Guyana Times Thursday September 26, 2019

NIS unveils jubilee P13 commemorative stamp

Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana Issue No. 4058

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THE BEACON OF TRUTH thursday, september 26, 2019

PRICE

Still no elections date

$80 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE:

P10 Another pregnant woman severely beaten by husband

Page 3

...March 2, 2020 "earliest" possibility – caretaker President …says Govt will return to Parliament to seek extension

PPP will not be blackmailed – Jagdeo

P2 “Allow democracy to reign” – Dharmic Sabha tells President

Cow thief jailed for 2 years P8 Father of 8 P8 charged for ganja in milk tin Boat collision

Diamond playfield unsafe for sporting activities ꟷ teachers Grandfather PM Modi meets with Caricom leaders at UNGA dies in Page 9

P2 Bodies of missing men pulled from Essequibo River

Page 13

Essequibo Coast accident

Page 9

Public servants living in abject poverty – GPSU

P12

2 NEWS

thursDAY, september 26, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Boat collision

“Allow democracy to reign” – Dharmic Sabha tells President

Bodies of missing men pulled from Essequibo River T

T

he bodies of 44-yearold Jose Francisco Joaquin, a Brazilian, and 25-year-old Osafo Anthony Roberts, called “Joinwire”, an electrician of Lot 29 Devil Dam Philadelphia, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) were on Wednesday pulled from the Essequibo River.

Reports are the bodies were found about 13:15h on Wednesday, at the eastern side of Hogg Island, Essequibo River, a mile apart from each other.

Dead: Sherry Khan

This discovery comes one day after the boat in which the men were travelling in collided head-on with another vessel on the Essequibo River.

The men’s deaths bring a

One of the boats that were involved in the collision on the Essequibo River

total of three lives lost so far as a result of the crash.

Surinamese businesswoman, 54-year-old Sherry Khan, was the first to succumb to injuries received while three others – Milton Duke, his wife, Yaluntie Hohamkirk, both 43, and Jaeva Veira Nunes – remain hospitalised.

Reports have since indicated that at approximately 19:00h on Monday, the boat, which was transporting the now dead men and four other passengers, was heading in the direction of Buck Hall, Essequibo River, while the other vessel was travelling in the opposite direction at that time when the collision occurred.

This newspaper was told that impact of the collision resulted in the passengers and their luggage

being tossed overboard. It was at this time that another vessel, which was passing, stopped to render assistance.

Those injured were taken to the Parika foreshore and transported to the Leonora Cottage Hospital.

Upon arrival at the medical facility, Khan and Nunes were both transferred to the West Demerara Regional Hospital, where the businesswoman was pronounced dead. Nunes was admitted.

Meanwhile, Duke and Hohamkirk were transferred to a private city hospital to receive medical care.

The bodies of the men remain at the Georgetown Public Hospital Cooperation (GPHC) mortuary to await Post-Mortem Examinations (PME), as investigations into the collision continue.

he Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha (GHDS) has added to the numerous other local and international organisations which have stressed the importance of democracy in Guyana at a time when there is economic and political unease.

On Wednesday, the GHDS directed a public statement at President David Granger, calling upon him to allow democracy to prevail by honouring his constitutional obligations, without further delay.

“As part of the broader civil society, we urge the President to adhere to the ruling of the CCJ and our Constitution and allow democracy to reign in our beautiful land of Guyana,” GHDS added.

It added that Guyanese are reliant on stability and the current uncertainty has caused extensive unease.

According to the religious body, the daily lives of citizens are dependent on political and economic stability. The uncertainty into which Guyana country has plunged, it added, is creating widespread distress and unease.

“Indeed, this unrelenting posture has cast our country in a difficult position internationally and threatens our standing as a democratic country,” the organisation

explained.

Meanwhile, the GHDS pointed to the President’s disregard to calls by the international community, which requested him to take immediate actions in announcing an elections date.

Just three days ago, the Private Sector Commission (PSC) also recognised the condemnation laid upon the Government by international bodies. The private sector body strongly agreed that this disapproval from foreign counterparts was deemed as a serious consequence for Guyana.

Attention was paid to Guyana’s major supporting partners: the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and now the Commonwealth Secretary General, who have all cited a breach in

the constitutional provisions.

Additionally, numerous local entities, including the Guyana Bar Association, the religious community, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), have all expressed deep concern over the unconstitutional status of the Government.

Further, other international and regional bodies were called out for being completely silent during Guyana’s constitutional crisis. The Caribbean Community (Caricom) and Organisation of American States (OAS) were listed for failing to address or take action against the current political and democratic situation.

news

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thursDAY, september 26, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Thursday, September 26 – 02:30h – 04:00h and 14:30h – 16:00h and Friday, September 27 – 03:30h – 05:00h and 14:30h – 16:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Thursday, September 26 – 14:50h 16:20h and Friday, September 27 – 15:30h – 17:00h.

Still no elections date

... March 2, 2020 "earliest" possibility – caretaker President …says Govt will return to Parliament to seek extension …PPP will not be blackmailed – Jagdeo

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 31 degrees Celsius.

Winds: North North-Easterly to South-Westerly between 1.78 metres and 4.02 metres.

High Tide: 02:23h and 14:55h reaching maximum heights of 2.54 metres and 2.60 metres.

Low Tide: 08:25h and 20:49h reaching minimum heights of 0.60 metre and 0.60 metre.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

A

lmost a year of procrastination after his Government’s defeat to a No-Confidence Motion has finally resulted in caretaker President David Granger announcing March 2, 2020, as the “earliest possible” date for elections.

In an address to the nation on Wednesday, Granger said that March 2, 2020 was

day, within hours of receiving her advice, to discuss the timeline provided to me by the Chairman”.

He added that a second meeting of the full ‘Cabinet’ (which according to the Caribbean Court of Justice, stands resigned) was held on September 24 when all members accepted the advice provided by the Chair of the Elections Commission.

According to Granger, the ‘Cabinet’ also “benefitted” from the advice of Attorney General Basil Williams.

He explained that during Wednesday’s meeting with Justice Singh, they discussed the statutory timelines for the upcoming General and Regional Elections. Granger also noted that there will be a return to the National Assembly in order to seek an extension of time for his government in office.

Blaming the Elections Commission again, the President said that the ex-

“His evidenced history of flip-flopping does not inspire confidence in anything that he says. Therefore, nothing short of a signed proclamation from him, declaring a date for General and Regional Elections, will be credible,” – PPP wednesday, SEPTEMBER 25, 2019

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arrived at following consultations with his Cabinet and a meeting on Wednesday afternoon with Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chair retired Justice Claudette Singh.

“Justice Claudette Singh wrote me last Thursday, 19thSeptember, 2019, indicating that ‘the Guyana Elections Commission will be able to deliver credible elections by the end of February 2020’. I convened a meeting of available Cabinet ministers that very

tension of a period beyond three months for the holding of an election is related to the GECOM’s readi-

ness to hold the elections.

“The Government of Guyana must, as a consequence, return to the National Assembly to request an extension. The National Assembly reconvenes on 10th October 2019. The President is required to both dissolve Parliament as provided for in the Constitution at Article 70 (2) and the ten Regional Democratic Councils as provided for in the Constitution at Article 73 (2),” Granger also said in his address.

President David Granger

mation dissolve Parliament”, while Article 73 (2) provides that: “Elections of members of regional democratic councils shall be held and the councils shall be dissolved at such times as subject to paragraph (3), the President may appoint by proclamation”.

Blackmail

GECOM Chair Retired Justice Claudette Singh

Granger cited Article 61 of the Constitution, which states: “An election of members of the National Assembly under Article 60 (2) shall be held on such day within three months after every dissolution of Parliament as the President shall appoint by proclamation”.

He went on to reference Article 70 (2), which states further that: “The President may at any time by procla-

But Granger’s insistence on returning to Parliament to seek an extension is not finding favour with Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, who has said repeatedly that he and the Opposition parliamentarians would not be returning to the house to extend the Government’s life.

During an interview on radio show on Tuesday, Jagdeo had expressed his belief that the real motive for the Government seeking an extension is to cover actions taken outside of the scope of a caretaker government, during the months after it lost the no confidence vote. turn to page 7

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guyanatimesgy.com

thursDAY, september 26, 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

Do nothing, fear nothing

T

he streets surrounding the Ministry of the Presidency (MotP) are crucial pathways for commuters who either work in the vicinity to traverse authorised bus routes and/or to access to reach other destinations, including schools. Those who reside within that area and who must use those streets on a daily basis, know how important it is for them to remain open to ease the challenges of the heavy and slothful traffic.

When those streets are closed, time spent in traffic to manoeuvre along alternative routes increases. Very often, that results in late attendance to work, school or fixed appointments. This was evident on Tuesday as many Guyanese were severely inconvenienced as a result of all access roads— east, west, north and south of the MotP— being blocked and manned by heavy Police presence.

The reason for shutting them down was to insulate a Cabinet meeting from protesters. Aside from the Cabinet being unconstitutional following the expiration of the legal timeframe for elections to be held, the overwhelming number of barricades erected were simply to prevent citizens from their constitutional right to peaceful protests and freedom of access. There was no national emergency that necessitated such actions. That point must not be taken for granted.

Having blatantly disrespected the Constitution, thereby plunging the country into an unnecessary and seemingly deliberate constitutional dilemma, the President, and his now unconstitutional APNU/AFC coalition government, are using the Police to shield them from facing citizens who are demanding that the rule of law be restored.

In other words, the Police, which the populace emphatically believes must be engaged in combating the ongoing crime spate, are being used by the President to inflict grave inconvenience on Guyanese; Guyanese the APNU/AFC coalition claims it cares about.

To make matters worse, it wasn’t just an exercise to prevent vehicles from getting anywhere close to the already fortified MotP, but pedestrians as well. Both, who work in establishments within the area and those who must traverse for reasons alluded to, were reportedly denied access at all points.

Reportedly, also, workers and vehicles from entities within and even from the MotP, were forced to prove such status and searched and patted before being allowed through.

It is believed that in addition to the stringent vetting process to authenticate those who needed to be allowed through, the Police were reportedly searching for placards which they believe might have been hidden on persons or in their bags. If that indeed occurred, then it speaks to a growing sense of paranoia and desperation on the part of the President and his coalition to not be called out for disrespecting the country’s Constitution.

Images of the barricades went viral, including one that showed a vital footbridge being blocked. Many ordinary Guyanese from within that area and who walk to their daily destinations were forced to walk much longer distances in scorching heat. In addition, those who use public transportation or being dropped off, were also subjected to an arduous walk since the vehicles could not ply their normal route.

This wanton inconsideration was repeated yesterday as streets in the vicinity of State House were lockdown to facilitate the President opening a conference there. Once again, travel woes in an already congested City were compounded in a main commercial zone. Once again, such inconvenience was foisted upon the citizens. Once again, the President shielded himself from facing his fellow Guyanese.

This underscores the strong belief that the President and his coalition did not, even for a moment, consider the challenges which were imposed on commuters when the roads are blocked. From all reports, it appears the public was not notified in advance of such blockage so at the least, they could have been afforded the opportunity to prepare, psychologically perhaps, for the gross inconvenience.

Such inconsideration on the part of the authority speaks to a selfish act at the expense of the taxpaying public. Apart from the Police seemingly being instructed to cordon off roadways in areas where the President would be present to prevent him from being protested against, the extensive blocking of the City streets on Tuesday last, brings into relevance the millions of taxpayers’ money spent to construct high, thick and solid walls around the MotP. With such massive fortification, one would expect that the intention in the first place was to allow him to be alienated from the citizenry. Should that project now be considered a waste of valuable taxpayers’ money given that more has to be spent to sustain the Police’s presence?

The President seems mortified at the thought of being protested.

He seemed visibly shaken during the Pegasus protest and is ramping up efforts to insulate himself. There is an old adage: “do nothing; fear nothing”. Surely, Mr Granger, with rational thinking, cannot be oblivious as to why he is being greeted by protesters during visits to various places across the country.

Had he not done the deed of disrespecting the Constitution, there would have been no need in the current context for him to overly shield himself from protesters and, in the process, impose unnecessarily inconvenience on the citizenry whose vote he will soon solicit.

Students of Friendship Secondary School, East Bank Demerara engaging in farming activities on Wednesday as part of their school’s curriculum to shape them into becoming rounded adults (Shac O’Neil Burnette photo)

Venezuela's Opposition gets Trump boost at UN, keeps pressuring Europe

U

S President Donald Trump on Wednesday told a meeting of Latin American leaders who recognise Venezuelan Opposition politician Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s rightful leader that they were part of a “historic coalition,” trying to oust President Nicolás Maduro.

The Opposition, which considers Maduro’s 2018 re-election fraudulent, is pushing the European Union to implement sanctions on officials from Maduro’s government who have assets stashed in EU states, and called on its Latin American partners to do more to pressure Maduro’s remaining allies, such as Cuba.

Trump’s meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York was part of the administration’s efforts to keep Venezuela “high on the international agenda,” a senior US State Department official said on Monday, pushing back on perceptions that US commitment to Venezuela was waning.

“The fact that the President of the United States has convened so many others to hear their opinion

Venezuelan Opposition Leader Juan Guaido, who many nations have recognised as the country's rightful interim ruler, leaves after a session of Venezuela's National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela [Photo by: REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado]

is truly fundamental in this fight for Venezuela to return to democracy,” Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie, who attended the meeting, told reporters on the way out.

Venezuela plunged into a deep political crisis in January when Guaidó, the Leader of the Oppositioncontrolled National Assembly, assumed a rival presidency, arguing Maduro was illegitimate.

Guaidó has been recognised by more than 50 countries, including the United States and much of Latin America. The once-prosperous OPEC member is suffering a hyperinflationary economic collapse marked by chronic shortages of food and medicine.

During his speech to the General Assembly on Wednesday, Colombian President Ivan Duque accused Maduro of providing safe harbour to guerrilla groups. Two former commanders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) last month announced a return to arms, threatening a 2016 peace deal, in a video Colombian authorities said was filmed in Venezuela.

Maduro denies assisting the rebels, and calls Guaido a coup-mongering puppet of the United States. Maduro retains the support of allies such as Cuba, Russia and China.

In the meeting, Guaido’s Chief Diplomat, Julio Borges called on other Latin

American countries to put sanctions on Cuba over its support for Maduro, a request that earned no immediate commitment from those in attendance.

“We are always prepared to discuss ways to pressure those who support Maduro – especially Cuba – so that they stop being a force for bad in Venezuela,” Brazilian Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo told reporters, who cautioned that the country had “rigid domestic legislation” that could complicate sanctions.

Several of the Latin American countries were expected to discuss Venezuela with their European counterparts later on Wednesday.

“We will persuade them to get much more deeply involved,” Faurie said.

The United States will be committing $36 million in aid to Venezuela as part of a United Nations programme, US Agency for International Development (USAID) administrator Mark Green said.

The UN has said it needs $223 million for its programmes to serve 2.6 million vulnerable Venezuelans this year, but has raised only a fraction of that amount. (Reuters)

The cryptomnesiac nature of Granger Dear Editor, I am referring to an article published in the stateowned Guyana Chronicle on Tuesday, September 24, 2019 under the headline: “Norway releases US$50M in forest funds to Guyana”.

The article exposes the cryptomnesiac nature of Granger.

Editor, I would like to give some context to my conclusion of Granger’s cryptomnesia.

On November 9, 2009, the then Guyana’s President, Bharrat Jagdeo, and Norway’s Environment and Development Minister Erik Solheim signed a letter of intent where Norway will financially support Guyana if the country succeeds in preserving the country's large rainforest areas.

That letter of intent was a show of support from Norway towards the world renowned Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), conceived by Dr Jagdeo, which contains measures to reduce deforestation and forest degradation as part of the global efforts to fight climate change.

As a matter of fact, it was the then Opposition APNU and AFC that sought to discredit and criticise the agreement. Then AFC leader, Khemraj Ramjattan and a number of others who paraded themselves as environmental and social activists, back in 2011, even wrote the Norwegian Government asking that the funding be suspended on the basis Guyana was not achieving its targets set out

in the agreement.

Today, the very cabal is seeking to take credit for an initiative they played no part in.

However, this is nothing new for the APNU/AFC. The Granger administration, since 2015, has a history of taking credit for projects and programmes they inherited from the PPP/C. The East Bank Four Lane Highway, the East Coast Four Lane Highway, the West Demerara Road Project, the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, East Coast-East Bank Road link, the Sheriff Street Road Expansion Project and the US$30M Sophia Road Project are just a few of the major initiatives that the APNU/AFC inherited from the PPP/C and are now pa-

rading as though they conceptualised these transformational projects. These projects have been subject to mismanagement, maladministration, delays and corruption under the APNU/AFC. But, this is the very nature of a Granger gang, which seems to have been on developmental birth control since 2015, having failed to conceive a single new idea that can transform the lives of Guyanese.

The citizens of this country must continue to see Granger and his gang for what they are— a group of incompetents who are hanging onto power to continue to pilfer the treasury while Guyanese suffer.

Yours Respectfully, Joseph Hamilton

guyanatimesgy.com

thursday, september 26, 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 must be held 100% responsible for hot political mess in Guyana

Dear Editor, Joey Jagan’s proposal as captioned in his letter dated September 19, 2019, “Postpone elections and form a caretaker coalition with the PPP to create meaningful constitutional changes” is an idea that is unrealistic at this time.

Guyana is not Sudan; they are distinctly different societies with different historical evolutions. History always shapes choices and in Guyana’s case, we have a history of both dictatorship and democracy where coalitions always end in failures.

But more importantly, is Joey suggesting that

the largest political forces in Guyana (the PPP) take the spot that Moses Nagamootoo legally occupied until September 18, 2019? Only the dull and the ignorant will not realise that under this current Constitution, the Office of the Prime Minister is nothing but a creature of the Office of the President and at any time, the Prime Minister can be rendered into a rubber-stamp.

Has Joey already forgotten that on Valentine Day 2015, a promise was made to the AFC that their choice for Prime Minister should be the Chairman

of the Cabinet and head of domestic affairs under the Cummingsburg Accord?

Did this happen? So why must this nation ever trust the PNC again with the Presidency? If they want it, they must win it at the ballot box.

It is absolutely insane to do the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome. Is Joey now telling us that Team Granger had an epiphany on the midnight of September 18, 2019, after deflowering and devouring the AFC and is now ready to honour the intent and spirit of signed political agreements after dis-

figuring the UF in 1968 and the AFC in 2015?

I do not know what sort of team Joey served in, but a few vital ingredients are necessary in building an effective coalition – accountability, consistency, and trust. One only has to analyse all of Mr Granger’s action since December 21, 2018, and we shall see that as a political leader, he possesses none of these qualities.

Why don’t I suggest a variation to Joey’s impractical suggestions?

1. Mr Granger does his constitutional duty and

Quite elated at the moral courage of the Zadok Ministers Fellowship

Dear Editor, In addition to the Guyana Bar Association, FITUG, the US/British/ European Union, Chamber of Commerce, and some others, now Zadok – a network of Christian churches and ministers across Guyana— have become the latest to add its voice calling on chief caretaker and chief plenarist David Granger to comply with the Constitution.

The bold stand of Zadok puts to shame the other Christian organisations who continue to have nothing to say while the country goes to hell in a hand basket

as the PNC has catapulted once again into a state of illegality. The Assembly of God and Full Gospel Fellowship are big on Christian rhetoric about Holy Spirit power, but as they did between 1968 and 1992, they are real scaredy cats quietly backing the PNC regime. Gone are the days of Bishop Benedict Singh of the Catholic Church and Bishop Randolph George of the Anglican Church who were the prophets of Guyana speaking out against the first PNC dictatorship.

Those who are old

enough should be quite outraged that the PNC does not want to resign and call elections. Last time the PNC were in government, they did not leave for 28 years, as Caricom did nothing and the international community did not impose sanctions against the PNC. The PNC should understand that times have changed and they would not be allowed to pull the same stunt they did between 1964 and 1992. But now is the time for every social and religious group and organisation to speak out, band together and march for peace,

democracy and respect for the Constitution.

I trust the PPP is taking the situation to the UN, OAS, US Congress, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and other International bodies to inform them of the PNC Government’s illegal status. Sanctions need to be imposed now on the caretakers and plenarists. The PNC must learn that they cannot violate the laws of Guyana, as there are penalties to face. It is sheer wickedness what the PNC is doing in not following the constitutional mandates.

Sincerely, Jerry Singh

Commission of Inquiry into violence will bring healing Dear Editor, Former President and current Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo is reported to have said two days ago that he is not opposed to a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into violence from 1960 to now. Such a CoI is needed to bring racial healing, especially when the races blame each other for the violence.

It should be a no-holdsbarred inquiry with the commission being granted power to suggest prosecution of those who participated or encouraged or condoned violence. Witnesses should be granted immunity. Those who refuse to testify or withhold evidence should be forced into testifying through a court order and be subjected to criminal prosecution if evidence supports culpability in political violence. Does the government really want and support such an inquiry? There are some figures from that era still around. Let us hear their testimony and if found to have lied, let the commission throw the book at them.

Guyanese I have spoken with in Guyana and in the

Diaspora fully and unconditionally endorse and support such a commission. I would encourage the starting date be 1957 when the PPP split into two ‘racialised’ factions that would subsequently trigger ethnic violence. The nation needs to know the facts pertaining to politically inspired violence that began with competitive party politics. The starting date (of 1957 or 1960) should not be a major issue of contention; a CoI is needed regardless of timeframe so the public can know the main players behind the violence and their objective and how violence can be prevented.

There is much ethnic hatred in the country as a result of the political violence of the 1950s till recently.

An inquiry can help to bring about racial healing and forgiveness. And since both major political forces have been trading accusations each other on sponsoring racial violence, an inquiry will guide us on the facts and force both sides to pursue amends. The commission may help us with a proposal on how to prevent ethnic

violence.

Since the former President said he is in favour of an inquiry, the two sides should meet and finalise the terms of reference.

May I suggest that the inquiry focus on four broad aspects: 1) Violence and elections including in riggings. 2) Violence as a de-

stabilising political factor. 3) Violence and ethnic persecution, including kick down doors as a political weapon. 4) Violence against the Indigenous Amerindians, especially during the Rupununi uprising.

Yours faithfully, Vishnu Bisram

Does CCJ have anything to say to Guyana Govt and the people of the Caribbean?

Dear Editor, I join the handful of Caribbean citizens who have called on Caricom to issue an official statement on the breach of the Guyanese Constitution and of the ruling by the Caribbean Court of Justice to hold elections no later than September 18, 2019.

I, along with other right-thinking Caribbean citizens, furthermore call on the Caribbean Court of Justice or the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission to make a statement or otherwise seek to have the CCJ ruling of June 18, 2019 implement-

ed.

If the Caribbean Court of Justice wishes to become the final court of Appeal for all Caricom countries, then it must demonstrate that its rulings can be respected and enforced. If not, other Caribbean countries will – unfortunately – continue to hold on to the Privy Council as the source of ultimate justice.

Sincerely, Dr Kirk Meighoo Political Analyst, former Independent Senator Cunupia, Trinidad and Tobago

calls the elections; 2. Both sides commit now to a new CONSTITUTION within 14 months of the elections.

Might I suggest something for inclusion in the new Constitution – First, Guyana should have a fixed elections date on the 1st of September every 5 years.

This will take away from the Executive that power to play games with the elections date.

Secondly, Guyana does not need an Executive President; we need an Executive Prime Minister who shall be the Head of Government. There shall be a Titular President who shall be the Head of State and shall have constitutional powers that are only activated when the Government collapses and the Constitution come under attack, as we are observing today. That person shall be a retired public servant/judge/military officer/ ambassador who served at the highest levels without political affiliations – like a Rudy Collins or Joe Singh or Cecil Kennard or Desiree Bernard.

Finally, GECOM needs to be decommissioned and re-established as an accountable and transparent body to the people— not the politicians. It is disgusting that in this modern-day and age that some of the GECOM Commissioners can be instructed by the two political leaders as a means of steering their work. Such actions violate normalcy in a democracy. This is Guyana; not Turkmenistan or Uzbekistan! We are supposed to be a proud member of the democratic western hemisphere.

That is why, while it should remain a 7-person body, only 2 of the 7 members should be servants of the political players – one from the governing team and one from the combined opposition. The remaining 5 must be stakeholders from civil society who have not served in a prior political role (the Inter-Religious Group, the Business Community, the YOUTHS representative – under the age of 35 to speak for the 55% of the population who are being ignored today, the WOMEN representative and the Chairperson).

The Chairperson is a special case because never again should the Head of Government and Leader of the Opposition be allowed to influence this appointment with their partisan mindsets. The Chairperson should be appointed by the Judicial Services Commission, after consulting the business community, the religious community, the professional bodies like accountants, doctors, engineers, academics, lawyers, women’s movement, youth movement, trade unions, etc.

We are a maturing democracy and it is time we act our age and stop all this child play that we all have been observing since December 21, 2018. Never again must such immature political actions be allowed to influence this society and Mr David Granger must be held 100% responsible for this hot political mess that this country finds itself in today.

Regards, Sasenarine Singh

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thursday, september 26, 2019

Page

Foundation

C

ompetitive sports are a lot fun.

They help you stay healthy, meet new people, and teach you about teamwork. If you’ve never played a sport before, it’s a chance to try something new. But sports also take a lot of hard work and practice. So starting a new season might make you feel a little nervous.

Here are some ways to help you get ready:

Materials White card stock cut into postcard-size pieces (about 4” x 6”) Crayons Painter’s tape Small roller brush or paintbrush Black tempera paint or India ink Liquid laundry detergent Shallow bowls Toothpicks, chopsticks, forks, or other items to scratch the paper

Get in shape

Being in shape will help you have an easier start to your sport season.

Start by writing down an exercise plan. If you’re having trouble coming up with a plan or workouts, ask your coach, gym teacher, or trainer for advice. If you can’t make it to a gym or don’t have a lot of time, there are lots of exercise apps and online workouts you can try at home.

Write down your goals for the week and the workouts you plan to do. Schedule specific workout times.

T h i s will help you stay motivated and stick to your exeryou reach your goal, set new goals to work toward. Having goals can be a great motivator! cise plan. It will also help you keep track of what activities you did. If you liked a certain workout, make a note next to it so you can repeat it another week.

Set realistic goals

While you get ready for the start of your sports season, think of what you want to achieve. Your goals may be general, like making the team or getting in shape. But smaller, specific goals are easier to achieve and can build toward your bigger goal.

Be sure to write down your goals and discuss them with your parent or coach — they can support you. If

Check your gear

If you’re returning to your sport, try on your equipment to make sure it still fits and works for you. If you’re new to a sport, ask your coach what you’ll need. You can buy your gear second-hand or borrow it from siblings or friends to save money. Make sure all your gear is clean and safe to use. If you’re unsure, ask your coach to look at it before the first day of practice.

See your doctor

Get a sports physical before you play.

Ask your mom or dad to set up an

appointment. If you wear glasses, consider visiting your eye doctor to check your prescription and get the right protective eyewear.

Whether you’re training with a team or on your own, remember to include rest time into your schedule. Make sure you take at least one to two days off per week from competitive sports and training. Take at least two months off each year from any particular sport to prevent repetitive stress injuries. (kid-

shealth.

org)

Directions

Step 1: Cover your work surface – things are going to get messy! Tape the backs of the cards to the work surface.

Step 2: Use painter’s tape to cover the edges of each postcard. Leave about a ½ inch border on all sides.

Step 3: Cover the entire postcard with crayon.

This is an important step. Ask him if he would like to use one colour crayon or several colours.

Step 4: Mix the paint and detergent together using a 1:1 ratio. Pour the liquid into a shallow bowl. If you are using India ink, pour it directly into a bowl or tray.

Step 5: Use the roller brush to cover the entire card with the paint-detergent mixture. The paint will need to dry before scratching the art paper.

Step 6: Once dry, peel the painter’s tape off the cards carefully to avoid ripping the card stock. Now, use the toothpicks, chopsticks, forks, etc, to scratch the cards and make drawings. Let your imagination run wild with different designs! (pbs.org)

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7

thursday, september 26, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Norway-Guyana REDD+ investments

Caretaker Govt says release of US$50M based on Guyana reaching forest targets

…achieved between 2010 and 2015 under PPP regimes

F

ollowing the release of US$50 million in funds earmarked for Guyana by Norway, the Government has noted that the release of the funds was based on the country having reached its low deforestation targets.

This was explained by the Natural Resources Ministry in a statement on Wednesday, in which it expressed pleasure at the release of the funds. The Ministry also noted that the sum was the final instalment on the 2009 Guyana Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) Investment Fund pledge.

The funds’ release came

after an agreement was made on the margins of the United Nations Climate Summit in New York between Guyana’s representative, Dawn HastingsWilliams and Norway’s Minister for Climate and Environment, Ola Elvestuen on Monday.

“Both Ministers agreed that in accordance with the bilateral agreement between the two countries, Guyana has met its commitments and, therefore, Norway would release the final payments,” the Ministry said.

Guyana received commendations from Norway for its continued low deforestation rates and its forest

Guyana has always had historically low deforestation rates

governance. It is understood that the disbursement of the monies will be made to the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF) administered by the World Bank.

Guyana’s contemporary Green State Development Strategy (GSDS) was based on the model provided by the Low Carbon Development Strategy that was initiat-

Still no elections date...

“The greed behind this all, they have been engaged in a rape of the treasury and handing out assets.

The moment we go back to Parliament and extend the life of the government, we clothe them with constitutional legitimacy,” Jagdeo said.

“Then we would give some legal coverage to all the monies stolen, the lands transferred, so we may not be able to investigate these acts of corruption in the last year, when they should not have been done because they had no powers to do so… they’re worried about (themselves), because they’re going to be investigated. This tiny cabal”.

On Wednesday evening, in a stinging statement following the caretaker President’s address to the nation, the PPP said that the illegal President ended yet another address to the nation with the Guyanese people being no clearer than they were before. According to the party, his address has not given a definitive date for General and Regional Elections; rather, he says: “…the earliest possible date for the holding of General and Regional Elections will be on Monday, 2nd March 2020”.

“His evidenced history of flip-flopping does not inspire confidence in anything that

he says. Therefore, nothing short of a signed proclamation from him, declaring a date for General and Regional Elections, will be credible. Further, Mr Granger links a parliamentary extension of the life of his illegal government to the readiness of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to hold Elections, by saying: ‘The extension of a period beyond three months for the holding of an election is related to the Elections Commission’s readiness to hold the elections. The Government of Guyana must, as a consequence, return to the National Assembly to request an extension’. There is no valid link between these two issues. A return to the National Assembly is wholly unnecessary for him to discharge his constitutional duty to proclaim a date for Elections and dissolve Parliament, nor is it linked to a requirement for GECOM to be ready for Elections,” the PPP statement said.

The party said it remains convinced that Granger’s call for a return to the National Assembly is an attempt to blackmail the parliamentary Opposition into extending the life of his illegal Government, so that he can secure some legal

cover for the many illegal acts, including the approval of billions in contracts, which have been committed since the passage of the No-Confidence Motion on December 21, 2019.

“All of this is taking place as he grasps for some level of respectability. Granger’s comment that ‘…we are on the right path to preserve our precious parliamentary democracy’ could not be further from the truth. His actions have not only undermined our standing as a democracy, but has caused Guyana to come in for international condemnation. To date, the illegal President remains the biggest threat to our democracy. He has failed to comply with the Constitution of Guyana and pushed our nation into unconstitutional rule without hesitation,” the party said.

GECOM

After Granger was briefed by Justice Singh that GECOM would be able to hold elections at the end of February, the President came under increasing pressure to name an election date; something he had promised to do after he was advised by GECOM. It was only on Monday that the Commonwealth became the latest in a line of organisations to urge

from page 3

the President to call elections immediately. Similar calls also came from the United States, British and European Union diplomatic representatives.

Meanwhile, it was announced by GECOM on Tuesday that Claims and Objections will start on October 1; a necessary move towards having an Official List of Electors (OLE) to conduct elections.

The exercise will last for 35 days, with the qualifying date to be eligible to vote being December 31. In addition, it was announced that GECOM would engage the United States and the Commonwealth to inform them of which observers they will be sending.

ed by the former People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration.

It is a framework that is supposed to incorporate economic development programmes with strategies to promote the fight against global warming. Along the way, these programmes are supposed to be funded from the GRIF. Guyana has always had a track record of low deforestation rates, a fact that led to the actual setting-up of the GRIF in the first place under the previous Government. In fact, a study done by the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) back in 2011 had found that the deforestation rates were a mere 0.06 per cent for 2009 to 2010.

While this miniscule deforestation rate was attributed primarily to mining activities, it has been acknowledged that mining is a crucial part of Guyana’s economy, representing 21 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2012.

At present, however,

the accessing and sourcing of money from the GRIF will be complicated owing to the current political climate. It has now been over nine months since a NoConfidence Motion was passed against the coalition Government. The Constitution of Guyana stipulates that elections must be held within three months of the passage of such a motion.

The constitutional deadline for holding elections, as set out by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), had expired as of September 18.

When it made its June 18 ruling on the no-confidence cases, the CCJ had said that the effects of the NoConfidence Motion were on pause while the cases were being litigated.

That process, CCJ President Adrian Saunders had clearly said, was no longer on pause following the Court’s June 18, 2019 ruling, which upheld the validity of the No-Confidence Motion and thus triggered the need for fresh elections.

In keeping with the constitutional three months’ provision once a No-Confidence Motion is passed, this would mean that General and Regional Elections should be held on or before September 18, 2019.

An election was never held although President David Granger on Wednesday announced a date for the “earliest possible” holding of elections. He stopped short of naming an actual election date, a point referenced by the parliamentary Opposition.

8 news

thursDAY, september 26, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

IN THE COURTS Kitty driver slapped with causing death by dangerous driving charge Smokescreen… …released on $300,000 bail

A

29-year-old Kitty, Georgetown resident was on Wednesday slapped with a causing death by dangerous driving charge.

Joel Thomas, of Lot 205 Thomas Street, Kitty, appeared before Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. The charge detailed that on July 8, 2019, at Vlissengen Road, Georgetown, he drove motor car PTT 2510 in a manner dangerous to the public

Joel Thomas

Man charged for damaging Police station door, disorderly behaviour

A

29-year-old man, who told the court he “fly in a passion” and kicked down the East La Penitence Police Station door, was on Monday charged for damage to property and disorderly behaviour.

Calvin Francis appeared before Magistrate Faith McGusty at Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts and admitted to the offences.

He admitted that on September 18, 2019, at the East La Penitence Police Station, he unlawfully and maliciously damaged one panel door valued $22,000, the property of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

The second charge stated that on the same day and same location, he behaved in

a disorderly manner.

Asked by the Magistrate to explain his behaviour, Francis said, “My big woman friend tricked me and carry me to the station because her six-year-old granddaughter told her I touched her. When I reach the station, the Police start beat me with a baton so I start fuh cuss up and behave bad. I fly in passion and kick down the door”.

He added, “Your worship, I spend time in jail already, them boys does beat yuh bad. I gone give the Police a proper door”. Magistrate McGusty ordered that Francis perform 14 days of community service at the East La Penitence Police Station.

Cow thief jailed for 2 years

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Charlestown, Georgetown man, who admitted that he stole a bull in August, was on Wednesday jailed for two years.

Ryan Robinson had previously pleaded not guilty to the charge, which stated that on August 11, he stole the bull valued at $180,000, property of Abdul Azeez.

However, on Wednesday, when the case was called again at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, the 55-year-old man informed Magistrate Faith McGusty that he wanted to change

his plea to guilty. In plea of mitigation, Robinson told the court, “I had to do what I had to do”.

The prosecution’s case contended that on August 11 at approximately 23:45h, Azeez heard a noise coming from his backyard and upon checking, he observed Robinson tying a rope around the bull’s neck and pulling the animal out of the yard.

A report was made to the Police and Robinson was charged. As such, the Magistrate jailed him for two years.

thereby causing the death of motorcyclist Stephon Beckles.

Thomas was represented

by Attorney-at-Law Siand Dhurjon, who requested that his client be released on reasonable bail.

Reports are Thomas was proceeding north along the western lane of Vlissengen Road, Georgetown, while the motorcyclist was proceeding south along the eastern lane of the said road at a fast pace, when the motorcycle ended up in the path of Thomas’ motor car, which resulted in a head-on collision.

It was reported Beckles and his pillion rider, Kevin Andy, were thrown from the motorcycle, which resulted in both men receiving severe head and other injuries.

They were picked up and

rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where Beckles was pronounced dead on arrival.

On Wednesday, Police Prosecutor Adduni Inniss did not object to bail; however, she requested that conditions be attached.

The Magistrate released Thomas on $300,000 bail.

The defendant has to report to the Brickdam Police Station every Friday until the completion of the trial, as a condition of bail.

In July, Thomas was charged for driving under the influence of alcohol and driving without a tint permit and appeared before City Magistrate Clive Nurse. He was fined $7500 for driving without a tint permit, and he was released on $10,000 bail on the driving under the influence charge.

Father of 8 charged for ganja in milk tin

A

delivery truck driver, who was allegedly caught with cannabis in a milk tin, was on Wednesday charged for the offence and appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Forty-three-yearold Troy Grant of Wortmanville, Georgetown, appeared before Magistrate Faith McGusty and denied the charge.

It is alleged that on September 22, 2019 at Hardina Street, Georgetown, he had in his possession 156 grams of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking.

Defence Attorney Patrice Henry, in a bail application, told the court

that his client was the sole breadwinner of his family.

He said that his client has denied knowledge of the illicit substance.

Police Prosecutor Ceon Blackman told the court that on September 22, 2019, Police, who were acting on information, approached Grant, who was standing on a bridge with a milk tin in his hands. According to the Prosecutor, the ranks conducted a search of the man and the tin, and found cannabis in the container. As such, Grant was arrested.

The Prosecutor objected to bail; however, Magistrate McGusty released the father of eight on $150,000 bail. The case will continue on October 16, 2019.

T

…for rigging or Rube Goldberg system? he American cartoonist Rube Goldberg was famous for skewering the tendency of officialdom to insist on making simple tasks into mind-bendingly complex undertakings, performed by a concatenation of machines.

It soon entered the popular lexicon and as Wiki informs us, “A Rube Goldberg machine is a machine intentionally designed to perform a simple task in an indirect and overcomplicated fashion. Often, these machines consist of a series of simple devices that are linked together to produce a domino effect, in which each device triggers the next one, and the original goal is achieved only after many steps”.

“Over the years, the expression has expanded to mean any confusing or complicated system. For example, is “Retirement ‘insurance’ as a Rube Goldberg machine?”

Or in Guyana at this time: is creating a voters’ list a Rube Goldberg machine? As they instructed in the Sound of Music, let’s start at the very beginning. When elections in three months were precipitated by the NCM back in Dec 21, 2018, this highlighted the need for GECOM to be able to immediately produce that voters’ list – like they do in every other civilised country.

After all, as your Eyewitness has been pointing our ad nauseam, Art 61 permits the President at any time to call snap elections within 3 months. As the Opposition pointed out, after the NCM, GECOM could do this – as it had done just months before when they ran off the LGE – by subjecting the PLE extracted from the NRR to a Claims and Objections (C&O) exercise. Simple, no?

No!! Ignoring the constitutional timeline, Granger’s man in GECOM, Patterson, started the exponential increase in complexity by ordering (in secret) a new H2H Registration. Fast forward past the firing of the illegallyappointed Patterson to the appointment of a new GECOM Chair. She truncated the H2H but ordered that the 370,000 (unverified) names be coded and “merged” into the NRR. After squawks of protests at the time this “merging” would take, the Chair just decided that a PLE from the extant NRR will be used for the C&O as of this weekend!!

So at the end of the 35 day-C&O, we will be getting the OFFICIAL voters’ List (OLE). No siree Bob!! The new 370,000-person data from the H2H will simultaneously be run off and compared with the (Tentative?) OLE by some US firm!! So what happens if 70,000 new names are found?

We’re going to have another 35-day C&O?? What the heck’s going on? Knowing the nature of the beast we’re dealing with, your Eyewitness isn’t sanguine that this is just an innocuous Rube Goldberg machine.

The extra complexity is to help with the rigging! …on “green” economy It was just announced that Norway will pass over the last US$50M tranche from the US$250M Bharrat Jagdeo had negotiated with Norway – for keeping our rate of deforestation between 2010 and 2015 to 0.056%. The PPP, of course, did better than that, hence, the complete transfer. But the deforestation under REDD+ was only part of the vision of Jagdeo and the PPP: it was to help with the transformation of Guyana on the LCDS path into a developed economy.

The most critical constraint to our development has been the absence of cheap electricity. Without this, even though we have resources aplenty, we couldn’t add value added to then move us out of the poverty trap as pricetaking, “primary” producers. Jagdeo arranged for the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Project (AFHEP) which the Norwegians had approved and committed US$80M. But just so Jagdeo wouldn’t be credited for a transformative project, the PNC and Granger cut Guyana’s nose to spite Jagdeo’s face.

So right now, we’ve regressed to Burnhamite blackouts. Much less industrialisation!! …for fear Granger was so shaken by just 5 PPP protesters at the Pegasus, he threw a ¼ mile cordon around his office for a “Cabinet Meeting”!!

And this was the fella who was to lead our troops against the Venezuelans??

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

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thursday, september 26, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Grandfather dies in Essequibo Coast accident …after visiting newborn grandchild

I

t was an exciting time for 55-year-old Briganands Rup, who had just visited his first grandchild for the first time.

However, tragedy struck when he was knocked down by a minibus along the Somerset and Berks Public Road, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam).

Rup, a carpenter of David James Access Road,

The scene of the accident

was riding a motorcycle at the time of the incident, which occurred around 07:30h on Wednesday in the vicinity of the Somerset and Berks Nursery School.

Reports are that the man was just returning from the Suddie Hospital, where he visited his first grandchild for the first time – who was born Tuesday night.

Police said that the minibus BPP 2790 was proceeding east along the southern carriageway, when the driver of motorcycle CJ 3626,

Briganand Rup

which was proceeding in the opposite direction, allegedly lost control and collided with the minibus.

Rup was taken to Charity Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival, Police said.

A breathalyser test was conducted on the minibus driver, a 55-year-old resident of Devonshire Castle, Essequibo Coast, and no trace of alcohol was found.

He is in custody assisting with this investigation.

Diamond playfield unsafe for sporting activities – teachers

T

he playfield at Diamond, East Bank Demerara, which is currently being utilised for sporting activities, is currently in a deplorable state,

One teacher, Damion Layne, who is attached to Friendship Secondary School told Guyana Times in an interview on Wednesday that the ground is in need of

A deplorable section of the pavilion’s ceiling covered in bee nests

posing threats to both athletes and teachers.

During a visit to the facility, coaches complained that the uneven grounds are dangerous for the athletes, which can result severe physical injury.

urgent repairs.

He said that the children complained of having to slow down at specific spots on the field owing to rutted landscape.

“We were fortunate to be able to have sports on the

ground and in my opinion, I think the ground needs to be rehabilitated. It’s not really 100 per cent safe for the students to run at their full potential, it had a lot of (uneven) areas and so. The pavilion was not in the best of conditions either… so if it is that we can have someone take care of it as early as possible it would make me feel much more comfortable to take my house or my students there to perform,” the teacher said.

Additionally, the pavilion, where onlookers would cheer the athletes, was also observed to be in a deplorable state.

Sections of the ceiling were rotted and the remaining sections were almost taken over by bee nests.

Another teacher told this publication that when it rains, the shed becomes almost useless as several spots allow the rain water to pass through.

The uneven track that athletes are forced to use

The Grove-Diamond Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) when contacted said the schools had the opportunity to inspect the field before they made a decision to book the facility.

The officer attached to the NDC could not say when was the last time rehabilitation works were conducted there but noted that the ground was “prepared” for the sports events.

In addition, she was unable to say if any works are planned to upgrade the facility in the near future.

10 news

thursday, september 26, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Another pregnant woman severely beaten by husband

By Andrew Carmichael

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21-year-old pregnant woman is now nursing injuries about her body, becoming the latest victim of domestic abuse in Guyana.

Seema Bisnauth, of Rampoor, Corriverton, Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice – Corentyne), said that she was severely beaten on Saturday evening while at home.

According to her sister Latoya, she visited her sister at her home on Sunday but after calling out for her several times without response, she realised that something was amiss.

She said that she was eventually allowed into the house by her brother-in-law and found her sister lying on the bed.

“When I see her laying

Seema Bisnauth

down in the bed, her eyes were closed and she couldn’t see and he was right there.

She told me that it is two girls from the market beat

her up,” the 22-year-old Latoya told this publication. She said that she volunteered to take her sister to the hospital and while on the way to the medical institution, her sister finally confided in her that it was her husband that beat her.

She said that her poultry farmer husband went home on Saturday afternoon annoyed and started hitting her, causing her to lose consciousness. She related that when she regained consciousness, she was lying on the bed and could not see.

After telling her story, Bisnauth was taken to the Springlands Police Station, where a report was made.

She was then taken to the Skeldon Hospital and subsequently transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital.

Police later arrested the poultry farmer. The couple

have been married for three months. They have a threeyear-old child and Bisnauth is eight months pregnant.

According to Latoya, this is the third time her sister has been beaten by her husband.

She said the couple’s three-year-old child had to be removed from the home and now lives with a grandparent.

This is the second woman in Berbice that has come forward to tell her story of domestic violence.

On Monday, another woman was injured at the hands of her reputed husband but she refused to offer evidence against him.

Swaswattie Etwaru, 33, who was severely beaten by her 24-year-old husband last week, which resulted in her being hospitalised, told this publication that she

has refused to press charges against her husband. She said that her decision was influenced by the fact that she already has a child with her husband and is five months pregnant.

On Tuesday, six months after Derrick Solomon, a taxi driver, was charged with attempting to kill his common-law wife, he walked out of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts a free man after she refused to testify against him.

The 60-year-old man of Lot 10 Block F North Sophia, Greater Georgetown, was charged for the attempted murder of Carol London on March 2, 2019 at their North Sophia, Greater Georgetown residence, where the couple shared a common-law relationship for over 10 years.

When the matter was called before Magistrate Sherdel Marcus-Isaacs, London informed the court that she does not wish to proceed with the matter and will not offer evidence.

The prosecution was contending that on March 2, Solomon and London had an argument and he left their home, when he returned sometime later, armed himself with a knife and dealt the woman several stabs about her body.

The injured woman was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where she was ad-

Swaswattie Etwaru

mitted as a patient.

The victim had received injuries to her hands and face.

Just recently, Acting Police Commissioner Nigel Hoppie noted that statistics revealed that there were 2080 reports of domestic violence reports made in 2017 to the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and as a result of those reports, there were 1171 cases made by law enforcement authorities.

For the year 2018, there were 1491 reports, which led to 837 cases made by the Police.

“We are all aware that domestic violence continues to be a serious social threat and it is everybody’s business because it does not only affect victims at their homes, it affects individuals at the workplace, and it affects every other family, it can also affect us at schools. Turning a blind eye to these occurrences can further threaten among other things, our culture…we can still hear insistent clammer by family members of victims for legal intervention,” Hoppie stated.

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13-year-old commits suicide

A

n eight-year-old boy has been left traumatised after discovering the lifeless body of his teenaged sister hanging by a bedsheet in the back room of their home.

Dead is a 13-year-old Ashrani Persaud of Lot 46 South Half, Bella Dam, Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara (WBD).

According to information received, the teenager was a student of Vreed-en-Hoop Secondary School but recently dropped out of classes for reasons unknown.

However, the teen was planning on recommencing studies in the coming weeks.

Reports are that around 15:45h on Wednesday, the young boy ventured into the back room of their home,

when he made the gruesome discovery. He immediately raised an alarm and family members rushed to the scene.

“Me leff she home in she room this morning and she was good. She was sleeping but when she lil brother come home from school and he call out for she, he nah hear she. So he does normally check up pon she so when he go in the room he see she sling up on the rook,” a relative said amidst sobs.

Police ranks were summoned and upon their arrival they did not observe any visible marks of violence on the now dead teen’s body.

They subsequently removed the Persaud’s body from her home to transport to the West Demerara Regional

ed.

Ashrani Persaud

Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Persaud’s body was then escorted to the Ezekiel Funeral Home where it awaits a Post-Mortem Examination to be conduct-

According to reports, the 13-year-old resided with her grandparents, her mother, and her younger brother.

She was last seen alive around 11:45h on Wednesday by a neighbour while she (the teen) was sitting on the verandah of her home.

If you or anyone you know is considering suicide, please call Guyana Inter Agency Suicide Prevention Helpline Telephone numbers (+592) 223-0001, 2230009, 600-7896, 623-4444, Email: guyagency@yahoo. com, Twitter: guyanaagency; WhatsApp: +592600-7896, 592- 623-4444; Facebook: Guyana Interagency Suicide Prevention Help Line.

Report on Linden-Lethem road being finalised – Jordan …says consultations held with Indigenous communities

T

he final report on the Linden-Lethem road, which will contain details coming out of consultations with the Indigenous communities and other important matters, is being finalised, even as construction is expected to start next month.

During a recent interview with the media, Finance Minister Winston Jordan revealed that he recently received a progress report on the project. He noted that experts from the United Kingdom and the Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund (CIF) were here last week.

“The UK, CIF people were here last week. And they were giving us a progress report on the grant funding they’re supposed to make available for a part of the road and the bridge across the Essequibo River at Kurupukari”.

The Caribbean Development Bank is the implementing agency for UKCIF programme, which was launched with £300 million. As such, Jordan reminded of the role the Caribbean Development Bank is playing in the process.

the project would get off the ground on October 1. Phase One of the project covers approximately 125 kilometres of the road and also includes a bridge across the Kurupukari Crossing.

State of the road

The deplorable condition of the road

Jordan also referenced the recent announcement from Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson that the project would start on October 1, although he was unsure exactly what form that start would take.

“As you know, they have been holding consultations with Indigenous communities and so on. What they did was, together with the Caribbean Development Bank, give me a progress report on how far they’re at, some of the challenges and some of the concerns. The consultants are working on finalising the report and af-

ter that is the tender stage and so on”.

“I know some monies are in the budget. So the start is from mile zero. I don’t know if it’s clearing, surveying or what. But start could mean anything, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll see graders. There’s money in the budget to start the project though,” he added.

Patterson had announced last week during a public engagement that

For some time, drivers utilising the Linden-Lethem Road have been calling on the Public Infrastructure Ministry and the other relevant authorities to quickly rehabilitate a section of the roadway from Mabura Police Station to Kurupukari Crossing, since it is rapidly deteriorating.

The drivers have said that the road is almost impassable, resulting in them taking double the amount of time to traverse the area as well as costing them more money in repairs and maintenance of their vehicles.

They have noted that several complaints have been made to the Public Infrastructure Ministry but with very little results. turn to page 13

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thursday, september 26, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Anns Grove robbery

Pensioner succumbs to injuries

L

ess than two weeks after he was beaten and robbed at his Anns Grove, East Coast Demerara (ECD) home, 82-year-old Leroy Peters succumbed to his injuries.

Guyana Times understands that the elderly man was unconscious ever since the brutal attack, which occurred between the evening of September 10 and morning of September 12.

Initial reports were that Peters was found unconscious at his home by relatives after he was badly beaten and robbed.

He was found in an unconscious state in a pool of blood a 10-year-old relative and villagers. Family members deduced that he was robbed, since the house was ransacked.

His older son, Leroy Smith, had detailed that he was making a routine visit to his father’s house when a large crowd of persons was seen at the man’s property.

It was at that time that he was made aware of the fact that something was wrong.

The elderly man was discovered just five minutes prior and his house was ransacked.

After the startling discovery, the injured Peters

Leroy Peters

was picked up and rushed to a city hospital, where he was given medical attention and underwent one surgery on Thursday evening. Owing to the extent of his injuries, he was scheduled to undergo other operations.

Smith told Guyana Times that his father is a citizen of the United States and lived alone. Peters was taken to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a private facility since his injuries were severe.

“He lived alone so the son just went to visit as usual.

He’s pretty agile. He moves around and is able bodied,” the son had related.

12 news

thursday, september 26, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Public servants living in New Lesotho High Commissioner pledges relationship in energy and trade abject poverty – GPSU

T

he Guyana Public Service Commission (GPSU) on Wednesday facilitated its 23rd biennial conference at State House, which was declared open by caretaker President David Granger.

In the presence of stakeholders from the public sector, GPSU President Patrick Yarde highlighted the current situation of public servants, explaining that some of them are living on small wages. This, he noted, is grossly inadequate.

“The reality is that many public servants are living in abject poverty…Whoever is responsible for advising the Government about the adequacy of pay is not merely only out of touch with the needs of workers, but

“The reality is that many public servants are living in abject poverty…Whoever is responsible for advising the Government about the adequacy of pay is not merely only out of touch with the needs of workers, but I would say, unconscionable…I have often wondered why is there a lack of addressing the human needs of life and living that are grossly inadequate,” Patrick Yarde I would say, unconscionable…I have often wondered why is there a lack of addressing the human needs of life and living that are grossly inadequate,” Yarde asserted.

GPSU President Patrick Yarde

The conference was organised to address topical issues which have affected public servants in Guyana.

In the past, there have been many calls for increased wages and other benefits.

Meanwhile, the Granger sought to recognise the evolution of public service during his address, noting that it has become more competitive and complex.

The prevalence of unemployment among youths was also acknowledged.

“The Public Service has changed since those slow, sluggish days. It has become a more complex network of agencies, departments and Ministries offering a variety of services to wider urban, rural, hinterland and even international communities in terms of the Foreign Service.

It has also become more competitive and the people who acquire new skills can perform better than their colleagues, will move further, faster… It is a fact that too many young people, between the ages of 15-24, are not in education, employment or training”.

Changes in the public sector, he said, have resulted in their survival for many decades. But public servants must be educated and trained to meet the demands of other sectors which will come in the future.

“A study of trade unionism in Guyana over the past century will indicate how many have disappeared because they failed to change with the times. Change, also, is taking place at a rapid pace and is transforming the nature of the workplace. Workers who are not prepared for the continuous changes in the field and office could find their careers retarded and their service redundant,” Granger insisted.

He stated that if persons are not educated, they will lose opportunities and employment. As such, the Head of State encouraged partnerships between trade unions and other agencies.

“Workers will be unable to adapt to this new workplace environment unless they receive constant training. Education is essential to preparing employees to enter the labour market and once in the labour market, to adapt continuously to the changing nature of work. It means that education must be continuous”.

Granger added that workers require better training to be able to adapt to this environment.

“Unions, particularly the Public Service Union, must play a part in helping its members to adapt to these changes and to ensure that the workforce is better educated in order to play a meaningful role in the delivery of these services”.

Lesotho High Commissioner Ralechate Lincoln Mokose with President Granger, Mrs Mokose and a Foreign Affairs Ministry official

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aretaker President David Granger on Wednesday accepted the letters of credence from Ralechate Lincoln Mokose, accrediting him as the first High Commissioner of the Kingdom of Lesotho to Guyana.

In his remarks at the Ministry of the Presidency, the new envoy said his country is interested in forging bilateral relations in a number of developmental areas, including trade and energy.

Perched in the continent of Africa, the country has promised cooperation in “a wide range of areas, including but not limited to water, environment, education, agriculture, energy, trade and investment, transport and tourism”.

Lesotho and Guyana are two small, geographically distant countries.

Being the first ever High Commissioner of Lesotho to Guyana since our established relations, “I feel it’s a great privilege to me to be accorded an opportunity to

kick-start our bilateral cooperation,” he added.

Meanwhile, President Granger said that he noted that both nations are inclined towards global issues and mitigating climate change.

“We have worked to develop our countries and improve the lives of our people. Our countries share common views and are consistent advocates on various global issues such as maintaining international peace and security and adapting to the threat of climate change. We have worked closely at the multilateral level under the auspices of the Commonwealth, the United Nations and the Non- Aligned Movement,” Granger said.

The caretaker President noted that additional emphasis will be placed on preservation of natural resources, protection of the environment, and renewable energy.

“We look forward to sharing experiences in building climate-resilient economies

and collaborating on important developmental issues such as education, the environment, the economy, the eradication of poverty and the improvement of the livelihood of our people,” Granger said.

Guyana and Lesotho Kingdom established bilateral relations in 1979. Last week, Ambassadors from the European Union (EU) and Mexico were accredited. At that time, Guyana said it is seeking to lean on Mexico’s support in building a more robust agriculture sector and learning from the country’s experience in disaster management.

On the other hand, Guyana has been supported by the EU to maintain and rehabilitate its sea defences, which become more relevant as the harsh effects of climate change take its course.

Some other countries which have deployed ambassadors to Guyana for 2019 include Suriname, Japan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Ireland and Finland.

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thursday, september 26, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

NIS unveils jubilee commemorative stamp T

o mark its 50 years of service to the citizens of Guyana, the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) on Tuesday celebrated the jubilee anniversary with the unveiling of its commemorative stamp.

This achievement was observed during opening remarks at a simple ceremony at the Umana Yana.

The agency’s long-standing service to Guyana and the significance of its existence for the past years

was recognised by Deputy Postmaster Jessemy Lynch of the Guyana Post Office Cooperation (GPOC) during opening remarks at the ceremony.

“NIS plays a pivotal role in all of our lives whether private sector employees, public sector employees, whether we benefit directly or indirectly. It plays in a pivotal role in providing social security to the citizens of Guyana,” she stated.

To this, Lynch add-

The National Insurance Scheme (NIS) commemorative stamp

ed that the commissioning of the anniversary stamp is timely, as it reflects the agency’s history within the country.

“Postage stamps are used by nations to portray their history, their culture, as well as other historical subjects. It is a major way in which subjects are noticed and re-promoted. In this manner, today NIS has been immortalized,” the Deputy Postmaster noted.

Meanwhile, Finance

Minister Winston Jordan told the gathering that there is need to review the social security agency’s financial sustainability plan.

Jordan was at the time referring to a 2016 International Monetary Fund (IMF) report which was conducted on social security schemes in the Caribbean and found that challenges are faced with regards to the maintenance of the sustainability plan, inclusive of Guyana.

Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. The PM then expressed his condolences on the destruction caused by Hurricane Dorian in the region and the worsthit island of Bahamas to which India has provided immediate financial assistance of US$ 1 million.

PM Modi announced a US$14 million grant for community development projects in Caricom and another US$150 million line of credit for solar, renewable energy and climate- change related projects. He also announced the setting-up of the Regional Centre for Excellence in Information Technology in Georgetown, Guyana and the Regional Vocational Training Centre in Belize by upgrading the

existing India-funded centres in these countries. The Indian PM also expressed support for specialised capacity-building courses, training and deputation of Indian experts based on the needs and requirements of the Caricom countries. He invited a parliamentary delegation from Caricom to visit India in the near future.

Caricom leaders welcomed the initiatives proposed by PM Modi to strengthen engagement and cooperation between the two sides, and reassured him of full support from their respective Governments.

It was decided that a Joint Task Force would be set up to expeditiously look into possible areas of cooperation and identify the way forward.

PM Modi meets with Caricom leaders at UNGA

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ndia’s historic and warm relations with the countries of the Caribbean witnessed a new momentum with the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with 14 leaders of the Caricom group of countries on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday in New York.

Current Caricom Chairman, St Lucia PM Allen Chastenet co-chaired the meeting. The meeting was attended by the Heads of Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago; the Vice President of Suriname, and the Foreign Ministers of the Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Haiti and Guyana.

It was the first-ever meeting of PM Modi with Caricom leaders in a regional format and highlighted the steadily intensifying and deepening relations between India and partner countries of the Caribbean, not only in the bi-

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the 14 leaders of the Caricom group he met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly

lateral, but also in the regional context. PM Modi reiterated India’s firm commitment to strengthen its political, economic and cultural engagement with Caricom. He noted the presence of more than a million-strong Indian Diaspora as a vibrant and enduring link of friendship with the Caribbean.

The meeting deliberated

on strengthening the political and institutional dialogue processes, boosting economic cooperation, increasing trade and investment and fostering greater and more robust people- to- people relations.

PM Modi also laid emphasis on partnering with Caricom countries in capacity building, development assistance and cooperation in disaster

Report on Linden...

Additionally, several persons using the roadway as transportation from Lethem to either Georgetown or Linden for various Government services or even medical treatment have registered their dissatisfaction with the condition of the road.

The residents, particularly those of remote Amerindian communities in the Rupununi, would have to use the road as their only means of transportation to travel to the city for medical treatment that is not available within the region, since it is too costly for them to take a flight out.

Over the last two years, with the increased use of social media and access to the internet, the road users have taken to various social media platforms to post videos and photos to highlight the struggles of accessing one of Guyana’s newest township.

They have been calling on the authorities to have the issues addressed and the road upgraded but to date, there has been very little action in that regard.

Last year, Government said that the Linden-Lethem road may be realised un-

der the Belt and Road initiative with the Chinese Government. In late July 2018, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) within the framework of China’s

from page 11

Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road was signed between the Governments of Guyana and China.

management and resilience.

He invited Caricom countries to join the International

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tHURSDAY, september 26, 2019| guyanatimesgy.com

Association of Concerned Guyanese calls for elections date See full statement below:

CIOG calls for adherence to the Constitution and CCJ's ruling

The Association of Concerned Guyanese-USA (ACG-USA) stands with the PPP and calls upon Mr David Granger to pronounce on a date for elections now, without any further delays.

The ACG-USA reminds Mr Granger that his time is up. He and his cohorts are now illegally occupying the offices of the government, since the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is ready but he continues to disregard the Constitution and continues to refuse to set a date for the elections. It is not a choice; it is required by the Constitution of Guyana. Set the date now.

The ACG-USA joins with the ABE countries and other democratic forces and demand an immediate announcement on the date for the elections. We condemn the delaying tactics of the illegal regime and call upon other democratic nations and organisations to join with us in the demanding an immediate statement on the date for the elections.

The ACG-USA joins with the PPP in engaging in all peaceful means necessary to ensure that the people of Guyana are allowed the opportunity to exercise their constitutional right to elect a government of their choice without any further excuses or delays.

Hospitality institute to be built in Guyana …to train hotel personnel

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he Business Ministry plans to construct a hospitality institute to ensure hotel personnel, in particular, are equipped with the skills they need to make visitors comfortable in Guyana.

With the oil and gas sector preparing for production in a few months’ time, visitors to Guyana have already increased.

To be sure that they have a memorable experience, Business Minister Haimraj Rajkumar said the facility is crucial.

Rajkumar was quoted by the Department of Public Information (DPI) as saying he expects 500,000 visitors in the country by 2025.

The Minister, according to DPI, made these pronouncements on Saturday evening while he was a guest on the programme “INSIGHT”, aired on a local radio station.

With a huge influx of tourists expected, he noted that plans are in the pipeline to expand accommodations on the coastland and hinterland areas. Rajkumar

said that while Guyana is well-known for its rich flora and fauna, there is still much to be discovered by the rest of the world.

On this note, he pointed out, “The Ministry of Business is also working to establish a hospitality institute in the future. This institute will serve to extensively train hotel owners and their staff, as well as staff at every port of entry and even the small man plying their trade. We aim to prepare our people to welcome visitors and at the same time, properly display Guyana’s products and services”.

In addition, he said tour companies will also be provided with unique opportunities to maximise the national efforts being taken to appraise and bolster the industry.

Tourism, the second-largest export sector in Guyana, has provided jobs for 22,000 persons last year according to him.

“I believe that tourism is in a trajectory and we have been improving. We

have a target of 500,000 visitors coming to Guyana’s shores by 2025. In 2018, about 183,000 persons visited Guyana with the average spending of $222,000 per visitor,” the Minister explained.

Based on an analysis of the Visitor Expenditure and Motivation Survey (VEMS) conducted by the Bureau of Statistics, the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) estimated that travel and tourism injected approximately $62.6 billion directly into Guyana’s economy last year.

In July, the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) recorded a 14.38 per cent increase in visitors with a total of 24,899 for the month of June when compared to the same period last year— which was 21,769.

This announcement was made following the compilation of figures from Guyana’s main port of entries: Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Eugene F Correia International Airport (EFCIA), Lethem, and Moleson Creek.

M&CC to implement billboard policy

T

he Mayor and City Council (M&CC) have signalled their implementation of a billboard policy within the city of Georgetown for the year

without their consent and further disregarding the current protocol to carry out such activities.

According to the entity, the City Engineers

The City Hall

2020.

On Wednesday, the M&CC expressed grave concern for the number of unlicensed billboards, banners, and posters erected around the City. The Council is particularly concerned for the utilisation of City spaces

Department will commence an audit “to determine the number of signs erected, the nature of the information, duration of publication and persons responsible for erecting the signs”.

Currently, the Council is undergoing plans and pro-

posing strategies to further elevate the infrastructural decor of the city.

In addition, the Council is set to meet with representatives from the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC) in relation to the authority of the leasing of land to citizens. This is a current conflict, since both organisations claim to have the right to lease.

“With reference to the ‘Municipal and Districts Councils Act’ Chapter 28:01, part VIII, section 239 which says “A council may let any land which it possesses,” the Council strongly believes that they possess this authority. According to the ‘Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission Act 1999’ Part II: 4.1, the function of the commission is; (A) “to have charge of and act as guardian over all public lands, rivers and creeks of Guyana,” the Council stated.

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thursday, september 26, 2019 | guyanatimesgy.com

Feasibility study on seawall rehabilitation moving ahead

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he rehabilitation and reconstruction of the seawall from Kingston to Ogle is progressing as the Government moves a step further with the feasibility study and design.

A public consultation was held at the bandstand located at the Kingston Seawall. The consensus of the consultation is that the public is pleased and sup-

ports the initiative.

Senior Engineer within the Sea and Rivers Department of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Maitland Stewart told the Department of Public Information (DPI) that Mott MacDonald UK, the company tasked with completing the feasibility study and designs, took a look at the aforementioned area that spans 7.5km.

Representative of Mott MacDonald UK, Peter Phips

Stuart explained that the study aims to “improve the whole flood protection infrastructure. Incorporated in this study are some ancillary designs in waterfront development to improve the space”.

Monies approved by the United Kingdom under the Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund through the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) have made the

project possible.

According to a representative of Mott MacDonald UK, Peter Phips, “the main purpose of the project is to look to rehabilitate and make the sea defence more climate-resilient in the face of climate change and sea-level rise”.

In October, the UKbased company plans to conduct an environmental and social impact as-

sessment. This will be done while the preliminary design is being finalised for its November deadline.

Between December 2019 and March 2020, a detailed design of the project will be done.

Once accepted, the procurement process will begin for the project’s construction. The Ministry of Public Infrastructure has oversight for the seawall project.

we shouldn’t let it go by the wayside,” Moore said.

She added that child abuse is a sore issue in Region 10, more so within its riverine areas. Moore explained that presently, there is no Child Protection Officer overseeing communities in these areas and there have been calls for an officer to be placed in the riverine community of Region 10.

“Currently, Region 10 only has 2 Child Protection Officers and there’s a lot of work to be done.

Nevertheless, we’re trying our best...we’re going to start an outreach next month, going up the river. We’re going to start from Kwakwani...

We’re trying to put it out there that Child Protection is here and there’s a place you can go for help. And if we cannot help you, we know where you can go to get help”, she noted.

One of the most prominent issues dealt with in the Region, Moore stated, is child neglect, with sexual abuse next in line based on monthly reports. She noted that the Agency also assists in terms of ensuring both parents have access to their children. Moore said one positive improvement seen in the Region is that fathers are taking a more prominent role in being a part of their children’s lives and are fighting for access to their children. She noted that the Agency is proud of this development and encouraged more fathers to play an active role in the lives of their children. Moore further

made calls for more collaboration in curbing the issue of child abuse.

She further urged anyone who knows of a child being abused to report the issue.

She said, regretfully, even in some cases where justice is served, children are left damaged for life. Moore believes that parents, guardians, and adults all need to play an active role and take the responsibility of protecting children as she urged all to step up, support and be a voice for children as well as pay attention to them when they speak. Moore said the Agency is also interested in hosting another symposium within the first quarter of the new year, which would include members of the business sector along with governmental organisations in Region 10.

Region 10 recorded the highest rate of child abuse cases in Guyana in 2017, with a 22.1 per cent of the country’s total, with most of the reported cases deriving from Linden. Director of the Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA), Ann Greene just last year during an interview with this publication indicated that the Region also had the highest rate of child neglect and sexual abuse at the time as she noted that child abuse is “a hidden crime”. As such, Greene had made calls for sexual regulation at the family level, as she explained that there is much more work to be done.

Other cases, she had indicated, came from riverine areas such as Kwakwani.

UK PM defiant after Linden joins in observance bombshell court ruling of Child Protection Week

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ritish Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday challenged opposition MPs to call a confidence vote in his Government, in a defiant response to the Supreme Court decision to strike down his suspension of parliament.

Britain's highest court on Tuesday found the Conservative leader acted illegally in suspending, or proroguing, parliament for five weeks in the run-up to Brexit.

But Johnson showed no contrition as he faced the newly reconvened House of Commons, and repeated his determination to leave the European Union on October 31 with or without a deal with Brussels.

To huge cheers from his Conservative MPs, he condemned the court ruling as "wrong".

Faced with calls to resign, he instead challenged Labour and other opposition parties to call a confidence vote in his government, saying he would make time for a vote on Thursday.

"Will they have the courage to act or will they refuse to take responsibility and do nothing but dither and delay... what are they scared of?" he said.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called on Johnson to resign, saying: "he is not fit for the office that he holds".

But he said he would not back an election until the prime minister's threat of leaving the EU without a divorce deal was removed.

In the week before parliament was suspended earlier this month, MPs passed a law requiring Johnson ask the EU to delay Brexit if he cannot get a deal.

"If he wants an election, get an extension and let's have an election," Corbyn said.

Meanwhile a Conservative source said the government would seek Thursday to suspend parliament for three days next week for the centre-right party's annual conference.

It is standard practice to have a recess while all the parties hold their gatherings in September, but MPs are so angry they could vote against the plan.

- 'Paralysed parliament' Johnson, who only took office in July, says he suspended parliament for five weeks until October 14 to launch a fresh legislative programme.

Britain Prime Minister Boris Johnson

But critics accused him of trying to silence MPs at a crucial time, with the terms of Brexit still undecided three years after the 2016 EU referendum.

On Tuesday, 11 Supreme Court judges unanimously ruled that Johnson's decision to advice Queen Elizabeth II to suspend parliament was unlawful.

They said the effect had been to frustrate parliament, and declared the suspension void.

But Johnson, who flew back early from the UN General Assembly in New York to address MPs, hit back by accusing lawmakers of trying to frustrate Brexit.

Parliament was "gridlocked, paralysed and refusing to deliver on the priorities of the people", he said.

"This parliament must either stand aside and let this government get Brexit done or bring a vote of confidence and finally face the day of reckoning with the voters," he added.

Johnson's spokesman said that a failure to call a confidence vote this week would be seen as a mandate to proceed with his Brexit strategy.

The premier has already

tried twice to call an early election, hoping to take advantage of opinion polls showing voters like his tough Brexit stance.

However, a snap election requires support of twothirds of MPs, and Johnson does not have even a simple majority in the 650-seat House of Commons.

"We cannot trust this prime minister, his time must be up. His days of lying, of cheating and of undermining the rule of law," Scottish National Party (SNP) Westminster leader Ian Blackford said.

"He should resign but if he fails to do so, yes the opposition must unite to trigger a vote of no confidence to bring this chaotic government down."

EU negotiations

The Supreme Court ruling comes after a series of defeats in parliament for Johnson, the most damaging of which was the law designed to avoid a "no deal" Brexit.

Johnson continues to insist he will leave the EU on October 31, but unless he finds a loophole in the law, he can only do this by getting a deal.

He is seeking to amend the terms struck by his predecessor Theresa May, which were rejected by MPs three time — and insists he is making progress.

He suggested Wednesday that an alternative to the hated "backstop" plan for the Northern Irish border was taking shape which would not trap Britain in the EU's customs union indefinitely.

However, EU leaders are not as optimistic. (AFP)

T

he Linden office of the Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA) joined with other agencies across Guyana on Tuesday in observance of Child Protection Week 2019, with the hosting of an awareness symposium.

Child Protection Week is being observed from September 22 to 28 under the theme: “Promoting social change to stop the violation of children”.

The symposium, which was held at the Egbert Benjamin Centre, saw representatives from Schools Welfare Department, Blossom Inc – which is responsible for the Child Advocacy Centre— social workers, Police divisions, religious bodies, Toshaos’ Council, and educators in attendance. According to Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice) Senior Childcare and Protection Officer (ag) Huette Moore, the aim of the activity is to spread the message that the protection of children is everybody’s business and all need to get involved.

“We find children are violated in many different ways in terms of abuse, even in the school setting. So our invitees here today include headmasters and headmistresses from the primary and secondary schools...our message basically is to let people know that Child Protection cannot do this work alone, we need everybody’s participation...We should not abuse our children and if we see children are being abused,

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guyanatimesgy.com

thursday, september 26, 2019

Regional

Mexican President defends utility Haiti President calls for unity as protesters Head against charges of corruption reject appeal M H exico’s President on Wednesday expressed support for the embattled Head of the national electricity company CFE, blaming political opponents for accusations that Manuel Bartlett hid business relationships and conflicts of interest.

“It’s evident he’s facing a campaign against him by adversaries,” President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told his regular news conference.

“I am sure he will clarify all of this”.

Lopez Obrador, a veteran leftist who took office in December, has vowed to root out entrenched corruption in Latin America’s second-biggest economy, saying his administration will be a model for proper governance.

Mexican journalists Areli Quintero and Carlos

Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador chats with the Head of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) Manuel Bartlett during an event where the Government reached a deal with companies to renegotiate the terms of natural gas pipeline contracts signed under the previous administration, at National Palace in Mexico City [Photo by: REUTERS)

Loret de Mola reported on Tuesday that Bartlett, a veteran politician with a controversial past, did not disclose his relationship with

12 Mexican companies – including one that offers electricity services and another that obtained a contract under the current government.

The CFE declined to comment.

The journalists also reported last month that Bartlett had amassed a vast real estate portfolio worth far more than the assets reported in his public declaration.

The Public Administration Ministry opened an investigation into Bartlett’s assets following the report, which Bartlett has said is false.

Lopez Obrador, who tapped Bartlett for his current role and also defended the official last month, lashed out at reporters who have dug into topics such as Bartlett’s business ties.

“I don’t trust the people who do these investigations because they’re not honest.

There’s always an economic or political interest,” he said.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Trinidad: TT$3M owed to part-time teachers

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ince 2017, several tutors in Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Education’s part-time programme for continuing education and training for adults, have not been paid.

The part-time teachers are owed approximately TT$3 million.

Several teachers said that staff is dwindling at the 24 centres through-

out the country, and if the Ministry continues to turn their backs on them, they would be forced to abandon the programme.

The Ministry’s website advertises the programme at the 24 secondary schools, but Newsday was told by some teachers that due to long-standing issue of non-payment of teachers’ allowances, the project could

be in jeopardy.

Minister of Education, Anthony Garcia, told Newsday he attended a meeting where the issue was discussed. He said, “We are at present making efforts to pay the outstanding amount. It is approximately $3 million. The project is well underway for adult learning, but efforts are being made”.

The programme is geared for repeaters of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate and adults desirous of sitting the examination, privately. The subjects are: Mathematics, Physics, Principles of Accounts, Principles of Business, Social Studies, Human and Social Biology, English, Biology and Chemistry. (Excerpt from T&T Newsday)

CDB President calls for more investment into MSMEs

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ore investment and effort must be put into strengthening the enabling environment if the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector is to fulfil its potential and drive economic growth and social development in the Caribbean.

This was the call last week from president of the Caribbean Development Bank, Dr Warren Smith, when he spoke at the State of the Sector Conference hosted by the Barbados Small Business Association.

“MSMEs are the backbone of the private sector”, stated the Bank President, noting MSMEs account for

on average, “50 per cent of GDP and create 45 per cent of jobs in our Region”.

However, he said, the “full potential remains unrealised” as their export levels do not match their share of the private sector or contribution to employment.

He outlined several areas for governments, business support organisations and other stakeholders, including the Bank, to focus their attention so as to “unleash this potential”.

He said a lot of work needed to be done to create a business-friendly environment for MSMEs to grow and develop. Smith said the Caribbean had slid

to 126 out of 190 in 2019 in the World Bank’s Doing Business rankings compared to 81 of 181 countries in the 2009 survey.

“In many Caribbean countries, there is ample evidence of inadequate legislative and regulatory frameworks, weak public sector institutions for providing legal protection, and inefficient business support and training services”.

“In some Caribbean countries, for example, property registration continues to be time consuming and expensive, because property rights are not adequately defined or protected. Bankruptcy laws are often excessively

punitive; and severe penalties can confound the willingness to invest in new business ventures,” stated Dr Smith.

He also called on governments to speed up implementation of agreements reached under Caricom’s Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, noting that market access had not improved despite removing over 450 barriers to the free movement of goods, services, capital and labour in most Caricom countries. He also highlighted that there is still no single jurisdiction to allow for the equal treatment of businesses across Caricom. (Excerpt from Barbados Nation News)

Putin backs Venezuela talks rejected by Opposition Leader

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ussian President Vladimir Putin backed negotiations between Venezuela’s Government and Opposition groups that have been rejected by the leader of the main opposition to President Nicolás Maduro.

Last week, a group of Venezuelan Opposition parties agreed to enter a dialogue with Maduro’s government. But larger groups, led

by Opposition Leader Juan Guaidó, rejected the move.

Meeting Maduro in

Moscow, Putin said Moscow considered any refusal to hold dialogue to be “irrational and harmful for the country and a threat to the welfare of the population.”

“Of course we support the dialogue that you, Mr President and your government, are conducting with opposition forces,” Putin told Maduro.

Moscow has been one of Maduro’s biggest backers amid what it has described as US efforts to undermine him, and has provided loans and help for Venezuela’s military and oil industry.

Russian President Vladmir Putin meets with his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia [Photo by: REUTERS]

Putin announced plans for Moscow to deliver 1.5 million flu vaccines in the near future to Venezuela and

said Russia was meeting its obligations to service military hardware it had sold to Venezuela. (Reuters)

aitian President Jovenel Moïse on Wednesday urged a pause in unrest that has paralysed the Caribbean nation, but offered no solution to the demands of protesters furious over corruption, a gasoline shortage and growing economic hardship.

Moïse, who has largely avoided public appearances in recent weeks, made a televised appeal for unity as he asked opponents to help his administration resolve the multiple problems facing Haiti.

“Unemployment, insecurity and political turmoil prevent children from going to school, paralysing many other activities,” he said. “These events have far-reaching consequences for our lives and the lives of our children”.

The country has been roiled by months of protests over a corruption scandal involving allegations that top government officials under the previous government misused billions of dollars public funds meant for urgent social programs. So far, no one has

Haiti President Cap: Haitian President Jovenel Moise speaks during an interview in his office in Portau-Prince, Haiti [Photo by: AP] speaks during an interview in his office in Port-au-Prince, Haiti [Photo by: AP]

been indicted.

Surging inflation has been eating away at salaries in one of the hemisphere’s poorest nations and the cashstarved government has been unable to pay gasoline suppliers who are demanding some $100 million owed for previous shipments. They have cut off deliveries, forcing gas stations in Port-au-Prince and elsewhere to remain largely closed for three weeks. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

Amazon rainforest belongs to Brazil, says Jair Bolsonaro

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A burned area of Amazon forest in Para state

resident Jair Bolsonaro has insisted that the Brazilian areas of the Amazon rainforest are sovereign territory.

Conservationists blame Bolsonaro and his government for turning a blind eye to farmers and loggers clearing land in the Amazon, hastening deforestation.

But in an address at the United Nations in New York, he struck a defiant note.

He said it was a “fallacy” to describe the Amazon as the heritage of humanity and a “misconception” that its forests were the lungs of the world.

Brazil – home to more than half the Amazon rainforest – has seen a significant rise in the number of fires in 2019, according to US space agency NASA and others.

Environmentalists say the far-right Bolsonaro’s policies have led to an in-

crease in fires this year, and that he has encouraged cattle farmers and loggers to clear large areas of the rainforest since his election last October.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly, Bolsonaro criticised what he described as sensational reporting in the international media.

“Using and resorting to these fallacies, certain countries, instead of helping ... behaved in a disrespectful manner and with a colonialist spirit,” he said.

“They even called into question that which we hold as a most sacred value, our sovereignty.”

Bolsonaro was speaking the day after an impassioned speech from teenage Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, who accused world leaders of betraying young people in favour of what she described as “fairy tales of eternal economic growth”.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

guyanatimesgy.com

Thursday, september 26, 2019

Around the World

Trump impeachment: Memo confirms President urged Biden inquiry

T

he Trump administration has released details of a phone conversation in July that has triggered a US impeachment inquiry against the President.

According to the notes, Donald Trump asked the Ukrainian leader to look into corruption claims involving the son of Joe Biden, Trump’s possible rival in next year’s presidential election.

Concerns about the call were initially raised by a whistleblower.

The Democrats accused Trump of seeking foreign help to smear a rival.

Under the US Constitution, a President can be impeached for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemean-

Trump met Volodymyr Zelensky (left) on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday

ours” – a procedure that can lead to removal from office.

In July, Trump froze military aid to Ukraine but he has insisted that this was not used to put pressure on the new govern-

ment in Kiev.

Trump discusses with his newly elected Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, the 2016 removal of a prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, according to notes

of their 25 July telephone conversation released by the White House.

The US President is quoted as saying in the halfhour call: “I heard you had a prosecutor who was very good and he was shut down and that’s really unfair”.

“A lot of people are talking about that, the way they shut your very good prosecutor down and you had some very bad people involved”.

He continues: “The other thing, there’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution [of Mr Biden’s son] and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the [US] Attorney General would be great. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Iran: “A single blunder can fuel a big fire”

A

mid rising tensions between Iran and the US, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani warned world leaders the Gulf region is “on the edge of collapse as a single blunder can fuel a big fire”.

“We shall not tolerate the provocative intervention of foreigners. We shall respond decisively and strongly to any sort

17

of transgression to and violation of our security and territorial integrity,” Rouhani told the UN General Assembly.

He also accused the United States of “merciless economic terrorism” and “international piracy”.

Rouhani warned Iran might exit a 2015 nuclear deal if European partners failed to salvage it. “We

are committed to the nuclear deal ... but Iran’s patience has a limit,” he said.

Saudi Arabia is in consultation “with friends and allies about the next steps to take” after an attack on the world’s biggest crude oil processing facility.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel alJubeir told reporters the kingdom was waiting for

the findings of an international probe.

“The United Nations sent people to be part of the investigation, other countries have sent experts to be part of the investigation, so when the team that’s investigating has concluded its investigations we will make the announcements publicly,” Jubeir said. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Egypt: More than 1100 protesters arrested after demonstration

President el-Sisi has overseen a broad crackdown on dissent since seizing power in 2013 [Photo by: Mohamed Abd el-Ghany/ Reuters]

E

gyptian authorities have arrested more than 1100 people, including several high-profile individuals, after rare protests were held in several cities calling on President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to quit.

Those reported arrested in the past two days include one of Egypt’s most prominent Opposition figures, a former spokesman for a candidate in last year’s presidential election, and a renowned writer, human rights monitors said on Wednesday.

Defying a ban on protesting without a permit, thousands took to the streets in the capital Cairo and other cities on Friday in response to calls for demonstrations against alleged government

corruption. The protests continued in the Red Sea city of Suez on Saturday.

Gamal Eid, head of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information, said his group and two others – the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights and the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms – documented more than 1100 arrests.

Several hundred people are under investigation for using social media to “spread false news”, undermining national security, joining a banned “terrorist” group, and protesting without a permit, defence lawyers say.

The Interior Ministry could not immediately be reached for comment. (Excerpt

from Al Jazeera)

Canada revokes consul position of supporter of Israeli elections: Netanyahu Syria’s Assad asked to form next govt

C

anada has revoked its approval of a diplomat in Montreal who is a supporter of Syrian President Bashir al-Assad, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Wednesday.

Freeland previously came out strongly against Waseem Ramli’s appointment to the position of Syrian honorary consul

and promised timely action, but she had first wanted to hear Global Affairs Canada’s explanation for approving the position.

“Upon review of the department’s decision, I have instructed officials to immediately revoke his status,” she said.

Canada joined several other countries in eject-

ing all Syrian diplomats after the 2012 Houla massacre, but Syria has maintained honorary consul positions in Montreal and Vancouver to “provide basic consular services to Syrians in Canada,” Freeland said.

However Ramli’s appointment to the position caused fear in the Syrian refugee community living in Canada, according to activists, and shocked Freeland, who said she

and her staff were not informed of Ramli’s approval

by Global Affairs Canada.

Ramli posts frequently on Facebook in support of Assad, and told Canada’s Maclean’s magazine that the White Helmets, a group of volunteer first-responders in Syria, are a “terrorist organization” linked to al Qaeda.

Ramli could not immediately be reached for comment. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Beijing Daxing: China’s huge new ‘starfish’ airport opens its doors

C

hina’s new $11B mega airport has opened its doors, days before the country’s 70th anniversary celebrations.

The Daxing International Airport in the capital Beijing was formally opened by President Xi Jinping on Wednesday.

The airport spans 700,000 square metres, or 98 football fields, says state media outlet China Daily.

Beijing’s existing airport is the world’s second busiest behind Atlanta, according to the Airport Council.

But officials say a new airport was needed to take

the pressure off the overcrowded Beijing Capital International Airport.

The Daxing airport – said to be the world’s largest terminal in a single building – is expected to receive a large amount of the 170M passengers the city expects to welcome by 2025.

According to state agency the Global Times, seven domestic airlines were expected to begin operations out of the new airport on Wednesday. The first flight – a China Southern Airlines A380 – took off at 16:23h local time.

And international carriers including British Airways, Cathay Pacific

China’s new mega-airport is the size of 98 football fields

and Finnair have already announced routes to Daxing.

The new airport, which is located around 46km (29 mi) south of Tiananmen Square, was designed by famed architect Zaha Hadid.

With the opening of the

airport, Beijing has joined a group of cities, including New York and London, that have two-long haul international airports.

More than 100 million passengers have used Beijing Capital, which opened in 1958. (Excerpt from BBC

News)

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin held a series of meetings to try to break the impasse

I

sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been asked to form the country’s next government by President Reuven Rivlin.

It comes after Netanyahu and his main opponent in the recent general election, Benny Gantz, failed to agree a deal on a unity government.

Last week’s general election – the second this year – ended in deadlock.

Gantz’s Blue and White Alliance won 33 seats while Netanyahu’s Likud party won 32 in the 120-seat Knesset.

Netanyahu now has up to six weeks to try and put together a government.

Rivlin has said he will do everything he can to avoid a third general election this year.

“Netanyahu has more of a chance to form a government,” the President said in a speech while standing alongside

alongside Netanyahu.

He said he had sent for Netanyahu after receiving 55 recommendations from members of the Knesset, compared with 54 for Gantz.

On Monday, Israeli-Arab lawmakers recommended that Gantz, a former army chief, should become Prime Minister. The Joint List, a bloc of Arab parties that came third in the election, said it wanted to remove Netanyahu from power.

It was the first time since 1992 that an Arab political group had issued an endorsement for an Israeli Prime Minister.

The Joint List won 13 seats in the election. If Gantz had the endorsement of all 13 seats, he would still fall short of the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat legislature. (Excerpt from BBC News)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

thursday, september 26, 2019

ARCHIE

ARIES

Think big, explore your options, gather facts and set your sights on what’s doable.

A partnership will take a turn that will help you make a decision.

Romance is favoured.

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

Put your situation in perspective. What’s it going to cost and what’s your best approach to getting what you want? Plan your actions instead of letting your emotions take the reins.

(March 21April 19)

dilbert

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

CANCER (June 21July 22)

Peanuts

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Calvin and Hobbes

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

SUDOKU

Look for creative solutions that will make your life more comfortable at home or work. Finding a way to make the most of whatever situation you face will lead to better relationships.

Step up and make things happen. How you use your experience, knowledge and skills will determine your success. A passionate encounter will change the way you live.

Take part in something that will challenge you and make you reconsider your position, beliefs and longterm goals. Information is the road to self-improvement and a better future.

Problems at home or at work should be dealt with quickly. You cannot move forward if you are living in the past. Trust and believe in yourself.

Make change happen. If you want something done, do it yourself. Now is not the time to have a wait-andsee attitude. An industrious approach to life will get results.

SAGITTARIUS Put your emotions aside (Nov. 23and look for the truth.

Dec. 21) Concentrate on life changes, personal growth and doing a good job. Distance yourself from meddlers and troublemakers.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

solution for LAST PUBLISHED puzzle

Use your energy wisely.

If you let someone get to you emotionally, you will miss out on an opportunity to use your skills, intelligence and physical attributes to your advantage.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

You need to shake things up and make a couple of changes that will encourage you to spend more time relaxing with the people who bring out the best in you.

Have an open mind when it comes to work, money, and your health and well-being.

Maintaining balance and integrity will ease stress and encourage success. Romance will improve your personal life.

You can be different, as long as you don’t force your will on others. Compassion and understanding will promote friendship and the ability to work toward a common goal regardless of your differences with others.

thursday, september 26, 2019

UG team confident ahead of cricket tour

…Joseph now CWI Level 2 Coach

By Timothy Jaikarran

K

enroy Joseph, current Coach of the University of Guyana (UG) cricket team, has by no means accomplished the extraordinary, but he believes his side can do well in the upcoming T20 tournament in neighbouring Suriname.

Joseph is currently preparing the squad for the second Cyril Bonar Memorial T20 Cricket Competition, to be held at the DR Snelle Park in Suriname over September 27, 28 and 30.

Joseph, a former cricketer of the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC), played cricket for the club in 2006 before retiring in 2015. Upon his retirement he worked as the cricket team manager at the University alongside Team Coach Clive Grimmond. In December of 2017, the mantle was passed to Joseph,

who assumed the role of Coach for the student side, a role he has graciously accepted.

Asked about his coaching methods, Joseph said, “Many coaches don’t understand the human aspect of coaching — understanding each player; you have to show respect to gain respect.”

He credits Grimmond with showing him that everyone plays a role in the development of sport. That, he said, has assisted him in his interpersonal skills to be the coach he is today.

Joseph also relayed to Guyana Times Sport that his relationship with the team was beyond coach and team and was more of a brotherhood, because the team and he respect and understand each other, and this makes it easier to coach the team. He also said this

There can be no excuses

ꟷ Kane accepts Tottenham falling below standards

H Trojans Coach Kenroy Joseph

method worked because it could be seen in the performance and success of the team since he has taken over. The Trojans are currently positioned at number two in the Noble House TwoDay Tournament.

In his closing statements, Joseph advises any young player to first de-

velop a love for the game and understand what role they play. He also extended his gratitude to Head of the UG Sports Department, Laverne Fraser who has allowed him the opportunity to become a CWI Level 2 Coach. The student side will leave the shores of Guyana today.

Wuhan Open: Wimbledon champion Simona Halep retires with injury

W

imbledon champion Simona Halep retired from the Wuhan Open after sustaining a lower back injury in her third-round match against Elena Rybakina in China.

The world number six, who ended the year as world number one in 2017 and 2018, withdrew when trailing 5-4 in the first set against the Kazakh wildcard.

Meanwhile, Australian top seed Ashleigh Barty qualified for the quarter-finals with a 6-3 7-5 win against Sofia Kenin.

Third seed Elina Svitolina also progressed against Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Ukrainian US Open and Wimbledon semi-finalist Svitolina, ranked ninth, won 6-4 6-2 as she contin-

19

arry Kane accepts Tottenham are falling below their own high standards this season, but is refusing to rule his side out of the Premier League title race.

Tottenham have won just two of their opening six topflight matches this term, and were knocked out of the EFL Cup at the third-round stage

by League Two side Colchester United on Tuesday.

Kane has started each of the north London club's league matches and believes their underwhelming start to the campaign is inexcusable.

"I'd say it's been disappointing. I don't think there's any hiding behind that," he told Sky Sports. "To only win two games out of our first seven is not the standards that we've set in previous years.

"Obviously, the two draws at [Manchester] City and Arsenal are not terrible results, but being 2-0 up at Arsenal and drawing does feel like a terrible result.

"We've put ourselves in good positions this season, but just haven't managed to see the game out or find a way to win like we have in previous years.

"It's a disappointing start, but there are plenty of games

to turn that around, starting with the game on Saturday [against Southampton]."

Kane also played a full part in last week's 2-2 draw at Olympiacos, with Spurs throwing away a two-goal lead in their opening Champions League match. "[Game management] is something we need to get better at," Kane said. "When we go ahead in games, we need to be more confident, to see the game out, whether we drop behind the ball or carry on playing; whatever suits that game.

"We're not inexperienced anymore; we're not young any more, the excuses aren't there for us anymore. It's down to us players to take responsibility."

Tottenham find themselves 10 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool with six matches played, but Kane insists last season's Champions League runners-up cannot be written off just yet.

"If this was January or February, people would be saying there's no chance of us winning it," he said.

"Obviously, it's not the ideal start, but stranger things have happened. You can never rule yourselves out until it's done." (Sportsmax)

Real Mallorca 0-2 Atletico Madrid: Costa, Joao Felix on target but Morata sees red Simona Halep defeated Serena Williams 6-2 6-2 in the Wimbledon final in July

ues her battle for a world topeight spot that would allow her to defend her title at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen in October.

Romanian Halep, currently third in the race to Shenzhen, said that the "sharp pain" in her lower back felt in "the same zone" as the injury which kept her out for three months

at the end of 2018.World number two Karolina Pliskova was scheduled to compete for a quarter-final spot against Dayana Yastremska later on Wednesday. (BBC Sport)

British Jockey faces cocaine hearing after testing positive

J

ockey William Carson will face a disciplinary panel on Thursday after testing positive for cocaine.

The grandson of former champion jockey Willie Carson has been charged after a test at Lingfield racecourse on March 27.

A statement from the British Horseracing Authority said banned substance benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, was found in the sample.

The 30-year-old faces a ban of up to six months if found to have breached the rules of racing.

An independent disciplinary panel will hear the case.

William Carson has ridden more than 400 winners in his career, including Regal Parade at the 2008 Ayr Gold Cup. He has only raced 18 times this year and not since April 1. (BBC Sport) Jockey William Carson

D

iego Costa and Joao Felix were on target as 10-man Atletico Madrid returned to winning ways with a 2-0 La Liga victory at Real Mallorca on Wednesday.

Spain international Costa scored his first goal of the season with a powerful header midway through the first half before Felix's deflected effort doubled Atletico’s advantage after the break.

It was a first victory in three league matches for Diego Simeone's side as they rediscovered some form in good time for Saturday’s derby at home with Real Madrid.

However, while two of Atletico’s front men thrived, Alvaro Morata is set to miss that clash with his former side following a red card for two bookings within eight minutes of his arrival from the bench.

Atletico could head into that match top of the table, though, having moved to the summit with this win ahead of Madrid facing Osasuna later on Wednesday.

Having followed up an impressive pre-season with a tough start to the 2019-2020 campaign, Costa got his breakthrough and headed Atletico in front with a trademark 26th-minute effort.

Koke saw his initial corner cleared straight back to him and Mallorca were punished at the second time of asking as his cross was met with a bullet header from Costa.

Atletico were then halted by VAR when they appeared to have won a penalty after Felix's bicycle kick struck Joan Sastre's arm inside the area, with the Portugal international himself deemed to have handled the ball in the build-up.

Felix got his goal in the 65th minute, though, turning sharply inside the area before seeing his effort take a wicked deflection off Ante Budimir and loop in off the left-hand post.

Less impressive was the impact of Morata, who departed swiftly after his 69th-minute introduction.

The forward clashed with Mallorca Captain Xisco Campos off the ball and both men were booked, before Morata continued to take issue with his opponent and received a second yellow. (Sportsmax)

20

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

thursday, september 26, 2019

Barbados Tridents aim to tame mighty Knight Riders B

ack-to-back losses against Guyana Amazon Warriors and Jamaica Tallawahs have put Jason Holder’s side in a tight corner.

It was an extremely disappointing performance from the side in the last game against the Tallawahs where they failed to chase down a score of 127 runs losing by five runs in the end. This was after the openers had provided the side with a good start.

The next one against the Trinbago Knight Riders is expected to be a tougher challenge knowing the kind of form the Knight Riders are in at the moment. Holder will have to inspire confidence in his side ahead of the next game to win it.

The side would look for a good start from

Patriots. Their last game against St Lucia Zouks was halted by rain, but not before the side was in a comfortable position. The team have a good mix of players and they have done well so far in the season which will make the skipper confident about his side’s prospects. He would know that Barbados Tridents are also in good form at the moment and can’t be taken lightly. The skipper would want his bowlers to come up with a strong show in the next game.

They have a very strong batting line-up at the top with Lendl Simmons and Sunil Narine both looking in great form at the moment, and they would need to provide a good start to the side. Colin Munro at number three is in good form and would be the most

a must-win game as they are sitting fourth on the points table. With two back-to-back losses, the team have to fight it out against the Knight Riders, and having the fans behind them

would make for a good game of cricket. Trinbago Knight Riders have been in brilliant form so far and this would put them ahead of Barbados Tridents going into this game.

BCB 80th anniversary celebrations 1939-2019...

Alex Hales and Johnson Charles.

They have played good knocks in a few games and would look to do the same in the next game. The prob- lem for the side is in the middle order where JP Duminy, Justin Greaves and Jonathan Carter haven’t been in the best of form.

They will need to do well in the next game.

Ashley Nurse, Raymon Reifer, and Holder form a good finishing combination and shall look to free their arms. The bowling attack is looking good with Holder, Roshon Primus, and Sandeep Lamichhane in great form at the moment. They will make the battle interesting against the strong batting line-up that Knight Riders have. Harry Gurney and Reifer will need to provide good support to the main bowlers.

Trinbago Knight Riders

Kieron Pollard’s side had started the season on a strong note, but lost out in the Super Over against St Kitts and Nevis

prized wicket for the opponents.

Darren Bravo, Pollard, and James Neesham add punch to the batting towards the end. They have a wide range of strokes and can score quickly. Narine has bowled well, but the same has not been true for other bowlers. Khary Pierre and Anderson Phillip will need to start well with the new ball. Ali Khan has to check the flow of runs. Neesham, who has had a bad season with the ball, would be looking to regain form in the next game.

Prediction

Barbados Tridents are hanging by the sword in the 2019 Caribbean Premier League. In the next game at their home ground, Kensington Oval, the side would be taking on defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders and it would be a tough battle for the hosts. The Knight Riders have done well, winning four games and losing just one. For the Barbados Tridents, this is

“Alazarri learnt from top down” ꟷ former Windies bowler Benjamin believes Joseph’s selection came too soon

F

ormer West Indies fast bowler Winston Benjamin believes young paceman Alazarri Joseph has been hampered by being drafted into the regional team as an undercooked product.

Joseph was called into the Windies squad three years ago as a talented 19-year-old and has so far played 9 Test matches and claimed 25 wickets. In OneDay Internationals (ODIs), the bowler has made 16 appearances and claimed 24 wickets. During the period, the player has struggled with both injuries and inconsistency. Benjamin does not believe the shortcomings are a surprise.

“Let us face facts; when Alazarri got into the West Indies team, we were in dire need of fast bowlers and he basically got in on his po-

tential. I worked with him from since he was 15 years old and I said I would like to have another two years with him and then by that time, you would have seen the difference,” Benjamin told Antigua radio show Good Morning Jojo Sports Show.

“He’s here and he’s there, [and] our work was not completed, so he learns from the top [when] everybody else learns from the bottom up.

Rabada and all those guys, their thing is structured where you have coaches for every meal of the day and every direction you turn,” he added.

The former fast bowler has admitted to being impressed with the progress the young bowler has made in recent months and believes he could be on the way to fulfilling his potential. (Sportsmax)

Percival, Darlington, Moakan among those honoured as outstanding retired cricketers

T

he Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) as part of its 80th anniversary celebrations on Friday last continued its longstanding tradition of honouring heroes.

Six outstanding former players were recognised for their performances on the cricket field and for being ambassadors of the game in the Ancient County.

The players were honoured under the BCB Tribute of Retired Cricketers Programme, which was launched in 2009 under the presidency of Keith Foster.

The players honoured were Sudesh Dhaniram, Kevin Darlington, Orvin Mangru, Andre Percival, Deonarine Persaud, and Zaheer Moakan.

BCB President Hilbert Foster, in providing a review of the Programme, stated that the current batch of Berbice players needed to know of the achievements of yesteryear players who dedicated themselves to the game despite the low financial returns in the past.

While the current players enjoy huge financial incentives, the majority of past cricketers were involved in cricket owing to their love of the game. Foster promised that the BCB would continue to honour players, umpires, and officials as long as he remained the BCB President.

The six players were selected by the pro-active Board based on their performances on the field, role model status, personal discipline, and contributions to Berbice cricket.

Dhaniram represented Albion Community Centre, Port Mourant Cricket Club, Berbice, Guyana and West Indies B. He became a household name across the

Zaheer Moakan receiving his award from Robby Saywack

Caribbean when he scored two majestic centuries on debut against Barbados and Leeward Islands.

Foster stated that Dhaniram, if he was playing today, would have walked into the West Indies team.

Kevin Darlington for many years during the 1990s was a permanent member of the fast bowling attack and represented Bermine and Berbice as well. Mangru, a product of the Albion Community Centre Cricket Club, represented Berbice and Guyana at the Under-19 level and holds the national record for the most wickets in an innings – 9 for 116 versus Barbados in 1999.

Percival would forever be remembered for leading Guyana to three consecutive Under-19 Championships and his leadership of the dominant Port Mourant Cricket Club in the 1990s.

Percival was also a member of the Guyana team which won the first-ever Stanford 20/20 title and also played for the West Indies Under-19 and B teams. Persaud, for a number of years, captained the Port Mourant Cricket

Club to numerous titles, including the National Bristol Cup. Persaud also represented Berbice, Guyana and the West Indies at the Under-19 levels.

Moakan was widely respected and known for his duties as an umpire, and was a productive cricketer at the First and Second Division level. A solid left-handed batsman, he represented the Police Sports Club and the Young Warriors Cricket Club before turning to umpiring.

Moakan spoke on behalf of his fellow awardees and expressed gratitude to the Board for making them feel special on the 80th anniversary of Berbice cricket. He hailed the work of the current executives, and urged all Berbicians to work together for the development of the game.

Each of the retired players received framed certificates, a trophy, medal and gift. The 2019 Tribute to Retired Cricketers Programme was sponsored by the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, MS, and Republic Bank.

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Heritage Games 2019 round-up…

New champions crowned, increase in turnout

By Timothy Jaikarran

W

ith the annual Indigenous Heritage Games culminating on Sunday evening, the finals of various sporting disciplines played at the Everest Cricket Club Ground revealed a rich vein of undiscovered talent.

The annual event began on Friday morning with some 600 athletes participating in cricket, football, volleyball, archery, and swimming. After two days filled with activity, the way was paved for the highly-anticipated finals on Sunday.

Archery

Archery saw a commendable turnout, with enough participants to make the competition interesting. In the Under-12 category, the

Male and female cricket champions Mahdia and Region One

took control of the game with a Satuaka Sai blast past the keeper; and her side held the lead for the remainder of the match, to be crowned 2019 champions.

In male football action, when the starting whistle sounded, the

round one, Region Four lost 159, making silly mistakes up front and needing correction. Needing to win the second round, Region Four shocked the spectators with their underperformance, losing 15-5 and giving Region One the

for 3. Leading at the top of the order was Marva Benjamin, who bludgeoned an unbeaten 45 to single-handedly take her team over the line and hand Region One the title.

In the male matchup, the

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21

Male and female volleyball champions Regions Seven and One

younger archers were given the opportunity to exhibit their skills.

In the Cadet female Under-12 category, coming out on top was Marisha Melville of Region Four with 27 points, followed by Alliya Melville of Region Seven with 12 points and Anjalie Adams of Region Four with one point. In the Cadet male 12-and- under category, Ravedo Kanhai with 25 points was first; Robeno Kanhai with 17 points and Stephen Pearson with 12 points were second and third respectively.

All archers in that category were from Region Two. In the males 13-17 category, George McLee won, while Bert Paul came in second. In the female category, Sara Fredericks was first with 14 points and Serena Clenkian followed with seven points. In the adult women 18+ category, Ausilda Paulin won with 13 points, while Rusal Dundas and Bernette Gordon came in second and third respectively with 10 and 6 points. In the ‘male others’ category, Alex Pearson won with 39 points while Jude Edwin and Aubrey De Souza took second and third place with 28 and 24 points respectively.

Football

Sunset brought heightened excitement at the Ground, with spectators and players alike anticipating action in the biggest event of the night — the male and female football finals. In the female category, Pariuma battled it out with Kamarang who lost 2-1 after stellar performances in their previous matches. In the first half of the match-up, neither side scored any goals despite many attempts. The second half, however, saw Zulika McNaughtor register Kamarang’s first goal in the 50th minute, but in the 70th minute, Jadyln Williams produced the equaliser to give her side hope.

Five minutes later, Pariuma

players from both sides were already gunning for the goal, and judging from the style and tactics displayed, it was clear that both sides had immense talent. In the Kako versus Moruca showdown, neither side was able to score in the first 45 minutes as they were evenly matched. Heading into the second half, what looked like a possible penalty shootout ended in the 55th minute with the Moruca hero Ronaldo Rodrigues blasting the lone goal into his opponents’ net to have his side deemed the 2019 champs. No amount of substitution seemed to do the trick for Kako, who had impressed in their semi-final fixture.

Volleyball

The day started with the volleyball competition for males and females, wherein defending champions Moruca (males) and Waramuri (females) set out to retain their titles. Things did not go as planned this year, as neither of the two was able to secure a spot in the final, and the way was made clear for new contenders. In the male volleyball action, the team to keep an eye on was Region Two, Mainstay, in their semifinal, because they had defeated Spartan with quiet ease. Despite losing the first round 15-3, they bounced back in the final two rounds to take the game 15-12 and 17-15 to book themselves a spot against Region Seven.

In the finale between Regions Seven and Two, the latter team’s stellar performance deserted them, and despite winning the first round 17-15, they went on to lose the other two 15-12 and 17-15.

The female volleyball match showcased Region Four, who had the upper hand in terms of experienced players, but lost to Region One, who showed heart and determination. Heading in to

title that had evaded them in 2018. Pitted against Region One after knocking out defending champions Laluni, Mahdia restricted their opponents to 85-5 in 10 overs. Top scoring for Region One was Michael Sutton, who dug his team out of a hole with a quick-fire 40 that included five maximums and two boundaries. Arshad Ali’s 2-14 were the best bowling figures for his side. Needing 86 for victory, Mahdia raced to their target in 4.5 overs, ending on 91 without the loss of a wicket. Ali was again the dominant factor, blasting 45 from 11 balls, inclusive of six maximums and two boundaries.

He was supported by Andrew Gibson, who contributed 35 to afford Mahdia the win by 10 wickets.

crown on a platter.

Cricket

In the finale of this sport, pitted against each other were the ladies of Region Four and Region One. These teams showed no mercy to each other in their encounter, as they gave their all on the field. Region One won the toss and elected to bowl first, but Region Four wasted no time in blasting runs at an alarming rate. They were able to post 88 for 4 from their allotted 10 overs. Top scoring was Tomica Wilson with 37, while Abigail Scott supported with 14. What looked like a competitive figure was soon put to rest, as Region One were merciless in winning the game with a score of 90

Male football champions

action was non-stop from the first ball bowled as Mahdia, labelled the black sheep or controversial team of the competition, silenced their critics when they raced to the

At the end of it all, the Heritage Games 2019 saw a general increase from its 2018 edition, in terms of the participants and the wide variety of culture that was on display.

Good outing for Yadram as Edwards XI win in Volcanoes practice game

T

he Regional Super50 tournament is just around the corner and the Windward Islands Volcanoes have started their preparations.

In the first of a series of practice games hosted by the Windward Volcanoes played at the Grenada National Cricket Stadium on Monday last between a Kirk Edwards XI versus a Sunil Ambris XI, Guyanese Bhaskar Yadram had a decent day, topscoring with 49 for Ambris XI and picking up 1-39.

Edwards XI won the toss and decided to take first strike in a match, which was reduced to 30 overs per side. Edwards XI racked up 255 for 2 in their 30 overs, with Devon Smith not out on 132, which contained 11 fours and nine sixes. Desron Maloney made 69 (four fours and three sixes) and Emmanuel Stewart remained not out on 26. Kirk Edwards made 12. Bowling for Ambris XI, Yadram took 1 for 31,

Emmanuel Stewart and Bhaskar Yadram have played for West Indies Under-19 together and will turn out for the Volcanoes

and Kem Charles 1 for 48, with extras totalling 16.

Ambris XI were dismissed for 151 in 28.4 overs, to give Edwards XI victory by 104 runs.

Yadram top-scored with 49, which contained three fours and three sixes while Ambris

made 43, hitting six fours. The next best score was 11 apiece

by Alick Athanaze and Keon George, with extras contributing eight. The second practice game was scheduled for Wednesday, September 25, 2019 at the Grenada National Cricket Stadium.

22

thursday, september 26, 2019

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

Archery Guyana has successful outing at Heritage Games 2019

By Timothy Jaikarran

O

nce again Archery Guyana’s collaboration with the Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Ministry concluded with a very successful archery competition at this year’s

Indigenous Heritage Games at the Everest Cricket Club Ground.

The competition followed the usual traditional archery format, with the archers(both male and female) coming from the various regions using their own equipment, together with those provided by Archery Guyana.

Speaking to Guyana Times Sport, Archery Guyana’s Head Coach, Nicholas Hing said, “This year we had more competition in terms of the enthusiasm; we had a lot of people competing to win,

but the scores were higher last year. In terms of bettering the score, what we had hoped to do this year is to have each region do their own regional competition, whereby each region would send down their best to the Heritage Games and we would have a good competition as is done with the cricket, volleyball, etc.”

Hing also went on to state that the organisation tried to involve everyone in archery, “but if you want better results, we would need a higher quality of shooting, if the competitions are done regionally”. He noted that from next year he was hopeful

BCB 80th anniversary celebrations 1939-2019…

BCB invests significantly and assists clubs with $400,000 worth of water pitchers

Representatives of the clubs posing with their water pitchers

“T

he Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) strongly believes in investing into the future and this was the main reason why over the years we have assisted young cricketers as much as we have done. The12 Under-13 players have a bright future in front of them and as long as the current Executives of the BCB in office, I can say with confidence that we would work to assist them to fulfil their cricketing potentials.

“Additionally, Clubs in Berbice have benefited as never seen before in Guyana’s cricketing history as we are a caring administration.”

These were the words of BCB President Hilbert Foster as Guyana’s most dynamic cricketing organisation handed over $300,000 worth of cricketing gear to 12 Under-13 cricketers and $400,000 worth of water pitchers to clubs.

The cricket gear was donated to the BCB by Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan and the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club (RHTY&SC) while the five-gallon water pitchers were donated compliments of official sponsor Dr Tulsi Dyal Singh, a United States-based Berbician medical doctor. Foster stated that the distribution of the cricket gear to the Under-13 players was the continuation of his administration’s assistance, as over the past 19 months, the BCB has now assisted 45 youth players with $1 million in cricket gear.

The players benefitting were drawn from the RHTY&SC, Albion Community Centre, Upper Corentyne, Port Mourant, Blairmont Community Centre, Young Warriors, West Berbice, Rose Hall Canje and Tucber Park Clubs.

Two Under-13 female players Tricia Hardat and Darshie Subramanie were among the players receiving the gear that included bat, batting pads, helmets, wicket-keeping gloves and wicket-keeping pads. Foster urged the players to use the gear for the intended purpose and called on their parents who were present to support the kids by visiting matches.

Under the Dr Tulsi Dyal Singh-funded project, clubs in Berbice would benefit from a donation of a five- gallon water pitcher. Owing to the higher-than-budgeted cost of acquiring the pitchers, 65 of the 80 clubs in Berbice would receive one in 2019 while the others would do so in 2020. A total of 40 clubs collected their water pitchers during the 80th anniversary programme on Friday last.

The BCB President reminded representatives of the clubs that the Board since February 2019 has assisted them with over $5 million worth of cricket gear, cricket stumps, scorebooks, bicycles, cricket balls, trophies, medals, educational materials, special prizes and raincoats among other items. He, however, cautioned that clubs have to be more cooperative with the Board, to organise internal fundraising events to assist themselves and to get more committed leaders into their different management structures.

Foster also announced, to great applause, that former Government Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy had obtained a US$2000 sponsorship to assist the BCB Ball Project for 2019. Under this project, the Board would assist all 80 clubs in Berbice cricket with cricket balls.

Clubs are also expected shortly to benefit from donations of cricket shirts.

that this format could be used before the commencing of the Heritage Games, so each region could compete and there was quality shooting. Hing added that the next step for Archery Guyana is an outdoor competition at Carifesta Ground and while the date has not been confirmed, he was optimistic about the tournament.

Archery Guyana is happy to have been a part of the Indigenous Heritage Games for the fifth year and looks forward to working with the Ministry in the coming years and in the future development of this most exciting sport.

Archery Guyana Head Coach Nicholas Hing lays down the rules before the commencement of the competition

Nagamootoo, Lambert, Deonarine, Derick Kallicharran inducted into BCB Hall of Fame

T

he Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) on Friday last celebrated its 80th anniversary by hosting a gala ceremony at the Albion Community Centre Training Hall.

The venue was full to capacity as the BCB celebrated the anniversary in grand style by honouring heroes and assisting young cricketers and clubs while looking back at the rich legacy of Berbice cricket over the past eight decades.

At the event, the Board hosted its Tribute to Heroes and Tribute to Retired Cricketers, honoured its two new West Indies debutants, donated $300,000 worth of cricket gear to junior cricketers and inducted Berbice heroes to its Cricket Hall of Fame and Cricket Administrators Hall of Fame.

Additionally, the BCB unveiled its greatest cricketers at the junior, female and senior levels, handed over prizes for three educational competitions and donated water coolers/cricket stumps to numerous clubs. The highlight of the packed afternoon programme was the induction of five outstanding cricketers into the Berbice Cricket Hall of Fame.

Those inducted were Clayton Lambert, Leslaine Lambert, Derick Kallicharran, Narsingh Deonarine, and Mahendra Nagamootoo.

BCB President Hilbert Foster, who chaired the programme, informed the large gathering that the BCB Cricket Hall of Fame was founded in 2009 with the main aim of honouring outstanding B e r b i c e cricketers. Those honoured to date include John Trim,

Mahendra Nagamootoo

Rohan Kanhai, Basil Butcher, Joseph Solomon, Roy Fredericks, Alvin Kallicharran, Milton Pydana, and Sew Shivnarine.

Berbice, Foster stated, was very proud of its heroes and stressed the importance of honouring them as this would motivate the younger generation to follow in their footsteps. The BCB every five years selects and inducts players into the Hall of Fame after careful and comprehensive research.

Foster hailed the five awardees as perfect ambassadors, positive role models and outstanding cricketers who made Berbice a household name across t h e cricketing world.

C l a y t o n Lambert, a member of the Bermine Cricket, represented Guyana and the West Indies at the senior level while Leslaine Lambert played on Guyana and West Indies B teams.

Lambert, a proud product of the Albion Community Centre Cricket

Club, had his career cut short due to injury. Derick Kallicharran of the historic Port Mourant Cricket Club, the younger brother of former West Indies Captain Alvin Kallicharran, represented Guyana and West Indies as a leg spinner and solid lowerorder batsman.

Foster told the attentive audience that if they were playing today, both Leslaine Lambert and Derick Kallicharran would have played Test Cricket.

Narsingh Deonarine and Mahendra Nagamootoo both represented Berbice, Guyana and the West Indies at the

Narasingh Deonarine

junior and senior levels and also captained their county and country teams. Deonarine, of the Albion Community Centre Cricket Club, was known as the batsman who hit the winning six in the historic Stanford 20/20 Tournament while Port Mourant’s Nagamootoo held Guyana’s First-Class bowling record for a long time.

Portraits of each of the players along with their cricketing records would be placed on the Dr Tulsi Dyal Singh Wall of Fame, located in the BCB Office. The sister of Derick Kallicharran, Mrs Nagamootoo and Ms Nathalie Nagamootoo the daughter of Mahendra Nagamootoo, unveiled the portraits of the five inductees to loud applause from the gathering.

guyanatimesgy.com

thursday, september 26, 2019

23

King leads dominant Amazon Warriors to 7th straight win

B

randon King’s unbeaten 81 helped Guyana Amazon Warriors make it a magnificent seven wins out of seven in their 2019 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) campaign with a comfortable eight-wicket victory over St Lucia Zouks at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground.

The Warriors are assured of a top-two finish and with it a place in the first qualifier for a place in the final with the safety net of a second chance should they lose that one.

The Zouks remain fourth, but may need to win both their remaining games t o have a decent c h a n c e of staying there, given the Tridents are just a point behind with two games in hand.

No such concerns for the Warriors, though, who were given the ideal start to their pursuit of 162 for victory by

SCOREBOARD

Jumping for joy! Ben Laughlin celebrates a wicket

with Malik striking another four through backward point to round off an over that put 21 on the board. Along the way, King reached another classy half-century and the Warriors passed 100.

Suddenly, the target was a routine 49 from 48 and from there it was

Colin de Grandhomme hit his maiden CPL fifty for Zouks

Chandrapaul Hemraj, who smashed two fours and three Hero Maximums in a 20-ball 33 that put Guyana ahead of the eight-an-over required rate at the outset.

When he fell, skying a sweep shot off Fawad Ahmed, King took up the charge having been relatively quiet while Hemraj was doing his thing. All but one of King’s six sixes came after Hemraj had been dismissed and, despite the loss of Shimron Hetmyer for just five to a caught-behind decision that displeased him, the Warriors reached the 10-over mark exactly halfway to their target at 81-2 with plenty of batting options still to come. They didn’t need it, King and Shoaib Malik, who finished on 30, easing the Warriors past the target with almost two overs to spare with an unbroken 92-run stand for the third wicket.

After 12 overs, that required rate of 8.1 from the last 10 had come down to barely a run a ball thanks to King. He took Chris Barnwell’s first three balls for two sixes and a four,

Winning moment! King is being congratulated by Jahmar Hamilton

a cruise for the table-toppers, Malik stroking the winning single down the ground with 10 balls to spare.

Earlier, there was another masterclass in spin bowling from the Warriors.

All six overs of the Powerplay w e r e bowled by spinners, w i t h Chris Chandrapaul Hemraj scored a stylish 33 (CPL/ Getty images)

Green a n d Imran Tahir particularly impressive. Their five overs under the fielding re-

strictions gave up just 20 runs.

At one point, the pair between them bowled 10 successive deliveries without conceding a run while the Zouks lost their first two wickets.

Andre Fletcher was first to go, skying one miles into the St Lucia sky and being well held by Ben Laughlin to give Tahir the first of his two wickets. The second was a bad moment for Rahkeem Cornwall, run out having failed to run his bat in yet being so far over the crease that he almost made his ground with his foot.

From 21-0 after three overs, the Zouks found themselves 24-2 in the sixth.

The Colins Ingram and de Grandhomme set about

Zouks Innings ADS Fletcher † c Laughlin b Imran Tahir 18 RRS Cornwall run out (Imran Tahir/†Pooran) 6 CA Ingram c Green b Imran Tahir 25 C de Grandhomme c Smith b Shepherd 65 JN Hamilton b Laughlin 9 DJG Sammy (c) c Shepherd b Laughlin 9 CD Barnwell b Laughlin 23 GC Viljoen not out 0 J Royal not out 1 Extras 5 (lb 1, w 4) TOTAL 161/7 (20 Overs, RR: 8.05) Did not bat: KOK Williams, Fawad Ahmed Fall of wickets: 1-24 (Andre Fletcher, 4.2 ov), 2-24 (Rahkeem Cornwall, 5.3 ov), 3-80 (Colin Ingram, 9.4 ov), 4-111 (Jahmar Hamilton, 13.2 ov), 5-132 (Colin de Grandhomme, 16.2 ov), 6-160 (Darren Sammy, 19.4 ov), 7-160 (Chris Barnwell, 19.5 ov) BOWLING O M R W C Hemraj 1 0 12 0 CJ Green 3 0 14 0 Imran Tahir 4 1 23 2

repairing the damage. De Grandhomme ended the runless streak by depositing Green onto the grass banks at midwicket.

Ingram contributed 25 from 14 balls to a 56-run stand before drilling Tahir low, hard and flat to long-off where Green held a stinging running catch.

De Grandhomme carried on, though, and reached an excellent half-century – his first in the Hero CPL – from just 27 balls with four Hero Maximums.

What he lacked, though, was further Ingram-style support. Jahmar Hamilton and Darren Sammy each

OF Smith 4 0 33 0 Shoaib Malik 1 0 15 0 R Shepherd 4 0 51 1 B Laughlin 3 0 12 3 • Guyana Amazon Warriors Innings (target: 162 runs from 20 overs) BA King not out 81 C Hemraj c †Fletcher b Fawad Ahmed 33 SO Hetmyer c Hamilton b Royal 5 Shoaib Malik (c) not out 30 Extras 13 (lb 1, w 12) TOTAL 162/2 (18.2 Overs, RR: 8.83) Yet to bat: N Pooran †, SE Rutherford, CJ Green, R Shepherd, B Laughlin, Imran Tahir, OF Smith Fall of wickets: 1-52 (Chandrapaul Hemraj, 5.4 ov), 2-70 (Shimron Hetmyer, 6.6 ov) BOWLING O M R W J Royal 2.2 0 25 1 RRS Cornwall 2 0 16 0 KOK Williams 4 0 26 0 GC Viljoen 4 0 38 0 Fawad Ahmed 4 0 24 1 C de Grandhomme 1 0 11 0 CD Barnwell 1 0 21 0

made 9 off 10 and 15 balls respectively, and the pressure to accelerate the scoring began to tell on de Grandhomme, who duly holed out for 65 when there were still three overs left where he could have caused some damage.

Barnwell did give the Zouks one final lift by taking Shepherd for three successive sixes in the 19th over, but the 20th from Laughlin was superb. He picked up two wickets while conceding just three singles to finish with eye-catching figures of 3-12 from three overs and leave the Zouks well short of where they needed to be. (CPL)

England pacer Jordan joins TKR

E

ngland fast bowler Chris Jordan has joined Hero Caribbean Premier League franchise Trinbago Knight Riders as a replacement for Pakistani Muhammad Hasnain, who was recalled to Pakistan a week ago.

Guardian Media reported that the fast bowler, who is a native of Barbados, was scheduled to join the team in Barbados on Wednesday and would be in contention for a spot in the TKR line-up when they take on the Barbados Tridents at the Kensington Oval today from 18:00h (6 pm).

Jordan, who played for England against the West Indies earlier this year during the Colonial Medical Insurance Cup in the West Indies, brings a lot of experience to the fast bowling unit at TKR. The 30-year-old last played for England against Pakistan in May this year, but was overlooked for the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup and was not used against Australia in the Ashes series recently. Jordan has played in 39 T20 internationals and has taken 47 wickets at an average of 25.61.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), after initially giving Hasnain a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) to play for the entire CPL, made an about-turn and decided to

revoke the NOC. Every player who takes part in franchise T20 leagues requires an NOC from their respective cricket boards in line with the ICC’s policy.

However, the PCB want Hasnain for a series against Sri Lanka from September 27 to October 19 in Pakistan and in order to get him into ‘red ball’ groove, they called him home to take part in the domestic Quaid-e-Azam trophy. Jordan was one of two signings announced by teams on Monday. The Barbados Tridents also revealed that they had signed Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan. He will replace Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane, who has returned to his country for national duty.

Al Hasan, who completed a T20 series against Afghanistan with Bangladesh on Monday, has represented both the Tridents and Jamaica Tallawahs before and still has the best-ever bowling haul in CPL history with six wickets for six run against the TKR during the 2013 season. Al Hasan has played 75 T20s for Bangladesh and was in outstanding form during this year’s ICC Cricket World Cup in England, where he scored 606 runs at a phenomenal average of 86.57. (TT Guardian)

thursday, september 26, 2019

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

guyanatimesgy.com

Page 23

King leads dominant Amazon Warriors to 7th straight win Heritage Games 2019 round-up…

Page 23

Page 21

New champions crowned, England pacer increase in turnout Jordan joins TKR

Alex Pearson 1st, Jude Edwin 2nd, and Aubrey De Souza 3rd, placed well in the Male Others category

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