Guyana Times Epaper - Friday, August 17, 2018

CSEC, CAPE results to be released P today 10

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

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Friday, August 17, 2018

Issue No. 3658

Teachers to strike after last-ditch talks fail Page 13

– Ministry considering alternative arrangements

Assessment on closed estates proved viability – Jagdeo … suggests reopening

Page 3

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Former P17 Indian PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee dies

PNCR Vice Chairmanship race

Cosford P9 Roberts wants to fire up supporters

Guyana P16 Airways to commence operations in October

Male nursing student commits P12 suicide

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman along with the University of Guyana students who participated in the Fourth Annual Youth Parliament

Bourda Market Vietnamese found dead at vendor shot dead during construction site – security guard, another in custody Page 10

robbery

Page 12

Pastor charged for threatening, assaulting P8 wife

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3 Assessment on closed estates proved viability – Jagdeo news

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BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Friday, August 17 – 09:00h-10:30h and Saturday, August 18 – 10:00h-11:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Friday, August 17 – 08:15h-09:45h and Saturday, August 18 – 09:05h-10:35h.

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…suggests reopening

O

pposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo claims that he has information that suggests that an assessment was done on the closed sugar estates by the Special Purpose Unit (SPU).

According to him, this assessment has proved that the very estates that were shut down which led to thousands being unemployed were viable.

“And so, if this is true and I hope the media will ask them … it would be very disturbing, because we believed this to be so, but we asked our Government to do a feasibility study of these estates and the industry before it took any decision to send home workers and they refused to do that,” he said.

Jagdeo noted that the firing of over 7000 sugar workers has now created enormous problems for families and households across the country, especially in rural areas.

He said, “To now to do another study to find that these estates with small injection of funds could have been viable would be criminal. So, we believe the estates are viable.”

The former Head of State said if the assessment proved to be true and the estates could be made viable, then the Opposition would support the reopening of all the estates.

The coalition Government has made its position clear that the move to downsize the industry was a necessary one, as the monies used as annual bailouts were too much.

But the Opposition said even if this was the case, the laying off of workers could have been done in stages to allow for them to prepare for alternative employment.

Now that the preliminary valuation works of several estates have been completed, the Skeldon, Rose Hall-Canje, East Demerara/ Enmore, and Wales Estates are now being advertised for sale.

It said it hoped that potential investors would begin visiting the various estates, in order to make assessments of the facilities as part of the preparation of their proposal to the SPU. Head of the SPU, Colvin Heath-London was quoted in a statement from his agency that “work continues apace both with the process being carried out by the [global accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers] PwC and with the efforts of the SPU to maintain the operations of the estates as going concerns until they’re handed over to investors at the end of the process”.

Heath-London added that, “progress is also being made with the sale and

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

lease of assets at the Wales Estate, and the conversion of the Skeldon Estate compound to the Skeldon Heritage Resort has gone very well.”

Just last month, the SPU under the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) had responded to statements made by Jagdeo in regard to his criticism of the $30 billion bond acquired by the Unit through commercial banks, both in Guyana and the region.

The SPU has not taken lightly those criticisms which seek to suggest that the bond would be wasted and that it was acquired at an unreasonable rate.

In a statement, the SPU said it should be noted that as standard for any debt financing, security was required to secure payments

to bondholders.

According to the SPU, rather than burden the assets of NICIL, which include the Guyana Oil Company, Atlantic Hotels Incorporated and the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), the security of the NICIL bond is simply a guarantee of payment from the Government of Guyana.

The duration of the bond is five years, since it is expected that the proceeds of the land sale for GuySuCo would be used to repay the funds, and NICIL wanted to secure the lowest possible interest rate.

However, Jagdeo said recently that he was now in receipt of the Private Placement Memorandum for the GuySuCo bond, and

eral perception was that Government was raising $30 billion to spend on GuySuCo – on the remaining three estates. However, the memo tells a different story, as it has stated explicitly that the $30 billion would go to long-term projects instead.

He used the example of the road and airport expansion projects, where there is an option of repayment of 20 or 30 years at one or two per cent interest. These, he said, are long-term projects.

“So that you don’t have big balloon payments,” he declared.

However, Jagdeo said that in the case of the GuySuCo bond, this was different because, “in five years, at a 4.75 per cent

Enmore sugar estate

having read the contents of that document, he was shocked by what was contained in the agreement, which now leaves more questions than answers.

Jagdeo, an economist by training, said the gen-

interest, which is 355 basis points above our treasury bill, the Government of Guyana will have to pay back from the proceeds of NICIL nearly US$40 million in about five years just to service $30 billion.”

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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

Support for agricultural industries

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rom time to time over the years, there has been talk of developing new agricultural industries. The media, and in particular the Government-owned media, has carried reports, sometimes with photographs, conveying the impression that such industries would be income-earners within months. For example, there was talk of the massive production of white potatoes quickly replacing imports or of the production of turmeric and other spices. Unfortunately, the optimistic hopes propagated to the public have never materialised.

The various agricultural industries talked of were quite feasible to be developed but the State never went far enough to accord effective incentives to prospective producers.

The coconut industry is one which could be a moneyspinner for the country, since coconuts could be an industry which could produce scores of by-products for which there is an export as well as a local demand. The coconut and its byproducts are now in growing demand worldwide. Coconut oil, which once used, and was wrongly labelled as high in cholesterol, is now regarded as among the best cooking oils; many consumers preferring it to olive and canola oils. It was, therefore, no surprise of a recent report that a British investor was coming into the industry.

Most of the old coconut-growing families who had large estates have gone out of business. In the Pomeroon area, for instance, there is only one big producer left. The Agriculture Ministry and the Lands and Surveys Commission should be able to locate good coconut-growing lands and advertise for suitable takers.

The economic advantages of the Industry should be widely disseminated in both the print and the electronic media. The numerous profitable by-products which could easily be produced should be made known to the public as well as the available markets should also be made known to producers. NAREI has the capacity to offer some of the best technical advice to the industry, among the best in the Caribbean and South America.

The coconut industry seemed to have contracted over the last two decades: Coconut oil has been largely replaced by foreign imports. Dried coconuts are still exported but in lesser quantities than formerly. Coconut fibre was widely used in upholstery and fibre mattresses were once the preferred type. Now, fibre mattresses are never used. Today, a great part of coconut production is used to provide coconut water. One producer exports it to Trinidad for canning. The cans carry no reference to its Guyanese origin.

Guyana has the ability and the capacity to produce all the spices used on the local market and the world markets but yet the country imports almost all of its spices. NAREI has long had an Indian expert helping in this field and most of the spices demanded on the world markets could be successfully and economically produced in Guyana. Once there is the demand, NAREI could produce adequate planting material to satisfy all needs.

As in the coconut industry, Government should take the initiative of freely giving out long-term leases with guarantees of later freehold ownership once the crop designated is efficiently and profitably cultivated. The knowledge of the use of many of these spices has to be resuscitated. For example, turmeric is used as a painkiller and a preventative of Alzheimer and other types of dementia and this quality of the spice is widely recognised.

An infrastructure of international packing standards already exists in Guyana. There is, for instance, the Beharry Group which has put on the local and export markets a number of spices with world-class packing.

Both the coconut and spice industries could become highly profitable within the next three or four years but this could only be achieved if the Government makes available suitable land to prospective farmers, intense agricultural extension services, soft loans and marketing exploration. Government should take the initiative in this instance and not depend on the Private Sector.

Massy is celebrating 50 years of operations in Guyana and has presented bursaries to 17 children of employees who were successful at the 2018 National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA). In photo, recipients of the bicycles pose with Country Manager Massy Guyana, Deo Persaud and other executives of the Group

Harmon favoured to win chair in PNC internal elections Dear Editor, An ongoing opinion tracking poll that started in July and being conducted by the North American Caribbean Teachers Association (NACTA) reveals that the public wants Minister of the Presidency Joe Harmon to be next Chair of the People’s National Congress (PNC).

The poll, conducted by this writer, finds that Harmon commands the most support among the party's membership for the position in the party's internal executive elections slated for August 19.

The chair is the second most powerful post in the party after the leader. The leader, David Granger, who is also President of Guyana, is running unopposed. Other posts are also up for grabs.

There are three nominations for the position of chair – Joe Harmon, who is Minister of the Presidency; Volda Lawrence who is the Public Health Minister; and incumbent Basil Williams, who is the Attorney General.

Both Lawrence and Harmon are rising in opinion polls based on NACTA poll findings while Williams is struggling. Harmon is more popular and likeable than the other two candidates with

respondents saying he is the best among the three to prepare the party for future challenges.

As for preference for chair among the general population, Harmon leads by a mile.

Respondents say he is more affable and congenial than the other two, with strong support among party members.

Respondents note that Lawrence is well liked among PNC rank and file supporters, but her base is more among the women’s arm.

However, recent issues pertaining to the management (scandalous corrupt deals, in particular) of the Health Ministry has hurt her image badly, causing her to lose support. She also has limited appeal across the racial divide.

People feel Minister Williams continues to make mistakes and blunders at the Legal Affairs Ministry although the “victory” at the CCJ, knocking PPP’s Bharrat Jagdeo off the ballot, has earned him some kudos among party supporters. Still party members and supporters say he is not easily accessible. It would take a miracle for him to retain the position.

Harmon is praised for his leadership style and bring-

ing people together. He has mass appeal across the political divide. Party supporters say they can work with Harmon. His supporters say he has had a long history of grounding with the membership and credit his organisational skills for helping the party to recapture the base in 2011 and helped it to return to office in 2015 after 23 years in Opposition.

People view him as someone who can get things done efficiently. They note he is a hard worker and he is approachable. And he has wisely made himself accessible to party supporters and has been visiting communities.

People across the divide say Harmon delivers on promises and he has been expanding the party’s membership beyond the traditional base.

The public at large also notes that Harmon comes across as someone with a “soft image” who has wide appeal across the country and across the divide. His mass appeal and ground campaign is helping him gain support to wrestle the chair from Williams.

On national support, more PNC party members, party supporters, and the public at large express a preference for Harmon over the other two nominees for chair.

Asked who they want or prefer to be chair, 58 per cent said Harmon, 23 per cent said Volda Lawrence, and five per cent Basil Williams; with 14 per cent not having a preference or not offering a response.

Asked who they feel will win the PNC chair position, 78 per cent said Harmon, seven per cent responded Volda Lawrence and two per cent Williams; with 13 per cent responding they don’t know.

In the party’s internal elections for executives, only delegates (not members) vote. So winning over delegates who are selected by party groups and the membership is critical. Harmon is well ahead in that count.

Based on the preference of party supporters and members, the latter that choose the delegates who will vote at the convention, Harmon has the advantage in ground support to triumph over the other two by a big margin.

Party groups and members say more delegates favour Harmon than the other two candidates combined. With the contest days away, anything could happen.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

AFC now faced with hasty exodus Dear Editor, The Alliance For Change (AFC) is now faced with a hasty exodus of the remaining few of its honest, committed and hardworking members as the Local Government Election (LGE) approaches.

Two days ago, Gladwin Abdulla followed in his brother’s footsteps and resigned from the AFC and joined the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) to campaign for the upcoming LGE. This move took me by surprise

since Gladwin was totally determined that the coalition was the best solution to have ever happened to Guyana since ‘change’ will pervade the land and the ‘good life’ will enter the homes of the impoverished and corruption will be a distant memory. So I called him and sought an explanation for this drastic metamorphosis.

What I heard was the most pitiful tale from a neophyte politician caught in a corrupt web of deceit woven

by his seasoned counterpart who thought they saw a gullible fly. I immediately recalled the poem, ‘The Spider and the Fly’ written by Mary Howitt (1799-1888). The Spider had said, “Will you walk into my parlour?” said the spider to the fly; “Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy”.

Fortunately, Gladwin did not suffer the same fate as did the fly, the flattery did not last long and he soon saw through the façade of pretensions and hypocrisy peddled by the AFC

Ministers and party officials.

He told me that various Ministers who visited Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) would often compliment him for the great work he was doing; both for the party and the residents in Region Six. His zest and zeal for community development was recognised by everyone and he claimed that he would even utilise his personal funds to do community works. continued on page 5

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

The Uitvlugt fiasco GECOM’s work programme, timelines Dear Editor, I make reference to a news item of August 15, 2018, titled “Uitvlugt cane shredder runs out of control” describing an incident that occurred at Uitvlugt factory where “about 70 knives or hammers” were sent “flying”.

Editor, I trust that the new CEO of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), will ensure an unbiased and thorough investigation is conducted into this industrial fiasco.

An occurrence of this nature cannot be categorised as a normal or freak accident. It is because it occurred on a scheduled and programmed start-up of the factory. Prior to start-up of this kind, this specific piece of equipment had to be inspected, tested, verified and approved for operation. For it to send 70 rectangular pieces of solid carbon steel (knives) weighing approximately 20lbs each, spinning at 600+ revolutions per minute (rpm), into the air is

proof of systemic engineering failure caused by deteriorating engineering standards. It must be divine intervention that saved employees lives from high velocity, steel projectiles and shrapnel.

While this fiasco has huge financial impact (repair cost, opportunity time, sugar losses, etc), the potential loss of life from this incident was enormous which necessitates an inquiry into areas such as established procedures for turbines going “out of” and “returning to” service, turbine tests, trip-speed tests, on-site verification of turbine and trip-speed tests by qualified engineers, training of employees conducting tasks for tests, preliminary checks to be done before start-up, approvals from technical and managerial staff for turbines and knives going into service after repairs and maintenance, etc.

Editor, Uitvlugt has many layers of engineering and supervisory staff to ensure en-

gineering standards are maintained. Added to this, GuySuCo employed a platoon of engineers (approximately five) since 2015 at its head office to provide technical guidance and oversight to factories on engineering standards. This staff increase occurred simultaneously while reducing the number of operating factories from seven to three. With an expanded technical management on top and less operating factories, there is no excuse on shortage of engineering skills to support and guide factories during critical times such as start-ups at beginning of crops and shut-downs at end of crops. Do we have a situation of gross incompetence or dereliction of duties from the head office to the estate? Will GuySuCo place all blame on rank and file workers for this fiasco?

Sincerely, Sookram Persaud

How does a panel discussion on VS Naipaul contribute to peace in Guyana?

Dear Editor, To say that I’m puzzled about the purpose of the Guyana Peace Council’s August 20 panel discussion on VS Naipaul, is to put it mildly. The very name of the entity explicitly demarcates its role to work towards peace in Guyana.

So how does a panel discussion on Naipaul contribute to peace in Guyana? How about panel discussions and other endeavours relating to robbery with violence, road rage and accidents, suicide, various forms of abuse, murder suicide/femicide, alcoholism, increasing drug use, lack of employment opportunities

(which is violence against the unemployed), flooding which has become regular and extensive (and which is violence against the citizenry, especially farmers) and myriad other issues that affect peace in Guyana. Currently, Voices Against Violence, (http://caribvoice.org/voices-against-violence.html) a collection of over 100 entities that are behind the annual National AntiViolence Candlelight Vigil – launched to mark World Suicide Prevention day – is organising this year’s vigil set for September 9 in Guyana.

I challenge the Guyana Peace Council to ground with Guyanese from all walks of

AFC now faced...

However, he explained that the corruption by the AFC officials was spiralling out of control and the AFC Ministers who regularly visited Region Six did not even bat an eyelid even though the media is replete with allegations of AFC corruption.

He further explained that the proverbial straw which finally broke the camel’s back was the $120 million road slashing contract which was awarded to mostly AFC members and officials. Gladwin also said the AFC members who were given the $120 million road slashing contract do not even have the financial resources to do the work and he had to act as a guarantor for a line of credit for them with two businessmen. But it got worse when only a few days ago he discovered that the workers from Number 19 Village were not even paid a dollar for the work they did on behalf of an AFC Executive member turn contractor.

These workers went to his home in an aggressive mood and he had to explain to them

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that the contractor was holidaying in the US. After much harsh statements and the use of various expletives they left.

Abdulla claimed that he was never so much embarrassed in his life since this is not the first time that he had to defend this particular AFC NEC member who is also a ‘corruption broker’.

Abdulla’s brother, who was an AFC NEC member, resigned soon after the coalition won the 2015 General Elections since he was also shocked by the high level of corruption which began in earnest as soon as the APNU/ AFC Government took office.

Both of these gentlemen are now campaigning on behalf of the PPP/C in the upcoming LGE. Abdulla’s can be contacted to verify what I have written.

He has given me permission to write what he told me.

Yours sincerely, Haseef Yusuf RDC Councillor, Region Six

life across Guyana by partnering in the vigil, helping to organise vigils nationwide and using the opportunity to let the nation know how they plan to address the various manifestations of violence that directly impact people’s lives on a daily basis and thereby bring about peace.

The response to this challenge would clearly indicate whether they are really about peace or the Guyana Peace Council is a misnomer and a cover for something totally unrelated to peace as exemplified by the panel discussion on Naipaul.

Sincerely, Annan Boodram

are slipping into muddy waters

Dear Editor, With Local Government Elections (LGE) scheduled for November 12, 2018, there is a tremendous intensification of community activities and enquiries, as residents, groups and other interested stakeholders search for clarity on a number of issues, which if not resolved objectively, are likely to negatively impact the credibility of results in any future election.

Chairman, GECOM’s Justice (Ret’d) James Patterson, earlier made reference of the serious allegations of what took place at the 2015 Regional and General Elections. He also spoke about trust, accountability, transparency and people confidence in the election process, although there is not much that has been made public to our citizenry, as it relates which substantial or meaningful corrective actions the Commission plans to institute, towards realising these ideals. This in itself is an indictment, vis a vis necessary public confidence.

In the same vein, the Chairman’s recent denial of a meeting with the United Nations (UN) Risk Assessment Team is very much disappointing and unacceptable. The tremendous hardships that our people are facing demand that every effort is placed by GECOM to deliver credible procedures and results from free and fair Local Government Elections.

Notably, Chairman Justice (Rt’d) James Patterson’s recent rejection of an evaluation by the UN Team is typified outright lawlessness. In particular, it signals the genuine lack of intent and transparency commitment to the UN, which is also a credible International Institution of-

ten looked upon to recognise the results of elections. The lack of sincerity conveyed is evident, in the face of recent revelations that he had silently engaged the same institution to provide Technical Information Technology assistance.

The situation smacks the highest level of hypocrisy and all citizens must join in demanding that all the processes be transparent. There must be public rejection to all such attempts or systems that can lead to rigged or less than convincing elections results to participants and observers.

Although being clearly aware of the examination of very serious GECOM issues and subsequent recommendations possible charges in some instances by the Auditor General, who recommended. The Chairman’s actions/ non-actions under the circumstance, seems to be strongly connected with the ‘gerrymandering’ by the controlling People’s National Congress arm of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change coalition, which is now having a serious effect on the Election process, and the functioning of Local Government Councils.

Fixed boundaries issues in several Local Government Constituencies (LGC) have been a manipulated situation which needs to be resolved in several areas. We can ill afford to have residents voting from one constituency voting for representatives in another. Further, the Communities Minister is giving GECOM a basket to fetch water.

Minister Ronald Bulkan announced that there will be 16 constituencies’ changes in 14 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils and nine new Local Authority Areas. To date,

GECOM is still to have consultations and notify the legally approved or specific boundaries. The candidates must be fully aware of the specific boundaries in each Constituency, before they can check the electoral lists and then extract the Candidates’ names from the Voters List.

For the Local Government Elections, GECOM must provide a voters list according to each Constituency It is clear that after the last period of continuous registration and the last Claims and Objections, the GECOM Secretariat was supposed to produce a Preliminary Voters List for the Commissioners to peruse and make available to the political parties.

This is still forthcoming, and it squeezes the readiness of interested parties since there is no definite timeline when it will be provided.

It is important and imperative that this list be made available for Local Government Elections according to constituency. For this to happen then the stakeholders must be clear about the ‘boundaries’ and the Voters List must be thoroughly checked to make sure that all the candidates and ‘backers’ of the respective lists are in the correct place. There seems to be serious deficiencies at GECOM or a deliberate intention to frustrate the ‘stakeholders’ in the up-coming LGE. This situation is very serious and GECOM ‘Work Programme’ and ‘Timelines ‘are slipping into muddy waters’. This level of incompetency or deliberate action to hurry some process will certainly leads to corruption.

Sincerely, Neil Kumar

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Foundation

Continued from Thursday

By Megan D evine

than their feelings – even their feelings about you.

Never notice their good behaviour Maybe you’re thinking, “Look, my kid is constantly disrespectful. I have to stay on him if I want things to change. “So you correct and redirect every chance you get.

Sometimes your child does manage to get it right, but the bad times far outweigh any progress. Children are just like adults: constant correction breeds resentment. If you’re always calling your child on his poor choices, he might decide there’s just no way he can win. If you never acknowledge the times he actually manages to control his own behaviour, he may just stop trying. It may seem counter-intuitive, but relentless attention to failure, with no acknowledgement of even small success, can increase your child’s disrespectful behaviour.

What to do instead: You can’t demand respect, but you can require that your child acts respectfully, no matter how they feel about the situation. One great way to do this is to use one of James and Janet Lehman’s suggestions: when your child is behaving in a disrespectful way, you can tell them: “You don’t have to like the rule, but you do have to comply with it. Just because you’re irritated doesn’t mean you get to call me names.”

Remember, stay focused on the behaviour, and leave the feelings alone. The irony is that, in the long run, your child will respect you more if you remain calm and enforce your rules consistently.

If you see yourself in any of these examples above, please don’t worry. Recognising an ineffective way of dealing with disrespect is actually a great step. As you become more aware of the things that don’t work, you’ll be better able to take consistent, effective action to turn the situation around.

It will take time and practice, but you can help your child learn to behave in more respectful ways. *These tips apply to mild to moderate disrespect from your child. If the behaviour you’re seeing is more extreme than that, please be sure to reach out for more support. Remember, “ T h e re ’s no excuse for abuse.” Too m a n y parents have gone through the same challenges for you to feel alone.

What to do instead: Children respond well to praise. Not only does it feel good to be praised, it also gives your child important feedback: acknowledging good behaviour reinforces those skills. If you notice your child doing something well, you might say: “When you went to your room instead of calling your sister names, that was really great. I know you’ve been working on controlling your temper when you’re annoyed. I appreciate it.”

And last, but not least: demand respect “I am your parent and you have to respect me!” Does that sound familiar? A lot of parents in our online parent coaching program ask, “How can I get my child to respect me?” The truth is, many children don’t automatically respect their parents. In fact, it’s pretty normal that your teen thinks they know far more than you; that’s one of the pitfalls of adolescence. Pretty much every teen thinks they’re smarter and more in tune than their parents. So here’s the thing: you can’t make someone respect you. Respect is a feeling, and you can’t legislate feeling. Trying to force your child to respect you just isn’t going to work. If you can’t demand their respect, how can you possibly stop them from acting so badly? The answer lies in addressing their behaviour, rather

(Excerpt from empoweringparents.com)

G

Reflect ive kids a chance to look back on summer adventures and recognise how much learning happened — even though they weren’t in school!

Talk about all the things you did this summer from watching movies to going on family trips to catching fireflies. What discoveries did kids make about themselves or about the world around them? What are they still excited and curious about? Follow those interests and keep “booking” reading road trips during the school year.

Connect Find ways for kids to share what they’ve learned.

Sharing and communicating their experiences leads to more thinking and learning. One great way to do that is to have kids write things down. If your child did some summer writing, collect it and help your child edit and publish it for an audience of family and friends. Or have your child take a look at all the photos you took this summer and write captions to create a summer scrapbook. For those kids who took a deep dive into a special interest during the summer months, keep their passion alive by finding activities or clubs where they can connect with others who share their interests and enthusiasm.

Celebrate Hold a party to celebrate summer and all that’s been harvested from it. Make some special time for family to share favourite memories of the summer, talk about what everyone read and learned, and enjoy a meal together outside.

Reading with kids will continue to spark curiosity and conversation no matter what the season. Start with a book and grow reading and learning adventures all year round. (startwithabook.org)

news

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Green Paper

Now is time for draft legislation, not Green Paper – Jagdeo

T

he Opposition has said Government’s Green Paper proves nothing unless they take the necessary steps to introduce draft legislation on the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) which will guide how money from oil resources will be utilised for the country’s development.

General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo said on Thursday that this is one of the reasons for the Opposition’s objection to the Green Paper, because the Opposition was expecting draft legislation instead.

He said the time has passed for discussions on the model for the SWF, as the Government had adequate time to prepare for this sector for more than three years now.

“Now to be confronted with a discussion paper takes us right back to 2015. And so

DHB feasibility

Patterson to explain procurement breaches to Cabinet A

fter a probe into the award of a consultancy contract to Dutch firm LievenseCSO for the feasibility study and design of the new Demerara River Bridge found that there was a breach in Procurement Act, Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson will now have to justify his actions to Cabinet.

This is according to Minister of State Joseph Harmon, who told reporters at this week’s post-Cabinet press briefing that the matter was not on the Council of Ministers’ last meeting. However, he noted that it is likely to come up at the next Cabinet session.

“It was not discussed at Cabinet [as yet] but certainly I expect the Minister of Public Infrastructure would address the matter and that by the next Cabinet meeting, would bring to Cabinet a position on the issue that has been put into the public domain,” the Minister of State said.

The Public Procurement Commission (PPC) revealed the breaches in its report to the

Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson

The National Tender and Procurement Administration Board (NPTAB) then recommended that the Public Infrastructure Ministry (MPI) re-tender but it did not, the PPC report said. It went on to note that the Permanent Secretary of MPI then “informed the Public Procurement Commission that subsequent

DHB General Manager Rawlston Adams and LievenseCSO’s representative Arie Mol after signing the consultancy contract

Opposition last week.

Back in September, Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira wrote the Commission asking it to investigate the selection and award of a $146 million contract to LievenseCSO for the feasibility study of the new Demerara River Bridge after it was revealed, and later confirmed by Minister Patterson, that the company was sole-sourced and had not even bid for the project.

The PPC report, which was seen by <<<<Guyana Times>>>>>, outlined that after some 23 companies had expressed an interest to provide consultancy services, 12 were shortlisted and two managed to submit their proposals on time.

However, Government failed to reach an agreement with either of the two companies in their negotiations and as such, the tender was annulled.

to annulment of the tender

by MPI, [Dutch Company LievenseCSO] Engineering contracting BV submitted an unsolicited proposal to provide consultancy services for the Demerara River Bridge project.”

As such, the Commission added, Minister Patterson approached Cabinet on November 18, 2016, seeking consideration and approval to use funds from the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC) to fund the feasibility study and to commence a contractual engagement with LievenseCSO as of January 1, 2017.

The Commission found that there was a breach when this request to Cabinet was made by the Minister and not through the NPTA. The PPC also noted that Cabinet considered the memorandum submitted by the Minister and in November

2016 approved a total sum of $161,514,420 to be used from the DHBC to cover cost for the feasibility study for a new bridge across the Demerara River.

According to the PPC, General Manager of the Demerara Harbour Bridge, Rawlston Adams, indicated that the DHBC Board was not a party to the decision to use these funds for this purpose as approved by Cabinet, and further stated that he had not signed the contract on behalf of the DHC but only because he was requested to do so by the Public Infrastructure Minister.

As a result of the findings of the probe, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has called for Minister Patterson and the entire Cabinet by extension to be charged with corruption.

“It’s either Patterson has to bear the brunt of it or the entire Cabinet because it had Cabinet approval so this is an unbelievable act of corruption,” he said while disclosing to media operatives that the People’s Progressive Party [PPP] intends to send the report to the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU). “…let me make it clear… we plan to send this report to SOCU given that when Mr [Sam] Sittlington made a presentation in Parliament, and our Opposition MPs there pointed out that they were not investigating the numerous instances of corruption, egregious cases of corruption under this Government, that they seem to have their focus only on a few PPP people, he said, you can write up, submit the report…

So we will be writing SOCU and submitting their report and then we will follow it up there,” the Opposition Leader had said.

Later on Thursday evening, the Opposition Chief Whip revealed that she wrote the Head of SOCU, Sydney James, on Wednesday, calling on the Unit “to take action as required under the law.”

Meanwhile, the Public Infrastructure Ministry earlier this week had denied breaching the Procurement Act, saying that several measures had to be put in place to accommodate the large volume of traffic utilising the Demerara Harbour Bridge.

“There is and has been an urgent need for a new bridge across the Demerara River and Government is cognisant of this and has taken every decision, within the law, to ensure that the realisation of a new bridge is not unduly delayed. The people of Guyana deserve nothing less,” a statement from the Minister said.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

they have failed to fulfil all of their promises of creating a framework for the SWF. So we are back to square one now…

Now the Government wants to solicit views,” he stated.

Another issues raised by Jagdeo is the model used in the Green Paper which ignores best practices around the world and dictates that there is minimal political involvement. Although Government has catered for an Opposition representative on the Fund, Jagdeo has already objected to this.

He said, “If this continues and that will dictate what is in the legislation, we will oppose it because it will lead to numerous problems down the road and too many political involvement.”

Jagdeo also added that the SWF would contain revenue from the forestry sector and the mining sector. “We thought this was independently transferred to the Budget... now they have a special legislation governing their holding of these funds outside of the

Consolidated Fund” He was referring to monies drawn from two other sectors.

“They don’t need separate legislation. This is minimal resources… We wondered why they wanted to include those resources too from forestry and mining combining them with the monies from the petroleum sector.”

Jagdeo has also raised concerns over the total control of the Fund by the Finance Ministry. The Green Paper sets out preliminary plans on how the Government hopes to manage the revenue from oil and other natural resources, with clear objectives of the Natural Resources Fund.

Jagdeo reminded that he had initial objections to Government’s plans for the Fund but now that the Green Paper has been made public, he finds the plans to be even more worrying.

The document states that the Finance Ministry will be responsible for the overall management of the Fund, including requested withdrawals in the annual budget proposal. “…calculating the Fiscally Sustainable Amount; drafting the Investment Mandate; entering into the Operational Agreement with the Bank of Guyana and drafting the annual report and reporting on the Fund through the annual budget,” the document said.

As such, Jagdeo said he disagrees with the Minister’s total control for various reasons, but zeroed in on Jordan’s silence on the signing bonus from ExxonMobil. “This is the same Minister who lied to the country about the US$18 million signing bonus, saying that Guyana never received it

and never asked for it. He lied to Guyanese for over a year.

And it is the same Minister who will now have full control.”

Meanwhile, in the document, it sets out specific rules, including the Fiscal Rule, which caters for the development gaps, both in terms of human capital and physical infrastructure, that exist and the need to accommodate development spending via the National Budget.

To oversee these decisions, the Government has recommended the establishment of a macroeconomic committee which would consist of five members, including a representative of the Finance Minister.

In terms of the management of the fund, a sovereign investment committee would be responsible for advising the Minister on the investment mandate but would also include a representative.

Further, the Green Paper states that the Bank of Guyana (BoG) will be the operational manager of the Fund. The Opposition Leader has already expressed deep concern about this proposal.

Although the Government has catered for a representative from the Opposition to sit on the Fund, Jagdeo has already objected to this proposal, stating that politicians should not be included.

Now that the Green Paper has been laid, it paves the way for the proposed legislation on the Sovereign Wealth Fund to be laid in the National Assembly which looks at addressing two main issues: stability of the economy and saving for future generations.

8 news

fridAY, august 17, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

IN THE COURTS

Pastor charged for threatening, assaulting wife

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50-year-old pastor on Thursday appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Principle Magistrate Judy Latchman charged with assaulting and threatening his wife.

Hansel Calestro of Citrus Grove, Port Kaituma, North West District (NWD), Region One (Barima-Waini) denied that he unlawfully assaulted his wife, Della Calestro on August 13, 2018, while in Port Kaituma, NWD.

Accused: Pastor Hansel Calestro

In addition to the assault charge, the pastor was slapped with a threatening behaviour charge. Police stated that on August 12, 2018, while he was in the vicinity of Citrus Gove, he made used of threatening behaviour towards Calestro.

According to the prosecution’s facts, the man and his wife have been married for the past 26 years and have seven children together. However, as the woman was about to move out of the couple’s martial home

following a misunderstanding, he made use of threatening language against her.

Further, the court heard that the man allegedly pushed the woman to the ground after they left the welfare office the following day.

The unrepresented man in his defence told the court “I am so embarrassed, God knows”. He was granted bail in the sum of $30,000 and is expected to return to court on August 22.

Man slapped with attempted murder charge

T

hirty-nine-year-old Hugh Junior of Werken-Rust, Georgetown, who shot his friend after catching him at his girlfriend’s home, was slapped with an attempted murder charge when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Junior was not required to plead to the indictable charge when it was read to him by Principle Magistrate Judy Latchman.

The court heard that on July 12, 2018, while in the vicinity of Breda Street, Werk-En-Rust, Georgetown, he discharged a loaded firearm at Charles Stoby with intent to murder him.

According the facts presented to the court, the defendant and the Virtual Complainant are known to each other and on the day in question, the defendant went to his girlfriend’s home where he saw his friend and

his girlfriend in a compromising position.

Upon seeing same, the two friends got into a heated argument after which the defendant left the home.

The following day, as the Virtual Complainant was on a motorcycle in Breda Street, Junior, a father of three, discharged two round in his direction; hitting him once to the stomach.

The unconscious Stoby fell to the roadway and was

picked up by public spirited persons and rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was admitted and underwent emergency surgery.

Further, the matter was reported and the defendant was arrested and charged with the present offence.

The man was remanded to prison and is expected to make his next court appearance on August 27.

Passing…

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…of a “soul” icon our Eyewitness got a shock when he saw on his newsfeed, the breaking news of Aretha Franklin passing on. And dear reader, if you just asked, “Aretha who?” you confirmed you missed out on enjoying one of the most sublime voices on God’s green earth. And then thank that God that there’s “YouTube” – on which you can now fill that gap in your life by listening to any of the 88 Billboard hits that earned her 18 Grammies!!

It was in the 1960s that “soul music” – otherwise known as Rhythm and Blues” – came into its own out of the experience of the African American black masses who’d long seen their music expropriated by white singers like Elvis Presley, who raked in the big bucks. It’s unfortunate – but a sign of the times – that the term “cultural appropriation” hadn’t yet been invented to denounce the practice. Blacks couldn’t even own their suffering!!

Aretha, like most soul singers, came out from the Gospel tradition, which in her case was most natural since her father was a noted Minister who moved with his family from the deep South (Memphis, Tennessee) to Detroit (Motown) when she was four. She started performing at 14 – the same year she gave birth to her first son. She was to deliver her second, three years later. She was “discovered” and signed by Columbia Records in 1960.

Columbia didn’t do justice to her voice when they tried to make her into a across-the-spectrum singer, rather than concentrate on her “soul”, which clearly came out of the pain of her personal life – including the death of her mother and father. It was ironic that it was Columbia that dubbed her the “Queen of Soul”. It was not until she left and signed up with Atlantic Records that she came into her own. Between 1967 and 1968 she produced 10 Top Ten hits!!

By this time, she’d become the “Queen of Soul” to the world. One of her hits was “Respect” which became an anthem for all oppressed groups – but mainly African Americans and feminists. The latter were just creating an ideology for “women’s liberation”. During the 1960s there were several men who claimed to be the “King of Soul” – James Brown, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, etc – but there was only ONE Queen – Aretha!!

She was that because – as she said – she sang from a place inside of her that could channel her personal experiences. But because pain was also the experience of so many – not only in America – but also across the Third World, she gave voice to the oppressed.

The Queen is dead; long live the Queen!! …of a game changer in India Also passing on is Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a former Prime Minister of India. He was a very charming personality and eloquent speaker who was respected across India’s political spectrum. But he’s more important for being the first Prime Minister from outside the Congress Party to complete a five-year term in office.

Since India played such an important role in anticolonial politics – being the first to achieve independence – this development was critical since it showed that the initial anti-colonial movement (here, Congress) could evolve into a stable effective multi-party democracy. The word ‘effective” is important because while there were always other parties outside of Congress, they couldn’t threaten the latter at the centre.

Vajpayee was able to do this, after a couple of false starts – by crafting and maintaining a coalition of disparate forces – National Democratic Alliance (NDA) – outside of Congress that could command national legitimacy.

In Guyana, our politicians should take a page from Vajpayee’s playbook, to create a stable governance system, practicing the politics of “in and out”.

NOT “over and under”! …ball fields Some friends suggested your Eyewitness missed the Govt’s $700 million offer to teachers when he claimed their “ball field” offer had no size.

For teachers, $700 million wasn’t a “ball field” – just a “playfield”!

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

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fridAY, august 17, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

PNCR’s Vice Chairmanship race…

Cosford Roberts wants to fire up supporters …shares visionary plan to further modernise grassroots base need to enlarge and deepen agriculture… tap into export markets… be the food basket of the Caribbean”, in order to realise true development and sustainability.

“I am committed to upholding of ethical behaviour, humility, sensitivity and responsiveness to the needs

By Michael Younge

B

usinessman Cosford Roberts wants to reenergise and fire up the support base of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) in order to create more positive change that would see one of the country’s oldest political institutions further modernised and ready to lead Guyana out of the annals of poverty and into a new era of prosperity backed by its oil wealth and agricultural diversity.

Of course, this is all dependent on whether he secures the party’s nod to become its next Vice Chairman, following the staging of its 20th Biennial Congress which is set to take place this weekend at Congress Place in Sophia, Greater Georgetown.

Roberts, who was born in Mahaicony on the East Coast of Demerara and is a father of five, said he has a passion for service and a dedication to nation building which propels him to work extremely hard for the betterment of his country and all Guyanese. He said he has been an active member of the PNC since the age of 14 and came through the ranks of the party after deciding at a tender age that he could make a difference in the lives of ordinary citizens through the party’s projects, policies and plans.

Speaking with Guyana

Cosford Roberts

Times on Thursday morning during an exclusive interview, Roberts who now resides in the United States of America said he is no new comer to the scene and has both the experience and skills necessary to better organise the party as its Vice Chairman to deal with the challenges which lie ahead.

“I feel that the party is playing a crucial role in the development of the country because it is the party that determines the quality of governance and the ideological positions of Government at the moment…The most important reason why I am lending my energies and experiences on board is because Guyana is at the crust of making a transition to a different kind of economy which offers the opportunity for the country to be prosperous” he remarked.

He said the country must be “organised to take advantage of our blessings… we

of constituents and the role of the party in national development. It is not enough to have a good Leader and chairperson for the party, they need to be supported by two strong and capable Vice Chairpersons,” he said.

Roberts, having served in the party’s youth move-

ment and the Guyana Youth Corps said he remained active and made invaluable contributions both material and otherwise to the development of the PNC despite being abroad for many years.

He reminded that he served as the party’s

Regional Secretary for Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni) for many years and waged a war on social media in defence of the plans of the coalition which he boasted played a major role in the PNCR’s elections victory back in 2015. continued on page 10

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fridAY, august 17, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

CSEC, CAPE results to be released today T

he Education Ministry has announced that results for both the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) will be announced today and released to the candidates soon after.

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon told media operatives on Thursday that the results would be announced by Education Minister Nicolette Henry at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD).

“The Honourable Minister of Education reported to the Cabinet that the results for both the Caribbean Secondary Council Examination and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination have been received,” Harmon stated.

Minister Harmon noted that according to Henry, the results indicated that a majority of the schools have displayed improvements in all subject areas across the country.

The candidates sat the examinations over the MayJune period this year. Both the CSEC and CAPE exam-

inations are spearheaded by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) and are conducted during the same period.

Superintendent of Examinations within the Education Ministry, Sauda Kadir noted that 12,266 candidates were registered to sit the CSEC

examinations this year – a decline when compared to 12,684 candidates in 2017.

She added that this year, 923 candidates wrote the CAPE exams – an increase when compared to 851 students the previous year. In total, some 13,189 students are awaiting their results from both examinations.

In 2017, even with the Ministry expressing its dissatisfaction upon the announcement of the country’s performance at the CSEC

examinations, Guyanese students collectively managed to cop a total of 11 of the regional awards which were offered by the Council.

This once again positioned the country as a front runner at the Caribbean examinations.

Queen’s College student Michael Bhopaul had single-handedly won four of the nine CSEC Awards. The preliminary results had revealed that Bhopaul secured a ground-breaking 25 passes at the secondary- level regional assessment, 24 Grade Ones along with 1 Grade Two. However, the confident 16-year-old reviewed his results and subsequently discovered that he in fact secured Grade Ones in all 25 subjects.

Given his landmark achievement, the QC boy was named the Most Outstanding Performer at CSEC 2017.

In addition, Bhopaul also won himself the Best Performer title in three other categories, scooping up the Business, Science and Technical Vocational awards.

Vietnamese found dead at construction site – security guard, another in custody

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he lifeless body of a Vietnam national was on Wednesday evening discovered by workers in the compound of a construction site, located at Track J, D’Urban Backlands, Georgetown.

The dead man has been identified as Nguyen Nigoc Anh, age 32. Up to the time of his demise, he was working on the new mall that is being constructed by the Chinese which is in close proximity of

the Chinese Embassy.

His body was discovered at about 19:00h, a few hours after he was reportedly seen at the worksite. He stayed at the living quarters that is being provided by his employers on site.

Based on reports received, the man’s body was discovered by the security guard who immediately raised an alarm. Upon inspection, the Police found a laceration to the man’s head.

It is unclear whether the man might have fallen from the building or he was murdered. The body is presently at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation Mortuary awaiting a post-mortem.

Police have since confirmed that two persons, including the security guard who found the body, are in custody assisting with investigations as the probe continues.

Cosford Roberts wants...

from page 9

Asked if he was bothered by the youth and more experienced as well as popular candidates vying for the party’s Vice Chairmanship, Roberts responded in the negative stating that “win or lose” he will continue to fight for the policies and programmes he believes can play a role in transforming the PNCR and the country by extension.

He admitted that while young people are very important to the process and they need to be groomed, they was no proper system in place to ensure that they had all of the necessary skills to take over from the older guards and deliver on a number of fronts.

“We need to be doing that now…they have to learn about governance”, he said referring to young people before explaining that he is “fit” as

ever to take on the new role.

Roberts said his campaigning has been going well so far and he has received a substantial amount of nominations from particular areas.

“I am very confident at what I do but the decision ultimately has to be made by the delegates…I am supported too by the North American Group…One just have to do the work and accept whatever the results are… I will continue to serve win or lose….”, he explained.

In this regard, he intends to invest his energies as Vice Chair to ensure that the party delivers to its constituents and to all Guyanese through influencing the implementation of policies that resolve issues in every industry and community and to give expression to the values and as-

pirations of the people.

He said too that he wanted to assist the party to win a big mandate in the 2020 General Elections to facilitate changes in the society that will propel the nation forward while also assisting the party with the short and longterm development planning for Guyana and to fully engage the Guyanese Diaspora as a key strategic approach to capacity building and population growth.

He has a Diploma in Personnel Management from the University of Guyana and a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) - Human Resources Management Magma Cum Laude from Strayer University and an MBA from the same university.

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S RAIGHT A

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fridAY, august 17, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Buy your own liquor! – Jagdeo to MPs …says this may reduce Parliament’s food bill

Team Granger just did not learn their quants?

By Sase Singh; MSc – Finance, ACCA

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n this new world, cleaned data is a major part of the decision-making process at all levels, especially at the Executive levels. From what I have seen coming out of the Granger Cabinet, it is clear that these people did not learn their quants. How are they keeping up with the rest of the world?

How to manipulate and understand data helps decision makers arrive at better predictions about the future and thus better decisions for the people. If the key Ministers were keeping up with their quants, we would not today be having a GY$57 billion in overdrafts at the Bank of Guyana Balance Sheet when the Ramotar Government bequeathed them with more than GY$20 billion in liquid cash on deposit. If the Cabinet were studying their quants, we would have a better handle on the National Budget so that it works better for all Guyanese.

No effort is being made to properly identify what the Guyanese people need and creating a menu of measures that can drive a developmental agenda that can change lives for the better. Talking about the good life is nothing but hot air if it is not backed by qualitative and quantitative actions. This is where a pool of bright minds are needed. The Cabinet will always be mediocre if it continues to surround itself with mediocre thinkers who do not understand the quants.

Who really are the advisors?

If the Granger Cabinet continues to employ this army of advisors who do not have the ability to even understand the quants, then the decisions makers will not be able to make sense of everything? Being a ministerial advisor is not about how much you travel internationally or about how many cocktail parties you go to, but being the one who gathers the data, makes sense of it and then effectively communicate it to your boss and other stakeholders.

I reflect on one Enrico Woolford, one of these socalled ministerial advisors. As the advisor to the Public Telecommunications Minister, the nation is still to see how much he has helped his Minister frame the problem, gather the right information, analyse the data, and communicate the finding with the stakeholders (not only to the Minister). In summary, set up his Minister for success. I consulted with some members of the Private Sector and to date, they told me they are still to see any tangible output from this Ministry. Their biggest disappointment is their failure to break the GTT monopoly and make the telecoms sector a level playing field so that it can contribute to a reduction in their business costs.

Macro-economic consequences – why we should care When you think about it, there is a national drain happening because we have the wrong people for the jobs in place and there will be macroeconomic consequences. Because we have the wrong people in place, most of the oil revenue is being set up to be squandered and the nation will be presented with fait accompli such as diverting significant resources towards paying debts by 2024 rather than using it to empowering and enriching the people. That is why I am convinced in my conviction that we must have a limited cash payout because the politicians must not be trusted. My recommendation of distributing US$90 million directly to adults on the Tax Register and NIS Register for 20 years will work out to just under US$500 per person per year. It is not a lot but at least it puts something into the people's pockets before the politicians get their hand on the remaining oil revenue.

The overall story is that we are not very aggressive at spreading the wealth around in Guyana. Our inequality is already high because of the low minimum wage, the weakness of unions and very high levels of compensation at the top for the chosen few.

Conclusion Before I go, quants are people who conduct quantitative analysis for decision makers. They specialise in the application of Mathematics and statistics to a developmental problem with the view of deriving a modelled outcome. They are engaged in short-term tactical studies that yield fast results and have an immediate impact on the nation, while at the same time sewing such a short-term approach into a longer-term national development strategy.

Can we now understand why nations like Singapore moved from a Third World status to first world status in less than a generation? But as we all know, Guyana has problems because enough of our CSEC students are not passing Maths; much less Statistics. We can do much better and better must come!

Please feel free to share your feedback at sasesin1@yahoo. com.

Please share your thoughts at sasesin1@yahoo.com.

mid concerns that the food bill for one Parliament sitting is costing taxpayers too much, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo is suggesting that free alcoholic beverages should no longer be served.

He made this statement at his weekly press conference held at his Church Street, Georgetown office when asked to comment on the large spending on food at Parliament.

“It’s not just food. It’s a huge amount of alcohol that gets consumed and imbibed in the Parliament … fancy, fancy liquor,” he said, explaining that this comes at the expense of taxpayers.

Jagdeo made it clear that he is not opposed to having food served to legislators, but he believes that alcohol should not be an option nor should it be on the menu at Parliament.

He claimed that Opposition parliamentarians also did not indulge in consuming the alcohol but

did eat the food.

“They do eat. We eat. I eat the food. What do you suggest? I don’t go and eat the food? … I eat the food, but I don’t drink the liquor,” the Opposition Leader said.

He has recommended that parliamentarians buy their own alcohol if they wish to drink when they meet for sittings of the National Assembly.

“We should buy our own alcohol in Parliament. Put a canteen there and let somebody sell it and if an MP wants, let them do that, but not to have taxpayers pay for our drinking bills. Buy your own liquor!”

Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs recently disclosed that $700,000 was spent for each sitting of Parliament.

If committee meetings are to be included, it means almost $80 million would have been spent in the last three years alone overall on food.

But besides the high food bill, Jagdeo, a former President, argued that the dietary expenditure has increased tremendously under the coalition administration.

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fridAY, august 17, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Bourda Market vendor Male nursing student shot dead during robbery commits suicide

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cheese and sausage vendor at Bourda Market was on Wednesday evening shot and killed by three armed men who relieved him of his cash, a quantity of jewellery and other valuables.

Dead is 45-year-old Troy Ramalho, called “Rasta”, of Albouystown, Georgetown and of Lot 11 North Road, Lacytown, Georgetown.

Based on reports, the vendor had already packed up his stall which is located between Alexander and Bourda Streets and was awaiting transportation to take him home.

It was during this time he was confronted by three gun-toting bandits who held him at gunpoint and demanded that he hand over cash and other valuables.

Speaking with Guyana Times, the dead’s man wife, Precious Ramalho, explained that her husband refused to comply with the bandits’ demands and in retaliation, one of the armed men discharged a round hitting the vendor once to his chest.

As he fell to the ground, she noted that the other two men relieved her husband of three gold chains that were wrapped around his arm.

In addition, the perpetrators took away the man’s

H

Troy Ramalho, called “Rasta” in happier times

cellphone along with three gold rings before making good their escape on foot.

“After they come and ask him to hand over his gold and money he started talking up and he took the table that was in front of him and hit one ah dem with it. After that one of them was going away and the one with the gun turn and tell him boy do what you have to do and he took the gun and put it to his heart and pull the trigger,” the wife stated.

More so, she related that the incident happened right before the eyes of two on-duty City Constables.

“When this thing happened, the market Constable

was there but couldn’t do any but to watch the bandits walk out of the market and head towards Camp Street.

They couldn’t do anything; they don’t have a gun, all this happen in front of everybody,” the woman recalled.

She noted that the father of two would normally say to her “anybody coming to take my things (jewellery) would have to kill me before they get it, me ain’t giving up my things just suh”.

The vendor was picked up in an unconscious state and rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he died while receiving medical attention.

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage was reviewed and the Police are currently hunting the suspects. It was only a month ago, the Mayor and City Council has revealed that Bourda and Stabroek Markets are havens for criminals and warned Guyanese and foreigners to be extremely careful when traversing the areas.

ours after consuming a quantity of carbon tablets, a male nursing student succumbed while receiving medical attention at the Linden Hospital Complex, in Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

The dead man has been identified as 22-yearold Heathecliffe Allistare Bobbsemple, also called "Sonny", of Lot 2399 Central Amelia's Ward, Linden.

Based on reports received, the now dead young man consumed the tablets at his home at about 09:30h on Wednesday and took his last breath at about 18:10h. Bobbsemple reportedly suffered from mental illness and was treated at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Days prior to the incident, he was reportedly seen acting in an abnormal manner and this was reported to his mother, Tracy Bobbsemple. On Tuesday last, the young man claimed that he saw rats running in the house and requested that his mother purchase carbon tablets but she did not pay him much attention.

However, on the morning of the incident, the now dead nursing student left the house and returned home shortly after. Soon after, a brother saw him drinking the tablets and called his mother who was on her way to the mining town from Georgetown.

The young man started to vomit and it was this time, he confessed to drinking the poisonous pills. He

Dead: Heathecliffe Allistare Bobbsemple

was rushed to the Linden Hospital Complex where he was admitted a patient in an unstable condition.

The doctor reportedly administered treatment to stabilise him but he eventually succumbed.

His body is at the Wismar Hospital Mortuary awaiting a post-mortem examination.

When contacted, the aggrieved mother told Guyana Times that the now dead man was wrongfully implicated in a robbery last month, resulting in her home being searched by the Police but none of the stolen items were found.

Nevertheless, she said her son was placed in the lockups and the matter was later dropped after no evidence was found against him. Shortly after, the young man was rearrested and charged for robbery.

The woman, who works in Georgetown, related that after she leant that her son was charged for the robbery, she travelled to Linden

and paid his bail. She said during this time, the now dead young man was suffering from a "mental condition".

"Even the sister from the nursing school tell them that this boy suffering from a lil mental condition because he taking treatment from the psychiatric clinic... like Sonny was going through a depression state...," she said.

Bobbsemple related that her son was due to return to court on Thursday and would have obtained a lawyer through the Legal Aid Clinic to represent him.

One day before the court proceedings, she stated “I call Sonny, I say 'Sonny where you deh? Put on your clothes and come down the road to reach me'. Then he say, 'I drink this three carbon tablets… He say, 'mommy I too weak to come'", the woman related in tears. He passed away several hours later.

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fridAY, august 17, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Teachers to strike after last-ditch talks fail – Ministry considering alternative arrangements

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he multi-year impasse between the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) and the Education Ministry remains unchanged following a stalemate between the two sides over salary increases; and union President Mark Lyte said on Thursday that the August 27 countrywide strike will go ahead as planned.

Immediately following the union’s announcement outside the Education Ministry on Brickdam, Georgetown, subject Minister, Nicolette Henry held an emergency press conference where she signalled that Government is already considering alternative measures to deal with the fallout from any strike action.

The breakdown of talks followed a meeting between GTU representatives and Education Minister and labour officials at the Education Ministry. This came after a meeting which was held last week. The discussions on Thursday lasted

Education Minister Nicolette Henry

gagement for the simple reason that our salary issues were a major concern here.

Increases in salaries and other financial benefits have all been pushed down; it remains the same. The union’s position would have to remain the same – disagreeing with them,” the GTU President asserted.

Lyte told members of the media that the GTU outright rejected Government’s

was not budging on the clothing allowance which remains at $8000. Lyte said too that for Whitley Council leave, teachers still have to wait four years before getting their one month off. GTU was appealing for three years.

He revealed that the Ministry indicated that it wants to maintain school boards with an improved staff, but the GTU is not in favour of this proposal since school boards and the Teaching Service Commission are “operating at a different level and there are a lot of problems”.

He however noted that the meeting did see the Ministry and the GTU come to an agreement for improved salaries for (SEN) Special Education Needs teachers which would help those schools that have dormitories to remove some of the “burden” that rests with head teachers.

The two sides also determined that hinterland teachers will be allowed to

Teachers and Union representatives supporting GTU’s strike action at the Education Ministry on Thursday

over two hours and certain agreements were agreed upon but both sides held steadfast to their positions on salary increases as the union contemplates legal advice on its next moves.

“We are coming out very dissatisfied with this en-

request for teachers to agree to a debunching payoff of $200 million for 2018/19. He said the Union similarly rejected the $700 million cap that was placed on salary increases. The stalemate also revealed that Government

return to their homes once per term. Lyte added that the Education Ministry is setting up a revolving fund committee to deal with the Teacher House Revolving Fund.

He further stated that there was some consensus on

class sizing for certain categories of schools. Despite these agreements, Lyte was adamant that teachers must not accept what has been proposed.

“Incumbent now on the Minister of Labour to put in place an arbitrator-deliberator on this matter but in interim, the Union has to go forward with its plan; our teachers must send a strong statement, we don’t believe there will be another meeting,” Lyte stressed on Thursday.

Observing that industrial action is completely up to the Union’s discretion, Minister Henry pointed to legal stipulations that govern what the Education Ministry can do to cushion a situation where teachers would be off the job. In the meantime, however, she said she will make contact with Union representatives by Sunday afternoon.

“There is the internal Standard Operational Procedure (SoP) that is utilised by the Ministry of Education and its dated 2003 and the Permanent Secretary at that time would have circulated that and that was in effect and it would need to be reactivated and circulated is there is need for that to be,” Minister Henry committed.

The Government official noted that under this inter-

GTU President Mark Lyte speaking after the breakdown of talks in salary increases

nal SoP, the administration has to ensure that there is always adult supervision at the schools in addition to hiring alternative persons to replace the striking teachers on a temporary basis. This arrangement, she indicated, will also provide an assessment of the impact of the strike and whether or not a school could remain open or be closed.

“What it says; parents have to get involved through PTAs (Parent-Teachers’ Association). It talks hiring of temporary persons in the classroom to fill those gaps; the number of persons on strike or on board; whether you go half-day or rotate but those are the technical issues I’ve asked my CEO that we have all of the preliminary work done in the event that we have to activate,” she noted.

She described the meet-

ing as being “very productive” and noted that conciliation may be the next step as she awaits the Union to consult its constituents before announcing its next moves.

She responded in the negative when questioned if the coalition has not lived up to what it promised teachers.

Henry cautioned that increases will be based on the available resources and fiscal space.

“As a Government, we have committed to improve salaries and working conditions of teachers... teachers benefited from increases in 2016, 2017,” she highlighted.

The GTU envisions that 90 per cent of teachers in the public schools were ready to support their U Junior nion’s move. Negotiations have been ongoing since 2015 when the Multi-Year Agreement came to an end.

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fridAY, august 17, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

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fridAY, august 17, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

33 Peace Corps volunteers AFC Executive resigns from party sworn in to serve Guyana …citing corruption at top level

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Front row from left: Peace Corps Guyana Director of Programming and Training, Melanie Ingalls; US Ambassador Perry Holloway; Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence; Public Affairs Minister Dawn Hastings-Williams; Chief Education Officer Marcel Hutson and Peace Corps Guyana Country Director Wendy Hershberger along with the new volunteers

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hirty-three new Peace Corps volunteers were on Wednesday sworn in by the United States of America Ambassador to Guyana, Perry Holloway after two and a half months of training.

Throughout the weeks, they were stationed in the Essequibo Islands to complete a training exercise with youths in the areas of education, health and well-being, and environmental development.

The ceremony is the 31st of its kind and was conducted at the Ambassador’s residence in the presence of Government Ministers, First Lady Sandra Granger, and Chief Education Officer (CEO) Marcel Hutson.

After taking the oath which was administered by the Ambassador, the volunteers were briefed on some of the work which they will be involved in during their

stay in eight of the 10 regions under a rotation system.

For the next two years, the volunteers will reside with Guyanese citizens in the respective regions where they will serve.

In her remarks, Public Affairs Minister Dawn Hastings-Williams applauded the new volunteers for successfully completing the training. She explained that the work which has been done by the volunteers was important to the development of youths across the nation.

“The Government of Guyana recognises the value of volunteerism. The volunteers of the Peace Corps are shining examples for our nation and especially our youths. During your service, you will be working with teachers and students to teach science effectively, stimulate the love of nature and empower our youth to be leaders

in environmental protection and enhancement.”

Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence also shared similar sentiments, adding that the volunteers be supported throughout their service to Guyana.

“I am convinced that over an extended period of time, your intervention with the schools coupled with your interaction with parents and healthcare workers will certainly impact significantly the choices our youths make,” the Public Health Minister stated.

The Peace Corps was created in March of 1961 by President John F Kennedy to provide human resource and technical assistance to developing countries. The Peace Corps was first active in Guyana from 19661971, and later returned in 1995 at the invitation of then President, Dr Cheddi Jagan.

Gaskin urges entrepreneurs to be positive as Berbice Expo 14 launched

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he 14th Annual Berbice Expo and Trade Fair was officially launched on Wednesday evening under the theme “Advancing Economic Progress through Professional Standards and Entrepreneurship”.

The four-day event will be held at the Albion Sports Complex from October 5 to 8, 2018. The Expo was declared open by Business Minister Dominic Gaskin who urged entrepreneurs to be positive if they wanted to stay in business.

He noted that they must be prepared to be “risk takers” who are prepared to put their “money where their mouth is”. “They must be prepared to work hard to ensure that they make a profit,” Minister Gaskin said as he addressed the gathering.

The Expo is being organised by the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce (CCCC) and according to Gaskin, the

Business Minister Dominic Gaskin addressing the gathering at the launch of the 14th Berbice Expo

Ministry is pleased to be associated with the initiative.

“These various organisations allow the Guyanese business community to be better informed and to have a stronger voice and Berbice businesses must have a strong voice because Berbice businesses must drive the Berbice economy,” the Business Minister declared.

However, he noted, “This does not mean that we don’t need foreign investment or foreign businesses in Guyana … We need foreign investors to undertake large projects that we can’t finance locally; we need foreign investors in places where we lack expertise and experience. continued on page 16

xecutive Member of the Alliance For Change (AFC) Gladwin Abdulla has resigned from the party citing corrupting as his reason for leaving.

Abdulla, who operated out of Berbice, in a release to the media on Thursday said he has officially tendered his resignation with immediate effect.

“The reason is centred mainly on the many corruption charges being levelled against officials and members of the AFC and their penchant for attacking members who are honest and hardworking,” Abdulla said in a release.

Abdulla claimed that he was a dedicated and committed member of the AFC but mistakenly thought that the coalition was the best solution to have ever happened to Guyana since ‘change’ will pervade the land and the ‘good life’ will enter the homes of the impoverished.

He also said he was of the view that with the coalition he was expecting that corruption would have become a distant memory but sadly, it has improved significantly.

“I saw through the façade of pretensions and hypocrisy peddled by the AFC Ministers and Party officials. The various Ministers who visited Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) would often compliment me for the great work I was doing both

AFC Executive Member Gladwin Abdulla

for the Party and the residents in Region Six.” The now former AFC official in his release supported claims made in the past on several occasions that there is a high level of corruption at the Public Infrastructure Ministry involving top ranking officials.

“The proverbial straw which finally broke the camel’s back was the $120 million road slashing contract which was awarded to mostly AFC members and officials. But later I came face to face with undeniable proof of corruption. I was asked to accompany an official from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure to a wellknown contractor’s home where he asked the contractor for seven per cent kickback on a contract he will get for him. When the con-

tractor refused him, he said that the official then told the contractor that he was sent by the subject Minister.

The contractor again refused and we hastily leave. I was highly embarrassed by this open display of corruption,” Abdulla said.

It was previously reported that several contractors connected to the AFC who were awarded contracts to slash the road shoulders in Region Six were issued without tenders. Nevertheless, Abdulla admitted that he was issued with one of those $15 million contracts.

“This Ministry of Public Infrastructure official had given me a contract to slash the Corentyne road sides but I gave it back since I could not afford to pay 10 per cent kickback. That official has since been doing that contractual work.”

“The AFC members who were given the $120 million road slashing contract do not even have the financial resources to do the work and I had to act as a guarantor for a line of credit for them with two businessmen to purchase slashers, gas and oil among other items…”, the angered AFC member stated.

In addition, Abdulla related that some AFC officials who are holding ministerial positions are involved in corruption and has been attacking other party members who speak out against corruption.

Students receive laptops, school items from NGO

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hildren from various regions across Guyana were recipients of back-to-school items, which were made possible by donations through the Give Another Chance Foundation (GACF).

The presentation ceremony was held at the St Joseph High School in the presence of Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence; Georgetown Mayor Patricia Chase Green; the Director of Sport, Christopher Jones, members of the Foundation and the awardees.

The majority of the recipients were outstanding achievers in the recent National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA); they received book bags and laptops.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Public Health Minister noted, “We are here to celebrate something that is good, something that would add to you boys and girls to enhance our education and as a result, to enhance the type of person you will be in the future.”

Lawrence also urged the gathering of young students to pursue their aspirations in whatever field of studies they choose to pursue and related that there would be significant growth

The Director of Sport, Christopher Jones presenting the items to one of the recipients

in the children’s capabilities if these gestures continued.

“In order to make those dreams a reality, you have to ensure that you are focused and you have to focus on education because that is one of the main keys that are going to unlock the door of opportunity for you so that you can blossom and grow,” the Minister said to the students.

In delivering the feature address, Mayor Chase Green noted that, along with the supply of materials to enhance their education, the students must also be steered away from drugs and must not be in any en-

vironment which fostered abuse and other dangerous situations.

“We have to say no to abuse at all levels. We have to say no to drugs, because I know it is reported many times of the sale of drugs outside of our prominent schools and that is something we have to look into,” the Mayor said.

Meanwhile, there are plans to take this initiative which has been ongoing for the past eight years to other areas such as Wakenaam Island and other rural areas. This will be done later in the week.

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friDAY, august 17, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

5 teachers to start career Guyana Airways to commence in hinterland region operations in October

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From left: Rebbie Singh, Kieana Greene, Eion Adams, Onicia Fredericks and Astrid English

s the new school term swiftly approaches, five friends who call themselves OKERA (based on their first initial) – Onicia Fredericks, Kieana Greene, Eion Adams, Rebbie Singh and Astrid English – are eager and ready to commence their teaching careers at the Kato Secondary School in Region Eight (PotaroSiparuni) when it officially opens on September 2, 2018.

The five teachers will volunteer their services at the school. The quintet will be graduating from the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) this year and are all majors in English Language.

The five teachers met with Chief Education Officer Marcel Hutson and a team to discuss the particulars of their contribution.

The senior officials were impressed with the teachers’ decision. According to the CEO’s Technical Assistant, Francesca Vieira, the selfless idea by the teachers to

begin their career in Kato was birthed at a CPCE enrichment week activity where students were exposed to an orientation exercise.

Additionally, Vieira urged the teachers that as they head into a new environment, they should use the manuals that are available to seek guidance so as to address the various issues that may arise.

CEO Hutson also applauded the students for their willingness to leave the comfort of their homes to travel to the interior location to educate the nation’s children.

He said that they should be commended, since within their own deliberations they would have recognised the need for trained teachers at the soon-to-be opened school.

In addition, he noted that their decision meshed with the mission of the Education Ministry to reduce the dis-

parity between the coastal and hinterland communities in the education sector.

According to the five teachers, the idea to travel to Kato was presented to them by Fredericks and they all agreed. In explaining her decision to travel to the interior, Fredericks explained that children on the coast were more fortunate in terms of the quality of education being delivered and as such, she believes that their skills and knowledge would greatly impact the lives of the children in the hinterland region.

The five teachers were lauded by Assistant CEO June-Ann Gonsalves, who informed them that they would be housed in the teachers living quarters at the said school.

She reassured them that they would be supported in every way possible by the Education Ministry during their transition period and thereafter.

new Guyana Airways is expecting to commence operations in October and will see daily flights to a number of Caribbean destinations and eventually the United States of America.

This was revealed by its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairman, Colin Abrams, who informed Guyana Times on Thursday of the initiatives which the carrier would be undertaking in the coming months.

During that time, the office at Barrack and High Streets, Kingston would be opened so as to engage stakeholders on some of the services and routes that would be offered by the new airline.

Abrams noted that they were awaiting confirmation from the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) as it relates to the acquisition of their licence, which would ultimately give the green light to commence operations.

“We’d hopefully like to commence operations during October after a cruiser training in Miami and we’re shooting for October. That is part of the (Air Operator’s Certificate)

The Guyana Airways headquarters on High and Barrack Streets, Kingston

AOC licensing process. We have to fly trips and they observe that our trips are flown within the realms of our operating procedures that we wrote in our manuals,” he said.

The Chairman noted that this would be done after checks were made by the GCAA during piloted flights, to verify the company was in keeping with all of the guidelines and standards that were set out initially. The airline will first fly to Cuba, Barbados and Trinidad with more destinations to come in the future as it expands operations.

“We will be flying for the Caribbean for now, simply because Guyana is a category-two country and we aren’t able to fly to North America as a category-two country. So, we will be flying daily to Havana, Cuba and to other

parts of the Caribbean like Barbados and Trinidad,” Abrams said.

Meanwhile, it was related that the aircraft to be used is not owned by the company, but would be dry-leased.

“The flights are not chartered and we will be dry-leasing the aircraft.

We have hired 80 flight attendants so far and in terms of total employees, we have hired close to 120.”

This publication also spoke to one of the appointed Language of Destination (LOD) flight attendants, Shelly Ann Lalchand who stated, “It’s the most amazing experience, warm people and a beautiful team.

We’re not just a team, we’re a family and we’re looking forward to giving excellent customer service to all of our future passengers. We’re so looking forward to serve.”

Gaskin urges...

from page 15

We also need foreign investors that understand international markets.”

Referring to the theme under which the Expo will be held, the Minister explained that professional standards were needed in good entrepreneurship since standards play a key role in conducting business on the international market.

Meanwhile, Region Six Chairman David Armogan noted that the Social Cohesion Ministry has been supporting small community businesses and although the programme was mainly being promoted in areas which were pro-government, it was a step in the right direction.

Among the projects the Ministry has been financing are the construction of pens for the rearing of birds and animals and the construction of factories to make concrete blocks.

“It is that the Government is trying to build capacity within the villages, and it is good to

build the economy, but, at the same time, building villages’ economies with small plots of land cannot create development. That is what subsistence agriculture is,” Armogan pointed out, adding that Guyana needed to move away from subsistence.

The Chairman further stated that the Chambers of Commerce needed to also focus on non-traditional areas in the agriculture sector. “For too long we have been looking in the direction of primary production. We need to start adding value to whatever we are producing.”

Chamber President Poonai Bhigroog said the 2017 Expo was a success, adding that this year in excess of 22,000 persons were expected to pay to enter the trade fair while more than 120 exhibitors were slated to participate.

The CCCC will be giving concessions to small entrepreneurs, continuing an initiative which was started last year.

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friDAY, august 17, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Aretha Franklin, "Queen of Soul", dies

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Aretha Franklin

retha Franklin, the "queen of soul" known for hits like Respect and Think, has died in Detroit at the age of 76.

The legendary singer was diagnosed with cancer in 2010 and announced last year she was retiring from music.

Franklin won 18 Grammys, and had 17 Top Ten US chart hits over a music career spanning seven decades.

The star gave her final performance last November at a gala in New York held in aid of the Elton John Aids Foundation.

In a statement, her family said: "In one of the darkest moments of our lives, we are not able to find the appropriate words to express

the pain in our heart.

The family also confirmed her death was due to advanced pancreatic cancer of the neuroendocrine type.

Born in Memphis to a gospel singer/pianist and a celebrated Baptist preacher, Franklin was tutored from an early age by such gospel stars as Mahalia Jackson and Clara Ward.

After moving to Atlantic Records in 1966 she broke through, and released some of her most iconic songs like Respect soon after the switch.

By 1968 she was renowned throughout America and Europe as "Lady Soul" - a symbol of black pride who appeared on the cover of Time and was given an award by Martin Luther King.

Reaction to the death of the soul legend has poured in throughout Thursday as high-profile figures paid tribute to her musical legacy and commitment to US civil rights.

Sir Elton John said he "adored and worshipped" the star, and wrote: "the loss of Aretha Franklin is a blow for everybody who loves real music."

Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney wrote: "Let's all take a moment to give thanks for the beautiful life of Aretha Franklin, the Queen of our souls, who inspired us all for many many years." (BBC)

Former Indian PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee dies

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ormer Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has died at the age of 93 following a prolonged illness, according to a hospital statement.

A Hindu nationalist from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Vajpayee had been hospitalised since June with a kidney infection and chest congestion.

Reports emerged on Thursday morning that Vajpayee was in a critical condition after top Indian politicians visited him in New Dehli's All India Institute of Medical Science.

"Despite the best of efforts, we have lost him today. We join the nation in deeply mourning this great loss," a statement from the hospital read on Thursday.

The Government announced seven days of state morning to honour the former prime minister, who was admitted to hospital on June 11.

Vajpayee served as India's prime minister three times: for 13 days in 1996, 11 months in 1998 to 1999

Former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee

and then from 1999 to 2004.

He also served decades in parliament, and was a foreign minister from 1977 to 1980.

Commenting on the news of his death, Modi said Vajpayee's stewardship had put India on a fast track to growth.

"It was Atal Ji's exemplary leadership that set the foundations for a strong, prosperous and inclusive India in the 21st century," Modi said in a tweet. (Al Jazeera)

guyanatimesgy.com

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he grand finale of the Guyanese Folk Festival will take the shape of a Family Fun Day billed for September 2, at Pacplex Poolside Complex, Brooklyn, New York.

The Festival – which commended on July 2 with the 10th Annual Caribbean Heritage Summer Workshop which offers children between the ages of six and 14 an integrated curriculum – uses the arts to study and showcase themes in Caribbean heritage.

At the workshop, a kids’ costume was assembled and titled “Spirit of Our Festivals” and it showcases Guyana’s national festivals such as Mashramani, Diwali, Masquerade, and the Dragon Dance.

The costume band will perform at the Folk Festival’s inaugural Kids’ Costume Band Parade, scheduled for 11:00h on the day of the Fun Day. On August 29, there will be an award ceremony at the Brooklyn Borough Hall, where the

achievements young Guyanese are recognised. At the award ceremony, a dance production done by the Classique Dance troupe titled “Home” will be featured.

The final event however, is the Family Fun Day. This new venue will allow Guyanese in the Diaspora to showcase a larger range of creative expressions across the day.

The Children’s Village will open at 11:00h with the Kids’ Costume Band Parade, featuring costumes created by the 2018 Caribbean Heritage Workshops series.

In addition, several events will be organised for children and their families, including a workshop on bodypainting by Steve Douglas of Bravo Arts.

This will be followed by the stage show which starts at 17:00h.

Among the confirmed musical performers are Flantis and the Ninja Band, Young Bill Rogers,

Multitalented overseasbased multitalented musician, Ian “Fojo” Corbin

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have always believed in the saying, “The apples don’t fall far from the tree.” With that being said, here’s a story which may not come as a surprise to some readers, but will surely saturate your musical whims and fantasies.

Many may remember not so long ago, when Ian Corbon, better known as “Fojo” – the artiste who invaded the local music arena, blazing a trail much difficult to follow by the competition. But now following in his footsteps are his three

darling angels, with liquid vocals more associated with fairies, water nymphs and goddesses.

“Fojo” still continues to work with numerous artistes around the globe since he is also a songwriter, producer and performer…. However, his main focus is on taking his “Fojo’s Angels” – 15-year-old Bryana (Trinidadian born); Canadianborn 15-year-old Kadejah; and nine-year-old Guyanese-born Aniyah – to the very top of the recognition ladder where they so rightfully deserve to be

placed.

The scorching trio are poised to release their first single dubbed, “What’s up with Dad” which tells the story of an overprotective father having to deal with the featherlike notions and fantasies of a teenaged girl (Kadejah) who happens to be the lead vocalist of this very promising song group.

Kadejah is also set to record and release a few singles of her own very soon.

The voice of these talented upcoming young artistes are rare and quite stimulating and takes one back into a fantasy world which allows you to reminisce on the days when fairies, stunning goddesses and water nymphs roamed our world, filling the skies with serene liquid vocals, all honey tones, and tuned to ignite every ‘musical muscle’ within our bodies.

These feisty young ladies are urging the public to whip out protective eyewear because the future is about to explode in a blinding kaleidoscope of shooting stars, as this trio readies themselves to unleash a ‘musical thunderstorm’ like

friday, august 17, 2018

Gavin Mendonca, Adrian Dutchin, Randy Ramdin and Recklëz Tassa Group, as well as the GCA’s Kwe Kwe Ensemble.

The Classique Dance Company NYC and Friends will premiere four new choreographies during the 2018 season. “Tribes of Guyana,” “Ethnic Vibration,” and “It’s a Caribbean Thing” will be proudly performed at the stage show.

There are new faces this year from Guyana who are behind the 2018 Folk Festival season. Among them are Clinton Duncan, Mwanza Glenn and Paul Charles. These three Guyana-based artists are among Guyana’s leading festival artists and their impact is already evident in the Caribbean Heritage Summer Workshop series.

Among the other new faces is Steve Douglas of Bravo Arts. He will use body painting and special effects makeup techniques to bring to life characters such as “Ole Higue” and “Masacura Man”.

He will also use Henna to showcase the sacred Andinkra symbols from West Africa at Kwe Kwe Night. Henna art/Mehindi is popular in some Guyanese Hindu weddings.

Roger “Young Bill Rogers” Hinds, the recipient of GCA 2018 Exemplary Award, will give his first Guyana Folk Festival performance. The multi-timed National Calypso, Soca, and Chutney Monarch is expected to perform his own repertoire and pay tribute to his father’s pioneering recording session with the RCA Bluebird label in New Jersey in 1935.

With that recording session, Bill Rogers Snr became the first Guyanese recording artist.

Another first visit will be Gavin Mendonca, fresh from the 2018 World of Music, Art and Dance (WOMAD) Festival in the UK, where he performed his unique style of music: Creole Rock.

His recent album “Creole Rock: The Beginning” is a celebration of Guyana’s folk songs.

The multitalented musical trio

never before seen on our local shores.

The most amazing things is that these young divas at such a tender age already possess the onstage charisma, captivating allure, and showmanship associated with internationally acclaimed songstresses. Some

are already raving that they bring to mind Guyanese Lisa Punch and even Toni Braxton and Whitney Houston in their younger days of stardom. Way to go ladies!

The ladies have indeed inherited their vocal supremacy from their father since several

years ago, singer/songwriter Ian “Fojo” Corbin led the way when the nominations for the inaugural Accolades – the music awards of Guyana were announced.

The genre-hopping Corbin received nine nominations, including major nods for Best New Artist, Songwriter-of-theYear and Producer-of-the-Year, in a field dominated by soca and reggae acts.

Bonny Alves of the Yoruba Singers, who had faced off against Corbin in the Producer category, finished second behind him with six nominations.

Songstress Timeka Marshall and soca sirens Michelle “Big Red” King and Shellon “Shelly G” Garraway had each earned five nominations, with nods for the coveted Artist-of-Year award; while reggae powerhouses “First Born” and “Natural Black” also scored five a piece, including Album-of-the-Year.

Guyana stay poised, and expect lots of musical surprise from this super talented trio, who we may even soon dub “The Fojo Sisters’.

guyanatimesgy.com

friDAY, august 17, 2018

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he biggest comedy show, “Nothing to Laugh About 11”, which recently took the country by storm when they staged their annual production at the National Cultural Centre, is beginning their tour in Essequibo on Saturday, August 18, at the Anna Regina Community Centre Ground.

Once again, Essequibo will be given their dose of laughter. This year the show is directed by Maria Benschop and has an allstar cast, including Michael Ignatius, Lyndon “Jumbie” Jones, Kirwyn Mars, Leza “Radika” Singh, Clemencio Goddette, Chris Gopaul, Mark “Chine Man” Kazim, Leon Cummings, Kijana

Lewis, Simone Persaud, Mark Luke-Edwards, Jermaine Grimmond, Zoya Moore, Ashley Alfred, and Sonia Yarde.

Tickets cost $1000 for adults and $500 for children and are available at G&P Jaigobin, Timo’s Vulcanising, Lal’s General Store, Original Juice Man, Maku’s Vulcanising, Morris and Jenny B. As usual, the show will straddle all the divides; be it politics, race or religion. It is a show that is not afraid to push the boundaries and that is probably why it is the most anticipated show every year.

Patrons are advised to be on time as the show will begin at 20:00h sharp.

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s the Guyana Nurses Association celebrates its 90th anniversary, several activities were planned to observe the milestone. These include activities at the St George's Cathedral, the Guyana Pegasus and the Arthur Chung Conference Centre from August 19-25, 2018.

It will be a ‘Global Guyanese Nurses Reunion’, a time of celebration, reflection and refocusing for a better organisation and improved nursing care to the Guyanese population. The first such reunion was held in 2002.

The theme for this 90th anniversary is: “Uniting Forces, Uplifting Nursing: Celebrating 90 years with Pride”. However,

one of the most intriguing events that will be hosted to celebrate nurses is the concert.

For the first time, a concert titled “Nurses in Concert” will be held at the National Cultural Centre on Monday, August 20. The nurses will be performing dramatic skits, singing, modelling, spoken words and poetry. Those performing the soca and chutney renditions will be backed by the Mingles Sound Machine and Fitzroy Cummings.

The show is being directed by Sharon Cadagon Taylor. Admission to the concert is $1500 and $1000 and is available at the National Cultural Centre. The action gets underway at 20:00h.

amzone returns to Guyana this weekend at the Marriott Beach Front with two power-packed events that will definitely be off the hook. On Friday, the Hits and Jams Entertainment will be hosting the first ever J’Ouvert aback the Marriott Hotel.

This time around, the J’Ouvert will be done in three sections: wet, glow paint and dry. The wet J’Ouvert will be all “stink and dutty” while for the first time, luminous paints (glow paint) will be used. Those who want to remain dry; there will be a special section with no water or paint.

There will be no live performances but there will be lots of versatile deejays who will make sure those present have a grand evening. These include Selector Diamond, Deejay Energy and Gully Ras out of Fusion Sound and Deejay Akelo out of Stereo Sonics.

Advance tickets for the Beach J’Ouvert cost $2000 but at the gates, patrons will pay $3000. Tickets will be available at the regular ticketing locations.

The second event will be the Beach Fun Day slated for Sunday, July 19 at the same venue. Over $500,000 in cash is set aside as prize monies. On this day, the entertainment group will organise several exciting games where persons can will lots of cash.

The event gets underway in the morning with the games, but as night falls, “Stitchy One Man Band” will take over the entertainment. In addition, Fusion Sounds, Notorious Sound and Stereo Sonic will add to the vibes.

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GUYANATIMESgy.COM

“We want to know where the Region is” – Ninvalle friDAY, AUGUST 17, 2018

…GBA kick starts junior championships today

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oxing action will return to the National Gymnasium this evening as the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) is preparing to host the third edition of the Caribbean Schoolboys and Juniors Championships.

The Championships, which were first hosted in Guyana back in 2016, sees participation from numerous countries around the Caribbean, inclusive of Jamaica, Grenada, and Trinidad and Tobago.

With those teams coming into the Land of Many Waters, GBA President Steve Ninvalle divulged the aims of the Association’s initiative. “What we have done in Guyana is that we have seen the need for emphasis to be placed on the nursery

of the sport not only in this country but wider afield, and it was with this in mind that we sat, we plotted, we planned, and we came up with this tournament.”

Furthermore, the GBA President posited that the event was not being viewed as only a competition but as a way to assess the continued development of the Caribbean’s young boxers.

“It’s not about Guyana actually winning, this is a collaborative regional effort and we want to know where the Region is as it relates to that department of the sport. After this, we’ll take a panoramic view and we can say aptly that as a region the Caribbean needs to do this and that,” Ninvalle stated.

Wiltshire making good strides overseas G

uyana Junior and Caribbean Under-15 Champion Shomari Wiltshire is currently in the USA to attend a Summer Squash Camp at the Chatham Club in New Jersey from August 20 to 24, 2018.

Wiltshire, who is currently sponsored by Dunlop, is undergoing personalised training under the tutelage of the camp organiser, current Guyana national player Sunil Seth prior to participation. Over the last weekend, the Banks DIH Rainforest Waters Brand Ambassador also entered the 2018 Newport Steamer Summer Gold Tournament. The Tournament was held in Providence, Rhode Island at two venues – the St George’s School and the Portsmouth Abbey School.

In the USA, Gold Tournaments are ranked second behind the Junior Championships (JCT). With 280 registered players, according to tournament information, it was one of the largest non-JCT events in the country in 2018. Because Wiltshire had won the Finger Lakes Gold Tournament in September 2017 and also due to the accumulated points gained at the US Junior Squash Open in December 2017, he was seeded number one in the Boys’ Under-15 draw.

In the first round, he defeated Omar Cochinwala 11-2, 114, 11- 5 and in the second round, he defeated Isaac Mitchell 115, 11-1, 11- 4 to reach the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals, he faced Ashton Monteiro, who had finished as the runner-up in the Washington DC Gold Tournament held earlier in the summer. Wiltshire lost the first game 7-11, but bounced back to win the next three games 11- 2, 11- 6, 11- 7.

In the semi-finals, he came up against Hollis Robertson, who had won two Under-15 Summer Gold Tournaments – the Washington DC Junior Gold and the 2018 Virginia Summer Gold – and was seeded 3/4 in the tournament. This would prove to be Wiltshire’s toughest match in the tournament. He lost the first game 7-11 but rebounded to win the next two games 11-5, 11-6 and at 9-all in the fourth game, Wiltshire was two points away from reaching his second Gold Under-15 final, but he made an unforced error and ended up losing the fourth game 9- 11. In the fifth game, Wiltshire trailed 1-5, but kept a cool head and staged a comeback to eventually win the fifth game 11-8.

In the final, Wiltshire was pitted against the number two seed, Robert Avram, but this game would prove to be anticlimactic after the semi-final matchup the previous evening. Wiltshire easily won in straight games 11-6, 11-5, 11-2 to claim his second US Gold Tournament.

He expressed gratitude to his sponsors Dunlop and Rainforest Waters, Coaches Carl Ince and Nyron Joseph, Kezqweyah Yisrael and the Top End team and also to massage therapist Kathleen Paul, as without their contributions his success would not have been possible.

Guyanese top seed Shomari Wiltshire

GBA President Steve Ninvalle; Director of Sport, Christopher Jones and Jamaican Coach Gilbert Valdz and other officials along with members of the Jamaican junior team

The Association President also took the time to highlight the fact that the GBA has multiplied the number of junior competitions in order to produce the best for the tournament. In past years, only two competitions were held internally; that number has been raised to two per month.

Following a similar train of thought, Director of Sport, Christopher Jones spoke on the measures being taken by his office to improve the quality of the

Championships. Jones disclosed that the National Sport Commission (NSA) has gone as far as employing a coach who was working with young boxers in the hinterland regions.

“The NSC would have hired a boxing coach and he’s particularly working in the outlying regions – One, Seven, Eight and Nine. Because we recognise like the coast, many of those talents could be found in the hinterland region.

And, as such, Mr Rogers

has been working, identifying those boxers and essentially feeding them into the programmes that are had by the Boxing Association.”

Furthermore, the Director of Sport explained that these tournaments were a testament to how much those initiatives have nurtured the athletes. “We have essentially seen the growth of our young boxers because of the programme that they would have set out. More particularly, this schoolboys and junior tour-

nament provides an opportunity for those young boxers to be scouted.”

The first team to land on these shores for this year’s tournament were the Jamaican team comprising three males, one female and a coach. Speaking on behalf of his team, Coach Gilbert Valdz praised the GBA for hosting the event.

“Competition like this is good for us in the Caribbean, and Guyana has been holding up the Caribbean where schoolboys and amateur boxing around the Region is concerned. I want to give the President and his team a very hearty thank you for keeping their end of the bargain in promoting youths,” the Jamaican said.

The three-day competition will utilise a budget of $6 million and the NSC has committed to sponsoring transportation, meals and petty cash among other things. All the teams for the competition will be weighed in tomorrow morning before the first punch is thrown at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue at 18:00h (6pm) sharp.

GRFU unveils 26-member Americas Challenge squad A

s the Green Machine prepare to depart Guyana for the Americas Rugby Challenge Series 2018, the Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) has revealed a 26-member contingent that will represent the nation in Colombia.

The competition, which will pit Guyana against the likes of Mexico, Paraguay and Colombia, is expected to get underway on August 26 with Guyana’s first matchup against the powerhouse hosts.

Noting that the players have worked tirelessly during the selection process, Manager Earle Edghill said they have selected the best team possible.

“We had over 40 young men who were working hard to be selected. The team was shortlisted four or five times trying to get the best persons to get the job done. In the end, we decided to go with 26 players who we feel have what it takes t o bring home t h e g o l d , ” Edghill disclosed.

“Green Machine” members during a practice session at the Parade Ground

Highlighting the fact that much of the practice was hindered by inclement weather, Coach Grant Stuarte noted that nonetheless the team have been able to get some key practice sessions done.

“In terms of team preparation, it was very tough in the early stages due to the fact that we didn’t have proper playing field due to the rain and the weather pattern that kept coming and going. But to the latter end, we were able to move around and get some reasonable playing grounds to exercise our practices,” he said.

The Coach went on to state that with only a few days remaining before the departure from Guyana, the team would be looking to iron out their plays

and the executives would be looking to identify the final team. Other than that, the team are said to be in great shape with all the prospective players in great playing condition.

The Green Machine are expected to depart Guyana on August 22 for their international engagement.

Guyana will be going into the competition with a lot of optimism, having beaten the best team Columbia at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games 1412.

Each team will play three games in the round-robin segment on Sunday, August 26 and Wednesday, August 29, with the final round set for Saturday, September 1.

The winner will be the team with the most tournament points.

Full Selection:

Jason Tyrell, Allain Crawford, Rondel McArthur, Kevon David, Grantly Williams, Richard Staglon, Jamal Angus, Cloyd Prowell, Ryan Gonsalves, Lancelot Adonis, Avery Corbin, Claudius Butts, Godfrey Broomes, David Garnett, Joseph Rahaman, Cyon Kitt, Ahmad Isaacs, Vallon Adams, Walter George, Sean Phillips, James Osborne, Daniel DeAbreu, Toby David, Selwin Henry, Oneil Charles, Jamal Darrell; Reserve Players and Positions – Prop: Damarr Haynes, Kevin Jordan, Terrence Daniels; Locks: Dellon DeAbrue, Glenroy Pool, Daniel Anderson; Wingers: Jose Felicien, Kurt Hunt, David Garnett, Ryan Dey, and Kareem McKenzie.

Manager Earl Edghill, Coach Grant Stuarte, and Physio Barrington Brown will accompany the team.

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Defending champions Ol Skool Ballers secure Round of 16 spot … action begins tomorrow

R

ecently-crowned GT Beer “Keep Your Five Alive” champions Sparta Boss left themselves in a shaky position after suffering their second loss in succession as play in the Three Peat Promotions/Guinness Cage Competition continued on Wednesday evening at the Haslington Market Tarmac.

Played before a large crowd that included top officials from major sponsor Queensway Security Services and Repsol representatives, the country’s most decorated team in the shorter version will have to win their next encounter by a large margin and hope to go through as one of the four best third-place teams.

It followed a disappointingly 3-1 defeat at the hands of a stubborn Alexander Village unit that never looked intimidated going up against the much-vaunted Sparta Boss missing their talisman Gregory “Jackie Chan” Richardson.

Guinness Cage action

Their next engagement is against home team Haslington Hypers, who will also be aiming to win big to enter the Round of 16 set for Saturday following consecutive losses as well.

Defending champions Ol Skool Ballers continued where they left off last Wednesday with another gutsy

Win in Normal Time – 3 points Win on Penalty Kicks – 2 points Game 1 BV B 0 v Vryheid’s Lust 0 Vryheid’s Lust won 2-1 on penalty kicks Game 2 Melanie B 0 v Plaisance 0 Plaisance won 3-2 on penalty kicks Game 3 Avocado Ballers 2 v Paradise 0 Avocado scorers Niandas Lyte – 5th Sylvester Richardson – 9th

performance en route to a 4-3 sudden death penalty win over Hypers in what was an enthralling battle. Regulation time had ended with the teams locked on 2-2.

Some of the other teams advancing were Kitty Hustlers, Vryheid’s Lust, Albouystown and Leopold Street.

Game 7 Alexander Village 3 v Sparta Boss – 1 Alexander scorer Shem Porter – 8th, 12th and 14th Sparta Scorer Sheldon Shepherd – 4th Game 8 Tiger Bay 2 v North East La Penitence 1 Tiger Bay scorers Deon Alfred – 4th Godfrey Powers – 11th North East scorer Doliyh Green – 13th

Game 4 Back Circle 3 v Belfield Warriors 0 Back Circle scorers Jermaine Beckles – 4th Akeemo Aaron –10th Selwyn Williams – 12th

Game 9 Blazers 4 v Victoria Eagles 0 Blazers scorers Desmond Cottam – 3rd, 6th and 10th Anthony Barrow – 12th

Game 5 Leopold Street 1 v Broad Street 0 Scorer Mark Jhalu – 11th

Game 9 Albouystown 2 v Victoria Church Yard 0 Albouystown scorer Lennox Cort – 2nd and 13th

The five-day tournament is dubbed “the East Coast Best versus the Rest” with teams from the East Coast corridor tackling the finest selection from Georgetown in an effort to foster integration among the participating communities and to create a better understanding among i inhabitants.

Among the entities in support of the cause are: Banks DIH under its Guinness and Power Wine brands; Clarks footwear giant Chetsons; E-Networks Inc; KSM Investments; Yhip’s Bakery; Brass Aluminium & Cast Iron Foundry (BACIF); Ray’s Auto Sales; YK Investments; Trophy Stall; Express Shipping; Woodpecker Products; National Sports Commission; C Division of the Guyana Police Force; Jai Signs & Auto Designs; Gaming Authority; Julius Variety Store and C & C Prestigious Styles.

Game 10 Hustlers 5 v Melanie A 1 Hustlers scorers John Waldron – 4th 6th and 9th Sunny Sancho – 11th and 13th Melanie scorer Malachi Grannum – 10th Game 11 Ol Skool Ballers 2 v Haslington Hypers 2 Ol Skool won 4-3 on sudden death penalty kicks Ol Skool scorer Beres Parkinson – 4th and 8th Haslington scorer Nicosie McLeod – 3rd and 12th Game 12 Uprising 1 v Buxton Diamond 1 Uprising won 2-1 on penalty kicks Uprising scorer Shamar Scott – 5th Buxton scorer Shamar Beckles – 4th

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T

he Skyy Vodka 20/20 Knock-out Cricket Tournament, organised by the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB), started last weekend with two matches.

Rose Hall Town Gizmos & Gadgets defeated Rose Hall Canje by 65 runs, Skeldon continued their impressive start to the 2018 First-Division season by winning by eight wickets while Albion Cricket Club and Upper Corentyne were granted walkovers over West Berbice and Young Warriors respectively after both teams failed to turn up for unknown reasons.

Blairmont drew the bye and as such, advanced to the next round as well.

At the Rose Hall Canje Ground, the home team won the toss and elected to field.

Rose Hall Town Gizmos &

Gadgets opened with Vidal Crandon and the veteran Jason Sinclair, who added 15 for the first wicket in five overs. The batsmen struggled on a wicket with a lot of preparation moisture, but Andy Naidu (21) and Clinton Pestano (31) batted positively, as Sinclair played the defensive role to remain unbeaten on a carefully constructed 41, which contained just two boundaries. Naidu hit two sixes while national player Pestano hit three huge sixes and two boundaries in his innings as Rose Hall Town Gizmos & Gadgets reached 130 for 5 in their 20 overs.

Bowling for the home team, K Ramsarran claimed 4 for 24 while left-arm spinner Mark Sampson took 1 for 9 from his four overs. In response, Rose Hall Canje were restricted to 65

all out in 16 overs. Sasenarine Sukhdeo struck 36 to be the only batsman to reach double figures. Sukhdeo hit two sixes and three boundaries in his innings. Shawn Perreira, Eon Hooper, and Keith Simpson each took two wickets for 10, 13 and 14 respectively while Sylus Tyndall, Pestano and Jonathan Rampersaud took one wicket each.

At the Number 73 Ground, Tucber Park batted first and reached 111 all out from 10 overs as only Garfield Benjamin (33); K Michael (17); D Talack (14) and Marlon Mickle (12) reached double figures. Bowling for Skeldon, Jermaine Reid had returns of 4 for 5 in his four overs and Sherwin Murray 2 for 25. In response, Skeldon reached 114 for 7, with Charles France top-scoring with 51and he

received support from Triston Ramnauth (16) and D Charitar (17). Bowling for Tucber Park, C Tanner took 2 wickets for 18 runs and R Vankenic 2 wickets for 20 runs.

BCB President Hilbert Foster stated that he was pleased that the 2018 FirstDivision season was finally underway and the season would include the Patron’s Cup, Skyy Vodka 20/20, Pepsi 50-Overs, Busta 40-Overs, Brian Ramphal Double Wicket and one more tournament.

He called on Clubs to get themselves in order and stated that those who could not follow the new sets of rules would be left behind as the Cricket Board was enforcing a no-nonsense attitude towards discipline and the behaviour of First-Division teams.

22

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

friDAY, AUGUST 17, 2018

Hero Caribbean Premier League 2018 …

Battered Stars run into hungry Tridents

F

Shai Hope

resh off a red-hot win over the in-form Guyana Amazon Warriors, the Barbados Tridents now turn their attention to hosts St Lucia Stars in match 10 of the summer’s Biggest Party which continues tonight from 21:00h.

After Shai Hope led a ruthless assault in the last of three opening games at Providence versus the Guyana Amazon Warriors, Tridents now enter tonight’s game with some form and fire and with the Stars snatching defeat from the jaws of victory last night in match nine against defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR); the visitors could start as favourites.

The Warriors were unbeaten after their first two games at home before Hope, Raymon Reifer and company managed to hand the threetime finalists their first loss

Raymon Reifer

of the season. Hope showed his class as a power-hitter as well as a touch player as his 88 consisted of six fours and six sixes, leading the tridents batting charge.

Running into the Stars at home at the Darren Sammy National Stadium in St Lucia, Tridents will need to put on the same show as they did in their only match to date, with their batting putting pressure on the opposition. Apart from Hope, former Aussie skipper Steven Smith found his feet with a classy 41 while explosive wicket-keeper/batsman Nicholas Pooran provided the late cluster of boundaries that took the game away from the Warriors in front of a sold out Providence.

With a strong middle/lower-order, Tridents will now just need their two heavy-hitters at the top of the order in; Dwayne Smith and Martin Guptill to fire, after

Nicholas Pooran

they missed out against the Amazon Warriors. Another key player for the Tridents is Raymon Reifer, the hero of their last game along with Hope.

The Windies seamer bagged 5 for 20 against Guyana Amazon Warriors, flexing his muscles as one of the frontline left-arm seam bowlers in the Caribbean.

His skill could again play a huge role, especially with the Stars struggling slightly against quality bowling. Also, the threat of the towering Pakistani pacer Mohammad Irfan, his countryman left-arm quick Wahab Riaz, Holder and off-spinner Ashley Nurse, make the Tridents bowling unit a force to be reckon with.

In the other camp, it has been rough going so far for the Kieron Pollard-led Stars who have lost all four of their matches so far this season and have now gone 15 games

David Warner

without winning a streak that began in 2016.

After losing to defending champs Trinbago Knight Riders in the first game, the Stars suffered defeats at the hands of the Warriors, Jamaica Tallawahs and again to TKR after failing to defend 212/2 last night.

While their talented team have not yet clicked, it is still early in the tournament and with the immense talent in the side, the Stars could just pull off a heist tonight that could see a change in fortunes. Batting-wise, St Lucia has seen glimpses of something from a few of their batters with Pollard, David Warner, Rahkeem Cornwall, opener Andre Fletcher, Lendl Simmons and former captain Darren Sammy being among the consistent contributors of runs to date.

Simmons is one of the leading run-getters in the tournament and seems to

“CAC was good preparation for year-end competition” – Campbell

B

ronze medallist at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships, Emmerson Campbell says this year’s tournament held in Mexico has played a huge role in the preparations for his upcoming assignment in November.

The Guyanese body-builder told Guyana Times Sport on Thursday during an exclusive interview that he was happy to have again represented his country with honour and success despite not winning the gold medal.

“The experience was great; I missed gold by a point, but third place was really close. Overall, it was very close, but I was thankful that I managed to raise the bar; even though I didn’t win, I managed to improve my physique,” Campbell said.

The long-time Sports Journalist has been representing Guyana at the CAC level for three years now, and he noted that this year was no different as he was happy to add more international tournaments to his collection.

Guyana’s four-member team finished with two gold medals and a bronze, with Selvon Bruce Whatley winning gold in the Masters and Middleweight categories and Campbell capturing the bronze medal in the M. Physique.

“This is the third time I competed at CAC level, the backstage and camaraderie was great, but I can’t wait to get back in the gym. My next competition is November 3rd and I’m very confident I’m winning that competition, because the Mexico tournament put a lot of confidence in me and it showed me I belong there.”

The reigning Guyana Physique Champ concluded the interview by highlighting that his work ethic has significantly increased as his quest to dominate the next assignment was his main focus. “Well, I realised my work ethic allows me to be confident. I will continue grinding for my next tournament, which is the Stage of Champions right here in Guyana on November 3rd,” he concluded. (Clifton Ross)

Bronze medallist at the 2018 CAC Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships, Emmerson Campbell poses with his trophy

Lendl Simmons

be in some good hitting form batting down the order. Fletcher has warmed up with some starts but could do something.

Despite a few woes in the batting department, the Stars will feel more confident bowling to the Tridents as they possess a bevy of worldclass operators of the ball although they failed to deliver the knockout punch against TKR on Thursday. Afghan leg-spinner Qais Ahmad who grabbed 3-15 against Guyana but did not bowl against TKR while T20 bowling special-

ists like Kiwi pacer Mitchell McCleneghan and rookie pacer Obed McCoy; could be a handful at Gros Islet.

The Tridents have the clear advantage heading into this match, having broken the Warriors unbeaten streak, a team who seem to be one of the more cohesive teams thus far in the tournament as well as their 2-nil track record against the St Lucia franchise coming off of last 2017 season where they beat them 21 and 29 runs, respectively. (Clifton Ross)

Heyliger snatches 5-wicket haul in Toronto cricket F

ormer Guyana youth cricketer Dillon Heyliger produced a fine bowling performance for JB Masters last Saturday in the continuation of the Toronto and District Cricket Association (T&DCA) Elite 50-over Super9 competition at King City Ground, Toronto.

The right-arm medium pacer snatched five wickets for 13 runs from eight impressive overs as Victoria Park were dashed out for 89 in the 40th over. They were in pursuit of JB Masters’ formidable 302-8 from the full quota of 50 overs.

Heyliger, who also represented Canada and played for Montreal Tigers in the inaugural Global T20 Canada several weeks ago, scored 32 not out as well to complement a memorable all-round display.

In other outstanding batting performances for JB Masters, Nikhill Dutta made 75 while Teshowon Castro slammed 74 and skipper Zaad Bin Zafar stroked 58.

Spinner Harjeet Singh grabbed three wickets for 57 runs from 10 overs bowling for Victoria Park.

Dillon Heyliger

When Victoria Park batted, only skipper Yug Rao offered any sort of fight with 23. The Essequibian Heyliger was supported by Trinidad-born Mahadeo Moonasar, who accounted for two victims, conceding eight runs from 8.2 overs.

Meanwhile, the competition continues this weekend. JB Masters have so far played in nine matches and picked up seven victories. One game was rained out while they suffered their only defeat against the unbeaten Vikings Cricket Club. (Ravi Madholall)

guyanatimesgy.com

friDAY, AUGUST 17, 2018

23

Hero Caribbean Premier League 2018…

Bravo!

A

n outrageous 94 not out off 36 balls from Darren Bravo, ably supported by Brendon McCullum (68 from 42), propelled Trinbago Knight Riders to an extraordinary victory over St Lucia Stars as the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) produced another miracle match in which a world-record 34 sixes sailed into the stands at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground on Thursday night.

The Knight Riders had been on the receiving end when Andre Russell brought Jamaica Tallawahs back from the dead back in game three, but produced their own resurrection in St Lucia.

Kieron Pollard, Rahkeem Cornwall a n d D a v i d Warner all made half-centuries to lift the Stars to 212/2, and they appeared to have the game in the bag when the Knight Riders went into the last five overs of the run-chase needing another 85 runs for victory.

But Darren Bravo smashed five sixes from Pollard’s final over, with McCullum taking up the charge in the next over as four more balls went to or over the boundary. Suddenly, 53 of the 85 required had come from just 12 deliveries.

Cornwall, who for most of the night looked like being the hero after blasting a 25-ball half-century and then dismissing both Knight Riders openers with the new ball, suddenly had to try and win the match all over again in the 18th over.

He couldn’t do it. Two wides to start the over betrayed his nerves, before Bravo thrashed three of the next four deliveries for six. Miraculously, from the Knight Riders needing 85 off 30 balls, the required rate was now below a run a ball.

Bravo launched a fourth Hero Maximum of the over and his 10th of the night to leave the Knight Riders needing just five runs from the last 12 deliveries. In just three overs, the Bravoinspired Knight Riders had plundered 80 runs and turned certain defeat into certain victory.

McCullum was unable to see the job through, edging behind off Mitchell McClenaghan with Javon Searles falling the same way three balls later, but Darren Bravo was there at the end to see his side cross the unlikeliest of finish lines when Denesh Ramdin smashed the fifth ball of the final over

for the 34th and final six of the night.

Things had all seemed so very different in the first half of the night. Records were sent tumbling as the Stars became the first Hero CPL side to produce three half-centurions in the same innings and recorded their own highest Hero C P L total for good measure. That was due in no small part to a blistering unbeate n 65 from 23 balls

by Kieron Pollard; t h e Stars’ skipper reached h i s half-cent u ry in a Hero CPL record-equalling 18 balls, with seven balls sent over the ropes.

Pollard himself was merely continuing t h e g o o d work o f

Cornwall, whose promotion to number three in the order at the fall of Andre Fletcher’s wicket for 17 proved an inspired decision from the Stars brains trust as the big all-rounder helped himself

to a half-century.

There was also a welcome return to form for David Warner, who batted through the innings for his 72 not out from 55 balls.

Warner and Fletcher took 50 from the PowerPlay before Cornwall arrived to really get things going.

After a couple of sighters he smoked Fawad Ahmed’s leg-spin over the ropes. The next over from Shannon Gabriel brought two more Hero Maximums and a onebounce four over midwicket.

In all Cornwall smashed five sixes in his 29-ball 50, dominating a 79-run partnership with Warner before edging Searles to Ramdin.

There was no respite for the Knight Riders, though, as Cornwall’s demise only brought Pollard to the crease. His 18-ball 50 matched Sohail Tanvir’s Hero CPL record for St Lucia against Barbados Tridents back in 2014.

Pollard dominated the strike in the latter stages, facing 17 of the last 18 balls as Warner frequently scampered second runs to get his captain back on strike.

Those last three overs added 61 runs to the total – a scarcely believable amount at the time, but one put firmly in the shade just a couple of hours later.

Having had such success promoting Cornwall up the Kieron Pollard hit the fastest half century of CPL but it was not enough

batting order, the Stars repeated the trick

SCOREBOARD

St Lucia Stars Innings (20 overs maximum) ADS Fletcher † c ScantleburySearles b Gabriel 17 DA Warner not out 72 RRS Cornwall c †Ramdin b Scantlebury-Searles 53 KA Pollard (c) not out 65 Extras: (lb 1, nb 1, w 3) 5 Total: (2 wicket, 20 Overs, RR: 10.6) 212 Did not bat: LMP Simmons, C Hemraj, DJG Sammy, KAR Hodge, MJ McClenaghan, Qais Ahmad, OC McCoy Fall of wickets: 1-49 (ADS Fletcher, 5.4 ov), 2-128 (RRS Cornwall, 14.4 ov) Bowling: JPR Scantlebury-Searles 4-0-36-1, Ali Khan 4-0-49-0, SP Narine 3-0-26-0, ST Gabriel 2-0-28-1, Fawad Ahmed 3-022-0, DJ Bravo 4-0-50-0

Trinbago Knight Riders Innings (target: 213 runs from 20 overs) SP Narine c Pollard b Cornwall 9 CA Lynn lbw b Cornwall 4 C Munro c Hemraj b Pollard 25

BB McCullum c †Fletcher b McClenaghan 68 DM Bravo not out 94 JPR Scantlebury-Searles c †Fletcher b McClenaghan 0 D Ramdin † not out 8 Extras: (b 1, nb 1, w 8) 10 Total: (5 wickets, 19.5 Overs, RR: 10.99) 218 Did not bat: DJ Bravo (c), Ali Khan, Fawad Ahmed, ST Gabriel Fall of wickets: 1-11 (SP Narine, 1.1 ov), 2-20 (CA Lynn, 3.2 ov), 3-71 (C Munro, 9.2 ov), 4-208 (BB McCullum, 18.1 ov), 5-209 (JPR ScantleburySearles, 18.4 ov) Bowling: KAR Hodge 4-0-310, RRS Cornwall 4-0-52-2, KA Pollard 4-0-52-1, C Hemraj 2-021-0, MJ McClenaghan 3-021-2, OC McCoy 2.5-0-40-0 Result: Trinbago Knight Riders won by 5 wickets with one ball to spare Player of the Match: Darren Bravo (TKR) Points: TKR 2; SLS 0

Brutal TKR keep Stars winless in runs fest

Rahkeem Cornwall had a whirlwind innings at number 3 for the Stars

with the ball. Handed the responsibility of bowling the second over of the innings, Cornwall promptly had the dangerous Sunil Narine caught – by Pollard, naturally – for nine. In his next over he won an lbw verdict against Chris Lynn as wick-

ets continued to fall.

McCullum and Colin Munro kept things moving, but when Munro was smartly held by debutant Chandrapaul Hemraj at deep square-leg off Pollard the required rate had ballooned to 14 an over and the game ap-

peared to be over.

Darren Bravo walked to the middle with other ideas. Initially he kept the ball along the carpet, with three fours off Hemraj in over 11 an early indicator that he wasn’t giving up, and two more fours to follow off Pollard in the 12th. In truth, he was only warming up.

The first of Bravo’s 10 sixes didn’t come until the penultimate ball of the 15th over, and even then it seemed like little more than an exercise in damage limitation. It was the 16th over that would really change everything. The first four balls were all struck clean and pure over the ropes as Pollard found himself unable to serve up anything but length and full-tosses.

Thoughts of six sixes in the over were shelved when a miscue off ball five brought only two runs, but it was a temporary reprieve before normal service was resumed with another huge six to finish the over.

The Knight Riders suddenly had belief. The Stars, who must wonder just what they have to do to end what is now a 15-match run without victory, suddenly had none.

friDAY, AUGUST 17, 2018

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

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Hero Caribbean Premier League 2018…

Bravo!

Man of the Match Darren Bravo took the game away from the Stars with a classy 94 not out

Brutal TKR keep Stars winless in runs fest

Page 23

“CAC was good preparation for year-end competition” – Campbell Page 22

Bronze medallist at the 2018 CAC Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships, Emmerson Campbell poses with his trophy

Brendon McCullum and Darren Bravo put on 137 runs for the fourth wicket that swung the game TKR's way

GRFU unveils 26-member Americas Challenge squad Page 20

“Green Machine” members during a practice session at the Parade Ground

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