Guyana Times Thursday September 12, 2019.

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Carter Center in Guyana to get “perspective” on election situation guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 4044

thursday, september 12, 2019

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REO confronts PPP protesters in front of Region 2 RDC

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…as protesters demand his resignation

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Over 900 foreigners Air bridges temporarily suspended at CJIA granted Guyanese citizenship since …hundreds of visa applications 2015 filed for oil sector workers Page 14

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Minister calls for probe P12 into how pesticides are accessed Textbook shortage hits Queen's College P10

2 news Carter Center in Guyana to get “perspective” on election situation A thursDAY, september 12, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

s there continues to be uncertainty surrounding when elections will be held in Guyana, a team of officials from the United States-based Carter Center is in Guyana to get perspective on the situation.

The first set of meetings was held with Attorney General Basil Williams on Wednesday.

The two-hour meeting was held at the Attorney General’s Office on Carmichael Street.

Following the meeting,

Carter Center’s Associate Democracy Programme Director Brett Lacy told reporters that the organisation is trying to get the various perspectives of the current situation.

“I can say from the Carter Center, we are really just hear to listen and we are hoping to meet with different actors to understand everyone’s perspective on current events here in Guyana,” Lacy said.

Meanwhile, AG Basil Williams told media opera-

tives at the press conference afterwards that he shared the Government’s position with the Carter Center team.

This includes that the Government is awaiting the decision of the appeal filed on the Chief Justice’s ruling on the House-to-House Registration exercise.

“We’re waiting on GECOM to be ready too to announce elections date, dissolve Parliament and move to elections… I think the Carter Center, of course as they’ve always been, they’re interested in the rule of law prevailing; and that in the way we’re situated now, that we take advantage of our situation and enable all the people of our country to benefit from it ,” Williams asserted.

The other representatives from the US-based organisation here are: Legal Analyst Anne Marlborough, Political and Electoral Analyst Nicoholas Jahr, and Senior Electoral Advisor Carlos Valenzuela.

In March, another Carter Center delegation, led by Jason Carter, the grandson of former US President Jimmy Carter, visited Guyana and met with local political stakeholders.

In fact, after a meeting with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) at

Officials from the Carter Center who are in Guyana

the time, the younger Carter posited that there was a lot of political desire to reach a solution but noted this will have to be done by the political leaders here.

“Ultimately, our role here, of course, is limited.

We are not Guyanese, we care about this country…

But ultimately, the issues that are being confronted right now are going to require the cooperation of the political leadership of this country and we are optimistic…” Carter had stated back in March.

But even as the USbased delegation continues to engage local political stakeholders, there appears to be a gridlock as to when elections will be held. In fact, discussions in this regard are still ongoing at GECOM.

Elections were constitutionally due since March 21, 2019 – following the passage of the December 2018 No-Confidence Motion against the current government. However, with the legal challenges which ensued, that timeline was on pause but was subsequently reinstated after the July 18, 2019 Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) ruling, which validated the passage of the motion.

Against this backdrop, the Opposition was pushing for a September 18, 2019 polling day. President Granger has kept claiming that he cannot set a date without first being advised

by GECOM on its preparedness to host General and Regional Elections.

GECOM had come under heavy criticism for also de-

liberately delaying the elections by going ahead with the controversial Houseto-House Registration. The constitutionality of this exercise was challenged in court. In fact, acting Chief Justice Roxane George last month ruled that the conduct of House-to-House is not unconstitutional or illegal. However, she noted that GECOM cannot operate as it would in a normal elections cycle. Given that the NCM triggered early elections, the Chief Justice had stated that there are other methods that can be used to sanitise the voters’ list in a timely manner, such as Claims and Objections.

She had also ruled that it would be unconstitutional for the Commission to remove qualified persons already on the voters’ list, since the House-toHouse exercise was aimed at creating a new National Register of Registrants (NRR) Database, which the Opposition said would have disenfranchised thousands of Guyanese.

Nevertheless, the Elections Commission has since scrapped the House-toHouse Registration, which had recorded over 300,000 new registrants and is looking to merge the new data obtained with the existing NRR database – something which the Opposition is against.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo insists that there should be polls long before the end of 2020 and made a case for this when he met with the Elections Commission on Tuesday.

At that meeting, the Opposition was assured that elections will be held before the end of the year.

news

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thursDAY, september 12, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

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

Thursday, September 12 – 04:00h – 05:30h and 14:30 – 16:00h and Friday, September 13 – 04:30h – 06:00h and 14:30 – 16:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Thursday, September 12 – 15:35h – 17:05h and Friday, September 13 – 16:10h – 17:40h.

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

WEATHER TODAY Sunshine will prevail throughout the day.

There will be clear skies at night. Temperatures should range between 21 degrees Celsius and 32 degrees Celsius.

Winds: North-Easterly to South South-Westerly between 4.02 metres and 4.91 metres.

High Tide: 03:23h and 15:45h reaching maximum heights of 2.43 metres and 2.44 metres.

Guyana to tap into bilateral cooperation with int’l partners …as new Kuwaiti, Irish and Finnish Ambassadors accredited

G

uyana is looking to tap into bilateral cooperation with international partners as it accredited new diplomats from three countries in order to strengthen ties.

These accreditation ceremonies were done at the Ministry of the Presidency on Wednesday.

After handing over his Letters of Credence to President David Granger, Non-Resident Ambassador (Designate) of the State of Kuwait, Nasser Riden AlMotairi, spoke about his country’s keenness to further strengthen ties between the two countries.

He said, “The Kuwait Economic Fund and Investment Authority can play a big role in Guyana’s investment. Mr President, under the guidance of po-

Low Tide: 09:20h and 21:35h reaching minimum heights of 0.75 metre and 0.76 metre.

Kuwaiti Ambassador to Guyana Nasser Riden Al-Motairi

wednesday, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

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litical leadership, we will do our best to strengthen relations between the two countries”.

In turn, the Guyanese Head of State recalled the Kuwaiti Government’s write off earlier this year of some US$50.7 million in debt owed

by Guyana from a loan taken in 1975. He added too that technical assistance provided to Guyana in the past for its infrastructural projects under the Kuwait Fund are tangible testaments of good relations between the two countries.

“I am confident that the bilateral cooperation between our countries will be enhanced in the years

Irish Ambassador to Guyana Pertti Ikonen

Finnish Ambassador to Guyana Seán Hoy

ahead and that your tenure will contribute to continuing cooperation and initiate new areas of collaboration, especially in the oil and gas sector, energy, sustainable development, agriculture and education,” the President contended.

With regards to the accreditation of the new Finnish Ambassador to Guyana, Pertti Ikonen, President Granger congratulated the country on its assumption of the presidency of the Council of the European Union.

“We look forward to Finland’s support in strengthening the partnership between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States,” he posited.

Meanwhile, the NonResident Ambassador (Designate) of Finland outlined that his country’s three presidency priorities are to strengthen common values and the rule of law within the EU; to make the EU more competitive and socially inclusive, and

to strengthen the EU’s position as a global leader in climate action.

“The EU is also a good companion to support Guyana’s development in all these fields,” he stated.

The Finnish diplomat further committed to contribute to the transformation of the Guyanese economy.

“I’m sure you’re familiar with the challenges faced in the [economic] transformation process such as efficient governance, competitiveness, good business and environment. I hope that Finland, who has a good track record in all these

fields, could play a positive role in developing your great nation,” Ambassador Ikonen asserted.

Meanwhile, the NonResident Ambassador (Designate) of Ireland, Seán Hoy, pointed out that the Caribbean is a focus area for his Government as it seeks to increase its global footprint. He anticipates engaging Guyana to explore ways to strengthen bilateral relations through increased partnership in the areas of tourism, trade, aviation, oil and gas investments and Information and Communications Technology. turn to page 7

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guyanatimesgy.com

Thursday, september 12, 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

Govt’s unbridled resort to convenience

T

here are reports that earlier this week, a No-Confidence Motion (NCM) was called against the Chief Constable of the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) of Georgetown. Information pertaining to the result of that vote indicates that nineteen of the thirty elected members of the Council who voted in favour are from A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)— the dominant partner of the ruling coalition— and, in reality, the actual government. It won twenty-one out of those thirty seats at the most recent Local Government Elections (LGE).

Reportedly, there was a lack of confidence in Chief Constable’s performance. He was accused by that grouping of displaying a lacklustre and a general incompetent attitude towards his job. The purpose of the NCM was therefore to have him removed. That objective was reportedly met. This is extremely significant in the context of the ongoing political situation which was triggered by a successful NCM in December 2018.

The APNU-led APNU/AFC coalition continues to disregard all constitutional processes that the successful NCM mandated and it has defied all rulings and consequential orders of the judicial system to abide and respect the Constitution. Officials of that party, and who also hold senior positions in Government, have been adamant that the December 2018 NCM was not valid despite the ruling of the speaker and the courts. They even boldly proclaimed that the Government cannot be removed by a NCM and that the final court has no jurisdiction here.

One very senior official reportedly vehemently postulated that the Government must be allowed to rule for its full term and that NCM must not be an option in the Constitution. This is despite the fact that when in the Opposition, it was in the process of tabling a NCM against the then People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) government.

The reality of the APNU/AFC government’s continual refusal to abide by the Constitution is that elections mandated within ninety days of the successful passage of the NCM, are still to be held six months and counting after the deadline expired in March this year.

From all indications, through a perceived lack of urgency by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) — which allegedly takes its cue from the APNU/AFC government— a timeline for these overdue elections is no closer to being announced. Just recently, GECOM’s Secretariat presented to the Commission a timeline for March 2020. That would make it one year after the NCM was passed; nine months in excess of what the Constitution demands.

That smacks of delaying tactics and it seems indisputable that the Government remains relentless in its efforts to institute same to avoid elections. Over the past six months, it presented the most frivolous excuses to have the Parliamentary-approved NCM overturned. Many Guyanese remain convinced that in the process, the Government made a mockery of the judicial process and harmed the country’s reputation of being able to offer quality legal representation.

Millions of taxpayers’ money was unnecessarily spent to avoid what the nation’s Constitution has enshrined with regard to a successful NCM. In other words, the Government, through its actions since December 2018, leaves no ambiguity over its position on the NCM. It seems convinced it was unnecessary, invalid and operates as if it never happened.

From that, one can safely conclude that the APNU/AFC coalition does not see an NCM as a constitutional and democratic mechanism to hold the Government accountable and to effect fresh elections. As a matter of fact, through its said actions, it appears not to see a NCM as valid for anything, including removing an officer accused of incompetence from his/her position.

The successful passage of the NCM at the M&CC is another instance that exposes the unbridled and incessant duplicitousness on the part of the APNU/AFC coalition government. It was tabled and seconded by councillors representing APNU, which holds the majority. It should be noted that two of its councillors abstained from casting a vote.

That aside, one can seemingly safely assume that NCM within the Municipality could not have been realised without being sanctioned by APNU’s hierarchy, which the President heads.

Ironically, over the past nine months, he has repeatedly said his government will uphold the law. With every passing day, that particular statement appears more and more deceptive as the election timeline drags on.

The mindboggling question is: how could representatives of the ruling party resort to the use of a NCM to remove someone when that said party does not abide by the results of one passed by the highest decision-making body in the country?

Is it a case of mere convenience to foster its own agenda?

Is it a case of blatantly taking the rest of Guyana and Guyanese for granted? Many who have become wary of the Government’s continual defiance of the Constitution will, no doubt, answer in the affirmative. A casual analysis of the current political situation will make it impossible not to believe they are right.

An Indigenous woman of Riversview, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) displays her handmade pieces during Heritage Month celebrations on Monday (Utamu Belle photo)

'Day of Fire': Blazes ignite suspicion in Amazon town

A

maverick journalist in this isolated Brazilian ranching town warned his readers last month that the surrounding Amazon was about to go up in flames.

Queimadas, or burnings, are nothing new in Novo Progresso, located on the frontier where Brazil’s farmland edges the Amazon rainforest in the northern state of Para. Locals say farmers annually use fire to illegally

clear pastures or newly deforested areas.

But the August 5 article in the online Folha do Progresso was eerily specific about an upcoming “Day of Fire”.

It said growers and ranchers were planning to set a coordinated series of fires in the forest and nearby land on Saturday, August 10, inspired in part

by President Jair Bolsonaro.

Brazil’s right-wing lead-

er has vowed to open the world’s largest rainforest to more development.

Punishment of environmental crimes has plummeted on his watch.

When the day came, the number of fires tripled from the prior 24 hours.

Government data recorded 124 blazes, compared to just six on August 10 last year.

Bolsonaro’s office did not respond to a request for comment. In an August 25 message on Twitter, Environment Minister Ricardo Salles said

Bolsonaro had ordered a “rigorous” probe to “investigate and punish those responsible” for the Novo Progresso fires.

State and federal police have since descended on this rough-edged town of 30,000. Some residents are not pleased with the sudden attention. Most farmers approached by Reuters declined to be interviewed.

Many dismissed the Folha do Progresso story as rubbish, the invention of a fabulist. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Opposition’s criticisms on role of Govt GECOM Commissioners are valid Dear Editor, The comments by the PNC-led coalition Government-nominated GECOM Commissioner, Vincent Alexander, as captured in the Guyana Chronicle report on Wednesday, September 11, 2019 – captioned “No space for polls this year” – make it clear that the parliamentary Opposition’s criticisms on the role of the Government Commissioners at GECOM are valid.

Vincent Alexander’s maintained demeanour during this uncertain period and comments demonstrate clearly that the primary focus of the Government Commissioners at GECOM is to delay General and Regional Elections that should have been held since March 21, 2019 – even with their principal talks about elections being held before the end of the year.

Editor, I was part of the parliamentary Opposition delegation that met with the full Commission on Tuesday, September 10, 2019, and the GECOM Chairperson, retired Justice Claudette Singh,

was pellucid when she stated that the views articulated by the Opposition Leader would be taken into consideration, with a view to having elections before the end of 2019.

Despite this, Vincent Alexander – happy with elections being delayed until 2020, a full year after it was constitutionally due – insists, according to the Guyana Chronicle report, that the GECOM Secretariat’s election timeline has no space for an election this year.

The election activities timelines that give March 2020 as the election date, which was proposed by the GECOM Secretariat – where elements have clearly been influenced by the likes of Vincent Alexander and others – can only be described as notorious, given the lengthy delays. For example, the allocation of 55 days between Nomination Day and Elections Day, when the standard period is 35 days.

The most recent version of the timelines of elections activities contemplates the start of Claims and

Objections all the way until November 19, 2019. It also proposes other activities – the necessity of which has been discredited.

Also, only last week, I pointed out that any merger of data from the Houseto-House Registration with the NRRDB is worrisome for several reasons. Firstly, the merger of the data with the existing National Register of Registrants will contaminate the database and it will/may take months to address any such contamination. Secondly, the data gathered is suspect since the gathering of said information was not scrutinised. Thirdly, the form used in the House-to-House Registration was not the statutory form required for such a purpose.

Editor, I wish to remind, that since March 2019, a work-plan was proposed by the Opposition-nominated GECOM Commissioners, which would have seen election activities being run concurrently and concluded within 60 days. I wish to also remind that the 2015 General and Regional Elections was

completed within 71 days of Parliament being dissolved on February 28, 2019.

The logical and simplest way, using a time-tested method, is a move to a Claims and Objections exercise, which would kick off once the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE) is extracted from the NRRDB and published.

There is now one question that must be answered.

Are the PNC-led coalition Government-nominated GECOM Commissioners, apart from protecting a political interest, some pecuniary interest? Is this the reason that they are actively pushing for constitutionally mandated elections to be delayed further?

I dare say, it is time for the international community to focus their attention more closely on elements within the GECOM Secretariat, given what is at stake – Guyana’s standing as a constitutional democracy.

Sincerely, Bishop Juan Edghill, PPPC Parliamentarian

guyanatimesgy.com

thursday, september 12, 2019

5

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

David Granger is seen as untrustworthy, demonstrating poor leadership Dear Editor, Please allow me to respond to the letter of Mr Roger James of NICIL, who has publicly called on me to point out the mistakes caused by the proliferation of caretaker President David Granger’s style of unilateral decision making.

Mr James spent an inordinate amount of time to state four points: 1.

Acquisition of GuySuCo’s assets did not need approval of the Board or Minister of Agriculture.

2. The NICIL Special Projects Unit (SPU) was set up by Winston Jordan, and does not need the approval of Cabinet for its transactions.

3. Borrowing at a high interest rate while investing capital at a much lower rate are unique transactions and are not related 4. The $30 billion bond is not a costly mistake.

Nothing is offered to back NICIL’s claims that these are good actions, save and except that “the establishment of the SPU has further enhanced the management and operation of NICIL”.

Editor, my reply to vesting of GuySuCo’s as-

sets is constrained by sub-judice rules. Suffice to say I have been advised by my lawyers that it is trite company law that shareholders cannot deal with the assets of an incorporated company being managed by a Board. This is one of the questions that would be answered soon enough by the courts in the matter of GBL Inc vs NICIL, of which I am the plaintiff.

GuySuCo itself issued a statement (6.12.2019) saying “NICIL had even speciously appointed its own Board of Directors in March of 2018, with Mr Colvin Heath-London as its Chairman, this decision was quashed by the Government, however, NICIL has never abandoned the misconception that, GuySuCo, an independent corporate agency,

by Law, according to the (Companies) Act, is neither a department, unit or owned by NICIL” I maintain that the removal of Cabinet approval from the use of state assets is contrary to good sense, never mind best practice.

Borrowing at high interest while lending at low rates is a recipe for bankruptcy. The drastic reduction

in Government reserves since 2015 is proof that the Jordan ‘mathematical formulas’ are not working in the best interest of the public.

Granger’s administration inherited the following in 2015: Gross international reserve at BoG US$666.6 million. NonReimbursable and High Concessional Financing: EU budget grants totalling €25.9 million, of which €20.2 million relate to the sugar support programme, with all conditions associated with disbursement already being met. Climate payments totalling US$250 million under the Guyana/ Norway Partnership, of which US$190 million was already earned, and only US$40 million disbursed.

Concessional resources secured for developmental projects: ·US$130 million from China’s Eximbank to construct a new international airport. ·US$66.2 million from IADB to fund road network upgrade and expansion project. ·US$64.6 million from IADB to fund power utility upgrade programme. ·US$50 million from

India Eximbank to fund East Coast to East Bank bypass road. ·US$34.4 million from CDB to fund West Coast Demerara Highway Upgrade project. ·US$31.7 million from the IADB and EU to fund a water and sanitation infrastructure improvement project. ·US$15 million from IADB for new Citizen Security Project ·US$12 million from World Bank for a flood risk management project ·US$10 million from World Bank for secondary education improvement project. ·US$10 million from World Bank for UG science and technology support project. ·US$7.5 million from CDB to fund a sugar industry mechanisation project.

With all of the above projects and financing in place upon assumption of Office, the Granger Administration still pursued the population for money: raising existing taxes, introducing new taxes, closing ‘loopholes’, all of which increased revenue collection by over $80billion per year.

Churchill’s contention that: “For a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle” is lost on this administration.

Amidst all this available finance left in place by the PPP for projects, NICIL approached the commercial banks for a loan of $30 billion to finance the conversion of the Skeldon estate compound to a resort, while the LBI estate lounge has been made into a ‘sports bar’ luxury hangout for the APNU elite.

The retooling and restructuring of GuySuCo as outlined in the Government of Guyana (GoG) State Paper on the Future of the Sugar Industry has not been attempted, much less executed. GuySuCo has complained “that NICIL/ SPU are mere custodians of the Skeldon, Rose Hall, Enmore and Wales assets of GuySuCo for the specific purpose of facilitating divestments as envisaged in the State Paper on the Future of the Sugar Industry, the proceeds of which must be remitted to GuySuCo in order to fund its Strategic Plan.

NICIL/SPU ought not to be the beneficiaries of the proceeds, as currently obtains”.

NICIL is selling GuySuCo’s assets and pocketing the proceeds, which should rightly be re-invested.

The $30 billion bond is backed by a sovereign guarantee; which means that the taxpayers will pay this ‘loan’ back in full, complete with $8.4 billion in interest, after NICIL is done spending on frivolous projects.

This is the legacy of David Granger, as he is being exposed as untrustworthy, lacking in management skills, demonstrating poor leadership, engaging in trivial pursuits, and single-handedly moving Guyana from a constitutional democracy to a dictatorship. Granger is now using his wife as the face of the pseudo-campaign. Entry into politics comes with intense scrutiny, given that Mrs Granger already compromised the Government and her Office of the First Lady with acceptance of an all-expenses-paid trip to Singapore, this may be an ill-advised stratagem in an arena where no sacred cows exist.

Respectfully, Robin Singh

When would this Govt, GECOM recognise that elections must be called?

Dear Editor, The question is: When would GECOM, and especially this PNC-led Coalition, come to the stark reality that Guyana must have General and Regional Elections? That is the question on everyone’s mind. And may I add: When would GECOM and this Government stop the delaying tactics and get on with the people’s business of conducting a free and fair election and one that is free from fear in this country?

These are all pertinent and searching questions, the answers to which are, up to now, not forthcoming from these two entities. All we are getting thus far are excuses after excuses, too numerous to mention.

It is high time this foolishness comes to an end.

September 18th, 2019, like the morning sun, looms bright and clear on the horizon; yet we are locked in gloom as the burdensome weight of a PNC Government, through its instrument GECOM, keeps us head-locked in foolish and nonsensical arguments, while we are no closer to experiencing the dawn of a new day; a fresh start.

We want elections! The Constitution and the peo-

ple say so, and theirs is the only voice that matters!

Next Wednesday would mark another deadline that would have come and gone all because a Government is hiding behind some ludicrous excuses and refuses to meet the electorate.

Guyana has laws, and our country is supposed to be governed by a Constitution.

That Constitution states emphatically in Articles 106 (6) and (7) what ought to be done when a government falls.

It is nine months to the date, and the dictates of the law have neither been honoured nor respected. Why is this so? It then becomes clear that this Government is most fearful. And why should they be? Why the fear? Why the apprehension? Is it that they see defeat coming?

The head of this Coalition Government is supposed to be an ex-army man; he should then stand like the brave and go back to the people who brought him to power in the first place. Why the cowardice?

Do not this President and his Government know that they have to face the electorate after the successful passage of a No-Confidence Motion?

Yes, they are well aware of this. So let us get on with

the nation’s business, sir.

Any Government -- and this one is no different -when you have done your work, you must face the electorate for a fresh man-

date to continue the “good work” started four year ago.

Then I say: Let us get a clear evaluation of that work, whether good or bad,

from the perspective of general election!

Respectfully, Neil Adams

6

thursday, september 12, 2019

Page

J

effrey's history teacher assigned a term paper at the beginning of the semester. Most of the class groaned, but they didn't seem too worried.

Not Jeffrey, though: The thought of having to write a paper made him really anxious. Because he didn't know where to begin, he put off thinking about the assign-

ment until closer to the due date.

Although a lot of students take Jeffrey's "I'll deal with it later" approach to writing papers, it's actually better for your stress levels — not to mention grades — to start working on a paper as soon as you find out about it. With some planning and time, anyone can turn a blank document on a computer screen into a good paper.

Writing a paper can seem intimidating at first. But putting together a strong paper really just involves a combination of things you already know how to do.

Understanding the assignment

The first step in writing a paper is to make sure

Foundation that you understand exactly what your teacher expects. Here are some questions to ask before you start researching and writing so you can be sure you are on the right track: What type of paper is it?

Is it a report (where you just gather facts and describe a topic); a paper in which you must offer your own ideas on

an issue, or both?

Are there specific class readings you must use as sources?

What types of sources do you have to use? Can you use only Internet sources, or do you have to use books, journals, and newspapers too?

Does your teacher like you to interview people, or does he or she prefer you stick only to printed sources?

Are there certain types of sources that are off-limits? Obviously, blogs and personal web pages aren't considered reliable sources.

But what about other websites you might want to use?

Find out what your teacher thinks about your sources before you start work.

What will your teacher look for while grading your

paper? For example, is your teacher looking for a casual, descriptive writing style (like a magazine article) or a research paper with a more formal tone? Is there a certain way your teacher wants you to structure your paper?

How long should the paper be (how many pages or words)?

Does the paper have to be typed or presented in a certain form (such as double-spaced lines, specific margins, presented in a binder)? Are there additional graphics that you also have to provide, such as illustrations or photos?

Do you have to provide a bibliography, footnotes, or other list of sources?

Sometimes a teacher will assign a topic or thesis for a paper, and sometimes he or she will leave it up to students to pick their own topics (of course these have to be related to the class or

with and want to argue against!). After you come up with your topic, run it by your teacher before you move on to the next step — research.

Behind every good paper is even better research.

Good res e a r c h means reading a lot — both as background to help you choose a topic and then to help you write your paper.

Depending on your chosen topic, your research could come from class textbooks, newspapers, professional journals, and websites. These are known as your sources.

Sources need to be reliable. To find good sources,

subject!).

If the teacher lets you choose your own topic, it's best to write a paper about something that you find really interesting. This might be an issue that you feel strongly about and want to defend (or one you disagree

begin at your school library, where the card catalogues and search engines can direct you to materials that have been published. When a source has been chosen for your school's library collection, you can be fairly confident that it's accurate

Researching a topic

enough to use in your paper.

Using online sources

When doing online research, avoid people's personal pages — it's impossible to tell if the person is an expert or just sounding off. It's best to focus your research on government sites (their domain names end in .gov); non-profit organisations (they usually end in .org) and educational sites (.edu).

Knowing which sources are considered good —

and which ones aren't — is a skill that everyone gains with experience. Get your teacher or librarian's help in deciding if a source is credible.

If you don't understand what a particular source is talking about, ask your teacher what it means so you can better understand the material. Teachers can usually tell when students use information in their papers that they don't really understand. (Excerpt from kidshealth.org) To be continued

Materials

Card stock Bendy straws Scotch tape and/or decorative tape Hot glue

Instructions

Step one: Cut card stock. For each Zoomer you will need (1) 1? x 9 1/2? piece and (1) 1? x 5? piece of card stock Step two: Tape the card stock into a circle Step three: Cut your straws just below the bend or approximately 5 1/2? long Step four: Tape your straws to the inside edge of the big circle. They should be taped roughly at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock positions Step five: Tape the upper end of the straws onto the outer edge of the small circle in the same 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock positions Step Six If you are using decorative tape add it now! Tape everything including the straws.

Step seven: Hot glue the straws to the card stock.

Step eight: Fly ’em (babbledabbledo.com)

news

7

thursDAY, september 12, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Over 900 foreigners granted Guyanese citizenship since 2015 …hundreds of visa applications filed for oil sector workers

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itizenship Minister Winston Felix has released figures from his department to show that under the current Government, over 900 foreign nationals have been granted citizenship— with 108 being granted their citizenship during this year.

Felix was at the time fielding questions at a press conference on Wednesday about how many foreigners are being granted citizenship in Guyana.

He revealed that as of July 2019, 108 persons were granted citizenship from 30 countries. His figures also go back to 2015, when 141 nationals from 35 countries were granted citizenship.

“Then, in 2016, 192 nationals from 34 countries were granted citizenship, of which one was Haitian.

In 2017, 230 nationals from 40 countries, of which seven were Haitian. In 2018, 252 nationals from 42 countries, of which three were Haitian,” Felix said.

In addition, he noted that the Citizenship Department has received huge volumes of applications from persons, particularly those involved in the oil and gas sector, where foreign workers make up a large part of the workforce on drill ships and Floating Production and Storage Offloading (FPSO) vessels.

“In terms of oil and gas, foreigners are coming right now. Right now we receive over 100 applications per day to process visas for persons coming to work in oil

to April of last year, 1, 238 came and 85 departed.

Back in March of this year, it was revealed that despite having thousands of Haitians enter Guyana unaccounted for last year, the coalition Government had sought to extend the time that Haitians spend in Guyana to an automatic six months.

This was detailed in a

Citizenship Ministry has been inundated with visa applications for oil sector workers

and gas offshore. I’m being very conservative”.

“Some of them, they just come, arrive in the hotel, get to Ogle, helicopter trip to the drill ship. I gather that the numbers will go up when other oil blocks come into operation. But we are dealing with the current applications for work permits with some degree of efficiency which does not disrupt our (other) work”.

Pressure

According to the Ministry of Finance’s own mid-year report for 2019, the influx of immigrants has the potential of pressuring the local labour market by reducing employment opportunities for Guyanese.

In addition, the Ministry of Finance’s report also notes that the influx of immigrants has created, and continues to create, demands on the treasury, which has to set up systems to ensure that migrants are registered and have access to basic social services.

Figures released last month by authorities had showed that between January and July of 2019, total arrivals, taking into account all nationalities, were 135,220. This comes against the backdrop of the large number of arrivals and the rampant use of illegal exit ports to leave the country.

Last year, the Citizenship Ministry had revealed to the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament that over 22,000 persons entered Guyana from January to April. The Ministry had revealed that of this number, only 6,170 had departed. In addition, it was shown that there are no records of 17,615 immigrants departing from 2013 to 2018.

A breakdown of the statistics shows that over the past seven months, over 8,500 Haitians entered the country, but a fraction of that number left. In 2017, 3,515 Haitians came but only 291 departed. And according to media reports, up

letter dated January 31, 2019, addressed to then Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge and copied to Minister of State, Joseph Harmon; Citizenship Minister Winston Felix and Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan.

The influx of immigrants is not limited to Haitians.

In 2017, a total of 44,747 Cubans came to Guyana, but 7,255 were unaccounted. Recent figures released

by the authorities indicate that for the first seven months of the year, 41,272 Cuban nationals came to Guyana via the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).

Meanwhile, the figures indicate that some 11,119 Trinidad and Tobago nationals arrived in Guyana between January and July of 2019. Total arrivals taking into account all nationalities stood at 135,220.

Guyana to tap into...

Ambassador Hoy further noted that at the level of the United Nations, Guyana and Ireland share similar positions on the importance of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the urgency to fight climate change.

To this end, he posited that “It is our hope that we continue to work together at the United Nations and other international fora to serve the wider good and to support the broader multilateral system”.

This sentiment was also shared by President Granger, who said that Guyana recognises Ireland’s thrust to introduce radical climate change policies in its new Green Agenda and sustainable food production programme in recognition of the significant threat imposed by global warming. On this note, he mentioned Guyana’s own move towards the establishment of a “Green State”.

“The ‘Green State’ will place emphasis on the pro-

tection of our environment, the preservation of our biodiversity and the promotion of renewable energy and the adoption of practical measures to ensure climate adaptation. Guyana welcomes the opportunity to develop its relations with Ireland in support of its national development goals and international obligations. We recognise that there is significant scope for collaboration with Ireland

from page 3

in development cooperation, climate change, tourism, trade and investment,” he posited.

Moreover, the Guyanese leader said he is heartened

by Ireland’s increased attention to enhancing the relations with the Caribbean region.

Guyana established diplomatic ties with Finland in April 1979; with Ireland in February 2000 and with Kuwait in August 1995.

8 news

THURSDAY, september 12, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

IN THE COURTS

Carpenter jailed for snatching bag

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carpenter, who told the court on Wednesday that he robbed a woman because he was frustrated with his financial status, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.

Julian Corlette appeared before Magistrate Faith McGusty and admitted to the charge which stated that on September 9, 2019 at Light Street, Alberttown, Georgetown, he robbed Yelena Vernell of a quantity of items valued at $59,000 and at the time he used personal violence.

The 20-year-old man, in plea of mitigation, told the

court that “The morning I leave my house to go at a birthday party and we end up stopping on the seawall to get a few drinks”. He said that he received a call from “his girl” stating that some items were needed at home.

“I saw the woman walking and I walk up to her and pull the bag, I get nervous,” stated Corlette.

Police Prosecutor Annalisa Brummel, in relating the facts of the matter to the court, stated that on the day in question about 10:30h on Light Street, Alberttown, Georgetown,

Corlette saw the Virtual Complainant (VC) walking in the southern direction and approached her. The court heard that he then attempted to snatch the VC’s bag, but she held on to it, which resulted in him cuffing the woman about the body and then making his good escape.

The matter was reported to the Alberttown Police Station and the father of one was later apprehended.

The Prosecutor indicated to the court that the suspect was positively identified by the Virtual Complainant

Ruel Henry

One (Barima-Waini), he unlawfully assaulted Sherwyn and Roger Henry, so as to cause them actual bodily harm.

The unrepresented man, when asked by the Magistrate why he committed the act said, “They assault me first”.

Police Prosecutor Gordon Mansfield informed the court that on September 6, 2019 the defendant and his two brothers had an argument, which resulted in a

fight.

The court further heard that the defendant bit Sherwyn, then armed himself with a wood and dealt both Sherwyn and Roger several lashes.

The Magistrate released the farmer on self-bail and the case was adjourned to November 6 at Matthews Ridge Magistrates’ Courts.

Henry was also placed on a bond to keep the peace until the hearing and conclusion of the trial.

Julian Corlette

Farmer charged for biting, lashing siblings

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farmer, who bit and lashed his two brothers with a piece of wood during an argument, appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday to answer to an assault charge.

Twenty-year-old Ruel Henry appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan and denied the charge which stated that on September 6, 2019 at Oronoque, Port Kaituma, North West District, Region

Albouystown resident jailed for assaulting cop, robberies

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26-year-old miner was sentenced to three years imprisonment when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday.

Twenty-six-yearold, Orin Ridley of Lot 173 Campbell Street, Albouystown, Georgetown , was found guilty on two counts of robberies and assault. He was on trial before Magistrate Annette Singh, who ruled that after perusing the evidence she found him guilty of all four charges.

The first charge stated that on March 12, 2019 at Lot 173 Campbell and Sussex Streets, Georgetown, Ridley wounded Police Constable Clive Clarke with

Orin Ridley

intent to prevent lawful apprehension.

It was further alleged that on the same date and at the same location, Ridley assaulted police constable Nigel Reid with intent to prevent lawful apprehen-

sion.

The third charge stated that on January 31, 2019 at Albouys Street, Albouystown, Georgetown, Ridley while being armed with a firearm, robbed

Saneka Ramlakan of articles amounting to $24,600.

The last charge stated that on the same date and location, while being armed with a firearm, he robbed Akash Ramlakan of a pedal cycle valued at $18,000 property of the said Virtual Complainant and used personal violence towards him.

The magistrate sentenced Ridley to three years for robbery with violence; three years for robbery under arms, one year for wounding a peace officer and one year for assaulting a peace officer.

However, the sentence will run concurrently, which means Ridley will only be spending three years behind bars.

Taunting lands neighbours in court

O

luchi Clarke was remanded to prison on Wednesday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts after she give a conflicting address during her first court appearance.

The 24-year-old woman of Lot 98 Durban Backlands, Georgetown appeared before Magistrate Faith McGusty and pleaded not guilty to the charge of breaching

Oluchi Clarke

the peace.

The charge alleged that on September 9, 2019 at Longden Street, Georgetown, she provoked the peace with Keitesha Barclay.

According to Prosecutor Annalisa Brummel, the defendant insulted and annoyed the Virtual Complainant (VC) by calling her a name other than her name.

The Prosecutor further indicated to the court that the defendant became aggressive and pointed her hands in the VC’s face. However, while the Prosecutor did not object to bail being granted, the Magistrate remanded Clarke after she gave conflicting addresses to the court.

The case will continue on September 25.

Day of judgement…

H

…for PNC ow quickly we forget. Yesterday was 9/11, but although 25 Guyanese perished on that fateful day in 2001 when the World Trade Centre was brought down, not a peep was heard here on their behalf. Surely they all had relatives and friends who’re still around? Or what about the government. Surely if they can remember the Cubana tragedy, they can remember 9/11. But when you think about it, it’s not really the people’s fault, is it?

The equivalent of our Twin Towers - our Constitution and its supremacy were brought low since June 18 when our final Appellate Court, the CCJ ruled on the NCM, issued its consequential orders based on its powers of Judicial Review, but the PNC refused to obey. If the New York Twin Towers destruction shocked the entire American nation, what else can we expect of the Guyanese people when the entire edifice on which their nation stands has been detonated.

While the Guyanese might not be constitutional scholars, their reaction to the flagrant disrespect shown by Granger and the PNC to the Constitution and the Courts comes out of their own grounded experience with “the law”. If at any time, an ordinary Guyanese breaks the law - even in a matter as small as smoking a spliff - and he’s brought in front of the courts, he knows what’s in store for him, when the orders of the Court are handed down. He’s thrown into the lockups to serve a sentence as laid down by the law.

But for Granger and the PNC Cabinet, however, even though the Constitution says they must resign, and the Courts have said they must resign, they’re still enjoying their offices and perks. The people know that “something is wrong in the state of Guyana,!”

They intuitively know that once you destroy the constitutional order, it’s like cutting a limb you’re sitting on, while you’d over a mass of bubbling lava.

We’ve all gone along with the laws of Guyana and when we break those laws we are punished. But now the people are beginning to sense that maybe they also can get away with with unlawful behaviours - just like Granger and PNC cohorts. But unlike Granger and company, they’re deeply troubled at the prospects of anarchy being loosened upon their world. They’re on their own in their predicament. And it’s for this reason they’re fixated on their choices between the devil and the deep blue sea. With no thought for those who perished on 9/11 But the day of judgement is nigh upon Granger and his myrmidons. Time longer than twine, and elections will throw them into the lava of oblivion. …before year end?

Your Eyewitness is confused …and so are a host of Guyanese who, as described above, are simultaneously in a state of shock at the lawlessness of the Granger brigade. Last we had heard from the GECOM Secretariat was that elections were going being pushed back till next March, 2020. But after the Opposition Leader and his team sat down with GECOM, one of his team reported it’ll be before year end.

Now, what’s going on here?? The Secretariat’s supposed to be working for GECOM, no? Or is it, under the new Chair, they’re now working for the Secretariat?? And exactly who in the Secretariat is making the pronouncements. We know who’s making the announcements. But that’s neither here nor there.

The CEO of the Secretariat Lowenfield is reportedly sick. Has the tensions of being pulled in one direction and then the other given him “the big one” like Fred Sandford?

But he should know that GECOM only proposes and its the President who disposes when it comes to elections dates.

And he don’t give a hoot!! ,..for Caribbean Airlines??

For years, CAL has ensure that Guyanese know that there ain’t no “friendly skies” for us, as far as getting to NY -Region 11 - for us.

But their day of Judgement is arriving with Jet Blue!!

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

news

9

thursDAY, september 12, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Meeting with Haitians, Africans

Pouderoyen pensioner bound, gagged, robbed

Minister Felix, SARA Deputy CEO contradict each other A

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n Wednesday Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA) Aubrey HeathRetemeyer and Citizenship Minister Winston Felix held separate press conferences to address reports of a clandestine meeting between them, Haitians and Africans. The press conferences, however, left more questions behind in their wake.

One unanswered ques-

SARA Deputy CEO Aubrey Heath-Retemeyer

tion is exactly how Felix got involved in meeting with the Haitian immigrants. In his press conference at the Critchlow Labour College, the location where the meeting took place on August 29, Heath-Retemeyer claimed the Haitians invited the Minister to the meeting.

“These immigrants had experienced some major challenges in their immigration papers. Many had applied for work permits and citizenship. Therefore, they invited Minister Felix to address their concerns, which they thought were not properly addressed and to provide answers to their immigration and citizenship questions,” HeathRetemeyer said in his opening statement at the press conference.

During his press conference, however, Felix noted that he was personally contacted and invited by HeathRetemeyer to intervene in the matter. Felix also downplayed the fact that despite the meeting being to sort out the workers’ immigration concerns, it was held at Critchlow Labour college, away from his staff and not at the Ministry.

“I did not ask [HeathRetemeyer] to get involved, he called me! He called me and told me that there are these people in the country who have issues with the staff downstairs. I didn’t tell him to go ahead [and hold the meeting]. I agreed to meet with them. I don’t know what [Heath-Retemeyer] said. I know I was contacted by him and I agreed to meet with the people.”

“No it would not,” he said when asked if it would

Citizenship Minister Winston Felix

not have been better to meet them at his Ministry.

“In my experience, when a complaint as wide as those were are made against staff, it’s better to hold [a meeting] somewhere else first.

Because people coming here might be afraid. So the information you would get might be withheld.”

Asked if a language barrier might be at the heart of the Haitians, whose native language is French, experiencing difficulties at his Ministry, Felix noted that the issues were more of an interpersonal nature.

“The issues represented to me concerned interpersonal relationships and dissatisfaction with how they were spoken to in their quest for answers in what they perceive to be delays in dealing with their matters,” Felix explained.

Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara (WBD) pensioner, who lives alone, was attacked by a lone bandit who bound, gagged and robbed him on Sunday night.

Reports are that the 69-year-old man was in his yard at about 19:00h when he was attacked by the unmasked man. This newspaper was told that the pensioner was led into his flat concrete home where he was bound and gagged before being placed to lay on the floor.

The knife-wielding bandit then ransacked the pensioner’s home. However, upon coming up empty-handed, the bandit reportedly ungagged the pensioner, picked him up from the floor and demanded that he lead him to his valuables.

The man told relatives that he removed his savings, which he hides away in his wardrobe, and handed it over to the bandit, who had by that time placed a knife to his neck threatening to harm him if he did not comply.

“So my uncle give he the cash, almost $300,000, and he collect it and put the man

back to lay down and he escape,” Annie Archer, the relative of the victim who discovered him the following morning told Guyana Times.

The woman explained that her uncle is sickly and as such, he was unable to get himself loose after the bandit had left.

“When I got there the morning (Monday), the first thing I notice is that he (uncle) door did left open. I find it strange because he is a man, he particular with thing like that, he does always got he place clean and he place does always lock up and thing like that. So when I go in, the first thing I see is the place a mess so I seh oh god because I started to think the worst but then I hear he call me name after

he heard my voice,” Archer told this publication.

According to the woman, she rushed to her uncle’s assistance and quickly used a knife to cut the rope from his hands and feet.

“Ow, how you gon do that to a old sickly man? It got to be somebody that know he live deh alone because how he know to carry the man in the house and that nobody will deh inside? It had to be somebody from right around here but he seh he ain’t know the person,” Archer expressed.

Archer revealed that her uncle is presently still in a shaken state and another family member has since moved in with him. The incident was reported to the police and an investigation has been launched.

10 news

thursDAY, september 12, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Clampdown coming for unlicensed betting shops A noticeable increase in betting shops across the country has resulted in efforts to clamp down on unlicensed sites, in a bid to encourage responsible gambling.

This was disclosed by Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon on Wednesday during a forum hosted at Herdmanston Lodge organised by the Gaming Authority - a regulatory body for casinos, lottery companies and betting agencies.

Harmon acknowledged that there has been a multiplication of these gaming outlets and admitted that the Authority will be pressured to ensure that all outlets are in compliance with the requisite licensing.

Adding to that, some of these gaming establishments were established in communities which are suffering from socioeconomic constraints.

“With our economy mov-

Director Harmon

General

Joseph

ing at the pace at which it is moving, I can only anticipate that it is going to be a tremendous pressure on the authority for licenses to open gaming establishments. What I have also seen that there is a proliferation of these betting shops all across Guyana. I trust that the Gaming Authority takes this responsibility of ensuring that these entities are properly regulated and that

they operate within the confines of the laws of Guyana because they cannot escape notice that some of these operations are in some of the especially challenged communities of our country,” he stated.

The Director General insisted that operators and consumers of these establishments should be engaged on the negative impacts of betting and gaming sites.

Adding to that, frameworks will provide additional support to ensure responsible gambling.

“The Gaming Authority has a responsibility to ensure that the public and operators of gaming establishments are aware of not only the positive but also the negative impacts that gaming can have on an individual and our society in general.

This is necessary so as to assist owners in appreciating the need for a systems and policies that will support responsible gaming and gam-

bling.”

Harmon insisted that the Authority is staffed with enough persons to warrant adherence to their standards. At present, there is much to be done.

“In order to ensure responsible gambling in Guyana, all stakeholders within the gaming industry would have to accept their respective roles in upholding the agreed-upon principles and standards. I’m aware that much more needs to be done but I’m confident that we have the right personnel in place to do that job,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Gaming Authority’s Board, Roysdale Forde informed that there haven’t been any new applications for this year thus far.

However, they continue to process those that were delivered prior.

“We received no new licenses for this year. We’re processing applications that

Queens College is placed amongst the top five schools and has produced commendable results at both the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).

The Education Ministry was asked to look into the matter and hopefully ensure that they are rectified, this newspaper was told.

Earlier this year, a report from the Auditor General had flagged the Education Ministry for not complying “in all material respects” with the relevant Acts, regulations and policies regarding the procurement of textbooks in 2016.

The findings highlight-

ed, “Internal controls were weak and not functioning in some instances. Moreover, pertinent records were not properly maintained.

Whilst relevant records were also not located and submitted for audit scrutiny. In addition, the manner and environment in which textbooks were stored presented a health and safety hazard”.

The report noted that in the year 2016, some $506 million was budgeted for the Education Ministry to procure textbooks for nursery, primary and secondary schools. It went on to note that $35.064 million was paid in excess of the Ministry’s approved allocation under Line Item 6224 for the nursery and primary levels.

“This represented a misallocation of expenditure, which is a breach of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act 2003…

The Ministry entered into contracts exceeding its approval allocation by $36.534 million. This is also a breach of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act 2003, which prohibits agencies from entering into contract that exceeds its approval allotment for any given period,” the AG report had stated.

Chairman of the Gaming Authority, Roysdale Forde

were made previously…The Gaming Authority, as a licensing and supervisory authority for gaming in Guyana is aware of the positive and negative effects of gambling and is also aware of the responsibility to bring awareness to all the stakeholders, both the operators and the public, and to put in place measures on agreed principles that would impact and ensure that there is a safe,

fair and responsible gaming experience,” Forde stated.

Last December, the former State Minister had positioned Government’s decision to better regulate gaming and betting, as it was concerned over “looseness” in the sector. As a consequence, new legislation was being looked into at the level of the Legal Affairs Ministry.

Harmon was at the time being questioned about increases in allocations to the Gaming Authority, under Details of Subsidies and Contributions to Local Organisations, during the first day of scrutinising the budget 2019 estimates.

The budget estimates show that the Authority’s budget went from $21 million in 2018 to $40 million in 2019. Acknowledging that funding has indeed been boosted for the Authority, Harmon cited examples of persons operating without licenses.

Textbook shortage hits Queen’s WCD couple assaulted, robbed by College

T

eachers of Queen’s College, located at Camp Road and Thomas Lands, Georgetown, have complained about the lack of textbooks for their students, which has resulted in several inconveniences and delayed lessons.

Fed up with the situation, one teacher reached out to Guyana Times on Wednesday, indicating that they are without adequate teaching materials to complete a day’s work. While textbooks are available for teachers, students were told to purchase their own.

As customary, textbooks for compulsory subjects, such as mathematics, are provided. They are now left to wait until everyone has acquired the relevant textbooks.

“We have to tell students to purchase their own textbooks. In the third form class, you have them doing over 16 subjects. This past week, most of them would have bought some of the books but what about the other subjects? Will the other teachers have to wait?” the teacher questioned.

Meanwhile, it was also mentioned that some students are finding it difficult to garner all of the neces-

Queen’s College

sary books, owing to their families’ financial obligations.

“Our children are coming from all over. We have some staying in the dorms because they’re living far from Georgetown. Some of them simply cannot buy all of these books. It’s very expensive. I don’t know what we’re going to do until all of them get all of these books.

This is always a problem at the school. You have other senior schools being supplied and we’re left to fend for ourselves. We didn’t distribute textbooks to almost all of our senior class,” the teacher lamented.

This newspaper was unable to reach the school’s principal for a comment on the shortage.

armed teen bandits

A

Mary, West Coast Demerara (WCD) couple is now traumatised after they were attacked by a group of teen bandits and robbed while enjoying an evening stroll in Mary on Monday.

The couple, 27-year-old Patricia Stephens and her husband, 30-year-old Mark Stephens, went to a Chinese restaurant located in the community and were walking home at about 21:20h when the incident occurred.

Guyana Times understands that a group of four teens, two of which were on bicycles, began following them for about 10 minutes.

“We didn’t take it for anything, because we said is just some boys liming but then I keep looking back because they were behind us for a good while,” Patricia Stephens told this publication.

According to the woman, her husband urged her to walk faster but as the couple was a few houses from their home, the teens also quickened their pace and pounced on them.

“We walking fast and like they realise that we sus-

pect them and the two on bicycles first ride pass we and parked and the other two come up from behind,” the woman revealed.

After being cornered, Mark Stephens attempted to accost one of the bandits but it was at this time that one of the teens whipped out a knife from his waist.

“He tell my husband loose he or I gone stab you so my husband end up loose he. They then tell we that we must hand over all the money that we have and I must give up my gold chain if I know what good for me.

I got so afraid that I give them all that I had,” the victim related.

However, while robbing the male victim, one of the perpetrators slapped him to his face and reportedly told him “don’t play no bad man here”.

The teens escaped with just over $40,000, a gold chain which was worth $75,000 along with two cellphones with a combined estimated value of $175,000.

The couple visited the police station where they reported the matter. The robbery is being investigated.

news

11

thursDAY, september 12, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Marriott Board reconsidering casino project – Harmon …Gaming Authority reviewing SleepIn Hotel’s application

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he Board of the Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown, is reconsidering the possibility of moving ahead with the introduction of a casino, as was intended in the original plan, or if the space can be utilised for another purpose.

On the sidelines of

can be undertaken. While a final decision is yet to be made, he is awaiting a statement.

“When the hotel was first conceived and built, it was built with that possibility in mind. The entertainment complex, which the casino was a part of, was that possibility. My understanding

SleepIn Hotel and the adjacent casino

an event on Wednesday, Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon indicated that consideration is being made for other potential projects at the hotel, which

is that the hotel itself and Marriott International are having a fresh look to see if that is the best use that can be put to that space,” Harmon told the media.

Atlantic Hotels Inc, the

Government-owned company which was set up to construct and undertake the management of the Marriott Hotel, has been facing many setbacks regarding the entertainment complex and casino.

In 2017, an advertisement by the company stated that it was “interested to receive EoIs (Expressions of Interest) from either persons or companies, either individually or as part of a joint venture/consortium”.

AHI said preference would be given to submissions by applicants who are established in the gaming and entertainment industry.

However, three months ago, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo had expressed his dissatisfaction with the actions of Government for poorly handling the tendering process for this initiative.

He emphasised that the scrapping of the tenders for the establishment of the Marriott Hotel’s casino occurred because of the unethical and questionable actions of some Government Ministers with regard to them secretly meeting with a bidder of the project. This, he said, was part of a plan to ensure that the Princess Hotel Casino did not have competition in that business.

At present, only Ramada Georgetown Princess Hotel has a license to operate a casino.

SleepIn

Meanwhile, as it related to the casino application for SleepIn Hotel on Church Street, Chairman of the Gaming Authority, Roysdale Forde indicated that it is being considered. It is the second application to be submitted, after the initial one was denied.

“That application is being considered. We had a number of concerns. It was initially refused and rejected by the Gaming Authority.

A second application was made. We met with them on a number of occasions.

We wrote them, informing what is the sort of information that we need in order to make a final decision on it,” Ford mentioned.

The Chairman related that other businesses were also facilitated and advised of the documents required by the gaming agency but these are yet to be submitted. As such, officials will convene to make a decision.

In 2016, hotelier Clifton Bacchus, owner of SleepIn Hotel, was denied permission from the Gaming Authority to commence operation after having invested millions into developing

The Marriott Hotel

a state-of-the-art casino, which remains closed.

Initial reports were that the application for a license was denied because he failed to provide proof of its financial soundness and capability, which was critical for approval.

Bacchus had also said that he was in posses-

sion of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between himself and the Government of Guyana, signed inw 2014. According to the businessman, the document guarantees him a licence to operate a casino once he is able to complete construction in line with several specifications.

12 news

ThursDAY, september 12, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

REO confronts PPP protesters in front of Region 2 RDC …as protesters demand his resignation

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ne day after Police in Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), questioned Regional Executive Officer, Dennis Jaikarran over an assault report filed against him, members of the Women Progressive Organisation (WPO) were joined by several persons, condemning the alleged act.

On Wednesday the WPO, the women’s arm of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), along with a number of other persons joined the protest action while condemning the alleged assault against the region’s Vice Chair, Nandranie Coonjah.

Reports are Coonjah had closed the main door to the Regional Democratic

Council (RDC) office when the REO and supporters of the A Partnership for National Unity left the boardroom.

According to the Regional Vice Chairman, the REO and supporters of APNU left after disturbing the monthly statutory meeting by protesting and shouting slogans inside the boardroom.

High suicide rate

Minister calls for probe into how pesticides are accessed

P

ublic Health Minister Volda Lawrence has reminded that investigations ought to be conducted in suicide deaths caused by the intake of pesticides or other toxic chemicals, to ascertain whether safety and best practices were breached.

Lawrence in an interview with Guyana Times on Tuesday explained that these chemicals are regulated by the Pesticide and Toxic Chemicals Control Board and by law, an investigation should be conducted.

“There is something in their guiding principles which states that there should be an investigation in terms of persons who are not authorised to use pesticides, how they access it so there is the statute which speaks to the investigation of those persons who would have purchased and not secured it in a manner in which they ought to do and so other persons were able to use it to end their lives so that is already there it’s

Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence

just for them to get up and get it done,” she said.

The Minister was responding to a call made by one of the speakers at a programme she attended, geared towards raising awareness on suicide.

At the said event, it was revealed that Guyana experienced a “significant” decline in the number of deaths caused by suicide with 141 cases recorded in 2018 when compared to the 184 documented in 2017.

A majority of the deaths were as a result of pesticide use followed by persons hanging themselves.

It was also noted that for every death, about 20 to 25 people attempt suicide, which translates to about 3500 persons who try to harm themselves annually.

Only on Monday a father of three killed himself after forcing his estranged wife and three-year-old daughter to consume a poisonous substance Dead is 57-year-old taxi driver Balkarana Persaud called “Clement”, of Lot 59 Martyrs Ville, Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara (ECD). His reputed wife, Kavita Persaud, and her three-year-old daughter, Sarswati Persaud, are presently battling for their lives at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

According to reports, the now dead man’s estranged wife, Kavita, did not reside at the Mon Repos home, but the couple’s young daughter, Sarswati, lived with her father. This newspaper was told that Kavita, who separated from her husband a few months ago, would visit the home to assist with taking care of the child.

However, on Monday morning at about 07:30h, neighbours heard screams from Balkarana Persaud’s home, and upon investigating, they discovered the trio lying on the floor, frothing from their mouths.

The neighbours sounded an alarm and persons living in the street rushed to the scene. However, Balkarana Persaud had already died when the efforts were made to save his life.

Guyana Times was told that Kavita’s relatives, who live a few houses away from this residence, rushed the mother and daughter to the hospital.

Regional Executive Officer Dennis Jaikarran confronting the protesters outside his office

However, the REO reportedly returned to the boardroom “annoyed”, according to the Vice Chairperson.

then that the REO hit her on the shoulder, in the presence of the Regional Chairman Davanand Ramdatt and other council-

Protesters at Anna Regina, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) on Wednesday

Coonjah said that the REO accused her of slamming the door as he and the protesters exited.

She alleged that it was

lors.

On Wednesday protesters outside the RDC office called for Jaikarran to respect women. The pro-

testers also called for the Government to dismiss Jaikarran for his alleged actions. Among the slogans written on the protesters’ placards were “REO must go”; “REO must respect the RDC”; “REO must show respect for the people”; “Investigate the REO now”; “REO must respect women”.

However, the situation in front of the RDC escalated when the REO confronted the protesters. Guyana Times was unable to reach Communities Minister, Ronald Bulkan for a comment on the situation.

Meanwhile, Police at the Anna Regina Police Station have since taken statements from both Coonjah and Jaikarran. The assault matter is being investigated.

Corentyne fire leaves farmer homeless

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fire, believed to be of electrical origin, completely destroyed a Port Mourant, Corentyne home on Wednesday.

Deodat Tasso, 46, a cash crop farmer, told this publication that he was not at home when the fire started.

According to the farmer, he was at his farm situated about half a mile from his home all day and upon his return at about 16:00h, there was a blackout in the community. Tasso said he did not venture into his house, but stayed downstairs and was separating vegetables he brought, in which a vendor wanted to purchase from him. He said that he then left and went to a nearby shop when he received a message saying that his house was on fire.

According to Tasso, he was away from the building for about ten minutes when he received the message.

“When I go back home, I see fire inside the whole house. I run and try to pull some of the pumpkin that I had under the house but the heat was too much,” he said.

Villagers tried to form

The Port Mourant, Corentyne home on fire

a bucket brigade when smoke was seen coming from inside of the building but to no avail. The farmer was unable to save anything from his home. Tasso has been living at the Port Mourant house for more

than 30 years.

Meanwhile, one fire truck from Rose Hall Town Fire Service arrived at the scene and fire fighters were able to prevent the blaze from spreading to nearby buildings.

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thursDAY, september 12, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Massy opens megastore at MovieTowne

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rinidad-based Massy Stores on Wednesday opened the doors of its megastore in Guyana

space with items ranging “from luggage to lettuce” according to the Chairman of Integrated Retail Business

The new Massy megastore, located in the MovieTowne complex

at MovieTowne, Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara.

The structure offers over 34,000 square feet of retail

Unit, David Affonso.

He said the idea is to offer customers a wide array of items, not limited to food

stocks. On this note, he explained that luggage, car accessories, camping equipment, electrical fixtures, generators, televisions, microwaves and even refrigerators are a few of the items on sale at the Turkeyen megastore.

“The mega format is like a warehouse or club shopping experience which has become very popular in the US (United States) where customers have the option to purchase a wide variety of items in larger quantities at very affordable prices. The big difference with Massy Mega is that there are no membership fees,” the Chairman pointed out.

This is the second megastore the company has established in the Caribbean.

The other was constructed in St Lucia many years ago.

The new location offers customers a unique opportunity to shop in bulk at very affordable prices.

The spacious aisles provide a convenient and comfortable atmosphere. On the note of convenience, it was

21:00h on Mondays through Saturdays and on Sunday from 09:00h to 18:00h.

Over 100 Guyanese have been employed with the company. Finance Minister Winston Jordan explained that the country welcomes

A section of fresh foods available at the megastore

pointed out that the store will be open from 09:00h to

foreign investors.

Minister Jordan further

outlined that oil production is yet to begin, as he encouraged the store owner to be “careful” with his pricing strategy. He also encouraged that fresh fruits and vegetables should be on sale. To achieve this, the Minister advised partnership with local farmers, an initiative Massy is currently implementing.

The first Massy Store was opened at Providence back in 2017. The company, however, has been in operation in Guyana for over 50 years, offering industrial equipment. Massy provides services in Information Technology, automotive, gas products, financial and distribution and retail.

In attendance at the event were several persons from the business community.

Riversview comes alive with cultural Heritage celebrations

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he Indigenous community of Riversview has taken pride in being the first in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) to host the Heritage Month celebrations. Scores of residents and officials ventured

Regions Seven and Region 10, the Upper DemeraraBerbice and the CuyuniMazaruni— two of the richest regions for mining and logging in this country...

Riversview could provide a good life for everyone—

A section of the gathering at the Heritage celebrations

to the riverine location on Tuesday to indulge in the cultural activities presented by the community. The activities were in keeping with the theme of the observance, “Maintaining our traditional practices while promoting a green economy”. Upon entering the community by boat, patrons were greeted by an atmosphere of Indigenous music, food, drinks, cultural presentations— including songs and dance— as well as modern and traditional arts and crafts. Cultural presentations set the atmosphere for the month-long activities, which Guyanese and visitors are being welcomed to experience by the community which is nestled on the right bank of the Essequibo River.

In his opening remarks at the ceremonial occasion, Riversview Toshao Kenneth Edwards extended a heartfelt welcome to all venturing into the host village.

In delivering the feature address at the event, President David Granger congratulated the community on the occasion, positively declaring that it is on the verge of prosperity.

“Riversview is a special village. It straddles

a hundred and forty-four thousand square kilometres...Riversview is right on the verge of prosperity, on the verge of mining, of logging, of farming,...eco-tourism. All of these economic activities can bring wealth and prosperity to the people of Riversview and this beautiful village”, the President said.

“But how will you do it?

You will do so with an educated population...” he said.

The Head of State con-

stressed that it is only through education that the children will be equipped and able to develop the economies of the regions.

The President went on to say that leaders such as village elders, Toshaos and Councillors all have a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience which they can teach the younger generations.

President Granger also noted that villages are responsible for the development of every child, hence, if they falter, so will the children. He went on to stress importance of villages, not only to Indigenous people, but other ethnicities, noting that they are the “cradle of culture”.

As such, the President urged full support for Guyana’s villages, emphasising that they rest on the pillars of the home, school, church and the farm.

Pointing to the Green State Development Strategy, President Granger noted that villages have an important role to play in protecting the environment. He said Riversview has an important role to play in protecting the Essequibo River and preserving its biodiversity for generations to come.

Patrons enjoying the delicacies, culture and craft at Riversview Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice)

tinued by stressing the importance of education, as he noted that it is central to the development of not only of Riversview but the entire Indigenous community and the rest of Guyana. Citing that Heritage Month also coincides with Education month, the President

Meanwhile, Indigenous People’s Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock in his remarks pointed out the importance of the community in contributing to the cultural and economic prosperity of Guyana.

In referencing several accomplished Indigenous

Craft on display

scholars, the Minister noted that the economic ventures of the people also warrant celebration.

In this light, he highlighted developments such as the first sun-dried tomato system in the Pakaraimas and the first lapidary in Monkey Mountains, noting that such achievements

will be long remembered as part of history.

He further noted that Indigenous peoples have an important role to play in ensuring that development initiatives undertaken in their villages are in keeping with the protection of the environment as well as the use of natural resourc-

es in a sustainable manner.

During the observance, the community also celebrated by highlighting the lifetime contributions of Indigenous Political advocate the late Stephen Campbell and other outstanding Indigenous leaders. President Granger also presented the community with an outboard engine at the event.

Region 10 Chairman Renis Morian was among some of the officials present at the event. Heritage Month, previously known as Amerindian Heritage Month, is an annual observance that is held every September in Guyana in honour of Guyana’s Indigenous peoples. The late President Cheddi Jagan in 1995 declared the month to honour the contributions of the nation’s first peoples. (Utamu Belle)

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thursDAY, september 12, 2019| guyanatimesgy.com

Govt yet to get handle on rampant backtrack use – Felix

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hey know what the problem is, but according to Citizenship Minister Winston Felix, the Government has been unable to get control of the rampant backtrack use at Guyana’s borders by immigrants.

Felix made this admission during a press conference at his headquarters on Wednesday. The Minister originally called the press conference to clear the air on his recent meeting with Haitian immigrants.

He was reminded that during an appearance before the Parliamentary Subcommittee on Foreign Relations, he had expressed concerns over the use of backtrack routes and the fact that this accounts largely for the disproportionate number of persons leaving the country compared to those entering.

“At that time, I was referring to both the Corentyne coast as well as to the Rupununi. And the situation is the same. If you

examine what is happening on the Corentyne, you will discover that there is no way you can put your hand on anyone leaving backtrack. Because of the number of backtrack use they have,” Felix said.

“You can start from [Number] 64, 62 [Villages] to Moleson creek. There’s no way you can do that. I worked in that area. We tried to arrest backtrackers. You know what? Even before cell phones came out, they had signals. So boat would come in and they would remain out on the sea and wait you out.”

Felix noted that as a consequence of issues including jurisdictional constraints on the sea, the backtrack routes on the Corentyne coast have not been completely shut down.

Felix noted that monitoring backtrack traffic in the Rupununi is even more difficult.

“Because it’s over a thousand miles of border between Guyana and Brazil.

The Rupununi border with Brazil has been flagged by Government as particularly difficult to patrol

What is being done now is to check the really vulnerable areas where anybody might be leaving and to see how well we can manage it to create a deterrence against using Guyana as a transit point without reporting to immigration.”

The Minister also admitted during his press conference that there will always be weaknesses in the system that the Government

will have to keep an eye on.

Asked if the Government’s theory was that these immigrants were indeed leaving and not settling illegally in Guyana, Felix claimed that it was.

“No, they’re not staying here. And we know

that they’re leaving,” the Minister said, adding that the issue is not just political will. According to Felix, adequately patrolling the border requires technology, a reaction force, training and funding.

Recent records from the authorities had shown that over 22,000 persons entered Guyana from January to April. The Ministry had revealed that of this number, only 6170 had departed.

In addition, it was shown that there are no records of 17,615 immigrants departing from 2013 to 2018.

A breakdown of the statistics shows that over the past 7 months, over 8500 Haitians entered the country, but a fraction of that number left. In 2017, 3515 Haitians came but only 291 departed. And according to media reports, up to April of last year, 1238 came and 85

departed.

In 2017, a total of 44,747 Cubans came to Guyana, but 7255 were unaccounted for. Recent figures released by the authorities indicate that for the first seven months of the year, 41,272 Cuban nationals came to Guyana via the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).

Meanwhile, the figures indicate that some 11,119 Trinidad and Tobago nationals arrived in Guyana between January and July of 2019. Total arrivals taking into account all nationalities stood at 135,220.

The parliamentary Opposition has been vociferous in its contention that a massive people smuggling ring is being orchestrated. It is a contention that President David Granger and Felix have vehemently denied.

Air bridges temporarily suspended at CJIA

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n a notice to the public on Wednesday, the Public Infrastructure Ministry informed that the use of the Passengers Boarding Bridges at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) has been temporarily suspended.

According to the information posted on the Ministry’s Facebook page, the suspension was scheduled to facilitate additional work, which is a part of the Airport Expansion Project.

“The Ministry of Public Infrastructure wishes to advise that the use of Passenger Boarding Bridges at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) has been temporarily suspended. This scheduled suspension is required to facilitate the execution of other works of the Airport Expansion Project,” the Ministry stated.

Nevertheless, the Ministry assured that the works will be completed in a short timeframe as it expressed regret for the inconvenience caused to outgoing and incoming passengers.

This is not the first time that air bridges at CJIA are not functioning.

In May, despite the millions of dollars in improvements being made at CJIA, passengers on social media vented their frustration as they were forced to use the tarmac after one of the airport’s air bridges malfunctioned.

Also recently, airlines landing at the facility were forced to divert to Trinidad after the lights on the airport’s runway were not functioning. A few days later, an American Airlines aircraft suffered a blowout from a raised runway light at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), leaving over 100 passengers stranded.

The CJIA expansion project got underway in 2012 under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration when Guyana secured a US$138 million loan from

the China Exim (ExportImport) Bank to fund the expansion and modernisation project— for which the Guyana Government was to contribute some US$12 million.

However, when the coalition Government came into power in 2015, the project was put on hold, but after discussions between Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson and China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), it was later announced that the project would be continued but a number of downgrades were done to the design.

The extension of works into 2019 comes in disparity to an earlier commitment

by Government, whereby it pledged that the works associated with the expansion would have been completed by the last quarter of 2018.

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thursDAY, september 12, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Berbice man electrocuted

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construction foreman was on Tuesday electrocuted while working at a site at C Field Sophia, Georgetown.

Dead: Elroy Haynes also called ‘Biggist’

Reports are that the foreman was killed after a dragline came into contact with a high-powered wire.

Dead is 59-year-old Elroy Haynes also called “Biggist” of Kiltairn Village, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

At the time of the incident, he was employed with Annirude Ramcharitar Construction Company of Friendship Village, also on the Corentyne.

They were constructing a bridge for the Central Housing and Planning

Authority under the International Development Bank, Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme.

Speaking with Guyana Times, Annirude Ramcharitar said he received a telephone call at about 13:00h on Tuesday informing him of the incident.

He said Haynes had been a very careful foreman and had supervised four other bridges in the same area which were constructed under the high-powered lines which belong to the Guyana Power and Light.

According to Ramcharitar, if the dragline had come into contact with the line then the operator would have been “roasted”.

The dead man’s sister, Michelle, said she spoke with one of the workers, who was on site and he gave a different version of what happened.

“The person who had the phone said he was one of the workers on the worksite and one of them who took him to the hospital. He said to me that they were doing work in C Field and they had a crane moving piles from one place and placing them at another area and the boom of the crane came into contact with a live wire.

My brother was below the machine, not inside holding a wire, and he fell and the guy that was next to him

T

was pitched away.”

Haynes was picked up and taken to the Georgetown Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The other worker was treated and sent away.

A post-mortem performed on the body by Government Pathologist Dr Nehal Singh gave the cause of death as electrocution.

Meanwhile, in a statement, the Central Housing and Planning Authority said the agency will be launching an internal investigation to see whether any safety standards were breached. The incident, the statement said, will

be reported to the Labour Department of the Social Protection Ministry.

At the time of the incident, Hayes along with other workers were moving construction piles from one location to another when a part of the crane which was being used to move the piles came into contact with a high voltage electric line resulting in the unfortunate incident, the Central Housing and Planning Authority said.

Haynes was the third of eight siblings and the first to have passed away. He leaves to mourn a wife, four children and six siblings.

Catalan separatists march for independence amid splits on tactics

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ens of thousands of Catalans waving pro-independence flags and chanting “Independence now!” gathered in Barcelona on Wednesday to call for a

among separatist parties.

The annual pro-independence rally took place at a defining moment, with regional and national politics in turmoil and a much-awaited court verdict

People hold a gaint “Estelada” (Catalan saparist flag) at a rally during Catolonia’s national day ‘La Diada’ in Barcelona, Spain, September 11, 2019

break from Spain, but turnout was far less than at past such rallies amid divisions

on a 2017 botched bid for independence expected early next month.

Despite anger in the crowd over the lack of unity among separatist parties on what strategy to adopt towards Madrid, Wednesday’s large, peaceful gathering in central Barcelona showed Catalan separatism remains a major challenge for Spain.

In 2017, Catalan leaders defied courts and conducted a referendum on secession and then declared independence.

That confrontation saw police wielding batons at crowds seeking to vote and prompted the then-conservative government to temporarily impose direct rule from Madrid on the region.

A Supreme Court ruling is expected in early October.

Prosecutors are seeking sentences ranging from seven to 25 years for 12 separatist leaders on charges of rebellion, sedition and misappropriation of public funds.

The failed independence bid triggered Spain’s big-

Canada’s Trudeau kicks off tough re-election campaign, faces ethics questions

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anadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau kicked off a challenging six-week re-election campaign on Wednesday and immediately faced new questions about a nagging ethics scandal that could cut support for his Liberal Party.

Trudeau, who swept to

office in November 2015 promising “sunny ways” and stressing the importance of gender equality and the environment, faces an electorate more focused on the economy and affordability when it votes on Oct 21.

But polls strongly suggest Trudeau may not win enough

M&CC mulls usage of “recycling and incineration”

seats to govern by himself after a series of missteps that called into question his leadership while cutting into his once sky-high popularity.

That would leave him weakened, relying on Opposition Members of Parliament to push through legislation.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

gest political crisis in decades and while the crisis has been on the backburner recently, it still is a major factor in national politics. Many Spaniards reject Catalan separatism and judge their political parties accordingly.

The Supreme Court ruling is set to be a defining moment. (Excerpt from Reuters)

he Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has been presented with an offer to partner with Dr Carl Niamatali, to put an immediate halt to the dumping and burning of garbage in Georgetown.

According to the Department of Public Information (DPI), Dr Niamatali told the Council that his presentation points to solutions which will help with the proper managing of solid waste including household, medical, and industrial waste. It also consists of various topics to prevent climate change and its catastrophic consequences.

The standing order was removed during the Council’s statutory meeting to facilitate Dr Niamatali’s powerpoint presentation on “recycling and incineration” on Monday last.

He identified four major pillars which should be considered when combatting large amounts of solid waste. The doctor noted that every citizen must act responsibly as it relates to the discarding of solid waste.

In his presentation, he listed the seven ‘R’s which he believes can bring a halt to the issue. “We need to ‘Reduce’ the amount of garbage that we produce, ‘Re-use’ whatever we can.

‘Recycle’ – which means that all garbage must be separated. We need to ‘Replace’ plastic which is polluting the planet. We should ‘Respect’ the environment and respect ourselves. We must be ‘Responsible’ and ‘Ready’ for a change,” he is quoted by the DPI as saying.

According to Dr Niamatali, a large amount of solid waste is usually generated from households.

“Waste food, plastics, glass,

Dr Carl Niamatali during his presentation at M&CC

cans and paper,” he listed.

Adding, “We need to deal with batteries and electronic waste and tires”.

Underscoring the fact that “thousands of tons of solid waste are dumped in landfills every year” the doctor said the disadvantage to this method is that “everything is dumped regardless of the consequences and the toxicity of the materials.”

In addition, he highlighted that it costs the municipality a large sum of cash to develop and upkeep a dumpsite. “The cost is over $2 billion, it last ten years and cost $200 million, yearly.

The monthly operating cost of the site is over $4 million and the operating cost for long-distance transport of garbage is astronomical.”

Dr Niamatali said the use of an incinerator will be a better option and will not be a major health hazard.

“Combustible organic substances which are burnt off, all that remains is ash. Toxic gases would be processed in a computerised system to ensure that no toxic gases are released,” Dr Niamatali explained.

He further pledged his support to collaborate with the M&CC to reduce the amount of solid waste.

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guyanatimesgy.com

Thursday, september 12, 2019

Regional

Hurricane Dorian: Bahamas lists 2,500 people as missing Bahamas emergency services have listed 2,500 people as missing after Hurricane Dorian struck the islands last week.

This official count suggests the death toll will be much higher than the current 50, though the number of missing has yet to be checked against those in shelters and should fall.

Tens of thousands of people remain in need of aid.

Dorian equalled the highest winds ever recorded for a hurricane at landfall when it struck the Abaco Islands.

Large areas were devastated on the Abacos and on Grand Bahama.

The list was announced

by Carl Smith, a spokesman for the country’s National Emergency Management Agency (Nema), but he ex-

A body is removed from the Mudd shanty town on Great Abaco

pressed caution as a database was still being processed and some of the people already evacuated had yet to register their names.

“At this point there are approximately 2,500 on the Bahamian Government register,” Smith said at a press conference.

“This list has not yet been checked against government records of who is staying in shelters or who have been evacuated,” he said.

The number is likely to fall as the cross-checking is carried out.

However, Bahamas officials earlier conceded the final death toll could be “stag-

gering”.

Aid and government officials say about 5,000 people have been evacuated from the two hardest hit island groups.

Dorian was packing sustained winds of 185mph (295km/h) when it made landfall at Elbow Cay on the Abacos on September 1.

Only the 1935 Labour Day hurricane could match that for wind speed at landfall.

Dorian scythed through Great Abaco, devastating Marsh Harbour, then moved on to Grand Bahama where it lingered for almost two days before moving north.

Thousands of homes were severely damaged or destroyed and parts of the Bahamas received up to 35in (89cm) of rain, leaving vast areas flooded.

Mexico sees decrease in US-bound immigration from Central America

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exican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said after a White House meeting on Tuesday that there has been a “significant decrease” in US-bound immigration through Mexico, especially from Central America, and he expects the trend to continue.

Ebrard met US Vice President Mike Pence, and had a brief exchange with President Donald Trump, to review progress in efforts to curb a surge in Central American migrants.

Pence acknowledged

Mexico’s efforts. He said US officials would work with Mexico to expand implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols to speed up processing of asylum claims, the White House said in a statement.

Mexico’s strategy of putting more than 25,000 National Guard militarised Police along its borders and stepping up raids on people traffickers has been a success, Ebrard told a news conference.

“What Mexico has done is working,” said Ebrard, while acknowledging that border

crossings were still up from

Mexico’s Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard holds a news conference following talks with members of the Trump administration in Washington, US [Photo by: REUTERS/ Sarah Silbiger]

averages in September.

“But the tendency is irreversible ... It is something that we think will be permanent,” he said.

Following threats by Trump to impose tariffs on all its goods, Mexico on June 7 pledged to take a series of steps to contain migrants, and the two governments agreed to review that effort after 90 days.

Ebrard said tariffs were not discussed. “It was not the purpose of the meeting. I would say Mexico in this moment is far from the tariffs, far from that possibility,” he said. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Brazil Foreign Minister says “there is no climate change catastrophe”

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razil’s Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo denied on Wednesday that his country was burning down the Amazon rainforest and said unfounded alarm over global climate change was threatening Brazilian sovereignty.

“There is no climate change catastrophe,” Araujo said in a talk at Washington’s Heritage Foundation. “From the debate that is going on it would seem that the world is ending.”

A recent surge in fires in the Amazon, considered a bulwark against climate change, caused an international outcry and criticism of Brazilian President Jair

Brazil’s Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo speaks during a news conference at the Itamaraty Palace in Brasilia, Brazil [Photo by: REUTERS/ Adriano Machado]

Bolsonaro for prioritising development of the region over protection of the forests.

Araujo, who argued that there was a lack of scientific proof over the causes of global warming, said climate change advocates were stirring up alarmism for political ends as part of a leftist conspiracy against the United States and Brazil, whose sovereignty is under attack.

Araujo said Amazon fires were about average this year and deforestation in Brazil was only responsible for 2% of global CO2 emissions.

Globally, he added, deforestation was responsible for

11% of total CO2 emissions.

“So even if we assume that CO2 emissions directly control temperature, which the computer models do not show, Brazil is not the culprit,” he said.

Bolsonaro has rejected as foreign interference the international criticism of his handling of the fires and insisted that Brazil will develop the Amazon as it deems fit.

Araujo said Brazil has been painted as “a country that is destroying the planet” and critics are proposing trade sanctions against it and even an “invasion.” (Reuters)

also be advocating for leave for adoptive parents.

He argued that adoptive parents should be given time off to bond with the child, noting that “this is akin to bringing a newborn into the world”.

“That child that is being brought into the home has an adjustment period, and both parents are needed to go into the adjustment period with them. It makes the

integration of that child into the family setting easier,” Grant said.

“We want the law to recognise that adoptive parents, too, have the need for some time to bond with that new child coming into their space,” he added.

In the meantime, Grant said that the JCSA is looking to extend the period for maternity leave. (Excerpt from

Jamaica: Civil servants push for paternity leave

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resident of the Jamaica Civil Service Association (JCSA), O’Neil Grant, says the entity will be pushing discussions on the introduction of paternity leave in Jamaica.

Grant noted that fathers need time off from work at the birth of their children similar to the period provided for mothers under the Maternity Leave Act. “We do recognise that

our men have been showing that they are responsible, and they want that responsibility to be recognised formally. When we have children… we want to be there for them,” he said.

“We are lobbying for policies to be developed that are going to speak and lead to an institutional arrangement for paternity leave,” he added.

Grant said the JCSA will

Jamaica Observer)

Trinidad: Husband charged with broom-handle sex assault

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man has appeared in court for committing a grievous sexual assault on his wife with a broom handle.

The 37-year-old man from Princes Town, Trinidad appeared in the Rio Claro Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

Magistrate Indira MisirGosine read the charge that on Saturday, he committed a grievous sexual act on his wife. Another charge was that he also assaulted her by beating.

Charges against people in the Princes Town magisterial district are being heard in the Rio Claro court. The building is to be demolished because of structural damage caused by last year’s 6.8 magnitude earthquake.

The husband’s 57-year-

old father also appeared. The Magistrate read a charge that he assaulted his daughter-inlaw by threatening to kill her.

The charges stemmed from an incident at the family’s home in the evening, when there was an argument.

The charges against the husband, who is a maxi-taxi driver, allege that he beat his wife, 35, with a broom. He then sexually assaulted her with the broom’s wooden handle.

The charges were laid indictable by WPC Parris.

Misir-Gosine granted the husband $75,000 bail with a surety to be approved by the magistracy’s registrar.

The father was given $5,000 bail. Both are to return to court on October 8. (Trinidad

Newsday)

Trinidad: Disability grants now available for children

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hildren with disabilities will now be able to access the Disability Assistance Grant.

This is according to Trinidad’s Ministry of Social Development and Family Services.

It said that following the budget for Fiscal 2019, the grant was introduced, making provisions to allow children with a disability to access a fixed monthly rate of TT$1,500 per child.

The grant is payable where assessment of the child is either severe or complete and where the disability is permanent in nature.

Such assessment or certification, the Ministry said, shall come from a paediatrician or other medical practitioner (Public Health) authorised by the Chief Medical Officer for this purpose or from a paediatric specialist (Private Practitioner) registered with the Medical Board of Trinidad and Tobago.

Existing recipients, ie, parents who receive the special needs grant for their child will

be automatically transitioned to this new grant with retroactive payments effective from January 1, 2019.

These parents are not required to reapply. It should be noted, however, that where a monthly income exceeding $1,500 is paid for a similar benefit on behalf of the child, such cases will not be eligible to receive the disability assistance grant for children.

For new recipients, applying is quite simple the ministry said.

New applicants are required to obtain a Medical Report and Application form from a Social Welfare Local Board, health centre or online at www.social.gov.tt.

Once the forms are completed following the medical assessment, the form is returned to the Ministry for processing.

The Ministry of Social Development and Family Services said it is pleased to provide this special arrangement for children with special needs. (Excerpt from T&T Newsday)

Chileans rehearse evacuation as southern volcano rumbles

V

olcano Villarrica, near the popular tourist resort of Pucon around 750 km (460 miles) south of the capital Santiago, was upgraded to an “amber alert,” after it began rumbling and hurling lava into the air late on Tuesday. The amber alert by the National Geology and Mining Service (SERNAGEOMIN) implies a “significant” increase in activity. Álvaro Amigo, Head of the national network of volcano vigilance for SERNAGEOMIN, said Villarica could erupt within “days or weeks”.

“What we have observed in recent days is a significant increase in its activity,” he told Reuters TV on Tuesday. “A probable scenario is that this results in a major eruption”.

Chile has the second-larg-

est and most active volcanic chain in the world, behind Indonesia.

One of South America’s most active volcanoes, Villarica has a 200 meter-wide open crater and last erupted in 2015, sparking a mass evacuation but ultimately no injuries.

A second volcanic complex, the Nevados de Chillan, 230 miles north, has also been placed on amber alert after geologists reported an uptick in activity. This one might take “months” to erupt, according to SERNAGEOMIN’s Amigo.

Residents and visitors around Pucon have been urged by the authorities not to approach within two kilometers of the volcanoes’ peaks.

The dangers include potentially deadly mud, rock and lava flows, SERNAGEOMIN said. (Reuters)

guyanatimesgy.com

thursday, september 12, 2019

Around the World

Trump immigration plans: Supreme Court allows curb on migrants The US Supreme Court has given the go-ahead to Trump Administration plans that severely limit the ability of migrants to claim asylum.

Under the rule, people arriving via a third country must claim asylum there first before arriving at the US border.

Legal challenges against it continue but the ruling means for now it can be enforced nationwide.

President Donald

Trump tweeted that it was a “BIG United States Supreme Court WIN for the Border on Asylum!”.

Curbing migration to the US has been a key goal of his presidency and forms a major part of his bid for re-election in 2020.

When it was unveiled this year in July it was almost immediately blocked from taking effect so the move is being seen as a victory for the Trump Administration in US media.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which challenged the ruling, argued it drastically limited those eligible for asylum.

“The current ban would eliminate virtually all asylum at the southern border, even at ports of entry, for everyone except Mexicans,” it said in a petition.

Anyone who has been rejected by a third country or is a victim of human trafficking can still apply.

The route to the US is

dangerous, with Central American migrants often deliberately sought out by gangs in neighbouring countries because they are vulnerable.

There are questions over whether Mexico and Guatemala can cope with a surge in asylum claimants.

Mexico has also repeatedly refused to become a US “third country” meaning it would be obliged to first consider asylum claims from people wanting to enter the US. (Excerpt

from BBC News)

Brexit: Scottish Judges rule Parliament suspension is unlawful

B

oris Johnson’s suspension of the UK Parliament is unlawful, Scotland’s highest civil court has ruled.

A panel of three Judges at the Court of Session found in favour of a cross-party group of politicians who were challenging the Prime Minister’s move.

The Judges said the PM was attempting to prevent Parliament holding the Government to account ahead of Brexit.

A UK Government appeal against the ruling will be heard by the Supreme Court in London next week.

The Court of Session decision overturns an earlier

There were angry protests from many MPs in the Commons ahead of Parliament being suspended in the early hours of Tuesday

ruling from the court, which said last week that Johnson had not broken the law.

The current five-week suspension of Parliament, a process known as proroguing, started in the early hours of Tuesday.

MPs are not scheduled

to return to Parliament until October 14, when there will be a Queen’s Speech outlining Johnson’s legislative plans. The UK is due to leave the EU on October 31.

Opposition parties have called for Parliament to be immediately recalled in the

wake of the court judgement, but Downing Street said this would not happen ahead of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the case.

Downing Street also distanced itself from reports that quoted w2Number 10 sources as suggesting the Scottish Judges were politically biased, and insisted that the Prime Minister has “absolute respect” for the independence of the Judiciary.

A spokesman for Number 10 said it was “disappointed” by the decision, and would appeal to the Supreme Court. (Excerpt from BBC

News)

Robert Mugabe’s body arrives home from Singapore

T

he body of Robert Mugabe has arrived back in Zimbabwe after a private flight from Singapore, where he died last week aged 95.

Mugabe was Zimbabwe’s first leader after the country became independent in 1980. He held on to power for almost four decades before being ousted in a coup in 2017.

He will be buried on Sunday after a state funeral on Saturday.

However, his final resting place remains in doubt.

A convoy of vehicles with “RG Mugabe” number plates was seen next to the runway and a crowd of peo-

ple, some wearing the former President’s image on T-shirts, awaited the arrival of the plane.

The body has now been

Mugabe is due to lie in state at Rufaro Stadium, in Mbare township in Harare, where he was sworn in as Zimbabwe’s first Prime

Mugabe’s body is due to lie in state in Harare today and Friday

taken to the family home known as the “Blue Roof” in Harare.

Today and Friday,

Minister after independence from the UK in 1980.

His official state funeral will take place on Saturday

at the 60,000-seat National Sports Stadium in Harare.

The Government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa has declared him a “national hero” for his role in helping Zimbabwe gain independence, and a grave has been reserved at Heroes’ Acre, a shrine in Harare for all those who fought against colonial rule.

But reports suggest Mugabe did not want those who ousted him from power to preside over his funeral and so he might instead be buried at his rural home in a private event.

U

cluding some anti-cancer drugs and lubricants, as well as animal feed ingredients whey and fish meal, according to a Ministry of Finance statement on its website.

Beijing said in May that it would start a waiver programme, amid growing worries over the cost of the protracted trade war on its already slowing economy.

Deputy trade negotiators are due to meet in

Washington in mid-September, with Minister-level talks to follow in October.

Indeed, the exempted list pales in comparison to over 5000 types of US products that are already subject to China’s additional tariffs. Moreover, major US imports, such as soybeans and pork, are still subject to hefty additional duties, as China has ramped up imports from Brazil and other supplying countries.

‘You will never break our will’ – Palestinians to Netanyahu after Jordan Valley annexation pledge

‘Y

ou will never break our will’: Palestinians to Netanyahu after Jordan Valley annexation pledge Palestinians tilling the fertile Jordan Valley said on Wednesday they have been rooted for generations to the West Bank land that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to annex, and they vowed never to give it up.

“We tell Netanyahu, and whoever follows him, you will not break the Palestinians’ will, you will never break our will, never, never,” said Hassan Al-Abedi, a 55-yearold farmer who lives in the village of Jiftlik.

Drawing condemnation from Palestinian and other Arab leaders, the right-wing Netanyahu announced on Tuesday that he plans to “apply Israeli sovereignty” to the Jordan Valley and adjacent northern Dead Sea if he prevails in what is shaping up as a tough battle for re-election on Sept 17.

Palestinians seek to estab-

lish a State in all of the Israelioccupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and their leaders said Israeli annexation would violate international law and effectively nullify interim peace deals from the 1990s that included security cooperation.

“This is not Netanyahu’s land to give,” said Ismael Hassan, a 75-year-old Palestinian from Zbeidat village. “Whether or not Netanyahu succeeds (in the election) we won’t accept it.

This land is for Palestine, for the Palestinians.”

In Israel, which captured the West Bank in a 1967 war, Netanyahu’s declaration was widely seen as a bid to sap support from far-right election rivals who advocate annexation of Jewish settlements, and from a centre-left that for decades has argued that the Jordan Valley should be kept on security grounds.

Retaining the Jordan Valley would effectively leave Israel encircling any Palestinian political entity that emerges. (Excerpt from Reuters)

US should avoid ‘warmongers’, says Iran on John Bolton’s firing

B

olton was one of the strongest advocates of the ongoing US “maximum pressure” policy towards the Islamic Republic.

“Americans have to realise that warmongering and warmongers are not to their benefit,” President Hassan Rouhani said in televised remarks. “They should not only abandon warmongering but also abandon their maximum pressure policy.

Tensions ratcheted up

economic lifeblood of the nation’s economy.

Iran has called the reimposition of sanctions “economic terrorism”.

Immediately after Bolton’s departure, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Trump could meet Rouhani for talks at an upcoming United Nations meeting with “no preconditions”.

However, Iran’s envoy to the UN, Majid Takhteravanchi, said Bolton’s dismissal didn’t

(Excerpt from BBC News)

China exempts some US goods from retaliatory tariffs as fresh talks loom

S President Donald Trump on Wednesday welcomed China’s decision to exempt some US anti-cancer drugs and other goods from its tariffs, days ahead of a planned meeting aimed at defusing a trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

China on Wednesday announced its first batch of tariff exemptions for 16 types of US products, in-

17

In all, the United States and China have slapped tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods in a bitter trade war that has raised the spectre of a global recession, with further tariffs slated to take effect in coming months.

The exemption will take effect on Sept 17 and be valid for a year through to Sept 16, 2020, it said. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during the Cabinet meeting in Tehran, Iran, September 11, 2019

after the US pulled out of a historic international accord signed in 2015 between Iran and the world powers, under which Tehran accepted curbs on its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief and access to world trade.

The US pressure policy includes crippling sanctions aimed at halting all Iranian oil exports - the

change its position that there will be no negotiations until economic sanctions are lifted.

Trump, meanwhile, left open the possibility the United States could ease sanctions on Iran, saying on Wednesday he believes Tehran wants to strike a new deal on its nuclear programme. (Excerpt from Al

Jazeera)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

thursday, september 12, 2019

ARCHIE

ARIES

If you take a walk down memory lane, it will help you figure out what you should do in a current situation. A change is within reach.

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

Your enthusiasm will prompt excitement and draw assistance that will help you excel. Make plans to celebrate with people who share your sentiments.

Romance is on the rise.

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

Take a deep breath and dissect what you’ve been told. You need to fully understand a situation before you can make a decision.

Don’t let someone take advantage of you.

(March 21April 19)

dilbert

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)

Use your imagination, be innovative and make changes that will ease stress. Add comfort and convenience to your living space and share your good fortune with a loved one.

Don’t feel that you must spend money to make an impression on someone. You’ll gain respect if you are practical and use common sense.

Work hard and enjoy life’s simple pleasures.

Communication will clear up any misunderstanding you encounter, and honesty will lead to an opportunity that will improve your life. Refuse to let someone’s poor habits and emotional manipulation hold you back.

Take care of your responsibilities before doing anything else. If you make demands or complain before you have done what’s expected of you, it will cause bad feelings. Aim to nurture relationships.

Get involved in a group effort that interests you.

The people you meet will offer information that can help you raise your profile and connect with individuals who have something to offer.

Situations will get blown out of proportion quickly if you are too vocal or get involved in something dubious. Pick and choose your associates carefully.

You’ve got what it takes to make things happen.

Your experience, charm and ability to convince others to do things your way will lead to success.

Offer to do only what you can. It’s more important to take care of your responsibilities than to promise to do things for others. Question others’ motives and avoid manipulative people.

Keep a level head when PISCES dealing with friends, rela(Feb. 20March 20) tives and colleagues. Not everyone will offer sound solutions. Be the one who steps up and takes command.

Romance is encouraged.

thursday, september 12, 2019

19

England must build towards Ashes in Australia ꟷ Joe Root E

ngland Captain Joe Root says his country must build towards winning the Ashes in Australia in 2021-22, after failing to regain the urn this summer.

England are 2-1 down, and cannot take the Ashes back from the holders even if they win the fifth Test at The Oval, which begins on Thursday.

"We have to use the next two-and-a-half years to focus on putting in a winning tour Down Under," said Root. “That's a real incentive for everyone to be part of something special there."

England were beaten in the fourth Test at Old Trafford, meaning Australia have an unassailable lead, and will leave the UK with the urn for the first time since 2001.

It also ended England's hopes of adding the Ashes to the World Cup they won earlier this summer. It can be argued that England's Test cricket has suffered in recent years because of the emphasis they put on being crowned 50-over world champions for the first time.

But Root, whose position as skipper has come under scrutiny since the loss at Old Trafford, says he is clear on how he wants to take his team forward.

"I know the direction I want to take this team, and it's about starting that now, not after this series," the Yorkshire batsman said. "It's about trying to make sure we use this match as a stepping stone; win this game; have a really

strong winter, and move forward as a group."

Root, 28, also addressed questions on whether being captain affects batting. He averages 40.87 as skipper, as opposed to 52.80 when not leading.

"I've not performed how I would have liked," he said. "I'll continue to keep working hard and trying to improve my game."

He also believes that the World Cup-winning summer should be viewed as a success, even if the Ashes have not been regained.

"To win the World Cup for the first time is a huge achievement," Root said.

"Sometimes you get outplayed, and we've had some challenges across the summer. There have been quite a few injuries, and the weather has intervened in certain parts of games. The series could have looked different," he said.

England have been forced to rejig the balance of their side because of a shoulder injury to all-rounder Ben Stokes. With Stokes unable to bowl his usual amount of overs, fellow all-rounder Sam Curran comes in for struggling batsman Jason Roy, while Chris Woakes replaces Craig

Overton in the pace attack.

It means yet another batting order reshuffle for the home side, with Stokes moving up to number four, Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler shuffling up one place behind him, and Curran slotting in at seven.

Australia have recalled all-rounder Mitchell Marsh for batsman Travis Head, in order to ease the burden on their pace attack, which could be unchanged from Old Trafford. Fast bowler Peter Siddle is on stand-by in case they do opt for an alteration.

While the Ashes have been retained, captain Tim Paine said, the ambition is to win the series; and for that reason, the last Test is like a "grand finale" for the tourists.

"We're very hungry," he said. "We have spoken a lot about it. We came here to win the Ashes, not just retain them.

Last week's result at Old Trafford was brilliant, and we played very well; but all the guys are aware that this Test is bigger than that one. We want this Test as much as any other Test we've played in this series."

(Excerpt from BBC.COM)

Joe Root

"I will never take drugs Rory McIlroy named PGA in my life" – Coleman Tour Player of the Year

C

hristian Coleman has hit out at "disrespectful fake fans", and vowed he will never fail a drugs test in his life, after being cleared to compete in the World Athletics Championships in Doha.

Coleman was facing a potential two-year ban after the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) last month charged the sprinter for missing three random drugs tests in the space of a year.

USADA withdrew the charges after receiving guidance from the World AntiDoping Agency over whether Coleman missed the tests.

The 23-year-old maintained his innocence throughout, and on Wednesday defended himself as he prepares to go for gold in the 100 metres’

event in Qatar.

Coleman posted on Instagram: "I put my heart and soul into track and field, and worked hard to get where I am today. It's simply disrespectful when fake fans speculate and talk about drugs in relation to the great athletes we have in this sport.

It does nothing but hold the sport back from the popularity I know it can reach in the future.

"I shouldn't have to defend myself, but for the first and last time, I literally do not take ANY supplements or protein

powders. Nothing, even legal, to help with recovery. Nothing. I work hard at practice, drink water and Powerade, rest, and work even harder the next day.

"Therefore I have never failed a drug test, and never will. I'm the biggest advocate for clean sport because I know the sacrifice and what it takes to make it to this level.

"There have been a lot of inaccurate things said in the media over the past few weeks – it's a shame we live in a world where clicks=money, yet people still believe everything they read.

"Huge ‘Thank you’ to all my supporters.

Can't wait for World Champs. See y'all in Doha." (Excerpted from Sportsmax)

R

ory McIlroy has been named PGA Tour Player of the Year for the 2018-19 season.

It is the third time in his career that this Northern Ireland golfer has won the award, which is voted for by the tour's membership.

The 30-year-old won the honour ahead of Brooks Koepka, Matt Kuchar and Xander Schauffele.

McIlroy won the Tour Championship for a second time last month, to secure the FedEx Cup title. He had two other title wins during the season, with victories in The Players Championship and the Canadian Open.

"Rory's season was a model of consisten-

cy, punctuated by milestone victories and ultimately the FedEx Cup in Atlanta," said PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan.

McIlroy opened the 2019 calendar year with top-six finishes in his first five competitions, before winning The Players to claim his 15th career PGA Tour victory. That saw the Hollywood native join Tiger Woods and Henrik Stenson as only the third player to win The Players, a major, the FedEx Cup and a World Golf Championships event.

McIlroy's win in Atlanta came after he suffered disappointment in The Open, when he failed to make the cut at Royal Portrush by one shot, following a disastrous opening round.

Allardyce open to offers after rejecting Newcastle return

F

Christian Coleman

ormer England manager Sam Allardyce says he is ready to return to the dugout, despite rejecting Newcastle United.

Allardyce claims he was approached by the Magpies after Rafael Benitez opted not to renew his contract at the club. Steve Bruce later left Sheffield on Wednesday for the role, with Allardyce unwilling to take on a second spell at Newcastle.

But the 64-year-old Allardyce, out of work since departing Everton in May 2018, has indicated he is willing to consider a comeback.

"It didn't happen last season, which was my first year out of professional football for the first time since I was 15," Allardyce told Sky Sports. "It was a bit strange just watching all the games, but I found it to be very interesting in seeing how I feel about the game and how I would feel about what I

would do if I got back in.

“You have plenty of time to get ready if you do want to get back into the game," he said.

Bruce led Newcastle to an eye-catching win at Tottenham prior to the international break, and Allardyce feels he was the right man for the job.

"Newcastle wasn't for me," Allardyce told Sky Sports. "I was very chuffed that Mike [Ashley, Newcastle chairman] considered me again, but I felt that Brucey was a better fit than me, and good luck to him. It is his dream move to manage his hometown club, and I wish him well. It was the only thing that came up this summer."

Allardyce's former clubs include Crystal Palace, Sunderland, West Ham and Bolton Wanderers, while his brief spell in charge at St James' Park lasted from May 2007 until January the following year. (Excerpt from Sportsmax)

20

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

thursday, september 12, 2019

Australia tour of the West Indies…

Aussies whitewash Windies Women 3

SCOREBOARD

West Indies Women Innings R Boyce (wk) c Alyssa Healy b E Perry 1 B Cooper c Tayla Vlaeminck b Georgia Wareham 16 Kyshona Knight b Jonassen 40 S Taylor (c) c Jonassen b Gardner 23 N McLean c Gardner b Georgia Wareham 0 S King c Beth Mooney b Gardner 12 C Henry b Schutt 39 S Grimmond b Jonassen 34 A Fletcher b Schutt 3 K Ramharack c E Perry b Schutt 0 S Connell not out 0 Extras 12 (b 1, lb 6, w 5, nb 0, p 0) Total 180 (10 wkts, 50 Ov) FOW: 1-1 (Boyce, 1.4), 42-2 (Cooper, 16.2), 73-3 (Kyshona Knight, 26.4), 80-4 (McLean, 29.3), 99-5 ( Taylor, 33.5), 104-6 ( King, 35.4), 168-7 ( Grimmond, 46.2), 180-8 ( Henry, 49.4), 180-9 ( Ramharack, 49.5), 180-10 ( Fletcher, 49.6) Bowling

Alysa Healy

Megan Schutt

M

egan Schutt made history in the third One Day International game between Australia Women and the West Indies Women when she produced a hat-trick in Antigua to clean up the Windies tail as Australia made a clean sweep of the series.

Schutt took three wickets with the final three balls of the innings to become the first Australian woman to take an ODI hat-trick.

Needing 181 for a 3-0 series sweep, a 27-ball half-century from Alyssa Healy put Australia well on track in the chase, before Meg Lanning (58*) and Ellye Perry (33*) saw the visitors home with eight wickets in hand in the 32nd over.

This win has stretched the No.1 ranked Australia ODI team’s winning streak to 15 matches, and means that Meg Lanning’s team have won a fifth straight series.

Schutt’s hat-trick, her second in international cricket, was the culmination of another strong bowling display from Australia, who were sent in to the field after captain Lanning – who returned to the XI after missing the second ODI due to back spasms – lost the toss.

Their star batter Healy’s outstanding series continued when she struck a rapid-fire 61 from 32 deliveries to finish with 241 runs

at 80.33 across the three matches. Her whirlwind knock featured 11 fours and one six, and while her departure in the eighth over brought temporary relief for the West Indian attack – as did the departure of opener Rachael Haynes for 19 – Lanning and Perry ensured the result was never in doubt.

Lanning’s 13th ODI half-century also saw her bring up a special slice of history, with her 47th run taking her to 6222 runs across all international formats, surpassing Karen Rolton to become Australia’s greatest female run-scorer.

Earlier, Perry took just four deliveries to strike with the ball, becoming just the second Australian woman to take 150 ODI wickets when Reniece Boyce departed for one.

Slow and steady was the approach taken by West Indian pair Kyshona Knight and Britney Cooper in the face of a disciplined start from Schutt and Perry, and just 18 runs were scored from the first 10 overs. Knight looked the more comfortable at the crease, while batting partner Cooper – a late addition to the squad in place of the injured Kycia Knight – battled her way to 16 from 51 deliveries, before being undone by the leg-spin bowling of Georgia Wareham in the 17th over.

West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor joined Knight, and the pair put on 41 for the third wicket, to frustrate the Australian attack, but the introduction of left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen reaped immediate rewards, with Knight being bowled for a 72-ball 40.

The hosts were relying on Taylor – their most decorated oneday player, who has more than 4,500 runs and five centuries to her name – to bat through the innings, but she managed just 23 runs from 50 deliveries before holing out due to the bowling of Ashleigh

M Schutt (10-2-24-3) E Perry (5-1-18-1) T Vlaeminck (7-1-29-0) G Wareham (9-1-47-2) A Gardner (7-0-23-2) N Carey (5-1-24-0) J Jonassen (7-2-8-2) Australia Women Innings A Healy (wk) c StacyAnn King b S Taylor 61 R Haynes c Chinelle Henry b Afy Fletcher 19 M Lanning (c) not out 58 El Perry not out 33 Extras 11 (b 0, lb 1, w 10, nb 0, p 0) Total 182 (2 wkts, 31.1 Ov) FOW 71-1 ( Healy, 7.5), 97-2 ( Haynes, 15.4) Bowling S Connell (5-0-32-0) S King (2-0-19-0) C Henry (2-0-21-0) K Ramharack (8-0-35-0) S Taylor (c) (6-0-25-1) A Fletcher (5-0-30-1) S Grimmond (3.1-0-19-0)

Gardner.

In just her second international match, it was again No.8, Sheneta Grimmond, who showed up the top-order with an aggressive display, dispatching Wareham over the boundary twice in registering a 24-ball 34. She put on 64 for the seventh wicket with Chinelle Henry (39 off 58), lifting the West Indian total towards 200 before being bowled by Jonassen.

But the Windies’ hopes of reaching that milestone were thwarted with a superb final over from Schutt, who took three wickets with her final three deliveries to become the first woman to claim two hat-tricks in international cricket.

The Australian spearhead had bowled well without reward through her first 9.3 overs, before striking the triple blow to have the hosts bowled out for 180. First, she bowled aggressive allrounder Henry for 39 with a slower delivery; before a canny change in the field – placing fielders on the ropes at long on and long off – achieved the immediate result when Karishma Ramharack plucked out Perry on the boundary next ball.

With one delivery remaining in the innings, Schutt again produced a slower ball to deceive Afy Fletcher and strike the top of off-stump. Her efforts were backed by those of Jonassen, who finished the innings with the superb figures of 2-8 from 7 overs, including two maidens.

With the one-day international series done and dusted, the Australian and West Indian squads will fly to Barbados on Thursday, where the first T20I will be played on Saturday at 19:00h local time.

(Excerpt from Cricket Australia)

BCB office upgrading process…

Support continues to pour in O

ver the last 19 months, the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) has remained focused on organising numerous cricket tournaments and coaching programmes, assisting clubs and cricketers, and raising finance to return Berbice Cricket to its rightful pride of place after two years of internal problems.

With Berbice Cricket again on firm footing, the BCB is now undertaking a major upgrade of its Office in New Amsterdam, with concomitant improvement of its services to the general public. This upgrading is being done as part of the 80th Anniversary Celebration of the BCB. BCB President Hilbert Foster, MS, who is spearheading the project, has said that with the BCB on its feet, it was important for the administration to strengthen its operations to better serve the cricketing public, sponsors, and all clubs in the Ancient County.

Noting that the present executives took over a Board with no finance and

neither structure nor office in place, Foster said the main objective is to make the BCB a role model organisation in West Indies Cricket.

Condition of the old office left much to be desired, and it was totally inadequate for managing Berbice Cricket. The upgrade would include tiling of the floor, installing PVC ceiling on the roof, repairs to the washroom facility, and making the operation of the Board total self-reliant.

An NGO in Berbice, the Caribbean Nation Group (CNG), and Delmur Shipping have contributed financially to fixing of the BCB ceiling, while overseas-based Guyanese Dr. Tulsi Dyal Singh has committed to funding the tiling of the floor and to purchasing new furniture.

Barbados-based Guyanese Dr. Puran Singh has committed to providing the BCB with a desktop computer and printer.

West Indies players Devandra Bishoo and Anthony Bramble have respectively donated a 32-inch televi-

sion set and a water dispenser.

The BCB has also received from well-wishers a DVD player, electrical fan, kitchen utensils, large water cooler, office decorations, cleaning equipment, stationery, telephone set and facsimile machine.

Those who have so far donated to the BCB cause include National Player Gudakesh Motie, University of Guyana Tain Campus, Poonai Pharmacy, Balram Shane General Store, RHTY&SC, Attorney-at-Law R. Jugmohan, and Bakewell who have contributed 100 souvenir cups for the historic anniversary.

BCB Public Relations Officer Simon Naidu and Office Administrator Angela Haniff have both expressed gratitude to all of the donors for supporting the Berbice Cricket Board, and have urged former executives, overseas-based Berbicians and the business community to offer their support to the BCB’s efforts to lift Berbice Cricket even higher.

A representative of the Caribbean Nation Group handing over donation to BCB President Hilbert Foster

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thursday, september 12, 2019

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RHTY&SC congratulate Gajnabi and Grimmond on international debut

T

Matadin and Dian Prahalad he Patron, President, Executives Gajnabi joined the working hard every day, the and the entire Membership club at the tender age of 13, while Grimmond cricket club is very confident of the Rose Hall Town Youth that more of its members would and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) did so at 14; and they have both benefited from the RHTY&SC’s soon follow in their footsteps. have extended congratulations to RHTY&SC would like to express club members Shabika Gajnabi well organized cricket structure and a and Sheneta Grimmond on their simple formula of hard work, faith in God, gratitude to the management and personal discipline, and dedication. staff of Metro Office and Computer international debut versus Australia in Supplies. That company has, since 2009, the current Colonial Medical Insurance They also benefited from practising daily with their male counterparts, and from invested heavily in our female cricketers, One Day International Series. and special mention must be made to regular coaching sessions with Level Three The RHTY&SC had the following to say: CEO Avia Lindie and Mr. T. Jadunath.

Coach Winston Smith.

Gajnabi and Grimmond are products of The Management of RHTY&SC The RHTY&SC is very proud of its the longstanding relationship between would like to reassure the cricketing massive investment in female cricket RHTY&SC and Metro Office Supplies, public that they would uphold their high since 2008, but is bitterly disappointed sponsors of Guyana’s only Female Cricket standards.

Team, the Rose Hall Town Metro Team. to remain the only club in Guyana During the brief 29-year history of to so do.

Gajnabi, during the first One the Club, we have produced a total “It is very sad that Day International match, became of seven players for the West Indies: the third RHTY&SC female member our girls have to play Sheneta against males, and “Campbelle, Giddings, Gajnabi, to play for the West Indies, while Grimmond Grimmond (female); Assad we would like to call Grimmond became the fourth Shabika Fudadin (Under-15, Under-19, during the second match. on other established Gajnabi clubs to invest in Test) Royston Crandon (ODI) and It was an entirely gratifying Esuan Crandon (Sixes). Kevlon female cricket” the experience to watch these two Anderson is on the verge of has said.

RHTY&SC members add 60 runs for the RHTY&SC Gajnabi and Grimmond have now making the West Indies Under-19 seventh wicket against a dominant Australia bowling World Cup Squad, while Jonathan Rampersaud unit, in process earning the praise of cricketing legends joined Shemaine Campbelle and Erva Kenneth Benjamin and Sir Curtly Ambrose on live Giddings as the club’s international products, and with was last year named in a West Indies Under-15 Training players like Sherica Campbelle, Marian Samaroo, Oma Squad. commentary.

King of Studies small goal football tournament set for January 25 ꟷ more lucrative prizes up for grabs

By Timothy Jaikarran

W

hen the second semester at the University of Guyana starts, it’ll be football fever all over again. All footballers are already hyped, as the second edition of the King of Studies tournament is scheduled to kick start on the first weekend of the new semester, January 25th, 2020.

This tournament will be held at the side of the newly constructed Behavioral Sciences Building. Organized by second year International Relations student Jafar Gibbons, the tournament will be played for one day, and all prizes will be handed over on that same day.

The first edition, which was delayed by two weeks due to a bomb scare, was eventually won by Hard Knocks. The eventual MVP walked away with one signature Moov pair of sneakers along with a gold ring sponsored by Antonio Fredericks. Hard Knocks will be aiming to keep their winning streak alive and be crowned two-time champions.

Hard Knocks captain Jamaine Samuels was the standout player in 2018, as he was awarded the MVP and declared player with the most goals in the tournament.

In an interview with this publication, Gibbons said, “My expectation is that the second edition becomes bigger and better, as we are soliciting sponsors to come on board of this lucrative tournament, as the students will look forward to something more this year. In terms of what I am looking to achieve, the founding principle was on the integration, teams being created from a mixture of persons from different faculties, as opposed to persons playing at a faculty level. So the underlying theme on which the tournament is based is giving back and impacting the university in a positive way.

We also want to create some traffic in terms of attention towards the University of Guyana and its sports department.”

T h e competition

Defending Champions’ Captain Jamaine Samuels was also awarded the MVP and player with the most goals

will feature teams that comprise members from various faculties, as opposed to University norms (interfaculty sports). The matches will be round-robin style, followed by the knockout stage, which will be three games – two semi-finals and the final.

The games will be played in two fiveminute halves for the one-day event.

This tournament facilitates 10 teams, and accommodates as much as 100 students. The victorious team is set to walk away with a top prize of $100,000, while the runners- up will settle for $50,000 and third place $25,000.

Gibbons hopes that, once agreed upon, champions will be under obligation to contribute 10% of their winnings towards a project of their choice that will impact the university.

Gibbons has since expressed his gratitude to the University of Guyana hierarchy for granting him the permission needed to ensure his tournament b e c o m e s successful.

Organiser Jafar Gibbons

GSCL Inc urges teams to "play by the rules"

Defending champions Regal Masters

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he third edition of the highly anticipated Prime Minister’s T20 Cup will be staged from November 1-3, 2019, and the Georgetown Softball Cricket League (GSCL) Inc has cleared the air on the format that would govern play in this tournament.

There will be three categories of competitors participating in this tournament, namely the Legends Over 50, Masters Over 45 and the All Stars. Teams will be divided into two groups in each category, and will play each other once, after which the top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals.

Each group will consist of eight teams. The rules of the tournament indicate that both off-break and leg break (round arm) bowling will be allowed, but chucking will not be accepted, and the umpires would strictly enforce this rule.

While no entrance fee is required for participation, teams will be asked to make a deposit of $60,000 as collateral for their participation in the tournament, which would be refunded after the preliminary round matches on the second day of the competition.

The GSCL Inc would be looking at match fixing seriously, since there have been instances wherein teams fixed games to allow other teams to go through to the semifinals.

Matches will be played within their stipulated time periods, the organisers will be very strict on teams turning up late for matches. Following the semifinals on November 2, the finals will be held on November 3 at Everest CC, commencing with the over-50 categories from 10:00hrs. This will be followed by the over-45 finals from 13:30hrs, and the open final will be played under lights from 18:00hrs.

The first prize for the Legends over 50 will see the winner carting off $300,000 while the runner-up will receive $50,000. The ‘man of the match’ in the finals will receive $10,000 and a trophy and the ‘man of series’ will receive one gold bracelet.

In the Masters Over-45 category, the winner will pocket $500,000 and the runner-up $100,000. The ‘man of the match’ in the finale will receive $10,000 and a trophy. The ‘man of the series’ will walk away with a brand new 55” Smart Tv. In the final category, the All-stars (open to all ages) winner will pocket a handsome $500,000, the runner-up $100,000, ‘man of the match’ in the finals $10,000 and trophy, while the man of the series will receive a Hero Honda motorcycle.

Regal Masters and Speedboat are the defending champions in the Over-45 and Open categories respectively.

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thursday, september 12, 2019

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

"Cricket is a unifying force"

Fans echo approval after Warriors’ home games cricket is we don’t have family when the game is playing,” Dave replied.

One of the tiniest Warriors had the experience of his life at Providence over the past weekend. Being just a toddler, Dilshan Jainarine told this publication that he was excited to be joining his family at the National Stadium.

“Because it’s my first time!” his little voice muttered.

Cricket is known to be the glue that keeps Guyanese bonded in spite of race, religion or class. This was a sentiment that was echoed by People’s Progressive Party Presidential Candidate Irfaan Ali, as he greeted fans in the grass mound.

“Cricket brings out all Guyanese. Especially at this time, we need Guyanese to unite, and cricket is that uniting bond that everyone can feel

The stands were packed to capacity at the National Stadium, Providence

“W

a r r i o r s ! ” “Warriors!”

“Warriors!” were the chants of thousands of fans as they voiced their approval of their local Hero Caribbean Premiere League (CPL) franchise team the Guyana Amazon Warriors.

Whether rain or shine in Guyana, when cricket is to be played, fans and cricket enthusiasts alike always show up in anticipation of a great game. And that’s just what the Guyana Amazon Warriors gifted their fans during the first leg of their home games, winning three matches from as many games.

The support at the National

Stadium, Providence is second to none in the Caribbean, and this was shown in the three soldout matches that were hosted there over the past weekend.

While many are anticipating Guyana’s final two home games, against the Jamaica Tallawahs and the Trinbago Knight Riders on October 3 and 4 respectively, scores of fans have been voicing their approval of the Warriors at the National Stadium.

“I think we’re the Delhi Dare Devils of the CPL. We got the youngest squad; we’ve never had a squad on paper, this year we have that. Hopefully, they perform on the field as well, we get off to a good start, and I look forward to see the young

Guyanese especially,” one fan explained when approached by Guyana Times Sport.

Another voiced unwavering support for the local team, saying, “I’m backing my country no matter what, win or lose. I’m a Guyanese and I will always represent my country.”

For relatives Dave and Gary, watching the Warriors out in the middle at Providence sometimes causes them to put their defenses up for the opposing teams.

“I’m from Trinidad, but I’m in the country so I have to support the Warriors tonight,” Gary told this publication.

“There’s no feud, we’re family, but the bottom line about

Dick proud of hard work contingent put in at Caribbean Mini and Pre Cadet Table Tennis Championships

By Timothy Jaikarran

A

t the conclusion of the 2019 Caribbean Mini and Pre cade Table Tennis Championships being held at the Gymnasium Santo Domingo Dominican Republic, Guyana emerged with three bronze medals. The recipients of these medals were Boys under 13 teams (Jonathan Van Lange/ Krystian Sahadeo), Boys under 13 doubles (Jonathan Van Lange/ Colin Wong) and Boys under 13 singles (Colin Wong).

In an exclusive interview with Guyana Times Sport when asked on the team’s success, Coach Dwain Dick said, “All three medals in one category is testimony of the work that these guys have been putting in. Tremendous improvement.

Beating Puerto 3-1, Dom Rep B 3-2 and Jamaica 3-0 in teams. I hope we can have the support for them moving forward so that they can compete on the Latin America Table Tennis Union (LATTU) junior Circuit.

Colin Wong who secured two medals still has a year more as under 13, for him to win preparations must begin now.”

“In terms of where we lacked I felt that for me even

Santos, Mahaica Determinators are latest Limacol winners S

antos FC Under 20 kept their slate clean last evening with another win in the Limacol Football tournament.

Mahaica Determinators worked tirelessly for their first win. After a loss last week in the first round of play, the Mahaica Determinators squad were intent on turning their fortunes around in the 2019 edition of the Limacol Football tournament, and did just that when they come up against Police ‘B’ on Tuesday night.

The Mahaica Captain Eion Able led from the front, giving his team the necessary ammunition to challenge the law officers. Abel found the back of the net for the first time in the 6th minute, and further extended the lead in the 29th.

However, the boys hailing from the East Coast were relentless, and set up another scoring opportunity for their captain, which he took to complete his hat trick in the 33rd.

With the score at 3-0 by the half, ‘Police B’ cleaned up their act in the second segment, and Shamar Charles

netted their first in the 59th.

Leroy Charles followed closely behind with another in the 74th.

Just when it seemed as though Police would make a comeback, the lawmen missed a handful of promising opportunities in front of the goal. Mahaica’s Martin Willis added insult to injury as he scored in the 84th for a 4-2 victory.

Abel cited the team’s first loss as the reason for their determination. “Yeah, it was a good win tonight. After all, we came in the first game and we got beat by Pele, so we had to come out back on top tonight.

We did a lot of changes in the team; we had to change the whole back and the center,” Abel explained.

In the second fixture, the Santos’ Under 20 team bagged their second win in as games, brushing aside Timehri Panthers in the process.

Marcus Wilson was the first to add his name to the score sheet in the 17th, but Timehri’s Daniel Moshettete (26th) equalized soon after.

Santos were by way of

Coach Dwain Dick

though all the games were closely contested. For me it was lack of exposure and competition, nervousness came because of inexperience in the big moments. They hesitated in critical moments and became tense, but technically we are there even better in some respects.”

Dick also noted that even though the tournament has concluded, the players are back at it again pushing hard as it is his belief that early preparation can be vital. Dick also went on to state that the Caribbean championships is just the first step in one of the

many competitions towards elite performance. He is hopefully that the association can dig its head out of the sand and seriously come up with innovative ideas to incentivize clubs and coaches for producing and developing talent that meets high levels of performance.

The Titans as a club will be doing some scouting in schools and look at what is available in the club and will be running intense weekend camps as their goal is to develop young athletes and to see young people achieve their goals in the sport.

a part of, especially when it’s playing here at the stadium.

The CPL has always gotten good response here in Guyana, so cricket is a unifying force,” Mr. Ali explained.

Questioned on his assessment of this year’s Warriors team, Ali had no doubt they have the ability to go all the way.

“Some people may say the Trinidad team has the largest following, but I think the Warriors have a greater fan base. The Warriors have always performed well, and have gone to almost all the finals in CPL. I think they just have to find that jinx.”

For those who missed out, there is still a second chance to see the Guyana Amazon Warriors at home, when they take on the Jamaica Tallwahs and Trinbago Knight Riders in October.

Mahaica’s goalkeeper worked hard to restrict Police B

Rondel Peters, finally able to break the tie just before the half ended in the 44th.

In the second half, Santos were dominant once again, with Brandon Solomon (62nd) and Stephen Reynolds (67th) netting one each for the team.

The encounter ended 4-1, in Santos’ favour.

When the New GPC Inc sponsored competition continues tonight (Thursday), Dynamic FC will face-off with Pele FC at 19:00hrs, and later Riddim Squad going toe to toe with Pouderoyen at 20:00hrs.

With a new champion set to be crowned, the twelve teams will be battling for a $400,000 first prize, while second place will walk away with $200,000. Third and fourth places will pocket $100,000 and $50,000 respectively.

The tournament is also sponsored by W.J. Enterprise, who are the sole distributors of Croxley paper. (Jemima Holmes)

guyanatimesgy.com

thursday, september 12, 2019

Time to play cricket louder with Imran Tahir

By Brandon Corlette

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he 2019 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) will welcome Imran Tahir for a second homecoming with the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW). Tahir is more known for his ecstatic celebration running and screaming after every wicket taken. Tahir who has replaced fellow legspinner Shadab Khan, will be

continuing from where he left off in the 2018 CPL. The South African legspinner took the most wickets for the GAW in 2018, finishing with 16 scalps in 12 matches with a best bowling figure of 4-22 at an average of 17.75 and an economy rate of 5.91 along with a strike rate of 5.91. Tahir will bring great experience to the table with 262 T20 matches under his belt and 322 wickets under his belt.

Tahir, a 40-year old whiteball spin King, has featured in 107 One Day International (ODI) matches for South Africa and he has 173 wickets under his belt with a best figure of 7-45 which came against West Indies.

Tahir’s special connection in St Kitts In an era where the bats are so big and West Indies are still in search of a premier spinner, Tahir has don in witheball cricket. It took Tahir only 58 matches to take 100 ODI wickets which makes him the fastest South African bowler and eighth overall to achieve this monumental milestone. He was also the joint fastest to take 150 wickets by a South African behind Allan Donald.

He has enjoyed both 50 overs and T20 cricket, making the transition to the shortest format with great ease. Tahir enjoys the Caribbean lifestyle where he took his best figures in white-ball cricket against the West Indies in St Kitts and Nevis. These figures remain the

best by any South African in ODIs. Ironically, Tahir will play his first match in the 2019 Hero CPL at the same Warner Park, Basseterre venue in St Kitts and Nevis, where the GAW will meet the Patriots for the second time this season.

Age is just number for Tahir Some players get ‘rusty’ as they age but this 40-year old, Tahir has gotten better.

Playing for South Africa and T20 leagues globally, Tahir has shown his class for every team he represented. Shadab Khan, Rashid Khan and Sandeep Lamichanne would have played their first T20 match as teenagers but the late bloomer, Tahir played his maiden T20 match at 27 years old.

Born in Lahore, Punjab, Tahir has played the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Pakistan Super League, the English T20 league, the CPL among others. In the 2019 IPL, Tahir finished as the leading wicket-taker with 26 wickets.

Remember, he is 40 years old and on 26 occasions he ran around the field and celebrated a wicket in the IPL. Playing for the aging Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Tahir played 17 matches and had an economy rate of 6.69 at a strike rate of 14.8 in the IPL. Fresh from a stint with Surrey in the Vitality T20 Blast in England, Tahir took 4-25 opening the bowling in challenging conditions in England on August 27. He is certainly coming into the CPL with wickets under his

23

How is that! Tahir has the strongest appeal in world cricket

belt.

When GAW meet Patriots on Saturday September 14 from 20:00h local time. Not only will Tahir share his experience to the GAW spinners but he will be reminiscing on his best white-ball performance at the same Warner Park venue.

Tridents humble record-breaking Patriots H

aving chased a Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) record of 242 on Tuesday night, St Kitts & Nevis Patriots were brought back down to earth

by Barbados Tridents on Wednesday. While Jamaica Tallawahs had been unable to defend 241/4 here 24 hours earlier, 186/2 proved enough for the Tridents to run out 18-run winners.

After the previous day’s heroics, the Patriots would have been confident of another victory but they were immediately placed on the back foot in their run-chase by Tridents skipper Jason Holder. He removed Devon Thomas with the first ball he bowled – a beauty that nipped away just enough to find the outside edge – and then had another of last night’s key performers Evin Lewis skying a catch to cover in the same over.

Laurie Evans made a classy 64 from 41 with boundaries all around the ground, but nobody else was able to stay with him and score at the required rate. Jason Mohammed was strangled down the leg side by Roshon Primus for 12 before the Tridents’ leg-spinners made a decisive move with four wickets in three overs before rain held up the victory charge. Nepal leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane bagged

Laurie Evans

two wickets in his third over. First Shamarh Brooks was smartly caught by Ashley Nurse running back from cover for 13 before the key wicket of Evans, caught by Josh Lalor at short fine-leg from a top-edged sweep.

A pair of googlies brought two more crucial breakthroughs in the next two overs, Fabian Allen bowled

by Hayden Walsh Jr and Carlos Brathwaite lbw to Lamichhane for just a single run between them to leave the Patriots deep in trouble at 107/7 needing 80 runs with just 31 balls left when a sudden downpour sent the players scurrying for cover. The rain, which came down hard, held up the Tridents by 45 minutes. When play resumed, Walsh Jr promptly bowled Usama Mir, who got nowhere near an attempted slog and lost his off stump.

Rayad Emrit fell looking for his second six of the night but instead picking out Jason Holder at long-on off Lalor.

Dominic Drakes had some fun despite the hopelessness of the situation, hitting Holder for three huge sixes in the 18th over and in all slapping 34 not out off 13 balls in an unbroken 10th-wicket partnership of 49 with Alzarri Joseph to end the night as the Patriots second top-scorer and make the final margin of defeat far closer than it might have been. There may not have been as many records as the previous day’s game, but here was one: Drakes’ 34 not out is the highest ever T20 score by a number 11.

The Tridents were indebted to an explosive late injection from Duminy to get a competitive total on the board after being tied down themselves for much of their innings.

Alex Hales got things off to a lively start with four fours through the offside inside the first three overs of the innings, but after he was dismissed caught behind trying to run Emrit down to third-man, the scoring rate dropped dramatically.

On a ground where a record-breaking 37 sixes were struck the night before, the Tridents didn’t clear the ropes until Johnson Charles picked a length ball up off his pads over the leg side off Brathwaite.

Charles had started slowly but began to find his range and struck back-to-back Hero Maximums off Usama Mir to reach his half-century in 41 balls. He fell two balls later, though, picking out Brooks – who also dropped a couple of simple catches – at deep midwicket looking for a third six of the innings.

Keeper-batsman Leniko Boucher made his first Hero CPL half-century in an innings of increasing authority.

Having taken 22 balls over his first 22 runs he added 40 more from the next 25 he faced to finish unbeaten on 62 with four fours and three sixes to his name. (CPL)

Sandeep Lamichhane

SCOREBOARD Tridents Johnson Charles c Shamarh Brooks b Usama Mir 52 Alex Hales c Devon Thomas b R Emrit 18 Leniko Boucher (wk) not out 62 Jean-Paul Duminy not out 43 Extras 11 (b 4, lb 3, w 4, nb 0, p 0) Total 186 (2 wkts, 20 Ov) FOW 28-1 (Alex Hales, 4.5), 113-2 (Johnson Charles, 13.6) Bowling Fabian Allen (4-0-35-0) Alzarri Joseph (4-0-41-0) Dominic Drakes (3-0-27-0) Rayad Emrit (4-0-34-1) Usama Mir (4-0-30-1) Carlos Brathwaite (c) (1-0-12-0) Patriots Devon Thomas (wk) c Leniko Boucher b Holder 1 Evin Lewis c A Nurse b Holder 12 Laurie Evans c Lalor b Lamichhane 64 Jason Mohammed c Leniko

Boucher b Roshon Primus 12 Shamarh Brooks c A Nurse b Lamichhane 13 Fabian Allen b Hayden Walsh 0 Carlos Brathwaite (c) lbw b Lamichhane 1 Usama Mir b Hayden Walsh 2 Rayad Emrit c Holder b Lalor 12 Alzarri Joseph not out 7 Dominic Drakes not out 34 Extras 10 (b 5, lb 2, w 3, nb 0, p 0) Total 168 (9 wkts, 20 Ov) FOW 9-1 (Devon Thomas, 1.1), 28-2 (Evin Lewis, 3.4), 64-3 (Jason Mohammed, 7.5), 97-4 (Shamarh Brooks, 12.1), 103-5 (Laurie Evans, 12.6), 104-6 (Fabian Allen, 13.4), 106-7 (Carlos Brathwaite, 14.3), 112-8 (Usama Mir, 15.4), 119-9 (Rayad Emrit, 16.4) Bowling Jean-Paul Duminy (1-0-9-0) Jason Holder (c) (4-0-37-2) Josh Lalor (4-0-36-1) Sandeep Lamichhane (4-0-22-3) Hayden Walsh (4-0-33-2) Roshon Primus (3-0-24-1)

thursday, september 12, 2019

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

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Tridents humble recordbreaking Patriots Page 23

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Fruta Conquerors, Mahaica Determinators are latest Limacol winners A glimpse of the action between Santos and Timehri Panthers

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