Guyanatimes 10 january 2018

UG, UWI collaborating to preserve Arawak language P12 Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Issue No. 3446

Rose Hall sugar workers protest for severance pay

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Parliament resumes today

P9

…Opposition motion seeks answers about prison fire, jailbreak

Page 3

Pastor slapped with rape P2 charge

WBD man charged for 2016 cocaine in plywood P8 Hundreds of dismissed Rose Hall Estate sugar workers on Tuesday braved the inclement weather to protest for their severance payment as they demanded that the Government get its act together and look into their interests. The workers were joined by representatives of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) and PPP/C Member of Parliament Juan Edghill along with several Non-Governmental Organisations (Andrew Carmichael photos)

Unemployment woes

100 Caricom Cement factory workers jobless Crime spiralling out of control GCAA Director Gunmen trail General expresses pensioner, dental dissatisfaction surgeon from city banks with Fly Jamaica Page 5

See stories on pages 5 and 13

…escape with over $650,000

Page 7

…airline to set up 24-hour call centre

229 criminal cases for 3 Judges …as Demerara Assizes opens Page 10

"Rambo" jailed for killing female taxi P13 driver …admits to raping, torturing victim before strangling her

Essential drugs still short – Region 2 P2 Councillor UK advisor’s recommendations not being P14 implemented – SOCU overwhelmed with over 300 cases

2 news

wednesDAY, january 10, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Essential drugs still Pastor slapped with rape charge short – Region S 2 Councillor

I

t is a new year, but the lack of essential medications, a situation that prevailed in 2017 at the Suddie and Oscar Joseph Hospitals in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), continues unabated.

This is according to People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Regional Democratic Council (RDC) member Arnold Adams, who told Guyana Times that essential drugs were still in short supply.

During an interview with Adams, who is also the Chairman of the Health and Sanitation Committee within the Region, he said it was appalling to know the quantity of medication that is not available at the hospital pharmacies.

Adams said simple injections that were used in the

PPP/C RDC Councillor Arnold Adams

operating theatre for major operations were lacking and whenever enquiries were made, he is often told that numerous requests were made to the Materials Management Unit (MMU)

and those drugs were not sent.

The Health and Sanitation Chairman said that this year, more medical outreaches have been planned and as such, the hospitals must receive their requested quantities of medical supplies on time.

“When there is not enough drugs at the hospital, then patients are forced to make private purchases; this is a burden to them since many cannot afford it,” Adams said.

Adams also explained that when there were shortages at the two main hospitals along the Essequibo Coast, the health centres especially in the riverine areas suffer.

The Health and Sanitation Chairman says he is calling on relevant authorities to look into the drug shortages within the Region and make the necessary arrangements for 2018.

(Indra Natram)

elf-confessed ‘Bishop’, Joseph Persaud who was late last year accused of raping one of his female church members was on Tuesday slapped with a rape charge and taken before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

The 37-year-old man, of Lot 62 Avenue A, New Scheme, Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD), was arraigned for raping a 23-year-old woman when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

In court on Tuesday, he was granted $350,000 bail.

As a condition of bail, he was required to surrender his passport to the court and stay 50 feet away from the Virtual Complainant (VC) and her relatives, as well as all witnesses in the matter. Additionally, he is also required to report to the Ruimveldt Police Station on a weekly basis. The case will continue on January 18, 2018.

Reports are Persaud, who officiates at a church in Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara, was arrested on November 9, 2017 and taken to the Grove Police Station, where he was in-

Joseph Persaud during his appearance in court on Tuesday

formed that a rape allegation had been made against him.

The victim on national television admitted that she and the pastor shared a relationship, but after his wife reportedly found out, it ended. She claimed that the pastor had stalked her since the relationship ended and continued to harass her.

On the night of the incident, the victim alleged he stripped her and had sexual intercourse with her against her will.

A report was made to the Police and Persaud was arrested.

Since his arrest, several recordings of phone conversations allegedly between

the two were leaked to the media.

On one of the recordings, the voice of a male, purportedly the pastor, was heard begging for the victim to drop the case.

After an initial file was compiled on the matter and sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, it was recommended that Persaud be released on station bail.

The DPP also requested additional information from the Police pertaining to several aspects of the case, and the file was subsequently resent.

The final advice was for the pastor to be charged.

Driver charged for causing death of Bartica Overseer

T

wenty-three-yearold Saliem Khan who allegedly drove his motor car, PLL 3322, on December 27, 2016 in a dangerous manner thereby causing the death of Bartica Overseer Mark Dutchin was on Tuesday arraigned with a causing death charge when he appeared at the Bartica Magistrate’s Court.

Khan stood before Magistrate Christel Lambert and denied the al-

Bartica Overseer Mark Dutchin

legation when it was put to him.

As such, he was granted $200,000 bail and was expected to next appear in court on January 10, 2018 when a trial date is to be set.

According to reports received, Khan was proceeding east along the northern side of the Bartica road reportedly at a fast pace when he struck the 65-year-old Dutchin who, according to the driver, walked into his

driving lane.

Dutchin was reportedly thrown onto the front left window of the vehicle and was further thrown some distance away onto the northern side of the road.

He was picked up in an unconscious condition by public-spirited persons and taken to the Bartica Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

news

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wednesDAY, january 10, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS

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

Wednesday, January 10 – 12:30h-14:00h and Thursday, January 11 – 13:30h-15:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Wednesday, January 10 – 11:55h-13:25h and Thursday, January 11 – 12:50h-14:20h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Early morning sunshine is expected to give way to thundery and heavy showers which will last throughout the remainder of the day and into the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 23 degrees Celsius and 27 degrees Celsius.

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

High Tide: 11:21h and 23:55h reaching maximum heights of 2.23 metres and 2.17 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 04:47h and 17:24h reaching minimum heights of 1.01 metre and 1.00 metres respectively.

SaturDAY, JANUARY 6, 2018

LOTTERY NUMBERS G

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2018 DAILY MILLIONS 02 03 05 12 15 LUCKY 3 9 4 8 Afternoon Draw DRAW DE LINE

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Rose Hall sugar workers protest for severance pay

By Andrew Carmichael

I

rate workers attached to the former Rose Hall Sugar Estate on Tuesday morning braved the inclement weather to protest for their severance payment as they demanded that the Government get its act together.

Eight hundred and fifty workers whose last day of employment was December 29, on Tuesday protested the non-payment of millions of dollars which are collectively owed to them by the David Granger Administration and the Guyana Sugar Corporation.

The workers protest action was endorsed by the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), the Opposition People’s Progressive Party and several non-governmental organisations.

A one-minute of silence was held in honour of the two former workers who took their lives after being sent home. The workers claim that the Government has not treated them as it had treated Cabinet members who were given a 50 per cent salary increase while they (sugar workers) received no increases for two and a half years.

Region Six Chairman David Armogan, while addressing the rally, said it is time for all the people of East Canje and its environs to unite, claiming that the decision to send home close to 1000 workers was a political one.

He said if the Government is of the belief that the sugar estate needs to be closed in order to make the industry viable, then the welfare of the children of the affected community should be considered.

The Chairman noted that President Granger is expected to commission another school bus which will be used to take children to and from school in the Fyrish area which is considered A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) stronghold.

“Do something to help the children; do something to help the people, instead what they have to give they are giving to some of the people who are close to them; no consideration for the economic hardship that you will be facing,” Armogan told the gathering.

The Chairman noted that in communities with high levels of unemployment as is the case of East Canje now, is that you will have more crime and illiteracy. “Because children cannot go to school, you will have more prostitution, alcohol abuse, domestic violence and all sorts of problems in the home.”

Armogan is advocating that Government provide some form of social assistance so that the affected families could receive needed help.

He called on the community to support each other in these trying times. “We have to brace each other and support each other and we have to remain strong because in two years’ time (2020 elections) most of you will still be alive. Therefore you have to continue to go on with your lives. This period is going to pass.”

According to the Regional Chairman, GuySuCo has the capacity to turn around, adding that the problem with the sugar company is not an eco-

nomic one but rather it was a political decision to send the workers home. The aim, he believes, was to destroy one of the PPP’s strongholds.

He pointed out that 5700 workers could have remained in their jobs if Government had put some of the money it spends on national holidays like Mashramani, into the sugar industry.

Meanwhile, GAWU’s General Secretary Seepaul Narine called on Government to make public its plans to get money to pay the workers their severance packages.

Narine said it is not too

one child to school daily. He urged the women to continue to be vigilant.

Noting that there is a glut on the labour market and persons are now accepting low wages, Edghill called on contractors and other business persons to show compassion and not to exploit the situation.

Another party executive, Gail Teixeira lashed out at the current Administration saying that it did not keep its promise to workers. She said it promised a change while campaigning for the 2015 General and Regional Elections. The

what they are doing.

“We have friends in the People’s Progressive Party; we have support from the business community; we have support from many journalists who saw things from the workers point of view, that today this issue is not only about sugar workers, and GAWU and GuySuCo but it has become a national issue.

This, comrades, is a big development. Today it is being debated. All of the Government Ministers at the last budget (presentations) were forced to talk sugar.”

The GAWU President not-

late for Government to withdraw the letters given to the workers.

Executive member of the PPP Juan Edghill who also marched with the workers and their families’ noted that many have been contemplating suicide. “I want to call upon all the religious leaders in this community, to give support; spiritual support as well as humanitarian support to the people of this community in this very difficult moment. The reason why I am appealing to our religious leaders is because yesterday afternoon, I saw with my own eyes and experienced for myself grown men telling me it makes no sense continuing to live.”

He urged them to keep the faith because better times lie ahead. Edghill said the community can assist the current situation as many are now unemployed. The PPP official encouraged those who have the ability to can take at least

change we have seen, she said, is not the one that was promised.

GAWU’s President Komal Chan, in a very energetic presentation, also lashed out at the Government, starting with the Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan whom he accused of being behind the order not to allow the protesters to have music as they walked peacefully along the road. He said many others are being given permission to use loud music to advertise

ed that another protest will be held on Thursday at Skeldon.

While calling for support, he signalled to the Police that they should not prevent them from having musical complement.

The very Government which they are protesting against has withheld the annual one-month salary which the members of the Disciplined Forces had grown accustomed to at year end, but since the Government came into power it has been cut.

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wednesDAY, january 10, 2018

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

2017 was a profoundly challenging year

E

ven though we are midway through the second week of the new year, the analyses of 2017 are still ongoing.

Naturally there will be divergent opinions given the political perspectives with the need to justify the pronouncements.

However, from a position of unbiased objectiveness, analysts should find commonality on how profoundly challenging last year was for the Guyanese populace. When all is said and done, the bottom line for the ordinary folk is their bread and butter issue.

For them, their analyses will therefore be guided by such.

A plethora of new taxes were unleashed in 2017 in a continuation of what seemed a trademark of the current Administration. The fiscal justification by the hierarchy could not appease the affected masses with the outcry being of additional burdens. The reality of an economy that contracted during the year was therefore unsurprising in that context. Forced reduction of spending power of the individual had a collective negative national effect.

The dismal shopping during the recent holiday season, which is traditionally a bustling period with tangible financial returns, starkly reflected sentiments felt throughout 2017. In fairness to that year, its financial woes were inherited from related preceded policies which bred uncertainty; a word that inundated various discussions throughout 2017 with national fiscal matters not spared.

Many, including business persons, lamented over the state of the underperforming economy which precipitated uncertainty; and vice versa. Both the lamentation and the uncertainty have now rolled over to 2018. The findings of the analyses would be simple; new investments were sparse and readily clutched upon for public relations purposes, businesses contracted with some becoming defunct, the ordinary mass forced to reduce spending as disposable income dwindled and many jobs were lost.

The milieu of these challenges not only exacerbated the uncertainty, but undermined confidence in the economy and governance. The fact that the economy is contracting is no longer disputable as the Administration would have reluctantly noted in its cleverly crafted jargon.

The uncertainty was worsened by the closure of some sugar estates and the firing of thousands of workers. These families were plunged into despair and pushed towards the breadline. For them, their uncertainty was compounded by the plight foisted upon them as they desperately search for means of livelihood and survival. Their heart-wrenching situation could be unimaginable for others especially when over the last two decades the country was typified by unprecedented progress.

Then, transformation through modernisation and sound enabling economic environment resulted in the advancement of individual families and the nation as a whole with years of increased and sustained growth. The record housing and construction boom was just one derivative. Today, sadly, its absence has contributed to the current lethargic economic situation which bred the uncertainty that characterised 2017. The crippling crime situation sapped potential investors’ confidence which was already weakened by the reality of the sluggish economy.

Unfortunately, these formidable challenges would not be wished away by whatever celebrations that would have occurred and by the fireworks at the time of birth of 2018. This year will not be spared and the challenges have rushed over and will linger indefinitely. The realism of what transpired in 2017 will therefore not allow 2018 to be devoid of these adversities. As a matter of fact, it will get worse and while all are always hopeful, especially at the beginning of any year, hope could be a distant second to uncertainty during this year.

Local economies, especially in areas where sugar estates have been closed, will be decimated. Wales is solid proof of this undesired metamorphosis. The social fabric of affected families and communities will be severely tested as despondency will continue to rise. This is where the need for a massive infusion of resources, including support services to help mitigate these circumstances becomes a national priority.

The uncertainty in the mindsets of the sugar workers epitomises that of the nation and there has to be a genuine commitment and will by the Administration to assist these now vulnerable families in this their time of dire need and not be left abandoned. The Administration must not seek solace in their need not to be compelled in this regard which may be premised falsely on casualties of politics.

They are Guyanese workers and regardless of perceived political persuasion, the State must honourably lead the mitigation as it does in times of natural disasters. What unfortunately remains frightening, in the context of recent politics, is the uncertainty over any plan by the State to implement meaningful relief mechanisms.

What seems certain at this point is the lack of will to save the industry and by extension, the plight of the workers and their families and other vulnerable Guyanese. For them, 2018 would not be a happy one.

In Mexico's Revillagigedo Islands, a humpback whale mother teaches her calf how to breathe and control its buoyancy. Humpback whale calves are born already weighing one tonne, and they'll nurse for a year – averaging 160 gallons of their mothers' milk a day (Photograph by Anuar Patjane Floriuk, National Geographic Your Shot)

Profitability check Dear Editor, Given the high success rate of the recent explorations undertaken by Exxon, it may be in the best interest of the country to stop further exploration until they can determine the financials of the current total oil they have found. This

will provide a solution to the ring fencing problem by ensuring that we are clear on the operational costs current and projected faced by the usable oil fields found thus far.

Another consideration to keep in mind is that if Exxon were to continue to explore,

there is a risk of finding dry wells and thus adding more cost to the same level of oil, further reducing our profitability in the future. At some point there needs to be an agreement as to the minimum level of profitability the two parties (Exxon and Guyana) would like to main-

tain. This minimum threshold should be set and used to guide decision-making for both sides, especially given the structure of the current contract.

Best regards, Jamil Changlee Strategy Consultant

‘Obsolete bulldozer’ saga Dear Editor, As the plot thickens with the ‘obsolete bulldozer’ saga, more revelations and questions have emerged which have transported this ‘deal’ into the realm of the corrupt.

However, in order to make the explanation offered here more explicit and comprehensible, I will need to give some specifics.

For the year 2017, there was an Regional Democratic Council (RDC) budgetary allocation of $20 million to purchase an ‘angle blade bulldozer’ for the urgent repairs of dams within the agricultural areas. But the ‘urgency’ was soon forgotten. Nearly six months later on July 1, 2017 an invitation to tender for ‘the supply and delivery of one reconditioned D3 angle blade bulldozer’ was made in the media. It stated that the engineer’s estimate was at $15 million. The tenders received would have been evaluated on July 11, 2017, and the ‘lowest evaluated bid’ would have been awarded the contract.

This means that by July 25, this notice of award to the supplier would have been sent.

Furthermore, it was expected that the contract would have

been signed and the bulldozer delivered within a ‘reasonable time’. The bulldozer arrived at the RDC Region Six compound on January 3, 2018, approximately five months after the supplier was awarded the contract.

Some pertinent questions need to be asked at this point: Why was the tender advertised at such a late date when the machinery was urgently needed, especially to repair the dams in the rice cultivation areas which were almost impassable? Why was the engineer’s estimate just one million dollars above the Regional Tender Board limit but just remains at $15 million in order to avoid the perusal by the Finance Minister and Cabinet? Why was the entire budgetary allocation of $20 million not utilised to acquire a ‘fit and proper’ bulldozer? Why did it take the supplier five months to deliver? Was the delivery into the new calendar year accidental or coincidental?

I must submit that the delivery of the ‘junk’ into 2018 is intentional. There is a growing trend if we look at the RDC capital expenditure that the majority of such expendi-

tures take place towards the latter half of the year with some being done at the last minute, just like Christmas shopping. In addition, all cheques are raised before the end of the year to ensure that monies are not returned to the Treasury. In this bulldozer case, the cheque was raised at the end of the year and delivery done in January 2018 to mask the fact that the machine is not ‘fit and proper’! No other explanation will suffice!

Another pertinent question is: Did the bulldozer meet the specifications of being a ‘reconditioned D3 angle blade bulldozer’? The answer is a resounding no. An investigation conducted by the Regional Chairman on January 5 by a team of engineers confirmed that it was a D4D bulldozer manufactured in the 1970s.

It was further discovered that the bulldozer’s engine is back pressuring and has about 10 other defects. The engineers pointed out that the machine is at the end of its useful life!

Therefore, the bulldozer did not meet the specifications and it was not ‘fit and proper’.

At the RDC statutory meeting on January 3, 2018, one day after the machine

was received, the REO having expressed her surprise that the bulldozer had arrived at the RDC compound made a commitment to return the bulldozer back to the supplier if it was not according to the specification and if it was not ‘fit and proper’. However, at a press conference held on January 8, she made a volteface! She declared that the supplier had agreed to repair the bulldozer!

In conclusion, I must remind all Government officials that the main objective of the Public Procurement Act is to ensure that economy and efficiency are maximised and that taxpayers get value for money. It is useless to brag about a massive budget when the dollars do not translate into value, the inherent corruption at the Tender Board’s level and the equally corrupt inspections and certifications will continue to eat away at our social and economic development unless drastic measures are taken against the corruptors!

Yours sincerely, Haseef Yusuf RDC Councillor, Region Six

wednesDAY, january 10, 2018

guyanatimesgy.com

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News

Gunman trails Dental Surgeon 100 Caricom Cement factory workers jobless from bank Unemployment woes

S

ome 100 Caricom Cement factory workers are on the breadline after the cement factory closed its doors.

In August 2017, after much discussion on unemployment on Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan had promised that Caricom Cement would employ 400

former Bermine Complex at Everton, East Bank Berbice, which is owned by the National Industrial & Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).

More than 100 persons attached to the cement company reached out to this publication on Monday, saying they were sent on the breadline some three months ago.

According to the workers, Unemployed: Moses Jaipaul

Caricom Cement factory

of the workers who were to be sent home from the Rose Hall sugar estate. However, the Rose Hall estate has now closed and so has the Caricom Cement factory.

The factory occupies the

they left work on October 8, 2017, as per normal and when they turned up for duty on October 9, they found a padlock on the gate.

According to the workers, they were later informed that NICIL had padlocked the gates.

Guyana Times was told that Caricom Cement and NICIL are reportedly at odds over the compound.

More than three months have passed and neither NICIL nor Caricom Cement has told the workers anything on the matter. Efforts by this newspaper to contact officials at NICIL over the issue proved futile.

An employee of Caricom Cement, Moses Jaipaul, told this publication the terminated employees all have bills to pay but have not heard anything from either of the companies. Jaipaul

had been employed with the company for three years.

He told this publication that Minister Ramjattan’s words about further employment of workers still echo in his ears. The company, which initially started as a repackaging cement plant, has been in existence in Guyana for the past 14 years.

The company had hired overseas experts and had developed a formula of making high-quality cement from a mixture of clay, paddy husk, sea shells, and bauxite overburden. In October 2017, the cement company was testing the local formula when the gates were locked, and business closed down leaving the workers jobless.

The production of cement locally could have been one of the companies within the manufacturing industry to add growth to the Berbice economy.

Cement production would have put little strain on foreign exchange but would have added value to the agricultural industry.

...escapes with over $150,000 in valuables

P

olice are investigating an alleged robbery under arms committed on Tuesday on a 49-year-old dental surgeon attached to the Public Health Ministry, resulting in the loss of cash, mobile phones and other valuables.

The victim has been identified as Debra Skeete of Jasmine Avenue, Eccles Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara (EBD). According to Police information, the incident occurred at around 10:45h.

Skeete reportedly left her place of work at 10:00h in her motor car and went to Republic Bank, Diamond Branch ATM machine, where she deposited some cash.

The woman reportedly then travelled to the Bounty Supermarket in Grove, EBD and made purchases.

Thereafter, Skeete drove to Eccles and parked on the bridge in front her home.

It was then that she observed an unmasked male approaching her with a gun tucked in his waist. The perpetrator reportedly walked up to the victim driver’s side door and demanded that she hand over her hand bag.

Upon seeing that the woman was hesitating, the suspect whipped out his gun, opened the car door, snatched her bag containing $25,000 cash, one iPhone valued at $40,000, one Samsung Galaxy phone valued at $35,000, bank cards, one flash drive value $7420, one identification card and NIS card. Inside her bag, also, was 60 pound sterling (equivalent to $80,000 Guyana currency).

The bandit then ran to a waiting motorcycle driven by an accomplice. The duo then made good their escape in an eastern direction.

The area was reportedly checked, persons questioned and thus far, no useful information has been received.

Guyanese must resist an emerging gang culture Dear Editor, A worrying trend is beginning to develop in Guyana. There are signs and evidence of an emerging gang culture.

A random drive through communities in and around Georgetown has revealed sneakers with the laces tied around electricity cables, the unsightly graffiti tattooed across public and private properties and groups of young men huddled together smoking marijuana.

The incident involving the death of 16-year-old Brian Charles-Yearwood, who was mercilessly stabbed while attending a concert organised by his school in April 29 last year, drives home the point that Guyanese youths are adopting an affinity for gangs.

Two young men – Shannon Cox, 20; and Andy Peters, 17 – will now face a judge and jury to defend murder charges which

sprung from this “gang-related incident”.

There must be a concerted effort and a proactive approach to dealing with and confronting the emergence of gangs in society, but it must not be allowed to fester and flourish into disorder and mayhem as evident in other countries.

A grassroots approach can be taken to address this issue before gangs take over and cement their destructive tentacles deep inside communities, some of which may already be grappling with drugs-running; a spiralling crime rate and many misguided, uneducated minds searching for acceptance and belonging.

According to the US National Institute of Justice 2014 report, gangs can be organised based upon race, ethnicity, territory, or money-making activities, and are generally made up of members ages

eight to 22.

The members display specific paraphernalia or articles of clothing in order to create a distinction from other groups such as bandanas, hats, scarves of certain colours, or gang-related tattoos and other symbols.

Gangs are known to be one of the leading factors for the spread of violent crimes both on and off school property.

According to Carlie PhD, Michael K The Gang Culture.” Into The Abyss: A Personal Journey into the World of Street Gangs, April 7, 2014, when joining a gang, often times there is an initiation involved.

The initiation is usually a violent crime that could include theft, murder, gang-rape, or a driveby shooting.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in 2011 pointed out that there were

33,000 violent street, motorcycle, and prison gangs active in the US, with more than 1.4 million members (a staggering 40 per cent increase in just two years).

In recent years, gangs have been participating in more non-traditional crimes such as prostitution, alien smuggling, and human trafficking, identity theft, and mortgage fraud.

These crimes allow the perpetrators to operate below the radar with less visibility while they secure higher profits.

A study by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention identifies several cities and areas where gang homicides are prevalent, highlighting that neighbourhood-based gangs pose a highest threat for violence than national street gangs, prison gangs, and outlaw motorcycle gangs.

The authorities must do all in their power to ad-

dress this creeping scourge frontally, or run the risk of the country descending into a dangerous, gang-infested territory threatening our fledgling tourism base and

undermining the efforts being made by security forces.

Sincerely, Danielle CampbellLowe

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Foundation

Interim teachers M continued from Tuesday

O

By Judy Willis, MD

ne way to push students to use these strategies for independent reading homework (or classwork during independent, group, or whole-class reading) is to give them prompts and Post-its in advance of the reading. The assignment is to simply complete each prompt on a single Postit.

This process is appealing in several ways. There are no wrong answers, and the assignment requires very little writing as it has already been started on each Post-it in class – so this activity is low stress and high outcome as it upholds the general principles of reading comprehension.

tion suggest about what will come?

What does this picture (graph, diagram, etc.) suggest about this reading topic?

To be completed during reading as a response to what is read: You’re similar to what I’ve learned before, because you remind me of...

I would have preferred a picture of...

(Students can also sketch, describe, or download a picture, graph, or d i a gram)

Sample Post-it Prompts

In these prompts, the students address the text directly – by calling it “you” – as though they were having a conversation with it.

To be completed before reading for prediction and preview: I think you’ll be telling me...

I already know things about you, so I predict...

To be completed after briefly skimming the assigned pages: What does the heading for this sec-

This is not what I expected, which was...

This gives me an idea for...

I want to know more about...

This information could be useful to me because I’m interested in...

I think this will be on the test because...

Why this works

The benefits of reading with an explicit plan for engagement, comprehension, and memory include greater class comfort and participation, greater understanding of what is read, increased memory of the text, and a reduction in the amount of rereading or review needed for test time.

The use of Post-its increases memory pattern linkages, understanding, and the pleasure of reading. As students become more skilled readers through strategies that promote pattern seeking and linking, they build their independent skills about how to think actively about the text – their metacognitive skills.

They will not only have increased pleasure, motivation, curiosity, and engagement, but will also develop stronger confidence in their own abilities as well as resilience, intrinsic motivation, and perseverance. You will be increasing the access of all students to the rich world of written information and imagination that is available in books, newspapers, magazines, online reading, and even on boxes of cereal. (Excerpt from Edutopia.org)

y years in high school were revolutionary in many ways. I grew as a person, matured, but perhaps equally as important, I gained insight to the way that things worked. Teachers to me as a child were a source of unquestionable authority Ashley Anthony on their subject. However, as I grew up, I began to realize that teachers are human, make mistakes and are too, still learning.

This is not to devalue the work that teachers do, but it is to say that I understand that they are not perfect. That being said, moving through high school, I began to observe a curious phenomenon. Often, students who had just finished sixth form would return to school to fill positions that were vacant. This could be anything from Mathematics to Social Studies, provided that they had gotten their associate degree they were welcomed. I describe the situation as curious for a few reasons. Firstly, as I entered my later years of high school, I could not see these returning teachers as just teachers. I had known them as students, colleagues even. We interacted on a familiar, friendly basis through house and club activities, and it became very difficult for me to regard them as this unquestionable authority; I had seen them grow and develop just as I had. They were my peers. Secondly, as a student, I worried for my own academic success. It is not that the teachers were not adequately qualified, but there was a feeling of unease brought about by being taught by someone who had just finished learning what I was. I felt as though I couldn’t ask reaching questions, and as if I was limited by their understanding of the curriculum. If anyone has a hard time understanding what this felt like, think about if you would trust yourself to teach someone a year younger than you something you learned last year, and then think about if you would still have confidence if you were in my situation.

Yet, if they hadn’t filled that position who would have? Is it better to have no teacher at all? I believe the students who come back to teach are well intentioned, to say the least. They recognize that without them the school probably could not function, and I am sure they are all cognizant of the doubts that older students have in their abilities-- doubts that I am sure they have in themselves yet, they put all of that aside and come back to teach anyways. They are young and inexperienced, but this does not mean that they will be terrible teachers. What I have found is often returning students are the most empathetic; their time as a student is fresh in their mind, and as a result, they are much easier to reason and work along with. I think the best approach to have, as a teacher is to be honest about your own shortcomings, with yourself and your students. I would rather tell as student that I don’t know something and refer them to someone else than mislead or confuse them. If we are honest with each other, at least I know that I have put the student’s best interests over my pride. It is not an ideal situation, by any means, but it is the one we have, and we must make the best of it. The fact that many students will go to lessons is not an excuse to teach poorly: in fact it should be incentive for you as a teacher to ensure that the child is getting the best possible education.

news

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wednesDAY, january 10, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

GCAA Director General expresses dissatisfaction with Fly Jamaica …airline to set up 24-hour call centre

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ne day after Fly Jamaica announced plans to implement an operations recovery plan after leaving hundreds of its passengers stranded for days, it has now made a commitment to set up a 24hour call centre for passengers in Guyana to get updates and other information regarding their bookings.

This decision was made after a team representing the airline met with the Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Lieutenant Colonel (Ret’d) Egbert Field. Representing Fly Jamaica at the meeting were Commercial Operations Manager Carl Bowen and Wings Aviation Director Patricia Reece.

The meeting was chaired by Field. However, there was also a large contingent of several other GCAA officials including: Air Transport Management Director Saheed Sulaman; Aviation Security Manager Abraham Dorris; acting Aviation Safety Regulations Director, Captain Christopher Kirkcaldy; Air Transport Officer Dinello Mahabir; and Public Communications Officer Rashan Reid.

During the meeting, Field expressed the GCAA’s dissatisfaction with the pro-

GCAA Director General, Lieutenant Colonel (Ret’d) Egbert Field (third from right) with officials both from the GCAA and Fly Jamaica Airline

longed delays and cancellations being experienced by passengers. However, the airline officials informed the GCAA that mandatory scheduled maintenance checks on its fleet were part of the reason for the delays.

It was also explained that during this period, the operation, which continued with the use of at least four charter services, was intermittently disrupted by crew shortages in those companies. In addition, the adverse weather conditions in New York affected scheduled flights with the aircraft that were leased to continue operations in the

absence of the regular fleet.

In addition to Fly Jamaica committing to op-

erationalising a 24-hour call centre for passengers in Guyana, Fly Jamaica offi-

cials also committed to contact passengers and provide them with updates of their flight bookings.

According to the GCAA, the airline is expected to have its own Boeing 767 aircraft in operation on January 11, 2018 to relieve the backlog of passengers left stranded in Guyana and other destinations.

Additionally, Fly Jamaica has arranged to lease a B757 aircraft from National Airlines to operate between Kingston, Jamaica and John F Kennedy Airport in New York.

This newspaper was told that Fly Jamaica agents were inaccessible over the past week and had left hundreds of passengers stranded in Guyana.

Meanwhile, passengers

travelling from Toronto to Guyana have also been stranded at the Pearson International Airport.

This is not the first time that Fly Jamaica has experienced major delays. In December 2017, a few days before Christmas, frustrated passengers had complained that flights between Georgetown and New York were cancelled as a result of technical problems the airline was experiencing. In that instance, passengers had taken to social media and bashed the airline for keeping them in the dark.

In July last year, passengers of the same airline had vented their frustration, again on social media, over the poor communication from airline employees.

Diamond shooting leaves family traumatised

P

olice are investigating an alleged shooting incident which occurred in Diamond on the East Bank of Demerara on Monday evening, leaving a mother and her two adult sons traumatised.

According to information received, the incident occurred on the evening in question at around 22:30h.

Police reports indicate

that the shootout occurred in front of a two-storey concrete building located at Section A, Block X, Diamond.

The owner of the home, identified as 57-year-old Anita Alli, reportedly told investigators that the lower flat of her home was being used as a storage bond and only the upper flat was occupied by herself and two of her six sons.

One of the woman’s sons, identified as 25-yearold Steven Alli, was in his bedroom on his bed while his mother and 29-year-old brother were reportedly asleep in their respective rooms.

He recalled hearing several loud explosions and upon checking, observed several holes in the eastern window of the house, which appeared to be bul-

let holes.

The Police were quickly contacted and upon further inspection, six pieces of metal fragments were found on the floor of the sitting room and two 9mm spent shells were found on the road, near the house.

Thus far, the person or persons responsible have not been identified.

However, an investigation has been launched.

8 NEWS

wednesDAY, january 10, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

WBD man charged for 2016 cocaine in plywood

…also charged with another for attempting to bribe CANU officer

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wo men, one of whom is charged for conspiring back in 2016 to trafficking 48 kilograms of cocaine concealed in plywood, are in hot water after they allegedly attempted to bribe an officer attached to the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU).

The men have been identified as Rajesh Kissoondyal, called “Paddle”, 47, of Lot 12 South Section Canal Number 12 Polder, West Bank Demerara, and Shamkumar Hariprashad, 38, of Lot 67

Alliance, Canal Number 12 Polder.

Kissoondyal was hauled in for questioning in connection with the drug find two years ago at Lot 37 Yarrowkabra, LindenSoesdyke Highway, East Bank Demerara. He was arrested by CANU ranks while at a funeral last week.

However, while in custody, it is alleged that he, along with Hariprashad, made the offer to the anti-narcotics agent for the former’s release.

They were both charged

By any other name…

I Rajesh Kissoondyal, called “Paddle”

for attempting to pervert the administration of the law and arraigned at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts today.

The charge stated that the defendants on January 5, 2018 at Homestretch Avenue, Georgetown, with intent to pervert the administration of the law under the Provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, Chapter 10:10 offered CANU Officer Lyndon Thompson the sum of $1, 495,000 for the release of Kissoondyal, who was in custody pending an investigation into a trafficking narcotics allegation.

Shamkumar Hariprashad

They were both remanded to prison by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan and were scheduled to return to court on January 25, 2018.

Meanwhile, Kissoondyal was additionally slapped with the offence of facilitating the trafficking. He is being accused of knowingly or having reason to believe that between April 1, 2016 and April 21, 2016, he handled parcels, packages or other things, that is to say, sheets of plywood containing narcotics – 48.554 kilograms of cocaine – with a view of procuring the commissioning of trafficking in the said narcotic. turn to page 10

…it’s empty politics t might’ve been a slow news day…but your Eyewitness doesn’t think so. He thinks it illustrates the political slant that defined the trajectory of every single event in Guyana. Your Eyewitness is referring to the banner front page headline by Stabber News: “Kwayana, Andaiye, Bhagwan hammer Govt on dismissal of thousands of sugar workers.”

Now this was a rehash of a story carried the previous day in their “In the Diaspora” column, which in and of itself was very laudatory for the words extended to the sugar workers under attack. But the points made there were made even stronger by so many individuals earlier in the year that Wales was closed and 5700 sugar workers have since been fired. So, if it wasn’t the message that was so special, what was it?

It was the messengers, that’s what!! The three cited and re-cited “old heads”, you see dear readers, are – as the Stabber took pains to point out in its self-referential remix – “foundation members of the WPA”. And if you just exclaimed “So what?” it means you just don’t understand how some peoples’ opinions in Guyana are privileged over others – and when it comes to the Stabber, the WPA is privileged most of all!

Now, as the PNC proved in 1992 – and the WPA finally accepted in 2011 when it merged with the PNC to form APNU – the WPA (dubbed the “Worst Possible Alternative” by Burnham) was never an electoral force.

It was a “tendency”, a “gesture”, if you will, that rode on the back of the brilliant scholar-activist Walter Rodney.

But the founder of SN was part of that tendency and his successors have kept the faith. Even though the back was broken when Burnham murdered the man, the remaining “leaders” continued flogging it – even though few walked the great man’s walk.

So for the SN to “big up” the trio’s statement is to just make another (nostalgic) gesture. What does SN expect to happen? Some supporters of the PNC will stand up to the party as in the days of Rodney? SN should remember that such actions were the result of countless hours, and days and months of “groundings” and walking in the shoes of those people by Rodney et al. Even in Linden.

What has the WPA been doing in the meantime, apart from legitimising the PNC on Rodney’s political capital? Even these souls have had to admit they’ve been played – like some Congo Drums.

If the WPA wants to be the WPA, their members in the coalition should resign immediately from the Government!

Rodney would’ve done so!!

…it’s grounds for dismissal Children never take responsibility for their actions – “things” are done TO them, not BY them. Even when they run in to say, a table, it’s the table that hit them!!

And here we have the perfect analogy to describe the actions of Basil Williams, Attorney General of Guyana!

But he doesn’t just ask like a child – he’s more like a mean-spirited spoiled, brat!

He just insulted the Chairman of the Council of Legal Education (CLE), by pretty much calling the man a “liar” on the issue of the non-existent permission from the CLE for the Law School he (Williams) promised to deliver this year. It’s clear Williams hears only what he wants to hear – and since he promised a Law School, “permission” is what he heard!! So he’ll take the CLE Chair to Caricom?

Wouldn’t it be better for him to show the bona fides of the “Law School” invoked for his “Public Private Partnership”?

It’s a shame he’s dragging the name of JOF Haynes in his mud.

…the man’s a slacker Seeking to defend the prospective Chancellor, Justice Benjamin’s Bulky Belize case backlog, AG Williams said “let those not guilty cast the first stone.”

Well, as Guyana’s number one slacker, Williams sure ain’t pelting no stone, soon!!

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

News

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wednesDAY, january 10, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Parliament resumes today

…Opposition motion seeks answers about prison fire, jailbreak

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s Parliament resumes today, the first item on the order paper for private members’ business is a motion to deal with several critical concerns regarding the 2017 Georgetown Prison fire and jailbreak.

The motion was submitted by Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira on behalf of Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Bishop Juan Edghill and she urged Government to take collective responsibility for the tragedy.

The motion stated that July 9, 2017 will go down in the history of Guyana as the day when the worst prison fire and jailbreak took place, destroying over 80 per cent of the Georgetown Prison.

This incident also led to the escape of eight prisoners and the death of a prison officer.

According to the

Opposition motion, the lack of information in the early hours after the jailbreak caused great anxiety and uncertainty for the general public and the families of the prisoners.

While extending condolences to the families of those who lost their lives, the Opposition noted that the public remains in the dark after the July 9 incident as to what led to the jailbreak and fire.

Government is still to explain how it managed this situation as it unfolded and its aftermath. “…the public was informed that many of their questions would be answered in the course of a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) to be appointed by the President,” it also recalled.

And although Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan had said that there

Although Opposition MP Juan Edghill will not be attending Parliament today, a motion seeking answers about the deadly prison fire, jailbreak was submitted in his name and forms part of the agenda

would be no CoI until the escapees were all captured, the Opposition thinks that several important questions will remain unanswered for an indefinite time.

Edghill’s motion said “…

That the National Assembly calls on the Government to make full disclosure of all aspects of the tragedy at the Georgetown Prison on July 9, 2017, and to declare what ac-

Cervical Cancer Awareness Month

Cancer Institute offers free Pap Smear screening …introduces the Brachytherapy procedure

By Lakhram Bhagirat

T

he Cancer Institute of Guyana announced that it would be offering free Pap Smear screening for the month of January in commemoration of Cervical Cancer Awareness Month.

The Institute is urging all women to come forward and take full advantage of the free screening since early detection of cervical cancer means a higher chance of survival.

The Cancer Institute’s Outreach Director, Dr Syed Ghazi at a press conference on Tuesday said that cervical cancer was the second most common cancer in women in Guyana, and noted that it was often detected too late.

He adds that the Institute screens over 1000 women per year for cervical cancer.

Dr Ghazi informed that Cervical Cancer is now at endemic proportions in the Caribbean and Guyana, but noted that the Cancer Institute continued to work with its Caribbean partners with the aim of eliminating

Dr Syed Mujahid Ghazi and Dr Sayan Chakraborty standing next to the Brachytherapy machine

cervical cancer by 2025.

“From the beginning what I noticed, I saw women coming in later stages and we couldn’t have been able to do anything, but slowly and gradually now we see less and less numbers of those with higher stages of cancer and we now see people walking in to come for screenings,” he noted.

“A lot of times these patients’ signs and symptoms are not taken seriously by general physicians. Many

times, they cannot comprehend what the symptom is leading to and many times the delay happens when the women go from one doctor to another and those are the cases where we get later stages of cancer,” Dr Ghazi added.

Meanwhile, the Institute’s Medical Director and Oncologist, Dr Sayan Chakraborthy, noted that he would endorse the Pap Smear over VIA for testing for cervical cancer.

“The basic difference be-

tween VIA and Pap Smear is that in VIA we are actually putting some acetic acid on the cervix and noting the colour change of the cervix. It is an effective process of screening and it is used in a lot of places in many countries.

Now what Pap Smear does is it actually takes scrapings of the cervix and vagina, putting it on a slide and seeing it under a microscope,” he said.

“Pap Smear is more specific in finding precancerous or cancerous lesions. We are actually seeing it under a microscope and having a better knowledge of it,” Dr Chakraborthy added.

He advised that if women were seeing abnormal discharge and pain or bleeding after sexual intercourse, they must immediately seek attention since these were some of the signs of cervical cancer.

The Pap Smear is done seven days after you would have seen your period and one must abstain from sexual intercourse three days before the appointment.

TURN to page 12

tions have been and are being taken to reduce the opportunities for such situations from reoccurring.”

The motion has also requested Government to make full disclosure with regard to the circumstances surrounding the most recent escape of prisoners on July 24, 2017.

“That the National Assembly lends its support to the Disciplined Services in its efforts to ensure public safety and the protection of our citizens and the recapture of all the escapees,” it added.

Edghill’s suspension

Edghill, an elected member of the Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), was recently advised that he would not be able to attend today’s sitting due to a mix-up.

The MP was suspended from the National Assembly during last year’s sitting by the Speaker, Dr Barton Scotland, who had accused the MP of being out of order after he sought more time to scrutinise the Budget estimates.

This was followed by the Party being gagged from questions on the Budget estimates before it was passed. By such measures, the Party noted that it was prevented from scrutinising six Ministries.

The Opposition was recently informed that Edghill’s suspension was not over and

explained that it was a mistake made by the Parliament Office in calculating when the suspension commenced.

The Government side of the House on December 12, 2017 had voted in favour of a motion moved by its Chief Whip, Amna Ally suspending Edghill from four sittings.

But the Opposition was not pleased with this news.

It said, “If Minister (Amna) Ally’s motion did not include the date of the conclusion of the suspension, one may be tempted to understand the need for the Speaker’s intervention to interpret the motion as to when the suspension began and ended.”

The PPP/C further argued that the legacy of the 11th Parliament was one of consistent undermining of the Standing Orders and interference by the Executive in the role and functions of the National Assembly.

Edghill told this newspaper on Sunday that he was “made of steel” and did not feel sanctioned in any way by the Government’s move to have him suspended from the National Assembly.

Edghill said that while he believed in following established rules and parliamentary principles, standing up for what was just and right would always take precedence in his book.

10 news

wednesDAY, january 10, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

229 criminal cases for 3 Judges …as Demerara Assizes opens

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he January Assizes for Demerara opened at the Supreme Court in Georgetown on Tuesday with much pomp and ceremony.

However, a tall task lies ahead as there are 229 criminal cases listed to be heard during the session, which will be presided over by three Judges: Justice Navindra Singh, Justice James BovellDrakes and Madam Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall.

During the ceremony, senior and junior ranks of the Guyana Police Force were adorned in their ceremonial wear as they marched in unison, reflecting the discipline that the law enforcement unit is expected to maintain.

Horsemen, trumpeters and other band mem-

High spirits S

Justice James Bovell-Drakes inspecting the Guard of Honour at Tuesday’s opening of the Demerara Assizes

bers played melodies that captivated downtown Georgetown. Veteran High Court Judge, Justice BovellDrakes, who is sitting

this session, took the salute in the presence of other Judges, including acting Chief Justice Roxane George, SC. Members of the

public who were given court summonses appeared before the Judges as potential jurists.

2 remanded for Brazilian miner’s murder

T

wo men held in connection with the death of the Brazilian miner who was found murdered in February of 2016 at Fish Creek, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) was on Tuesday taken before the Bartica Magistrate’s Court slapped with a murder charge.

Phillip and Fidel Williams were not required to plead to

Remanded: Fidel Williams

the capital charge which stated that on February 9, 2016, they murdered Naldinho DeCosta Souza.

They were both remanded to prison and were scheduled to return to court on January 10.

Reports are DeCosta Souza’s throat was slit when he was attacked by four men.

Following investigations,

Canal man charged for...

The 47-year-old man was remanded to prison following his arraignment

by Magistrate McLennan.

He will also return to court on January 25 on this offence.

In court, Kissoondyal’s

and Hariprashad’s Attorneys made unsuccessful bail applications.

The almost 50 kilograms of cocaine was unearthed on April 20, 2016, when agents from the Guyana Revenue Authority’s (GRA)

Drug Enforcement Unit, along with the Port Control Unit, were examining the consignment of plywood at Yarrowkabra. The consignment of 5/8 inch plywood was destined for Florida, USA.

a wanted bulletin was issued for Fidel Williams, who was implicated in the murder by his close relative, who is presently serving a prison sentence at the Mazaruni Prison for a robbery offence.

On Tuesday last, Fidel Williams was caught by lawmen and reportedly confessed to being one of the four men who was involved in the incident.

atiricus was happy he was heading over to the Back Street Bar. He had some good news for the fellas that would hopefully keep the gyaaf away from politics – and him away from the firing line. What could he say when his KFC leaders Nagga Man and Rum Jhaat were silent on the sugar tragedy, yet three old geezers from the WAPA took up cudgels on sugar-workers’ behalf?

“Hey fellas, lets drink to a momentous occasion!”

Satiricus raised his beer bottle for a collective clink.

“Suh wha’ abee a drink fa?” asked Bungi, even as he quaffed the brew with gusto.

“Well, let me just say with all the doom and gloom everyone’s going on about,” said Satiricus with a smile.

“We’ve done more than our fair share to keep the economy going strong!!”

“An’ how abee do da, when abee na gat wuk?” asked Cappo, with raised eyebrows.

“Budday!” exclaimed Satiricus. “Didn’t your read the papers?”

“Well…yes, I did?” said Hari. “But what does that have to do with our saving the economy?”

“You see…THAT’S the problem with you fellas!” laughed Satiricus. “You only look for things to criticise and you miss the good news!”

“Me know yuh always a talk ‘bout de cup half full,” said Bungi. “Suh which cup abee full dis time?”

“It’s not that we kept any cup full,” said Satiricus. “We kept the bottle empty!!”

“OK…OK.. Sato,” said Cappo exasperatedly. “Tell abee wha’ yuh a talk about rite now, or shut up an’ leh abee drink!”

“That’s the point, fellas,” exclaimed Satiricus. “What do we drink?”

“Beer!” the friends all exclaimed in unison.

“And what kind of beer do we drink?” Satiricus continued.

“Banks!!” shouted his friends.

“Well, because of our commitment to drinking Banks beer, the company just made $3.5 billion!!” said Satiricus.

“Let’s drink to our efforts!!”

“Schuups!” Bungi sucked his teeth. “Suh abee mek dem Banks directa a model fancy suit like dem a young bai?”

From page 8

It was reported that during the examination process, anomalies were detected; hence, a decision was taken to search individual sheets of plywood, 320 in total. Upon checking, the cocaine was

stashed in neatly carved holes in the plywood.

The GRA officials had become suspicious of the contents of the consignment based on the behaviour displayed by the consignee’s representatives

during the examination process. The men were reportedly trying to hurry up the examination process, claiming that they needed to get the shipment out as soon as possible.

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wednesDAY, january 10, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Guyana Govt expresses condolences Telecommunications “100-metre dash” on passing of former T&T President begins this year – Minister Hughes

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he Ministry of the Presidency has conveyed on behalf of the President, Government and people of Guyana, its deepest condolences to the President, Government and people of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, on the passing of former President, Professor George Maxwell Richards.

Guyana, along with the people of Trinidad and Caricom, mourns the loss of a distinguished son, who, during his two terms as President, helped to advance the cause of the integration movement.

A chemical engineer and Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Professor Richards will be remembered for, among other things, his renowned contributions that lifted the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of the West Indies (UWI), to international standards.

News reports out of Trinidad stated that

Former T&T President, Professor George Maxwell Richards

86-year-old Richards passed away at the West Shore Medical Centre on Monday night. Richards served as President of Trinidad and Tobago from March 7, 2003 to March 17, 2013. According to the T&T Newsday newspaper, he was a former principal of the University of the West Indies St Augustine Campus. He was married to Dr Jean Ramjohn Richards and had two children,

Maxine and Mark.

Reacting to the news of Richards’ passing, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young extended deepest condolences to Richards’ family on behalf of the Government and his own family’s behalf.

“Our prayers are with the family,” Young said. “We thank him and his family for his many years of service.”

T&T’s Opposition Chief Whip David Lee extended the Opposition’s condolences to Richards’ family. Lee said it was “sad and ironic” that earlier in the day, Government and the Opposition co-signed the nomination paper for retired Court of Appeal Judge Paula Mae Weekes to become T&T’s next President.

He said it was with “a heavy heart” that the country was learning of Richards’ passing. Lee said Richards served his country in good standing as President and in academia.

Post-mortem today for dead bar manager

A

s the investigation continues into the death of the Korner Kick Bar and Restaurant Manager, detectives are awaiting the results of the post-mortem examination to ascertain whether the 21-year-old was killed or took his own life.

The lifeless body of Tevin Parris was found with a gunshot wound to the head on Monday morning at his Lot 66 Garnett Street, Newtown, Georgetown home. The discovery was made by the young man’s uncle sometime around 07:40h.

Parris’s death has left his family with many unanswered questions.

Guyana Times understands that investigators have retrieved a 9mm pistol with 14 live rounds of am-

Dead: Tevin Parris

munition. The crime scene seems to suggest that Parris took his life, and investigators have since swabbed both of the Bar Manager’s hands for gunpowder residue to determine whether he had fired the weapon.

However, it was report-

ed that the young man was not the holder of a firearm licence and as such, checks are being made to trace the ownership of the weapon.

Meanwhile, the Police are awaiting the post-mortem examination, which will be conducted today, to ascertain the trajectory of the gunshot wound.

While detectives have not ruled out homicide as yet, family members of the now dead man are maintaining that he was murdered.

However, A Division (Georgetown-East Bank Demerara) Commander Marlon Chapman told Guyana Times on Tuesday that there have been no new updates in the investigations and they were awaiting the results of the post-mortem examination.

G

uyana’s journey to becoming a technologically advanced nation will be mainstreamed this year, Minister of Public Telecommunications Catherine Hughes stated.

The Department of Public Information (DPI) quoted Minister Hughes as saying that since the Ministry’s establishment in 2016, it has been preparing the technological environment, assessing the landscape and engaging with people and ascertaining what the needs of the citizens were. To this extent, Minister Hughes said though much developmental work has been conducted throughout the country, 2018 is the year “we can actually start to run the 100-meter dash”.

The Telecommunications Minister pointed out that they while her office is working closely with the Ministry of Education to have free internet implemented in primary schools, there are serious considerations as it relates to the younger children and access to the internet.

Minister Hughes reiterated that safety measures, in terms of cyber-security need to be implemented before these primary institutions are connected.

According to her, follow-ups will be conducted to ensure that the equipment which was installed in schools and various community centres are in working condition and being maintained.

A Business Unit has

Minister of Public Telecommunications Cathy Hughes

been developed under the ICT hubs projects, that allows persons identified for training – the ICT person that is creating apps - to be connected in such a manner that they can access and receive funding to develop their businesses and offer their services to the public. “We are not just saying to the young people moving ahead with this programme that we are going to give you the skills and leave you there. We are giving you guidance on the avenues you can get into from a business level,” Minister Hughes explained.

There will also be a National Broadband Programme, which will see much work being conducted in the field of public security. Minister Hughes said they are currently awaiting approval of a loan from the China Exim Bank for this project. Some $2.3B of 2018’s National Budget

was allocated for this venture.

Minister Hughes highlighted that the public security project contains a “safe city component which provides more cameras to the city. It provides also technology that will have a direct positive impact on the way the police force operates”. It was explained that venture will seek to have internet connectivity in police vehicles which will increase response time, and enable police officers to be more efficient in their overall duties. “By the end of 2019, the whole security landscape will change for the better because we are using technology, even more, to close in the crime gap,” Minister Hughes noted.

Approximately $4.696B has been approved for the development of Guyana’s telecommunication sector this year.

12 news Fire destroys Schoonord house, over $10M in losses wednesDAY, january 10, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Amerindian Hostel at Suddie in deplorable condition …maternity patients complain

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regnant mothers who used the Amerindian Hostel at Suddie in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) have complained about the deplorable conditions at the facility.

They have raised their concerns with the media, stating that the building needed a thorough cleaning and the toilet facilities needed fixing.

The mothers who journey especially from the Pomeroon and Region One areas said the hostel served as a second home for them owing to their geographical locations. They, however, said most of the time when they stay, they were not

comfortable.

“We are not comfortable, but we don’t have a choice; we Amerindians have to travel from far, and we cannot afford hotels…, “ a pregnant mother related.

The mothers said that the services provided by staff who work at the hostel was okay, but the facility itself was losing its ambience. They said they had raised concerns also with several medical officials at the Suddie Hospital, but nothing has been done. One mother reported that she was told years ago that the hostel would be repaired, but to date, she visited and the condition remained the

same.

“When we are close to our date, we usually come and stay, so we have medical services within our reach; it’s a good initiative but the standard needs to improve,” another mother related.

When contacted, Chairman of the Health and Sanitation Committee, Arnold Adams acknowledged that during the committee’s last meeting, the issue was raised by a Medex.

He said he would be making the necessary request to the Region Two Regional Democratic Council (RDC) to have the building rehabilitated. (Indra Natram)

UG, UWI collaborating to preserve Arawak language

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A section of the house

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Schoonord, West Bank Demerara house was on Tuesday afternoon gutted by fire, leaving over $10 million in losses. The fire, reportedly of unknown origin, started in the top flat of the two-storey concrete house at around 13:45h.

According to reports, the owner of the Lot 469 Schoonord house, Angela

One of the destroyed bedrooms in the house

Car, was making her way home when she noticed thick smoke emanating from her property.

The woman immediately sounded an alarm alerting villagers of the fire. As such, a bucket brigade was formed and the fire service was called.

However, by the time the fire service arrived at the scene, the property was al-

most completely destroyed.

Car related to Guyana Times that most of her furniture from the house was completely burned. She cried as she estimated her losses to be over $10 million, revealing that the origin of the fire is yet to be determined.

The Police Force, however, has launched an investigation into the incident.

omorrow (Thursday) will mark the beginning of a language revitalisation project in the Arawak community of Wakapoa.

This is according to the University of Guyana (UG), which said the University of the West Indies (UWI) International Centre for Caribbean Language Research (ICCLR) has agreed to send a language expert to revitalise and revive the use of the Lokono language which is dying out.

Explaining the developments that lead to this point, the UG in a statement said for some time now, observers both inside and outside the community have noted that the only people who can and do speak Lokono, the traditional language of the community, are the elderly.

As such, the Toshao and Council of Wakapoa, in order to reverse this situation, approached the Guyana Languages Unit, an informal working group at The University of Guyana (UG), for help.

The working group in turn made contact with the International Centre for Caribbean Language Research (ICCLR), at The University of the West Indies and the ICCLR agreed to fund a 10-day visit to Wakapoa by Lokono language scholar, Daidrah Smith.

According to the University, “Ms Smith is scheduled to carry out activities, with full support from UG’s Learning Resource Centre, that include documenting the language in everyday use through demonstrations of traditional skills, arts and crafts narrated and

explained using Lokono.”

Additionally, “she will be working with the community to decide on the final details of an orthography (writing system) they find most acceptable for the language, and will finalise plans to spread the use of Lokono in everyday speech among the young people and children of the community,” said University of Guyana stated.

She is also expected to participate in a major community activity on Monday, January 15, to complete a programme of activities to revitalise and revive the use of the Lokono language in Arawak communities, such as Wakapoa.

Students and lecturers from the UG and the UWI are expected to be on hand to witness and participate in the January 15 exercise.

SBB trained 110 retrenched sugar workers Cancer Institute offers...

– extends training to their families

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he Small Business Bureau (SBB) has partnered with the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) to offer business development support to retrenched sugar workers.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the SBB, Dr Lowell Porter, said the Bureau recently completed training of 110 retrenched workers and their family members from the Wales and East Demerara Estates.

According to the Department of Public Information, training was provided in skillsets such as sewing, cookery, leather craft and fabric design.

Dr Porter disclosed that GuySuCo will hire some of the recent trainees to work in the remaining factories and estates.

The SBB’s partnership with GuySuCo is intended to achieve the economic resilience component of the Corporation’s alternative livelihood programme that was developed for the retrenched workers.

Small Business Bureau CEO, Dr Lowell Porter

The SBB is committed to ensuring that workers and families that benefit from training are properly established, Dr Porter noted.

“We will, through GuySuCo or with GuySuCo, go back into the community to find out what they are doing and exactly what they are doing and what needs they have.”

The SBB has also offered to provide training in areas such as business startup, recordkeeping and oth-

er technical skills, such as assisting with access to financing. Dr Porter notes that this offer also extends to the families of retrenched workers.

“We understand that maybe not those people that are being retrenched might be the ones coming to the training or interested or maybe even capable of even doing it but we’ve extended that to the families because we believe that it’s the families, it’s the communities, the households that need help.”

Meanwhile, the Small Business Bureau will fund another round of training for the retrenched workers later this month. “Through Critchlow Labour College, GITC, where they are going to be trained in carpentry and masonry,” Dr Porter explained.

The alternative livelihood programme is aimed at securing the employment of workers as estates are being amalgamated and closed.

Stop self-treating

Dr Ghazi used the opportunity to warn against relying on herbal medicine to cure various forms of cancer. He added that he has nothing against the herbal treatments along with spiritual approaches, but noted that relatives should not advise patients to abandon the conventional medication and treatment.

“When they come to us after six months or five months, they are at a higher stage where they cannot come back and we see it every year. Every year, I lose three or four women. I am telling you, last year I lost three of my breast cancer patients because they were distracted from the treatment,” Dr Ghazi noted.

He said that millions of dollars have been spent on research and development of the conventional treatments and urged patients to ignore those who warn them that chemotherapy and radiation therapy would kill or burn them.

“I beg people, I request of people if you want to advise somebody, advise them you can use them together with the treatment. You can add it but for God’s sake don’t tell people don’t do the treatment,” he

added.

Brachytherapy treatment

The Cancer Institute has since boosted its cervical treatment services with the procurement of a Brachytherapy machine aimed at significantly reducing the instances of remission. The machine was procured almost five months ago and has been operating with favourable responses ever since.

The treatment of cervical cancer comes in three stages and includes chemotherapy, external radiation and internal radiation.

The Cancer Institute’s Medical Director, Dr Chakraborthy, said that with the acquisition of the Brachytherapy machine, Guyana was now on par with international treatment specifications. He noted that the machine was not only for the treatment of cervical cancer, but can be used for a variety of other cancers’ treatment, adding that the primary focus for now was the treatment of cervical cancer.

“With this particular new machine we can pinpoint our treatment to the tumour and the tumour alone provid-

From page 9

ing safety to the surrounding structures. We have introduced this; we have rolled it off and we have started the treatment,” he said.

Brachytherapy or internal radiation is the final part of cervical treatment. The Brachytherapy machine is fully computerised.

Dr Chakraborthy added that since the installation of the machine, they have conducted over 50 applications on over 22 patients and were seeing favourable results.

“I did a study from March 2013 to March 2015 on 100 patients of cancer where we did not have the Brachytherapy procedure, but the other modalities and unfortunately, we found that about 35 per cent of the patients came back with the cancer even after having the complete treatment with the other modalities,” he noted.

Dr Chakraborthy said that this number should decrease with the new treatment method.

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women, and is caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV).

If detected early, it can be treated and completely eliminated.

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wednesDAY, january 10, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

New hinterland student dormitory to be completed by June

Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Ministry Civil Engineer Trilloyd Allen

Peoples’ Affairs Ministry, explained that the project is approximately 40 per cent completed, and the estimated work on the building is currently at about $55 million. The materials on site to cater for the roof and the flooring bring the amount to some $80 million expended on the project to date.

“The signing of the contract was actually done on May 3, and so, the project is expected to be completed by June 30,” Allen was quoted as saying by the Department of Public Information.

Once completed, the fa-

Kalyan Tiwari of Kalitech Inc and the contractor at the construction site of the hinterland student dormitory at Liliendaal

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ome 120 hinterland students pursuing tertiary education on the coast will be housed in a spanking new dormitory facility for the September school term. The facility is being constructed in the same geographic space as the Hinterland Student Dormitory at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, at the cost of $183 million.

Trilloyd Allen, Civil Engineer, Indigenous

A section of the road to be constructed

“Rambo” jailed for killing female taxi driver …admits to raping, torturing victim before strangling her

Self-confessed killer, Sylvester Bristol

Murdered Soesdyke taxi driver, Savitri Parma

Nearly four years after committing a heinous rape and murder of a female taxi driver, Sylvester Bristol also called “Rambo”, was sentenced to serve 16 years imprisonment following his admission that he killed 31-year-old Savitri Parma between February 15-16, 2014, at Yarrowkabra along the Linden/Soesdyke Highway.

Bristol was handed his sentence by Justice Navindra Singh on Tuesday afternoon after he pleaded to the lesser count of manslaughter at the Demerara High Court. Presenting the evidence detailing the death of the 31-year-old mother of two was State Prosecutor

Tiffini Lyken who told the court that Parma was raped, killed and tortured with a piece of bamboo that was discovered inserted in the woman’s vagina. Her uterus was also ruptured as a result of the heinous act.

The court also heard that the murdered Soesdyke taxi driver’s son was only a few feet away in the car. The Prosecutor further highlighted that after Bristol had dragged the woman to the bushes and committed the heinous act, he fled the scene. He was later found with the woman’s gold ring.

Additionally, he only had one side of his footwear and subsequently confessed to his crime after he was

grilled by Police.

Bristol, who was a heavy machine operator, was said to have led Police to the site where he put the lace that he used to strangle the woman to death. The post-mortem examination gave Parma’s cause of death as strangulation.

Represented by Attorney George Thomas, the accused on the verge of tears begged for the court’s mercy and told Justice Singh that he wasn’t in his right senses and could not remember what happened on that night.

Justice Singh before handing down the 16-year sentence took into consideration that the accused did not waste the court’s time and he accepted what he did was wrong. The judge ordered the prison service to deduct the time that Bristol spent on remand.

Relatives of the deceased were however displeased with the years allotted, to Bristol, as almost four years would be deducted from the court’s sentence. They noted that the woman’s sons, especially the one who was present when the woman was murdered, are still affected by the cruel death of their mother. (Shemuel Fanfair)

cility will include 16 apartments, each housing six students. The apartments will contain a kitchenette, toilet and bath area and also a study area, while the dormitory itself will also have a cooking area, a library, and a playroom.

The facility caters for those students pursuing an education at the University of Guyana (UG), the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE), the Government Technical Institute (GTI) and Carnegie School of

A section of the hinterland student dormitory at Liliendaal under construction Home Economics.

Currently, the Ministry has a hinterland dorm facility to house secondary aged students. Allen explained that a fence will be constructed to separate the two buildings, to avoid intermingling between the tertiary and secondary students.

Additionally, a road leading directly to the new facility will be constructed to avoid students having to pass through the current construction site. Permission was already been granted

by the Guyana Lands and Survey to have the road built.

The project is a rollover one from the Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Ministry’s 2017 Budget. This year, some $90 million was allocated for its completion. The contractor for the project is BK International and is being supervised by Kalitech Inc, a consultancy firm.

In recent years, an estimated 600 students have benefited from hinterland scholarships to attend tertiary institutions on the coast.

Stranded Indonesians

Local company agrees to pay for return trip …following meeting with Embassy officials

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he 26 Indonesian men stranded in Guyana can now breathe a sigh of relief after the fishing company that brought them here agreed to pay for them to return home.

Seventeen months ago, the men were brought to Guyana to work with a popular fishing establishment, but they walked off the job after raising objections to their remuneration package.

It was initially reported that the men were relieved of their duties, but Guyana Times was later informed that the men walked off the job after not reaching an agreement with their employer.

The men reported that they were offered US$400 (5,367,200 Indonesian Rupiah) per month to come and work with the popular fishing establishment, but when they received their salaries, they did not translate into the promised amount. They objected to this, but got no satisfaction and have been seeking refuge at the Providence Sunnatul Masjid ever since.

When this publication reached out to the company,

Some of the stranded fishermen

via telephone on Monday, the representatives refused to give information relating to the incident and subsequently disconnected the call.

Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has since said that it was yet to receive an official report on the incident and distanced itself from it.

The male members at the mosque made contact with the Indonesian Embassy in neighbouring Suriname, and a representative travelled to Guyana on Monday and met with the management of the fishing establishment. However, a source close to the incident revealed that the manage-

ment was initially reluctant to bear the cost for the men to travel home, since the men allegedly breached their contracts when they left.

Additionally, the source stated that the men accused their manager of frustrating their contracts since they were not properly remunerated, and their living conditions were far from what was agreed.

For now, the men continue to seek refuge at the mosque while their former employer works out the logistics to get them back to Indonesia. They are expected to begin leaving over the weekend.

Pensioner trailed from bank, robbed of over half million

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pensioner was on Tuesday afternoon attacked by a lone gunman and robbed of over half a million dollars after

leaving a bank in the city.

Seventy-four-year-old Whitfield Wright of Festival City, North Ruimveldt, was attacked around 13:45h.

According to reports, Wright had just left the bank after he withdrew some $527,000. He left the bank and proceeded to his

Festival City home and was reportedly followed into his yard by a man who rode up on a motorcycle.

The gunman then pro-

ceeded into Wright’s home and held him at gunpoint, relieving him of the money which he had placed in a yellow envelope.

The perpetrator then made good his escape. The matter was reported and an investigation was launched.

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wednesDAY, january 10, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

UK advisor’s recommendations not being implemented – SOCU overwhelmed with over 300 cases

By Jarryl Bryan

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ith questions raised about the Special Organised Crime Unit’s (SOCU) effectiveness in bringing successful cases against those it is pursuing, British white-collar crime expert Sam Sittlington has revealed that SOCU is inundated with forensic audits.

Despite this, however, some of his proposals to lighten the workload are not being implemented.

Sittlington made this revelation during a press conference hosted by the British High Commissioner, Gregory Quinn, on Tuesday, officially announcing his return. The Advisor, who had worked with SOCU last year in a similar capacity, lamented that recommendations like hiring in-house legal counsel for SOCU and special prosecutors to assist the Police Legal Advisor (PLA) are languishing in much the same way as some of the cases he left.

“I do not make decisions on behalf of SOCU,” Sittlington related. “(But) there’s a number of recommendations I made last year, which although approved, have not yet been implemented. The five special prosecutors that we have also have private practices so they are conflicted between two different areas.”

“Ideally, we want one good lawyer in SOCU who can work with the cases … they can finalise a case before it goes to PLA (Police Legal Advisor) or DPP [Director of Public Prosecution] to try to quicken that actual process of getting that case to court,” Sittlington noted.

The Advisor also noted that conflict sometimes arises between the PLA, the

UK High Commissioner Greg Quinn (left) and white-collar crime expert Sam Sittlington

DPP and the special prosecutors. At the end of it all, Sittlington acknowledged that undue delays were unfair to those being investigated from a human rights perspective.

He noted that he could meet with these individuals and institutions, in order to mediate a way forward. Asked point blank whether PLA, Justice Claudette Singh, was being reluctant in pursuing cases, Sittlington expressed disagreement.

Sittlington pointed out that with only four forensic audits resulting in court charges, SOCU presently has to deal with 26 forensic audits that could result in over 300 cases. Of these, he said, an estimated $170 billion could be at stake. In addition, Sittlington revealed that SOCU is handling a number of referrals from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

Ramifications

Quinn, who accompanied

Sittlington during the press conference, explained the ramifications for Guyana seeming soft on money laundering cases. According to Quinn, the United Kingdom while providing assistance to the Government could not do everything.

“All we can do here is providing guidance, mentoring to a fundamental part of Guyana’s ability to be anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism,” Quinn explained, noting that this is something everyone should be concerned about.

“Because if Guyana is not seen to be addressing (money laundering), that has (a) potentially significant broader impact to Guyana’s standings globally, not just in the financial market, but also as to how other countries around the world see Guyana,” Quinn related.

In a previous interview with Guyana Times in September of last year, SOCU head, Assistant Commissioner of Police

Sydney James, had made mention of cases being delayed. He had revealed that since being handed over 20 forensic audit reports, the Unit had managed to complete investigations into three of these matters.

Those matters were their investigations into Pradoville 2, the National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL) and the Commonwealth Reports for which former Attorney General Anil Nandlall was charged.

James had noted that SOCU’s other investigations were still a work in progress. He had revealed that in some cases they were awaiting legal advice. Pressed on the delay, James questioned whether he had the authority to find out reasons for the delay from the Police Force’s Legal Advisor.

Following Sittlington’s initial appointment last year, SOCU in a bold move had arrested and questioned a number of top officials from the previous Government.

These arrests were in connection to property purchased at the Sparendaam seawall area on the East Coast that is commonly known as “Pradoville 2”.

While the current Administration contends that the transaction is a criminal act because of the belief that the land was sold below market value, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) had argued that subsidized housing has always been a part of the legacy of the People’s Progressive Party, and that countless Guyanese have benefited from lands sold below market value. No further action was ever pursued against these former officials and the arrests prompted resounding cries of ‘witch-hunting’.

Former soldier denies murdering ex-boyfriend’s mother

Murdered Agricola housewife, Donna Taylor

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12-member jury was empanelled before Justice James BovellDrakes at the opening of the Demerara Criminal Assizes on Tuesday to hear the case of Abiola Jacobs, who denied that she killed her estranged boyfriend’s mother, Donna Taylor, over the differences she had with the woman’s

son.

Jacobs, who was a Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Private at the time of the woman’s demise, entered a not guilty plea when the murder indictment was presented by State Prosecutors Lisa Cave and Mandell Moore.

According to reports, the then 55-year-old Taylor, a housewife, was attacked on January 31, 2014 while in bed after 23:00h. Her throat was slit after she was dragged to the back of the Agricola, East Bank Demerara flat that she rented. Her hands were also bound, and she was found by a neighbour lying in a motionless state.

Taylor’s overseas-based friend, who was staying in the upper flat, Samantha Sabatt was injured after she jumped from the window of the two-storey house when persons invaded the Lot 16-17 Agricola proper-

Abiola Jacobs being escorted by prison officers at the High Court on Tuesday

ty. Taylor’s cause of death was given as shock and haemorrhage due to incised wounds compounded with blunt trauma to head.

Jacobs, of 55 Evans Phillips Park, Agricola, was arrested

by Police just days after the woman’s attack and was subsequently charged with her murder.

At the opening of the trial, Taylor’s son, Bertum

Taylor Junior, testified to the relationship he shared with Jacobs and to the events that led up to his mother’s demise.

His testimony will conclude before Justice Bovell-Drakes today.

About 14 witnesses are expected to testify during the trial. The accused woman is being represented by defence counsel Adrian Thompson.

Chancellor’s selection

AG claims Benjamin was recommended for appointment

Guyanese-born Belize Chief Justice, Kenneth Benjamin

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espite reports that Justice Kenneth Benjamin was not the favoured candidate for the position of Chancellor of the Judiciary, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams maintains that he was the ideal candidate selected by a review committee and recommended by President David Granger.

Williams, on Monday, fended off questions from the media about the circumstances which led to the selection of Justice Benjamin for appointment as Guyana’s next Chancellor. In fact, the Attorney General said he was not part of the committee but was only informed of the selection.

“I think the President had set out a process, a transparent process and he had appointed three exceptional luminaries and they would have dealt with that process,” Williams explained.

However, there are reports that the former Guyana Defence Force Judge Advocate was not the top choice for the post, but somehow ended up being selected as the next candidate for the position.

Pressed to state whether Benjamin was not the favoured candidate by the review committee, the Attorney General took offence by the media’s consistent questions. He said, “I am telling you that that process was conducted by a panel… I know the person identified was Justice Kennett Benjamin.”

Sections of the media have reported that Benjamin was not ranked number one by the panel based on a points system that was used to shortlist the candidates.

This system focused on experience, legal knowledge, management skills, suitability and approach to legal problem solving, among others.

The Belize Bar Association had threatened to take steps for Justice Benjamin to be removed from office if he had failed to submit a large number of written decisions. But yet again Williams also brushed

aside concerns about Justice Benjamin’s challenges in reducing the backlog of his written decisions.

“There is no jurisdiction, certainly not Guyana, which is not beset by these issues of backlog of cases,” Williams said in Benjamin’s defence, noting that Guyana is yet to conclude more than 10,000 cases.

Following a meeting with President Granger on January 3, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo asked for time to conduct background checks on Benjamin, before his team meets again with the President to consider the appointment of Chancellor on February 7.

Sources close to the Opposition Leader have indicated that he is still conducting his due-diligence on the background of the President’s nominee and may be seeking further clarification on a number of matters.

Granger had told a media conference that he already contacted the recommended individual who later accepted the nomination. Diligent work by the media revealed that the person the President favoured was Justice Benjamin, who currently serves as the Chief Justice of Belize.

Jagdeo has already warned that even though the President has to make the first move to resolve the decade-long failure to appoint a substantive Chancellor and Chief Justice, he would not allow himself to be coerced into accepting nominees just to fix the situation.

President Granger is now awaiting the Jagdeo’s approval for the appointment of Justice Benjamin.

Article 127 (1) of the Constitution speaks to the appointment of the Chancellor and Chief Justice. It states that both the Chancellor and Chief Justice shall be appointed by the President, acting after obtaining the agreement of the Leader of the Opposition.

Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) President, Sir Dennis Byron, speaking at a Guyana Bar Association event, had severely criticised the non-appointment of a substantive Chief Justice and Chancellor.

Sir Dennis noted too that no substantive Chancellor has been appointed since Justice Desiree Bernard, Guyana’s first female Chancellor, demitted office and was appointed as the first female Judge of the CCJ. The acting Chancellor is Yonette CummingsEdwards who has applied for the post of Chief Justice.

Acting Chief Justice Roxane George has not applied for any of the two posts.

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wednesDAY, january 10, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Ramsammy’s Ruminations Guyana Goldfields production surges APNU/AFC broke its promise to sugar workers, gives them a bowl of tears

– as company records best quarter to date this strong performance into 2018 by delivering an improved mine plan that reduces overall capital and operating costs and further improves cash flows.”

The Aurora mines are the biggest in Guyana, with the company’s presence here helping to push gold declarations to a record 700,000 ounces for the last two years.

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he A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) has deliberately, recklessly and wickedly targeted sugar workers in their plan to consolidate their dictatorship in Guyana.

Dr Leslie Ramsammy Sugar workers and sugar communities are being transformed into desolate, depressed, impoverished communities. Already two suicide deaths have occurred among terminated sugar workers. Ralph Ramkarran has warned of the consequences of crime and underdevelopment in these communities. Elders of the Working People's Alliance, such as Eusi Kwayana, Moses Bhagwan and Andaiye, have stood up and spoken out against the callousness of this Government. President Granger's talk of social cohesion is hypocrisy and unholy political gymnastics as sugar workers and their families are denied the right to "fit and proper" living. We must all stand up and speak out. Silence is acquiescence.

The latest betrayal is APNU/AFC's promise of paying sugar workers their severance payments in January 2018, an obligation under the laws of Guyana. This appears to be an empty promise.

Only a cynic, a hypocrite or a fool would argue that APNU/AFC does not suffer from a pathological allergy to the truth. In fact, three things can be expected on a daily basis – another example of lying, another example of corruption, another broken promise. Sugar workers have borne a disproportionate share of APNU/ AFC's lies, corruption and broken promises. A couple of weeks ago, I cautioned that the Agriculture Minister has an aversion to the truth whenever he addresses issues concerning sugar workers. At the time, he was promising that the more than 4000 sugar workers who received termination letters from the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) would be paid their severance in January. We assumed he was talking about payments being made in January 2018.

Now, shamelessly, the Agriculture Minister ominously admits the Finance Minister is trying desperately to "scrape up" the required funds to affect the payment to sugar workers. Budget 2018 had not yet been passed when APNU/AFC approved the termination of the sugar workers. In fact, long before they had begun the preparation of Budget 2018, they had already announced the closure of Rose Hall, Skeldon and Enmore. One would have thought they would have made provisions to pay the workers. Incidentally, many of the sugar workers from Wales who were terminated since 2016 have not been paid their severance. Neither the workers nor I believe that APNU/AFC will keep their promise of paying severance this month. Everyone in the APNU/AFC machinery now concedes, as I had warned a couple of weeks ago, that Budget 2018 did not cater for severance payment for sugar workers.

The expected broken severance payment promise to the sugar workers will be another knife in the back of sugar workers. APNU/AFC and their cloying sycophants will argue that we are still in January, but if there were any intention to make the payments, they would already know where the money is. GuySuCo has stated it has no money to pay and they cannot say when and if the workers will be paid. The fact that APNU/AFC now says they are "scraping" to find the money is a giveaway that they have every intention to break their promise to the sugar workers. There is US$18 million sitting in the secret Bank of Guyana account. "Scrape" it from there.

No right-thinking Guyanese would be shocked by another broken promise to sugar workers. They promised they would not close any sugar estate – they broke that promise. They promised sugar workers a 20 per cent increase – in fact, they have frozen wages at the 2014 level, with zero increase in 2015, 2016, 2017. They promised better management – we have had the worse annual production in the last 100 years. The next lie will drop later in the year – closure of Uitvlugt. In all of this, the self-proclaimed "champions" of the sugar workers – Moses Nagamootoo and Khemraj Ramjattan – are silent.

vised guidance of 140,000 to 160,000 ounces.

Since the start of production in August 2015, the company said it has paid US$26.5 million in royalties to the State and purchased US$84.1 million in goods and services from local businesses. It says it has also spent US$197,000 on community projects and do-

Guyana Goldfields Inc President and CEO Scott A Caldwell

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anadian-owned Guyana Goldfields Inc has announced a record-breaking performance for 2017, with a production of 160,500 ounces at its Aurora Gold mine, which means the company has achieved the lower end of its production target for the year.

The company also had a record fourth quarter with respect to ore tonnes mined, tonnes milled and gold produced. Gold recovery also continued to trend favourably, with gold recovery for the month of December of 92.6 per cent representing the highest monthly recovery in the company’s history.

According to a report, the Goldfields Inc plans to release the 2017 operational and financial results before market on Friday, February 23, 2018. During that same day, the results and details of its performance will be

discussed among partners and interested groups.

President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, Scott A Caldwell has said that the fourth quarter was the strongest quarter for gold production in the company’s history, despite undergoing four scheduled down days in November 2017 for a mill liner change.

“The operational improvements and capital investments made throughout the year in the mining fleet, bulk emulsion delivery system, and logistics haulage fleet are yielding operational efficiencies which are expected to translate to lower unit costs in the fourth quarter,” he added.

To date, Aurora has proven to be strong, with high grade asset and exceptional cash flow generation, Caldwell said. “We look forward to continuing

The Aurora mine in Mazaruni Guyana where Guyana Goldfields operates

The CEO said the company was well-positioned financially to grow near-term production and significantly increase exploration efforts, with an unaudited cash balance of approximately US$75 million at the end of the year versus a total debt balance of US$60 million.

The company plans to issue an updated mine plan, along with 2018 production and cost guidance and an updated reserves and resources statement later in the first quarter of this year.

The Aurora mines achieved commercial production in January 1, 2016 which saw output of 151,600 ounces of gold, in line with the company’s upwardly re-

nations to Guyanese organisations.

During October 2017, the Natural Resources Ministry said it was moving ahead to achieve its projected target of 700,000 ounces of gold declared for the year 2017, reporting a 475,202 gold declaration thus far. The National Budget had set a target of 694,000 ounces, but the Ministry was aiming for 700,000 ounces.

In 2016, gold declarations surpassed 700,000 ounces, with a production of 705,820 ounces of gold. All miners were lauded for the record-breaking declaration for 2016 and were asked to recommit to breaking records again in 2017.

Housewife commits suicide at Golden Fleece

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56-year-old housewife from Lot 8 Golden Fleece Public Road on the Essequibo Coast in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) reportedly committed suicide on Tuesday after suffering from prolonged mental illness. Dead is Dewantie Rampersaud

whose body was discovered by her husband around noon on Tuesday hanging from a rafter in one of their bedrooms.

Information received indicates the deceased was living with her husband and two grandchildren in a wooden and concrete house.

The deceased husband, Doroop Rampersaud, said he last saw his wife alive around 09:00h on Tuesday morning.

After the shocking discovery was made, an alarm was raised and the Police was summoned. There was no mark of violence on the

deceased body. The body was taken to the Suddie Public Hospital where doctors pronounced her dead after which her body was transported to the Suddie Funeral Home where it awaits a post-mortem examination.

Woman admits killing push cart vendor over $1000 …sentenced to more than 12 years in jail

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wenty-seven-year-old Vanessa Baird was handed a 12-and-ahalf-year prison sentence on Tuesday after she admitted to killing 43-year-old push cart vendor Percival Williams, on December 21, 2013 over $1000 at the Parika Stelling, East Bank Essequibo.

Represented by Defence Counsel, Mark Conway, the mother of one, in tears, asked the court to be lenient with her so that she can return to care for her seven-year-old child.

According to the State’s case which was presented by Prosecutors Abigail Gibbs, Natasha Backer and Tiffini Lyken, Williams was given $1000 by his would-be killer to purchase Chinese food for her and her son. At some point however, she asked Williams, a former Hague, West Coast Demerara resident for the money that she gave him and the two exchanged expletives after he did not comply.

Baird held onto Williams’ jersey and a scuffle ensued and she then stabbed him in the lower chest area. The prosecution further relayed that the accused in her caution statement admitted that she had taken the knife from another person and committed the act.

Williams immediately fell to the ground and was pronounced dead at the Leonora Cottage Hospital. His post-mortem examination showed that he died from perforation of the lung

and heart due to stabbing. Reports back then were that Williams had converted the money to his own use.

In making pleas of mitigation, Baird’s attorney observed that at the time of the incident, the woman was encountering financial difficulties being a single parent. Conway highlighted that his client has reflected on her actions and has improved her ability to have self-control. The court also heard that the woman now attends church services, sewing and drama classes whilst being incarcerated.

Presiding Judge Navindra Singh, noted that it did not make sense to kill Baird in the manner which he lost his life. He encouraged her to seek out anger management classes as she continues the rehabilitation process. Baird’s time spent on remand awaiting trial will be deducted from her overall sentence.

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wednesDAY, january 10, 2018

Regional

States urged to address T&T’s 4th President dies Caricom climate change to prevent total

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ormer President George Maxwell Richards died last night around 19:43h at the WestShore Medical Private Hospital from a heart attack.

A source close to the family said that Richards, who served as the country’s fourth President from 2003 to 2013, was not feeling well around noon following which his wife Jean and daughter Maxine took him to the hospital in Cocorite for medical attention.

There, doctors discovered that Richards, 86, had an unusual heartbeat. Doctors advised that he installed a pacemaker to regulate his heartbeat. Before his passing, Richards was very responsive and in high spirits, the source said.

On Maxine Richards’ Facebook page last night, she posted a picture of herself and her father stating: “Rest in peace daddy, I can’t believe you are gone.”

Scores of people took to social media last night to express shock on his sudden passing and to extend condolences to bereaved family.

Richards was an avid mas player who loved Carnival with a passion.

annihilation of economies

M

ember states of the Caribbean C o m m u n i t y (Caricom) have been urged to tackle climate change with courage and realism to prevent total annihilation of their economies.

The plea was made by Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) foreign affairs spokesperson, Lisa Hanna, as she addressed patrons at the 18th annual New Year’s Gala hosted by former St Kitts Prime Minister, Dr Denzil L Douglas.

According to Hanna, climate change “is real and po-

Flashback March 17, 2013. Former President George Maxwell Richards inspects the parade during the Demission Ceremony for the outgoing Head of State at the Queen’s Park Savannah, in front of Knowsley Building, Port of Spain

Several times Richards’ family had to debunk reports on social media that Richards had passed away in 2016.

His’ death came hours after the Opposition threw

their support behind the PNM’s presidential nominee Paula-Mae Weekes as the country’s sixth and first female President. (Excerpt from Trinidad

Guardian)

St Kitts Nevis receives support from Qatar for hurricane recovery efforts

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t Kitts and Nevis’ post-hurricane recovery efforts have been boosted with a donation of US$300,000 from the Government of the State of Qatar.

The money was presented by Non-Resident Ambassador of the State of Qatar to St Kitts Nevis, Khamis Al-Sahouti during

a courtesy call with Prime Minister, DrTimothy Harris.

In September of 2017, the Federation was significantly impacted by the passing of two dangerous category five hurricanes – Irma and Maria.

As a result the Federation suffered significant damages to key public infrastructure,

including schools and police stations as well the agricultural sector over US$150 million.

The Prime Minister expressed gratitude to the Government and people of Qatar for the contribution which he said will undoubtedly assist in alleviating the effects of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. (Antigua Observer)

tentially destructive and a destructive issue for all who call the Caribbean home.”

“Climate change has serious implications for small island developing states in Caricom and must be tackled with courage and realism. All of us could face a total annihilation of our economies if we do not tackle this fight,” she said.

She referred to the extensive work that the former prime minister and his St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party administration did to protect the coastlines in St Kitts and Nevis when she

chaired UNESCO “the resolutions that were moved at the UNSECO by the ambassador for St Kitts and Nevis on climate change on Small Island Developing States looking at climate change.

We supported it and we must not stop supporting these kinds of issues.”

“It says he who feels it knows it and rain do not fall on one man house. Jamaica felt the back to back recent category five hurricanes and this is now a reality for this region,” she said. (Excerpt from

Jamaica Observer)

Grenada PM is ‘okay’ amidst stroke rumours

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midst grave concerns that the Prime Minister of Grenada, Dr Keith Mitchell, had a debilitating stroke over the last week, according to updated local reports he is fine and well, and it was in fact a false rumour.

The speculation surrounding Mitchell’s health sprung up after comments were made on a Grenada television show, accusing Opposition members of spreading the rumour of the stroke.

Caribbean News Now spoke to several people and officials on the ground, journalists, Government and Opposition members, about the matter who all confirmed that it was indeed a false story and “mischief” making.

Prime Minister of Grenada, Dr Keith Mitchell

Grenada is set to have elections by no later than June 25, 2018, when the constitutionally mandated period of five years of the current parliament is up.

However, Mitchell, as the incumbent Prime Minister,

has the authority to call elections at any time before that final date. While no specific date has yet been set for the 2018 general elections, the Opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) said it has been reliably informed that Barbadian pollster Peter Wickham has agents currently in Grenada, going door to door, asking political questions for a poll.

Mitchell, who is 71 years old, is set to run again as leader of the New National Party (NNP). He first served as Prime Minister of Grenada from 1995 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 2008 to 2013 and then again as Prime Minister from February 2013, when his party won all 15 seats in the lower house. (Excerpt from

Caribbean News Now)

US Havana embassy: Ecuador says exploring mediation to solve Assange standoff New inquiry into Cuba staff sickness F

S

ecretary of State Rex Tillerson has ordered a new inquiry into health problems suffered by diplomats serving at the US embassy in the Cuban capital Havana.

President Donald Trump has previously blamed the Cuban government for the mystery illnesses. Reports suggest sonic attacks were to blame but nothing has been proven.

Cuba says there have been no sonic attacks against US embassy staff in Havana.

It describes the allegations as a “political manipulation” aimed at damaging bilateral relations. Over a period of 18 months, 24 Americans including diplomats and family members suffered a range of symptoms including hearing loss, dizziness, fatigue, cognitive issues and sleep loss.

The problems were so prevalent the US decided to pull out most of its staff in the autumn, leaving just a skeleton operation. America expelled 15 Cuban diplomats, saying that Havana had failed to protect its employees, but Cuba said the move was “unjustified”.

The US Government also suspended visa processing in Cuba indefinitely.

So far, investigators have been unable to pinpoint the cause of the illnesses.

BBC Washington correspondent Gary O’Donoghue says this fresh inquiry – on top of investigations being conducted by agencies such as the FBI – is likely to strain relations even more following President Trump’s decision to back away from the policy of rapprochement begun by his predecessor.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

ormer leftist President Rafael Correa, who had said Assange was a “journalist,” granted him asylum in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over rape allegations.

The Andean country’s new government, however, has said it is concerned

over Assange’s “complicated” situation. President Lenin Moreno has described Assange as a “hacker,” while stressing he would not be kicked out of the embassy.

“We’re considering, exploring the possibility of a mediation,” Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa

told foreign reporters on Tuesday, adding that a third country or person could lead a potential mediation.

“No solution can be reached without international cooperation and without cooperation from the United Kingdom, which in addition has shown interest in finding

a solution.”

Further details were not immediately available. In May, Sweden dropped the investigation into rape allegations that led Assange to seek asylum in the embassy in 2012, but British police said he would still be arrested if he left the building. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Funeral held for 5 J’cans killed in NYC fire

W

ails of grief rang out at a funeral Monday for five family members who were killed in a Bronx apartment building fire, the city’s deadliest fire since 1990.

The family members were among 13 people who died in the December 28 fire, which officials said was caused by a three-year-old boy playing with stove burners.

The service was held at a Manhattan funeral home for Holt Francis; his wife, Karen Stewart-Francis;

Wails of grief rang out at a funeral Monday for five family members who were killed in a Bronx apartment building fire, the city’s deadliest fire since 1990

their daughters, two-yearold Kylie and seven-year-old Kelesha; and their 19-yearold cousin, Shawntay Young.

They’re to be buried together in Jamaica. Mourners clung to each other as they passed

the open caskets. One woman cried out, “Why?” Another collapsed to the floor.

Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said a preschooler toying with the burners on his mother’s

stove accidentally sparked the fire – an inferno that quickly overtook the building and blocked the main escape route, racing through a door and up five floors. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

wednesDAY, january 10, 2018

guyanatimesgy.com

Around the World

Koreas agree military talks to defuse border tension

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orth and South Korea have agreed to hold military talks to defuse border tension, after their first high-level meeting in two years. The North will also send a delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympic Games taking place in South Korea in February.

Agreement was also reached to reinstate a military hotline suspended two years ago, the South’s government said. However, the North’s delegation was negative on the subject of denuclearisation, the South added.

The United States gave a cautious welcome to the meeting. The state depart-

17

ment said the US remained in close consultations with South Korean officials who would ensure the North’s participation in the Winter Olympics did not violate UN sanctions.

After a day of negotiations, the two sides issued a joint statement which confirmed they had agreed to hold military talks on defusing military tension.

The North also agreed to send a National Olympic Committee delegation, athletes, cheerleaders, art performers, spectators, a taekwondo demonstration team and media to the games, while the South would provide the necessary amenities and facilities.

North and South Korea had a warm meeting in the DMZ

The statement also referred to exchanges in other, unspecified areas and other high-level talks to improve relations, the South’s Yonhap news agency reports.

The South asked the

North to end any hostile acts that might raise tension, while the North agreed there was a need to guarantee a peaceful environment on the peninsula, a statement from the South’s government said. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Israeli Army raids villages after settler shot dead

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he Israeli Army has carried out raids in Palestinian villages near Nablus in the occupied West Bank, following the death of an Israeli settler who was shot in the area.

The shooting incident happened on Tuesday on the main road near the illegal Israeli settlement outpost of Havat Gilad, where the 35-year-old settler resided.

He later died of his wounds in a hospital near Tel Aviv, Israeli media reported.

Al Jazeera’s Harry Fawcett, reporting from Jerusalem, said the Israeli army had raided the Palestinian villages of Tell and Sarra in the northern

Nablus governorate.

Clashes were reported in Sarra, Fawcett reported, and Israeli settlers were seen throwing stones in the direction of Palestinian cars.

The Israeli army said on Twitter that troops were searching the Nablus area for the suspected shooter.

Established in 2002, the settlement outpost of Havat Gilad is considered illegal under both Israeli and international law.

Israeli settlements violate the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states that an occupying power cannot transfer its population into the territory it occupies. (Al Jazeera)

Grace Mugabe’s PhD investigated by East China Sea oil tanker burns for third Zimbabwe’s anti-corruption watchdog day as winds, high waves lash rescuers

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imbabwean anti-corruption investigators are probing whether former First Lady Grace Mugabe fraudulently obtained a doctorate that she apparently received within months, the dissertation for which remains unpublished.

Grace Mugabe, whose apparent desire to succeed her husband prompted the army takeover that eventually saw Robert Mugabe resign, was awarded a PhD by the University of Zimbabwe in 2014.

Critics argued at the time that Grace Mugabe had not actually studied or undertaken research to earn the doctorate and that she had been handed her diploma just months after enrolling. PhDs typically

Grace Mugabe completed her PhD just months after enrolling in 2014

require several years of fulltime research and writing.

Mnangagwa was sworn in as president days later and both Robert and Grace Mugabe have kept a low profile since their spectacular reversal of fortune.

During the height of the

upheaval, students at the University of Zimbabwe boycotted their end-of-term exams to call for Grace Mugabe to be stripped of her PhD and Robert Mugabe of the presidency.

Grace Mugabe was routinely accused of extravagant spending on luxury clothes and international travel, and of involvement in corrupt land deals. She showed her political mettle in 2014 with her ruthless campaign against then vice-president Joice Mujuru, who was a contender to succeed her husband.

A similar briefing campaign – conducted both publicly and behind the scenes – against Mnangagwa is widely seen as having led to her husband’s downfall.

(Excerpt from The Guardian)

5 dead amid California heavy rains and mudslides

From left: Firefighters successfully rescued a 14-year-old girl after she was trapped for hours inside her Montecito home. A search dog looks for victims in damaged homes after a mudslide and boulders the size of cars rolled down hills and slammed into roadways

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t least five people are dead amid mudslides in Southern California, where heavy rains triggered flooding and massive run-off, US media report. “Waist-deep” mudslides in areas scorched by wildfires last month shut down more than 30 miles (48km) of the main coastal highway, officials say.

Emergency crews are working to rescue multiple people trapped in vehicles and homes, a Santa Barbara official said. At least eight people were injured and thousands have

fled ahead of the rain.

Heavy rain run-off caused waist-deep mudflow in the Montecito, where some homes were knocked from their foundations, Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokesman Mike Eliason told the Los Angeles Times newspaper.

Boulders the size of small cars were rolling down hillsides, and blocking roads, reports BBC News Los Angeles correspondent James Cook. Among those taken to safety was a 14-year-old girl who had been trapped for hours in

the ruins of her home.

The fire department published a picture of the girl encased in mud as she was led to safety. County Fire Captain Dave Zaniboni said that five people were found dead on Tuesday in Montecito and may have been killed as result of the storm.

The US Coast Guard has sent “multiple airships to support rescue operations” and warn the public not to fly drones, otherwise the the flights will force to be grounded. (Excerpt from BBC News)

S

trong winds, high waves and toxic gases are hindering dozens of rescue boats struggling to locate missing sailors from a stricken oil tanker in the East China Sea and to extinguish a fire that has burned for the past three days on the ship.

The poor conditions, with rain and waves as high as three meters (10 feet), frustrated efforts to tame the fire and search for the 31 remaining tanker crew members, China’s Ministry of Transport said in a statement on Tuesday.

The flames were forcing the South Korean Coast Guard’s search and rescue team to stay as far as three miles (4.8 km) away from the tanker, two South Korean officials told Reuters.

The Chinese Government said late on Tuesday it had not found a “large-scale” oil leak, and the ultra-light oil, known as condensate, was burning off or evaporating so quickly it would leave little residue

Smoke is seen from Panama-registered Sanchi tanker carrying Iranian oil that caught ablaze after it collided with a Chinese freight ship in the East China Sea, in this January 9, 2018 handout picture released by China’s Ministry of Transport

– less than one per cent – within five hours of a spill.

That reduces the chances of a crude-style oil slick.

Still, condensate is highly volatile when exposed to air and water and concerns were growing the tanker could explode and sink while a flotilla of 13 search and rescue vessels comb a 900-square-nautical-mile (3100 sq km) area for the crew.

The tanker Sanchi, run by Iran’s top oil ship-

ping operator, National Iranian Tanker Co, collided on Saturday with the CF Crystal carrying grain from the United States, about 160 nautical miles (300 km) off China’s coast near Shanghai and the mouth of the Yangtze River Delta.

The Sanchi was carrying 136,000 tonnes of condensate to South Korea, equivalent to about one million barrels and worth about US$60 million. (Excerpt

from Reuters)

Steve Bannon leaves Breitbart News amid Trump row

S

teve Bannon, Donald Trump’s ex-chief strategist, has stepped down from the right-wing Breitbart News organisation where he built his reputation. The move comes amid a furore over remarks he reportedly made about President Donald Trump’s son.

He described a meeting Donald Trump Jr held in New York with a Russian lawyer during the 2016 presidential election campaign as “treasonous”. He was one of Trump’s most trusted – and controversial – aides.

But he left his post last summer after reports of a power struggle among Mr

Trump’s White House staff.

His subsequent attempt to take on the Republican establishment suffered a severe blow when Roy Moore, the Senate candidate he championed in a special election in Alabama, lost to a Democrat - the first time that party has won in the state in decades.

Trump has recently taken to referring to Bannon as “Sloppy Steve”, a derogatory reference to his former aide’s famously dishevelled appearance.

And Rebekah Mercer, a wealthy benefactor of Bannon, said at the weekend she had ended her support for his political efforts.

Last Sunday Bannon insisted that his “treason” comments – quoted in an inside account of the Trump White House, Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury - were not directed at Trump’s son but at another former aide, Paul Manafort, who was also present at the meeting in Trump Tower.

The Senate, House of Representatives and a special counsel are all investigating alleged Russian interference in the presidential election, allegations denied by both the Kremlin and Trump. Bannon had served as executive chairman of Breitbart since 2012.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

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wednesDAY, january 10, 2018

ARCHIE

Use your intelligence to ARIES navigate your way through (March 21- any difficulties you face. Try April 19) not to let your opinions or emotions interfere with what you need to accomplish.

Partnerships should be TAURUS your priority. Whether you (April 20- are starting something new May 20) or revitalizing an established union, it’s important to collaborate with an open mind.

Promises can be made.

dilbert

You can rely on your inGEMINI telligence to help you ward (May 21off bureaucratic problems June 20) that arise. Stick to the truth and offer unique solutions.

Don’t promise what you cannot deliver.

Take part in networking events while listening, learn(June 21- ing and sharing your thoughts.

July 22) An interesting conversation will lead to a potential partnership that will encourage you to use your skills innovatively.

CANCER

Peanuts

You’ll be faced with unusuLEO al requests that could involve (July 23- your finances, health or pendAug. 22) ing legal matters. Tread carefully when asked for information. Honesty and integrity will bring about positive change.

Make plans to do things VIRGO with the people you love or (Aug. 23those who inspire you. A perSept. 22) sonal change will lead to compliments and something to look forward to.

Calvin and Hobbes

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

WORD GAME

SUDOKU

Consider how you can improve the way you do your job.

Taking a unique approach to whatever project you take on will separate you from the competition. Don’t let personal matters distract you.

Use charm and discuss SCORPIO your feelings to initiate a per(Oct. 24sonal plan involving someone Nov. 22) special. Bring about unusual changes to the way you do things.

An interesting concept SAGITTARIUS may not be easy to produce.

(Nov. 23If you want to bring about Dec. 21) change, go about it intelligently. Being a spokesperson for those without a voice will suffice.

solution for LAST PUBLISHED Puzzle

RULES OF THE GAME: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” is not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed. To contact Word Game creator Kathleen Saxe, write to Word Game, Kathleen Saxe, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

Copyright 2015, Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

Be part of the solution, CAPRICORN not the problem. Have your (Dec. 22agenda set and be ready to Jan. 19) take on whatever comes your way. You can make a difference.

You are best off backing AQUARIUS away from temptation and (Jan. 20anyone trying to coerce you Feb. 19) into something that isn’t a good fit. Avoid dealing with institutions.

Make your health a priority.

Get involved in events, PISCES (Feb. 20- and network with people March 20) who can offer sage advice about money, health or legal matters. A gain is apparent if you take care of unfinished business.

wednesDAY, january 10, 2018

19

Guptill special gives Kiwis 2-0 lead on rainy day quired in 11 overs after the resumption. Guptill made it look supremely straightforward, smashing Hasan Ali for consecutive sixes in his first over back. The sixes were hit at will for Guptill - five of them in total - while Ross Taylor provided suitable support. Pakistan

completed the chase with seven balls to spare.

Before the interruption, New Zealand spent much of the game enjoying the upper hand, and barring the salvo of a 49-ball 70 run partnership between Hasan Ali and Shadab Khan, Pakistan couldn't quite lay claim on any passage of play.

SCOREBOARD

Martin Guptill made the abbreviated runchase looked a simple task with some crisp shots

F

or the second time this series, rain intervened before the match was finished with New Zealand in front. This time, it subsided early enough for further play to be possible, and for Martin Guptill to storm back to form. An explosive innings from the opener who scored 86 off 71 balls ensured New Zealand carried a 2-0 lead into into the third ODI at Dunedin with an eight-wicket win.

After a two-hour delay, New Zealand's target was revised from 247 to 151 in 25 overs, with a further 87 re-

Pakistan Innings (50 overs maximum) Azhar Ali lbw b Southee 6 Imam-ul-Haq c Munro b Boult 2 Babar Azam c Taylor b Ferguson 10 Mohammad Hafeez c Guptill b Santner 60 Shoaib Malik c Southee b Astle 27 Sarfraz Ahmed*† st †Latham b Astle 3 Shadab Khan c †Latham b Ferguson 52 Faheem Ashraf c Southee b Ferguson 7 Hasan Ali c Astle b Southee 51 Mohammad Amir not out 8 Rumman Raees not out 6 Extras (b-1, nb-1, w-12) 14 Total (For 9 wickets; 50 Overs) 246 Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Imam-ulHaq, 3.5 ov), 2-14 (Azhar Ali, 4.4 ov), 3-39 (Babar Azam, 10.2 ov), 4-84 (Shoaib Malik, 21.6 ov), 5-108 (Sarfraz Ahmed, 25.2 ov), 6-127 (Mohammad Hafeez, 31.1 ov), 7-141 (Faheem Ashraf, 36.4

fell apart spectacularly in the field, and New Zealand

ov), 8-211 (Hasan Ali, 44.5 ov), 9-239 (Shadab Khan, 49.3 ov) Bowling Southee 10-1-57-2 (w-3), Boult 10-0-54-1 (nb-1), Santner 10-1-34-1, Ferguson 10-0-39-3 (w-4), Astle 7-0-50-2 (w-1), Munro 3-0-11-0 New Zealand Innings (target: 151 runs from 25 overs) MJ Guptill not out 86 C Munro c Faheem Ashraf b Mohammad Amir 0 KS Williamson* c Shadab Khan b Faheem Ashraf 19 LRPL Taylor not out 45 Extras (nb-1) 1 Total (For 2 wickets; 23.5 Overs) 151 Did not bat: TWM Latham †, HM Nicholls, MJ Santner, TD Astle, TG Southee, LH Ferguson, TA Boult Fall of wickets: 1-1 (C Munro, 0.3 ov), 2-47 (KS Williamson, 9.3 ov) Bowling Mohammad Amir 5-118-1, Rumman Raees 4.5-037-0 (nb-1), Faheem Ashraf 5-0-30-1, Hasan Ali 5-0-370, Shadab Khan 4-0-29-0

Sarfraz Ahmed might have made a different deci-

sion at the toss, but that didn't change how the innings panned out.

Pakistan, batting first, turned in another limp batting performance. All five regular bowlers chipped in with wickets, and it was left to Pakistan's lower order to respond with a magnificent rearguard action as half-centuries from Hasan and Shadab took Pakistan - once tottering at 141 for 7 - to a more presentable 246.

The surface in Nelson looked dry, and even Kane Williamson admitted he would have much preferred to bat first, but his opening bowlers didn't leave him wistful for too long. Tim Southee and Trent Boult were at the openers straightaway, Azhar Ali and Imam-ul-Haq - in for the injured Fakhar Zaman struggling against gen-

H a s a n to restore some competitiveness to the contest.

Hasan took charge in their stand, striking four boundaries and four sixes, beginning his assault with successive sixes off Mitchell Santner. Ferguson struck him with a vicious bouncer around the neck, but he wasn't dissuaded, taking the attack to the quicks as well as New Zealand lost their discipline. Astle went for 21 runs in an over, while Boult bowled two full tosses around waist height - only caught one of which was called - as behind the runs began to flow freeafter a rely. view showed New Zealand startit was in fact ed their chase shakily, his helmet that Mohammad Amir - lookhad grazed the ing near his fearsome best ball on the way - forcing a false shot from through to the Munro to send him back keeper. for a duck. Williamson At 141-7, and Guptill restored some the innings order, before a superb looked to diving catch at point from be peShadab left New Zealand at tering 47 for 2.

Hasan Ali celebrates his maiden ODI half century in typical fashion The third ODI is on Saturday erous early swing. At the and Pakistan must win to out well under 200, and it same time, Boult was dankeep the series alive. took a whirlwind partnership gerous with the short ball, between Shadab and No. 9 with Azhar survived a

Beaten Konta confident of Australian Open success D

efending champion Johanna Konta was beaten in the first round of the Sydney International, less than a week before the start of the Australian Open.

The British number one lost 6-3 7-5 to Agnieszka Radwanska in a repeat of last year's final.

World number nine Konta, 26, had retired from her last tournament in Brisbane because of a hip injury.

"I felt I recovered a lot quicker than I anticipated, which is a massively positive thing," she told BBC Sport.

"I think I'm right where I should be, coming off the end of last year. I'm happy again with the different

Konta had beaten Radwanska in straight sets in last year's decider

kind of players that I've played so I feel good going into Melbourne - as good as

I can feel."

Konta is set to be seeded 10th for the opening

Grand Slam of 2018, which begins on 15 January.

Neither she nor for-

mer world number two Radwanska were able to dominate with their serve in the first set, with Konta in particular struggling on her second serve as her Polish opponent converted three of her five break opportunities.

Konta again had trouble holding serve in the second set but showed signs of a fightback when she broke while trailing 4-1 in the second, but was unable to build as Radwanska sealed victory in one hour and 49 minutes. Radwanska, now down to 28th in the world having been hampered by injury last year, will face American qualifier Catherine Bellis in the second round.

Also through to the sec-

ond round is Angelique Kerber who came from a set down beat second seed Venus Williams 5-7 6-3 6-1.

Former world number one Kerber is now ranked 22nd after a disappointing run of form in 2017 but she showed signs of resurgence against the American.

Williams, who was playing in the Sydney tournament for the first time since 1999, finished the first set strongly, coming from 5-3 down to win four consecutive games.

But, playing in her first match of the season, her accuracy deserted her at times in the second set and Kerber capitalised and went on to show her strength in the decider. (BBC Sport)

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GUYANATIMESgy.COM

wednesDAY, january 10, 2018

Shivanandan Madholall Memorial Cup…

Reliance All-Stars retain championship

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eliance AllStars retained the Shivanandan Madholall Memorial trophy after defeating Wild Oats by three wickets in an exciting game played at the Anna Regina Community Centre ground tarmac, Essequibo Coast.

The match was originally set for Boxing Day at Reliance ground also on the coast but heavy overnight and early morning showers forced the postponement to few days later.

On game day at Anna Regina, Wild Oats won the toss and without hesitation opted to take first strike but only made an insufficient 93-8 from the allotment of 15-overs while Reliance All-Stars, in reply, safely reached 96-7 with 10 balls to spare.

Leading the way was the

The victorious Reliance All-Stars team strike a pose with their trophies and medals after the game

experienced Cecil Shivamber with 24 not out while useful contributions came from Sunil Lall and Narindra Madholall with 19 and 17 respectively. Seon Wallace

claimed two wickets for 17 runs from his three overs.

Earlier, Permanand Persaud top-scored for Wild Oats with 24 as Ravi Madholall claimed three

those are Dent Wizard and PGI Ltd, Baksh Brothers, GE Plastics, Anil Sarwan, Sunrisers Cricket team, Rems, Avinash Singh among others all of Canada. Jerseys for the teams were also provided while medals were given out to all the participating players. Rovendra, a former Guyana youth cricketer, related that the two main trophies were played for Shivanandan, who passed away in 2013 at the age of 30.

Shivanandan represented Guyana at the under-15 and under-19 levels. The other trophy was in memory for his father, Seeram Madholall, who died early 2017 at the age of 64. In addition to that, special remarks on Shivanandan’s life were mentioned by two former senior inter-county players Elroy Stephney and Raul Khan.

– busy year projected

T

P

hilippe Coutinho has completed his transfer from Liverpool to Barcelona for a club-record fee but has been ruled out for around three weeks through injury, the Spanish club announced on Monday.

The 25-year-old Brazil international forward signed a five-and-a-half-year contract shortly after 1 p.m. local time, after which he was presented to media and supporters at the Camp Nou stadium.

Coutinho underwent his medical on Monday morning despite a thigh problem that ruled him out of Liverpool's last two games, following the two clubs agreeing a deal on Saturday. The club said in a statement: "Coutinho has an injury to his right thigh and he is expected to be out for around 3 weeks."

That means Coutinho is likely to miss at least Barcelona's next three games -- against Celta Vigo (Jan. 11), Real Sociedad (Jan. 14) and Real Betis (Jan. 21). Barca are at home to Alaves on Jan. 28, before playing a local derby away at Espanyol on Feb. 4.

The transfer fee was not confirmed publicly, but sources told ESPN FC that it would reach £142 million (€160m, $192.7m), with Liverpool receiving £105m (€120m, $142m) up front and the rest in performance-related add-ons.

Even the base figure would make Coutinho the second-most expensive player in world football behind Neymar, who left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain last summer in a deal worth €222m (£200m, $263m).

wickets for 12 runs in his three-over spell.

Ryan Shivamber, who was later adjudged Manof-the-Match by adjudicator Romain Khan, hit a six,

claimed a wicket, effected a run-out and took a catch, all at crucial stages of the game.

In the other match to open the day’s proceedings, Mandolall’s X1 beat Reliance Masters by 22 runs.

Mandolall’s XI batted first and chalked up a competitive 72-7 from their 10-overs with Narindra Madholall hitting 26. The Masters only responded with 50 for 9 when the overs expired as Narindra returned to claim three victims to take home the MVP prize.

In another exhibition match Cotton Field got the better of Bush Lot by 15 runs in a 12 over a-side affair.

At the presentation ceremony, the elder brother of the Shivanandan, Rovendra thanked the teams for their participation and reserved special mention to the various sponsors. And some of

Philippe Coutinho

After signing the deal, Coutinho said: "I hope to live up to all the expectations on the pitch. I'm grateful for the effort that the directors have made for me to be here."

He added that he wasn't at Barca to replace international colleague Neymar: "Me and Neymar are different players. He's a great player but we have different characteristics and I have come here to find my own place. "I have spoken with Neymar, he congratulated me. He told me about the city, about the players and about how incredible the dressing room is. I also spoke with Paulinho, Luis [Suarez] and they said the same." After donning the full Blaugrana kit for the first time and being greeted by more than 7,000 fans at the Camp Nou, he added: "I'm living a dream.

Thanks to everyone for coming. It's a dream for all the players who have been here and those who are here now.

It's hard to explain, but all my family are here to live this dream. I want to give

thanks for my reception and I hope that soon I'll be on the pitch to live up to the expectations." Speaking about Suarez's influence on his move and his time at Liverpool, Coutinho said: "Luis a great player, I played with him at Liverpool and I am really happy to play with him again. He writes to me a lot, he's a close friend and has been a big help.

"We had a good season [at Liverpool], almost winning the Premier League... they were good moments...

"I would like to thank all the Liverpool fans, all the staff and all the players for the years I lived there.

For sure, I gave everything I could. Unfortunately we couldn't win, but I lived five years, my family was very happy there, so I would like to thank them and wish them all the best." Coutinho becomes Barcelona's fifth signing of the season following the return of Gerard Deulofeu to his boyhood club and the arrivals of Ousmane Dembele, Paulinho and Nelson Semedo last summer.(ESPNFC)

he Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) will get the ball rolling in 2018 with a one-day field hockey tournament on January 28 at the National Stadium, Providence. This tournament which is being sponsored by Bounty Farm Limited will be the first of many activities slated for 2018; it is just the beginning of a highly anticipated year with the National male and female teams set for participation in the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Barranquilla, Colombia in July.

The first tournament will feature all the clubs in Guyana; they will all be looking to shake off the rust and gain early momentum and form with an eye on the second division 7-a-side league which begins in February with the Saints Ground earmarked as the primary venue. However, preceding that will be the GHB’s Biennial meeting on February 3 which involves all the clubs countrywide at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC), Bourda. Also scheduled for the first half of the year is the four-a-side U-14 Schools competition, the U-18 7-a-side Outdoor league, the Farfan & Mendes Men’s Outdoor league and Lucozade’s Indoor League with a Pre-CAC Warm-up Invitational in Barbados crowning it off in June.

If last year’s accomplishments by the GHB and National teams are anything to go by, in 2018 Guyana can look forward to a brighter year. Last year’s accomplishments includ-

The GHB will start 2018 with a one-day tournament on January 28 at the National Stadium, Providence

ed the more than admirable hosting of the Pan American Indoor Championships; our hospitality and logistics were executed to perfection to the point that the GHB received congratulatory notes and plaudits from the Pan American Hockey Federation. It did not stop there as the Guyanese women’s national team made their debut in the tournament and despite not finishing in the top three proved that they are chock full of potential just waiting to be developed and moulded with the right support system and necessary backing by the relevant authorities (government). The men’s national team who finished as bronze medalists in 2014 did not disappoint as well finishing fourth in a quality field

of the highest caliber. All this was done almost single handedly by the GHB despite not having a home of their own or the necessary facilities at which to train on. The next achievement was in Jamaica at the CAC Qualifiers where the women took gold and were dominant while the men were almost certainly on course for gold as well had not the lighting gone haywire during their final against the host nation.

The GHB has already proven they are on the rise and once again the question of whether or not the authorities in the relevant niches of government will do all in their power to ensure that potential translates into a developed product hangs in the air. (Michelangelo Jacobus)

wednesDAY, january 10, 2018 | www.guyanatimesgy.com

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sports

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Xavier pockets $100K, Hustler Pool Trophy A

nthony Xavier fought off the competition to emerge winner of the inaugural the Hustler eight ball knock-out best of three Pool competition played at the Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club (GMRSC) on Sunday.

The tournament which commenced Sunday afternoon, stretched until the wee hours of Monday morning with Xavier dominating the table against Deenashwar Rampersaud in the finals; winning 2-0 to take Championships honors.

Xavier walked away with the $100,000 compliments of Nauth’s Motor Spares while receiving the Trophy Stall silverware. Earlier, Rampershad got a free draw into the final since there were three players left in the competition leaving Xavier to battle

Anthony Xavier (centre) with the winning trophy and Ricardo Devers (second from right) while other participants share the moment

Chrisnah Rambarran for a place in the final.

Xavier took the first game while Rambarran won the second before Xavier won the decider leaving the former to set-

tle for the third place prize of a Trophy and a bottle of Absolut Vodka sponsored

by Nicky’s Natural Fruit Juice.

Rampersaud, for his second place effort re-

ceived a five-stop trip on the Essequibo River inclusive of Lunch and a Trophy compliments of satellite internet provider, V-Net Communications.

The one-day tournament was organized by former national U-17 cricketer, Ricardo Devers who said holding such a tournament was based on wanting to have all of Guyana’s top Pool players competing in one place since there is no local Pool Association to stage such tournaments.

Devers said this was the first time he has held such an event and unlike in the USA and Canada where Professional Pool is played and players can make a living from the sport this is not the case here in Guyana.

In terms of future competitions, Devers hinted at a competition for female players only.

Commanding wins for Cut & Load, Crabwood Creek T

he Upper Corentyne Cricket Association ( U C C A ) / R o y Baijnauth T20 knockout competition got underway last weekend; with wins for #72 Cut &Load and Crabwood Creek Sports Club.

At the # 72 Cut & Load Ground, Cut & Load got the better of # 59 Youth & Sports Club after racking up 174 from their allotted 20 overs. Clavern Beresford scored 70 not out from and Davenand Chatterpaul scored 33. Bowling for # 59 YSC, Edwin Netehrandra grabbed 2 for 38 from his 4

overs while R. Sukwah 1-38.

The Cut & Load spinners engineered a 75run collapse with Edwin Netehrandra top scoring with 11as R. Omaperaaud 3-21, D Chatterpaul 2-14, C. Beresford 1-15, M. Singh 1-9 and R Persaud 1-0 helped set up the whopping 99-run win Over at the # 73 Young Warriors Cricket Club Ground, Crab Wood Creek Sports Club defeated hosts # 73 Young Warriors by 78 runs. Batting first, Crab Wood Creek scored 151 with Qadir Khan 37, N. Deo 25, T. Totaram 17 and L. Seegobin

12 the main scorers.

Bowling for # 73 Young Warriors, Odraj Singh grabbed 4-18, Asad Mohammed 3-24 and Lakram Lathman 2-19 but their team crumbled for 75 runs. Lakram Lathman scored 33 and Odraj Singh 14. Bowling for Crab Wood Creek, Captain D. Chalitar was impressive with 4-16 while M. Bhola supported with 2-18.

President of the Upper Corentyne Cricket Association Hamant Jagdeo, a former UCCA cricketer, turned President said he was confident that his ad-

ministration can harness the talents of the cricketers in the Upper Corentyne Area through keen and properly organized competitions, such as this one.

Meanwhile, Secretary of the UCCA Vadanand Sugrim expressed his gratitude to the members of the public for their tremendous support of the opening matches. He expressed his gratitude to Mr. Roy Baijnauth for the timely sponsorship of this competition while encouraging all businesses in the Upper Corentyne Area to support the clubs future initiatives.

Franck Ribery: Losing 2013 Ballon d’Or to Cristiano Ronaldo was an ‘injustice’

F

ranck Ribery has told Canal+ that he still feels cheated out of the 2013 Ballon d'Or it was "an injustice" that he did not receive the award.

The 34-year-old, had played a central role in Bayern Munich's Bundesliga, DFB Pokal and Champions League Treble of that year, and was on the three-man shortlist for the honour with Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo.

Five years on, the French forward's disappointment remains raw, and he believes his own compatriots played a negative role.

"It was a difficult period, it was incomprehensible," he said in an interview with former international teammate Olivier Dacourt. "I had

won every trophy, I couldn't have done more. For me, it was like a robbery, an injustice.

"I didn't have my whole country behind me.

I saw with my own eyes French people who wanted Cristiano to win. Did the Portuguese want Ribery or Messi to win?

Impossible. Do you think in Argentina they wanted Ribery or Ronaldo to win?

Impossible."

At the time, the award was still given jointly by France Football magazine and FIFA, meaning national team coaches and captains had a vote as well as a specialist media panel.

Ronaldo topped the poll with 27.99 percent of the

Franck Ribery

vote ahead of Messi (24.72 percent) leaving Ribery -who won UEFA Men's Player of the Year award that year -- third on 23.36 percent.

(ESPNFC)

22

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

wednesDAY, january 10, 2018

A

ll-rounder Sherfane Rutherford makes his way back in the Guyana Jaguars team as the now four-time 4-Day Champions seek to end the ongoing Cricket West Indies (CWI) Professional Cricket League, unbeaten.

The Jags reclaimed their title following a dominant run this season, beating Jamaica Scorpions in a nail-biter in the previous round, stretching the gap between them and the other franchises.

Rutherford played an integral part of the Guyana franchise’s success during the opening stages where the champs were forced to put their trust in the younger guns after their senior players were missing in action due to international duties.

The hard-hitting Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) player amassed 239 runs with a top-score of 51 while with the ball he snatched 19 wickets at an

Ponting (left) was an assistant coach during Australia's T20 series against Sri Lanka last February

R

Sherfane Rutherford

average of 20.36 with a best haul of 6-32; from the seven games he played.

For the ninth round clash at the Kensington Oval, the 19-year old replaces fast-bowler Keon Joseph who is said to be out with slight groin injury. Also, Akshaya Persaud who made

his debut in the last round but failed to grab the opportunity could likely miss out at the expense of original opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul who has recovered from illness.

The Jaguars will look to extend their unbeaten run when they square off

against the Barbados Pride from Thursday January 11 at the Mecca of cricket in the Caribbean before returning home next week to wrap up the tournament against Trinidad and Tobago Red Force at Providence.

(Clifton Ross)

icky Ponting will join Australia's coaching staff for next month's Twenty20 tri-series against England and New Zealand.

The former Australia captain will act as assistant coach to Darren Lehmann, and will join Troy Cooley and Matthew Mott in a new-look backroom team.

Ponting worked with the side during a series against Sri Lanka last year.

The 43-year-old was recently named head coach of Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League.

Lehmann said: "It's an exciting prospect for us, as coaches, to have the chance

By Michelangelo Jacobus

SANGRE MALO IN FINAL

A

lready packed with what is anticipated to be the most high-octane pugilistic encounters in recent Guyanese history, international card “Sangre Malo” slated for January 20 at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) has had another bout added; this bout will be a junior welterweight battle between Guyana’s Anson Green and Barbadian Keithland King.

This specific bout which will be the second fight on the “Bad Blood” card promises fireworks as Anson Green has a reasonable amount of experience while King had a late start to his career which means he will be stepping into the “squared circle” with minimum big stage exposure.

However, the 33-year-old King who made his debut just last year against American Rob Mitchell impressed by knocking the latter out in the first round; but he remains untested as Mitchell was also participating in his first international bout.

Anson Green made his debut back in 2012 and has fought seven times in total, managing just two wins while suffering five defeats; three by way of knockout.

Green will be looking to rebound from his 2016 loss to Jamaican pugilist Michael Gardener; he will no doubt come out looking to fire on all

to take advantage of Ricky's Twenty20 knowledge and, for the players, the chance to work with one of Australia's all-time greats will be just as exciting for them."

His regular deputies David Saker, Brad Haddin and former England batsman Graeme Hick - will all be in South Africa beginning preparations for a four-match Test tour.

Australia play New Zealand in Sydney on 3 February and Auckland on 16 February. They will play England in Hobart on 7 February and Melbourne on 10 February. (BBC Sport)

“Sangre Malo – Bad Blood” Saturday 20th January 2018 Cliff Anderson Sports Hall

Bout # 1 (Heavyweight – 4 Rounds) James Moore - debut v/s Sherwin Clarke - debut Bout # 2 (Junior Middleweight – 4 Rounds) Anson Green v/s Keithland King (BAR)

Keithland King knocked out American Rob Mitchell in the first round in his debut bout last year

cylinders while King will be looking to prove that his debut victory was no fluke.

With those factors in mind Guyanese and boxing fans can expect nothing less than an energetic fight over four rounds filled with fistic fury.

Meanwhile, the heavyweight clash that is set to open the night’s card will see a change of opponent for James Moore who was scheduled to trade punches with Emmanuel Anderson (Barbados); Moore will now “cuff it out” with fellow countryman Sherwin Clarke.

The headliners of the “Sangre Malo” card which means “Bad Blood” features Guyanese lightweight champion Dexter “Cobra” Gonsalves taking

on Venezuela’s Felipe Larez Barcelo, while flyweight champion Dexter “The Kid” Marques clashes with Dionis Martinez Arias (Venezuela) in the co-main event.

Trinidadians Sheldon Lawrence and Shawn Corbin are also set to duke it out for the WBC Fecarbox Light Heavyweight Title in the other co-main event on the night.

With the monumental fights just little over a week away Gonsalves and Marques are currently training together albeit under different coaches; Caribbean Lightweight title holder Marques is being conditioned and prepared for the fight

by Lennox Daniels while Seabert Blake has charge of Gonsalves.

Both boxers have ex-

pressed their desire and drive to “punch” Guyana back on to the map in the world of boxing and shared similar sentiments about training together noting that a unified front is integral to success come January 20.

The Cliff Anderson Sports Hall will see boxing return to its arena after an almost two-year hiatus. Tickets to the “Sangre Malo” card which is organized by the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) in association with MCG Inc’s cost $4,000 for VIP, $2,000 for Ringside and $1,000 for stands; they are on sale at the Giftland Stores and Assuria General Insurance offices in Georgetown, Diamond, Berbice, Parika and Vreedin-Hoop.

Bout # 3 (Bantamweight - 8 rounds) Elton Dharry v/s Jesus Vargas Garcia (VEN)

Bout # 4 (Lightweight - 10 rounds) Dexter Gonsalves v/s Felipe Larez Barcelo (VEN)

Bout # 5(WBC Fecarbox Light Heavyweight Title – 12 Rounds) Shawn Corbin v/s Sheldon Lawrence Bout #6 (Flyweight - 10 rounds) Dexter Marques v/s Dionis Martinez Arias (VEN)

wednesDAY, january 10, 2018

F

or the first time in years, local golfers will be gearing up to take to the greens this early as the Lusignan Golf Club (LGC) prepares to host its first tournament of 2018.

In recent times, golfers were starved of action for the majority of the year, with rains rendering the course unplayable for at least the first six months of the year. However, with the invaluable support shown by the Machinery Aleem Hussain Corporation of Guyana good work by the members (MACORP), who selflessly who came together and lent the LGC executives an put the effort behind it. A excavator and other pieces week ago the ground was of machinery, action will under two and half feet of commence months ahead water and a week later we of the traditional time. are ready for competition; LGC President, Aleem in comparison to last year Hussain on Tuesday conwe could not set foot on the firmed with Guyana Times course until mid-June,” Sport that the course said the President. which was under nearHussain, who was electly three feet of water aled late last year added that most a week ago was fulthe ace behind the project ly playable at the moment was truly MACORP who but will be at its peak by ensured that the club was Thursday the latest. outfitted with all the nec“The success we had essary pieces of equipment was a team effort, it’s a

guyanatimesgy.com

and machinery needed to bring the course in playing shape, months ahead of time.

It was also important for the golfers to have ample to prepare for the various tournaments billed both locally and internationally, as Hussain highlighted that the club would seek to increase the number of annual tournaments during 2018 and onwards.

According to Hussain; all 18 holes were tested last Sunday by himself and a few members of the club in order to ensure that it was indeed fit for competition. He further pointed out that the sponsor for the one-day tourney which is set for Saturday will be announced later in the week.

Rehab on the course commenced last December and continued daily under the guidance of Grounds Supervisor Mike Guyadin while works to turn the LGC into a full-fledged country club is set to be completed by the end of this year.

Some sections of the Lusignan Golf Course were swamped during the recent period of heavy rainfall

T

Lionel D’Anrade

J

23

After the 2017 final at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinbago Knight Riders became the first team to win two CPL championships

ust recently, the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) announced the tournament’s economic impact for Guyana was more than US$14M in 2017 which was considered as very significant and now they are pleased to announce that Trinidad and Tobago’s share of the pie is much more.

The 2017 event, which took place between 4 August and 9 September last year, created a total economic impact of US$23,625,618 in the twin island republic where five preliminary round matches were played at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain while the finals week took place at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba.

The same formula was used as was done for Guyana where international researchers, SMG Insight considered organiser spend, visitor spend and media value.

In addition to that eco-

rinidad and Tobago based Guyanese athlete Lionel D’Anrade got 2018 off to a great start for his homeland flying the Golden Arrowhead high in Suriname over the weekend. He copped his fifth win in the “Bigi Broki Wacka 10K” road race finishing first out of 389 participants in a time of 38 minutes 19 seconds.

This was the 38-year-old’s fifth win in the annual event after participating in the competition for the past decade, finishing second on a couple of occasions behind the likes of former National Champions, Cleveland Forde, Cleveland Thomas and Kelvin Johnson.

The last time D’Anrade won the event was two years ago (2016), however the seasoned veteran failed to defend his title last year finishing fifth. He rebounded nicely this time around in the absence of Forde and Thomas.

nomic impact figure the Hero CPL directly involved 830 local personnel in Trinidad & Tobago, filled 9,323 hotel rooms during the 2017 event and showed matches staged in the country to a cumulative TV audience of 37.6million. The value of the picture postcard exposure and mentions of Trinidad & Tobago from this coverage was US$2,810,996.

The Hero CPL spent US$ 4,493,849 in Trinidad & Tobago during the 2017 event. This organiser spend represents a 171% increase from what was spent by the tournament in 2014 and an increase of 71% from the figure that Hero CPL spent in the country in 2016.

Speaking about the report from SMG Insight the Hero CPL Chief Operations Officer, Pete Russell said: “Trinidad & Tobago has always been a huge part of Hero CPL, and staging the finals week in the country this year [2017] saw a mas-

sive increase in our spend compared to 2016. We are very proud to be making such a positive impact on the Trinidad & Tobago economy and we are very grateful of the support we have got from the government and local population.”

The Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is a franchise-based T20 format cricket tournament that combines two of the most compelling aspects of Caribbean life – dramatic cricket and a vibrant Carnival atmosphere.

Combining broadcast and digital viewership over 197 million fans watched the 2017 season to make it one of the fastest growing leagues in world cricket.

Trinbago Knight Riders are the current Hero CPL champions and the other competing teams are Barbados Tridents, Guyana Amazon Warriors, St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots, St. Lucia Stars and Jamaica Tallawahs. (cplt20.com)

Sergio Aguero came on in the 70th minute and scored the winner

S

ergio Aguero scored an injury-time winner as Manchester City came from behind to beat Bristol City 2-1 in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg.

The Championship side were excellent, especially in the first half, and led from Bobby Reid's penalty, awarded after John Stones chopped down the Robins player.

But Kevin de Bruyne equalised for the unbeaten Premier League leaders after a one-two with Raheem

Sterling.

And as the underdogs looked set to take a draw and an away goal back to Bristol for the second leg, substitute Aguero headed in Bernardo Silva's cross.

But Bristol City - who knocked out their hosts' neighbours Manchester United in the previous round - produced a performance that will give them encouragement for the return at Ashton Gate on Tuesday, 23 January (19:45 GMT). (BBC Sport)

wednesDAY, JANUARY 10, 2018

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

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"Sangre Malo"

Guyana vs Barbados Junior Welterweight ‘slug fest’ just added Pg 22

T&T earned sweetly from CPL

– over US$23.6M pumped into the coffers in 2017 Pg 23

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