyana with or without the oil has a very bright future. We challenge you to continue this type of endeavour and this quality of work,” the CEO asserted.

The winning participants are students of North Georgetown Secondary, Lowe’s Academy, Annai Secondary, Christ Church Secondary, Marian Academy, Diamond Secondary and Tutorial High.

ne month short of a year since 34-yearold Kacey Da Silva, a father of one, was shot and killed at Agricola, Greater Georgetown, his killer is still on the loose and to date, no one was charged for his murder.

Since then, local Police have been on the hunt for the murder suspect and the brother of the murder suspect, who was reportedly the one to provide a loaded unlicensed firearm to execute the killing.

However, Police may have caught a break in this case, following the arrest of five persons during a raid at Agricola on Thursday where one of those arrested is said to be the brother of the murder suspect.

The man, who was arrested on Thursday morning, is the brother of the murder suspect that the police were hunting for in relation to him having a hand to play in the shooting to death of Da Silva and the shooting of Da Silva’s friend, Seon Bobb, on December 20, 2018.

On Thursday morning, during one of the several police raids conducted in Region Four (DemeraraMahaica), the suspect was nabbed after he, along with four others, were found inside of a house at First Street, Agricola, with three handguns, ammunition, and a small quantity of cannabis.

Another person in the group had initially fired shots at the police when ranks disembarked the patrol vehicle to enter the premises to conduct a search.

Kacey Da Silva, who was shot and killed at Agricola, Greater Georgetown, on December 20, 2018

However, this did not deter the cops who eventually managed to apprehend the five persons, which included two females, as they (Police) searched the home and subsequently found the illegal items.

When contacted by Guyana Times on Friday afternoon, senior police sources close to the investigation confirmed that an extension was sought for detaining that suspect after the 72hour holding period expired.

The extension was granted and the suspect is currently in Police custody.

Investigators are now intensifying their efforts in the probe into the killing of Da Silva now that they have a person of interest that was initially said to have been the accomplice involved in Da Silva’s death.

At the time of the man’s death, his relatives had related that they were aware

of the identities of the men involved in the shooting to death of their loved one and were willing to provide the police with a photograph of the person who pulled the trigger.

According to reports, Da Silva, also known as, “Presser” and his friend, Seon Bobb, 24, were shot after “Home Alone” opened fire on them for laughing at him because he was beaten by another man during a fight at Second Street, Agricola, on December 20, 2018.

It was reported that the suspect felt embarrassed after Da Silva and Bobb started laughing at him and calling him names.

Police said that shortly after, the suspect’s brother allegedly handed him a gun, which he used to confront Da Silva and Bobb and began shooting at the two men.

The suspect and his brother then left the location on foot through one of the access streets in the village, leaving Da Silva mortally wounded with gunshots to the right chest and left foot.

Police in a release gave the suspects nicknames like “Home Alone” and “Gudgie”.

Shortly after the killing, a senior police rank related that Police had arrested a person in relation to the murder of Da Silva and attempted murder of Bobb.

The rank, however, at that time was unable to confirm if the person in custody was either of the suspects.

The person was eventually released from custody and since then no one had been detained or questioned about the Da Silva murder.

news

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SATURday, november 23, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Police give up search for bodies 4 ‘male’ ganja plants to be allowed in residence – T&T AG lays bills of 2 murdered fishermen

Missing: Vishnu Seeram, called “Kevin”

A

lmost six weeks have passed since four fishermen were murdered while at sea aboard fishing vessel “Sara 1” but two families are still hoping to give their loved ones a proper funeral.

The bodies of the two men that were killed, Vishnu Seeram called “Kevin” and Marvin Tamesar called “Bin Laden” and “Buddy” were never recovered and Police ranks have given up efforts to actively venture to the water top to continue searches for the slain men’s bodies.

Police Commander of Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), Senior Superintendent Calvin Brutus explained to Guyana Times on Friday that a lot of time has elapsed since the men were killed and dumped overboard, adding that it is highly unlikely that their bodies would be located in the waters now.

However, persons are still on the lookout should they discover any remains washed up along the Corentyne shores.

“Based on the location where the bodies were allegedly thrown overboard hardly likely it would end up here. It might be further

down the shore as was seen with the other two, one up Mahaicony, one a little more up the Coast. We are not actively going out on the water top searching but we are in contact with the fisherfolk and people along the waterways and in the event they see anybody float up,” the Police Commander stated.

Nonetheless, he is hopeful that at least the men’s bones could be found so that DNA testing can be conducted and the families of those killed fishermen could receive closure.

On Thursday last, the five men who are accused of killing four Corentyne fishermen in October last made their first court appearance and were all remanded to prison until January 16, 2020.

As the case was called at the Whim Magistrate’s Court, Magistrate Renita Singh informed the accused that they would have been jointly charged for the heinous crime.

Suresh Sundat, 22; Narine Dhanrajh, 30; and Lennox Grimmond, 38, were charged jointly, while O’Brian Fraser and Anonth Boodrage, both 21, were charged together.

It is alleged that between October 5 and 13, 2019, the men murdered Kawal Kissoon, called “Ajai”, of Letter Kenny, Corentyne; Otto Lamar Petrie, Tamesar, and Seeram, all of Miss Phoebe Village, Port Mourant.

Police Prosecutor, Inspector Althea Solomon told the court that the police were ready to commence the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) and that all of the files were ready.

She, nevertheless, told the court that the files were not specific and indicated that she will need further

A

Missing: Marvin Tamesar, called “Bin Laden” and “Buddy”

advice on that issue.

Police had initially arrested Sundat and Dhanrajh, who provided vital information to assist with the investigation.

They subsequently went to the home of Grimmond and arrested him and issued arrest warrants for the other two.

A few days later, authorities in neighbouring Suriname arrested them.

They were in a fishing boat that had docked at a port there. The duo was charged for illegally entering that country before they were handed over to local cops.

It was reported that the now dead fishermen were aboard the “Sara 1” when they were allegedly attacked and killed. On October 5, the fishermen left a wharf at Number 65 Village for sea aboard the vessel.

It is alleged that the pirates who were in another fishing boat ventured over to “Sara 1” with the intention of stealing the fish that the now dead men had caught.

They proceeded to demand that the men hand over the catch as they attacked the four fishermen but the victims reportedly fought back, which led to the murders.

Accused ganja trafficker on bail

A

man, who hails from Ebini, Upper Berbice River, was on Thursday granted bail by Magistrate Wanda Fortune on a charge of narcotics possession. Twenty-two-year-old Anson Taylor, also of Linden, appeared at the Linden Magistrate’s Court, charged with possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking.

It is alleged that on November 19, he had 49 grams of cannabis Sativa in his possession while at Kwakwani Waterfront, Upper Berbice River. He was released on $75,000 bail and the case will continue on December 20 at the Kwakwani Magistrate’s Court.

ttorney General Faris Al Rawi has laid two pieces of legislation in Parliament, that seek to decriminalise marijuana.

The bills are called the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Bill and the Cannabis Control Bill.

They will both come up for debate in the House of Representatives at a later date.

In laying the legislation, the AG said that between 2017 and 2018, there were 84,666 cases before the courts under the Dangerous Drugs Act, for possession, cultivation and gathering of weed.

Of that figure, 71,964 were for possession of marijuana alone.

He said that 9,553 marijuana-related cases were brought before the magistrate courts between 2017 and 2018, with 8,316 for possession alone in one year.

Al Rawi told the House that it is mostly poor and underprivileged men who feel the brunt of the law under the existing legislation.

He said that approximately 500 people each year are unable to access bail even though they were granted bail by the court over marijuana possession.

He told the Parliament that the cost to taxpayers for keeping them in remand is as ‘atrocious’.

“The government, after significant research and wide stakeholder con-

sultation, is of the firm view it is the correct time to amend the Dangerous Drugs Act,” he said, adding that there will be and strict licensing implemtned through a Cannabis Control Authority.

“While others have flirted or failed in 25 years since the passing of Dangerous Drugs Act, please to witness the laying of two bills, the Dangerous Drugs Amendment and Cannabis Control Bill,” Al Rawi said.

The new law will maintain the prohibition of the use of marijuana in public spaces, educational places and places of work.

It will allow a person to lawfully grow no more than four cannabis male plants at a residence without a license.

Possession of 30 grammes or less will no longer be an offence.

Fixed penalties will apply for possession of more than 30 gramme but not more than 60 grammes and for possession of five to 10 grammes of resin.

The full brunt of law will be applied only if someone refuses to pay the fixed penalty and after community service is explored.

Persons will be prosecuted for having marijuana in school limits, on a bus or in a schoolyard, even if they are in possession of the acceptable amounts.

That penalty will be $200,000 and imprisonment

for five years.

Anyone in control of a motor vehicle, aircraft or ship while under the influence of marijuana will be liable to summary conviction carrying a penalty of $250,000 and imprisonment of five years.

Persons currently before the courts for possession of up to 60 grammes can apply to be discharged and have their matters expunged.

They will also be able to apply for a pardon.

The AG said that eight types of licenses will be granted by the Cannabis Control Authority, including licenses for cultivation, retail distribution, importation/exportation and transportation.

Strict controls will also be in place for medicinal use and religious purposes.

Differences between male and female marijuana plants Male plants essentially produce pollen which is needed for cannabis plants to naturally reproduce; seeds occur when there are male plants in the mix. If you want to make your own seeds you will need a male plant.

Female plants are basically what everyone is after when growing cannabis, as these are the ones that make buds, which is the part of the plant that contains the most THC. (T&T Guardian)

16

guyanatimesgy.com

SATURDay, november 23, 2019

Regional

Brazil President Bolsonaro launches new political party

B

razil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has launched a new political party a day after leaving the right-wing Social Liberal Party (PSL).

His Alliance for Brazil (APB) met in a hotel in the capital Brasilia with hundreds of people in attendance.

The party would fight corruption and advance Christian values, he said.

Bolsonaro left the PSL following a row with its founder over control of campaign funds. He wants PSL lawmakers and senators to follow him out.

The PSL surged in popularity to become the second-largest in the Brazilian Congress after Bolsonaro joined it last year for his presidential run.

tion, many of whom voted for Bolsonaro last year because of his stance on abortion, homosexuality and marijuana use.

Bolsonaro, who came to power in January, is a deeply divisive figure who has made racist, homophobic and misogynistic remarks.

He will be APB’s President while his eldest son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, will be VicePresident.

“We have the opportunity to unite all Brazilians of good Brazil’s President Jair faith for the future of our faBolsonaro therland,” the President said The APB now needs to col- at the event. lect about 500,000 signatures He added that Brazil had over the next six months to be recovered international confiable to register for next year’s dence since he took office last municipal elections. year and now had the lowest Organisers hope to attract interest rates in its history. support from the country’s (BBC News) Evangelical Christian popula-

Colombia protests: 3 dead as more than 200,000 demonstrate

T

hree people were killed in Colombia on Thursday amid nationwide mass protests against the right-wing Government of President Iván Duque, officials say.

More than 200,000 people took to the streets to show discontent over possible austerity measures.

The protests were mostly peaceful but clashes between demonstrators and Police broke out in cities including the capital, Bogotá, and Cali.

There has been a surge in anti-Government protests in Latin America.

Colombian protesters are concerned about possible changes to the minimum wage, pension and tax reforms, and the privatisation of state companies. The Government insists there are no planned pension or labour reforms and that any changes would take place in consultation with labour groups.

Protesters are also angry about alleged corruption

After Venezuelan Opposition’s call for mass rallies, street protests underwhelm

V

enezuelan Opposition Leader Juan Guaido’s call for massive street protests against President Nicolas Maduro has so far yielded only modest demonstrations, casting doubt on a plan to revive stalling efforts to force a change in Government.

Last Saturday Guaido called on supporters to stage permanent street rallies against Maduro, who has clung to power despite an economic collapse and US sanctions that have hobbled the OPEC member’s oil exports.

There has been a low turnout at demonstrations and some protesters acknowledged being exhausted by dysfunctional public transportation, lack of power and water and crippling hyperinflation.

“The capacity for mobilisation has declined and we’re aware of it, this is a message for all Venezuelans that we need them,” said Estefania Cervo, 22, a student leader at the Central University of Venezuela, at the end of a small student rally on Thursday. “We’re hoping that this will activate people”.

People gather in a demonstration called by students against Nicolas Maduro Government in Caracas, Venezuela

The rally of several hundred students ended without any clashes with security forces, despite a heavy police presence and barricades that prevented the rally from reaching the Defence Ministry as planned.

Rallies by teachers and nurses earlier in the week attracted small numbers and ended quickly.

Guaido in January invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency after declaring Maduro’s 2018 re-election a fraud, winning

him broad international recognition and bringing euphoric crowds to the streets.

The energy has waned since then.

Opposition sympathizers continue to back Guaido, but many say they are disappointed that Maduro remains in power.

Guaido’s popularity has dropped to 42.1 per cent in November from 56.7 per cent in May, according to pollster Datanalisis. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Bolivia’s interim Govt charges Morales with sedition and terrorism

B Cali’s authorities imposed a night-time curfew after violent incidents

and what some see as the Government’s failure to honour a 2016 peace deal with left-wing Farc rebels amid a rise in violence.

Thursday’s general strike was called by unions and student groups, and more protests were expected on Friday.

President Duque said he had heard Colombians and vowed to deepen “social dialogue”.

The details of the deaths, all of them in the western province of Valle del Cauca, were still under investigation, Defence Minister Carlos

Holmes Trujillo told journalists on Friday.

Two people died in the city of Buenaventura, where a group of people tried to loot a shopping centre. “Because of this violent act, the security forces went to confront the event, while being subject to violent aggression with the throwing of rocks and sticks,”Trujillo said.

A third death was reported in the town of Candelaria, he added. (Excerpt from BBC News)

olivia’s interim Government filed a criminal complaint on Friday against former President Evo Morales for alleged sedition and terrorism, the Interior Minister said, as authorities began probes of his allies that they accuse of corruption and fomenting unrest.

Interim President Jeanine Anez, a former senator and opponent of Morales, has faced a wave of demonstrations by his supporters since taking office in a power vacuum last week.

Morales and his Vice President stepped down under pressure from security forces and anti-Government protesters on November 10, amid reports of irregularities in the October 20 election. Morales

fled to Mexico and says he was toppled in a coup.

At least 29 have been killed in clashes since he resigned.

Interior Minister Arturo Murillo said he asked the public prosecutor’s office to open an investigation into Morales, based on audio in which, from Mexico, Morales allegedly directed plans for road blockades in Bolivia to destabilise the interim Government.

Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the audio, which was played to reporters at a news conference earlier this week. Morales’ former Health Minister, Gabriela Montano, called the audio “fake.”

Murillo told journalists outside the prosecutors’ office in La Paz: “The evidence is clear.

We’ve presented it.”

Morales could not immediately be reached for comment.

He said on Twitter that authorities should be investigating the death of protesters instead of going after him on the basis of what he described as fake evidence.

It was unclear if prosecutors would investigate Morales or eventually file charges. The attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Blocking roads is a common form of protest in Bolivia and much of South America, though intense blockades by Morales supporters in the past week have cut off fuel and food to some cities. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Honduran migrant sent back under Poll points to DLP victory in Dominica new US deal resigned to fate for now T

T

he first Honduran migrant sent back home under new restrictions pushed by US President Donald Trump expressed sadness and confusion over his whirlwind repatriation on Friday, resigned for now to his failure to join relatives living in America.

After an arduous trek north, Erwin Ardon, a 23-year old farm worker from Honduras’ northern coast, spent three days at the US border city of El Paso, Texas. He was then flown back under a Trump-backed agreement designating Guatemala as a so-called safe third country for people fleeing persecution.

Ardon spoke to Reuters in a hallway at a migrant’s shelter in the Guatemalan capital prior to

leaving in a car provided by the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM). The vehicle was taking him back home to Honduras’ Colon department, a dangerous area known to be plagued by drug trafficking.

“It’s hard because I made it inside (the United States) and then they returned me,” he said in a timid voice, but adding that he was not afraid.

“They say now that they’re not providing asylum, so it didn’t make sense for me at all to stay there ... So I had to sign a piece of paper that I didn’t understand”.

Upon reaching the United States, he had hoped relatives would meet him. “Supposedly, they were going to pick me up,”

he said, explaining that he waited more than two hours.

“They never came for me”.

Ardon was accompanied by only a few US migration officials on an otherwise empty plane on Thursday, an arrangement criticised as wildly expensive

by Guatemalan President-elect Alejandro Giammattei. He takes office in January and has said he will review the deal struck with the Trump administration.

A seasonal palm oil worker who earned as little as 1000 Honduran lempiras ($40) per week during the three- to fourmonth harvest, Ardon said he knew he was unlikely to ever win asylum protection in the United States. (Excerpt from Reuters)

he Barbados-based Caribbean Development Research Services (CADRES) Thursday said many Dominicans expect the ruling Dominica Labour Party (DLP) to win the December 6 general election, but cautioned “that this is not necessarily an expression of voting intention”.

CADRES director Peter Wickham, speaking at a news conference, where he unveiled the results of a poll conducted here during the month of October said 48 per cent of those polled said they expected the DLP to win the elections, while 25 per cent said they expected the main opposition United Workers Party (UWP) to win and 27 per cent were unsure or preferred not to say.

The regional political scientist told reporters that the survey was based on just over 1000

interviews that were conducted in all 21 constituencies across Dominica and the questionnaire used was structured and sought information on the main issues of concern, including the leader preferred to lead the island over the next five years and the respondents voting intention.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus five per cent.

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit is seeking an unprecedented fourth consecutive term in power, while his main challenger is Opposition Leader Lennox Linton.

Wickham told reporters that the issue of leadership is always a critical indicator and in this regard respondents were asked which leader they would “prefer” at this time and the majority -39 per cent- said

that they would prefer Prime Minister Skerrit, while the second largest quantity (31 per cent) opted for Linton.

But he noted that 26 per cent of those questioned did not answer the question and four per cent said they were genuinely uncertain about which leader they preferred.

“In this regard, the preferred leader responses were cross tabulated with party support, in particular the “Uncertain voter” who did not opt for Labour or UWP in the party support question and a majority of these persons (69 per cent) did not commit to either leader. Among those who did, the majority (13 per cent) preferred Prime Minister Skerrit while eight per cent preferred Opposition Leader Linton,” Wickham said.

(Excerpt from Barbados Nation News)

guyanatimesgy.com

SATURday, november 23, 2019

17

Around the world

India courts private hospitals Zimbabwe uproar as roads named to boost insurance programme after Emmerson Mnangagwa

I

ndia will offer incentives to private hospitals to take part in the Government’s health insurance programme, potentially the biggest of its kind in the world, a senior Government official told Reuters.

Launched last year, the scheme is critical to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plans to reform the country’s health system, where private healthcare is too expensive for most people and public hospitals are overburdened and often dilapidated.

The “Modicare” programme offers families health cover of up to 500,000 rupees (US$7000) a year for serious ailments - a significant amount by Indian standards but the scheme has struggled to gain traction.

India has so far registered about 20 per cent of the eligi-

Indu Bhushan, CEO of India’s National Health Authority (NHA), poses for a picture inside his office after an interview with Reuters in New Delhi, India, November 21, 2019

ble 500 million people, due to lack of public awareness of the scheme and low Private Sector participation, said Indu Bhushan, CEO of the National Health Authority (NHA), which runs the pro-

gramme.

Private hospitals, however, are concerned about costs. A report by Indian lobby group FICCI and consultants EY said in August that private hospitals complained that treatment rates offered by the NHA covered only 4080 per cent of their costs.

The NHA’s budget spending also reflects the slow uptake of the scheme. The health agency will spend only 50-55 billion rupees (US$766 million) of the allocated 62 billion rupees in the current fiscal year that ends in March, said Bhushan.

In order to expand the scheme more swiftly, however, the NHA was likely to seek at least 80 billion rupees for next year, 30 per cent more than its current annual budget, a senior Government source said.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Trump, Xi send positive signals on initial deal to defuse US-China trade war

T

he leaders of the United States and China on Friday both underscored their desire to sign an initial trade deal and defuse a 16-month tariff war that has lowered global growth, providing a welcome boost to financial markets.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, in rare comments on the trade tensions with Washington, said Beijing wants to work out an interim or ‘phase one’ trade pact, but is not afraid to retaliate when necessary.

Hours later, US President Donald Trump said a trade accord with China is “potentially very

close,” although he insisted that any deal would have to be weighted to favour the United States after years of trade imbalances with China.

Economists say the prolonged dispute between the world’s two largest economies is lowering global growth, disrupting supply chains, curtailing investment and curbing business confidence.

Concerns of a broader deterioration in Sino-US ties weighed on markets this week. US Navy warships twice sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea in recent days, angering Beijing.

Completion of a phase one trade deal could slide into next year, trade experts and people close to the White House have told Reuters, with Beijing asking for more extensive tariff rollbacks and Washington countering with increased demands of its own.

Trump said he was troubled by Xi’s insistence on “equality,” countering that the United States had suffered for years due to large Chinese trade surpluses.

China’s official Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as saying ties between Washington and Beijing were at a pivotal moment.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Trump on impeachment: “Frankly, I want a trial”

U

S President Donald Trump said on Friday he wants a trial in the United States Senate, suggesting he would be vindicated.

The US President said, however, he did not think the House of Representatives would impeach him.

The Democratic-led House is investigating whether Trump abused his power of office by pushing Ukraine to investigate a political rival.

Testimony revealed that the Administration was also pushing for an investigation into a debunked conspiracy theory that it was Ukraine, not Russia, that meddled in the 2016 US presidential election.

At the time of the July 25 call, the Trump Administration was withholding nearly US$400 million in military aid to Ukraine, prompting allegations Trump was using the money to get his desired investigations.

The money was eventually released.

President Donald Trump talks to the media on his way to the Marine One helicopter

There was been no evidence of wrongdoing by the Bidens. Trump has said he has done nothing wrong, labelling the impeachment investigation a “witch-hunt”.

On Friday, Trump accused two witnesses of lying during the marathon public hearings.

The Republican President took issue with testimony on Thursday by David Holmes, a US embassy official in Ukraine. Holmes said under oath that at a Kyiv restaurant he overheard a July 26 cellphone conversation in which

Trump loudly pressed Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the European Union, for details on whether Ukraine would carry out politically motivated investigations the President was seeking.

A key question in the impeachment inquiry has been why Trump used his personal lawyer in such a role and not the usual Government channels.

Trump called Ukraine corrupt and said Giuliani was the right person for the job.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Z

imbabweans have reacted with disbelief to news that the Government has approved plans to rename major roads and buildings after “national heroes” - including 10 streets named after President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Many of those honoured fought in the 1970s guerrilla war against white-minority rule and went on to become prominent figures in independent Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe is suffering from a shortage of cash, which has led to the reintroduction of the Zimbabwe dollar, after a decade when the US and South African currencies were used instead.

Zimbabwe itself used to be known as Rhodesia, after the 19th Century British colonialist Cecil Rhodes.

It was renamed at independence in 1980 but in Harare (previously known as Salisbury) there is still a Cecil John Rhodes Drive, which will now be called Willie Musarurwa Drive, af-

President Emmerson Mnangagwa rose to power in 2017

ter a prominent Zimbabwean journalist.

The President is obviously the biggest beneficiary of the latest renaming programme - one of Harare’s main roads, Enterprise Road, is to be called Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa Rd, as are nine other roads and streets in cities around the country.

Some Zimbabweans are asking whether this is prema-

ture and vain, as he has only been in power for less than two years.

Despite being forced from power, several roads and Harare’s main airport, are still named after Robert Mugabe.

The airport’s name was only changed in 2017 less than a week before he was forced to step down. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Israel’s Netanyahu faces calls to quit but is defiant in crisis

I

sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced calls to resign over a corruption scandal on Friday, as senior Government colleagues publicly declared support after some signs of cracks in party loyalty.

Netanyahu said he would not step down after he was indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust by Israel’s Attorney General on Thursday night.

The 70-year-old conservative Likud party leader denies all wrongdoing and denounced the indictment - the first against a sitting Israeli Prime Minister - as an “attempted coup”.

But his ability to lead a country mired in political crisis, after two inconclusive elections this year that failed to produce a Government, is being questioned.

The centrist Blue and White Party headed by

Supporters of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu protest outside Likud Party headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel November 22, 2019. The placards in Hebrew read, “Strong in security, strong in Economy “

Netanyahu’s main rival, Benny Gantz, issued a statement calling on him to “immediately resign from all ministerial positions in the Government”.

Under Israeli law, he is under no obligation step down a Prime Minister.

But with Israel heading towards a likely third election in less than a year,

Netanyahu could soon find himself in the difficult position of trying to win an election while preparing to be prosecuted.

The support of his Likud party colleagues is likely to be crucial to Netanyahu’s chances of staying in power. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Iraqi security forces kill 3 protesters in Baghdad – reports

T

hree people have been killed and several others wounded amid continued anti-Government protests in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, according to security and medical sources.

Friday’s casualties took place during fierce clashes between demonstrators and security forces near a strategic bridge in central Baghdad that leads to the city’s heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraq’s government.

Reuters News Agency, citing police sources, reported that three people had been killed and 27 others wounded in the unrest. Two people died from bullet wounds, according to the sources, while the third was hit by a tear gas canister in the head.

The Associated Press news agency, citing security and hospital sources, also put the death toll at three people.

At least 25 people had been wounded, AP reported.

The deaths followed previous bloodshed during protests in Baghdad on Thursday which saw at least eight people killed.

Earlier on Friday, Iraq’s top Shia leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, called for the country’s politicians to speed up the reform of electoral laws, saying the changes were the only way to resolve the deadly unrest that has unfolded in recent weeks.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

18

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Take action. It’s up to you to chase your dreams.

Explore new avenues and pick up information, qualifications and additional skills that will help you head in a new direction.

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

A steady pace to the front of the pack will make others take notice. Take the initiative to speak your mind, promote what you want to achieve and create the future you want.

(March 21April 19)

dilbert

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

CANCER (June 21July 22)

Peanuts

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Calvin and Hobbes

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

SUDOKU

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21)

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

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

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

Emotional issues can be addressed by taking action. How you treat someone will greatly affect the relationship. Romance is in the stars.

Take a break, relax and spend some downtime with loved ones. A change of scenery or improving your living space to add to your comfort is favored.

Show someone how much you care. If you don’t honor your promises, your words won’t matter.

Personal growth and romance are encouraged.

Leave nothing to chance.

Take care of details yourself if you want things done correctly. Sticking to a budget and avoiding temptation will help you reach your goal.

Take a long, hard look at your past and present, and consider what would make your life better. Personal gain is within reach if you don’t let anyone interfere with your plans.

Your memory will serve you well when dealing with people who have taken advantage of you. Set the record straight. Protect what you have and discard what isn’t in your best interest.

Align yourself with people you know you can trust.

Don’t be fooled by someone who uses charm and manipulative tactics to infiltrate your circle of confidantes.

Cut through the drama and look at what’s possible.

Don’t let changes or decisions that others make lead to an argument. You have better things to do with your time.

Refuse to let someone else set the standard for you.

Don’t get confused by what others do. Consider what’s best for you and follow the path that helps you excel.

An unexpected turn of events will surprise you.

Before you leap into action, consider the source of the information you receive and what’s expected from you in return for it. Protect your health and well-being.

saturday, november 23, 2019

19

Giannis' triple-double leads Bucks past Blazers G

iannis Antetokounmpo recorded 24 points, 19 rebounds and a career-high 15 assists as the host Milwaukee Bucks posted a 137-129 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday.

The triple-double was the second of the season for Antetokounmpo, who collected 30 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in Milwaukee’s 117-111 win at Houston on Oct. 24.

Eric Bledsoe scored 30 points and Pat Connaughton added a season-high 18 to help the Bucks notch their season-high sixth straight win and their 10th victory in 11 outings. The point total was a season best for Milwaukee.

CJ McCollum highlighted his 37-point performance by making five 3-pointers, and Skal Labissiere added 22 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks for the Trail Blazers, who were without four-time All-Star Damian Lillard (back) for the second consecutive contest.

Carmelo Anthony scored 10 of his 18 points in the first half while playing in his second game with Portland after a year away from the NBA. Labissiere was credited with a layup following a goaltending call on Antetokounmpo

before sinking a pair of jumpers as Portland closed to within 114-110 with 8:26 to go.

McCollum added a pair of jumpers to bring the Trail Blazers within two, but Brook Lopez and Wesley Matthews each drained a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions to build the lead back to eight with 6:30 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Antetokounmpo made a pair of baskets and Bledsoe and Donte DiVincenzo added layups to push Milwaukee’s lead to 131-119 just under two minutes later. DiVincenzo received a lead pass from Antetokounmpo, marking the latter’s 15th assist of the night to eclipse his previous high set against Brooklyn on March 13, 2016.

Milwaukee boosted its advantage to 16 points midway into the second quarter and claimed a 72-58 lead at intermission, marking an NBA-best seventh time that it has scored at least 70 points in a half.

Pelicans hand Suns third straight setback

Brandon Ingram had 28 points and three 3-pointers, and JJ Redick had 26 points and five 3-pointers as the New Orleans Pelicans opened a three-game road trip with a 124-121 victory over the Phoenix Suns on

Thursday.

Jrue Holiday finished with 23 points and nine assists, and E’Twuan Moore contributed 19 points and three 3-pointers for the Pelicans, who shot 53.4 percent from the field while winning for the fourth time in five games.

Kelly Oubre Jr. had 25 points and six rebounds, Devin Booker amassed 19 points and seven assists, and Cameron Johnson had 14 points and three 3-pointers for the Suns, who have lost three straight for the first time this season.

Ingram scored seven consecutive points in the last 2:02 for a 124-115 lead with 59 seconds remaining. Booker hit a technical free throw and Johnson scored five points to make it 124-121 with 2.9 seconds to go before Holiday missed two free throws with five-tenths of a second remaining.

The Suns called timeout and got the ball with twotenths of a second left, and Booker’s desperation overhead tip from behind the 3-point arc was not close.

Redick has four 20-point games in his last six contests and has made 30 of

59 3-point attempts in that stretch. Ingram had eight rebounds and five assists.

The Pelicans made 16 of 35 3-point attempts, 9 of 14 in the second half. New Orleans guard Lonzo Ball had eight points and five assists in 19

minutes after missing the previous six games due to a groin injury.

(Reuters)

BCB/Banks DIH Ltd 2-day 1st division tournament postponed ꟷ rainy season has begun

T

he second round of the Berbice Cricket Board’s (BCB’s) Banks DIH Ltd twoday first division tournament has been postponed because of the onset of inclement weather.

The decision to postpone the tournament was arrived at after the BCB contacted the meteorological department and was informed there would be rain overnight and for the weekend (Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning). BCB officials were also advised that the rainy season has just commenced, thus the usual December quota of rain can

Association is also asked to take note of this development.

The Berbice Cricket Board/ Banks DIH Ltd two-day tournament had had a successful start, and would have continued with its second round had there not been this development.

Albion had recorded the only outright victory, while Rose Hall Town Namilco Thunderbolt Flour, Blairmont and Tucber Park had recorded first innings points. Five centuries had been scored in the first round, while four bowlers had each taken a five-wicket haul.

Albion heads Zone ‘B’, while

clashing at the Area ‘H’ Ground, while Rose Hall Canje would have travelled to Port Mourant to play the home team.

Blairmont and Young Warriors will meet at the Cumberland Ground in the second round of play, while Tucber Park would play West Berbice at the Bush Lot Ground.

The Albion versus Rose Hall Town match promises to

Team Young Warriors lost first innings points to Tucber Park in the opening round (Brandon Corlette photos)

Clifton Lindie played promising innings for Tucber Park

be expected, and inclement weather might last until late January, 2020.

All clubs affiliated to the BCB are thus advised to keep practising and to continuously check the BCB Facebook page for updates. The Umpires

RHT Thunderbolt Flour is in second place. Blairmont and Tucber Park are the respective leader and runner- up team in Zone ‘A’. The second round fixtures would have featured the top two Berbice teams, Albion and RHT Thunderbolt Flour,

be a thriller when the first ball bowls off in the new season.

Albion will be featuring top players Devendra Bishoo, Rajiv Ivan, Kandasammy Surujnarine, Kevin Umroa, Adrian Sukhwa and Gourav Ramesh; while RHT Thunderbolt Flour would be

spearheaded by Eon Hooper, Kevlon Anderson, Junior Sinclair, Shawn Pereira, Sylus Tyndall, Jonathan Rampersaud, Keith Simpson and the in-form Delbert Hicks.

First round centurion Kevin Jawahir would lead a strong Blairmont team, which would include Seon Glasgow, Marvan Prashad, Javed Karim, Nigel Deodat and Shabeer Baksh; while a confident Young Warriors side would include Trevon Stanislaus, Alex Algoo, Suresh Dhanai, Ishwar Singh,

Linden Austin, Vishal Mohabir and Ricardo Ramdehol.

Rose Hall Canje will meet Port Mourant at the historic Port Mourant Community Centre in their second round clash. Rose Hall Canje, who held the strong RHT team to a draw, would have players like Michael Campbelle, first round centurion Kedar Amsterdam, Ameer Rahaman, Joel Seitram, Zaheer Hussain and Boodram Ramsarran. Port Mourant would have Demetri Cameron, Darshan Seenarine, West Indies youth player Rampertab Ramnauth, Madhan

Budram and Salim Khan.

Tucber Park will meet West Berbice in their second round clash at Bush Lot. Tucber Park would be spearheaded by Anthony D’Andrade, Quacy Mickle, Leon Swammy, Garfield Benjamin and Keon De Jesus; while West Berbice would feature R. Persaud, Kelroy Fraser, Karime Mentore, Joshua Van-Tull and Keon Joseph.

The dates for these second round clashes would be announced after January 2020, when the weather permits.

20

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

saturday, november 23, 2019

NSC supports Special Schools Athletics Sports ꟷ Spikedown 2K19 Volleyball tourney launched

Director of Sports, Christopher Jones alongside Seon Erskine Technical Director of the NSC and Wilton Spencer Special Needs Coach

Director of Sports, Christopher Jones alongside members of the volleyball tournament

By Timothy Jaikarran

T

he Director of Sports, Christopher Jones, on Friday declared open the 4th annual Special Schools Athletics Sports and the launching of the Spikedown 2K19 Volleyball tournament.

The Special Schools Athletics Sports will be hosted on November 26, 27 and 29 rspectively at the Colgrain Swimming Pool and the Eve Leary Sports Complex Ground.

The Volleyball competition will be held on November 30 and December 1 at the National Gymnasium, with action beginning therein from 10:00hrs daily.

4th Special Schools Athletics Sports The activities for the 2019 Special Schools Athletics Sports include cricket, football, swimming and athletics.

When he spoke at the

launching of this activity, Sports Director Christopher Jones explained that the total amount of athletes that would be participating in the event is 364. Among the institutions participating are the Community-Based Rehabilitation Unit, Gifted Hands Learning for Children with Special Needs, David Rose School, Guyana Society for the Blind, Harold Davis Special School, Linden Centre for Special Needs Children, The Ministry of Education Unit for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and the Open Door Centre. This event is exclusively sponsored by the National Sports Commission (NSC) and is a part of President David Granger’s commitment to see all involved in sports.

Seon Erskine, Technical Director at the National Sports Commission (NSC), said Government is making bold strides in terms of including persons with disabilities within

the sporting arena. He declared himself extremely satisfied with this development, and said the opening day would see participation from more than 177 persons, and everyone would be able to participate in their respective age group.

Erskine urged participating schools to come out and show support for their contesting colleagues, as they are capable individuals just like everyone else.

Wilton Spencer, Special Needs Coach attached to the NSC, endorsed Erskine’s sentiments and added, “I am excited to have these three days of activities. There is (a great deal) of enthusiasm (coming) from the various institutions, and even the schools. There will be mixed events, as not all schools are able to have full male or female teams, but nevertheless I know that it will be exciting.

“The final day will be a

Rio indoor streetball championship continues tonight T

he Rio Indoor Street Ball Competition continues this evening at the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue with what can be described as fireworks in the matches slated for play.

Island All-Stars come up against Gaza Squad from 19:00hrs, while Rio All-Stars oppose Spot7 from 19:30hrs.

Stabroek Ballers take on Albouystown from 20:00hrs, while Avocado Ballers oppose LA Ballers from 20:30hrs.

BV tackle Bent Street from 21:00hrs, and Gold is Money lock horns with Sophia immediately thereafter. In the final match, Sparta Boss will try to see off Alexander Village in a contest that begins from 22:00hrs.

Traditional giants Gold is Money, Showstoppers, Sophia, Bent Street and Back Circle secured easy wins when the inaugural Rio Indoor Street Ball Competition continued on Thursday at the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue.

Gold is Money defeated Island All-Stars 6-3. Keifer Brandt scored a hat trick in the

fifth, eighth and 17th minutes; while Jamal Pedro, Randolph Wagner and Phillip Rowley scored in the second, 10th and 14th minutes respectively.

For the All-Stars, Quincy McDonald, Devon Hyman and Rory Lewis scored in the third, seventh and 15th minutes respectively.

Bent Street crushed Avocado Ballers 4-1.

Daniel Wilson, Colin Nelson, Pernell Schultz and Akel Clarke netted for Bent Street in the fourth, 12th, 15th and 17th minutes respectively; while Cedric Osborne netted in the sixth minute for Avocado Ballers.

Showstoppers dismissed Future Stars 5-2. Delon Lanferman recorded a double in the fourth and eighth minutes; while Lennox Wilson, Keanu Lawrence and Stephon Jupiter scored in the 16th, 17th and 19th minutes respectively.

Jamal Cozier was on target for the Future Stars in the sixth and 11th minutes.

And Sophia downed Gaza Squad 2-0, with Elroy George and Mervin Morris netting in the fourth and eighth minutes respectively.

packed day of events, as 46 events will be carded for the day and it will cater for everyone. All in all, I am looking forward to an excellent event.”

Spikedown 2K19 Volleyball Tournament Andre Jagnandan, a second year law student at the University of Guyana, launched the 2K19 Volleyball tournament. As an advocate for youth participation in sports

administration, he noted that the competition consists of seven teams originating out of the three counties, and that admission to witness play is without charge.

“Over the years, the sport of volleyball in Guyana has been stifled due to funding, media coverage, and moreso appeal to the general public. Today marks a milestone in which a new path will be paved to accomplish specific goals set by the youth arm of volleyball, the Guyana Volleyball Federation, and the National Sports Commission. It is our view that not only will this tournament open the door for more participation from both sponsors and players, but we strongly hope that it will etch into the minds and hearts of the Guyanese public that the time is now, and your support

is needed. Partner with us and we will take volleyball to new heights in Guyana, and more so on the international platform,” Jagnandan said.Speaking at the launching of this tournament, President of the Guyana Volleyball Federation, Levi Nedd, said he is proud that the younger generation is taking up the mantle in terms of moving forward in sports.

He said he is grateful to the NSC and the main sponsor of the tournament, Trophy Stall, for making this tournament possible. Nedd related that the tournament is a way of selecting players for any tournament upcoming in 2020, and he said he is optimistic that from this tournament more tournaments would be launched in the future.

Sports Director Christopher Jones said, “The NSC will continue to lend support to this format of the tournament.

The NSC fully endorses this tournament, and we would want you to reach farther than just the three counties.”

Always Championship Cup 2019 kicks off today ꟷ 6 female clubs to battle for top honours

T

he battle among female football clubs for supremacy in the 2nd edition of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF)/Always Female Championship Cup competition gets underway this afternoon at the GFF National Training Centre at Providence, East Bank Demerara.

Female players from six clubs drawn from West Demerara and Georgetown Football Associations will be locked in battle in the 11v11 format of the game. Last year’s inaugural tournament was played using the 7v7 format.

ANSA McAL Trading, local distributors of ‘Always’ sanitary napkins, have again committed their full support towards the continued development of female football by maintaining their partnership with the GFF. The clubs set to compete in this tournament are Foxy Lady FC, Fruta Conquerors FC, Guyana Defence Force FC, Guyana Police Force FC, GT Panthers FC, and Santos FC. The round-robin format would be played over two rounds of play, and the top four teams emerging from the first round would advance to the second round.

Matches would be of 70 minutes’ duration, divided into two equal halves of 35 minutes each, with 10 minutes allotted for the halftime break.

Santos and Fruta Conquerors have been given opportunity to set the pace for the tournament, as they will pit skills in the opening match from 13:00hrs today. Their clash will be followed by “the clash of the Armed Forces”, Guyana Defence Force and Guyana Police Force, from 14:30hrs.

Another double-header is slated for tomorrow. Santos will come up against the Guyana Defence Force from 13:00hrs, but the main attraction is between Guyana Police Force and Foxy Lady.

guyanatimesgy.com

SATURday, november 23, 2019

CLASSIFIED ADS Educational First Aid/CPR And Home Nursing Classes. Kindly call 225-9082 or visit St. John Association 110 Cowan St., Georgetown to enroll for new classes now being scheduled.

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TO LET For Rent: 2 Story Concrete House for Rental in residential gated community in Georgetown. 5 Bedrooms A/C, 5 Complete Bathroom, Hot and Cold Water, Backup Generator, Large Yard Space, 2 Living Room A/C, Office, 4 Patio, 2 Car Garage. Call Tel: 6946606 (serious enquires only) FOR RENT BY OWNER. 8000 sq ft of warehouse/office space on the BV (Beterverwagting) Public Rd, East Coast Demerara. Multiple air-conditioned offices. USD $4500 NEGOTIABLE. Call or Whatsapp 592610-6580

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LGC set to break another record T

he outgoing Executive Team at the LGC continue their march to set new records for events held in a single year as they host yet another double-header weekend of activities with two events scheduled for today and Sunday.

From noon today, the Club will host their annual Spa & Beauty Tournament which features prizes from all of the top spas in Guyana (Nayelli’s, Vivaanta Ayurvedic and Healing Waters).

"The LGC is proud to bring this incredible event to the players, who will benefit from the services provided by the country's leading health and beauty treatment providers," said Captain Chen Deo. "Over the years, golfers have tended to ignore the stress placed on their bodies by the sport, and the push by the LGC President to bring new activities and partnerships has led to these companies providing gift certificates for the prizes this weekend."

Nayelli's Salon & Spa, located on New Market Street just west of Camp Street, has for many years provided top health & beauty services to the Guyanese public, and has been a strong supporter of the LGC in years past.

This entity offers a wide variety of services, and caters to all needs: from styling to pedicure, and everything in-between.

“This year, we saw the advent of Healing Waters Spa, located at the Ramada Princess Hotel, come on board for the first time, and their services are worldclass, offering all types of treatments and beauty care packages.

“And to round off the amazing slew of prizes, the

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new Vivaanta Ayurvedic Spa on Church Street, which provides exotic healing treatments and a wide variety of options for all types of needs, added their weight to the event.

"With the leading names involved, each prize will be of tremendous benefit and value to the winners, and it will be a tough choice for t h e m to choose from among the priz-

es provided," said Shaw, Treasurer of the Club.

There will be prizes for the top two positions in the 0-9, 10-18 and 19-28 categories, along with the Nearest to Pin and Longest drive.

(Manicures, Pedicures, Facials, Neck, Back massages etc, are all up for grabs).

The Club will, for the first time, also feature a prize f o r

the Best

Gross in all three categories.

This was proposed by Dr Philbert London and Bishop Guy Griffith, the Club's Public Relations Officer, and will be tested to see if the players, who have become very competitive in the past few years, will embrace the addition.

And as if that were not enough, On Sunday, starting at 8:30am (groups may go off earlier), the Club will host the final Romel & Robin

Christine Sukhram is one of the LGC’s top female golfers

GCB/CWI Kiddy Progression One Cricket…

Driver for Water delivery - 680-3863 Porter for Water delivery - 680-3863

21

Bar-B-Que Extravaganza, a 9-hole fun tournament that will see players of all categories competing for lots of prizes, food and drinks. Barb-que is available for just $1,000, and all are invited to attend this fun event, a preview of the Christmas and Easter events held by the LGC. Romel Bhagwandin and Satrohan Robin Tiwari, both young Lusignan-born businessmen who are also members of the LCG, have taken an interest in assisting the LGC in promoting and hosting events to ensure that the Club is funded for operations.

This is their third event this year, and it promises to be the largest and most elaborate as they gear up for 2020.

Players may continue after 9 holes as the course will remain open, and music will be played after completion of the tournament and awards.

"The grounds are in the best condition ever, and the weather has been fantastic, so we are taking full advantage of the conditions to promote the game. Recent efforts by Ms. Fatima Reple (wife of GM Eduardo Reple of the Guyana Marriott) and Rudy Ramalingum of New Trend Auto have seen improvements to the clubhouse and grounds taking effect, and we feel that all the visitors will be pleased with the results" said Club President Aleem Hussain.

Visitors are always welcome, and may find more details on the Lusignan Golf Club’s Facebook page, or by calling 220-5660 for information. The newly erected lighted driving range sponsored by the Macorp group is available for practice, and the Club provides free lessons, equipment and cart rentals for players and beginners.

Grove and St Pius emerge champions of respective districts

I

n the finals of the GCB/CWI Kiddy Progression One Cricket, played at the Everest Cricket Club ground recently, Grove Primary beat Peter’s Hall Primary to emerge East Bank Demerara district champions.

Batting first, Grove Primary posted 97 for 7 off their allotted 14 overs.

Number 3 batsman Sharaj Johnson stroked an impressive 35, which included 5 fours and one six. The only other batsman to reach double figures was Gary Alleyne, with 11.

Needing 98 for victory, Peter’s Hall edged their way to 81 all out from their allotted 14 overs. Deandre Marcus demonstrated some level of resistance with a score of 22 that included three fours. Joshua Reid and Rameshwar Persaud supported with 15 and 13 respectively. Grove Primary won by 16 runs North Georgetown Primary defeated Rama Krishna Primary in a Georgetown District play-off match earlier in the day, but lost to St. Pius Primary in the deciding Georgetown District match.

Batting first, Georgetown Primary could muster only 57 for the loss of all their wickets when their allotted 14 overs had expired. Middle order batsman Chazaiah Bernard was the only player to reach double figures, with 11.

Bowling for St. Pius, Jamal Fraser took 2 for 3 and Donovan Welcome took 2 for 11 as the main destroyers with the ball.

In reply, St. Pius just managed to scrape home with one wicket to spare, reaching 58 for 12 from 13.3 of their allotted 14 overs. Brian Browne, who hit one four and one six, was the only batsman to reach double figures, with 14. Bowling for North Georgetown Primary, the main contributors were Chazaiah Bernard, with 2 for 1; Delon Wray, with 2 for 2; and Aquanna Griffith, with 2 for 6. St. Pius won the encounter by one wicket. (GCB)

St Pius Primary are Georgetown District Champions

22

saturday, november 23, 2019

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

Jaguars battle Red Force today in a do-or-die match ꟷ Beaton replaced by Ali-Mohammed

By Brandon Corlette

A

s the semifinal games approach in the Colonial Medical Insurance Regional Super50 Cup, Guyana Jaguars will meet Group ‘B’ table-toppers Trinidad and Tobago today, Saturday November 23, from 13:30h at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain, Republic of Trinidad & Tobago.

This is a must-win game for the Jaguars, who sit in third position with 16 points secured from six matches (four wins and two defeats), while their arch-rivals the Red Force lead the standings with 20 points secured from six matches.

Group ‘B’ is crowded at the top, with the West Indies Emerging Players sitting in second position with 18 points and one preliminary match to play -- against the Red Force, on Monday November 25.

The odds have been against the Jaguars in their last five encounters against the Red Force.

Jaguars lost four of those five encounters, the most recent loss coming this season in a 43-over affair that saw Red Force strolling to a six-wicket win.

The Jaguars are fresh from a victory against the Windward Islands, which was inspired by a Chandrapaul Hemraj century, but have suffered the loss of Ronsford Beaton, who has been suspended with immediate effect after his bowling action was found to be illegal.

Beaton has been replaced by Renaldo AliMohammed, the former West Indies Under-19 fast-bowling all-rounder, who was also involved with the 2018 Super50 squad and has been a decent performer in the Guyanese domestic circuit over the years.

Top-two finish After their win against the Volcanoes, Jaguars Head Coach Esuan Crandon credited that success to the bowlers. He, however, still believes there is room for improvement.

“They bowled well. There is some room for improvement, and we spoke about finishing well in the death overs. We were satisfied to keep Volcanoes under seven runs per over”, Crandon explained.

Esuan Crandon

With the Jaguars set to finish their group matches against Red Force and USA, Crandon said they are taking each game at a time, and the aim is to finish in the top two of Group ‘B’.

Jaguars’ in-form player this season has been Christopher Barnwell, who leads the batting charts for Jaguars with 291 runs in six matches.

The consistent right-hander has an average of 48.50, with two half-centuries and a high score of 89.

Jonathan Foo has been taking his opportunities in the lower-middle order. He sits second to Barnwell in terms of runs this season, with 196 runs, averaging 39.2 with a high score of 67.

Hemraj has been coming in to his own, having shown glimpses of a form that has enabled him to score an even hundred. He has scored 185 runs thus far in the season.

Raymon Reifer (139), Leon Johnson (116) and Tagenarine Chanderpaul (114) are the batsmen with over 100 runs.

Veerasammy Permaul has taken nine wickets, with a best of 3-34; and Ramaal Lewis and Ronsford Beaton have each taken seven wickets.

Darren Bravo was brilliant in his previous match

Mighty Red Force The Trinidad and Tobago Red Force continue to hold the upper hand in Group ‘B’. Axed West Indian batsman Darren Bravo continues to prove his worth with 349 runs scored in six matches.

He averages 116, including one century and three half-centuries.

Out-of-favour Windies batsman Jason Mohammed has 227 runs, including one century and one half-century; while Jermey Solozano has 181 runs. In the bowling department, rightarm paceman Anderson Phillip has 12 wickets, while Kjorn Ottley has 10.

“I’m just trying to go out there and express myself in the best possible way, and trying to enjoy my batting, as I said in the previous interview,” Bravo told CWI Media.

Farfan & Mendes Junior Skill Level Squash Tournament…

Awesome Wiltshire impresses on 2nd night

O

n Thursday, in the second night of play in the Farfan and Mendes Junior Skill Level Squash Tournament, longstanding and outstanding champion Shomari Wiltshire demonstrated his superiority in the game in his first match-up of the competition -- against Nicholas Verwey.

He turned in a dominant first game at the Georgetown Club on Camp Street, stamping his authority on proceedings despite Verwey rallying it out with some outstanding retrieval during long rallies, and executing perfect drops to increase his points progressively in each game.

Wiltshire was on form, and his precise execution and well-timed shot selection was too much for Verwey; thus Wiltshire took the match comfortably 11/2, 11/4, 11/6.

The ‘battle of the lefties’, featuring Gianni Carpenter

He concluded by saying he is looking forward to the challenge of continuing to lead the home side with the bat, and he encouraged the home fans to come out on Saturday for the big clash versus Guyana Jaguars.

“I’m quietly confident (of leading), but the unit we have in the dressing room is not dependent on one person.

We are playing pretty good cricket, it’s just a matter of trying to be clinical in the best possible way against both Guyana and Emerging Players, who have been playing well also.”

“I would really like fans to come out. It’s always good to represent your country, and when you look into the crowd and see the red, white and black. Hopefully, they come out in their full numbers, and the weather stays away, and we have a full game,” Bravo has said.

Thursday’s results are as follows: Category A

Shomari Wiltshire defeated Nicholas Verwey 11/2, 11/4, 11/6 Samuel Ince-Carvalhal defeated Gianni Carpenter 11/2, 11/3, 13/11

Category B

Mohryan Baksh defeated Lucas Jonas 11/4, 11/5, 11/5

Category C

Shiloh Asregado defeated Joshua Verwey 14/12, 11/5, 11/5, 11/0

Category D

Rayad Boyce defeated Beau Fernandes 12/10, 11/4, 10/12, 11/5 Dhirren Persaud defeated Lucas Persaud 13/11 11/9, 11/2 Action in the second night of the 2019 Farfan and Mendes Junior Skill Level Squash Tournament (Abel Harris photos)

and Samuel Ince-Carvalhal, saw Ince-Carvalhal getting a smooth start and moving ahead 11/2, 11/3 with a consistently confident game.

Carpenter came out fighting in the third, and pushed hard to earn 10/10 then 11/11, before Ince-Carvalhal closed off the match 13/11

for the three straight win.

Mohryan Baksh had a solid match against Lucas Jonas, with good lengths and tight play. Baksh’s patient and calculated game put the ball away at opportune moments, while Jonas worked hard but was no match for Baksh’s well-thought-out game plan. Baksh eventually triumphed 11/4, 11/5, 11/5.

Brenno DaSilva continued his winning streak with an impressive game against Rylee Rodrigues, wherein he secured an 11/9, 11/6 victory. Also unbeaten after two matches are Shiloh Asregado, Abhinav Singh and Tiana Gomes.

Matches continue today from 6pm, followed by final games on Sunday from 11am.

Category E

Grant Fernandes defeated Safirah Summer 11/6, 11/9

Category F

Abhinav Singh defeated Bradley Walton 11/6, 11/9 Brenno DaSilva defeated Rylee Rodrigues 11/9, 11/6 William Escarragga defeated Demetri Lowe 5/11, 11/5, 12/10

Category G

Kassie Walcott defeated Solomon InceCarvalhal 11/8, 13/11, 11/3 Jnae Singh defeated Mya Dean 11/8, 11/4 Tiana Gomes defeated Nandishraj Singh 11/3, 11/4

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saturday, november 23, 2019

23

59th National Schools Championships…

"Athletics is we own!" Lucky number 5 for District 10!

Story and photos Jemima Holmes

by

T

he announcement made on Friday evening at the Leonora Track and Field Facility -- that District 10, Upper Demerara/Kwakwani, are the overall champions of the 59th annual Nationals Schools Cycling, Swimming, Track and Field Championships -- was greeted with a sea of dancing black and gold bodies.

After all the events involving teachers and students in these championships had been completed, District 10 emerged from this six-day competition with 68 overall points to retain the title which they have won consecutively since 2015, making this

U-14 champion girl Attoya Harvey receives her accolade from Coretta Mc Donald

with a time of 43.87s.

The District 11 girls, again going head-to-head with their District 10 counterparts, outclassed their rivals to finish the race in 49.63s to claim the victory.

In the exhilarating 400m events, Keliza Smith completed the sprint triple when she clocked 57.30s to take gold. She was followed by Serena Williams of District 10, who finished on 59.69s, and Jasmine Assanah of District 12 (East G/town) who took third in 1.01.00.

Brianna Charles finally copped the gold medal that she missed by milliseconds in the other sprint events when she clocked 58.00s to win the girls U18 400m. Annalisa Redman of District 13 (South G/town) finished second on 59.27s, while District 10’s Shaquka Tyrell clocked 59.44s for third.

Attoya Harvey continued her stellar performance at the 2019 championships when she broke the U14 girls 400m record.

The old record was held by District 14’s (East Bank Demerara’s) Odessa France at 1.01.71.

However, Harvey completed the race in 1.00.42 to smash the record and add another gold

District 11 were elated about their second overall finish

copped gold in the boys U20 400m event when he finished in a time of 48.06s.

District 11’s (North G/ town’s) Daniel Benjamin and District 10’s Russell Paton followed closely in second and third positions.

South Georgetown (District 13) had a win in the U18 400m event when their athlete Simeon Solomon crossed the line in a time of 50.60s.

Nicholloyd Cameron was the champion boy of the U-14 category after some exhilarating performances on the track

their fifth consecutive win.

District 11, North

the way for their overall win. East Coast Demerara (District 4) was second with 488 points, while Corentyne (District 6) was third in the track and field events with

The coveted ‘Champion boy and girl’ title was copped by Nicholloyd Cameron and Attoya Harvey respectively in the U14 track and field cate-

The District 11 team members were ecstatic after their girls 4x100M relay win

Princess Browne spurred a quick finish to ensure her team, District 12 (East G/

485.5 points.

The six-day championships saw both teachers and

gory. The likes of Hannah Reid, Adriel Austin, Wesley Tyndall, Deshana Skeete,

District 5 championed the boys 4x100M relay

medal to her collection.

Corentyne’s Putrina Sullivan (District 6) and New Amsterdam’s Shelena

Meanwhile, West Coast Berbice’s Hubert Boucher and Corentyne’s Sevon Halley completed the podi-

The finish in the male 4x100M race

Georgetown, who have keenly rivalled District 10 over the years, came up short again, gathering 59 points to take second overall. District 3 (West Demerara) clinched the third spot with 52 points.

In the final track events contested earlier in the day, the District 5 (West Coast Berbice) boys and District 11 girls took the male and female 4x100m sprint wins respectively. Led by Loneil Marks, the District 5 boys came from behind to clock 43.32s for the win. District 6 (Corentyne) crossed the line second in 43.62s, and District 11 finished third

town), cross the line in 49.83s to take second place.

District 10 finished third, in 50.60s.

The training done in the Rupununi is apparently ideal for high-jump activities, as that district bagged its second high-jump record in the 2019 championships.

St. Ignatius Secondary student Derek Mentis, competing in the Boys U16 high-jump event, eclipsed the old record -- which was held by Corentyne’s Melon Lowenfield at 1.76m -when he leaped a whopping 1.84m to set a new record in stone.

Rupununi’s Derek Mentis leapt to his record breaking 1.85M in the Boys U-14 high jump

Semple (District 15) were second and third respectively with times of 1.01.16 and 1.02.62.

Courtly Bobb of District 5 (West Coast Berbice)

um.

At the end of the track and field championships, Upper Demerara/ Kwakwani had accumulated 787 points, which paved

A glimpse of the female triple jump action

students performing exceptionally, as 44 records were erased and rewritten in total. For the students, 34 records were broken, while 10 records in the teachers’ events were smashed.

Melon Lowenfield, Keliza Smith, Encosie Leitch, Tia Azore and Morvin Hamilton also copped the coveted title in their respective age groups.

saturday, november 23, 2019

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

guyanatimesgy.com

59th National Schools Championships…

“Athletics is we own!” Lucky number 5 for District 10!

Page 23

GCB/CWI Kiddy Progression One Cricket…

Page 21

Farfan & Mendes Junior Skill Level Squash Tournament…

Page 22

Grove and St Pius emerge champions of respective districts

Awesome Wiltshire impresses on 2nd night

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